MyDD, YearlyKo, DailyKo, Race Matters

I recently posted on the blog MYDD regarding the YearlyKo Convention. Heres what I wrote and some interesting comments from white and black folk. It's intersting that many whites have a different view of the race issue, year after year.

YearlyKos =The White Citizens YearlyKouncil ?

by AAPPundit, Tue Aug 07, 2007

The White Citizens YearlyKouncil.

Yes, I said it. Come on folks, stop beating around the bush. Stop sugar coating it. Let's stop playing Games. Let's stop intellectualizing white blogger racism. Let's call it the way it is, The Democratic Presidential candidates just went before the Yearlykos a 21st century White Citizens YearlyKouncil. An exclusive club of middle aged whites guys, who sit around playing the "liberal card" with all but a few black and Latinos who attended the YearlyKos event.

I recently blogged about the YearlyKos event as a guess blogger on Rude Pundit. In my post I talked about how Hillary and Obama would be at the Lilly white, YearlyKos forum. Little did I know that the Washington Post would view the Yearly Kos Bloggers' Convention, a Sea of Middle-Aged White Males. But I go a little further. I see them like the members of the United States Senate, as a group of white men who could care less about issues impacting the poor, working class, and African American communities across America. The White Citizens YearlyKouncils agenda is the self preservation of you know what, white male bloggers.

STOP

OK, thats what I was thinking a moment ago, but let's be real. I could have blogged about that, but I didn't. Act like you didn't even read what I just wrote.

The reality is, The DalyKos, YearlyKos, WhiteKos, really didn't outreach to the African American blogger community to get Black Bloggers to participate. The AfroSphere/ AfrSpear group to my knowledge was not outreached to or contacted, Black bloggers were not really encouraged to attend, so therefore it is what it is. As it turned out to be, a white group talking to each other about issues important to them. White folks. White Citizens (with a few black folks for good measure).

But hey, that is a snap shot of my opinion today, my opinion could change tomorrow. Here are other opinions on the same topic.
Mirror on America, Jack and Jill Politics are blogging about the subject, as is Francis L. Holland , a blogger who blogs regularly about The Truth About Kos (DailyKos) in a recent post he notes, The Hot Air Blog calls YearlyKos, "whiter than an NHL game at the North Pole during a snowstorm." Hot Air points our attention to a Washington Post article of August 6, by Jose Antonio Vargas, that calls YearlyKos 2007 "a Sea of Middle-Aged White Males."

Maybe Francis L. Holand knows more than he is sharing when he writes about Markos Moulitsas and the annual meeting of the whitosphere sponsored by DailyKos.

What do you think? Am I wrong?

http://aapoliticalpundit.blogspot.com/20 07/08/yearlykos-21st-century-mini-white. html

[new] Re: YearlyKos =The White Citizens YearlyKouncil ? (none / 0) Kos is Hispanic. You're so completely off-base it hurts to read.

by Jay R

[new] Re: YearlyKos =The White Citizens YearlyKouncil ? (none / 0) Tiny correction: He's half greek/half hispanic.

by DPW

[new] Re: YearlyKos =The White Citizens YearlyKouncil ? (none / 0) Well, if you are part Greek, you are 99% Greek. :-) (Disclosure: I am half Greek myself.)

by georgep

[new] Do you only see people as skin color? (none / 0) Cuz that's sad, regardless of whatever color you happen to be.

by cosbo

[new] Martin Luther King said: (none / 0) ...Do not judge people by the color of their skin. Ask yourself: Are these whites for, or against minority rights? The answer is obvious. In the Democratic debates, there are no blacks. There is one mixed candidate: Barack Obama. Half black, half White. I guarantee this racial composition will not discourage blacks or Hispanics from voting en mass for a Democratic candidate, because Democrats care about minorities. Needless to say, there isn't a systematic efford to keep blacks and Hispanics from attending the Yearlykos. Steps will be taken to make the panel look more diverse. But is it a big deal? No.

by kingsbridge77

[new] Re: YearlyKos =The White Citizens YearlyKouncil ? (none / 0) The above comments are completely dismissive. They are the type of responses we'd give to a diehard Republican on this site. At least look at the substance or crux of what is trying to be said and respond to that. Okay, so Kos is Latino. And Pam Spaulding was on a panel. And Barack Obama who is bi-racial but who identifies as black was one of the candidates in the debate. But as one of the weekend bloggers here has been writing about weekend after weekend is the dearth of black and Latino blogs/bloggers. It's not merely that YearlyKos might have done less outreach than they could have. It's also that there are far, far fewer blogs written by people of color. Quick, can you name three political blogs written by Asians? by blacks? by Latinos? The sad part is that bloggers are becoming the next leg on the stool of the Establishment. (The blogoshpere/netizens, etc. aren't quite there, yet. But it's getting there.) And to not have active members of the major minority groups as part of that political establishment would be a travesty. So, I won't go on and say that white bloggers can't be concerned about racism and minorities. But, really, isn't an attitude that says that "We'll take care of you" just a bit patronizing?

by blackmahn

[new] Re: YearlyKos =The White Citizens YearlyKouncil ? (none / 0) Yes it is patronizing. Yes the big boys should do more to develop and support blogs authored by minorities. A failure to have minority groups and persons well represented in the blogosphere will ensure a weaker progressive movement and less strength behind the agenda shared by progressives. What is your view of why there are too few popular blogs written by minorities? What do you recommend be done about it? I also believe much of what is expressed in the diary is unfair. The lack of diversity of YK is a big problem but the mostly white people in attendance are not some monolithic group. As it turned out to be, a white group talking to each other about issues important to them. White folks. White Citizens I think the war in Iraq, health care, economic inequality, citizen participation, excessive executive power and trampling the constitution, gay rights, etc. are not issues important only to white people. It is a problem if white people think they understand all the ways these and other issues are important without participating in a dialogue about them with minorities. But surely it is not off base to suggest these are concerns among more than "white citizens".

by Trond Jacobsen

[new] Re: YearlyKos =The White Citizens YearlyKouncil ? (none / 0) "It's also that there are far, far fewer blogs written by people of color. Quick, can you name three political blogs written by Asians? by blacks? by Latinos?" This seeems like an unfortunate track to take. 1. If it is true that fewer blogs are written by people of color, what does that have to do with anything here? It is not like we can legislate interest in blogging amongst minority groups. Whoever feels like it can start a blog, it is not hard to do. It does not matter what skin color one has. It does not take a lot, only a computer and an internet connection. And interest in creating a blog. 2. To your silly exercise to name minority blogs: When I check out a political blog, it never enters my mind to even care or check whether the blogger is an Asian, African-American, Hispanic or Greek/Turkish/Belgian/British/Eurasian/A ustralian person. The important part is the information and the mindshare. The beauty of this medium is that it does not MATTER the least what skin color the writer possesses. I never care to read the full name of the blogger. AmazonX or Kim35 works just fine for me. Don't care if boy or girl, how old, what race, religion or social layer. You just like reading what flows out of that person's mind. GET IT? MIND. Not skin.

by georgep

[new] Re: YearlyKos =The White Citizens YearlyKouncil ? (none / 0) Thanks for calling my exercise silly. You may not be interested in the race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation of the author of a blog. But I would assume you are a white male. You have that luxury. The others of us are very interested in who authors a blog. We look for community that is like us to support to hear from. By the way, any anthropologist/sociologist/bio-anthropol ogist/etc. will tell you that what is on the outside affects the way the mind works, the thoughts, etc. For instance, as a black gay male, I'm going to be far more interested in the high incidence of HIV in the black community and its link to homophobia. Not that those issues will rule me, but, for instance, I took special note of the way Obama handled this question at the Howard debate. It really is great that you don't think about those things. I'm just offering the persspective that you have that luxury because you most likely come from the majority culture.

by blackmahn

[new] Re: YearlyKos =The White Citizens YearlyKouncil ? (none / 0) I've missed Francis L. Holland around these parts. He added a certain something. I'm surprised by the accusation that there was no effort made to reach out to female and minority bloggers to attend the Yearly Kos conference. I had heard the exact opposite from at least a few people. I note this comment from the "Black Kos" discussion group at DKos. I got in on Wednesday. I went to the African-American caucus yesterday. WOW! It was Famous Black Bloggers and activists and me. :) I'll post some pics once I get them off my camera. The conversation was interesting. We discussed where "Black leadership" is, how they've failed and why are they the "Black leadership". Many in the room, set that aside saying that we are the black leadership of today. Tracy Russo from the DNC (I think she's working on Edwards campaign) was there talking about how campaigns can connect to the black netroots. It was interesting because everyone knows who she is, and she knew many in the room, but wasn't aware of the afrosphere listservs out there. She discussed how the feminist, LGBT or whatever listservs worked with campaigns and wondered how to make inroads on the afrosphere's listservs. She also mentioned that she noticed that the black blogs don't coordinate to write on one specific subject like other "issue-oriented" blogs. People explained why; different POVs, or specific issues one writes on-I didn't quite catch all of that, but I think there will be some more coordination. One thing that is funny, I was talking to Paul Hogarth from OpenLeft about this last night is the number of white people there who say, "I wish there was more people of color." I usually snark, "Then go home, that'll even it up!" But there really are more people of color here this year and I think due to kid oakland ChicagoVoices17, that really helped. I got asked last night by one guy if this was as much "diversity" as it was going to get. I said, "Oh, I know of 5 more black people coming on Friday and 2 on Sat. That's 7!" Discussion was just this one YK thing is supposedly about uniting the netroots, but for some reason, there really is no outreach to minority progressive bloggers and it shows. It's something we should continue to work on. I don't know why it always seems to get raised in the most combative manner though.

by Steve M

[new] Re: YearlyKos =The White Citizens YearlyKouncil ? (3.00 / 1) I was at both '06 and '07. It looked like a LOT of women were there this year, I believe many more than last, and quite a few minorities. Why do you want to create a rift where none existed?

by rickeagle

[new] Re: YearlyKos =The White Citizens YearlyKouncil ? (none / 0) You know, I don't know what the answer is, but I do admit that not even inviting the Black bloggers that we both read frequently is the beginning of the problem. These Black bloggers didn't even have the opportunity to say that they COULDN'T go to YearlyKos...they weren't invited. I do have to wonder why it seems so hard for them to reach out to the Black bloggers. Goes back to that ludicrous photo of Bill Clinton, IN HARLEM, surrounded by nothing but WHITE FOLK.

by rikyrah

[new] Invited (none / 0) I'll take "Ignorant comment for $1000, Alex" Invited? Invited? Anyone can go. Really. Everyone's invited. Your statement is truly absurd.

Karl in Drexel Hill, PA

by KB

[new] Re: YearlyKos =The White Citizens YearlyKouncil ? (none / 0) This ' issue' keeps on coming up and one has to ask.... You know, one year it happens, and you could say it was an ' accident'. But, this keeps on happening, YEAR AFTER YEAR. I guess someone doesn't want true diversity at their convention.

by rikyrah

[new] Sheesh (none / 0) Wow - what a sense of history and perspective. YKos has existed for all of two years. Two instances. Nice. I'm sure you have no interest in my advice, but here it is: Be the change.

Karl in Drexel Hill, PA

by KB

Crime in the Suburbs

Remember the old The No-Knock LAWS? OK, some of you are not that old. I was thinking with crime going/coming to the suburbs. Can Americans, particularly black Americans, expect a crack down a new 21st Century crackdown?

OK, you older hippies, yippies, civil rights activists, and anti-war folks, you remember that old Nixon no knock plan. Well, with the current crime spree that is showing a new trend of more murders and other violent crimes going into the suburbs and away from nation's big cities, watch out for the new No-Knock Searches. The Patriot Act may be coming to a neighborhood near you! But hey, American crime is out of control right?

Play Video

VIDEO | Many residents have felt unsafe in the suburban community of Cheshire since July 23, when a pair of longtime drug users -- released on early parole amid procedural errors in their case reviews -- allegedly committed a savage crime that has rocked Connecticut.

Conn. Horror Punctuates Trend Murders in quiet New England community typify rise in violent crime away from nation's big cities.

Gay Presidential Debate - in Black and White

Is Gay Is The New Black?

Now I have heard everything, The Gay Presidential Debates? Why the Gay Presidential Debate? There are a lot of black folks who cringed when moderator Margaret Carlson compared the gay rights movement to the black civil rights movement.

Pam of Pam's House Blend get's the Gay Presidential Debates. She says, "Never in the history of American politics have presidential candidates been brought together to debate ?gay? issues. Pretty exciting stuff." More HERE. But everyone is not in agreement. The Gay Patriot has asked "Did you react so ferociously when the Blacks had their own special rights debate?" .... Why is everyone claiming this is a “first” presidential Gay Debate? More HERE

Even BET is asking questons to black viewers wondering if the Presidential Debate should focus on gay issues. On the other hand groups like The National Black Justice Coalition feel that America finally spoke up. If America spoke up there is black and white disagreement who won the Gay Presidential Debate. As an example E.J. Graff, of The Nation has a lot to say about what Democratic presidential candidates talk about when they talk about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues? Regarding the Gay Debate he says, Edwards hit it out of the park. Hillary got smartly on base, to wild--even excessive--cheers. Obama struck out. Check out his article HERE. While others were not impressed like Media Matters, that wrote, "They came, they saw, they pandered."

Yet the whole Gay Debate issue is taking another turn in black communities. As an eample, some in the black community asked even before the debate started if the “gay debate,” focusing solely on LGBT issues would likely ignore issues specific to the black gay community. More HERE Now after the debate black bloggers like Jasmyne Cannick see a lot of it as Pomp and Circumstance, she writes, " I think it’s great that Obama has addressed this issue outside of gay forums and within the Black community specifically Black churches, but I am not sure how effective he can really be in those forums when he himself Read More HERE.

Both Skepitical Brotha and Sterohyped are blogging about this issue as is Keith Boykin who says, "We've had a black debate, a labor debate, a CNN debate, an MSNBC debate, an Iowa debate, a New Hampshire debate, and even a YouTube debate. Next month Univision, the fifth most watched network in America, is sponsoring a Hispanic debate that they plan to simulcast into the Spanish language for their viewers. Only Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd and John McCain have agreed to participate in that one. But tonight, Logo, the gay channel owned by Viacom, is sponsoring a gay debate with all the Democratic candidates. Is this too many debates?

John and Elizabeth Edwards Revisited

Is Elizabeth Edwards using her cancer to raise funds like FOX says?

—“We can’t make John black, we can’t make him a woman,” said Edwards, referring to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton during an interview with Ziff Davis Media about the Internet’s role in the 2008 presidential election. “Those things get you a certain amount of fundraising dollars.”

Ask This Black Woman

More HERE

Politics, White Man, Black Man, Sex, and Republicans

What do Politics, a white man, a black man and sex have to do with one another? Check out this post by Pam at Pam's House Blend who is guest posting on the Rude Pundit Blog this week.


By Pam

Big black buck blowjob

"Here's the unmentionable secret: Racism isn't that big a deal any more. No sensible person supports it. Nobody of importance preaches it. It's rapidly becoming an ugly memory."
-- White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, back in the day (Fox News Sunday, October 6, 2003)

Well he got one part right -- no sensible person supports it. Take the story of Florida State Representative Bob Allen (R-of course). He also served as John McCain campaign’s co-chairman in Florida. He had a 90% Christian Coalition voting record. But he also allegedly had a taste for big black man meat.

Rep. Allen picked the restroom at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Titusville to satisfy his need for chocolate oral pleasure. As he cruised the stalls, he solicited an undercover male officer inside the restroom, offering to perform suck off the black man in blue for $20. Yes, he was going to pay to perform.

When the cop lifted his shirt and showed Allen the badge, imagine what kind of excuses ran through his mind to explain away the encounter -- the devil made him do it? Drugs? Booze?

Those all would have made sense. Too easy. All of the GOP sexual hypocrites have it down pat -- just check into rehab and hope everyone will forget about the indiscretion.

No. Bob Allen reached back into the recesses of his bigoted mind and probably said "Eureka! The big black buck made me do it! He was about to mug me and I needed to do anything to beat a path from these dangerous darkies." More HERE

YearlyKos = A 21st Century - White Citizens Yearly Kouncil?

The White Citizens YearlyKouncil.

Yes, I said it. Come on folks, stop beating around the bush. Stop sugar coating it. Let's stop playing Games. Let's stop intellectualizing white blogger racism. Let's call it the way it is, The Democratic Presidential candidates just went before the Yearlykos a 21st century White Citizens YearlyKouncil. An exclusive club of middle aged whites guys, who sit around playing the "liberal card" with all but a few black and Latinos who attended the YearlyKos event.

I recently blogged about the YearlyKos event as a guess blogger on Rude Pundit. In my post I talked about how Hillary and Obama would be at the Lilly white, YearlyKos forum. Little did I know that the Washington Post would view the Yearly Kos Bloggers' Convention, a Sea of Middle-Aged White Males. But I go a little further. I see them like the members of the United States Senate, as a group of white men who could care less about issues impacting the poor, working class, and African American communities across America. The White Citizens YearlyKouncils agenda is the self preservation of you know what, white male bloggers.

STOP

OK, thats what I was thinking a moment ago, but let's be real. I could have blogged about that, but I didn't. Act like you didn't even read what I just wrote.

The reality is, The DalyKos, YearlyKos, WhiteKos, really didn’t outreach to the African American blogger community to get Black Bloggers to participate. The AfroSphere/AfroSpear group to my knowledge was not outreached to or contacted, Black bloggers were not really encouraged to attend, so therefore it is what it is. As it turned out to be, a white group talking to each other about issues important to them. White folks. White Citizens (with a few black folks for good measure).

But hey, that is a snap shot of my opinion today, my opinion could change tomorrow. Here are other opinions on the same topic.

Mirror on America, Jack and Jill Politics are blogging about the subject, as is Francis L. Holland , a blogger who blogs regularly about The Truth About Kos (DailyKos) in a recent post he notes, The Hot Air Blog calls YearlyKos, "whiter than an NHL game at the North Pole during a snowstorm." Hot Air points our attention to a Washington Post article of August 6, by Jose Antonio Vargas, that calls YearlyKos 2007 "a Sea of Middle-Aged White Males."

Maybe Francis L. Holand knows more than he is sharing when he writes about Markos Moulitsas and the annual meeting of the whitosphere sponsored by DailyKos.

What do you think? Am I wrong?

PS, It may not be a White Citizens Council, but it sure looks like one - Infact, it mirrored, guess what - The Republican Party. Think About It!

Republican Liars

Hat Tip: Fact Check.org

Sunday Morning Missteps

August 6, 2007

Another Republican debate, with more false claims

Summary

The Republican presidential candidates debated – and sounded some more false notes:

• Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney falsely claimed U.S. job growth had been nearly 17 times faster than Europe's. Actually, European Union employment grew faster than that of the U.S. last year. Romney's figures come from a source who told FactCheck.org that he would no longer use them.
• Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani accused Democratic candidates of "appeasement" toward Islamic terrorists. In fact, leading Democratic candidates have spoken out strongly against terrorism.
• Sen. John McCain claimed American families spend $140 billion of their income preparing federal income tax returns. We find no support for that figure, which the Internal Revenue Service puts at $19 billion.
• Rep. Tom Tancredo claimed illegal immigrants "are taking a large part of our health care dollars." But the independent Rand Corp. estimates that undocumented immigrants account for 1.5 percent of health care spending or less.

Analysis

Republican presidential candidates debated for 90 minutes on Sunday's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" in what ABC News billed as the Republicans' first network debate. (It was, of course, the candidates' fourth debate, having already aired their views on MSNBC, Fox News Channel and CNN, but never mind all that.)

We noted the following factual stumbles:

Romney's Economic Miracle

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney erred when he claimed U.S. job growth had been nearly 17 times faster than that of Europe:

Romney: We are the largest economy in the world. We’ve added – during the time Europe added 3 million jobs, we’ve added about 50 million jobs in this country.

That miraculous-sounding statistic is way off. It has taken since the end of 1978 for total employment in the U.S. to grow by 50 million jobs, according to official figures kept by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But total employment for the 15 core members of the European Union (those who joined before 2004) grew by well over 33 million between 1978 and 2005, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Europe has added even more jobs since. In fact, the 27 current EU nations added nearly 3 million new jobs last year alone, according to the EU statistics agency Eurostat. That's well over the 2.3 million jobs created last year in the United States.

Romney was misquoting an outdated and highly dubious figure whose author no longer stands behind it. Romney cited a 2005 article in The American Enterprise magazine, published by the pro-business American Enterprise Institute. In the article, titled "America Still Beckons," author Joel Kotkin wrote: "Since the 1970s America has created some 57 million new jobs, compared to just 4 million in Europe (with most of those in government)." Kotkin told FactCheck.org he wouldn’t use the figure today.

We concur. The 4 million figure is a somewhat garbled version of what another author, Karl Zinsmeister, had written in another American Enterprise article from 2002, “Old And In The Way (Decline and Fall of Europe).” Zinsmeister put the figure at 5 million – not 4 million or 3 million – and the time period as "since 1970," rather than Kotkin's "since the 1970s," which implies a somewhat more recent time. “I don't know how it got changed," Kotkin said. In any case Kotkin told us it was his sense that Zinsmeister's 5 million figure referred mainly to Germany and France, not to all 15 pre-2004 European Union members, let alone the 27 current EU members. In any case, it refers to statistics covering years prior to 2002. “This was an old number,” Kotkin said. His advice: “I would not use that.”

Accusing Democrats of Appeasing Terrorists

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani accused Democratic candidates of "appeasement" toward Islamic terrorists out of "political correctness."

Giuliani: [In] four Democratic debates, not a single Democratic candidate said the word “Islamic terrorism.” Now, that is taking political correctness to extremes.… The reality is that you do not achieve peace through weakness and appeasement. Weakness and appeasement should not be a policy of the American government.

Properly speaking, of course, “Islamic terrorism” is two words, though Giuliani is correct to say that in four debates the Democratic candidates have not uttered the words “Islamic terrorism” together. And it is true that Democratic candidates have generally avoided making critical comments about Muslims or the Islamic faith. Whether or not that constitutes "political correctness" and/or "appeasement" is a matter of opinion which we leave to others. But Giuliani is wrong to imply that the Democrats have failed to address terrorism. Here is a sampling of what leading Democratic candidates said in one debate:

read MORE HERE

Rude Pundit

The Rude Pundit Rocks!

The Rude Pundit's decision to invite African American bloggers over to Rude Space for a week of rude political blogging is awesome. More progressive bloggers need to create this type of cultural-political blogging exchange. I'm deeply appreciative of the Rude Pundit for providing me and other African American bloggers like Liza Sabater of Culture Kitchen, Shark-Fu of Angry Black Bitch, Angry Independent of Mirror on America, Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend, Pandagon, and, Terrance of Republic of T Angry the opportunity to reach a wider group of rude readers.

I will reciprocate by asking the Rude Pundit to join me in blogging on this blog during any 2 Democratic and/or Republican Presidential debates of the the Rude Pundit's choice.

To be continued -

Are blacks prepared to elect Obama?

AAPP says: This could be the question of the 21st Century. Here is a great article by Eugene Robinson. Do you know the answer to the question? Check it out.

Are blacks prepared to elect Obama?
By Eugene Robinson

Are white Americans really, truly prepared to elect an African-American president?

Seriously, is a nation with such a long and shameful history of brutal slavery, Jim Crow segregation and persistent racism actually going to put a black man in the White House?

One of Barack Obama's principal tasks in the coming months may be convincing African-American voters that this whole phenomenon -- a black candidate with a well-financed campaign, proven crossover appeal and a real chance to win -- isn't just another cruel illusion.

I hear from African-Americans who are excited about Obama's candidacy but who suspect that somehow, when push comes to shove, "they" won't let him win. It's unclear who "they" might be -- white voters, the "power structure," the alignment of the stars -- and it's unclear how "they" are going to thwart Obama's ambition. The point is that, somehow, he'll be denied. More HERE

Holocaust survivors worth $20 per month says Israeli Government

Damn, and I thought black folks get no respect!

Check out how the Israeli government treat's Holocaust survivors. I thought Israel would never forget. I guess the government is forgetting the survivors. Damn governments can suck. I guess American government and Israeli government's have something in common - disrespecting survivors of the Holocaust and American Slavery.

- AAPP

Holocaust Survivors Protest $20 Stipends

JERUSALEM - Holocaust Survivors in Israel demanded Sunday that the Jewish state raise what they consider a laughable new offer of $20 monthly stipends.

At least 500 elderly survivors and their supporters rallied outside the parliament building, carrying placards and wearing stickers reading "The Holocaust is still here" and "Forgive us for surviving." More HERE

Oliver Hill, Esq - In Memory of

He was the first black elected to Richmond, VA, City Council since Reconstruction.

Rest in Peace, Brother Oliver Hill
- AAPP



As reported in WaPo Civil Rights Attorney Oliver Hill is shown in this Jan. 15, 1999 file photo, in his office in Richmond, Va. Hill, who was at the front of the court fight that led the Supreme Court to end racially segregated schools, died Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007. He was 100. (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Eric Brady, File) (Eric Brady - AP)

In 1954, he was part of a series of lawsuits against racially segregated public schools that became the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, which changed America's society by setting the foundation for integrated education.

"He was among the vanguard in seeking equal opportunity for all individuals, and he was steadfast in his commitment to effect change. He will be missed," said L. Douglas Wilder, who in 1989 became the nation's first elected black governor and was a confidant of Hill's. Wilder is now Richmond's mayor.

In 1940, Hill won his first civil rights case in Virginia, one that required equal pay for black and white teachers. Eight years later, he was the first black elected to Richmond's City Council since Reconstruction. More HERE

Police Pepper Spray Baby

When neither crime nor punishment pays

America needs to listen to Mayor Cory Booker, who talks common sense about Crime and Punishment issues America. I'm candidly surprised at the lack of conversation in the AfroSphere regarding crime issues in African American communities. Although many bloggers like Prometheus 6, Jack and Jill Politics, Field Negro, Mirror on America, Republic of T and others have hit the nail on the head regarding the challenges of black-on-black crime, many black bloggers seem to be scared to address the issue for fear of airing dirty laundry.

Guess what folks it's aired every day in the streets of America!

OK, so black bloggers should be able to blog about anything they want. Your Right! yet, one has to wonder if black bloggers could and should do more to educate others about issues impacting our own community. But, that is just my opinion, and guess what, I just could be right.

When neither crime nor punishment pays

Source: star ledger

Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark

By Cory booker

In barbershops and boardrooms, in newspaper headlines and presidential debates, Americans are questioning the billions of dol lars a month being spent on a failing war, and the current "surge" in Iraq.

But we, policy-makers at every level of government, should also be questioning the "domestic surge" at home in the so-called war on drugs and urban crime. There are more guns, more technology, more cameras scanning streets, and more money spent on jails, prisons and juvenile facilities every day. The cost to American taxpayers also rises every day.

he way we have chosen to deal with crime is leading our nation away from its highest ideals and producing results that stand in stinging contradiction to who we claim to be.

In the land of the free, we lock up a greater percentage of our population than any nation. The U.S. prison population has increased 91 percent in the past 15 years. More than 7 million Americans are under some form of state or federal cor rectional supervision, and this does not include the legions of Americans in county and city facilities.

Is this the America of which we dream?

Our societal resources pour into prisons and police budgets -- the numbers are staggering. Billions of dollars are spent annually around our state, with budget growth at a pace far beyond that of our economy. Newark spends over a quarter of its budget on police, courts and jails.

Is this the America of which we dream?

READ MORE

2007 Black Weblog Awards

This year, each category will have two winners. The voting public will submit websites for blogs via a nomination form from August 1-15.

The winners will be announced on September 5.

Click here to submit your nominations.

Al Sharpton

Hat tip to Solutions Blog and Black PR Wire

Reverend Al Sharpton, Founder and President of National Action Network (NAN), along with Tamika Mallory, Director of NAN’s Decency Initiative, has announced a national “Day of Outrage” against the continuous use in the music recording industry of the words “nigga,” “bitch” and “ho.” Reverend Sharpton, who has persistently challenged the entertainment industry on denigrating lyrics, will use August 7th to call for the withdrawal of public investments from companies that won’t clean up their act. In New York, one of the states where the event will take place, roughly $3 billion from the state pension fund is invested in the entertainment industry.

According to Reverend Sharpton, “The idea of divesting State taxpayers’ money from record companies that have a double standard when it comes to language is something that will be a priority.” In April, Reverend Sharpton led the drive to have Don Imus fired from his syndicated radio show for calling the Rutgers University women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos.”

The event on August 7th which is being held by National Action Network’s Decency Initiative will take to the streets in 20 cities across the country at 12 (Noon) to mount public pressure on the music industry to adopt a universal standard of respect for all people. The cities are New York City, Newark, NJ, Los Angeles, CA, Detroit, MI, Atlanta, GA, Miami, FL, Washington, DC, Dallas, TX, Jacksonville, FL, Las Vegas, NV, Kansas City, MO, Phoenix, AZ, Stamford, CT, Philadelphia, PA, Columbia, SC, Houston, TX, Richmond, VA, Baltimore, MD, and Augusta,
GA. More HERE