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Week of June 08, 2003 to June 14, 2003Good moodI got a replacementby Prometheus 6
June 14, 2003 - 5:00pm. on Old Site Archive Good mood I got a replacement for my desktop machine that got crippled a week or so ago. I got an Emachine that someone returned without the disks, cables and such so it was $350 for 512megs of memory, some ridiculous CPU speed that I'll never push to the limit and an 80 gig hard drive to which I add the salvaged 40 gig drive from the old beastie so all my data, downloads etc. are intact. XP Home edition, so if I do any web development on it, it'll be for Apache. Once it's set up my laptop will be portable again, my digital music collection will be accessible (GHOD how I missed that!), lots of space to fill with random downloads I'll probably never get to… Simple pleasures for simple minds, y'know? RacismSince I'm a Black guyby Prometheus 6
June 14, 2003 - 11:51am. on Old Site Archive Racism Since I'm a Black guy and this is all about how I see things, I figure I'll have to address the topic sooner or later. I think it best for me to introduce it so I can address it with a little nuance. We really don't want to wait until somebody make me talk about they momma. A big problem in discussions of racism is that mainstream folks have a top-down approach to looking at it, where minorities have a bottom-up approach. Which make absolute sense, when you think about it. What mainstream types (of all races) are looking for is a definition of racism they can use to avoid being racist—or at least avoid being accused of it… all definitions are subject to Godëlian corruption. Minorities, on the other hand, prefer the disparate impact method of identifying racism—it has the advantage of denying purchase to evasive explanations and the disadvantage of all inductive reasoning… it can never state its result categorically. Trying to define racism is pretty bizarre. It's literally like trying to define pain. No one who has ever felt pain needs a description of it; no one who has ever felt racism needs a description of it. I can work with racism on a conceptual level, but then it breaks out into its individually and collectively expressed parts— discrimination, hatred or fear, institutional racism (known to some of my fellow travellers as white supremacy). Those parts, however, are aspects of one dagger thrust, a single twist of the gut… racism. By this very subjective description of the issue, it's obvious I take the bottom-up, inductive approach myself, despite its inability to assert racism with mathematical certainty. This list comes from a page on the "Race, Racism and the Law" site maintained by Professor Vernellia R. Randall, Professor of Law at The University of Dayton School of Law. The author of the list was born in Bombay, India and moved to Northern Ireland when he was four. I think it fairly representative of the very subjective (and compelling) issues that are considered by most minorities when trying to decide if a person is a racist bastard.
This all being subjective, I can picture myself running afoul of that description by showing partial views of my viewpoint. For instance, I do see Black folks as the culturally creative part of the nation. That statement alone could be said to express points 1 and 3. If you're really sensitive you'd probably feel it at least touches on points 5, 6 and 7 as well. That's okay, for reasons most Black folks will understand without my needing to go into it (hey, might as well leave myself open to points 2 and 4, you know?). I do intend to go into it, but it's too raw and complex a topic to expect full coverage of in one sitting. So for now I'm leaving it at this. If it feels incomplete, good. It is. And I'll add parts to it at irregular intervals. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFor more informationby Prometheus 6
June 14, 2003 - 7:46am. on Old Site Archive FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information contact Gigi Gregory, 415. 581-2451 SAN FRANCISCO---Reparations and Black health will be discussed this week by two leading health care specialists in the national black reparations movement "There has never been a point in our history when African-Americans had equal or near equal health status with whites," says Vernellia Randall a University of Dayton (Ohio) law professor who specializes in health care issues. "Disproportionately, we die at a higher rate from every disease or condition except suicide. Hypertension, diabetes, cancer, liver disease-you name it," she said. Dr. Jewel Crawford from Atlanta's Center for Disease Control served as the chairperson for the central organizing committee of the African and African Descendents Conference against Racism which met in Barbados last year. That conference was a follow up to the World Conference against Racism held in Durban, South Africa, the previous year. She is scheduled to address how the Atlantic Slave Trade impacted the physical and psychological health of generations of African-Americans. According to Randall, the call for reparations for descendants of slaves, a major theme of the Durban conference, which the U.S. boycotted, "would be a good justification for doing this, to prioritize health issues for blacks. It's not that we don't know what has to be done, it's do we have the will to do it?" Additional speakers will include Cynthia Selmar from the San Francisco Dept. of Public Health's African-American Health Initiative project and Jean Damu, chair of the California Coalition for H.R. 40, Congressman John Conyers' African-American Reparations Study Bill and the San Francisco chapter of NCOBRA. The meeting will be held Thursday, June 19, 6pm-9pm, African-American Art & Cultural Complex, 762 Fulton St., San Francisco. TheBlackList - Open Forum Smaller than empires, and moreby Prometheus 6
June 14, 2003 - 7:38am. on Old Site Archive Smaller than empires, and more quickly from GhanaWeb US To Setup Military Base In Ghana
The United States plans to use Ghana as one of it's bases to boost its military presence in Africa to respond to new threats. Ghanaweb first reported this on the "Rumor Mill" page under the title: US To station 1000 Troops In Ghana . In an article "Pentagon Moving Swiftly to Become 'GloboCop'", Interpress confirms Ghanaweb's story The Pentagon is moving at seemingly breakneck speed to re-deploy U.S. forces and equipment around the world in ways that will permit Washington to play ''GoboCop,' according to a number of statements by top officials and defense planners. While preparing sharp reductions in forces in Germany, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, military planners are talking about establishing semi-permanent or permanent bases along a giant swathe of global territory--increasingly referred to as 'the arc of instability'--from the Caribbean Basin through Africa to South and Central Asia and across to North Korea The latest details, disclosed by the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, include plans to increase U.S. forces in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa across the Red Sea from Yemen, set up semi-permanent 'forward bases' in Algeria, Morocco and possibly Tunisia, and establish smaller facilities in Senegal, Ghana and Mali that could be used to intervene in oil-rich West African countries, particularly Nigeria. How about Justice Ronald M.by Prometheus 6
June 14, 2003 - 7:06am. on Old Site Archive How about Justice Ronald M. George for SCOTUS? Janice Brown: The next U.S. Supreme Court justice?
DAVID KRAVETS Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO - It's not hard to understand why California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown is often mentioned as a potential nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. In many ways, her line of thinking mirrors both the Bush administration and recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent. A Christian black woman from the segregated South, Brown supports limits on abortion rights and corporate liability, routinely upholds the death penalty and opposes affirmative action. … The first black woman to sit on California's highest court, Brown, 54, is one of the most conservative of the seven justices and a prolific opinion writer, authoring more opinions and dissents last term than any other justice. She caught the attention of conservatives and the Bush administration with her majority opinion in 2000 striking down a San Jose ordinance that required government contractors to solicit bids from companies owned by women and minorities. Brown's lengthy opinion traced the legal history of race in America, portraying it as ebbing and flowing on whether government should treat all races equally. Her conclusion, based in part on the California voters' decision to outlaw race- and gender-based hiring practices by approving Proposition 209: all people should be treated equally, regardless of race. Instead of affirmative action, she said, "equality of individual opportunity" is what the constitution demands. Chief Justice Ronald M. George, in a concurring opinion, attacked Brown's portrayal of affirmative action as "entitlement based on group representation," calling it a "serious distortion of history." George wrote that affirmative action could be viewed as aiding the underrepresented in an effort to create equality. Nuff said posted by Prometheusby Prometheus 6
June 14, 2003 - 6:51am. on Old Site Archive I was prepared to beby Prometheus 6
June 14, 2003 - 6:43am. on Old Site Archive I was prepared to be annoyed Instead, I'm amused. As glad as I am that the truth is getting a little light (better late than never if you still have arms and legs,know what I mean?) It's real interesting to watch the pundits saying, "Well, yes I supported the war, but not for the reasons that turned out to be lies…" from the NY Times The Boys Who Cried Wolfowitz
By BILL KELLER We're now up to Day 87 of the largely fruitless hunt for Iraq's unconventional weapons. Allegations keep piling up that the Bush administration tried to scam the world into war by exaggerating evidence of the Iraqi threat. One critic has pronounced it "arguably the worst scandal in American political history." So you might reasonably ask a supporter of the war, How do you feel about that war now? … Even if you throw out all the tainted evidence, there was still what prosecutors call probable cause to believe that Saddam was harboring frightful weapons, and was bent on acquiring the most frightful weapons of all. … What the Bush administration did was gild the lily ? disseminating information that ranged from selective to preposterous. The president himself gave credence to the claim that Iraq was trying to buy uranium in Africa, a story that (as Seymour Hersh's investigations leave little doubt) was based on transparently fraudulent information. Colin Powell in his February performance at the U.N. insisted that those famous aluminum tubes Iraq bought were intended for bomb-making, although the technical experts at the Department of Energy had made an awfully strong case that the tubes were for conventional rocket launchers. And as James Risen disclosed in The Times this week, two top Qaeda planners in custody told American interrogators ? one of them well before the war was set in motion ? that Osama bin Laden had rejected the idea of working with Saddam. That inconclusive but potent evidence was kept quiet in the administration's zeal to establish a meaningful Iraqi connection to the fanatical war on America. The motives for the dissembling varied. The hawks hyped the case (profusely) to prove we were justified in going to war, with or without allies. Mr. Powell hyped it (modestly) in the hope that the war, which he knew the president had already decided to wage, would not be a divisive, unilateral exercise. The president either believed what he wanted to believe or was given a stacked deck of information, and it's a close call which of those possibilities is scarier. Those who say flimflam intelligence drove us to war, though, have got things backward. It seems much more likely that the decision to make war drove the intelligence. Well now, I guess thatby Prometheus 6
June 14, 2003 - 6:29am. on Old Site Archive Well now, I guess that depends. How badly do you want him out of the White House? How badly do you want control of Congress? from the NY Times Democrats Split on Challenging Iraq Arms Hunt
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and ADAM NAGOURNEY Democrats are struggling over how strongly to challenge President Bush about the failure so far to find biological or chemical weapons. Bad moodSeveral things are goingby Prometheus 6
June 13, 2003 - 2:48pm. on Old Site Archive Bad mood Several things are going on in the world and in blogging space that, between them, have me annoyed. There's a government agency or two I wish would just stop fucking around and do the right thing, and there's a nastiness in blog space that everyone ought to just let go of now that they've all said their piece. With all this in mind, apropos of nothing, Jesse at Pandagon points to a story that pretty much sums up the feeling of futility I have today. from Asia Times US turns to the Taliban
By Syed Saleem Shahzad KARACHI - Such is the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, compounded by the return to the country of a large number of former Afghan communist refugees, that United States and Pakistani intelligence officials have met with Taliban leaders in an effort to devise a political solution to prevent the country from being further ripped apart. What the fuck was the point???I ain't even gonna linkby Prometheus 6
June 13, 2003 - 8:23am. on Old Site Archive Paul Krugman is da man!Toby Prometheus 6
June 13, 2003 - 8:20am. on Old Site Archive Paul Krugman is da man! To speak so directly, his trust fund must already be converted to Euros. Just kidding. If that were true he'd be gone already. It's obvious Mr. Krugman has real concerns. from the NY Times 'Some Crazy Guy'
By PAUL KRUGMAN There's no point in getting mad at Mr. DeLay and his clique: they are what they are. I do, however, get angry at moderates, liberals and traditional conservatives who avert their eyes, pretending that current disputes are just politics as usual. They aren't ? what we're looking at here is a radical power play, which if it succeeds will transform our country. Yet it's considered uncool to point that out. Many of those who minimize the threat the radical right now poses to America as we know it would hate to live in the country Mr. DeLay wants to create. Yet by playing down the seriousness of the challenge, they help bring his vision closer to reality. Nicholas Kristoff is a wussTodayby Prometheus 6
June 13, 2003 - 8:03am. on Old Site Archive Nicholas Kristoff is a wuss Today his column leads with: Let me give the White House a hand.
Condoleezza Rice was asked on "Meet the Press" on Sunday about a column of mine from May 6 regarding President Bush's reliance on forged documents to claim that Iraq had sought uranium in Africa. That was not just a case of hyping intelligence, but of asserting something that had already been flatly discredited by an envoy investigating at the behest of the office of Vice President Dick Cheney. Ms. Rice acknowledged that the president's information turned out to be "not credible," but insisted that the White House hadn't realized this until after Mr. Bush had cited it in his State of the Union address. And now an administration official tells The Washington Post that Mr. Cheney's office first learned of its role in the episode by reading that column of mine. Hmm. I have an offer for Mr. Cheney: I'll tell you everything I know about your activities, if you'll tell me all you know. and ends with Still, Mr. Tenet and the intelligence agencies were under intense pressure to come up with evidence against Iraq. Ambiguities were lost, and doubters were discouraged from speaking up.
"It was a foregone conclusion that every photo of a trailer truck would be a `mobile bioweapons lab' and every tanker truck would be `filled with weaponized anthrax,' " a former military intelligence officer said. "None of the analysts in military uniform had the option to debate the vice president, secretary of defense and the secretary of state." I don't believe that the president deliberately lied to the public in an attempt to scare Americans into supporting his war. But it does look as if ideologues in the administration deceived themselves about Iraq's nuclear programs ? and then deceived the American public as well. sigh And the young man started out with such promise. With all the stuff between the beginning and the end, why equivocate? What specifically does one have to do to deceive someone, hmmmm? C'mon Nick. Let's say it together: "Bush lied…" All we know for sureby Prometheus 6
June 13, 2003 - 7:54am. on Old Site Archive All we know for sure is, a lot of people can no longer afford college from the NY Times Change in Aid Formula Shifts More Costs to Students
By GREG WINTER Millions of college students will have to shoulder more of the cost of their education under federal rules imposed late last month through a bureaucratic adjustment requiring neither Congressional approval nor public comment of any kind. The changes, only a slight alteration in the formula governing financial aid, are expected to diminish the government's contribution to higher education by hundreds of millions of dollars, starting in the fall of 2004. But they will also have a ripple effect across almost every level of financial aid, shrinking the pool of students who qualify for federal awards, tightening access to billions of dollars in state and institutional grants and, in turn, heightening the reliance on loans to pay for college. … "This is a classic mismatch between public policy and the world that the students and families are actually living in," said Patrick M. Callan, president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. "If somebody put in a bill about this, it would get a hell of a debate, wouldn't it?" The Education Department acknowledges that there is a disconnect between the formula and the current trajectory of state and local taxes, but contends that there is little it can do to remedy the situation. Federal law requires that it update the tax tables periodically, and the data from which it draws comes directly from the Internal Revenue Service. The problem is, the department says, the most recent data is at least three years old, reflecting a period when state taxes were considerably lower than what they are now. "I don't know what to do about that," said Dan Madzelan, chief of forecasting and policy analysis for the department's office of postsecondary education. "There's always some kind of a look back in the federal system." Because discretionary income is unique to each family ? entirely dependent on its size, income, the number of children it has in college and, for tax purposes, where it lives ? there is no set amount that educational expenses will change. This is what happens… whenby Prometheus 6
June 13, 2003 - 7:47am. on Old Site Archive This is what happens … when your time on a dude ranch convinces you you're a cowboy. So… what changed?It's not likeby Prometheus 6
June 13, 2003 - 7:39am. on Old Site Archive So… what changed? It's not like the rules of ethics or morality changed. It's not that the suggested changes are all that clever. It's not even that these cases are more visible. The civil rights community warned everyone about Ashcroft before Mr. Bush was sworn in. The fact that he and his staff has no apologies about problems that the rest of the government feels the need to respond to this quickly shows how totally wrong his is for the job of chief law enforcement officer. He's supposed to manage the overall process, and the atmosphere he created was such that these abuses were seen as justifiable…desireable…expected. Just as when Justin Volpe tortured Abner Louima and ran around the precinct with a bloody, stool-covered stick bragging about what he did, that there is an atmosphere where officers expect an actual pat on the back for these actions is troubling in the extreme. As in that case, the managers who either fomented or allowed through negligence the development of such an atmsophere should be held accountable. And as the particular manager in this case was known and hand-picked, the picker has much to answer for as well. from the NY Times U.S. Will Tighten Rules on Holding Terror Suspects
By ERIC LICHTBLAU WASHINGTON, June 12 ? Federal authorities said today that they planned to use stricter standards for identifying and locking up terrorist suspects in light of concerns raised in a recent report that hundreds of illegal immigrants were mistreated after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. … The move to embrace the bulk of the changes appeared to signal a greater acknowledgment of shortcomings in antiterrorism and detention policies than Justice Department officials had publicly admitted. … Inspector General Glenn A. Fine's report found that few of the 762 illegal immigrants arrested after Sept. 11 had clear ties to terrorism, but that many were held for months in what the report characterized as harsh conditions, often without access to lawyers. Inmates in Brooklyn were subjected to physical and verbal abuse, the report found. Attorney General John Ashcroft and his aides defended the department's conduct after the report was released, saying they "make no apologies" for doing everything in their legal power to aggressively deter another attack on American soil. … Among the 12 recommendations that officials said they were ready to adopt are developing clearer criteria for determining which illegal immigrants are terrorist suspects, improving lockup conditions and policies for those in custody and giving immigration officials ? rather than the F.B.I. ? more authority to remove a suspect from custody. … Immigrant rights advocates cautioned, however, that even if all the recommendations were adopted, they might not go far enough to ensure that illegal immigrants suspected of terrorism were given proper access to lawyers, judicial review and adequate conditions of confinement. … The inspector general found that the F.B.I., particularly in New York City, made little attempt to determine whether the illegal immigrants arrested after the Sept. 11 attacks had true connections to terrorism. The report suggested that the authorities arrested many illegal immigrants ? most of them Middle Eastern ? who became entangled in the terrorism investigation by chance through traffic stops, anonymous tips and other means. Investigators found that many suspects were simply grouped into categories "of interest" to the terrorism investigations and subjected to restrictive and sometimes abusive conditions of confinement as a result of that classification. So… we did declare victoryby Prometheus 6
June 13, 2003 - 7:07am. on Old Site Archive So… we did declare victory already, right? from the NY Times The BoondocksToo, two true. postedby Prometheus 6
June 13, 2003 - 6:55am. on Old Site Archive My first public disagreement withby Prometheus 6
June 13, 2003 - 12:17am. on Old Site Archive My first public disagreement with ZenPundit Mark speculates on the type of campaign Senator Clinton will run in 2004 or 2008. It's actually a pretty decent plan: First we will get a " New Hillary " - we are seeing some of that now with her book promotion - older, wiser and more capable of poking fun at her own foibles who will chuckle about her days as the lightning rod of 1600 Pennsylvania avenue. Then the campaign will emphasize HRC's statesmanship as a senator and first lady while pushing proposals that sound bold but politically speaking will be surprisingly middle-of-the road in tone. When the crazies on the Right come out with predictably frantic and excessive personal attacks, she'll be taking the high road.
Hey, if Bush did this (push proposals that sound bold but are actually middle of the road) I'd vote for him. In fact, that's pretty much what he did. Unfortunately he has proven to be such an extremist there is no way I'd trust him to keep his word But… The idea of a Hillary Clinton presidential candidacy is much like the idea of a unicorn. Such a creature could exists… it just doesn't. A Clinton candidacy would do more to energize the Republican base than the return of the Gipper himself. And a Clinton win would likely signal the start of the four year period that culminates in the Second War of Secession. Not that I'd mind if she won. It would bring the day we see a Black president that much closer. But if you want to gain power you don't set up your own obstacles. Sen. Clinton would be just as useful and convincing as Majority Leader and far less of an obstacle to regaining and leeping the presidency. She's due for a major increase in influence, and yeah, the book is probably part of setting the stage for that. But not as POTUS. Str8 capitalismBlack Enterprise Magazine (youby Prometheus 6
June 12, 2003 - 10:05pm. on Old Site Archive Str8 capitalism Black Enterprise Magazine (you knew I'd get to them sooner or later, didn't you?) has what they call a Wealth Building Initiative that's aboout teaching the finer points of becoming rich enough that voting Republican would make sense to you. You have to register to get at the meat of it, which is 10+ megs of pdf files all at once or one principle at a time. Principle 1:Save And Invest 10% To 15% Of Your After-tax Income Another big anniversaryfrom BlackAmericaWeb.comFormer studentsby Prometheus 6
June 12, 2003 - 9:50pm. on Old Site Archive Another big anniversary from BlackAmericaWeb.com Former students mark 1963 showdown at Alabama schoolhouse door
06/11/2003 04:53 PM EDT TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Black alumni of the University of Alabama gathered Wednesday to honor 40 years of school integration at the campus where then-Gov. George Wallace made his infamous "stand in the schoolhouse door." A candlelight vigil and forums on racial issues were among programs marking the anniversary of Wallace's June 11, 1963, act of segregationist defiance. Largely political stagecraft, it did not stop the mostly peaceful introduction of blacks into the state's flagship institution Bush lied…from BlackAmericaWeb.comPutting a blackby Prometheus 6
June 12, 2003 - 9:41pm. on Old Site Archive Bush lied… from BlackAmericaWeb.com Putting a black face on a bad situation
By DeWayne Wickham I just knew it would come to this. … Anyone who saw how black entertainers were trotted across the stage of the 2000 Republican Convention - and before a national television audience - to disguise the near total absence of blacks among the convention's voting delegates would not be surprised by what happened last Sunday. That's when Powell and Rice were put on stage. They made the rounds of the Sunday morning talk shows to deny that the president had stretched the truth - maybe even lied - when he repeatedly told the nation that Iraq had a huge supply of weapons of mass destruction and would soon use them against us. … Whatever the case, now that his charges don't hold up the president has given Powell and Rice a leading role in his effort to make this problem go away. But don't feel sorry for them because they are willing dupes. We didn't hear much from Powell and Rice when the war in Iraq was going well. Back then the media spotlight was hogged by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, whose prewar talk about Saddam's scary weapons helped Bush convince a lot of trusting people in this country that the Iraqi leader was a menace who had to be taken down. But now that Bush's justification for war has come under a withering attack, Rumsfeld has faded into the background and Rice and Powell - the president's top black appointees - have been sent out before the TV cameras to put a good face on a bad situation. I might come back toby Prometheus 6
June 12, 2003 - 9:17pm. on Old Site Archive I might come back to this I probably should. I just need some time to think about it, because I understand where they coming from, I'm just not feeling the destination. from African American News&Issues FATHER?S DAY 2003
?Man of The House? is becoming a misnomer By BUD JOHNSON African-American News & Issues ?The misogyny articulated by the hip hop generation comes from its marginalization by a welfare system that defines "family" as a woman with children and a check from AFDC or child support. It's not just the demise of work in urban American that has alienated Black men from the family-supporting and child-rearing positions they used to occupy with pride; it's a welfare/child support system that has substituted for them. It's 30-years of Black male dislocation that's moved us from the R&B of 25 years ago "Ain't No Woman Like The One I've Got" - to such lyrics as ?Bitches Ain't Nuthin But Hoes and Tricks." The foregoing prologue (that was lifted from a 1996 Washington Informer article), should make it obvious that this isn?t going to be a positive Father?s Day tribute, that have been a tradition since 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson approved of the idea. I had no idea!I'm slowlyby Prometheus 6
June 12, 2003 - 5:39pm. on Old Site Archive I had no idea! I'm slowly becoming convinced that satire is a leftist strong suite. Read this at Pandagon and tell if I ain't right. An accidental casualtyMaybe it's earlyby Prometheus 6
June 12, 2003 - 1:38pm. on Old Site Archive An accidental casualty Maybe it's early to bring this up, but it's Thursday and over at Microbes On Parade as we speak there are 12 entries and five votes cast. Maybe people are waiting this weekend to link/vote so they can besure it gets counted, but twelve entries seems kind of light. It's possible that Things in the Background have discouraged a more than a few folks from participating. That would be a shame, because the contest is a nice idea. I'm going to agree withby Prometheus 6
June 12, 2003 - 10:26am. on Old Site Archive I'm going to agree with this once I don't think 'lie' is necessarily the best word for it. I think a more apropos analogy is a lawyers' brief. You pull together every piece of evidence you can find -- good, bad, flimsy, obviously bogus, uncertain, it doesn't matter, just throw it all in -- and you make the best case you can with what you have. You put in everything that helps your case and forget about everything that hurts it. And the case was that there was an imminent threat that required war against Iraq. I repeat, imminent.
A reminder for myselfJoe Katzmanby Prometheus 6
June 12, 2003 - 9:38am. on Old Site Archive A reminder for myself Joe Katzman at Winds of Change convinced me I need to read this: A CIA Veteran Discusses Foreign Analysis The last link is to an article hosted by cia.gov. I know some folks are concerned about that sort of thing and I don't want anyone surprised…
Joe Katzman Ray at Pseudorandom Thoughts is one of the few other blogs out there that I would expect to find citing "Studies in Intelligence" magazine. If you're a blogger or a writer, and you're serious about doing good analysis of foreign events and cultures, veteran CIA analyst Martin Petersen has some excellent and detailed advice. His audience is tougher, which means his tips for success are well honed On Justice William PryorSee Ruminateby Prometheus 6
June 12, 2003 - 9:06am. on Old Site Archive On Justice William Pryor See Ruminate This Michael GrahamDo Republicans really wantby Prometheus 6
June 12, 2003 - 8:55am. on Old Site Archive Michael Graham Do Republicans really want this guy talking for them? The Wyeth Wire tells how he is crying foul because the Secret Service interviewed him over his expressed desire to club Senator Clinton with a tire iron. The Wire has a couple of quotes from Graham's web site. I decided to go read the whole rant (penance for taking yesterday off). I found it without the help of permalinks, but I found this gem even more interesting than his denial of blatant stupidity for even playing at threatening someone under Secret Service protection. You want to know why liberalism is on the ropes in America? It's not the ideology. Most Americans aren't bright enough to tell the difference between Left and Right.
Isn't that a wonderful opinion of Americans? Damn, I'm lateThe 2003 Sanby Prometheus 6
June 12, 2003 - 8:16am. on Old Site Archive Damn, I'm late The 2003 San Francisco Black Film Festival started yesterday and runs through the 15th. My brain usage profileFind outby Prometheus 6
June 12, 2003 - 7:38am. on Old Site Archive My brain usage profile Find out what your brain usage profile is Auditory : 50%
Visual : 50% Left : 65% Right : 35% Earl, you are somewhat left-hemisphere dominant with a balanced preference for auditory and visual inputs. Because of your "centrist" tendencies, the distinctions between various types of brain usage are somewhat blurred. Your tendency to be organized and logical and attend to details is reasonably well-established which should afford you success regardless of your chosen field of endeavor, unless it requires total spontaneity and ability to improvise, your weaker traits. However, you are far from rigid or overcontrolled. You possess a degree of individuality, perceptiveness, and trust in your intuition to function at much more sophisticated levels than most. Having given sufficient attention to detail, you can readily perceive the larger aspects and implications of a situation or of learning. You are functional and practical, but can blend abstraction and theory into your framework readily. The equivalence of your auditory and visual learning orientation gives you two equally effective sensory input systems, each with distinctive features. You can process both unidimensionally and multidimen- sionally with equal facility. When needed, you sequence material while at other times you "intake it all" and store it for processing later. Your natural ability to use your senses is also synthesized in your way of learning. You can be reflective in your approach, absorbing material in a non-aggressive manner, and at other times voracious in seeking out stimulation and experience. Overall you tend to be somewhat more critical of yourself than is necessary and avoid enjoying life too much because of a sense of duty. You feel somewhat constrained and tend to sometimes restrict your expressiveness. In any given situation, you will opt for the rational, and learning of almost any type should be easy for you. You might need certain ideas explained to you in order to fit them into your scheme of things, but you're at least open to that! I know the game, Iby Prometheus 6
June 12, 2003 - 6:55am. on Old Site Archive I know the game, I seen how it plays out from the NY Times The Civil Service Faces an Overhaul
he Bush administration is moving quietly toward the most sweeping reform of the Civil Service system in a generation, a mammoth turnabout that would empower the Pentagon to scrap and replace the way it hires, pays, promotes and disciplines its roughly 750,000 civilian workers. The House has already rubber-stamped a plan proposed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who wants the "flexibility" to become in effect the potentate of payroll. Under that bill, Mr. Rumsfeld and his managers would have final word on the merit, demerit and pay raises of workers, who would have minimal recourse to appeal. Workers are understandably anxious about this work force revolution, warning of a retreat toward the 19th-century spoils system of patronage and cronyism. These concerns can be considerably eased by the Senate, which will be considering a creative alternative that would moderate the administration's plan through a balanced mix of concessions on reforms and safeguards for workers. Here's the problem. Whatever the Senate passes, some sort of compromise with the House bill will have to be created. Just like what happened with the tax cut. Thursday morning cartoon contest Andby Prometheus 6
June 12, 2003 - 6:40am. on Old Site Archive Another blow against the multi-regionalby Prometheus 6
June 12, 2003 - 6:32am. on Old Site Archive Another blow against the multi-regional theory of evolution Like another one was needed… from the NY Times In Ancient Skulls From Ethiopia, Familiar Faces
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD In the 160,000-year-old fossilized skulls of two adults and a child found in Ethiopia, scientists think they see for the first time the faces of the immediate ancestors of modern humans. Except for a few archaic characteristics, the skulls are readily recognizable. They are longer than their Neanderthal contemporaries from Eurasia or earlier ancestors. Their midfaces are broad, but the nasal bones are tall and narrow. The brow ridges are less prominent than those displayed in skulls from earlier branches of the family tree. And the cranial vaults are higher and within modern dimensions. The discovery of the oldest near-modern human remains, announced yesterday, is considered a major step in establishing the time and place for the emergence of anatomically modern Homo sapiens, probably 150,000 years ago in Africa, as previous genetic studies suggested. Thursday morning cartoon contestAnd theby Prometheus 6
June 12, 2003 - 6:23am. on Old Site Archive I need a new economicby Prometheus 6
June 11, 2003 - 11:28pm. on Old Site Archive I need a new economic fix Of all the subjects I ought to know about but don't economics ranks right up there in the top five. It's at the root of the explanations (as opposed to reasons) given for much of the extremist insanity currently being inflicted on the nation. You need at least a passing knowlege of the ideas being bandied about to be able to respond to them with more than a slack jaw and a glazed expression in your eyes. When playing basketball, you watch your opponent and estimate his capabilities. Those capabilities depend on the mechanics of his particular body, but you never think on that level. You watch his foot movement and such. That's the level on which I want to approach economics…I really don't need the whole textbook. I need a high level view. Basing my thinking on such an understanding I will be wrong sometimes; without doubt some significant detail will trip me up occasionally. But at least I'll be in a position to understand a correction. The problem is, "economist" used to imply a knowlege of a certain field of investigation. Now it seems to be a job title. The number of econoblogs I've read is small because I hit a few good ones right off the top. First Wampum plus various links that showed up on multiple credible blogs was good enough. I added It's Still The Economy, Stupid to the list because it was drawn from several quality econoblogs— if the submitter felt it was important enough to draw attention to on ISTES, I figured it was important enough to absorb. I've decided to add MaxSpeak to the blogroll for several reasons:
I'm not giving up ISTES at all. I think between it and Max, and the occasional excursion into their blogrolls, I should be able to reach and maintain the level of understanding I'm after. LATER: MaxSpeak is more diversified than I remembered. That's good too. Okay, so I took aby Prometheus 6
June 11, 2003 - 9:57pm. on Old Site Archive Phase transitionZenPundit set up aby Prometheus 6
June 11, 2003 - 12:50pm. on Old Site Archive Phase transition ZenPundit set up a blogroll and I'm on it. As a member of the VLWC I shouldn't consort. But you know, he writes stuff like this: So why the hard spin on the interpretation the Bush administration took from the evidence ? It has a great deal to do with internal polling - the Democratic position on national security with the public is ( rightly so) essentially hopeless, not just with the average voter but even with moderate Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents. Here is a recent media poll giving the same results as what Democratic insiders already know.This appears to be a make-or-break issue in the voting booth for swing voters in a narrowly divided electorate and right now Bush has a lock on the issue of national security. The Left does not need to prove this case that Bush allegedly " lied " about Iraqi WMD but they do need to chip away at Bush's lead in this area and create enough of a reasonable doubt in the minds of independents that this issue doesn't loom so large over 2004 swing voters as it does presently. ( This argument will not affect partisans - finding nuclear bomb components in Kirkuk tomorrow won't switch a single hard-core Democrat to the Bush column. No WMD's turning up won't cause conservative types to vote for Al Sharpton) The Democratic Party is about as trusted in their ability to prosecute the War on Terror with vigor as the GOP is trusted to safeguard a woman's right to an abortion.
And in both cases, the voters have good reason for their qualms I'm going to disagree with ZP but that's okay at this point. Smart people and dumb people can both have the same beliefs, but smart people has one set of options for working their beliefs and dumb people have another. Everywhere I've seen Zenpundit write, and in my own limited interaction with him he's been on the smart side. So he becomes the first of a probably very short list of right-wing entries on my blogroll. I'll probably have to do something about segregating him from our Good Left-Wing Brethren. Just in case you're curiousAl-Muhajabah,by Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 8:33pm. on Old Site Archive Just in case you're curious Al-Muhajabah, the sister behind veiled4allah, has a bag of information on Islam that looks impressive as hell. Three columns of it. Having admitted to not thoroughly getting it, I picked the column for non-muslims.
from The OnionGen Tommy Franksby Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 8:08pm. on Old Site Archive from The Onion Gen Tommy Franks Quits Army to Pursue Solo Bombing Project
WASHINGTON, DC?Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of American forces in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, announced plans Monday to step down as U.S. Central Command chief to focus on solo bombing projects. "The years I've spent with the Army have been amazing, and we did some fantastic bombing," said Franks at a Pentagon press conference. "But at this point, I feel like I've taken it as far as I can. It's time for me to move on and see what I can destroy on my own." … Franks said he also relishes the notion of having more creative freedom. "When you're in an army, you pretty much have to bomb the countries they tell you to bomb," Franks said. "Which is fine for a while. But eventually, you get tired of bombing the same old places again and again. The last thing I want is to be 70 years old, still bombing Iraq. It's important to keep things fresh." via email from the Kucinichby Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 7:35pm. on Old Site Archive via email from the Kucinich Campaign KUCINICH ON HOUSE FLOOR: CREDIBILITY GAP IS GROWING Congressman Dennis Kucinich, leader of Congressional opposition to the Iraq war, took to the House floor today to continue pressing for the truth about the Administration's drive to war: "The credibility gap is growing. First the Administration said the US had to sweep aside the UN inspections and the UN Security Council because Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that were an imminent threat. Now, Paul Wolfowitz says: 'The truth is that for reasons that have a lot to do with the US government bureaucracy, we settled on the one issue that everyone could agree on, which was weapons of mass destruction as the core reason.' "Now their story is changing: Iraq had a weapons 'program,' they say. No longer weapons of mass destruction, but a program. If this Administration can fabricate reasons for war after the fact, where will America be headed for war next? "Congress must demand accountability for the wanton exercise of war power, for the loss of life, the destruction of property, the waste of tax dollars and the damage to America's reputation. Thirty-three members of the House have now signed the Resolution of Inquiry to demand the White House tell the truth." Kucinich's Resolution of Inquiry, demanding the Administration turn over intelligence to back its pre-war claims about Iraq, was introduced Thursday and has growing support. It is a privileged resolution and must be voted on in Committee within 14 legislative days of being introduced. *** For a quick view of his platform: For a fuller look at the Kucinich campaign: To donate to the campaign to amplify Kucinich's message: Please forward this message to others. Rampant plagiarismI'm stealing Josh Marshall'sby Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 5:01pm. on Old Site Archive Rampant plagiarism I'm stealing Josh Marshall's whole post because it's short and I want it on my blog too. Till now we've assumed that the Department of Homeland Security got hoodwinked into getting involved in the manhunt for the Texas Democrats. Apparently that's not so. (Note to Joe Lieberman, Dan Gerstein, et al.: did you guys pick up on this?) One of the things Homeland Security did to help the Texas Republicans was to put out what amounted to an APB, calling various Texas airports to see if they could track down the Democrats in question. When an official at one of the local airports contacted by Homeland Security asked what was up, the Homeland Security official told him it didn't have anything to do with a downed plane or any problem like that. "This is just somebody looking for politicians they can't find," an unidentified official told Marvin Miller, an airport official in Plainview, Texas, according to a Saturday article in the Washington Post.
So much for an innocent misunderstanding. So much for 'homeland security'. (Note to Tom Ridge: Where's that IG Report?) -- Josh Marshall Sticks and stones of massby Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 4:29pm. on Old Site Archive Sticks and stones of mass destruction First they had nukes. Then they had chemical and biological weapons. But all they found were a couple of trucks experts say weren't capable of the sort of temperature control needed to be what the Bush administration claimed they were. And now we're not looking for weapons, it's a weapons program. Talk about your slippery slopes. Mike at TOPDOG04 got aby Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 3:11pm. on Old Site Archive Mike at TOPDOG04 got a bit annoyed at the suggestion made by Ta-Nehisi Coates that thuglife is played: Back home in "B-Town" it was the Latin Kings, the Vice Lords, and the Gangster Disciples, putting in work 24/7. In Los Angeles, it's the Bloods and the Crips, but from what I hear it's the same story everywhere. More Crips kill Crips than Bloods kill Crips. In Chicago, as many Folks kill Folks as People kill Folks. The Spanish Cobras and Black Gangster Disciples started the Folk alliance in prison, while the Vice Lords and Latin Kings started the People. Yet, the gangs are so fragmented these days by constant police crackdowns on senior leadership that alliances and truces don't mean very much at all. Violence and chaos rule the streets and the down turn in the economy is just adding fuel to the fire. Murder rates are on the rise in cities across the nation. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating a hands-off approach to drugs or gang violence. I'm just saying gangs are still a big problem, and one we are not even close to solving, even if some people think that gangs are relics of the past:
Tell the truth, that's not what Mr. Coates was talking about, and Mike recognizes it was the opening paragraphs that set him off on an otherwise good piece. He made a sharp left while reading it, but that's okay because I do that all the time… just read a bit of the rest of the page for proof of that. But it's also okay because in the process of presenting evidence that gangs are still a problem, Mike gives us this: Or visit the library and check out a copy of Always Running by Luis Rodriguez:
Gangs are not alien powers. They begin as unstructured groupings, our children, who desire the same as any young person. Respect. A sense of belonging. Protection. The same thing that the YMCA, Little League or the Boy Scouts want. It wasn't any more than what I wanted as a child Forget everything you know about gangs, and troubled kids, and Trenchcoat Mafias. This is the key. Any "solution" that doesn't have this as its central understanding will fail. Miserably. Why you should write forby Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 1:17pm. on Old Site Archive Why you should write for real A week or so ago I linked to Billmon's definitive list of pre-war lies. Swopa at Needlenose reports on what may be the results of that post. I guess it's possible Billmon (who I don't know from Adam, btw) had this in mind from the beginning. All he did was take their own words, spin free. And it's making the rounds. Even the press is responding. That's writing. Yeah, I know, all he did was copy and paste, with a little formatting, but he got clear on what he wanted to communicate and executed precisely. It's like found poetry. Later: I don't think I was clear. Good writing, effective writing, is helped along by the ability to turn a clever phrase, whip up a unique metaphor or frame a proper quote. But what makes writing good is that it communicates the idea you intend it to. That's the whole purpose of writing, and the sole means by which I judge it. Billmon put across exactly what he intended to, so effectively that it immediately became a thing (I'm really trying to avoid the word "meme"...). That's why it's good writing, and it's why, if you're going to write it should be for real. Make sure you get what you want to say on paper or screen or whatever. Everything else is just decoration to make it more or less attractive.
Hesiod suggests Everyone should write their local newspaper or TV Station on this issue. Send them Billmon's list. Make sure they do not let Bush get away with fudging the argument. And he's right. If a reasonable number of people do this, it doesn't have to be an overwhelming flood, the local newspapers will know this is a common view that can't simply be ignored. And the simpler the letter, the better, like: I found this list on the Internet and it seems to be true. I've been talking with my friends about it, and we agree it's a problem we'd like to see explained.
Later-later: Eric Alterman has a Clip and Save Lying Guide that is Billmon's list with hypertext to the sources of the quotes. He returns when he found out the list wasn't original with his source and gives proper credit to Billmon. That Alternam is a mensch.
Theme corruptionThis isn't normally whatby Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 12:37pm. on Old Site Archive Theme corruption This isn't normally what I cover, but I read Corante's Brain Waves every day and ran across this fascinating bit. Note the section I underline. Neurotechnology is Driving Neuroethics
This month's IEEE Spectrum has an excellent article, Neurotechnology: Bioethics and the Brain, that describes how rapid advancements in brain imaging technologies will have significant implications for society in the relative near future. To make their point, the authors describe how one of their colleagues has recently used fMRI scans to show highly significant correlations between lying and truth telling and the metabolic activity in the region of the brain important to paying attention and monitoring errors. Imagine a 100% effective lie detector. Lower courts more conservative thanby Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 12:14pm. on Old Site Archive Lower courts more conservative than the Supreme Court? That's what Eric Schnapper, a law professor at the University of Washington said of this case, and it's a scary-ass thought. But it makes sense. Conservatives have been packing the lower courts for years, partly to insure a "qualified" candidate of the right political persuasion is available whenever a more influential seat opens up. Ever since Justice Thomas's ascension, it's been obvious one's politics is what determins one's qualifications. This decision is pretty cool on the face of it; on the other hand, it clears the way for many of the "reverse discrimination"-type suit. A smart lawyer would insist that "anti-white discrimination" be subject to the same standard of proof that anti-Black discrimination is. The 1989 decision raised the bar; this one lowers it again, but social conditions are changed and that lowering will have different results than would have been the case in 1991. Justices Provide a Victory to One Category of Job-Bias Plaintiffs
By LINDA GREENHOUSE WASHINGTON, June 9 ? A unanimous Supreme Court made it significantly easier today for workers to win discrimination suits against their employers in cases where race, sex, religion or national origin is one factor among others in a dismissal or other adverse job action. Such cases of "mixed motive" ? a legitimate reason combined with an improper, discriminatory one ? are so common as to be the norm in the world of employment discrimination litigation. Congress addressed this category of cases, among others, in 1991 when it amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the basic federal employment discrimination law, to counter a series of pro-employer Supreme Court decisions. A 1989 Supreme Court ruling had made it difficult for plaintiffs to qualify for the favorable jury instructions that come with a mixed-motive case, under which the employer has the burden of proving that it would have made the same decision even in the absence of the improper factor. The court said then that the plaintiff must prove by direct, not circumstantial, evidence that discrimination had been "a motivating factor" in the employer's action. Direct evidence requires the equivalent of a smoking gun. While it is sometimes available to aggrieved employees, it often is not, particularly in the nuanced and complex situations reflected in many mixed-motive cases. In its 1991 legislation, Congress provided that an "unlawful employment practice is established" when the plaintiff "demonstrates" that race or any of the other prohibited categories "was a motivating factor for any employment practice, even though other factors also motivated the practice." Although Congress made no mention of a need for direct evidence, the lower federal courts continued to require it, with the exception of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco. In an opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court said today that the Ninth Circuit was correct. "On its face," Justice Thomas said, "the statute does not mention, much less require, that a plaintiff make a heightened showing through direct evidence." "Our precedents make clear," he added, "that the starting point for our analysis is the statutory text. And where, as here, the words of the statute are unambiguous, the judicial inquiry is complete." Beyond the decision's impact on civil rights litigation, an effect that could be substantial, the case was notable for the court's unanimous rejection of the position argued by the Bush administration. The administration had urged the court to adhere to its direct-evidence requirement, arguing that Congress in 1991 intended to overturn other aspects of the 1989 decision, Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, but not the evidentiary standard. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who formulated the direct-evidence standard in her separate opinion in the 1989 case, wrote a concurring opinion today. She said that while she still believed that her original view accurately reflected what was then the state of the law, the result today correctly reflected the change that Congress made in 1991. The case, Desert Palace v. Costa, No. 02-679, began as a suit against the management of Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas by Catharina Costa, who worked there as a truck driver and heavy-equipment operator. Ms. Costa was the only woman to work in the hotel's warehouse. After she was dismissed, following a fight with another employee that management stated as a cause, she sued for sex discrimination and sexual harassment. The case was tried as a mixed-motive case, and Ms. Costa won a jury award of $364,000 for back pay and damages. The hotel then appealed on the ground that in the absence of direct evidence, Ms. Costa was not entitled to the favorable mixed-motive jury instructions. Instead, the hotel said, she should have been required to meet a higher burden of proof by showing that the stated reason for her dismissal was a pretext for discrimination. A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit initially agreed, but a panel of 11 judges reheard the case and, departing from the uniform view of the other appeals courts, held that direct evidence was not necessary. The unanimity of the ruling today, along with the fact that the appeals courts other than the Ninth Circuit were still requiring direct evidence, "illustrates how much more conservative the lower courts are these days than the Supreme Court," Eric Schnapper, a law professor at the University of Washington who helped represent Ms. Costa, said in an interview. He said that there were hundreds of similar cases in the pipeline and that plaintiffs would benefit from the lowered threshold the court set today. But, but… he's ONE ofby Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 12:02pm. on Old Site Archive But, but… he's ONE of them! Giving God a Break Krugman! Krugman! Krugman! Krugman! Theby Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 12:00pm. on Old Site Archive Krugman! Krugman! Krugman! Krugman! The lead on the editorial page was enough to convince me to link to this. I leave Krugman alone in general because so many folks cover him, and ar far better qualified to do so than I. But this ain't economics, it's ethics… which I feel as qualified to opine on as the next person. Who's Accountable? Naming namesThat's Jeff Danziger steppingby Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 11:53am. on Old Site Archive I'm confusedI'm not understanding thisby Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 11:50am. on Old Site Archive I'm confused I'm not understanding this Tony Auth cartoon. Black ExcelBlack Excel College Newsletterby Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 11:27am. on Old Site Archive Black Excel Black Excel College Newsletter (June 2003) *Don't ask, "Can Your child get into Harvard, Spelman, U. of Michigan, Howard, or Yale!" June 2003 Topics: Do Black Students at Prestigious Colleges "Segregate Themselves?" Some Stats! Florida A&M University Revels in TV Deal Worth Millions !! The Art of Choosing a College: Tips for Visual and Performing Arts Students The 16th Annual Fall Black College Tour (Nov. 19-23, 2003, from San Jose, CA) Getting Your Child into Harvard, Yale, or Princeton: Feeder Schools! The Black Excel "Scholarship Gateway" Is A Major Resource Coppin State Degrees Questioned? The Latest Update ! Topic Gateway: Do Black Students at Prestigious Colleges "Segregate Themselves?" *Here's some statistics from an article that recently appeared in The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (Issue 39). This excerpt of this relevant article points to the percentages of Black Students living in Black Program or Theme housing.... The "Self-Segegation" Percentages: *For a comprehensive JBHE overview and related commentary, go to http://www.jbhe.com/news_views/39_black_theme_houses.html Florida A&M University Revels in TV Deal Worth Millions Florida A&M University just announced (6/6/03 news story), that it is securing a television contract with the Urban Broadcasting Company that could help the HBCU
The Art of Choosing a College: Tips for Visual and Performing Arts Students *from NACAC website The 16th Annual Fall Black College Tour (Nov. 19-23, 2003, from San Jose, CA) Della Tours new tour is for 5 Days and 4 nights (cost: $910.00). The HBCU's scheduled are Spelman, Morehouse, Clark-Atlanta, Oakwood Colleges, and Alabama A&M. Campus tours and orientations depend on the availability of the university staff. The trip cost covers: round trip air fare to Atlanta, Getting Your Child into Harvard, Yale, or Princeton: Feeder Schools! In Sept. 2002, an article titled, "Getting Inside the Ivy Gates" by Reshma Memon Yaqub appeared in Worth Magazine. The author wrote about "feeder" schools where large numbers of students get into Harvard, Yale, or Princeton. The facts confirmed the idea that an "elite" group of private schools give their students a tremendous advantage in the admissions process. Indeed, graduating students from these "best" private schools get into the Ivy League schools at very high percentages. The lesson learned, after the author did research? "A college feeder system is alive and well in America!" Just one of the author's points: "Nationwide the ratio of students to guidance counselors is 490 to one. A more typical ratio at the private schools on our list is 40 to 60 students per college counselor." That's only one of many telling advantages for the rich and/or privileged. Top 12 Private Schools (out of 50 listed) *based on the percentages of the 1998-2001graduating classes. 1. Roxbury Latin School/ West Roxbury, MA (21.11% of its graduating classes) 3. Collegiate School/New York City 4. Groton School/Groton, MA 5. Dalton School/New York City 6. Spence School/New York City 7. Horace Mann School/Bronx, NY 8. Winsor School/Boston 9. Milton Academy/Milton, MA 10. Phillips Academy/Andover, MA 11. Phillips Exeter Academy/Exeter, NH 12. Trinity School/New York City Read an online Washington Post interview with the author. The Black Excel "Scholarship Gateway" Is A Major Resource This gateway leads you to thousands of scholarships, including lists we have created and major portals like Fastweb and others. Here's a sampling of a few of our The 100+ Minority Scholarship List. The Nursing Scholarships (26 from Black Excel) Financial Aid & State Scholarship Gateways *To learn the A, B, C's of actually winning scholarships, you would be wise to checkout our "Get-The-Money-Guide" (pages 87 to 113) in the Black Excel African American Coppin State Degrees Questioned? The Latest Update ! *An excerpt, published June 1, 2003 in the Tallahassee Democrat. Student With Integrity May Get the Last Laugh by Gregory Kane "SOME FOLKS need to learn a lesson about getting the last laugh. Those students in Coppin State's College's criminal justice program who sneered at Joycelyn Evans But to thousands of others in this neck of the woods, Evans is the gutsy woman of integrity who proved that earning a degree through hard work is better than wheedling a degree through a lawsuit. "I've had tremendous support," Evans said last week. Some Coppin alumni have told her they appreciate her stand.... *For the full article, go to: http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-md.kane01jun01,0,5987828.column?coll=bal-local-columnists Newsletter by Isaac Black Black Excel: The College Help Network http://www.BlackExcel.org [email protected] OR: [email protected] SEND College News, Viewbooks, Comments, Black Excel: *For FREE info about Black Excel services A link to an extremistfromby Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 9:46am. on Old Site Archive A link to an extremist from my right-wing watchin' partner, by email If you want to hear Jared Taylor (http://www.amren.com) live, go to
http://www.wbal.com/ and click on the listen live link. He will be on the air, giving an interview, on Tues. at 3:05PM EST. Warning: Taylor is like one of those rubber monsters from Tokyo that has mastered the art of wearing tuxedos and the finer points of etiquette. His delivery is cultured, but his message is barbaric. It may be educational for some few of you, though. EschatonThe other day I mentionedby Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 9:16am. on Old Site Archive Eschaton The other day I mentioned Literary Week at Notoe on tghe Atrocities. It gave me a decent touchstone to think about a few things relative to blogging, so I may refer to it a couple of times going forward. I also mentioned a couple of days ago that Eschaton reads much differently with Atrios on vacation (shit, maybe I should set up the wish list thing) and Leah, Lambert and the farmer filling in. It's so different, I'm wondering how the regulars are taking it. If Eschaton was a brand of soap, it would be like changing the soap from a deoderant bar to something with one-quarter cleansing cream without changing the brand name— not a comment on the content, just on the contrast. This is what Emma said about Atrios' style (the whole post is good, and will eventually be discussed, though maybe not in this post) The Ur-blog
Atrios? blog Eschaton is what you might call the ur-blog style, the most stripped-down, bare-bones style. One imagines he?s exasperated at the obviousness of news and its implications. For him, it?s enough to compose a single declarative sentence, using the highlighted link as both barb and target. (I expect that for half the people it?s enough to just read the sentence--going to the linked article is redundant.) It?s effective because Atrios posts regularly, reliably, and comprehensibly. According to his site, he gets 20,000 readers a day, and I bet like me, they go to Eschaton first, to see what?s happening. … Atrios is to blogging what haiku is to poetry--economy and efficiency. In this example he uses the title to communicate information, then builds upon it with the first sentence, then builds upon that with the second. And so, in 32 words, he?s covered a fairly substantial subject. The style accentuates immediacy. There?s an immediacy in the regularity with which Atrios posts, and this is reflected in his prose. It?s quick and pithy. The speed of news and communication is palpable on Eschaton, and he treats his readers with a prose style that underscores this ethos. As a side note, I considered this approach, which in my head I called the FillInThePundit style. I can do it… truth is, anyone who's good at playing the dozens can do it well (I bet Atrios has a bag of "yo mama" jokes laying around). I found I wanted to say more than fits into a properly snarky pointer to a resource. Anyway, our guest bloggers at Eschaton seem to be more of a fusion of the other two types Emma defined, the Essayist and the Activist. I like that style better, possibly because my own is so similar—cute people always like mirrors. And it seems Atrios likes it too, if the slight increase in the verbosity of his remote posts is any indication. Working in team mode, everything is flowing kinda nicely. Good team blogs generally seem like a single voice from multiple throats. Right now, Eschaton is a good team blog, and with all the readers and virtual particles it has its advocacy will likely be pretty effective. HumbugYesterday Blogger disappeared on me,by Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 8:36am. on Old Site Archive Humbug Yesterday Blogger disappeared on me, Haloscan disappeared on me… I think I'm going to get to some serious programming so I don't need to depend on someone else's tools. Except for commenting. I went back to the previous system. Since I have broadband and am pretty much always online I could do something twisted by way of hosting comments myself, but that brings it's own problems (like writing a comment system). I think the real solution to that is moving to one of the PHP based systems (because I have no intention of working with Perl… personal preference). But that won't be for a while. Are you a Democrat?I'm not,by Prometheus 6
June 10, 2003 - 7:07am. on Old Site Archive Are you a Democrat? I'm not, though I'm registering as one for practical political purposes. I'm an anti-Republican-extremist (a fundimental fact that advances one's understanding is that here are no opposites, only an essence or its absence. The lack of an essence does not imply the presence of what you've defined as its opposite). If you are a Democrat, read Zizka. Read everything. If you're a Green, I make this oath: I will vote straight-line Green for all local and state elections, and if Bush jr. is a one-term president I will give Green candidates fair hearing for all future elections going forward. If you're a Republican, please think about how the radical reshaping of the economy and the shredding of the social safety net really affects you and your families. If you're a Republican extremist, fuck you and the horse you rode in on. Boy, do I have aby Prometheus 6
June 9, 2003 - 3:57pm. on Old Site Archive 1619 - 2019Did you knowby Prometheus 6
June 9, 2003 - 3:33pm. on Old Site Archive 1619 - 2019 Did you know there's only thirteen years until the 400th anniversary of the first American slaves' arrival in Jamestown, Virginia? The shift from indentured servitude to racial slavery in the British colonies is evident in the development of the colonies' laws.
Collective bargaining at its finestfromby Prometheus 6
June 9, 2003 - 3:26pm. on Old Site Archive Collective bargaining at its finest from The Black Commentator Bringing Chaos to the Boardroom
Attack on stock value is key to union victory SEIU and AFSCME strategists are under no illusion that they engineered the Tenet reversal by dint of their own genius. Wall Street analysts, after all, blew the big whistle on the corporation's over-valued stocks. However, the unions had their megaphones in place, and were able to "capitalize" on revelations of Tenet's frailties at the critical juncture. The employer's weak points are no longer clustered at the plant gate or the hospital receiving room. Rather, they may be hiding in the folds of padded portfolios, or the contradictions of their business plans. "In the most global sense, the American labor movement needs to figure out how to deal with huge national and international companies if we are going to survive," said the SEIU's Larry Fox. "That old style of one-by-one [organizing] is an obsolete style, when the community hospital has been bought by a national chain." There is a larger lesson in this story. Hospital corporations operate in the same environment as the rest of corporate America. The bubble they seek to inflate around themselves is filled with the hot air of speculation, nowadays based on relentless acquisitions and fantastic projections of future profits. Their business plans are largely wish lists, fragile documents of intentions. Like a mad herd that never sleeps, these omnivores ravage the social and economic fabric of the nation, creating a chaos in which security is just a memory. Yet they live and breath in a world of death by headline. Each of these corporations is headed by cutthroats willing to exploit the rumored weaknesses of the other before an audience of speculators whose thumbs turn up or down faster than any crowd at a Roman Coliseum. To bring the fight to the enemy, one must threaten what they hold most dear. An executive may not cry out when an expendable company is hit by a strike. But he writhes at the prospect of the lost acquisition, and comes unglued when moods turn sour on the only "Street" that counts in his world. The howls of Wall Street brought chaos to Tenet's corporate boardroom, forcing the survivors to seek sanctuary in a model union contract. Yet the stock values of virtually every U.S. corporation are based on growth projections made of mist. Stock analysts are all ears. There is a great deal to talk about, in every corporate configuration. Rather than simply rail at the destruction wreaked by corporate disorder, unions and other social movements must take advantage of the inherent disorder of corporate life, itself. Then plug in the megaphones, and bring chaos to the boardroom - until they sue for peace. Children's CrusadeAnd I think aboutby Prometheus 6
June 9, 2003 - 12:07pm. on Old Site Archive Children's Crusade And I think about as much of this one as the original. from the UN Integrated Regional Information Networks via AllAfrica.com Child Soldiers Are Back On the Frontline
June 9, 2003 Abidjan As Liberian President Charles Taylor fights for his very survival, child soldiers, many of them orphans of the conflict, are back at the forefront of the fighting. Every day they can be seen riding around the streets of the capital Monrovia in pick-up trucks proudly toting their automatic rifles. Relief workers in Monrovia said that on several occasions this year forces loyal to President Charles Taylor had raided schools and camps of displaced people in search of young recruits to fight two rebel movements. These now control over two thirds of the country and are fighting their way into the outskirts of the capital. … The rebels also use child soldiers. During one recent LURD attack on Gbarnga, a large town 140 km northeast of Monrovia, eye witnesses said they saw children firing rocket propelled grenades as well as automatic assault rifles. Many of the young combatants are resigned to the fact that they themselves will die in combat before they grow up. … J-Boy, who claims to be 16 but looks younger, wears a faded yellow T-shirt with the inscription "Death better than living." "I will die for my country!" he said defiantly in broken Liberian English. "I na (not) sitting down for deku (dissidents) walk over me." Questioned further, J-Boy said he was following in the footsteps of his brother who had already died in combat. "My big brother was a soldier man but he na died. He told me to fight because when you soldier you can get money." Shopping while Blackfrom BlackAmericaWeb.comLawsuits drawby Prometheus 6
June 9, 2003 - 11:59am. on Old Site Archive Shopping while Black from BlackAmericaWeb.com Lawsuits draw attention to racial profiling of consumers
06/08/2003 05:45 PM EDT (AP) - Recent lawsuits against Macy's, Dillard's and J.C. Penney are attracting new attention to racial profiling of consumers, something minority shoppers say has long been an unfortunate fact of life. While the retail industry says profiling cases are isolated and the result of overly aggressive employees rather than company policies, minority customers complain they've been viewed suspiciously, sometimes refused service and falsely accused of shoplifting. Consumers may have accepted such treatment as the norm in years past, said Jerome D. Williams, director of the Center for Marketplace Diversity at Howard University. But, increasingly, "people are tired of it," he said. "People recognize they have some legal rights now." To the standard response: "If somebody is racially profiling, it's an isolated incident," said Daniel Butler, the National Retail Federation's retail operations vice president. "It's the result of an associate acting independently on their own. It's not the result of a company's training or people directing them to do it. I say fucking train and direct them NOT to!
On voting at allfrom BlackAmericaWeb.comVoting,by Prometheus 6
June 9, 2003 - 11:50am. on Old Site Archive On voting at all from BlackAmericaWeb.com Voting, was W.E.B. Dubois right?
By Deborah Mathis On the brink of the presidential election of 1956, W.E.B. DuBois wrote a famous article for The Nation magazine titled ?Why I Won?t Vote.? The idea of any black man not taking advantage of a right which, at the time, was not readily available to many black people and which, afterward, took a lot of blood and tears to win may be repulsive. But DuBois makes a tough argument. ?I believe that democracy has so far disappeared in the United States that no ?two evils? exist,? he wrote. ?There is but one evil party with two names and it will be elected despite all I can do or say.? Nearly half a century and 11 presidential elections have passed since DuBois wrote that. But what DuBois said about the Democrat and Republican parties could be validly written today. As institutions, the parties often split hairs on policy positions. And when it comes to black voters, they share the same philosophy: Use them. … DuBois would, no doubt, say this proves his 1956 observation. The difference between the parties, particularly when it comes to the status of black Americans, is indiscernible. The Republicans preach lopsided public policy that disfavors people of color and the poor. But if a black person signs onto their plan, they reward them with high profile jobs and opportunities. Meanwhile, the Democrats advocate comparatively good public policy, but black loyalists are taken for granted, even abused under the presumption that they have no where else to go. They?re right about that much; the GOP is certainly no refuge and, as DuBois lamented in 1956, there is no viable third party. But before we decide to boycott the polls, why not try our hand at concerted agitation? It?s time to make both parties pay up. No more allowances for good intentions, we want results. To hell with photo ops, we want real opportunity, real say-so, real respect, real power. Or else For you New Yorkers outby Prometheus 6
June 9, 2003 - 9:59am. on Old Site Archive For you New Yorkers out there Queens Borough Public Library Langston Hughes Community Library Proudly Presents ?Flying Over Purgatory: Behind the Scenes? Monday, June 30th, 6:00 p.m. FREE Admission Langston Hughes Community Library This program is made possible through grants received from the New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Queens Borough President?s Office, Queens Borough Public Library, Library Action Committee of Corona-East Elmhurst, Inc., private contributions and donations. Non-conclusionsWell, I decided to followby Prometheus 6
June 9, 2003 - 7:38am. on Old Site Archive Non-conclusions Well, I decided to follow the link back to Gene Expressions. It was in the middle of one of the interblog disputes that seem pretty prevalent. My interests lie in the direction of human development as opposed to human evolution but I don't see the two topics as being at odds necessarily. I have seen evolutionary concepts twisted by racists to their own ends though. So I approach the site with an open mind… but not so open as to let my brain fall out. Without following up more than a few links on its blogroll or viewing any of its archives, I find nothing objectionable on the page today. In fact, if I read it correctly I find the last paragraph of this post to be quite useful: The underlying problem with the Shifting Balance is that populations will not diverge by genetic drift if there is, on average, more than one migrant between them per generation, regardless of the size of the populations. (The last point may be counter-intuitive, but is well-established. The effectiveness of genetic drift is inversely proportional to the size of the population, so that with larger populations a proportionately lower migration rate is needed to prevent them drifting apart. Of course, none of this applies to asexual species, mitochondria, or Y chromosomes.) Fisher considered this degree of isolation unlikely in the absence of major geographical barriers. Oddly, neither Fisher nor Wright seems to have mentioned in this context that most species have behavioural and/or morphological adaptations for dispersal at some stage in their life-cycle. Among humans, exogamous marriage rules, or capture of females from other tribes, would have the same effect.
Given that every field has its specialized terminology, and that the terminology often spins everyday terms into a subtly different meaning, I may misunderstand what is meant by "migrant." I am seriously not as up on evolutionary theory as some. But if this well-established fact means what it says on its face, it blows a hole in the theory of significant evolutionary differentiation of the American "races" big enough to drive a semi through. Bottom line: no endorsement, no attack due to unsufficient data. If it's a racism thing over there, I get the sense I'll be confronted with it sooner or later because I browse so much. And as the Good Book says, sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. I got enough to deal with without looking for shit. Class diversity as a principleTheby Prometheus 6
June 9, 2003 - 6:13am. on Old Site Archive Class diversity as a principle The NY Times has a well-meaning editorial touting diversity programs based on class rather than race. I actually have a problem with the way the editorial begins, but I'll speak to that last in order not to cloud the central issue. What we need is a new method to promote diversity, one that focuses on class rather than race. Class-based methods use financial and geographic indicators rather than skin color to determine whether a student will have something unique to bring to the table. Universities like Michigan use race-based diversity programs to ensure a multicultural student body.
Class-based diversity programs can be used to achieve the same ends because most minorities tend to be poorer than whites. In 2001, for example, the median household income was $29,470 for blacks and $46,305 for non-Hispanic whites, according to the Census Bureau. Because of this disparity, class-based diversity programs will inevitably promote racial diversity in admissions even if they are not explicitly intended to do so. And by ensuring that students are admitted from historically low-income urban neighborhoods, racial diversity can be achieved without using skin color itself as a means of distinguishing among students. The problem I see is the same one Florida and Texas have with their policy of guaranteeing admission the top X% of each graduating class admission to thei state universities. While these programs are good in and of themselves and have beneficially impacted diversity, to use them as diversity-enhancing tools requires continued segregation on the high-school level. Similarly, using poverty as a proxy for racial discrimination assumes an identity between the two. Even worse, by pressing class-based programs that are "not explicitly intended" to address racial diversity into that duty it becomes a simple matter to redirect the focus of such programs away from minorities altogether while still claiming to adhere to their purpose. My own view of the class vs. race thing: Class, Caste and Race
There are those who see the root of the race problem in class warfare… the exploitation of the 'lower' classes by the 'ruling' class. The approach to solving racial problems advocated by these folks is to empower the lower classes, where coincidentally most Black folks find themselves. Conceptually, this is a possible solution… as, conceptually, there may be unicorns. One gets a hint of the problems in this theoretical construct when you examine the groups dedicated to eliminating the "class problem" and find that they, too, have their command structure, their leaders and followers. Substituting one class structure for another doesn't eliminate classes. Now, it's not that I'm saying race is a substantial reality. I'm not saying the idea of race wasn't created out of whole cloth to stabilize the particular class structure preferred by Europeans. In fact, I'd truly prefer the issue to be one of class… it would make the issue far more tractable, one that I could master easily. What I'm saying is that there is no way to eliminate class from human society. One can only imagine it possible by limiting one's perception to ideas rather than acknowledging the physical reality we are a part of. Humans are social animals, and as such are hierarchical. There is no social animal that lives on land that does not have a 'pecking order' (I'm not sure if schooling fish can be considered social, but I give them the benefit of the doubt). There is no human society… hell, there's no human group larger than five people… that doesn't have its leader. There never has been, and short of an evolutionary spurt there never will be because it is inherent in our bodies. This is deeper than society… deeper than humanity. Hierarchy is as inherent in social arthropods as in social anthropoids and The thought of our insubstantial ideas overturning the substance of (with my best Carl Sagan voice) "beelions and beelions of years of evolution", is a bit of hubris that deserves the resounding crash of failure any such attempt is doomed to. You might as well try to grow gills and live at the bottom of the ocean. I can't define the problem as one of class relations because if it is, the only resolution possible is to expunge land based life and start from scratch. The problem as I see it is that race is used as a determining factor in your starting point in the struggle. Race is also used as a factor in to determining an acceptable response. Black people can excel if they are allowed equal access. We can achieve the same distribution of wealth in our community as the white community has. We can achieve a fair share of the power. We've proven over and over that we can muster the power to excel. But because we were sanctioned by race, unfair methods of competition… like KILLING us… were perfectly acceptable, and we were set back over and over again. If racism is ameliorated, Blacks can progress through the class system naturally. This is the most we can accomplish, and as such, should be the goal. The problem isn't that we don't meet an ideal. The problem is that we are pursuing an ideal in the first place. Impossible goals simply ultimately disappoint and disillusion people, causing them to say "Accept it… we can't make it the way it should be." But we shouldn't try to make things the way they should be. We should look honestly, and see what can be. But even that is simply theory. The real reason we should pursue justice for Black people is that Black people on the whole just want a chance to participate in the system. Our predecessors fought to join, explicitly rejected emigration. They never asked to be white. They never asked for white people's possessions, never asked to displace white people. All they ever asked was not to be obstructed. A number of us have decided that this will never be, so they now wish to separate. But the overwhelming majority of Blacks just want to be able to determine their own actions without irrational forces interfering. And most of them want to do it in the land of their birth. That is both the real goal and the real reason for pursuing it. Everything else is just so much noise. Finally, my first problems with the editorial. This month the Supreme Court is expected to rule on two major affirmative action cases involving the University of Michigan's admission policies, Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger. In both cases, white students have sued the university over its policy of giving preferential treatment to black students.
Twenty-five years ago the Supreme Court ruled in the Bakke decision that affirmative action programs in admissions are legitimate so long as they do not rely on quota systems. Michigan's former president, Lee Bollinger, has said the current controversy is the most important civil rights issue since Brown v. Board of Education. President Bush has taken the unusual step of speaking out on the cases, saying he believes the University of Michigan's policies amount to a quota system and are therefore unconstitutional. Once upon a time, Black folks could point at the differential impact of decisions and say "you have to do something about this." Those days are long past. Not one must prove intent to file a civil rights complaint. Once that's under their belt what doe the right do? Start filing suit against diversity programs based on differential impact. Mad hypocritical, no wam sayin? ComicsI knew I was forgettingby Prometheus 6
June 9, 2003 - 5:14am. on Old Site Archive Comics I knew I was forgetting somethng when I skipped all the news and talk shows yesterday… Ted Rall on Reprogramming Private Ryan. Tom Toles eavesdrops on a bedtime story. As Slick Rick put it: This ain't funny, so don't you dare laugh
Just another case about the wrong path Jeff Danziger shows us Ashcroft's America, also know as the United Police States of America. ChistianismTristero suggests this term forby Prometheus 6
June 9, 2003 - 5:00am. on Old Site Archive Chistianism Tristero suggests this term for terrorists inspired by a twisted view of Christianity. It's intended as to parallel to Islamism as opposed to Islam. ISLAM vs. ISLAMISM
To oversimplify, Islam is the religion, Islamism is the political movement inspired by the religion. A closer analogy seems to be that Islamism is to Islam as fundamentalism of the Pat Robertson ilk is to Christianity. I like it. Clarity all around. Interblog interludeWhen I write, I'mby Prometheus 6
June 8, 2003 - 9:18pm. on Old Site Archive Interblog interlude When I write, I'm not writing as a party member. I get no talking points. I write from my perspective about issues that catch my eye and I talk about what it means to a Black guy who's been around the block a couple of times. I talk politics, read the economic blogs, and watch court appointments not because it's my idea of fun. I'd much rather be writing philosophical reflections. I do the political thing here because somebody has to make somebody understand that Black folks ain't crazy. To do that I have to understand what they believe (why they believe it is unimportant) and try to explain my views in their terms. This is easy or difficult depending on the other party. A particular set of beliefs doesn't make or require you to be intelligent or not. Beliefs are absorbed and become the rules by which one lives their habitual life. Beliefs are the laws of nature in our individual semantic worlds. I'm not picking on Feste per se, it's just that our brief exchange is presents a perfect opportunity to show what the problem is. What I'm saying is the Republicans are making a specific appeal to the most racist elements of society. Can you deny that?
The Left has equally repugnant idealogical baggage. Human nature is such that some hate simply because they can. Political parties who base their platform on hatred will not succeed in the long term. You make the assumption that voters are either stupid, complicit or uncaring. That's when you lose voters such as myself. First of all, by saying the left has equally repugnant ideological baggage, he acknowledges the relationship between the Republican extremists and the CCC and its ilk. That's fine. But the reasons he gives for doing nothing about it—that it's common human nature, that some people hate just because they can…yet hate never wins in the long run—are contradictory. I mean, how long is "the long term?" It's been upwards of 350 years for Black folks, even if you stop counting in 1964. We're still running on the momentum of all those years. There are still people who are active haters and as the target of said hatred it really, really bothers me to see the decision makers of the government on such good terms with them. I think that's a reasoned, reasonable reaction to have. Feste says I'm assuming that voters are stupid, complicit or uncaring. I never overreact to such statements because what it means is "Given my understanding and outlook, I would only say what you said if I thought people were stupid, complicit or uncaring." In other words, he's assuming I have the same decision process as he does and reasons from effect to cause, thereby deciding what my beliefs are based on his. I am not judging his decision process. I'm displaying mine. Consider: I am the target of these extremists and government officials consort with said extremists. Am I justified in at least questioning the possibility of shared values? Of course. And when the response I get is inaction based on a contradictory explanation, how do I judge that? The most charitable explanation is that the other is unaware. None of the others possible explanations are attractive. If the other is stupid, complicit or uncaring, nothing I say will matter. Speaking out would be pointless. Yet I speak out. Therefore I cannot be assuming stupidity, complicity or lack of concern. What I actually assume is that a lot of people are just too busy with their lives to see it. Like you can cover the sun with a basketball, close up things loom larger than distant issues. I assume it's ugly enough that if good people are made to face it (because we don't, as much as possible) they will reject it. And in this specific case, I assume Feste has issues of greater importance to him. Racism is appalling, but so is anti-Semitism. When you speak out against the rampant anti-Semitism in your party then I might take you seriously...for until that time you are no better than those you decry on the right.
And so you decry us on the left…but not those on the right that are no better than us?[1] Do you complain the most about the one that's worst or the one you think you can influence? And if we each document our issues, I'll come up with government officials holding the major reins of power. Who will come up with a leftist anti-Semite that have as much control over the destiny of Jewish lives as the Southern Strategy implementing Republican extremists have over Black lives? I truly understand that everyone's personal issues take up 65% of their field of vision. But I also believe that, from a bird's eye view, given our relative power positions and those of our respective enemies, given the newness of our freedom and that fact that this freedom has been under continual attack, the Black problem is of greater urgency. So when someone say the might take me seriously if I undertake their campaign with them, though the demand is unnecessary as far as my actual actions go, I have to reject that demand categorically. In the USofA, Black people have more to lose than Jewish people, and less to defend with. Later: My archives are about toby Prometheus 6
June 8, 2003 - 4:57pm. on Old Site Archive My archives are about to get real ugly I'm going to delete a bunch of old graphics, cartoons and whatnot this week. It has occurred to me that free webspace with your account is not an unlimited resource. I get eight addresses with 10 megs each, and I''m thinking about restructuring the plumbing. I may set up a new account specifically for the Public Library, strictly as storage space. If I do I'll set up a page to redirect folks from this webspace to the new one so no one has to change any bookmarks. It's nice to shareThese twoby Prometheus 6
June 8, 2003 - 4:50pm. on Old Site Archive It's nice to share These two posts earned me the disdain of Feste at foolsblog.com. As is my practice I visited his blog for a brief discussion: Hey, feste:
You left a snark at a post that goes into the though pattern at a little depth, for the benefit of folks who don't automatically make the assumptions I do. "I'm suggesting they're secretively appealing to the Christian Identity movement. That's not the same thing as being supportive of it, though even that's not a stretch. We know several Republican Senators had or have connections with the Council of Conservative Citizens, about whom I shall quote from the ADL's report: 'A racist political group, the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), has been making waves in the national media ever since it became known that mainstream politicians such as Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) and Representative Bob Barr (R-GA) were keynote speakers at CCC conferences. According to the CEO of the CCC, Gordon Lee Baum, Sen. Lott has addressed the group a number of times, and Rep. Barr made an appearance in front of the group in 1998. These appearances by mainstream politicians such as Sen. Lott and Rep. Barr, and by numerous elected officials at the state and local levels, such as Mississippi Governor Kirk Fordice, give the CCC a false imprimatur of legitimacy.' How far from removed is the Christian Identity movement from a group like the CCC, really? The groups are close, nearly identical in fact, in philosophy. And as they operate in the same area there's likely a lot of overlap in membership. The Christian Identity movement benefits would be side effects of the direct benefit the CCC get from the respectable aura folks like Lott and his supporters have. If I did say the Republicans had a connection with the Identity Christians it would be a supportable claim." The national Republican party's connection with the CCC and Bob Jones University, etc. is a matter of public record. And the local parties would almost of necessity be in even closer contact with the neo-Confederates. The southern strategy calls for pitching your wares to the "disenfranchised" southerner. I'm suggesting Identity Christians are an identifiable group with charateristics that Republicans extremists are aware of, and they key their message to appeal to that group among others. No tinfoil hat. Sorry. Posted by Prometheus 6 at June 7, 2003 07:05 PM
The South is already in the GOP column and is also predominately Christian which is why your theory makes little sense. It's moderate and independent voters like me that the Dems need to convince and they're not getting it done. Do you not understand that the election will be won or lost in the middle not the lunatic fringe? Posted by feste at June 7, 2003 11:46 PM
I certainly do. The fringe is unmovable, so I'm certainly not talking to them. Yes, the south is solidly GOP. I suggest they are keeping it that way in part by appealing to the basest elements in good ol' Dixie. Again, their association with the openly racist CCC is public knowlege. Why does it make little sense to think they may be aiming appeals a little further to the right... well, racism isn't really right-wing but the racists do align themselves with Conservatives... as I say, a little further to the right as well? And I mention it publicly to get the attention of moderate and independant voters. In general, we avoid this part of the analysis because recognizing racism is so unpleasant we'd rather not go there. But I haven't said a single thing that's not widely known. Please, consider what I've presented rationally. That's all I ask. Feel free to reject it, but only after checking the facts in what I write. The Republican Party has chosen a blatently rascist approach (the Southern Strategy) to gaining and maintaining power. If it makes you uncomfortable recognizing that fact, you have the choice of accepting the rule of racist (by voting Republican) or rejecting it. Posted by Prometheus 6 at June 8, 2003 09:21 AM
It is impossible to consider what you present rationally, because it is nonsense. Firstly, that groups and organizations have been demonized for political and financial gain is not news. The 2000 Bob Jones fiasco provided Democrats with an opportunity to pit the Religious Right against American Catholics for their own political gain. Anti-Catholicism no doubt has some adherents in the Religious Right?including the three generations of men named Bob Jones and their eponymous university?but these days, it's primarily an enterprise of the Secular Left. Most conservative/and moderate Protestants and Catholics, as well as traditionalist Jews, recognize that when it comes to the culture wars, they are on the same side. The Holy See, The Illuminati, The Freemasons, The League of Nations, The New Deal, Zionists, The Tri-Lateral Commission, The Military-Industrial Complex, the UN, The Christian Coalition, The New World Order and now the Neocons. All bogeymen that have proven to be little more than bedtime stories spun by political flaks to frighten the easily lead and invigorate the party base. Secondly, your rationale dismisses that the majority of Southerners no longer tolerate racism...that such material is aimed at a minscule portion of the population...some who no doubt also believe that alien autopsies are geniune. Who do you think inculcated racism in the South as a political power base? All strata of society have good and bad elements...including liberals who tolerate anti-Semitism in the black community. Why hasn't the DNC or any of the candidates denounced Al Sharpton? Posted by feste at June 8, 2003 12:53 PM
BTW- I am not a Republican, I was raised in an activist Democrat family and left the party in disgust in 1969. I have been a registered Independent since. Posted by feste at June 8, 2003 01:01 PM
My rationale doesn't dismiss the reaction of the majority of southerners. What I'm saying is the Republicans are making a specific appeal to the most racist elements of society. Can you deny that? That is the single point I'm making. And I make the point because I'm convinced that non-extremists, whatever the particulars of their position, will not be pleased if they face it directly. And the fact that nothing you wrote actually deals with this one fact I present is a possible sign you're not facing it directly. I'm not pushing a platform. There's no coordinated statement here. Just the single fact, the undeniable public knowledge-that the Republican extremists currently directing the party have no problem consorting with that element. If that has no impact on your thinking, fine. But don't act as if it's not true. Posted by Prometheus 6 at June 8, 2003 01:33 PM
Later: The Left has equally repugnant idealogical baggage. Human nature is such that some hate simply because they can. Political parties who base their platform on hatred will not succeed in the long term. You make the assumption that voters are either stupid, complicit or uncaring. That's when you lose voters such as myself. I live in a predominatly black community and a racially diverse neighborhood. You want to speak of racism...look at what forty years of Democrat welfare handouts did to the black family and communities. Racism is appalling, but so is anti-Semitism. When you speak out against the rampant anti-Semitism in your party then I might take you seriously...for until that time you are no better than those you decry on the right. Posted by feste at June 8, 2003 03:23 PM And if I say when you speak out against the racists in your party I might take you seriously?
I think there's a specific statement I need to make, but this isn't the place. For now, though, understand that I'm not talking to you as a party member because I'm not one. I'm talking as a guy. Posted by Prometheus 6 at June 8, 2003 04:28 PM It's about damn time!At roughlyby Prometheus 6
June 8, 2003 - 4:16pm. on Old Site Archive It's about damn time! At roughly 4pm EST Blogger returns after about 6 hours. It's not my fault the new stuff was slow getting posted. Anyway, the latest addition to The Public Library is The Martin Luther King Jr. Collection, a collection of turn-of-the-century articles mostly by, but always about, Black folks. There's nine short stories by Charles W. Chestnutt, several articles by Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, and commentary by a couple of random folks you never heard of. Among my favorites in the collection are THE WIFE OF HIS YOUTH by Charles W. Chesnutt, an article about Sojourner Truth (the only person who ever stopped Frederick Douglass cold with a single sentance) by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and THE HEART OF THE RACE PROBLEM by Quincy Ewing. The law of diminishing returnsBeingby Prometheus 6
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