Prometheus 6

You see, that's the kind of stuff that played well with the civil rights movement crowd. A (white) politician paid attention to a few black causes, and we provided them with lifelong support. Drop by a few black churches on your way to the ballot box, take a few pictures, and all is well. When that got old, a few political appointments here and there were enough to satisfy African Americans.

That's the kind of stuff that played well with everyone. How many causes do NRA members get support for? How many are single issue voters? How about AmeriChristians? Two causes, gay marriage and abortion. AIPAC? Israel. Black folks are no different than other constituencies in this regard.

Did you believe differently before I pointed this out? If so, you better recheck all your calculations because they are based on at least one fundamental error.

Other than that, I got no real beef with the editorial. 

Blacks don't owe the Clintons a thing

One of my all-time favorite TV shows is "The West Wing." On one particular episode, the Bartlet White House was pretty miffed that one of its past supporters, an influential Hispanic labor leader in California, was being courted by a potential rival.

When they see the man sitting courtside at a basketball game with their nemesis, they summon him to the White House. The White House aide (played by Rob Lowe) then begins to go after the guy, giving him menacing looks, and demanding to know why he was flirting with the other side when Bartlet's folks had done so much for him in the past.

"That was last time," he said. "What do I get this time?"

The storyline came to mind as I listened to many African-American political leaders, as well as everyday voters, go on about what African Americans owe the Clintons, believing that what took place during the administration of Bill Clinton is enough to warrant their full support for Sen. Hillary Clinton in her run for the White House.

...check this. (LATER: The link is actually there now...)

USDA Backs Production of Rice With Human Genes
By Rick Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 2, 2007; A02

The Agriculture Department has given a preliminary green light for the first commercial production of a food crop engineered to contain human genes, reigniting fears that biomedically potent substances in high-tech plants could escape and turn up in other foods.

The plan, confirmed yesterday by the California biotechnology company leading the effort, calls for large-scale cultivation in Kansas of rice that produces human immune system proteins in its seeds.

Still thinking about "leadership"...but instead of working from definitions to the physical I'm working the other way around...building on anthropology.

Leaders are functionally alpha primates...and we now see the mimetic environment as our primary environment.

I am now in totally unfamiliar intellectual territory, so I need to be silent on the topic for a while. 

Part of the blame is attributable to the Congressman that has control of such stuff. 

Who Left D.C.'s Schools to Decay?
By Colbert I. King
Saturday, March 3, 2007; A15

I got more than I bargained for this week when I went to Shepherd Elementary School in upper Northwest Washington to moderate the Ward 4 Candidates Issues Forum sponsored by the Ward 4 Democrats and the Shepherd Park Citizens Association. After the forum, I sought the nearest restroom and was directed to the boys' bathroom adjacent to the school's auditorium.

The state of that bathroom quickly supplanted thoughts of the candidates forum.

Pieces of tile were missing from the floor at the bathroom's entrance. A much larger section of floor tiling, roughly four feet by two feet, was missing in front of the sinks. A plug of floor tile near the urinals was gone, too. Only one of the three sinks worked, and it lacked a soap dispenser.

Pat Boone is jealous.

Dobson and his two dozen co-signers said the Rev. Richard Cizik, the NAE's vice president for government relations, has waged a "relentless campaign" that is "dividing and demoralizing" evangelicals.

Oh. It's the AmeriChristian Dominionists.

the Rev. Leith Anderson...said that the Dobson letter was released to the news media before it was received by the board. "I guess that says it all."

Evangelical Angers Peers With Call for Action on Global Warming
By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 3, 2007; A04

Focus on the Family founder James C. Dobson and other conservative Christian leaders are calling for the National Association of Evangelicals to silence or fire an official who has urged evangelicals to take global warming seriously.

Since the mass firings were carried out three months ago, Justice Department officials have consistently portrayed them as personnel decisions based on the prosecutors' "performance-related" problems. But, yesterday, officials acknowledged that the ousters were based primarily on the administration's unhappiness with the prosecutors' policy decisions and revealed the White House's role in the matter.

White House Backed U.S. Attorney Firings, Officials Say
By John Solomon and Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, March 3, 2007; A01

The White House approved the firings of seven U.S. attorneys late last year after senior Justice Department officials identified the prosecutors they believed were not doing enough to carry out President Bush's policies on immigration, firearms and other issues, White House and Justice Department officials said yesterday.

Cherokees, along with Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks and Seminoles, were long known as the "Five Civilized Tribes" because they adopted many of the ways of their white neighbors in the South, including the holding of black slaves.

Many of the Cherokees' slaves accompanied the tribe when it was expelled from its traditional lands in North Carolina and Georgia and forced to migrate in 1838 and 1839 to Indian Territory, in what is now Oklahoma. Thousands of Cherokees died during the trip, which became known as the "Trail of Tears." It is not known how many of their slaves also perished.

The tribe fought for the Confederacy. In defeat, it signed a federal treaty in 1866 committing that its slaves, who had been freed by tribal decree during the war, would be absorbed as citizens of the Cherokee Nation.

Cherokee Nation To Vote on Expelling Slaves' Descendants
By Ellen Knickmeyer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 3, 2007; A01

VINITA, Okla. -- J.D. Baldridge, 73, has official government documents showing him to be a descendant of a full-blood Cherokee. He has memories of a youth spent among Cherokee neighbors and kin, at tribal stomp dances and hog fries. He holds on to a fair amount of Cherokee vocabulary. " Salali," Baldridge says, his face creasing into a smile at the word. "Squirrel stew. Oh, that was good."

What Baldridge, a retired Oklahoma county sheriff, also has is at least one black ancestor, a former slave of a Cherokee family. That could get Baldridge cast out of the tribe, along with thousands of others.

The 250,000-member Cherokee Nation will vote in a special election today whether to override a 141-year-old treaty and change the tribal constitution to bar "freedmen," the descendants of former tribal slaves, from being members of the sovereign nation.

“In the ’50s and ’60s, 80 percent of world’s maple syrup came from the U.S., and 20 percent came from Canada,” said Barrett N. Rock, a professor of natural resources at the University of New Hampshire. “Today it’s exactly the opposite. The climate that we used to have here in New England has moved north to the point where it’s now in Quebec.”

Warm Winters Upset Rhythms of Maple Sugar
By PAM BELLUCK

MONTPELIER, Vt. — One might expect Burr Morse to have maple sugaring down to a science.

For more than 200 years, Mr. Morse’s family has been culling sweet sap from maple trees, a passion that has manifested itself not only in jug upon jug of maple syrup, but also in maple-cured bacon, maple cream and maple soap, not to mention the display of a suggestively curved tree trunk Mr. Morse calls the Venus de Maple.

I'm having a hard time doing it, but I need to step past the incredible tactical (not to mention historical) error of the very concept of a Black KKK for a minute.

I really, really try to assume folks are sane and for the most part I can spin my worldview to align with just about anyone else's. There is a key concept that keeps coming up that I've never been able to match to anything in my experience. Nor can I infer a meaning that makes sense from its usage.

Our lack of courage lets them define who we are.

I have no idea...none whatsoever...what it means to be defined. If anyone knows what that means, I promise to be quiet and attentive as you explain. Won't even question; I'll just absorb and test later.

I want to give Darkstar some dap for posting Freaknik Rape (which I will not quote...the Google self-reference effect should bring him some traffic which I do want to redirect). I WILL quote the post Google keyed in on.

I've been to the Essence Festival in pre-Katrina New Orleans and nothing jumped off. I've been to the Capitol Jazz Fest and, again, nothing jumped off. I've been to summer Black festivals and there were scattered incidents but nothing major. I've been to the Black Greek Picnic in Philadelphia, although I'm not a Black Greek, and nothing happened. I've never been to Freaknik but people who have been have told me that the negative information coming out of it was overstated.

Cuba oil boom may complicate U.S. embargo
BY JANE BUSSEY

The discovery of oil in the Florida Straits and near the Cuban shoreline -- potentially billions of barrels of reserves -- has boosted Cuba's energy prospects and drawn the attention of the U.S. oil industry.

Now, a small Canadian energy company, Sherritt International, says it plans to export Cuban oil for the first time -- a move that could put the crude on a collision course with the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba.

Details are few, but questions about the move go to the heart of the embargo: Where will the oil be refined? And how could Sherritt International or subsequent handlers keep the Cuban crude out of fuel being exported to the United States?

Not 'a Good-News Story'
Why is Gen. Kiley back in charge at Walter Reed?
Friday, March 2, 2007; A12

YESTERDAY THE Post reported that Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley heard years ago from a veterans advocate and even a member of Congress that outpatient care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center was distressingly squalid and disorganized. That commander proceeded to do little, even though he lives across the street from the outpatient facilities in a spacious Georgian house. Also yesterday, the Army announced that Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, the head of Walter Reed since August, had been relieved of his command. His temporary replacement? None other than Gen. Kiley.

I just caught this episode of Comics Unleased with Byron Allen on TV1. It's probably work-safe but if you have the least worry about it, you should probably watch it at home.

No loss to me because hip hop lost me when it went gangster in the first place. I just want you to be clear about what's happening.

When rap went commercial a whole different set of selector kicked in, it started circulating in different pattern and yes, it became toxic. Sometimes you just have to lance the boil.

But you haven't solved the problem. The art that survives the purge will be called spoken word and held to that (very high) standard. Americans will find a replacement for whatever it is they got from rap, and a new boil will rise.

Hip-hop faces increasing backlash
Minstrelization of the music combined with negativity equals poor sales
The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Maybe it was the umpteenth coke-dealing anthem or soft-porn music video. Perhaps it was the preening antics that some call reminiscent of Stepin Fetchit.

The turning point is hard to pinpoint. But after 30 years of growing popularity, rap music is now struggling with an alarming sales decline and growing criticism from within about the culture’s negative effect on society.

Each case was followed by the same ritual of hand-wringing: accusations of racism, rebutted with claims of ignorance or harmless fun, followed by protests and town hall meetings and an eventual half-hearted apology from the culprits. Peace was restored on campus — until the next opportunity to mock Mexicans.

So why do these incidents crack me up? Maybe it's the power of history. Americans have enjoyed dressing like ethnics at bacchanals since the days of the Boston Tea Party. Blackface, togas, sweat lodges, Oktoberfest, St. Patrick's Day, Tommy Bahama — the list goes on, even in this age of supposed racial acceptance.

Participating in such events seems to liberate otherwise placid souls from propriety and excuse momentary transgressions, all while lampooning the Other — a party mix more alluring than jungle juice.

Fiesta like the fool you are
Forget political correctness: Parties that lampoon ethnic groups are as American as nachos.
By Gustavo Arellano
GUSTAVO ARELLANO is a contributing editor to Opinion and a staff writer for OC Weekly, where he writes the "¡Ask a Mexican!" column.

March 2, 2007

IF SOMEONE asked you to attend a Mexican-themed party, what would you wear? Would you sport long hair, spiked bracelets and a tattered T-shirt of rock en español dinosaurs Caifanes? Maybe visit Brooks Brothers and mimic the sartorial splendor of Antonio Villaraigosa? A snug gown a la Salma Hayek for the mujeres? Jeans, surely?

No. You're going to don a sombrero, glue on a fake mustache and act like a poor, despicable louse. You'll probably belt out a couple of lusty arribas for good measure. And you'll laugh. Really, what else could you do?

Looking ahead to the presidential campaign, 36 percent of Americans said they had confidence in the ability of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the New York Democrat, to “make the right decisions on health care,” while 49 percent said they were uneasy about it. But Mrs. Clinton, who presents herself as a sadder but wiser candidate on health care, retained the confidence of nearly 6 in 10 Democrats on the issue, despite the politically devastating collapse 13 years ago of the national health initiative she helped develop early in her husband’s presidency.

The Federation of American Hospitals presented its idea of national health care reform to Republicans. I have a video clip of the organization's president, explaining what they postulated about their customers as they calculated.

Poll Shows Majority Back Health Care for All
By ROBIN TONER and JANET ELDER

A majority of Americans say the federal government should guarantee health insurance to every American, especially children, and are willing to pay higher taxes to do it, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.

John Edwards Second Life HQ vandalized.

Shortly before midnight (CST) on Monday, February 26, a group of republican Second Life users, some sporting "Bush '08" tags, vandalized the John Edwards Second Life HQ.  They plastered the area with Marxist/Lenninist posters and slogans, a feces spewing obsenity, and a photoshopped picture of John in blackface, all the while harrassing visitors with right-wing nonsense and obsenity-laden abuse of Democrats in general and John in particular.

I witnessed this event, taking names and photos, including the owners of the pictures.  I also kept and saved a copy of the chat log.  I have filed an abuse report with Linden Labs, and am awaiting their investigation.

Are we done being stupid yet or will we look into the ancestry of every Republican candidate to see if their ancestors owned slaves or were Nazi supporters or some such?

A new twist to an intriguing family history
Census records, genealogical research indicate forbears of Obama's mother had slaves
By David Nitkin and Harry Merritt
Sun Reporters
March 1, 2007, 9:00 PM CST

WASHINGTON -- Many people know that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's father was from Kenya and his mother from Kansas.

There's at least one site that doesn't like my comments.

Oh, well. I didn't go to Dell Gines' site before it closed for the same reason and I suffered no damage. Come to think of it, looks like all of Mr. Gines' ex-customers moved there en mass.

LATER: cnulan explained the comment thing sufficiently.

"That's the sound of the men working on the chain...gang..."

The Department of Corrections hopes to launch a pilot program this month — thought to be the first of its kind — that would contract with more than a dozen farms to provide inmates who will pick melons, onions and peppers.

Um...no. It's not the first of its kind.

Colorado to use inmates to fill migrant shortage
Tough laws passed last year against illegal immigration have created a need for farmworkers.
By Nicholas Riccardi
Times Staff Writer
March 1, 2007

DENVER — Ever since passing what its Legislature promoted as the nation's toughest laws against illegal immigration last summer, Colorado has struggled with a labor shortage as migrants fled the state. This week, officials announced a novel solution: Use convicts as farmworkers.

The Department of Corrections hopes to launch a pilot program this month — thought to be the first of its kind — that would contract with more than a dozen farms to provide inmates who will pick melons, onions and peppers.

Crops were left to spoil in the fields after the passage of legislation that required state identification to get government services and allowed police to check suspects' immigration status.

[TS] A Critique of Pure Reason is David's next step in proving it takes a village to raise a child.

What can government do about any of this? The answer is that there are programs that do work to help young and stressed mothers establish healthier attachments. These programs usually involve having nurses or mature women make a series of home visits to give young mothers the sort of cajoling and practical wisdom that in other times would have been delivered by grandmothers or elders.

This is reminding me of the unhealthy focus on blaming mothers we developed during welfare "reform" days. And Lawrence Mead showed the same focus at that AEI talk he had a while back.

As I said, Y'all are having too much fun with this and I'm not impressed.

That it gave Bob Herbert cause to write [TS] Slavery Is Not Dead. It’s Not Even Past makes me pleased the issue came up.

The days of slavery are closer than we tend to think, and they were crueler than we tend to realize....There’s a great deal that Americans don’t fully understand about slavery. It’s such an uncomfortable subject that the temptation is to relegate it to the distant past and move on. But the long tentacles of that evil institution are still with us. Slavery was the foundation of the thriving consumer society that we have today and the wellspring of the racism that still poisons so many white attitudes and black lives.

Jack and Jill Politics asks the CBC:

Why is the CBC in Bed with Rupert Murdoch?

When I read that the Congressional Black Caucus was considering partnering with FoxNews for another presidential debate, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was one thing to do it in 2004. Perhaps the motive was increased recognition of the CBC among a new audience....

Cathy Hughes and her investors including Quincy Jones founded TV1 to provide an alternative to the disgusting, unrepresentative BET. How better to show our new power than supporting a black-owned channel that is trying to provide positive programming that is more representative of our culture. Did you know TV1 is going to re-broadcast Roots during Easter week? Why not have the presidential debate on TV1?

Good question. The motive can't be increasing the CBC's recognition. Fox's audience already knows all it cares to about the CBC. This brings a couple of questions to mind: