(Okay this actually an old post from January that covers what we should know about the three religions that grew from Abraham.)
I would have paid better attention in Sunday School and junior high if I knew that Israel and the Arab States would always be in the center of world news. Two different historical views are found below.
I can’t call it but someone needs to figure out a way to peacefully solve this situation because other parts of the world have. But, I can respect that three major religions started in that region and none of them should completely leave.
On a lighter related note, it’s cool when people say that the indigenous people of America should have had a better illegal immigration policy—they got robbed royally of two continents and we got stolen from a third stolen continent to toil….. (Don’t get me started)
I like key chains from travel so I can be reminded of important stuff. My current key chain is a melting clock from the Salvador Dali museum in Barcelona. From Dali’s painting “The Persistence of Memory,” those clocks represent how fast time goes if we are not careful. Mr. Phillips, my Albany Junior College/Darton College art teacher, really helped me understand the art around us and the concept of form fitting function. I saw him at the Shoe Station store in Albany days before that trip to Europe (I had to get some Rockports for those cobblestone cities,) and told him was I going to see the museums of Western Europe from north to south. He told me to really enjoy Amsterdam.
Mr. Phillips was right about form and function. If it serves no real purpose, get rid of it. An ugly Volvo is better in a crash than a pretty Pontiac is—I have had six Volvos since his class and my view of public policy reflect this logic.
I have a key chain from Lisbon, Portugal, because people from the Cape Verde Island were nice to me there and would speak initially to me in their native tongue. Yesterday, my sister gave me a bowl and key chain from South Africa, and I won’t “front” like I have been there. I almost went to Northern African to see the pyramids and chill in Casablanca and Fez but I knew some loud month was going to slam America or the office of the President and it would have been on and popping. To be honest, I can beat an egg but that would have be one whupping I would have to take.
When I am standing in the Dairy Queen in south Georgia and thinking about the lyrics to Bruce Springsteen’s Glory Days, I look at my key chain and remember that I can live anywhere in this great nation and chill almost anywhere in is world. If people are constantly “tripping” in your current location, you should leave because time is melting away and life is too short to argue with fools. If you don’t get this notion, you might be the fool people are leaving.
On a political blog, this discussion is important because southerners (Black, White, Red And Brown) who enjoy “fussing” are inadvertently limiting our regions economic growth. If division and confusion are synonymous with your area, more peaceful regions are more attractive to new industry. Think about it; who wants to put a multi-million dollar operation in a place that is still fighting a war that was over 140 years ago. The same can be said about young men who look like me who are mad at the world for spinning.
My sister just got back from business in South Africa and is heading back next week. While looking at her African safari pictures, I see that her truck was near a Gnu or wildebeest. I can not stand the sight of those things because I was chased by a goat coming from midget football practice. I was coming from practice; not the goat but I am a Worth County and Albany State Ram…talk about your irony. Also, I am not a midget and as a moderate Democrat I should refrain from using un-P.C. terms like that one. Forget P.C. unless you are talking about Panama City Beach; Little League was called midget football in my day.
So, I don’t like Gnus (if that is the plural) because that goat chased me and wildebeest look like those pictures of the devil from church while we were growing up. You see the devil on his throne of evil looking like those ugly things the big cats of Africa chase. One night I when to sleep and woke to hear on one of the smart people TV channels that the largest migration in history is the annual movement of wildebeests. There is no away I am stepping foot on an African safari and I am careful at Wild Adventures in Valdosta and Chehaw Park in Albany.
The hypocritical part is that I like snakes, another biblical icon of the devil. Tom from Thomasville use to worked with me in Rep. Bishop’s office and I remember him from his time as a campus leader at Fort Valley State. In college, we could listen to stories Tom got from old wise people all night long. When we would ask what’s up in the Valley, Tom would say that a little boy ran on the porch to tell his grandmother that there was a snake behind the barn in the high grass. The grandmother told the boy that there was no problem if the snake was behind the barn and the boy was there on the porch. Grandmother said, “Don’t be concerned with the snake in the grass, you need to be worried about your own Black ___.”
When you think about it, the boy might have been right because the snake behind the barn today could be in the house tonight. People function under the mindset to trust and fear certain things and groups. Candidate for Governor Eric Johnson wrote a detailed essay a few years ago about the history of the relationship between Blacks and the two major political parties. Yes, the GOP was started to stop the expansion of slavery because slaves would do jobs without pay in new territories that new immigrants from Europe wanted to be paid to do and the Democrats (or Dixiecrats) fought for most of the last century to keep the Black restrictive laws in place.
At the end of the day, political parties change for the better, for the worst, and then back again—the same can be said about individuals, groups and races. What’s Gnu is that our fears and concerns of the past might have been unfounded or no longer relevant (the defense mechanism of the wildebeest must be being ugly and running scared in large groups.) I should leave this along before I write that the same can be said about the extreme elements of both ends of the political range.
But, when you thing about it the Gnu GOP just wants survival in the jungle just like the cool snakes on the Democrat Team. I hope President Obama’s African and American DNA helps him sort out what’s what.
Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson, a member of the Senate subcommittee on Africa, is visiting the troubled Dafur region of Sudan. I am still surprised that Isakson is one of the most conservative members of the Senate yet serves with a cool listening ear and compassion mindset rather than the vibe of some of his colleagues. And people wonder which leader the GOP should model the next generation of policy makers after.
I hope he comes back with the idea of getting more peanut-based food paste from Georgia and dry pasta to help than staving region in the short-term while get a market opportunity for our farmers and producers. In the long-term, exporting farming techniques and equipment developed at Fort Valley State and U.G.A. to that suffering part of the world could assist in our antiterrorism efforts—bread rather than bullets. But, we still have the bullets—don’t sleep on the eagle with the olive branch in one talon and the arrows in the other.
Isakson should be briefing Agriculture Secretary Sanford Bishop about the opportunities for southern agriculture to help heal the world while creating jobs here but the Obama White House passed on Georgia. (For those who thing the current president won’t be criticized by moderates or African American would not condemn African genocide and support of terrorism.)
The number of Americans who don’t know the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day is inexplicable. In D.C., Memorial Day for me came to mean more when I realized that fellow Georgia congressional delegation staffer U.A. lost his father in Vietnam before he was born or shortly thereafter. U.A. worn the uniform of an Army officer and his father would have been so proud of the man he became.
Two weeks ago, I rode down to Florida with Captain R.A. to pickup a pickup truck his wife let him get to pull his motorcycle trailer. R.A. was my intern in Rep. Charles Hatcher’s office and he teaches history at an Albany high school. Since he is on active duty, we ask him if Iraq was less dangerous that teaching. That was cute until his convoy got ambushed, bullets went insider this truck like on the movies and he had to write those letters to family in America that no officer wants to ride. R.A.’s family loves him so much that they constantly called him during our road trip; I am glad I wished him a good Veterans Day rather than…
On February 23, 1991, the Pentagon called me in Rep. Hatcher’s office to say that Army Specialist James Worthy of Albany was killed SCUD missile attack on his barracks during Operation Desert Storm. My short walk to tell the congressman was rough and I will never forget the look on his face when he told me to get Worthy’s family’s contact numbers.
A friend with the 101st Airborne was traveling on a military charter from a peacekeeping mission in Egypt on December 12, 1985, and the plane crash in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada. Today, we know that Libya brought the plane down because the troops were coming from enforcing the terms of the 1978 Camp David Accords. B. was an alter boy with me for years at the A.M.E. church and was the third Black quarterback in our high school’s post integration history. For the 10th year memorial of the crash, I went out to Arlington Memorial Cemetery for a brief ceremony to remember him.
I could see the Lee-Custis Mansion at Arlington from my 8th floor D.C. apartment by looking south; looking north at the Capitol and Washington Monument cost $100 a month more like facing the beach in Panama City. People need to remember that the house belonged to General Robert E. Lee’s wife, who was a family with George Washington. Union Georgian General Montogomery Meigs made the decision to bury Union soldiers at Lee’s House.
The bloodiest day in American history was September 17, 1862 when 26,000 Americans fell during the Battle of Antietam. Yes, I consider both sides as Americans.
President Lincoln said it best at Gettysburg when he proclaimed that Americans fallen heroes gave the last full measure of devotion.
By 1864, the military cemeteries of Washington and Alexandria were filled with Union dead, and Quartermaster GeneralMontgomery C. Meigs quickly selected Arlington as the site for a new cemetery. Meigs, a Georgian who had served under Lee in the U.S. Army and who hated his fellow Southerners who were fighting against the Union, ordered that graves be placed just outside the front door of the mansion, to prevent the Lees from ever returning. Meigs himself supervised the burial of 26 Union soldiers in Mrs. Lee’s rose garden. In October, Meigs’ own son was killed in the war, and he too was buried at Arlington.
If one more conservative Georgian asks me how do they make inroads into the Black community, I am going to freaking scream because any adult who doesn’t realize that much of the Black community is conservative or moderate already is not fit to be in the discussion or public policy arena.
Watch the Blue Dog Democrat congressional field staffers because they go everywhere since everything is governmentally related these days. Republican field staff go to meetings directly related to the federal government or meetings involving industries and enterprises that generally support their bosses. That is like preaching to the choir. An old friend and former GOP Black staffer almost ran for congress from Savannah last year and she was about to shake up the world and create the formula for improving their party’s posture in our community.
The formula is simple: show the flag everywhere. Democrat and Republican congressmen and women should have a Black staffer or two who rocks business attire well and who, like Hemingway and Brad Pitt, goes everywhere to listen, learn and inform the people. The information from a moderate or conservative standpoint centers on the message that we are responsible for ourselves, you can’t expect the government to ensure your quality of life, and we are duty-bound to be deliberate in our actions because those who went before us fought for us to have the opportunities that we are squandering. We should feel guilty-ridden on some level.
These actions, speeches and talks are grassroots fiscal conservatism. Real talk: the taxpayers’ money shouldn’t be wasted to address folks messing up in school, fooling with drugs/crime or slacking on their parental duties—if you don’t want to be a parent and work 40 hours a week, it is apparent that you should not be a parent.
My friends and I call it the policy formula of C and D after A and B. Liberals wanted to address C and D problems with programs and funding without reading the riot act about how the problems were created to ensure that the crisis conditions end. Conservatives simply say stop doing what you are doing or let them suffer. Moderates take a more non-linear and comprehensive approach by saying temporarily the response is C and D with the understanding that A and B created this situation and it stops now. This formula also works when understanding that pass government actions or systematic oppression drove A and B while leading to C and D. But some of those victim arguments when out of the door when Obama walked into the White House; if a Black guy with a funny name can be president, you can get yourself together. While racism and discrimination will continue for the decades to come, many community problems are FUBU.
President Obama is surrounded by liberals but he is about to show his moderate if not conservative Kansas roots. His vision for improving America includes a national discussion that is basically taking some folks to the proverbial woodshed. Waterboarding can’t compare to what Mr. Niceguy is about to do and for all the ultra-liberals he would lose, Obama will get four moderates to replace them. It will be a thing of beauty that actually changes to the mindsets of millions. I strongly suggest the Right beat him to the punch (which is what conservatives were supposed to be doing instead of kissing up to corporate America only.)
I just watched the movie The Great Debaters on Showtime on Demand and I must say that anyone who saw “Madea Goes To Jail” before this film should be kicked out of Black Folks. Tyler Perry has a right to make his buffoon brand of movies and TV shows and yes I watch them. But, I can watch that mess and BET videos occasionally in its proper context after reading the newspapers, books and substantive materials online.
We should be appalled and disgusted that Blacks before us went through hell and high waters for the opportunity to be men, women and families. Think about the few Blacks who found scholastic sanctuary on college campus like Wiley College in Texas or my father at North Carolina A & T and Tuskegee during the same time frame as this movie. Like the current Lexus motto, they had a relentless pursuit of excellence against unimaginable obstacles.
Fast forward to today and the fact that I break my neck every chance I get to tell the positive young Black tennis players from my high school that I am so proud of them and dam near teary-eyed about their playing a character-building, non-glamorous lifetime sport. More importantly, I am proud that they excel in the classroom and carry themselves as gentleman and gentlewomen—when no one is watching. Hell, I can’t stop the college age young men formerly of the team from saying “yes sir” and “no sir” when we are on court but then again I do the same thing to my elders out of respect and so they will impart their wisdom on me. As a sidenote, a former member of the Rams tennis team won a conference championship ring at Tuskagee; and the top sister from this year’s team is heading to HBCU Fort Valley State while a brother from the team will be playing at Alabama State and a continue his scholarly academic performance.
In the 80s, there were Black people who thought the Cosby Show was pure fiction. “No Black folks live like that…Black folks not ‘pose to be doctors and lawyers… N’s need to know our place.” There but for the grace of God goes me.
Longtime President of Morehouse College Dr. Benjamin Mays famously informed a slacker student that he would be on the next bus back home. Dr. Mays refused to hear the student’s pleas and told the young man that we as a people had been through so much; we came from so far and had so far still to go; we simply can afford to have him holding us back.
Privately among ourselves, we discuss those among us who are intentionally or inadvertently holding us back—at time, this writer might have been on that list. The White House is occupied by a Black President with a Black First Lady and great Black children with a Black dog but many Blacks continue to live in terror in America. That terror isn’t from White nightriders or the local police (hell, the local police chief, who happens to be Black, emails me personally regarding community improvement efforts and I appreciate that;) the terror is from young thugs and drug addicts who look like us. Half-raised thugs and want-to-be thugs who learned gangster life from watching videos on a channel started by Robert Johnson, one of America’s first Black billionaires who this time last year was questioning Obama fitness to be president. What profits a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul or as Public Enemy rapped “I know you got sold.” Pun intended.
When I was watching The Great Debaters, my best fear was that the positive Black women in the film would be raped or beaten—American domestic terror that Blacks, Native Americans and Hispanics know too well. After 911, White friends told me that for the first time in their lives their families were not safe in their own beds and on American streets. I had to say join the club in which my folks has had membership since 1619. Technically, those streets weren’t American until 1776.
In politics and policy, conservatives miss the opportunity to capitalize on the fact that most Black voters and productive citizens believe that the next step in our development/struggle is not governmental but societal. Hell, 80% of our community spends 80% of our time and effort addressing problems created by 20%. What to do with and about that 20%? That 20% has created a Black energy crisis because they have worn “us” out and drain the community behind foolishness.
People talking about what would have happened if we ended our dependence on foreign oil at President Carter urging in the 1970s. What would have happen if Newt and Bill Clinton pushed welfare reform so hard that people of any color would know that they shouldn’t have children until they are fully prepared to raise productive citizens. But, this argument is theoretical at best because those who should not have kids at a certain time are often not logical enough to realize it. Checkout the Great Debaters with your family. Don’t get me started on Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns.”
Georgia Rep. Paul Broun is a bright guy and physician who for some unbeknownst reason insist on being somewhat nutty on the Hill. I met Dr. Broun a few years ago when he was running to replace the late Rep. Charlie Norwood. I thought his runoff opponent Jim Whitehead was a quintessential southern political leader; Whitehead put you in the mind of an aging, wise coach.
Some Republican political operatives in Georgia should have their heads examined because Whitehead played football at the University of Georgia yet wrote off Athens—“dog gone,” literally. He had Black managers in his tire company who worked themselves up in the operation but the Whitehead campaign never used them in ads or had them working the community—in other words, win without Black support so you won’t need to listen to their liberal agenda for the next two years. Newsflash: Not all Blacks are liberals and those people whispering in your ear are not helping.
So, Broun keeps coming up with a constant diet of far-right conspiracy theories or faith-related legislation that feeds a certain element but does not help his party with moderates nor help address the economy recovery.He is better than this because his father was a well-represented Georgia legislative leader.His father’s legacy is so strong that the Black community in Athens backed Paul over reasonable Whitehead.How you like me now?
Of course, Broun is safe from a Democrat challenger but his latest legislative idea of making 2010 the year of the Bible might bring out a GOP candidate who is about the business of governing rather than stirring conflict and division.Would 2011 be the year of the Quran and 2012 the year of the Torah?I am a moderate and I will be at church on Sunday but a resolution like Broun’s can’t pass until there is a constitutional amendment to declare one faith the official faith of America and Broun knows that.
Our community needs reasonable Republicans more than just another Democrat.
On MSNBC’s Morning Joe at 6:17a.m., I just realized that former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough is a logical possibility for president in 2012 and his coming book will outline why.
I watch Joe and his crew every weekday but today he went off about Michael Vick doing a real amount of time in prison for a real offense but child rapist get a few weeks or a month. Joe said Vick was done in by PETA’s political correctness and I said amen. I also say people who were offend by Vick’s dog fighting should be equally offended by Darfur, the collateral death toll in Iraq and America’s blood history with slavery.
I love that dog Eddie on the T.V. show Frazier; he is a Jack Russell Terrier I think. But I love humans more. Those who love dogs like their children are entitled to their opinions and feelings but also stop wearing leather into steakhouse for a bloody filet. You seem like a contradiction or a hypocrite. We all love dogs on some level because their offer unconditional love and some people are hard for other people to love. Michael Vick was stupid and he has company.
While speaking at the Georgia GOP State Convention recently, RNC Chairman Michael Steele’s statements included:
The chairman said he had inherited leadership of a party that was “stuck in a 1980s philosophy, using a 1990s strategy to win campaigns.”
The Republican demand for orthodoxy and purity, Steele said, risks making the party irrelevant to “the changing heartbeat of this nation.”
“We can no longer be afraid that to open up, to invite someone in, diminishes us. I don’t know how that works,” Steele said. “If you are true to your convictions, to your core, why are you so afraid to share that?”
Before he when to Savannah, Steele should have swung by southwest Georgia so we could sit on the porch, sip some sweet tea, eat a few locally produced Nether’s Pork Skins (made by a guy from my church) and I could have hooked a brother up with what’s what.
I would have explained to Steele that the South dominates his party now and those southerners are accustom to have things their way most of the time. If we are talking about 10 political points, they want their ranks in line on 9 points and the missing point can’t be the pro-life issue. The faith aspect makes abortion non-negotiable.
The GOP doesn’t need to let anyone “in;” that is not necessary. Steele needs to help them understand that elections are won with coalitions i.e. Reagan Democrats. Those coalitions are built on situations and circumstances of mutual benefit.
The GOP took power in Washington in the 90s because large numbers of faith-oriented, patriotic heartland Americans (Rs and Ds) supported them on faith issues, strong defense and what seemed like their commitment to fiscal restraint. The Democrats seem sincerely committed to addressing the kitchen table issues that current families are handling—Rs and Ds.
I would have told brother Steele that he could win some contested races in the congress next year if the grassroots of his party understood that sometimes non-Republicans support GOP candidates who are experts or advocates for the major issue in those voters’ lives. It is that simple.
For example, Georgia farmers agree with most of the Georgia congressional delegation on agriculture issues and USDA programs. In southwest Georgia, Republican farmers reluctantly vote for Rep. Sanford Bishop while southeast Georgia Democrat farmers support Republican Jack Kingston. It is all about the wallet in Georgia on agriculture, military bases, veterans, and transportation spending.
While the Democrats welcome “outside” support, Georgia GOPers are don’t understand that outsiders are there for different yet important reasons. Could the allied forces have won World War II without Stalin and the Russians?
I would have told Steele that my friends and I were cheering for him when he ran for the Senate in Maryland and that he will always have a home in the community if his party decides he should be elsewhere. That’s how we roll. Finally, I would have said that like private schools and churches, some of the grassroots people in his party join with the understand that most of the people there were….well, you know. Hey, is that the reason I when to a Black college? That Kumbaya Obama stuff is a sweet concept but in the meantime, you get in where you fit in down here and some of his party members join….you know..and they know too.
If moderate and centrist Democrats can coexist in a big party with the San Fran crew, then Steele’s party can do likewise or send the centrists right over. We can call them the Red Dogs.
“Red Rover, Red Rover, send Condi, Colin and Maine’s senators over.”
Thunderstorms are immiment, but I’m still headed to the beautiful city of Savannah for the Georgia Republican Convention.
I’ve got my mini digital tape recorder, my note pad and plenty of business cards in an effort to meet and greet each of the Gubernatorial candidates, the Honorable J.C. Watts, Republican National Chairman Michael Steele, and Herman Cain. I’m expecting to hear and see a different tone that exudes diversity and open mindedness with an emphasis on re-energizing their core values. Let’s see what happens. Stay tuned for further updates throughout the weekend.
If you’re my Facebook friend, you can get the information much quicker.
Oh, and I intend to count the number of ‘people of color’ in attendance.
To Whom It May Concern: don’t call me tonight while my shows are on T.V. and I shouldn’t need to tell you that. Jim Croce should come back from the dead long enough to do a remix with Justin Timberlake that say, “you don’t spit into the wind, you don’t pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger, don’t call dude during primetime on Thursday night and never during Jeopardy.” That’s hot; they could mix in “Our Loves is in Jeopardy, baby.”
When I was a kid and T.V. had nine channels, Dean Martin’s show was the thing because he was Rat Pack cool and had those “Goldn-ggers.” Yes, I thought his sidekick sweethearts were called that rather than they real name “Dean Martin’s Golddiggers” and my older brother (the world biggest a–) would laugh before telling me my error years later. “When get big, I am going to get me some Goldn-ggers.” And my mother said, “When you get big, you should hope you can afford some Golddiggers.” To this day, I can’t afford any but they don’t know that. Modern-day Golddiggers are slipping and I am generally around the Essence Magazine reading, Get-her-own-cheddar women anyway.
It’s funny how folks in my community connect all the characters an actor has played together. Today, I will be watching Ugly Betty with smoking hot Vanessa Williams and America Ferrera, who I admire for standing up for Hillary last year. I will tape Survivor, which includes Taj from the singing group SWV—she was the tallest one. When former NFL running back Eddie George came to see her on the show last week, he made a brother proud. George married her when she was one of the most desired women in Black America but she has put on some pounds while he is still cut.
A weak-minded dude would have traded her in for a Golddigger by now but he is still in love with her and over the last few months, I can see why; she is still lovely. If she doesn’t win, that is okay because the skinny Jewish guy is more than worthy and why do Black people always cheer for the Black person. I stopped that some time ago—okay it was last week during the Amazing Race when the sisters who balled at Louisville were eliminated because one of the them stopped at a portable toilet just before reaching the checked-in point—and she was wearing an Asian robe. That wouldn’t have been Taj from Survivor; old girl would have just let it go since a million dollars was on the table. I am telling you that the problem with school system is that America is not building kids like we were built—suck it up and go. As much as 25% of the next generation is weak; like Taj singing “Weak” with SWV back in the day.
I will be taping CSI with my man Larry (correction) Lawrence Fishburne. He was the guitar player who said, “No, Miss. Sofia” on the Color Purple just before Oprah’s character got in that situation with White folks. That was nothing compare to the beat down Jennifer Hudson took in The Secret Life of Bees, a movie from a book written by a Sylvester Georgia native I must proudly say. I first saw Fishburne in “Cornbread, Earl, and Me” after the local theater was integrated. We still sat in the balcony because we wanted to be with folks who looked like us and not folks under court-order to watch a movie with us. And, the American President is Black today.
Obama did not change the nation; he is just the next step in a long journey for all Americans. I am also proud of the sister Shonda Rhimes who created and produced the biggest prize for Thursday night since the Cosby Show and Magnum P.I. Grey’s Anatomy is brilliant T.V. because the traumas have drama and the cast is a collection of compelling characters. The strength of the Chief is similar to President Palmer on 24—the first Black president. Izzy Stephens will likely die tonight and that thing is going to put a lump in my throat like Dr. Mark Greene dying in Hawaii on E.R.
Please don’t let Kate die on Lost because I wanted to see those freckles during the final season in 2010. Did that White guy and his Black wife move into the jungle alone; that must be love. They set a good example for old school folks like me but what about the Latina and White lady doctors’ love affair back on Grey’s Anatomy.
Okay, the conservative movement is right (get it right) on some level: Hollywood has a diversity and tolerance agenda. But, many south Georgians want their kids to be “like-minded” or them. I will admit to being a hypocrite because two dudes dating I don’t see but those cute lady doctors falling in love is kind of hot. The question comes up when my friends and I are solving the world problems at a cookout and sipping box wine (Cart-a-nay): would you prefer your female college age cousin being with a good woman or a bad man.
I had better leave that thing alone because too much leftwing T.V. is turning me into tolerant southerner. Is that an oxymoron? Two things that should not happen: don’t call me tonight when my shows are on T.V. and don’t ever invite me to two dudes wedding. Those cats can be happy but I don’t want to see it.
Recently, I wrote a blog post about gay marriage and I did not go into details about the Black community being so very conservative and the GOP having no idea.The other contributors of this blog were blowing up my phones during the last 30 minutes of the two hour season finale of Lost—they were planning their weekends at the GOP State Convention.When you Republicans want to know what is the matter, don’t listen to each other; listen to moderates like me.
Please don’t let Kate die on Lost because I wanted to see those freckles during the final season in 2010.Did that White guy and his Black wife move into the jungle alone; that must be love.They set a good example for old school folks like me but what about the Latina and White lady doctors’ love affair back on Grey’s Anatomy.
Okay, the conservative movement is right (get it right) on some level: Hollywood has a diversity and tolerance agenda.But, many south Georgians want their kids to be “like-minded” or them.I will admit to being a hypocrite because two dudes dating I don’t see but those cute lady doctors falling in love is kind of hot.The question comes up when my friends and I are solving the world problems at a cookout and sipping box wine (Cart-a-nay): would you prefer your female college age cousin being with a good woman or a bad man.
I had better leave that thing alone because too much leftwing T.V. is turning me into tolerant southerner.Is that an oxymoron?Two things that should not happen: don’t call me tonight when my shows are on T.V. and don’t ever invite me to two dudes wedding.Those cats can be happy but I don’t want to see it.
I really enjoyed and grew from watching the NBC’s The West Wing.Many people these days decide whether to respect a president or actually say that someone is not “their president.”Barrack Hussein Obama is my president; John Sidney McCain III might have been my president and George Walker Bush was my president.
This clip from the West Wing framed the debate well; while you might not have voted for a president, once the man or woman is sworn into office, that person is the president and deserves the respect I have given every president who served during my life.
The West Wing president walk into a room in the White House knowing that a far-right media personality would be there and of course the lady decide to slight him by remaining seated—she got “told” big time.
That is democracy in action—a beautiful thing and I would graciously thank the citizens for taking the time to share their point of view with their member of congress.
One Sunday, the pastor at the Methodist Church I attended in southwest D.C. said in her sermon that she saw a bumper sticker which read, “Father, protect us from your followers.” Interesting.
I can’t say I am for gay marriage but I will say there should be a legal way to select who answers questions during medical emergency. I listened to both sides of the debate but hey I was not a congressman—just a conduit for information to and from the elected officials. I tell you one thing: they should make all marriages hard to get into because Britney Spears get married before breakfast and it being over before lunch is plain wrong. Folks don’t respect vows and oath anymore. I respect marriage and parenthood so much that I have never done either—plus my dollars have always been short.
I won’t get deeply into the gay marriage debate but this clip offers interesting background into reconciling our beliefs in the Bible and Christianity with the functional reality that constitutionally this nation has no official religion.Sometimes it saddens me to think about all the ugly names people called me when I was the judiciary staffer in three congressional offices and of course the calls would be heaviest on Monday after the recommendations came from the Sunday pulpits.That is democracy in action—a beautiful thing and I would graciously thank the citizens for taking the time to share their point of view with their member of congress.
One Sunday, the pastor at the Methodist Church I attended in southwest D.C. said in her sermon that she saw a bumper sticker which read, “Father, protect us from your followers.”Interesting.
I can’t say I am for gay marriage but I will say there should be a legal way to select who answers questions during medical emergency.I listened to both sides of the debate but hey I was not a congressman—just a conduit for information to and from the elected officials.I tell you one thing: they should make all marriages hard to get into because Britney Spears get married before breakfast and it being over before lunch is plain wrong.Folks don’t respect vows and oath anymore.I respect marriage and parenthood so much that I have never done either—plus my dollars have always been short.
But it sometimes turns out that national and state leaders in the same party came to realize that not all members of the other party are evil, wrong, and all together scum of the earth. I am going to break my arm patting myself on the back for having friends and associates from all over the political spectrum. While we get heated in discussions, all of us are well-intended Americans who want the nation to succeed. The question becomes “how do we get there.”
At times, the Democrats want to mother the people and kiss their boo boos while the Republicans want to be the tough discipline-oriented father types. In the Georgia congressional delegation, they must be making secret pacts in the House and Senate cloakrooms that say, “colleague, I actually like you but you know we must mix it up in public to keep the party faithful pleased…you understand, right.”
When the GOP ran the White House, both houses of Congress and Georgia state government, they had a swagger and attitude that would have made Caesar and Napoleon envious. Their control over the federal government is gone for now but they still have that swagger. To many of them, they weren’t wrong in policies and actions; the voters were charmed and mislead by the brilliance of Obama and his bottomless moneybag. Huh?
Watch the Republicans who honesty say, “my bad, we got off track.” Those self-reflecting leaders are keepers and they are the one who know that party politics is secondary to fixing our economy and our place on the world stage. These guys also realize what the hardhead can’t see or hear: President Obama is about America more than being about the Democrat Party—remember the diehard Democrats really wanted Hillary or Edwards before the masses (including non-party people and new voters) stood up and said “Obama..Obama.”
That observation means Obama can take consult from conservatives and moderates who seek to rein in spending and debt after this orgy of stimulus/recovery spending. Those who pull Obama to the center will be credited with not waiting until the next election to take action and the center will acknowledge their prudent decisions.
Whom am I fooling with that fantasy talk? And if the leaves of this magnolia tree outside my window turn into hundred dollar bills, I can take a LL Bean dufflebag full of money to SunTrust. It is not going to happen because major party operatives benefit from the fighting and drama but read the actions of the Georgia Senators and congressmen. When was the last time you saw then really working hard to get rid of a member from the other party—okay, Congresswoman McKinney.
And if you want to go on the “Listening Tour,” you should also listen to the people who did not vote for you, understand why they did not and engage them in a healthy dialog. That’s what the Blue Dog Democrats did; they listened to the center and some conservatives and secured enough support to be Blue in otherwise Red areas. Can you say emulate?
Bla, Bla, Bla, Miss California spoke her mind bla, bla, marriage should be bla, bla, other woman gets the crown bla, bla, I got robbed bla bla. First of all, how many Miss. USA or Miss America winners can most people name? When you are in the middle of drama, people will remember you; so actually you win in a certain way. i.e. Vanessa Williams.
Williams set the stage for Barrack Obama when see won Miss. America and said, “I am not Miss. Black America but Miss. America who happens to be Black.” Spike Lee and my friends at Black college were like “say what, slim.” The pictures came out and we put our loving Black arms around her because that’s how we do it in the community. But, I always thought giving up the crown to Miss. Suzette Charles was wrong because real people in the country make mistakes, get themselves up, dust themselves off and start right over again.
Williams mistake was not breaking the story immediately after the pageant before it broke on her. (I am not going to get into how her boyfriend, who doesn’t look like us, put her in the wind and said she embarrassed his family.)
But if she came to me (a budding spin doctor in the dorm) I would have hooked up a classic press conference statement for her:
“I am so honored to be Miss. America because America is about hope, opportunity and resolve. I exemplify these values because my life is not a perfect one. While young and gullible, I took pictures which were against my better judgment. Of course, my first inclination was to limit my dreams and aspirations—my history being tarnished. But then it occurred to me that if we let a few youthful mistakes end our lives, we permanently banish most Americans to limited dreams. I stand before you as the epitome of America; a Miss. America who got this crown over self-flicked obstacles and serve as an example for the world.”
Like Williams, Obama knew he had to run to be president of all of America—not just Black America or the part of America that would vote for him. He also knew that he should air the dirty laundry before the gotcha crew did it first. Obama did that so pretty that he won support for being a real dude with a past rather than a pampered prince of entitlement like certain other members of the Black elite—you know who you are.
Of course, Prejean’s dilemma includes the contradictory aspects of being strong in her faith but taking those pictures. Hey, pot, kettle, black—I had better leave that alone because I liked Vanesssa Williams before her fall but really liked her after she rose from the ashes. I watch Ugly Betty every Thursday and if I had her fortitude, I would be a congressman and taking Vanessa to Black Tie affair with Obama last weekend—the three of us chilling on top… scars and all.
We should not worry about Prejean because Fox News, TBN or Ugly Betty will make her crazy rich.
Jeff: Did I just come home from church to see that Carlton Fletcher gave you and your blog mad love in his Sunday column in the Albany Herald?Wait just a cotton-picking minute; your meteoric blog just stepped in the game and already Fletcher is commenting on you.
Fletcher…Albany State Grad Fletcher…we when to the same college Fletcher…never read ProjectLogicGa.com produced by ASU grad me Fletcher.I tip the Panama hat I worn to church today (actually I got it in Ecuador) to you and SWGA Politics for the nod Fletcher gave you guys.And Carlton Fletcher was right about having a deep detailed newspaper in one’s hand—I still can’t believe that the AJC is not available in south Georgia anymore.When he wrote that he was not going to bank on the depth of reporting from anyone whose job description includes “getting your makeup right,” was he talking about you or the TV news reporters he mentioned.Lewis Grizzard is smiling on the other side about that line.
Fletcher’s article about “Bright Flight or White Flight” from Albany into Leesburg is an instant classic.In Worth County, we welcome those working in east Albany who seek a quieter community.Whom am I fooling; those kids (Black, White and Brown) with the booming car stereos are about to drive me into the rural area of Worth County.
If Fletcher reads this, he should tell Candace the Herald’s circulation department that I am again sorry for fussing about my paper not being in the box this morning; the thoughtful delivery person tossed it in the garage because someone who likely doesn’t read has been stealing my paper lately.The communities of Isabella, Acre and Ty Ty are starting to look pretty good these days.
I am no where near anybody’s journalist…I am just a guy venting and waiting for Sawgrass and the NBA to come on the tube.
For Mother’s Day, some mothers need a Dyson Ball vacuum cleaner to make their lives easier and other mothers need an exercise ball to make their lives longer. But, I remember my father saying that Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day were not as important a being nice everyday—that’s the last part of the jazz standard My Funny Valentine.
To me, a sweet part of this Mother’s Day is seeing my sister Michelle Obama as the first lady and first mother in the White House. I don’t think we really appreciated grace and intelligence of her predecessor Laura Bush, who was the smartest person in the room at the end of the day and actually advised her husband more than we know. Without her balancing Cheney, bad could have been worst.
In farmland, we are always looking for residual benefit—wheat straw becomes office furniture; peanut shells become kitty litter; and swine waste fertilizes hay fields. I knew this time last year that we would have a woman as president or a minority woman as first lady/mother and the residual benefit would be of epic proportions.
Michelle Obama is like the Cosby Show’s Claire Huxtable come to life and the residual benefit of young people seeing what motherhood should be like should encourage better parenting and family planning, and should advocate staying childless for those who are not up to the task. I know, I know, that some of these people having all of these kids don’t think logically about their choices and that brighter people actually have few children because parenthood is hard.
We hear appropriations this and grants that but real moderates and conservatives would figure out away to sincerely and tactfully say “ask not what this country can do for you but ask what can you do for this country..what you can do is stop being overconfident about your ability to raise productive, law abiding citizens because if you half-raise children, they could end up dead or in prison shackles.”
I never understood Toni Morrison’s Beloved—the book or the movie; but, I did get that a slave woman killed her baby rather than see it grow up to be a slave. We have creditability issues in my neighborhood because the same people who are rightfully upset about slavery are not equally upset about criminal actions that youth in prisons.
How did I go from Mother’s Day to slavery to prison? Easy, because after things settle down with the economy, Michelle Obama is going to start encouraging underachieving folks to be better and do better in their personal lives—in addition to the current Obama family examples. She will be doing what southerners elect conservatives to do and if she is successful she would be improving America at a nominal cost. At that point, the far-right would be in real trouble so they better get on the ball and get some positive mother candidates because Hillary and Michelle on it but it is not a competition; it is a mission.
Georgia might have a woman governor and should have a woman in congress and that could be a good thing if their natures provide the residual benefit of positive motherhood that First Ladies Clinton, Bush and Obama are giving.
The bloggers walk around as if they have all the answers and are never wrong. Well, I am frequently wrong—some would say more often than not.
Where do we go from here—we being our community? Actually, the Blue Dogs are the key because expanding their numbers and grassroots movement could create a comfortable home inside the Democrat Party for centrists and moderates. “Vacillate” is a word I got from listening to President Bush 41 and it is not a synonym for moderates. The Blue Dogs who stood with President Obama last year during the campaign will live or die politically with his/their policies and that is cool but don’t vacillate when talking with conservatives back home. The Blue Dogs who never supported Obama and the Democrat ticket (Rep. Jim Marshall) should consider becoming independent.
If the GOP wants to take some Blue Dog seats, produce candidates in those districts with a fresh appeal and energy. But, I am starting to see that the stimulus money has made Blue Dogs palatable to otherwise conservative state and local officials.
As of today, GOP candidate Wayne Mosley in Georgia’s 12th Congressional District is the only viable candidate in our state against a Blue Dog. Austin Scott would be the logical opponent to conservative Democrat Jim Marshall but no one is encouraging him to run for the congressional seat rather than governor. Why–because old school conservatives want to teach more than listen to the people. (See: Rush Limbaugh) If they would listen a little they could learn that our community would turn on Democrats who benefited from the Obama wave last year but “vacillate” back to the right when it is politically convenient.
Secretary Jack Kemp is gone and will be missed because he was the favorite Republican of my crew in the pol sci department at my HBCU. Kemp was right; we need a comfortable home for Black conservatives (and there are a lot of them). If the GOP keeps purging the ranks of moderates, Black sheep will become Blue Dogs and even the south will turn blue.
UPDATE: I did not know that Dres from Black Sleep made an Obama remix last year. From the golden age of hip hop, Black Sleep was down when music mattered and artist were mindful of their impact on the community.
My sister is an engineer with IBM and last week became the first member of my family to step foot on African soil since we arrived in the New World in the hulls of ships. Being a Georgia Tech grad as a proposed to a Black college product like me, she did not know the vibe she would get from being there until she was there—told her so. I feel guilty for not taking the ferry from southern Spain to Africa when I had a chance but my friend Jerry, who did the Peace Corps, says North Africa is not really Africa.
Her email from Africa:
Greetings Family…..from South Africa!!
It has been an interesting few days here. I am staying at the Hilton in the Sandton area of Johannesburg. I have visited Soweto, been on a safari/tour at Pilanesberg and Sun City……and shopped at Nelson Mandella Square. We were so close to a couple of rhinos that one started to charge our vehicle. I was disappointed that we didn’t see any lions or leopards….but will try again on the next trip in about four weeks. The food here is great. I have had ostrich and springbok…….still looking to try some kudu. On my birthday, I had a lonely dinner at Brown’s restaurant (although they tried to make me feel special — the band played New York New York and Georgia On My Mind)…then a superb meal later Saturday night at Auberge Michel’s (one of the top restaurants in the area). I found out that most business (including restaurants and malls) close on holidays (like Friday — Workers Day).
Yesterday I went to an awesome worship service at Rhema Bible Church…..with seating capacity for thousands, it was packed….and this did not include children as they were in special training classes during worship! The congregation is 95% black and the senior pastor is white (unusual for the US right?). The senior pastor and wife were on vacation and there was a black guest pastor who spoke about “Things Do Happen”….Eccl 9:2, II Cor 11:23, Isaiah 43:2, Isaiah 41:10…..When (not if) you pass through the fire….remember, God is your source….a very present help in time of need….and don’t forget those fellows following you — Goodness and Mercy!!! Amen, amen!! About 40 people gave their lives to Christ….it was a wonderful experience. The church is celebrating it’s 30th anniversary this year. Joel and Victoria Osteen will be here in October. The people here have been very warm and friendly.
Right now (a little after noon), I’m at the IBM site and my official meetings start tomorrow through Thursday. Just wanted to take a moment to say hello….from the mother land. I should be back in the States late Friday afternoon. Love you all……B.P.K.
Former Newt Gingrich staffer Matt Towery, who heads the political firm Insider Advantage, has the “right” idea about what’s next for the Republicans. Notice I did not say “conservatives” because some mild conservatives might find a comfortable home inside the Democrat Party if the Blue Dogs continue to growth. If the White House initiatives actually start to kick-in, the Blue Dog conservative Democrats numbers could counterbalance some of the liberal weight and produce a near center party. That nightmare scenario could be real trouble for the GOP.
Why Fox or CNN hasn’t put a pile of money in front of Towery is a mystery because the guy makes good old common sense. In a recent column, Towery wrote of the need for new blood in the GOP. I personally don’t think the Republican party is on life support quite yet, but they could use some new style points to get their swagger back.
(Here comes a classic ramble)
So I am watching ABC Private Practice last night because that show is almost as thought-provoking as Grey’s Anatomy (recorded CSI and NBC’s Southland—I need a life). The guy who saved the lady president on Fox’s 24 is starting a cutting edge medical facility and trying to woo the attractive sister over to his operation. The lady with the cool southern accent who runs the regular hospital wants the job but the guy from 24 said no and by the way, you are fired because you don’t have a heart. Ouch.
My point is that you must have a heart to go with your mind or the people will notice and react. Love him or hate him, Obama has a heart and cares about moving America forward. The same statement can be said about Newt Gingrich, Obama’s obvious opponent in 2012.
On the subject of heart, contributor to this blog Helen Blocker Adams of Augusta is celebrating her birthday today so I assume the local schools are closed for the holiday or for flu prevention. Helen is an asset to the region because she has a kind heart and the area elected officials must be hearing the footsteps of her approaching stylish pumps—watch out.
Republican Ray McKinney of Savannah brought new blood to the 12th District congressional race last year but the blue bloods wanted a D.C. insider. The return of the GOP starts with new blood from existing sources.
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