Blago does it again…

As you will remember, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich landed a checkmate on Sen. Harry Reid.  Ultimately, the U.S. Sentate was forced to seat Roland Burris, making him only the fourth African American to rise to the Senate.  Say what you will about Blago, but this was masterful.

I was munching on a hot dog with my favorite man on the planet today when Blago started a press conference.  I didn’t hear everything, but it seems Blago has made another fine point.  A man should have a chance to defend himself against any charges levied against him.  Do I think he should be impeached?  Yes. But do I think he has a right to present evidence, no matter how flimsy I think it would be?  Yes. 

We all know how this story will play out.  But suffice it to say, Blago is playing the hand he dealt himself.  And he’s playing it well.

Four (moderately) dumb questions…

1. When will the media quit sticking a microphone in Sarah Palin’s nose and let her fade like the Ghost of Christmas Past?

2. Did President Obama really need to re-take the oath to quell the rantings of the wingnuts? Was the placement of the word “faithfully” that important?

3. Didn’t we all know that Sen. Cornyn would back down and get out of Hillary Clinton’s way once she posted him up in full view of the cameras?

4. How long before President Obama pulls his slapping hand out of his pocket and lays a thick one on Congress?

Silence…

One would think that after the last four days, watching millions of Americans descend on Washington, the wall-to-wall coverage, the elogquent speeches and utterly beautiful moments captured, that I would have something to say.  About, well, anything. 

I don’t.

I haven’t begun to process what has happened and is happening to this country.  And then too, I fear that I will just be wrong, that whatever meaning I attempt to draw from this will simply be grossly misguided, a grand delusion fed by my embrace of the fantastical. 

So when I have something to say, I will.  No doubt. It just ain’t today.

Photo of the Day

"Brother Barack, let me explain a few things to you."

Quote of the Day

“We have duties to ourselves, the nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly,”  President Barack H. Obama.

Five (sorta) deep questions…

1.  How many people who travelled to D.C. for the festivities also participated in the Day of Service?

2. What would Dr. King say if he were alive today?

3. When will the Tupac movie come out?

4. What exactly does “post racial” mean and will Jesse Jackson, Sr. be a part of it?

5. How many hats does CNN’s Don Lemon have?

Quote of the Day

“Some feel because of his conservative views on some issues that Pastor Warren should not be a speaker at this service…They don’t understand Martin Luther King’s idea of the beloved community,” said Isaac Farris, nephew of Dr. Martin L. King, at the annual King Ecumenical Service where Pastor Rick Warren delivered the key note address.

Farris added that the “beloved community” included conservative and liberal, black and white, Christians and others. He went on to say, ”He isn’t the first conservative to make this address, and he won’t be the last.”

The Revolution is on hold today…

Not really.  I’m hiding out in a cave, working on my fourth novel, so you’ll have to continue the struggle without me. 

Back soon.

Peace,

G

Who didn’t see this coming…?

According to The Huffington Post:

It has been a few days since little Adolf Hitler Campbell and his sisters were taken from their parents by New Jersey’s Division of Youth and Family Services. The mystery remains over why they were taken. Fox News reports on the possibility that their infamous names are to blame.

 

 

To the left, to the left…

I am certain this posting violates some kind of “fair use” policy, but in this case I could not resist (so WaPo editors shoot me a message if you need to know where to serve the lawsuit).  Monice Hesse’s column is the funniest thing I’ve read in a very long time.

 

Visitors, Don’t Poke the Locals; Just Walk Left

By Monica Hesse

Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 16, 2009; Page C12

Dear Visiting Tourist:

Please stand on the right.

It is hard to properly convey how important that will be for your time here for the inauguration, so please just comply. When you are on a Metro escalator, boarding a Metro train or doing anything remotely affiliated with the transit authority’s symbol, then please stand single file on the right and pass on the left.

Please do not say you are visiting “The Smithsonian.” There are 14 Smithsonian museums on or around the Mall. Each is a totally different experience. Saying you are visiting “The Smithsonian” is like saying you are visiting “The Sweater” at JCPenney.

Please do not purchase or wear a shirt reading “FBI” or “You Don’t Know Me! (Property of Federal Witness Protection Program).” If you must, purchase said shirt from a street vendor instead of spending $24 —

Sorry — you knew that one already, didn’t you? You never ever would have done that anyway. Sorry, sorry.

We’re just a little on edge. It’s not that we hate tourists. Not like New Yorkers do, with their Born-Here-Die-Here possessiveness. No, far from that. We actually have affection for you.

Many of us Washingtonians are transplants ourselves. We, too, come from Iowa or North Carolina. We, too, were once excited to learn that D.C. has a Hard Rock Cafe. (We went! We liked it! Once.) We see you in your non-ironic Keds, struggling to find your white paper farecard because you didn’t know you would need it to exit the station, and our hearts involuntarily beat, My people! My people!

We want you to do well here. We want you to represent.

Please do not stroll. Please do not mutter, “Whoa, where’s the fire, Buddy?” when someone is walking faster than you. You do not want to be that guy.

Please do not think you saw Will Smith. Most of the time when you think you see someone movie-star famous in D.C., you are wrong. Most of the time when you think you see a retired principal, it is someone famous. Like this guy:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Waxman. He is famous. His name is  Henry Waxman.

(Note: For the inauguration, you may actually see someone movie-star famous. Just be careful.)

Hey, you say. These are the most pointless tips I have ever read. I only started it because I thought I was going to learn something useful, like where to get a burger at 2 a.m. (Ben’s Chili Bowl) You are dumb.

Please do not judge the tips. The tips are here to help you.

Please do not take pictures of the Supreme Court. It will remind us of the time we took a picture of the Department of the Treasury, and also make us feel guilty for never going inside the Supreme Court like we’d planned. (Note: You used to be able to tell the difference between the two because people prayed the rosary outside the Supreme Court, but they might start doing that any day now outside Treasury, too.)

The tips are here to help us, too. Washington is an imposing place, with a wonky and complex culture that is hard to understand. We worked hard to assimilate, and have only recently adjusted. At chaotic times like this, with administration changes and party changes and an influx of a whole bunch of new guys, we are all a little off-kilter. We all feel a little like tourists.

Seriously, guys, on the right. Single file.

GBLT and Civil Rights…

Mary Frances Berry, former chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights said in a NY Times op-ed today that President-elect Obama should abolish the Commission on Civil Rights and replace it with a new commission that would address the rights of many groups, including gays. 

Since the passage of Prop 8 in California, much has been made of the level of African American support for a ban on gay marriage.  Then too, the announcement that megachurch pastor Rick Warren would deliver the inaugural invocation has been met with outrage in some quarters.  Although the exit polls are in dispute, one this is clear: the tension among the GBLT community and African Americans is growing.  This, despite support of GBLT causes by several prominent Black leaders.

For the GBLT community, the issue seems clear.  Marriage, they say, is a basic human right and Black Americans should be especially sensitive to that.  On the other hand, the widespread sentiment in the African American community is (rightly or wrongly) that being gay or lesbian is a “choice” and not a birthright, that can be hidden at will– unlike being a racial minority.  Many shun the idea that the struggle of the GBLT community has any relation to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and resent the comparison. 

Charges of bigotry and homophobia are growing more frequent.  And whether it be generational or for religious reasons, African Americans are beginning to respond.  Pastor Warren will be the key note speaker at Monday’s King ecumenical service held each year in Atlanta (and roadblocked on every news station) and protests have been announced. 

I invite you to weigh in.  Is Mary Frances Berry right?  Is she out of step with so-called mainstream values?  Should Obama do it? Was it appropriate for the King family or Obama to invite Warren? Is marriage truly the state’s business?  I’ve got my own feelings about this, but I want to hear from you.

Confederate History Month

Seriously, that’s what a group of Georgia legislators are proposing.  So much for the “post-racial” era.

Black & Bitter (Part Trois) You gotta wonder…

…what former DOJ voting rights attorney John Tanner expected when he apologized to Mary Frances Berry for his “black and bitter” remarks.  Well, here’s what he got.  Berry, the former chair of the US Commission on Civil Rights, spoke Wednesday at a legal conference held by the American Constituion Society, entitled: “The Road from Lincoln to Obama: The Constitution and the New Birth of Freedom.”  She said:

Welcome. Today I have to tell you that even though I am black, I am not bitter. (Scattered laughter).

Bitter some of the time, but not here.

And I would tell you that the guy who made the comments sent me in an email last night, in a supposed apology, which is even funnier, but I won’t take up the time.

You also have to wonder if he meant his apology or if he was trying to appease his current employer.  I’m just saying…

Capt. Sully, you sir are my hero…

…for executing nothing short of a miracle during yesterday’s landing on the Hudson River.  You saved the lives of 150 people and truly represent the best of America.  Your service to our nation’s military and the skill in which you brought that plane down safety will never be forgotten.

Hats off to U.S. Airways pilot Capt. “Sulley” Sullenberger!

The story is here.

Update:  According to my friend Jennifer Brett at the Atlanta Journal Constitution, “The story I read said he twice walked the length of the plane, as it was going down, to make sure he was the last one to leave. That’s leadership!”

Amen!

And what’re you going to do about it?

An interesting exchange I had on Facebook this morning, regarding the distribution of TARP funds to financial institutions like Bank of America.  Say what you will, but I think the lack of accountability is simply outrageous…

 

Status:  Goldie B of A is getting more bailout $$$ with my tax $$$, then why does their customer service stink???via Twitter – 9:15am – Comment

 

Ray Metoyer at 9:31am January 16

Don’t get me started talking about these BAILOUT Buttheads! See, Now I’m mad all over again!

 

Stephen Alford at 9:41am January 16

The top ten banks were forced to accept the money from the government. Actually, not all banks needed/wanted the funds.

 

Stephen Alford at 9:42am January 16

… but I hear you about customer service.

 

Ray Metoyer at 9:56am January 16

These banks weren’t forced to accept the money and tighten their credit policies and not work with cash/credit strapped consumers and customers. They’ve done nothing to help people who are struggling!

 

Stephen Alford at 9:57am January 16

They were forced to accept the money.

 

Ray Metoyer at 9:58am January 16

But what have they done with it to help consumers?

 

Stephen Alford at 9:58am January 16

They haven’t done anything. I agree with you on that.

 

Ray Metoyer at 9:59am January 16

That’s what I’m angry about!

 

Goldie Taylor at 10:07am January 16

B of A ASKED for additonal bailout funds of $20 BILLION. They used the initial bailout money to fund acquisitions of other ailing institutions, all the while cutting credit to businesses and individuals. They acquired CountryWide and Merrill Lynch, stregthening their market position and leaving us empty handed. And let’s not start talking about the Credit Default Swaps they engaged in.

 

Ray Metoyer at 10:10am January 16

And there were no strings attached to the money; we don’t even know what they’ve used it for except certain CEO bonuses.

 

 

Christian Right or Right Christians?

And they said Rev. Al Sharpton was irrelevant in the Age of Obama.  I don’t always agree with Al, but on that point I beg to differ.   

There is something immoral and sick about using all of that power to not end brutality and poverty, but to break into people’s bedrooms and claim that God sent you. It amazes me when I looked at California and saw churches that had nothing to say about police brutality, nothing to say when a young black boy was shot while he was wearing police handcuffs, nothing to say when they overturned affirmative action, nothing to say when people were being [relegated] into poverty, yet they were organizing and mobilizing to stop consenting adults from choosing their life partners.  –Rev. Al Sharpton 1/15/09

Hat tip:  Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic.

Quote of the Day

“Mr. Chairman, no one is above the law,”  so said Attorney General nominee Eric Holder when asked whether a president might have the power to immunize people against criminal charges.

Five (not so) deep questions…

1.  Can anyone honestly compare Eric Holder to Alberto “Gitmo” Gonzales. 

2. Did Mark Penn really think Hillary was going to pay him after his performance?

3. Bank of America keeps getting bailed out with my tax money, so why are they so nasty when I visit a branch?

4. What does “post-racial” mean?

5. Does the Transition really need my $250 to fund the festivities?

WHAT.EH.VEH

So Tanner decided to apologize.  On behalf of the “black and bitter” women of the world, “WHAT.EH.VEH”!

Ignorance ain’t bliss…

I do claim to understand the P/I Conflict, only that is has been going on for the full of my lifetime and likely that of my children and theirs.  I do not have a “side”, since I am absolutely ignorant on the issues.  However, that being said, I am on the “side” of human rights, the rule of law and international treaties that govern military engagements. This, from Andrew Sullivan over at The Atlantic, is wrong on every count.

The Israelis shell the UN headquarters in Gaza. In yet another brilliant move to win over global opinion and dispel any notion that this invasion has been morally suspect, they also destroy large amounts of food and humanitarian supplies.

Department of Honest Mistakes…

President-elect Obama’s nominee for Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner ought to be confirmed without delay.  Sometimes vetting goes too far and keeps good people from public service.  That shouldn’t happen here.  Besides, we need comprehensive immigration reform,  but that’s another story for another day…

The wheels of justice are turning…

…in Oakland.  According the the San Francisco Chronicle:

The BART police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man on an Oakland train platform and then refused to explain his actions to investigators was arrested Tuesday in Nevada on suspicion of murder, authorities said.

Johannes Mehserle, 27, of Lafayette was taken into custody in Douglas County, Nev., said Deputy Steve Velez of the Douglas County sheriff’s office. The arrest was also confirmed by David Chai, chief of staff to Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums.

Black and bitter (part deux)

I’m already Black, but if I ever had a cause to be bitter this is it…

Embedded video from CNN Video

Black and bitter…

No, I’m not talking about myself.  Although sometimes I wonder…

This just in, compliments of Talking Points Memo.  It seems a top DOJ Voting-Rights official said he liked his coffee like Mary Francis Berry.  And no, he didn’t mean creamy and sweet. 

In that incident in August 2004, Voting Section Chief John Tanner sent an e-mail to Schlozman asking Schlozman to bring coffee for him to a meeting both were scheduled to attend. Schlozman replied asking Tanner how he liked his coffee. Tanner’s response was, “Mary Frances Berry style – black and bitter.” Berry is an African-American who was the Chairperson of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights from November 1993 until late 2004. Schlozman forwarded the e-mail chain to several Department officials (including Principal DAAG Bradshaw) but not Acosta, with the comment, “Y’all will appreciate Tanner’s response.” Acosta said that when he was made aware of the incident, he required Schlozman to make a written apology to him for his role in forwarding the e-mail and that Schlozman did so.

Remember folks, it was Tanner who left the voting-rights section soon after saying that voter ID laws discriminate against the elderly, and therefore not against African-Americans, because African-Americans die younger.

The color of news

And now a word from Washington Post columnist Howard Kurtz:

“Eight days before Barack Obama is sworn in, the relative paucity of black journalists at the White House is striking. A mostly white press corps at 1600 Pennsylvania would be cause for concern no matter what the color of the Oval Office occupant. But the advent of the Obama administration seems to underscore that racial progress has been uneven in a business that chronicles that very subject. “

Kurtz makes a good point, but the bigger issue is the shrinking number of journalists of color in EVERY newsroom across the country.  Journalism with a capital “J” says you don’t have to share ethnicity, race or gender to get the story right.  But I beg to differ.  Those cultural lenses are critical to the craft of reporting– in front of and behind the camera, on the assignment desk and in the field.  Prime example?  David Gregory’s lastest installment of “Meet the Press”.  He might as well have been questioning a martian instead of Bill Cosby.  

Most often it isn’t the answers that betray our lack of familiarity, but the questions.  And hell, if you can formulate the salient questions how then will we get the relevant news and analysis?  To be clear, you CAN be intimately familiar without sharing cultural background, but that takes an incredible talent who is willing to invest in his/ her craft.  So many today are simply unwilling.

At the end of the day, it matters little how many African Americans cover this American president.  There is a bigger, more insidious problem… and that’s not new.

Even so, the column is worth a read…

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/11/AR2009011102157.html

Getting some dayum sleep…

My grandmother believed in rising early in the morning.  She’d have two pieces of dry wheat toast, a boiled egg and black coffee for breakfast, then start her day.  Me?  The Marines insisted on getting my lazy ass out of bed before sunrise.  They’d throw a backpack on me and some boots, then throw me, the backpack and 40 others out in the dark and force us to run 10 miles while people with far more stripes than we had called us names I shouldn’t repeat here.  It’s not that I don’t use foul language, it’s just too freaking early in the morning. 

When I left the Corps, I promised I’d learn to sleep in.  I didn’t.  Two decades later, I am still an early riser.  While my kids are blissfully asleep at all hours of a Saturday, I am up by 7 a.m.  This morning, a Tuesday, I was up by 5 a.m.  Now don’t start preaching about being industrious.  There is something dayum immoral about being awake at that time of the morning with nothing to do but get up and make some coffee.  There is nothing interesting about the morning news.  I work from home so I don’t care about the traffic report. 

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to get some dayum sleep and I’m starting this morning.

Good night.

Tell ‘um George!

“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” – George Orwell

Sir, please step away from the torch…

I was likened to a “house negro” today, and I’ve got to tell you that it was hurtful.  Not the words, but the source.  You see, the man who made the comparison, referring to me and others who dared offer step up to help him in his quest to save Morris Brown College in Atlanta, was none other than Dr. C.T. Vivian.  The man has his own Wikipedia page for heaven’s sake!  The good Dr. Vivian is known for his life of sacrifice before and after the Civil Rights movement.  I am sure someone is planning a monument in his honor somewhere, soon, and rightly so. 

So why?  Why would such a respected man compare me to a house Negro, one who has bought into the “white man’s” game and am now, at least according to Dr. Vivian, unwittingly doing his bidding?

A colleague and I said plainly that the success of Morris Brown’s current fundraising campaign depends on how well they are able to convey the message the going forward that Morris Brown will be responsive, responsible and sustainable.  Not one dollar is worth investing, no matter the school’s history, if the investor cannot answer the question:  Will it make a difference?  It is up to those supporting this effort to make the case and make it fast.  It’s that simple.  I have been a fundraiser and a fundgiver.  It’s a reciprocal relationship.  Period.  I give you money, you give me stewardship. 

I did not attend an HBCU.  I missed an incredible experience and regret it to this day.  However, that said, Morris Brown is a critical part of the education picture for many African Americans.  As such, I have a duty to get involved with my time, talent and resources.  But when and if I do, I deserve to have some basic questions answered if I have them.  And given Morris Brown’s history of fiscal and administrative mismanagement, I have plenty of questions.

I do not take kindly to being laid with a guilt trip about what I may or may not owe– to anyone.  I grew up in East St. Louis and went to junior high school in a burned out shell of a building.  Three out of four of homes on our block were condemned. Nobody lived in them but crackheads and rats.  I get the African American condition.  I am a walking embodiment of it.  My brothers and father are dead embodiments of it.  An attempt to address an important issue strategically does not, in fact, make me a house negro. 

And finally, I will say this:  If he keeps this up, somebody is going to demand that he turn over that torch before he sets something on fire.

Obama to close Guantanamo Bay…

…and not a minute too soon.  According to CNN:  “Barack Obama plans to act as early as his first week in office to shut the prison at Guantanamo Bay, two officials say.”

I am so very thankful that we now have a president who respects the rule of law and human rights.

Well, well, well…

Sen. Harry Reid hoped off his high horse and finally understood that he could not continue to refuse to seat Rolad Burris.  The mistake here was letting the issue become a distraction.  We don’t have time for shenanigan’s like this.  Next time, consult the Constitution and follow it.  And for God’s sake, quit playing games with a governor who’ll be spending the next 5-10 years in a Federal country club.  He’s a waste of time…

Quote of the Day

“If I have to swim with sharks, I’m going back to BET.”– D.L. Hughley

Clear and present danger?

Questions of the day:  What exact threat did an unarmed man in handcuffs laying on his stomach with a police officer’s knee in his back present?  And whatever it was, did it constitute clear and present danger? Did he deserve to be shot?

Child exploitation

The difference between Atlanta and Thailand– running water and electricity. No, seriously, Atlanta has become the “mecca” for child prostitution.  So, what’re you going to do about it? 

What two consenting adults do with their bodies is of no consquence to me, but when little girls are snatched or “trunked” and sold from pimp to pimp that’s another matter altogether. 

The next time you run into ANY candidate for ANY office in Atlanta, I want you to ask–no demand– that they answer the question:  What’re you going to do about it?  I don’t care if they’re running for dog catcher in a special election in February.  Demand an answer. 

I’m sure I’ll be on this subject again soon…

So long, Mr. Bush

In what was heralded as his last press conference, outgoing President Bush defending the White House response to Hurricane Katrina and the devastation the storm waters delivered on the city of New Orleans.   Somewhere between his syllables I had a terrific urge to jump off the treadmill and whip my tennis shoe at the television screen. 

It is simply unimaginable that he, or anyone else, would assess our response to people dying of dehydration and disease as something other than immoral.  There was no evacuation plan.  There was no water. No medical care.  No food. No security.  All the while, Bush and Rove thought it nice to visit Sen. John McCain with a friggin birthday cake!

It took Anderson Cooper and Shepard Smith to get on the air and scream bloody murder to the world. 

Later, when governors complained that they did not have the equipment necessary to answer such catastrophies because of our investments of manpower and machinery in Iraq, they were call heretics.  Or worse yet, unpatriotic.  Ah yes, unpatriotic.  The new buzzword for people who “hate America.”  I would posit that real patriotism is demonstrated through a commitment to the health and welfare of all Americans. 

With any luck, this will actually be Bush’s last press conference.  Someone should’ve installed a trapdoor under the podium…

Five (sort of) deep questions…

1.   Does Sarah Palin really think she is due the same treatment as Caroline Kennedy?  Or is this further evidence of mental illness?

2. How many teenagers can you stuff into a tiny apartment?  (Answer: four more than I should)

3. What is a reasonable amount of time to spend on Facebook?  And is five hours a day too much?

4. When will Sen. Harry Reid figure out that he doesn’t have a constitutional leg to stand on and seat Roland Burris?

5. Will novelists be included in the stimulus package?  I mean everybody else is, so what can’t I get a cut?

A new year, a new leaf…

With the turn of the new year, I realized that I do not come to these pages often enough.  In recent days, I have received a number of e-mails from prior visitors– and with the same message– “WTF???  Where are you?”

So here I am. 

I will post as frequently as I can (barring client meetings and monitoring the movements of four teenagers). The topics will vary, from personal to national issues and everything in between.  So hang with me a bit, get that cup of coffee and settle in.

Peace,

G