Prometheus 6: May 18, 2003 - May 24, 2003 Archives

May 24, 2003

I got drafted

I just got the call to serve at the barbeque. Looks like I gotta work…

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/24/2003 03:08:24 PM |

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Hey, Leo, nobody's begging you to be Black

This is a loooong one.
from the NY Times magazine

The Black White Supremacist
By PAUL TOUGH

… Felton managed to stay free for only three months. He is back in prison now, beginning a 21-year sentence for crimes he committed after his release. The prosecutor in the case said in court that Felton was a racial terrorist, that he had been ''plotting to use violent terrorist actions, like blowing up the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., in the hope and belief that such actions would spark and ignite a racial war, a racial holy war, that would bring about this new, all-white nation.'' In a letter that Felton wrote to the judge, after he was found guilty, he confirmed that his ultimate goal was to establish ''a politically and territorially autonomous White nation somewhere in North America.'' He wrote that given the way things had looked to him at the time he got out of prison, he wasn't able to see any path that seemed like ''an honorable alternative to armed revolt.''

… If you know Leo Felton's story, it is difficult, when you first meet him, to concentrate on anything other than his appearance. It's not just the tattoos. He has spent many years devoted to the idea of racial separation, to the belief that Americans should be divided by the color of their skin. But his own appearance is hard to define. His skin is olive-colored. His features are angular. It's not hard to believe what he wrote in a letter to a racist friend just before he got out of prison, that he is '' 1/4 English and 3/4 Italian.''

But, in fact, he is the product of a short-lived and idealistic late-60's marriage between a white former nun named Corinne Vincelette and a black architect named Calvin Felton. That is Leo Felton's biological reality, despite his elaborate attempt, over the last decade, to rebel against it. It is a reality that he blames for many of the wrong turns that his life has taken, a reality that he successfully shielded from his brothers in the movement for years, a reality that only now, back in prison, is he trying to understand in a new way.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/24/2003 03:07:29 PM |

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Detroit's mayor under the microscope

frrom the NY Times

Detroit Mayor Fights Accusations of Misdeeds
By MONICA DAVEY

DETROIT, May 23 - All the flash - the Harley he rides, the hip-hop he listens to and the one-and-a-half-carat diamond that glows from one ear - makes Kwame M. Kilpatrick, the youngest mayor this city has had in ages, popular on the streets.

But those signs of his generation, Mr. Kilpatrick contends, may also help explain why seven investigators from the state attorney general's office and the state police are digging into his life.

The authorities say they are looking into reports of misdeeds by his team of police bodyguards, assertions that the mayor had a party with nude dancers and Mr. Kilpatrick's removal this month of a deputy police chief who says he was in the middle of investigating those very accusations.

Mr. Kilpatrick says that the allegations are all false and that he wants the inquiry because it is the only way to end the flood of rumors.

"If I was 60 years old, if I came from the `country club community,' if I came out of an established private firm or something like that, none of these would get the lift that they have," Mr. Kilpatrick said this week in his office. "I guess it's believable that a 32-year-old black man with an earring in his ear has parties like that. It's so unfortunate. I'm here to fight that stigma."

But as twists emerge virtually daily in newspapers here ï¿½ by week's end, a bodyguard resigned ï¿½ people worried aloud about damage that the scandal might do to the nation's 10th largest city, a place that has long struggled with a ragged reputation and economic scars.

Officials and business leaders are asking whether business prospects might shy away and whether the city becomes tarnished and loses state aid and political support.

"Image is important," said Maryann Mahaffey, the president of the City Council, which asked for an investigation. "It's unfortunate, because we're doing a lot of great things. We don't need that to get lost in the furor over this situation."

Some people here say Mr. Kilpatrick and his aides are immature. Ms. Mahaffey, who has been on the council for 30 years, said she did not believe that the mayor's troubles had much at all to do with his generation or his jewelry.

"I don't think it's his youth," Ms. Mahaffey, 78, said. "I think that it is very heady being the mayor of a big city."

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/24/2003 02:44:14 PM |

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Red, um Orange Alert!!

Feeling more secure yet?

States Moderating Response to Upgraded Alerts
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
State officials in charge of security are weighing the terrorism threat against the worst budget shortages in 50 years and tempering their response to heightened alerts

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/24/2003 02:37:52 PM |

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Republican leadership takes a dump on Republican moderates

from the NY Times

With Tax Cut Bill Passed, Republicans Call for One More Goal
By DAVID FIRESTONE

… "This ain't the end of it ï¿½ we're going to have some more," said Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the House majority leader, shortly before the 1:45 a.m. vote in which the House approved the tax plan. "Our budget says we're going to have $1.3 trillion in tax cuts, and you bet we're coming back for more."

… "The reason we have to sunset some of these taxes is because we had to fit within an artificial constraint of $350 billion," said Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas, referring to a large number of cuts within the bill that last for only a few years. "What we certainly hope to do is not to sunset these tax cuts, the tax relief for hardworking American families, but instead to allow these to go forward. We will pass new legislation to do it."

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/24/2003 02:35:11 PM |

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Almost done

Not much more blogging today - apparantly my sister already has the grill heating up. I need to time it so I get there before the food runs out but too late to ask me to help cook.

Meanwhile, here's Danziger. He's another clever one. Click the cartoon and you go to his page at the NY Times so you can see more clever stuff.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/24/2003 02:20:32 PM |

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One thing I like about The Boondocks

Another thing, actually. MacGruder can be cutting, incisive, but sometimes he's just funny as hell.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/24/2003 01:57:08 PM |

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The other CalPundit post

Never mind the specifics, you can read that yourself if you want. In an email exchange one of his right wing readers said:

It would be helpful to the credibility of left-liberal bloggers in general

Somebody tell me when right-wing bloggers became so solicitous of the left-wing's credibility. And whose judgement of the left's credibility is he suggesting they seek? Someone who ain't giving it up regardless?

It would be helpful to the credibility of right-conservative bloggers in general if they'd admit the WMD argument was bullshit, that Hans Blix did a good job (except in using the waffling language he did in his reporting), that disagreeing with the Bush regime isn't prima facie evidence you're a traitor, that there's a limit to how far you can cut taxes and still remain a nation…

I could go on. But as that wise man said, "What-EVA!"

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/24/2003 01:49:06 PM |

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Raise, call or fold

First blog this morning, haven't even scanned the news yet, was CalPundit. In his gentlemanly fashion he challenged his right-wing readers to put up or shut up:

If you want to lower taxes, fine. But you have to reduce spending too, and conservatives have been allowed for far too long to complain endlessly about big government without having to step up to the plate and tell us exactly what they want to cut back. So have at it. Then we can all take a look at your proposals and decide if they're worth it.

It's interesting to think about the comments to this post. The leftists, outside the occasional sardonic quip, are commenting about the question rather than answering it, for the most part. This makes perfect sense, because it's not the left that wants to starve the government into helplessness.

As for the right, Mark Safranski, alias ZenPundit, says:

Ok, I'll be brave. FDR never intended that Social Security would be a twenty year income maintenance program - raise the retirement age ( for able-bodied) to 70 for the boomers and 75 for Gen X.

DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT! A rational, well thought-out answer.

I HATE when that happens…

ZenPundit ain't blogrolled, but I'll contribute a link toward his evolution. In the best of all worlds, he'd bump that other right-wing Pundit and we'd have some intelligent conversation.

Fortunately, he was just trying to make up for a comment made by one "not for publication."

I've been saying this for years and recently over at Andy Sullivan's.[p6: THAT is a bad sign…]

The deficit has a very important aspect to it - we must ensure that whenever a Dem gets in office there is no money availble for any new government entitlement. Moreover, it is easier for a Dem to cut the budget politically.

In the long view, the most important aspect of real politics (as I see it) is to ensure the government does no more (less if possible) to pick winners in society - even in health (note my comments on your inevitability argument).

Ultimately any form of subversive campaign that works to ensure that goal helps to weaken the concept and satisfaction of government. This is simply a march away from Europe.

You DO NOT want President Hillary Clinton gaining office in 2008 with a balanced budget.

Go read what happened 2 days after Clinton was elected in 2008 [sic]. Hint: he met with Greenspan and Alan did his job. Clinton made his choice and was allowed another 4 years.

No insult intended, Mark, but you came up short. "not for publication" just dug too deep a hole with this nonsense. It's SO stupid it could easily be posted by a leftist as sarcasm.

Hm.

Even assuming "not for publication" is jerking the right around with that response, you still have "Friedrich von Blowhard":

What's actually fairly obvious when you look at it this way is that when the economy grows quickly, money floods into the public sector and then politicians go looking for ways to spend it. The social legislation of the 60's was the obvious consequence of the economic growth of the 1950s.

As a right-winger, what I find amusing in these comment strings is the assumption that it is absolutely right and proper for politicians to buy votes with money taken from other people--the only problem, apparently, is that politicians are just too gutless to expropriate the fat cats.

Like the "fat cats" aren't the ones that benefitted from all that expenditure and deficit spending. As a wise man once said, "What-EVA!"

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/24/2003 01:28:04 PM |

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May 23, 2003

Status

I get a big kick out of my server stats. You can see so much and at the same time it's so non-specific.

I've decided I'm pleased with the response I'm getting. At two months old I average 35 hits per day, which ain't bad given I do little self-promotion outside commenting as I wander the blogosphere. Not to mention that my major topic is the most controversial one out there. I'm still an amphibian, which is better than I expected, and the folks who've linked to me have been rather complimentary. I haven't seen a "hey, look at what this asshole wrote" yet outside Mighty Marduk. What pleases me most is

- around half of the referrers are "Unknown," which is to say folks have bookmarked the site
- the library section gets good hits as well
- 15-25% of the visitors do multi-page views.
- there's been no drop-off in the number of visitors, though it plateaued a bit at 30 per day.

I feel like the blog is of actual use to a couple of folks.

I tend to visit the pages that refer to mine, which is the ONLY way I found Marduk. And I visit the sites of folks that make interesting comments… one blog I visited because the blogger commented here stunned me when I read there I was one of his favorites. My first response was "How da fuk dat happen?" Second was to note that it's not just the "name brand" bloggers that can do a honest analysis of an issue. And Yvelle, Rent-A-Negro is satire… whether satire should be classified as a joke I leave you to decide. And I found a right-wing site, ZenPundit, in CalPundit's comments (on an affirmative action post, of course) that I found to be less than irrational. His motto:

'' Believe nothing even if I have said it unless it agrees with your reason and common sense '' ~ The Buddha

is something I can relate to, having gone through a long and intense Hindu/Buddhist/Mahayanist/Taoist period at the beginning and end of my philosophical wanderings. I could actually read his stuff, and once I find out if I have to leave the country or the USofA is going to return to (attain?) its senses, I might. And I seem to be getting involved in the Build A Meme Project, which is cool because I think along those lines anyway.

Lots of new mind food. Too many blogs to recount, many that I've visited once or twice because someone referred to them that seeded this thought or that one. Plus the blogroll. They ALWAYS drop knowlege on me, at least once a day.

As I said, I think I'm pleased with this blogging thing.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/23/2003 06:23:19 PM |

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This weekend

Blogging will be slowed a bit over the next few days. Barbeque, trying to convince someone to do something about this weather in NYC, and catching up on some projects I've committed to. "My Bondage and My Freedom" by Frederick Douglass will be added to The Public Library, sans several speeches in the appendix. The Attack on Civil Rights will, as promised this week, be updated with several links.

And I'll be digesting some information I've gathered on corporate connections with the current regime. In keeping with the principle "the friend of my enemy's friend probably has no good in mind for me," I need to decide how much stuff that may reflect on the DLC should go in there.

See, in my heart of hearts I'm non-partisan as hell because I don't really trust anyone to look after my permanent interest except those who share them. As I said in this post (never mind the broken image links in the archive, it's not worth the time it takes to fix them)

This is a major reason I'd align myself with the left. The right isn't considering the issues of importance to the Black folks that need to be drawn into the political process at all. They are considering the issues they think will resolve the problems they see ï¿½ to the right, "minority issues" means "issues I have with minorities." A large component of the Black community feels the left, or more particularly the Democratic party, deals with us the same way. I've had that thought as well, but the fact is there is significant agreement on the questions between the political left and the Black communuty. At least the questions get some light.

The DLC represents that wing of the Democratic Party that is most likely to maintain the status quo. And I don't think that's necessarily a good thing.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/23/2003 11:50:57 AM |

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Tulia

from the Houston Chronicle

Politicking goes on while Tulia 13 wait
By THOM MARSHALL

… So Austin is full of powerful politicians who know that what happened to you was wrong. These are intelligent folks who figured out how to win elections. They are talking about doing something, but not one of them has yet managed to turn a key and set you free.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/23/2003 11:10:24 AM |

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Understanding Republican Policy

from TalkingPointsMemo

Yesterday, in testimony before the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, Tom Ridge again declined to release the full transcripts of the taped conversations between his agency (DHS) and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) because the tapes were the subject of "potentially a criminal investigation."

… The chain of events and contacts connecting the Majority Leader to a criminal investigation is now drawing awfully tight. (Keep in mind: the entire redistricting map power grab was orchestrated from Washington by DeLay and it's increasingly apparent that much of the manhunt was too.) It'll be interesting to see whether this town's chief buzzmasters and propriety hounds start to take notice.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/23/2003 11:08:17 AM |

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Atrios says this is disturbing

I say it may be evil.

Afghans' uranium levels spark alert
By Alex Kirby
BBC News Online environment correspondent

A small sample of Afghan civilians have shown "astonishing" levels of uranium in their urine, an independent scientist says.

He said they had the same symptoms as some veterans of the 1991 Gulf war.

But he found no trace of the depleted uranium (DU) some scientists believe is implicated in Gulf War syndrome.

Other researchers suggest new types of radioactive weapons may have been used in Afghanistan.

… It says Nangarhar province was a strategic target zone during the Afghan conflict for the deployment of a new generation of deep-penetrating "cave-busting" and seismic shock warheads.

The UMRC says its team identified several hundred people suffering from illnesses and conditions similar to those of Gulf veterans, probably because they had inhaled uranium dust.

To test its hypothesis that some form of uranium weapon had been used, the UMRC sent urine specimens from 17 Afghans for analysis at an independent UK laboratory.

It says: "Without exception, every person donating urine specimens tested positive for uranium internal contamination.

"The results were astounding: the donors presented concentrations of toxic and radioactive uranium isotopes between 100 and 400 times greater than in the Gulf veterans tested in 1999.

"If UMRC's Nangarhar findings are corroborated in other communities across Afghanistan, the country faces a severe public health disaster... Every subsequent generation is at risk."

It says troops who fought in Afghanistan and the staff of aid agencies based in Afghanistan are also at risk.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/23/2003 10:50:36 AM |

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An explanation

Back when I first started commenting on blogs (about three days before I started this one) I called the Iraq invasion the "Kick the dog" war, as in your boss yells at you, then you go home and yell at your spouse, who spanks the child, who goes outside and kicks the dog. I felt from conversations this phenomenon explainedwhy people so readily believed Iraq and Hussein were responsible for the 9/11 attack.

Atrios pointed too a post by Slacktivist that gives an alternate explanation. As Atrios tersely puts it, "Just go read." I believe Slacktivist puts his finger on the reason for the rage expressed by the anti-antiwar people.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/23/2003 10:43:25 AM |

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You know what else I don't understand?

Why is anyone surprised that the best woman in the world at sport is better than a whole lot of males at that sport?

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/23/2003 10:22:10 AM |

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Understanding Republican Policy

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/23/2003 09:58:45 AM |

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You know what impresses me?

Those bloggers that havelike NO typos or grammatical slips. Most of my stuff is written on the fly, directly in Blogger. Therefore you get to see all the warts and hiccups.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/23/2003 12:25:19 AM |

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May 22, 2003

Understanding Republican Policy

Read It's Still the Economy, Stupid. Start reading here, and read the next two posts, at minimum. Extra credit for following the links to the authors' respective blogs.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/22/2003 11:37:27 PM |

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Understanding Republican Policy

via TalkingPointsMemo

Now, clearly, the ridiculousness is flying pretty fast and furious here. So let's take a moment to review. The DPS appears to have violated Texas state law by destroying the records. To justify this, they point to a federal regulation which a legal expert says is plainly inapplicable. And the very regulation they're trying to hang their hat on seems to bar the original conduct itself.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/22/2003 11:22:15 PM |

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Understanding Republican Policy

via Hesiod

Congressman Stirs Flap With Mexico
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
Times Staff Writer

5:43 PM PDT, May 22, 2003

Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., and several of his colleagues stood beside a large poster to dramatize their concern that more than 1 million IDs issued by Mexican consulates -- and accepted in the United States by many local authorities and banks -- are a form of amnesty for illegal immigrants.

The poster depicted a mock consular ID card with a picture of Mexican President Vicente Fox. It was captioned "Office for the Issuance of Illegal Alien ID." It listed Fox's occupation as "El Presidente," and the citizenship of his parents as "Unknown."

"I call it anti-Hispanic. You can quote me on that," said Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Texas.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/22/2003 11:19:36 PM |

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Promethean Position Paper III

There are no permanent friends. There are no permanent enemies. There are only permanent interests. The Republican Southern Strategy has made that party as close to a permanent enemy to me as possible because it is openly, actively hostile to my permanent interests. And worse, not honorable enough to be honest about their position because they know they'd lose a significant fraction of their non-extremist base.

Most registered Republicans are not bad people. Most are simply voting for what they've been led to believe are their interests. Most are being mislead.

There's a pattern to everything… but EVERYTHING makes the pattern. The HUMAN failing is in making patterns from parts and calling it the whole

Republican judicial and economic policy is like stripmining; It extracts resources so that any number of things can be created according to plan. Magnificent structures can be built with the materials so extracted. And what's left behind can even be said to have an austere elegance, a purely geometric beauty.

But nothing can live there.

5% of the population uses over 50% of the wealth to support their lifestyle. And those who set the Republican agenda have told the center they can join them in this luxurious structure they've constructed. Just wait on line, and you'll get in. But how can all of us live that lifestyle, even symbolically, when it eats so much of the world in its construction and maintainance.

We can't.

And somehow the 95% of us that live on the leftovers have been set against each other, as though one or another of us is taking all that space, all that wealth, all those resources.

This must change.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/22/2003 10:16:31 PM |

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Because even the most serious blogger needs a break now and then

Do you know the symptoms of Mad Cow Disease?

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/22/2003 05:16:17 PM |

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The Matrix

Republican style.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/22/2003 12:27:20 PM |

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Tom Toles is too good

How can I not post this?

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/22/2003 12:19:03 PM |

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How the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act powers have been used so far

TalkLeft tells us about how Justice Department has used its P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act powers, and provides a link to the report (PDF) that's going to have to be added to the Attack on Civil Rights page later today.

Among the findings:

~ The Department has used the new powers of the PATRIOT Act for non-terrorism cases (drug violations, credit card fraud, theft from a bank account, a lawyer who defrauded his clients).

~The Department has sought and the courts have authorized delayed notification of search warrants 47 times. Some courts have authorized delayed notification lasting until the indictment was unsealed. The Department has sought extensions of such delayed notifications 248 times.

~The Attorney General made emergency authorizations 113 times for FISA electronic surveillance and/or physical searches in a one-year period.[p6: twice a week??]

~Prior to moving to DHS, the INS did not charge any aliens with the expanded terrorism grounds of inadmissibility or deportability provided under section 411 of the PATRIOT Act.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/22/2003 11:36:12 AM |

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Channelling economists?

Either that or economic satire.Whichever it is, James R. MacLean posting at It's Still The Economy, Stupid does it quite successfully. In fact, he gets a twofer, by simultaneously blowing away the nonsense about the right wing producing better writers than the left

A Mercantilist Economist Responds:

My Dear Mssr. Bush:

It is with great apprehension I broach the matter of your economic stimulus plan, which peradventure was only attributed to your counselors by a most condign deviceï¿½

Methinks it would but ill boots your grace to take amiss at such well-meant words as I have to proffer. The purpose you undertake is dangerous; the institutions you name, uncertain; the time itself unsorted; and the whole plot too light for the counterpoise of so great an opposition. The tax cut on corporate dividends wouldst serve in another time marvelously well; I would well content me to endorse it when your exchequer is in better sorts, but the flight of treasure from these shores is of great urgency. God wot I hath in past days praised subsidies and immunities from taxes; but only companies bound to the service of the state.

Charles Davenant

A Classical Economist Weighs In:

To the Esteemed Mr. President:

In the matter of your proposed economic stimulus package, as cited in The Washington Post, I have undertaken to enlighten your discretion, and elevate your satisfactions, by the following advice.

You say you intend to stimulate investment in your country by a reduction in taxes on dividends. I say, well and good, if you wish to bring about in ensemble the abolition of just-such rent-seeking behavior as would bring your republic into fiscal balance. But be advised that such a course of action, while noble in the endeavor and virtuous in the execution, cannot be looked to as a source of exogenous stimulus. It is a canard to suppose that your state can endlessly reap bounties from deficit spending, when in fact such deficits merely tie up lendable funds.

Jean-Baptiste Say

A Keynesian Economist Responds:

Dear George,

At the risk of blowing a perfectly good opportunity to gloat, Old Boy, I'm going to dispense with the chortling references to how your crew heaped opprobrium on my name for about 24 years, utterly knocked me about like a disgraced maid aunt, and generally used the opportunities created thereby to peddle a bastardized version of the wholly benevolent advice I offered up to you decades ago. Oh, I could prophesy! But tell me, Dear Lad, what in God's name "supply side" is supposed to be the supply side of? Are we perchance talking about my policy recommendations as "demand side," whilst you muck about trying to cut taxes to run deficits? Well, I guess you ought to know I did include that in my general theory but I included constraints as to when one ought and oughtn't to stimulate with tax cuts.

John M. Keynes

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/22/2003 11:15:41 AM |

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Aw… we done hoit dey widdle feelings

Oliver Willis comments on a post by Jane Galt

There is an interesting post over on Jane Galt in which she essentially says that the fervor of Democrats opposed to Bush's presidency is of the same mind-bending ilk of Republicans in the 1990s.

… But what Jane has done in her post is effectively categorize legitimate Democratic dissent with the Bush power structure as just as kooky as the Tom Delays and Dick Armeys of the world. It is sadly another episode of the right telling the left, when the left finally acts up, that it should be quiet and act "civil".

I'm going to assume Jane Galt is correct.

If vitriol disturbs the right when directed at them, my response is, so what, too bad, yawn-yawn-yawn.

WHAT THE HELL KIND OF REACTION DO YOU EXPECT WHEN YOU SPEND ALL YOUR TIME DEMONIZING PEOPLE FOR THEIR HONORABLY HELD POSITIONS??

As you sow, so shall you reap the whirlwind. And it won't be the left that gets you. It will be the centrists who get tire of smelling bile every time they turn on the TV.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/22/2003 11:08:15 AM |

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May 21, 2003

Must be getting old

I lost track of the date entirely. Yesterday was the last installment of "Race," not the second.

_{oh, i am so embarrassed…}

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 11:06:44 PM |

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This ain't my turf, but I GOTTA comment

Atrios just reported that Michael Savage, hate radio savant, or his network has begun to sue his critics. So I follow the link to a site called savagestupidity.com, and they have links to the documents they were presented with.

HA!

The complaint is trademark infringement, and they want the site to give up the domain name and $10g. Why? Check this:

[5.] FACTUAL AND LEGAL GROUNDS

This Complaint is based on the following factual and legal grounds:

[a.] Respondentï¿½s <savagestupidity.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainantï¿½s registered MICHAEL SAVAGE trademark.

The only difference between Complainantï¿½s MICHAEL SAVAGE mark and the disputed domain name is the replacement of the word "Michael" with "stupidity". The Respondentï¿½s domain name is also confusingly similar to the Complainantï¿½s <themichaelsavageshow.com>, <thesavageshow.com>, <michaelsavage.info>, and <michaelsavage.biz> domain names.

The domain name isn't "stupiditysavage.com" as far as I can see.

Now that I think about it though, savagestupidity is a pretty good synonym for themichaelsavageshow.

The complaint also says:

Respondent does not use the domain name or a name corresponding to the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services.

on page four of the complaint and

Respondent is also using to sell merchandise, including hats, t-shirts, coffee mugs, aprons, license plate frames, and clocks emblazoned with the words "savagestupidty.com". The Respondentï¿½s domain name also recommends and displays books that Web users may purchase by providing a direct link to purchase the book at <amazon.com>.

on page five.

This complaint is invalid on the face of it. On the other hand, Savage also complains about a boilerplate boycott letter on the site and says the whole site exists for no reason except to disrupt his business. Which may well be true. But if a win by Savage can be used as precident against the Republican Team Leaders it might be worth it.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 07:28:53 PM |

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Duke to J. … Duke to J.

You were right. Sharkanski's crew is str8 ignant. When some fool says of affirmative action programs "you've had 30 years to mend it. It's time to end it," like there wasn't ten years of fierce opposition on both ends of that span, like thirty years (much less ten) was enough to address the structural inequities … not to mention that personal racism in the minds of those who endured the middle ten years only until a better strategy to resist was found … well, I hope the centrists and liberals out there see the hypocrasy because I have a bad feeling the Conservatives aren't even aware of how much of of a little bitch they're being.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 05:56:42 PM |

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Background reading for "Race - The Power of an Illusion"

Genetics, human variation, evolution, scientific classification and more.

Topic	Name	Description
	Ten Things Everyone Should Know about Race	A printer-friendly version of our quick facts about race (see the What Is Race section of this Web site).
race, medicine, classification, genetics, social construction	WashingtonPost.com - Online Chat with Pilar Ossorio May 1, 2003 PLEASE NOTE: this link will open a new browser window with content from outside the RACE Web site. Close the browser window to return to this site.	TRANSCRIPT OF LIVE CHAT - Legal scholar and microbiologist Pilar Ossorio fields questions from viewers about science, medicine, racial classification, and more.
race and medicine	Unlikely Mix: Race, Biology and Drugs	OP ED BY TROY DUSTER - Can we create drugs that target different races? Should we? An exploration of some of the pitfalls of a recent study.
race and genetics	Race and Gene Studies: What Differences Make a Difference?	ESSAY BY LARRY ADELMAN - What, if anything, does genetics tell us about race? How do we make sense of recent genetic discoveries that seem to follow racial lines?
genetics, biology, health, classification, law	Interview with Pilar Ossorio, legal scholar and microbiologist	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - Covering a wide range of topics biological notions of race, how race is socially real, health consequences of race, drug company research, classification.
genetics, biology, human variation, skin color	Interview with Richard Lewontin evolutionary biologist	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - how much genetic variation really exists between people? Can genetic research help us unlock human differences?
history of science, 19th century, medicine	Interview with Evelynn Hammonds, historian of science	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - 19th century race science, race and medicine, how scientists are influenced by their social context, etc.
genetics, biology, athletics	Interview with Joseph Graves, Jr., evolutionary biologist	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - are certain races athletically superior? How much genetic diversity is there among humans?
anthropology, biology, human variation, genetics, evolution	Interview with Alan Goodman, biological anthropologist	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - what are our assumptions about biology and race? What's the difference between looking at race as a social idea and a scientific one? What other explanations exist for why we look different?
anthropology, biology, athletics, classification, human variation, genetics, history of science	Interview with Jonathan Marks, physical anthropologist	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - why doesn't it make sense to classify people into races? How do we sort through all our confusion about genetics, biology and things like athletic ability? Where did our traditional notions of race come from?
evolution, genetics, history of science, biology, anthropology	Interview with Stephen Jay Gould, evolutionary biologist	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - why did different skin colors evolve? where did the term Caucasian come from? are scientists biased by their beliefs?

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 05:34:03 PM |

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Background reading for "Race - The Power of an Illusion"

Law, immigration, housing, the wealth gap, census, racial classification and more.

Topic	Name	Description
census, racial classification	What Does the Census Tell Us about Race?	ESSAY BY JEAN CHENG - a brief overview of how our racial categories have changed over time, both reflecting and shaping our political and social priorities.
white advantage, wealth, housing	A Long History of Racial Preference - for Whites	ESSAY BY LARRY ADELMAN - how has race affected whites? A look at how institutions and public policies have benefited whites at the expense of other groups.
wealth, housing, white advantage	Interview with Dalton Conley, sociologist	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - what is the relationship between housing and wealth? Why does wealth matter and what does this have to do with race?
white advantage, stereotyping, race relations, psychology	Interview with Beverly Daniel Tatum, psychologist	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - does everyone experience race the same way? how do our cultural experiences shape our perceptions of other people? how do we unknowingly recreate racism?
wealth, housing, white advantage	Interview with Melvin Oliver, sociologist	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - does everyone have the same opportunities to get ahead? why did the wealth gap between blacks and whites come from, and what should we do about it?
white advantage, wealth, housing, segregation, colorblind, public policy, law	Interview with john a. powell, legal scholar	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - how is race socially constructed? why can't we get rid of the concept? how do whites benefit without having to do anything? what can we do about residential segregation and inequality?
white advantage, race relations, colorblind, affirmative action	Interview with Nancy DiTomaso, sociologist	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - how do whites feel about race, affirmative action and racial inequality? To find out, Nancy DiTomaso interviewed white people throughout the United States.
housing, public policy, segregation, racism	What We Need To Do About The 'Burbs PLEASE NOTE: this link will open a new window with content from outside the RACE web site. Close the browser window to return to this site.	Why is attacking suburban sprawl crucial to anti-racist work? In his interview with Colorlines' Executive Editor Bob Wing, john a. powell discusses regionalism, segregation, concentrated poverty and urban strategies.
racial classification, colorblind, racism	Racial Privacy Initiative: An invitation to racial discrimination PLEASE NOTE: this link will open a new window with content from outside the RACE web site. Close the browser window to return to this site.>	Andy Barlow and Troy Duster reveal why the racial privacy initiative encourages racial discrimination by making it impossible to monitor and enforce non-discrimination laws.
white advantage, affirmative action	Whites Swim in Racial Preference PLEASE NOTE: this link will open a new window with content from outside the RACE web site. Close the browser window to return to this site.	Tim Wise recounts a long history of racial preferences for whites as he examines the controversy surrounding the University of Michigan's affirmative action program.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 04:55:46 PM |

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Background reading for "Race - The Power of an Illusion"

Slavery, the origins of race, ancient views of difference, 19th century race science, and more.

Topic	Name	Description
origins of race, U.S. history, world history	The Historical Origins and Development of Racism	ARTICLE BY GEORGE FREDRICKSON - a brief overview of the evolution of the race concept in the West.
origins of race, slavery, racism, classification, U.S.history	Presentation by Historian Barbara J. Fields	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - how race was created to justify American slavery and how race, or racism, is inherently non-neutral.
origins of race, slavery	Africans, Slavery and Race	SUMMARY BY JOHN CHENG - Was it inevitable that Africans would be imported to the Americas to become slaves? Did European views about racial inferiority contribute to the fact of New World African slavery?
origins of race, slavery	Interview with James O. Horton,historian	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - the fluidity of racial identities in early colonial America, the long history of slavery not based on race, how the rationalization of slavery continues to affect us today.
racial classification, law, whiteness, early racialidentity, U.S. history	Interview with Robin D.G. Kelley, historian	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - how did early American peoples see themselves? how is race socially constructed? how is racism more than just individual prejudice and fear?
origins of race, anthropology, slavery, early ideas	Interview with Audrey Smedley, anthropologist	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - how is race a modern concept? why were Africans enslaved? What role did 19th century ethnologists and race scientists play in shaping our understanding of race?
Native American and American Indian, U.S. history, Manifest Destiny, Indian policy, early English-indian encounters	Interview with Theda Perdue, historian	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - how have ideas of race changed and affected the treatment of Native Americans and the self-identity of tribes like the Cherokee - from the early encounter with British colonists to today?
freedom, slavery, origins of race, early colonial history	Interview with Ira Berlin, historian	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - what was early colonial Virginia like? how are race and freedom tied together? what is the tension in American history with regard to race?
origins of race, slavery	The Origin of the Idea of Race	ARTICLE BY AUDREY SMEDLEY - how race was institutionalized in the 19th century as a worldview, a set of cultural attitudes and assumptions about human group differences.
Native American and American Indian, U.S. history, early English-indian encounters	Interview with Karen Ordahl Kupperman, historian	EDITED TRANSCRIPT - how did the English and Native peoples of America view themselves and each other at the time of their first encounter? Why did the English colonize North America?

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 04:45:44 PM |

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The problem with my blogroll

When you thoroughly vet your entries, you wind up with a bunch of stuff you want to read every day… more than you can get to, actually. And they tend to give you links to stuff you want to read all of as well.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 12:41:50 PM |

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Joe Scarborough and Danny Glover

dystopia of The Daily Dystopian comments tersely and concisely. Follow the links.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 12:02:09 PM |

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Hitler (oops, there goes Godwin's Law!)

Hesiod does a nice analysis of how the Hitler miniseries, despite good intentions, comes up short in the social responsibility department. In essence he says they disregard the social and political conditions that made a Hitler possible. It's a good read.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 11:41:47 AM |

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Black Bikers Beware

I've quoted pretty extensively because I get the feeling this is a complicated issue. Myrtle Beach's argument could actually be valid, but the when you add human reactions into the mix, well, see the comment from the sister that was handcuffed in front of her kids.

from the NY Times

Suit Charges Bias at Rally for Black Bikers
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

WASHINGTON, May 20 ï¿½ A group of black motorcycle riders filed suit today against the city of Myrtle Beach, S.C., and various businesses, accusing them of discrimination during Black Bike Week, the biggest African-American biker rally in the country.

Plaintiffs say the event, held in South Carolina each Memorial Day weekend, has been marred by excessive police force, intrusive traffic laws and a hostility that flows from the shell-encrusted fringes of the Atlantic Ocean to the doors of the local Denny's.

"I've seen it myself," said Craig Williams, a Baltimore police detective who is a rider. "When the white bikers come to Myrtle Beach, the town rolls out the red carpet. When the black riders come, they roll it right up."

… The predominantly white bike week, which has been going on for 63 years, is called Harley-Davidson Week and finished up last weekend. The mostly black event, called the Atlantic Beach Bike Fest, or Black Bike Week, starts on Thursday

… The city's response: they are different.

"Black Bike Week is rowdier, younger and much more crowded," said Mayor Mark McBride of Myrtle Beach.

City officials say Black Bike Week is nearly twice the size of Harley Week (375,000 people compared with 200,000 last year). That is why, they say, they change the streets to a one-way system and employ 550 police officers, compared with 300 for Harley Week.

"You need more cops for more people," said the police chief, Warren Gall.

Another difference between the two events, city officials said, is that Harley Week revolves more around concerts and contests, while Black Bike Week is all about cruising.

"It's guys looking for girls looking for guys," Chief Gall said.

… That does not mean much to Washica Little, a plaintiff in the case. At the news conference, Mrs. Little said the police had humiliated her in front of her children.

"I'm sick of getting categorized as someone I'm not, " said Mrs. Little, a real estate broker from Greenville, S.C. Mrs. Little does not even ride a motorcycle. She drives a Mercedes.

And that is just it, say the plaintiffs, which include a South Carolina chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Black Bike Week may have begun around 20 years ago as a small gathering of motorcycle enthusiasts in the predominantly all-black community of Atlantic Beach, just up the coast. But now it is a major African-American event, not bound to bikes. Some people describe it as "Black Fill-in-the-Blank Week," a time to listen to music or go to the beach or meet singles or just relax at a resort that one weekend a year is packed with African-Americans.

Despite the large draw on Memorial Day weekend, or perhaps because of it, many businesses close. In a state human rights complaint filed today, the plaintiffs named 28 Myrtle Beach restaurants that they said shut their doors last year or cut back on hours, including Red Lobster and Denny's.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 11:18:15 AM |

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Another one who couldn't stomach it anymore

from the NYTimes

Whitman, E.P.A. Administrator, Resigns
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ASHINGTON -- Christie Whitman, often at odds with the Bush White House over environmental issues and a lightning rod for the administration's critics, resigned Wednesday as head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Whitman said in a letter to President Bush that she was leaving to spend time with family. [p6: you know what THAT means…]

"As rewarding as the past two-and-a-half years have been for me professionally, it is time to return to my home and husband in New Jersey, which I love just as you do your home state of Texas," she wrote Bush.

… With Bush's re-election campaign gearing up, the White House has told senior staff and Cabinet members that if they are thinking of leaving the administration, this is the time to resign; otherwise, they will be expected to remain aboard until after the 2004 election if Bush wins a second term. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer announced Monday that he will resign in July.

… "Christie Whitman must feel like her own long national nightmare is over," said Philip Clapp, president of the National Environmental Trust, an advocacy group. "No EPA administrator has ever been so consistently and publicly humiliated by the White House."

Poor Whitman… she was an up-and-coming when she accepted this post, but she disappeared for the most part after some disageements based on a desire to actually do her job. She must seriously feel like she's been had.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 11:04:34 AM |

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Trust me. I'm from the government

from EWeek.com

May 20, 2003
TIA Gets New Name, Old Questions Persist
By Caron Carlson

The Pentagon's research arm, in a report released Tuesday, changed the name of its mammoth electronic surveillance project following public outcry, but concerns that the project will unnecessarily invade privacy without necessarily improving national security remain strong.

Jim Dempsey, executive director of the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington, said he was encouraged that the report recognized that the effectiveness of a project like TIA should be evaluated before it is deployed.

"They acknowledge that a threshold question is effectiveness," Dempsey told eWEEK. "They acknowledge that the law has imposed very few limits on what [data] they can get and how they can get it."

Do they acknowlege that any problems they find must be addressed by law instead of policy? Policy can be changed at the drop of a hat. With law they must at least take the effort of closing the door to the smoke-filled back room.

Of course, the ACLU has commentary on this issue, which includes links to more detailed examinations than can be presented in a press release or blog post. I'll be harvesting those links for the Attack on Civil Rights page before this post dies of old age.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 10:55:42 AM |

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Laughing at stuff that ain't funny

Ben Sargent

Tom Toles (Yesterday)

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 10:38:29 AM |

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The last Jayson Blair post

Read today's Boondocks and Tom Toles cartoons. See? I'm being good and not stealing stuff.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 10:36:10 AM |

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We interrupt this empire…

I still have an attachment to the Bay area, so I peek in on what's happening over there when I get wistful.

from sf.indymedia.org

WE INTERRUPT THIS EMPIRE... SCREENS JUNE 10TH AND JUNE 11TH AT THE RED VIC MOVIE HOUSE
What happens when a trigger-happy cowboy with a pocket full of loot aims his guns on an oil-rich, people-poor nation?

The San Francisco Video Activist Network presents the story you won't see on Fox News: an eye-popping, jaw-dropping look at the Bay Area's radical resistance to an illegal war. WE INTERRUPT THIS EMPIRE... screens Tuesday, June 10th at 7:15 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. and Wednesday, June 11th at 2 p.m., 7:15 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. at the Red Vic Movie House in San Francisco. Regular admission is $6.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 10:23:42 AM |

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Decisions, decisions

Here it is Wednesday morning and I still haven't completed my evil plan for the weekend. On consideration I decided not to do a book reportish cover page for "The Black Experience in America" because I'm not likely to do it for everything scheduled to be added to The Public Library. To be honest, I haven't read a lot of the public domain stuff I'll be putting in there so I can't do justice to all of them.

I have made a few final design decisions on the blog. I've defined some CSS for three different kinds of quotes: extracts from source pages I'm linking to or presenting, quotes and commentary from other blogs and my own commentary when I feel simulating a threaded discussion make for more clarity. There'll be some flex and some errors, and maybe some tweaking of colors but basically that's what I'm doing. Fortunately for you all, that means I leave Dreamweaver and rollovers and stuff in the box under the desk.

I needed to stop tweaking the CSS because content is more important anyway. So on that note, the next text for The Public Library, "My Bondage and My Freedom" by Frederick Douglass, is scheduled to be posted this weekend. I think I can do a text per week without undue hardship… I have a pretty good working relationship with HTML-Kit. I've also decided to remove the Presidential Campaign 2004 page; because I have no attachment at all to any candidate, other people are doing a much better job of keeping up with the one they in particular support. I'll just link to relevant posts like a good little blogger. And my final major decision of the week is to add material to The Attack on Civil Rights about the corporate influence on the Bush administration.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 10:15:45 AM |

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Science Journals

Living Code, a Corante-hosted blog on "biology, information, data and genomics," just reminded me of a link in my bookmarks you might want to know about if you know folks that are into such stuff. Highwire Press hosts the content of a whole bag of science journals that allow free access to their reports and such. In general they have to age a little and some allow free trial access, but some of the sites allow free access to everything.

For college students this is an excellent resource. Not only do they linkify the supporting references within the reports, they apparently (because I haven't checked this part out personally I need to retain some deniability here) add links at the end of the report to newer submissions on the same subject. This would enable researchers to see if the information presented in the report held up.

Future Links
Now scroll a little further down, past the References. This is something that you have never seen before and something that can only happen because of the database that Highwire has constructed. These are links forward in time, to papers published more recently that cite this paper. The first one was published this last month! This is brand new.

What Has Changed
One of the difficult things when examining a paper even a few years old is determining just how much has changed; have the conclusions of the paper held up or been overturned; where is the bleeding edge of research today; what path did it take?. Normally you have to do some keyword seaches to find something recent on the field and do some detective work. Now, for the first time, you can link forward to articles that will help you find out the answers to these questions.

Nice concept.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 09:32:52 AM |

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Has race always been with us?

In my tradition of posting stuff so long that people don't want to read it, I present to you the answers to the above questions provided by three of the experts PBS and California Newsreel recruited for the series "Race - The Power of an Illusion." The site has their credentials; I'm satisfied with their statements.

Audrey Smedley

Today, historians and social scientists in the Western world have reached the conclusion that the concept of "race" is a modern idea; it did not exist before the 17th century and came into fruition gradually during the 18th century. Despite wide physical variation among populations of the Ancient World, centering on the Mediterranean and Middle East, none of the peoples there divided their populations into distinct and exclusive groups called races.

In the U.S., race ideology, as a body of beliefs and attitudes about human differences, evolved in the wake of the establishment of slavery only for Africans and their descendants. The invention of race was primarily a product of efforts to justify slavery and the continuing conquest and exploitation of Native Americans on the basis of "natural" difference and inferiority. Race from its beginning was a mechanism denoting social ranking and inequality of human groups.

Race came into the American consciousness as a way of expressing social distinctions in a population with considerable physical variation. Skin color, hair texture, nose shape and size, and eye shape, were some of the features Americans used as markers of race status in the 18th century. When Chinese and Japanese immigrants began to arrive in North America in the 19th century, their physical features also became interpreted as evidence of an inferior race status.

During the late 19th and 20th centuries, racial ideology spread and was incorporated into the cultures of many other nations, particularly where there existed some form of continuing inter-ethnic, or inter-group conflict. The process of racialization of an out-group even spread into areas where large physical differences were absent (e.g., Japanese racialization of Koreans).

George M. Fredrickson

Racism exists when one ethnic group or historical collectivity dominates, excludes, or seeks to eliminate another on the basis of differences that it believes are hereditary and unalterable. An ideological basis for explicit racism came to a unique fruition in the West during modern times.

During the Renaissance and Reformation, the official rationale for enslaving Africans was that they were heathens: non-Christian. But when Virginia decreed in 1667 that converted slaves could be kept in bondage not because they were actual heathens but because they had heathen ancestry, the justification for Black servitude changed from religious status to something approaching race.

During the Enlightenment, 18th-century ethnologists began to think of humans as part of the natural world, subdivided into three to five varieties of a single human species. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, an increasing number of writers, especially those committed to the defense of slavery, maintained that the races were separate species. After emancipation, racism was intensified rather than diminished. In particular, social Darwinism helped foster a new and more credible scientific racism that remained respectable and influential in the U.S. and Europe until World War II.

Hitler, it has been said, gave racism a bad name. People's moral revulsion against the extremes of Nazi Germany, reinforced by new scientific discoveries, served to finally discredit overt scientific racism. Biological racism, however, is not a thing of the past. Discrimination by institutions and individuals against those perceived as racially different can long persist and even flourish under the illusion of non-racism, as historians of Brazil have recently discovered. The use of allegedly deep-seated cultural differences to justify hostility and discrimination against newcomers from the Third World in several European countries has led to allegations of a new "cultural racism."

James O. Horton

Historically, people may have defined those who were different from themselves as what some have termed the Other, but it wasn't rooted in physical diffference, and wasn't the same as our notions of race today. Modern racism came into existence to justify slavery as an institution in North America.

American slavery is distinctive because it is the first system based on race, or innate difference. In many parts of the world, those captured in battle were often enslaved. Anyone could be enslaved if they were on the losing side. But only in America do you get this special category of human bondage. Ironically, that's because we are the first to propose that man has God-given natural rights.

There's a moral contradiction between espousing the lofty ideal of equality and having slaves form the foundation of your economy. To avoid looking like a hypocrite, you come up with a story that says, "There's something different about these people. This whole business of inalienable rights is fine, but it doesn't apply to everyone." Once you recognize the necessity of trying to justify slavery in the land of freedom, you start to build a case specifically geared to tell the world that these people are different.

But that means when slavery is over, the rationale remains. And it takes on new incarnations. The most destructive part of the American experience is the rationalization of this special category of human bondage. Although slavery is long gone, the rationale continues to divide us and makes it difficult for us to be the kind of nation that we really want to be, and ought to be.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/21/2003 12:27:44 AM |

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May 20, 2003

Race, The Power of an Illusion

I missed last night's showing of the first episode. If it even approached the quality of tonight's episode that was a grievious error. This may well be the best exposition on the nature and history of race and racism produced to date. I bought a copy of "Africans in America," an earlier PBS series. Actually, I joined a PBS station at the $120 level to get it… quite a premium over the price of the tapes, but I did it to signal to PBS my approval of the show. I may wind up doing the same with this one.

"Africans in America" was a powerful, important series on the development of slavery in the USofA, but it turns out the history of racism, though rooted in slavery, isn't the same thing as a history of slavery. Episode two of "Race" points this out by documenting the vagarities of racial classification, making interesting observations like:

In Virginia, a Black person was legally defined as a person with 1/16^th or more African ancestry. In Florida it was 1/8^th. In Alabama it was one drop. So you could change race by moving to another state.
Citizens had to be either Black or white, with full citizenship rights going to white people.
A Japanese man who applied for citizenship was denied on the "scientific" basis that he was of the "Mongolian race"
Three months later the same Supreme Court denied an (Asian) Indian his bid for citizenship because "science" didn't matter… the Supreme Court ruled that white was what white people thought it was, so the fact that he had Aryan ancestry was overruled by the opinion of the "common man"

But it also has a strong focus on the development of the disparity in wealth between the Black and white communities. In the process it delves into the Federal regulations that caused the near absolute segregation we now have in housing and schools, actually forced property values to fall when minorities of any race bought suburban property, and created an economic reason for "white flight."

The third and last episode airs tomorrow in my area. I won't be missing this one.

I've previously mentioned the web site supporting the show, which is an excellent resource. The only problem with it is it pops up new windows for all the content. Some of that content is of particular importance, so tomorrow I intent to post links to the background reading they provide. I want to make it as easy as possible for interested people to get to this information. This isn't a list of books, it's a collection of essays and transcripts of interviews used to prepare the series, in three categories: Race in science, history and society. You'll see strong support to dispute racist positions, explain the nature of structural racism-that racism that's actually built into the system that penalizes minorities without any conscious intent necessary on the part of those that benefit from the imbalances. And I'm going to research up documentation for a statement that was made: that when you control for wealth and income, there is no difference between Blacks and whites in any area of social concern.

I got work to do. And I'm going to enjoy doing it.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/20/2003 11:58:29 PM |

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Stop, thief!

Well, Frank told me where he got the HTML to put that Congresscritter lookup form he uses, so I didn't have to steal his after all. It was from Capital Advantage, which is a consulting firm that will set up a political activist web site for you. They expose a lot of the functionality they can provide for the public to use, and one of the things they give out is the look-up form. Good functionality, and since it takes you to their site it's good advertising too. I just tweaked it so the colors and fonts match the rest of the right sidebar and it's good to go.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/20/2003 01:39:30 PM |

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I thought I was done for the morning

Then I went by Cowboy Khalil's ranch. Read that stuff.

And read Tom Tole's comic for today. Because I promised not to steal his stuff for a while.

And Ben Sargent's cartoon too. I didn't promise not to steal his stuff, but posting a link is easier since I got this post going already.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/20/2003 10:41:14 AM |

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The corporate ~~police~~welfare state

"Welfare mothers" (=women who gave birth to welfare?) never had it so good.

from The Register, via Atrios

MCI wins Iraq gig, shovels $500m to shareholders
By Drew Cullen
Posted: 19/05/2003 at 15:51 GMT

MCI has won the gig to build Iraq's mobile phone network. The value of the contract is undisclosed.

Sensibly, the US Government ignored demands from Congressman Darrell Issa (R., San Diego) to ditch the outdated, 'French' GSM option, in favour of an All-American Qualcomm CDMA network. Technical considerations aside, the Middle East is an all GSM-zone. It makes sense for Iraq to be GSM too.

It's been a good couple of days for MCI, the company formerly known as Worldcom. Today the company agreed to pay shareholders $500m, around one week's revenue, in a settlement with the SEC over fraud charges concerning $9bn, give or take a billion, in inflated revenues. [p6: emphasis added]

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/20/2003 10:26:57 AM |

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This is a solicited editorial

Davey D mentioned the Dixie Chicks in his newsletter (relevant section below). And I should be respectful and all, especially since they posed nekkid for us, but every time I hear their name, I think back to this gay comedian whose name I really wish I remembered. He was listing all these changes he'd like to see in the media, and among them was this gem: "I want to see a group of transvestite country-western singers called the Chicksy Dicks."

I fell out laughing. I've been wanting to write about that ever since the Dixie Chicks thing blew up.

Another thing. Long years ago, I used to email with this guy, a brother and actor in LA, and I'm in NYC. Came the point he felt it necessary to let me know he was gay and I was like, "So?"

He said, well, a lot of straight guys have problems or feel threatened by gay men. I just told him if his dick was long enough to threaten me, I'd have heard of him a long time ago.

I'm establishing my bonafides here. Y'all gay folks, to me, is just another bunch of muhfugga I'm going to hang with or not depending on if you're an idiot or not. And I'm establishing my position because I'm about to talk a little bit about something J posted at Silver Rights. That brilliant teacher that called the kid "nigger" twice to teach him not to use "gay" as a synonym for "uncool." She's got a followup, maybe the fastest one I've seen her post, so the feedback must have been kinda thick. In said followup, she writes:

I believe I did give insufficient weight to the usage of 'gay' as a slam by teenagers.

However, I have not changed my mind about Emanuels.

This is cool. But she also says:

I had to take issue with a couple of young gay men who actually approved of the teacher calling the student a 'nigger,' I think on the grounds of oneupmanship. One does not improve the status of one's own minority group by putting other minority groups down.

Now, positioning another group is a proven way to advance the relative position of your minority. Before they became white, European immigrant groups did it to Black folks with great success. But I'm hoping that's not what they really want to do.

What you should want to do is school the kids properly. And the teacher has a techie background,, 15 years with Microsoft-it's probably dangerous for me to say this on the Internet, but that doesn't suggest the highest degree of social skills. As one of the students said:

… a role model shouldn't use that language to prove a point. "He's an adult, and adults have more sense than kids do," he said.

Indeed. Maybe the teacher should have taught before being unleashed on the kids.

But I digress. Point is, what the teacher did wasn't teaching, it wasn't even justice. It was revenge, and it sets a bad precident. I'm not as hype about it as J. is, but the proper way to handle it would be to create real repercussions for such language. If I were the teacher, I'd have announced that such disparaging language isn't tolerated by the school district and even less by myself. Therefore, we have a new policy in this class. Anyone who uses such terminology (and you little knotheads know what I'm talking about, so don't get funny and ask for a list) you get penalized. One point off your average this grading period the first time you do it. Two points off the second time. Three points off the third, and so on. In MY class, you can fail by being stupid, or by being ignorant.

Knowlege is the key. Justice is the goal. You may quote me on that.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/20/2003 08:57:20 AM |

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from Davey D, via TheBlackList

HIP HOP APPRECIATION WEEK.

The purpose of the 6th Annual Hiphop Appreciation Week (May 18th-25th, 2003) is to continue decriminalizing Hiphop's public image and promote the unity of Hiphop Kulture. Plans for the 6th Annual Hiphop Appreciation Week have already begun! All suggestions, endorsements and approvals for the 6th Annual Hiphop Appreciation Week events can be emailed to [email protected].

This year our theme is responsibility. Lets us take time during this week to be conscious of how Hiphop looks and acts in society. There is no reason to sit around wondering what you can do to help promote or assist in the success of the 6th Annual Hiphop Appreciation Week (May 18th-25th 2003). The following is a definitive list of
activities and suggested projects for anyone with a sincere desire to get involved. Whether you are a Deejay, record label executive, journalist, parent, B-boy or girl, Graffiti Artist, Emcee, politician, radio personality/programmer, etc., you are listed below with helpful hints to make the 6th Annual Hiphop Appreciation Week 2003 a success!

If you need any assistance launching a Hiphop Appreciation Week event in your area please do not hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected] or 877- 310-0396. It goes without saying; you should pass this information on to everyone you know who loves Hiphop!

Hiphoppas: Within the theme of responsibility, the Temple of Hiphop encourages Hiphoppas to do what they are supposed to do when they are supposed to do it. Be aware of those who depend upon you; and always be aware of how your performance affects others. The attuned Hiphoppa upholds an image of trustworthiness and can be depended upon. In all thoughts and actions, attuned Hiphoppas are responsible people. We do not unnecessarily break promises and/or commitments.

During this time, May 18th-25th 2003, Hiphoppas are encouraged to honor their ancestors, reflect upon their cultural contributions and appreciate the elements and principles of Hiphop Kulture.

Emcees Take time to write two conscious rhymes/songs this week that will uplift and inspire others to better themselves. Remain conscious and mindful of the power behind the words you speak and how they affect your life and your environment. Speak or perform publicly in a way that enhances the unity of Hiphop. Battling is prohibited this week.

Graffiti Artists Draw two socially conscious graf pieces this week in your artwork and/or draw a portrait of a true Hiphop pioneer. Take your Graf crew and visit a local school, prison or youth home to talk about the responsibilities of the Graffiti Artist and how Graffiti Art is not vandalism. Graffiti Artist can also design flyers for the 6th
Annual Hiphop Appreciation Week. Bombing and tagging is prohibited this week.

B-Boys/B-Girls Talk to everyone you know about Hiphop Appreciation Week. Take your crew and visit a youth center or local school to educate young Hiphoppas on the history of B-boys/B-girls and Hiphop Kulture. Display your Breakin, Poppin, Lockin and Uprockin dance moves publicly. Battling is prohibited this week.

Deejays Play more conscious Rap music classics. Showcase a specific artist that has influenced Hiphop Kulture. Give them public thanks. Include Hiphop Appreciation Week information in your mix. Play the Temple of Hiphop's public service announcements. Spread the word about Hiphop Appreciation Week. Battling is prohibited this week.

Radio Stations Upgrade your conscious Rap music programming. Have your mix show Deejays cut, scratch and play conscious Rap music classics. Have the visiting Rap artist do radio drops in celebration of Hiphop Appreciation Week with this year's theme of responsibility. You can also do interviews on the techniques of settling disputes, family planning and domestic relations. This week is a great time to memorialize those Hiphoppas that have passed away.

Television Stations Upgrade your conscious Rap video programming. Produce or re-air shows that explain the History of Hip-Hop. You can air the following movies/documentaries: Wild Style, Krush Groove, Scratch, Beat Street, Style Wars and/or Rhyme and Reason. You can also do interviews on responsibility and the meaning of commitment. You can also memorialize those Hiphoppas that have passed away.

Hiphop and Rap Publications In your June issue you can interview and/or honor Hiphop's originators and pioneers. You can publish articles on Hip Hop's history, meaning and purpose. It's been an estimated 33 years since the emergence of our modern Hiphop expressions and 23 years since the first major Rap recording. With this in mind, you can give thanks to Hiphop as a great inner-city strategy toward improved health, love, awareness and wealth.

Internet Subscribers and Hiphop websites Those that have legitimate Hiphop websites and would like to support Hiphop Appreciation Week may do so by posting this and other Hiphop appreciation Week information on their sites. Web links can be organized as well. Be creative!

Educators and Student Groups Hold discussions on the future of Hiphop, Hiphop's culture and Hiphop's expressions. You can also organize lectures on the preservation of Hiphop and its contribution to popular culture worldwide. A discussion on Hiphop's political potential can also be effective. Visit templeofhiphop.org for accurate and helpful
Hiphop lesson plans. The Temple of Hiphop has lecturers and Kultural Specialist that can accurately speak on the subject of Hiphop and its preservation. Elementary through High School students can do reports on issues such as Rap and its influence on youth, Graffiti Art vs. Vandalism, The responsibility of a Deejay, When I grow up I want to be a Rapper, Breaker, Graffiti artist, Deejay, etc. (and why) and How Hiphop has affected family life. They can also pledge, in their written essays, to take responsibility for how Hiphop shall grow and develop in their communities.

We also urge you to contact other Hiphop organizations such as Zulu Nation, The Rock Steady Crew, The TAT's Cru, The Rap Coalition, Rhythm Cultural Institute and others for more accurate and helpful Hiphop information.

News Media Print, video and/or audio formats can alert the public before, during and after Hiphop Appreciation Week on our theme of responsibility. Those journalist working in print media must remember to spell Hiphop beginning with a capital H-Hiphop or Hip Hop. Such a spelling is not only grammatically correct, (Hiphop is a proper noun) but all cultures and nations are spelled beginning with a capital letter. Such a spelling is simply a matter of respect. In addition to our main theme of responsibility, it is of great importance that you report the fact that Hiphop has taken an initiative to clean up its own act. Not that we are on a bash gangster Rap crusade, but that some of us have matured and would like to project a more responsible cultural image to the public. Phoners and in-person interviews can be scheduled at [email protected]. Check templeofhiphop.org for scheduled press conferences.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/20/2003 07:48:09 AM |

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Them damn playing cards again

You know what a traitor is, right?

Traitor: If you do not support our President's decisions you are a traitor.

from Davey D, via TheBlackList

MOS DEF AND RAKAA IRISCIENCE ACCUSED OF BEING TRAITORS
by Davey D

It's the year 2003, but the way things are going it might as well be 1984... In the wake of the 9-11 Terrorist Attacks and the passing of Homeland Security and the Patriot Acts I and II, the Bush administration has set a climate that has been Draconian and Dogmatic where disent or differing opinions are not only not tolerated, but also grounds to call you a traitor...

Over the past couple of years there have been journalist fired for speaking out against Bush's policies..Talk show host Bill Mair is the most glaring example.. Anti-War activists have been visited from the FBI and other government officials who wanted to make sure 'they weren't a threat to national security'. Michael Franti and Spearhead
recently had this happen..

We have had a number of celebrity activist who have lost endorsement deals or come under well orchestrated, organized attacks for speaking out against Bush... Actor Martin Sheen was let go from being a spokesman for a major credit card company. The Dixie Chicks were subjected to boycotts from major radio station chains.. and the
latest skirmish has Danny Glover underfire with him possibly losing his spokesperson position with MCI.

Now we have 'private' citizens that are leading the witch hunt with no discouragement from the Bush administration. There are two scenarios that have popped up. First is a deck of cards called the 'Deck of Weasels' that have been put out by NewsMax.. The cards were patterned after the Bush administration's Deck of Death cards which highlighted 52 Iraqi leaders who were wanted by the USA..

This Deck of Weasels depicts activist and celebrities who have spoken out against the Bush administration. The cards include quotes from the people depicted. Among those featured on the cards are Michael Moore, Tim Robbins, Jacques Chirac, Barbra Streisand, Teddy Kennedy and Kofi Annan. Normally this sort of thing would be overlooked and ignored. The problem is that major news outlets all over the country have spotlighted this Deck of Weasels...

Now for the record, there is a deck of cards put out by an activist group in Oakland, that spotlight companies and people who profited from the war, but that hasn't been highlighted in the mainstream press at all..Why is that? Why hasn't Fox news talked about that?

The second situation comes from a new website called probush.com which was spotlighted in Sunday's [May 18th] LA Times... Here the creators of this site have put together a 'List of Traitors'. Here's what reads on the site

Treason: Violation of allegiance toward one's country or sovereign, especially the betrayal of one's country by waging war against it or by consciously and purposely acting to aid its enemies.

Traitor: If you do not support our President's decisions you are a traitor.

The list includes pictures of a number of outspoken anti-war activist and a number of Hip Hop artists... Including Michael Franti, Mos Def, Zack De La Roca, Fred Durst, Rakka from Dilated Peoples, author Michael Eric Dyson, Suheir Hammad of Def Poetry Slam, comic strip writer Aaron McGruder, Ozalmatli and Professor Cornel West to name a few...

There has been no condemning of this website from the Bush adminstration who are featured prominently on the site with phone numbers, website links and addresses to get a hold of them.. I caught up with Rakaa Iriscience and asked him his thoughts on this.

He said, "Things like this are ridiculous and irresponsible especially in today's political and social climate where a handful of powerful people are trying to squash dissent".

He continued on, 'Most of the people on this list had an anti-war stance not an anti-American stance. It's ridiculous to equate anti-war sentiments with being Anti-American".

When asked if he thought such lists would be circulated and have an effect on his livelihood, Rakaa said, "It probably won't effect my recording career, but it may have an impact on sponsorship opportunities considering that War is big business and a lot of big businesses supported the war efforts."

He concluded, 'I Take it as it comes. If people want to sponsor me they know where I stand on things politically. What's; ironic is the fact that I'm out here trying to promote peace and end violence so you would think I would and others would have a bigger platform to speak out unfortunately, we have people trying to silence and ridicule us for promoting peace".

Rakaa concluded by noting that it was a A-List standout group of people on the list who's community work and activism speak for itself..and he is and would be proud to hang out with them..

Both the 'Deck of Weasels' and the 'Pro Bush Traitor's List' claim to be satirical. The Probush folks even offer you an address to write if you feel like you have been unfairly added to the list.. However, it appears to be a clever way for folks behind these efforts to cover themselves in case of lawsuits and other legal actions... The fact
that these lists got such widespread coverage indicates that at least in the mainstream media the sentiments expressed by the people behind these efforts are shared by the media giants..

These things take on added weight because of the recent scenarios that have occured where folks speaking out have been approached by governement officials. The week before last two 16 year old kids from Oakland High School were interrogated by the Secret Service after one of the kids said President Bush needed to be Bushwacked'.. Two weeks before, the parents of one of the members from Michael Franti's group Spearhead were visited by government officials who wanted to know about the groups anti-war activities. The agents came with pictures and financial records of the group. Now actor Danny Glover is getting sweated and may not be a spokesperson for MCI because of his anti-war views. Lastly major radio stations all across the country are still avoiding playing the antiwar song 'Down With US' which was put together by many of the West Coasts most popular artists including WC, Daz, RBX, Dilated Peoples and many others..

Here's the URL for the Traitor's List..
http://ww.probush.com/traitor.htm

Do me a favor, people. Don't give these assholes any traffic… they'll get enough from fellow assholes that there'll be skidmarks all over the T-1s. If you're really curious, go see Ted Barlow. Archive links are bloggered (of course), so search for "Deck of Weasels."

But honestly, I'm just about speechless at these two:

Hans Blix: "The Inspector Clouseau of the United Nations"
Kim Jong-Il: "Helped take heat off Saddam by issuing threats against U.S. benefactor"[p6: WTF?? The U.S. is a benefactor of Kim Jong-Il?? Maybe so… the North Korean economy will likely receive a big boost from the sale of their nucular tech to small countries now frightened of the USofA…]

Sometimes I wonder if the lack of Iraqi WMD means that I'll ever, ever, ever, ever see a conservative apologize for the bullshit they heaped on Hans Blix

No, Ted. You won't.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/20/2003 07:36:40 AM |

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We don't need ALL that cash

I don't see any reason not to pour alla that money for outdated systems down the tubes.

from the NY Times

The Defense Budget Spills Forth

There is a reasonable $1.7 billion for the next generation of unmanned aerial drones and an unreasonable $42 billion for anachronistic fighter planes. As social, education and health care programs are being squeezed, the Pentagon is asking for $9 billion to build a missile defense system that does not work yet.

The waste easily runs into the tens of billions of dollars, making Congress's haste this week all the more outrageous.

(psyche!)

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/20/2003 07:25:53 AM |

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Questions
by Earl Dunovant
Copyright © 1995

What would it take to inspire you? What are you looking for? Do you seek assurance? Guidance? Do you really know what you want?

Would everything be fine if only some one thing happened? Would everything be fine if only some one thing didn't happen? What if you found out that all you desire, all that would be fine "if only", was the cause of all your pain?

What would it take to convince you of this?

Suppose you found out that what you despise was despised by those who accept it, as well? Suppose you found out that what causes you pain also hurts those who hurt you. . . though they blame you for it?

Suppose your greatest obstacle is as intangible as a ghost, and as frightening? How would you face it? Would you? Suppose what you fight against is as immutable, as permanent, as gravity? How would you fight it? Would you?

If you found the power of the weapons used against you depends on your belief in that power. . .
If you found that the power of the tools at your disposal depends on your belief in that power. . .

Would you still believe? Which would you believe in more?

Free your mind and your ass will follow.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/20/2003 12:13:26 AM |

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I think I'll just go ahead and piss people off

I've mentioned a couple of my heroes (HERO: someone who confronts the Great Fear of his people). Another, more recent one is Derrick Bell. His Faces at the Bottom of the Well, along with The Rage of a Privileged Class by Ellis Cose and Two Nations by Andrew Hacker tied together a lot of threads for me. Bell achieved hero status because he can write fiction that makes sharply delineated points about reality.

"Faces" is subtitled "The Permanence of Racism."

That's a concept that bothers the hell out of lot of people. However, it's also a concept I've come to accept. I've come to the conclusion thatt racism is so thoroughly embedded in us that it will take evolution - or at minimum the death of everyone born before 1970 - to eliminate it.

That doesn't mean you give up. It means you give up on an endless, useless struggle to change perceptions and morals on the grand scale. You figure out ways of adapting, neutralizing it. And because we are social animals we teach those methods to those we care about. The more of us that know how to get around it, the more that learn how to compensate for the hole being a minority in the USofA starts you out in, the less justification the haters have for their hate.

Not like they need any.

But you don't want your people avoiding confrontation. You want them to know they're justified in how they see things. Right now too damn many brothers and sisters are out there speculating, declaring themselves kings and I really got no beef with holding a position that enables you to hold on. I just prefer you hold one that helps you move on.

I once shared a chunk of "Rage" with an online discussion group, an excerpt from Time magazine lifted with my very first hand scanner. My homie Linda will probably remember it, and the reaction. Black folks fairly leapt at their keyboards, and all of them said pretty much the same thing: "I KNEW I wasn't crazy!" What I learned from "Rage" wasn't in the book. It was in that reaction… an immediate increase in the comfort level of Black participants. It taught me the value of shared knowledge and experience by showing me the immediate impact of that bond.

And "Two Nations" was a paradox. I learned what Prof. Hacker presented in the book, that the racial divide was so absolute that there might as well be two, interpenetrating countries ("learned" isn't quite the right term, "verified my experience" is closer). But I also learned that the changes in each run parallel to the same stimuli - that the same forces, exerted under different circumstances, create those separate nations. I became convinced on a higher, less specific level than events, we're actually one nation after all. Which is not to say that all is good. It's to say that this is mine, too.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/20/2003 12:11:24 AM |

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May 19, 2003

IsThatLegal?

The title is not a typo. It's the name of a law blog by on Prof. Eric Muller, a liberal lawyer. Interesting site, though my time there was brief, though amusing (see the comments to this post, toward the end. I'm the Earl guy). I suspect the influence of the Federalist Society is making liberal lawyers a rare and endangered species.

Anyway, I found myself on his blog tonight, and cruised around a bit. Found a little while ago Professor Muller asked

Race in classroom assignments: a practice exam question
Each month my daughters' elementary school sends home a newsletter with updates about goings-on at the school and in the school district. This month I noticed a listing of "strategies" that the school is implementing in order to meet the goals of its School Improvement Plan for 2003-2006. One of the strategies is this: "Minority students will be clustered when assigned to classrooms to reduce sense of isolation."

Query: may a public school district not under any sort of desegregation order or decree take race into account in assigning students to classrooms in order to achieve the objective of "reducing a sense of isolation?"

An interesting question. Responses in the comments struck me as pretty representative of the Liberal/Conservative ratio in lawdom.

Two days later, he posted a follow-up describing the program in detail. The comments to that one were pretty typical too.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/19/2003 11:15:39 PM |

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Surprised?

See, it's not like people WANT to bitch. It's not like people can't understand even a tragic error.

What pisses people off is to have their concerns brushed off like, oh you're oversensitive.

from the NY Times

A Response More Mournful Than Enraged
By LYDIA POLGREEN and ELISSA GOOTMAN

It had all the potential for a volatile backlash: an unarmed black woman in her 50's home alone in the early morning hours before heading to work when police officers in riot gear break down her door and set off a concussion grenade. Within hours, the woman is dead of a heart attack.

Past police confrontations that ended in the deaths of black citizens often incited waves of protest that swept the city. Yet the response yesterday to the death of Alberta Spruill, the 57-year-old Harlem woman who died on Friday after police officers mistakenly raided her home, was relatively muted. While suspicion, anger and doubts were expressed in interviews in her neighborhood, there was also credit given to the Police Department for immediately stopping the use of grenades designed to stun suspects and for quickly starting an investigation.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/19/2003 05:58:09 PM |

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Not whining per se, but

Too damn much software. I can't find my Encarta installation disks. And I have to rebuild my smile management program (don't ask).

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/19/2003 05:54:16 PM |

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Catching up, at last

Cowboy Khalil asks What should a Democrat be?, and link to several sites that also consider the question. I think it's a nicer version of my asking what we should call conservatives (no cussing, now…)

Frank at I Protest tells about the nationwide mandating of the same sort of voter registration scrubbing that eliminated hoards of eligible Black voters from Florida's voter lists. In addition he has this really cool form he adds to posts like this that lets you look up your representative by zip code. I may have to steal that.

J. at SilverRights talks about a teacher who has the brilliant idea of teaching a kid not to say "that's so gay" by calling him a nigger in front of the class. But her post is more about how certain racist types not only justify such stuff, but in discussing it bypass the actual issue in order to take furthur gratuitous swipes.

Atrios mentions the possibility of Kerry getting access to the ultimate weapon - cash money.

Hesiod says libertarians better wake up because the results of their deal with the devil runs counter to their principles. He also adds up three approaches to the truth that, individually and together, put the lie to the Bush regime's lies.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/19/2003 04:29:36 PM |

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On Braun

via BlackVoices.com

Braun's quiet campaign stirs questions, criticism
The former Illinois senator insists she is running to win, but some say her start is much too slow

By Jeff Zeleny and Dan Mihalopoulos, Tribune staff reporters. Jeff Zeleny reported from Des Moines and Dan Mihalopoulos reported from Chicago

May 19, 2003

DES MOINES -- When Carol Moseley Braun stepped off the stage at a weekend forum for Democratic presidential hopefuls here, her rival candidates fanned out across Iowa to meet the voters and political activists they must win over if they are to capture their party's White House nomination.

But Braun, the former Illinois senator, scheduled no such events. Shortly after the television cameras were turned off at the "Presidential Town Meeting," she and a lone volunteer drove back to Chicago.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/19/2003 01:27:57 PM |

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The National Urban League gets a new president

from BlackPressUSA.com

Former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial Named to Head National Urban League
by George E. Curry
Editor-in-Chief
NNPA News Service

WASHINGTON (NNPA)ï¿½Former New Orleans Mayor Marc H. Morial has been elected to succeed Hugh B. Price as president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League. In announcing the appointment on Thursday, Board of Trustees Chairman Michael J. Critelli, chairman and CEO of Pitney Bowes, Inc., said: ï¿½Marc Morialï¿½s entire professional career has been focused on championing urban issues, and importantly, the socio-economic issues that significantly impact the Leagueï¿½s constituencies

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/19/2003 01:18:25 PM |

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A generous view of Powell's situation

I used to look at Gen. Powell as being the honorable man Ms. Mathis still sees him as. I just don't know now. I mean, on the personal tip, he's probably upright as hell. And on the political tip, maybe he was Bush-whacked (heh).

Maybe it's best just to judge the policies and leave the man alone. I'd really like to. But I don't know.

from BlackAmericaWeb.com

If the Bush matrix reloads, Powell may go
05/18/2003 09:56 PM EDT

By DEBORAH MATHIS

… Powell tried to be the good soldier. He worked his shift in the saber-rattling room. He performed his version of the growl, the scowl and the sneer in public. But it is well known now that, in his truer moments and behind the scenes, Powell despised the take-no-prisoners approach to diplomacy. He broke ranks with Bushï¿½s power-drunk macho men and pleaded for sobriety. Terrorism is an international scourge, he argued; the international community should weigh in.

That did it. If not before, then certainly after his futile attempt to get the United Nations behind the violent, vengeful, supremacist American president, Powell must have become aware that his position of power was an illusion. He isnï¿½t the maestro of American foreign policy, heï¿½s just an errand boy dispatched to create the impression that the Bush administration gives a damn about the rest of the planet.

In other words, Powell is trapped in the Bush Matrix -- a world of mind games and mind control. A virtual reality where perceptions are shaped by creative programming. A fake existence where appearances are orchestrated to distract us from whatï¿½s really going on. A world where the first black man to hold one of the most powerful posts on the globe is ignored, sabotaged, marginalized and patronized by people who only wanted him for his curb appeal in the first place.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/19/2003 01:11:07 PM |

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*gag* A Conservative link!

American Conservative Magazine has put up an article, Surveillance State, that leads with:

Since September 11, a flood of federal legislation has reduced American freedom without increasing our security.

Indeed.

via TalkLeft

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/19/2003 11:06:20 AM |

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Iiinnnteresting…

Ari Fleischer is leaving the White House after an "emotional" meeting.

On a practical level it means nothing because Fleischer's genius was staying on his scripted message. His job could be filled in 24 hours via a cattle call in Variety. It makes me wonder just what the subject of discussion was that put Ari over the top.

via Oliver Willis

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/19/2003 10:37:39 AM |

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A permanent discussion link

I've posted a discussion of, and link to Question W, which presents a grass-roots awareness raising that has possibilities. I've decided how I'm going to support it on this site.

The Question W box on the right now has a permanent discussion link inviting submissions of questions intended to raise awareness of the Bush regime's programme. Just click the picture of the rather upset Lady Liberty. Ideally it will develop into a distributed brainstorming session.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/19/2003 10:19:17 AM |

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May 18, 2003

Dammit, another Black plagiarist

I stole the whole damn editorial from African American News&Issues, "Texas' Widest Circulated and Read Newspaper with a Black Perspective."

Damn! When, oh, when will it end???

Public servants needs "Big Momma's"
wisdom

By Roy Douglas Malonson

There's an old racial clichï¿½ that insinuates that "When White folks catch a cold, Black folks get pneumonia." We suspect you've heard "Big Momma," or whatever you called your granny, use that humorous proverb to describe how much "Colored people" depended on White people who controlled their destiny. Race cards aside, it has always amazed us how wise our uneducated elders were when it came to life's basics. Perhaps, that's why old-fashioned common sense is often referred to as "Mother Wit." But listening to today's Black faces in high places, they don't seem to have an ounce of "Mother Wit," when they discuss our people's unique problems.

We Must Understand, after several generations (of Willie-Lynch based education), African Americans have less common sense than we had during the antebellum era. It's baffling how unschooled freed slaves used their creative minds, not only to survive, but also thrive in a "Jim Crow" society that could legally discriminate against them. The freed slaves, in essence, were able to make a way when there was no way. "Big Mommas" who are now living historians say, "We took what we had and made it what we needed it to be." We're sure you've also heard an elder say, "The Great Depression didn't hurt us. We were use to doing without." But that was then. And this is now. Gone are the common sense survival skills that were passed from generation… to generation.

Many blame integrated public school systems for educating common sense out of our young people's minds. We Must Understand that most of the today's under 60 Black "Baby Boomers," were just entering the job market (when affirmative action functioned as designed), so they truly don't know the difference from being poor and broke. If you're wondering where we're coming from with this Black History lesson? Maybe we should explain. Houston hosted the annual National Conference of Black Mayors from April 23-26 and we attended several events that focused exclusively on problems unique to African Americans. Black Mayors expounded on a myriad of problems that exist in poverty stricken minority ï¿½hoods throughout America.

During their speeches, we suddenly realized that they were addressing uniquely Black problems from a middle-class White's perspective. Take, for instance, when Mayor Marilyn Murray, president of NCBM uses the 2000 Census figures to conclude that Black folks are living better today, than in the past. "The census data show that Black Americans are gradually improving their social and economic lot but they still lag behind whites in many categories," she explained. Need we tell you that her conclusion is hardly a news flash? But it really got our attention when she said, "Blacks remain clustered in the South, usually in urban areas, and they have disproportionately high numbers unemployed or living in poverty."

She lost us somewhere in between, "They still lag behind whites," and "Blacks remain clustered in the South," inasmuch as the reason we have historically lagged behind Whites has absolutely nothing to do with where we lived in this racist nation. Black America lags behind Anglos because of institutionalized racist and discrimination. Period! And Black politicians can talk until hell freezes over, but bigotry, racism and discrimination will still be our biggest problems. An uneven playing field aside, but discrimination will always be the primary reason we lag behind White Americans wherever we live. Quite frankly, Blacks are doing better in the south than elsewhere, since California became Alabama west.

No, this isn't an African American News & Issues Black perspective, per se. We're going strictly by the book on this one. Do you recall when the July 2001 edition of Black Enterprise magazine named Houston America's best city for us? If you check the list you'll also find Dallas, Atlanta, Memphis, Nashville, Jacksonville and, of course, New Orleans, high on the list. Conversely, most of the Black mayors were southerners, unless Mississippi, somehow, moved north of the Mason-Dixon line. Nevertheless, the purpose of this editorial isn't to dispel misinformation, but we would be remiss, as Black America's uncompromised editorial voice, not to challenge politicians who can't possibly solve Black America's problems, if they fail to identify them.

Instead, we would like to offer a possible solution to our public servants. Especially those trying to make ends meet during the current economic downturn, that's gotten worse since 9/11 and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We're sure public servants have "Big Mommas" of their own who can tell them how to balance a budget -- when you have more bills than money. But, if they don't, we would like to share our elder's wisdom with them. The first rule for being poor, according to our elders, is to realize that you must stretch whatever resources you have, because that's all you're going to get (No new taxes.) We Must Understand, being poor is different from being broke. Broke, ideally, is a temporary condition for the working poor.

Being poor, however, translates to using a little money wisely, because you're employed and won't be getting any more soon. Cutting to the chase: It's all right to rob Peter to pay Paul, but when you break Peter you're really poor. And that's exactly what time it appears to be in 2003 America. Our government, that states depend on to carry them through economic downturns, is broke. And cities that depend on state funds are in even bigger trouble. Big Momma's wisdom advises it's time for everybody to tighten their belts and start trimming the fat off the ham. If you missed her gem of wisdom, suffice it to say, since the ham bone holds it together, the fat on top is expendable. As simplistic as that sounds, capitalism is consumer driven.

Yet, for some insane reason, consumers are laid off first, although it's obvious that the excessive fat is always at the top. Common sense dictates that when unemployed consumers can't consume, taxes decline, money stops circulating and America's economy slumps. In other words, greedy people focusing on the golden eggs should be protecting the goose that lays them. And, in a Democracy (for the people, of the people, by the people), the goose that lays golden eggs are hard-working, grass-roots, tax-paying consumers.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/18/2003 04:59:17 PM |

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Chickenhawk cards

Okay, maybe the playing card thing is getting out of hand. We now have a Chickenhawk deck, available for $15 at the moment. They'll either appreciate in value of get up up against the wall come 2005.

via idleworm

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/18/2003 01:09:36 PM |

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Bill Deore

I don't normally credit Bill Deore with much subtlety but this is subtle.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/18/2003 12:54:50 PM |

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Oof

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/18/2003 12:50:54 PM |

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Tupac is a legend in the mainstream, too

It's got nothing to do with Tupac, though. I just think the gratuitous mention is amusing.

Tupac's Revenge on Bennett

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/18/2003 12:48:01 PM |

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An email discussion

I've been trying to find a proper description for what I think is
developing in this country.

I've come up with "corporate police state."

What do you think?

couldn't have described it better myself...

I call it "The Matrix".

you might want to tweak that and label it closer to a quasi-military
state....

here's the picture that I saw, if only for a brief moment, but quite
possibly a harbinger of things to come.

just after the US 'invasion' of Iraq which then prompted the Office of
Homeland Security (& new dumping ground for our taxes) to elevate the
threat level, if we recall...military apparatus were deployed
throughout the capital thus dotting the landscape with the unmistakable
presence of force. Let's also recall that immediately after 9/11 & once
planes started flying again, in certain airports throughout the
country, the US Reserves were brought in to facilitate (more like
confuse) the augmentation of additional security.

Heck, right after 9/11, I was crossing the Sagamore Bridge (Cape Cod,
Mass) and right at the bottom of the bridge yet another 'picture' of
military presence in the form of a Reserve with weapon in hand standing
at the ready -finger lying across the trigger (it's actually quite
laughable -now- when you take a moment to envision this scenario).

Fast forward today, and once again in some 'testing grounds' aka more
airports, police are fully armed with high-powered fully automatic
weaponry and as I understand it from my brother-in-law (who is one of
them!), they are a permanent unit and fixture in many of our nations'
airports....AND that's just the stuff that we see!

In any case, all of these security 'pictures' have one thing in common,
uniformed & 'militarized' personnel.

The question is are they in position to protect, or enforce?

All we need is one more 'nasty' hit and there'll be a Hummmer and a
rocket launcher (used to be a jeep/machine gun) on every corner.

> you might want to tweak that and label it closer to a quasi-military
> state....

"Police state" covers it.

I was looking for as dense and compact a term as possible, one that was
immediately understandable (like "liberal"), has no redeeming
characteristics and is true.

I'm leaving out the theocratic aspect because there's too many people
who'd have no problem with it because the magic word "God" is attached. It
would actually mitigate whichever term it was attached to in too many
cases.

"Police state" is an accusation the right bandied about. They've already
carved a space in the public psyche for such accusations, and the
P.A.T.R.I.O.T Act, not to mention Patriot II, gives support to the threat.
And the only thing people like less that government nowadays is Corporate
America. All the corporate influence on this regime is known.

Of course you have to do more than just lay the term out there, but it's
clear, and so clearly applicable. Using it would involve supporting the
term more than establishing or defending it.

The Holy Roman Empire.

The Fourth Reich....

Simply call it what it is, Earl - the United States of America.

The USA has always been a police state for our people; and business
interests (especially corporations) have always wielded disproportionate
power and influence over the general population and various levels of U.S.
government as well.

Calvin Coolidge said it best: "The business of America is business."

I am so feeling you.

The reason I will not leave it at that is, people who don't see this
already will reject the statement out of hand when said like this.

Assuming activism can have impact, it's obvious there isn't sufficient
numbers active to change the current state of affairs. People are more
likely to act on a threat they feel is legitimate than one they feel is
over the top.

I'd rather put the concept out there in a way that describes a real threat
and let other people add to it in their particular circles. Ensuing
discussion shouldn't dilute the impact of the initial statement. It's one
reason I left out the theocratic element of the threat.

My $.02:

"Corporate military state". "Police" implies something more civil, and with
the Patriot Acts I &II, there's an increasing blur between the two.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/18/2003 12:26:46 PM |

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Evil plans for the weekend

This morning I'll be writing my summary page for The Black Experience in America. I'll review The Souls of Black Folks to see if something similar to what I have in mind is possible for it as well.

(I'm actually not sure how good an idea it is; these two books had a big influence on me so I'm pretty familiar with what's in there, but when I get to Up From Slavery I'll have to read it again to do it justice. I don't know if I'm actually going to do that.)

I'm also going to give real colnsideration to dropping the Campaign 2004 page because I'm really not keeping up with it. Anything I post there can as easily be posted here.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/18/2003 08:10:10 AM |

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And so we begin (again …)

Earlier I told y'all about Question W, a nice idea on how to get people talking about the issues progressives feel are important. Well, I've come up with my first question and installed it here and on the "Right Wing Attack on Civil Rights" page; see the right column.

The really cool Lady Liberty graphic was lifted by permission from the Question W site. The question is more intended to make folks think than to ellicit an actual answer, because there is no actual answer that is acceptable.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 5/18/2003 08:04:05 AM |

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