Pootie Call

My Brother's Keeper

I was going to try to ignore Republican Congressman and tea party darling, Allen West but he doesn't want me or anyone else to. Aside from being obnoxious and overbearing, he has settled nicely into his role as defender of all things racist, misogynist and Islamophobic. His childish taunting and name-calling has gotten him plenty of attention. To me, he always seems to be picking on women, homosexuals and Muslims and when he gets challenged on it, he sends out responses like this. His latest stunt is comparing himself to the great Harriet Tubman who lead hundreds of slaves out of bondage. I guess all of the attention you've been getting lately for your feud with fellow Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz must have gone to your head so you decided to call out Democrats Maxine Waters and Barbara Lee. Too bad the folks on Fox News didn't call you on it. Allen West, you are not fit to hold Ms. Tubman's head scarf. You lack the dignity, self-respect and determination to even attempt such a selfless act as leading enslaved people out of bondage. Since we're talking about plantations and overseers, I'm certain you would have been in the house snitching on Harriet for trying to lead slaves to freedom.  I don't want to be on anyone's plantation. I am neither Republican or Democrat. I find the Republican party is hostile toward women, the poor, blacks, Latinos and anyone who isn't rich so there is no way I am supporting any political party that promotes racism, vilifies the poor and thinks I can't be trusted to make decisions about my own reproductive health. As for those tea party crazies, there aren't even words to describe their venomous, hateful ideas but West has embraced them and proudly flaunts them. His own insensitivity and indifference to others also extends to his unemployed brother, Arlan whom he sent to the Congressional Black Caucus' job fair in Atlanta.  I see you got checked by Congresswoman Maxine Waters whom you singled out for special criticism as overseer of the plantation. Your tea party friends probably encouraged you to do that, but it wasn't such a good idea, you'll see.  And another thing, where are you and the rest of your black Republicans when one of your candidates throws around words like "tar baby" and "big black cloud" to describe President Obama? As much as you run your big mouth, you are noticeably silent then. You probably think this kind of name calling is okay because you know deep down, they aren't talking about you since you aren't a part of that plantation. You think you're special? You'll see. I can't help but defer to a brilliant post by blogger Abagond entitled "Black People: The Republican User's Guide", which explains most black Repulicans: “Black People: The Republican User’s Guide” (2009, 3rd edition) has, so far as I know, never been written, but it is not hard to guess some of what would be in it: Introduction: The purpose of the Republican Party is to pass laws that favour the rich and block those that do them harm. This is done mainly by:   Keeping taxes low Slowing change in society To achieve this requires the votes of millions of Americans on election day who will be harmed by such policies. Fortunately, most voters are white racists. Take advantage of that: Chapter 1: Divide and conquer: The main trick is to get Americans to think race is more important than class so that they vote against their class interests. The only thing that most voters have in common with the rich is a white skin colour. Use that to make them feel like they are on the same side as the rich. Strengthen that feeling by telling them that they too can be rich one day (even though most never will). This divides the working- and middle-class vote, weakening it as a serious threat to Republican policy. Chapter 2: At least I’m not black: Paint black people as completely screwed up: poverty, drugs, crime, broken homes, bad manners, low morals, etc. Since most whites already look down on blacks and since most know so few of them, this will be easy. You want them to feel that no matter how bad things get, “at least I’m not black”.  This allows them to accept things the way they are and not demand policies that would hurt the rich. Chapter 3: Racialize social problems: Crime, gun violence, drugs, poverty, failing schools, absent fathers and all the other ills of American society must either be blamed on blacks or be seen as mainly affecting blacks. That way little will be done about them, keeping taxes low. Chapter 4: Black pathologies: Blacks must be blamed for their own troubles. This is extremely important. It goes beyond excusing government inaction and keeping taxes low: Blacks are the single biggest threat to keeping American society the way it is, as shown by the civil war and the civil rights movement. Therefore black leaders must be killed, imprisoned, driven out of the country or made to look laughable. Chapter 5: Rented Negroes: Right-wing think tanks and news organizations should hire articulate, well-dressed blacks who are willing to: Make white people feel glad that at least they are not black. Racialize social problems. Push the idea of black pathologies. A black face makes these much more believable and harder to argue against. Chapter 6: Fear of a black president: If the president is black paint him as a enemy who is out to destroy the country. Even if you have to destroy the country to do it. Appendix: Here put all those twisted numbers and misleading charts from right-wing think tank “studies”. I leave “Black People: The White Liberal User’s Guide” as an exercise for the reader.

Justice Department Probes Wells Fargo, Did NAACP Get Kick Backs from Wells Fargo?

Well look at this, According to published reports, Wells Fargo  who happens to be the NAACP's favorite predatory lender, donor and “Lead Sponsor” of the NAACP’s 101st annual convention is the Target Of Justice Department Probe. Get this, The NAACP which appeared to get "promotional kick back money" after mysteriously dropping it's lawsuit against Wells Fargo, the nation's largest home mortgage lender, for allegedly preying upon African American borrowers during the housing bubble and steering them into high-cost subprime loans. This is not the first bad news for the NAACP's lead sponsor, Wells Fargo. As reported by Faye Anderson over at Anderson at Large, On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Board ordered Wells Fargo to pay an $85 million fine for steering borrowers with good credit into subprime loans. The order reads: The $85 million civil money penalty is the largest the Board has assessed in a consumer-protection enforcement action and is the first formal enforcement action taken by a federal bank regulatory agency to address alleged steering of borrowers into high-cost, subprime loans. […] The order addresses allegations that Wells Fargo Financial sales personnel steered borrowers who were potentially eligible for prime interest rate loans into loans at higher, subprime interest rates, resulting in greater costs to borrowers. The order also addresses separate allegations that Wells Fargo Financial sales personnel falsified information about borrowers’ incomes to make it appear that the borrowers qualified for loans when they would not have qualified based on their actual incomes. There is more... In 2007, the NAACP filed a class action lawsuit against 15 of the nation’s largest subprime lenders for “systematic, institutionalized racism in sub-prime home mortgage lending.” One of the defendants included Wells Fargo Bank & Company. As Faye Anderson reported in her blog post dated April 28, 2010, "The NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous was an outspoken critic of Wells Fargo. So you can imagine my surprise when earlier this month, I read the NAACP dropped its lawsuit against the predatory lender." So what did the NAACP get? As Citizen Journalist Faye Anderson ask in the same article. Easy answer, that the Justice Department needs to probe. The NAACP in my humble observations accepted Wells Fargo’s tainted money as a "kick-back" for dropping the lawsuit. AAP says: "Forget all the black celebrities that kiss the NAACP's ring in order to get an Image Award. Average black Americans who are hurting and facing depression-like unemployment levels have questioned for years the integrity and credibility of the National office of the NAACP. Average black Americans have wondered for years if the NAACP represented them of the interest of big banks and corporate kickbacks. Well again, here is the smoking gun. Let's hope the Justice Department probe includes the "corporate kickbacks" from Wells Fargo to the national office of the NAACP."

The Root (WAPO) The Grio (NBC) Working to Control Black American Politics?

Yes, I said it. And yes, I am wondering out loud, if Corporate black blogs like The Root and The Grio are working to control black political thought in America? AAP says: "Move over grassroots black political bloggers, NBC and The Washington Post have hatched a scheme to take over black political thought over the internet. They are like ATT taking over the smaller telephone companies. They are buying co-opting as many black bloggers as possible, and unfortunately it just may be working."   Now the question is, on the immediate political front, whether both of these corporate media giants (WaPo and NBC) are doing nothing more than being under-cover operatives for getting President Barack Obama elected in 2012? As I said in my earlier post, It get's under my black skin, that so-called black bloggers at (white controlled) corporate black blogs like The Root, owned by the Washington Post, and the The Grio, owned by NBC, are nothing more than a group of organized Obama loyalist who seem to never report on how blacks will lose $194 billion in wealth through 2012, or how the housing crisis continues to hits blacks the hardest and how President Obama (as Russell Simmons recently pointed out in his Open Letter To President Barack Obama) has all but ignored the plight of black America.   I remember when I learned that NBC would launch a African American news site and The Washington Post was planning to launch 'The Root', my gut reaction was, "there they go, white corporate America moving to "takeover" black political and social opinion over the internet." I knew that folks at the Washington Post and NBC were getting concerned that black bloggers groups like the afrospear/afrosphere were getting too organized. I also felt in my gut that white media outlets, may have even sent its own operatives into the afrospear/afrosphere group to spread discontent.  As I noted previously on this blog, there was a time when a group of black bloggers called the afrospear/afrosphere began to organize and became a force in the black America. Unfortunately, the Afrospear/Afrosphere has seemed to 'step aside' as a group, and allow corporate black blogs like the Washington Post's The Root (owned by the Washington Post Company through its online subsidiary, Washington Post-Newsweek Interactive) and NBC's The Grio, to jump in feet first, and act as though they are the voice of on-line Black America.  I guess the with big bucks from The Washngton Post and NBC, (The Root and The Grio) have just about become campaign organizations for President Obama's 2012 Campaign. Candidly, Both of these black corporate blogs or so-called black news outlets should be required to file with the Federal Election authorities as part of the Obama organization. Will The Root and The Grio become the electronic voice of Black America?  I don't think so... the voice of the black blogging community continues to grow. It will take more than NBC and The Washington Post to control black political thought in this country... But they sure are trying... Cross Posted on black news junkie.com, My DD, African American Pundit, African American Political Opinion, and Independent Bloggers Alliance

Al Sharpton is not “the president” of Black America

President Obama and Al Sharpton OMG, now the folks at Politico.com are saying that Al Sharpton is emerging as “the president” of black America. Read more at politico.com Yes, there is a lot of conversation on the internet about Al Sharpton and Barack Obama. The conversation is about how President Obama was in New York last night supporting Al Sharpton‎.  Candidly, I don't get how President Obama is making a pitch to Al Sharpton's Group‎ when he knows full well about Al Sharpton's history, particularly with regards to his lack of respect for black women. As an example, Al Sharpton and the NAACP Support Dunbar Village Rapists. Yes, just in case you never heard about Dunbar Village, Here are the basics of the story from Black America Web: “The incident occurred at a public housing project called Dunbar Village in West Palm Beach, Florida.“After dark on June 18, the police say, as many as 10 armed assailants repeatedly raped a Haitian immigrant in her apartment complex at Dunbar Village … They took cell phone pictures of their acts. They burned the woman’s skin and (her 12-year-old son’s) eyes with cleaning fluid, forced them to lie naked together in the bathtub, hit them with a broom and a gun and threatened to set them on fire.” As despicable as that sounds, it wasn’t the worst of it. The worst of it was when these vermin, according to Times writer Amy Goodnough, “forc(ed) (the woman) to perform oral sex on her 12-year-old son.” Now we learn that the President of the United States is supporting, Al Sharpton, you know Al Shapton  the same guy who supported the Dunbar Village rapists. The blog, What About Our Daughters covered this issue a number of years ago. I guess our President supports the madness of Al Sharpton. Read more on the untold details of horror at Dunbar Village. Maybe the President does not remember Al Sharpton, the NAACP, and Dunbar Village like black and other progressive bloggers do.  We remember how Al Sharpton defended the scum bags who  “forc(ed) (the woman) to perform oral sex on her 12-year-old son.” If that is the type of people the President wants to hang out with, fine. It's not the type of person I would want near me. I hope Obama is not courting black votes with Sharpton as some reports are saying.  Oh, and by the way, politico.com, Al Sharpton (the supporter of rapist) is no emerging "president” of black America.  Black America has the same President as white America, "President Barack Obama." It looks like politico.com needs black political writers/reporters. Cross posted on Black News Junkie.com, My DD