Super Tuesday.

The Rent A Negro placement agency will get a lot of calls from the trump campaign tonight. They will no doubt need some Negro faces for the ample camera shots that will focus on the campaign as he gives all of his victory speeches.

If the Rent A Negro agency depended on Hillary or Bernie they would go broke, because Negroes are going to show up at their rallies free of charge.

Trump still can't convince most of us with a brain that he is not a virulent racist--- or at least trying to play to them--- so the perfect Negro placement will be particularly important for him.

Disturbing stories like the one where he kicked out approximately 30 African American students from his campaign rally before it even started is just adding to the narrative that trump is a racist. 

I am watching the early returns on television as I write this post, and the trump strategy to clean up with the god ole boyz and gals seems to be working.  The networks are already calling Georgia and some other Southern states for him, so if you people in America with a conscience thought that trump letting his Klan flag fly would hurt him, you are wrong.

Hillary's black wall strategy seems to be working as well. Those Southern Negroes are coming out for her big time. (Memo to Bernie: You can't campaign with Negro leftists such as Cornel West and expect to beat Hillary among black folks. In case you didn't notice those guys hate Obama almost as much as republicans do, and sadly for them, black folks still love President Obama.) Bernie should have paid me for my advice. I could have saved him a lot of wasted resources. 

Finally, there are a couple of stories in the news today that have me heading to my shoe closet to get my racism chase sneakers out.

Seriously wingnuts? What did Maya Angelou ever do to you guys? I mean everyone loves Maya. The woman is an American treasure for crying out loud. And yet.....

"You know how Congress sometimes votes to honor people by naming post offices and other things after them? Well, that normally uncontroversial honor was bestowed upon Maya Angelou today. The House overwhelmingly voted in favor today of naming a post office after her.

I say “overwhelmingly” because not everyone was on board. Yes, there were actually members of Congress who opposed naming a post office for Maya Angelou.

According to NBC News, nine Republicans voted against it. Mo Brooks, Ken Buck, Michael Burgess, Jeff Duncan, Glenn Grothman, Andy Harris, Thomas Massie, Alex Mooney, and Steven Palazzo  all voted nay.

Don Young, another Republican, voted present.

Congressman Steve Israel called out his colleagues for their “disrespectful” move:

Naming post offices is one of the most benign and bipartisan duties we perform in the House of representatives and there is rarely any opposition. That’s why I was shocked today as nine Republicans voted against naming a post office after Maya Angelou, indisputably one of our country’s greatest poets, authors and civil rights activists. The fact that these nine Members would cast a no vote shows a blatant disrespect and only adds to the damaging actions they’ve taken this year to reverse progress from long and hard fought civil rights battles.

 

Most of the nine Republicans haven’t yet explained their votes, but a spokesperson for Harris provided this actual explanation to NBC News:" [Source]

Something about her being a Communist sympathizer or something.

Then there are the series of police killings over the past few days that have yet to be explained. 

There is the sad story of Gregory Gunn in Alabama, the case of that Kenyan immigrant in Utah, Rolanda Byrd's son in North Carolina, and that sleeping couple in California. 

There are more. But I am going to have to do more training.

Chasing the Big R can be exhausting. 

*Pic from abcnews.go.com

       

This is getting ugly....

Oh lord! This intra- racial fighting is getting ugly. Now my man Cornel is calling out half of Rev. Inc. and declaring him to be a "house negro of the Barack Obama plantation." (Isn't it amazing how far just one diss can go? O, next time send that man an invitation to your party.)

"Public intellectual Cornel West tore into many of this week’s speeches surrounding the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.‘s “I Have a Dream” speech, accusing everyone from President Obama to Rev. Al Sharpton of “sanitizing” Dr. King’s vision.

“Brother Martin himself, I think, would’ve been turning over in his grave,” West said of the event. “[King would have wanted] people to talk about Wall Street criminality, he wants people to talk about war crimes, or drones dropping bombs on innocent people,” he asserted.

“Instead,” he lamented, “we saw the coronation of the bonafide house negro of the Barack Obama plantation, our dear brother Al Sharpton.” West went further declaring that Sharpton’s decline was “supported by [MSNBC analyst] Michael Dyson and others who’ve prostituted themselves in a very ugly and vicious way.”

West and Tavis Smiley both lamented that black leadership has become “so sold-out” so as not to have the courage to be a “bull in the china shop,” break rank, and talk about “racism, poverty, and militarism” at an otherwise “bought-out” event." [Source]

Now I understand some of frustration that Brother West is feeling. We do need to be talking more about things such as "racism, poverty, and militarism". But  what country does Cornel West believe that he is living in? Negroes getting upset because Barack Obama didn't get into the White House and go all Huey P. Newton are as crazy as the republicans who foam at the mouth over the sound of his name. Just what the hell did you expect?

Let me repeat this again: Barack Obama is a politician, and he happens to be a damn good one. Politicians know how to raise money, run the government, and push all the right buttons to make Americans feel like their country is the greatest in the history of the world. That's it. The fact that this president happens to be black should be celebrated for its imagery and what it can mean for the future aspirations of young black boys watching him, but that's about it.
It's not going to change how business is done in this country and who gets the spoils.

If you Negroes want things to change, stop depending on poli-trick-sters like Barack Obama and start grass roots efforts to change things in your own neighborhoods. Start organizing locally to try and better the lives of people around you. Change is not going to come from Washington; it's going to come from your homes.  

Again, I am not sure what some of you Negroes were expecting, but I have news for you; it's not going to get any better for your agenda when Barack Obama leaves and when the next presidents come after him. Americans don't want to talk about things like "racism" and "poverty", and when they do, it makes them very uncomfortable. Look what happened when this president tried to address the elephant in the room. "If I had a son he would look like Trayvon".

Anyway, Barack Obama does need to have real folks in his ears-- besides his wife Michelle--- from time to time. It's just that when Negroes like Tavis and Cornel do the criticizing, it comes off more like sour grapes than constructive criticism and speaking truth to power.

  

 

"Black Like Me."

I have to confess (and lord forgive me for this one) but I can't watch Cornel West for one minute. Every time I see fam on television I change the channel. I have heard that he is a smart guy, and that he sometimes says some deep things, but I will never know, because......well....I just can't watch or listen to him. I know that many of you have a predilection for all things West so you will have to help me out with this one. Please tell me why I should force myself to start listening to him. "Otay"? (Stop it field)

Anyway, I notice that my man has been in the news of late because, much to the delight of wingnuts, he has had some not too flattering things to say about O, and it has started an interesting debate among us black folks about what it means to be truly black.

For the record, O's upbringing and the way he chooses to carry himself should not define his blackness or lack of it. We have to judge him by his actions as president for all the people of these divided states who comes to the office from the unique position of being able to feel our pain.

This is a good discussion to have on Malcolm's birthday; is O in the house? Personally, I don't think so. I think he visits it quite often and is comfortable when he is in there, but that is not where his heart is. I think his heart is outside in the fields. ( I think)

But I want to ask Mr. West to put his Ivy League mind to work and tell me exactly what he would want his O ness to do to help black A-merry-ca. I want to know what policies he would implement and how he would go about getting it done. I want to know how he would better use the "bully pulpit" to (if I may get a little colloquial) hook us up.

I know what I would like O to do: Get our troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq, use the "bully pulpit" to talk more about urban issues such as education, and turn Eric Holder loose on some of those Wall Street crooks. Yes, I am pissed that he extended the Bush tax cuts. Yes, I am pissed that he kept Gitmo open. And, yes, I am pissed that ddn't go far enough on health care reform and with the stimulus package.

Still, having said that, I have to acknowledge that he at least tried with health care, there was some Wall Street reform, and a little stimulus package is better than none at all.

I am not sure what you Negroes who were waiting on the Magic Negro expected. O can't work miracles and make your lives better. I hate to sound like a conservative, but government can only do so much. If you thought O was going to get into office and your lives were going to change overnight, you have another thing coming. Urban terrorist are still going to rob and steal, greedy polititicksters on the local and national level are still going to line their pockets, first. And the corporate machine of greed that drives A-merry-ca isn't going anywhere. In short, it's business as usual in A-merry-ca. If there is going to be any change it's going to have to come from within each and every individual who really wants it.

I thought that a - supposedly- smart man like Cornel West would know that.

Tavis is not smiling.

"In the final stretch, I will be on the campaign trail every day in states like Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin talking directly with voters about the causes that are at the heart of my campaign and the State of the Black Union forum... That is why, with regret, I am not able to attend the forum"

This is what the "O" man wrote and told Tavis Smiley as an explanation why he couldn't attend his "State of The Black Union Conference" on Saturday. Now I have to tell you, I started to write this post with every intention of ripping Tavis Smiley, because there is something very unsettling to me about the guy. Sorry, there just is. Tavis seems to be all about Tavis. And I can't help but think that he wanted the "O" man at his event more to lend it star power than for substantive reasons. Still, I don't want to rip what he is trying to do. (Lord knows we do enough of that as black folks) I do like the fact that he wants to deploy 1,000 volunteers all over New Orleans to help that city rebuild post Katrina. And the networking and all the symposiums at his conference can't hurt either. Plus, the damn thing is free. Supposedly he will have 4,5000 registering for the weekend, and getting the ear of that many black folks all at once can lead to some positive things.

But still......Maybe it's the fact that Tavis always features the usual suspects like Sharpton,West, Jackson, Dyson, and the rest of civil rights inc. that bothers me. Nothing wrong with those guys, but is it just me, or does anyone else think that we need to feature some new blood now?

"I think it's a missed opportunity on Mr. Obama's part...Now I am not interested in demonizing him for his choice, but I do disagree with him."

Of course you do Tavis. He dissed your party, and I am sure that doesn't sit right with your ego.

I would love to be in Mr. Smiley's head right about now to see what he really thinks of the "O"man. "Will you get off the stage Negro, I am supposed to be the young black savior here."

I do see that Hillary was there, and honestly, she needed to be there more than the "O" man did. Already her backers are ripping the "O" man for missing the event, and accusing the "O" man of taking his peeps for granted. But I suspect the Ice Queen was there because black folks have been bailing on her quicker than you can say hope. She said all the things you expected her to say. But mostly she reminded the black folks in attendance just how much her husband did for them, and how much she loves black people.

Poor Hillary, I know she wishes she could have done like the "O" man did and stayed on the campaign trial. I mean honestly, what percentage of the black folks in attendance do you think are going to vote for her? Twenty maybe? Alright if you count all the participants and the CBC members in attendance, twenty one. But you get the picture. In spite of what Tavis and his people would like to believe, that ( even with mostly black people) was not a pro Hillary crowd.

So Tavis, good luck with your continued career and quest to save black folks. I just can't wait to see what next year's state of the black union looks like.

Nas And the "N" word

I have a true confession; a white man has never called me a nigger to my face. (Notice I said to my face). But I have been called nigger a time or two by black people, some of them even friends of mine.

If you read this blog you know where I stand on trying to do away with that word. It's bullshit! You can't say you are going to ban a word by passing legislation, having a funeral for the word, or having black celebrities and so called leaders declare that the word is from now on not to be used by black folks. "We hereby declare that we will never use the "N" word again." Yeah, OK, whatever.

Now for the record, I don't use the word, because I honestly don't think it's a necessary part of my vocabulary. I can usually find quite a few other words to use in its place. And honestly, I would prefer if us black folks never used the word either. White folks, you should feel that way too. Think of all the white people that would be saved from getting their asses kicked for using it around us, just because they heard one of us use it and thought it was cool.

I though about this nigger issue, because the popular rapper, Nas, is dropping a new album, and I think the title of it will be "Nigger." (Although Def Jam might have something to say about that) Isn't Russel Simmons the President of Def Jam? Wasn't he all over the place recently talking about banning the "N" word? As my girl Angie would say; I am just saying.

So anyway, read the following excerpt from MTV news:

"I'm a street disciple," Nas responded, quoting one of his earlier album titles. "I'm talking to the streets. Stay out of our business. You ain't got no business worrying about what the word 'nigger' is or acting like you know what my album is about without talking to me. Whether you in the NAACP or you Jesse Jackson. I respect all of them ... I just want them to know: Never fall victim to Fox. Never fall victim to the sh-- they do. What they do is try to hurry up and get you on the phone and try to get you to talk about something you might not know about yet.

"If Cornel West was making an album called Nigger, they would know he's got something intellectual to say," Nas continued. "To think I'm gonna say something that's not intellectual is calling me a nigger, and to be called a nigger by Jesse Jackson and the NAACP is counterproductive, counter-revolutionary."

Nas said he hasn't talked to anyone outside his camp about the title, so he was upset to see that people are up in arms without knowing the story behind him choosing the name.
"I wanna make the word easy on mutha----as' ears," he explained. "You see how white boys ain't mad at 'cracker' 'cause it don't have the same [sting] as 'nigger'? I want 'nigger' to have less meaning [than] 'cracker.' With all the bullsh-- that's going on in the world, racism is at its peak. I wanna do the sh-- that's not being done. I wanna be the artist who ain't out. I wanna make the music I wanna hear.

"We're taking power [away] from the word," he added. "No disrespect to none of them who were part of the civil-rights movement, but some of my n---as in the streets don't know who [civil-rights activist] Medgar Evers was. I love Medgar Evers, but some of the n---as in the streets don't know Medgar Evers, they know who Nas is. And to my older people who don't now who Nas is and who don't know what a street disciple is, stay outta this mutha----in' conversation. We'll talk to you when we're ready. Right now, we're on a whole new movement. We're taking power [away] from that word."

It's nice to see that Nas is familiar with his history enough to know about Medgar Evers, and that he understands the nuances associated with the use of the word. Not to mention his recognition of people like Jessie Jackson and Cornel West in the debate. Besides, he calls out Jessie for being on FOX which gets him brownie points from the field.

Still, I wish Nas and his street disciples would hurry up and work on that movement so that they can talk to us. Because honestly, we want to take power away from the word too, and some of of us realize that we can't do it without them.