My Face Is Black Is True : Callie House and the Struggle for Ex-Slave Reparations author: Mary Frances Berry asin: 1400040035 binding: Hardcover list price: $26.95 USD amazon price: $17.79 USD

I got C-Span's Book TV going, and Juan Williams is interviewing her. After going into the book (and Callie House also rocks), Juan is trying his best to discredit the idea of reparations...see, Ms. House had a legitimate reparations movement that the Feds just ignored. Apparently tens of thousands of ex-slaves signed up. They are documented...and because Mr. Williams pushed her, Prof. Berry mentioned that reparations claims from documented descendants would present an interesting moral problem...

As I sit here, I'm not happy with Juan; not so much for his opposition to reparations as the nature of his arguments. But it's not like Prof. Berry can't hang.

Editorials from Hell's leading daily newspaper

Let's play a little game shall we? I have my big steaming mug of metjuizy before me and I hope you have whatever libation you wish on such a fine morning. I am going to present an argument that Colbert I King is more qualified to serve the American people's interests as Deputy White House Chief of Staff than Karl Rove is.

Now I am what you humans would call a smart ass. But being a smart ass even for the demon in charge of getting out the largest circulating paper in the Known Universe is not enough. We need for you right wing acolytes facts from solid sources YOU trust.

I'm Hoping Bush Can Finish What Lincoln Started
By Sophia A. Nelson
Sunday, October 23, 2005; B03 

Know why?

...make no mistake: He raised these issues at great peril to his standing with his own conservative base.

Oh. You do know.

When Bush spoke that night, I think he was being the compassionate conservative he campaigned as in the 2000 election. 

Come now, child. Five years, and the first sign is a speech he was compelled by circumstances (which circumstances include his own blunders) to make. And you get thrilled.

He didn't have to bring race into that particular speech.

Oh, yes he did. When almost one in three white people responded to the question "Does Bush care about black people?" with a definitive NO...which is to say they think he's a racist, largely based on what they themselves saw...He damn sure did have to bring race into that particular speech.

Reading this:

It's a Change, Not a Conspiracy
The City Is Gentrifying. Live With It
By David Nicholson
Sunday, October 23, 2005; B01

...I suddenly remember Mr. Nicholson. He was on a mailing list both Darkstar and I are still members of. Darkstar, I don't know if you remember, but Bianca invited him after he had a quote in a TNR about Volunteer Slavery by Jill Nelson that was more obnoxious than he intended (though IMO it would have been obnoxious anyway)

And he made one statement when he left the list that sticks with me to this day, in response to one of those "what do Black folks want" questions. He said most Black folks want a benevolent dictator rather than a democracy. And it sticks because he was right.

You know what?

That is one reason journalists and some government officials are so wary of what might happen next in the C.I.A. leak case, which could conclude with indictments within a week. What began as a narrow case on a specific leak, many fear, has morphed into a broader threat to the way business is done here, a system that often benefits both sides.

I really don't care. I been ragging the Conservative commentators, talking about how their big concern is for those lunches and exclusives.

Tough titty. Declaring everything secret and releasing just enough to hint that your policies might be right, and fucking lying is no way to run a Republic. When you need stealth candidates and spin, it's obvious you're working against the desires of the majority. If you can't convince people to support your war with the truth maybe you shouldn't go to war. Just on the practical, need-your-people-behind-you tip.

The Washington Secret Often Isn't
By DAVID E. SANGER

What Democrats Can Learn From Howard Stern
By JOHN TIERNEY
Published: October 22, 2005

Instead of denouncing Republicans, Democrats should look for an escape hatch like Howard Stern did.

I rather think denouncing Republicans is still a good idea. And between Harriette (only the second SCOTUS nominee I feel no compunction to respect) and the trembling before a potential set of indictments, I think Republicans are looking for the escape hatch. or maybe they like this crap, I dunno...

By the way, that's a TimesSelect link. I've let the TimesSelect thing lapse. I like Herbert and Krugman, but not +$50/year worth, and there's really no other editorialist at the Times I'm willing to pay for at all.

Quote of note:

"It's something that our U.S. government has said a number of times in the past. It's information that was used very widely after his attack on the Kurds. I believe it was close to 300,000," Hughes said when questioned the first time. She added, "That's something I said every day in the course of the campaign. That's information that we talked about a great deal in America."

Hughes Misreports Iraqi History
Envoy Vastly Overstates Fact in Justifying War to Indonesian Students
By Alan Sipress
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, October 22, 2005; A15

Could someone explain to me how this editorial came to inspire invective like this:

Some folks are really touchy these days. Take, for instance, these four readers: D.G., J., W.T. and D.L. They didn't care for my column on Harriet Miers ["The Right, on Fire Over Miers," Oct. 8] and thus availed themselves of the opportunity to tell me so by e-mail.

Wrote D.G.: "Some portly Episcopalian [an indelicate reference to moi ] who condones the systemic elimination of the helpless Unborn styles himself a good heart because he happens to be black and benefiting from the Graham family's quota mania. What a joke!!!"

From J.: "If you weren't Black, you wouldn't get a job in journalism. You are in due to a tacit quota system."

And W.T.: "Reading your article is like watching a black minstrel doing his song and dance with words. Pure buffoonery! Affirmative action writer in action."

Finally, D.L.: "king...your article was biased and fulla[expletive] . . . so pack it up your liberal [expletive] sideways."

Quote of note:

"It sure doesn't look like he's folding up his tent and going home without some charges," said one lawyer involved in the case who asked not to be identified.

Special Prosecutor in CIA Leak Case Starts Web Site
By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 22, 2005; A06

The prosecutor investigating the leak of a CIA operative's identity put up an official Web site for making public announcements yesterday, fueling the belief of lawyers involved in the case that he will announce charges against some administration officials next week.

Special counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald told attorneys for administration officials late last week that he was nearing decisions about possible charges. Without fanfare, the office put up a site at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc .

Bias Ruled in Law On Same-Sex Rape
Court Cites Inequities in Kansas Statute
By Charles Lane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 22, 2005; A03

The Kansas Supreme Court yesterday struck down a state law that penalized same-sex statutory rapes by 18-year-olds much more harshly than heterosexual cases, ruling that the law unconstitutionally discriminated against gays.

In a 6 to 0 opinion, the court said its decision was required by the U.S. Supreme Court's 2003 ruling in Lawrence v. Texas , a landmark victory for gay rights that abolished all state laws criminalizing sodomy between consenting adults.

Yesterday's ruling was the first time after several attempts that gay rights advocates had managed to translate their Lawrence victory into a favorable ruling on another issue in the lower courts. In 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court established same-sex marriage, based on the state's constitution, not Lawrence.

Quote of note:

White House officials say the term "proportional representation" is "amenable to different meanings." They say Miers was referring to the requirement that election districts have roughly the same number of voters.

Miers' Answer Raises Questions
Legal experts find a misuse of terms in her Senate questionnaire 'terrible' and 'shocking.'
By David G. Savage
rTimes Staff Writer
October 22, 2005

WASHINGTON — Asked to describe the constitutional issues she had worked on during her legal career, Supreme Court nominee Harriet E. Miers had relatively little to say on the questionnaire she sent to the Senate this week.

Totally appropriate quote:

Unfortunately, she has also become the poster child in the push for a national reporter's shield law, and this week she went before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify for the Free Flow of Information Act. There, she didn't even blush when she told the lawmakers: "Confidential sources are the life's blood of journalism. Without them ... people like me would be out of business."

Probably so, but there's still a case to be made for this legislation. 

How Miller was used by source
Tim Rutten
Regarding Media
October 22, 2005

Quote of note:

She contended that dictators could potentially use it to control what their citizens read.

You don't need a dictator for that. You just need Rupert Murdoch. 

Anyway... 

U.N. Body Endorses Cultural Protection
U.S. Objections Are Turned Aside
By Molly Moore
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, October 21, 2005; A14

PARIS, Oct. 20 -- In a vote cast as a battle of global conformity vs. cultural diversity, delegates to a U.N. agency turned aside strong U.S. objections Thursday and overwhelmingly approved the first international treaty designed to protect movies, music and other cultural treasures from foreign competition.

Can we use Judith Miller to cast aspersions on a broad class of humans? 

The Exorcism of the New York Times
In the name of journalism, the paper must cast out the unclean spirits.
By Jack Shafer
Posted Thursday, Oct. 20, 2005, at 3:52 PM PT

The ongoing Judith Miller scandal—like Jayson Blair's journalistic malfeasance and the embarrassments of the Wen Ho Lee episode before it—has sent the old gray palooka down to the mat once again, where we find it wheezing, bleeding, and struggling to find its feet.

Quote of note:

"This is a problem in your stupid head," Rivers told Howe, and then accused him of abandoning his responsibilities as a father. "Where were you when he was growing up?"

Purves again tried to smooth the waters.

"I have great sympathy with both sides," Purves said, "but I am starting to feel like Oprah."

"Both sides? Then you're a racist," Rivers said, stunning the host into momentary silence as Rivers continued, calling Howe a "son of a bitch."

The exchange can be heard on the program's website, www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/midweek.shtml. Look for the Oct 19^th show.

Joan Rivers Gets Into Shouting Match Over Race
By Scott Martelle
Times Staff Writer
5:53 PM PDT, October 19, 2005

U.S. Fears Fallout Over Reported Abuse of Bodies
Diplomats try to shield America's image after a video appears to show troops in Afghanistan setting fire to corpses of slain Taliban fighters.
By Richard A. Serrano and John Hendren
Times Staff Writers
October 21, 2005

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration moved swiftly Thursday to curb international outrage over a report that U.S. troops in Afghanistan desecrated the bodies of Taliban fighters, setting them ablaze to taunt militants.

U.S. embassies around the world have been given "instructions to engage" their host governments to head off anger provoked by a videotape showing Americans torching the remains of two militants, and Assistant Secretary of State Karen P. Hughes will address the issue during a trip to Muslim areas of South Asia, a State Department official said.

Jackson Finds a New Home in Bahrain
Santa Ynez Valley residents speculate about the future of Neverland now that the singer resides in the Persian Gulf.
By Hector Becerra
Times Staff Writer
October 21, 2005

Does anyone know a good mover in the Santa Ynez Valley that can handle a Ferris wheel, a merry-go-round and zoo animals?

Michael Jackson's attorney said Thursday the pop singer has made the Middle Eastern nation of Bahrain, not Neverland ranch, his permanent home.

Attorney Thomas A. Mesereau Jr. declined to comment on local speculation that Jackson planned to sell Neverland ranch, but said the singer is very happy in his new home.

Not really, but...

Most times when I use a graphic around here I link back to the source, especially if the wole graphic is used in it original resolution and all that. But when I posted this story

Photos Show Climate Change; Ministers Meet in UK
Mon Mar 14, 2005 08:54 AM ET
By Jeremy Lovell

LONDON (Reuters) - A photo of Mount Kilimanjaro stripped of its snowcap for the first time in 11,000 years will be used as dramatic testimony for action against global warming as ministers from the world's biggest polluters meet Tuesday.

Quote of note:

"What I saw was a cabal between the vice president of the United States, Richard Cheney, and the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld," he said. By cutting out the bureaucracy that had to carry out those decisions, "we have courted disaster in Iraq, in North Korea, in Iran, and generally with regard to domestic crises like Katrina." If there is a nuclear terrorist attack or a major pandemic, Wilkerson continued, "you are going to see the ineptitude of this government in a way that'll take you back to the Declaration of Independence."

Colonel Finally Saw Whites of Their Eyes
By Dana Milbank
Thursday, October 20, 2005; A04

Legacies of a Leak Case
By Jim Hoagland
Thursday, October 20, 2005; Page A27

When historians write about the Weimarization of Washington in the Bush years, they will highlight the tawdry and divisive case involving the publication of Valerie Plame's CIA association and the unjust incarceration of reporter Judith Miller.

I was like, "Weimarization, nice word," only to be crushed to earth before the sentence even ended. Still, nice word. I'll be looking for an opportunity to use it.

Crucial details of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's two-year investigation -- such as whether anyone in the Bush administration will be indicted for naming Plame or for lying under oath -- remain unclear.

Quote of note:

"When the day comes when I cannot pay an American for an hour's worth of work for making their voices heard, it's a sad day," 

Homeless paid $10 to attend immigration rally
By NANCY BADERTSCHER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution>
Published on: 10/20/05

For some people, it pays to oppose illegal immigration.

Fourteen homeless people made $10 each Monday to hold signs in a crowd of several dozenpeople who gathered for an anti-illegal immigrant rally at the state Capitol.

D.A. King, an anti-illegal immigration activist from Marietta who spoke at the protest, acknowledged Wednesday that he paid "14 willing American workers to let their voices be heard about illegal immigration."

Urban Renaissance Meets the Middle Ages
Steve Lopez
Points West
October 20, 2005

They're yours for the taking: Luxury lofts in downtown Los Angeles, with rooftop pools, swanky cabanas, and views of Porta Potti brothels on skid row.

Evelyn, Eduardo and Thomas live within two blocks of each other, caught in the middle of this head-on collision between economic growth and social disintegration. One is on the street, one in recovery, one in a grandly appointed loft overlooking the place he calls Dante's Inferno.

"I wanted to be a part of the downtown renaissance," says Thomas Reid, an RN who moved out of West Hollywood and into his skid-row-adjacent apartment six weeks ago and was immediately "blown away" by the depth of despair at his doorstep. His windows offer "front-row seats to Skid Row Theater," with a soundtrack of screams and sirens.

Cosby Takes a Stand in Compton
The comedian urges residents at a community meeting to 'work toward something' in fixing the city's problems.
By Megan Garvey
Times Staff Writer
October 20, 2005

Bill Cosby didn't come to Compton High School on Wednesday night to sugarcoat reality.

He began with a story about both hope and tragedy.

The city, he said, needs to honor Venus and Serena Williams — the tennis superstars who rose from the public courts of Compton to the top of the world rankings.

"How difficult is it for Compton to have a parade so that parents can bring the children and hold them up and say: 'They're from here'?" he asked the hundreds of residents who came to talk about turning things around in their violence-plagued city.

First the church missionaries, then Coca-Cola. Now, Microsoft.

Microsoft: Africa doesn't need free software
Ingrid Marson
ZDNet UK
October 17, 2005, 16:30 BST

Microsoft has claimed the cost of software is not an important issue in the developing world.

In response to a question on the role of open source software in Africa, Gerald Ilukwe, the general manager of Microsoft Nigeria, said that cost is not important, even though he admitted that the average annual salary in the West African country is only $160 (£91).

Quote of note:

She said she learned a great deal by doing Laurie's class work.

Wal-Mart heiress returns degree to USC
(10-19) 15:58 PDT Los Angeles (AP) --

Wal-Mart heiress Elizabeth Paige Laurie, accused of paying a fellow college student $20,000 to do her homework, has returned her University of Southern California degree, officials said.

The move came nearly a year after Laurie's freshman-year roommate, Elena Martinez, told the ABC newsmagazine "20/20" that she had written term papers and done assignments for the heiress for 3 1/2 years.

"Paige Laurie voluntarily has surrendered her degree and returned her diploma to the university. She is not a graduate of USC," the school said in a statement dated Sept. 30. "This concludes the university's review of the allegations concerning Ms. Laurie."

You must see the whole cartoon. Seriously.

via The American Street.

The previous post was supposed to be saved as a draft, i.e., it's not finished.

This is the last modification I intend to make of this chart.

In the second purple box from the right, I changed "superiority" to "hegemony" so as not to shut off anyone's brain. And I felt that odd-colored crew needed to be on the same board as the other two because we're talking about strategies Black folks use to keep intact whatever it is folks need to feel secure about.

Also, it lets me tell you why some folks have a snowball's chance in hell of achieving what may me quite laudable goal.

First, there's something every would-be revolutionary must understand and accept. No revolution, even such a chickenshit revolution as Newt Gingrich's,  no revolution has ever succeeded without the support of the middle class. I'm not talking about swing voters...anyone that can't choose between Bush and not-Bush is such an ass...

1 - Note this is an open thread. It may take a couple of days for you guys to use it but I've noticed you do, so you get one periodically. And fact is, several of the most popular threads started this way.

2 - We got changes coming...you probably noticed the title... 

Two things I've realized: I need a mission to run a web site, and since P6 is the center of my activities any major move I make will have to branch out from here. I'm not really thrilled by that realization because my major plans involve being more...open than I am here. P6 started as my personal blog and I really wanted it to stay that way but my major plans are more important.

Bet you want a hint...

Okay. Go to Negrophile and check out the blogroll. And if you like what I do (no guarantees, y'all) thank George (but don't we all?).