Wonderful blog; I hope you take a look at my book on religion and Du Bois - you will see that often he is considered outside of the tradition of African American religion and politics (and I’m trying to read him into that tradition, as I think he should be). Best, and I look forward to your thoughts on it. Edward J. Blum
Oh, I’m already reading your book. I’m not sure yet about the parallels between Obama and DuBois in the article, but I think the book is one of the most original pieces of writing I’ve read in a while. It has given me a new appreciation for Souls and it makes me want to re-read DuBois, Levering Lewis, and other work in light of this new lens of looking at it. I’ll try to write more when I’ve finished it.
HERE IS AN ARTICLE FROM REASON MAGAZINE , A LIBERTARIAN PUBLICATION WHICH OUTS CLINTON ON FOREIGN POLICY
Hillary Clinton and the Dangers of Hubris
Are the Democrats set to give us another imperial president?
Steve Chapman | July 26, 2007
During the Democratic debate in South Carolina, I heard something I never expected to hear: Hillary Clinton coming out against U.S. military intervention.
At least I think she was coming out against U.S. military intervention. Asked if U.S. troops should be sent to Darfur, the New York senator made a valiant effort to dodge the question by declaiming about sanctions, divestment and UN peacekeepers. But when pressed, “How about American troops on the ground?” she finally said, a bit awkwardly, “American ground troops I don’t think belong in Darfur at this time.”
But don’t bet that she’ll stick to that position if she’s elected. It goes against type. Clinton favored intervention in Haiti in 1994. She favored intervention in Bosnia in 1995. She favored intervention in Kosovo in 1999. As first lady, Clinton said, “I am very pleased that this president and administration have made democracy one of the centerpieces of our foreign policy.” Before the Kosovo war, she phoned Bill from Africa and, she recalled later, “I urged him to bomb.”
Among her critics, Clinton is known for a mother-knows-best domestic policy that relies on overbearing interference from Washington to remake the landscape to her specifications. The flip side is a mother-knows-best foreign policy that relies on overbearing interference from Washington to remake the landscape to her specifications.
Dear Sagereader: Here is a link to an excellent and thorough debunking of an atrociaous smear article penned by Jamie Kirchick (assistant to the editor of TNR and guest blogging for Andrew Sullivan) accusing Obama of not caring about genocide.
Do you have an email I can send you links without posting directly on your website? I often come across things you and your readers might find of interest, but I feel I might be infringing on your space — you might want to go through these things before they are posted. Can you see my email address to contact me?
At Sunday’s African American Day parade, a150 person contingent led by Dr. Lenora Fulani marched up Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. chanting “Hillary and Obama Should Debate…Let the People Decide” while handing out invitations to join the call for a Harlem debate and conducting a survey among parade-goers lining the route. Thought you’d be interested in checking out the “You Tube” video:
Think on These Things: In the interest of building a grassroots voice in this however heavily orchestrated election yet with many opportunities, would you please email me at hanks_nancy@msn.com or call me at 646-567-6641? Thanks!
Nancy
Would love to be in touch about developments in the Clinton/Obama debate campaign et al, but you don’t have an email listed anywhere. You can email me your contact info at gwenmand@aol.com. I want to send you a comp copy of The Neo-Independent, as well (magazine for indies).
I’m an Obama volunteer organizer and coordinator in Berkeley, CA. I just want you to know that I check this site at least three times a day. I always find an energy-boost on good days and signs of hope if I’m ever needing a pick-me-up…you fire me up every day and I hope you’ll continue all the way to victory!
Thanks to everyone who has stopped by! I apologize if I don’t get to all emails. I maintain this in my spare time and it’s enough work just maintaining the blog–especially as the pace of the campaign season has picked up.
Just know that I support you in your efforts for Obama. May we all continue to work like the dickens in whatever capacity we can over the next three months to inform people about the record, policy, and promise of Barack Obama. If we don’t work for our country and the next generation, who will?
Hi sagereader,
I’m a longtime fan of your excellent blog. I have it permanently on my toolbar and check it every day..you truly have one of the best and most informative blogs for Obama I’ve seen, and I really appreciate all your hard work.
I don’t know if this actually fits in with your blog, but many Obama supporters that regularly post on the blog at barackobama.com have set up a fundraising event we call Merry Christmas Barack. Since this is entirely a grassroots effort, we’re depending on blogs and emails to get the word out. Any help in that area would really be appreciated.
I am pro Obama also. I see we have some of the same friends in the blogosphere. This is where I come to rest and relax. I love knowing where all the Obama people are on the sites that I use. You have done an excellent job of gathering information.
EDWARDS HAS EXPERIENCE DOING 2 THINGS ONLY. Running for President and suing doctors. His 6 years in the Senate was only remarkable for his being gung-ho for the Iraq war.
Hillary is Bush lite
Biden with his idea odf soft patition has suggested a good solution for a preoblem that he helped create by voting for the Iraq war.
Since you are so decidedly thorough, wondering if you can check out a thread on the obama website about Dodd and fillibustering? something about Obama breaking a promise? I need more info on this…
Below I have the video clip for the NH Democratic Party. I am not sure it will work. I tried to post it Youtube but its to long. If you want to use it you can link it from my sight. Or ou can send me and email address so that I can attach a quick time copy.
I am so glad you are here and have done this effort. I am so sick of people mostly people who have not made any effort to check out what Barack has done or is doing deciding that he has done nothing. I will help send them here but I don’t think they will appreciate me confusing them with facts. Thanks for the site, will be back often, and the site title is good to.
i have recently discovered your blog and it has some great things! i am extremely worried right now after New Hampshire after reading suggestions and allegations of fraud thanks to diebold. please please help raise awareness on this issue of utmost importance! below are a few links:
This is a great carnival rounding up the health/ medical blogs and briefing the “next US President” on 40 health issues, and using Obama’s plan as the benchmark.
Love your blog. I thought you might be interested in my take on the race. Before Iowa, I looked at each of the candidates as the dogs they represent. As you will see, I predicted John McCain to get the GOP nomination and Obama, the Italian Greyhound, to win the presidency. Go Obama!
I love your blog! So much good research and work - BRAVO!
I am a Latina in California and I would only suggest that you add to your wonderful array of stuff a side by side on Obama/vs Clinton on immigration/immigrant’s rights and the impact of NAFTA on rural MEXICO not just rural US. My heart is still aching on how the Clinton campaign has deliberately destroyed decades of civil rights work and organizing the black/brown alliance in CA, and how an emergent voting block has been used by people like Villaraigosa and Nunez despite how much better Obama is than Clinton on all the issues most important to Latinos. Keep up the good work - SI SE PUEDE!
We love Barrack! he is the uniter we have been looking for! My daughter and son made a youtube song at Christmas for their Dad. Take a listen!
youtube.com/watch?v=6q_x6BIakLU
Great site! Can you link to my new O-blog: aboutobama.blogspot.com. It’s designed to be a place for people to get/download simple, specific Obama info and flyers. In progress… thanks!
Great site, particularly the well-researched comparisons of the candidates. I was wondering if we could do a link exchange. Our site is http://www.AsianAmericansforObama.com. We post on developments regarding the campaign, Obama and Asian American issues, and provide resources for local supporters to do Asian American outreach. Thanks!
This is a great, AWESOME resource, but it lacks a section on Immigration. I want to use this site to help win Texas newspaper endorsements, but the issue nearest to their reader’s hearts isn’t addressed. Could you add that and soon?
This is a wonderful and most impressive website. Thank you for your indept coverage.
I am concerned that so many people seem not to know of its existence. Obama supporters/bloggers at http://www.barackobama.com often query each other about where to find more information on Obama. In addition, Obama detracters constantly accuse him of not having detailed plans, solutions, etc. With this in mind, I wonder if a prominent link from this website could be added to the HOME page of Obama’s official website?
All day I have been hearing from HRC that “words don’t mean anything” as she seeks to diminish Obama’s oratory skills, plans, and solutions. I wonder how a person who is running for the highest office in the land could come to such a conclusion. Of course words mean something! They mean something to principled people who live by the code “Your word is your bond.” However, this might be the real problem with HRC. Her words frequently have no integrity. They lead her to make conflicting statements on the same issue (flip-flopping on her NAFTA stance). They lead her to make false claims (e.g., “I am the only one who has a plan to provide universal health care.”). They lead her to disdain that which she can never achieve (i.e. Unity people all across America as Obama has done).
Hello there! My name is Travis and I am a student at Stanford University. Because I believe Barack is the best candidate with the potential to revolutionize politics, I created a website at this http://www.digobama.com so people like you can submit your favorite articles, videos and podcasts about Barack and vote on them.This site is extremely new (created Monday, February 13th) and is already gaining momentum in spreading Barack’s message. There are already 43 users, 99 articles, 329 votes, and over 500 unique visitors on Saturday! As the webmaster of a Barack Obama related website, I would like to invite you to become a member and then submit your stories. Thank you and Yes We Can make a difference!!!
Just stumbled across your blog — great resource! I’m boosting Obama vigorously, and it’s nice to find the resources you’ve mustered. Just blogrolled you. Keep it up!
Agree with the rest of the comments. Hopefully by this time next year, our collective sighs of relief will resonate around the world. (as they most likely will)
I am sure you are aware that chain e-mails are going around the Internet which link to the Derrick video on your web site. I have a policy of corroborating chain e-mails before I forward them, and thus received an e-mail asking my opinion of this video. The first questions I asked were: who is conducting the interview? What channel is this?
Indications that this is a phony are:
1- The camera points unwaveringly at Derrick. No channel would air an interview without cutting away to their announcer. You are going to see Diane Sawyer, Wolf Blitzer or whomever, and know that you are watching ABC, CNN, etc. Near the end the interviewer says, “My name is Mike.” That is not how a professional media person signs off.
2- The interview is over five minutes long. If Derrick doesn’t know the interviewer, how did he got a copy of the unedited video????
3- A cameraman walks by, but the station ID on his camera can not be seen. clearly, the video is staged, however amateurishly. That said, Derrick can no longer be viewed as an innocent young man-on-the-street with a brilliant command of the issues. In the light of day, he must be seen as a well-rehearsed actor who is probably reading cue cards.
4- This is not some harmless prank by an ardent young person, promoting himself or his political views. I noticed a sign in the background with the telephone number, 213-251-1025. I dialed the number, and got a taped message from an organization in LA called “The Answer Coalition.” They have a web site: http://www.answerLA.org.
You state that you want to be fair and accurate. If that is truly your goal, you will take down the Derrick video and offer a disclaimer. It is blatant propaganda by a political organization promoting an agenda. It uses subterfuge, and thus has no place in honest discourse.
Sagereader,
This is a most important read that points to Obama’s experience in the senate. Many that support Hillary will be extremely suprised that he is more capable w/ less experience, less (claimed) experience.
I think this is 1 of the many reasons so many love Obama, the truth in a man/women shines thru not only action, but in every word that he speaks. This man is as capable as any president this country has every had.
About your point #1: The video was not by a professional media outlet. It is by a Youtube user who was going around bombarding people on the street about their support. If you look at Mike’s other videos, you see he did that to supporters of other candidates as well.
About #2: The video was not posted by Derrick. It was posted by Mike, the interviewer.
About #3: See point #1. The video was not by a professional media outlet.
#4: I would encourage you watch his response video to get more background on him before jumping to conclusions.
Thanks for the great blog! I have every intention of returning often as possible. I will be sure to share the discovery with my friends and family. Go Obama!!!
You are right about Mike’s videos, but which of my conclusions is wrong?
Shameless self-promotion?
Or hidden political agenda?
I watched both videos, looked at the website for his group that Derrick mentioned, and then looked Derrick up on Yahoo (google doesn’t have much). He is a very talented professional actor and formidable political activist. He should not misrepresent himself as an innocent passerby.
That’s the whole point of the video. Mike, the interviewer, went up to a random person on the street and bombarded him with questions about his support for Barack Obama. Mike did not realize that he was walking up to a man who was a talented actor, political activist, public speaker, and Harvard University graduate.
If you want to make a case otherwise, I’m happy to hear it but you need to bring some *accurate* facts to bear that support your argument. I’m sure that the many people who have viewed the video, the numerous blogs that have reported on it, and The Economist magazine which has spotlighted the video would definitely be open to hearing any evidence you have about “subterfuge.”
Hi sagereader, this is Derrick N Ashong. Thank you for sharing these videos with so many people and also for defending my integrity as it came into question earlier in this thread. To date all this attention has been wonderful and a bit overwhelming. I initially thought it would die down after a while, but it’s been getting more intense and it seems I have a bit of a platform now.
After speaking with my bandmates & partners I’ve decided to seize the moment in a way I can feel good about and that can perhaps help make a difference in the election.
When you have a chance please take a look at this latest video:
We are going to run a political experiment in the guise of a simple competition. I would like to explode the concept that young people don’t know what’s going on in the world we live in, and the ridiculous misperception that an informed voter with a youthful face, must be some sort of secret agent. LOL
I’m not a secret agent, but I am out to change the world. Please let me know if you can help us to spread the word. You can learn more about the competition and the overall movement at http://www.takebackthemic.com .
Thanks again for all you’ve done to share my thoughts with others these last few weeks. Let’s see if we can make this an opportunity to give those others a greater voice too.
I was so grateful to come across this site, as I have been feeling kind of alone out here trying to make my case for Senator Barack Obama as the only logical choice for our next President, while running into a seamingless endless stream of racist hate-mongering out here on the ‘net.
My spin on this is purely generational: I believe that the reason our government has ground to a halt is that the the Radical 60’s generation, the Baby Boomers, have fulfilled their destiny: aging into the Radical Left and the Radical Right and never the twain shall meet. I also believe that the only solution for this is a new kind of leader, one who displays the more tolerant, fair-minded, realistic, practical, can-do mind set of Generation X.
I may be a bit biased, of course, because I happen to be exactly the same age as Senator Obama. We are the children of the bleak political climate of the 70’s that were forced to grow up real fast , while learning a lot about what is true and what is not.
If you are interested in reading more on this aspect of the presidential contest (and maybe getting a couple of laughs) please visit:
* Please know that I mean no disrespect to those in the Boomer age group. Personally, I love you guys - nobody knows more about having fun than you. More importantly, and to your great credit, you have raised your GenX children NOT to judge people based on race, religion or sexual orientation. You have made the greatest achievements in the history of mankind in Science, Medicine, Ecology and the Arts. It’s just that you are way too passionate for politics
Derrick was outstanding. He obviously has educated himself on health care and politics period from a stand point that a lot of American born citizens have failed and/or opted not to do! I take my hat off to Derrick for being so aware of our wordly problems and not wanting to support Sen. B. Obama because he’s black, but supporting him because he appears to be the best candidate to be our next Commander In Chief! There should be more Derrick’s in this world; and for that I will end this comment.
This web site is a crock of Bull. The Clinton campaign saying Don’t let others run the caucus! Better get ready, because Ron Paul’s campaign says the same thing! They all do, Obama ,too. It’s who gets there first if the caucus leader is not there by 7-7:15. Your site is just another Hillary basher site. Twist and Turn the issues to make Obama look “sufficiently experienced” as one of your commenters said. Go Hillary
^^I don’t have to twist any facts to make Obama look “sufficiently experienced.” The fact that he has held political office longer than Hillary has and passed more legislation in his lifetime than she has is verifiable. No “twisting” needed.
And need I add that the differences in how their campaigns have been run (debt, people quitting, drama, preparation for post-Feb. 5, organizational strength, fundraising strength, etc.) shows that it’s not Obama’s experience that should be in question
Great work, thank you.
One thing—this interesting looking link from your Obama 101 page now goes nowhere:
Associated Press Overview of Obama’s Experience and Record
If Obama won’t hit back, I will. Why aren’t we talking about impeachment, Whitewater and Osama? The Republicans will.
Getty ImagesType Size March 5, 2008 — This is a dirty campaign and since Senator Barack Obama won’t say it, I will. The media has not been unfair to Senator Clinton, they have been extremely soft. There are elephants in the room that need to be addressed. Can anyone say Whitewater? How about impeachment? Let’s not forget Osama bin Laden. You can bet Republicans will be talking about these issues. So why aren’t Democrats? Clinton’s central arguments in the campaign are basically a mirage, and they are dangerous ones both for the party and the country.
Clinton’s line is that she is “experienced and ready on Day One” and that she is best poised to fight the Republican attack machine.
Sure, the Clintons have faced the Republican attack machine, and they did such a good job that it resulted in a Constitutional crisis. The scorched earth battle between the Clintons and the GOP over the Clinton’s lies about sex, dubious financing and other misdeeds nearly brought down the government and terribly damaged the Democratic Party. Were the Republicans nasty, dirty and all manner of evil? Sure. But it took the Clinton spin and lie machine to spiral the country, the party and the presidency downward into impeachment.
Now the Clinton campaign shouts about “Nafta-Gate,” pointing to a supposed conversation between a chief Obama economic advisor and Canadian officials, to assure the Canadians that Obama’s opposition to NAFTA was political posturing. The media made a big deal about it. But it was Bill Clinton actually passed the legislation at stake (along with the disaster we know as welfare reform, and deregulation of banking that contributed to the current mortgage meltdown). The Obama campaign should reveal what happened with the Canadians. But it will likely pale in comparison to Clintonian back-room escapades during their tenure.
Senator Clinton has also raised the Rezko land deal. At worst it looks as if Obama bought a portion of a vacant lot next door to his home from a dubious character, so he could have a bigger backyard for his kids. Does it really compare with the Whitewater scandal? The phony “Nafta-Gate” and “Rezko-Gate” don’t come anywhere close to Monica Gate, Trooper Gate, Whitewater and the persistent trail of sleaze that follows the Clintons.
Senator Clinton knows how to come at the Republican attack machine, but she’s also the one who gives it all the fuel it needs to rev up.
As for experience and being poised to fight for Americans, well Hillary Clinton was given one major policy task as first lady, health care reform. She was so effective at “fighting” for it that it went down in defeat and the Democrats lost the Congress as a result.
Legislation is not passed by fighting. Health Care reform will only be achieved through bringing Democrats, and some Republicans, together.
Clinton’s claim of experience and readiness is a mirage. Senator Clinton has no true national security experience. Her vote on the Iraq war was cynical, at best. Embattled during the impeachment scandal, the Clinton administration failed to respond decisively to the threat posed by Osama Bin Laden. Bill Clinton’s unwillingness to take out bin Laden, fearing it would create a “wag the dog” scenario in the midst of impeachment, showed a disastrous lack of judgment. McCain will hammer home these weaknesses at every opportunity. And the fight will be messy.
So since Senator Barack Obama won’t say it, I will: The Clintons are reckless, back-alley fighters who are willing to destroy the Democratic Party, the country and the institution of the presidency if it will benefit them. Yes, they are “fighters,” but not for you or me. They fight hardest and dirtiest on behalf of themselves, and this campaign has proved it. Over the past week Senator Clinton has reminded us how dirty she can play to stay alive. But is that ultimately good for the Democratic Party? Democrats need to exorcise their Clinton demons and do it fast for the sake of the party and the country. Superdelegates and especially Al Gore, can you hear me?
Mark Sawyer is an associate professor of political science and African American studies at UCLA and director of the UCLA Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Politics.
On Sen. Obama website is a great reply to NY Times article 3/8/2008
How can voting-problems be avoided in Pennsylvania, in areas strongly supporting Sen. Obama? The Governor is an outspoken, let-the-Florida-votes-count Hillary supporter?
My first experience with a blog site, I’m a MODERN GRANDPA, and I just love this site, both for what it does, plus what it dostn’t THANK YOU, THANK YOU….,
Thank you for easing my mind. As a caucasian, my biggest concern about Senator Obama as President would be the roles three of the biggest racists in the U.S. would play in his presidency. The mere thought of Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton or Louis Farrakhan even being in the White House scares the hell out of me.
In my mind, and the minds of many or various ethnic backgrounds, these 3 have done more to impede progress in the Black community. They have erected the biggest barriers in contemporary history.
Major Clinton Fund-Raisers are threatening to withhold donations to the DNC unless the Florida delegates are seated with the January results or there is a new primary. the January primary was in violation of national party rules and a new primary would not Florida pass state law.
To show the DNC that Obama supporters are inclusive of all Democrats and are committed to a fair and just resolution of this process, I am asking that people make a Money Bomb donation to the DNC adding $.46 to represent Obama’s age. We are not threatening the DNC by withholding funds but ask that the resolution be fair and by the rules of the party, which Obama has stated all along..
Show your support by donating $5.46, $10.46, $25.46, $50.46 to the DNC as a Money Bomb showing a commitment to a fair and inclusive process to the seating of the Michigan and Florida delegates.
I found your blog after searching for an hour to find the video of Obama’s speech on race. What a great find. I’m now caught up on all the conversations I have missed!
Thanks for posting that CNN.com Op-Ed & the NYTimes piece this week. I’ve been overseas on a project the last two weeks and it’s kind of mind-blowing what’s been happening while I’ve been gone! lol
We got a great response from our first Take Back the Mic, “Open Mic” competition on HEALTHCARE and announced a winner last week. We’ve just posted a new video for the second week and given the ongoing debate in the country we’re tackling the topic of RACE IN AMERICA. You can see the new video here:
And of course the rules are still at http://www.takebackthemic.com. Please let me know if you can share this with your readers. Thanks again for all your support and here’s to the awakening of the American citizen!
thanks for the tip. great commentary. i just posted it. i’m sure the past few weeks have been surreal for you, but you’re doing a great job. keep it up!
With appropriate apologies, I’m driveby blogwhoring. But for a good cause!
With Obama upping the pressure on Hillary to produce the last 7-8 years of tax returns by posting his own on his website, I thought I’d roll out a fun little grassroots action campaign myself on VichyDems.
It’s a simple idea: the Hillary Clinton Tax Fax. Everyone just takes the tax returns they’ve probably got on their desks right now, copies them, blacks out the personally identifiable stuff, adds a note, and faxes it to one of Clinton’s campaign offices. I’ve got links etc. at http://vichydems.blogspot.com/2008/03/activism-you-can-do-help-clinton.html .
If you think this sounds fun, please feel free to do your own post, link to mine, whatever. (I keep using the word “fun” — this one seems so straightforward and so nonpartisan that I really AM having fun with it!)
Love your site and I appreciate the great commentary.
In case you haven’t heard, Pat Buchanan has written an article where he states the following:
- Black people need to stop complaining and show some gratitude for what Whites have done for them
- America has been the best country in the world for Black folks
- Black people were introduced to Christian salvation by Whites and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity that they have ever known
- Barack Obama is just another “black hustler’ trying to shakedown white folks for money
I could go on, but you need to read it for yourself.
If you haven’t already, please share this with others. Since Barack Obama encouraged us to have an open dialog on race, I don’t think Pat Buchanan should be the only one talking. This would be great to discuss on your site.
Here’s a strategy for those who would vote McCain if Hillary steals the election:
Write-in.
If the power-mad HRC somehow succeeds in convincing Super-dels to overturn Obama’s wins, I say to all of us who support him to simply march into the voting booths in November and place his name as a write-in candidate. If he really has the popular majority, there is every reason to believe he could carry on to win — but this would require every supporter to buy-in to the plan.
As for those who may feel a little too much loyalty to the Democratic party and its decisions? If HRC gets in there, just keep in mind that you would be demonstrating greater loyalty to the party than her, a Democrat who openly says the Republican McCain is a better second choice behind her than is Barak.
If this sounds mad enough, grass-roots/net roots enough to work, pass it along.
Sagereader-
It took me forever to figure out how to contact you. Love your blog. I have it in the bookmarks, and check it three or four times a week. My mom just sent me a copy of this article by Tim Wise (counterpunch.org - March 18, 2008). I don’t know if you want to post it, or give it a little air, but it makes for compelling reading. Keep up the good work.
Reynaldo
March 18, 2008
Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama and the Unacceptability of Truth
Of National Lies and Racial America
By TIM WISE
For most white folks, indignation just doesn’t wear well. Once
affected or conjured up, it reminds one of a pudgy man, wearing a
tie that may well have fit him when he was fifty pounds lighter, but
which now cuts off somewhere above his navel and makes him look like
an idiot.
Indignation doesn’t work for most whites, because having remained
sanguine about, silent during, indeed often supportive of so much
injustice over the years in this country–the theft of native land
and genocide of indigenous persons, and the enslavement of Africans
being only two of the best examples–we are just a bit late to get
into the game of moral rectitude. And once we enter it, our efforts
at righteousness tend to fail the test of sincerity.
But here we are, in 2008, fuming at the words of Pastor Jeremiah
Wright, of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago–occasional ly
Barack Obama’s pastor, and the man whom Obama credits with having
brought him to Christianity- -for merely reminding us of those evils
about which we have remained so quiet, so dismissive, so
unconcerned. It is not the crime that bothers us, but the
remembrance of it, the unwillingness to let it go–these last words
being the first ones uttered by most whites it seems whenever
anyone, least of all an “angry black man” like Jeremiah Wright,
foists upon us the bill of particulars for several centuries of
white supremacy.
But our collective indignation, no matter how loudly we announce it,
cannot drown out the truth. And as much as white America may not be
able to hear it (and as much as politics may require Obama to
condemn it) let us be clear, Jeremiah Wright fundamentally told the
truth.
Oh I know that for some such a comment will seem shocking. After
all, didn’t he say that America “got what it deserved” on 9/11? And
didn’t he say that black people should be singing “God Damn America”
because of its treatment of the African American community
throughout the years?
Well actually, no he didn’t.
Wright said not that the attacks of September 11th were justified,
but that they were, in effect, predictable. Deploying the imagery of
chickens coming home to roost is not to give thanks for the return
of the poultry or to endorse such feathered homecoming as a positive
good; rather, it is merely to note two things: first, that what goes
around, indeed, comes around–a notion with longstanding theological
grounding–and secondly, that the U.S. has indeed engaged in more
than enough violence against innocent people to make it just a tad
bit hypocritical for us to then evince shock and outrage about an
attack on ourselves, as if the latter were unprecedented.
He noted that we killed far more people, far more innocent civilians
in Hiroshima and Nagasaki than were killed on 9/11 and “never batted
an eye.” That this statement is true is inarguable, at least amongst
sane people. He is correct on the math, he is correct on the
innocence of the dead (neither city was a military target), and he
is most definitely correct on the lack of remorse or even self-doubt
about the act: sixty-plus years later most Americans still believe
those attacks were justified, that they were needed to end the war
and “save American lives.”
But not only does such a calculus suggest that American lives are
inherently worth more than the lives of Japanese civilians (or, one
supposes, Vietnamese, Iraqi or Afghan civilians too), but it also
ignores the long-declassified documents, and President Truman’s own
war diaries, all of which indicate clearly that Japan had already
signaled its desire to end the war, and that we knew they were going
to surrender, even without the dropping of atomic weapons. The
conclusion to which these truths then attest is simple, both in its
basic veracity and it monstrousness: namely, that in those places we
committed premeditated and deliberate mass murder, with no
justification whatsoever; and yet for saying that I will receive
more hate mail, more hostility, more dismissive and contemptuous
responses than will those who suggest that no body count is too high
when we’re the ones doing the killing. Jeremiah Wright becomes a
pariah, because, you see, we much prefer the logic of George Bush
the First, who once said that as President he would “never apologize
for the United States of America . I don’t care what the facts are.”
And Wright didn’t say blacks should be singing “God Damn America.”
He was suggesting that blacks owe little moral allegiance to a
nation that has treated so many of them for so long as animals, as
persons undeserving of dignity and respect, and which even now locks
up hundreds of thousands of non-violent offenders (especially for
drug possession), even while whites who do the same crimes (and
according to the data, when it comes to drugs, more often in fact),
are walking around free. His reference to God in that sermon was
more about what God will do to such a nation, than it was about what
should or shouldn’t happen. It was a comment derived from, and fully
in keeping with, the black prophetic tradition, and although one can
surely disagree with the theology (I do, actually, and don’t believe
that any God either blesses or condemns nation states for their
actions), the statement itself was no call for blacks to turn on
America .. If anything, it was a demand that America earn the
respect of black people, something the evidence and history suggests
it has yet to do.
Finally, although one can certainly disagree with Wright about his
suggestion that the government created AIDS to get rid of black
folks–and I do, for instance–it is worth pointing out that Wright
isn’t the only one who has said this. In fact, none other than Bill
Cosby (oh yes, that Bill Cosby, the one white folks love because of
his recent moral crusade against the black poor) proffered his
belief in the very same thing back in the early ’90s in an interview
on CNN, when he said that AIDS may well have been created to get rid
of people whom the government deemed “undesirable” including gays
and racial minorities.
So that’s the truth of the matter: Wright made one comment that is
highly arguable, but which has also been voiced by white America’s
favorite black man, another that was horribly misinterpreted and
stripped of all context, and then another that was demonstrably
accurate. And for this, he is pilloried and made into a virtual
enemy of the state; for this, Barack Obama may lose the support of
just enough white folks to cost him the Democratic nomination,
and/or the Presidency; all of it, because Jeremiah Wright, unlike
most preachers opted for truth. If he had been one of
those “prosperity ministers” who says Jesus wants nothing so much as
for you to be rich, like Joel Osteen, that would have been fine. Had
he been a retread bigot like Falwell was, or Pat R obertson is, he
might have been criticized, but he would have remained in good
standing and surely not have damaged a Presidential candidate in
this way. But unlike Osteen, and Falwell, and Robertson, Jeremiah
Wright refused to feed his parishioners lies..
What Jeremiah Wright knows, and told his flock–though make no
mistake, they already knew it–is that 9/11 was neither the first,
nor worst act of terrorism on American soil. The history of this
nation for folks of color, was for generations, nothing less than an
intergenerational hate crime, one in which 9/11s were woven into the
fabric of everyday life: hundreds of thousands of the enslaved who
died from the conditions of their bondage; thousands more who were
lynched (as many as 10,000 in the first few years after the Civil
War, according to testimony in the Congressional Record at the
time); millions of indigenous persons wiped off the face of the
Earth. No, to some, the horror of 9/11 was not new. To some it was
not on that day that “everything changed.” To some, everything
changed four hundred years ago, when that first ship landed at what
would become Jamestown . To some, everything changed when their
ancestors were forced into the hulls of slave ships at Goree Island
and brought to a strange land as chattel. To some, everything
changed when they were run out of Northern Mexico, only to watch it
become the Southwest United States, thanks to a war of annihilation
initiated by the U.S. government. To some, being on the receiving
end of terrorism has been a way of life. Until recently it was
absolutely normal in fact.
But white folks have a hard time hearing these simple truths. We
find it almost impossible to listen to an alternative version of
reality. Indeed, what seems to bother white people more than
anything, whether in the recent episode, or at any other time, is
being confronted with the recognition that black people do not, by
and large, see the world like we do; that black people, by and
large, do not view America as white people view it. We are, in fact,
shocked that this should be so, having come to believe, apparently,
that the falsehoods to which we cling like a kidney patient clings
to a dialysis machine, are equally shared by our darker-skinned
compatriots.
This is what James Baldwin was talking about in his classic 1972
work, No Name in the Street, wherein he noted:
“White children, in the main, and whether they are rich or poor,
grow up with a grasp of reality so feeble that they can very
accurately be described as deluded–about themselves and the world
they live in. White people have managed to get through their entire
lifetimes in this euphoric state, but black people have not been so
lucky: a black man who sees the world the way John Wayne, for
example, sees it would not be an eccentric patriot, but a raving
maniac.”
And so we were shocked in 1987, when Supreme Court Justice Thurgood
Marshall declined to celebrate the bicentennial of the Constitution,
because, as he noted, most of that history had been one of overt
racism and injustice, and to his way of thinking, the only history
worth celebrating had been that of the past three or four decades.
We were shocked to learn that black people actually believed that a
white cop who was a documented racist might frame a black man; and
we’re shocked to learn that lots of black folks still perceive the
U.S. as a racist nation–we’re literally stunned that people who say
they experience discrimination regularly (and who have the social
science research to back them up) actually think that those
experiences and that data might actually say something about the
nation in which they reside. Imagine.
Whites are easily shocked by what we see and hear from Pastor Wright
and Trinity Church , because what we see and hear so thoroughly
challenges our understanding of who we are as a nation.. But black
people have never, for the most part, believed in the imagery of
the “shining city on a hill,” for they have never had the option of
looking at their nation and ignoring the mountain-sized warts still
dotting its face when it comes to race. Black people do not, in the
main, get misty eyed at the sight of the flag the way white people
do–and this is true even for millions of black veterans–for they
understand that the nation for whom that flag waves is still not
fully committed to their own equality. They have a harder time
singing those tunes that white people seem so eager to belt out,
like “God Bless America,” for they know that whites sang those words
loudly and proudly even as they were enforcing Jim Crow segregation,
rioting against blacks who dared move into previously white
neighborhoods, throwing rocks at Dr. King and then cheering, as so
many did, when they heard the news that he had been assassinated.
Whites refuse to remember (or perhaps have never learned) that which
black folks cannot afford to forget. I’ve seen white people stunned
to the point of paralysis when they learn the truth about lynchings
in this country–when they discover that such events were not just a
couple of good old boys with a truck and a rope hauling some black
guy out to the tree, hanging him, and letting him swing there. They
were never told the truth: that lynchings were often community
events, advertised in papers as “Negro Barbecues,” involving
hundreds or even thousands of whites, who would join in the fun, eat
chicken salad and drink sweet tea, all while the black victims of
their depravity were being hung, then shot, then burned, and then
having their body parts cut off, to be handed out to onlookers. They
are stunned to learn that postcards of the events were traded as
souvenirs, and that very few whites, including members of their own
families did or said anything to stop it.
Rather than knowing about and confronting the ugliness of our past,
whites take steps to excise the less flattering aspects of our
history so that we need not be bothered with them. So, in Tulsa,
Oklahoma, for example, site of an orgy of violence against the black
community in 1921, city officials literally went into the town
library and removed all reference to the mass killings in the
Greenwood district from the papers with a razor blade–an excising
of truth and an assault on memory that would remain unchanged for
over seventy years.
Most white people desire, or perhaps even require the propagation of
lies when it comes to our history. Surely we prefer the lies to
anything resembling, even remotely, the truth. Our version of
history, of our national past, simply cannot allow for the intrusion
of fact into a worldview so thoroughly identified with fiction. But
that white version of America is not only extraordinarily
incomplete, in that it so favors the white experience to the
exclusion of others; it is more than that; it is actually a slap in
the face to people of color, a re-injury, a reminder that they are
essentially irrelevant, their concerns trivial, their lives unworthy
of being taken seriously. In that sense, and what few if any white
Americans appear capable of grasping at present, is that “Leave it
Beaver” and “Father Knows Best,” portray an America so divorced from
the reality of the times in which they were produced, as to raise
serious questions about the sanity of those who found them so
moving, so accurate, so real. These iconographic representations of
life in the U.S. are worse than selective, worse than false, they
are assaults to the humanity and memory of black people, who were
being savagely oppressed even as June Cleaver did housework in heels
and laughed about the hilarious hijinks of Beaver and Larry Mondello.
These portraits of America are certifiable evidence of how
disconnected white folks were–and to the extent we still love them
and view them as representations of the “good old days” to which we
wish we could return, still are–from those men and women of color
with whom we have long shared a nation. Just two months
before “Leave it to Beaver” debuted, proposed civil rights
legislation was killed thanks to Strom Thurmond’s 24-hour filibuster
speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate. One month prior, Arkansas
Governor Orville Faubus called out the National Guard to block black
students from entering Little Rock Central High; and nine days
before America was introduced to the Cleavers, and the comforting
image of national life they represented, those black students were
finally allowed to enter, amid the screams of enraged, unhinged,
viciously bigoted white people, who saw nothing wrong with calling
children niggers in front of cameras. That was America of the 1950s:
not the sanitized version into which so many escape thanks to the
miracle of syndication, which merely allows white people to relive a
lie, year after year after year.
No, it is not the pastor who distorts history; Nick at Nite and your
teenager’s textbooks do that. It is not he who casts aspersions
upon “this great country” as Barack Obama put it in his public
denunciations of him; it is the historic leadership of the nation
that has cast aspersions upon it; it is they who have cheapened it,
who have made gaudy and vile the promise of American democracy by
defiling it with lies. They engage in a patriotism that is
pathological in its implications, that asks of those who adhere to
it not merely a love of country but the turning of one’s nation into
an idol to be worshipped, it not literally, then at least in terms
of consequence.
It is they–the flag-lapel-pin wearing leaders of this land–who
bring shame to the country with their nonsensical suggestions that
we are always noble in warfare, always well-intended, and although
we occasionally make mistakes, we are never the ones to blame for
anything. Nothing that happens to us has anything to do with us at
all. It is always about them. They are evil, crazy, fanatical, hate
our freedoms, and are jealous of our prosperity. When individuals
prattle on in this manner we diagnose them as narcissistic, as
deluded. When nations do it–when our nation does–we celebrate it
as though it were the very model of rational and informed
citizenship.
So what can we say about a nation that values lies more than it
loves truth? A place where adherence to sincerely believed and
internalized fictions allows one to rise to the highest offices in
the land, and to earn the respect of millions, while a willingness
to challenge those fictions and offer a more accurate counter-
narrative earns one nothing but contempt, derision, indeed outright
hatred? What we can say is that such a place is signing its own
death warrant. What we can say is that such a place is missing the
only and last opportunity it may ever have to make things right, to
live up to its professed ideals. What we can say is that such a
place can never move forward, because we have yet to fully address
and come to terms with that which lay behind.
What can we say about a nation where white preachers can lie every
week from their pulpits without so much as having to worry that
their lies might be noticed by the shiny white faces in their pews,
while black preachers who tell one after another essential truth are
demonized, not only for the stridency of their tone–which needless
to say scares white folks, who have long preferred a style of praise
and worship resembling nothing so much as a coma–but for merely
calling bullshit on those whose lies are swallowed whole?
And oh yes, I said it: white preachers lie. In fact, they lie with a
skill, fluidity, and precision unparalleled in the history of either
preaching or lying, both of which histories stretch back a ways and
have often overlapped. They lie every Sunday, as they talk about a
Savior they have chosen to represent dishonestly as a white man, in
every picture to be found of him in their tabernacles, every
children’s story book in their Sunday Schools, every Christmas card
they’ll send to relatives and friends this December. But to lie
about Jesus, about the one they consider God–to bear false witness
as to who this man was and what he looked like–is no cause for
concern.
Nor is it a problem for these preachers to teach and preach that
those who don’t believe as they believe are going to hell. Despite
the fact that such a belief casts aspersions upon God that are so
profound as to defy belief–after all, they imply that God is so
fundamentally evil that he would burn non-believers in a lake of
eternal fire–many of the white folks who now condemn Jeremiah
Wright welcome that theology of hate. Indeed, back when President
Bush was the Governor of Texas, he endorsed this kind of thinking,
responding to a question about whether Jews were going to go to
hell, by saying that unless one accepted Jesus as one’s personal
savior, the Bible made it pretty clear that indeed, hell was where
you’d be heading.
So you can curse God in this way–and to imply such hate on God’s
part is surely to curse him–and in effect, curse those who aren’t
Christians, and no one says anything. That isn’t considered bigoted.
That isn’t considered beyond the pale of polite society. One is not
disqualified from becoming President in the minds of millions
because they go to a church that says that shit every single week,
or because they believe it themselves. And millions do believe it,
and see nothing wrong with it whatsoever.
So white folks are mad at Jeremiah Wright because he challenges
their views about their country. Meanwhile, those same white folks,
and their ministers and priests, every week put forth a false image
of the God Jeremiah Wright serves, and yet it is whites who feel we
have the right to be offended.
Pardon me, but something is wrong here, and whatever it is, is not
to be found at Trinity United Church of Christ.
Tim Wise is the author of: White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a
Privileged Son (Soft Skull Press, 2005), and Affirmative Action:
Racial Preference in Black and White (Routledge: 2005). He can be
reached at: timjwise@msn. com
Thank you for helping out Obama. I’m glad to see how many of people are out
trying to change the way politics are played. Please take a look at our Obama
website and add it to your blogroll if possible. Thanks You.
Just a question maybe someone can answer for me . . . why does the Clinton campaign decry Obama’s losses as proof that he won’t win those states in November? In the general election, he will be running against McCain, whose positions are clearly different from his on health care, the economy, etc. Though Clinton and McCain are similar in their rhetoric and their stance on Iraq, her assumption that Obama would lose California, Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio (not to mention Michigan and Florida) because she won in those states appear erroneous. Am I just being naive?
Maciasr, no you aren’t being naive. Clinton and her people are doing that falshood on purpose. It’s psychological game to put it simply. It’s to psych people out and have them think that they see things which really aren’t there.
OBAMA’S GRANDMA MEETS OBAMA GIRL AND LIKES ALL SHE SEES
This is a clip of video that shows freelance foreign correspondent Todd Baer showing Obama’s grandma the Obama Girl video. According to a published report in the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, Baer traveled to Kenya for an exclusive interview with the Senator’s grandmother for a serious news story. She asked him many times about her grandson’s popularity in the United States, so he showed her a number of videos including Obama Girl.
It shows that despite a lot of hardships where she lives in Kenya, she is able to maintain a very good sense of humor.
HEALTHCARE UNDER CLINTON’S PLAN: Please fix your information regarding Clinton’s healthcare plan. You are cheating people by not being truthful. Re: the New York Times article: 100% compliance: many countries have universal health programs and they don’t seem to have a compliance problem. Check out Japan, Germany, Great Brittain, Sweden, etc.
Sagereader:
Julie does not have a problem with the NY Times. She has a problem with your accuracy to provide the right information. And one more thing, Obama may have denounced his pastors comments doesnt mean people forget them.
Sagereader:
It is very clear we have two very different styles of thinking.When Julie said “Re:the New York Times article,” she meant you may need to go over it to check for the right facts. If you still think I am wrong Read Juilie’s first sentence,” Please fix your information under Clintons plan.” So either way something you said is wrong and that is what I am trying to tell you. Thanks for listening.
In your next post, please provide the name of the post and the specific quote in relation to the New York Times article that you are referencing in your claim that “something you said is wrong.”
Sagereader:
When I said “something you said is wrong,” I had not read the article. I was going off of What Juilie said “Please fix your information on Clinton’s healthcare plan.” I thought something was wrong with your information.
Sorry for the mis-understanding.
I am proud of you bro….we are putting together a strong OBAMA WORKS! program…go to http://www.whyobamaworks.com/ …we want to establish an urban agenda and I am interested in you being involved.
WAKE UP AMERICA……KNOW YOUR CANDIDATES!! Do we want an ANTI-AMERICAN president???
Jason Mitchell is a local Raleigh filmmaker. He and
his firm produced the short film that you will find attached. Whether
you agree with his position or not I think you will find it interesting
and well done. View it and pass it along
as you see fit.
June 21, 2007 at 2:55 am
I just discovered you and I plan on checking you out on a regular basis.
July 25, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Wonderful blog; I hope you take a look at my book on religion and Du Bois - you will see that often he is considered outside of the tradition of African American religion and politics (and I’m trying to read him into that tradition, as I think he should be). Best, and I look forward to your thoughts on it. Edward J. Blum
July 25, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Oh, I’m already reading your book.
I’m not sure yet about the parallels between Obama and DuBois in the article, but I think the book is one of the most original pieces of writing I’ve read in a while. It has given me a new appreciation for Souls and it makes me want to re-read DuBois, Levering Lewis, and other work in light of this new lens of looking at it. I’ll try to write more when I’ve finished it.
July 26, 2007 at 8:20 pm
HERE IS AN ARTICLE FROM REASON MAGAZINE , A LIBERTARIAN PUBLICATION WHICH OUTS CLINTON ON FOREIGN POLICY
Hillary Clinton and the Dangers of Hubris
Are the Democrats set to give us another imperial president?
Steve Chapman | July 26, 2007
During the Democratic debate in South Carolina, I heard something I never expected to hear: Hillary Clinton coming out against U.S. military intervention.
At least I think she was coming out against U.S. military intervention. Asked if U.S. troops should be sent to Darfur, the New York senator made a valiant effort to dodge the question by declaiming about sanctions, divestment and UN peacekeepers. But when pressed, “How about American troops on the ground?” she finally said, a bit awkwardly, “American ground troops I don’t think belong in Darfur at this time.”
But don’t bet that she’ll stick to that position if she’s elected. It goes against type. Clinton favored intervention in Haiti in 1994. She favored intervention in Bosnia in 1995. She favored intervention in Kosovo in 1999. As first lady, Clinton said, “I am very pleased that this president and administration have made democracy one of the centerpieces of our foreign policy.” Before the Kosovo war, she phoned Bill from Africa and, she recalled later, “I urged him to bomb.”
Among her critics, Clinton is known for a mother-knows-best domestic policy that relies on overbearing interference from Washington to remake the landscape to her specifications. The flip side is a mother-knows-best foreign policy that relies on overbearing interference from Washington to remake the landscape to her specifications.
—Check the article for more.
August 26, 2007 at 9:59 pm
http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2007/08/the-obama-doctr.html
Dear Sagereader: Here is a link to an excellent and thorough debunking of an atrociaous smear article penned by Jamie Kirchick (assistant to the editor of TNR and guest blogging for Andrew Sullivan) accusing Obama of not caring about genocide.
MUST READ!
August 27, 2007 at 11:39 am
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-cuba25aug25,0,7448052.story?coll=la-opinion-leftrail
OBAMA’S RIGHT ON CUBA
Fevorable L.A. Times op-ed in support of Obama’s statement on Cuba.
August 27, 2007 at 11:43 am
Do you have an email I can send you links without posting directly on your website? I often come across things you and your readers might find of interest, but I feel I might be infringing on your space — you might want to go through these things before they are posted. Can you see my email address to contact me?
August 27, 2007 at 12:11 pm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/26/AR2007082601415.html
Edwards campaign explicity wooing the bigot vote.
August 28, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Regarding WaPo article that Obama almost voted to confirm John Roberts, here is Obama’s statement about his decision made at the time:
http://obama.senate.gov/press/050922-remarks_of_sena/
August 28, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Hey Donna,
Sure. You can email me at readersage@yahoo.com. I don’t mind if you post it in comments on blog posts since I’ll probably see it faster there.
Thanks for the contributions!
September 5, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Keep up the great work, sagereader.
September 20, 2007 at 2:30 pm
At Sunday’s African American Day parade, a150 person contingent led by Dr. Lenora Fulani marched up Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. chanting “Hillary and Obama Should Debate…Let the People Decide” while handing out invitations to join the call for a Harlem debate and conducting a survey among parade-goers lining the route. Thought you’d be interested in checking out the “You Tube” video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpk4MYZPLKE&sdig=1
More information about the Committee for a Harlem Debate Between Clinton and Obama, check out http://www.independentvoting.org
September 29, 2007 at 11:13 pm
This is nice! I am glad I was routed over to this website. This is long overdue.
October 27, 2007 at 6:29 pm
Think on These Things: In the interest of building a grassroots voice in this however heavily orchestrated election yet with many opportunities, would you please email me at hanks_nancy@msn.com or call me at 646-567-6641? Thanks!
Nancy
October 28, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Would love to be in touch about developments in the Clinton/Obama debate campaign et al, but you don’t have an email listed anywhere. You can email me your contact info at gwenmand@aol.com. I want to send you a comp copy of The Neo-Independent, as well (magazine for indies).
Take care.
Gwen
http://www.independentvoting.org
November 2, 2007 at 3:18 pm
I’m an Obama volunteer organizer and coordinator in Berkeley, CA. I just want you to know that I check this site at least three times a day. I always find an energy-boost on good days and signs of hope if I’m ever needing a pick-me-up…you fire me up every day and I hope you’ll continue all the way to victory!
November 4, 2007 at 11:47 am
Thanks to everyone who has stopped by! I apologize if I don’t get to all emails. I maintain this in my spare time and it’s enough work just maintaining the blog–especially as the pace of the campaign season has picked up.
Just know that I support you in your efforts for Obama. May we all continue to work like the dickens in whatever capacity we can over the next three months to inform people about the record, policy, and promise of Barack Obama. If we don’t work for our country and the next generation, who will?
November 23, 2007 at 7:57 am
Hi sagereader,
I’m a longtime fan of your excellent blog. I have it permanently on my toolbar and check it every day..you truly have one of the best and most informative blogs for Obama I’ve seen, and I really appreciate all your hard work.
I don’t know if this actually fits in with your blog, but many Obama supporters that regularly post on the blog at barackobama.com have set up a fundraising event we call Merry Christmas Barack. Since this is entirely a grassroots effort, we’re depending on blogs and emails to get the word out. Any help in that area would really be appreciated.
We’ve set up a webpage for the event here:
http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/spiritsong/MerryXmasObama.html
direct link to the donation page is:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/maingroup/MerryChristmasBarack
Thanks again for all your hard work. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
~Terri
December 1, 2007 at 7:26 pm
I am pro Obama also. I see we have some of the same friends in the blogosphere. This is where I come to rest and relax. I love knowing where all the Obama people are on the sites that I use. You have done an excellent job of gathering information.
December 4, 2007 at 10:27 am
We will be recommending our visitors to your great site…..We invite all to visit Blacks4Barack.homestead.com
We are all in this together….The Time Is Now….For A New America !!!!
December 9, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Just learned of your blog - Do you ever report on the artwork coming out of THIS Presidential election? I’m most interested in the quilts -
http://blackthreads.blogspot.com/search/label/2008%20Presidential%20quilts
Thank you for highlighting the artwork.
December 10, 2007 at 11:03 am
EDWARDS HAS EXPERIENCE DOING 2 THINGS ONLY. Running for President and suing doctors. His 6 years in the Senate was only remarkable for his being gung-ho for the Iraq war.
Hillary is Bush lite
Biden with his idea odf soft patition has suggested a good solution for a preoblem that he helped create by voting for the Iraq war.
December 17, 2007 at 10:23 am
Since you are so decidedly thorough, wondering if you can check out a thread on the obama website about Dodd and fillibustering? something about Obama breaking a promise? I need more info on this…
thanks!
An Obama supporter…
January 2, 2008 at 4:07 am
sagereader,
You might be interested in our new documentary on the 2008 Barack Obama campaign which we have been working on for the last six months.
http://www.thestatewerein.com/2008/01/02/documentary-hope-for-change/
It is in nine parts and about 68 minutes long and includes footage from New Hampshire, New York City, South Carolina, and Iowa.
- Curtis
January 5, 2008 at 4:34 am
Below I have the video clip for the NH Democratic Party. I am not sure it will work. I tried to post it Youtube but its to long. If you want to use it you can link it from my sight. Or ou can send me and email address so that I can attach a quick time copy.
January 6, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Can you begins some comparisons with Huckabee?
January 8, 2008 at 9:35 am
Great blog. I’ve linked to you here in a blog about a Hillary volunteer describing Obama as a Muslim.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/foreign/tobyharnden/jan08/hillaryvolunteerobama.htm
January 9, 2008 at 9:16 pm
I am so glad you are here and have done this effort. I am so sick of people mostly people who have not made any effort to check out what Barack has done or is doing deciding that he has done nothing. I will help send them here but I don’t think they will appreciate me confusing them with facts. Thanks for the site, will be back often, and the site title is good to.
January 10, 2008 at 11:16 am
i have recently discovered your blog and it has some great things! i am extremely worried right now after New Hampshire after reading suggestions and allegations of fraud thanks to diebold. please please help raise awareness on this issue of utmost importance! below are a few links:
http://www.bostonnow.com/blogs/boston911truthorg/2008/01/09/major-allegations-of-vote-fraud-in-new-hampshire
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5530
http://billnoxid.wordpress.com/2008/01/09/pretend-primary-diebold-strikes-again-2/#comment-1071
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/01/by-hand-or-dieb.html
January 16, 2008 at 1:30 am
This is a great carnival rounding up the health/ medical blogs and briefing the “next US President” on 40 health issues, and using Obama’s plan as the benchmark.
hope it is useful
http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2008/01/15/grand-rounds-briefing-the-next-president/
January 17, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Great blog! Go Obama!
Monitor
WeNeedObama.blogspot.com
January 19, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Thank you so much for taking your time to populate this website. I do what I can to inform people - now, I’ll direct them here.
Yes We Can!
Obama08
January 26, 2008 at 10:11 am
Obama’s lack of experience scares me Go Clinton!
January 31, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Love your blog. I thought you might be interested in my take on the race. Before Iowa, I looked at each of the candidates as the dogs they represent. As you will see, I predicted John McCain to get the GOP nomination and Obama, the Italian Greyhound, to win the presidency. Go Obama!
http://dreamdogsart.typepad.com/art/dog_art_politics/index.html
February 7, 2008 at 3:00 pm
I love your blog! So much good research and work - BRAVO!
I am a Latina in California and I would only suggest that you add to your wonderful array of stuff a side by side on Obama/vs Clinton on immigration/immigrant’s rights and the impact of NAFTA on rural MEXICO not just rural US. My heart is still aching on how the Clinton campaign has deliberately destroyed decades of civil rights work and organizing the black/brown alliance in CA, and how an emergent voting block has been used by people like Villaraigosa and Nunez despite how much better Obama is than Clinton on all the issues most important to Latinos. Keep up the good work - SI SE PUEDE!
February 7, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Wow, someone just sent me a link to your great site, I will be sure to bookmark and recommend to others!! Si Se Puede!!!
February 10, 2008 at 10:37 am
We love Barrack! he is the uniter we have been looking for! My daughter and son made a youtube song at Christmas for their Dad. Take a listen!
youtube.com/watch?v=6q_x6BIakLU
February 11, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Great site! Can you link to my new O-blog: aboutobama.blogspot.com. It’s designed to be a place for people to get/download simple, specific Obama info and flyers. In progress… thanks!
February 11, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Great site, particularly the well-researched comparisons of the candidates. I was wondering if we could do a link exchange. Our site is http://www.AsianAmericansforObama.com. We post on developments regarding the campaign, Obama and Asian American issues, and provide resources for local supporters to do Asian American outreach. Thanks!
February 12, 2008 at 3:33 pm
This is a great, AWESOME resource, but it lacks a section on Immigration. I want to use this site to help win Texas newspaper endorsements, but the issue nearest to their reader’s hearts isn’t addressed. Could you add that and soon?
Thanks,
Jason
email me at gossegotha@gmail.com if you’re able to.
February 15, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Thank you! I’ve been looking for such a resource and will pass it along!
Formerly on the fence.
February 15, 2008 at 11:38 pm
This is a wonderful and most impressive website. Thank you for your indept coverage.
I am concerned that so many people seem not to know of its existence. Obama supporters/bloggers at http://www.barackobama.com often query each other about where to find more information on Obama. In addition, Obama detracters constantly accuse him of not having detailed plans, solutions, etc. With this in mind, I wonder if a prominent link from this website could be added to the HOME page of Obama’s official website?
February 15, 2008 at 11:58 pm
All day I have been hearing from HRC that “words don’t mean anything” as she seeks to diminish Obama’s oratory skills, plans, and solutions. I wonder how a person who is running for the highest office in the land could come to such a conclusion. Of course words mean something! They mean something to principled people who live by the code “Your word is your bond.” However, this might be the real problem with HRC. Her words frequently have no integrity. They lead her to make conflicting statements on the same issue (flip-flopping on her NAFTA stance). They lead her to make false claims (e.g., “I am the only one who has a plan to provide universal health care.”). They lead her to disdain that which she can never achieve (i.e. Unity people all across America as Obama has done).
February 16, 2008 at 12:09 am
Please excuse the typo in the last line of my previous entry; “Unity” should be “Unite.”
Could this article be added to this site:
Saying No to CoerciveCare
By SHIKHA DALMIA
January 31, 2008; Page A16
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120173996744030445.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries
February 16, 2008 at 1:38 am
Love this blog! Thanks so much for compiling alll this info Check out marginrelease.wordpress.com for some tongue-in-cheek Obama commentary.
February 17, 2008 at 4:45 am
Hello there! My name is Travis and I am a student at Stanford University. Because I believe Barack is the best candidate with the potential to revolutionize politics, I created a website at this http://www.digobama.com so people like you can submit your favorite articles, videos and podcasts about Barack and vote on them.This site is extremely new (created Monday, February 13th) and is already gaining momentum in spreading Barack’s message. There are already 43 users, 99 articles, 329 votes, and over 500 unique visitors on Saturday! As the webmaster of a Barack Obama related website, I would like to invite you to become a member and then submit your stories. Thank you and Yes We Can make a difference!!!
February 19, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Just stumbled across your blog — great resource! I’m boosting Obama vigorously, and it’s nice to find the resources you’ve mustered. Just blogrolled you. Keep it up!
February 20, 2008 at 11:37 pm
Do you accept guest posts or commentary?
February 22, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Good job! Keep up the good work.
February 23, 2008 at 7:28 am
Agree with the rest of the comments. Hopefully by this time next year, our collective sighs of relief will resonate around the world. (as they most likely will)
Good riddance KingGeorge & Co
February 23, 2008 at 9:04 am
I am sure you are aware that chain e-mails are going around the Internet which link to the Derrick video on your web site. I have a policy of corroborating chain e-mails before I forward them, and thus received an e-mail asking my opinion of this video. The first questions I asked were: who is conducting the interview? What channel is this?
Indications that this is a phony are:
1- The camera points unwaveringly at Derrick. No channel would air an interview without cutting away to their announcer. You are going to see Diane Sawyer, Wolf Blitzer or whomever, and know that you are watching ABC, CNN, etc. Near the end the interviewer says, “My name is Mike.” That is not how a professional media person signs off.
2- The interview is over five minutes long. If Derrick doesn’t know the interviewer, how did he got a copy of the unedited video????
3- A cameraman walks by, but the station ID on his camera can not be seen. clearly, the video is staged, however amateurishly. That said, Derrick can no longer be viewed as an innocent young man-on-the-street with a brilliant command of the issues. In the light of day, he must be seen as a well-rehearsed actor who is probably reading cue cards.
4- This is not some harmless prank by an ardent young person, promoting himself or his political views. I noticed a sign in the background with the telephone number, 213-251-1025. I dialed the number, and got a taped message from an organization in LA called “The Answer Coalition.” They have a web site: http://www.answerLA.org.
You state that you want to be fair and accurate. If that is truly your goal, you will take down the Derrick video and offer a disclaimer. It is blatant propaganda by a political organization promoting an agenda. It uses subterfuge, and thus has no place in honest discourse.
Gayle
February 23, 2008 at 11:38 am
Sagereader,
This is a most important read that points to Obama’s experience in the senate. Many that support Hillary will be extremely suprised that he is more capable w/ less experience, less (claimed) experience.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/20/201332/807/36/458633
I think this is 1 of the many reasons so many love Obama, the truth in a man/women shines thru not only action, but in every word that he speaks. This man is as capable as any president this country has every had.
Luv All and fighting like the rest of you!
Reinaldo
February 23, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Gayle:
About your point #1: The video was not by a professional media outlet. It is by a Youtube user who was going around bombarding people on the street about their support. If you look at Mike’s other videos, you see he did that to supporters of other candidates as well.
About #2: The video was not posted by Derrick. It was posted by Mike, the interviewer.
About #3: See point #1. The video was not by a professional media outlet.
#4: I would encourage you watch his response video to get more background on him before jumping to conclusions.
February 24, 2008 at 11:34 am
Thanks for the great blog! I have every intention of returning often as possible. I will be sure to share the discovery with my friends and family. Go Obama!!!
February 24, 2008 at 12:32 pm
You are right about Mike’s videos, but which of my conclusions is wrong?
Shameless self-promotion?
Or hidden political agenda?
I watched both videos, looked at the website for his group that Derrick mentioned, and then looked Derrick up on Yahoo (google doesn’t have much). He is a very talented professional actor and formidable political activist. He should not misrepresent himself as an innocent passerby.
Gayle
February 24, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Dear Gayle,
That’s the whole point of the video. Mike, the interviewer, went up to a random person on the street and bombarded him with questions about his support for Barack Obama. Mike did not realize that he was walking up to a man who was a talented actor, political activist, public speaker, and Harvard University graduate.
If you want to make a case otherwise, I’m happy to hear it but you need to bring some *accurate* facts to bear that support your argument. I’m sure that the many people who have viewed the video, the numerous blogs that have reported on it, and The Economist magazine which has spotlighted the video would definitely be open to hearing any evidence you have about “subterfuge.”
February 25, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I am the publisher of thedailyvoice.com, a liberal blog-style news website. How can I get in contact with the young man featured in the youtube video?
February 26, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Ran across your site and would love to invite you to join our efforts at http://www.bloggers4obama.com. You have great resources here.
Ed
February 28, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Hi sagereader, this is Derrick N Ashong. Thank you for sharing these videos with so many people and also for defending my integrity as it came into question earlier in this thread. To date all this attention has been wonderful and a bit overwhelming. I initially thought it would die down after a while, but it’s been getting more intense and it seems I have a bit of a platform now.
After speaking with my bandmates & partners I’ve decided to seize the moment in a way I can feel good about and that can perhaps help make a difference in the election.
When you have a chance please take a look at this latest video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-JirI45yGs
We are going to run a political experiment in the guise of a simple competition. I would like to explode the concept that young people don’t know what’s going on in the world we live in, and the ridiculous misperception that an informed voter with a youthful face, must be some sort of secret agent. LOL
I’m not a secret agent, but I am out to change the world. Please let me know if you can help us to spread the word. You can learn more about the competition and the overall movement at http://www.takebackthemic.com .
Thanks again for all you’ve done to share my thoughts with others these last few weeks. Let’s see if we can make this an opportunity to give those others a greater voice too.
Peace,
D.N.A
February 29, 2008 at 10:03 am
No problem, Derrick. I put a post up about it two days ago. I got your back.
February 29, 2008 at 1:44 pm
I was so grateful to come across this site, as I have been feeling kind of alone out here trying to make my case for Senator Barack Obama as the only logical choice for our next President, while running into a seamingless endless stream of racist hate-mongering out here on the ‘net.
My spin on this is purely generational: I believe that the reason our government has ground to a halt is that the the Radical 60’s generation, the Baby Boomers, have fulfilled their destiny: aging into the Radical Left and the Radical Right and never the twain shall meet. I also believe that the only solution for this is a new kind of leader, one who displays the more tolerant, fair-minded, realistic, practical, can-do mind set of Generation X.
I may be a bit biased, of course, because I happen to be exactly the same age as Senator Obama. We are the children of the bleak political climate of the 70’s that were forced to grow up real fast , while learning a lot about what is true and what is not.
If you are interested in reading more on this aspect of the presidential contest (and maybe getting a couple of laughs) please visit:
Website: http://www.genxforobama.com
Blog: http://genxforobama.typepad.com
* Please know that I mean no disrespect to those in the Boomer age group. Personally, I love you guys - nobody knows more about having fun than you. More importantly, and to your great credit, you have raised your GenX children NOT to judge people based on race, religion or sexual orientation. You have made the greatest achievements in the history of mankind in Science, Medicine, Ecology and the Arts. It’s just that you are way too passionate for politics
February 29, 2008 at 7:33 pm
LOL sagereader. Why did I get an email to your post from two days ago after I’d already posted my comment here. You are way ahead of me!
Much thanks,
D.N.A
March 2, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Derrick was outstanding. He obviously has educated himself on health care and politics period from a stand point that a lot of American born citizens have failed and/or opted not to do! I take my hat off to Derrick for being so aware of our wordly problems and not wanting to support Sen. B. Obama because he’s black, but supporting him because he appears to be the best candidate to be our next Commander In Chief! There should be more Derrick’s in this world; and for that I will end this comment.
March 2, 2008 at 7:49 pm
This web site is a crock of Bull. The Clinton campaign saying Don’t let others run the caucus! Better get ready, because Ron Paul’s campaign says the same thing! They all do, Obama ,too. It’s who gets there first if the caucus leader is not there by 7-7:15. Your site is just another Hillary basher site. Twist and Turn the issues to make Obama look “sufficiently experienced” as one of your commenters said. Go Hillary
March 2, 2008 at 8:41 pm
^^I don’t have to twist any facts to make Obama look “sufficiently experienced.” The fact that he has held political office longer than Hillary has and passed more legislation in his lifetime than she has is verifiable. No “twisting” needed.
http://jaydiatribe.blogspot.com/2007/03/barack-obamas-inexperience.html
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2007/07/29/us/politics/20070730_OBAMA_GRAPHIC.html
And need I add that the differences in how their campaigns have been run (debt, people quitting, drama, preparation for post-Feb. 5, organizational strength, fundraising strength, etc.) shows that it’s not Obama’s experience that should be in question
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/opinion/24rich.html
March 7, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Great work, thank you.
One thing—this interesting looking link from your Obama 101 page now goes nowhere:
Associated Press Overview of Obama’s Experience and Record
Do you have an archived copy that you could post?
Very much appreciated.
March 7, 2008 at 4:59 pm
^^thanks sf! i just updated.
March 8, 2008 at 8:57 pm
So You Wanna Fight Dirty?
By Mark Q. Sawyer | TheRoot.com
If Obama won’t hit back, I will. Why aren’t we talking about impeachment, Whitewater and Osama? The Republicans will.
Getty ImagesType Size March 5, 2008 — This is a dirty campaign and since Senator Barack Obama won’t say it, I will. The media has not been unfair to Senator Clinton, they have been extremely soft. There are elephants in the room that need to be addressed. Can anyone say Whitewater? How about impeachment? Let’s not forget Osama bin Laden. You can bet Republicans will be talking about these issues. So why aren’t Democrats? Clinton’s central arguments in the campaign are basically a mirage, and they are dangerous ones both for the party and the country.
Clinton’s line is that she is “experienced and ready on Day One” and that she is best poised to fight the Republican attack machine.
Sure, the Clintons have faced the Republican attack machine, and they did such a good job that it resulted in a Constitutional crisis. The scorched earth battle between the Clintons and the GOP over the Clinton’s lies about sex, dubious financing and other misdeeds nearly brought down the government and terribly damaged the Democratic Party. Were the Republicans nasty, dirty and all manner of evil? Sure. But it took the Clinton spin and lie machine to spiral the country, the party and the presidency downward into impeachment.
Now the Clinton campaign shouts about “Nafta-Gate,” pointing to a supposed conversation between a chief Obama economic advisor and Canadian officials, to assure the Canadians that Obama’s opposition to NAFTA was political posturing. The media made a big deal about it. But it was Bill Clinton actually passed the legislation at stake (along with the disaster we know as welfare reform, and deregulation of banking that contributed to the current mortgage meltdown). The Obama campaign should reveal what happened with the Canadians. But it will likely pale in comparison to Clintonian back-room escapades during their tenure.
Senator Clinton has also raised the Rezko land deal. At worst it looks as if Obama bought a portion of a vacant lot next door to his home from a dubious character, so he could have a bigger backyard for his kids. Does it really compare with the Whitewater scandal? The phony “Nafta-Gate” and “Rezko-Gate” don’t come anywhere close to Monica Gate, Trooper Gate, Whitewater and the persistent trail of sleaze that follows the Clintons.
Senator Clinton knows how to come at the Republican attack machine, but she’s also the one who gives it all the fuel it needs to rev up.
As for experience and being poised to fight for Americans, well Hillary Clinton was given one major policy task as first lady, health care reform. She was so effective at “fighting” for it that it went down in defeat and the Democrats lost the Congress as a result.
Legislation is not passed by fighting. Health Care reform will only be achieved through bringing Democrats, and some Republicans, together.
Clinton’s claim of experience and readiness is a mirage. Senator Clinton has no true national security experience. Her vote on the Iraq war was cynical, at best. Embattled during the impeachment scandal, the Clinton administration failed to respond decisively to the threat posed by Osama Bin Laden. Bill Clinton’s unwillingness to take out bin Laden, fearing it would create a “wag the dog” scenario in the midst of impeachment, showed a disastrous lack of judgment. McCain will hammer home these weaknesses at every opportunity. And the fight will be messy.
So since Senator Barack Obama won’t say it, I will: The Clintons are reckless, back-alley fighters who are willing to destroy the Democratic Party, the country and the institution of the presidency if it will benefit them. Yes, they are “fighters,” but not for you or me. They fight hardest and dirtiest on behalf of themselves, and this campaign has proved it. Over the past week Senator Clinton has reminded us how dirty she can play to stay alive. But is that ultimately good for the Democratic Party? Democrats need to exorcise their Clinton demons and do it fast for the sake of the party and the country. Superdelegates and especially Al Gore, can you hear me?
Mark Sawyer is an associate professor of political science and African American studies at UCLA and director of the UCLA Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Politics.
March 9, 2008 at 1:03 am
I love this site. It’s the best I’ve found.
You may want this in the videos part of your 101 section:
http://cdn.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2008/01/18/MNSNUH7GC.DTL&o=0
And, you may not have a place for it, but this is a favorite of mine:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20080218/pl_bloomberg/ar8nlioqedc4
March 9, 2008 at 12:56 pm
On Sen. Obama website is a great reply to NY Times article 3/8/2008
How can voting-problems be avoided in Pennsylvania, in areas strongly supporting Sen. Obama? The Governor is an outspoken, let-the-Florida-votes-count Hillary supporter?
March 9, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Check this out:
Transparency?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fzzJspLOxHE
March 10, 2008 at 10:19 pm
My first experience with a blog site, I’m a MODERN GRANDPA, and I just love this site, both for what it does, plus what it dostn’t THANK YOU, THANK YOU….,
March 12, 2008 at 9:11 am
Hi.
Have you seen this? I liked it a lot, so I thought others might too. Great job on the site!
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/10/dems.campaign/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
March 12, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Check out this new Obama Music Video that I made!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu_wCrisIJY
March 12, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Calling it like it is:
Keith Obermann - Countdown
Link
March 12, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Keith Obermann - Link Below
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23601329#23601329
March 14, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Thank you for easing my mind. As a caucasian, my biggest concern about Senator Obama as President would be the roles three of the biggest racists in the U.S. would play in his presidency. The mere thought of Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton or Louis Farrakhan even being in the White House scares the hell out of me.
In my mind, and the minds of many or various ethnic backgrounds, these 3 have done more to impede progress in the Black community. They have erected the biggest barriers in contemporary history.
March 15, 2008 at 11:51 am
Clinton Fund-Raisers withholding donations to DNC unless Florida is resolved to Clinton’s Demand
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/15/us/politics/15donate.html?ei=5065&en=68bdcd72f717cb5f&ex=1206158400&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print
Major Clinton Fund-Raisers are threatening to withhold donations to the DNC unless the Florida delegates are seated with the January results or there is a new primary. the January primary was in violation of national party rules and a new primary would not Florida pass state law.
To show the DNC that Obama supporters are inclusive of all Democrats and are committed to a fair and just resolution of this process, I am asking that people make a Money Bomb donation to the DNC adding $.46 to represent Obama’s age. We are not threatening the DNC by withholding funds but ask that the resolution be fair and by the rules of the party, which Obama has stated all along..
Show your support by donating $5.46, $10.46, $25.46, $50.46 to the DNC as a Money Bomb showing a commitment to a fair and inclusive process to the seating of the Michigan and Florida delegates.
https://www.democrats.org/page/contribute?outreach_page_id=2037
March 18, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I found your blog after searching for an hour to find the video of Obama’s speech on race. What a great find. I’m now caught up on all the conversations I have missed!
March 21, 2008 at 12:42 am
Great pro-Obama site!
Put some SantanObama beat to your efforts by listening to “JingObama,” a musical collage for Obama based in “Jingo,” a 60’s song by Santana.
Please visit: http://www.obama.salaroche.com
Obama will be a great President of The United States.
Sal Laroche
March 22, 2008 at 12:02 pm
You are on my blogroll and RSS Feed! Thank you much, for the gathering of information and details. Well done.
Gina
March 23, 2008 at 9:02 am
Hi sagereader,
Thanks for posting that CNN.com Op-Ed & the NYTimes piece this week.
I’ve been overseas on a project the last two weeks and it’s kind of mind-blowing what’s been happening while I’ve been gone! lol
We got a great response from our first Take Back the Mic, “Open Mic” competition on HEALTHCARE and announced a winner last week. We’ve just posted a new video for the second week and given the ongoing debate in the country we’re tackling the topic of RACE IN AMERICA. You can see the new video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NAiTE8iBLs
And of course the rules are still at http://www.takebackthemic.com. Please let me know if you can share this with your readers. Thanks again for all your support and here’s to the awakening of the American citizen!
Peace,
D.N.A
March 23, 2008 at 4:30 pm
hey derrick,
thanks for the tip. great commentary. i just posted it. i’m sure the past few weeks have been surreal for you, but you’re doing a great job. keep it up!
March 25, 2008 at 4:27 pm
With appropriate apologies, I’m driveby blogwhoring. But for a good cause!
With Obama upping the pressure on Hillary to produce the last 7-8 years of tax returns by posting his own on his website, I thought I’d roll out a fun little grassroots action campaign myself on VichyDems.
It’s a simple idea: the Hillary Clinton Tax Fax. Everyone just takes the tax returns they’ve probably got on their desks right now, copies them, blacks out the personally identifiable stuff, adds a note, and faxes it to one of Clinton’s campaign offices. I’ve got links etc. at http://vichydems.blogspot.com/2008/03/activism-you-can-do-help-clinton.html .
If you think this sounds fun, please feel free to do your own post, link to mine, whatever. (I keep using the word “fun” — this one seems so straightforward and so nonpartisan that I really AM having fun with it!)
Thanks–
T.D. Scott
March 25, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Love your site and I appreciate the great commentary.
In case you haven’t heard, Pat Buchanan has written an article where he states the following:
- Black people need to stop complaining and show some gratitude for what Whites have done for them
- America has been the best country in the world for Black folks
- Black people were introduced to Christian salvation by Whites and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity that they have ever known
- Barack Obama is just another “black hustler’ trying to shakedown white folks for money
I could go on, but you need to read it for yourself.
Here’s the link:
http://buchanan.org/blog/?p=969
If you haven’t already, please share this with others. Since Barack Obama encouraged us to have an open dialog on race, I don’t think Pat Buchanan should be the only one talking. This would be great to discuss on your site.
You can download a pdf of Pat Buchanan’s article on my blog: http://www.barackthevote2008.com/btvblog/files/200803250640pm.php
March 27, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Here’s a strategy for those who would vote McCain if Hillary steals the election:
Write-in.
If the power-mad HRC somehow succeeds in convincing Super-dels to overturn Obama’s wins, I say to all of us who support him to simply march into the voting booths in November and place his name as a write-in candidate. If he really has the popular majority, there is every reason to believe he could carry on to win — but this would require every supporter to buy-in to the plan.
As for those who may feel a little too much loyalty to the Democratic party and its decisions? If HRC gets in there, just keep in mind that you would be demonstrating greater loyalty to the party than her, a Democrat who openly says the Republican McCain is a better second choice behind her than is Barak.
If this sounds mad enough, grass-roots/net roots enough to work, pass it along.
Sincerely.
April 8, 2008 at 12:55 am
Sagereader-
It took me forever to figure out how to contact you. Love your blog. I have it in the bookmarks, and check it three or four times a week. My mom just sent me a copy of this article by Tim Wise (counterpunch.org - March 18, 2008). I don’t know if you want to post it, or give it a little air, but it makes for compelling reading. Keep up the good work.
Reynaldo
March 18, 2008
Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama and the Unacceptability of Truth
Of National Lies and Racial America
By TIM WISE
For most white folks, indignation just doesn’t wear well. Once
affected or conjured up, it reminds one of a pudgy man, wearing a
tie that may well have fit him when he was fifty pounds lighter, but
which now cuts off somewhere above his navel and makes him look like
an idiot.
Indignation doesn’t work for most whites, because having remained
sanguine about, silent during, indeed often supportive of so much
injustice over the years in this country–the theft of native land
and genocide of indigenous persons, and the enslavement of Africans
being only two of the best examples–we are just a bit late to get
into the game of moral rectitude. And once we enter it, our efforts
at righteousness tend to fail the test of sincerity.
But here we are, in 2008, fuming at the words of Pastor Jeremiah
Wright, of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago–occasional ly
Barack Obama’s pastor, and the man whom Obama credits with having
brought him to Christianity- -for merely reminding us of those evils
about which we have remained so quiet, so dismissive, so
unconcerned. It is not the crime that bothers us, but the
remembrance of it, the unwillingness to let it go–these last words
being the first ones uttered by most whites it seems whenever
anyone, least of all an “angry black man” like Jeremiah Wright,
foists upon us the bill of particulars for several centuries of
white supremacy.
But our collective indignation, no matter how loudly we announce it,
cannot drown out the truth. And as much as white America may not be
able to hear it (and as much as politics may require Obama to
condemn it) let us be clear, Jeremiah Wright fundamentally told the
truth.
Oh I know that for some such a comment will seem shocking. After
all, didn’t he say that America “got what it deserved” on 9/11? And
didn’t he say that black people should be singing “God Damn America”
because of its treatment of the African American community
throughout the years?
Well actually, no he didn’t.
Wright said not that the attacks of September 11th were justified,
but that they were, in effect, predictable. Deploying the imagery of
chickens coming home to roost is not to give thanks for the return
of the poultry or to endorse such feathered homecoming as a positive
good; rather, it is merely to note two things: first, that what goes
around, indeed, comes around–a notion with longstanding theological
grounding–and secondly, that the U.S. has indeed engaged in more
than enough violence against innocent people to make it just a tad
bit hypocritical for us to then evince shock and outrage about an
attack on ourselves, as if the latter were unprecedented.
He noted that we killed far more people, far more innocent civilians
in Hiroshima and Nagasaki than were killed on 9/11 and “never batted
an eye.” That this statement is true is inarguable, at least amongst
sane people. He is correct on the math, he is correct on the
innocence of the dead (neither city was a military target), and he
is most definitely correct on the lack of remorse or even self-doubt
about the act: sixty-plus years later most Americans still believe
those attacks were justified, that they were needed to end the war
and “save American lives.”
But not only does such a calculus suggest that American lives are
inherently worth more than the lives of Japanese civilians (or, one
supposes, Vietnamese, Iraqi or Afghan civilians too), but it also
ignores the long-declassified documents, and President Truman’s own
war diaries, all of which indicate clearly that Japan had already
signaled its desire to end the war, and that we knew they were going
to surrender, even without the dropping of atomic weapons. The
conclusion to which these truths then attest is simple, both in its
basic veracity and it monstrousness: namely, that in those places we
committed premeditated and deliberate mass murder, with no
justification whatsoever; and yet for saying that I will receive
more hate mail, more hostility, more dismissive and contemptuous
responses than will those who suggest that no body count is too high
when we’re the ones doing the killing. Jeremiah Wright becomes a
pariah, because, you see, we much prefer the logic of George Bush
the First, who once said that as President he would “never apologize
for the United States of America . I don’t care what the facts are.”
And Wright didn’t say blacks should be singing “God Damn America.”
He was suggesting that blacks owe little moral allegiance to a
nation that has treated so many of them for so long as animals, as
persons undeserving of dignity and respect, and which even now locks
up hundreds of thousands of non-violent offenders (especially for
drug possession), even while whites who do the same crimes (and
according to the data, when it comes to drugs, more often in fact),
are walking around free. His reference to God in that sermon was
more about what God will do to such a nation, than it was about what
should or shouldn’t happen. It was a comment derived from, and fully
in keeping with, the black prophetic tradition, and although one can
surely disagree with the theology (I do, actually, and don’t believe
that any God either blesses or condemns nation states for their
actions), the statement itself was no call for blacks to turn on
America .. If anything, it was a demand that America earn the
respect of black people, something the evidence and history suggests
it has yet to do.
Finally, although one can certainly disagree with Wright about his
suggestion that the government created AIDS to get rid of black
folks–and I do, for instance–it is worth pointing out that Wright
isn’t the only one who has said this. In fact, none other than Bill
Cosby (oh yes, that Bill Cosby, the one white folks love because of
his recent moral crusade against the black poor) proffered his
belief in the very same thing back in the early ’90s in an interview
on CNN, when he said that AIDS may well have been created to get rid
of people whom the government deemed “undesirable” including gays
and racial minorities.
So that’s the truth of the matter: Wright made one comment that is
highly arguable, but which has also been voiced by white America’s
favorite black man, another that was horribly misinterpreted and
stripped of all context, and then another that was demonstrably
accurate. And for this, he is pilloried and made into a virtual
enemy of the state; for this, Barack Obama may lose the support of
just enough white folks to cost him the Democratic nomination,
and/or the Presidency; all of it, because Jeremiah Wright, unlike
most preachers opted for truth. If he had been one of
those “prosperity ministers” who says Jesus wants nothing so much as
for you to be rich, like Joel Osteen, that would have been fine. Had
he been a retread bigot like Falwell was, or Pat R obertson is, he
might have been criticized, but he would have remained in good
standing and surely not have damaged a Presidential candidate in
this way. But unlike Osteen, and Falwell, and Robertson, Jeremiah
Wright refused to feed his parishioners lies..
What Jeremiah Wright knows, and told his flock–though make no
mistake, they already knew it–is that 9/11 was neither the first,
nor worst act of terrorism on American soil. The history of this
nation for folks of color, was for generations, nothing less than an
intergenerational hate crime, one in which 9/11s were woven into the
fabric of everyday life: hundreds of thousands of the enslaved who
died from the conditions of their bondage; thousands more who were
lynched (as many as 10,000 in the first few years after the Civil
War, according to testimony in the Congressional Record at the
time); millions of indigenous persons wiped off the face of the
Earth. No, to some, the horror of 9/11 was not new. To some it was
not on that day that “everything changed.” To some, everything
changed four hundred years ago, when that first ship landed at what
would become Jamestown . To some, everything changed when their
ancestors were forced into the hulls of slave ships at Goree Island
and brought to a strange land as chattel. To some, everything
changed when they were run out of Northern Mexico, only to watch it
become the Southwest United States, thanks to a war of annihilation
initiated by the U.S. government. To some, being on the receiving
end of terrorism has been a way of life. Until recently it was
absolutely normal in fact.
But white folks have a hard time hearing these simple truths. We
find it almost impossible to listen to an alternative version of
reality. Indeed, what seems to bother white people more than
anything, whether in the recent episode, or at any other time, is
being confronted with the recognition that black people do not, by
and large, see the world like we do; that black people, by and
large, do not view America as white people view it. We are, in fact,
shocked that this should be so, having come to believe, apparently,
that the falsehoods to which we cling like a kidney patient clings
to a dialysis machine, are equally shared by our darker-skinned
compatriots.
This is what James Baldwin was talking about in his classic 1972
work, No Name in the Street, wherein he noted:
“White children, in the main, and whether they are rich or poor,
grow up with a grasp of reality so feeble that they can very
accurately be described as deluded–about themselves and the world
they live in. White people have managed to get through their entire
lifetimes in this euphoric state, but black people have not been so
lucky: a black man who sees the world the way John Wayne, for
example, sees it would not be an eccentric patriot, but a raving
maniac.”
And so we were shocked in 1987, when Supreme Court Justice Thurgood
Marshall declined to celebrate the bicentennial of the Constitution,
because, as he noted, most of that history had been one of overt
racism and injustice, and to his way of thinking, the only history
worth celebrating had been that of the past three or four decades.
We were shocked to learn that black people actually believed that a
white cop who was a documented racist might frame a black man; and
we’re shocked to learn that lots of black folks still perceive the
U.S. as a racist nation–we’re literally stunned that people who say
they experience discrimination regularly (and who have the social
science research to back them up) actually think that those
experiences and that data might actually say something about the
nation in which they reside. Imagine.
Whites are easily shocked by what we see and hear from Pastor Wright
and Trinity Church , because what we see and hear so thoroughly
challenges our understanding of who we are as a nation.. But black
people have never, for the most part, believed in the imagery of
the “shining city on a hill,” for they have never had the option of
looking at their nation and ignoring the mountain-sized warts still
dotting its face when it comes to race. Black people do not, in the
main, get misty eyed at the sight of the flag the way white people
do–and this is true even for millions of black veterans–for they
understand that the nation for whom that flag waves is still not
fully committed to their own equality. They have a harder time
singing those tunes that white people seem so eager to belt out,
like “God Bless America,” for they know that whites sang those words
loudly and proudly even as they were enforcing Jim Crow segregation,
rioting against blacks who dared move into previously white
neighborhoods, throwing rocks at Dr. King and then cheering, as so
many did, when they heard the news that he had been assassinated.
Whites refuse to remember (or perhaps have never learned) that which
black folks cannot afford to forget. I’ve seen white people stunned
to the point of paralysis when they learn the truth about lynchings
in this country–when they discover that such events were not just a
couple of good old boys with a truck and a rope hauling some black
guy out to the tree, hanging him, and letting him swing there. They
were never told the truth: that lynchings were often community
events, advertised in papers as “Negro Barbecues,” involving
hundreds or even thousands of whites, who would join in the fun, eat
chicken salad and drink sweet tea, all while the black victims of
their depravity were being hung, then shot, then burned, and then
having their body parts cut off, to be handed out to onlookers. They
are stunned to learn that postcards of the events were traded as
souvenirs, and that very few whites, including members of their own
families did or said anything to stop it.
Rather than knowing about and confronting the ugliness of our past,
whites take steps to excise the less flattering aspects of our
history so that we need not be bothered with them. So, in Tulsa,
Oklahoma, for example, site of an orgy of violence against the black
community in 1921, city officials literally went into the town
library and removed all reference to the mass killings in the
Greenwood district from the papers with a razor blade–an excising
of truth and an assault on memory that would remain unchanged for
over seventy years.
Most white people desire, or perhaps even require the propagation of
lies when it comes to our history. Surely we prefer the lies to
anything resembling, even remotely, the truth. Our version of
history, of our national past, simply cannot allow for the intrusion
of fact into a worldview so thoroughly identified with fiction. But
that white version of America is not only extraordinarily
incomplete, in that it so favors the white experience to the
exclusion of others; it is more than that; it is actually a slap in
the face to people of color, a re-injury, a reminder that they are
essentially irrelevant, their concerns trivial, their lives unworthy
of being taken seriously. In that sense, and what few if any white
Americans appear capable of grasping at present, is that “Leave it
Beaver” and “Father Knows Best,” portray an America so divorced from
the reality of the times in which they were produced, as to raise
serious questions about the sanity of those who found them so
moving, so accurate, so real. These iconographic representations of
life in the U.S. are worse than selective, worse than false, they
are assaults to the humanity and memory of black people, who were
being savagely oppressed even as June Cleaver did housework in heels
and laughed about the hilarious hijinks of Beaver and Larry Mondello.
These portraits of America are certifiable evidence of how
disconnected white folks were–and to the extent we still love them
and view them as representations of the “good old days” to which we
wish we could return, still are–from those men and women of color
with whom we have long shared a nation. Just two months
before “Leave it to Beaver” debuted, proposed civil rights
legislation was killed thanks to Strom Thurmond’s 24-hour filibuster
speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate. One month prior, Arkansas
Governor Orville Faubus called out the National Guard to block black
students from entering Little Rock Central High; and nine days
before America was introduced to the Cleavers, and the comforting
image of national life they represented, those black students were
finally allowed to enter, amid the screams of enraged, unhinged,
viciously bigoted white people, who saw nothing wrong with calling
children niggers in front of cameras. That was America of the 1950s:
not the sanitized version into which so many escape thanks to the
miracle of syndication, which merely allows white people to relive a
lie, year after year after year.
No, it is not the pastor who distorts history; Nick at Nite and your
teenager’s textbooks do that. It is not he who casts aspersions
upon “this great country” as Barack Obama put it in his public
denunciations of him; it is the historic leadership of the nation
that has cast aspersions upon it; it is they who have cheapened it,
who have made gaudy and vile the promise of American democracy by
defiling it with lies. They engage in a patriotism that is
pathological in its implications, that asks of those who adhere to
it not merely a love of country but the turning of one’s nation into
an idol to be worshipped, it not literally, then at least in terms
of consequence.
It is they–the flag-lapel-pin wearing leaders of this land–who
bring shame to the country with their nonsensical suggestions that
we are always noble in warfare, always well-intended, and although
we occasionally make mistakes, we are never the ones to blame for
anything. Nothing that happens to us has anything to do with us at
all. It is always about them. They are evil, crazy, fanatical, hate
our freedoms, and are jealous of our prosperity. When individuals
prattle on in this manner we diagnose them as narcissistic, as
deluded. When nations do it–when our nation does–we celebrate it
as though it were the very model of rational and informed
citizenship.
So what can we say about a nation that values lies more than it
loves truth? A place where adherence to sincerely believed and
internalized fictions allows one to rise to the highest offices in
the land, and to earn the respect of millions, while a willingness
to challenge those fictions and offer a more accurate counter-
narrative earns one nothing but contempt, derision, indeed outright
hatred? What we can say is that such a place is signing its own
death warrant. What we can say is that such a place is missing the
only and last opportunity it may ever have to make things right, to
live up to its professed ideals. What we can say is that such a
place can never move forward, because we have yet to fully address
and come to terms with that which lay behind.
What can we say about a nation where white preachers can lie every
week from their pulpits without so much as having to worry that
their lies might be noticed by the shiny white faces in their pews,
while black preachers who tell one after another essential truth are
demonized, not only for the stridency of their tone–which needless
to say scares white folks, who have long preferred a style of praise
and worship resembling nothing so much as a coma–but for merely
calling bullshit on those whose lies are swallowed whole?
And oh yes, I said it: white preachers lie. In fact, they lie with a
skill, fluidity, and precision unparalleled in the history of either
preaching or lying, both of which histories stretch back a ways and
have often overlapped. They lie every Sunday, as they talk about a
Savior they have chosen to represent dishonestly as a white man, in
every picture to be found of him in their tabernacles, every
children’s story book in their Sunday Schools, every Christmas card
they’ll send to relatives and friends this December. But to lie
about Jesus, about the one they consider God–to bear false witness
as to who this man was and what he looked like–is no cause for
concern.
Nor is it a problem for these preachers to teach and preach that
those who don’t believe as they believe are going to hell. Despite
the fact that such a belief casts aspersions upon God that are so
profound as to defy belief–after all, they imply that God is so
fundamentally evil that he would burn non-believers in a lake of
eternal fire–many of the white folks who now condemn Jeremiah
Wright welcome that theology of hate. Indeed, back when President
Bush was the Governor of Texas, he endorsed this kind of thinking,
responding to a question about whether Jews were going to go to
hell, by saying that unless one accepted Jesus as one’s personal
savior, the Bible made it pretty clear that indeed, hell was where
you’d be heading.
So you can curse God in this way–and to imply such hate on God’s
part is surely to curse him–and in effect, curse those who aren’t
Christians, and no one says anything. That isn’t considered bigoted.
That isn’t considered beyond the pale of polite society. One is not
disqualified from becoming President in the minds of millions
because they go to a church that says that shit every single week,
or because they believe it themselves. And millions do believe it,
and see nothing wrong with it whatsoever.
So white folks are mad at Jeremiah Wright because he challenges
their views about their country. Meanwhile, those same white folks,
and their ministers and priests, every week put forth a false image
of the God Jeremiah Wright serves, and yet it is whites who feel we
have the right to be offended.
Pardon me, but something is wrong here, and whatever it is, is not
to be found at Trinity United Church of Christ.
Tim Wise is the author of: White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a
Privileged Son (Soft Skull Press, 2005), and Affirmative Action:
Racial Preference in Black and White (Routledge: 2005). He can be
reached at: timjwise@msn. com
April 21, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Thank you for helping out Obama. I’m glad to see how many of people are out
trying to change the way politics are played. Please take a look at our Obama
website and add it to your blogroll if possible. Thanks You.
http://obamavsmccain.typepad.com/
April 23, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Just a question maybe someone can answer for me . . . why does the Clinton campaign decry Obama’s losses as proof that he won’t win those states in November? In the general election, he will be running against McCain, whose positions are clearly different from his on health care, the economy, etc. Though Clinton and McCain are similar in their rhetoric and their stance on Iraq, her assumption that Obama would lose California, Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio (not to mention Michigan and Florida) because she won in those states appear erroneous. Am I just being naive?
April 26, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Maciasr, no you aren’t being naive. Clinton and her people are doing that falshood on purpose. It’s psychological game to put it simply. It’s to psych people out and have them think that they see things which really aren’t there.
April 26, 2008 at 12:55 pm
BTW, I’m trying to reach the owner of this blog but there’s not contact information. Please contact me, you should have my email address.
April 27, 2008 at 1:53 pm
OBAMA’S GRANDMA MEETS OBAMA GIRL AND LIKES ALL SHE SEES
This is a clip of video that shows freelance foreign correspondent Todd Baer showing Obama’s grandma the Obama Girl video. According to a published report in the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, Baer traveled to Kenya for an exclusive interview with the Senator’s grandmother for a serious news story. She asked him many times about her grandson’s popularity in the United States, so he showed her a number of videos including Obama Girl.
It shows that despite a lot of hardships where she lives in Kenya, she is able to maintain a very good sense of humor.
April 27, 2008 at 1:54 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFeCiqThESs
April 27, 2008 at 1:58 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFeCiqThESs&feature=related (Fox News)
May 1, 2008 at 2:21 pm
HEALTHCARE UNDER CLINTON’S PLAN: Please fix your information regarding Clinton’s healthcare plan. You are cheating people by not being truthful. Re: the New York Times article: 100% compliance: many countries have universal health programs and they don’t seem to have a compliance problem. Check out Japan, Germany, Great Brittain, Sweden, etc.
May 1, 2008 at 5:56 pm
^^If you have a problem with The New York Times article, you need to contact the New York Times.
May 1, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Sagereader:
Julie does not have a problem with the NY Times. She has a problem with your accuracy to provide the right information. And one more thing, Obama may have denounced his pastors comments doesnt mean people forget them.
May 1, 2008 at 10:22 pm
You say, “Julie does not have a problem with the NY Times.”
Yet Julie clearly said in her comment, “Re: the New York Times article.”
ohhhhhkay.
May 2, 2008 at 11:19 am
Sagereader:
It is very clear we have two very different styles of thinking.When Julie said “Re:the New York Times article,” she meant you may need to go over it to check for the right facts. If you still think I am wrong Read Juilie’s first sentence,” Please fix your information under Clintons plan.” So either way something you said is wrong and that is what I am trying to tell you. Thanks for listening.
May 2, 2008 at 11:11 pm
austin,
In your next post, please provide the name of the post and the specific quote in relation to the New York Times article that you are referencing in your claim that “something you said is wrong.”
Thanks.
May 3, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Sagereader:
When I said “something you said is wrong,” I had not read the article. I was going off of What Juilie said “Please fix your information on Clinton’s healthcare plan.” I thought something was wrong with your information.
Sorry for the mis-understanding.
May 11, 2008 at 9:06 pm
I am proud of you bro….we are putting together a strong OBAMA WORKS! program…go to http://www.whyobamaworks.com/ …we want to establish an urban agenda and I am interested in you being involved.
Sam Britten
717-818-6268
give me a call….
May 16, 2008 at 10:33 am
Have you seen this youtube?
WAKE UP AMERICA……KNOW YOUR CANDIDATES!! Do we want an ANTI-AMERICAN president???
Jason Mitchell is a local Raleigh filmmaker. He and
his firm produced the short film that you will find attached. Whether
you agree with his position or not I think you will find it interesting
and well done. View it and pass it along
as you see fit.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zUdjhKbImwE
May 19, 2008 at 1:18 am
Video from Obama in Portland, Or.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQTY1BR-Fjk