Jack & Jill Politics

AFTERNOON OPEN THREAD IS UP!!

Enjoy your week-end, JJP!

LaRapier--here's one for U.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KKD2TCzN04

HA! HA!!

Thank you SG...u are SUCH a sweetie!!


(((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))

loved it!!

Have any of y'all heard the story of Farrah Gray...now I know this is an unkind statement...but has anyone else wondered if he actually earned his million by 14 selling a product other than syrup in the projects?

I mean his story is just so improbable....but even if that was the true source of this entrepreneurs money...I just gotta say KUDOS to his mother for using those funds to launch her son onto the national stage by the sheer audacity of his success.

She has to be one helluva visionary long-range thinker for him to have had such a metoric rise and it is all just sooooo inspirational and legal.

Yes, I remember when he first became famous and this was before the syrup. I didn't even know about the syrup. Not sure why you would even question the legality of his efforts.

"Dr. Gray began his entrepreneurial, personal and civic development as a stellar young citizen at six years old selling home-made body lotion and his own hand-painted rocks as book-ends door-to-door. At age seven, he was carrying business cards reading "21st Century CEO." At eight, Gray became co-founder of Urban Neighborhood Enterprise Economic Club (U.N.E.E.C.) on Chicago's South side. U.N.E.E.C. was the forerunner of New Early Entrepreneur Wonders (NE2W), the flagship organization he opened on Wall Street. NE2W enlisted, educated and engaged "at-risk" youth by creating and developing legal ways for them to acquire additional income. Gray is the youngest person to have an office on Wall Street.

Between the ages of 12 and 16 years old, Dr. Gray founded and operated business ventures that included KIDZTEL pre-paid phone cards, the One Stop Mail Boxes & More franchise and The Teenscope "Youth AM/FM" interactive teen talk show, Gray was also Executive Producer of a comedy show on the Las Vegas Strip and owner of Farr-Out Foods, "Way-Out Food with a Twist," aimed at young people with the company's first Strawberry-Vanilla syrup product. Farr-Out Foods generated orders exceeding $1.5 million." http://www.drfarrahgray.com/biography.html

Unless evidence is presented to the contrary, this young man's story is a true inspiration for us all -particularly those trying to make money illegally.

"I didn't even know about the syrup. Not sure why you would even question the legality of his efforts."

Yes, his syrup is what, according to his story, made him a millionaire. The reason I am openly speculating is because while the story is very inspirational it is also highly improbable.

A very inspirational story inDEED, yet I continue to think there is just too much missing to support how he was catapaulted into riches from the projects and selling syrup. I find it much more likely that there was another source of funding that is likely at the core of this story.

Afterall, one of the other patterns is that his multiple companies/ventures have short life spans, another hallmark of making money legit. Numerous businesses to funnel the money through.

Nevertheless, I give the family credit for making this audacious story so acceptable in terms of his success.

Other sources of funding like becoming a savvy investor, and commanding $5,000 - $10,000 per appearance on a lucrative nationwide motivational speaking career by age 12? What story are you referring to anyway? That is not what I have read about him.

Besides, You still haven't said what makes you question the legality of his ventures besides it being an unlikely story. I think the saddest thing about this story is the fact that it is unlikely. I doesn't need to be.

If Trump can do it, if Steven Covey can do it, if "Rich Dad, Poor Dad guy can do it, JK Rowling can do it, why not a business-minded little black boy from the projects?

Seriously, laRapierWit, can you imagine the indignation on this board if Rush or Beck -wait how about if Cheryl implied that a poor black kid from the projects that is successful must be doing something illegitimate?! And what does it say about us, if we are as suspicious of our own success as the rest of the world?

"I believe the two most important times in a person's life is when we were born and when we find out why we were born...And when we're able to find out why we were born, then we have found our area of excellence" Farrah Gray.

"You still haven't said what makes you question the legality of his ventures besides it being an unlikely story."

Because that is the core reason for the speculation...the story/narrative is just highly improbable.

"If Trump can do it, if Steven Covey can do it, if "Rich Dad, Poor Dad guy can do it, JK Rowling can do it, why not a business-minded little black boy from the projects?"

Anything is possible even if it is highly improbable. This is not about race but the economic situation that existed and to blast out of that while in elementary? Just not all that probable is all. Adults had to behind this and they had to set the frame work and create the entire story is all I am saying.

"Seriously, laRapierWit, can you imagine the indignation on this board if Rush or Beck -wait how about if Cheryl implied that a poor black kid from the projects that is successful must be doing something illegitimate?"

I am openly speculating about the probability that this kid parlayed syrup sales into being a millionaire out of the projects...now that is what it is. We also know that the probability that the most lucrative product to fund this type of ;entrepreneuial gain..is not likely to be legal. Most of the folks who are rappers acknowledge that is how they were able to get started even if they are not doing that today. I think it is OK to speculate. I am not making any accusations.

Just noting patterns, possibilities and probabilities.

I find the story very inspirational but just not a lot of things there that make the story highly probable in the way that it is described.

TRUMPET Awards ON!!

Just heard the most beautiful stirring rendition of the StarSpangledBanner followed by 4 star General William E. Ward, commander, US Africa Command, accepting his award for his ability to inspire others.

Very MOVING....

OK, I tuned into RevAl's NationalActionNetwork...and overall I was pleased.

I very much liked how Roland moderated and made folks get specific, that was on point and elicited valuable information that folks could act on in the community. Roland also had a no nonsense no pontificating approach ..excellent...cause culturally we do pontificate too much.

I was pleased with JeffJohnson said about the projects he is working on and was especially glad that he addressed this new attitude where blacksinglemoms act like they child don't need a daddy and that momma is enough. That is a big contributing factor to family break down. Children need 2 parents and somehow this has gotten so twisted that the babymomma's don't desire a babydaddy in the picture even if the man is responsibility and trying to be accountability. This new breed of singleblack momma's is this kid is mine, and mine alone. Not good for the child, family or community in the long term.

I was pleased that Cong Clyburn told about the SecondChanceAct and how it is incentivized (lol, when he said that's a word now) it seems like an excellent thing for the community to know in terms of making these employers hire those boys when they come home. Cause otherwise, like the mother said they better off staying in prison...it sounds really bad, but it was understandable.

Hearing that the NationalUrbanLeague has a program to train and help put offenders make the transisition back into the community was excellent. I was unaware that such a program existed and am pleased there is support for that in our communities.

I also liked WarrenBallantine saying that there should be a law to erase all history of non-violent offenses after a 2 year period, so that it does not stigmatize folks for the rest of their employment lives. Excellent idea. I would certainly committ to working for that change.

Clyburn was especially good talking about the Community Health Centers, money in Pell Grants that can be used to go to community colleges and become a nurse/electrician/plumber. That was really specific and targeted. Clyburn also talked well about the jobs bill and how it along with the farmers investment should be out of Congress next week. Clyburn did an excellent job...all Dyson could do was hate on Obama after that ...I was like WTF...stfu

Another good point that was made was about the need for male teachers and how there are educational program to improve those odds very good plan to seed the community, with educated male role models.

Sharpton was on point talking about having those city/state/federal taxes distributed into community banks in our areas so that there are funds available for the residents to get a loan, mortgage, funding for a small business.

Was pleased to hear what CongClyburn said about the 30/20/10 investment in our communitys in the Stimulus package and Morial was dead on when he said the funds are going to the states and not the mayors/cities where the true need is and that is a problem. Couldn't agree more with that.

Roland and Tom, have moderated this show/format in a way that it can not be productive, meaningful and accountable. Although Tom seemed to not be sure what his role was at times, lol..typical unforcused Negro listening to distractions rather than doing his job. But Roland more than made up for Tom's deficit as he was so focused on specifics and making folks quantify just what they were actually going to do and I was pleased to know where I could email and become part of the projects that are in the communities by telling them what I do what to do.

For all y'all that want to contribute time & effort to these projects in your community ...remember....e mail to
committment@tvone.com

And thanks to Roland, I can monitor the progress of all those panelists in a productive way.
Roland has done an excellent job of creating an accountability path. We will be watching you Roland on WashingtonMonthly and TJMS...woooooHOOOOO....y'all done made an asswipe of Tavis...


Last but not least...loved how Roland shut Dyson down to 2 words...BUY BLACK!!

lmao

Great recap of the event, LaRap. Thanks! :-)

Roland was determined to get the specifics.

LOL at you talking about Roland and Dyson.

g’afternoon JJP Fam,

And here's more GOP idiocy foolywang.

Haley Barbour Presidential Run?: Mississippi Governor Mulling 2012 White House Bid

Evidence is mounting that Mississippi Gov. Harley Barbour (R) is mulling a 2012 bid for the White House.

On Friday afternoon Politico's Jonathan Martin reported that Barbour and his advisors are privately exploring the possibility of jumping into the race. From the report:

POLITICO has learned that Barbour is weighing the prospect of a 2012 White House bid and convened a private meeting April 8 with a group of some of his oldest and closest advisers, some of whom flew in from the East Coast to Jackson, Miss. The gathering stretched for six hours, during which time the topic of a presidential run was discussed.
Speculation on whether Barbour would vie for the Republican nomination began to surface as early as June 2009 and at that time the Mississippi governor did not deny he was considering running.

Here's what Barbour had to say about his presidential ambitions when speaking to Bob Schieffer on CBS' Face the Nation last summer:

I'm not going to give any thought to running for anything until after the 2010 election. I'd be very surprised if I ended up running for president, but I can't just say flatly no. But I would be very surprised. My wife would be even more surprised.
Now, one year after Barbour made those comments, it appears that the Mississippi governor is stepping up his efforts to weigh a 2012 bid. Here's an excerpt from National Journal's Reid Wilson and Erin McPik's report last week:

Ed Goeas, a GOP pollster and top Barbour advisor, told Hotline OnCall that Barbour is exploring the race and taking a more serious look than he's done previously. Barbour firmly believes the focus needs to be on the midterms, but he also is aware that he has about 2 weeks after Election Day to decide whether or not he will launch a bid, Goeas said.
Barbour's conservative politics could make him a natural contender for the Republican nomination, but his candidacy also has the potential to ignite controversy among voters.

Just last week he faced criticism when he defended Gov. Bob McDonnell's (R-Va.) omission of slavery from his "Confederate History Month" proclamation while he also maintains ties to controversial figures like Jake Abramoff and George W. Bush.


Well how does Chris see it? mmmmm, yes, I would think this is another case of massive self-delusion. While old Haley might run respectably in the South and other red states, I can't imagine him getting any African-American or many Hispanic or youth votes anywhere which spells, I would think, defeat in the general election.
If that's the best the GOP can do for a candidate, it does indeed look like the beginning of the end for them, Maybe his ass run so that good ol friend called Heart attack can catch up to him!

FAT BASTARD!
Here's a song for yor ass
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8Tiz6INF7I

SG2, Rikyah...HOLLA!

Hey Chris!


He was playing right to the base w/ that little "diddly" comment. Let him run so we can see him fall flat.

SG2 you're in TX, what part?

I'm between Houston and Austin!

OK, gotcha. Too bad I didn't know I was @ SXSW last month in Austin we've could've met for dinner and caught the music seminar and festival.

I'm @ work right now we're doing system implementations and they're not going as planned %!@/>*!

You'll get it together. Enjoy your week-end!

You mean they will LMAO! Thanks and U 2 as well!

No, I didn't mean that at all. You will do well.

I'm trying to go see "Death At A Funeral" at sometime this evening

I'm sure you'll enjoy it, I heard it is hilarious. I'ma have to go see it.

I'm getting ready to head out to do a few errands. I'll be back later on!

Don't work too hard! :)

No I knew thatSG2 but on the real it's a dam mess. About 30 people are on the phone between Delaware, Buffalo NY, Chicago and India trying to get a resolution done....LMAO!

hey Chris...

the ' Good Ole Boy' can't help himself.

Musicians And Internet Money

17 Apr 2010 12:17 pm

Dennis Yang finds this chart misleading:

Musicians have long known that in order to make real money, they'd either have to be U2 big, or tour. However, it's very interesting to note that in the new, digital era, artists actually make more off of their album sales in iTunes than they did in the old, physical world. And selling albums digitally through cdbaby, without a label, stands to bring in much, much more money for the artist -- and frees them from the headache of distributing a physical product. The band Pomplamoose, for example, is making a perfectly good living doing just that. [...]

So, while at first glance, this infographic may seem pessimistic, digging a little deeper into the data gives the real story. Exciting opportunities still abound in the world of music for those creative enough to seize them.

E.D. Kain shares similar sentiments. A reader writes:

The traditional gatekeepers of the creative economy -- publishers, record companies, studios -- haven't realized that they're irrelevant.

In the old model, you waited for a gatekeeper to choose you, and in return they put their immense production, distribution and marketing power behind you. Now, production and distribution is available to anyone -- so all the gatekeepers offer is marketing. If you're willing to do that work, you can reap your own rewards.

The sad thing is, when I attended SXSW (the film, music and interactive conference), the representatives of these old gatekeeper companies all said that they were looking for creatives who, in the buzzword of the moment, "Come With Tribe" -- have a pre-existing audience that they bring with them. The amount of denial on display was staggering; not a single one of these Brahmins of culture seemed to understand that if we already have that, we've don't need them at all. We've already taken care of the last thing that they might be able to offer us -- marketing. At this point, it makes more sense for us to concentrate on growing that "Tribe" to 1000 (or more), and make our living.

You should check out Kevin Kelly's essay "1000 True Fans." In it, he posits that this should be the goal of any creative (musicians, writers, artists) in the digital age. He defines a "True Fan" as somebody who is willing to spend $100 a year on your output (CDs, merchandise, print-on-demand publishing, live appearances, etc). Any creative who can reach that point (and really, it's not that difficult -- most of the creatives I know have managed to reach the 300-400 True Fan stage without really trying at all) has an annual income of $100,000 -- a comfortable living by any standard.


http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily...

Great article. Thank you.

THIS: "The traditional gatekeepers of the creative economy -- publishers, record companies, studios -- haven't realized that they're irrelevant."

Sounds so familiar in other aspects of our lives.
A lot of folks are going to get left behind in the dust, if they don't get up to speed with the changing landscape of AMERICA!!!

Ed Joyner, Ben Roethlisberger Bodyguard, Under Investigation In Pennsylvania

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/17/ed-joy...

PITTSBURGH — A state trooper with Ben Roethlisberger the night he was accused of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old college student in a Georgia nightclub is subject to the agency's code of conduct regardless of whether he was working for the Steelers quarterback, state police said.

An ongoing internal investigation will determine whether Trooper Ed Joyner did anything "that could reasonably be expected to destroy public respect for the Pennsylvania State Police or confidence in the state police," said Lt. Myra Taylor, a state police spokeswoman.

A friend of the accuser said in a statement to police that a "bodyguard" refused to acknowledge that the woman, who had been drinking, was alone with Roethlisberger in the back of a nightclub in Milledgeville, Ga.

Ann Marie Lubatti told police on March 5 that she told the bodyguard, "This isn't right. My friend is back there with Ben. She needs to come back right now."

Lubatti said the bodyguard wouldn't look her in the eye and said he didn't know what she was talking about.

Georgia investigators later identified that man as Joyner.

David Stone, Christian Militia Leader, Told Members Be Ready To Kill: Feds

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/17/david-...

DETROIT — The leader of a Christian militia planned an elaborate, two-part training session for this month and told members it was OK to kill "anyone who might stumble upon the operation," federal prosecutors wrote in a court filing Friday.

Details about the Hutaree's planned training session – to be held during the second and fourth Saturdays in April – were revealed in a 17-page document prosecutors filed in response to a defense motion to free Hutaree leader David Stone while he awaits trial.

It, along with several other government filings over the past week, help paint a fuller picture of the southern Michigan-based group's make-up and activities.

Stone and eight other suspected Hutaree members were arrested after a series of raids across the Midwest late last month and charged with seditious conspiracy, or plotting to levy war against the U.S. The self-proclaimed "Christian warriors" trained in paramilitary techniques in preparation for a battle against the Antichrist.

Obama judicial nominee Goodwin Liu comes under GOP fire

Republican senators assail Liu's record during a hearing on his nomination for an appeals court. The dispute portends a tough fight to fill the Supreme Court vacancy.

Reporting from Washington

In a portent of the potential battle this summer over the Supreme Court vacancy, Goodwin Liu, President Obama's choice for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, faced a fusillade of criticism Friday from Senate Republicans who questioned his fitness for the bench.

Liu, 39, a law professor at UC Berkeley, is considered among the most liberal of Obama's judicial nominees. Republicans appear poised to oppose him, but they are also using his nomination to telegraph their concerns about the president's impending pick to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called Liu "the very vanguard of what I would call an intellectual judicial activist."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la...

LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are on a collision course to meet in the NBA finals
By Michael Wilbon
Saturday, April 17, 2010

Every now and then something truly shocking happens in the NBA playoffs, such as Golden State tossing top-seeded Dallas in the very first round three years ago. But a looming threat of the great surprise isn't what drives professional basketball's second season. It isn't like the Stanley Cup playoffs, where one goaltender, perhaps even one best described as pretty good, can beat what everyone agrees is a better team. It isn't like October baseball, where one starting pitcher can determine the course of a series. And it isn't like playoff football, which revels in the randomness of any given Sunday.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...

My man Eric Michael...sittin there thinking "Tavis just aint respected, I gotta move away from the brotha"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

LOL

Preach Rev Al!

Hear that Tavis?

My opinion is that Freddie Haynes would have been a better choice than Ben Jealous for NAACP.

POTUS just sent a text to Geithner, Summers and Romer to review the tape for discussion at Monday morning's staff meeting!!

How many people wanna bet that the POTUS/FLOTUS are either on the treadmill or in their jammies with the big screen turned to this program????

POTUS is supposed to tripping to Poland for a funeral....

Who knows what FLOTUS is up too after her trip to MX.

Someone in his administration is doing their homework, though.

The President may not be flying to Poland today. The air quality is horrible because of the volcanoes. As of this morning his plans were halted.

heard on the radio this morning that 16,000 flights in Europe were halted because of the volcano.

Yeah it's pretty intense. The industry is losing approximately $200M a day.

Thanks, My fellow Texas!

I was just asking about that. That ash is very dangerous to a plane's engine. I'm happy to hear the plan was halted. I was worried.

Good morning, Texa_Gril. That sounds like a wise plan.

Now you know the First Lady gave him the look...

Girl, you know you right. FLOTUS probably had a photo of Malia and Sasha in
hand too....
Sista gonna work it out.

Even betta, uninterrupted attention to the Big Screen to TV One on Air Force One telling Joey what he betta do come Monday morning

This forum is a little disorganized, but since this is the first presentation, I am trying to give them some slack. Two hours is probably not enough time to really get much accomplished.

Yes, they are trying to establish a rhythm, and two hours is definitely not
enough time to accomplish a great deal. It's a start, though.

Have you noticed little to none PONTIFICATING? I appreciate that!

YUP

What happens if a Cocoa Party meets the Tea Parties?

Water hoses on the Cocoa Party.

Tea Party gets licensed to carry guns; Cocoa Party gets arrested for "packing" illegally.

Here's the deal: If Black folks show up and come head to head with the tea party carrying licensed ammo, the teabaggers will pick up their shit and run the hell on home.

Those 2nd ammendment rights are all our rights and the po po better know it!
white folks better recognize black folks pack it and have license to carry it too, and we will use it if you fuck with us.

They know the deal.

edit

And police will be there in riot gear!

Let them!

When you are the lone Republican on the panel, try not to be seated next to a sister that is going to give you the side eye the whole time youre talking. LMBO

Isn't that the truth!.. But how can you not give Black Republicans the side eye?

BWA HA HA HA Ask Ron Christie.

OUCH!! lmao2!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Oh, snap, that was foul...but so funny!

LMAO

I thought they were on point in stating that the Stimulus Money is going to the States and not getting to the cities and the Job Bills money needs to go directly to THE CITIES.

Go Ogletree...focus the discussion on the point of what the POTUS should be doing...he ainst scurred

"Wonderful AA FEMALE candidates that should be on the Supreme Court"

Appreciated Prof. Olgletree's comment. He knows the POTUS, and he likes criticism. He's a lawyer, but you'd better come prepared with well thought out points.

Good Morning, Beautiful People! The birds are chirping and the grass is greening. What are y'all gonna do on this glorious day?

Morning Shanti!

I'll be heading out a little later to do a little shopping. I have to go buy myself a hula hoop among a few other things.

@ Jelana---I'm ready to make it go.... swoosh swoosh! ;)

Hey, SouthernGirl! Lemme know how you work that thang, then maybe I'll
consider getting one with the swooshing action too!

Work that thang? Swooshing action?

Ok, my mind's in the gutter, I know. ;)

LMBAO Hey Axel; I think there's H2O in the hoop... You crazy.

BWA HA HA HA

Oh Axel, I see you're being bad again!

Oh, I hope it doesn't fall down! lol

LOL! Lawdy this is too funny. You gotta know how to work those hips, girl.

Shanti,

This dance will give someone a good work-out & it's fun too. ............
**Jump w/ that thang**

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMW0TMlA3_0

Ah sooky, sooky now! Oooh, ooh!

You have to hit & maintain the right rhythm w/ the hula hoop...Once you've accomplished that....chile, it's gone be on.... just like Sommore said! ;)

We are still talkin' 'bout hula-hoops, right? ;)

Axel, I love how you think. Sexuality is a beautiful thing. For me, I don't
find it gutter. Got it?

Yes, indeedy! ;)

And thanks, Shanti, I never want to offend any of you beautiful sistas here.

It's a beautiful thang!

National Action Network Leadership Forum
The National Action Network’s 2010 National Convention is underway in New York City.

Tomorrow, Rev. Al Sharpton will convene Measuring the Movement: Black Leadership’s 12-Month Action Plan, a roundtable and panel discussion focusing on measurable action to advance the black agenda. The issues to be addressed include joblessness in the African American community, education reform and health care.

The roundtable participants will include:
• Rep. James Clyburn, House Majority Whip
• Lezli Baskerville, President and CEO, NAFEO
• LaKimba DeSadier, Executive Director, National Black Caucus of State Legislators
• Benjamin Jealous, President and CEO, NAACP
• Marc Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League
TV One’s Roland Martin will moderate the discussions. During an appearance on “Washington Watch,” Sharpton gave Roland his assignment:
So, that’s why we asked you to do it – which is why I’m not moderating it. I’m taking a seat with the other leaders. And you’ve got to press us, ‘cause I think this is a time Black America needs to not only press the President – which they should do – but press the leadership, the actors. Everybody needs to be accountable. This one size fits all is over. I think that I’ve got to state, “This is what National Action Network’s going to do in these areas … Black America’s prosecuting attorney is Roland Martin.

The forum will be broadcast live on TV One from 11 am - 1 pm ET.

You can submit your pressing question here.

http://andersonatlarge.typepad.com/andersonlarg...

That's right, Rev. Tangible results!

Please tune in live today (Saturday) at 11am EST to TVOne for National Action Network's "Measure the Movement" event. In case you miss it, it will air again tomorrow at 12 noon EST on MSNBC



April 16, 2010

Reverend Al Sharpton
National Action Network
106 W. 145th Street
Harlem, New York 10039

Dear Reverend Sharpton:

Congratulations to you and the National Action Network for another year of fighting for the rights of those who have no voice, and lifting up causes that would otherwise go unnoticed. I regret that I am unable to join you at what is sure to be a wonderful 2010 National Action Network convention.


This has been one of the most challenging times in our nation, but because of the work and investments we made through the Recovery Act and other policies during our first year, the economy is beginning to show signs of strength.

However, we are acutely aware of the unacceptably high unemployment rate – particularly for African Americans – and we understand the critical need to create jobs and develop pathways to opportunity. That is why we have provided $1 billion in capital for small and minority businesses in underserved communities and authorized innovative programs to develop more than 100,000 jobs for TANF recipients in 21 states. We are also investing in a skills agenda by increasing the amount of Pell Grant awards and improving support for community colleges so that workers have the tools needed to take advantage of future opportunities.

Our success enacting health insurance reform, coupled with the First Lady’s initiative on childhood obesity, will serve to reduce the alarming health disparities among African Americans. New benefits include free preventive care and increased access to medical attention through community health centers. In addition, no patient can be denied coverage based on a pre-existing condition, or lose their health care when they are sick and need it most. More than 32 million uninsured Americans will have access to health care, and millions of them are African American.

Another important agenda for this Administration is building a world-class education system that supports the aspirations of all Americans from cradle to career. Your leadership and work with those on both sides of the aisle have drawn much needed attention to this critical issue. In schools across the nation, dropout rates are too high, expectations are too low, and too few African Americans have the opportunities needed to prepare for college and careers. We are calling for more rigorous and relevant standards and accountability in our schools, and investing billions to advance reform, turnaround our most troubled schools, and reduce dropout rates. We will do more to raise the bar and improve outcomes for our youngest children before they reach kindergarten, while also investing $1 billion in black colleges and universities over the next 10 years to chart a course for a better life and brighter future.

Since its founding, the National Action Network has stood up for those without help and without hope. While many are talking about the need for transformational action, this organization is working to see it carried out. Today’s forum “Measuring the Movement” offers an opportunity to advance more solutions to the challenges we face as a nation.

We know that too many communities of color were living on the margins even before the recession hit. My Administration is dedicated to turning these great challenges into greater opportunities that significantly improve the lives of many throughout the country.

Again congratulations on today’s event, and best wishes in your pursuit of economic security, social justice, and peace for all Americans.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

This sounds like a constructive version of SOTBU. I'll be tuning in.

I know Tavis is mad!! HAHA! Shaprton's forum is gonna be on TV One and then there's a followup special on MSNBC tomorrow! HAHA!

hey, itgurl; it's good stuff! Tavis who? BWA HA HA HA

BWA HA HA HA

You know Tavis is prolly seething. ***giggles***

As they use to say on LiVING COLOR

LOVIN IT!!

LOL

Morning Myth,

I'll be tuning in.

Tavis guest hosted the Larry King Show the night his scandal blew up. Was Tavis the only person who King could get to step into that mess? Did Tavis beg to do it? Either way Tavis looked weak for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I saw a little bit of the show. Ann Coulter was on w/ her annoying self. I couldn't take too much of Tavis.

Smiley & Coulter, huh; two queens.

Dying Breed
Who Killed the Responsible Republican? Bill Kristol, of course.
By Jacob Weisberg
Updated Saturday, April 17, 2010, at 7:14 AM ET
Do you remember the Responsible Republicans? In the 1980s, small herds of them still roamed freely around Washington. In 1982, they stampeded over Ronald Reagan's veto of the largest tax increase in history to mitigate the fiscal harm of his 1981 tax cut. In 1983, they converged on Capitol Hill to pass a package of tax increases and benefit cuts recommended by the Greenspan Commission to keep Social Security solvent. In 1986, they followed Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson to pass bipartisan immigration reform legislation by a large majority. In 1990, several were spotted with President George H.W. Bush (the Responsible one) at Andrews Air Force Base, conspiring to reduce the deficit.
Read More
http://www.slate.com/id/2251101/

The Kyrgyz Great Game
posted by Robert Dreyfuss
The Great Game for influence in Central Asia, pitting the United States against Russia (with China as a more-than-just-interested observer) has taken a sharp turn in Russia's favor, in the wake of the Russian-induced regime change in Kyrgyzstan.

That small, out-of-the-way nation, a former member of the USSR, has assumed importance because of its role as facilitator for the U.S. effort in Afghanistan. Kyrgyzstan's Manas air base, which Centcom says is critical for the war effort, is up for grabs under the new regime, which says it will continue to allow the United States access to the air field until the current contract expires this summer. What happens after that isn't clear.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Ariel Cohen of the Heritage Foundation notes glumly that Russia is scoring points in Central Asia and the Caucasus region:


"In the last couple of years, Russia has scored some points in its 'roll-back' of George W. Bush's Eurasian advances. First, the Georgian war and the European reaction to it all but froze Georgia's chances for NATO membership. Second, Mr. Yanukovich's victory in the Ukrainian presidential elections moved Kiev from a pro-Western orientation to neutrality. Now, the U.S. presence in Central Asia, and in Eurasia as a whole, may be at stake."

Despite its seeming neutrality, it's clear that Moscow largely orchestrated the palace coup that ousted President Bakiyev last week. Last year, Russia offered Bakiyev $2 billion in aid on the apparent condition that he close the U.S. base at Manas, but after Bakiyev collected more than $400 million in Russian aid he decided to accept a U.S. offer to triple the Manas rent, angering Prime Minister Putin of Russia. The Russian media carried out a well-orchestrated campaign attacking Bakiyev, accurately, as a thieving kleptocrat, and they compared him to Genghis Khan. (In some countries that would be taken as a compliment, but it wasn't meant that way.) Then Moscow used its economic muscle to build momentum for popular opposition to Bakiyev. According to the Washington Post:


"After the opposition announced plans for nationwide protests, Putin provided a final spark by signing a decree March 29 eliminating subsidies on gasoline exports to Kyrgyzstan and other former Soviet republics that had not joined a new customs union.

"When the tariffs kicked in April 1, Russian fuel shipments to Kyrgyzstan were suspended, said Bazarbai Mambetov, president of a Kyrgyz oil traders association. Within days, gas prices in Bishkek began to climb, enraging residents already angry about sharp increases in utility fees.

"As the Kremlin leaned on Bakiyev, it also consulted the opposition, hosting its leaders on visits to Moscow, including in the days before the protests."


Rather hyperbolically, Russia's President Medvedev, speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, warned that Kyrgyzstan is facing civil war and could become a "second Afghanistan":


"As I understand it, Kyrgyzstan is on the verge of civil war now. ... All the forces in Kyrgyzstan should realize their responsibilities towards the Kyrgyz nation, the Kyrgyz people and the future of the Kyrgyz state."

In fact, it appears that the situation is not nearly as risky as that. The new government seems to be establishing its writ in most of the country, and the ousted president is reportedly negotiating a deal to leave the country with his person (and his bank accounts) intact. The United States, making the best of a bad situation, is making nice to the new regime and crossing its fingers that it can hold on to Manas later this year. The new president, Rosa Otunbayeva, has suggested that the U.S. lease on Manas will be extended automatically for a year beyond its current term, but no doubt both Russia and Kyrgyzstan will want to the keep the U.S. presence in the country on a short leash.

Kyrgyz opposition leaders, no doubt encouraged by Moscow, accuse the United States of turning a blind eye (or worse) to the blatant corruption of the former regime, as long as it allowed Washington to use the facility. A few years ago, the United States lost access to another important air facility in Uzbekistan, whose leaders also were not exactly paragons in defense of human rights. According to the Times, the new leaders of Kyrgyzstan have joined in:


"They accuse the United States of having used that system [of corruption] to curry favor with the ousted president in order to hold onto the air base, the only remaining Amerian military refueling site in Central Asia after Uzbekistan closed a base in a dispute with the United States over human rights."
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/dreyfuss/551548/...

Israel Lobby Leadership Losing It
April 15th, 2010 | Printable version |
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On the day when Israel’s ambassador, Michael Oren, met formally with J Street executive director Jeremy Ben-Ami for the first time, the right-wing leadership of what has come to be known as the “Israel Lobby” expressed genuine alarm that the administration of President Barack Obama may be prepared to exert serious pressure on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in order to revive and impart momentum to the long-moribund “peace process.”

That alarm appears based, at least most immediately, on last month’s contretemps over Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and Netanyahu’s apparent failure so far to meet minimal U.S. demands for a number of commitments which the administration thinks would actually get its proposed “proximity talks” with the Palestinians underway. That was evident in the anguished full-page ad taken out by the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and its president, Netanyahu buddy Ron Lauder, in Thursday’s edition of the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal. The ad, which takes the form of an open letter to Obama, speaks of the “dramatic deterioration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Israel” and suggests that Washington’s current strategy — “Is it assumed worsening relations with Israel can improve relations with Muslims?” asks Lauder — amounts to “appeasement.” It was interesting to note that Lauder told the New York Times that he “discussed the letter with Mr. Netanyahu and received his support before taking out the ad.”

The Times article that cited Lauder’s words was the latest — and most definitive — in a recent series of stories published over the past ten days indicating that Obama himself is running out of patience with Netanyahu and may increasingly be inclined to put forward his own peace plan if Israel proves unwilling to make serious concessions on settlements in East Jerusalem and related issues in the coming months.

But, while settlements and related issues are obviously key catalysts for the ongoing crisis, the deeper issue — about which the Israel Lobby is most concerned — is the taboo but self-evident notion that U.S. and Israeli interests in the Greater Middle East may not be precisely the same and that, in reality, Israeli policies toward Palestinians and the wider Arab world may actually be undermining Washington’s strategic position in the region. That indeed was the notion elaborated by Mark Landler and Helene Cooper, who led Thursday’s article with the assertion that there has been a “far-reaching shift in how the United States views the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Noting Obama’s reference during his press conference concluding this week’s Nuclear Summit to resolving the conflict as a “vital national security interest of the United States,” the two reporters went on:
“Mr. Obama said conflicts like the one in the Middle East ended up ‘costing us significantly in terms of both blood and treasure’ — drawing an explicit link between the Israeli-Palestinian strife and the safety of American soldiers as they battle Islamic extremism and terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Mr. Obama’s words reverberated through diplomatic circles in large part because they echoed those of Gen. David H. Petraeus, the military commander overseeing America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In recent Congressional testimony, the general said that the lack of progress in the Middle East created a hostile environment for the United States. He has denied reports that he was suggesting that soldiers were being put in harm’s way by American support for Israel.

But the impasse in negotiations ‘does create an environment,’ he said Tuesday in a speech in Washington. ‘It does contribute, if you will, to the overall environment within which we operate.’”

This article, in turn, appears to have put Abraham Foxman, the long-standing director of the Anti-Defamation League and pillar of the Lobby leadership, into something of a lather for the second time in less than a month. Thursday afternoon, he put out the following statement:

“The significant shift in U.S. policy toward Israel and the peace process, which has been evident in comments from various members of the Obama Administration and has now been confirmed by the president himself in his press conference at the Nuclear Security Summit, is deeply distressing. Saying that the absence of a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict undermines U.S. interests in the broader Middle East and the larger issue of resolving other conflicts is a faulty strategy. It is an incorrect approach on which to base America’s foreign policy in the Middle East and its relationship with its longtime friend and ally, Israel.

ADL has long expressed its concern from the very beginning of the Obama Administration about advisers to the president who see the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a major impediment to achieving the administration’s foreign policy and military goals in the wider region. The net effect of this dangerous thinking is to shift responsibility for success of American foreign policy away from Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt and directly onto Israel. It is particularly disturbing in light of the blatantly disproportionate number and the nature of statements issued by this administration criticizing Israel as compared to what has been said about the Palestinians.”

The best way to move the peace process between the Israelis and Palestinians forward is for all parties to demand that the Palestinians abandon their tactic of “just saying no” and insist that the rest of the Arab world move toward normalization [sic] relations with Israel.

So we now have Ronald Lauder, speaking on behalf the World Jewish Congress and presumably with Netanyahu’s clearance, hurling the poisonous word “appeasement” at Obama, and a “deeply distressed” Abe Foxman — intemperately, in my opinion — confirming the actual existence of a “significant shift in U.S. policy toward Israel and the peace process” and dismissing any notion that the persistence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may negatively affect U.S. security interests in the larger region as “Israeli and U.S. security interests are not identical as “faulty,” “incorrect,” and “dangerous.” This comes after similar letters and statements — although not quite so strong or confrontational as Lauder’s and Foxman’s — by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee last month.

Yet, as M.J. Rosenberg pointed out on his excellent Media Matters blog today, “a clear majority of the American Jewish community supports the Obama approach to U.S.-Israel relations, with only 37% disapproving,” according to a recent poll (conducted during the contentious month of March) by the American Jewish Committee.

It’s pretty clear that the right-wing leadership of the organized Jewish community believes that a major crisis in U.S.-Israeli relations — perhaps the most important in 35 years, as Amb. Oren himself reportedly warned (and then unconvincingly denied) last month — is really upon us
http://www.lobelog.com/israel-lobby-leadership-...

Elie Wiesel has now thrown his wealth to back AIPAC etc.. to tell the president not to be hard on Netanyahu and i guess forget the settlement issue, in short look away. They are desperate and are going to go the desperate route with Obama and Petraues [sp?], heck AIPAC called the general a jew-hater, congress is already selling out, so the president and his military are all alone.

The key is the American public but I already know the end result. So in short it all about the administration accommodates the right wing gov't of Israel. It hard for any administration to take on the lobbyist, media, Israel all by themselves. In this case, it is not because of the lack of trying but PUBLIC SUPPORT.

All I want is AIPAC to register as a lobbyist, it has changed and is now so right wings and hawkish. It IS a totally different organization from it started has. It has become increasingly arrogant that it sees no lines or limits to its power. There is no line anymore, even J. Rosen knows, something changed in AIPAC and its now extremely dangerous nationalism in a foreign soil.

Have you see this video from media matters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VDYGLY1WBQ

And this is how they recruit early http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1Yjg0jXSUQ

My thing is simple: Register as a lobbyist. I don't begrudge them for being highly organized but i do not like the subversion of US government on all levels.

AIPAC is a foreign agent...they represent a foreign country and their lobbyist activity in the USA, needs to be recognized as just that. They are not lobbying for any cause in the US...just another NATION.

This needs to stop...who do they think they are trying to set up a straw man argument with this mess:
"suggests that Washington’s current strategy — “Is it assumed worsening relations with Israel can improve relations with Muslims?”

AIPAC is arrogant and powerful ...they in MY country fronting off MY POTUS...this is compeletely outrageous and all their assets in US banks need to be frozen all money transfers need to be seized.

POTUS can't do nothing about aid to Israel since Congress controls aid and AIPAC owns Congress.

I am watching my POTUS cause he is going to be stalwart but he will change this dynamic completely.

And American Jews will back him.

Cynthia Tucker
Good health: personal responsibility, health insurance and luck

1:00 pm April 16, 2010, by ctucker

WASHINGTON — Uh-oh. The cantankerous, polarizing and deeply confusing debate about health care is likely to get even worse.

Just when I thought the controversy was cooling a bit — no longer burning white-hot and charring everything in sight — I came across a statement by U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, head of the GOP Health Care Task Force, who expressed skepticism about government efforts to guarantee health insurance for adults “who’ve done nothing to care for themselves.” Blunt doesn’t mind a law to prevent insurers from banning children with pre-existing conditions, but adults are another matter.

Blunt’s remarks echoed recent policy manifestos by Newt Gingrich, possible GOP presidential candidate, and Sen. Jim DeMint, the South Carolina Republican who pronounced health care reform President Obama’s “Waterloo.” Both Gingrich and DeMint have issued statements that frame each person’s health as a matter of “personal responsibility.”

Their pronouncements illuminate the odd conversations I had recently with spokespersons for the American Cancer Society, who were eager to point out that “women shouldn’t be blamed for their breast cancer.” I had called to ask about research suggesting that 25 to 30 percent of breast cancer cases could be avoided if women changed their lifestyles — eating less, exercising more and drinking less alcohol.

As a middle-aged woman who dreads the disease more than almost any other, I was heartened by that news, delighted to know I can at least alter my chances. Shouldn’t the cancer society tout that more widely?

Well, not if a common-sense campaign to enlighten women about the risks of added weight and alcohol consumption allows Blount and other health-care-reform critics to paint breast-cancer patients as victims of their own irresponsibility. Patient advocates who work to ameliorate any number of chronic ailments — from hypertension to diabetes — worry about an emphasis on personal responsibility that sounds like, “It’s your fault you’re sick!”

Yet — and here’s where the matter gets tricky — a nation with a massive health care tab does need to have a conversation about health and “personal responsibility.” There is little doubt that lifestyle factors contribute to obesity, heart disease and various cancers, from malignant breast tumors to melanomas.

On its face, Gingrich’s observation — “I think you want to re-establish that the individual has a big responsibility for their own health, because otherwise you can’t deal with diabetes and obesity and things that are chronic conditions” — offers little for argument. Nor is there anything unseemly in DeMint’s statement: “As we look at the health care of our nation, we’ve got to look at our own health care and the health care of family –– what we can do to lower the cost of health care just by taking care of ourselves.”

However, access to health care boosts personal responsibility, encouraging those with high blood pressure, for example, to get check-ups and medication before out-of-control hypertension leads to kidney failure and expensive dialysis. Gingrich and DeMint remain vehemently opposed to the recent expansion of health insurance, each vowing to continue to battle it as if he were Napoleon Bonaparte facing the Duke of Wellington. Their declarations of “personal responsibility,” then, sound more like an excuse to do nothing to help people take better care of themselves.

Neither Gingrich nor DeMint is known for cooling down the temperatures of over-heated controversies. And that’s what the discussion needs — calm, dispassionate and authoritative voices.

At some point, public health agencies will have to mount a persuasive campaign to get Americans to change their habits: eat less, exercise more, wear sunscreen. When that happens, the country as a whole will get healthier (although individual results won’t be guaranteed) and, with any luck, health care costs will at least level off.

That campaign will bring undoubtedly bring its own controversy because it will require government to marshal its resources and, against the wishes of libertarians, attempt to change personal behavior. Sorry to bring you the news, but the health care craziness will continue for awhile.


http://blogs.ajc.com/cynthia-tucker/2010/04/16/...

"require government to marshal its resources ...... to change personal behavior"

HOW???

can you say HUSH MONEY?

Massa Aide Got $40K Days Before Boss Resigned
Zachary Roth | April 16, 2010, 6:07PM

Eric Massa used a campaign account to pay $40,000 to his then-chief-of-staff just days before resigning from Congress according to campaign finance records, Politico reports.

Joe Racalto, who received the payment, has been a key figure in the sexual assault allegations that drove Massa, a western New York Democrat, to step down last month.
Racalto reportedly confronted Massa about allegations of sexual harrassment after hearing them from junior staffers, but Massa denied doing anything improper.

A lawyer for Racalto told Politico that the money was a "deferred payment" for Racalto's work on Massa's transition, after being elected in 2008. "It was money owed to him for campaign services," said the lawyer. "It was a deferred payment. He worked on the transition team."

Politico separately reported today that two days before stepping down, Massa paid nearly $32,000 in campaign funds to GMAC for a "campaign car lease," according to FEC records.

If Massa used campaign funds to buy a car for personal use, he could be in violation of restrictions on the use of campaign money.

Massa did not comment for either of the stories.


http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/...

HUSH MONEY!

From Coates:

Honoring CHM: One War. Three Sides.

Apr 16 2010, 1:00 PM ET

But I think, it also helps to think of the Civil War as having three factions with three different aims:

1) The South which secedes explicitly to protect the institution of slavery and a system of white supremacy, but also feels that its "way of life" is fundamentally different from the North's. It's true that slavery and systemic white supremacy are essential cogs in that "way of life," but they aren't the entirety of it.

2) The North which is interested, primarily, in preserving the Union. If destroying slavery will help in that end, then all the better--but destroying slavery is not the primary goal. This is crucial and I want to clear, because it's easy to conflate this--That the North is primarily motivated by unionism, not emancipation, does not negate the fact the South seceded--primarily and explicitly--to preserve systemic white supremacy. Their own documents tell the tale well. Additionally, the North almost certainly, brings its own cultural baggage and biased judgement on the South's "way of life."

3) African-Americans who explicitly sought the destruction of slavery and the end of systemic white supremacy. The African-American war against slavery began as soon as we got of the boat. In relevance to the Civil War, you can likely trace it back to Denmark Vessey, Gabriel Prosser, Nat Turner, and John Brown. But that only counts militant action, and ignores the small everyday acts of resistance (loafing around, breaking equipment, running off for weeks at a time) and individual acts of violence (poisonings, for instance).



At the onset of the War between the North and South, African-Americans immediately attempt to sign up and fight--for both sides. Their basic notion is that they'll fight for whoever will set them free. In the main, they are refused. But they force the issue by running to Union lines and making it very clear to the North that the only way to preserve the Union is to end slavery. The Union initially returns runaway slaves. But by the South's racist logic, this is folly--slaves are property, and part of the economic engine that allows the South to resist. Returning slaves to the rebels is essentially like returning captured horses back to a defeated calvary.

The point I'm trying to make here is that there was, and perhaps always has been, two wars. One was between the North and the South, and it was one based on preserving the Union. The other was between blacks and white supremacy, in the form of the Confederacy. What you see, as the war goes on, is a gradual, and rather amazing, process by which blacks, free and enslaved, force the North to accept the cause of emancipation as their own. The logic of the war makes it unavoidable.

One of the ways in which you see the difference is by looking at the fights between the USCT and Southerners. The casualty rates for the USCT are always astronomical when compared to other regiments. From what I can tell, this reflects a few things. 1) The sheer anger that Southerners felt when confronted with their "property" so armed. To them, they might as well have been fighting a slave rebellion 2) The massacres which sometimes happened after black units surrendered. 3) The sheer ferocity with which some black units fought. If you think about it, more than any other group of soldiers, the USCT had the least to lose.

On that last point, I think of this account of the death of one USCT member, Big Jack Johnson, in Louisiana, fighting at Milliken's Bend. It's worth noting that Milliken's Bend is part of the Vicksburg campaign, a campaign that Pat Buchanan claims was fought entirely "100 percent" by white men. Milliken's Bend is distinctive for two other reasons. First, it's only the second time black troops fight as regiments, after the Emancipation Proclomation. Second, unlike the vast majority of Civil War battles, Milliken's Bend descended into hand to hand combat with bayonets something very rarely happened during the Civil War.

Anyway, Big Jack Jackson was a field hand in either Mississippi or Louisiana, I can't remember which. But he's one of the first to be signed up by white recruiters looking to form black regiments. The white recruiters complain that there having difficulty filling the ranks, in large measure because black women are distrustful of them and won't let the men fight. Here's a terrific account, by one white recruiter, about the trouble they were having:

The first plantation house we came to, there were six or eight eligibles loafing around and we dismounted and proceeded to business. We found them much interested in the subject but could get no decision from them. They would not say they would not go, nor would they say they would.


Frustrated, the recruiter sends Big Jack Jackson to do the job and Jackson simply reaches into the slave quarters and proceeds to line the men up in ranks:

They did not pay much attention to me, but riveted their eyes on Jack, whom they must have thought a brigadier at least...Jack dismounted and proceeded to set these coons up in line with about as much ceremony as he would use if he was setting up so many ten-pins...When the wenches discovered the men were being marched away, they set up a terrible howl. But it did not faze Jack. He kept them going and they were soon out of sight and hearing.


Within weeks, green as hell, they were in combat at Miliken's Bend. You can read a contemporary account of the fight here. On the words of his commanding officer, here's how Big Jack met his fate:

Big Jack Jackson passed me like a rocket. With the fury of a tiger he sprang into that gang and crushed everything before him. There was nothing left of Jack's gun except the barrel and he was smashing everything he could reach. On the other side of the levee, they were yelling "Shoot that big nigger! Shoot that nigger!" while Jack was daring the whole gang to come up and fight him. Then a bullet reached his head and he fell full on the levee.


Jack was fighting for something more than "the Union."

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/201...

Jack was fighting for something more than "the Union."


Without a doubt!

Coates did an amazing job with this piece.

It's important to understand that the Civil War was not just an "evil "southern thing.

The north was just as culpable in its involvement with slavery.

This piece gave true voice to the slaves and black soilders. One War, Three Sides, I know that's right.

I also appreciate Coates' book references.

The Civil war was complicated.

No shit, Sherlock.

LOL

I would suggest reading the works of Bruce Catton as background material on the military aspects of the Civil War. My favorites are "Grant moves south" and "Grant take Command" but the other books are also very good. Grant's Memoirs are not easy to find anymore but might be at your public library.
There are numerous books about each and every battle fought during the Civil war and for example reading 2 or 3 books about Shiloh or Antietam can give several viewpoints on the commanders and their actions.
Another way to look at the civil war through the actions of American Presidents who served in the Union Army. My favorite is Rutherford B Hayes - wounded 5 times in combat.
But as I said, the civil war is complicated especially when examining the political/economic/social causes of the war.

MEDIA ALERTS:

Sunday, TVONE, 11 am EST - 1 pm EST:

THE MOVEMENT-A session on the last day of the National Action Network's annual convention in New York. Hosted by Roland Martin and Tom Joyner.


#2

Join MSNBC Anchor Tamron Hall and Host of the “Ed Show” Ed Shultz as they host a national discussion on Sunday, April 18, 2010 from 12-2 PM EST about the “Black Agenda” in America.

The program on TVONE is live TODAY (SAT) at 11 AM EST.
It was being advertised that MSNBC would also televise it live today but perhaps
that has changed.

I'm watching now.

Thanks for this alert and the correction! I am tuned in to Roland now.

Morning Jelana,

Thanks.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker raises more money than all candidates combined for mayoral race
By David Giambusso/The Star-Ledger

NEWARK -- Mayor Cory Booker and his slate of candidates have raised more money than the combined total of every municipal candidate running in this year’s May elections, according to a report released today by the NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission.

Despite the recession and a 19 percent drop off in statewide fund-raising since 2006, Booker has raised roughly $900,000 more than he did four years ago at this time. Booker’s camp raised $7,033,493 as of today. Paterson Mayor Jose Torres came in second with $789,680.

While Booker is raising money for his entire slate, at least four of the council members made the top ten with their individual fund-raising efforts. East Ward Councilman Augusto Amador and North Ward councilman Anibal Ramos made the top five breaking the $400,000 mark.

A total of 36 municipalities governed by the Faulkner Act are holding elections in May and out of the $11.4 million raised throughout the state, Newark candidates have raised $9.2 million. The $5 million that Booker has spent is almost twice as much as what candidates have raised, in all, outside of Newark.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/04/newark...

Sarah Palin Mangles Obama’s Quotes To Paint Him As America-Hater

We should probably resign ourselves to the fact that every utterance Sarah Palin makes is widely going to be treated as news until she declares she isn’t running for president. And quite possibly beyond. So all we can do is try to fact-check what she says and hope others do the same.

The latest: In a new Facebook missive, Palin butchered Obama’s quotes at the nuke summit in a strikingly dishonest (even for her) way, tearing them out of context to suggest he’s uncomfortable wielding American power and is hostile towards American exceptionalism:

Mr. President, is a strong America a problem?

Asked this week about his faltering efforts to advance the Middle East peace process, President Obama did something remarkable. In front of some 47 foreign leaders and hundreds of reporters from all over the world, President Obama said that “whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower.”

Whether we like it or not? Most Americans do like it.

Here’s what the President actually said:

But what we can make sure of is, is that we are constantly present, constantly engaged, and setting out very clearly to both sides our belief that not only is it in the interests of each party to resolve these conflicts but it’s also in the interest of the United States. It is a vital national security interest of the United States to reduce these conflicts because whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower, and when conflicts break out, one way or another we get pulled into them. And that ends up costing us significantly in terms of both blood and treasure.

As you can see, Palin and her team of ghostwriters plucked Obama’s remark out of context to quote him saying “whether we like it or not,” we are a superpower. In reality, he was saying that “whether we like it or not,” we get pulled into international conflicts that cost us American lives — so it’s in our security interests to resolve them.

Since everything Palin says in her tightly-controlled media environment will be treated as news for the next two years and beyond, all we can hope for is that those lavishing attention on what she says inject a bit of context and reality into the discussion.


http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/political-med...

Good Morning, Everyone.

Have a good day!

Morning Rikyrah! Morning everyone!

Have a happy Saturday!