Category Archives: Dumb Shit
The Hate That Hate Produced (Part Duex)
Dog Whistle Politics: It means putting out a message that, like a high-pitched dog whistle, is only fully audible to those at whom it is directly aimed. The intention is to make potential supporters sit up and take notice while avoiding offending those to whom the message will not appeal.” – The Economist
History sure has a way of repeating itself… over and over again. Especially in an area where honest dialogue never existed. When it comes to race, America remains for the most part in a state of cowardly denial, is willingly senile, operating within a glass bubble, exposed, but unaware. As the Trump train powers through American politics and discourse, I am most amused by the rock throwing/hand hiding of not only the other GOP candidates, but many of their supporters who ‘act as if ‘they are put off with The Donald and his rhetoric. I’ve spent the last eight years attempting to dialogue with them as the Obama presidency continued to reveal the obvious underbelly of white racial rage. But all I heard was that I was making something out of nothing. That I was race baiting. I understand that in many cases privilege is a helluva blinder. Anytime privilege of any kind is threatened, it feels like discrimination to the preferred beneficiary. This is true with not only race, but gender, sexuality, class and so forth. The Obama presidential campaign in 2007 brought to bear the threatened privilege of White America’s fear of Black progress in a post slavery post Jim Crow nation. As the rhetoric spewed in the months leading up to November the scene played out in both a Twainian and Shakespearean fashion.
You start out in 1954 by saying, “Nigger, nigger, nigger.” By 1968, you can’t say “nigger” — that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced bussing, states’ rights and all that stuff. You’re getting so abstract now you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is blacks get hurt worse than whites. And subconsciously maybe that is part of it. I’m not saying that. But I’m saying that if it is getting that abstract, and that coded, that we are doing away with the racial problem one way or the other. You follow me — because obviously sitting around saying, “We want to cut this,” is much more abstract than even the busing thing, and a hell of a lot more abstract than “Nigger, nigger.” — Lee Atwater, Republican Party Strategist 1981
This was how it was during the Reagan era. From the day he announced his campaign on Sunday August 3, 1980 in Philadelphia, MS of all places, he looked to perfect the art of Dog Whistle Code Speech. In case you didn’t know, Philadelphia, MS in Neshoba County, was the same town where three young civil rights workers; a 21-year-old black Mississippian, James Chaney, and two white New Yorkers, Andrew Goodman, 20, and Michael Schwerner, 24 were murdered on June 21, 1964. The three young men were chased in their car, abducted, shot at close range, then buried in an earthen dam by the local Ku Klux Klan. The very location indicated a message that Reagan was sending to his white conservative audience. He chose a significant place where the empirical history of White Supremacy reigned. In his speech he wasted no time in mentioning ‘welfare‘ reform. He continued to wax eager the virtues of ‘states rights.’
I believe in state’s rights; I believe in people doing as much as they can for themselves at the community level and at the private level. And I believe that we’ve distorted the balance of our government today by giving powers that were never intended in the constitution to that federal establishment. And if I do get the job I’m looking for, I’m going to devote myself to trying to reorder those priorities and to restore to the states and local communities those functions which properly belong there. – Ronald Reagan 1980
States Rights/Decoded = A reference dating back to the conflict of the Civil War between the Union and the Confederate. The Confederate believed it was the rights of states to decide whether they wanted to own slaves and endorse slavery as an institution. Southerners who preferred slavery, and subsequently Jim Crow and segregation laws believe the federal government overstepped it’s bounds in undermining what they feel were their ‘states rights.’
Welfare Reform/Decoded = A term directed towards poor or middle class whites intended to focus them on poor minorities. Its purpose is to describe said minorities as ‘takers,’ who are lazy, unmotivated and unproductive while draining the economy, thus making it harder on white people, who are in turn hard workers. It says nothing of the statistics regarding the percentages of actual welfare recipients. It only assumes minorities, specifically black folk are the takers. It’s also limited to individuals, not taking into account any corporations or corporate executives who may benefit from government ‘subsidies.’ The difference in the words ‘subsidies’ vs ‘welfare’ directly determines the response of the hearer.
Over the last 35 years or so, the dog-whistle style worked pretty well. Nixon, Reagan, Bushes 1 & 2, and even Clinton benefited from using coded language to project a narrative. But something happened when Barack Obama became a serious candidate for president. Coded language slowly began to give way to a more bold and ballistic approach as White anger and fear that the person who would become the face and symbol of leadership in these United States of America could be a black male.
One of the first series of racially motivated attacks was the so called ‘birther movement’s’ questioning of Obama’s status as a United States citizen. Many Whites including now GOP front runner Donald Trump riled that Obama was born in Kenya, East Africa as opposed to Hawaii. Trump went on to say that he had investigators in Hawaii that would prove conclusively that Obama wasn’t born in Hawaii. Hillary Clinton’s supporters jumped in as well questioning the origin of Obama’s citizenship. In spite of there never being such evidence presented by Trump, so many White Americans latched on to the conspiracy theory, that it became a thing; so much of a thing that eventually the White House released a copy of the ‘long form’ certificate. This would not satisfy those who were set on believing that since the day of his birth Barack Obama was raised from birth to infiltrate the White House, take White people’s guns and make America a Muslim state, overturn the constitution and replace it with Sharia Law. That brings us to our next conspiracy theory; which is that Obama is not a Christian.
In spite of 2016 being the last year of the second term of the Obama presidency, 43% of Whites still believe that Obama is a Muslim. This despite all of the evidence that supports the opposite. The Obama’s were members of Trinity United Church of Christ for years. They were married there, and both of their children were baptized at Trinity as well. Despite that fact that there is no way in hell in 2016 that Obama could possibly hide a Muslim connection, (past or present) this suspension of reality for these White naysayers are simply ways to ostracize Obama to a group that they despise and are afraid of. They cannot embrace Obama’s Christian faith without embracing him as their spiritual brother. To continue the lie that he is something other than a Christian, gives them a self deceiving legitimacy in not taking him seriously, rather dismissing every word from his mouth, his authority and even his presence. No other president or presidential candidate has ever had his/her faith questioned. Is Christianity even a question now among any of the candidates?
During the McCain/Palin campaign the racial overtones became more and more emboldened. Palin spoke divisively accusing Obama not being an American, like the White crowds in her audience. She linked Obama with terrorists. The crowd in turn shouted epitaphs such as, ‘terrorist, off with his head, and kill him!” It got so ugly and threatening that even McCain himself tried to temper the racial rhetoric by defending Obama as a ‘decent person, a decent family man and a citizen,’ the crowd booed him. McCain tried to reason with the crowd and get the focus on Obama’s views as opposed to his race. “We want to fight, and I will fight,” McCain said. “But I will be respectful. I admire Sen. Obama and his accomplishments, and I will respect him. I don’t mean that has to reduce your ferocity, I just mean to say you have to be respectful.” McCain was booed again. What, respect a black man who has the audacity to think he can be OUR president?
Once it became apparent that Obama did indeed win the election and was going to be sworn in. The rage was real and lay bare expressed through cable news channels. Critics like Rudy Giuliani became one of the go to guys for disparaging anything Obama. No matter what the issue was or what The President said or did. Echoing the voices of White rage the GOP took note to follow the script of de-legitimizing Obama. The racial rhetoric was starting to become less coded. The utter disdain utterly vicereal. Here is a round robin list of just a few examples.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell – “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.” 2008
South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson – “YOU LIE!” * Shouted during the middle of Obama’s first State of the Union Address. 2009
Newt Gingrich – “President Barack Obama deserves to be called, ‘the most successful food stamp president in American history,’ because “47 million Americans are on food stamps.” 2012 *The food stamp reference feeds into the notion that Reagan fed into during his election that black folk were the major recipients of government assistance were poor black people. This made white people resentful of their own perceived lack of success. The poor people are takers. The takers are black. This despite that fact that when Gingrich made this statement in 2010, only 8 percent received cash welfare, while 30 percent had earnings. Nearly half of food-stamp beneficiaries are children under 18, and about 8 percent are elderly. About 34 percent of beneficiaries are white, 22 percent are black, 17 percent Hispanic, 7 percent Asian or Native American, and 20 percent “race unknown.” Gingrich knew that his audience would interpret the myth of who welfare recipients are. The face of welfare is a black face.
After initially saying she would not meet President Obama at the airport, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer met The President with a never seen before confrontational finger to the face!
None of these extraordinary examples were credited to Obama’s color according to his White detractors. Even the mantra of, ‘take our country back’ was said to be benignly focused on politics. Instead, any mention of race at all was turned on Obama’s head as being the racist. Ben Stein called Obama, “The most racist president in American history.” This despite the fact that previous presidents owned slaves, supported Jim Crow laws and had ties to the KKK. Anytime Obama mentioned racial injustices such as the killing of unarmed Trayvon Martin, and the subsequent acquittal of George Zimmerman, he was accused of stirring up racial animus. If he showed empathy to anything black, he was accused of favoring Blacks. The irony is, that when Obama acknowledged the dog-whistle style of criticism himself, saying, “they (Republicans) are trying to scare you because I don’t look like the other presidents on the dollar bill,” he was accused of playing the race card. In other words, it was perfectly acceptable for whites to infer to Obama as the Food Stamp president. They could say, “let’s take America back,” as if he stole it and hid the nation in a crack house somewhere. They could freely claim all day long that race had absolutely nothing to do with their choice of words. And yet for him to mention race at all in a fashion that didn’t denigrate black people made him a racist himself, and therefore a threat to White people.
Now we have come full circle. The conundrum that the GOP face today is that those racial undertones and sub-tweets of rhetoric have come home to roost. What Donald Trump says openly is what the GOP has established itself on in code that Atwater so eloquently spoke of. Though Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and others have tried to separate themselves from the niggerization of Trump’s politics. But they can’t escape the liable they are responsible for. Rafael Cruz, Ted Cruz’s father is responsible for some of the most racially charged diatribes on record. As Cruz ran for the Senate in 2012, he said, “We need to send Barack Obama back to Chicago. Back to Kenya.” Ask Ted Cruz, or any other republican if his father’s statements have anything to do with race. Trump would not only acknowledge the obvious, he’s encouraging the white rage by asking his crowds to beat up black people at his rallys. Law enforcement authorities are arresting the assaulted instead of the ones committing these assaults on national television. Its to the point now, that as D.L. Hughley said, “If Trump says the N-Word, he going to be president tomorrow.” Michael Eric Dyson noted that if LBJ’s motto was, ‘The Buck Stops Here,’ For the mainstream GOP the mantra has been for Obama, ‘The Buck Must Be Stopped.’
The GOP would like to make you believe this poisonous racial environment and Trump’s political success isn’t on them. But it absolutely is.
Memo to those:
When you called Obama weak, while he is out here killing Bin Laden, as well as other key figures in Al Qaeda and ISIS. You are ungratefully biting the hand that has kept you safe.
When you say that other nations don’t respect us. What you are really saying is that YOU don’t respect the president.
When you say he is a con man, you are saying he doesn’t act like your stereotypical image of what a nigger is. (And that he is smarter than you! For his accomplishments have surpassed yours by leaps and bounds) Those who haven’t had ONE good word to say about this president, in 7 years is fooling no one but themselves.
The birth of Trump is merely the product from 7 years of racially ejaculatory motivated hate. Quoting Michael Jackson is not appropriate. The the kid is definitely your son!
It Takes Two To Make A Thing Go Right, or Selective Outrage is Impotent
Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe. – Frederick Douglass
Just a few thoughts regarding the latest in protest and violence in America post what strongly appears to be unchecked police brutality.
I’ve had conversations with friends, African-American friends in particular who voice either in word, social media and otherwise their frustrations and disdain for looters and folk who are burning buildings in Baltimore. They’ve praised the mother who went Ronda Rousey on her son for participating in the riots. They say, “I hate what I’m seeing on TV! This is NOT the answer!”
What occurred to me was the history of the world, the history of this country. Change from those in power to benefit those with less has rarely happened without violence and physical struggle. I think of the Arab Springs in Syria, Egypt and Morocco to name a few over the last several years. People had decided that they had enough of their oppressive and corrupt governments. I think of the history of the civil rights movement during segregation and Jim Crow. Hell, I think of the Boston Tea Party! That struggle is glorified in history books. My response to my friends has simply been to ask them, “Well what IS the answer? What should they do? Call the police? (The same police who have one of THE worst documented reports of police brutality?) Write the police commissioner? What should they do to make the difference? None could give me any answers. I sure as hell don’t have any either.
I saw President Obama this morning demonizing the looters. But he can ‘miss me’ with that until he also demonizes the police who crushed a man’s spine and voice box while in their custody for simply running away from them. Freddie Gray wasn’t wanted for any crime. The knife he had in his pocket was of legal. His downfall seems to be that he didn’t possess NFL first round wide receiver speed to escape his killers. The President isn’t the only using all of his vitriol against those in rebellion. Mass media and the direction or misdirection of narrative shaping is solely focused on the fallout from Gray’s death instead of the original sin of Gray’s death. The truth of the matter is, I am not willing to listen to anyone who is not nuanced enough to have a real discussion regarding the cause and effect of what’s going on in Baltimore, what happened in New York, Ferguson and Oakland to facilitate community unrest. I mean, how many times does this have to happen before there is a recognition of human nature; that if you keep putting a boot on people’s necks they are going to rise up? It’s easy to tell people, “Keep on taking this ass whooping and burying your friends and kin to police brutality. Organize and wait for the next election. Have a church services, pray and forgive corrupt cops and the institutions that protect them.” Historically that is not going to be a unified or sustained response. Again, just check the history of anywhere in the world! It ain’t gonna happen!
Furthermore, I am past the point of apologizing for the looters. Looting is something I have never done nor would I. I was in Ferguson and it never crossed my mind. It’s not my thing. But why should I have to own the onus of those that do when my counterparts don’t own the burden of unarmed black boys and men being murdered by police? Am I the only one (as an activist) that needs to make concessions here and take ownership? If they want to isolate and tell me that all the facts aren’t in, then I will say the same thing. Dammit we don’t know who burned down the buildings. You got a name? Have all the facts been gathered yet? Has there been an investigation of who exactly started the fires? What accelerant was used? At what point in each building was the fatal match thrown? …and by WHOM exactly? Sound ridiculous? I don’t know… Cause sure as hell we had Eric Garner’s death from start to finish on VIDEO and we saw how THAT turned out! Mr. Scarface said it best, “Black men are being hunted!”
I have always been an ambassador of sorts. I bridge gaps and intermediate many potentially explosive situations. I’ve done it all my life. It’s natural for me. I love peace. Thus I am a fan of Dr. King’s non-violent work. Yet I have always understood the need for an armed movement like The Black Panthers too. I don’t own a gun. I don’t desire to own one. But I do recognize that with non-violence it’s easy for the one oppressing you to get a little too comfortable believing no retribution is possible. Having the thought that in the back of one’s mind that he can catch some hurt if he stepped to the wrong person or set of people is just smart negotiating. In other words, Rosa Parks is going to sit on that bus, but Nat Turner may take a shovel to your dome!
Is that not how our own government deal with other countries? It goes like this: “If you don’t act right, we may use economic sanctions. Or we may bomb the shit outta you!”
Finally let me bring this point home. If something goes down at my house where I need help, I’m calling the police. I have several friends who are police officers. One is a high ranking member. If I see one of those guys driving behind me, it wouldn’t phase me a bit. As a matter of fact, I may try to flag them down and start a conversation. Equally true, is that because of my own experiences with bad police, I am scared as hell when one gets behind me who I don’t know. *Especially if he is white* I’m on the road almost every day going to someone’s basketball gym, football field or baseball diamond. Sometimes I am some very remote areas where there are rarely is any folk who look like me. And the reality is this; On any given day I could be the next Freddie Gray, Mike Brown, Eric Garner or Oscar Grant. That ain’t hyperbole. That’s real! Look, I was on a field last week working a baseball game. I saw two cops approach and started watching the game. I hadn’t done anything wrong, yet I was scared. I wondered if they were there for me. At the time there was a baseball game and a track meet going on right next to the diamond. I didn’t see any faces of color anywhere. My tensions didn’t subside till the police vacated the property. And it’s not as if I am afraid of any man in isolation. But I expect danger and conflict from police who I know mostly operate with impunity. But this is my life. And the fact of the matter is, if it IS me, if I am the next to be murdered by police many detractors will believe that I somehow provoked it or deserved it. Yes some of my white friends will say, “Well, he is a fiery guy! You ever see his Facebook page? He must have went off or took a swing at them…went for his gun.” And this is how they will live with the lie that they tell themselves in NOT getting involved or using their own voices to promote an end to this bullshit! If I’m lucky, others will rally for me as I have rallied for them. I shouldn’t have to live with this conflict of having a cognitive dissidence of respecting police and their duties and yet fearing the one in the badge that is supposed to represent service and protection from REAL criminals.
So no I don’t pretend to know what black folk should do in reaction every time this happens to us. But I do know that when white folk decide that enough is enough, things will change , and change in a hurry. Folk like Baltimore Oriole’s COO John Angelos who said;
Brett, speaking only for myself, I agree with your point that the principle of peaceful, non-violent protest and the observance of the rule of law is of utmost importance in any society. MLK, Gandhi, Mandela and all great opposition leaders throughout history have always preached this precept. Further, it is critical that in any democracy, investigation must be completed and due process must be honored before any government or police members are judged responsible.
That said, my greater source of personal concern, outrage and sympathy beyond this particular case is focused neither upon one night’s property damage nor upon the acts, but is focused rather upon the past four-decade period during which an American political elite have shipped middle class and working class jobs away from Baltimore and cities and towns around the U.S. to third-world dictatorships like China and others, plunged tens of millions of good, hard-working Americans into economic devastation, and then followed that action around the nation by diminishing every American’s civil rights protections in order to control an unfairly impoverished population living under an ever-declining standard of living and suffering at the butt end of an ever-more militarized and aggressive surveillance state.
The innocent working families of all backgrounds whose lives and dreams have been cut short by excessive violence, surveillance, and other abuses of the Bill of Rights by government pay the true price, and ultimate price, and one that far exceeds the importances of any kids’ game played tonight, or ever, at Camden Yards. We need to keep in mind people are suffering and dying around the U.S., and while we are thankful no one was injured at Camden Yards, there is a far bigger picture for poor Americans in Baltimore and everywhere who don’t have jobs and are losing economic civil and legal rights, and this makes inconvenience at a ballgame irrelevant in light of the needless suffering government is inflicting upon ordinary Americans.
Jeering at protesters is low hanging fruit. Going after bad police, digging into the policies of oppression, mass incarceration and the roots of class warfare and suffering is HONEST! OWN THAT and then we can talk. Otherwise… See you after the next police led murder and cover up in a city near you.
In Defense of Empire, Black Images and Nuance
Image matters! I agree! Race matters! Absolutely! African-Americans don’t have much power in Hollywood. Check.
The images of black folk in television and film has been both marginalized and groundbreaking. From Bert Williams, Bill Robinson, George Walker, Hattie McDaniel, Paul Robeson, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, to Ron O’Neal, Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones, Diahanne Carroll, Richard Roundtree, Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington, our images have fit most every possible dynamic. I am conscious of the image game. I care about how black folk are portrayed. If you can’t read any of the dozens of books available on the subject, Spike Lee’s somewhat satirical film, “Bamboozled,” covers the darker history and current struggles in how black images are portrayed. It’s important to know this history. It is with this in mind that I approach the subject of critics like Dr. Boyce Watkins. He’s been going in hard via social media and news shows like CNN to criticize Fox’s smash drama, Empire. Watkins went as far as describing the performances of stars Terrance Howard and Taraji P Henson as ‘coonery.’ I can’t think of a harsher criticism for an African-American to receive from another. As a social critic and an avid watcher of Empire, I find his choice of words reprehensibly irresponsible.
I admit that initially when I first saw previews of Empire before it premiered, I was skeptical. The heavy rotation of promos weeks ahead focused on the glitz and glamour of the music industry, the debonair persona of Luscious Lyon, (Howard) and the powerful hurricane that is Cookie Lyon, (Henson). My skepticism had everything to do with the history of the so called, “black drama” on network television and the recent phenomenon of other shows appearing on networks like BET. I worried that Empire would be Fox”s version of a pseudo Kardashian-like program that focuses on the most simple minded of viewers. It was the reputations of both Howard and Henson that convinced me to at least view the show before writing it off. My respect for Henson in particular convinced me that she would not participate in a show that didn’t have substance just for a paycheck. After a full season culminating in a special 2 hour finale, my gut reasoning was on point.
Surrounded by Henson and Howard, the cast is set around mostly unknown actors and actresses. Astute viewers noticed how these newcomers’ performances improved as the season progressed under the direction of Lee Daniels. While it’s premature to project the future for Bryshere Gray, (Hakeem Lyon) Jussie Smollett (Jamal Lyon) and Trai Byers (Andre Lyon) they’ve blended into a believably legitimate family to surround a television drama. Adding veterans like Malik Yoba and later Derek Luke added more star power to balance the new talent. Daniels was careful not to let veteran actors like Luke, outshine the rookies, which is genius.
It’s hard to comment on a man’s agenda, or where his heart is on a matter. Watkins, the self described ‘people’s scholar‘ has been a cultural critic for years. He seems to spend half his time attacking racism in mainstream America, and the other time criticizing other black folk and or black culture that he feels falls into dangerous stereotypes. His visceral zeal against Empire seems to be more personal. In an article he wrote for allhiphop.com, Watkins rants about Daniels’ homosexuality and Jamal’s homosexual character.
I also have a few things to say about Lee Daniels and his admitting that he’d like to use the show to “blow the lid off of homophobia in the black community.” I’m not sure why black people are always the target of this kind of propaganda, especially when there are millions of white conservatives who have their own issues with homosexuality as well. Not to say that any of us should be forced into a position on gay rights or that we can even agree on what it means to be homophobic, but black people do not have a monopoly on homophobia, however it is defined.
But wait, there’s more…
Basically, “Empire” wasn’t created to entertain black people (although I’m sure it has black viewers). It is instead selling an image of blackness to a predominantly white audience that has been long fed stereotypical messages about what blackness represents. These thug-gangster-hoodrat images are the ones that are deeply embedded in the minds of police officers who shoot black men and potential employers who refuse to give black people jobs. Just like animals in the zoo, the world loves to observe black people at our most ratchet, because ignorant negroes are simply fun to watch.
I don’t know how to describe this throw up of hyperbole beyond ridiculous. Perhaps Watkins believes every television show or movie with black people in them should be like NBC’s Cosby show. *Imagine the irony of THAT! He talks about being fans of Howard’s and Henson’s work previously. I’m trying to figure out whether he’s referring to when Howard played DJay, a Memphis pimp and aspiring rap star in Hustle and Flow, or Henson’s as one of his whores? Perhaps it was when she played Yvette, a single mother with a convicted felon for an ex boyfriend in Baby Boy. Both performances were some of their best work.
Chances are black people we will never have control of Hollywood. Chris Rock detailed who has the power to ‘green light’ a show. Still, each show should be judged based it’s content can bear the brunt of it’s own praise or criticism. Judging a show with a lack of nuance as Watkins does is not only unintelligent, it’s dangerous. Art, even black art’s purpose is not meant to change social thought and carry cultural burdens to save a people. Second, police are not shooting unarmed black boys and men because of a television show. If Paul Robeson and Sidney Poitier – two of the most positive and powerful actors in the history of film couldn’t stop lynchings, then how in the hell are Howard and Henson supposed to protect Michael Brown or Eric Garner by not starring in Empire? Is Watkins that naive? Or he just an old bitter black man? Art is being able to enjoy Denzel Washington portraying Silas Tripp in Glory as well as Alonzo Harris in Training Day.
White folks can be as honorable or as ‘ratchet’ as they want to be on television. They play cops, doctors, gangsters, idiots, bigots, whores and so forth. No show is indicative of the entire Caucasian, Italian, or Chinese population. Shows like The Sopranos and Breaking Bad aren’t apologizing about a damn thing; Nor should they. Equally true, black folk like myself, are nuanced enough to watch both Eyes On The Prize and Empire without expecting one to be the other.
There are shows, movies, and music that deserve our critique because of negativity, or more importantly lack of creativity. Empire is not one of them. It’s well written and wildly entertaining. It doesn’t try to be what it’s not. Watkins wouldn’t know that as he claims he doesn’t watch the show. What kind of of ‘scholar’ comments so feverishly on a subject matter he has little knowledge of?
Perhaps the repressed and uptight scholar should eat some “Cookies” so he can smile and lighten up a bit. Regardless, I can’t wait till next season!
CMac’s Top Ten A-Rod Lies as Told By Bud Selig Before October
In lieu of the latest allegations against Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) that he leaked the names of Ryan Braun, as well as a hand full of other names to the biogenesis clinic in Florida, it’s imminently transparent that Bud Selig, MLB, and the Yankees will stop at nothing to rid themselves of A Rod’s contract. The latest leaked rumor is an attempt to turn the players and the players union against him. It’s yet to be seen whether this will work or not. But if it doesn’t, rest assured the stories will continue and get even juicer. Here are my Top 10 predictions of what Selig will release to gangster A-Rod out of the league and some 80 million dollars in salary.
10. A-Rod kidnapped Hannah Anderson and took her to Idaho
9. A-Rod, not White Bulger committed those mafia crime in South Boston.
8. A-Rod caused global warming
7. A-Rod shot Trayvon Martin
6. It was A-Rod who took pics of Anthony Weiner’s junk
5. A-Rod causes sink holes in Florida
4. A-Rod is the founder and leader of the Muslim Brotherhood
3. A-Rod leaked secret government documents and hid in a Russian airport for a month before gaining temporary asylum.
2. It was A-Rod who fired Abel during the AOL conference call
1. A-Rod’s real name is Walter White, and he cooks meth for a living using the code name Heisenberg
I can’t wait!
Message to the Tea Party.. What you mad?
I didn’t write this but received it in an email. A perfect letter to the so called Tea Party!
They sould call themselves the NazTea Party!
We had eight years of Bush and Cheney, now you get mad!
You didn’t get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.
You didn’t get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.
You didn’t get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.
You didn’t get mad when the Patriot Act got passed..
You didn’t get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.
You didn’t get mad when we spent over 600 billion(and counting) on said illegal war.
You didn’t get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq .
You didn’t get mad when you found out we were torturing people.
You didn’t get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.
You didn’t get mad when we didn’t catch Bin Laden.
You didn’t get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.
You didn’t get mad when we let a major US city drown.
You didn’t get mad when we gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich.
You didn’t get mad when, using reconciliation; a trillion dollars of our tax dollars were redirected to insurance companies for Medicare Advantage which cost over 20 percent more for basically the same services that Medicare provides.
You didn’t get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark, and our debt hit the thirteen trillion dollar mark.
You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans… oh hell no.
BUT YOU ARE 100% MAD BECAUSE WE HAVE A BLACK PRESIDENT.
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE
Ricky Martin is Gay? What? Are You Serious?
I had NO idea! DUHHHHHH! George Michael and Boy George thinks this guy is stating the obvious!
And honestly I don’t care. I may not be in the loop but does this guy have a hit out currently?
Black People – GET OUT!
I mean, of all the racial issues we have in this country and there are many, no way I would have taken this seriously.
I’m not saying I’m right. Just saying when I read this my first thought was that this was an ignorant customer using the PA system or one dumb employee. Either way, no reason to sound the alarms. We got bigger fish to fry!
So Much for Post Racial, Part 567
Seems the justice of the peace Keith Bardwell in Louisiana refused to marry an interracial couple. Of course like other racist, he denies that he is and says he’s “worried about the kids.” WHAT? Oh he really cares about the kids!
I see. Well I am sure the gentleman pictures above and his bride to be will work things out. But Bardwell need not hold this post.
Quick! Somebody Please Arrest & Charge These Pranksters!
Not only that! Please make them pay for all of the police and manpower work that it took away from other needful cases. The things folks come up with to try to get fame! Freaking shameful!
Richard Heene can say what he wants. But he is the pathetic one! The last thing I’m going to do if I think my child is in some balloon flying across the country is to do a round robin of network and cable news shows talking about how scared I was and I relieved I am.
CHARGE THEM I SAY! And make examples out of them for this foolishness!
BB&Gcmac's Weblog 