Woolley:

We have to create a new reality for them other than being the bulk of those percentage-wise remaining in the lowest quartile of income and the highest unemployment, other than those who incur the greatest degree of violence, and other than those who become the majority sent off to prison. I have no doubt any person can go beyond what they were born into; but, I do not believe it is quite the same as what we live in or what we experience. Socially and structurally, much is against their advancement. The "Alger Hiss" myth of placing the blame upon themselves for non-advancement is little more than a lie meant to hold them in place . . . a shaming device.

I do not know the circumstance of your youth. The road for myself was difficult and still remains such at this time; but, I am well beyond the circumstance that the majority of African-Americans endure.

These folks here almost single handed, changed the military, and the country, for the Black man, and for Whites as well.

They proved that the Negro is not inferior on an individual basis, if given equal opportunity and education.

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If I were in a fighting hole, surrounded by bad guys trying to kill me, I don't want a pansy-assed why are we here progressive, pondering the duality of man. I want a mean ass Black Man from Chicago who will help me stay alive.

Jack

and still, the Hypnotized Ones -- ObamaNauts, to be polite -- still believe this ObamaMama-esque horsepucky. If one more media person this week calls this ridiculous, evasive speech "elevating," I will vomit -- metaphorically speaking, that is. Whether or not he may be a 'closet racist,' I do not know but one thing I DO know -- he is Just Another Pol. And the people who keep screaming that he is not, must at some deep, deep level, know that they have been conned. Keep on speaking the truth, brother Jackson but be prepared to keep on catchin' the flak from this sorry band of knee-jerk "thinkers" who have been conned by one of the slickest con men I have seen come down the road, in a long, LONG time. No reason in hell, he could not have waited four or eight years to run for this nomination -- NONE, except a massive ego & sense of arrogant over-confidence. I have never seen the race card played so smoothly or so well, but I guess when one is half of each race involved, one does get to legitimately DO THAT. But wow, the way he plays the one side against the other -- whew! This guy is one SLICK WILLIE, for sure. Barack O'Slicko, imho.

I'd be surprised if you could name a country that wasn't racist, or at least prejudiced against outsiders (you can't count what the Scots think of the Irish as racism, I suppose). That's no defense of our culture, and no erasure of our early genocide of the original owners, any more than slavery or wars of colonization of the surrounding countries. We're an empire in the throes of denial, sometimes more so than others. Thing is, and this is what I'm railing about lately, it's not about black vs white, it's way, way more complicated here. The best analogy I can think of is the complicated structure of New Orleans right after the Americans took over. I'm not going to spend a lot of paragraphs explaining that, the history books are there.

At any rate, it's immigrants who come here to live who tell me that America's not as awful as we think it is, at least not in comparison to wherever they're from. The most recent example is over on DP right now, from Frayreader. She thinks it's funny that Americans think they're racist.

Thanks for a good laugh, David. SUCH portentousness goin' roun' this place, no? Must be an awful lot of unacknowledged white guilt among the white (Liberal or newly hypnotized to same) male Fraysters, seems to me.

(here's the catch) legitimately so. I'm still pissed about throwing the white Grandmother under the bus for political expediency, myself. Such disloyalty, such ingratitude. It reeks of sheer political audacity, imo, and yet the Hypnotized Faithful (see them lining up on this thread, all in a row ...) still fall for his con job. Be careful speaking the truth like that around here, mr. ham. (ms. ham?)

These Obama-nauts will string you up, way on high, should you do that too much.

You are right. Ireland has its own hideous record of racism. We turned boat loads of Jews away during WWII. We regularly send Nigerian mothers back to Lagos with their children even though those kids are Irish. Our treatment of the Poles and Latvians and Lithuanians in our work-force today is atrocious. And the on-going marginalization of our own indigenous 'Traveller' population would put Jim Crow to shame. None of it has any defence, neither here nor there, and it's everywhere.

Still, there's no denying it is now a fixture of this primary campaign. I don't believe Obama is a racist. Whether Wright's a racist is neither here nor there. He is a demagogue. He's loose mouth hasn't helped his congregant. Why didn't he have the good sense to shut up?

I don't think the musical chairs in the White House is going to change one iota the fact that US Foreign Policy will continue to be prosecuted militarily.

Hi Lunesta. Good to see you here.

I won't even reply to ZB. It annoys the fuck out of me that he sits there in Ireland and judges America!

And I am so fucking sick of hearing this tired old rap about how we committed genocide on the Indians. We never put

them in ovens and systematically killed them and used their skins for lamp shades like the Europeans did!
If he studied American history he'd see the thousands of treaties we made with the Indians over and over and over trying to reach a peace with them.

Both sides fucked up those treaties. BOTH SIDES.

And today the Indians are sitting pretty with their casinos and their own Trial and Judicial system and autonomy that the Federal Government can not and would not breach.

That rap is so much crap!

As for slavery Lincoln made damn sure we righted that wrong.

And we willingly righted it at the expense of untold bloody deaths fought in the face of the abject racsim of The south.

And the Union Prevailed,

As for Obama...well...let him be President. Fine.

Majority rules.

History will show whether he's a good choice or not.

The country loved Nixon too...and well,we know how that turned out.

America doesn't always get it right. But in the end..truth always prevails,

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this song always reminds me of what the heart of America really is.

From way back when most Americans feel the deep abiding sense of spiritual Union with our land, our rivers and the wonderful, unique bondings and spirit of native americans.

There was at it's core a a deep bond of sharing and exchange of knowlege along with all the many bloody battles between us.

Well, I'm not so sure that in the end, truth (always) prevails in this country, Laurie. Especially when the MEDIA, whose job it is, after all, to try to pursue and publicize those truths, just rolls over and falls for the most recent, slickest con man coming down the road. bushJR in 2000 & even to a slight degree, in 2004 and now this one, Sen. Barack O'Slicko, in 2008. Speaking of bush Jr, you might want to catch my Top Post, which I only put up at someone else's request, about the numbers of US troops killed in this insanity of a war in Iraq.

And in agreement w. you, too, on the Top Poster. I never respond to him anymore & only rarely read his posts. Best, "L."

***heading over to Poems Fray now to read you there***. ***You've got mail, yo***

You're a very VERY sick woman, Cat. Btw, Abuse has been Reported. Up to TEN phony Fray-nicks at this point, "ey?"

Pretty pathetic stuff, CatNapping. Best regards to 'katydont' and all your other, many current PHONY NICKS. You just can't control yourself, can you?

it is the foundation of our society; indeed our very economic survival depended upon it. So, while slavery was abolished throughout the rest of the British Empire, it continued to flourish here. In the early 1800's we had more slavery in these parts than was to be found anywhere on earth; right here in the "Land of the Free". Reconciling our past with our new ideals was indeed a challenge for the new Republic. Obama understood exactly what he was talking about; the guy is one helluva Constitutional Lawyer, by the way.

unfortunately that song is not anywhere near what "the heart of America is." Taking Michelle Obama's taken-out-of-context statement even further, these days, its hard to be proud of the USA at all.

This post is bumpworthy.