The Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth - RIP

I don’t have anything against the late Steve Jobs.  He was very successful in what he did in his life and the technology he advance has perhaps led to our present day society.  His technological impact will live on perhaps forever.  And it made him a very rich man.  I owned an Ipod once (that was stolen) but somehow it wasn't really that important in my life. 

It must have been important to someone as I have seen and glanced over quite a few tributes to the man.  Everyone from Rush Limbaugh, to Mitt Romney, to Rupert Murdoch and Bill Gates all have expressed their condolences. So indeed Mr. Jobs, rest in peace. 

I have seen less articles and news stories and tributes to a man that means much more to me.  That man is The Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth who dies at a Birmingham hospital on Wednesday.  He was 89 years old. 

Rev, Shuttlesworth was a co-founder of the Southern Leadership conference with Ralph Abernathy and Dr. King and is considered one of the giants of the Civil Rights movement.  He is considered one of its heroes. 

In 2006 Jabari Asim wrote in the Washington Post, the following about Rev. Shuttlesworth: 

“In 1963, during the most volatile period of the Birmingham campaign led by the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., a fireman hit Shuttlesworth with a blast from his hose and pinned him against the wall of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. The stunned minister was taken away in an ambulance under the watchful eye of Bull Connor, the city’s notorious public safety commissioner. Watching the vehicle drive off, Connor declared, “I wish they had carried him away in a hearse.” 

There were many other acts of violence that were done to him.  Someone ignited 16 sticks of dynamite and blew up his house in 1956, with the Reverend and his family inside.  Another time an angry mob stabbed his wife in the hip.  And somehow I believe those same cowards serve in all forms of government even today. 

In 1957, the Rev. Shuttlesworth tried to enroll his children in the all-white Phillips High School. For this simple act he was beaten by cowards with brass knuckles, chains and wooden clubs.  It’s always a mob in these cases, never a lone thug.  I guess those idiots were really afraid. 

He dedicated his life to helping people who were not even considered citizens much less humans to obtain their rights.  He never got the fame.  He never got the money.  He in fact pretty much always got himself a hospital stay because he was beaten so badly.  They never carried Reverend Shuttlesworth away in a hearse.  In fact he outlived Connor’s brand of racism, cowardice and stupidity.  Even up until about 2006 he was only sidelined a little because of a brain tumor. 

Even with all of these accomplishments his death was still somehow overshadowed by Mr. Jobs.  I did a quick Google search and the only in the news politician I could find that said anything about his death was our current President:

"He was a testament to the strength of the human spirit. And today we stand on his shoulders, and the shoulders of all those who marched and sat and lifted their voices to help perfect our union."

I am probably wrong in my assessment and maybe I need to look a little deeper.  For instance, I know for a fact John Lewis mentioned his passing also.  I would expect nothing less from the man also in the trenches of the Civil Rights Era.  Nancy Pelosi also mentioned his death as did John Huntsman.  I just find it interesting that this great man's death appears to have been forgotten by the current crop of political bobble heads.

Shame.  I will look again though.

Rest in Peace Reverend Shuttlesworth.  We will see you later.  And you are not forgotten.

Obama Marched With New Black Panthers? Bull!

I know you’ve heard the story going about that stated in 2007 then candidate Barrack Obama marched with the New Black Panther Party.

First of all this story was concocted by none other the Andrew Breitbart who has made a career of lying about pretty much everything.  From Shirley Sherrod, to ACORN, Clinton Plotting a Tea Party Attack, University of Missouri Labor Class, etc.  The old joke states you can tell he’s lying because his mouth is moving.  You heard about the lies, I’m sure.  So rest assured that this is a lie also.  It’s funny how he’s lies so much and he still has a job.

The reason Obama was marching was to celebrate the 42^nd anniversary of the 1965 march from Selma which ended when the civil rights marchers were attacked by law enforcement at Edmund Pettus Bridge.  If you have to (shame on you), look into the whole story about the original march on the internet.  President Obama wasn’t the only one there.  Former president Bill and then presidential candidate Hillary Clinton were also there.  Al Sharpton and the originator of the reenactment, the legendary Congressman John Lewis were there too.  So were about 10,000 other people.  So were members of the New Black Panthers Party.  If you read Breitbart’s original “story” notice that he doesn’t mention any of this.

Then candidate Obama and New Black Panthers leader Malik Zulu Shabazz both gave speeches at the event.  They spoke from the exact same podium and they both marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.  It wasn’t Obama’s event.  It wasn’t Shabazz’s event.  It was an event that happened annually for many years.

So Briebart is lying.  Again.

He also implies that Obama’s campaign website posted an endorsement by the New Black Panther Party in March 2008.  "Who posted the Panthers' endorsement on the Obama campaign's website, and at whose instructions?" Briebart ask his readers.  The Washington Times, that bastion of conservative views posted the answer three years ago; the website, my.barackobama.com, allowed users to set up their own blog pages, and the Panthers themselves put up the endorsement. When the campaign became aware of the post, they took it down.

Even more important was that someone else marched on that day.  It was the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth “the most courageous civil rights fighter in the South” according to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  He died today at the age of 89.  Obama was pushing Shuttleworth along the route in his wheelchair.

Briebart is a nasty disgusting race baiter and liar and that is all that he will ever be.

There are much greater men we should be talking about.

The Problem We All Live With

It is a painting by Norman Rockwell.  Or maybe it’s more like an illustration.  He called it “The Problem We All Live With”.  It shows a six year old little girl being escorted by Marshalls to a newly integrated New Orleans school.  The wall behind her shows the results of tomatoes being thrown.  The letter “N” being partially blocked by the arm of a Marshall and the letter “R” being blocked partially by the tomato, the racist insult “nigger” is also shown on the wall.

The little girl is named Ruby Bridges.  She is a real person.  Today she is fifty six years of age not much older than me as a matter of fact.  So what is the big deal?  Well, President Obama has decided to place the picture outside of the Oval office.  Yes it is that simple.

Well you know that if the President did something, no matter how benign, it becomes a problem with certain folks.  For this simple act I’ve read how the President is “divisive”, “a racist” and other foolish things.  It is all part of the Obama Derangement Syndrome.

I don't even see what could possibly be "controver­sial" about hanging this painting. Unless, of course, you think the Civil Rights movement was a bad thing.

The reality is that some still will try to say and do anything to keep him out.  They claim he is a citizen of another country.  They claim he hates America.  They claim he is a communist or Marxist.  Or a secret Muslim (which really doesn’t disqualify him).  Some even have claim that he was the anti-christ.

I think hanging the painting there is great for it says that at one time people didn’t want Blacks to even enter into the same school as them.  Now here is a Black in the highest office in the land.

A Mistake?

Watch this video:

My question is; Did the "news" station try to mislead its viewers? 

Of course they did.  Once again the news tries to portray young black men (women and children) in the worst light possible.  The story of the shooting was bad enough, another life lost for no reason, but to try the protray the child as a future thug is shameful.  Why would they even do this?

WBBM's communications director Shawnelle Richie has stated the following on the situation:

We accept responsibility for the mistakes that were made, both in the reporting and editing of the story. The video of the child should not have aired. As soon as news management identified the problem, they took immediate steps to ensure that the video would not air in subsequent newscasts. In addition, we have followed up with our employees to make sure that we all have learned from the mistakes that were made.

We will see if they will indeed learn for their mistakes.

Tar Baby?

So it appears that another U.S. Representative using another borderline term to define the president. Or at least define what working with him is like. Congressman Doug Lamborn of Colorado apparently said the following (emphasis mine):

Even if some people say, ‘Well the Republicans should have done this or they should have done that,’ they will hold the President responsible. Now, I don’t even want to have to be associated with him. It’s like touching a tar baby and you get it, you’re stuck, and you’re a part of the problem now and you can’t get away. I don’t want that to happen to us, but if it does or not, he’ll still get, properly so, the blame because his policies for four years will have failed the American people.

I think he was trying to describe the situation as he felt it. But you never know. My history teaches me he knew exactly what he was saying. The term tar baby has been a derogatory term about blacks for decades now. You would think he would know better. Maybe he did and said it anyway. I am sure somehow that this will get him the publicity that politicians grave. And he is in a long line of this type of thing.

Still I am reminded of this particular skit from Saturday Night Live. When it was funny.

The Poor Get Poorer

Let’s see.  Both Steve Wynn of the famed Wynn resort empire and Bernie Marcus, co- founder of The Home Depot have recently complained about President Obama.  I find it kind of interesting because both companies’ profits are up.  Mr. Wynn’s companies’ worth is as up as it ever has been.  Marcus isn’t doing too shabby either.

It must be nice being filthy rich and whiny at the same time.  At least you get noticed.  Even when you are sort of lying.

In the mean time real people in the real world are suffering.  These are the people who don’t have the millions or even billions to even get noticed.  They are the people who are still unemployed and can’t find a job.  I lot of times employers don’t even want to talk to you unless you have a job now.

I recently saw one of those stupid emails or letters berating the fact that Nancy Pelosi is rich and she has gotten richer.  It bemoaned the fact that she was rich (sexism confused with elitism at its best).  The truth is if you are rich, you are just going to get richer and richer.  That includes John McCain, President Obama, Steve Wynn and Bernie Marcus. 

However, the gap between the rich and poor grows every day.  The poor are getting poorer.  And they get blamed for everything that is wrong in the country.  They are blamed for the financial crisis we are in now.  You know the deal; Fanny and Freddie Mac.  Medicaid.  Welfare.  The poor are not to blame, but they make a convenient scapegoat because their voices aren’t heard.  Or better yet, no one really cares what they say. 

Not like a Wynn or Marcus.

Isn’t That Just Un-American?

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) recently said that, “I refuse to help Barack Obama get reelected by marching Republicans into a position where we have co-ownership of a bad economy.”  "It didn't work in 1995. What will happen is the administration will send out notices to 80 million Social Security recipients and to military families and they will all start attacking members of Congress. That is not a useful place to take us. And the president will have the bully pulpit to blame Republicans for all this disruption."

Therefore he proposes that the current president be the sole power to raise the debt ceiling.

Let’s forget that this is a stupid trap (that will backfire) for the President.  Let’s also forget that this makes McConnell sound and act like a certified coward.  Let’s forget that he doesn’t really want to do his job.  Let’s forget the fact that McConnell wants this president to fail in everything.

However, let’s remember one of the most important his he has said.  And I quote (emphasis mine):

"If we go into default he will say Republicans are making the economy worse," he concluded. "And all of a sudden we have co-ownership of a bad economy. That is a very bad position going into an election. My first choice was to do something important for the country. But my second obligation is to my party and my conference to prevent them from being sucked into a horrible position politically that would allow the president, probably, to get reelected because we didn't handle this difficult situation correctly."

And there you have it.  He has chosen his party over the country.  And he has admitted too it.

Isn’t That Just Un-American?

As for President Obama, he is once again playing an amazing game of chess while others are playing pocket pool.  We will see where this goes.

The Slavery Vow

“Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA’s first African-American president”

If you didn’t know this was in the preamble to the Marriage Vow statement signed by a couple of the republican candidates for the presidency of these fine United States of America.  I said was because the social conservative Iowa group, Family Leader, has since retracted it from the opening of the pledge.

I don’t really know what to say.  I am sure someone could look up the statistics and find out whether this is true or not.  I don’t think I care to though.  This is perhaps one of the nastiest, disgusting and naive things to come out of the camp of crazy in about a week.

The suggestion that black children born into slavery were better off in terms of family life than today’s black children is at best stupid.  Apparent the authors of this don’t consider the rapes, the murders, the starvation, the forced separation from your family very important.  Nor do they consider the century old adverse effects it has on a culture and the nation itself worth noting.  It was more than “disastrous” it was pretty much close to genocide.

Even worse the statement tries to tie the “USA’s first African-American president” to the plight in that community.  It’s as if it is President Obama’s fault somehow.  Even worse than that Next Gingrinch didn't sign it making him almost look like a decent human.

I'm sure that had something to do with the word marriage though.

If You Are Failing At Least You Are Doing Something

It had been reported that many politicians want President Obama to fail.  As such they seem to want the economy to crash.  They want the unemployment rate to be as high as possible.  They want to blame the President for high gas prices.  In fact, if it makes the President look bad to the general public, then they would be all for it.

Man, if they could catch his smoking a cigarette then they would be happier then ever.

This whole dept ceiling thing has me scratching my head.  Should it happen?  Why should it happen?  What are we really trying to do?

Recent history tells us that, we have raised the debt ceiling before.  I believe it was seven times during the Bush administration in June 2002, May 2003, November 2004, March 2006 and September 2007.  While many of the same people claim to hate it now were in office, none of them seems to have complained about it then.  In fact, Boehner, Cantor McConnell all voted “yes” to it.

Remember Paul Ryan’s 2012 budget bill?  It was supported by 235 House Republicans and 40 GOP Senators.  Well that little gem added $6 trillion to the US national dept over ten years.

In other words they supported it until it fell into the hands of President Obama.  Nice.

Now I do have to agree that we need to rein in our spending.  However, when I say we I mean all of us.  Every politician should be at the table with some decent and sincere spending cuts.  I think we should end our unpaid wars.  Why get rid of Medicare when we are fighting two wars.  I think they all should be a little more truthful and stop blaming this mess on the middle class and poor people.  Should we tweak the entitlement programs?  Perhaps we should.  Call me cynical, but I don’t think it would do anything for the economy.

Truthfully, I think this whole dog and pony show is so that certain people can make the President look like a failure they claim he is.  A “deal” will be made before the August 2 deadline, simply because there has to be one.

"That would be a financial disaster, not only for our country but for the worldwide economy. Remember, the American people on Election Day said, 'we want to cut spending and we want to create jobs.' And you can't create jobs if you default on the federal debt."

That little gem was by Speaker John Boehner in January.

Today, he's hoping that the President fails.

Young, Gifted & Black

Autum Ashante is a thirteen year old girl who apparently is some sort of genius.  She knows at least three languages, Spanish, Arabic and Swahili.  She has an IQ of 149.  She is a seasoned performance poet among other things.  She also may have been accepted as a freshman at the University of Connecticut.

I say may have been because the University has denied it.  Or rescinded it.  Or something.  It is a convoluted story.  In June, the school confirmed she had been accepted.  However, recently the father claims the school called and told him that they felt she was not academically ready.  Maybe thirteen is too young for college these days.

Still none of this reflects poorly on a child with such incredible potential.  I have to admit that I had never heard of her and she had been in the news before when she was about seven years of age.   During a poetry performance at a school near her home (she was home schooled) she had recited the words:

White Nationalism Put U In Bondage

White nationalism is what put you in bondage
Pirate and vampires like Columbus, Morgan, and Darwin
Drank the blood of the sheep, trampled all over them with
Steel, tricks and deceit.
Nothing has changed take a look in our streets
The mis-education of she and Hegro — leaves you on your knee2grow
Black lands taken from your hands, by vampires with no remorse
They took the gold, the wisdom and all of the storytellers
They took the black women, with the black man weak
Made to watch as they changed the paradigm
Of our village
They killed the blind, they killed the lazy, they went
So far as to kill the unborn baby
Yeah White nationalism is what put you in bondage
Pirates and vampires like Columbus, Morgan, and Darwin
They drank the blood of the sheep, trampled all over them with
Steel laden feet, throw in the tricks alcohol and deceit.
Nothing has changed take a look at our streets.

Not the average thoughts of a seven year old.  And naturally the right wing hated it.  Michelle Malkin (who I just don’t get) in particular wrote a Blog labeled “MEETTHE 7-YEAR-OLD RACIST POET” .  Way to go Michelle, always picking on the kids.

Personally I don’t have any problems with what the young lady wrote six years ago.  I don’t have a problem with Tom Sawyer being read in school either although I realize that others may.  In fact, unless the words she used were lies I don’t have any problem with it.  Okay maybe there are no vampires, but still.

That was six or seven years ago and now this called young lady, raised by a single father, can be considered quite gifted.  Whether or not this situation with the college works out or not, I believe she will have a very bright future.  We shall see.

Just remember there are many more gifted children out there.  We have got to tell those stories too.

Being About It

From an EnidNews.com story by Dave Ruthenberg on July 6, 2011:

Court Crandall had an idea. Crandall, a Hollywood screenwriter and advertising executive, wanted to help young people and boost the battered image of the city of Compton, a Los Angeles suburb.

His idea, a simple free-throw contest with the winner receiving $40,000 toward the cost of college, netted far more positive, feel-good publicity than any public relations campaign could have possibly mustered thanks to the generosity of Allan Guei.

Guei, a Compton student, won the free throw contest which attracted over 80 applicants who had to have a GPA of at least 3.00. The field was narrowed down to eight participants drawn at random. It’s not that Guei really turned out to be much of a marksman at the free throw line. The 5-foot-9 student only made five out of 10 attempts, but that was good enough to best the other seven nerve-rattled contestants during the event.

And it’s not like Guei lacked basketball ability. Despite his size, Guei, who lead his high school hoops team to the district finals, accepted an offer to attend Cal State Northridge on a full basketball scholarship shortly after the free throw contest.

Still, the 18-year-old student would later stun everybody, Crandall included, when he announced at graduation ceremonies he would forego the $40,000 and donate the winnings to the other seven contestants. And before anybody becomes too cynical, Guei, under NCAA rules, would have been allowed to keep most of his winnings.

You can read the rest here. 

So when some people say that young black men are a lost generation.  That they are victims of a culture and attitude that causes them to wreck havoc on themselves and those around them, I would suggest that they look up Allan Guei and note that he is the rule not the exception. 

Just because you choose to ignore their stories does not mean that they don’t exist.

Stop Talking About It & Be About It!

In an editorial form the Delmarva Times on June 23, Walter E, Williams laments on the racist assaults created by blacks in today’s society.  In it he states:

These racist attacks can, at least in part, be attributed to the black elite, who have a vested interest in racial paranoia. And that includes a president who has spent years aligned with people who have promoted racial grievance and polarization and appointed an attorney general who's accused us of being "a nation of cowards" on matters of race and has refused to prosecute black thugs who gathered at a Philadelphia voting site in blatant violation of federal voter intimidation laws. Tragically, black youngsters -- who are seething with resentments, refusing to accept educational and other opportunities unknown to blacks yesteryear -- will turn out to be the larger victims in the long run.

You can read the rest here.

What really gets me about this economist’s statement is that he proposes nothing and blames people who have nothing to do with the real problem.  The blame should be squarely on the shoulders of the parents.  Just like it would be if we were talking about Asians, Jews, white, etc.  The president spent years with people who “promoted racial grievance”?  Could that have been his grandparents as he has mentioned in the past?  Holder accuses the country of being a “nation of cowards” on matter of race?  I will always believe Holder in right.  In this “post racial” America where we have elected a black person as president we are still surprised about how much racism there still is and the question being asked is, “Why doesn’t the president do something about it?”  It is as if we want to blame the victim rather than ourselves.

 And for the record it was the former president who didn’t want to prosecute the so-called “thugs” at the Philadelphia voting site.  That was because there wasn’t any intimidation.
I have heard a lot of people echo Professor Williams’ statements about blacks.  My question to them is what are you doing about it?  If you have such a huge problem with this or any segment of America are you going to step up and try to help the people in it?  Or are you going to spend all your time writing in blogs, newspapers or  behind a computer doing nothing but running your mouth?

The truth is that there are literally hundreds of programs out there who help.  There are hundreds of thousands of people out there who donate their time to make a difference.  The stories are out there.  The people exist everywhere.  I have mentored and been a father figure to a few of them myself in the community.  I know there are more like me out there.  We don’t get paid for it and we come out of our pockets to do it when needed.  And we still do it.

My problem about Professor Williams is that some of his opinions may be right be.  Or at least close enough to being right that he can help foster the dialogue and action more.  However, as much as he criticizes the “black elite” of which he is a member, I have yet to see him enter into a community and do anything about the problem.

It is time for the professor and many others to get from the behind the computer and podium and put his words into action.  Join the rest of us.

In the House They Built

The house they built was where I discovered as a young kid that bees can get drunk.       

It was a perhaps small (by today’s standards) three bedroom, one bathroom ranch with  basement located in the farthest corner of Northeast D.C.  The house was not too far from where Marvin Gaye was raised (I could actually walk the three blocks to his house).
Two adults and four children all grew up in that house.  My child now finds it amazing that we did all of that with only one bathroom.  I always laugh at this and tell her it was because we had much better time management in those days.  That and the fact we only had about five or six television channels.

The house cost about $16,000 dollars (less than my car) and my parents worked hard and long hours to afford the home.  The payment was about $100 a month.  As a gift my mother closest sister paid for a wall to be added between the entrance and the living room.  Eventually my parents were able to save up money so that they could finish part of the unfinished basement.  Bookcases overflowed in the library of the new renovations.  Both parent encouraged reading in our household.

To “spruce” up the part of the basement that was unfinished, my parents allowed us to draw and paint on the walls and after all this time they refused to paint over the various figures.  I happened to enjoy comics back then and so the walls were plastered with superheroes.  My sisters choose various other literary characters. 

We also had a garden in the back yard where we grew many types of vegetable.  Plus we rented more land to grow more vegetables.  With all this planting and cultivating I did at such a young age you would think I had a green thumb like my father.  But no, all I can grow are weeds.  I am still trying to do better though. 

The bees that I mentioned before got drunk on the fruit which fell from the two pear trees that were growing in our yard.  I forgot what type of pears but it was the kind supposedly better after you cook them.  I also learned how to actually can fruit back then also as we did it every fall.  Funny thing is the pear trees were “normal” for a few of the neighbors then.  While we had only the pear trees; my neighbors to the left and right also had cherry trees, peach trees, walnut trees, blueberry bushes and even a sizable vineyard. 

Each neighbor would invite the other neighbors over whenever they wanted to share in the fruit.  I would spend as much time in the other neighbor yard almost as much as I did mine.  I would many times sit with the older lady next door as she told stories of the neighborhood during World War II.

My father, who never finished the sixth grade, was a landscaper for the government and took pride in cultivating his yard and planting several types of flowers; especially the rose bushes he planted for his wife.  He also took pride in instilling in his children that education was the most important thing in your life.  In fact he was an avid reader also and read many of the books in the library.  One day a few years ago, after finishing his rounds and tending his garden he went to take his afternoon nap and never woke up again.

My mother followed him by about five years later.  She had wanted to be in that home until the day she died, but age and illness stopped her from doing that.  As with my father, education was one of the most important things she would instill in us.  That and going to church every Sunday.  I always found it interesting that she would only go herself a few times a year.  Her love of crossword puzzles, reading and the game Scrabble are legendary in the family.

Since her death the house had stood as it had always.  One sister remained, but after a while it became too much for her to maintain.  And perhaps the memories were a little too much for her. So the family got together and sold this part of our history.  The young man and his new family will move in some time this month.

Our pear trees are long gone now as they both fell to some decease.  In their place, fifteen year or so ago, we had planted an apple tree and for many years enjoyed its fruit.  Its demise happened in the form of a lightning bolt. 

Now the yard stands bear (except for the rose bushes) and waiting for the next tree to be planted. 

In the house they build.

Hypocrisy? - Jerome Ersland

In my post, “A Man’s Home", I laid out the story of Mr. John McNeil, a home owner who shot an intruder on his property who was threatening him.  The man died and Mr. McNeil was sentenced to life in prison.  It is my belief that this sentence is unjust.

Well now the trial of one Jerome Ersland has finally come to an interesting conclusion that almost makes me look like a hypocrite.  Almost.

Mr. Ersland is a pharmacist in a high crime area south of Oklahoma City.  On May 19, 2009, two young thugs decided to rob the store.  However as soon as they entered they were met with shots from a gun Mr. Ersland had.  One of the assailants was hit and Mr. Ersland chased the other out of the door.  After Mr. Ersland returned to the pharmacy, he retrieved another gun and shot the already wounded (head wound) and unconscious  youth five times in the stomach and chest.  Suffice to say he died from his wounds.
Jurors want the judge to give him a life sentence.  Sentencing is scheduled for July 11.

The other young man was later caught and pleaded guilty to first degree murder under a law that allows a murder charge against someone when an accomplice is killed during a crime. He was only 14 so he will be out by the time he’s 19; if he behaves.  However, the two men who recruited the youths to do the crime were also convicted and will serve life in prison with the possibility of parole.

I have to agree with the jury.  I was on Mr. Ersland’s side right until he got the other gun, stood over the young man and shot him five times.  He claims that that he feared for his life and he shot him some more.  The video says otherwise. 

In fact, he told the police he shot the 16 year old thug five more times before running after the other one.  The video says otherwise. 

No I am in the clear.  No hypocrisy here.  It was a criminal act and deserving of the sentence the jurors want.

Another Source

How Rodger Ailes Built the Fox News Fear Factory

Tim Dickinson of Rolling Stone begin his article with the following: 

"At the Fox News holiday party the year the network overtook archrival CNN in the cable ratings, tipsy employees were herded down to the basement of a Midtown bar in New York. As they gathered around a television mounted high on the wall, an image flashed to life, glowing bright in the darkened tavern: the MSNBC logo. A chorus of boos erupted among the Fox faithful. The CNN logo followed, and the catcalls multiplied. Then a third slide appeared, with a telling twist. In place of the logo for Fox News was a beneficent visage: the face of the network’s founder. The man known to his fiercest loyalists simply as "the Chairman" – Roger Ailes."

You can read the rest here.

This article privides a little history on how our news culture has been dumbed downed.  It is a very interesting read.

Jose Guerena: A Story To Follow

"On May 5 at around 9:30 a.m., several teams of Pima County, Ariz., police officers from at least four different police agencies armed with SWAT gear and an armored personnel carrier raided at least four homes as part of what at the time was described as an investigation into alleged marijuana trafficking. One of those homes belonged to 26-year-old Jose Guerena and his wife, Vanessa Guerena. The couple's 4-year-old son was also in the house at the time. Their 6-year-old son was at school."

You can read the read of the story here.

Perhaps this was a series of wrong moves by everyone involved.  Perhaps not.  I wonder where this story will lead next.

CFPB Hearings

Seems that Elizabeth Warren attended a hearing on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that will start in a month or so.  During a hearing, where apparently a lot of people didn't do their homework on the agency, Rep. Patrick McHenry  (R-N.C.), basically calls Ms. Warren a liar.

So I wonder where this will lead.  Will McHenry apologize to Ms. Warren or will he just continue to accuse her of more things?  Well according to the Huffington Post he commented:

"I was shocked by Ms. Warren’s blatant sense of entitlement," he added. "She was apparently under the assumption that she could dictate a one-hour time limit for her testimony to Congress and that we were there at her behest instead of the other way around. This is just further example of her disregard for congressional oversight.”

He is at least consistent with his foolishness.  Personally it seems McHenry is a little scared of Ms. Warren. He must can't handle a strong, intelligent and powerful woman as he seemed surprised that she didn't stand down.

I know that these are just politicians so I shouldn't expect more but I had always heard that in this type of situation if you are asking a question you should at least know what the answer should be.  Asking the question is just a formality.  Whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is needed or not we may never gather from these hearings as the politicians can’t seem to get their personal agendas out of the process. 

It is a shame as this should be easier than this. 

Those Darn Democrats

So the President mentions a return to the 1967 borders (with line swaps) thing for Israel and as expected a certain party attacks him this particular stance.  No that it is true what they believed he said.  What is sort of unbelievable is the party that is doing it is his own party.

What the president stated is that any Israeli-Palestinian peace should be based of pre-1967 lines with line swaps not the incorrect assertion that the President wants Israel to go back to the borders of pre-1967.  This particular goal has always been there whether spoken or not.  It really is that simple.  Go research it yourself.  This is not a very bad thing to start with, but no one really wants to talk about it.  Go figure.

Heck I except the President to be attacked by the other party (or parties), that’s pare for the course but I really expect his own members to at least not participate in all the lies going about.

As one example of this sort of ignorance, Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.) stated: 

"A two-state solution agreed upon by the Israelis and Palestinians should be negotiated through direct talks," Rothman said Friday in a statement, "but it is important to remember that a full return to the 1967 borders will be indefensible for Israel and that talking with terrorists who want to destroy Israel is a non-starter."

But the President never said to return to the 1967 borders.  Thanks for paying attention Rothman.  I wish President Obama would just backhand some of these people.  However, all of this nonsense caused the president to explain exactly what he wants the enemies to do (using small words for the uninformed) at his speech at AIPAC.  He said:

Let me reaffirm what “1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps” means. By definition, it means that the parties themselves — Israelis and Palestinians — will negotiate a border that is different than the one that existed on June 4, 1967.

Yes it is that easy. 

But let’s be real.  It seems to me that the involved parties only want to talk about peace.  They have a lot of trouble actually making it happen.  Fifty years from now the president at the time will still be sitting at the table trying to broker some sort of peace deal.

Hopefully his party will be behind him all the way.  It appears that will happen only if he is a republican.

Just saying.

Randy Savage: Dead At 58

"Wrestler Randy 'Macho Man' Savage, the Slim Jim pitchman known for his raspy-voiced "Ohh yeah" catch phrase, died in a car accident today in Seminole, Fla., possibly after suffering a heart attack, WTSP reports."

Read the rest here.

Thor and Other Things

Finally saw the movie Thor last night.  As a comic book reader and fan I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.  Sure it had a couple of rough spots here and there but they were few and far between.  Add a couple of winks and nods to the source material and cameos of other characters; I must say I enjoyed myself.  If you didn’t know Thor, the Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America and a few other movie characters will combine in the movie Avengers in 2012.  All of those movies lead up to that one.  Should be a lot of  fun.

But me being me I got to point out a little nonsense that came along with the movie.  Maybe you heard about it, maybe not.  I won’t name the group because you can look them up for yourself.  They have been called a hate group by others.  Well by a lot of others.  Apparently there is a group out there that is calling for a boycott of the movie.

Their reasoning is that one of the fictional characters, Heimdall, is played by Idris Elba, a black actor born in England.   Since Thor is loosely based on Nordic mythology, they feel that this is an insult to the white race. 

Or something.

In an industry where there are hardly any minority/ethnic characters of substance at all you would think they’d let this one slide.  You just can’t please some people.  They must have really been ticked when they found out that Nick Fury, a white character for decades, is being played by Samuel L. Jackson.  Hope, haven’t heard a thing about that.  Perhaps they will really get upset when they find out that Anthony Hopkins who played Odin in the movie actually played a black man in The Human Stain.

Somebody should tell them about the character Hogun being played by Tadanobu Asano an obviously non white guy. 

I haven’t heard them complain about that yet.  Must it's only a certain group they are concerned with.

Figures.

It's Always President Obama's Fault Somehow

Let me introduce you to Republican candidate for governor Larry Faircloth of West Virginia.  Also a candidate for the Obama Derangement Syndrome (ODS) award.  Why bother as he shouldn't be in the public eye for much longer, but here it goes.

According to The Matinsburg's Journal, Mr. Faircloth:

"Faircloth, who referred to President Barack Obama as a "sambo" and U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as a "bimbo" during comments at a public forum in Hampshire County on April 29, has apologized this week to the West Virginia NAACP and anyone else he offended by his statements."

Faircloth apologized for his remarks (if it offended anyone).  And then promptly placed his foot back in his mouth.

According to the Herald-Mail Faircloth claimed:

"Faircloth said some people in West Virginia think President Obama has tried to punish the state. And he said if it takes a joke to bring attention to that issue, "I don't mind doing it.""

Now unless I'm reading that entirely wrong, this must be Obama's fault.   That man sure gets around.

Fifty Years Ago Today

From Colbert King in todays Washington Post:

"On this date in America 50 years ago, two buses arrived in Anniston, Ala. It was Sunday, May 14, 1961. The Lord must have been in his Holy Temple. His presence wasn’t in evidence when those buses carrying Freedom Riders rolled into Anniston’s Greyhound and Trailways bus terminals."

Raymond Arsenault, who is the John Hope Franklin Professor of Southern History at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, described that day in detail in his book, “Freedom Riders.”

You can read the rest here.

Let's thank the many Freedom Riders for their sacrifice and bravery.

God Bless.

A Man's Home...

What do you think?

You get a phone call from your son saying someone is on your property that you do not know. You tell your son to ask the person to leave. The person in turn refuses to do so and starts to argue with your son. You happen to hear this arguing as the phone is still on. You recognize the voice of the trespasser as a former contractor who is not supposed to be on your property.

As the arguing continues your son (later testifies) that the contractor pulls out a utility knife and ask, “Why don’t you make me leave?” The son tells his father what happened and you tell him to get in the house. Then you call the police. Then you head for home.

You arrive before the police. You see the contractor next door, he was working over there, reach into his truck and put something into his pocket. Then the man comes rushing towards your driveway. You get your gun out of your glove compartment and show it to the contractor. The contractor does not stop but moves quickly towards you even though you show him the gun. You jump out of the car and tell the man to back up. The contractor keeps going causing you to back up. Finally you fire a warning shot into the ground all the while still backing up. It does nothing to slow the progress of the trespasser; in fact he quickens his pace towards you. You then shoot the man dead.

The police decide not to arrest you. They determine that it was self defense as the contractor was the aggressor and trespasser in this situation.

All’s well, huh? Well No.

Nine months later (if my memory serves me right) the District Attorney in town indicts you for felony murder despite a police investigation that found the shooting to be self defense, eye witnesses that collaborate your story and a pattern of behavior from the contractor that cause many of your neighbors to be fearful of him. You are found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Life is prison.

An appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court in 2008 does not gain you your freedom. However, the Chief Justice dissents saying:

“I share the majority’s reluctance to overturn a jury verdict. However, I conclude that no rational trier of fact could find, based on the evidence presented at trial, that the State disproved (your) claim of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. Accordingly, I must dissent.”

Such is the life of Mr. John McNeil as this happened to him in 2006. He has been in jail five years for defending his property.

Two things bother me about this particular injustice. The first is the overall all wrongness of this whole thing. It used to be that you could protect your home against this sort of thing. There are scores of stories out there about other homeowners protecting themselves and never going to jail for life much less any amount of time. Joe Horn comes to mind and it wasn’t even his home.

The second is that I wonder where all the gun advocates are in this case. It would seem perfect for them to rally around and make a fuss. I mean who wouldn’t want to make Mr. McNeil the poster child for the cause? In fact, you can’t really find a lot on this story at all.

I am still trying to figure out wonder why.

One source