The Black Informant

Clothes? They Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Clothes!

“Clothing is wonderful, but let them go naked for a while, at least the kids,” Heinz Kerry said, raising some eyebrows. “Water is necessary, and then generators, and then food, and then clothes.” (full article)

Ah, our favorite African-American woman tells it like it is. The truth is, I know what she meant. She is just in dire need of communication skills.

I tell you what, Black people better keep her directness in mind when voting for Kerry. She may very well say something like “Y’all stop complaining and get off yo lazy tails and get a job!”

Also click here for another picture I created for our big sis.

I Know This Is Old News But…

I happened to catch “The O’Reilly Factor” last night and he was interviewing HUD secretary Alphonso Jackson. I do not recall ever hearing him speak before, but I must say, I was very impressed. I have heard many black conservative/moderates in various interviews that have on many occasions rode the party line more than addressing the issues directly. Secretary Jackson not only stayed on point, but he went further and addressed the true issue that plagues the African-American community: the victim mindset. He talked about how people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton continue to convince Black America that they need entitlements instead of delivering a message of self-reliance. He also was asked why many Black people still see Clinton as the first black president when the current administration has invested more into the Black community (more school funding, increased home ownership, etc). Jackson said that when people like Clinton speak to black people, they emotionalizes the message, and tells us what we need. This leaves the people feeling good for the moment.

He is exactly right!

Clinton has always relied on the support of black people because he knows that we are the only group that will not challenge him on any issues. He still plays this role to this day. He moves his office into Harlem and we adopt him as our own. Al Gore is also playing this same game.I will never forget the footage that I saw of him trying to preach like a black man (he must have watched a lot of T.D. Jakes videos). And of course the crowd went wild.

I tell you what, if Kerry wins this election, don’t expect him to move into the hood. Can you see Kerry trying to preach like a black man? If you want a good laugh to start your weekend, then imagine this picture with me: Kerry in a black church saying “When I think, of the goodness of Jeeeeeeeeeeesus, and Allllllllllllllllll that he has done for me, my soul, I said MY SOUL! Slap 3 people and say “MY, my, my, my, my SOUL” cries out hallelujah…I just thank God…for saving me!

At this point, he begins to shout and kick over a few chairs.

Booker Rising comments on Secretary Alphonso getting booed at the Black Baptist convention.

Support Black Business!

This was a phase that I remember hearing a lot of during the 80’s and 90’s. I can remember how my friends and I used to talk with great pride the importance of supporting one another in the field of business and entrepreneurship. As I became older, reality began to settle in for me.

When my Dad would see a business that was owned by a fellow African-American, he would (on most occasions) do his part to support that business by buying something from them - even if he did not need it. He was just glad to see US having our own. As time went on, I then remember my dad slowly becoming frustrated with most of the business dealings that he had with other African-Americans. I remember him complaining about things such as the quality of the work, people not showing up when they were supposed to (when he would call them to ask them why they were late, they would get mad at him), poor customer service, etc. The biggest complaint that I remember my Dad had was high cost. It got to the point in our household that anytime someone would offer some kind of service to our household, one of the first questions we would ask would be “are they black?” I cannot begin to tell you all the time, money, and most importantly, friends that have been lost all because of bad business experiences.

The sad thing about all of this was that our success rate of good business relations among other people groups has been (in most cases) much higher than that of African-Americans. Please understand, when my family would do business with fellow African-Americans, we always held them to the same standard that we would with any other business (show up when you say you will, don’t get an attitude when I question your service, charge a competitive market price). In other words, if a brotha was just starting out, we did not expect him to operate on the level of Donald Trump, nor did we expect a hook-up. In fact, if the brotha did a good job, we would give him a little extra.

When the time came, I moved from my old neighborhood to the ATL. For the seven years that I lived there, I pretty much saw the same thing that I described earlier what my dad experienced , except that it was on a much broader scale (being that I was in Atlanta — the nation’s black capital).

When I think about small businesses that have the full support of the community, I can’t help but not to think of the Asian community. The entrepreneurial spirit that this people group have goes a lot deeper than a 4-year college degree. Entrepreneurship is very synonymous with the Asian culture. In fact, it has been that way for thousands of years. Usually, by the time an Asian child is able to talk, they are already learning the family business. This is not the case most of the time for African-Americans. Unless we are fortunate enough to have an entrepreneur in our immediate family, the skills that are needed to succeed in starting a business usually rely solely on a,college education. This, I believe, contributes to why many small black-owned businesses do not experience the longevity that Asian or other race-owned businesses experience.

There are many black-owned businesses out there that are successful, and have been that way for years. But unfortunately, I see them as the exception instead of the norm. To this day, I still see the same bad characteristics in many black-owned businesses that I saw growing up (again, I stress that my expectation is no different then when I go to a white-owned business)

For me, now I am at the point where depending on the type of business, if the business is black-owned, I will steer far away from it. This is something I really hate to do, but business is business.

—What do YOU think about what I said about this topic? I know that this is a very touchy one for US, but I know that I am not the only one that has seen this. Please share your thoughts on this. I am really interested on what you have to say on this.

Something that Black Folk May have Overlooked

“Police brutality and excessive force is a national crisis that requires the immediate action of President Clinton and U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno,” Mfume said. (full article)
Date of article is not given

For some time now, groups like the NAACP have hardly lost the breath to remind America of the horrors of police brutality that they claim is commonplace in the Black community. I do agree with the NAACP that police brutality is something that needs to be addressed (because it does happen);however, this does bring up another question. How can it me that a vast majority of black “leadership” push for the idea of increased gun control? Since they claim they represent African-Americans, wouldn’t they want to see us protect ourselves from this “national crisis”?

Many of these “leaders” have taken the stance that by eliminating guns from the hands of the common man, the crime rate in our communities will go down. This line of reasoning is very skewed to say the least. Guns do not make people violent no more than a can of beer makes a man into an abusive alcoholic spouse.

This is yet another example of how these so-called “leaders” want to take control out of the hands of the people and place it into the hands of massa government. Although Police brutality is a real issue, many leaders turn this issue into a scare-tactic in order to get blacks to completely rely on the government while the ones that are doing the scaring reap the benefits of political favors.

On southern plantations, slaves that reinforced the slave master’s system of making slaves more docile were usually rewarded in some fashion. This gun control issues is yet another example of how that self-destructing arrangement is still going on today.

If groups like the NAACP were as docile a few decades ago as they are today, the only thing that Malcolm X could do to protect his family would be to look out the window.

UPDATE: Here is a question from one of my readers:

I’m Not following your reasoning. Are you saying black people need to pull out the arm themselves against the police? are we supposed to start shooting cops?

Of course not! What I am saying is that if you listen closely to those who (with a emotional sense of urgency I may add) continuously describe the whole police brutality against Blacks issue, you would think that there is an all out war in the streets between cops and Black people. If we were to move on these “leaders” sense of urgency, Black people should be armed to protect themselves against this so-called nationwide aggression from the police.

The truth is, although police brutality is a real issue in which blacks are targeted, it is nowhere near the degree in which these “leaders” want the world to think. A majority of Blacks today can move about in this country without worrying about the chance that a cop is tailing them. If it does happen, in most cases, the laws of this land can bring justice. The problem that I have with black “leaders” on this issue is that they will take one issue of police brutality and blow it up to a “nationwide threat”.

Most police officers are hard-working individuals that put their lives on the line everyday to ensure the saftey of my black butt. It is sad that they do not get the pay that they deserve.

Trust me, I’ve had my share of “sour” interactions with police and security guards. Either it was a case of mistaken identity or the guy just seemed to have some “issues”. In any event, it did not leave me with an emotional scar, nor did it prompt me to contact my congressman for intervention. I dealt with the issue and moved on with my life. If most black people are honest, they have had similar encounters–unlike the “racist evil cop” picture that most Black “leaders” want to present to the world. To compare my “interesting” encounters with the police to that of what our elders had to deal with would be ludicrous.

But as far as the issue of the right to bear arms, all Americans deserve that right.

The Fighta of da People!

As you read the article below, keep the theme of Shaft in your mind while looking at the picture above.

“Republicans want you to sit out this election and simply stay home,” one radio ad tells listeners. It continues, “Bush is a rich man in the White House who is sending black men and women to be slaughtered in Iraq while Cheney and Halliburton boys get rich on oil. Don’t keep getting played.”

And a television ad states, “Bush said prosperity was right around the corner, but he wasn’t talking about the corners in your neighborhood. What are you going to do about it?” (full article)

Hey, don’t laugh! They called Clinton “The first black president”!

Booker Rising also had a posting on this (Anti-Bush Ads Geared to Young Blacks)

The Senator from MASSA-chusetts Assures His Plantation of Voters

Yes, Massa Kerry has delivered yet another inspiring “preserve the plantation” speech to his most loyal field hands: The Congressional Black Caucus (this is the same group that declined to meet with their most loyal constituents: Black pastors from all over the US [read my posting on this]. I guess they somehow found the time to meet with one man [Kerry], as opposed to about 160 Black Pastors that flew in from all over the country). Kerry brought a message of determination that he would fight for Black America.

Below is a copy of the New York Times’ account of Kerry’s at the recent CBC conference. I will interject my thoughts in between. To read the full article by itself, click here.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 - Senator John Kerry suggested on Saturday that Republicans might be trying to suppress black votes in key electoral battlegrounds, pledging to an audience of the capital’s black elite to make sure that “every vote is counted and every vote counts.”

[Enter the conspiracy theory here. He gives no proof of any such plot]

“We are not going to stand by and allow another million African-American votes to go uncounted in this election,”

Where is he getting “million“? I thought that the election was closer than that? Besides, any votes that did not get counted would have included other races and age groups–not just Blacks]

Drawing the only standing ovation of his 35-minute speech, he said: “We are hearing those things already. What they did in Florida in 2000, some say they may be planning to do this year in battleground states all across this country.”

[What things are you hearing? Here he uses the same scare tactics that was used on the slave plantations: “Those Yankees are bad people. In fact, I heard that they will kill you on the spot”.]

Representative Elijah E. Cummings, Democrat of Maryland and the chairman of the caucus, noted that President Bush had also been invited to the event but did not attend.

[”You know, he speaks the truth. Otherwise, that mean Mr. Bush would have came here to give us some hope.” “Dang those yanks and their dirty tricks!”]

Mr. Kerry pointed to an earlier decision of Mr. Bush not to meet with the N.A.A.C.P. and declared, “We’re not going to let them put a ‘do not enter’ sign on the White House of the United States of America.”

[Hum-mm. I wonder if Collin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, or Roderick Paige saw that same sign?]

“They’ve even mocked the very notion that there are two Americas,” Mr. Kerry said of his Republican opponents. “Well, they should spend time with struggling families in the hills of Appalachia, or in public housing in cities across this country, or in the barrios of East L.A. and then tell us our journey to build one America is finished.”

[”Even though I own several million-dollar homes located far away from these places, your great white massa knows what it is like to be in the hood. In fact, my motorcade sped though one the other day]

The sad thing about all of this is that the crowd ate it all up.

When you disrespect your own constituents for the sake of politics, you will get no respect from me. I only hope the true leaders in that organization that are trying to do something positive get the courage enough to leave and become the leaders that they are meant to be.

Hope is on the way!!!

The Republican party is almost just as guilty.

NAACP shows its true “colors” (and they are the colors of the Democratic party)

CLEVELAND - The Ohio NAACP has withdrawn a convention speaking invitation to U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige at the request of the group’s national office. Ohio NAACP President Sybil Edwards-McNabb said Thursday that the leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People told her there was an “imbalance” in her slate of convention speakers. She said she had invited President Bush and the Democratic nominee for president, Sen. John Kerry. …The Rev. Al Sharpton, who spoke at Friday’s opening session, represented the Kerry campaign… (full article)

President Bush agreed to send Paige to the convention - but, according to Edwards-McNabb, the Kerry campaign didn’t bother to respond to an invitation.
It is no secret that national NAACP officials don’t want to see President Bush be reelected. But the fact that the Kerry campaign apparently could find no one qualified to discuss education strategy - or didn’t bother to try - is no reason to penalize those at the Ohio state convention. They deserved the opportunity to hear Paige discuss an issue of importance to all Ohioans. (full article)

It would be very wise at this time for the NAACP to change the name of the organization to reflect their true nature.

When one thinks of the phrase “advancement of colored people”, you would think that there would be great excitement to see a “colored” person actually advance to the highest post of the American educational system. This is not the case with the NAACP. Once again, they put politics over purpose. The fact that this organization would choose to have Al Sharpton speak on education over the U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige shows their intent on keeping blacks on the plantation of misinformation and propaganda.

The NAACP has performed yet another jig at the crack of the whip of their “massa”…the Democratic Party.

Additional comments: (Booker Rising) - “Hmmm. This is never an issue when liberal speakers stack NAACP events. A lifelong NAACP member who heads the department addressing one of blacks’ key issues gets disinvited because he’s a conservative / Republican? Shameful. And Mr. Mfume doesn’t know what’s going down in his own office?”

A Day of Remembrance: 9-11

One of the ways that I want to remember 9-11 is by posting this archived page from CNN from September 12, 2001 (all emphasis are mine. Click here for full article):

Congress vows unity, reprisals for attacks
September 12, 2001 Posted: 10:58 AM EDT (1458 GMT)

(click here to see the video - need RealPlayer)

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Members of Congress promised to “stand together” and vowed revenge in the aftermath of terror attacks Tuesday that killed hundreds, perhaps thousands, in Washington and New York.

Tuesday evening, lawmakers gathered on the steps of the Capitol for a symbolic display of unity and an apparently spontaneous chorus of “God Bless America.”

“Senators and House members, Democrats and Republicans will stand shoulder-to-shoulder to fight this evil that has perpetrated on this nation,” said House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois. “We will stand together to make sure that those who have brought forth this evil deed will pay the price.”

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-South Dakota, assailed the “despicable acts” and declared that Congress would convene Wednesday.

“As the representatives of the people, we are here to declare that our resolve has not been weakened by these horrific and cowardly acts,” he said.

“This is obviously an act of war that has been committed on the United States,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona. And Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, called the attacks “a declaration of war” that “demands a forceful response.”

Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the U.S. should pursue retaliation “whatever the cost.”

“The message has to be that we’re gonna hunt you down and we’re gonna find you and we’re gonna make you pay that price,” Shelby said. “We’re not gonna let you attack our people innocent people and walk away, because if we do there will be more attacks.”

But some lawmakers also blasted the intelligence community for not anticipating the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Shelby called it “a failure of great dimensions” on the part of U.S. intelligence, but said most warnings of attacks on Americans were from overseas.

“We had no specific warning of the United States being attacked, although people have alluded to that before,” Shelby said. “We’ve got to do better. We must do better.

Intelligence ‘complacency’ assailed

Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pennsylvania, blamed a lack of intelligence resources and “a complacency that has set in America over the past 10 years” for the lack of warning.

The House of Representatives and Senate are scheduled to convene Wednesday morning to pass resolutions condemning the attacks. Lawmakers may also hold a prayer vigil, possibly in the Rotunda, on Wednesday night.

Some lawmakers were quick to blame Osama bin Laden, the millionaire Saudi exile blamed for the 1998 bombings at two U.S. embassies in Africa. He is believed to be in hiding in Afghanistan.

“This looks like the signature of Osama bin Laden,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who said he had been briefed by high-level government officials on the matter. “We’re going to find out who did this and we’re going after the bastards.”

Added Kerry, “I have no doubt in my mind it’s Osama Bin Laden.”

“It’s very much in keeping with the threats he has made,” Kerry said. “The intelligence community has known all summer they have building up for some kind of attack.”
Kerry said a number of attempted attacks, or plans for attacks, have been “thwarted” this summer. He said he was briefed by CIA Director George Tenet on this a few weeks ago.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, called for a military response to the attacks. All four of the crashed planes had originally been headed for California.

“To the loved ones of those who have been killed or injured I extend my deepest sympathy,” Feinstein said. “Their deaths must not be in vain.”

– CNN Congressional Correspondent Jonathan Karl contributed to this report.

Can’t Beat a Dead Horse

Check out these links for the latest on the whole forgery thing. Keep in mind that CBS news has been trailing in the polls for a very long time. That explains their “excessive swing” when they decided to go for this story. They were hoping for the “home run” that would put them back on the map.

The first two listed below actually took part in first breaking this story. A huge win for the blogsphere!

Little Green Footballs

Powerline

La Shawn Barber

Hear Straight From the Soliders Themselves

Operation Truth is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that seeks to educate the American public about the truth of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from the perspective of the soldiers who have experienced them first-hand.

Click here to go to Operation Truth!

Congressional Black Caucus Disses Black Clergy (Rant of fire!!!)

WASHINGTON - The 160 black clergy came from 26 states - as far away as Texas, Colorado and California - to meet with the Congressional Black Caucus.
They invited the caucus to their Monday morning news conference in the Rayburn house Office Building, where they affirmed: “Gay marriage is not a civil right” and asked for caucus support in their opposition to same-sex marriage.
The members of the Black Caucus were no-shows - except one, who arrived late.
Almost all of Washington’s media also ignored the event, despite wide distribution of notices about the press conference. [emphasis are mine] (full article)

Maybe, this conscience of the congress was asleep.

Although this was to be expected by the CBC, I still feel great outrage towards this organization right now! Their response to the black clergy only out dates this useless organization more than what it already is.

What really gets me going about this latest CBC move is their blatant hypocrisy. When they want to be re-elected, where is the first place that they go to get votes? You got it - THE CHURCH! In fact, most of them will be in church this Sunday! The CBC is one of the same organizations that will cry to no end claiming that black people do not get their voices heard in the political process. Yet these minstrel puppets for liberals (who would do a jig at a snap of the fingers of either Clinton or Kerry) have turned right around and diss the very same people that they claim that they are trying to help.

The unspoken statement that the CBC made on Monday was that “gay rights was the same as civil rights”. They just did not have the gall to say it themselves. To equate a person that chooses a certain lifestyle versus a person that was born black is absolutely ridiculous. If the truth be told, most of them (members of the CBC) don’t even believe that. To associate the gay agenda with everything OUR people suffered for is the equivalent of someone going to MLK’s grave site in Atlanta and defecating on it. If a person chooses to live a homosexual lifestyle, that is their choice. But don’t insult the black race by equating their “struggle” with what our forefathers had to go through. Any Black congressman or woman who believes this should leave Washington and get another job.

These Pastors that came together to make a joint statement on the whole issue of same-sex marriage deserve some great credit for their part in getting the truth out that most black people are opposed to same-sex marriages. Hopefully, more Pastors will get on board with these brave men.

There are some members of the CBC that do not reflect the actions of this awful incident. The time is coming for the real Black leaders to stand up and stop playing political games with the Black community. You cannot enjoy the “benefits” of your Black association and diss the the people that you claim you are trying to help. The time has come for these good leaders that are in these played-out organizations to either make the decision and lead, or just step.

The $9 Trillion Problem: Poverty

Believe it or not, this number is growing. Jenifer Zeigler of the Cato Institute talks about how our nation’s habbit of just throwing money at this issue has done very little to stop ever-increasing reported cases of poverty.

“Well, one candidate believes the solution is to spend more money on social programs, while the other believes the solution is to spend more money on … social programs. Since 2000, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (the traditional welfare program) spending has increased 6 percent. What did we get for that money? A higher poverty rate. Obviously a stagnant economy and poor job market are responsible for the increase in those living below the poverty line. However, spending more money on social programs is not raising them back out of poverty.” (full article)

NAACP Gets Schooled Again from the Coz

“There’s a tremendous amount of dirty laundry that these kids bring in,” he said, “when their mother brings in three different men in the course of about 12 years, and all the men coming from some low form of life. When the child witnesses the mother being battered, then making love to the man, then being battered again, then putting him out and taking him back in, this child is helpless and scarred forever.” (full article)

I didn’t realize that the NAACP has this many conferences in the span of a few months. What is sad and kinda funny at the same time is that the NAACP has all of that “brain trust” that shows up at their meetings, and the rest of the world knows very little about it. Cosby (basically an old man) shows up, tells it like it is, then leaves. The media is then all over it.

Strong Medicine, but the Brotha Makes a Good Point

In today’s edition of the LA Times, John McWhorter wrote an article on the whole African-American Vs. Black debate. I will include a couple of paragraphs, but you must go to latimes.com for the rest of it.

“Modern America is home now to millions of immigrants who were born in Africa. Their cultures and identities are split between Africa and the United States. They have last names like Onwughalu and Senkofa. They speak languages like Wolof, Twi, Yoruba and Hausa, and speak English with an accent. They were raised on African cuisine, music, dance and dress styles, customs and family dynamics. Their children often speak or at least understand their parents’ native language.”

“With the number of African immigrants in the U.S. nearly tripling since 1990, the use of “African American” is becoming increasingly strained. For example, Alan Keyes, the Republican Senate candidate in Illinois, has claimed that as a descendant of slaves, he is the “real” African American, compared with his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, who has an African father and white mother. And the reason Keyes and others are making arguments such as this is rather small, the idea being that “African American” should refer only to people with a history of subordination in this country — as if African immigrants such as Amadou Diallo, who was killed by police while reaching for his wallet, or Caribbean ones such as torture victim Abner Louima have found the U.S. to be the Land of Oz.” (full article - login required)

I doubt very seriously that if most of us dropped the term African-American, we would go into some state of confusion. I commented about this whole thing not to long ago. There are many people in the black community that do not want to consider 1st generation Africans as being “authentic African-Americans”. I believe that this is largely in part that the fact that Africans can come over to this country with nothing, and through hard work and sacrifice, become successful WITHOUT GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION flies in the face of all those who believe that Blacks cannot make it in America.

Years ago, we were pumping ourselves up about going back to Africa to help rebuild. Now Africans are coming over here and taking the jobs that we don’t want.

Don’t Front!

There is a lot of talk in the media that suggests that the economy is going to be a, if not the deciding factor in these coming elections. You know as well as I that that is a bunch of crap! Even John Kerry has bought into this line. With unemployment claims on the decline, Kerry still is beating the drum of “hopelessness” in the job market.

I would be crazy not to acknowledge that domestic issues are very important and need to be dealt with. But when you put the choice of giving a man a job next to security, the choice is very obvious. There are many people, including yours truly, that lost their jobs right after 9/11. I didn’t blame the government for loosing my job. Instead, the situation forced me to use my creativity to generate income in other ways. Looking back now, my whole career path has changed, and I could not be any more happier.

Even though September 11th was a tragic last day for about 3,000 people, the millions of us that were spared still live in a country where the thought that one of the passengers on a public bus might be a suicide bomber does not exist. We survived 9/11 and live in a country were we can move on with our lives and careers. One bomb can instantaneously eliminate that freedom. Money may be something we all want, but in the end, making sure that your hide is safe is something even the staunchest liberal really wants.

I was channel surfing the other day and I came across Neil Cavuto on Fox. It was the end of his show and he was giving his talking points. Here is what he had to say on the issue of economy versus security:

“Do you think any of the parents of all those kids killed at the hands of Chechen terrorists in that Russian school are counting their rubles now? Or the families of victims of those two plane crashes in the same country at the hands of the same Chechen terrorists are thinking much about their jobs?
No, it’s hard to delight in your riches, when those you want to share them with are dead.
Just try to talk about the economy to any of the 18 families in Israel who lost sons and daughters and mothers and fathers in those twin bus bombings there and see how far you’d get.” (full article)

Wake up! Revolution Time!

revolution - a drastic and far-reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving…

Some years back, Gil Scott-Heron, a black poet who wrote the poem “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” during the turbulent 60’s was very close to getting it right for this era as well. His poem that was a diatribe against the mass media’s trivialization of social upheaval should now say “The Revolution is Also Being Televised” for the era that we are now in.

Weather you want to admit it or not, we are at the beginnings of a major revolution. I believe that the events of 9/11 forced the US to face the fact that we are not only at war with terrorism, but in many ways with ourselves. 9/11 was that cold shower that woke us up to the fact that the very fabric of our nation that had been woven by the rich and deep values of our forefathers has now become a very worn garment. I can still remember how much our country united together after that awful day. There was no partisan bickering, 527 attack ads, etc. And who can forget the picture of the congressmen and women in DC uniting together on the steps of the Capital building singing “God Bless America”? Yet in the midst of all of this “love”, Rep. Cynthia McKinney does the unthinkable at that time and blames Bush for the attacks. People all over the country was ready to see her hang from the gallows for making such a divisive statement. If the truth be told, her remarks only reflected the division that had been brewing in this country for some time (even before the 2000 elections).

Since McKinney’s remarks, the war between those that hold dear the values of this nation (as defined by the Constitution and Declaration of Independence) and those that seek to merge with the socialist ideologies of the rest of the world has been very evident to say the least. Newspapers, magazines, movies, books, cartoons, sporting events, etc. have now increased their role as being a part of the great battleground in which this revolution is being waged.

Some time ago, I commented on a recent The National Endowment for the Arts report entitled Reading at Risk. Here were my comments:

Apparently, they did a study entitled “Reading at Risk”. The biggest surprise in this study is that they found a -28% decline in literary reading between 1982 and 2002 in the 18-24 year age group. That is very scary. Only 37.1% of African-Americans were found to have read some type of literature in a 12-month period ending August 2002.
If less people are reading, then what are people basing their political views on besides what they hear from the media?

It is very true that while reading has gone down, the amount of time that we spend watching television, playing video games, and on-line has gone up. I must say that as a former “gamer”, I have become quite concerned of the trend in which bright and intelligent grown men that have the ability to impact society as we know it make the unwise choice to spend hours upon hours playing with their Xbox, or PlayStation (Now before you get “ticked”, I am not saying that gaming is bad. Instead, what I am suggesting is that a lot of our ingenuity is being wasted when we WITHOUT DISCIPLINE engage in fruitless activities that does nothing to better us as a person).

Ivan Pavlov, a famous physiologist who did a great deal of study on the science of conditioned reflexes believed that the following, from his research was true about mankind:

“…a man, like an animal, conditioned to respond to certain impulses,
can be conditioned to respond to words, phrases and symbols. Therefore you pour in
the words, phrases and symbols to which he will respond without thinking . And then you withhold other certain words which will cause him to respond
in a way which you may not desire. It is the scientific control of human beings by
means of control [of] information.”

From a speech given by Herbert Philbrick. I found this excerpt in the book entitled “The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America” written by Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt.

As I said in a previous posting, in the end, it really is not going to matter who wins this election. The increase of clear media bias/propaganda is here to stay. I believe that the days of taking news reports at face value are now just about gone. It is not an uncommon thing these days to see once successful magazines, newspapers either just go out of business, or get bought out. The more these vehicles of unique thought shut down, the more the whole concept of individual thought becomes lost.

So as you can see, a revolution of ideologies is happening right now. If you want to see it, it is as close as your nearest television set. Either way, you are part of this revolution. You just have to choose your side.

Yes, Mr. Heron, this revolution is also being televised.

Bush is to Blame for the Storms in Florida!

Sounds crazy, right? But when I went to the CNN web page this morning, I clicked on their daily Quick Vote section and saw the following question:

Do you think global warming has led to more frequent and intense storms?

Now, it just so happens that Bush declined to get the US fully involved in the Kyoto Protocol agreement partially because other developing countries that are just as guilty as the US in emitting gas emissions that supposedly destroy the ozone layer were left off of the Kyoto list. The government website fueleconomy.gov gives a further explanation of the US’ response on Kyoto:

While the United States is the world’s largest emitter of man made greenhouse gases accounting for almost 20 percent of the world’s man-made greenhouse emissions, we also account for about one-quarter of the world’s economic output. We recognize the responsibility to reduce our emissions. We also recognize the other part of the story — that the rest of the world emits 80 percent of all greenhouse gases. And many of those emissions come from developing countries.
This is a challenge that requires a 100 percent effort; ours, and the rest of the world’s. The world’s second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases is China. Yet, China was entirely exempted from the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol.
India and Germany are among the top emitters. Yet, India was also exempt from Kyoto. These and other developing countries that are experiencing rapid growth face challenges in reducing their emissions without harming their economies. We want to work cooperatively with these countries in their efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions and maintain economic growth. [emphasis from me] (full article)

It might sound as though that I am reading a little bit too much in that poll question; however, given spinNN’s (CNN) proven track record of putting a spin on the news they report, the timing of the question, and the fact that we are just seeing the beginning of nasty ad season, don’t be too surprised to see this subject come up again.

Fox news posted something on the whole global warming thing that kinda sums up how I feel about it:

From 1953 to 1991, an average of 768 tornadoes were reported per year, but since 1990, records list over 1,000 tornadoes each year … Spring is tornado season, with about 50 percent for all reported tornadoes occurring from April through June,” adds NCAR.
Five hundred-plus tornadoes may be a record for a single month, but it’s not so unusual after all.
As to India’s killer heat wave, it sounds like the Indians need more economic development so that they can afford better living conditions and better medical care.
In contrast to India, temperatures hit 127 degrees in Palm Springs, Calif., this year with no reported heat-related deaths. You figure out what the difference is.
If there is a “weapon of mass destruction” associated with global warming, it’s the global warmers themselves. Their preferred policy of energy regulation and restriction would reduce economic progress and development, especially in the third world. (full article)

I do acknowledge that businesses need to develop cleaner ways to develop their products; however, the rest of the world (who is just as guilty as the US) should not list the United States as the sole guilty party.

MoveOn.org Has a New Arch Enemy

There is a new 527 on the block. MoveOnforAmerica.org is joining the ranks of what I call “gurilla campaign assassination”. If you go to their website, they have a couple of the commercials that they will be pushing until the day of the elections. One of the commercials features Kerry’s association with Al Sharpton. I think they make a long stretch in tying Kerry with Sharpton’s crooked past. In any event, we are going to see mud slinging at a whole new depth. The following is an excerpt from their website:

MoveOnForAmerica.org was created due to the Bush campaign’s largely timid ads against Mr. Kerry, and will air this first ad starting Tuesday Sept. 7th in the Washington D.C. market and in key swing states beginning Monday September 13th. Since the organization is a “non-connected” committee, the ads will run non-stop until Election Day, and are not subject to the McCain-Feingold ban during the campaign’s final 60 days.

Aw Snap! Now This is Just Straight Up Wrong!

From Oh, That Liberal Media:

This was from an Associated press story:

WEST ALLIS, Wis. - President Bush (news - web sites) on Friday wished Bill Clinton (news - web sites) “best wishes for a swift and speedy recovery.” “He’s is in our thoughts and prayers,” Bush said at a campaign rally. Bush’s audience of thousands in West Allis, Wis., booed. Bush did nothing to stop them.

There’s just one problem: the boos were non-existent. I personally saw the announcement of Clinton’s heart problems by Bush, and the only thing heard from the audience was polite applause.

This excerpt is from Swimming Through the Spin:

Needless to say, there was massive outrage. Many on the thread had listened to the speech live and heard no boos at all and were screaming liberal media bias…and rightfully so. Others e-mailed the AP to express their displeasure. So, minutes later, a new version gets posted to the same yahoo link and another thread pops up on Free Republic:

AP gets caught “wagging the dog”!