The Myth of the white Vote

White Americans are big on the idea of America as a melting pot. That is until a person other than white dares to step on the national stage, then it becomes a question of white vs that race/ethnic group whether it is Asian, African American, Latino or Hispanic then the issue is whether it can or will appeal to white people.

I remarked to an acquaintance recently that if you watch the commercials on television or listen to them on radio you can bet whatever they are selling is sold to a black beat or that of some other race or ethnic group. The fact is there is no such thing as an abstract white but Italian- Americans, Jewish -Americans, German-Americans, etc, each with their own national and international agenda. The problem with the so called ethnic whites, working class whites or bubbas, if you will, they don't really exist until somebody like Hillary Clinton or a demagogic race baiting preacher has the need of their vote or money. In the final analysis they won't be as big of a factor in the November election as projected because America is a melting pot and most of the ingredients in the pot are people of color. When you factor in the young vote and record registration among African Americans and other groups it will trump the Bubba vote who really don't vote democratic any way.

We are witnessing the last dying gasp of those who would use racism to gain an advantage and those lost souls who really believe in their racial superiority. Unfortunately they have found a leader in the Clintons who used to be a friend of Black people. So much for the "first Black President" he wasn't my race and damn sure ain't my taste.

Jeremiah Wright and Liberation Theology

Liberation Theology has been the way that many religions and leaders have proposed that the problems of the poor and the oppressed can be address. It has been used successfully in Latin and Central America in addressing the needs of the poor and oppressed most recently in Paraguay where a former priest was elected to power. Since the 1960's James Cone, Columbia University professor, has preached this as a liberating force in African American churches for years as had his predecessor in MLK, Howard Thurman, David Walker, Richard Allen, Malcolm X, and Absalom Jones.



How should an oppressed people view God, religion? Can the oppressed and the oppressor worship the same God? The answer to these questions are troubling to black and white clergy because it calls them to practice the teachings of Jesus whom they would proffer as their leader. It is this that is unsettling about Jeremiah Wright. He calls them to bare living witness to and for our fellow man. Many are saying that they agree with his message, but the timing is bad, meaning that it can hurt the chances of Barack Obama from becoming president. Is Obama's quest for the Presidency of the United States, an imperialist and racist nation, more important than the liberation of Black people? Can liberation come from the presidency?



I was asked yesterday, while hosting a program on the radio, who is right Obama Or Jeremiah Wright? My answer was that they were both right. Obama is doing what he thinks he has to do to win, but he must be careful that the question that many African American raise is that he has payed scant attention to their issues while nightly he is bombarded with questions about how he will meet the needs of white working class voters. Jeremiah Wright on the other hand is being true to his calling. Obama risks eroding his Black support without which he cannot win. Jeremiah Wright's liberation theology views are being used not to alarm whites but to divide Black people. Racist whites and if they are over fifty most of them are are not going to vote for Obama under any circumstances. Obama needs to man up because this is what his supporters expect both here and abroad. We need to man and woman up as Black people and quit sniveling , wining, and worrying about what white people think. We know what they think.



My father who was born and raised in Alabama and who knew that his grandmother was killed when the slave master SAT the dogs upon her told me that "A pecker wood ain't shit"Let those who are not racist stand up and confess it before God. This is part of the message of Jeremiah Wright, but his most important message is those of us and the jive ass preachers who fleece us, promise us nothing on earth but swear they can put us on the express way to paradise. Hopefully they and their racist allies will get caught up in the rapture and leave the planet to the truly righteous folks.

A Loku for Bob Johnson

Once again Bob Johnson has seen fit to play the buffoon for the Clinton's by attacking Barak Obama, opining that if Obama were not Black he couldn't run for president. Johnson who has always played the race card when he has wanted something from us has a lot of moxie as the old folks would say. From District Cable, which he sold to Gene Autry and Black Entertainment Television which he sold to John Malone and Liberty Media, Johnson who could have been as powerful as Rupert Murdoch and as influential in the world while at the same time providing a much needed media outlet for people of African descent traded power and influence for money. Now he is a negro with a lot of money whose only value is to save master's house when it catches on fire.A loku for Bob Johnson .He owes his riches to Black people and his ass to white people.


Black people should reward him by boycotting his enterprises including the Charlotte Bobcats and encourage season ticket holders not to renew.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24118882/

WE ARE AT THE DIRTY END OF THE FIELD

We wanted to believe that it wouldn't get funky, but we all knew what Michelle Obama meant when she talked about being proud of her country. As we looked at all of the smiling faces of the pundits grinning with glee because once again they had bamboozled the public with lies, innuendos and half truths. Once again they had demonstrated their total lack of integrity. There was Wolf Blitzer, AIPAC 's fox in the hen house, and Howard Fineman smirking because the temple had once again delivered the voice from the gutter and making it appear that it was all above board. Then there was the shuffling, grinning, buck dancing Eugene Robinson being objective and devoid of any connection to the reality of the thievery.

We knew that as Ruby Dee had said "they ain't going to give us anything, it’s like a poison, that's soaked in the ground" It isn't just the racism but the need to prevail at all cost, the ultimate zero sum game where the losers are the people. No they aren't going to give us nothing and the desperation of those who would destroy this world rather than share it draws the final line in the sand and it calls us to witness. This election is and has never been about the Presidency of America for the Bushes and the Clintons have destroyed whatever credibility that America had as a moral authority. This election is part of a global realignment dictated not only by the changes in the global political economy but also by" the fierce urgency of now ". Decoupling is not just a political and economic process but it is also a moral and philosophical challenge.

The Clinton campaign had openly moved to the dirty end of the field where winning was the only thing that mattered. In complicity with certain Jewish organization they had played the anti-Semitic card by linking Obama to Farrakhan through the minister of his church. They had first used this tactic before the Nevada primary attempting to alert the Jewish population of Nevada which is the fastest growing Jewish population in the country. Richard Cohen , the Washington Post writer was the point man with CNN'S Wolf Blitzer, the former Press Secretary of AIPAC , playing the same role on television. Senator Clinton was quick to ask Senator Obama to "denounce and reject" Minister Farrakhan, but she did not distance herself from the implication that because Rev. Jeremiah Wright was a friend of Farrakhan, and according to them Farrakhan was an anti-Semite so was Obama, nor did she decry the photo of Obama in African clothing which tried to suggest that Obama was both a Muslim and perhaps a terrorist.

The problem with this strategy is that it my play well among the bigots and the narrow minded but it is certainly not in the long or short term foreign policy interest of the United States. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. Arabs/Muslims control most of the oil in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa. Insulting them is certainly not a wise foreign policy strategy.Secondly playing the race card or the anti-Semitic card does not play well when one considers that the major players at the global table are all non white nations or people of color with the exception of Russia which under Yeltsin saw their country plundered by some Jewish businessmen many whom had dual Israeli and British passports.(see The Decline OF RUSSIA IN THE AGE OF GANGSTER CAPITALISM BY PAUL KLEBINOV).Conservative columnist, Christopher Caldwell with whom I seldom agree gets it right when he says, "Obama wants to be US president; Clinton wants to capture the government for her faction.” Like any good prostitute she'll get in the back seat of any car as long as it's going her way.

OBAMA ASSUMES THE REINS OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

In today's Financial Times (02/21/08) Stephen Graubard offers Hillary Clinton a way out with dignity and strength. The article "Clinton Must Step Aside Today to Win Tomorrow" ecourages Clinton "to surprise the nation and the world by announcing her decision not to contest Texas, Ohio, or Pennsylvania, and "accepting Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee in opposition to John McCain."

This would be a wise course of action for Clinton because short of something catastrophic or underhanded, it would appear that given Obama's momentum coming out of Wisconsin, he seems certain to win both Texas and Ohio. Clinton risks losing any bargaining chips should she lose those primaries or win by narrow margins. The stakes are too high and the risks are too great in a world where the US economy is in meltdown and where for many countries around the world, the operative word is "decoupling." In other words, they are saying that they must lessen their dependence on and connection to the US economy.

If Obama wins Ohio and Texas, he becomes the undisputed head of the Democratic Party and in one fell swoop, eliminates the Clintons, Howard Dean, and the superdelgates from positions of power and influence within the party. This would necessitate a new and much needed realignment of forces within the Democratic Party and in the American body politic.

As Robert Nesta Marley said, "There is a natural mystic blowing in the wind." Don't ask me why."

KEEPING UP A BIG FUSS

When I met Fidel Castro in the the Spring of 2001, it was the highlight of my life. Once when asked who was the most famous person that I had met, my immediate response was Fidel Castro. There were two other people whom I would add to that category: Mohammed Ali and Yasser Arafat. I never had the fortune of meeting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X or John Coltrane who, along with my parents, were great inspirations and role models for me. Of all of these, Fidel Castro has been the most influential person for all freedom fighters and democratic-minded people throughout the world.

We admire him because he, along with Che Guervara and a small group of men and women, overthrew a tyrant and puppet of US imperialism. We admire him because he has given aid and comfort to revolutionary movements around the world. Once when asked why Cuba had sent troops to support the independence struggles in Africa, Fidel replied without hesitation, "Africa is in our blood." Indeed it is, for at least seventy percent of all Cubans are of African descent. We admire him because in the face of assasination attempts, an economic blockade, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the lies and deceptions of the west, Castro and the Cuban people have remained steadfast in their opposition to world imperialism and in their committment to real democracy and human rights for all people. They have built health and educational systems which far exceed anything that western countries have been able to deliver for the majotity of their citizens. We should be so lucky in this great free and democratic society of America to have a modicum of health care and education as they have in Cuba. Shame on this country! Instead of emulation, we have chosen annihlation as the way. We are grateful to Fidel Castro and the Cuban people for staying on the path.

When I met Fidel Castro he said something to me which my limited Spanish ear did not pick up. I asked for a translation and was told that he said, "I bet you're keeping up a big fuss." (an obvious refence to my work at WPFW radio station in Washington, DC) I think we are all grateful that he has kept up a "big fuss" for over fifty years.

Its After the End of the World, Don't You Know That Yet?

We must not allow our self doubt, self hatred, and distrust of this country to cloud our understanding of the global political economy and what is and will be the impact on people of African descent. Look at the condition of African people all over the planet. Obama has ignited a much needed discussion among us. We have been forced to face the jive way in which we have been fronting and not taking the correct position on Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Haiti, Cuba, or on the jive bankrupt politicians who have been misrepresenting us. We, as a people, have not taken any collective stands on anything. The fault is not in Obama but in ourselves.

Obama is running for the Presidency of the United States of America. We should not have any illusions about this fact.Because many rich and powerful white people see him as a better representative of their interest when it comes to China, the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin and Central America than Hillary Clinton,does this mean that we can't be for him? An old man once told me that "it is a skill game and a fool can't play it". We must quit being slaves and fools to our own fears and use this precious moment to organize and unite African people in the tradition of Dubois, CLR James, Amilcar Cabral, Marcus Garvey, George Padimore, Malcolm X, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Yes I said Dr. King who said in a speech to SCLC in 1967 that" we must move from reform to revolution" and "from civil rights to human rights". He also said that "power without love is reckless, but love without power is sentimental."We need to stop being sentimental and reckless with our thoughts and actions. It is 2008 and as Sun Ra said "it's after the end of the world, don't you know that yet"

PanAfricanism: Now More Than Ever

A united Africa was long the hope of men like Dubois, Padmore, Nkrumah, andGarvey. Yet, that reality has eluded the people of Africa. Colonialism and neo-colonialism have been the major culprits, leaving in their wake the assassinations of and coups against the most progressive leaders and their governments. The assassinations of Patrice Lumumba, Amilcar Cabral, Eduardo Mondlane, Chris Hani, Walter Rodney, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X have stifled and silenced the voices of real democracy in Africa and have encouraged tribalism and ethnic conflict as a tactics to keep the masses in turmoil and confusion.

Africa continues to be the richest continent on the planet and the race for control of its resources is at a feverish pitch. While the Chinese are making strong economic inroads into Africa and are assisting in building much needed infrastructure, the western powers, particularly the United States, have countered with the building of military bases. The United States has established military bases or a military presence in Senegal, Djibuti, Sao Tome and Principe, and Uganda. These so called "jumping off points" are to "fight terrorism" and to "protect oil" resources. Since the United States does not have the economic resources to compete with India and China in Africa, it is ushering in a new era of "gunboat diplomacy," this time with modern technological warfare.

The Zimbabwean land reform movement offers the brightest hope at the moment. If the land and other African resources are not controlled by the people of Africa, all is lost. Pan- Africanism which promotes the economic, political, social, and cultural integration of African people is both a way around the abyss of tribalism and ethnic conflict and a way forward to a brighter future. We must begin this discussion now.

Billary Takes the Party to the Right

The Obama candidacy has created a dilemma for people of African descent in the US who except on rare ocassions, have gone with candidate of the Democratic Party. Obama's candidacy has already caught many of the old guard leadership off guard and on the wrong side of the aspirations their constituencies. It has created an even greater dilemma for Bill and Hillary Clinton who had assumed that Hillary Clinton would get the Democratic Party nomination and then the presidency. The assumption was that the Republican Party would still be bogged down in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the Democrats would be a shoo- in; but then came the sub prime crises, the weakness of the dollar, and the rise of China, India, Russia, Venezuela and Brazil as major players on the world stage with their own spheres of influence.

The Clintons have made it clear that they are running as a pair and Hillary Clinton has all but declared that the accomplishments of her husband are as much hers as his. Lee Atwater the engineer of Reagan's victory was quoted as saying, "We are not republicans,we are conservatives, the Republican Party was the vehicle we used to come to power." This was not lost on "Slick Willie Clinton" who through the Democratic Leadership Council - made up of mostly southern governors - turned the Democratic Party into a modern Dixiecrat Party. The Progressive Policy Institute was the ideological and philosophical base of the new Democratic Party.

After remaking the Democratic Party into a center-right party, dismantling and marginalizing the party apparatus, the Clintons set out to build what they hope would be their dynasty. There was one problem: conservatives were incensed that not only had Clinton and Co. stolen their agenda, but had passed it off as their own. What Hillary Clinton called a right-wing conspiracy was actually a fight between the Republicans who saw themselves as the real conservatives and the conservatives in the Democratic party led by Bill Clinton and Al From. That is why many analysts around the world say that a move from George Bush to Hillary Clinton would be "seamless."