Black Accountability

A few words on the need for black leadership accountability.



Do you agree?

Election 08, Live Blogging at Dallas South Blog and at BlogTalkRadio at 11 PM

Don't forget, Shawn Williams is Live Blogging at Dallas South Blog.

I'm also linking to his blog. Dallas South Blog.com

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Tuesday April 22, 2008 11:00 PM EST

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Hillary, Obama, Osama and Bill Clinton

Hillary Clinton's new last minute campaign strategy: Scare them into voting for me - It worked for George Bush.

The Real John McCain

Senator John McCain (L) and Reverend John Hagee

Senator John McCain says he will hold on to Reverend John Hagee's endorsement, after admitting it was 'probably' a mistake to accept it.

"I admire and respect Dr. Hagee's leadership of his church," said the presumptive Republican nominee during his Sunday appearance ABC's This Week.



When asked if it was 'a mistake to solicit and accept his endorsement', Senator McCain said "oh, probably, sure." The 71-year-old McCain added, however, that he is 'glad' to have Hagee's endorsement. "I am glad to have his endorsement. [However,] I condemn remarks that are in anyway anti anything." John Hagee, the leader of a San Antonio mega-church, has referred to the Roman Catholic Church as 'the great whore' and called it a 'false cult system' and 'the apostate church'. It's true that [John] McCain's campaign sought my endorsement," the pro-Israeli reverend had said in an interview with the New York Times. Source: presstv

'Bigotry To Go' John McCain is trying another apology recipe on Black America

Angry John McCain is trying to run away from his past, while also trying a new apology recipe, hoping that black folks will eat his born-again approach to civil rights. McCain is also hoping just a few white liberals or white moderates will believe him as well. He wants people to believe he is a supporter of civil rights. just like he wants people to believe his wifes recipes. The problem is McCain is Guilty of Plagiarism. He is guilty of being on the wrong side of developing recipes. not just food recipes, but progressive recipes for American social change.

Like I've said, black folks are not stupid, and we know when someone is is not telling the truth. We know when we are being laughed at. We know when we are being insulted. We know what tar baby means. You see John McCain hated Martin Luther King and voted against every piece of legislation that would make Martin Luther King's birthday a national holiday. Now McCain is scheduled to make remarks at the foot of Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge, beginning at 9 a.m. and maybe take a quick tour of some of the Selma churches where civil rights workers staged their marches.



As an example (source DNC), in 1983 McCain did something not even Dick Cheney did: he voted in Congress against a federal holiday in honor of Dr. King, which President Reagan later signed into law. In 1987, McCain supported Arizona Governor Evan Mecham's action to rescind an executive order establishing a state holiday in Martin Luther King's honor.

Even in 1989, when McCain finally came around and supported a state holiday, he said he was "still opposed to another federal holiday." As recently as 2000, McCain reportedly said he "resented it when people outside of Arizona got involved" in the issue. [FOXNews.com, 4/3/08; ABC News, 4/3/08; Huffington Post, 4/1/08; Wall Street Journal, 4/3/08; AP, 2/29/00]

McCain apparently thinks a stop in Memphis can gloss over that part of his bio, but -- as one reporter noted -- McCain's "views on race in the 1980s do not stand up to the sunlight of America a quarter-century later." [ABC News, 4/3/08]

1983: McCain Votes Against Federal MLK Day. In 1983 McCain voted against establishing a federal holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King. "Most Republicans in the House voted for the holiday (89 voted for the holiday, 77 opposed), though all three Arizona House Republicans were opposed. Reps. Dick Cheney, R-Wyoming, and Newt Gingrich, R-Georgia, voted for the holiday. (Cheney had voted against it in 1978.)" [ABC News, 4/3/08]

1987: McCain Opposes Arizona MLK Holiday. In Arizona, Democratic governor Bruce Babbitt issued an executive order to establish an MLK holiday. Yet "[i]n January 1987, the first act of Arizona's new governor, Republican Evan Mecham, was to rescind the executive order by his predecessor to create an MLK holiday. Arizona's stance became a national controversy. McCain backed the decision at the time." [ABC News, 4/3/08]

1989: McCain Still Opposes Federal Holiday. Even though he now supported establishing a state holiday for Martin Luther King, he said he "said he was 'still opposed to another federal holiday.'" [Huffington Post, 4/1/08]

2000: McCain Said He Had Opposed Instituting MLK Day On A National Level. In 2000, it was reported that "McCain has said he supported implementing the holiday on a state level but resented it when people outside of Arizona got involved." [Associated Press, 2/29/2000]




David Jackson, of USA Today reports — John McCain begins today's tour of the Alabama "Black Belt" at a mecca of the 1960s voting rights movement that realigned Southern politics.

The 1965 assault on marchers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., helped produce the federal Voting Rights Act. Four decades later, the South is predominantly Republican, and African-Americans are the Democratic Party's most loyal constituency.

McCain's remarks at the Pettus Bridge will begin what he calls the "It's Time for Action Tour," spotlighting "forgotten Americans," who include steelworkers in Youngstown, Ohio, the rural poor in the Appalachia region of Kentucky, and Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans.

"We will travel to areas of this country that in many ways have been forgotten and left behind," McCain senior adviser Steve Schmidt said. More here

AAPP: As David Jackson, of USA Today reported McCain's efforts to attract black voters will face historic hurdles. first off Barack Obama could become the first African-American nominee of a major party. so he might as well forget about getting any significant black votes. Secondly, as stated previously McCain voted in Congress against a federal holiday in honor of Dr. King.

Put a fork in it McCain - your done! no one believes you care about poor people. Black folks are not hearing you. We know were you stand.

As Ted Rall noted, Time after time, McCain weighs a decision. Then, after careful consideration, he chooses evil over good. In the short run, evil gets him what he wants. Later, when the devil comes to collect his due, McCain issues a retraction.

Running for president in 2000, John McCain squared off against George W. Bush in the key South Carolina primary. Asked whether the Confederate battle flag should continue to fly over the state capitol, McCain sided with the rednecks: "Personally, I see the flag as symbol of heritage."

A few months later, he'd lost South Carolina and quit the race. He apologized--not to the African-Americans he'd offended, but to a friendly audience of Republicans. "I feared that if I answered honestly, I could not win the South Carolina primary," he admitted. "So I chose to compromise my principles." It wasn't the first time, or the last.

Also in 2000, McCain insulted Asians. "I hate the gooks," John McCain hissed, "and I will hate them for as long as I live...and you can quote me." After a few days of negative press attention, he took it back: "I apologize and renounce all language that is bigoted and offensive, which is contrary to all that I represent and believe."

What does McCain "represent and believe"? In 2000 McCain attacked George W. Bush for speaking at Bob Jones University, a freaky institution that smeared Catholics, banned jazz and interracial dating. Six years later, however, it was McCain's turn to suck up to the Christianist right. He appeared at the Rev. Jerry Falwell's extremist Liberty University, which--like BJU--bans gays and denies pregnant students the right to seek an abortion.

No apology for that one.

In 1983, John McCain was a freshman congressman from Arizona, then one of the most right-wing states in the country. In order to appease his Republican Party's base--racist whites--he voted against the bill that established Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. "I thought that it was not necessary to have another federal holiday, that it cost too much money, that other presidents were not recognized," he explained in 2000. Do Chester Arthur or Gerry Ford deserve holidays? Anyway, MLK Day didn't cost employers a cent; Washington's Birthday and Lincoln's Birthday were replaced by the generic President's Day.

He also floated the "states rights" excuse (with its own racist signifiers) that referenced his support for Confederate "heritage" in South Carolina. "I believe it's an issue that the people of South Carolina can settle, just as we in Arizona settled the very divisive issue over the recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King as a holiday. I resented it a great deal when people from Washington and pundits and politicians and others came to my state to tell us how we should work out a very difficult problem."

Healthcare is "a very difficult problem." Iraq is "a very difficult problem." MLK Day, like the Confederate flag "issue," was a simple question of right and wrong.

True to his pattern, McCain understood that the racist pandering he used to launch his political career could come back to haunt him in the more enlightened--the John Birchers who contributed to his early campaigns might say "politically correct"--election year of 2008. Time for another apology: "I was wrong and eventually realized that, in time to give full support for a state holiday in Arizona," he concedes. "We can all be a little late sometimes in doing the right thing, and Dr. King understood this about his fellow Americans." MORE here

AAPP: Now Mccain is trying another recipe on black folk and America. A trip to Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge, maybe take a quick tour of some of the Selma churches where civil rights workers staged their marches, and another apology. Will it work?

Breaking News! Clinton Praised a Group of KKK Supporters

According to Black Commentator, Senator Hillary Clinton (D, NY) has some explaining to do.

BlackCommentator.com has learned that Bill Clinton, while president, repeatedly praised the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC). This is an organization that many, including some whites and a former U.S. senator from Illinois, have called racist.

To view the entire report with documentation please visit the link below.

http://www.blackcommentator.com/274/274_clinton_udc.html

Note: BlackCommentator.com is an independent weekly Internet publication that is published every Thursday. It is not a blog.

Pennsylvania Voters Switching To Obama

NPR is taking the pulse of Pennsylvania Voters April 19, 2008 · 62% of voters polled who've switched their party registration to Democratic since January say they will vote for Sen. Barack Obama, says Terry Madonna, professor of politics at Franklin and Marshall College. He discusses the top issues for voters in the state. More HERE

Obama leads Clinton 'signifcantly

Was last week the final face-off between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama?

Meanwhile, Obama leads Clinton by 19 in Newsweek poll. According to By: Mark Memmott and Jill Lawrence at U.S.A. today, Two stories are making waves on this Saturday morning:

• Newsweek says its latest polling shows Sen. Barack Obama 19 percentage points ahead of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton nationally in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. He leads 54%-35%. The polling of 1,209 registered Democratic voters was done on Wednesday and Thursday, and 517 of those surveyed were contacted after Wednesday night's Democratic debate. The margin of error on each figure: +/-3 percentage points.

This is the perfect time to remind ourselves that polls are snapshots of current public opinion and can't predict what will happen on any far-off Election Day. It's also important to say that a 19-point lead is much larger than what most other polls are giving to Obama. Yesterday, for example, Gallup said its daily national tracking poll puts Obama 3 points ahead.

Pollster.com says Obama's average lead over Clinton in national polls is about 5 points (it hasn't yet factored in the Newsweek number). Real Clear Politics, which has included Newsweek's result in its calculations, gives Obama nearly a 9-point average lead.

• The Huffington Post has obtained a recording of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton blaming "what she called the 'activist base' of the Democratic Party -- and MoveOn.org in particular -- for many of her electoral defeats, saying activists had 'flooded' state caucuses and 'intimidated' her supporters."

MoveOn Executive Director Eli Pariser told Huffington that his group's 3.2 million members "deserve better than to be dismissed using Republican talking points." More HERE.

All of this as Obama gets establishment democrats' backing and racks up more endorsements.

Finally, Obama is saying to Hillary, Let's campaign, no more debates. He suggested he doesn't see any point in having another debate with Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Bloggers' Roundtable

NPR's News & Notes , April 17, 2008

Farai Chideya holds it down again at NPR. This time asking the question:

Are historically black colleges doing enough to prepare the next generation of professionals?

There was a special Bloggers' Roundtable, in which NPR took a look at the issues of importance to Atlantans.

The group of Atlanta bloggers share their opinions about Election 2008. I must say this is a session you don't want to miss. It included some great bloggers, including afrospear member Amani Chanel of My Urban Report. Listen Now [17 min 11 sec]

Also joining in the conversation were two other dynamic bloggers, Andre Walker of Georgia Unfiltered, and the always insightful, Michael Fisher of The Assault on Black Folk's Sanity.

Thank you NPR for continuing to provide alternative views and opinions on important topics of the day. Thank You Farai Chideya and NPR's News & Notes producers for another great program.

AAPP

Bill Clinton In The White House Again?

Are people ready for Bill Clinton part III? That is what we get if Hillary gets into the White House.

He wants to Bring his "Badge of Honor" Back to the white House.

You remember Bill Clinton, the guy who called his impeachment for perjury and obstruction of justice ''illegitimate'' and an ''abuse of power.'' the same guy who said ''The whole battle was a badge of honor.'' The guy who called his affair with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern, ''a terrible moral error'' and sought to explain how his family handled the crisis in an interview with Dan Rather on the CBS program ''60 Minutes,'' to be broadcast Sunday.

H/T The Swamp for photo

Check out The NY Times article 4 years ago when he explained the situation in interviews at his homes in Chappaqua, N.Y., and Arkansas, Mr. Clinton said: ''I did something for the worst possible reason. Just because I could. I think that's just about the most morally indefensible reason anybody could have for doing anything.''

Also reported that in his most extensive remarks about the Lewinsky scandal since leaving the White House, Mr. Clinton said that he and his family had sought counseling while his wife, Hillary, decided whether to remain married to him in the aftermath of the 1999 Senate vote on his impeachment. He told Mr. Rather that through counseling his family was able to overcome the effects of the scandal. Is this the type of family that deserves to be in the white House again?

More HERE

The ABC's of how to attack Barack Obama

AAPP: Why didn't ABC ask this question - Was Hillary Clinton's strongest supporter and surrogate, Bill Clinton wearing an American Flag Pin when he was having sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky in the White House?

The Field Negro said it best, There was an Ambush at 5th and Market. But this was expected. Even before the Clinton-Obama debate in Pennsylvania, highly respected blogger Eddie Griffith wrote "Propaganda War Starts" in anticipation of what ABC's devilish duo, Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos, would do during the debates. There is no doubt in my mind and the mind of black bloggers across the afrosphere that there are some pitiful Black Politicians enjoying the moment. The controversy around the ABC debates is bringing out the regular MYDD Hillary hacks. While many bloggers are calling it the way really was, with one blogger noting ABC’s Debate Sucked. Another blogger talks about all the Shi** they are going to use against Obama. Regular blog contributor Agent X has noted that The ABC debate; the worst ever. Check out the Transcript of the Democratic debate in Philadelphia

It's great Obama is ignoring the hate, with the "Wonder Boy" comments and the ABC (anti-Black Coalition Network). I guess one major gun owners group is not buying Hillary and ABC attempts to pigeon hole Barack into the "angry black man" corner. Yes a major Gun group is not bitter, and they are backing Obama.

The Obama wearing of an American flag pin is a non issue to this blogger. There are many politicians who have worn the American Flag in disgrace. One has to wonder was Bill Clinton wearing an American Flag when he was having sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky?

Former Gov. George Wallace wore an American Flag Pin, so did millions of American segregationist and members of Congress who supported legal slavery and segregation of blacks. Is now the wearing of the American Flag the new test? Flag pin equals patriotism?
For ABC and many stupid people it just must be. I also agree with Shawn Williams at Dallas South, when he wrote: The Pennsylvania debate should be the last for the democrats.
As fellow international black blogger, afrospear member and political activist Francis L. Holland noted ABC Screwed Up Debate Royally.

I'm in agreement with Moveon.org when they wrote: If you missed the Democratic presidential debate on ABC last night, Editor & Publisher called it "perhaps the most embarrassing performance by the media in a major presidential debate in years."¹ (Click below to see video excerpts.)

Moderators George Stephanopoulos and Charlie Gibson spent the first 50 minutes obsessed with distractions that only political insiders care about—verbal gaffes, polling numbers, the stale Rev. Wright story, and the old-news Bosnia story. And, channeling Karl Rove, they directed a video question to Barack Obama asking if he loves the American flag or not. Seriously.

Enough is enough. The public needs the media to stop hurting the national dialogue in this important election year. Can you sign the petition to ABC and other media outlets and pass it on to friends who are also fed up? Click here for our must-see video with excerpts from last night—and to sign the petition:

http://pol.moveon.org/enoughdistractions/?id=12457-8045350-_feSpi&t=4

The petition says: "Debate moderators abuse the public trust every time they ask trivial questions about gaffes and 'gotchas' that only political insiders care about. Enough with the distractions—ABC and other networks must focus on issues that affect people's daily lives."

We'll deliver petition signatures to ABC and the networks hosting future debates. And if we reach 100,000 signatures, we'll reprint the petition in an ad campaign targeting the networks on this issue.

ABC's natural inclination will be to ignore their critics, so we need to go above and beyond to show them that the public is truly outraged. So, please, think about some friends who may be fed up with 2008 media coverage and forward them this email. If thousands of us do that, it'll make a huge difference.

Live Blogging The Presidential Debate - PA

"Barack Obama from Man To Boy" Now Wonder Boy

Boys to Men, or Man to Boy? Or maybe as Francis l. Hollands notes, White-News Media seem to love to call a black man like Barack Obama "Wonder Boy." Well it is so easy for some people to call a black man " 'BOY'." You know when Democrats, Republicans, Independents or the anyone white calls Obama "boy." that's southern code for nigger. Now the question is: Where is the Outrage?

No Outrage from the Hillary camp about Republicans making bigoted remarks about Barack. I guess when Republicans start calling Hillary, "Trailer Trash Bitch," Barack should say nothing as well?

Tax Expert Offers Advice on Finishing Returns

Check out Dwight D. Hunter, Esq. Managing Partner of Exodus Tax & Business Services on NPR's News & Notes
Listen Now

If you haven't filed yet, don't panic. NPR's Tony Cox gets some last-minute tax tips.

Hillary Clinton attempts To Revise American Presidential Election History

While Most American's know the the 2000 election was stolen from Al Gore, and the 2004 election was stolen from John Kerry she wants to continue to stick with supporting George Bush over Democrats.



Maybe Hillary did not read, (H/T Buzz Flash) an exhaustive 23,422-word Vanity Fair article, published just prior to the election (October), spilled the beans that at least four of the five Supreme Court justices who stole the election from Al Gore did it with willing forethought. And the fifth, Justice Kennedy, who came up with the hypocritical, convoluted reason for awarding the election to Bush, was probably just pretending to be "open-minded."

In short, the story, the first one to reveal the inside machinations of the infamous decision of 2000, confirmed that this wasn't a judicial decision that decided the election 4 years ago; it was a premeditated theft of democracy from the American voters.

Now, As reported By Shailagh Murray and Perry Bacon Jr. in todays The Washington Post Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) asserted Sunday night that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), through his recent description of sentiments in small-town America, reinforced a stereotype of "out-of-touch" Democrats that doomed the party's past two presidential nominees.

"We had two very good men, and men of faith, run for president in 2000 and 2004. But large segments of the electorate concluded that they did not really understand or relate to or frankly respect their ways of life," Clinton said at Messiah College, referring to former vice president Al Gore and Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.). She repeated her view that Obama had been "elitist . . . and, frankly, patronizing." Read More HERE

Who is the real elitist and presidential election revisionist who is disconnected from the American people. Who is the Democratic president who has failed to acknowledge the real premeditated theft of democracy from the American voters in 2000 and 2004? Is this the same person who failed to acknowledge her bad decisions regarding supporting Bush's War? Come on Hillary we can see right through your garbage. Maybe she does not get her facts straight because her and Bill have been too busy counting thier $110 million dollars in earnings.

In Solidarity: Global Day for Darfur

Black American Indifference Is Not An Option!

This blog is joining with bloggers from around the world in an effort to to raise awareness to the genocide in Darfur. This blog is participating "In Solidarity: Global Day for Darfur" today, April 13th, 2008 along with several other afrospear bloggers. These bloggers includes but is not limited to:




Modern Musings
A Political Season
Black and Missing but not Forgotten
Black Perspective
Black Women Vote
CEO Mum
Darfur: An Unforgivable Hell on Earth
Eddie G. Griffin
Electronic Village
Musings of the Night
My African Diaspora
Regina's Family Seasons
Slant Truth
Take Political Action
The Jose Vilson
Travs Thoughts
Ultraviolet Underground
Vanessa: Unplugged
What About Our Daughters
Black and Missing - But Not Forgotten
African American Political Pundit.com
African American Opinion.com
African American Opinion and Social Networking
African American Political Opinion
Black Accountability Project

(H/T Black and Missing But Not Forgotten and Black Perspective for the links)

As reported by Save Dafur.org After five years of conflict in Darfur, children are reaching school age having experienced nothing but armed conflict. A million Darfuri children have grown up displaced, living in camps for refugees and internally displaced persons, many without opportunities for education, without knowing the meaning of home.

On the Global Day for Darfur on April 13, tens of thousands of citizens around the world will call on their governments and the United Nations to act decisively to get the U.N.-African Union peacekeepers deployed in Darfur as fully, effectively, and quickly as possible.

The children of Darfur - and the millions of civilians affected by five years of brutal violence - can wait no longer. They need the protection of peacekeepers NOW.

What Can Black Americans Do?

There is a great number of things black Americans can do to get involved. As an example we can find an existing Darfur activist group to get involved locally. We should learn about hot-button legislation under consideration in the United States Congress. Let us not forget the power of the pen, or computer in contacting world leaders. As reported by Darfur Genocide.org world leaders are closer than you think. As an example, Darfur Genocide.org has a new 24 Hours for Darfur initiative that helps concerned citizens understand the situation and transmit their concerns to political leaders.

Learn about the situation from expert videos. Watch testimony from Darfurians. View appeals from people around the world. Record a message for your representatives right in your browser, or upload a video file. And email any video message directly to world leaders.

The power is in the worlds hands to change Darfur.