A Poem For Sonia Sotomayor

Welcome to the big leagues
It's about to go down and I want to know
What will you do?
Will you apologize for statements taken out of context on purpose by those who pretend they can't read?

Will you say that the old wise latina was bitter?
Will that old wise latina become a part of the "Old politics" that we need to move away from even though we never were there?
And

Who will you throw under the bus?
If they find a pastor of a church you went to who said some truth
found to not be so popular?
or
perhaps you'll resign and find a more suitable place to worship, where the Amens are quieter and the preaching less controversial.

Perhaps you'll be asked to reject and denounce a Latino or two.
Perhaps denounce Vieques protestors for being a bit too militant.

Will you announce that there is no Latino-America and claim your decisions will help all Americans equally, despite evidence to the contrary.

Will you "tone down" your "Spicy" nature as to come across as different from,
you know, those other latinos.

During confirmation will you
have them put on light makeup, so you don't look too dark?
and get a fresh perm to make sure your hair isn't too curly?

Will you get those "r"'s under control and speak more properly as not to offend the public?
If they call you racist will you deny it and explain away your comments or

Will you call out the associations with pill popping radio hosts, shrill authors and loofa loving show hosts whom your critics regularly hang out with?

I'm just asking 'cause I want to know.
This is the big leagues and,
What will you do?

Dr. Ivan Van Sertima Joins the Egun

Just dropped into my inbox:

Guyanese Dr. Ivan Van Sertima passes at 74

May 29, 2009 | By knews | Filed Under News

The Guyana Cultural Association New York Inc. /Guyana Folk Festival committee yesterday announced the passing of Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, a former professor of the University of Rutgers and an important son of Guyana’s soil.
Ivan Van Sertima, born January 26, 1935, is a Guyanese-British historian, linguist and anthropologist noted for his Afrocentric theory of pre-Columbian contact between Africa and the Americas.

Van Sertima was born in Kitty when Guyana was still a British colony and remained a British citizen up until his demise. Van Sertima’s, father Frank Obermuller, was a trade union leader. Van Sertima completed his primary and secondary education then commenced poetry writing.
In 1959 he began pursuit of his university education in London where, in addition to producing an array of creative writings; he completed undergraduate studies in African languages and literature at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London in 1969, and graduated with honours.
During his studies he became fluent in Swahili and Hungarian dialects.

He worked for several years in Great Britain as a journalist, delivering weekly broadcasts to the Caribbean and Africa. In doing field work in Africa, he compiled a dictionary of Swahili legal terms.
In 1970 Van Sertima immigrated to the United States, where he entered Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey for graduate work.
Van Sertima began his more than 30-year teaching career at Rutgers as an instructor in 1972 and completed his master’s degree in 1977. He was Associate Professor of African Studies in the Department of Africana Studies.

Van Sertima has written books in which he argues that the Ancient Egyptians were black and his 1976 book “They Came Before Columbus” was a bestseller and achieved widespread fame for his claims of prehistoric African influences in Central and South America.
It did not receive much professional attention when published, and has been criticized by academic specialists.
On July 7, 1987 Van Sertima appeared before a United States Congressional committee to challenge giving credit for the discovery of America to Christopher Columbus

I had the fortune to meet the man back in 1992. His voice will be missed and his books not loaned out.

Black Man Shot by Police...Again

From the NY Post:

Officer Omar Edwards, 25, married and the father of two small children, was confronting a suspect who was trying to break into his car at about 10:30 p.m., Commissioner Ray Kelly said.

Keep that in mind right...

Edwards had gotten off duty from PSA 5 early, at 10 p.m. -- his scheduled quit time was 2:30 a.m. -- and called 911 when he saw Miguel Santiago, who has five prior arrests for drugs, assault and robbery, breaking into his car at 125th Street and Second Avenue, police sources said.

Edwards had pulled his gun on Santiago as they confronted one another on the misty, rain-drenched streets.

At that moment, a sergeant and two officers from the 25th Precinct anti-crime unit rolled up, Kelly said.

A 4½-year veteran jumped out of the car and fired off six shots -- two of which struck Edwards, who wasn't wearing a bulletproof vest because he was off duty, Kelly said.

The officer who fired the gun is white; Edwards was black.

This isn't "Freindly fire" This is "The black guy must be guilty" typical of the Sean Bell killing.

Update:

So the three officers who shot at brother man, were also in plain clothes.
which makes the following "interesting":

In one section, titled "confrontation situations," it says that if an off-duty officer is trying to make a arrest and is confronted by an on-duty officer, that the off-duty officer must abandon the arrest effort and comply with the on-duty officer’s orders.

"In such encounters, the actions of the members in the first few seconds are of vital importance," the guide states. "It must be absolutely clear in the minds of all members of the service that in any confrontation, the burden of proving identity rests on the confronted officer, whether on or off duty.

Since everyone is in plainclothes, who in this situation needs to ID themselves? And like I said about the Sean Bell murder, does it not bother the NYPD to be firing guns in places where civilians can get hit. 4 of the 6 shots missed and they were fired up 125th street. They could have hit people. People in cars, etc. What about public safety here?

NY Post

NY Times

African Children Are Not Pets

You know I was watching Good Morning America this morning (Hey Channel 7 is my default channel...what...what!!!) and they're talking about Prince Harry coming to NY. Then they go to show him in Lesotho (les-u-tu) where he has a charity of some sort operating. Fine. White folks rescuing black folk some more. Stuff I expect. But then I started getting really annoyed. I was annoyed because Harry had these little black kids in his arms and it was like they were his pets. Seriously. I was like the news coverage of a pet that was lost and found. He's picking them up. They're laughing and grinning. They're sticking their tongues out at him. They're pawing at him. They're dancing for him. They're running around for him. I half expected to see him wave a stick, throw it and say "fetch!"

You know it's like Madonna who seems to have a fetish for Malawian children, some of whom are apparently kidnapped from their parents who've been told all kinds of lies about where their kids are going. And before someone talks about how "oversensitive" I'm being, I'll remind the audience that back at the day, as in at the beginning of colonialism, it was high fashion in Europe to have pet Negroes. I kid you not. So historically, we've seen this before.

I don't have a problem with charity. But this whole treating Africa and Africans as if we're children and pets is really insulting. That's why I have a nice link to the Timbuktu Chronicles (on your right). There you will see grown African people from across the continent who are doing for self. Inventing things. Solving local problems. They are coming up with ingenious means to address issues in their local communities. It's also why The Olatunji Foundation loans to small business in Africa. IF you create an environment where parents can make a living and save money, then by extension you create a better environment for their children. They can afford school. Schools can afford teachers. and on and on.

But anyway, enough with the African children as pets newscasts.

Be Real Black for Me

In an age where it's cool to say that "niggas ain't shit." and "I don't need no man. "Where black men and women state with no shame that they are not interested in having relationships with Black men or women; a blast from the past:

Be Real Black For MeOur time, short and precious
Your lips, warm and luscious
You don't have to wear false charms
'Cause when I wrap you in my hungry arms

Be real black for me
Be real black for me

Your hair, soft and crinkly
Your body, strong and stately
You don't have to search and roam
'Cause I got your love at home

Be real black for me
Be real black for me

In my head I'm only half together
If I lose you, I'll be ruined forever
Darling, take my hand and hold me
Hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me

You know how much I need you
To have you, really feel you
You don't have to change a thing
No one knows the love you bring

Be real black for me
Be real black for me
Be real black for me
Be real black for me

I want you to do that
Be real black for me
Be real black for me
Be real black for me
Be real black for me

Lord, have mercy
Be real black for me
Be real black for me

-Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway.

Word.

Yet another "Black men kidnapped me" Faker

I don't know what it is that compels white women to claim that black men have kidnapped them or their children in order to cover up their crimes.

And while people like me have a hard time at security. This chick passed off a friend's ID and got a ticket to Disneyland. Now how many black men in trucks were followed, pulled over and otherwise scrutinized by the police over this?

The Constitution

Read Cheney's Speech. He mentions the constitution 3 times.

We didn’t invent that authority.
It is drawn from Article Two of the Constitution. And it was given
specificity by the Congress after 9/11, in a Joint Resolution
authorizing “all necessary and appropriate force” to protect the
American people...


Even before the interrogation program began, and throughout its
operation, it was closely reviewed to ensure that every method used
was in full compliance with the Constitution, statutes, and treaty
obligations...

move them, the terrorists would long ago have abandoned the field. And
when they see the American government caught up in arguments
about interrogations, or whether foreign terrorists have constitutional
rights, they don’t stand back in awe of our legal system and wonder
whether they had misjudged us all along.

Obama mentions the Constitution 11 times:

The documents that we hold in this very hall -- the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights -- these are not simply words written into aging parchment. They are the foundation of liberty and justice in this country, and a light that shines for all who seek freedom, fairness, equality, and dignity around the world...

My own American journey was paved by generations of citizens who gave meaning to those simple words -- "to form a more perfect union." I've studied the Constitution as a student, I've taught it as a teacher, I've been bound by it as a lawyer and a legislator. I took an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief, and as a citizen, I know that we must never, ever, turn our back on its enduring principles for expedience sake...

First, whenever feasible, we will try those who have violated American criminal laws in federal courts -- courts provided for by the United States Constitution. Some have derided our federal courts as incapable of handling the trials of terrorists. They are wrong. Our courts and our juries, our citizens, are tough enough to convict terrorists...

In our constitutional system, prolonged detention should not be the decision of any one man. If and when we determine that the United States must hold individuals to keep them from carrying out an act of war, we will do so within a system that involves judicial and congressional oversight. And so, going forward, my administration will work with Congress to develop an appropriate legal regime so that our efforts are consistent with our values and our Constitution...

I have confidence that the American people are more interested in doing what is right to protect this country than in political posturing. I am not the only person in this city who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution -- so did each and every member of Congress. ..

We will safeguard what we must to protect the American people, but we will also ensure the accountability and oversight that is the hallmark of our constitutional system. I will never hide the truth because it's uncomfortable. I will deal with Congress and the courts as co-equal branches of government...

That's the challenge laid down by our Constitution. That has been the source of our strength through the ages. That's what makes the United States of America different as a nation...


The Framers who drafted the Constitution could not have foreseen the challenges that have unfolded over the last 222 years. But our Constitution has endured through secession and civil rights, through World War and Cold War, because it provides a foundation of principles that can be applied pragmatically; it provides a compass that can help us find our way...

It is clear that Cheney sees the constitution as something that either gives him power or hinders it while Obama sees the Constitution as the sovereign document that it is. This is why Cheney and his cohorts are wrong and why they need to see the inside of a jail cell. This is one situation where Obama is right on the money.

Between Bell and Berry

In an odd twist of events the killer of MC Dolla is claiming self defense

Price said Berry and Burton clashed at the Platinum 21 Adult Entertainment club in Atlanta. Berry and Burton happened to run into each other Monday in the restroom of P.F. Chang's China Bistro in the Beverly Center in what Price described as a chance encounter.

Price says the rapper threatened Berry, who decided to leave the restaurant. When Berry went to the mall's valet area for his car, Burton and two other people followed him, the attorney said. Berry thought Burton was reaching for his waistband and fired his weapon. "He perceived that his life was in danger," Price said.

Now the huge hole in this defense is that by this story, unless Berry is a robot or a Cylon Sentinel, he was walking through this restaurant with his gun drawn, because he managed to bust one off thinking that Dolla was going for a gun. Think about that for a minute. But what this defense move reminds me of is the result of the trial for the killing of Sean Bell. The story for the cops was that they "felt threatened" and though there was no visible weapon, the movement of the Bell and co. justified the shooting.

It will be interesting to see how this defense works out in this case since the claims are very similar. Does a citizen have the right to pre-emptivelyprotect himself from a perceived threat just as the police apparently do? I don't think the argument will fly even if they establish that a prior altercation happened. That whole walking through the restaurant with the gun at the ready is probably going to doom the defense.

The NY 4

A fool and his freedom are soon parted.

And so last night 4 men were arrested for attempting to bomb a synagogue and shoot down military aircraft in NY. The FBI apparently learned from it's Miami case, that one needs to prosecute people for actual committed crimes rather than talk of committing crimes. These guys were caught after placing two fake bombs in cars. Therefore I see no way a defense attorney is going to be able to claim entrapment. But that's not why I'm posting on this.

The reason I'm posting on this is for a variety of reasons the primary being that these guys were caught, particularly the apparent ringleader James Cromitie, was because James talked too much and was stupid. It was clear from the news conference that Cromitie talked to an informant about his issues with what was going on in Pakistan and Afghanistan, which in and of itself isn't a big deal. Not even a little deal. His problem, which for someone his age and apparent criminal background ought to have known, was that you don't go talking about your plans to blow up stuff with other people.

The second problem with Cromitie was that he had no idea how to make his own bomb even though the information and supplies are readily available. This is unlike Timothy McVeigh who not only did not discuss his plans with many other people (as far as I know) but also knew how to build his own bomb. Had Cromitie had done those two things I believe that the news conference this morning would have been entirely different.

The third problem was his attempt to get stinger missiles. I actually laughed out loud when I heard that one. Seriously, this guy must have been watching waaaay to much 24 and other forms of entertainment where people acquire military hardware with ease. I know this guy was concerned with Afghanistan but he's not there and arms don't go falling out the sky here in the US and what's worse, he had no clue that anything he got was fake.

So what we apparently have here is a mickey mouse operation with people who wanted to be "big shot Jew killers" striking at America, who were too dumb and too lazy to learn the tools of "the trade." I wrote before that these kinds of people are the least of the worries of law enforcement. They are more concerned with big ego boosting shows than with actual results. Given how loose gun laws are here, these guys could have easily, easily armed themselves with particularly potent guns, walked into the synagogue on a Saturday and blew away a "good" number of people and perhaps lived to see the resulting news. And that's only one thing I can think of off the top of my head. I can think of a great deal of other things that would completely escape the view of law enforcement that would have NYC shook up.

But in the end such actions would do nothing to forward my aims and the intended actions by these fellows too would have not furthered their aims. It's far easier to destroy than to build. The Haitian in the group ought to know that intimately. Jail cells are full of people who didn't think through on their plans, talked too much, or were just plain stupid. Another set is about to gain residents.

What? What? Whaaaaat?

“This one man was with his wife or girlfriend and I was by myself. When he got away from her, it’s like, ‘Hey, how are you? Can I get your number? Can I call you?’ It’s the weirdest feeling.”"

Whaaaaaaaaaaat?!!!! Fellas. Stop with this nonsense!

Malcolm

Obama and Black Colleges

Here is something you can't understaaaand.
Cypress Hill

Why are people surprised at the move by Obama to cut federal monies to HBCUs? The cold hard fact of the matter is that for those who have never attended an HBCU they don't matter. Really. I was one of them until I landed at Tuskegee. Most white people who do not live in the vicinity of a HBCU probably couldn't tell you what HBCU stands for. Heck a large portion of black folk can't tell you what an HBCU is. A small portion of the black public goes to an HBCU yet HBCU's have provided the greatest number of "degreed negroes" than "HWCUs".

Did anyone not think that by buying into and promoting the race-neutral, color-blind, or whatever strategy to get Obama elected, that it wouldn't have consequences? One must realize that in the face of "race-neutrality", there is NO NEED for an entity called a HBCU. That when one is a part of the "mainstream" you are just another subgroup on a HWCU? And if there is no need for an HBCU and there is a stated desire to be "mainstreamed" why should the govt. supply money to HBUCs?

Furthermore, as anyone who has either attended a HBCU or researches them knows, many of them are on their last financial legs. Some have lost accreditation. Some face dwindling student enrollment due to the brain drain to HWCUs. The fact is that eventually there are going to be a very small group of "elite" HBCUs such as Spelman, Morehouse, Hampton (and Tuskegee I hope). Furthermore, the complexion of these campuses are going to change as the stigma of attending a "black school" dwindles and those black schools become less "black." Now I understand the mission of many of the schools (at least as stated)to provide education for those who cannot get it elsewhere but the fact is that many of them are going to go away.

Recall that many HBCUs were created to provide educational opportunities where there were none. They were created to provide education where HWCU simply refused to do so. So we've moved from a point where going to a Tuskegee was the only thing you could hope for, to Tuskegee hoping you'll attend. Today we have an African-American president, who had he been school aged in the 30's, 40's 50's or early 60's, really wouldn't have had a choice in the matter (regardless of his white mother) but to go to an HBCU. Trust me he does not value the history of HBCU's like I do or like Michelle could. Obama did not grow up in a household or region of the country where one was expected to go to an HBCU. He didn't grow up in a household as far as I know, where black folks were a part of his daily experience. Obama simply cannot comprehend what a black college experience is. And don't take that wrong. Most black folk who have not attended an HBCU have no clue as to the unique collegiate experience it is. But what is critical here is that Obama has, like a growing number of upwardly mobile black folk, gotten where he has without those "traditional" black roads. So he has no reason to feel any real affinity to them beyond whatever political capital they can bring to him or Democrats.

Understand, I've been to a Big 10 school. I've been to an Ivy League campus. But for me some of the most impressionable experiences I have had were at Tuskegee. I would not trade that experience for anything. Anyone who has not experienced years of higher education where one is NOT the spot in the lecture hall or classroom. Where the cafeteria is one big "black section", Where the barber is almost any room in any dorm. Where regardless of your political leanings you're in the same boat as your intellectual adversary.

If you haven't experienced it, then you simply won't get it. And I'm not talking about a utopia but an imperfect but unique world that those of us who experienced it would not need convincing that it's money well spent. But since we have a president who didn't go through that to get where he is, I'm not surprised.

The Enemy Within'

A recent report by the NY Times discussing Pakistan's apparent increase in nuclear armourments demonstrates the lingering effects of colonialism. Pakistan, which is being overrun by Taliban thinks that "maintaining the minimum, credible deterrence capability" is a "high priority.

These fools are so stuck on a nuclear India that they think spending money on a nuclear deterent is a high priority. A note to Pakistan: The problems you have cannot be nuked to resolution.

Communist Healthcare?

From the NY Times:

When a Chinese citizen is rushed to the hospital after a car accident today, the first stop for the victim’s family is often the cashier’s window. Many hospitals won’t admit patients until they have paid, and many families have no health insurance. Instead, they insure themselves, by saving.

Sounds like a free-marketers wet dream.

Kiva Update

Thus far our three businesses that have been donated to have started to repay their loans. As soon as we recover 50% of our initial outlay we'll lend that back out to another set. If you haven't donated to us please do so. You can either join Kiva yourself and attach yourself to our team or you can donate directly to the Olatunji Foundation.

High Crimes and Misdeameanors

Frank Rich

And so the Worldwide Intelligence Update for April 3 bullied Bush with Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Including, as it happened, into a quagmire.)

What’s up with that? As Draper writes, Rumsfeld is not known for ostentatious displays of piety. He was cynically playing the religious angle to seduce and manipulate a president who frequently quoted the Bible. But the secretary’s actions were not just oily; he was also taking a risk with national security. If these official daily collages of Crusade-like messaging and war imagery had been leaked, they would have reinforced the Muslim world’s apocalyptic fear that America was waging a religious war. As one alarmed Pentagon hand told Draper, the fallout “would be as bad as Abu Ghraib.”

And it gets worse.

Cuts Both Ways

There's a lot of writing and talk about Israel and how it treats Palestinians. Putting aside the criminal treatment of Palestinians in Gaza, we also note the second class citizenship afforded Palestinians who are in Israel "proper". Issues with land ownership, discrimination in politics, special license plates, etc. These things have been used to show that Israel is a racist regime in par with South Africa by many writers, and this one agrees to much of that.

What is often not discussed or written about at length is what goes on in some Islamic countries. This vast silence on the left is probably attributable to the discomfort with being seen to be as "out there" as Republicans and certain conservatives, yet I believe that such silence is damaging to the reputation of those persons.

What brought this to mind was a recent article in the NY Times in regards to the dwindling number of Christians in the Middle East. Not that I particularly care about the number of Christians in the Middle East per se, but much of the causes of this strike me as something to be commented on:

On Sunday in Jordan the pope argued that Christians had a role here in reconciliation, that their very presence eased the strife, and that the decline of that presence could help to increase extremism. When the mix of beliefs and lifestyles goes down, orthodoxy rises, he implied, as does uniformity of the cultural landscape in a region where tolerance is not an outstanding virtue.

I have to agree with the Pope on the position that the decline in the presence of religious minorities of ANY kind leads to a monoculture and extremism. Particularly faiths that have expansionist tendencies such as Christianity and Islam. Now I'm very aware that the Pope has a horse in this race in that the diminishing Christian population in that part of the world is a direct threat to the Catholic church's power in that region. I'm also quite sure that the Pope is not exactly going out of his way to increase the population of Muslims in Italy or the Vatican. But in this case he has a point.

In Saudi Arabia, churches are illegal. In the rest of the Persian Gulf region, Christians are foreign workers without the prospect of citizenship.

Herein lies the problem as I see it. I pointed this out in my critique of Afghanistan earlier, where it is illegal to convert to Christianity or any other religion for that matter. I will also mention the attempt to use the UN conference against Racism and Xenophobia to pass an outrageous rule making it illegal to "defame" religion.

All of these are signs of religious institutions that are weak of mind and spirit. The "faithful" do not need laws to prevent them from leaving their religion. If their religion is so correct, so true and upright, then it will withstand any criticism leveled at it. It is the duty of all fair minded people who rightfully critique Israel for trying to create a "Jewish" state to the clear exclusion of it's Christian and Muslim population to also level the same criticism of Saudi Arabia, Dubai, etc. for their own clear discrimination and censorship.

RE: The End of Free Speech?

Paul Craig Roberts asks a very relevant question in his latest featured in Counterpunch. This topic was also broached in the video The Obama Deception, which I highlighted previously and highlights an issue that has been bothering me for a while now. Writes Roberts:

Rahm Israel Emanuel hasn’t been mopping floors at the White House.
As soon as he gets the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 passed, it will become a crime for any American to tell the truth about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and theft of their lands.

While Roberts is concerning himself with Israel, the fact of the matter is that it goes a lot further than that. Last week Feministing posted a piece in which it was proposed that hate crimes be treated as terrorism. The logic went that since the supposed legal definition of terrorism was any coercive acts that have as their ends a political aim, and since those who commit crimes against GLBAQT apparently have some political axe to grind, those who commit such crimes ought to be tried for terrorism. Shockingly, well, actually not so shockingly, a great deal of the commentators on that piece didn't have a problem with the proposal. Worse though, IMHO was the complete acceptance of the state prosecuting for crimes people based on what they think (or say).

I am against hate crimes legislation of all forms. A free, democratic society does not police peoples thoughts or mete out punishment based on what a person may or may not have been thinking at the time of committing a crime. The biggest problem I have with hate crimes legislation is that there are often laws already on the books for the actual act being done. I always use the example of Klansmen and other white supremacist types of groups. I could care less whether in the commission of a beat down they claim to hate niggers. From a law enforcement perspective: I. Could. Care. Less. The beat down is either felony assault or attempted murder. Both of these are prosecutable regardless of the motives. The problem back in the 1920's on up, when lynching, firebombing and other forms of illegal activity was being perpetuated against black people, was that the laws against these things weren't enforced. No way no how could the Klan have gotten away with violence against the black community had the law enforcement bodies actually enforced the law. The Klan grew and prospered specifically because it was given space to operate by the state.

The test of someone's commitment to freedom of speech and thought is not whether they protect the speech they agree with but whether they protect the speech of those they disagree with even to the point of being offended. Unfortunately a great deal of people on the "left" have turned into thought police and it is very disturbing how some of them will abuse their power. Let me give an example:

At William Paterson University a professor of women's studies had a campus announcement sent out on the daily "announcements" e-mail. The announcement was for a play about two lesbian women. As a part of the e-mail, there is a note that says to contact the author of the announcement. Another employee who was also a student responded to the email stating that he objected to getting an announcement about "lesbianism" believed in "Adam and Eve" and did not want to receive any more announcements such as the one that dropped into his inbox.

The professor objected to the e-mail and decided to make a formal complaint to HR. Her claim was that the e-mail was harassment and that his message was threatening and such talk "leads to violence." The employee/student faced discipline including loss of pay. Even the NJ AG got into the act making claims about protected groups which apparently he neglected to note included the employee who was a member of both a racial and religious minority group.

With the intervention of various third parties, the university settled on charging the employee for the misuse of university computer resources. That is he was charged with using a university computer to do personal, non-work related "stuff" which was responding to an e-mail that only goes out to students and employees and encourages feedback directly to the departments who submit announcements.

Clearly had the women's studies professor respected the concept of freedom of speech (particularly in an institution of higher learning) then she simply would have deleted the e-mail or stored it for future reference. No instead she used her position as a protected group higher on the totem pole than that of the employee/student to threaten his employment when he did nothing that supported such actions. Furthermore, the state which ought not have been involved unless there was an actual threat made, threw it's weight behind the favored protected class in complete disregard to the facts on the ground.

Herein lies the dangers of legislating so called "hate speech" and "hate crimes". It quickly becomes a murky cesspool of opinions of the monied and favored class of people against those whom those people deem to be threats and these people often see threats everywhere.

I don't have a problem with keeping statistics on the motivations for particular crimes. No doubt that information is useful for research and pattern recognition, but to make up new laws specifically to punish particular points of view is completely anti-democratic.,

Oh So Unfair

“We know by our statistics that this is a growing group by interest in plastic surgery,” said Dr. Few, who performs as many as 40 nose jobs a year on nonwhite patients. “Being African-American, when I was growing up, it was said at my house and a lot of other houses that plastic surgery was only for wealthy white people. That seemed unfair to me.”

NY Times

Yep, so unfair that black folk are generally stuck with those flat wide noses. This is about up there with an article I read a while back about vitamin D deficiencies in black people due to not enough sun exposure and low intake of vitamin D fortified milk. One "expert" said that the "downside" to black folk going out into the sun was that they would get darker which he said was undesirable to his patients.

The Ghost says: The blacker the better, get outside and take a vitamin D supplement.

Problems Either Way

So Alternet posts an article about soldiers "hunting down Afghan men for Christ." Which is itself objectionable. But nowhere in the article OR in the comments did I see anyone object to the law where:

Trying to convert Muslims to any other faith is a crime in Afghanistan.

I have a huge problem with that too. In fact I'm pretty bothered with my taxes going to prop up such a government. What kind of weak minded people need state protection against those who dare to question the faith, to keep the faith? If you're so strong in your belief then you can handle attempted conversion.

The Afghans need to scrap the law and learn to deal with unwanted religious prosyletizing the way the rest of us do:

Close the door.
Say 'No thanks." or for the insistent: "Talk to the hand."

Just Wow

Wowwwwww.

Translation: This Black Guy is Safe

Late to this but yet another report on how black men coming off like kids makes people feel less threatened:

The study asked non-black men and women to evaluate head-shot photos of 10 black men and 30 white women and men. The 10 blacks all were current or former CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.

Participants rated each photo based on perceived babyfaceness, attractiveness, age and appearance. They were also asked about perceived personality traits, how warm the person seemed and whether he or she would be a competent leader.

Across the board, the black CEOs were thought to be warmer and more baby-faced. In addition, the more baby-faced black CEOs were thought to draw higher salaries. The perceptions turned out to be true: The more baby-faced the CEO, the more prestigious the company he led.

Conversely, past studies have shown that babyfaceness hinders rather than helps white males who aspire to positions of power.

So remember Mr. Black Man. Cut them naps off your head and face and the corporate world is yours for the taking.

Give Credit

Negrophile posted a tweet on on a Washington Post piece on a speech given by the president of Morehouse College. The author of said piece, Colbert I. King either knows nothing of Garvey or Garveyism or was censored by the editorial board. Methinks the former. I say this because he gushes over lines like:

He demanded, that students instead embrace his "Five Wells": well-read, well-spoken, well-traveled, well-dressed and well-balanced. And he highlighted three: reading, speech, and dress.

"I have seen too many students standing in lines wasting time. You should carry something to read and make good use of your down time. Read books, not just summaries of books. Choose an accomplished and prolific writer as a role model," he declared. "But just as important -- if not more -- study grammar and syntax and the art of composition. Learn the power of accurately constructed sentences and well-positioned words."

"It matters," he said, "how well you write."

He spoke of choosing words carefully.

"This reduces the necessity of relying on profanity or empty verbal placeholders like, 'um, um, ahh . . . ' or nonsense like 'you know what I'm saying?'

Well that's all nice, but it's not anything new at all. Let me point the reader to the words of Marcus Garvey, who was greatly influenced by the inspirational writers of his time:

Intelligence, Education, Universal Knowledge and How to Get It



You must never stop learning. The world's greatest men and women were people who educated themselves outside of the university with all the knowledge that the university gives, as [and?] you have the opportunity of doing the same thing the university student does---read and study. One must never stop reading. Read everything that you can that is of standard knowledge. Don't waste time reading trashy literature. That is to say, don't pay any attention to the ten cents novels, wild west stories and cheap sentimental books, but where there is a good plot and a good story in the form of a novel, read it. It is necessary to read it for the purpose of getting information on human nature. The idea is that personal experience is not enough for a human to get all the useful knowledge of life, because the individual life is too short, so we must feed on the experience of others. The literature we read should include the biography and autobiography of men and women who have accomplished greatness in their particular line. Whenever you can buy these books and own them and whilst you are reading them make pencil or pen notes of the striking sentences and paragraphs that you should like to remember, so that when you have to refer to the book for any thought that you would like to refresh your mind on, you will not have to read over the whole book.

You should also read the best poetry for inspiration. The standard poets have always been the most inspirational creators. From a good line of poetry, you may get the inspiration for the career of a life time. Many a great man and woman was first inspired by some attractive line or verse of poetry. There are good poets and bad poets just like there are good novels and bad novels. Always select the best poets for your inspirational urge.

Read history incessantly until you master it. This means your own national history, the history of the world---social history, industrial history, and the history of the different sciences; but primarily the history of man. If you do not know what went on before you came here and what is happening at the time you live, but away from you, you will not know the world and will be ignorant of the world and mankind. You can only make the best out of life by knowing and understanding it. To know, you must fall back on the intelligence of others who came before you and have left their records behi[n]d.

To be able to read intelligently, you must first be able to master the language of your country. To do this, you must be well acquainted with its grammar and the science of it. Every six months you should read over again the science of the language that you speak, so as not to forget its rules. People judge you by your writing and your speech. If you write badly and incorrectly they become prejudiced toward your intelligence, and if you speak badly and incorrectly those who hear you become disgusted and will not pay much attention to you but in their hearts laugh after you. A leader who is to teach men and present any fact of truth to man must first be learned in his subject.

Never write or speak on a subject you know nothing about, for there is always somebody who knows that particular subject to laugh at you or to ask you embarras[s]ing questions that may make others laugh at you. You can know about any subject under the sun by reading about it. If you cannot bu[y] the books outright and own them, go to your public libraries and read them there or borrow them, or join some circulating library in your district or town, so as to get the use of these books. You should do that as you may refer to them for information.

You should read at least four hours a day. The best time to read is in the evening after you have retired from your work and after you have rested and before sleeping hours but do so before morning, so that during your sleeping hours what you have read may become subconscious, that is to say, planted in your memory. Never go to bed without doing some reading[.]

Never keep the constant company of anybody who doesn't know as much as you or [isn't] as educated as you, and from whom you cannot learn something or reciprocate your learning, especially if that person is illiterate or ignorant because constant association with such a person will unconsciously cause you to drift into the peculiar culture or ignorance of that person. Always try to associate with people from whom you can learn something. Contact with cultured persons and with books is the best companionship you can have and keep.

By reading good books you keep the company of the authors of the book or the subjects of the book when otherwise you could not meet them in the social contact of life. NEVER GO DOWN IN INTELLIGENCE to those who are below you, but if possible help to lift them up to you and always try to ascend to those who are above you and be their equal with the hope of being their master.

Continue always in the application of the thing you desire educationally, culturally, or otherwise, and never give up until you reach the objective---and you can reach the objective if other[s] have done so before you, proving by their doing it that it is possible.

In your desire to accomplish greatness, you must first decide in your own mind in what direction you desire to seek that greatness, and when you have so decided in your own mind[,] work unceas[i]ngly toward it. The particular thing that you may want should be before you all the time, and whatsoever it takes to get it or make it possible should be undertaken. Use your faculties and persuasion to achieve all you set your mind on.

Try never to repeat yourself in any one discourse in saying the same thing over and over except [when] you are making new points, because repetition is tiresome and it annoys those who hear the repetition. Therefore, try to possess as much universal knowledge as possible through reading so as to be able to be free of repetition in trying to drive home a point.

No one is ever too old to learn. Therefore, you should take advantage of every educational facility. If you should hear of a great man or woman who is to lecture or speak in your town on any given subject and the person is an authority on the subject, always make time to go and hear him. This is what is meant by learning from others. You should learn the two sides to every story, so as to be able to properly debate a question and hold your grounds with the side that you support. If you only know one side of a story, you cannot argue intelligently nor effectively. As for instance, to combat communism, you must know about it, otherwise people will take advantage of you and win a victory over your ignorance. Anything that you are going to challenge, you must first know about it, so as to be able to defeat it. The moment you are ignorant about anything the person who has the intelligence of that thing will defeat you. Therefore, get knowledge, get it quickly, get it studiously, but get it anyway.

Knowledge is power. When you know a thing and can hold your ground on that thing and win over your opponents on that thing, those who hear you learn to have confidence in you and will trust your ability.

Never, therefore, attempt anything without being able to protect yourself on it, for every time you are defeated it takes away from your prestige and you are not as respected as before.

All the knowledge you want is in the world, and all that you have to do is to go seeking it and never stop until you have found it. You can find knowledge or the information about it in the public libraries, if it is not on your own bookshelf. Try to have a book and own it on every bit of knowledge you want. You may generally get these books at second hand book stores for sometimes one-fifth of the original value.

Always have a well equipped shelf of books. Nearly all information about mankind is to be found in the Encyclopedia Britannica. This is an expensive set of books, but try to get them. Buy a complete edition for yourself, and keep it at your home, and whenever you are in doubt about anything, go to it and you will find it there.

The value of knowledge is to use it. It is not humanly possible that a person can retain all knowledge of the world, but if a person knows how to search for all the knowledge of the world, he will find it when he wants it. A doctor or a lawyer although he passed his examination in college does not know all the laws and does not know all the techniques of medicine but he has the fundamental knowledge. When he wants a particular kind of knowledge, he goes to the medical books or law books and refers to the particular law or how to use the recipe of medicine. You must, therefore, know where to find your facts and use them as you want them. No one will know where you got them, but you will have the facts and by using the facts correctly they will think you a wonderful person, a great gen[iu]s, and a trusted leader.

In reading it is not necessary or compulsory that you agree with everything you read. You must always use or apply your own reasoning to what you have read based upon what you already know as touching the facts on what you have read. Pass judgement on what you read based upon these facts. When I say facts I mean things that cannot be disputed. You may read thoughts that are old, and opinions that are old and have changed since they were written. You must always search to find out the latest facts on that p[a]rticular subject and only when these facts are consistently maintained in what you read should you agree with them, otherwise you are entitled to your own opinion.

Always have up-to-date knowledge. You can gather this from the latest books and the latest periodicals, journals and newspapers. Read your daily newspaper everyday. Read a standard monthly journal every month, a standard weekly magazine every week, a standard quarterly magazine every quarter and by this you will find the new knowledge of the whole year in addition to the books you read, whose facts have not altered in that year. Don't keep old ideas, bury them as new ones come.



How to Read



Use every spare minute you have in reading. If you are going on a journey that would take you an hour carry something with you to read for that hour until you have reached the place. If you are sitting down waiting for somebody, have something in your pocket to read until the person comes. Don't waste time.

Any time you think you have to waste put it in reading something. Carry with you a small pocket dictionary and study words whilst waiting or travelling, or a small pocket volume on some particular subject. Read through at least one book every week separate and distinct from your newspapers and journals. It will mean that at the end of one year you will have read fifty-two different subjects. After five years you will have read over two hundred and fifty books. You may be considered then a well read man or a well read woman and there will be a great difference between you and the person who has not read one book. You will be considered intelligent and the other person be considered ignorant. You and that person therefore will be living in two different worlds; one the world of ignorance and the other the world of intelligence. Never forget that intelligence rules the world and ignorance carries the burden. Therefore, remove yourself as far as possible from ignorance and seek as far as possible to be intelligent.

Your language being English you should study the English language thoroughly. To know the English language thoroughly you ought to be acquainted with Latin, because most of the English words are of Latin origin. It is also advisable that you know the French language because most of the books that you read in English carry Latin and French phrases and words. There is no use reading a page or paragraph of a book or even a sentence without understanding it.

If it has foreign words in it, before you pass over [them] you should go to the dictionary, if you don't know the meaning and find out the meanin[g]. Never pass over a word without knowing its meaning. The dictionary and the books on word building which can be secured from book sellers will help you greatly.

I know a boy who was ambitious to learn. He hadn't the opportunity of an early school education because he had to work ten hours a day, but he determined that he would learn and so he took with him to his work place every day a simplified grammar and he would read and me[m]orize passages and the rules of grammar whilst at work.

After one year he was almost an expert in the grammar of his language. He knew the differen[t] parts of speech, he could paraphrase, analyse and construct sentences. He also took with him a pocket dictionary and he would write out twenty-five new words with their meanings every day and study these words and their mords [forms?] and their meaning. After one year he had a speaking vocabulary of more than three thousand words. He continued this for several years and when he became a man he had a vocabulary at his command of over fifteen thousand words. He became an author because he could write in his language by having command of words. What he wrote was his experiences and he recorded his experiences in the best words of his language. He was not able to write properly at the same age and so he took with him to work what is called in school a copying book and he practised the copying of letters until he was able to write a very good hand. He naturally became acquainted with literature and so he continued reading extensively. When he died he was one of the greatest scholars the world ever knew. Apply the story to yourself.

There is nothing in the world that you want that you cannot have so long as it is possible in nature and men have achieved it before. The greatest men and women in the world burn the midnight lamp. That is to say, when their neighbours and household are gone to bed, they are reading, studying and thinking. When they rise in the morning they are always ahead of their neighbours and their household in the thing that they were studying[,] reading and thinking of. A daily repetition of that will carry them daily ahead and above their neighbours and household. Practise this rule. It is wise to study a couple of subjects at a time. As for instance---a little geography, a little psychology, a little ethics, a little theology, a little philosophy, a little mathematics, a little science on which a sound academic education is built. Doing this week after week, month after month, year after year will make you so learned in the liberal arts as to make you ready and fit for your place in the affairs of the world. If you know what others do not know, they will want to hear you. You will then become invaluable in your community and to your country, because men and women will want to hear you and see you everywhere.

As stated before, books are one's best companions. Try to get the[m] and keep them. A method of doing so is every time you have ten cents or twenty five cents or a dollar to spend foolishly[,] either on your friends or yourself [,] think how much more useful that ten or twenty five cents or dollar would be invested in a book and so invest it. It may be just the thing you have been looking for to give you a thought by which you may win the heart of the world. The ten cent, twenty five cent or a dollar, therefore, may turn out to be an investment of worth to the extent of a million dollars. Never lend anybody the book that you want. You will never get it back. Never allow anybody to go to your bookshelf in your absence because the very book that you may want most may be taken from the shelf and you may never be able to get one of the kind again.

If you have a library of your own, lock it when you are not at home. Spend most of your spare time in your library. If you have a radio keep it in your own library and use it exhaustively to listen to lectures, recitals, speeches and good music. You can learn a lot from the radio. You can be inspired a lot by good music [lines repeated]. Good music carries the sentiment of harmony and you may think many a good thought out of listening to good music.

Read a chapter from the Bible everyday, Old and New Testaments. The greatest wisdom of the age is to be found in the Scriptures. You can always quote from the Scriptures. It is the quickest way of winning approval.

So you'll excuse me if I don't trip over myself congratulating Mr. Franklin.