Black Bloggers Vs. NAACP

When black bloggers or Black journalist say that Barack Obama or Ben Jealous of the NAACP are not speaking to issues that are important to African Americans, the sparks fly.  Black bloggers and Black Journalist may even be called anti-black. Read the attack on Jack and Jill Politics in the comments section of Field Negroes blog. These die hard colored  extremist shock me every day! Then they get mad if I call them colored. when the organization the are die hard supporters that call themselves colored - The NAA of Colored People. Now when white Journalist say Obama does not have enough black on their staff, or The Obama White House is too white - not a problem. When a black blogger or Journalist says the same thing, your anti-black. What is truly another disgrace is these die hard NAACP and Obama supporters who don't like black folks speaking their minds, as we question the NAACP or the Obama administration.    Yes, I admit I said the National President of the NAACP is disgrace and a sell-out and should consider resigning as President of the NAACP. Yes,  I admit that I said he is part of the new crew of colored people advancing their own agenda, not a black empowerment or capacity building agenda.  Now why do I have to be attacked for having my own opinion by Kevin M., a Branch President of the NAACP on my Facebook Page. Check out the interaction: Kevin said: "AAPP, it IS certainly your right to do so and I for one would not insult you for being critical. However, when you continuously return to the meme "what has the NAACP done since the 60's?", I for one question whether you are as...king a real question or just being intentionally inflammatory. AAPP: @Kevin: I have no reason on earth to be intonally inflamatory. I am not the only one asking real questions about the National Office of the NAACP and it's lack of leadership. Infact, one would have to wonder why the President of the NAACP was intentionally inflammatory, in order to get it's name in the news by electronically lynching a black women - Shirley Sherrod...                  Kevin Said: What have we done? Really? I will just speak for my little band of folks out here in Kansas when I say that in just the last 2 years we've registered around 700 voters, wrote a couple state laws, blocked a bill designed to block health care reform, pushed for changes to the State voter registration system, helped countless folks with their census forms, spoke to hundreds of school children about leadership, built a world-class debate and oratory program for neighborhood kids, pushed to have our district locate the state's only elementary IB program right in the HEART of our community, investigated more than a hundred discrimination cases, developed our own rehabilitation program for children in Juvenile detention, and brought together 35 community organizations to pool our talents and resources and solve our own community problems, among other things... AAPP@ Kevin: I salute the great work of a number of local branches who do great work and are able to to show outcomes for their collective efforts. Now I read you don't want my congratulations - so be it. Not a problem, there are real community builders in my local community to congratulate and support. Kevin said: Now yes AAPP, it IS certainly your right as an American citizen to continue to call us fools, disgraceful, ignorant, worthless and all the other names you like to banty about on your blog... But just know that those responses you're receiving are coming from folks who are ALSO exercising THEIR rights as Americans to question you as to what have you actually done besides call black people who are volunteering in their communities a bunch of names on the internet. AAPP@ Kevin: I have no problem with folks asking what I have done lately. My record in community development and community capacity building throughout the country is an open book, if people want to know, just hit my up privately and we can discuss my body of work in community development. I have been in the trenches, even before many of these so called activist were born. Kevin: Here's the part where you usually make the distinction between the local and National office... But you know what - you shouldn't.. The NAACP is an Association of 2,200 branches just like mine. Sometimes awesome, and sometimes awful... but we are a network of 400,000 folks who are volunteering our own time and resources to make our communities better. And we are all coming together and saying goodbye to our past divisions.. So if you are talking about "our" President, "our" chairman, "our" national Board, or "our" national staff, please don't single me out for any type of singular appreciation - I don't want it. AAPP@Kevin: Yes, you have a network of 400,000 but the national office cant even put together a blog, or an internet networking vehicle to do grassroot organizing. How pathetic! Kevin: Now I know calling us a bunch of names is still good for building your readership - I ain't mad at ya... do your thing. But just know as a community, we seem to be reaching a 'tipping point'. I'm out in the community every day and I can tell you that a lot of us are simply getting weary of the "Let me demonstrate my independence by attacking Black people" routine... Pretty soon my brother, you're going to have to get a new gig. AAPP@ Kevin: I would expect nothing less of you, as a NAACP Chapter President to support everything that the national office does. I'm not the only one seeing the National Office of the NAACP for what it is. By the way, I'm not the only one who thinks the NAACP has been a failure for over 40 years. Please read Dewayne Wickman'sBlackChristianNews.com http://blackchristiannews.com/news/2010/07/naacp-is-putting-the-heavy-on-everybody-but-obama-about-jobs.html Yes, Kevin, Your right we seem to be reaching a Tipping Point. and the NAACP may just go the way of F.W. Woolworth's.  Yes, your right there are some that need new gigs. The current President of the NAACP is the one that needs to get the new gig. He is the one that attacked a black woman, Shirley Sherrod... without cause... But I guess you have not been following current events... ---- The national office of the NAACP has no credability! Now it sends out it's goof balls to attack me. Read what the NAACP had to say about George Wallace, Robert Byrd and other bigots who have destroyed the lifes of countless black folks and how they were snookered by of all people FOX News. These have to be some real stupid bastards at the national office to watch Fox News and believe it. NAACP Press Release: The NAACP also has long championed and embraced transformation by people who have moved beyond racial bias. Most notably, we have done so for late Alabama Governor George Wallace and late US Senator Robert Byrd -- each a man who had associated with and supported white supremacists and their cause before embracing civil rights for all. With regard to the initial media coverage of the resignation of USDA Official Shirley Sherrod, we have come to the conclusion we were snookered by Fox News and Tea Party Activist Andrew Breitbart into believing she had harmed white farmers because of racial bias. AAPP: Pathetic! Robert Bird? George Wallace? Transformed? This NAACP National Office is so... Pathetic... No wonder so many people believe the NAACP has lost it's way. The national NAACP has been so disorganized for years. How long will this new young and inexperienced NAACP President last? Hopefully not for long. The last NAACP President only lasted 19 months. The fact of the matter is the relatatively new President of the NAACP brought shame to the NAACP, yet it gratuitously uses the occasion to bash black bloggers for calling them out. Robert Bird? George Wallace? Transformed? Whatever.  Robert Bird was a recruiter for the Klan while in his 20s and 30s, rising to the title of Kleagle and Exalted Cyclops of his local chapter. After leaving the group, Byrd spoke in favor of the Klan during his early political career. Though he claimed to have left the organization in 1943, Byrd wrote a letter in 1946 to the group's Imperial Wizard stating "The Klan is needed today as never before, and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia." Byrd defended the Klan in his 1958 U.S. Senate campaign when he was 41 years old. Despite being the only Senator to vote against both African American U.S. Supreme Court nominees (liberal Thurgood Marshall and conservative  Clarence Thomas and filibustering the Civilm Rights Act of 1964, the NAACP supported this man who would lynch black men, women and children. Byrd has since said joining the Klan was his "greatest mistake" and the NAACP gave him a 100% rating on their issues. The National NAACP needs to transform itself and back it's attack dogs off of this blogger. Oh, that's right, the NAACP attack dog (Kevin M) recently lost a bid to become a member of the board, and will take any action he can to show he is worthy of a seat in the future. As Kevin said on his NAACP Chapter blog, "Sometimes success comes in stages and this was just the first stage of my road onto the board. ;)"  I'm coming back bigger and stronger than ever!" AAPP says: I guess that "bigger and stronger" can be accomplished by attacking me and other black bloggers bro Kevin?  In the name of getting an NAACP Board seat, let me attack a fellow afrospear blogger. Following in the Footsteps of Ben Jealous? Attack when you don't know the facts? Or attack to those who say the NAACP is out of step with the needs of the black community. Well Mr. NAACP Kevin M you won't be able to attack me on my own Facebook page anymore. You have been banned! UPDATE: As reported by another black blogger, Gina, at What About Our Daughters,  the NAACP Legal Goons have Invaded WAOD comments section following calls for Jealous to resign.  See, I knew I was not the only person under attack by the NAACP and their representatives.

Many Black politicians are Cretin

It's time for afrospear political bloggers to step in the gap, and start calling these "cretin" low-life black politicians out. Start reporting on these politicians who could care less about the politicial and economic empowerment of black folks. Yes, I said it, many of these black cretin politicians are half wit, imbeciles and idiots ... this past week is a case study in why so many black politicians are idiots, and why so many people, particularly black folks are so angry with black politicians and the practice of politics in black communities.  Let's talk about how black politicians are idiots, and how their counterparts are just as stupid. The Washington Post has a great report on some of this black political idiots.  How about once highly respected Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), one of the longest-serving and most powerful members of Congress, who was forced to give up the chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee (a leave of absence, he caMany black politicians are cretin and need to be called outlled it).  As WaPo reports, he was caught in a swirl of allegations involving unpaid taxes and accepting company-underwritten trips, Rangel finally stepped aside to avoid a potentially embarrassing vote against him by his colleagues. His case is far from over. Oh, and let's not forget New York Gov. David Paterson (D) fought to hang on to his office amid rising indignation and calls for his resignation over reports that he intervened in a domestic abuse allegation lodged against one of his highest-ranking aides.  How about that Republican leader who has another embarrassment of his own, as reported by WaPo, there was a controversial Republican National Committee fundraising presentation that was first surfaced by Politico's Ben Smith. The PowerPoint presentation included a slide with the title "The Evil Empire."  The slide depicted President Obama as the Joker (with a caption that read, "socialism"),  Speaking of cretin black politicans in the U.S. how about Monica Conyers, wife of Congressman John Conyers. According to The Detriot Free Press, Federal prosecutors have recommended that former Detroit City Council President Monica Conyers receive at least 46-57 months in prison for her role in the Synagro sludge-hauling scandal. get this, Conyers, who also sat on a city pension board, is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Avern Cohn. She faces up to five years in prison as part of her guilty plea. Voters may be ready for real change in Washington.... But she is not the only black politician disgarcing black folks recently. How about Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford (D-AL) who as arrested on December 1, 2008 by the FBI on a 101 count indictment alleging conspiracy, bribery, fraud, money laundering, and filing false tax returns in connection with a long-running bribery scheme.   Her former chief of staff, Sam Riddle, went to trial last month in connection with the Synagro allegations and other alleged bribery and extortion schemes. During the trial, which ended in a hung jury, prosecutors played many intercepted phone calls of conversations between Conyers and Riddle and Conyers and Detroit businessman Rayford Jackson, who is serving five years in prison. Conyers cast the tiebreaking vote on city council for a $1.2-billion contract with Synagro in November 2007. Read more HERE Former Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford was sentenced to 15 years in prison Friday for his role in a bribery scheme during his tenure as president of the Jefferson County Commission. U.S. District Judge Scott Coogler issued the sentence Friday morning in a federal courtroom in Tuscaloosa, telling Langford, "This isn't pleasant for me or you." Langford declined to make a statement before the sentencing, but did tell the judge, "I'm sorry this has occurred." The judge sentenced Langford to 180 months in prison, plus three years supervised release afterwards.  Langford must also pay restitution and back taxes. Prosecutors then asked the judge to send Langford to prison immediately instead of giving him 30 days to report to prison because, "Langford showed no remorse." Judge Coogler decided against that recommendation and gave Langford 30 days to report to prison (April 5th.)  However, in the interim, Langford will be required to wear an electronic monitoring anklet, must report to his probation officer twice a week, and cannot go outside of Jefferson County. Federal prosecutors had asked Judge Coogler to sentence Langford to between 24 and 30 years in prison. Langford's attorney, Michael Rasmussen, objected Friday morning, restating the opinions he filed Thursday and asking the judge for mercy.  "Let Langford come out before he's 70 and overcome by health problems," Rasmussen said. "Don't let him rot in prison."   More HERE Let's not forget about Baltimore Mayor Shelia Dixon (D-MD) was indicted on 12 counts of perjury, theft and misconduct in office (January 2009) Not to be out-done, remember Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (D-MI) with his Chief-of-Staff  Christine Beatty, fired two police officers for investigating claims that Kilpatrick had used his security unit to cover up their extramarital affair and lied about it under oath. Both pled guilty and were sentenced to 4 months in prison with 5 years probation. (2008) Or how about in my home state of Massachusetts, former State Senator Diane Wilkerson (D-MA) who was video taped by the FBI stuffing bribe money into her bra. Also charged with tax evasion (1997), ethics violations (2001) and perjury (2005). She resigned the Senate in November 2008, but still faces charges. Or how about Georgia Congressman David Scott (D-GA) who has expended $52,000 to $344,000 to himself, friends, family and business from campaigns every election cycle since 2002. Shortly after the 2006 election, he was served with an IRS tax lien for over $153,000. Yes, It's time for black political bloggers and blogtalkradio host to start calling these "cretin" low-life black politicians out.   Now that we learn that everyone is getting paid with taxpayer money except black folks, maybe it's time to call a number of black politicans out.  But that's just my opinion what do you think?

How Health Insurance Reform Can Learn From Auto Insurance

One of the characteristics of auto insurance is that a driver’s accident record is taken into account in the computation of auto insurance premiums to be paid [see "Safe Drivers Save on Auto Insurance"]. Thus, good drivers are rewarded with lower premiums. One of the proposals in the insurance industry is to mimic this incentive-based system found in auto insurance with health insurance. An adoption of this proposal would then mean that there are different premiums amount, which is unlike the current practice of having the same healthcare coverage at the same price for employees. Advantages In fact, some private employers offer special health insurance (with lower rates) to individuals who meet certain health standards such as body-mass indexes, lower blood pressure and avoidance of smoking. Supporters of this trend tout the private and public benefits of this type of system. Those who take care of their health tend to have lower medical bills, which is the ideal situation for everyone. Because of the lower costs for employers, adopting this system has garnered the support of business groups. Roadblocks However, there are some who oppose this practice because it may create a situation where patients with pre-existing conditions are refused health insurance or are financially penalized. Groups such as American Heart Society and American Cancer Society worry about uncontrollable features that may result in higher premiums. the For example, people taking medication that has weight gain as a side effect may be unable to qualify to weight standards imposed. One of the major problems encountered by this proposal is that President Barack Obama has vowed to only sign plans that guarantee that no one will be charged more money by insurance companies based on the condition of their health. Obamacare, in a nutshell, tries to eliminate the occurrence of skewed incentives. photo credit: ret0dd

Exclusive Interview with Underwear Bomber Witnesses

Friday Night at 6PM Eastern Time, WWL Radio relaunches for 2010! The Holiday Break/Vacation is over! I am pleased and excited to rejoin Gottlieb on air in this New Year. It is always an honor to run with the brightest and the best, and Gottlieb is certainly all that and more as a cohost! We will be interviewing Atty Kurt Haskell and his wife Atty Lori Haskell of Haskell Law Offices in Warren, Michigan. They were both on Flight 253, and had to endure both the fear and uncertainty of the actual event of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's attempted deployment of a device in his underwear, and the unusual circumstances leading to and occurring after the event. There was a concerted effort to repress their accounts. You can read their exclusive reports on "Lori's Liberal Realm" at haskellfamily.blogspot.com As they ramp up the "War on Terror a Tactic" rather than a Land, it is good to remember there are flesh and blood people effected, like the Haskells. Our post-interview analysis will include geo-political implications of why these events occur, as well as why we cannot or DO NOT seem to prevent them, while whittling away our own Civil Rights at an alarming speed. Join us tomorrow night! See you there! As always, respectful questions and commentary are welcomed. Call in, or use our attached live chat function! Join Gottlieb and Diane tonight at 6pm EDT on Wild Wild Left Radio, via BlogtalkRadio, for an interesting hour of Political Reporting and Commentary. WWL Radio: Free Speech in Practice. The call in number is 646-929-1264 The live chat link will go live around 5:15. CHAT LINK: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/FlashChat/Chat.aspx?cohost=y&HostUserURL=DianeG

So-Called "Race Realism": A Reaction

If you go to Wickipedia, it explains "race realism" as the claim that races are real rather than social constructs, and that racial distinctions are enduringly important because racial groups differ by nature (genetically) with regard to such important behavioral tendencies as intelligence and impulsiveness. This claim holds that racial distinctions are real and measurable, and further claims those measurable differences are based in science instead of idealism. Examples of scientifically demonstrable racial distinctions are said to include different decision and reaction times, intelligence, crime rates, and medical characteristics, such as differing tendencies toward diseases such as osteoporosis or sickle cell anemia.[1] Critics often claim that racial realism is a euphemism for scientific racism. I would agree. Dennis Mangan is the author of the blog Mangan's Adventures in Reaction and describes his views on race in various ways, one of those self descriptors being that of a "race realist". His way of explaining this viewpoint in an April 2009 post responding to James Collier of the blog Acting White: "it merely means the recognition of persistent racial differences in biology and behavior."  He further self describes himself  as " nothing other than a patriotic American, white and race-conscious to be sure, who wants to stop the rising tide of immigration and the declining proportion of whites in the country." One of the commenters to this April 2009 post, Latte Island, in their comment, said the following "I think the harsh tone of many race-realists, and I plead guilty here, is pushing back against the threat of losing our right to do our culture with people we choose freely" From my viewpoint, I experience a choking level of incredulity in reading a statement like the above. Does such a statement stem simply from prohibitions against discrimination in some private settings and things of that order? Its never seemed to me that whites have difficulty doing their own thing amongst themselves. Isn't this what the defacto segregation of large swaths of America's neighborhoods and certainly her houses of worship is all about? More broadly, this seems to me merely intellectual rationalization for why people don't want to live around people of other races, unless you are in a position of numerical, financial, political, military or other superiority. That would be okay, then you could deal with it, otherwise, separation is desired. Mangan's commentors wonder aloud as to why someone who is not white would regard this "race realism" as sinister or threatening? That someone like me would not immediately conclude that this way of thinking applied to the world I live in, is antithetical to the interests of those I care about? That a world crafted to fit these ideas is not a world that would welcome my children? Often this conversation Mangan's readers are having with each other strikes me as merely studied and practiced exercises in convincing themselves that their race based antipathy does not spring from the same source as the "white nationalists, Nazis, skinhead" types which they disavow. I think its instructive, enlightening and should at least give them pause that this conversation, these ideas routinely attract this unsavory racist element. Why does that not give them some indication that perhaps there is something aberrant, perhaps even abhorrent, about these ideas and the conclusions they lead to? I note from past conversations, that a response like mine often engenders a fierce response from adherents to these "race realist" views that I simply do not understand, that indeed I am to inculcated in multiculturalism and other traps of lazy thinking to cogitate with any objectivity on these things of which they speak. I think not. I would in fact submit that the value of an idea or philosophy can be judged in part by its utility. I ask, of what utility is any ideology that must posit the alleged inferiority of one human being as against another to derive its energy or merit? Indeed, the very racists and supremacists which Mangan's philosphy attracts is partial evidence for the inherent error of this point of view. There are few ways in which one might apply this philosophy, this set of intellectualized prejudices, that would not be harmful to those whom race realism views deem as undesirable. That should be damning of these views alone, the fact that there is scarcely any way in which these ideas, implemented as social or political policy, would not result in terrible and grievous harm to those not favored by it. I cannot imagine a society fueled and organized by this way of thinking in which a decent human being would want to live. Dennis and his intellectual compatriots can. We look upon each other across a great divide.