Montgomery County College President Brian K. Johnson, YOUR FIRED!

In my 2nd hometown of Montgomery County, Maryland some crazy things are going on. As reported in the Washington Post, the black man who was the head of Montgomery College was removed as President. Brian K. Johnson was removed from office late Thursday night, as the board of trustees voted to place him on immediate administrative leave, with pay, and not to renew his contract. This is probably a good thing. Get this as reported by WaPo, Montgomery College faculty members Thursday evening approved a no-confidence resolution on President Brian K. Johnson, amid mounting concern that he has steered Maryland's largest community college off course during his two-year tenure.

Faculty leaders said they had little choice but to evaluate Johnson's activities after a spring meeting, when some professors pushed for an immediate no-confidence vote. They gathered information and delivered it to trustees in midsummer. Because of vacations and other scheduling conflicts, trustees could not meet to discuss the findings until last week, Lin said.

The group took no public action at that meeting.

Much of the faculty ire has been directed at Johnson's expenses, including thousands of dollars for airfare and fine dining at a time when the school had austere budgets and travel restrictions. Public records obtained by faculty members showed that Johnson charged $58,165 to his corporate credit card over 21 months.

Johnson said some of the expenses singled out as excessive, such as a $780 tab for a limousine during a trip to Boston, were legitimate and involved multiple college representatives. He said some other expenses might have been fraudulent charges by someone else, because his credit card had been "compromised."

Johnson accused the faculty of attempting to weaken his administration to gain advantage in contract negotiations. Faculty leaders rejected that assertion and said they had enjoyed amicable relations with management before Johnson's arrival. Ouch!

In addition to his problems at the college, Johnson has been plagued by persistent reports that he owes back child support. He appears on a list of "deadbeat parents" on the Web site of the Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff's Office, based on a bench warrant issued last year for $12,000 owed to a former spouse. More HERE

Get this, the Maryland Politics blog is reporting that this guy has a warrant for him in another state for not paying child support...

Ouch, seems that this guy is a off the chain...

Black Lawyer and Political Activist Files Complaint Aganist ...

Black blogger Francis L. Holland is taking on the Milwaukee authorities to task for the violation of a black woman's rights. Yes, Francis L. Holland is at it again! He has set his attention on the case that Internet Bloggers and BlogTalkRadio host Queen Ifama, Black Achievement, Antoinette and Dale D (a new black blogger) blogged about, and I subsequently reported about on my blog at African American Political Pundit.

Get this, Atty. Blogger Francis L. Holland has offically filed complaints with Milwaukee authorities over what he calls "A Therapist/Client Sex Case."



It's the case of a state social worker who investigated a report of child abuse for the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare later had sex with the child's emotionally troubled mother and impregnated her. He then hid the woman's pregnancy and the birth of their daughter from the bureau, even as the mother sought to retain custody of two other children, the Journal Sentinel has also reported on the case.

The 56-year-old social worker, Peter J. Nelsen, was allowed to resign from the bureau April 15, according to bureau records.

Now Francis has taken it to another level. Here is what Francis L. Holland wrote, in his formal complaint to the Office of the Milwaukee Ombudsman for Child Welfare:

Ms. Pamela Matthews
Director
Office of the Milwaukee Ombudsman for Child Welfare
1442 North Farwell Avenue, Suite #300
Milwaukee, WI 53202-2913
pmatthews@obudsmanmild.org
(414) 224-1337

Dear Ms. Matthews:

Please receive this letter as a formal complaint, and a formal request for an Ombudsman complaint on my behalf, regarding Milwaukee Bureau of Child Welfare social worker Peter J. Nelson's unlawful therapist/client sexual contact with Theola Nealy, and the Bureau's decision to give Mr. Nelson custody of Ms. Nealy's daughter, fathered through in the unlawful sexual contact of Mr. Nelson with a Child Welfare client. Thank you for calling me this afternoon regarding my concerns about Peter J. Nelson.

Contrary to your representation in our telephone call of today, your Milwaukee Ombudsman for Child Welfare web page entitled, "Who Can File A Compaint", states that among those who may file a complaint are "The Ombudsman (who can file a complaint for anyone not listed above)."

In my capacity as "anyone not listed above", I hereby file this complaint and request that the Ombudsman file, receive and pursue a complaint on my behalf, and on behalf of the Francis L. Holland Blog.

Today, I have filed a formal report of these facts to Milwaukee Bureau of Child WelfareWisconsin Department of Children and Families. Ms. Green confirmed that she and the Bureau are aware of the facts of this case as reported: that Peter J. Nelson, worked as a social worker for the Bureau, engaged in sexual intercourse with Theola Nealy, a client of the Bureau, leading to the birth of a third child to Theola Nealy. Ms. Green confirmed that Peter J. Nelson is now in custody of that child. In my child at risk report, I stated my belief that the child of Peter J. Nelson and Theola Nealy is at-risk at this time because the child is in the custody of a social worker who may have committed two or more sexual felonies under Wisconsin statutes.

Wisconsin Statutes 940.22(2), Entitled "Sexual Exploitation by Therapist, Duty to Report, provides that:

Read the full post from Francis L. Holland

Don't forget to read African American Political Pundit Blog regularly.

African American Woman Pastor Found Dead In A "Crucifix Position"

African American Woman Pastor Found Dead and Left in a "Crucifix Position"

Hat Tip to Dale D., at HateCrimeWatch who is covering the case ofd a black woman preacher, Rev.Carol Daniels was found dead laying in the Crucifix Position at her church last Sunday afternoon in Oklahoma. Rev.Daniels who is 61 body was found by an elderly couple Who later notifed police. More HERE >>>

Reverse Color Arousal In The Atlanta Mayors Race?

We'll it looks like the black folks in Atlanta are caught between a rock and a hard place. VOTE Black and get What? Vote WHITE and get What?

As reported by Richard Fausset at the LA Times in frank language, a memo published online urges black voters to unite behind one black candidate to defeat a white contender. It has raised hackles among residents who take pride in the city. This even got some ignorant angry White people pissed off. But who really cares abot some angry white folks?

Get this, as reported by Richard Fausset at the LA Times - The memo emerged early this week on an African American news website, then spread via e-mail, finally landing on the front page of the local paper. Bloggers like Peach Pundit, A Race Against Time and bloggers from the black conservative right have their own view on the issue and memo.

The message from the memo: Atlanta is a majority-black city whose 35-year string of black mayors "has represented the breakthrough for black political empowerment in the South." And therefore, the white candidate running for mayor this year must be defeated.

Reportedly disseminated by a local group called the Black Leadership Forum, it was the kind of idea guaranteed to raise hackles in Atlanta, a city that has worked hard to live up to native son Martin Luther King Jr.'s dictum about judging by character rather than skin color.

In the current mayor's race, a number of candidates are running to replace second-term Mayor Shirley Franklin. They include a handful of African American candidates, and one high-profile white hopeful, City Councilwoman Mary Norwood.

Observers of local politics believe that Norwood could emerge triumphant if black votes are spread among the various black candidates in November. In language that is remarkably frank, the memo urges black voters to rally around candidate Lisa Borders, the City Council president: "Time is of the essence because in order to defeat a Norwood (white) mayoral candidacy we have to get out now and work in a manner to defeat her without a runoff."

Seemingly overnight, a rather low-key election centered on everyday municipal concerns -- crime, jobs, taxes -- has prompted grander questions, from the definition of reverse racism to the legacy of the civil rights movement. Is it wrong, in the age of Obama, for black Atlantans to wish for a black mayor? And how comfortable should they feel ceding some of their famously hard-won political gains? More HERE

AAPP: Ponder this, Was the displacement of close to 100,000 black residents over the past few years out of Atlanta, and into the suburbs a conspiracy to take Atlanta back politically? Is this something new? Has this not happened in cities like Washington, DC that has a majority white city council and a black mayor who acts like he is whiter than white? So should black folks in Atlanta vote black? Is that not what we did in other cities, and got nothing back in return. Didn't we do that in the last Presidential race? Vote black? Is it not true that our president didn't name but two black to his cabinet, and won't appoint any cabinet members who graduate from state universities or comminity college, and you must be a Harvard grad to even qualify for an interview. What measurable amount of dollars have black folks received from the trillions of dollars spent in Federal Taxes on Stimulating the economy? Will voting black mean anything truly for black American voters? You tell me?

Assigned to check abuse, white social worker impregnates Black client woman

Hat tip to Queen Ifama, Black Achievement, Antoinette and Dale for the link to this story. Check this out, according to jsonline.com,

Kristyna Wentz-Graff

Peter J. Nelsen arrives at the Milwaukee County Courthouse Friday for a hearing on a restraining order against him by Theola Nealy.

A state social worker who investigated a report of child abuse for the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare later had sex with the child's emotionally troubled mother and impregnated her. He then hid the woman's pregnancy and the birth of their daughter from the bureau, even as the mother sought to retain custody of two other children, the Journal Sentinel has learned.

The 56-year-old social worker, Peter J. Nelsen, was allowed to resign from the bureau April 15, according to bureau records.

Within months of his resignation, the bureau removed the 1-year-old girl from her mother and placed her in Nelsen's home. The other children - a 5-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy - also had been removed.

Nelsen is now seeking sole custody of the 1-year-old.

"Everything that I love is gone," said the 31-year-old mother, Theola Nealy.

Nealy was sitting at the kitchen table of her tiny but immaculate south side home. The house, its walls painted pink and peach, is a virtual toy box filled with bikes, dolls and empty beds.

"This is their home," she said.

The administrative code of ethics that Wisconsin social workers are required to follow strictly forbids sexual contact with clients. The rule states: "A person shall continue to be a client for two years after the termination of professional services."

"It is probably the worst thing you can do as a professional," said Marc Herstand, executive director of the Wisconsin chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world. "This is a basic ethical standard."

Although bureau officials knew about the child by early April, no report has been filed with a state examining board, according to a Department of Regulation and Licensing spokesman. David Carlson said Nelsen retains his social worker's license.

State law requires an employer that "terminates, suspends, or restricts the employment" of a licensed social worker as the result of "adverse or disciplinary action against the credential holder relating to his or her practice of social work" report that action to the appropriate examining board within 30 days.

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Children and Families, which runs the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare, said a report was filed. But Angela Russell said she did not know when. More HERE

AAPP says, so what do you think should happen to 56-year-old social worker, and rapist, Peter J. Nelsen? Should he be charged with rape?

A friend to black America has Died - Edward Kennedy

My hometown Newspaper, Boston Globe, and the Chicago Sun Times and so many newspapers across the world are reporting that Senator Edward M. Kennedy has died.



Senator Edward M. Kennedy fought for universal health care to his final days. (File/Mike Theiler/Getty Images)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who carried aloft the torch of a Massachusetts dynasty and a liberal ideology to the citadel of Senate power, but whose personal and political failings may have prevented him from realizing the ultimate prize of the presidency, died at his home in Hyannis Port last night after a battle with brain cancer. He was 77.



AAPP: As a Bostonian, I have had the opportunity to meet with Senator Kennedy during Boston school desegregation and during the planning process to build of the Kennedy library in Boston next to the old Columbia Point housing site. I always found him to be a delightful man who followed through with his political commitments to black folks in Boston. As the Boston Globe notes, It's unclear who'll grab reins of Kennedy dynasty, yet one thing is clear Edward M. Kennedy fulfilled a nation’s promise.

He worked with many Presidents (see photos below)

Now it would be great if Barack Obama learned something from Edward M. kennedy... "The ability to speak for the poor."

Deadly daycare/Church shooting -Rockford police shoot, kill man in day care center

Have I lost my mind, or has police killings of black men and women gone up since Barack Obama became President? Here another kinngs of a black man at the hands of white police officers. Get this, as reported by By Corina Curry and Chris Green of The Rockford Register Star Police fatally shot a 23-year-old Rockford man today inside a day care housed inside a downtown church.

Yes in a Daycare Church in front of little black children, but Rockford's Black Community is not taking this lying down. Black folks are speaking out about the deadly daycare shooting. A vigil for the young man shot and killed by Rockford Police has been held and more action is planned.

There is more... It looks like right-wing militias are on the rise in local police departments as well.


The Rockford Register Star reports police and two witnesses gave conflicting accounts of the events leading up to the shooting. Police said Mark Anthony Barmore was killed after he fought with an officer for his service weapon inside a classroom at the House of Grace Daycare and Preschool.

Two day-care operators said there was no struggle over a gun. They said Barmore was shot multiple times after he emerged from a dark boiler room with his hands up.

Marissa Brown, 17, the daughter of day-care operator Sheila Brown, said she witnessed the shooting.

“The officer shined his flashlight into the boiler room and told him to come out. He came out real slow with his hands up and his head down, and they shot him.

“He fell over into the sink. He tried to get back up, and they shot him again. A heavy-set officer was the one who was shooting him while he was on the ground.”

Sheila Brown said she witnessed the shootings after Barmore was on the ground. She said the officers fired as many as eight rounds into Barmore including at least one shot into his head.

The names of the officers were not released.

School was in session at House of Grace Daycare and Preschool, 518 N. Court St., but none of the children or staff members were injured. It’s unclear at this time what the children may have seen.

Chief Chet Epperson, who was on the scene, said Barmore had a physical confrontation with one of the officers in a storage area within one of the school’s classrooms. He said Barmore put his hands on the officer’s handgun and a fight ensued, resulting in gunfire from both officers.

Epperson said it’s too soon to tell who fired first and which officer fired the fatal shot or shots.

An investigation into the shooting and the officers’ use of deadly force is under way, Epperson said.

According to police, two Rockford officers were on the Jefferson Street Bridge heading west when a call went out over police radio alerting officers of a wanted subject. Epperson said he believes the call gave a description of race, approximate age, height, weight and clothing being worn.

The subject was wanted in connection with two domestic disputes, one of which may have involved the use of a knife, Epperson said.

When the officers approached the intersection of Palm and Court streets, they spotted a man who fit the description. Epperson said one of the officers got out of the police squad role van and followed the subject after he ran into Kingdom Authority International Ministries. Kingdom Authority and House of Grace Daycare are connected.

The other officer entered the church from the south and met the officer and the male subject in the day care basement where the shooting occurred.

“I’m extremely concerned if this shooting took place in front of children. I’m extremely concerned whenever there is gunfire in the city,” Epperson said. “But gunfire when children (are) around is just raised to a higher degree. ... We will be investigating this. We will be looking to see if everything was done appropriately.”

The incident will go through an internal review and a criminal investigation, and the shootings will be taken before the Winnebago County grand jury for a ruling on the officers’ use of deadly force and whether it was justified. More information from: Rockford Register Star, http://www.rrstar.com

“There are multiple layers of review that this thing will go through,” Epperson said.

A search of Winnebago County court records shows Barmore has an extensive criminal history including arrests for aggravated assault against a police officer with a fire arm, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and resisting a peace officer.

Emotions were still running high at the church tonight. Before a church revival, House of Grace Pastor Melvin Brown ushered in a parade of area black pastors denouncing the shooting.

Bishop John Senters of Faith Walkers Assembly said he contacted the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

“He was enraged on the telephone,” he said. “He is ready to come to help give voice to this. This can’t die. This can’t be swept under the rug.”

AAPP, When is enough, enough? Right-wing militias are on the rise in local police departments. Black folks need to keep a watchful eye on this.

A big shout out to bloggers such as Rippa, Sojourner's Place, Field Negro, Dale at his new blog, HateCrimeWatch Antoinette at her new blog, Antoinette's "Point of View", Ms. Lady Deborah at her blog my brown eyed view and Francis Holland at the Police Brutality Blog who are alsostanding in the gap and holding it down.

Castro says right wingers hate Obama

President Barack Obama is trying to make positive changes in the United States, but is being fought at every turn by right-wingers who hate him because he is black, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on Tuesday. More HERE

In an unusually conciliatory column in the state-run media, Castro said Obama had inherited many problems from his predecessor, George W. Bush, and was trying to resolve them. But the "powerful extreme right won't be happy with anything that diminishes their prerogatives in the slightest way."

Obama does not want to change the U.S. political and economic system, but "in spite of that, the extreme right hates him for being African-American and fights what the president does to improve the deteriorated image of that country," Castro wrote.

"I don't have the slightest doubt that the racist right will do everything possible to wear him down, blocking his program to get him out of the game one way or another, at the least political cost," he said.

Castro, who writes regular commentaries for Cuba's state-run media, has criticized Obama, complimented him occasionally and said that he is watching him closely to see if he means what he says about changing U.S. policy toward Cuba.

His latest column comes during a visit to Cuba by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson that has stirred speculation that he may try to push U.S.-Cuba relations forward.

Richardson has been a diplomatic trouble-shooter in nations with which the United States has poor relations. In 1996 he negotiated with Castro for the release of three Cuban political prisoners.

Obama has said he wants to end 50 years of hostilities between the United States and Cuba and has eased the long-standing U.S. trade embargo against the communist-led island.

But he has said the embargo will be lifted only if Cuba shows progress on political prisoners and human rights. Cuban President Raul Castro has said he is happy to discuss these issues but will make no unilateral concessions.

Obama has been criticized by anti-embargo groups for moving too slowly on Cuban policy.

Castro, 83, ran Cuba for 49 years after taking power in a 1959 revolution, but stepped down last year so Raul Castro, his younger brother, could succeed him. Full Story HERE

It's now Barack Obama's War on Afghanistan

As reported by Reuters, The situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating along with U.S. public support for the war, Washington's top military officer said on Sunday as he left open the possibility of another increase in troops.

"I think it is serious and it is deteriorating, and I've said that over the past couple of years -- that the Taliban insurgency has gotten better, more sophisticated," said Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

U.S. combat deaths have risen since U.S. President Barack Obama ordered a troop buildup to confront a resurgent Taliban, with a record 44 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan in July.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll showed a majority of Americans believe the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting, and just a quarter say more troops should be sent there.

"Certainly the numbers are of concern," Mullen said on NBC's "Meet the Press." But he later added, "this is the war we're in."

Mullen said the new commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, was "wrapping up" his assessment of the situation and would submit it in a couple of weeks.

Mullen said he would evaluate whether more troops were needed after reviewing McChrystal's report.

"We'll see where that goes once the assessment is in here," he said. "And I've had this conversation with the president, who understands that whatever the mission is, it needs to be resourced correctly."

McChrystal's report, originally due in mid-August, was expected after the Afghan election process is completed. Counting is under way following Thursday's election, which drew allegations of vote rigging Sunday from Afghan President Hamid Karzai's main challenger. [ID:nSP74288]

NO "ENDLESS DRIFT"

A credible election result is important for the country and for U.S. President Barack Obama, who has made stabilizing Afghanistan a top foreign policy priority.

Obama already plans to increase the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to about 68,000 by year's end, more than double the 32,000 the United States had there at the end of 2008.

Mullen declined to comment on U.S. media reports that McChyrstal might recommend additional increases of 15,000, 25,000 or 45,000 troops.

He said the United States faced a multi-year effort to establish security and enable Afghan forces to maintain it.

"I don't see this as a mission of endless drift. I think we know what to do, we've learned a lot of lessons from Iraq, focusing on the Afghan people," Mullen said.

Asked about an exit strategy, Mullen said: "I've said from a military perspective I believe we've got to start to turn this thing around from a security standpoint in the next 12 to 18 months."

"And I think after that we'd have a better view of how long it's going to take and what we need to do."

Sen. John McCain, the Republican who lost to Obama in last year's presidential election, said on Sunday he did not believe there were enough troops on the ground in Afghanistan.

McCain told ABC's "This Week" that the "clock is ticking" on American public opinion of the Afghan war.

"I think you need to see a reversal of these very alarming and disturbing trends on attacks, casualties and areas of the country that the Taliban has increased control of," he said. (Additional reporting David Lawder; Editing by Doina Chiacu) Link to Full Story HERE

AAPP says: Barack Obama is now the War President. "He just does not get it. Americans voted for him to get us out not put us in the devils kitchen." This is just may turn out to be Barack “Obama's Vietnam.”

There are some bloggers who feel it's America's “War of Necessity, it just may be. But I agree with Senator Feingold who told President Barack Obama: he should announce a withdrawal timetable from Afghanistan.

Black Woman Tased In Back - While on Her Knees

Another American Post-Racial Moment

This one out of Cincinnati.

Cincinnati police say the preliminary investigations says Officer Anthony Plummer's actions were not in compliance with Cincinnati Police Departments policies and procedures. Also, the tasing investigation has been recommended to be conducted by the internal investigation section.

Cincinnati police arrested and used a Taser on Celeste Thomas, the daughter of Cincinnati city councilman Cecil Thomas, early Sunday morning.

Her arrest report indicates that Thomas had marks on her upper back from the Taser's barbs.

"It is my understanding that she was on her knees when she was Tased in the back," said Cecil Thomas.



Official comment from the Cincinnati Police Department was not immediately forthcoming. Councilman Thomas, however, said that in a phone call with a senior officer early Sunday morning he was told that police would be reviewing the incident.

A source with knowledge of the incident tells 9News that the officer who used the Taser is Anthony Plummer.

Plummer was investigated by the Cincinnati’s Citizen Complaint Authority in a 2006 complaint stemming from another Tasing incident in which use of excessive force was alleged. In that incident, Plummer was found to have used excessive force.

Additionally, sources tell 9News that Plummer was terminated for issues related to excessive force but reinstated last year after arbitration. More HERE

SCLC Fort Worth calls for FBI federal investigation into the taser death of Michael Patrick Jacobs

On August 22, 2009, Rev. Kyev Tatum, President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference - Fort Worth Chapter wrote a letter to President Barack Obama requesting a FBI federal investigation into the taser death of Michael Patrick Jacobs while in custody of the Fort Worth Police Department.

Rev. Tatum noted that the death was caused because of excessive deadly force to a mentally challenge African-American young man. He also noted that the crime was a hate crime because the officers, which were all white refused to assist this young man by providing CPR when he was unconscious. The officers also threaten the young man's mother with deadly force when she reached out to assist her son. Read the letter sent to President Obama below.



This blogger, who is also publisher of the blog Tasered While Black supports Rev. Tatum's efforts and urges all readers of this blog to send letters to the President and to the U.S. Attorney General to investigate this case.

We also urge you to sign the petition to hold Congressional Hearings into Taser Use and Abuse in America.

Here is the letter from Rev. Kyev Tatum, President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference - Fort Worth Chapter written to President Barack Obama:


Dear Mr. President:

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Fort Worth Chapter is requesting a FBI federal investigation into the taser death of Michael Patrick Jacobs while in custody of the Fort Worth Police Department.

We believe the death was caused because of excessive deadly force to a mentally challenge African-American young man.

This crime was a hate crime because the officers, which were all white refused to assist this young man by providing CPR when he was unconscious. The officers also threaten the young man's mother with deadly force when she reached out to assist her son. One white male officer put his hand on his gun and told her "she better get back."

Supportive News Story:

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/1550263.html

It appears the Mayor and other city officers are trying to cover up the facts in this cause.

We are requesting an immediate investigation of this case.

I can be reached at 817-966-7625.

Sincerely,

Rev. Kyev Tatum,
President
Southern Christian Leadership Conference - Fort Worth Chapter
7510 John T White Road
Fort Worth, Texas 76120
817-966-7625

Cc: SCLC National Office
Afrosphere
Dallas South

AAPP says: Sign the petition to hold Congressional Taser Hearings into Taser Torture today!

Americans face a spiritual chasm

By Leonard Pitts Jr. / Syndicated columnist

We frame the differences in terms of "conservative" and "liberal," but these are tired old markers that with overuse and misuse have largely lost whatever meaning they used to have and with it, any ability to explain us to us. This isn't liberal vs. conservative, it is yesterday vs. tomorrow, the stress of profound cultural and demographic changes that will leave none of us as we were.

Our story so far:

Last year, Barack Obama was elected president, the first American of African heritage ever to reach that office. If this was regarded as a new beginning by most Americans, it was regarded apocalyptically by others who promptly proceeded to lose both their minds and any pretense of enlightenment.

These are the people who immediately declared it their fervent hope that the new presidency fail, the ones who cheered when the governor of Texas raised the specter of secession, the ones who went online to re-christen the executive mansion the "Black" House, and to picture it with a watermelon patch out front.

On tax day they were the ones who, having apparently just discovered the grim tidings April 15 brings us all each year, launched angry, unruly protests. In the debate over health-care reform, they are the ones who have disrupted town-hall meetings, shouting about the president's supposed plan for "death panels" to euthanize the elderly.

Now, they are the ones bringing firearms to places the president is speaking.

The Washington Post tells us at least a dozen individuals have arrived openly — and, yes, legally — strapped at events in Arizona and New Hampshire, including at least one who carried a semi-automatic assault rifle.

In case the implied threat is not clear, one of them also brought a sign referencing Thomas Jefferson's quote about the need to water the tree of liberty with "the blood of ... tyrants."

It remains unclear, once you get beyond the realm of Internet myth, alarmist rhetoric and blatant lie, what the substance of the president's supposed tyranny might be. "Socialized health care?" Given that our libraries, schools, police and fire departments are all "socialized," that's hard to swallow.

When and if the implied violence comes, perhaps its author will explain. Meanwhile, expect those who stoked his rage — i.e., the makers of Internet myths, alarmist rhetoric and blatant lies — to disdain any and all moral responsibility for the outcome.

These are strange times. They call to mind what historian Henry Adams said in the mid-1800s: "There are grave doubts at the hugeness of the land and whether one government can comprehend the whole."

Adams spoke in geographical terms of a nation rapidly expanding toward the Pacific. Our challenge is less geographical than spiritual, less a question of the distance between Honolulu and New York than between you and the person right next to you. Such as when you look at a guy who thought it a good idea to bring a "gun" to a presidential speech and find yourself stunned by incomprehension. On paper, he is your fellow American, but you absolutely do not know him, recognize nothing of yourself in him. You keep asking yourself: Who "is" this guy?

We frame the differences in terms of "conservative" and "liberal," but these are tired old markers that with overuse and misuse have largely lost whatever meaning they used to have and with it, any ability to explain us to us. This isn't liberal vs. conservative, it is yesterday vs. tomorrow, the stress of profound cultural and demographic changes that will leave none of us as we were.

And change, almost by definition, always comes too fast, always brings a sense of stark dislocation. As in the woman who cried to a reporter, "I want 'my country' back!" Probably the country she meant still had Beaver Cleaver on TV and Doris Day on "Your Hit Parade."

Round and round we go and where we stop, nobody knows. And it is an open question, as it was for Henry Adams, what kind of country we'll have when it's done. "Can" one government comprehend the whole? It may be harder to answer now than it was then.

The distances that divide us cannot be measured in miles.

Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts e-mail address is: lpitts@miamiherald.com

2009, The Miami Herald

According to the Washington Post a majority in Post-ABC Poll Say Afghan War Not Worth Fighting Yes, a majority of Americans now see the war in Afghanistan as not worth fighting and just a quarter say more U.S. troops should be sent to the country, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Most have confidence in the ability of the United States to meet its primary goals — defeating the Taliban, facilitating effective economic development and molding an honest and effective Afghan government — but very few say Thursday’s elections there are likely to produce such a government.

AAPP: "Count me in as one of those Americans who say the Afghan War is not worth fighting. I thoug we elected a Democratic Congress and Barack Obama to get us out of Hell's Kitchen."

Do you support the war on Afghanistan?

Black Guy with a semi automatic assault rifle (video)

What is going on with this black guy with a gun, and other right wing nuts who are going around to Barack Obama Rallies with AR-15, a civilian version of the military's M-16 , semi automatic assault rifles?




I guess peaceful demonstrations are not part of the Right Wing strategy. I don't get why the Secret Service have not arrested these idiots, including the stupid black guy. These right wing nuts Ron Paul supporters, or the few right wing nut bloogers, can't believe that black folks are going to go out and join these wacko right wing groups based on this new strategy for recruiting members and supporters.

It's great to know that bloggers like Rippa, and AverageBro.com and so many other afrospear bloggers are covering this clown, who is active idiot with the wacko group the www.FreedomsPhoenix.com



The Huffington Post is also covering this issue. I hope the Secret Service is following every step this black right wing nut with a gun makes. They should also follow this group Freedoms Phoenix and it's leaders who just may be Americas new and emerging home grown terrorist.

I'm hoping that the Obama Justice Department is analyzing these right-wing terrorists and groups in the United States and are developing effective counterterrorism strategies to prevent these anti-American groups and individuals from growing. I believe these groups need to be dismantled.

UPDATE: According to The Washington Post, in it's article by Alexi Mostrous we should not be expecting Barack Obama to take on the NRA and it's supporters. Get this, Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said people are entitled to carry weapons outside such events if local laws allow it. "There are laws that govern firearms that are done state or locally," he said. "Those laws don't change when the president comes to your state or locality."

AAPP: Like many people, I totally disagree with Gibbs's comments, I fear that the debates over health-care reform are more likely to turn violent if guns to be brought into the equation. "I guess the KKK, White Citizens Council and other right wing groups will be bringing guns to ever rally on every political and social issue in America. This is insane... allowing guns at public events is public endangerment. it's opening up an opportunity to a wild-wild west shoot out. These right wing nuts are wacko. "I'm disappointed that the Obama administration has taken this stand."

But that's my opinion. What do you think?

Marion Barry and his 9 Lives on HBO

I watched the HBO program on the 9 lives of Marion Barry. As the HBO promo states, "To many, Marion Barry is remembered as the philandering drug-addled mayor of the nation's capital. To others, Marion Barry is a folk hero. Hailed as a civil rights champion and defender of the poor, his soaring achievements, catastrophic failures and phoenix-like rebirths have made him a symbol of mythic indestructibility. Today, to the dismay of some and the delight of others, Barry is once again in the political limelight."

AAPP says: "It's a great program that gives a better insight into the man who was Mayor of Washington for 4 terms. It's a must see for all you political junkies."

Check it out and let this Pundit know what you think about the program.