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Six Points: Stacey Evans or Stacey Abrams for Governor

Posted in politics, tagged , , , on September 14, 2017| 1 Comment »

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We should look at the political situation in Georgia by the numbers…my numbers.  Of course, the two Staceys –Stacey Abrams and Stacey Evans would be the first two numbers and all other numbers are relative to them.

Point #1:  Stacey Abrams is positioned to win the Georgia Democratic primary for Governor because Whites exited the party for the GOP.  Most Georgia Democrats are Black voters but that doesn’t or shouldn’t mean that they would vote for a Black candidate simply because she is highly qualified and looks like them.  Other points and factors need to be taken into consideration…primarily endgame.

Point #2: Stacey Evans stands a better chance of actually winning the general election.  An Abrams victory in November would require turning out Black and progressive voters in historic numbers.  Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton didn’t get the Black numbers Abrams would need to win without a certain percentage of the Non-Atlanta vote.  Ms. Abrams strong statement about sandblasting the Confederate memorial off Stone Mountain means that working class Whites who once voted for Dems as labor union members won’t be voting for her.

Point #3: We have three Georgias.. Metro Atlanta; the five Other Cities (Augusta, Savannah, Macon, Columbus and Albany); and Rural Georgia.  At this point, the battle for Georgia starts to feel like the American Civil War..the classic oxymoron.  In the War Between the States, the North had superior numbers but the South had farm boys that grew up hunting and killing outdoors…better troops.   Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” opened with a 1967 quote from Thomas “TNT” Todd that stated “Yet our best trained, best educated, best prepared troops refuse to fight! Matter of fact, it’s safe to say that they would rather switch than fight!”

Blacks in the South have the numbers on paper to change everything politically on the local, state and national levels.  For some strange reason, the segment of the community most affected by public policy refuses to vote.  Middle class Blacks are growing weary of fighting political battles for them.  The matter is exacerbated by the opinion that certain Blacks aren’t striving for success…that the hip hop culture has inadvertently perverted the Black American dream.

Point #4: The “Head of the Snake” theory created by this writer is that a snake can be six feet long but without it’s head, the rest can do nothing.  Actually, this idea relative to Blacks comes from Dr. W.E.B. DuBois’ s Talented Tenth.  What would happen to southern Black voting power if the most successful quarter of Black voters functioned as a separate unit?  Of course, we would still care about all southerners of every race but could tip the scales of elections in either major party.

Point #5: Endgame.  The ultimate goal isn’t success for a political party or race.  The goal is forming a more perfect union… a union that started on the corrupt foundation of human bondage.  The more direct endgame is wrestling control of the White House from the scary segment of the Republican Party.  The Public Enemy quote above ended with “they rather switch than fight.” In 1967, Todd was referring to assimilation of Blacks with Whites.  Today, we are at a cultural crossroads..many Blacks are put-off by the criminal element of our race; some Whites are just learning about the meth-loving element of theirs.

At the end of the day, it all comes back to the lyrics from the Police’s song “One World (Not Three).”

“I don’t want to bring a sour note

Remember this before you vote

We can all sink or we all float

‘Cause we’re all in the same big boat.”

Georgia is a big boat and our next generation of leaders needs to be about the business of more jobs, better education, growing the economy and competing in a global market.  A focus and prepared labor force are vital and international businesses want to locate in a place without ongoing historic drama.  How in the world is the head of Germany the leader of the free world rather than the president of the U.S.A.?

Point #6: Post-election Staceys:  The political blogging community thinks Stacey Abrams is destine for national fame—this contest and the governorship are stepping stones.  Some wonder if she could be congresswoman after Rep. John Lewis retires but I think that is small potatoes for her.  Abrams will be the head of the D.N.C., national leader of the Progressive Movement or host her own MSNBC show in the future.  On the other hand, Evans won’t leave Georgia for D.C. because she is a mom.  Remember, members of the General Assembly with children normally seek higher offices in Atlanta because flying home from Congress on the weekend is rough on parenting.  After public office, Evans will likely land in a Georgia based international law firm…balling on the next level.

Point #7: The Elephant In the Room:  Since Georgia is a red state for now, the next Governor might be decided in the GOP primary with little involvement from the Black community.  However, the abovementioned most successful quarter of Black voters could tip the GOP primary to the most reasonable Republican candidate…if there is such a thing.

We need to discuss these points now on the grassroots level.

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Trump and Jeff Davis High School

Posted in politics, tagged , , on August 16, 2017| Leave a Comment »

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More than football and hip hop, we must develop an understanding of politics and governing.  It’s a matter of life and death.  First, I am not angry at President Trump for being exactly who he said he would be nor am I ticked off at Republican voters for using him to keep Hillary Clinton out of the White House.  I am overwhelmingly pissed at my community for not voting in five or six pivotal states.

Oh, non-voting Blacks escorted Trump into the White House and handed him the nuclear codes.   Our Black –sses will be the first ones drafted into an ego-driven Trump war.  Being drafted by your nation puts you in an awkward situation.   My brother was in the Vietnam War while we weren’t allowed to swim in the local pool or check out books from the library—for the record, he volunteered.

We know that the victor writes history and I have fairly felt that the South in the American Civil War was the most dangerous threat to the United States—more than any power from Europe, Asia or the Middle East in history.  But, I don’t put military personal in the same category as political leaders normally (notable exception being Nazis.)

To me, General Robert E. Lee was a gentleman who strategized for a wrong cause.  Remember, Lincoln offered him command of the Army of the Potomac but his heart was with Virginia.  So, if we are talking about military skills, Robert E. Lee, World War II German General Erwin Rommel and William T. Sherman get military praise.  On the other hand, I am glad Lee and Rommel were on defeated sides and Sherman was so nasty to former slaves during his March to the Sea.  Confederate Lt. General Nathan Bedford Forrest was brilliant on the battlefield but helped found the Klan after the war.  Why do Black guys play football with Jeff Davis County High in Georgia?

Spending 25 years in military service could have been a great career for me but I wasn’t prepared to hear who the president or pentagon saw as the enemy—not while Mandela sat in a cell.  Much of America’s military focus was and is based on the financial interests of fat cats.  America never respected self-governing in Africa or the oil-rich Middle East.  There are some people with legitimate reasons to dislike us but terrorism isn’t the answer.  Blacks in south Georgia see the Klan as more of a concern than the ISIS.  Oh yea, why do we get upset when folks in the Middle East try to have a faith-based government but the conservatives in America seek to do the same thing with our Christian faith.

It never crossed White southerners’ minds that items honoring the Confederacy would be hella offensive to the Black population…the same Black population who built the South for free. But, I say don’t remove anything nor level any Nazi concentration camps…lest we forget.  I am writing this blog post on Lee Street in a small southern town and the street wasn’t name for Bruce Lee.  Finally, Dr. Martin Luther King is turning over in his grave about the trashy ways we carry ourselves on streets name for him…where the good weed can be scored.

To this day, I think Donald Trump is a world class opportunist who never imagined actually winning the White House (which brings forensic examination of his shady business dealings.)  But, his followers on the far Right knew what “take this nation back” meant to them.  They should hug him tightly and not let him go.  Normal Republicans have a few months to figure out how to remove him from their ranks…and when they try, it’s going to be on and popping.

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Scriptures and Southern sayings

Posted in politics, tagged , , , on July 9, 2017| Leave a Comment »

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Scriptures and southern sayings do more for you than the government.  The roles of the federal and state governments need to be reexamined during this non-election year.   My idea is that the best life doesn’t depend on what governmental officials do and we need to hear some of them say that.

Free Milk and a Cow: The Georgia Satellites use this saying as the central theme in their hit “Keep Your Hands to Yourself.”  Beyoncé sang something similar in “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It.)”  Grandmothers once taught girls to hold “the cookie” hostage until a young gentleman (literally a gentle man) presented a long term, whole life package that included caring for future children.  America will always provide a little temporary food assistance to needy families but the government is not now nor should it be your baby’s daddy for 18 years.

2 Thessalonians 3:10-15: Paul broke that thing down in this letter.  “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.  For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all but are busybodies.  Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work and eat their own bread.  But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.

And if any man obeys not our word by this epistle, note that man and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet, could him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

Society wants to help the needy but how do we have young parents who are too cool to flip burgers and toss watermelons.  But, you love your kids so much.  Hogwash.  We grew up with parents who had a job and a side job.  Paul’s “Disorderly” would be current thugs but Democrats shouldn’t consider them as the enemy…just brothers who never learned the right way.

Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime: You help those who help themselves.  Unfortunately, we have a large number of half-raised people in this country.  Georgia Governor Nathan Deal was surprised to discover the amount of money our state spends on corrections.  I love calling the prison system “corrections” because that is what it is.  If a fraction of that money could have been spent on better college, technical schools and K-12, we would need less funding for corrections and have fewer crime victims.

Know who you are and whose you are: Back in the day, our community had pride.  You represented yourself, your family, your community, your race and your church in everything you did.  In his first book, Secretary Colin Powell wrote that we need to bring the concept of shame back in America and I agree.  If your kids are hungry but you won’t pick tomatoes as a job, you should be ashamed.  If that same person plays Xbox all day, he should be ashamed.  If you sell dope on the corner which poisons the community and creates a violent illegal commerce, shame on you.

Look, the American way should be an equal opportunity at success for everyone..a fair shot. If you blow off your shot with your actions (playing in school, disrespecting your family, being lazy), you are messing up an opportunity slaves and sharecroppers would have died to have.

They did die to have the right to vote but too many people in our community blow off voting.  Wait a second..the same young people getting temporary assistance don’t vote. Amazing.  The Trump Presidency is reality and  his plan is simple: Reduce government assistance to needy people, they can do the work currently done by illegals…the work Americans won’t do.

Black Lives Matter: Okay, I always thought this movement should have been Black Lives Matter Also but what do I know.  It’s not saying that other lives don’t matter..they do.  As a southern moderate, I find the progressive movement to be a little aggressive with the whole “what government did and what corporate America did” thing.  But, I was hyped to see a You Tube video say Black Lives should matter to Black people.

 

Yes, sir..there it is right there.  Jesus said one of the two greatest commandments was love your neighbor as yourself but you don’t love yourself.   If we took care of our community, the government would be secondary…”defend the borders and deliver the mail” is one more southern saying.

Oh, liberals don’t want to read this blog’s year-long treatise the Best Interests Initiative.

https://bestinterestsinitiative.wordpress.com/long-term-bii/

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America Could End!

Posted in politics, tagged , , , on March 22, 2017| Leave a Comment »

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America could end.  Really?  This great republic might go the way of Ancient Rome if we are not careful.  We know that the nation stands on a shaky foundation( stolen land, stolen Africans) but it’s still the best country in history.

We should remember the line from President Lincoln’s first inaugural address regarding the “better angels of our nature.”  I could go back to Paul who wrote in his first letter to the church at Corinth ”Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you: but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement.”

Oh, there are crazy divisions in America today: Republicans vs. Democrats, Voters vs. Non Voters, the Haves vs. the Have Nots, the two coasts vs. the everywhere else, Black vs. White, Brown vs. Whomever, Christians vs. Those Who Are Wrong (ok, the last one was just fun.)

In the Democrat Party, we have a division of Real Liberals/Progressives vs. Black Rural Clean Cut Southerners.  First of all, this writer thinks of the Dem Party as the party of inclusion while the GOP is the party of exclusion/marginalization.  My Republican friends generally feel they know what is best for everyone—with limited input from everyone else.  I grew up in the Dem Party that included New England and West coasts liberals, Blacks, working class union members, and White Dixiecrats.  Those Dixiecrats were still mad that Republican Lincoln reluctantly freed the slaves.

Hillary Clinton lost the election because the Dems didn’t court Black southerners or working class rural Whites.  Remember, Blacks are the back bone of the Dem Party from Virginia to Texas.  But, the D.N.C. spent most of their time trying to get undocumented Latinos citizenship so they could vote in bloc for the blue.

The DNC is about the business of convincing the heartland to agree with liberal policies rather than listening to our brand of moderation; that moderation is the only hope of getting back the working class White vote.  To Trump’s credit, he was all ears for blue collar voters who are struggling because Trump’s corporate buddies shipped their jobs overseas.

Dilemma: The southern Black rural agenda isn’t important to either major political party.  The national Dems are siding with Socialist Bernie Sanders.  While dude is a cool guy, give me, give me, give me isn’t the answer for Black America.

I will give you what you need and it won’t’ cost a penny in federal spending.  You need to carry yourself in a way that doesn’t depend on who is in the White House or governor’s mansion.  This self-reliant  mentality is rooted in Black nationalism from Marcus Garvey to Malcom X to surprisingly Justice Clarence Thomas.

In the 2018 elections, the Dem will be D.O.A. if they don’t come up with something fresh for my community.  We need to build a network of trendsetters who ensure that the message is clear and plain and that we know the importance of voting.  Of course, this bloggers thinks it starts with ideas and concepts outlined in https://bestinterestsinitiative.wordpress.com/long-term-bii/ .

It took a series of missteps and errors for the Dems to drop the White House with a quality candidate like Hillary Clinton.  If the Dems Team doesn’t appreciate the rural moderates and centrists, we might need to explore swaying elections in the Republican primaries because their candidate selection process seems to be based on arrogance and superiority.  When there is no action in the Dem primaries, I vote in the GOP primaries to assist their more reasonable candidates.  Remember, the Black voting power in the South could sway most elections.

Yes, America could end if we aren’t careful and the fall will started when too many Americans feeling the nation isn’t fair for them.

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Southern Rural Democrats: AstroTurf vs. Sod Grassroots

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , , on December 19, 2016| 1 Comment »

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If politics and public policy are like grass, the Democratic Party is all about AstroTurf.  Yes, the fake grass design for the inside of ballparks is a fitting comparison for the fake grassroots of the Blue Team and one of the primary reasons we have been hammered in elections for the last 20 years.

20 years ago, most rural whites in the Dem Party decided to bounce for the GOP. The remaining Dems lived on the two coasts and in big cities.   To me, a winning national political party has a big tent that is tolerant of diverse views.  The current GOP seeks to be a ruling class that makes decisions for everyone without everyone being at the decision-making table.  The Democrats aren’t much better because they make elitist policy directives in headquarters then spend the election season trying to convince their so-called base to fall in line.

For what it is worth, marketing expert Donald Trump listened to the people and told them he would give them what they wanted—if he can or will is another question.  At the end of the day, it’s about jobs, the economy and federal spending.

Grass is like the community in so many ways.  If you think about it, grass is one of the most common organisms on earth.  In addition to being ornamental, grass secures the top soil.  My brother and I cut an acre of lawn grass with a push mower as kids for years.  Today, I have to convince the lawn care professional with his 5K zero-turn riding mower that grass should be 3 inches.  Long grass has deep roots that stores water and blades that protect roots from the southern sun.

Southern Democrats aren’t cultivating deep, strong roots.  Strong grass will fight weeds by consuming nutrients first.  Oh, you shouldn’t think your lawn will be nice because you have a fence.  Weeds from your neighbors’ yard quickly blow into yours.  In other words, we build strong communities together; trash down the street will be your problem if not addressed.

In south Georgia, lawns are plagued by a tall “V” weed with black seeds at the top.  Newsflash: that’s not a weed.  It’s a grass from Brazil called Bahiagrass that farmers brought to the U.S. for cattle feed.  You must know Bahia to fight it and the Southern Democrats must know the community to improve it.  As the Bible says, you reap what you sow.

What shall we do?  My community should get back to basics; we must reembrace the self-determination of the 1950s.  At the end of the day, the government can’t save you from you.  In the age of Trump, we should cultivate the community with positive personal actions rather than waiting for the government (local, state or federal) to correct problems of our creation.

We should spend the next year focusing on listening to the people and having frank discussions about the limited role of government.  Oh, the liberal elites in the Democratic Party don’t want to hear that.  The DNC and those who wanted a different president-elect spent over a billion dollars and got waxed.  Van Jones pointed out that most of that money went to rich Ivy League types for media buys and T.V. ads while regular folks were expected to do grassroots for pennies or for free.

The Democrats should be cultivating sod right now.  Sod is the rolled top level of grass grown on specialist farms.  It’s often genetically engineered for that region to be pest resistant and to spread eventually.  If you paid for sod and let your grass grow tall and deep, you spent less money on grass cutting.  While strong grass might need cutting ever three weeks, weeds will popup overnight.  If you fall on Astroturf, you will get burnt because it’s not natural…not organic.  You can ask Hillary Clinton about that.  That Donald Trump had a message tailor-made for every area and his people ate it up.  You can’t design southern Democrat grassroots if you grew up in the city—the concrete jungle.   You must ask the people who they are and what they need…if you have a solution, tell them.  If you don’t have a solution, tell them.  If their actions are the root of their problems, tell them…carefully.

My organic friends and I have a southern grassroots sod crafted for over a decade and every two years the Dem elite say “no thanks…we got this.”  No, what you have is a trash-filled yard over-taken by weeds.  They put astro-turf over that mess every other November and wonder why that doesn’t work.  They shouldn’t be surprised if ignored rural Moderates start looking elsewhere.

Our sod (less government solutions) can be found at  https://bestinterestsinitiative.wordpress.com/long-term-bii/

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Hillary vs. Trump: Wife vs. Bride

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , on November 6, 2016| 1 Comment »

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I want to summarize this crazy election year.  Hillary Clinton is a great person who should be president.  Donald Trump is one of the best marketing experts in global history; the guy is a genius.

There is a difference between being a bride and a wife.  A bride is a woman who does an outstanding job of putting on a wedding or getting someone/everyone to marry her.  A bride looks good in a fancy dress and is stunningly graceful on her wedding day.  A wife is a lady built to be part of a healthy union until death does them part.  Wife material is built for the long haul rather than one day.

Some of the best brides don’t stay married long; the relationship was based on the big day only.  She just wanted to be princess for the weekend.  Some of the best marriages involved good husbands and wives who went to the courthouse.

It’s not about Clinton and Trump; it’s about us.  Bride Trump sold himself to the Republican base better than all of those people on the primary stage.  Jeb Bush, John Kasich and maybe Marco Rubio would have been good presidents/”wives” but they couldn’t get to the chapel pass Trump.

Democrat rock stars (the Obamas, Bill Clinton, Al Gore) shouldn’t have to beg and cajole Black people to the polls.  Oh, if Blacks alone would vote in the South and Midwest, this election would be over.  Hell, Al Gore never should have had a hard time with George Bush after the wonderful state of the union created by Bill Clinton.

If Black America doesn’t think it’s important to protect Obama’s legacy by electing a brilliant proven leader like Hillary Clinton, we deserve to go back to the future with Mr. Trump and those who want their country stolen from the Indians back.

Yesterday, I learned the saying “you can’t teach what you don’t know…you can’t lead where you won’t go.” Hearing the childhood story of Hillary Clinton’s mom broke my heart; they left her alone in an apartment for weeks.  Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney use to say soldiers don’t get medals..they get scars.

Hillary can teach what she knows because she has scars…she knows the plight of working people much better than Mr. Trump.  We shouldn’t hate on Trump for never being poor but he is ill-suited to govern.  House Speaker Tom Foley use to say “any jackass can kick down a barn but it takes a carpenter to build one.”

After this election is over, both parties will consider their futures.  The two billion dollars spent being ugly could have done some much good.  The GOP knows they must court minorities while pulling back from the far right.  The Democrats know the Bernie Sanders socialist segment is growing. At the end of the day, Black should conduct our lives in a manner that doesn’t directly involve who the local, state and federal leaders are because they are busy being brides rather than wives.

 

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Appreciation for Candidate Trump, the Georgia Opportunity School Board Amendment and Path to the Black Middle Class

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , on October 5, 2016| Leave a Comment »

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We will work together as brothers or perish as fools.  Lawd, I evidently have a wide array of friends and this election season has created a civil war on my facebook page.  As Rodney King famously said, “Can’t we all just get along.”  Hell nawl  .

This country was built on a shaky foundation—stolen from the Natives, stolen labor from Africa, women were second class citizens.  At some point, there would be a correction or reconciliation.  Of course, those who benefited would be reluctant to change.

Donald P. Trump didn’t create the current climate.  Hell, Trump is a professional personality—more P.T. Barnum than anything.  The guy is an opportunist who recognized the anger of a certain part of the population…a part of the population that really has nothing to do with him.

I appreciate Donald Trump for saying out loud what others are thinking.  Basically, they want their country back—the country they stole fair and square.  The country that affords certain privileges based on skin color.  (Oh, don’t act like African Americans didn’t do the same thing inside our race…running behind redbones, so-called good hair etc….cast the first stone, my brother.)

Malcolm X often taught that progress starts with putting your true feelings on the table—even if you are considered wrong by others.  If he was with us today, he would hate Trump’s views of Islam but appreciate him saying what was really in his twisted head.

To me, the biggest supporter of Hillary Clinton for president is Donald Trump with a properly functioning microphone.  Mr. Trump, please continue to speak your mind.  If Trump becomes president, those who Democrats seek to help deserve whatever the blank happens to them because they didn’t vote.  I don’t like being separated from my brothers but my brothers vote.

I also appreciate the debate surrounding the Georgia amendment that would give the governor’s office the right to privatize or closed under performing schools.  First, many of these schools are in our communities and kids should have good educations.  However, this horrible amendment is a Trojan Horse; a hidden effort to open up school choice.  Again, Malcolm X acknowledged men and women who spoke their minds rather than those who had undisclosed agendas.

Actually, school choice is a debate we can have because parents should have the options of moving their kids to private schools with a little of their money or teaching them at home.  Personally, I think homeschool kids are too sheltered but that is just me.

Our community must vote because leaders make decisions involving everyone based on what they hear from the few who vote and speak up.  The same people seeking to get their nation back with Trump are also trying to figure out a way to keep their kids away from certain kids and certain teachers.  It’s the resegregation of the school systems.

Let me say something rough: many schools are jacked up for real.  However, I am the only one who will honestly say that poor schools start with poorly prepared kids and parents.  Oh, the school is a lovely building and the teachers well-trained but rotten, half-raised kids will deflate the spirit of teachers and poison the educational process for the majority of youth.

Some kids are raised by the streets and crime-oriented sexy music videos.  They don’t know how to focus in school because video games have spoiled their minds.  Of course, we could focus at school because we learned how to pay attention at church.

We should consider the path Blacks have taken into the middle class. If you think about it, the surest way into the middle class for many Blacks was government work: the military, civil service, nursing and most of all teaching.  This election is an attack on that path because a Trump White House would make the military risky for everyone, the state governments want to privatize civil jobs and the Opportunity School Board Amendment would lead to private companies running schools.  Those companies would replace experienced teachers with new educators who cost less.

 

Bottomline: Good communities, schools and nations don’t happen without honest debate, focused people and hard work.

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Trump, Clinton, Kaepernick and Condoleezza: A More Perfect Union

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , on September 14, 2016| Leave a Comment »

It’s not about Trump or Clinton at the end of the day.  It’s about you…me…us.  Those two rich people will be just fine.  Americans need to decide what they want from our government relative to what our government can or should provide.

As strange as it may sound, my community might improve after having Trump in the White House because every family will officially know that the government is operated by people who won’t be doing much for you.  We all know parents who did so much for their kids that the children grew up soft and dependent—give me, give me, give me.  On the other hand, other kids come from families who struggled to put food on the table.  These kids started grinding the second they became adults and never looked back.

The fundamental question about the government safety net programs is this: is it fair to tax those hard working Americans to help those who are too “cute” to do entry level work.  So, you are too cool to pick fruit or flip burgers but you have no problem having other people feed your little kids.

At the end of the day, improving your life starts with you…not Trump or Clinton.  My friends come from across the political spectrum.  We must work together to write the next chapter in American history.  America isn’t perfect…the only perfect anything ever on this earth was Jesus in my opinion. But, we still strive to “form a more perfect union.”  This nation was constructed on a shaky foundation because all men here were not created equally.

I will always love my southern homegirl Dr. Condoleezza Rice.  Dr. Rice rightfully said that racism is America’s birth defect.  Oh, that “blank” was deep.  So, quarterback Colin Kaepernick started a national debate that should help some people understand that something to you might be something completely different to others.  At the same time, the glorification of crime and guns in some hip hop hurts my community more than the current Klan…real talk.

Let’s do this before the election: we should have a cool forum series around a conference table on what we should do in the Black community moving forward.  Clinton and Trump will spend billions getting at each other but see if my friends and I can fund this project.

Condi Rice: Racism “Is a Birth Defect” We Will Never Be Free Of – Do You Agree?

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Hillary Wins Georgia If the Grassroots Are Real…Fingers Crossed

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , on August 23, 2016| 2 Comments »

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Black grassroots

In Georgia, the Democrats don’t seem to care about Democrats outside the cities…Atlanta, Augusta, Albany, Macon, Columbus and Savannah.  No candidate can win Georgia statewide without cultivating some rural areas—keep it close in the country and go over the top in the cities.

However, the Dem elite in D.C. and Atlanta only see metro Atlanta as the big prize.  Then, these geniuses meager efforts outside Atlanta consist of running radio ads produced in Atlanta.  If not for the far Right being nutty, the GOP could have capitalized on Dems ignoring rural southerners.  They want statewide candidates who can self-fund so their fancy Buckhead cohorts can get paid consulting fees and media buy fees.

The area from Warner Robins to Thomasville to Brunswick to Statesboro produced some nice numbers for Obama twice but there is little buzz here now…no fire.  If Hillary Clinton wants to win Georgia and if someone else wants to be a Democrat Governor or Senator, it starts with not ignoring big sections of the state this year.  My friends and I are never called but we have been in the middle of the grassroots mix for years.  A recent Washington Post article states that Atlanta again would be the target of Dem campaign monies.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-campaign-to-devote-more-money-workers-to-arizona-georgia/2016/08/09/46150062-5e2e-11e6-8e45-477372e89d78_story.html

 

The question becomes this: how long will southern rural moderate Democrats be ignored before we start exploring other options.  Hey, if Dems can’t win in my region, shouldn’t I consider the less crazy of GOP candidates during primaries.  Why do you think this Democrat voted in the Republican GOP primary for John Kasich….to avoid this: President Trump.  If all of Georgia and the nation doesn’t vote, the President Trump nightmare might become reality.

If not for Blacks in the South, Bernie Sanders would be the Democrat nominee.  Donald P. Trump might still be president because his side is about to release two months of hell on Hillary Clinton.  Some of that mud could turn off Clinton Dust Belt voters but southern Blacks will be down with the Clintons and Obamas.  However, we don’t need a zillion dollars in T.V. ads…half a zillion will do.  The other half zillion needs to be used in good old Get Out The Vote with a social media twist….party with a purpose.

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Southside of the Tracks: Us vs Them

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , on July 27, 2016| 1 Comment »

Wilson's Chapel UMC Rural Setting

Us vs. Them and this side vs. that side has me weary.  I am on the side of right.  But, we should consider the plight of the southside today…southside of town, of the state and of the nation.  Oh, it’s an issue because the governor wants to control schools on the southside, Atlanta feels it’s carrying South Georgia at times, and the America South doesn’t get the respect it deserves.

Traditionally, southern towns were divided by railroad tracks and my community was on the southside.  Some of us wax nostalgic for Black businesses, Black schools, and Black neighborhoods.  Was integration a two edged-sword?  The November ballot includes a constitutional amendment to create a so-called Opportunity School District.  The OSD would be a statewide district and the governor’s appointee could closed an underperforming school or privatize it.

In many cases, the schools on the list are the last neighborhood schools on the southside of their towns.  Schools, hospitals and governmental buildings often serve as institutional anchors of an area.

In many Georgia towns, the battle isn’t northside vs. southside; it’s city vs. county.  Let’s be real, southern White people love owning land; I like that myself.  If you have several acres in the country, it seems like your own kingdom or estate.  Fox News and conservative talk radio have those people retreating to their forts…guns in hand.

If you notice, the new schools are in the county or on the outskirts of town because the White exodus left a Black center.  “Wait a minute I might live in the county but my tax dollars pay for too much…federal, state and local. I should still control the city.”  If you are a millionaire in the county, Kesha who works at the plant has more pull in town than you…if she would only vote.  The money-having White minority who live in town controlling everything would be American apartheid.

On the state level, Georgia’s governmental power struggle is between Metro Atlanta and North Georgia.  The governor and a disproportionate number of leaders are from North Georgia. The reason why is simple…they vote every time up there.  South Georgia seems like an afterthought.  Newsflash, every dadgum body can’t live in the Atlanta….and that statement comes from people living in Atlanta.

Nationally, the South has it’s own vibe/favor.  I am going to scream if I continue to hear and read “urban” as a synonym for “Black” in the news and on BET.  Blacks who live in the country want to be in the country.  We should be approached differently than our cousins in the city.  If not for racism and lack of employment, many of those city Blacks would love being back in the piney woods.  If they sold their ATL McMansions and got acres in the county, where would current county folks flee to next?

There is a growing sentiment that the Democrat establishment cares more about the LBGTQ community and the undocumented Latino community than southern Blacks.  Bernie Sanders would have beaten Hillary Clinton if not for Blacks in the South.  I don’t agree with my friends that think all Blacks wanted from the election of Obama was for him to be Black….that’s bull.  We appreciate President Obama’s service…period.

In summary, we must vote, speak up and stay vocal because the squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you don’t vote, you have zero right to complain about President Trump’s view of the southside…typing President Trump was difficult.

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Democrats and Republicans/Sanders and Trump: For Granted or For Granite

Posted in politics, tagged , , , on May 23, 2016| Leave a Comment »

The 2016 presidential race will be decided by who is taken for granted.  Five groups are in the political arena: the traditional Democrats, the Bernie Sanders liberals, the traditional Republicans, the Trump revolutionaries, and registered voters who might stay home.  If you check history, the side that gets out it’s base while securing the center/moderates wins, i.e. Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan.

“For granted” could be a pun of “for granite” because the foundation of a political party should be etched in stone…rock solid.  In 2016, nothing is rock solid. First of all, Hillary Clinton better not forget that Blacks in Dixie won the nomination for her; Sanders was winning all over New England, the Rust Belt and with the liberals of the Pacific Northwest.

When it’s time to set the Democratic platform, we better see some southern pine planks.  The fear is that Sanders and his people will demand some socialism that pulls Hillary too far left.  The Democrats shouldn’t be surprised that Sanders isn’t a team player because he isn’t really a Democrat.

Of course, the traditional Republicans are pulling out what remains of their hair because Trump is a loose cannon.  They risk permanently damaging their brand if he is the leader of their party but his folks might bounce like Sander’s people if he is disrespected.

The voters who might stay home are primarily Obama supporters who registered to make history in 2008.  About history, Obamacrats need to know that his historic gains would be reverse quick, fast and in a hurry by Trump.

Trump and Sanders created successful national agendas from the bottom up while the two major parties normally sit in D.C. offices and create the agendas—top down. Well, the people have spoken and they like the unconventionality of Trump and Sanders.  Newsflash: you can tell voters you would do this and that if in office but actually doing that stuff is impossible or improbable.

The Trump and the Sanders folks need to consider the hip hop axiom “be where you are celebrated..not tolerated.”

The Bible says in Psalm 118:22 “the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”  The side that takes granite for granted will watch their political house fall in the Fall. Black folks have been granite for the southern Democrats but who calls the shots…who is at the table when the money is counted…who gets crumbs after the big dogs feast.

Finally, I want to explore what happens to Black people if Trump becomes president.  Democrats give Blacks a false sense of hope; “the government is going to fix your life.”  We know Trump isn’t “studying” us and that’s the reason our community might be compelled to improve on our own if he was in the White House.  In a strange twist, that man in the Oval Office could bring out our best by necessity.

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Everything in Black and White: Absolutes are the root of evil

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , on January 5, 2016| Leave a Comment »

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The reduction of absolutes in our daily thinking would improve our functioning in the world.  A new friend recently explained that she tries to limit “absolutes” because she isn’t judgmental.  Of course, she when on with biblical references and might have tossed in Tupac’s statement about God and judging.  Whatever, my big takeaway or teachable moment came from the absolute part.

The dictionary defines absolute as “free from imperfection, complete, perfect; free from restrictions or limitations.”  If you think about it, ignorant people like Donald Trump walk around all day talking about “all” this and “every” that.  For the record, Trump is brilliant…he just plays dumb on T.V. to build his brand.

As a Black southern kid, I knew I had to be mindful of absolutes because many southern Black minds are restricted by self-imposed limitations.  “Why you talkin’ White….we not supposed to play tennis…we play football and basketball…we ‘posed to struggle….you got to wear the latest style.”

Would someone please tell the ignorant that fashion comes and goes but style remains the same…furthermore, fashion is a cruel scheme created to separate you from your little money.  Often, people with sensible style use saved money to buy HOUSES…but you just keep on making Michael Jordan and Michael Korrs rich.

Speaking in absolutes indicates your mental limits and I can write that because people like that wouldn’t read 200 words down into an article or blog post.  (Smile)  Let’s talk about them.

Every and All Examples

All Black folks like chicken and basketball.  (I happen to love both)

All Jewish people have money.

Every Black person is looking for a handout.

All Blacks with nice cars are selling drugs.

All poor Whites drink Mountain Dew.

All Asians are good at math.

All Muslims are terrorists.

All Christians aren’t terrorists.

All women date for money.

All money is evil.

Everyone should worship like you.

Every White person is exactly like the few Whites you have met.

Everyone in the hood is up to no good.

Everyone in a fancy community got there from fair dealing.

All teachers really want to do another job.

Everyone must pay to play.

All hip hop is bad.

All hip hop is good.

Every man cheats…a man is going to be a man.

All politicians are shady.

All guns are bad.

Every southern White person wants to still own slaves.

All limitations on Blacks come from Whites.

Everyone in the world is out to get America.

Everything the U.S. government does in the world is good.

All Mexicans want to take my job.

All Frenchmen want to take my wife.

Nobody wants my wife…including me.

Everyone in the Pacific Northwest is a candles and sandals liberal.

All Republicans are evil.

Blacks are never conservatives.

No White southerners are Democrats and they couldn’t wait to get the hell out of a party with Negroes.

Everyone in a hoodie is a thug.

Everyone who loves NASCAR wants their country back.

All Indian store owners smell funny.  (Newsflash: you smell like what you eat and your pork eating –ss smells funny to them…but they thank you for getting them rich.)

All gay people are trying to recruit you because you are irresistible.

All lesbians had daddy issues.

All ugly White women can find some Black or Mexican guy to date them…. (I better stop here)

All successful Black women should consider dating the above mentioned White woman’s equally ugly brother because all Black men are in jail, gay, broke or cheaters.

All preachers are good men.  (Some are called…some just went.)

Every woman in high heels is a floozy.

Every woman in low heels isn’t a floozy.

All private schools are better than all public schools.

All social media is evil.

All wine is bad for you….read your Bible.

All pickup truck drivers are rednecks….must stop now, need to go wash my truck.

 

This humorous list could go on and on but the point is made.  We must think with more understanding and complexity.  “All” and “every” could be replaced with “most” or “most that I have met in my limited life.” You know the real deal is this: people with mental and cultural limits don’t realize how dumb they are and get used by manipulators time and time again.  Businessmen were at home when the Klansmen were doing their dirty work…well, some were right there in the mix.  Some rappers are negatively shaping our community’s culture while other folks reap the benefits.

Everyone should be mindful of what they say out loud.  The Trump supporters aren’t new…they just decided to say out loud what they had been thinking for years.  Malcolm X would have thanked them for their honesty because honesty is the starting point of most productive dialogs.

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Confederate battle flag: Steer Clear and Thanks

Posted in politics, tagged , , , on June 25, 2015| 1 Comment »

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How little people know about people living near them.  As a Black southerner, I am a descendant of people who built America for free against their will.  This land is definitely your land and my land.  The Confederate battle flag is a part of our collective history…as was my “X” hat in college.

Firstly, there should be a difference between a flag in places that represent all citizens of a state and individual recognition of heritage.  Since the beginning of human interaction, you have had winners and losers and winners write history.  How did the southern states imprint parts of the CSA into southern governments after they were defeated in war?  I won’t go into comparisons with Germany, Nazi and swastika but you get the point.

Consider this: why should we remove indicators of our trouble past when our present is also troubled.  If I go into my pantry and remove all the labels on canned goods, it wouldn’t change what’s inside.  For the record, Blacks and Whites can be racist and to some, Black racial mindfulness is somewhat understandable.  My point is change what is inside first.

Malcolm X use to say he had more respect for a man who tells him how he feels (even if he is wrong) than for a man who smiles in his face but who is evil.  During my youth, I read Black nationalist information and came to appreciate the “do for self” mentality.  There was a time when rocking an X hat made certain folks steer clear of you.  Good.

I often steer clear of folks with the Confederate battle flag but I in some way appreciate their display of how they are thinking.  You wanted a group to win a war and if said group won, I might be a slave today.  From a military standpoint, real history buffs can intelligently admire fighting techniques and efforts of the Confederates and the Nazis but haul ass from around me with that “I wish they won stuff.”

Remember also, Whites in the North weren’t fight for equal rights for Blacks.  Many of them just wanted to stop the expansion of slavery because slave did work for free that Whites wanted to be paid to do.

In D.C., I saw a bumper sticker that said “If I knew it was going to be like this, I would have picked my own dam cotton.”  A friend once said life is too short to argue with fools.  A fool believes America would have been a great power again Spain, England and France without years of the economic boost of free labor.

I also steer clear from certain Blacks with their own indicators but that’s a topic for another day.  Project Logic Ga continues it’s Best Interests Initiative and hopefully reasonable folks will get to know the opinions of others.

My Congressman Austin Scott was courageously interested in changing the Georgia flag when he was in the state legislature.  I bet he is singing a different tune today…he isn’t whistling Dixie because the Tea Party is a beast.

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Respect Authority? Texas Pool Party and Mr. Jesse Walker

Posted in politics, tagged , , , on June 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

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An incident between the police and kids at a pool party in Texas recently is going to spark another debate about authorities and the Black community.  As part of the ongoing Best Interest Initiative of this blog, I write this post with the freedom and law section in mind.

At first glance, it appears that kids were having a pool party and likely over-invited too many friends.  The police might have been called after a fight.  To me, the neighbors called the police when so many dark faces showed up in their enclave.  Those who grew up Black in the American South were constantly mindful of risk from being us down here.  Kids today seem to think racism and bigotry are over in part because we reach the point of having a Black president.  But, if you asked President Obama if racism was over, he would smile that smile that really says “Negro, please…if you knew half of the ugliness I face for having a brown face.”

So, there might have been too many kids in the area at the pool party and the police decided to take control of the situation.  Of course, I think they would have been smoother if all the kids were White and to be fair I think kids (Black and White) in groups can have smart mouths around their friends….we were the same way at times back in the day.

If I had a son at that party and the police said go home, he needs to start home and call me if he feels his rights were being violated.  I have respect for parents who would say their child doesn’t need to follow a police command that seems unfair or unlawful.  I wanted my Black child to come home every night.  I don’t want him or her in the morgue, the jail or the hospital.   If that requires flexing your rights on some level, we will take that up with our attorney.  The ensuing lawsuit might pay for your college education.

As a side note, I am watching a long interview with Minister Louis Farrakhan in which he said that former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani wasn’t wrong in stating that 93% of Blacks are killing by other Blacks and that 75% of crime in New York City takes place in Black areas.  Of course, the minister and mayor disagree on the root causes of those problems but there are Black people who wonder why there is such uproar when the police kill someone while we kill each other in the same area all the time for silly reasons.  Yea, but the police still should know better.

At the Texas pool party, a policeman was using really inappropriate language when the confused kids didn’t move fast enough for him.  He later put a girl in a swimsuit on the ground in such a violent manner that most fathers would have pulled up swinging on him.  The police ended up pulling this firearm on the upset crowd.

Both sides of the incident will come out this week but kids need to know when to dial down or defuse situation when dealing with authority.  When I was in junior high school, our band director was Mr. Jesse Walker, a brilliant man of music.  At the time I didn’t know that Mr. Walker was teaching life lessons as well as music.  He was a Black man preparing the Black kids for life in a White world and preparing White students to acknowledge a cool relationship with someone from a different part of time.

Well, I got too much of that life stuff at home and I was simply there to play trumpet.  But, Mr. Walker, a military veteran, knew it wasn’t about the destination as much as the journey.   We were taking yearbook photos in uniform after school one day and all the Black guys changed gear in one classroom.  At band practice the next day, Eric informed Mr. Walker that his watch was misplaced and asked that the band keep an eye out for it—he never said anything about stealing.  Mr. Walker said something about stealing being wrong and said he wanted everyone who was in that room to stand up.  I will never forget that he then said “Band, you are looking at thieves.”  Say, what?  He was talking about future advance degree holders, military leaders and a couple millionaires (I wish I was one of those.)

At the second he said thieves, I sat down because I was certainly wasn’t a thief and knew those other fellows weren’t.  Eric had a look of disbelief because he never wanted to put us in that situation.  The real issue here was authority and Mr. Walker needed us to respect authority but I wasn’t hearing that.   Today, I know that authority needs to be respect at the point of conflict and the incident can be taken up with a higher authority later—when cooler heads prevail.

Of course, my school teacher daddy was doing the same kinds of things in the agriculture building than Mr. Walker was doing at the band building.  To me, both of them were wrong.  Mr. Walker told me to stand up and I said I wasn’t standing up if those standing were thieves.  He took me into a back room and paddled but I refused to stand.  I got my stuff and walked out of that place crying but my dignity was intact.

I had to hear at home that Mr. Walker knew what he was doing and that countless kids had learned so much from being in his band but what he was teaching I didn’t want to know.  There is a fine line between tough love and humiliation.  Machiavelli and Malcolm X would say that the end justifies the means but no.  Eric discovered a hole in his band blazer a few days later; the watch was in the lining of the jacket the whole time.  I would return to the band if Mr. Walker apologized to me and the fellows in front of the whole band but that wasn’t happening.

Check this, guys who join the Army Rangers, Navy Seals, attend a service academy like West Point or who pledge a Black frat old school style learn about their personal steel and fortitude.  Anything that comes up after that in life is a piece of cake.  I would have been a better person if I learned to submit and trust the brethren.  I should have gone straight to a black college and join one of the elite Black fraternities as a sophomore.  My attempt to join one as a senior didn’t work because I don’t like people barking in my face.  I never married for the same reason.

1,000 words later, I end this post by referring to the Best Interest Initiative section on Faith.  I wrote there about Romans 13:1 in which Paul wrote about governing authorities.  Kids should develop the ability to determine when to confront and when to go home.  Senator Robert Kennedy said life isn’t worth living if you don’t have something worth dying for and Farrakhan likes to point out that the Boston Tea Party was a criminal act that led to the founding of this great nation.  In the end, pick your battles.  Telling the police that they are wrong might get you ended.  As we said in the 80s, they will put your head out.

Romans 13, 1-5.

1Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.2Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. 

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Hillary Clinton Seeking The “Cousin Pookie n nem” Vote

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , on June 2, 2015| Leave a Comment »

I missed President Obama talking about getting Cousin Pookie off the couch to go vote last winter.  The election results indicate that “Pookie n nem” stayed right there on that sofa, futon or whatever.  As Secretary/Senator/former FLOTUS Hillary Clinton ramps up her campaign, she must know that the actions of Pookie, Ray Ray and n nem in the fall of 2016 could tip the balance of the presidential election.

First, I declare my continued admiration for cool presidents Barrack Obama, Bill Clinton, JFK and Teddy Roosevelt.  However, Obama is all kinds of special with his coolness.  He is so cool that I support him in general when I would have personally preferred different positions on matters.  But, that’s cool because the American people selected him and I respect the process.  I even respected the Office of the Presidency during the Bush Administrations—something many of my Republican friends can’t current say.  I would like to add that not respecting  the process and ignoring laws that you don’t like is in my opinion un-American.

I keep hearing that President Obama will be on the “right side of history” about this and that.  He is that bold kind of guy but sometimes he is doing what he knows is right as opposite to what the nation in general wants….like Lincoln.   In college pol sci class, we called that a trustee elected official.  That trustee puts the information on the table and makes a wise decision.  Of course, we didn’t have the freaking internet information/new media machine in college and everyone wasn’t an expert on everything.

I know Pookie and Ray Ray n nem more and better than 95% of the politicos and staffers in Washington because I am part of nem (corruption of them.)  Since I was sent to political and financial exile in the “kountry,” I have been listening and learning like Napoleon.  I watch football on that same couch with Pookie before I went to vote but getting him to go is hard because the “Right side of history” Democrats seem to have less interest in the rural “we can’t win there” areas and more interest in needs of the Latino and gay communities….that’s what the homeboys are saying.

If the first Black president can’t get them to vote when he isn’t on the ballot, can the Dems count on that block in 2016?  If there is hope, it starts with listening to their concerns and explaining clearly and plainly what alternatives would be.  Scary them with the truth then take it back to the future.

Black moderates should be talking about a less government- involved community similar to the 1950s and 1960s.  Of course, the government is need to protect basic civil rights for all Americans but Ray Ray is starting to see kids coming up (not growing up) expecting the governmental safety net and that expectation thwarts personal development and achievement.   While we were under constant fear of domestic terrorism before 1970, we were grinding hard to improve ourselves—we were mindful about how we carried ourselves.

Democrats seriously having that conversation might get a few of those departed conservatives back.   But, efforts like the Best Interest Initiative never get  support and funding.  It will be “go find the preachers and tell them to tell Black folks to vote.”  Church folks will vote anyway but Pookie and Ray Ray n nem are going to needs something new and real.

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Cousin Pookie and Cousin Ray Ray: Presidential Difference-makers

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 1, 2015| Leave a Comment »

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Will the Black vote baton be passed from Obama to Hillary, will it be intercepted by an innovative elephant like Rand Paul (unlikely) or will it fall to the dirt?  With so much time before the presidential primaries, candidates have time to test and research new projects to reach all voters—run it up the flag pole and see who salutes.

Of course, all campaigns should be reading Project Logic Ga’s Best Interest Initiate because I have personally crafted a unique budget-friendly approach to many southern concerns.

https://projectlogicga.com/best-interests-initiative/

Recently, the Hillary Clinton campaign announced the hiring of LaDavia Drane, former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus, as outreach director and point person for the Black community.  Ms. Drane seems really bright and hopefully she will acknowledge the diversity of the Black community across this great nation.  To me, the CBC and BET has a thing about being “urban” this and “urban” than; like the Black community in Georgia is only the A-T-L.

Well, a quick look at last year’s elections would indicate that Atlanta Blacks didn’t care for Democrat candidates for governor and U.S. Senate who spent more time bragging about connections to old Dixiecrats and current Republicans than embracing the Democrat in the Oval Office.  Some of the time and energy spent trying to get the Atlanta vote out should have been spent on the rest of Georgia where Black voters are more moderate to conservative.  But, people sitting in strategy rooms in the DNC see Atlanta as a big juicy peach and the rest of Georgia as a pit.

Hillary Clinton could win Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia with ease if the suburban soccer moms support her.  It could be a national landslide for Clinton if that demographic was paired with most of the Obama voters but the uncertain segment of the Obama coalition is called Cousin Pookie.

President Obama coined the term Cousin Pookie for inconsistent voters.  Pookie would be the guy who voted for Obama during the presidential elections but didn’t vote for any other candidates on the ballot (i.e. the Congress that Obama needed).  Pookie doesn’t vote in midterm elections that often.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Starting tomorrow, you can vote too. You’ve got to grab your friends. You’ve got to grab your co-workers. You know, don’t just get the folks you know are going to vote. You’ve got to find Cousin Pookie, he’s sitting on the couch right now watching football, hasn’t voted in the last 5 elections, you’ve got to grab him and tell him to go vote.        

 

That Leader of the Free World Obama really cracks me up; he was so right.  But peep this: Democrats and Republicans should sit down on the couch with Cousin Pookie and ask him why he doesn’t feel the need to vote.  Wait a second, Pookie is over his mom’s house; a house purchased under a USDA first time homebuyers program.   He has countless friends who used military service as a ticket to a secure and better life.  Of course, Pok should be watching CNN during half-time of the football game because the wrong President could send those homeboys and homegirls in uniform into harm’s way for questionable reasons.

What would happen if Pookie was looking for CNN and came across Sen. Rand Paul, a GOP presidential candidate with some interesting views on prison cost and weed.  Paul is making a real effort at outreach.

In Georgia, Cousin Pookie might live in Hotlanta but he has folks from rural areas and the five or six smaller cities.  That would be Cousin Ray Ray.  Ray Ray served in the military after graduating from high school; he has never been in trouble with the law in his life.  When Ray watches the Democrats on T.V., he see a bunch of liberals who are breaking their necks to give free stuff to folks who have never show any personal initiative.  Actually, Ray Ray and his co-workers at the plant are pissed that their tax dollars are being used for more handouts than handups.

Cousin Ray Ray agrees with some of the conservative messages from talk radio in his F-150 or Ram with a Hemi but the next thing you know the talk about the President turns ugly and mean-spirited.

With so much time before next year’s election, the Dems and GOPers have time to listen to Pookie and Ray Ray.  Someone needs to come up with a fresh approach; something that’s about solutions and answers.  In the South, many Whites who voted for Bill Clinton are deep, deep into the conservative movement.  They are going, going, gone like a Braves home run.  To win, Hillary must replace them with suburban voters and rural Obamacrats.

I personally think the conservative movement has been hijacked by the most radical element but the Republican presidential nominee won’t need to say “they are sitting on their tailgates…listening to NASCAR.”  Oh, conservatives vote without encouragement and one voting conservative carries more weight than 1,000 non-voting Cousin Pookies.

There are those who think that listening to positive Cousin Ray Ray’s personal history and opinions will get Ray Ray voting and that Cousin Pookie should be listening to Fox News’ coverage of the GOP primary season.  If Fox doesn’t scare him off the couch, he isn’t coming off and Dems should let him feel the wrath of the Tea Party.

Naw, that wouldn’t be right.  I was reading about Esther in the Bible today and she said in Esther 8:6 For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction  of my kindred?   While the GOP isn’t exactly evil, some of them can be quite naughty.

Zora Neale-Hurston said “All my skinfolks ain’t my kinfolks.”  At some point, my community might need to spend more time and energy on the positive segments and less on Cousin Pookie.  In time, Pookie will get the message and decide to become Paul, Jr., an American voter.

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What’s Next Politically for Blacks in the South?

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , on December 14, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Blacks and Whites are in a world of trouble politically in the South; I don’t care what the election results say.  We are a house divided and it’s never healthy having political parties of one color. Never.

Steve and Cokie Roberts breakdown some amazing numbers and facts in their column recently but the essence is that Whites have left the Democrat Party in the South for the GOP and therefore the Dems are mostly Black.  The GOP in the South control most governorships and state houses but as of January, there won’t be a White Democrat in the U.S. House or U.S. Senate from the South.

http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2014/dec/11/steve-and-cokie-roberts-the-decline-of-the/?opinion

To me, elections could have been won if the people that the Clinton White House and the Obama White House sought to help would have simply voted and if the GOP far right wasn’t a well-oiled fear machine.

But, the reality is this: everyone better figuring out what is in our best interests and function accordingly.  It’s not in our best interests as southerners if GOP leaders win elections and the far right dares them to dialog with the rest of the population.  Perhaps, those people who Dems help who don’t vote will be forced into living differently when they realize that the people winning elections aren’t baby-sitting them. Hey, tough love or tough hate could get things moving.

Let me make it plain: the Black community needs to have a relationship with whoever is sworn into office.  Secondly, we need to have a frank discussion about living better without government being at the center of our universe.  Lastly, it might be time to sub-divide the interests of our community because we are spending too much time, energy and resources on a certain segment— a segment that needs everything but won’t vote.

Hillary Clinton would be a great president but the Dem Team better come up with a plan of substance.  If not, the door could be open for Senator Rand Paul or Governor Jeb Bush to secure the most productive selection of our community by finding something new and by telling the crazies on the Red Team to chill.  I hate to say it but our community might need to show numbers in the GOP primaries to select Republicans who are less nutty because that’s where the decisions are being made.

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Going Off: Post 2014 Election Analysis

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 5, 2014| 23 Comments »

The Democrats failed in the mid-term elections for reasons that were clear to most—except them.  I knew a year ago (no five years ago) that I would be writing these points today.

Money: Dems in Georgia raised and spent enough money for Nunn and Carter to win but they spent it in the wrong places.  Most voters are unaware of the cottage industry surrounding elections, an industry that centers on Buckhead in Atlanta.  First, you find a candidate who can raise tons of dollars with our friends then you hire our other friends to run the campaigns and still other friends to produce and do media buys for a zillion TV ads. How many people didn’t vote because they were weary from campaign ads?

The people inside this cottage industry won the election a year ago when they secured legacy candidates like Michelle Nunn and Jason Carter, rich fellows like David Perdue and sitting congressmen like Jack Kingston and a few others.  They had the money makers.

Better Money: If Nunn and Carter listened to seasoned cats like Sanford Bishop, they would have cut the media buy money by a third and put that money on old school street teams outside of Atlanta.  When the original Carter and Nunn were winning in the 1970s, the Dems knew to secure the support of old ball coaches, funeral directors, barbers, pastors and other community leaders.  These community leaders would put together teams of workers who made a few dollars.  Grandmothers would be so proud that their family members were involved and leading rallies.

I knew Michelle Nunn would make a great senator but her work history involving volunteerism concerned me from the start.  Black folks aren’t volunteering when they can see that you spent millions on T.V. ads.  They should have spent those millions on rally D.J.s and those free hot dog trucks.  Food and old school music will get the crowd out and that’s when you hook them with warmth.

Learning from Florida: There are two important lessons we can learn this election season from our neighbors to the south.  First, Gwen Graham won a U.S. House in North Florida by striking a correct balance between T.V. ads and community events.  Of course, she is from a famous political family but she rolled up her sleeves and pressed pressed pressed the flesh at dozens of free food events.  Hey, we like free food and Frankie Beverly music.  Graham took it home last week with a free Jimmy Buffet show…nice.

Secondly, Governor Rick Scott narrowly won reelection by running up the numbers in rural areas to counterbalance big Dem numbers in the Florida cities.  In Georgia, we have city Blacks in Atlanta, Blacks in the next five cities (Columbus, Albany, Macon, Savannah and Augusta) and rural Blacks.  Obviously, the plan was to get metro Atlanta to balance the GOP’s rural base.  But, those Blacks in Atlanta are real liberals who weren’t going to get pumped up to help Michelle Nunn while she ran from President Obama and ran to Governor/Senator Zell Miller.  Yes, Miller was a great Georgian back when but he spoke at the GOP national convention for Obama’s opponent. Black folks have memories.  On the other hand, rural Blacks are more conservative and more likely to support moderates like Sanford Bishop.  The Democrat efforts should have started by listening to Bishop.

Second guessing: The Democrat Party in Georgia spent the last year trying to get White Republicans to switch back…newsflash “They are gone.”  The party spent less energy getting the Obama base out.

Future: Michelle Nunn is still a big winner because she is position to be the Dem Senate candidate when Senator Isakson retires.  Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed would be the natural candidate but you know the cottage industry mentioned above must eat and they eat exceptionally well.  Again, getting money is more important than winning.

Black diversity: This blog started years ago as an effort to convince our community to take a better look at the details of politics and policymaking.  Both major political parties have incorrect approaches to us.  We need to take a hard look at the role political hope plans in how we carry ourselves because the parties and the government are indirectly hurting us.

Hillary 2016: Not so fast, we need to talk.

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The Impeachments of Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama

Posted in politics, tagged , , on October 27, 2014| Leave a Comment »

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With one week before the 2014 mid-term elections, we should think about three presidential impeachments and the impact on our community.  The good news is that one of them can still be avoided.  Of course, impeachment is a need process in our democracy—Nixon.  But, like many other things, people in Washington use it to play dirty games.

First, I can’t stand people who don’t respect the “fair and square” American election process or those who choose to IGNORE the law.  The latter would be un-American to me.  For example, the law says Blacks are citizens with the right to not be killed but that didn’t stop others from blowing off those laws since 1864.

Andrew Johnson: Johnson was a Tennessean who became Abraham Lincoln’s vice president.  Upon Lincoln’s assassination, this southerner became president and this moderate clashed with Radical Republicans who wanted to give former slaves more rights as citizens.  His “high crimes and misdemeanors” involved ignoring a law that stopped him from removing Radical Republican and Lincoln appointee William Stanton as Secretary of War, a position that oversaw the readmitted South at the time.

Johnson escaped removal from office by the U.S. Senate by one vote and it is generally understood the compromise on the rights of Blacks got him the needed votes.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/grant-impeachment/

Bill Clinton: Dam, he was a good president and that drove Republicans crazy.  The man was fair, he listened to every side and he left office with a budget surplus.  Because they couldn’t get him in the polling place, they tried to get him for lying about creeping.  The biggest crime was that his wife was a much better women than the chicks he was chasing but we don’t need to list all of the presidents who wouldn’t keep it in their pants.  That list would include some of the greatest.

The rough aspect of the Clinton impeachment/witch-hunt is that it took away from the real business of governing…being the leader of the free world.  If my memory serves me correctly, Zaire/Congo was in the middle of a near genocide in 1998 but the White House was busy dealing with impeachment.  Countless deaths could have been avoided but President Clinton had to spend his political capital addressing the GOP nonsense on the Capitol.  If you asking them about that today, they grin as if to say “part of the game.”

Barrack Obama: The far right wing of the conservative movement can’t wait until the day after the election.  They are discipline enough to stop talking publicly about impeachment from the after the primary election until the day after the general election.  They don’t want to wake the sleeping giant known as the Obamacrats.   With Republican control of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, President Obama will likely be impeached and could be removed from office for the offense of doing what he was elected to do rather than what the sour minority of the American people want him to do.  They want him to leave.

In addition to impeachment, the House and Senate will be constantly bringing the Obama cabinet members and administrators to Capitol Hill to explaining every action since they came to office—oh, you haven’t seen gridlock yet.

In summary, you can love or hate the policies of a White House but you should respect the rights, duties and authority given a president by the American people.  Democrats gave that respect to the second President Bush despite his questionable election.

Anyone who seeks to weasel around the democracy process is unconstitutional and, in my book, un-American.  Oh, nothing is new under the south sun, son.  We are talking about the people who laughed at federal court orders and U.S. Supreme Court rulings for years…..fire hoses, cattle prods, matches.

Everyone that doesn’t vote will forfeit their right to be surprised by the impeachment of the sitting American president for no good reason.

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“A Woman’s Place Is In The House…or Senate” vs. “Pale, Yale and Male”

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 21, 2014| 6 Comments »

In the last fifty years, there have been only two women in the Georgia congressional delegation..Rep. Cynthia McKinney and Rep. Denise Majette.  When national decisions are made, various voices need to be heard at the table.

Michelle Nunn is running for the U.S. Senate against super-rich David Perdue and I simply have a problem with sending another dude into the world most exclusive fraternity.   Oh, both candidates have produced bios that highlight humbleness but Perdue is a scary combination of older and richer—$20 million a year richer.  When you have stacks like Perdue, the average guy is cog in your huge money-making machine.

Why don’t you see liberal women’s political group pounding the pavement in their Birkenstocks for Michelle Nunn?  They aren’t pumped because she is a moderate/centrist like Rep. Sanford Bishop and Rep. John Barrow rather than a real liberal as the GOP claims.  The Democrats are a bigger tent than the Republicans because the discussion should involve everyone.  You know macho dudes in Congress are quick to send our daughters and sons in uniform to foreign battlefields (which are now house to house) while women will demand a rationale, mission statement and exit strategy.

I was watching a PBS documentary on Women’s Lib and they said that the State Department was once Pale, Male and Yale.  Yale was the Ivy League school of choice for rich southerners.  We have come a long way to have Secretaries of State named Madilyn, Colin, Condoleezza and Hillary.  I am a tennis player and in that PBS doc Billie Jean King said that when she played Bobby Riggs in the Astrodome, a woman couldn’t have a credit card in her own name.  However, the struggle continues.

To be honest, Georgia political bloggers should admit that Michelle Nunn’s campaign is, to some limited degree, about Hillary Clinton for president.  If Michelle Nunn for Senate and Jason Carter for Governor do well, Georgia will be on the table for 2016.   The Clinton campaign will model their southern efforts after what worked or didn’t work here.

The biggest Democrat problem during this mid-term election is lack of Black voter interest.  Some watchers feel the Dem Team has spent more money, time and energy trying to get Republicans back to the Blue Team than securing the loyal Black and Blue base.  They need to get their stuff together with a quickness because presidential hopeful Senator Rand Paul is saying some things that are starting to resonate in my community.

I was tailgating at the FSU-Norte Dame game last weekend and the Gwen Graham for Congress people were out in full force.  Senator Bob Graham was in our tent and he taught his daughter how to work a crowd.  Michelle Nunn has a different nature than Gwen Graham and that is cool.  Senator Saxby Chambliss is a southern gentleman who respectfully dialoged with Democrats and the Obama White House as part of his duties.  Michelle Nunn would do the same with a motherly vibe.   A woman’s place is in the House…and Senate….and State Department…..and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

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