Birthers Won't Go Away - Now They Want DNA

There seems to be no end to the crazy.

'Dem Mooslims R Comin' to Git Ya'

they really do need to stop. they are out of their f'in minds.

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

Stop Calling It a Fringe Movement - Most Republicans Don't Even Accept Obama as a Citizen

For months the major news media has been characterizing the "Birther Movement" as a harmless fringe element of the Republican Party. But a poll from last week indicated that the majority of Republicans (58%) either don't believe that Barack Obama is a citizen or aren't sure.

And even after a vote in the House of Representatives last month recognizing Hawaii as a State and acknowledging that it was in fact the birthplace of the 44th President, the wacky Birthers still aren't convinced. Thanks to Representative Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), the ceremonial resolution (which was written long before the Birther Controversy really heated up) was brought to the floor for a vote. House Resolution 593 passed with a vote of 378-0. 220 Democrats and 158 Republicans voted in favor.

See the Roll Call Results

Read the Resolution

The U.S. Senate followed a few days later with a similar ceremonial vote, with Senate Resolution 225.

Yet the "Birthers" continue to press on. Why? Because as I mentioned before, it's really not about Birth Certificates or citizenship for those who are making these wacky claims. It's about prejudice and xenophobia....especially this sort of White rural xenophobia. This is all about race, and this non-issue provides these people with an excuse to spew their racism. That is why all the proof in the World wouldn't matter to these people because Citizenship and Birth Certificates really aren't the issue for them.

I wish the media would stop calling them "Birthers" and start calling them the racists and xenophobes that they really are.

I have never seen so much willful ignorance in my life.

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Related Post on Birthers

Republican Website Used for Racist Attacks on the Obama Family

Nope... no signs of reform within the Republican Party. In fact, it's becoming more hardcore as the GOP is forced to rally behind the racists who make up the Party's base.

Last week... the Obama family was the target of Right Wing racists on the popular Conservative website The Free Republic. The Free Republic's Founder Jim Robinson defended the comments on his website, calling it freedom of speech...and he even got in a few jabs of his own.

From Post-Racial America: Black Kids Barred from Swimming Pool

Hat tip: Miranda, womanistmusings, luxuriate

From The Philadelphia News

Pool Boots Kids Who Might "Change the Complexion"
Campers sent packing after first visit to swim club
By KAREN ARAIZA
Updated 3:01 PM EDT, Wed, Jul 8, 2009

More than 60 campers from Northeast Philadelphia were turned away from a private swim club and left to wonder if their race was the reason.

Kids at Creative Steps Day Camp were thrilled to go swimming once a week at the Valley Swim Club. But after only one trip to the private club, they were...

"I heard this lady, she was like, 'Uh, what are all these black kids doing here?' She's like, 'I'm scared they might do something to my child,'" said camper Dymire Baylor.

The Creative Steps Day Camp paid more than $1900 to The Valley Swim Club. The Valley Swim Club is a private club that advertises open membership. But the campers' first visit to the pool suggested otherwise.

"When the minority children got in the pool all of the Caucasian children immediately exited the pool," Horace Gibson, parent of a day camp child, wrote in an email. "The pool attendants came and told the black children that they did not allow minorities in the club and needed the children to leave immediately."

The next day the club told the camp director that the camp's membership was being suspended and their money would be refunded.

"I said, 'The parents don't want the refund. They want a place for their children to swim,'" camp director Aetha Wright said.

Campers remain unsure why they're no longer welcome.

"They just kicked us out. And we were about to go. Had our swim things and everything," said camper Simer Burwell.

The explanation they got was either dishearteningly honest or poorly worded.

"There was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion … and the atmosphere of the club," John Duesler, President of The Valley Swim Club said in a statement.

While the parents await an apology, the camp is scrambling to find a new place for the kids to beat the summer heat.

Being a Black parent in America is preparing your child for the day that they will be hated and mistreated, NOT for anything that they DID..

But, JUST FOR EXISTING.

Period.



from Jill Tubman:
If you’re mad as hell like I am, you can email, call or just go on ahead and “change the complexion” of the Valley Swim Club by showing up with picket signs. I am picking up the phone after I finish this post, y’all. Do it for the kids.

Club Phone Number: 215-947-0700
Club E-mail: info@thevalleyclub.com

No Signs Yet That Republicans Plan to Give Up Racism

It looks like the next generation of Republican leaders are no less bigoted than the current leadership. Yippeee... I guess we can look forward to 25 more years of this stuff from political "leaders".

I guess the Republican makeover never reached the future leaders of the Party.

Pennsylvania Newspaper "Apologizes" for Threatening Obama Ad

It just keeps getting worse....

(they claim they didn't catch it before publication)... yeah o.k.

Republican Party Spokesmen Are Still Pushing Story that President Obama Is Not A Natural Born U.S. Citizen

It's interesting to see how on one hand the Republican Party is trying to give the impression that it is putting on a new face and is no longer tone deaf. Yet, on the other hand, underneath all of that, it's pretty obvious that nothing is really changing within the GOP. They still have their spokespeople out spreading divisive propaganda and showing their bigotry, at exactly the same time that the Republican Party is putting on an act to convince voters that the GOP is receiving a makeover.

Mirror On America Exclusive

Listen to the following audio which I obtained myself, from the Bill Cunningham Show which aired Sunday evening (May 3, 2009). This is a discussion between Cunningham and Jerome Corsi (another Republican Party hack).

The narrative that they are pushing is - Obama is a Muslim; Obama is not a (Natural Born) U.S. Citizen; Obama didn't really have the right to attend college; Obama didn't really earn his education; Obama is a Communist; we don't really know who Barack Obama is... could be a friend to the terrorists....etc. These are the people who speak for the Republican Party....and they are still spewing this kind of poison and hatred. I could feel the racism through the radio. (part of the discussion is caught off in the very beginning... I was using my digital recorder).



Check out the Republican Media Page via the sidebar (still under construction) to find out more about the Republican media strategy regarding President Obama.

Tea Parties and Make-Believe

When I think of Tea Parties the image that comes to mind is my little sister playing dress-up-- using her mothers clothes for a costume and having a make-believe moment. It's all about children pretending and using their imaginations to keep themselves entertained.

This same kind of make-believe is what the Republican "Tea Parties" were all about this week. The so-called "Tea Parties" were basically PR creations, crafted by Republican Strategists, sponsored by Right Wing front groups like FreedomWorks, and promoted by Right Wing Republican media. These people are masters at creating their own reality when the real world doesn't suit them. The events are designed to whip the Republican faithful into a frenzy. You even had Texas Governor Rick Perry (one of the Confederate Governors opposing Obama and rejecting stimulus funding) attend one of these events saying that Texas could secede from the United States... that whole Confederate thing again (if not in geographical terms...it's definitely alive in terms of ideology). What is it with Republican Governors and seceding from the Union? Sarah Palin and her husband have actually been connected with secessionists in Alaska.

One of the big ironies in all this is the fact that most of these "protesters" actually received a tax cut, which went into effect this month. I really don't believe these people understood exactly what they were protesting. All they knew is that this effort was part of the Right Wings anti-Obama campaign...and at the end of the day...that's all they really needed to know.

But are most Americans falling for this mostly manufactured outrage? Are Americans buying what Republicans are selling? Apparently not... at least not at the moment (although the power of Republican media has a way of changing that rather quickly). According to a new Gallup Survey, the tax issue is much ado about nothing, especially when put in historical context.



The Following Is Courtesy Of Gallup:

Views of Income Taxes Among Most Positive Since 1956

PRINCETON, NJ -- A new Gallup Poll finds 48% of Americans saying the amount of federal income taxes they pay is "about right," with 46% saying "too high" -- one of the most positive assessments Gallup has measured since 1956. Typically, a majority of Americans say their taxes are too high, and relatively few say their taxes are too low.

These results are based on the Gallup Economy and Personal Finance poll, conducted each April, including April 6-9 of this year.

Since 1956, there has been only one other time when a higher percentage of Americans said their taxes were about right -- in 2003, when 50% did so after two rounds of tax cuts under the Bush administration.

The slightly more positive view this year may reflect a public response to President Barack Obama's economic stimulus and budget plans. He has promised not to raise taxes on Americans making less than $250,000, while cutting taxes for lower- and middle-income Americans. The latter has already begun, as the government has reduced the withholding amount for federal income taxes from middle- and lower-income American workers' paychecks.

In this year's poll, slim majorities of both lower- and middle-income Americans say they pay about the right amount of taxes, while upper-income Americans tend to think they pay too much. The views of upper-income Americans have not changed in the past year, while both middle- and lower-income Americans are more likely to say they pay the right amount of tax. Read more of the Gallup report here.

The Republicans, especially those in the Republican media, are trying to convince the American public that this is an issue with legs and that there is genuine anger towards taxes across the social and political spectrum...when in reality, most of the noise about taxes and fiscal responsibility is coming from a small fringe within their Party... almost a fringe within a fringe...because the Republican Party is down to its base at this point. Where were these people when George W. Bush and the last Republican majority were running up huge deficits, trying to hide spending by keeping it off the books, not monitoring Wall Street, allowing the Oil Companies to rape ordinary working Americans, and allowing Special Interest Groups (Government contractors) to literally rob taxpayers blind in Iraq with thefts of historic proportions. They weren't trying to stage these grand protests then. In fact, it was the Republicans lack of fiscal responsibility that largely contributed to the current mess that the Country finds itself in.

This is clearly an effort by Republicans and their media apparatus to whip up anger towards Obama. Many of the people at these "Tea Party" rallies did not show up to complain about taxes at all. Instead, they were complaining about a list of other perceived grievances with Obama... with signs suggesting that he's Muslim, friendly to terrorists, is a communist, a Nazi, ...you name it. To me, the events appeared to have the feel of last years General Election campaign where folks were calling for violence against Obama, carrying racists signs, vandalizing campaign offices, and using stuffed Monkeys to represent him. It almost harkens back to the Southern tradition of lynching picnics, where lynchings were social events. I know that's an extreme comparison....but race is surely playing some role in these events. How many Blacks did you see in these crowds? Let's be honest...these are generally White Americans who are simply looking for any excuse to protest Barack Obama.

This is really an example of Right Wing media using fear & propaganda to take advantage of the ignorant and the uninformed. They prey on folks who are driven more by ideology (religion, race, xenophobia, fears, prejudices, and culture war issues for example) than by facts. It sends the message that Right Wing media is still strong and can make themselves as relevant as they want to be... regardless of whether they are dealing with the real world or not.

More Race Nonsense from the Christian Values Folks

The Republican Party’s Latest Attempt at Restoring Their Relevance - Play Up the Racial Divide - also known as... The Southern Strategy

It turns out that the good people at the RNC have been caught peddling racial nonsense targeting President- elect Barack Obama. Not the KKK, not the Skinheads, not the Nazi’s or any other hate group. Nope… this is the official governing body of the Republican Party.

Chip Saltsman, former head of the Republican Party in Tennessee and leader of Mike Huckabee’s Presidential Campaign, apparently distributed a Christmas CD to RNC members featuring the song “Barack the Magic Negro”. Rush Limbaugh must be proud.

At a time when the Country faces a perilous economic situation, with another wave of home foreclosures on the horizon and more layoffs coming, with a health system that only works for a privileged few, and with their Party in shambles, this is how they have been spending their time? Where is their plan for the Country? And Saltsman is someone who is running for the RNC chairmanship.

They can’t lie and say that it wasn’t meant to be an attack on non-Whites, because that was the whole theme of the CD, which also contained material mocking Mexican immigrants. (see the New Yorker Article below). Apparently Mexican immigrants are fine for the wealthy GOP corporate elites and business owners who need cheap labor… but once they are of no use to them, they become evil aliens who have to leave.

Saltsman’s response was typical…. He didn’t have any regret for sending out the CD… and he didn’t admit that it was boneheaded… instead he reacted to the backlash by releasing a statement saying:

"our party leaders should...refuse to pander to the media's desire for scandal."

What? He distributes a racially targeted song to commemorate “Christmas” and that’s supposed to be ok?

Needless to say, Obama supporters (and even a few non-supporters) don’t find this to be very amusing. Is there any wonder why Republican events are almost exclusively White….with the exception of a few symbolic token minorities? And they always try to say that they are genuinely interested in reaching out to other groups…that they want their Party to be diverse. Nonsense. They have never been genuinely interested in diversity. It’s been a White Party for the last 30-40 years…. as Blacks really began switching their support during the late 1960's. This is why Republican events look nothing like the actual ethnic and cultural make-up of America.

Here is the reaction from MSNBC news host Tamron Hall, as Republican minion Kate Obenshain attempts to rationalize & sanitize the song as a legitimate parody.



See more from ThinkProgress

As expected, the GOP trotted out one of their Black representatives for damage control… Ken Blackwell quickly defended Chip Saltsman:

"When looked at in the proper context, these concerns are minimal," he said. "All of my competitors for this leadership post are fine people."

But Jim Greer, the Chairman of the Florida Republican Party, had a different response according to CBS News:

"As the GOP Chairman in one of our nation's most ethnically and culturally diverse states, I am especially disappointed by the inappropriate words and actions we've seen over the past few days," he said. "I am proud of those party leaders who have stood up in firm opposition to this type of behavior."
"Actions such as the distribution of this CD, regardless of intent, only serves to promote divisiveness and distracts us from our common goal of building our party," added Greer.

This just shows how far out in the wilderness the Republican leadership is… they remain tone deaf. It particularly shows how out of touch Ken Blackwell is, when many of his White Republican colleagues saw Saltsman’s comments as inappropriate, racially insensitive, and not in the best interests of the Party.

____________________________

Also See Article from the New Yorker Magazine

Hear the Final Segments of NPR's Race Series

Hear parts 5 & 6 of NPR's series on race and the 2008 election. In these last two segments, the participants talk about how they feel now that the election season is over. Some seemed to have softened their earlier positions on race.

Hear Part 5

Hear Part 6

Listen to Parts 1 & 2... and Parts 3 & 4.

A Discussion With Muslim Americans - Now That Election Season Is Over

Thanks Rikyrah for hipping me to this photo a few weeks ago.
NPR's OnPoint offers a great post-election discussion with Muslim Americans. They finally provide their perspective after they were slandered by Politicians and by the American media for the last 18 months. They discuss their disappointment with how Obama handled the fearmongering and the slandering by Republicans. But they also discuss their hopes.

Did Obama do enough to speak out for American Muslims? Could he have done more? Or was he in the best position to speak up? And can Obama help bridge the gap between America's various cultural, ethnic, and religious groups?

____________________________

Related Links

Hear about the experiences of a Muslim family living under the U.S. culture of fear after 9/11.

Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama

Update to NPR's Race Series - Part 4 Added

Part 4 of the series has been added. Listen to parts 3 & 4 here.


"If Obama is elected, there will be chaos"-- Interviewee from York Pennsylvania
(an example of how fear is still influencing people)

Hear The Third Segment of NPR's Race Series

Listen to the third installment of NPR's series on Race, as it relates to the 2008 election.

NPR started this series last month. Click here if you missed parts one and two. I found the first two segments to be quite interesting. They will do at least one more segment, after the November election.

UPDATE
Listen to Part 4 of the series

John McCain Gets KO'd On MSNBC

Keith Olbermann lays into John McCain for whipping up hate and xenophobia at his Campaign rallies, including the Sarah Palin events, and for his failure to take action to change the atmosphere and challenge the behavior of his followers.

A Short comment, but a good one.

More Ignorance From A McCain - Palin Rally

Sometimes I wonder if these people live in caves. Perhaps they live in mental caves that they don't want to come out of. Because listening to their comments, it seems as if they are detached from reality. Part of the problem seems to be that they are likely FAUX News viewers, and FAUX News perpetuates hate, misinformation, rumors, etc. It's not a legitimate News organization. FAUX and its diehard viewers tend to create their own reality. These people (rural White Americans) also tend to move in their own circles, and seldom venture outside of their own echo chamber - Not all of them of course...(Obama has been gaining support in rural America), but a significant portion of rural White Americans seem to fit that mold. Therefore misinformation tends to be reinforced just by default when these people talk to one another. So you end up with a downward spiral of ignorance, hate, and xenophobia in certain parts of the Country.

Does isolation create this problem? 50 years ago (or more) I would say that isolation was a big part of the problem. But it's 2008, and it's a wired world now... people in the most remote corners of the earth should be in tune with what's going on... Satellite TV, Satellite Radio, Cable, Internet, Mobile Phone service (mobile internet)...are all over the place. So something else has to be going on to lead to this problem. I think it has more to do with (as I suggested) people's tendency to stay within their own echo chamber.

See Report from Al Jazeera News

More Sickness From a McCain - Palin Rally

Did anyone catch this one yet?

McCain/Palin Supporter with a makeshift Obama Monkey doll.



This video was recorded outside of a McCain/Palin rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania just a few days ago.

But watch what he does while in the rally. See video from CBS news.

It kills me when the Republicans try to deny that this atmosphere exists at their events, when clearly there is a pattern that proves otherwise. And they don't seem to understand that they offer an endorsement of this behavior by not standing up to condemn it.

Hate Breeds Hate - An Example of What John Lewis Warned About

Here's an example of what John Lewis warned about when he stated that Palin and McCain were playing with fire with their hate rallies. This is what he meant when he tried to explain that their tactics (to win an election at all costs) were creating the environment for their supporters to become reckless.

I'm afraid this is yet another example of why John McCain does not have the judgment to lead this Country - A Country that is one of the biggest melting pots on earth no less. And he claims "America first" and that he wants to unite the nation?

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Related Link

How Bush & Co. Created a Climate of Intolerance - An Audio Documentary entitled "Shouting Across the Divide". A must listen

John Lewis Calls Out McCain For Whipping Up Hate

John Lewis tells the truth about the McCain/Palin hate rallies.

McCain shocked and offended? Give me a break!

Lewis's Statement:

"During another period, in the not-too-distant past, there was a governor of the state of Alabama named George Wallace who also became a presidential candidate. George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights.

“Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama.”

Strongsville Ohio - A Frightening Glimpse of the Social and Racial Divide

The above video is from a McCain/Palin rally last week.
This is an indicator of just how much trouble this Country is in right now. I'm not naive... I understand that the U.S. has divisions when it comes to race, social class, and religion (yesterday a preacher made national news for praying for Obama to lose the election and for suggesting that the God of the McCain supporters was better than the God of the Obama supporters). Really crazy stuff. But it's tough to see this kind of xenophobia in 2008.

Will this Country ever get beyond these social and racial divisions? Will Obama be able to win the hearts and minds of these folks? There are plenty of indications that he is making a lot of progress in changing minds and perceptions, but he clearly has a lot of work to do.

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Related Link

Are Americans too ignorant, uninformed, and ideological?