Maze signed a recording contract with Capitol Records in 1976, and released their debut album, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, in 1977. From that album, the hit singles included “Happy Feelin’s”, “While I’m Alone”, and “Lady of Magic”, ultimately giving them their first gold record and earning Maze a devoted fan base. They also had success with the following albums Golden Time of Day (1978), Inspiration (1979) and Joy and Pain (1980).
Their next recording was Live in New Orleans, three quarters of which was recorded at the Saenger Theatre, on November 14–15, 1980. Three of those songs got into the US R&B chart, including “Running Away”, “Before I Let Go”, and “We Need Love To Live”. By that time, the band had both a reputation in America and also enjoyed a following in the United Kingdom with promotional support from the British DJ Robbie Vincent. In May 1985, Maze sold out eight nights at the Hammersmith Odeon.[1]
9-year-old from Plaza Towers school among first tornado victims identified
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/21/18402060-9-year-old-from-plaza-towers-school-among-first-tornado-victims-identified?lite
A 9-year-old girl who was “always smiling” is among the first of the Oklahoma tornado victims to be identified.
Third-grader Ja’Nae Hornsby was one of the students who perished when the twister demolished Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla. on Monday afternoon.
Members of her grieving family gathered Tuesday at a Baptist church in Oklahoma City to console each other after a night of anxious waiting ended with a hope-shattering call from the medical examiner’s office.
Her aunt, Angela Hornsby, said Ja’Nae had spent last weekend at her house, playing with her cousins and “doing what little girls do.”
“They like to play dress-up,” she recalled. “My daughter puts jewelry on them and I took pictures of them dancing together and they took video. They were just happy.
“She was always happy, always smiling.”
God bless this little angel
God bless the family. Rest well Ja Nae, you sweet, sweet, child.
**tears**
It’s so hard.
Obama can’t win with some black critics
By Jonathan Capehart, Published: May 21, 2013 at 3:07 pm
Here we go again. President Obama’s critics in the African American community are hammering him for doing nothing for black people. Drawing my attention this time is “How the Obama Administration Talks to Black America” by Ta-Nehisi Coates of the Atlantic and “A President for Everyone, except Black People” by the Rev. Kevin Johnson that appeared last month in the Philadelphia Tribune. While I understand where they are coming from, this thinking drives me crazy because the president’s detractors fail to take a 360-degree view of what they are demanding from him and ignore what he’s actually done.
Obama inspires deeply conflicted emotions in the African American community. We are beyond thrilled to have “one of us” in the White House. To see that man and his family represent us (all Americans, in this case) on the world stage never fails to stoke our pride. Yet, that pride is tempered by a simmering discontent. Many accuse Obama not only of ignoring the concerns of black people, but also of talking down to them. Let me take issue with the latter first.
Coates’s criticism emanates from Obama’s commencement address at Morehouse College in Atlanta. On many levels, the speech to the all-male historically black college last Sunday was your typical speech filled with advice to graduates. But, unlike most speeches of this type, his was not delivered from on-high. No, in tone and words, Obama spoke to the black men of Morehouse not as a distant president but as a familiar peer. He used his troubled past as a real-life example of how one’s limited circumstances are neither destiny nor a hindrance to achieving the American Dream, as they define it. He urged the graduates to not make excuses, to aim high and to give back. Yet, Coates calls this “‘convenient race-talk’ from a president who ought to know better.” Obama can’t win.
As for the “what have you done for me lately” school of black criticism, Obama can’t win there, either.
…………………………………….
Johnson and others seem unaware of what the Obama administration has actually done. They discount the increases in education funding, particularly for historically black colleges and universities. They completely ignore the nearly 7 million African Americans who will get health care thanks to Obamacare. They seem to brush off the Fair Sentencing Act the president signed in 2010 that reduced the glaring disparity in punishment for those charged with crack offenses and those with powder cocaine offenses. They seem to overlook the enforcement actions the administration has taken against the discriminatory practices of banks and mortgage lenders who preyed on the black community with higher fees and interest rates.
This was all in the first term through a proper and politically necessary rising-tide-lifts-all-boats agenda. After the 2010 midterm elections, when the House swung back to GOP control, the president’s ability to get anything done with Congress was greatly diminished. Accomplishments of late have involved high-stakes drama over a “cliff”or a “ceiling.”
That’s what’s missing from most African American critiques of Obama: an appreciation for Republican resistance to his agenda. To expect the president to introduce an explicit and definable “black agenda” in a Congress filled with people who believe him to be a socialist destroying the country while illegitimately occupying the Oval Office is seriously naive.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2013/05/21/obama-cant-win-with-some-black-critics/?hpid=z2
He’s already WON twice, and that’s why they’re mad.
Skylar Diggins gets car from Jay-Z
What a graduation present.
On the day Skylar Diggins graduated from Notre Dame, she was presented with a new Mercedes by Roc Nation, the company founded by Jay-Z that represents her
“I got 99 problems but a BENZ ain’t one,” a tweet on Diggins’ account said, riffing off a Jay-Z hit.
Jay-Z was a former part-owner of the Brooklyn Nets, but he divested himself of that interest to start a sports-representation agency. Diggins is among his first high-profile clients, who also include the Yankees’ Robinson Cano and Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz.
Diggins was an All-America guard for the Fighting Irish who was taken third overall in the WNBA draft by the Tulsa Shock.
http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/9294504/skylar-diggins-gets-mercedes-jay-z-company
A Broke Sinbad Files for Bankruptcy … Again
May 20, 2013
Dang, Sinbad says he’s broke again.
Sinbad filed for bankruptcy for the second time since 2009. Poor guy. Last month he filed chapter 13 bankruptcy.
The comedian whose real name is David Adkins, says he owes $10,991,715 in debt … and only has $131,000 in assets.
Specifically, according to TMZ, he owes $374,979 to American Express, $32,199 to Bank of America, and $2.3 million to the CA Franchise Tax Board.
He also claims he owes $8.3 million to the IRS for taxes from 1998-2006, and admits he owes both state and federal taxes from 2009-2012.
According to the bankruptcy docs, Sinbad earns only $16,000 per month and can’t afford to pay his bills.
But the bright side, he’s still got some possessions — a 2007 BMW 750i, a 2006 VW Beetle, a 2010 Ford F150, a 2010 Lincoln Navigator, $5,000 in home office equipment … and 200 copies of “Sinbad’s Guide to Life” currently for sale on Amazon for $6.25 each.
http://www.eurweb.com/?p=332705
Porsha Stewart Gets Kicked Out of the House by Kordell
May 21, 2013 by Brittney M. Walker
*”RHOA” star Porsha Stewart has been locked out of her house.
According to TMZ, the locks on the house have been changed and she’s no longer welcome there.
The news comes after the star filed new documents in the divorce case. She claims she’s been locked out of her house on several occasions and had to beg Kordell’s ‘people’ for a key.
She’s still knocking on the door, if you’d believe that. She doesn’t have free access to the home because Kordell changed the locks.
It’s nasty folks.
Porsha wants the judge to force Kordell to give her access to their house, or give her enough money that she’ll be able to seek a “suitable alternative residence.”
Sources say, in the meantime, the reality show star is living with her mother in Atlanta.
http://www.eurweb.com/?p=333165
SG2,
another hilarious gif
http://global3.memecdn.com/no-fucks-to-give_o_957912.jpg
Court: Law applying crack sentences retroactive
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — People convicted of crack cocaine offenses have a right to resentencing hearings under a 2010 law that lessened penalties for possession and dealing, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
The decision to expand the Fair Sentencing Act to people whose cases played out before the law’s passage potentially opens the door for thousands of inmates to ask federal judges to lower their prison time.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Court-Law-applying-crack-sentences-retroactive-4525817.php#ixzz2TxQqlZPP
Wolf Blitzer Asks Atheist Tornado Survivor, “Do You Thank The Lord?” That’s none of your business, Wolfie boy!
Video: http://deadspin.com/wolf-blitzer-asks-atheist-tornado-survivor-if-she-than-509150402
Insurance claims for damage caused by Monday’s tornado will likely top $1 billion, Kelly Collins of the Oklahoma Insurance Department tells CNN.
That would exceed the insurance cost of a 1999 tornado that killed 36 people in the same area.
Monday’s tornado that killed at least 24 people was 1.3 miles wide with an estimated peak wind speed from 200 to 210 mph, the National Weather Service said. That would make it an EF5, the most powerful category.
Notice the anal press and poll takers keep monitoring “OBAMA’S” approvals among Americans, but they don’t list the SPECIFICS of why. Meaning the REPUBLCIAN PARTY is BATSHIT CRY CRAY, and OBAMA’s actually PRESIDING as the voters have elected him to do.
Obama holds steady amid controversies
The president’s approval rating remains firm even as the public sees deliberate harassment by the IRS and a cover up on important details about the attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans last year.
http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/HXJVEI/BM21PU/O3UM6B/GWLN85/RN96YT/82/h
O’Malley’s Chances
by BooMan
Tue May 21st, 2013 at 02:45:28 PM EST
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley is acting like a presidential candidate. He’s checking all the boxes. He is apparently a prodigious fundraiser. He has an impressively progressive record. I am unaware of any major skeletons in his closet. What I don’t know is whether or not he has the discipline, skill, and charisma to be an effective candidate on the national stage.
Obviously, Hillary Clinton would be the equivalent of Mt. Everest as an obstacle to winning the nomination, but she going to have build her team almost from scratch. On the other hand, I don’t think there will be the same kind of progressive resistance to her campaign that we saw in 2008. O’Malley can’t grab a bunch of voters simply because he didn’t vote to authorize the war in Iraq. Most of Obama’s coalition is reconciled with the Clintons at this point, at least on a personal level.
If Clinton doesn’t run, and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo does, I could see progressives rallying around O’Malley as the best option to derail Cuomo.
What do you think?
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2013/5/21/144528/347#2
This line right here is some BULLSHIT: “O’Malley can’t grab a bunch of voters simply because he didn’t vote to authorize the war in Iraq. Most of Obama’s coalition is reconciled with the Clintons at this point, at least on a personal level.”
Gov. O’Malley is and always has been a STAUNCH supporter of PBO. PBO’s COALITION is and has been watching, and NOWAY have his TRUE supporters in his coalition reconciled with the Clintons. NOPE!
VP Biden or Gov. O’Malley would get my VOTE. I’d POUND the pavement day and night to keep another Clinton out of the WH.
Democrats face terrible dilemma on gay rights and immigration
By Greg Sargent, Published: May 21, 2013 at 2:27 pm
I’m not sure it’s fully understood just how difficult a dilemma Democrats face when it comes to the question of how hard to push for protections for gay couples as part of immigration reform. The situation is really a terrible one that could force Dems to make a very hard choice — and to gamble too heavily on the Supreme Court to solve the problem for them.
Right now, Patrick Leahy, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is deciding whether to introduce amendments to the Gang of Eight immigration bill that would extend the same immigration rights to gay and lesbian couples that it does to straight couples. Republicans such as Marco Rubio have insisted that if Dems do this, it will kill the bill by giving conservatives a way to walk away from it. And now, the Associated Press reports:
Two people familiar with the Senate immigration deliberations say the White House has suggested to Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy that it would be best to put off a controversy over gay marriage until a bill goes before the full Senate.
President Barack Obama backs the proposal to give equal treatment to gays and lesbians, but is unlikely to veto a broad immigration bill that does not include the provision.
Leahy, the Democratic chair of the Judiciary Committee, has not yet said whether he will seek a vote on the provision in committee. He could raise the issue again if the bill goes before the full Senate.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/05/21/democrats-face-terrible-dilemma-on-gay-rights-and-immigration/
Can Tea Party conservatives kill immigration reform?
By Jamelle Bouie, Published: May 21, 2013 at 11:45 amE-mail the writer
At the moment, a bipartisan group of senators is working through its fifth full day of “markup” on the immigration reform bill. As Yahoo News reports, they plan to address some of the more controversial elements of the bill, from including the number of visas for high-skilled immigrants, to the question of whether to allow people in same-sex marriages to apply for green cards for their spouses.
All of this, of course, has been lost in the obsession over scandals — both real and imagined. What’s also been lost is the extent to which the ongoing fight over immigration reform is dividing the Republican Party between its more pragmatic, pro-reform members — conservatives like Marco Rubio or Arizona’s Jeff Flake — and it’s more doctrinaire, anti-reform ones, like Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions. So far, the fight has favored the former. Conservative proponents of comprehensive immigration reform have the largest platform — on account of their role in crafting the Senate bill — and recently scored a victory after the Heritage Foundation fell on its face following the release of its study on the “costs” of reform, which was widely-panned, as well as connected to racist ideas about the intelligence of Hispanic immigrants.
But anti-immigration conservatives haven’t given up the fight. This morning, a coalition of 150 conservatives — which includes Rich Lowry of the National Review, Phyllis Schlafly of Eagle Forum, Redstate.com editor Eric Erickson, and former Florida Representative Alan West — issued a letter declaring their absolute opposition to the comprehensive immigration bill, and urging Senate Republicans to scrap the entire project.
“No matter how well-intentioned, the Schumer-Rubio bill suffers from fundamental design flaws that make it unsalvageable,” the letter says. “Many of us support various parts of the legislation, but the overall package is so unsatisfactory that the Senate would do better to start over from scratch.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/05/21/can-tea-party-conservatives-kill-immigration-reform/
Apologize to Apple’?
By Steve Benen
Tue May 21, 2013 12:37 PM EDT
Apple may be one of the nation’s richest companies, but it did so by avoiding billions in taxes here and around the world. Congressional investigators found that the tech giant created “a web of subsidiaries so complex it spanned continents and went beyond anything most experts had ever seen,” relying on “gimmicks” and “schemes” to sidestep tax laws.
This has generated a fair amount of bipartisan criticism, though Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) doesn’t seem bothered. In fact, he wants the Senate to apologize to Apple for bothering the company.
Paul not only endorsed Apple’s tax-avoidance schemes, but condemned Congress itself for daring to question the company’s efforts to circumvent international tax burdens. The Kentucky Republican said he’s “offended by the tone and tenor of this hearing,” and lamented the very idea of “berating” a company just because it’s taken unprecedented steps to avoid meeting its responsibilities, largely by creating shell companies abroad with no real employees.
“If anyone should be on trial here, it should be Congress,” Paul declared. “I frankly think the committee should apologize to Apple…. I would say what we really need to do is to apologize to Apple, compliment them for the job creation they are doing, and get about doing our job.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/05/21/18400824-apologize-to-apple?lite
For a Global Life, Bloomberg Builds His Own British Empire
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
Published: February 7, 2013
It is the biggest development in this city’s buzzing financial district, and even Olympics-jaded Londoners call it grandiose: two bronze-and-stone towers, connected by sky-bridges atop the ruins of a 2,000-year-old Roman temple.
Bloomberg Place, roughly the size of a Manhattan city block, is the future European home of Michael R. Bloomberg’s company and charity. But it is only one piece of the New York City mayor’s growing British empire.
He is underwriting a major expansion of one of England’s most prestigious galleries, in Kensington Gardens, designed by the noted architect Zaha Hadid.
He has the ear of London’s raffish mayor, Boris Johnson, who dispatches aides to City Hall in New York for tutelage in municipal management.
Mayor Bloomberg and his aides court the city’s elite, holding expensive dinners for tastemakers and Downing Street officials. The buzz is so great that a chief aide to Prime Minister David Cameron impishly floated the idea of a Bloomberg candidacy, for mayor of London.
As he imagines a more global life for himself after City Hall, unshackled from the 24/7 needs of running New York, Mr. Bloomberg — an Anglophile with a taste for English Regency style — is exporting his vast quantities of financial, social and political capital to this ancient city, where he has long yearned for influence.
Manhattan is home, and Bermuda a weekend escape, but no place has captured the mayor’s imagination like London, a kind of Bloomberg utopia where guns are banned, drivers pay a fee at peak hours and bicycling is a popular mode of commuting.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/08/nyregion/bloomberg-builds-an-empire-in-london.html?pagewanted=all
City Report Shows More Were Near Poverty in 2011
By SAM ROBERTS
Published: April 21, 2013
The rise in New York City’s poverty rate as a result of the recession has apparently eased, but not before pushing nearly half of the city’s population into the ranks of the poor or near-poor in 2011, according to an analysis by the Bloomberg administration.
That year, according to the city’s measure, about 46 percent of New Yorkers were making less than 150 percent of the poverty threshold, a benchmark used to describe people who are not officially poor but who still struggle to get by. That represents a rise of more than three percentage points since 2009, when the nation’s recession officially ended.
By the city’s definition, a family with two adults and two children could earn $46,416 a year and still fall within 150 percent of the city’ poverty level. Unlike the official but rigid federal poverty level, the city’s measure balances the added value of tax credits, food stamps, rent subsidies and other benefits against expenses like health and day care, housing and commuting that reflect New York’s higher living costs. The city says a two-adult, two-child family is poor if it earns less than $30,949 a year. The federal government sets the level at $22,811.
Though more New Yorkers were working in 2011 than the year before, larger shares of children and working adults were classified as poor in 2011, and the proportions of Asians, noncitizens and Queens residents — overlapping groups — each rose by more than four percentage points since 2008.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/nyregion/city-report-shows-a-growing-number-are-near-poverty.html?_r=0
Dear Hollywood: Can Young Black Actors Get Some Love Too?
May 18, 2013 by EurPublisher
Either the well of talent has run dry, or the bucket is already full of old water
by Cory A. Haywood
Young black actors are still being overlooked and undersold for roles in major motion pictures.
A changing of the guard is slowly taking place in Hollywood. Larger than life movie stars of yesteryear are dying out. The new school is rolling in. But in the process, many talented upstarts are being judged by the color of their skin, not their ability.
Ironically, Hollywood is only a hop, skip and a jump away from Los Angeles, a town often classified as the diversity capital of the world. African Americans make up 9.6 percent of the city’s population, and 9.3 percent of L.A. County. This essentially means that Hollywood–the place where magic happens to only white folk (I’m paraphrasing a bit) — is surrounded by a pool of black, brown and yellow inhabitants, many of whom will never realize their dreams of making it to the big screen. That in and of itself is a drama. Because work is hard to come by these days for black actors, the trend has been for the more established bunch to hoard the scraps left behind by the Taylor Lautners and Jennifer Lawrences of the world. Even when movies are made specifically for black actors, the names on the marquee rarely change.
For example, “The Best Man” rocked theaters over 13 years ago (during the Clinton era). Nevertheless, “The Best Man 2,” is slated to premiere on November 15, despite the prolonged delay. During production, the amenities on set included rocking chairs, joint juice, Epson salt, butterscotch, bingo cards, seltzer, mashed potatoes, and access to handicap parking (per request of the cast). Yes, that’s a reference to old age.
…………………………………………..
In all seriousness, there is a gaping hole in Black Hollywood that can’t be filled with only the cast of “The Wood.” I’m all about consistency. But damn, when will we (the audience) finally be subjected to some brand new blood Black Hollywood? I think we’ve had our fill of Sanaa Lathan being hemmed up against a wall by some horny professional, and no disrespect, but Morgan Freeman is on the brink of croaking (he even completed his bucket list on screen).
I’m not saying that priority should be given to fresh-faced rookies trying to make a name for themselves in Hollywood. It shouldn’t, in most cases. But how can a youngster eat when his older brother or sister (or great grandfather in Freeman’s case) keeps hogging all the food? Add race to the equation and finding a gig becomes twice as gnarly for a young upstart.
This concept transcends color barriers. However, it applies most to young black actors in search of steady work. Gaining a foothold in the entertainment industry is hard enough. But achieving longevity becomes an even greater challenge when road blocks are created by those who are supposed to open doors (ala veteran black actors and directors).
But, let’s get back to brass tax.
It’s no secret that African Americans are underrepresented, and generally unwelcome, in (White) Hollywood. Granted, the wheels of progress turn with every passing year (which is indicated by the proliferation of black talent on television recently). However, at the varsity level (or rather, in film), your typical All-American blond (at least that’s how they start out) still sets the standard for what’s “in.”
It doesn’t matter that many of these so-called “movie stars” consistently fail to impress on screen, and some collect more DUI’s than rednecks collect shotguns, bourbon and rally invites from the NRA. But I digress.
“Its unfortunate,” says Edna Simms of ESP Public Relations. “There is so much new talent out there but directors don’t want to give them a chance. You see so many girls who started off doing films forced to do TV now. Taraji (P. Henson) was nominated for an academy award. Now she doing TV. It makes you go hmm what’s going on here?”
The transition from the big screen to the smaller version is one that black actors have learned to embrace over the past few years, Sims says. In the future, she believes that primetime television will become an amalgam of cultural and racial inclusion, anchored by the presence of Black star power.
“I’m seeing a lot more television roles for young black people,” she predicts. “Right now there are plenty of television show that feature people of color. That’s a good thing. I don’t know what’s happening on the big screen. But these folks are leading television.”
Nine major television networks including NBC, ABC, and CBS have propelled several black actors into new roles on a variety of shows.
“But that has no bearing on why shows aren’t created to feature black youth in starring roles,” Sims quickly retorted.
To make matters worse, Sims added, the roles that are normally designed for up and comers have been monopolized by wily veterans who are either desperate for exposure or need the income.
http://www.eurweb.com/2013/05/dear-hollywood-can-young-black-actors-get-some-love-too/
DR. BOYCE..
OF COURSE…
had to discuss the President’s Speech at Morehouse…
Dr. Boyce: President Obama Lacks the Moral Authority to Give His Lopsided Speech at Morehouse
by Dr. Boyce Watkins
This week, President Barack Obama gave the commencement address to the young men at Morehouse College. I was happy to see the president speak to these men, for I’m sure they were inspired by his presence. The achievements of Barack Obama are nothing short of legendary and inspirational, he deserves to be recognized as such. Morehouse College President John Wilson should also be commended for his extraordinary leadership. Dr. Wilson was gracious enough to join the presidents of Spelman and Clark in co-signing the open letter on mass incarceration written by myself and Russell Simmons.
The president’s message consisted of the same themes that I recall hearing from my grandmother: You have to work twice as hard to get half as much if you are black in America, and racism is no excuse for you to give up. I agree with this message, and I share similar messages every single day of my life.
The president’s decision to speak in ways that he knew would resonate with Morehouse men and their older black parents was an intelligent political move, without question. The president’s speeches tend to be more conservative when he speaks to African Americans (I even noticed his use of the word “Lordy” early in the speech), and this is a good fit, since black people are also very conservative. The truth is that many African Americans would be Republicans if the party would just stop being so blatantly racist.
Another thing about black people is that many of us suffer from the low self-esteem that tends to afflict oppressed individuals. We’re not much different from the housewife who believes her husband wouldn’t have had to beat her if she had not burned the cookies. When her husband is out with other women, she is simply thankful that he took the time to pay the rent. She’s ecstatic about any form of acknowledgement from her husband whatsoever, and when he berates her, she knows that she deserves it. To some extent, she comes to embrace her oppression as the natural order of things, and the tranquility of her marriage is built upon the idea that his views, needs and status are superior to her own.
When President Obama graces us with his presence, we are simply honored that he took the time to even acknowledge us. Any symbolic gesture, no matter how scant and meaningless, becomes precious to us, because for some, there is no greater achievement that any black man could aspire to than to get validation from white people. Had President Obama passed on the presidency and taken a position at an all-black school and educated thousands of black children, we would have considered it to be a wasted opportunity. Why would such an important man spend his time with us? The political harmony between black America and the Obama Administration is a carefully-designed relationship in which our job is to shut up and cheer for anything the administration chooses to do with our votes.
http://www.blackbluedog.com/2013/05/news/dr-boyce-president-obama-lacks-the-moral-authority-to-give-his-lopsided-speech-at-morehouse/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dr-boyce-president-obama-lacks-the-moral-authority-to-give-his-lopsided-speech-at-morehouse:lamp::lamp
WTF is this GOBBLEDYGOOK?
My eyes are crossed & my head is spinning. And why sould we listen or care about another self-aggrandizing negro, who does not want the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, to ask for EXCELLENCE from us and every AMERICAN?
If his granny said the same things, than what the fuck is wrong with PBo saying it?
Fuck Bitter Boyce!
THIS:
When Black News Disappears: White Holds on Black Intellectuals’ Minds & Mis-Informing the Black Public.
By Dr. Tommy J. Curry.
Introduction
As a historical entity, the Black press was the critical commentary and political critique of not only the sempiternal racism of the modern world, but the corrective to how white newspapers, opinion-makers, legislators, and most importantly the white public sought to justify their complacency and support for the racism and sexual brutalization of Black men, women, and children. Today, however, the post-Obama lullabies of racial détente and progressive liberal passivity of Black intellectuals have allowed the structural and ideological manifestations of white supremacy remained unquestioned in their persistence despite the growing realities of Black death. Trayvon Martin was killed and Melissa Harris Perry thought it prudent to use the tragedy as a moment to “teach” white folks how to talk about Black death—she literally created a checklist for whites rather than deal with the horrors facing young Black men and boys in their communities.
Currently, the post-racial idea has contoured Black news into a narrow political progressive ideology that allows Black academics to retreat into their ideological predetermined blog’s rendering of “Black” events, while the Black public is misinformed by the political interests various networks have in de-radicalizing and normalizing Black deaths, specifically the death of Black men, as having nothing to do with racism and accidental rather than systemic.
As I have argued previously, Black academics and news personalities are rewarded for pimping out “the delusion of hope” to Black people while racism increases alongside the normalization of their death, incarceration, and poverty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7TUDk1zwYw
http://www.racismreview.com/blog/2013/05/18/when-black-news-disappears-white-holds-on-black-intellectuals-minds-mis-informing-the-black-public/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+racismreview%2FnYnz+%28racismreview.com%29
House GOP eyes major new anti-abortion measure
By Steve Benen
–
Tue May 21, 2013 10:22 AM EDT
About a month ago, Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) started pushing a new anti-abortion bill, which he hopes to impose on the residents of the District of Columbia, against their will. The proposal mirrors efforts that have popped up among Republican lawmakers at the state level: abortion would remain legal, but only if pregnancies are terminated within the first 20 weeks.
Following Kermit Gosnell’s murder conviction, Franks now wants to pursue this as a national policy, imposed on all states, constitutional concerns be damned. And while random members of Congress routinely introduce all kinds of bills that will never pass, this one seems to have put House GOP leaders in an awkward position.
If the bill gets a markup and a vote on the House floor, it would surely satisfy conservative members of the rank and file who want the chamber to take a firm stance on the Gosnell conviction and against abortion practices generally.
By this time in the 112th Congress, House Republicans had already made an unequivocal statement that they stand against the practice with the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which passed on a 251-175 vote.
The House’s silence on the issue is notable because of the high-profile nature of the Gosnell trial and also given last week’s vote to repeal Obamacare. GOP leaders argued that the vote was scheduled for the benefit of freshmen who had campaigned on overturning the 2010 health care law and wanted to go on the record against it. In theory, the same argument could apply to abortion
This is the natural extension of the post-policy thesis we’ve been talking about lately — these House Republicans know Franks’ bill won’t pass, won’t become law, and probably couldn’t withstand court scrutiny anyway, but want a floor vote because they see value in making a “statement.” They could try governing and legislating for a change, but that’s less important than sending “signals” to the party’s far-right activist base.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/05/21/18398818-house-gop-eyes-major-new-anti-abortion-measure?lite
SG2,
Some gifs for you
http://i.imgur.com/ygZSd.gif
http://media.tumblr.com/e594e1b40396d6ca29d09cf8081d3257/tumblr_inline_mhkq7cSHSX1qz4rgp.gif
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbiye4vNd01risusro1_500.gif
LOL!
Thank you!
I’m using that LAST GIF.
TOO dang scary!
this one was spotted in New Castele, OK.
HuffPost Politics @HuffPostPol
Appeals court: CIA doesn’t have to release dead Osama bin Laden photos
http://huff.to/17Z6vZm
A good discussion at POU about this nonsense
……………………
Miranda
−
How many of these are left? I’m guessing we get, what…3 more of these in this cycle of lunacy? I think we’ve had the discussions on all black radio shows, I’m sure most of the major black blogs have covered it…are we close to done with this shit now?
Obama needs to stop lecturing predominantly black audiences, some supporters say
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/to-critics-obamas-scolding-tone-with-black-audiences-is-getting-old/2013/05/20/4b267352-c191-11e2-bfdb-3886a561c1ff_story.html
Kennymack1971
−
One thing I want to know from these ‘Blacks be Disappointed in Obama’ people.. What is it you want the President to say or do to prove to you he doesn’t hate his own people? And I want specifics realistic, legislatively achievable solutions. Because all this whining about what the President says or does with no ideas or solutions is a bunch of attention grabbing bullshit and I am sick and tired of it.
jds09
First of all, whoever chose the photo has some serious daddy issues….
What gets me about these rounds of craziness is the “either/or” thinking. It’s not just “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” or “it’s systemic!” Both are true and its willfully ignorant or just stupid to say otherwise.
One of the many reasons that I love this site is the sharing of small snippets of black history about the black folks that ignored, climbed over, went around and/smashed the systems that tried to keep them from doing their deal. And some paid dearly for living their dream, but they did it. We cannot let the power of those crazy acts of agency die in this generation. That was the power of PBO’s speech for me, standing there as President. He told them to go for it, without apology or fear.
This lunacy focuses on his speeches while ignoring the impacts of changes in crack cocaine sentencing,Obamacare as it relates to the transfer of wealth between generations (a sick relative can drain the family coffers) and the changes to student loans. All issues that at the systemic level impact black folk.
After he leaves office, its gonna come out. All the systemic changes he made quietly while all the noise was happening around and about him. We are watching greatness go down.
gn jds09
−
Malcolm X used to say the exact same things: if people actually listen to his old speeches, he used to say things like: white people need to stop being racist, and black people need to do more for self—he said stuff like that all the time. Self-empowerment has never NOT been a strong component of black advancement. Black leadership has always advanced that. People don’t realize because there aren’t a lot of strong black leaders out right now. Whining has never been tolerated in black advancement causes, not from my reading.
…………………………………..
gn
−
Here’s something I’ve been thinking about: if they don’t agree with portions of his remarks which conceivably could be viewed as regressive (that is, if stripped of any and all context), why choose to blow that up and saturate the media with it? Why not choose to focus on and blow up the portions of the speeches which are so positive towards black people that they can’t even be spun otherwise? Guess I’m trying to say that they think they’re warriors for black people, but what they’ve “accomplished” is helping outfits like Politico to insinuate that an enormously popular and influential American (because newsflash, PBO is that!) co-signs regressive views and victim-blaming. When they could have been headlining: “President Obama and the First Lady lavish praise on stellar black students.” Instead it’s “President Obama thinks black people aint shit.” Is that not a really stupid media strategy no matter what they think of the POTUS?
Miranda
−
“why choose to blow that up and saturate the media with it? Why not choose to focus on and blow up the portions of the speeches which are so positive towards black people that they can’t even be spun otherwise?”
_________________
and that is why I can’t respect any of these people’s “Obamatawkindowntous” rhetoric. Because they really aren’t convincing me its about that. You just said it, why are they focusing on just that one part of the speech. Why? In fact, is it me, or does it seem they laid in wait just HOPING he would say something they could criticize? Just seems like there was a whole lot of giddiness in rushing to be the first one to the mics and laptops to decry “Oh see! He talks down to black people!” They didn’t talk about his speech to Ohio State where he told those graduates they have a responsibility to the rest of the world to go out and make it better. But they COULD.NOT.WAIT. to carefully listen to his every utterance to Morehouse, just so they could do what they’re doing. This was so predictable. Who really didn’t know this would happen? As sure as the sun rises in the east, we all knew PBO would say what he said and the response would be what it would be. Next time PBO speaks at a black organization/church/event…rest assured, this will replay itself all over again. Why? Because PBO is not a hypocrite, he means what he says, says what he means. He’s never gonna stop telling black people to rise up. NEVER. He’s never gonna stop telling black people the importance of a father’s love. NEVER. These blackademics must be stuck on stupid if they think President Barack Hussein Obama is gonna stop saying what comes from his heart to black audiences
gn
Exactly, exactly, exactly. If you truly care about black people and how we’re depicted, which do you do:
a) lay in wait to cherry-pick a speech and make headlines: “one of the most admired people in the country, a non-Tom black man, thinks black people aint shit—he agrees with you, soft bigots! you’re not racist for thinking that black men are just full of excuses”
b) listen to an entire set of remarks, and spread the news: “one of the most admired people in the country, a non-Tom black man, and his non-Tomasina wife, expressed joy and pride at graduating black students; asked them to lift up and help others”
What did the Rev Al say? Don’t say you’re on my team when you’re tackling my quarterback. The people who are busy co-signing Politico’s regressive take on these speeches “from the left” need to check themselves!
These SELF-AGGRANDIZING NEGROES are ALL SABATOUERS and are being RIGHTFULLY chin-checked for their foolishness.
President Obama Makes Statement After Tornados Rip Through Oklahoma
http://youtu.be/LnwiPcdx5PA
Yep, the thread is already up, and the crackas are blaming PBO for the fucking tornado killing foks!
Kasie Hunt @kasie3m
Sen. Inhofe to @JansingCo: his labeling of Hurricane Sandy bill as a “slush fund” is “totally different” than Okla tornado relief.
Politicians Fume Over Bronx ‘Ghetto’ Bus Tours
Foreigners, who are looking to witness from a safe distance, what a “real ghetto” looks like are paying $45 a pop to take a bus tour through the Bronx, and borough politicos are up in arms, according to the New York Post.
Real Bronx Tours are taking mainly White Europeans and Australians on a tour of the Bronx with stops at for photo ops at a food-pantry line, “pickpocket” park, and housing projects.
http://newsone.com/2465709/real-bronx-tours/
Study: White Americans More Likely to See Obama as Angry Than Non-White Americans
By ELIZABETH FLOCKMay 20, 2013 nt
Comment (143)
People of different races assign different emotions to President Barack Obama’s facial expressions, a new study finds.
White Americans are more likely to see anger in the facial expressions of President Obama than non-white Americans are, according to a study from the University of Arkansas that will be published in the journal Political Psychology in July.
The study showed more than 100 participants – who identified as white, black, native American and Asian – a silent video of Obama’s 2010 White House Correspondents Dinner speech, a night in which the president traditionally cracks jokes at the press and lawmakers, and asked them to describe how they thought Obama was feeling based on his facial expressions. White participants were slightly more likely to assign anger to the president, rating both his smiles and neutral displays as seven points higher on average than non-white participants out of a potential 100 points.
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2013/05/20/study-white-americans-more-likely-to-see-obama-as-angry-than-non-white-americans?src=usn_tw
Translation: ANGRY BLACK MAN & WE’RE ANGRY ‘CAUSE HE’S BLACK! Next!
More ‘devastating’ tornadoes possible on Tuesday, forecasters warn
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/21/18391301-more-devastating-tornadoes-possible-on-tuesday-forecasters-warn
About 9.5 million people remained under the threat of more “large and devastating” tornadoes Tuesday as the storm system that devastated the suburbs of Oklahoma City moved east, forecasters warned.
Weather Channel meteorologist Kevin Roth said early Tuesday that the threat area appeared to be east and south of Oklahoma City.
“Tornadoes, damaging wind gusts and large hail are possible throughout the threat area,” Roth said.
He added that cities including Dallas-Ft. Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Shreveport, Texarkana and Little Rock were among the cities “close to the the larger tornado threat.”
“Another day of large and devastating tornadoes is possible this time from central/east Texas into central Arkansas,” Roth said.
Michael Tomasky: The Right’s Scandal Hypocrisy
It’s pretty rich, isn’t it, to see conservatives, not so long ago such ferocious guardians of presidential prerogative, suddenly acting as if they’d all interned at Common Cause when they were in college and thumping their chests about presidential transparency? I bet we could count on one hand — or more likely, on no hands — the number of conservative commentators who were insisting that the Bush White House should come clean about what Scooter Libby did in relation to the Valerie Plame matter. But now, suddenly, Barack Obama must come clean on all particulars, or he’s, you guessed it, the dreaded Nixon!
…. The ease of movement from sarcophagal stonewalling to high dudgeon is a peculiarly right-wing trait, because it’s the right that started the modern-day sense that you’re either on the team or in the shithouse. You might think in some dark, private space that Benghazi is mostly smoke, but if you’re trying to make your bones as part of the right-wing noise machine, you know to keep those doubts to yourself.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/21/the-right-s-scandal-hypocrisy.html
GOP: Obama Is Responsible for “A Culture of Intimidation”
By Kevin Drum
Mon May. 20, 2013 9:02 PM PDT
Apparently this is the latest Republican thing. They can’t show that Obama has been actually involved in the IRS scandal—or in any of the other squabbles currently roiling Washington DC, for that matter—so now they’ve gotten together and agreed on a new party line: Obama is responsible for all of this stuff anyway because he’s relentlessly stoked a “culture of intimidation” against his adversaries. “The president demonizes his opponents,” Mitch McConnell said with a straight face on Sunday, and this is at the root of all our problems.
Paul Mirengoff correctly suggests that this sounds whiny—”the kind of thing I’d expect from Democrats.” But he agrees with the basic premise that Obama demonizes his opponents, and points us to an NRO piece by Eliana Johnson that provides the proof. I was curious, so I clicked the link. Just what has Obama done to strike fear into Republicans’ hearts?
Well, only three things apparently. First, he dissed Fox News and then tried to exclude them from the network pool. Second, at an explicitly partisan DNC fundraiser following the Citizens United decision, he castigated “harmless-sounding names like Americans for Prosperity, who are running millions of dollars of ads against Democratic candidates all across the country.” AFP, of course, is supported by the Koch brothers. And apparently Obama has also said some uncomplimentary things about Rush Limbaugh. This is the full bill of particulars.
I’ll give them the Fox thing. Trying to keep Fox out of the press pool was bush league nonsense. But really. Kicking back at the rancid bile that spews out of Rush Limbaugh’s mouth on a daily basis? Telling a bunch of rich Democratic donors that they’re up against lots of rich Republican donors, so please open your wallets? This is a culture of intimidation?
Conservatives, of course, have fostered a culture not of intimidation, but of rank hatred so insane you can practically see the spittle flecks every time they talk about Obama. And yet, when Obama returns fire, even with his trademark restraint, it’s time to bring out the smelling salts. It would be funny if it weren’t so pathetic
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/05/obama-responsible-culture-intimidation
GOP= 3 WORDS= CULTURE OF OBSTRUCTION
Kristen Welker @kwelkernbc
Wh Official: Damage assessment teams have I-pads at the ready so that Oklahoma victims can sign up for federal assistance/grants on site.
8:14 AM – 21 May 2013
* A new CNN poll finds that the percentage who regard the GOP unfavorably has jumped five points since March, to 59 percent. And 58 percent say Obama is a strong leader.
CNN’s polling director claims the new leadership finding suggests the public may be ”responding favorably to Obama’s stern reaction in recent days and hints that, far from catching blame for the latest controversies, Obama may actually be benefiting from them in some ways.” Also: 58 percent say Obama is “honest and trustworthy,” which also would seem to suggest the scandals are not having the effect the GOP hoped for.
Just jump in the coffins and cover it with dirt already, GOP
Oklahoma’s Coburn stakes out controversial position on federal aid
By Steve Benen
–
Tue May 21, 2013 8:00 AM EDT
As of this morning, at least 51 people, including 20 children, are dead in the suburbs of Oklahoma City, following one of the deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history. Rescue teams worked through the night, especially in the devastated city of Moore, and local officials fear the death toll may yet rise significantly.
Ordinarily, so soon after a disaster of this magnitude, discussions about political agendas and ideologies are put on hold, which is why it came as a surprise when one of Oklahoma’s U.S. senators staked out a far-right position on federal disaster relief just five hours after the storm hit.
The tornado damage near Oklahoma City is still being assessed and the death toll is expected to rise, but already Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., says he will insist that any federal disaster aid be paid for with cuts elsewhere.
CQ Roll Call reporter Jennifer Scholtes wrote for CQ.com Monday evening that Coburn said he would “absolutely” demand offsets for any federal aid that Congress provides.
Coburn added, Scholtes wrote, that it is too early to guess at a damage toll but that he knows for certain he will fight to make sure disaster funding that the federal government contributes is paid for.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/05/21/18396506-oklahomas-coburn-stakes-out-controversial-position-on-federal-aid?lite
Dmage releif FUNDS are already PAID FOR, you IDGITS! It’s called USA CITIZENS PAYING THEIR MUTHAFUCKIN TAXES!!!!!
How They Got To “Sesame Street” Ctd
May 20 2013 @ 8:01am
http://youtu.be/_ul7X5js1vE
A reader reflects:
That first Sesame Street episode made a big impression when I was five. The show’s premier was a major event for the white progressive moms in my neighborhood in Evanston, IL. I was actually wrangled before the TV set and told to watch it, a strange act for my mother, who was very anti-TV and later, in my early adolescence, refused on principal to repair the same set, leaving me tube-less until I moved away to university.
I was hooked on Sesame Street from the downbeat of the almost funky comp that underlies the theme song. The beautiful, gritty but fun scenes of children in New York fascinated me. They reminded me and eased my fears of what I considered to be a scary, urban world, only blocks away, across Howard St., the border of leafy, suburban Evanston with the City of Chicago.
At the time, the show didn’t seem so radical. Evanston was integrating. I had strong, quiet, proud, loving black teachers like Sesame Street’s Gordon, as well as black, Latin and Asian friends. I was a non-denominational child surrounded by Jewish and Catholic neighbors. But looking at it again from four decades on in the age of Obama, my goodness! It premiered the year after Martin Luther King’s murder, and its first scene has Gordon leading a little white girl down a big-city street and introducing her to all her new neighbors as if it was normal. My God, it wasn’t normal, but because of the show many of us were given the idea that it could be and, you know what, it’s no longer strange. We weren’t in bloody Kansas anymore.
Sesame Street was such a glorious, stealthy challenge to the status quo. I and millions of others, all blank slates, had the A-B-Cs, 1-2-3s and message of how people from different backgrounds can learn, grow and live together, written on us. It was given gently and with love by Gordon, Mr. Hooper, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Ernie & Bert and Grover. Even Stevie Wonder got into the act. If you want to see how cool Sesame Street is, look up the video of Stevie playing Superstitious on the show. It would make a great Mental Health Break if you haven’t run it already.
How people can get so worked up about PBS when it costs so little and has delivered things as great as Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers, Julia Child, Masterpiece Theatre and Nova seems to me small and cruel.
http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2013/05/20/how-they-got-to-sesame-street-ctd/
Dems betting heavily on GOP scandal overreach in 2014
By Greg Sargent, Published: May 20, 2013 at 3:36 pm
Will the current “scandals” underway in Washington damage Democrats in the 2014 Congressional races? Some Democratic strategists appear to be worried that they will. But Democrats overseeing House races are banking heavily on GOP overreach — on the likelihood that they will overplay their hand and provoke voter distaste similar to that triggered by Republicans during the 1998 Lewinsky years.
Dems have taken a two-pronged approach to today’s scandals: Dem officials and candidates quickly denounce it when there is clearly merit there — as many of them did when the IRS news hit — then quickly pivot to denouncing Republicans for refusing to focus on jobs and other immediate voter concerns.
“If you’re worried about this affecting Democratic prospects in 2014 you have missed
the fundamental frustration that voters have with the Republican congress,” DCCC deputy executive director Jesse Ferguson said in an interview this afternoon. “Voters are tired of Congress not focusing on the things that are important to them — whether that’s strengthening the middle class, fixing the budget, reducing gun violence, or passing immigration reform.”
“The real challenge for Republicans is the danger of overreach,” Ferguson added, pointing out that Republicans actually lost seats in 1998, defying historical trends that show the opposition gaining in the midterms of a president’s second term.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/05/20/dems-betting-heavily-on-gop-scandal-overreach-in-2014/
Let’s put it this way:
CAC is….
as
CAC does….
……………………………………………….
On immigration, Sen. Jeff Sessions tries to halt the inevitable
By Dana Milbank,
Not since George Wallace, perhaps, has an Alabamian taken as passionate a stand for a lost cause as the one Jeff Sessions is taking now.
Bipartisan immigration legislation is making its way inexorably through the Senate Judiciary Committee. Although its ultimate fate is unclear, its passage by the committee is assured, and conservatives on the panel such as ranking Republican Chuck Grassley (Iowa) and Orrin Hatch (Utah) are doing what they can to improve the bill. Even firebrands such as Ted Cruz (Tex.) and Mike Lee (Utah) are holding fire.
Then there’s Sessions. The wiry Southerner is on a one-man crusade to undo the compromise drafted by the Gang of Eight (four of whom, two Democrats and two Republicans, are colleagues on the committee).
He has dominated the four days of hearings to “mark up” the bill. As of midday Monday, he had spoken for two hours and 56 minutes — far longer than the second-place Grassley (2:24) and third-place Chuck Schumer of New York (1:38).
As of lunchtime Monday, Sessions had persuaded his colleagues to adopt just two of the 49 amendments he filed. (He voted against one of those two, after his colleagues modified it in a way he didn’t like.)
His most prominent defeat: a 17-1 vote last week against his proposal to restrict legal immigration. Before that bipartisan rebuke, he spent one hour and 11 minutes arguing his case.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-on-immigration-sen-jeff-sessions-tries-to-halt-the-inevitable/2013/05/20/d09faac0-c19c-11e2-ab60-67bba7be7813_story.html?tid=pm_opinions_pop
That SALTINE Sessions is one ignorant piece of white trash. Yeah, I said it.
Sessions is one ignorant racist bigot.
GOP’s goal isn’t deficit reduction. It’s gutting the safety net.
By Jamelle Bouie,
Published: May 20, 2013 at 11:25 am
This morning, Reuters noted that the odds of a “grand bargain” on taxes and spending between Democratic and Republican lawmakers are rapidly diminishing — because the deficit is falling. “A sudden improvement in the outlook for the government deficit over the next decade has alleviated some of the pressure on lawmakers to act,” Reuters observed. Likewise, Washington’s obsession with scandals — and the GOP’s attempt to wring political advantage from them — has taken the focus off of debt and spending.
But there’s something else that makes a “grand bargain” on the deficit unnecessary — the fact that Obama and Congress have already taken three major actions to deal with the deficit.
The 2011 Budget Control Act slashed spending by $1 trillion over the next ten years, including a cut to Medicare provider payments. The fiscal cliff deal, passed at the beginning of this year, included a tax increase for income over $450,000, raising $617 billion in new revenue from 2013 to 2022. It also included a hike in the estate tax, a permanent fix for the Alternative Minimum Tax, and additional unemployment benefits. And the sequester — which is the result of the Budget Control Act — involves large cuts of nearly $90 billion for nearly every year between 2014 and 2022.
Compare all of this to the “grand bargain” proposed by President Obama in his negotiations over the debt ceiling two years ago. The proposed deal — which was ultimately killed by conservative House Republicans — included Medicare provider cuts, $800 billion in new revenue, and discretionary spending cuts of $1.2 trillion over the next ten years.
In other words, the “grand bargain” Republicans rejected two years ago was ultimately passed in several installments beginning in 2011, and ending this January. Not only has Congress accomplished its goals with regards to deficit reduction — the Congressional Budget Office projects a $642 billion budget deficit for fiscal year 2013, down $200 billion from its projection at the beginning of the year — but Congress and the White House have achieved the impossible and cut a grand bargain that will affect federal spending for the next decade. Indeed, put in those terms, it’s something of a real accomplishment.
What all this shows is that the GOP was never really interested in a “grand bargain” to take debt and deficits off the table. Rather, as evidenced by the rhetoric of many Congressional Republican, the real goal was to dismantle the social safety net with aggressive cuts. At the moment, that hasn’t been successful — entitlements have been largely exempted. And that’s why Republicans are planning to use the looming need to raise the debt ceiling as another point at which to extract a ransom and cut entitlements. The real goal, after all, isn’t to reduce spending — you can do that without harming the social safety net, as the current falling deficit illustrates. Rather, the goal is to dramatically reduce the scope of what government does, particularly its ability to provide basic economic security to its citizens.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/05/20/gops-goal-isnt-deficit-reduction-its-gutting-the-safety-net/
Rush Limbaugh Claims Obama’s Blackness Will Save Him From Impeachment
By: Jason Easley
May. 20th, 2013
On his radio show, Rush Limbaugh told Republicans that they are wasting their time chasing Obama scandals, because America will not tolerate the removal of the first black president.
LIMBAUGH: Well, look, let me tackle this. I’ve seen all these — they’re almost predictable. “Don’t overplay it. Don’t act happy Obama’s in trouble. Don’t do it. Don’t gloat. Don’t laugh. Don’t look like you’re enjoying this. Don’t convey that you’re happy Obama’s in trouble, because all it’s gonna do is make the Republicans look like all they care about is getting Obama.” Folks, we are so far beyond any of that. In the first place, Obama isn’t in any trouble. I don’t know how else to say this. Obama’s not in any jeopardy whatsoever.
Folks, let me tell you something. I’m just gonna launch here. I’ll do this with as much restraint as possible. But in my humble thinking, the people of this country, if it came to this, are simply not going to tolerate the first black president being removed from office. And if that’s not gonna happen, all the rest of this is academic. The people of this country are not gonna tolerate the first African-American attorney general being removed from office. They’re just not gonna put up with it, and they’re not gonna sit by while it happens, no matter what.
Limbaugh was offering a twist on the tired Republican claim that Obama got elected president because he was a novelty. The big hole in this theory has always been that it doesn’t explain how Barack Obama was reelected to the presidency, but don’t look for logic in right wing attempts to delegitimize Obama.
Rush Limbaugh was correct about one thing. President Obama isn’t in trouble.
Do you want to know why Obama isn’t in trouble? He hasn’t done anything wrong. That’s the part that the right can’t wrap their heads around. They can run around screaming about Benghazi, the IRS, and the AP all day long. They can talk about impeachment. But when asked to provide evidence to back up their allegations of conspiracies and cover ups, they offer nothing.
They keep repeating the same worn out gibberish about how they just know that Obama is up to no good. The constitution is pretty clear on the fact that a president can’t be impeached based on feelings of up to no good. Republicans need evidence, and they don’t have any. The reason why none of these scandals have caught on with the broader public is that they lack both smoke and fire.
Limbaugh was trying to give Republicans an out. The claim that these scandals haven’t gone anywhere because Obama is the first black president is another psychological crutch that the right will use to justify their failure. It appeals to their racism to think that Obama would be removed from office if he wasn’t black.
The reality that Obama won’t be removed from office because he has done nothing wrong in invisible to Republicans, because in their eyes Barack Obama will always be guilty of being president while black.
http://www.politicususa.com/rush-limbaugh-claims-obamas-blackness-save-impeachment.html
When this fat tub of whale blubber goes down for the count, and they cut him open, they’ll actually get to see his veins and arteries full of OXYCONTIN & VIAGRA. That time can’t come soon enough for me. YEAH; I SAID IT.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEsPtV04x2E
SOON, VERY SOON
Fox News Correspondent Gets Busted as ‘Criminal Co-Conspirator’ in CIA Leak
By: Sarah Jones
May. 20th, 2013
Republicans demanded investigations into press leaks. They’re getting them. Sadly for them, one of the leaks came from a Fox News reporter who has been outed as a co-conspirator in a leak of classified documents. DER.
The GOP PR network issued a statement today condemning the fact that the Obama administration took Republicans’ demands to heart. Actually, they started investigating those leaks before the Republicans demanded it. Fox’s statement (my emphasis): “We are outraged to learn today that James Rosen was named a criminal co-conspirator for simply doing his job as a reporter. In fact, it is downright chilling. We will unequivocally defend his right to operate as a member of what up until now has always been a free press.”
The Washington Post dropped the bombshell on Monday that a federal judge had found probable cause that Fox News Chief Washington Correspondent (and historical revisionist and Nixon defender) James Rosen was a co-conspirator. Rosen reportedly solicited a top-secret CIA report on North Korea from government adviser Stephen Jin-Woo Kim in 2009, and unauthorized leaks are not covered under freedom of the press.
It looks like Fox’s man may have broken the law, which puts the propaganda outlet at risk for being a target. FBI agent Reginald Reyes wrote that “there was evidence Rosen had broken the law, ‘at the very least, either as an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator.’ That fact distinguishes his case from the probe of the AP, in which the news organization is not the likely target
http://www.politicususa.com/gop-demands-invesgiation-leaks-leakersco-conspirators-fox-news.html
Somebody Please Investigate the Republican Investigation of the IRS
A couple of things triggered my latest pundit redux on the IRS issue. Saturday night’s NBC Network News broadcast spent an inordinate amount of time questioning plain folks around the country on just how disgusted they were with that whole heavy-handed IRS thing. Knowing nothing about anything beyond Fox News, the respondents spoke sternly as one voice that the IRS actions (not that they knew what they were) were nauseous and revolting; downright un-American. The reporter, 19-year-old Miss Blinky County of 2011, nodded her head in grave agreement. There were no follow-up questions to dig for even the slightest hint of knowledge of the subject matter from the interviewees.
The second trigger was the suggestion from a comment section contributor relating to my last submission on the IRS. The reader stated that “Well, while I totally agree with your conclusion, you’re mixing up a 501-c-3 and 501-c-4. The latter allows NON PARTISAN (caps his) advocacy-lobbying, ballot measures, etc.” I won’t repeat the whole commentary here but it concluded with the issue being “all about c-4 designation, not c-3.” I do agree the IRS issue is essentially about (c) (4′s), but there are some (c) (3) Tea Party affiliates included in the investigative (or whatever you call it) mix as well.
Tea Party and Patriot 501 (c) (3′s) laughingly described as “charitable” organizations are also constrained to remain non-partisan and cannot, under any circumstances ‘support’ a political candidate. But, (c) (3′s) can (and do) lobby as well. Into the millions as long as the expenditures conform to a certain percentage of their operating budgets. They can also get involved in “non-partisan” activities such as GOTV. A (c) (4) can participate in “some” political activities, so long as that is not its primary activity and it meets the definition of “social welfare.” (ROTFLMAO)! (C) (4′s) spend huge money on political TV ads, but open themselves to being taxed in doing so. A real problem is that the regulations are written in such a way as to be open to multiple interpretations.
I’ve visited dozens of tax sites and no two are exactly the same on the subject. I’ve seen (c) (4′s) described as “self-declaring” and their business is none of the IRS’s business for example. Or how about this gem? A social welfare organization must be operated exclusively to promote social welfare. As such, the organization cannot directly or indirectly participate or intervene in political campaigns for or against someone running for office. But they can participate in “some” political activity so long as that is not its primary activity. In most cases that should be pretty easy to quantify.
Yes, the language is oft-times vague and confusing, but it doesn’t mean that the IRS cannot seek out potential tax-evading abusers, even though such abusers might overwhelmingly represent one political party.
Republicans and their charitable and social welfare pals are ever-expanding the IRS issue so it will have legs right up to the 2014 elections. A sample copy of an IRS request letter to the attorney of TheTeaParty.net (TTP.n) group has been released by the law firm under the heading of “IRS Targeted Harassment of Grassroots Conservative 501 (c) (4) Organizations.” The author of that line was somebody at DB Capitol Strategies PLLC. This outfit provides “legal, strategic and operational guidance” to political organizations, especially with PAC and FEC compliance issues. Head Honcho, Dan Backer is especially proud of enabling “non-connected” (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) Grassroots PACs to engage in campaign contribution activity. His law buddy is Jerad Najvar. He once carried the water for Texas Republican Senators (past and present), Kay Bailey Hutchinson and John Cornyn. ‘Nuff said!
http://www.politicususa.com/investigate-republican-investigation-irs.html
‘We May Have To Close Schools’: Five Districts That Are Grappling With Sequestration’s Budget Cuts
By Bryce Covert on May 20, 2013 at 2:30 pm
While many public schools will be able to stave off some of the harshest impacts of sequestration with other sources of revenue, those that serve military families and Native American communities are in a much more difficult situation. That’s because they rely heavily on federal Impact Aid. That money goes to schools on or near military bases and Native American reservations that don’t collect as much in tax revenues as other public schools to help fill the gap.
Sequestration will reduce the $1.2 billion these schools normally receive by more than $60 million. According to analysis by the Center for American Progress, there are nearly 150 schools in the country relying on more than $1 million in aid. Some could see cuts in the millions of dollars.
The National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, which works closely with these communities, is conducting a survey of school districts grappling with this reduction in funding. While the full results won’t be ready for another month, the preliminary report, shared with ThinkProgress, shows that many are already facing drastic choices. One school warned that “we may have to close schools” and another cautioned that “closure is always a possibility.” Six of the nine schools it talked to will have to consider closing schools if sequestration continues past next year.
The Window Rock Unified School District in Arizona gets just under 60 percent of its funding from federal aid. This year it eliminated about 65 staff positions through attrition and cut down its buildings from seven to four. If sequestration continues, it will have to close schools, many of which are in areas of high unemployment and poverty.
The Harlem Elementary School District didn’t rehire for some positions and asked 100 employees to cut $100 from their operational budgets to deal with a 47 percent cut to the budget this year. It also canceled Kindergarten for a day, but one five-year-old still came to school because he was hungry and needed his state-subsidized breakfast. Next year it will have to dip into reserves or hold fundraisers. After that it will have to cut staff, go over the state class size limit, and look at closing schools.
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/05/20/2038001/schools-sequestration-impact-aid/?mobile=nc
“Central Park Five” Film Makes Journalists’ Guilt Clear
“The Central Park Five” has been a book, a theatrical movie and a PBS film that aired last month, indicting the news media as well as police and prosecutors in each iteration. But how much difference will it make?
“Filmmakers Sarah and Ken Burns, not to mention the Central Park Five, think it’s time for someone to apologize,” David Hinckley wrote last month in the Daily News in New York as the film made its PBS debut.
The “someone” might be news media members who abandoned their skepticism and went for what they believed the best storyline, helping to ruin lives as they convicted the suspects with their headlines, commentary and television scripts.
…………………………………….
Three of the freed men have filed a $50 million lawsuit against the city, asserting that their admissions were coerced and accusing law enforcement of misconduct. The city continues to fight the lawsuit. The Daily News has called for a rapid hearing for the freed men and opposed an attempt by the city to secure outtakes from Burns’ documentary, Arthur Browne, editorial page editor, told Journal-isms. But the News has not commented on the media’s conduct in covering the case, he said.
Scott McConnell, a Post editorial writer at the time, wrote this month in the American Conservative, “In the city, in the journalistic community, and certainly at the Post, no one thought much of the fact that there was no matching DNA evidence with the rape victim. Who knew about such things? They had the confessions, didn’t they? Moreover, the only people in the city claiming the kids were innocent were the black press and activists who had already discredited themselves by making false charges, and their slogan — ‘The Boyfriend Did It’ — was hardly likely to appeal to fair-minded people who might have questioned the discrepancies in the prosecution’s case. . . .”
It would be a mistake to think of this case as only one of race, when it was also one of class. The journalists piling on the black and brown youth included some African Americans.
Hancock wrote, “In a Daily News column, Bob Herbert, one of the few black reporters covering the case, made fun of both the boys’ appearance and their lack of cash during the first trial. Herbert, now a columnist for the Times, caricatured them as ‘teenage mutants.’ He described sixteen-year-old [Antron] McCray as a ‘wimpish pipsqueak’ in June of 1990. He pointed out that [Yusef] Salaam wore two pistachio-colored socks and [Raymond] Santana, by then fifteen, apparently could afford neither bail nor a sports jacket. In his December 9, 2002, New York Times column, Herbert called the original jogger case coverage ‘racist’ and ‘way, way over the top.’ He cast blame on the authorities, on the violent climate, and on a ‘dopey defense strategy,’ yet did not detail his personal contribution as a compliant reporter. . .
http://mije.org/richardprince/will-media-ever-apologize#five
Every muthafuckin journalist, cop, and the prosecutor needs to APOLOGIZE, not just Black, Black, BLACKETY BLACK Bob Herbert.
Soledad O’Brien Developing “White in America”
“CNN correspondent Soledad O’Brien, known for her ‘Black in America’ documentaries that sometimes irk viewers, is now turning her cameras on whites,” Paul Bedard reported Wednesday for his “Washington Secrets” column in the Washington Examiner.
“She says in a statement to Secrets: ‘We’re not just working on
“BIA,” but also developing a ‘White in America.’ Stay tuned for that
one.
“Her statement came in reaction to a Secrets story about her
appearance in a short video posted by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics, based in part on a speech she gave to the college about race and her ‘Black in America’ series. She was just named a distinguished visiting fellow at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.
http://mije.org/richardprince/will-media-ever-apologize#soledad
THIS:
“Actually, groups that are dedicated to Social Welfare are, by definition, ‘left’ groups. Apparently, when 501c4 groups do what they were INTENDED to do, old Turtleface has a problem with it. But when they start doing what they were NEVER intended to do (engage in 100% partisan political campaigns, spending hundreds of millions on political attack ads against Obama), Mitch is all for them.”
Good Morning, Everyone! :-)
Any word on friends and loved one living in Oklahoma? DJ from JJP?
Good Morning, Everyone.
Continued prayers for everyone in OK.
I tried to wrap my mind around a 2-mile wide tornado, and I just can’t.
no word from dj.
Lord we ask that you lift DJ, his family and all Oklahomans up in prayer.
In Jesus Name!
AMEN!
Morning, everyone!
Pray for Oklahoma! I pray DJ & his family are alright. Lift him up everyone!
AMEN!