"...everyone is bored,and devotes himself to cultivating habits..these habits are not peculiar to our town.." Albert Camus "The Plague"

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Obama and Reparations: Apologies Not Enough?

The U.S. House of Representatives has issued a formal apology for slavery:
WASHINGTON: The House of Representatives issued an unprecedented apology to black Americans for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and segregation laws.... The House "apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the US, for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow." Source: Times of India
Such apologies are not unprecedented; six U.S. states have already formally apologized, most recently Florida. The other five are Maryland, North Carolina, Alabama, New Jersey, and Virginia.
Obama mentioned
reparations the other day:
Obama said:
"I consistently believe that when it comes to whether it's Native Americans or African-American issues or reparations, the most important thing for the U.S. government to do is not just offer words, but offer deeds." (emphasis added)
Source: Honolulu Star Bulletin
I wonder what he means by deeds?
The idea of reparations certainly reached its zenith when The African World Reparations and Truth Commission announced it was demanding $777 Trillion (that's trillion with a "T") from the West as reparation for the slave trade and colonialism.

Video commentator "Zo" aka "SuperSlave" has produced a series of excellent videos on contemporary racial politics. The video below makes specific reference to the notion of reparations for slavery and other ills foisted on African-Americans.








Also see: Democrats and Racial Politics: From Jim Crow to Barack Obama by Francis Wright
Excerpt:
As author Michael Scheurer so succinctly stated, the Democratic Party is the party of the four S’s: Slavery, Secession,Segregation, and now Socialism. Because the Republican Party was started in 1854 as the anti-slavery party, and Republicans fought for freedom and equality for blacks, the early civil rights leaders, including Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, were Republicans.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Happy Trails: American Cowboy Day July 26

Bills pending in Congress, but not yet enacted into law, would declare the 4th Saturday in July "National Day of the American Cowboy". Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush have been labeled "cowboys" by their detractors on the left. The following poem is perhaps a little corny but don't you think it describes fairly well the ideals of conservative Americans.

"National Day of the American Cowboy"
This is a day we set out to give praise
To those who honor the Cowboy ways.
The American Cowboy is a true hero,
Who helped our nation to thrive and grow.
The cowboy was a true pioneer,
Who braved the wild western frontier.
Not only did he tame the American West,
He stood for the values which we think of as best:
He believes in hard work, and playing hard too,
And in honoring women in all that they do.
To be independent and stand up for what's right,
To be courageous and honest and not run from a fight.
To be brave and loyal, to ride for the brand,
And be a good steward of his livestock and land.
Those are timeless values that still hold true,
Still used every day in what modern cowboys do.
Now the U.S. Senate has voted to have a day
To honor the American Cowboy in this way.
We give thanks for all that cowboys and cowgirls do,
To keep the Cowboy way alive and true.
So we honor this legacy for the values it will employ,
As we celebrate the National Day of the American Cowboy.
by Ron Wilson, Poet Lariat
h/t Big Shot Bob in Texas


Illustration: Frank Tenney Johnson (1874-1939) Print available from Encore Editions

Monday, July 14, 2008

Funny or Scary?: The Obama's New Yorker Cover + More!



Some folks are taking this way too seriously! And now.... update update; the rebuttal from way out there on the Left:



Some parts of this I "get" but would appreciate reader advice. Source
Yet another update; neither as clever as the original:


Originally published on Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Seattle P.I.

And finally one hopes! The Stranger, a Seattle weekly weighs in with their cover: (not current events folks!)

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Famous Blue Burqa


And what can I tell you my brother, my killer
What can I possibly say?
I guess that I miss you, I guess I forgive you
Im glad you stood in my way.
(L Cohen: "Famous Blue Raincoat")

These unfortunate women were accused of prostituting themselves to U.S. military and American contractors and were dispatched by the Taliban.
The women, dressed in blue burqas, were shot and killed just outside Ghazni city in central Afghanistan, said Sayed Ismal, a spokesman for Ghazni's governor. He called the two "innocent local people".




Source: Breitbart
Tags: taliban murders,afghan war,prostitution,burqas,leonard cohen,famous blue raincoat,

Monday, July 07, 2008

Plumbing the Obama Depths!



7th cartoon in the amazing series from Gutter Politix.
Previous cartoons here.
Tags: obama smarts,campaign 08,energy independence,oil drilling,drilling obama

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Vets For Freedom: Finish the Job....

This is the new ad from Vets for Freedom. This is going out nationwide. You can help defray the cost here.


Tags: iraq war,war on terror,vets for freedom,finish the job,afghan war,iraq war surge

Friday, July 04, 2008

Fourth of July Happenings! (History Dept.)


"Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof - Lev. XXV, v. X"
Inscription on the Liberty Bell, from Leviticus 25:10

"Thomas Jefferson still lives."
-- John Adams (after waking momentarily, afternoon July 4 1826)

"Is it the Fourth?"
-- Thomas Jefferson (evening July 3; Jefferson died the next
morning, July 4th 1826)

In what must be one of the most curious turns of events in our nation's history we find our 2nd President (John Adams) and our 3rd President (Thomas Jefferson), both signers of the Declaration of Independence, dying on the same day, July 4th 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing. (see quotations above: h/t Patriot Post


I
N CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

(the preamble to the declaration attributed to Jefferson, read the whole document here)

Photobucket

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Tags:july 4th,july 4th 1776,july4 1826,independence day,john adams,thomas jefferson,death john adams thomas jefferson,liberty bell,declaration of independence