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Posts Tagged ‘African Americans’

Black GOP All-Star lineup on Radio Talk Show

Posted in politics, tagged , , , on October 23, 2009| 1 Comment »

I look forward to hearing the Raynard Jackson Show via the internet at 7:00p.m. this Saturday.  The call-in guests include Michael Murphy and Dr. Deborah Honeycutt.  That is going to be good—it would need to be for me to listen during the Florida v. Miss. State football game.

This situation is no game: if the GOP can’t tap into the wealth of African American talent in Georgia to find a conservative congressional winner, I personally don’t think that party is comfortable with us.  (“Us” being moderates.)  They would actually prefer running a far-right candidates in Blue Dog districts who will lose to running a less-bitter Black who can compete in our community and win.  I can tell you that Murphy and Honeycutt are pleasant, intelligent people—like Barrack Obama and Sanford Bishop.  As we say down here in the piney woods, drafting Murphy, Honeycutt or a similar person in the 12th congressional district would be “to much like right.”

http://my.ustalknetwork.com/group/raynardjackson

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Black Republicans and The Fox News Article: The Plot Thickens

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

After the interesting Fox News article about Black GOP candidates, conservative political consultant Raynard Jackson wrote a column that goes into details regarding his concerns.   

Black Republicans Running >From Race

Raynard Jackson 

Black Republicans running for various offices this election cycle seem to be running from race while running their race.  This is one of the most asinine things I have every seen, but not unexpected.  This is why Black Republicans have no credibility within their own community. 

Just wondering because I know they all claim to be candidates of great principles and I know they would stand up for right because they are the voice of the people, right? 

Finally, can you tell me if you have any Blacks on your paid campaign staffs with hiring or decision making authority?  Are you spending any campaign money with Black vendors (office supplies, computer services, restaurants, caterers, etc)?  Are there any Black banks in your area that you are utilizing?

I would be stunned if any of the campaigns could answer yes to these questions.  But, this is my offer to them.  I am offering 30 minutes of air time on my radios how (www.ustalknetwork.com) to each candidate to address these issues and talk about their campaigns.

So, while you are running your race, please don’t continue to forget your race!

Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a D.C.-based political consulting/government affairs firm.   You can listen to his radio show every Saturday evening from 7-9:00 p.m.  Go to www.ustalknetwork.com to register and then click on host, and then click on his photo to join his group. 

Last week I was interviewed by Kelley Beaucar Vlahos of  FOXNews.com.  The story was published this past Monday (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/12/carter-obama-allen-west-race-card/).   

I was appalled at the comments of these Black office seekers and their obvious lack of understanding of how their words would be interpreted by those in the Black community.  Allen West, a retired Army colonel running against Democratic Congressman Ron Klein (FL-22nd), said, “Since (Democrats) have thrown out the race card, it has made me more appealing….because it shows the contrast of our principles—how different we are even though we both have permanent tans (referring to President Obama).”  West continued, “A lot of people who don’t want to be part of Obama’s policies are being called racist….Then they say, Hey, this guy, Colonel West—he’s Black and I support him…. It has nothing to do with race…People don’t care about your color, they care about your character.”   

But, Colonel West, WAIT!  You said it was not about race, then you say you’re Black, therefore people in your district are supporting you (because you are Black).  Which is it?  So, let me make sure I understand you.  White people are supporting you because you are Black so that you can speak out against the Black president, so the white people won’t have to (because they can’t call you a racist since you are Black).  Oh, I get it now.  You know we have a term for people like that and it begins with the word UNCLE!

Ryan Frazier is a 31 year old city councilman in Colorado and is running for the U.S. Senate in the Republican primary.  Frazier said that being Black is an asset.  So when he opposes the president’s policies, no one can call him a racist.  According to Frazier, “I don’t think they will be able to use that argument against me or engage in those tactics against me.”  So, let me interpret this.  Because of the skin color that you say doesn’t matter, you are able to criticize the president because of the very skin color that you say doesn’t matter?  Ok, now I understand. 

Michael Williams has served several terms as Texas Railroad Commissioner and is currently running for the U.S. Senate seat that current senator Kay Hutchinson is vacating to run for governor.  He states that his Blackness will be an asset.  According to the article, “one of the things it allows me to do….it allows me to speak very, very frankly about what I believe, and what I feel, and nobody is going to call me a racist.”  Again, I am confused.  His Blackness is only an asset when it comes to denigrating a Black president and his policies.  According to Williams, other than giving him cover in criticizing the president, his race doesn’t exist.  Wow, either he is color blind or just blind to people of color. 

Do these guys hear themselves and how ridiculous they sound?  Have you ever heard of a Jewish candidate denying or distancing themselves from their own heritage?  Or a Latino or Asian?  These groups use their ethnicity to endear themselves to voters from their group while at the same time building coalitions to expand their base of support

Can you be against the president’s policies and not be a racist?  Without question.  But, I challenge these candidates to answer a few questions for me.   

What does describing Obama as a Nazi have to do with healthcare?  What does calling him a liar during a joint session of Congress have to do with healthcare?  How does calling him a socialist, fascist, or communist, further the healthcare debate?  So, you would think that if this debate was about healthcare, the signs at town hall meetings and rallies would read, “how will you pay for your plan, Mr. President, how will it be implemented, or what if I don’t want your plan?”  Those would be legitimate questions.   

Another question for the candidates, are there any public statements by them speaking out against the actions of Congressman Joe Wilson during the president’s speech before a joint session of Congress? 

Are there any public statements by them chastising individuals and party officials for some of the incendiary rhetoric coming from Republicans (Barak the Magic Negro, calling Michelle Obama a monkey, or the celebration by many conservatives that Chicago was eliminated from Olympic consideration)?   

Just wondering because I know they all claim to be candidates of great principles and I know they would stand up for right because they are the voice of the people, right? 

Finally, can you tell me if you have any Blacks on your paid campaign staffs with hiring or decision making authority?  Are you spending any campaign money with Black vendors (office supplies, computer services, restaurants, caterers, etc)?  Are there any Black banks in your area that you are utilizing?

I would be stunned if any of the campaigns could answer yes to these questions.  But, this is my offer to them.  I am offering 30 minutes of air time on my radios how (www.ustalknetwork.com) to each candidate to address these issues and talk about their campaigns.

So, while you are running your race, please don’t continue to forget your race!

Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a D.C.-based political consulting/government affairs firm.   You can listen to his radio show every Saturday evening from 7-9:00 p.m.  Go to www.ustalknetwork.com to register and then click on host, and then click on his photo to join his group.

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Black Republicans candidates and the Fox News Article: Jacked-up Planning…Again

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , on October 13, 2009| 5 Comments »

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/12/carter-obama-allen-west-race-card/

The political part of the web is buzzing about the Fox News article on Black GOP candidates for congress.  This article highlights what is fundamentally wrong with the approach of Black elephant candidates: push the color blindness.  Of course, all issues before congress concern all Americans but when will the Black community birth a Black conservative candidate rather than the conservative community selecting someone they find suitable or innocuous.  

I am talking about a community-oriented person who speaks passionately about the limited role of government, personal responsibility and self-determination like Dr. Bill Cosby—speaking out of love for the community and the nation rather than hate for Obama.  The dilemma is finding a candidate who appeals to the right and our community also.  In classic GOP form, it rarely crosses the GOP establishments’ mind to find candidates that will be acceptable to Black centrists.  Here is a little trick: get some non-GOP Blacks’ opinions on the candidates first. 

Raynard Jackson, a Black political consultant mention in the article, should be the GOP pointman on Black candidates and the worst nightmare of the Dem Team—in think he knows how to pick and position them.  You grow candidates in the “farm system” like Major League Baseball so go find a list of Black congressional and administration staffers from the 90s and you will find some proven quality candidates who will likely have community, civic and college connections that can net them 20% of the Black vote walking in the door without compromising their core conservatives principles and spending a ton of money.  What these candidates should do is speak against the crazy talk of the most extreme elements of the far right—stay on the issues.  Newsflash:  that move will get them even more Black votes.        

I noticed that the Fox News article attributed the Democrats lock on Black votes to LBJ’s social programs without mentioning the GOP’s Southern Strategy.  That makes me appreciate CNN so much.  Anyone who only watches Fox News or MSNBC doesn’t know what they are missing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Strategy

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Black Beauty, Sagging Pants and Funny Names

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , on August 28, 2009| 2 Comments »

Someone emailed me the link from a Black beauty pageant and basically said they knew that the day would come when “those names” would be everywhere.  Wait just a second Uppity Conservative: America is a complex and intricate tapestry woven from many different fibers; we have various subcultures.  While I am a moderate and wouldn’t wear sagging pants if I were in school today, I do remember wearing boxer shorts with gators on them as short pants (of course we wore briefs under them.) 

Excessive tattoos and sagging pants concern me but so does middle age women with too much cleavage.  What’s up with the women at church yard sales with short shorts so their leg can tan evenly.  Ultra short shorts on mothers and young daughters are as inappropriate as Ray Ray’s sag.  

Like Don Henley sang, “the more I know, the less I understand” and I have been trying to get to “the heart of the matter” but I give up.  I don’t understand the thug culture or “the confederacy was right” culture.  The R&B singer Jaheim helped me make peace with the new culture (I prefer agri—culture) with his hood anthem “Fabulous.”  The lyrics included the line “name our kids them funny names” but more important Jaheim sincerely said, “we got love for you’ll but you’ll not love us.”  When this song came out, I would have considered you nuts if you told me that a funny name person would be president in 2009.  Don’t sleep, it could have been our sister from the South….Condoleezza. 

Jaheim-Fabulous

http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x24jcd

Remember William Shakespeare’s Juliet saying, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” As we say in the South, “it’s not what they call you; it’s what you answer to.” 

Since this post started about a beauty pageant, may I say that the recent Miss. Universe pageant featured some of the most strikingly beautiful women of color I have ever seen.  While the other contestants were nice and I generally prefer the nerdy librarian type, my DNA double helix turns me toward ladies who look like me: Miss Ethiopia, Miss. Jamaica, Miss. Dominican Republic, Miss. Tanzania, Miss. Curacao and even Miss. India.  I could trip all day at a cookout with Jaheim and the guys over which sister got robbed of her crown at this pageant (but Miss. Venezuela is not exactly chopped liver.) 

“Check this out, Son. Miss. Ethiopia, Son..great day in the morning, Son. As we said back in school…she is the one who makes Black so beautiful.”  Those young guys need to pull up their pants and read that Steve Harvey book “Act like a Lady, Think Like a Man’ and they will be ready for that African or African American princess.  

http://www.missuniverse.com/members/contestants/sortBy:region

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Outstanding Georgia Triplets heading for UGA

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

UGA Arch

UGA Arch

We read so many negative things about our youth in the newspapers these days. Below is a positive story about triplets from the Savannah, Georgia area heading to the University of Georgia…top three in their class…. public school products…. single parent household with working mom.

When I read “top three in their class,” I made a face normally reserved for a rim-rattling dunk or the perfect execution of the hook and lateral football play.  While the sisters might have achieved in sports also, this story is about family, 4-H and good old fashion hard work.  My friends and I are puzzled when someone says their child is practicing basketball 5 hours a day to hopefully make the N.B.A.  While sports are good “anti-drugs,” Junior could be leaning on the UGA Arch with the triplets if he put that much attention to his books. The business and professional connections made at a major university can be more beneficial than a few years in professional sports.  

Since all three Morgan sisters plan to purse pharmacy degrees at UGA, I have a headline for you:   

Georgia Sisters Plan Careers as Drug Dealers

I never thought I would see that and be pleased and proud.   

http://m.savannahnow.com/articles/192975227;search_results?query=uga&page=1

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Blue Dog Democrats and Balancing Act

Posted in African Americans, Georgia, politics, tagged , , , , on August 17, 2009| 2 Comments »

I am confused on some level about the fairness or lack there of involving southern congressional politics.  First, the biggest indicators of public sentiment are elections and when members get 68% or better of the vote, that is saying something about what the people in that district want.  A very vocal minority in an area should not be misconstrued as a better indicator that the election.  Of course, some would say that the winner beat a weak opponent but the fact that more suitable opposition did not set up again tells you something.

When the conservatives took over the White House and Congress in the 1990s, the Democrats responded by accepting the public sentiment and accepting a subset of their party that was near the center.  Georgia always had Democrat congressmen who were conservative called Dixiecrats.  So Democrats learned to understand that Blue Dogs worked with the Bush White House because a sizable part of their constituency wanted that cooperation and dialog.   The fruits of that labor include agreements on veteran, defense and agriculture issues. 

Now that the shoe is on the other foot, why are some from the Right attacking the same Blue Dogs who were respectful to President Bush and his policies that even other Republicans now question?  I can understand  “getting at” the city liberals but why disrespectful fuss at those who have been kind to your cause in the past.  After the “interesting” Gore v. Bush election, most southern Democrats accepted the results without the ugliness we see now.

Another thing: please put a members actions in it’s proper perspective.  I personally appreciate members on both sides of the aisle who listen to both sides of the issues.  If a member is from a district with a balance mix of political views, his votes should be equally mixed.  I would not expect Rep. Kingston, Rep. Linder or Rep. Westmoreland to make many liberal votes nor would I expect Rep. Lewis or Rep. Johnson to make conservative votes.  For the Blue Dogs in the Georgia delegation, the situation is complicated because they have both rural and urban areas; Democrat and Republican; and conservatives, liberals and moderates. 

If you have a hypothetical government program and half of your congressional district wants to fund it at $100 million and the other half wants it funded at $300 million, do you compromise at $200 million?  Those type decisions trouble House Blue Dogs and their staffers daily.  If you think about it, southern senators often have similar concerns because they represent the whole diverse state.  While Georgia has conservative senators, liberal-to-moderate metro Atlanta has more people than the whole state of Alabama.  It’s a balancing act. 

What about the Blue Dogs who appeased the Right during the Bush years but are reluctant to lift a finger to help the Obama White House.  What would you do as a member of congress if you realized that part of your support base was flat wrong?  Would this situation be similar to the southern members of congress who courageously voted for the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s when the possible backlash was apparent?

They should think about Texas Rep. J.J. Pickle and the other six southerners who voted for the Civil Rights Act because it was the right thing to do.  For all the glamour of the Kennedy brothers, where were they when people could not drink from a public water fountain, ride a bus or order a slice of pie at the lunch counter in Woolworth’s?  They were trying to avoid alienating the whole South.  LBJ was the arm twister who got it done after the unfortunate loss of JFK.  JFK, Bill Clinton, Al Gore and President Obama are maybe too nice to deal with the far-right and/or rogue Democrats.  I am beginning to think that Michele Obama and Hillary Clinton have that certain LBJ toughness to get things done—talk about some women who don’t play.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/19/AR2005061900885.html

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Albany Newspaper Features Local Brothers in Military

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

http://www.albanyherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=5281

I opened the Albany Heard newspaper this morning and saw four brothers from my old high school on the front page in military uniforms. A couple of them played varsity basketball since they are tall as Georgia pines. The brothers’ mother has noticed the maturity her sons have developed in the service but they were already well-mannered and respectful gentlemen. They were in school with a young Marine from my church who is heading to Afghanistan soon.

The Armed Forces have long been a great option or opportunity for Black southerners who sought travel, training and career stability.  To serve under this commander-in-chief is particularly sweet for some but let’s hope the two major theaters of war don’t become quagmires.

To the lady at the Town Hall meeting on T.V. who angrily said she wants “her” country back, I would remind her that people who look like me provided free labor that built the South after this contiunte was stolen from the Native Americans.  Secondly, brown, red and black troops have served honorably in high numbers in front line/combat units for decades.  So, think before you speak (shout) because “this land is your land…. this land is my land….this land is made for you and me.”

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Beer Summit with the film Lakeview Terrace: Teachable Moment

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , on August 1, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Samuel L Jackson’s movie Lakeview Terrace blew me away last night.  I watched it on Starz on Demand and wonder if a beer summit among friends, neighbors and associates could include watching this film before a discussion on race, the police and community peace. 

We all talk a good game about p.c. stuff and “love thou neighbor” but sometimes the guy next door is just a complete jerk.  Jackson gave a great performance (like Denzel in Training Day) because it is rare for me to cheer when a Black guy gets shot but I was so glad when his character was lifeless on the pavement (not to say I like seeing other people get shot…calm down.)

Maybe there is a difference between being racist and being race-conscious.  To me, race-conscious involves understanding the racial climate around you.  For example, if I go to the Post Office after hours and the only other person getting mail is a non-sista woman, I find myself pausing until she comes out because I know she might have that “I hope he is not going to rob me” look.  Hey, if you live in Dixie, you know the deal.  On the other hand, if I pulled up to the P.O. and a sister was inside with a non-Black guy, would I think she should have been more cautious?  What if he had that bumper sticker “If I knew in was going to be like this, I would have picked my own dam cotton” on his truck.  Who knows, they might have been together.

If you think about it, Americans have a constitutionally protected right to be racist in their personal thoughts and beliefs.  The problems occur when those thoughts become discrimination in actions.  Did Dr. Henry Louis Gates racially profile the White police officer?

Lakeview Terrace also starred Obama supporter Kerry Washington.  Sorry Angelina Jolie, Washington has the best lips in Hollywood and my community acknowledges her right to be involved on and off camera with whomever she wants—it’s a free country…in theory.  Jackson played a real rogue cop with a chip on his shoulder.  I did respect his effort to control the worldly things exposed to his children but he was wrong for slapping the daylights out of his daughter for shake dancing.  Control freaks should avoid being married and having kids. 

Lakeview Terrace is a real teachable moment for many reasons.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNPLbjtrkEw&feature=PlayList&p=15717E2E8321AEE4&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1

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Elite Blacks: From Adam Clayton Powell to Henry Louis Gates

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , on July 28, 2009| 1 Comment »

An old friend from Capitol Hill sent me the following email about the subgroups in Black America.  Among Black males in the Georgia delegation in the 90s, the guys would often turn to me for a certain angle because I was familiar with a range of “us.”  In other words, I did not want for anything as a child but I still had a valid Hood card.  My boyhood home was in a subdivision that was/is “hood adjacent” so I can swing if I need to and would have done a better job mama-talking than Henry Louis Gates.  In my town, the second “your mama” came out of someone’s mouth, dude was about to get slammed on the hard pavement or that G.A. red clay.

T
Did you happen to catch the Black in America II special? I was inspired to see our younger folks exploring that entrepreneurial spirit. However I was also disturbed by our wealthy brothers and sisters establishing cliques based upon status. To me it sends the message if you were born with the silver spoon you are in. But if you were not, too bad, and by the way our door is closed and we are not going to help you get in. But if you somehow do gain wealth (hook or crook) then you are welcome. For me and you I am not so concerned, but in the case of my younger brother I am. He has consistently been at the top of his class and is destined to be a great achiever. But unless he scores the big dollars he can’t get into the club. That is pure BS!Your thoughts?

 V 

Once and for all: fancy folks don’t necessarily related to non-fancy people who look like them and humbly-raised southerner Bill Clinton might actually have a more valid Hood card than Barrack Obama.  Remember, Obama was raised in Kansas and Hawaii by some of the nice people you will ever meet.  Clinton came from rough and rural Hope, Arkansas.  Have you ever seen the picture of Bill Clinton shaking hands with President Kennedy at American Legion Boys Nation in 1964?  I was a Boys Nation alternate in 1981so I have always like that photo and noticed that the young man in the picture waiting to shake hands with Kennedy is Tom from Sylvester, Georgia, my hometown.  Tom became an All-American football player at UGA and a surgeon but Bill Clinton had him crying in the dorm at Boys Nation.  Clinton was campaigning to make history by electing a Black kid from California the first Black Boys Nation President but Tom said he could not make that vote because Blacks were genetically different from White people according to the teaching at his high school. 

 

Bill Clinton and JFK

Bill Clinton and JFK

 

I remember this story because Ted Koppel did a show about it on Nightline in 1994 when the Boys Nation class of 1964 reunited for their 30th anniversary with a member in the White House. 

Gates, Obama, and children of Blacks who are third and forth generation doctors and lawyers have grown removed from the experience and culture of Blacks on the other end of the socioeconomic range and I am proud of Black parents who have provided better living for their children.  Some of these Blacks are unaware of poor Whites struggling and there are Whites who never knew that there have been presidential quality Blacks in America since America became America. 

As a kid reading Jet and Ebony magazines, I questioned the loyalty of Adam Clayton Powell and Thurgood Marshall because they did not looking me but I was so wrong because MLK just presented the whole “content of their character” thing.  Powell was a Harlem congressman who grew up as Black elite in New York and my daddy would tell us stories with pride about attending Powell’s father’s Abyssinian Baptist Church with it’s 5000 members.  Congressman Powell never lost his connection to average people in Black America because he was always in the restaurants and barbershops teaching and listening

 

Rep. Adam Clayton Powell

Rep. Adam Clayton Powell

 

In “The Autobiography of Malcolm X,” Malcolm said that Powell told him in a Harlem barbershop that the poor people’s march on Washington was taken over by powerful people from outside our community.  Originally, the protest was designed to be poor people laying down on the steps of the Capitol and the runways of the airport.  But, some money guys came in with a peaceful plan and some big checks..with equally big checks to follow if the plan was executed properly.  The rest is history but think about it: the civil rights movement was not about poor people solely.  It started with Blacks who served in World War II returning home and wondering why they fought for freedom overseas yet did not enjoy fair opportunity or fair treatment at home.  When you look at pictures from the civil rights movement, you see neatly dress and well-groomed people protesting their systematic denial from the America middle class.

Who knows what the next phase will bring but I keep hearing that line from the old Police reggae song “One World is Enough for All of Us” that said “we can not sink while others float because we are all in the same big boat.”  Many successful Blacks are weary of certain elements inside the Black that hold back progress or actually reverse past gains.  I saw Chris Rock’s wife taking the kids to Africa on “Black in America II” and had to think about Rock’s standup routine that started, “I love Black folks but I am……”  CNN’s Black America II was nothing new to most Blacks because we all know about the Black clubs and institutions that did not want Blacks darker than a brown paper bag or those without “good hair.” 

V, we both worked as congressional staff together and knew that most Black Americans assume that the actions of Black members of congress were driven by the best interests of America in general and Black America in particular.  We knew that some of those members were primarily concerned with securing campaign funds to keep their high-profile jobs.  You know I like Obama, Artur Davis in Alabama and Harold Ford Jr. because they expanded the issues of concern for Black America to include every federal issue.  They are standing on the shoulders of Rep. Sanford Bishop and that generation of CBC members who were freshmen in the 90s.  The next generation of CBC members (in my opinion) should included more diversity from the center and even a conservative or two.   A conservative member might choose to skip membership in the CBC like former members of congress Gary Franks and J.C. Watts but we realize that there is a subsection of Black America more interested in business development and self-determination than governmental intervention.  That is nothing knew because a sizable portion of Black America has always felt that way.   

 

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Henry Louis Gates Arrest, Healthcare and the 80/20 Rule

Posted in politics, tagged , , on July 27, 2009| 4 Comments »

If the Gates arrest is a “teachable moment,” we must remember that not everything needs to be said and discussed in front of everyone; like the Congressional Black Caucus’s real talks about real problems and real solutions behind closed doors.  What we studied in high school about Jim Crow, de facto and de jure still needs unfortunate consideration when talking with youth (Black, White and Brown) about dealing with the authorities and preparing those youth to be law enforcement. 

My friend M has created a sociological concept she calls the 80/20 Rule (created or forgot where she read it.)  Under M’s rule, the 20% of a group or demographic does things that dramatically impacts the 80%.  For example, this blog constantly covers with a certain about of distain the worst 20% of “us” whose actions burden the community and nation as a whole.  The law-abiding 80% seems feted up and is ready for change. 

Another 20% could be the best among “us” like Dr. Gates—or would that be W.E.B. Dubois’s Talented Tenth.  Because they achieved so much in the face of adversity, they should be rewarded with decent treatment before they leave God’s green earth—like Mrs. Jane Pittman drinking from that “Whites only” water fountain in a pubic park.  Are we making slow progress forward as a culture or will the questionable actions of the worst 20% justify an actually reversal of gains.  Are the top 20% of “us” putting our children in private schools to avoid the worst 20% of “us” and an undetermined percentage of the nation that functions under preconceived notions about “us.”

I have still another 80/20 rule case: the worst 20% of any cultural or racial group in the country will scary the daylights out of the other 80%.  The people on the T.V. show Cops who are more interested in having a pre-jail cigarette than what they just did to their battered spouse trips me out. The A&E’s Invention shows that no groups has a monopoly on self-inflicted hard times.  I can’t call it but generally the 80% can’t give up on the 20%.  Colin Powell wrote in his first book we needs to reinstate shame in this nation—notice he said we. 

On healthcare, the 80/20 rule drives an ethical debate about living choices and coverage.  While many medical concerns are natural, what do we say to those who think that 20% of sick people made decisions (smoking, eating, drink, not exercising) that created their conditions?  I don’t know the stats but those people account for much of healthcare claims.  Will healthcare reform reward the 20% that makes a deliberate effort to live healthfully?  Worst-case scenario: obese guy drives up to an E.R. center in an insured new SUV but he has no health insurance.  Do no harm works both ways.        

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_facto

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Dr. Henry Louis Gates and Soledad O’Brien Discovery My Black America

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , on July 23, 2009| 7 Comments »

What do they call a Black man with a PHD?   You know and it is a shame. What’s worst is that my parents told me that as part of the obligatory “don’t get to comfortable with certain folks” talk.  Dr. Henry Louis Gates did not listen to the warning that President Obama’s election would not change America overnight.  That warning came repeatedly from Obama himself, Rev. Jackson, Rev. Sharpton and everyone who really knows what’s what. 

The whole “I can’t believe this happened on Harvard Square” thing tripped me out because Malcolm X told us that the South is everything south of Canada and he lived in the same Boston.  Bill Russell said he did not play for Boston but for the Celtics after people got so ugly when he moved into a certain neighborhood.  Can you believe that someone broke into his home and defecated in his bed then covered it with the comforter?  That was wrong; as wrong as someone who looks like us robbing Mrs. Rosa Parks in her home.  I wish she would have done like Pope John Paul II when he was shot and pointed the guy out in a spirit of forgiveness at the Million Man March.   While she is a forgiving person, the street in me would have smooth hung my Rockports in his behind.

I love me some PBS with those long projects by Ken Burns but Dr. Gates series about who is related to White people kind of tripped me out—like those Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemming family folks.  I don’t want to know so I stop my people when they start that talk or I leave the room because I see those people in the post office everyday.  We are not talking about generations removed from the drama because sharecropping (the last part of slavery) did not end until the mid 70s. In other words, there are big farms in my community that got big because the labor was free then systematically cheap.   

The USDA/Pigford case is addressing discrimination problems that grew from the county committees deciding who would farm and who would farm for someone else.  The progress in Black America that is chronicled by Dr. Gates and Soledad O’Brien might be reversed by the current generation of softer, less focus, bling-preoccupied youth. 

So the mayor of Cambridge is a sister and the president was a little rough on the police.  Rather than taking Dr. Gates class or attending his lecture, the young Black, White and Brown guys need to catch me on the tennis court after the matches for my class “How to encounter the police and live to talk about it.”  Repeat after me, “Officer, I was wrong” while remembering the event for a possible lawsuit.       

Finally, what up with Soledad’s CNN Black in America; like she discovered Black America last year. “I have found this fascinating group of people living among us called Blacks and it turns out they are different in many ways from other Americans.”  Soledad, Gates and other Harvard Blacks (who outnumber Morehouse, Spelman, Hampton and Howard in the current administration) don’t know our community as well as the Arkansas connection that came with Clinton in the 90s—Black and White.  Don’t start that “who’s blacker: Barrack or Bill” nonsense because that was answered this time last year. 

On a side note, I am really starting to think President Obama made a deal with Hillary that he would push real reform and let her have it in four year unless he was wildly successful.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Thinking about locals vs. the college community turned me to two classic film scenes. And Good Will Hunting was set in Boston. 

 Spike Lee’s School Daze: KFC —-Language Warning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNOfAFUT4xU

 Good Will Hunting Apples Scene —Language Warning

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

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Blacks Who Actually Vote

Posted in politics, tagged , , , on July 20, 2009| 6 Comments »

On Meet the Press this weekend, NPR’s Michele Norris made an interesting point about Americans and the Healthcare debate.

MS. NORRIS:  But outside of the Beltway there’s an interesting data point here that people involved in the process talk about, the fact that some 90 percent of the people who voted actually have health insurance and three-quarters of them are satisfied with what they got.  And there’s different ways of looking at that.  And one way to look at that is to say that perhaps there is not the public mandate for this that would dictate this sort of rush to legislation, and that’s going to make it harder to make that point and sell that when they, when they…(unintelligible).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31982038/ns/meet_the_press/page/4/

If that stat is correct, 90 percent of actual voters have health insurance and most of them are happy with what they have.  The debate should focus more on affordability rather than universal coverage but U.C. is important to prevention costly conditions and to stop people from using the E.R. as a doctor’s office.

The numbers of issues voters decide for people who don’t vote amazes me.  All of the good work we (Capitol Hill Democrats) did for struggling Americans during the Clinton years should have made Al Gore’s election a cakewalk.  But certain folks don’t vote; don’t vote but are busy messing up the nation. 

As they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease and who are the squeaky wheels…voters.  And who are the most squeaky wheels—those tea partiers.  They are doing it big down here and in the court of public opinion, those voices register because they are bring stats and facts to the table. 

Here is a new stat for the discussion: what is the percentage of non-voters should we give a rat’s ____ about?  (Wow, that is a rough question and it ended in a preposition.)  Some voters would say zero percent while the compassionate might say 100%.  In the barbershops in my community, people often say it is hard helping people who won’t help themselves or vote.  In the end, reasonable people are concerned on some level because the actions of everyone ultimately impact are safely and financial well-being.  The “most real” guys in my neighborhood break it down so hard as to say that the answer for assisting poor people is to limit the number of poor people…China style.

An old friend who is a conservative sister asked me about their efforts/failure to approach the Black community seven years ago—where did the time go.  I told her then what I tell her during our weekly telephone policy debates: most members of her pachyderm party don’t want people unlike them around in the same way they sometimes use private schools and home-schooling to get away from certain elements. 

Michael Steele’s efforts to attract more minorities would drive away equal numbers of members who join to get away from those he is seeking to attract.  Not so fast; conservatives in the South are comfortable in the pachyderm party without “us” in general but they need a few percentage points of BWAV (Blacks Who Actually Vote.)  These people don’t realize that the average person you see getting arrested (Black or White) on Cops doesn’t vote and BWAVs experience the worst affects of the worst elements. 

If we consider how the Right plans to take power again, the answer doesn’t involve appealing to current moderates or centrists.  Oh no.  As quiet as it is kept, the answer is to employ the politics of fear to scare non-voting Whites into a defensive posture about losing their country…. “You better start voting Right or else.”  Being a southern, I know it could work because history has a way of repeating itself.  (I was going to type “the apple don’t fall too far from the tree” but decided against it.)

For the last time (today), our community needs better/more representation on the Right…mark my word. 

 

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Media Alert: Kids Swim in Pool

Posted in politics, tagged , on July 13, 2009| Leave a Comment »

I needed to read or see something a little positive in the morning paper today after a summer of local drama followed by local mess following by local controversy—“can’t we all just get along.”  The answer is no and our local mess is making other community more appealing to industry and businesses.  I think that Tifton and Valdosta have drama also but their community leaders attempt to resolve issues as gentlemen and ladies first with a courtesy phone call or email rather than providing the fodder for those who love negative energy.  It is that simple. 

So, I looked at the front the of the Albany Herald today and I see kids swimming in a nice pool but not just any pool.  The facility for a swim camp conducted by local private school was the pool at HBCU Albany State University.  Cue the obligatory chant: I love my A.S…I love my A.S….I love my A.S.U.  So the private school kids are on the other side of town swimming while national drama is jumping off at a pool in Pennsylvania.

When I was those kids age, the ASU Swimming Team under legendary coach Obie O’Neal was winning Black College National Championships.  O’Neal was a classic gentleman who always carried himself well.  I might be wrong but was he a coach on the ASU football team that was undefeated, untied and unscored upon. 

Seeing those kids in that pool made me think about that Dorothy Dandridge biopic with Hallie Berry where Dandridge was singing at a Vegas hotel and put her toe in the hotel pool before a swim.  So the hotel management tells her that she was not allow to swim there and they drain the pool….because of a Black toe. 

People would be surprised by number of locals who never stepped foot on a city’s Black college campus but we must remember that all Georgians own that campus as well as UGA and Georgia Tech.  I won’t go into the whole “my folks built Georgia for free” thing but I hope those kids (Black and White) will feel a little more comfortable after a positive experience at their local university.  As a sidenote, my other college, Darton College, hosted a large basketball tournament this weekend so it is good that some locals when across town and got familiar with that school also.  Someone might graduate from D.C. in a few years after being first exposed to the campus while watching a b-ball game.

But, what about the local business that flag UGA and FSU stuff on their walls without consideration to the local economic impact of ASU’s students and faculty—get some Blue and Gold flags. To their credit, the local chamber of commerce is highlighting the benefit of ASU and DC benefit as they should because heaven knows Black college students can spend some money—delayed gratification…please…our kids stay trendy in fashion and live up in Applebees and Ruby Tuesdays.

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Obama, Denzel and Matthew

Posted in politics, tagged , , on July 1, 2009| 2 Comments »

You know how we like to call a film star by a character’s name for the rest of his life.  Matthew Broderick is Ferris Bueller to me forever. If I see him in a mall, I will say, “Ferris, what up.”  In that movie, Ferris got away with any and everything while his dumbfounded sister watched with amazement. 

Politics and policy is like than sometimes and we the public fail to understand the smooth Ferris-types of the world.  Are you Ferris, his right-seeking sister or a gullible member of the supporting cast?  Here’s a spoiler: at the end of the day more often than not, Ferris comes out smelling like a rose. 

Broderick also starred as a Union officer Colonel Robert Shaw in Glory.  I am still ticked that Denzel’s character got whipped for getting shoes.  “Ferris, why Denzel can have a pair of shoes.  That’s plain nasty.”  A guy name Keith from Albany played a freed slave in the movie; I knew him from escorting debutantes in high school.  I would have made a much better slave that curly-haired Keith but they would have been whipping me next to Denzel because I would have gotten some shoes and a coat.   Kidding aside, General Sherman hated freed slaves following his army and did not like Blacks in general. 

I just rewatched that whipping part of Glory and remembered that a Black man is the current president of these United States– only in America.  Denzel in movie after movie can have that look on this face that says, “One day.”  The rapper Jadakiss had a song with Anthony Hamilton called “Why” in which he walked around saying out loud whatever came to his mind.  That was a big mistake in my opinion because you don’t pick public fights with powerful people are you will end up with a FBI file, IRS audit or toe tag.  I was grooving to Jadakiss’s flow until I heard “Why Bush knock down the towers…Why Hallie Berry had to let _____ to get an Oscar…why Denzel had to be crooked before he took it.”  To be honest, Denzel’s Training Day Oscar was really for his collective body of film work and Russell Crowe’s performance in A Beautiful Mind was better.  Yes, I said it—the White dude got robbed like everyone in the Color Purple got robbed on Oscar night. 

Jadakiss, rappers and bloggers are free to write what they want but it is silly and wrong to think a modern American president would be involved in an attack or repulsive action.  (I said “modern” because, you know, slavery, Trail of Tears.)   In the better part of that song, Jadakiss said, “Why it’s a brother up North better than Jordan, didn’t get that break.”  I could teach a youth group for an hour off that one line…what happens to a dream deferred…

A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Do you remember when Andrew Young as an elected leader was expected to attend a traditional dress-up Civil War era ball and he decided to wear a Union uniform rather than the Grey of most attendees.  That was a classic smooth move.  While writing here, I have sought to make a smooth move by supporting the centrist idea that southerners could come together to improve opportunities for our region.  But like Ferris’s sister I was naïve because bickering and conflict is in our DNA.  Political parties and race are secondary to the mother’s milk of politics and policy—money.  My high school econ teacher told us that he read a book in grad school that traced every major historic event back to money. 

People can talk a good game but I for one will publicly state here (like anyone actually reads this stuff) that blogging or political ideas for me boils down to professional opportunities–money–who moved my cheese.  Rich fancy folks are going to be rich fancy folks and the rest of us will eat the leftovers or the crumbs if any.  Bitterly blogging or seeking the big payback is a toxic way to function in life.  Some folks are not in the game because they were not effective when the opportunity presented itself in the past—so goes life.

Last night, I was thinking about the unpleasant nature of my blog writing and for some strange reason my mind turned to Ferris Buller…Matthew Broderick…Matthew, the book in the Bible.  While I am relatively weak in my faith, I read Matthew on my cellphone Bible. 

 Mat 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them.  Wow, talk about your timely stuff.  I really should have been more attentive in church for the last 40 years.  I even backed up and read the Beatitudes because while the Democrats are too free with the checkbook, President Barrack Obama is such good person and I hope he is successful—like I hoped the same for all U.S. presidents.  He really needs to hear more moderate/conservatism in his ear.  That could come from reasonable Republicans, moderate Democrats or surging third parties.  We will see but I plan to change my vibe….and read my cellphone more.

 Mat 6:2 When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men.  Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.     

 Mat 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.  For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you. 

 Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 

 

You don’t need to have all the votes to affect an election—go ask Ross Perot and Ralph Nader.  Hopefully, the sensible center will use our ability to sway elections to encourage the bitter partisans on both political ends to peacefully come to the table with constructive intentions.  I am back sounding like Ferris’s sister because if you are watching for some folks to “change” you will be awaiting a while.

 Jadakiss: Why

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIcQR66PYCg

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Real Obama Change and Black Professionals

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , on June 29, 2009| 4 Comments »

Be careful what you wish for because real problems and real solutions might cause a dramatic change in your professional and financial life.  But, good Americans want what is best for the nation—right.  President Obama is a great guy but you know he really is balancing hard solutions with the grim reality that some core supporter won’t like what needs to be done. 

Teachers give a sound effort but the public school system needs fundamental improvements.  Those improvements actually start with people having kids when they are prepared to raise properly developed, responsible children but politicians can’t say that or they will be accused of genocide or something.  So, teachers who were trained to teach subject matter find themselves as surrogate parents, social workers and role models (the same can be said about police officers.) 

What if we embrace that concept and train teachers for the roles need to be play in young lives.  I am thinking supplements similar to coaches for more men in lower graders and retired military in upper graders.  How many kids in certain areas grow up without a strong male in their lives and preacher are not doing it because people are half going to church.  One strong male in a boy’s or girl’s life could plant that positive seed and I included girls because too many are only exposed to the shady, weak guys their mothers dated—if you can call that dating.  We need male and female teachers who are firm yet fair and who can consistently get students to buy into the importance of developing their minds.  If teachers can’t do that, they should seek other employment.

Healthcare professionals (doctors, administrators, nurses) should stop defending their wallets and realize that big changes are need in their field.  The health care debate should include their input as much as the government and insurance companies but like teachers the first thing out of their mouth is don’t reduce their incomes.  It alls comes down to cost effective performance and results

We often forget about the avenue into the Black middle class provided by the military.  The armed services gave many a son and daughter of the South the opportunity to secure their financial futures and see the world.  We need to hear from them more about what works and doesn’t work with the Pentagon’s use of defense contractors and when nation-building and regime change crosses the line.  We care about people in Iraq and Afghanistan but should not forget about Idaho and Alabama public works projects.  With net base education and distance learning, down time in the war zone might be a good time to earn degrees and credentials for post-military careers in law enforcement and teaching.  Little Johnny won’t “bow-up” so fast on a no-nonsense teacher with combat experience and the girls in the community could learn a lot from a vet who is deliberate in her actions and fully-focus.  Luckily, these troops to teachers and troops to cops programs currently exist and should be expanded.

I am confident fair people will accept changes or “corrections” for the common good in the same matter that people in the auto-making and banking industries were forced to grasp rough realities.  As President Obama has repeatedly stated, now it is time for the hard part to being.

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Come On People: the Cosby Book

Posted in politics, tagged , , on June 26, 2009| Leave a Comment »

As we consider the next steps in improving the community, the book Come On People by Dr. Bill Cosby and Dr. Alvin Poussaint is a must read. Here are my highlights from this firm and real book.

cosby

Come On People: Notes

p. 36             Although few acknowledge it-who would?- the doctrine of white supremacy has sunk deeply into the minds of too many Americans, black people included.  It has slithered its way into the psyches of poor black youth with low self-esteem, who equate academic success with whiteness.  And if success is “white” then are we saying that to “act black” is to fail?

p. 103 Dr. George McKenna Now when we underachieve, we compare ourselves to some other underachievers and celebrate being the best of the pitiful.  And that, ladies and gentleman, is a definition of insanity.  When you create an alternative reality and believe that where you are is normal, you’re insane.

We see a lot of alternative reality in Compton, kids who pride themselves on saying, “I will walk like this.  It won’t get me anywhere, but I’m a big man in a mall square and I will kill my fellow brothers over land I neither lease, own, rent or pay taxes on, and call in my turf.”

p. 108-109 We are all worried sick about the high school drop-out rate of greater than 50 percent in many of our cities- with higher rates for black males than females.  In Baltimore, for example, about 75 percent of black males do not graduate from high school.

As a result of such stupid decision, our jails overflow with your black male high school dropouts.  A year of college at a state school costs the state about ten thousand dollars; a year in jail costs about twenty-five thousand dollars.

p. 110 We have to copy the methods of successful schools in low-income black communities.  Positive examples exist in cities around the country.  It is not enough simply to add tougher courses or more homework.  Schools succeed best when the entire “school culture” is changed to support success instead of failure.

Education reformers report that the core components of effective schools are: a sense of purpose, clear standards, high expectations of all, a belief that all students can be educated, safe and orderly environments, strong partnership with parents and caregivers, and a commitment to solving problems.

p. 195 FACE THE FACTS HEAD-ON   Here are some unfortunate facts: Black youths are six times more likely to die from homicide than white youths and seven times more likely to commit a homicide.  During the last thirty years, close to 50 percent of the homicides in the United States have been committed by black people, mostly black men, and 94 percent of the victims of black killers were black.  Is this crazy or what?  Homicide, in fact, is the leading cause of death among black males between the ages of fifteen and twenty-nine and has been of decades.

p. 211 In 1954, the year of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, about ninety-eight thousand African-Americans were in prison.  Today, there are nearly ten times as many black people in prison.  According to the Sentencing Project, 32 percent of the black men born today will go to prison at some point on their lifetime.  In 2005, 4.7 percent of all black men were in prison, compared to 1.9 percent of Hispanic males and .7 percent of white males.

p. 218 Charles Ramsey, former chief of police in Washington D.C.    Let me just give you a picture of some of the issues that we’re confronted with.  First of all, let me start by saying that we’ve got more decent kids than we have bad kids.

The fact often gets overshadowed because we focus on the negative, and rightfully so, because we do have a serious problem out here.   But we have to continue to support those youngsters who are trying to do the right thing.  We also have the reality that we have a significant population of young people that is totally lost.

p. 224 TAKE ANY LEGITMATE JOB       Parents and caregivers, have you heard a kid say, “Well, I can either flip burgers or go out here and make real money selling drugs”?  When you hear that, do you stop that child and say, “Wait a minute, fool.  You don’t flip burgers for the rest of your life.  You flip them to become the manager of the place.  You flip burgers to move from manager to owner of the damn franchise”?

You have to say this to your kids more than once.  So do their teachers.  If the kids give you lip, ask them to identify a middle-aged, home-owning drug-dealing grandpa with a family that loves him.  That will keep them quiet-and busy.

Please remind your young people that there is no shame in hard work.  All work is honorable and makes a contribution to society whether that work is as a janitor or an astronaut.  An unpleasant job usually leads to a better job as young people develop working skills that are useful on any job, including the ability to work with others and be punctual.  The unemployment rate for black people is twice that of white people- this has to change.

The truth is that if we all showed more respect to blue-collar workers, there would be less rejection of so-called menial jobs by our youth.  If there was less rejection, kids would see that one job leads to another as the worker gains experience and basic workplace skills such as cooperating with others, taking orders, and keeping regular work hours.  By not giving up hope and persevering against the odds, many succeed.

p. 226 The high cost of childhood poverty is tragic.  It is estimated that children who grow up poor cost the country five hundred billion dollars a year.  Poor people do not contribute sufficiently to the economy, and the health and criminal costs that grow out of poverty are enormous.  Experts argue that we can counter poverty levels by extending the earned income tax credit to more low-income workers.   But don’t overlook the word earned.  If you don’t earn it, you don’t get it.  Our children are in great need, and we cannot afford to squander any opportunities.

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Former Senator Sam Nunn on Results

Posted in African Americans, Georgia, tagged , , , , on June 23, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Former Georgia Senator Sam Nunn made a lot of sense on NBC’s Meet the Press this weekend.  I have always considered him the standard for southern moderates who must balance the interests of vastly different groups inside the same political area. 

Regarding President Obama’s position on Iran, Senator Nunn said:

FMR. SEN. SAM NUNN (D-GA):  Well, he said that the regime has been unjust and he has condemned the repression, and he has basically expressed over and over again, including long before the election in the Cairo speech, that the people had the right to be heard and their voice should be heard.  And certainly, I don’t think there’s any mistake whatsoever in the Middle East or anywhere else that President Obama is basically supporting the right of the people to vote and to make their influence known and not to be repressed.

You know, Winston Churchill said a long time ago that no matter how beautiful the strategy, occasionally you have to look at the result.  The result here is that we are not the story.  We have been the great Satan over there for the last 30 years.  We’re not the story.  Freedom, liberty is the story, the repression of the regime is the story.  So I think we’re positioned about right. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31463249/ns/meet_the_press/page/2/

I am feeling that Churchill quote about looking at the results because at the end of the day it is all about results.  The U.S. foreign policy cowboy mentality of telling most of the world what to do as if they are children was wrong and cloaking our corporate greed in foreign policy based on exploitation was also wrong.  Nunn has Obama’s ear and we are lucky for that because Nunn is going to call it like he see it with patience and deliberation.

Party politics was no big thing to Sam Nunn because his dedication was to the people of Georgia first.  The Black community in Georgia should look for the next Sam Nunn type.  Of course, we need to do it like we do it with our own version of conservatism that grows from churches and stable Black homes and businesses because the GOP establishment really doesn’t have a clue about the average Black person. 

Improving Black America starts with real talk about the decisions we make—what you put on your proverbial plate.   After years of having a sizeable Congressional Black Caucus avoid saying publicly that really needs to be said, our community should look into some conservative and moderate options that would get at what ails us.  It is about results and getting the results we voted for last November will require electing some Republicans who will fairly debate policy and spending with the White House. 

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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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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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Formula for Black Georgia: C and D after A and B

Posted in politics, tagged , , , on May 23, 2009| 9 Comments »

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.)

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