Booker Rising

11/21 Quote Of The Day

2009-11-21T16:59:00.000-06:00

"Oh please, like 25 years isn't enough? Listen, Oprah Winfrey came out of poverty to become one of the world's most richest and influential women — that alone is an inspiration for young, black girls around the world. But she did it through naive, white soccer moms, narcissism, liberal propaganda, hatred against black men, faux-religious views, and doing shows on subjects (health, politics, etc.) that she literally knew little about. Respect her hustle, but not the way she got there. Now maybe she'll retire, go away for a little while and become Barry's VP pick in 2012." — Mr. Grey Ghost, conservative Democratic blogger in New York City

NADRA ENZI OP-ED: Crime Isn't A Civil Right!

2009-11-21T16:35:00.000-06:00

Nadra Enzi, a Republican activist who promotes crime prevention in Savannah, Ga., opines that crime is the worst possible civil wrong: "This topic is my 2010 public theme and has been a private one for a lifetime. Its’ message is simple and timely: no one has a God-given right to violate life and property, regardless of passionate arguments to the contrary. Giving in to crime as a civil right means, among other things, destroying the inner city, all cities, public safety and homeland security in one greedy gulp! Anyone who wants a serving is asked to raise his hand. Absolving inner city residents from sane behavior isn’t the same as promoting civil rights. Telling us somebody else is to blame for personal killing sprees, etc. in the Black community grants green lights for much more of the same. Add the current financial version of suspended animation afflicting the inner city and this behavioral brew approaches a historic boiling point. One private solution is drawing national lines in the concrete and culturally ousting those who think crime is their personal civil right. Giving them the boot in thought, word, on flim, in song and by our deeds is what is sorely needed. Otherwise, the Black community and America lose together on an unimaginable scale."

Mr. Enzi continues his commentary: "We’re losing too many lives to continue embracing open enemies among us. Rehabilitation only works if the person being rehabilitated agrees to it. Removal ( by ostracism or arrest ) becomes the last realistic community choice for increasing safety and civility. The effect of a culture shift where doors are slammed shut and relationships suspended until better behavior happens is worth exploring. Criminals continue victimizing society because they still welcomed with open arms by family and friends. You can’t complain about snake bite while pulling the viper closer for round two. Unofficial excommunication from Black social networks alongside official incarceration are a one-two combination we need to put into play before it’s too late. Only we can decide if our lives are worth the effort. Crooks are working overtime to tear us down, Isn’t it time we punched the clock to build ourselves up?"

KEVIN ROSS OP-ED: Does This Black Republican Understand Sarah Palin's Appeal? You Betcha!

2009-11-21T16:00:00.002-06:00

The moderate Republican radio host opines about former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin: "Me, I totally get why Blacks can't stand her. When you see the overwhelmingly white men and women rabid over the barracuda from Wasilla, quite a few look like a mix of trailer park dwellers, KKK recruiters, and backwoods hillbillies. Progressive African Americans are not letting the 'yahoos' back into the mix without a verbal beatdown, and thus the sometimes shrill but no less robotic, Pavlovian response whenever Palin's name is even whispered. But I also understand why middle America, the hockey moms, NASCAR fans, Ann Coulter and small business owners are sprung. They are among those 4 million viewers that Fox News regularly caters to. Sarah Palin is hands down the most attractive Republican candidate since Ronald Reagan stepped on the scene to die-hard, GOP enthusiasts waiting with open arms. And while people joked about how stupid and how much of a light-weight the B-movie actor was, Reagan knew how to work a camera and television screen. Also a former governor, Reagan (who had enough sense to finish out his term before making a White House run) was a blue-ribbon superstar in that he was able to raise money and get people to buy into his bigger than life persona, all the while maintaining his common man touch. Possessing charisma and charm the likes of which had not been seen before, Ronald Reagan had the 'it' factor, something no other Republican leader has had since he exited stage left. Until Sarah Palin!"

More: "Now do I believe she is qualified to be president? Absolutely not. I had already decided that I was casting my vote for then Senator Barack Obama even before Palin came on the scene. After her debut, I was even more convinced that the [sic] my party was going down in flames. Palin was a cynical choice, based on having a limited pedigree that perfectly fit all the necessary boxes: good looking, pro-gun, pro-life, pro-military, driven, and a fresh face that would fire up the base without McCain looking like he was being upstaged. As for a woman being used to trump the historical significance of an African-American ascending to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue once Hillary Clinton was pummeled in the Democratic primary, well, that goes without saying."

Final thoughts: "On so many levels, however, Sarah Palin has exemplified the same intangible attributes our current president possesses. There is something special about Barack Hussein Obama. Despite over-promising and under-delivering, Obama has the ability to captivate and mesmerize. He has tapped into the country's change zeitgeist, even if the results are mixed at best. That in itself is no small feat. It requires a tactical, resilient individual who not only understands her brand, but recognizes that it's more potent than lightning in a bottle. At least during her 15 minutes of fame. This is why so many people unknowingly embolden Sarah Palin every time they relegate her to being a clueless tool for those who ultimately want Obama to fail and fail miserably. Yet, these are the same citizens baffled as to why demagogue Rush Limbaugh is more popular than ever, while CNN continues to rearrange the Titanic deck chairs when it comes to their dismal ratings and dwindling influence in the hardball political journalism arena."

Nyamko Sabuni on Her "I'm Not A Feminist, Although I Support Feminism" Stance

2009-11-21T13:10:00.006-06:00

Nyamko Sabuni, Sweden's Minister for Integration and Gender Equality and a moderate-conservative, is featured in Dagens Industri, a Swedish financial newspaper. Sweden's first black minister gives a clear message about why she doesn't calls herself a feminist although she agrees with feminist goals: "[Former Swedish Prime Minister and former head of the socialist Swedish Social Democratic Party] Göran Persson." The Burundi-born politico's childhood on the run has characterized her - and her politics (article in Swedish). This interview explains why she married a man old enough to be her father, but I digress.

Her proposals to integrate immigrants in Swedish society: Ms. Sabuni has become known as a determined, almost strict proponent of standards and clear rules. Among her more high-profile moves are the proposals for mandatory gynecological exams for all schoolgirls in order to combat female genital mutilation. She also wants to introduce language tests and citizenship courses in democracy for those looking for Swedish citizenship. She calls for a tough 18-age limit for marriage. In her birthplace, it was common for girls to get married and have children as teenagers - one more experience that contributes to Ms. Sabuni's uncompromising stance. The law prohibiting marriage before age 18 could serve as a protection for young immigrant girls who risk being forced into marriages with older foreign men. Instead, these girls have often been granted an exemption. Minister Sabuni want it to be impossible to obtain exemptions.

Born in Burundi of Congolese parents, and time in exile: Ms. Sabuni was born and partly raised in Burundi, and lived in exile with her mother and her siblings while her father traveled around for political engagements. Maurice Sabuni was then a socialist politician from the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), forcing the family into exile. For awhile he sat in jail. Then the family temporarily moved back with her grandparents in DRC. During her childhood, Ms. Sabuni longed for father. She describes herself as a daddy's girl, and saw her father as her best friend. When she was twelve years old, her father fled to Sweden, and six months later, her mother and five children followed. Ms. Sabuni's family purposely decided not to settle close to family and compatriots who lived in Kista, but settled instead amid strangers, among Swedes in Kungsängen. It is a decision that Ms. Sabuni has subsequently praised and which has influenced the views that she has on the reception of refugees in Sweden.

"Immigrants need to integrate fast, and stay off welfare": The first year in a new country is vital, she said, and the aim should be for immigrants to quickly learn Swedish, find a job and not go on welfare. She hopes that her proposals will reduce the time that it takes for the average immigrant to get a job - from seven years now to a maximum of two years. "We've had a bad system to support the establishment of immigrants in the labor market. Seven years is a very long time. People have been seen as needy rather than capable, and far too many have been viewed and treated as children. People who manage to go from one continent to another have a large capacity. "

"Why I refuse to call myself a feminist, although I obviously support feminism: I'm about individual rights and freedom across the board": "My integrity and my principles is something I got from my parents and is the only thing that is left when all else fails, as it is," said Ms. Sabuni. For the same reason - principles - she refuses to call herself a feminist, although she says it's obvious that she is there. Although she has suffered a lot of criticism for her refusal. "It is enough that I am a [classical] liberal. As a liberal, I believe that everyone, men and women should have equal conditions. It is part of the word." A little later, the real reason. "Göran Persson is why I do not call myself a feminist. When he started calling himself that, then I thought it went too far."

"I'm more like Margaret Thatcher": According to the magazine Manager, there is a similarity between Göran Persson and Nyamko Sabuni in their leadership, for example, that they act first and think later. Ms. Sabuni do not recognize Mr. Persson in herself. She'd rather look at Britain's former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who according to the magazine belongs to the same type of leader. "I think long enough. But since I am actor, I have no difficulty making decisions and ensure that they are implemented. I want to accomplish anything. If we wait for everyone to enjoy a risk you will miss many opportunities to change and improve."

On her center-right Liberal People's Party: ""I'm not hard but clear. The Liberal Party has long been unclear, but a lot is being changed from within. 'Classical]Liberalism is not about to be nice but to provide clear opportunities for people to realize their goals, but also demands and expects that individuals meets their obligations." She adds, "Both Jan Björklund and I express ourselves in a straight and direct manner, and it may be perceived as hard, at least in our country," she said. She explains that it is common that people are surprised that she is so short [Ms. Sabuni is just over 5' tall] when they get to see her in real lif . They have perceived her as much taller than she is. "It's because I'm so hard," she jokes with a twinkle in her eye.

Kenneth Durden: "Clueless U.N. Official Praises Cuba"

2009-11-21T13:07:00.000-06:00

It doesn't sit well with the American libertarian-conservative blogger: "[UNICEF representative Jose Juan Ortiz says that 'countries in the world should learn from Cuba on the protection of children's rights.' What? Nevermind [sic] the fact that these children cannot choose to leave the country if their parents would like to. Nevermind [sic] the fact that these children cannot grow up to achieve all that they could if the Cuban government didn't have its foot on their necks. Nevermind [sic] the fact that people die on a regular basis trying to escape to America."

He continues: "This is the problem with the UN and our current government. A communist, welfare state is not the same as rights. This same thinking is what has Democrats saying health care is a 'right.' Our Constitution is based on the concept that our rights are innate, they come from our Creator. We are born free and the Constitution is designed to protect our freedoms from government intrusion. This new way of thinking has invaded our government at the highest levels. It's why there is no respect for our Constitution among lawmakers. Politicians don't want the government restrained. They want power. So they've flipped the entire system upside down. Now we don't have rights to pursue our own interests or collect personal property. Doing so makes us evil and selfish. Now we must do things for the state, for the collective, all according to the dictates of polilticians and bureaucrats. This must end."

ELLIS WASHINGTON COMMENTARY: Islam Is Not Compatible With A Republic

2009-11-21T13:03:00.003-06:00

Asserts the political science professor and conservative Republican: "Islam is not compatible with a republic. Last Tuesday the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ordered Lynne Stewart, a convicted terror-coddling civil-rights lawyer, to begin serving her prison sentence. Stewart, 69, was convicted over four years ago, in February 2005, of conspiracy and providing and concealing material support of terrorism for her actions in smuggling messages from 'blind sheik' Omar Abdel-Rahman to his followers in the Islamic terror group Gama'a al-Islamiyya. As irony would have it, last week President Obama and his attorney general, Eric Holder, brought five terrorists from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to be tried in a criminal court in New York. This act is tantamount to treason and is essentially overturning 230 years of American constitutional law and over 400 years of common-law traditions by permitting enemy combatants caught on foreign territory waging war against American soldiers to have full constitutional rights rather than being speedily tried by a military tribunal."

More: "Islam is not compatible with a republic. The Obama administration at every opportunity is bending over frontwards and backwards to convince the world that America is a nice country since GWB left office and Obama is in charge. Conversely, this Neville Chamberlain policy of appeasement has only demonstrated to the world our societal decadence, our duplicity and our utter lack of moral resolve to fight an avowed enemy like radical Islam with the same passion and merciless tactics they have leveled against the civilized world. As Nonie Darwish said, Islam is a totalitarian political ideology feigning as a religion; indeed, Islam is anti-religion. It has no belief in a God of love, but in Allah, the pagan moon god that predates the prophet Muhammad and the Quran. Islam has no respect for the intrinsic value of all life, but is a cult of death that celebrates death by promoting homicide bombers and 'killing the infidel where you find him..'"

Professor Washington continues his commentary: "America's republic respects a written Constitution based on God, Natural Law, liberty and truth; therefore, truly just laws should not discriminate based on race, creed, gender or wealth (within biblical traditions, of course). However, Shariah law under Islam openly discriminates against others based on every conceivable difference. In other words, according to the Quran, everyone not a Muslim is considered a second-class citizen or worse, can be abused, sold into slavery or even summarily killed. The Quran commands: 'A Muslim must not enslave another Muslim but is free to do so with a non-Muslim.' And that's why, in my opinion, Islam is not compatible with a republic."

BOB PARKS OP-ED: Obama: The Kenyan Republican

2009-11-21T12:20:00.002-06:00

The conservative Republican commentator opines that U.S. President Barack Obama is giving so many political gifts to the Republicans, that he must really be a stealth Republican destroying the Democrat Party from within....with an approach more appropriate for Kenya than for America: "Many of us had no idea the Republican Party had it in them, but to devise and implement such a plan was ingenious. Think about it; party leadership acting totally inept while a charismatic young Democrat presidential candidate captures the imagination of the normally lethargic youth vote, captures the senior vote, women, and even sends a thrill up the leg of the media. And within a few short months after attaining the presidency, he conducts himself in a manner (personally and in office) that had not only invigorated his political opponents, but has them so energized they take to the streets and even march on The Capitol (more than once). One would have to conclude Barack Hussein Obama is either the most politically clueless president ever, or… is really a stealth Republican destroying the Democrat Party from within. Barack Obama is The Kenyan Republican."

He continues his commentary: "The results of Obama’s first ten months in office have been incredibly successful for the Republican Party, thus Barack Obama’s implementation of the GOP plan has been flawless. In off year elections, two high-profile Democrat governors lost their seats. Gay marriage went down to defeat in a liberal Northeast state. Behind closed doors, Congressional and Senatorial Democrats are freaking out with the prospect of being slaughtered during the 2010 midterm elections, and what is Barack Obama doing? Pushing the very policies that the American people pushed back against at the ballot box, going on foreign trips for photo ops while jobless numbers rise. What many of us noted Barack Obama’s arrogance and hubris, it was really an over-the-top performance that makes always-angry liberals relax while the growing-angry right is further inspired."

More: "Barack Obama is no accidental gift to the Republican Party. While he bows to every foreign leader possible, he’s really taking a bow for the GOP that secretly installed him as president to do what no white Republican could ever get away with. Republicans owe a sincere debt to Mr. Obama who sacrificed many years of his life to prepare for the total (and willing) destruction of the Democrat Party. And the best is yet to come."

Booker Rising response: President Obama is not a foreigner. Come on, folks. He is an American of partial Kenyan ancestry. Y'all "birthers" need to quit...

The Consensus Behind The Consensus

2009-11-21T11:55:00.003-06:00

Duane Brayboy, a conservative blogger in Georgia, discusses the hacked emails from an elite research center on global warming: "All over the net, this cache of illegally obtained e-mails are being analyzed by global warming skeptics like myself. What they reveal is a Global Warming community that is deeply concerned that people just are not buying into their hype that the earth is about to burn up. There are discussions about doctoring the numbers to pushing skeptics out from their ranks to how to target certain groups to convince them that GW is real."

More: "While apparently some big media outlets are picking up the story, I ultimately believe that this story is going to get played down pretty quick by MSM. Why? Because there has been too much money put behind GW. All the 'green' talk out there is not going to get flushed because of these emails. But couple these e-mails with the fact that we have been in a visible cooling trend for a few years now and it is going to make it that much more difficult for GW believers to make the sale. That is exactly why we are hearing about all these foolish studies telling us how GW is disproportionately affecting Blacks (but somehow Whites are naturally able to protect themselves), causing women to enter prostitution, etc. If that wasn’t bad enough, remember how we were hearing (and still are) how 'green' jobs will help lift Blacks and Hispanics out from poverty and unemployment? When it reached to that level, I knew then popular opinion on the issue was on the decline. These emails just confirmed it."

11/20 News: Political Parties

2009-11-20T18:48:00.008-06:00

USA: Dems Fight Over Funds Left From Bailout

Congressional Democrats could be careening toward a head-on collision with the White House over $200 billion in leftover bailout money — money that Republicans think should simply be returned to taxpayers (hat tip: Black & Right). The Treasury Department wants to use the money to pay down the deficit and keep a small rainy-day fund in case of economic catastrophe. But Democrats are salivating over the possibility of $200 billion in unspent money. House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson of Connecticut wants dough to fund job-creation legislation. Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank, the powerful chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, wants to direct $2 billion of repaid Troubled Asset Relief Program funds to loans for unemployed homeowners so they can avoid foreclosure. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California admits that “there’s a good bit of interest” in spreading the money around to various economic projects. And Senate Democrats want to put a big chunk — say, $40 billion — toward loans to small businesses.

British National Party Signs Its First Non-White Member

Hat tip to reader Dragon Horse for this one. A Booker Rising side-eye to ol' boy pictured left for this crazy decision. An elderly Sikh who describes Islam as a "beast" and once provided a character reference for party leader Nick Griffin during his racial hatred trial is set to become the British National Party's first non-white member. Rajinder Singh, an anti-Islam activist in his late seventies who blames Muslims for the death of his father during the Partition of India in 1947, has been sympathetic towards Britain's white nationalist party for much of the past decade even though he currently remains barred from becoming a member. However, last weekend the BNP's leadership took their first steps towards dropping its membership ban on non-whites after the Human Rights Commission last month threatened the party with legal action. The move will be put to a vote of members soon. A BNP spokesman said last night: "He is perhaps the kind of immigrant you want if you are going to have them."

Singh said he would be "honored" to become a card-carrying member. Explaining his motives, he said: "I am a retired teacher, living a quiet life. I got in touch with the BNP on certain core policies that appeal to me. I also admire them since they are on their own patch, and do not wish to let anyone else oust them from the land of their ancestors."

USA: Republican Governors Eye Big 2010 Gains

Buoyed by a pair of November 3 gubernatorial victories in Virginia and New Jersey and signs of increasing voter unease toward Democratic-controlled Washington, top Republicans expressed optimism yesterday that their party was poised to make significant gains in 2010. Republicans said their comeback was being ushered in by a series of policy excesses by President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress. “I think the American people believe that the folks in Washington are overreaching, that the pendulum is swinging too far,” said Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas. He said that voters are “increasingly concerned about the overspending, about the increasing role of government and the fact that we’re not progressing out of this recession as quickly as we need to.”

The common refrain from the Republican Governors Association conference in Texas was that their successes in Virginia and New Jersey would presage major gains next year just as wins in those two states in 1993 offered a preview of the party’s historic 1994 victories. Mississippi Gov. and RGA Chairman Haley Barbour — who was Republican National Committee chairman for those two elections — even went as far as to tell his fellow governors and donors that “this feels better this early than it did then.” While urging his party to avoid personal criticism of a president who remains well-liked by voters, Gov. Barbour cited the two recent governors’ races to make the case that Obama’s ambitious agenda was taking its toll on Democrats. “His policies are dragging down their political capacity,” he said.

Health Care Reform: Bookerista Perspectives

2009-11-20T18:30:00.003-06:00

Deroy Murdock: "Medicare: A Glimpse Of The Future?"

The libertarian Republican commentator argues that the government option in the U.S. health care system is already a miserable failure: "As the U.S. Senate weighs a 2,074-page health-care 'reform' bill, supporters of a government option for medical coverage consider this the finest federal initiative since the Emancipation Proclamation. Yet today’s headlines show government severely bungling its current health-care duties. Expanding Uncle Sam’s medical portfolio is a prescription for fraud, fiscal incompetence, and rampant mismanagement on the clinical frontlines. Fraud devours some $60 billion — or 13.3 percent — of Medicare’s $452 billion budget."

He continues his commentary about government wastefulness and bureaucracy in health care: "Sen. Charles Grassley (R., Iowa) recently found that Medicare administrators received 30 serious fraud warnings over three years, primarily during the Bush administration, and simply ignored half of them. Medicare failed to investigate complaints that it reimbursed one company for injected drugs 'at doses that were not medically feasible,' one letter explained. Rather than the proper $74 per dose, Medicare sent this provider $4,464. Another recent report uncovered $18.1 billion in improper Medicaid payments, or 9.6 percent of that program’s claims. Lacking the 'evil and greedy' private insurers’ profit motive, Medicare managers have no incentive to uproot such malfeasance. Medicare staffers rarely are corrupt; but with their pay and promotions not tethered to any bottom line, they have little reason to worry about who gets paid what. Michael McGaughan observed in the November 13 Pantagraph.com that the top 14 health-insurance companies earned aggregated profits of $8.6 billion last year on combined revenues of $275.6 billion, according to the May 4 Fortune. This translates into 3.12 percent in 'greedy' profits in the private option versus 13.3 percent fraud in the public option. Greed suddenly looks pretty good."

More commentary from Mr. Murdock: "Medicaid systems also reject claims more than do private insurers. While Humana, the No. 1-ranked national payer, has a 5.3 percent denial rate, No. 7 Medicare Part B spurns 8.7 percent of claims. Among Medicaid systems, No. 1 Illinois denies 9.1 percent of its claims. Medicaid of California’s refusal rate is 19.5 percent, while No. 12 New York’s is 34.1 percent. Fourteenth-rated Florida denies 38.8 percent of Medicaid claims. Government reimbursements also trail inflation. In 1997, Medicare paid general surgeons $574 for each complex hemorrhoidectomy. In 2008, that procedure paid $390. This is barely half the $770 needed to equal inflation."

Mark Williams: "Why Liberals Should Fear ObamaCare"

The conservative blogger in Sacramento, Calif. argues that it opens Pandora's Box for U.S. government control: "The very first problem with the Obamacare advocates is with the very notion that a person may be forced by law to pursue Life, Liberty and Happiness. Interestingly enough they angrily bristled when I suggested to some of them that our Constitution contains some very clearly spelled out rights and that if the right to health care can be forced on citizens then government should also be able to force individuals to worship, exercise speech, own a firearm and on down the line. Moreover, the government should also have the same power to instruct us on the content of our worship, speech and gun safe. There should also be punishment for noncompliance, taxation of compliance and detailed rules and regulations as to how those rights must be exercised, as is the template for Socialized Medicine. Not a one of them liked my suggestion that they should be taxed to buy me a nice new Glock or that they be compelled to worship a god of government choice, nor did it appear that any of them realized that is exactly one of the doors being opened by Obamacare."

More commentary from Mr. Williams: "The very first legal challenge to Obamacare is likely to be brought on Constitutional grounds and incorporate Roe v. Wade [with its right to privacy argument] as precedent (along with the several supporting cases cited in the original Supreme Court ruling.) I eagerly await the howls of outrage that will arise when US Attorney General Eric Holder goes to court with the goal of overturning Roe v. Wade in order to defend placing the government between Americans and their doctors – the exact 'evil' prohibited by the sacred (to the Left) decision that took abortion from a gut-wrenching last resort to a casual method of birth control. Indeed, the 'right' to birth control itself may disappear. Griswold v. Connecticut established the right to birth control and was a precedent for Roe v. Wade."

News: Black Men In America

2009-11-20T18:00:00.000-06:00

Gallup: Obama’s Approval Rating Drops Below 50% For First Time

The latest Gallup Daily tracking results show 49% of Americans approving of the job Barack Obama is doing as president, putting him below the majority approval level for the first time in his presidency (hat tip: Politico). Of the post-World War II presidents, Obama now is the fourth fastest to drop below the majority approval level, doing so in his 10th month on the job. Gerald Ford dropped below 50% approval during his third month in office, and Bill Clinton did so in his fourth month. Ronald Reagan, like Obama, also dropped below 50% in his 10th month in office, though Reagan's drop occurred a few days sooner in that month (Nov. 13-16, 1981) than did Obama's (Nov. 17-19, 2009).

Black Males Hit Extra Hard By Unemployment

This "he-cession," as it's sometimes called, has hit African-American men especially hard, increasing their unemployment rate to more than 17 percent last month. Herman Brewer, the acting CEO of Chicago's Urban League, says plenty of men, regardless of race, have lost jobs during this recession. But he says black men continue to face many challenges that have traditionally led to their disproportionately high rates of unemployment. They include the decline of high-paying manufacturing jobs, high rates of incarceration, limited schooling and discrimination. So, Brewer says, the rise in unemployment is particularly tough on black men, "because many have had to overcome so much just to get where they were in a particular job."

Ethics Committee Admonishes Burris

The Senate Ethics Committee today closed its investigation into the controversial appointment of Roland Burris to fill the Illinois Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama but admonished the liberal Democrat for “inappropriate” and “less than candid” statements about the circumstances that led up to his selection by now-indicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. In a letter to Sen. Burris, the panel said that it was issuing a “qualified admonition” but did not find evidence that supported any “actionable violations of the law.”

For instance, the committee criticized Sen. Burris for not telling state legislators in sworn testimony about his desire to fundraise for Blagojevich when he was seeking the appointment to now-President Obama’s old Senate seat, saying “these omissions are particularly noteworthy given their context” of a governor being accused of trying to sell the Senate seat. The committee said that Mr. Burris’s November 13, 2008 phone call with Robert Blagojevich — the governor’s brother — in which he discussed possibly fundraising for the governor was “inappropriate” but “not rising to the level of an explicit quid pro quo.” Sen. Burris hailed the decision, saying it cleared him of any wrongdoing, just as a state’s attorney in Sangamon County, Ill., did earlier this year when he decided not to pursue perjury charges.

News: Africa

2009-11-20T17:40:00.005-06:00

East Africa Trade Bloc Approves Common Market Deal

Heads of state from the East African Community (EAC) trade bloc signed a common market protocol today that they hope will boost commerce between their five countries when it comes into effect in July 2010 (hat tip: Africa The Good News). Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi are confident that the deal allowing the free movement of goods, services, people and capital within the bloc will make their region easier to market to overseas investors.

Foreign direct investment inflows to the region leapt to US$1.73 billion in 2008 from $692 million in 2002. The bloc has an estimated population of 126.2 million and a gross domestic product of $60 billion in 2008. Trade among EAC member states has jumped 49 percent since the customs union started being implemented in 2005. The bloc aims to have a monetary union in 2012 and to eventually transform into a political federation.

Liberia: "The New War Is Rape"

Sexual violence consistently comes first or second (after armed robbery) in monthly police crime listings in the capital city of Monrovia. The majority of rape victims are children, according to treatment center statistics. Médecins Sans Frontières in Monrovia reports their youngest survivor at 21 months old. During Liberia's civil war, women and girls were subjected to rape (commonly gang rape) and sexual slavery, many becoming pregnant from rape. Since peace was sealed in 2003, sex crimes - and impunity - have persisted throughout the country.

At the MSF clinic, 80 percent of rape victims are girls under 18; just under half of those are aged 12 and under. In addition to a medical examination, survivors are given protection from sexually transmitted infection, means to block HIV infection and pregnancy if it is within 72 hours of the crime, a medical certificate that can be used in court and several rounds of counselling. Some nonprofits, including Catholic Relief Services, are trying to encourage families to openly discuss sexual violence and sexual health, and to educate children about "good" and "bad" touching.

South Africa: Farmers Responsible For Attacks On Zimbabwean Immigrants?

Farmers in De Doorns (located near Cape Town) have rejected allegations that they are paying Zimbabwean immigrants lower than the minimum wage and are therefore responsible for recent xenophobic attacks. Yesterday the Hex Table Grapes Association - which employs more than 15,000 farmworkers - rebuked Home Affairs Deputy Minister Malusi Gigaba for alleging that farmers' exploitation of the migrants - rather than xenophobia - was the cause of the violent attacks that have seen almost 3,000 Zimbabwean immigrants flee their homes.

Chairman De Villiers Graaff said Mr. Gigaba's claims were "dangerous" and said he was using farmers as "scapegoats". He said farmers in the area paid immigrants the R57 [US$7.50] daily minimum wage stipulated by law. Farmworkers claimed this week that the Zimbabweans were being paid R30 [US$3.95] a day. Women on Farms has said farmworkers had "valid concerns". The group said the foreign nationals were being exploited by their employers, with most working 12-hour days without valid contracts. They claim Zimbabweans are often hired before local farmworkers because many knew less about labor laws.

Bookeristas on Religion

2009-11-20T15:56:00.006-06:00

Personally, I don't see the big deal with the Psalms shirt. Psalms 109:8 states: "Let his days be few; and let another take his office." That's what people regularly wish for when their favored candidate loses. Now, had the shirt quoted 109:9 as well, then I could certainly see crying foul and demanding arrests: "Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow." Since it does not (unlike, say, these signs) this falls under acceptable speech and not treason. As for the Muslim call for a blasphemy ban...they are free to have such laws in their own countries, but they'll have to deal with other folks' free speech right to offend them outside Muslim countries' borders. Nor do I concur with Ms. Baker's "God is pro-life" meme. Otherwise, we wouldn't have had slavery or the genocides seen even today. Anyway, bookeristas weigh in:

Kenneth Durden: "Don't Use Scripture For Political Nonsense"

Asserts the libertarian-conservative blogger: "Apparently some depraved losers have decided to use scripture to express their contempt for President Obama. It's not cute. It's not funny. It's far from an appropriate understanding or use of the text. I don't agree with President Obama on almost anything, but I would never wish any harm to come to him or his family. No decent person, certainly no true Christian, would either. For all my criticisms of President Obama, House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid, I always say that the way we change things is through elections in 2010 and 2012. May no harm come to any of them."

Ripclawe: "Muslim Countries Seek Worldwide Blasphemy Ban"

The conservative Republican blogger in Florida writes about a international treaty proposal before the United Nations General Assembly: "10 years ago if this came up, I would be confident in saying the rest of the world that values free speech would tell them go screw. Now, I am thinking Canada, some European countries will say yes because they don't have the backbone to stand up for [W]estern values.

Mary Baker: "God Is Pro-Life"

Asserts the conservative blogger in Houston, Texas: "Surely I will require (D)your lifeblood; (E)from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man's brother I will require the life of man. Now if God would require this of man, what do you think He will require of a nation, who runs to embraces the governments sanction on rebellion. Our nation must repent, but more than that our churches must repent, because there was no church uprising against this atrocity and in fact many church leaders will tell you that we can not judge. This has nothing to do with judging. God has commanded and we are responsible to obey. Before I became a Christian, I had two abortions. During those times I was a staunch liberal who believed that I had a right to my own choices. Only the grace of God that provided me wisdom so that the eyes of my understanding would be enlightened changed my stance against this horrible act of rebellion."

She continues her commentary: "The belief that 'children are a gift from God', is not a catchy Hallmark greeting, it is Truth. Every time one conceives a child God is giving that person a gift. Yet many, even our current administration would feel that they would not want anyone to be 'punished', by having a child. So who is right God or President Obama? Is a child a gift, or punishment? If this blog post has tone of anger it is because I am angry. I am angry that we have allowed the government to regulate rebellion. Conservative Moms for America hopes to rebuild the America God gave to our founding fathers by challenging every person to evaluate they way they are living. America’s number one problem is immorality. Because our country was based on the providence of God immorality can not reside with a Holy God. God has been showing us in many ways that He has had enough and now we are seeing it first hand. America needs to return to the practice of electing principled and God-fearing leaders. It is obvious in every part of American life that our leaders have stopped fearing God. God is Pro-life and He will require at His judgment the life of all those who in rebellion destroyed innocent life. Think about it."

James Harris: "Their Foolish Hearts"

The conservative Republican radio host in Milwaukee, Wisc. writes about how climatologists are baffled by a global warming time-out: "'Global warming appears to have stalled. Climatologists are puzzled as to why average global temperatures have stopped rising over the last 10 years. Some attribute the trend to a lack of sunspots, while others explain it through ocean currents.' - SPIEGEL ONLINE In other words... WE DON'T KNOW! 'For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened...' Romans 1:21 So much for 'man made' global warming."

Hassan Nurullah: "The Fruit Is The Thing"

The conservative Republican blogger in Detroit, Mich., who grew up Muslim but converted to Christianity, opines: "It is patently silly for those who try to make a comparison between fundamental Islamists and fundamental Christians, that they are equally dangerous. The Bible does not say proselytize with the sword. There have been tens of thousands of terrorist attacks perpetrated by those who follow the Qur’an; just since 911. The people who make such inane statements, could not name you five cases of 'Christian terrorism' in the history of the world on the spot if pressed. Even if they could the Bible does not in anyway advocate terrorist actions. As Christians, when we see attacks like the Fort Hood terrorist action; or even 911, we should not hate the Muslim, we should pray for them if they still live. Christ made it clear in His Sermon on the Mount that if you hate brother, it is the same as murdering him."

He continues: "The Bible makes it plain that there is a time for war and a time for peace, a time to kill and a time to heal. But, there is never a time to murder. The Bible says be angry but sin not. We should seek justice - But not with the hatred that typifies our enemies as displayed in these videos. If you are seeking truth and a faith, I can think of no better criteria to judge by than these words: 'Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.' Matthew 7:16-18 Hatred always bears bitter fruit."

Health Care News

2009-11-20T15:30:00.006-06:00

USA: Guidelines Push Back Age For Pap Smears

New guidelines for cervical cancer screening say women should delay their first Pap test until age 21, and be screened less often than recommended in the past (hat tip: G Enggas). The advice, from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, is meant to decrease unnecessary testing and potentially harmful treatment, particularly in teenagers and young women. The group’s previous guidelines had recommended yearly testing for young women, starting within three years of their first sexual intercourse, but no later than age 21.

There are 11,270 new cases of cervical cancer and 4,070 deaths per year in the United States. One to 2 cases occur per 1,000,000 girls ages 15 to 19 — a low incidence that convinces many doctors that it is safe to wait until 21 to screen. The doctors’ group felt it was safe to test women less often because cervical cancer grows slowly, so there is time to catch precancerous growths. Cervical cancer is caused by a sexually transmitted virus, human papillomavirus, or HPV, that is practically ubiquitous. Only some people who are exposed to it develop cancer; in most, the immune system fights off the virus. If cancer does develop, it can take 10 to 20 years after exposure to the virus. The new guidelines say women 30 and older who have three consecutive Pap tests that were normal, and who have no history of seriously abnormal findings, can stretch the interval between screenings to three years. In addition, women who have a total hysterectomy (which removes the uterus and cervix) for a non-cancerous condition, and who had no severe abnormalities on previous Pap tests, can quit having the tests entirely. The guidelines also say that women can stop having Pap tests between 65 and 70 if they have three or more negative tests in a row and no abnormal test results in the last 10 years.

The changes do not apply to women with certain health problems that could make them more prone to aggressive cervical cancer, including H.I.V. infection or having an organ transplant or other condition that would lead to a suppressed immune system.

Africa: Growing Use Of Cell Phones For Family Planning

The growth of cellphone use, particularly in the developing world, is providing health experts with a new channel of communication to provide family planning information. One World's Mobile4Good in Kenya uses cellphone technology to inform subscribers about opportunities for free exams or treatment, and also provides a question-and-answer service that allows individuals to ask sensitive health questions. In South Africa and Botswana, cellular technology is being used to remind people needing to take medicines at regular intervals.

Jamaica Corker of Population Services International said a project in the Democratic Republic of Congo where mobile users call a toll-free line to request family planning information and referrals to the nearest clinic or pharmacy has shown the power of mobile technology. Aside from providing family planning information, mobile phones are being used as patient monitoring devices. Mobile phones are also used to collect community and clinical health data, for sending information to health workers, researchers and patients, and to monitor patients' vital signs.

USA: Senate Health Care Bill Creates New Marriage Penalty

Senate Democrats' health care bill would create a new marriage penalty by imposing a tax on individuals who make $200,000 annually but hitting married couples making just $50,000 more (hat tip: Black & Right). That's one of 17 new taxes imposed by the bill, which also creates a levy on elective plastic surgery - some call it "botax" - and places a 40 percent excise tax on those who have generous health care plans. The new taxes would fund an expansion of government programs and to fund subsidies for lower-income individuals to buy insurance, extending health care coverage to 94% of non-elderly Americans.

Democrats said the bill will offer lower health care costs for small businesses and families, and said the new taxes are aimed at upper-income earners. They said that makes good on President Obama's campaign pledge not to increase taxes on families making less than $250,000 a year, which explains the reason for the new marriage penalty. Ryan Ellis, tax policy director at Americans for Tax Reform, said the new marriage penalty comes on top of an existing one that's always been part of the payroll tax, which funds Social Security and Medicare.

Obama & Foreign Policy: Bookerista Perspectives

2009-11-20T15:09:00.009-06:00

Kevin Jackson: "Obama's Foreign Policy"

The conservative Republican blogger in St. Louis, Mo. argues the U.S. president is incompetent and ineffective: "Obama talked tough with Israel on building settlements, and Israel rightfully thumbed flipped him off and…built new settlements! The Iranians were so afraid of Obama’s tough talk that they exposed their previous super-secret nuclear facility, daring Obama to do something, which he promptly did. Obama used his most potent weapon…empty words! Obama’s most recent visit to China is even being seen by [l]iberals as little more than a vacation. Is anybody beginning to believe that Obama sees the presidency as a way to see the world for free, without enlisting in the military? Obama is gallivanting in China, and has yet to make a decision on Afghanistan."

More commentary from Mr. Jackson: "Obama’s foreign policy mistake is in believing that people in other countries will continue to fall for his rhetoric. The rest of the world has long been over any hypnotic trance that the election of a so-called black president created, as well as his incessant diarrhea of the mouth. They are seeing Obama for what he is, 'big hat, no cattle.' And despite what the world may think of America, a weak American economy affects them all…negatively. The world is finally realizing that the destruction of America is more than teaching Americans a lesson. So goes America, so goes the rest of the world, only faster. Who else will be there to bail them out, or pay the freight for most of them. Who will be their peacekeepers, their bankers, their largest trading partner? This time in America requires real leadership, and not somebody who can’t choose good leaders to [sic] with whom to surround himself, and who cannot even learn on the job?"

Ron Bolling: "Jedi Warriors & Military Strategist"

The conservative blogger in Atlanta, Ga. opines: "B-Rock Obama has rejected seven, count them, seven proposals on success in Afghanistan. He has decided that he is the best Jedi Warrior in the solar system and that he knows best on how to win this conflict. I thought that he hand picked [sic] General Stanley McChrystal as his guy to run the Afghanistan theater of war on 'man-made-disasters.' Yet this General still waits while American servicemen bleed and wait for support and assistance to finish their mission. General McChrystal had to go ro[gu]e to get his request ultimately heard. B-Rock thought more of the Olympic quests of the city of Chicago than the men and women of America's fighting forces to hear the General out. But that may be that B-Rock is the head Jedi and lives like a Ni[n]ja and knows what all great warriors know."

More: "To compound this the Attorney 'General', Eric Holder thinks that trying enemy combatants in civilian courts is how we deal with those that are at war with this country. I cannot believe that Holder ever tried a case when he was not prepared for Senator Lindsey Graham's questions about this endeavor. Yet the Obama administration thinks that trying terrorist[s] in civilian court is the answer to our problems."

News: Movement Conservatism

2009-11-20T14:30:00.000-06:00

Glenn Beck To Announce 'Big Plan' In 2010

Glenn Beck, the controversial libertarian-conservative Fox News television host, will become more active in the U.S. populist conservative movement he spawned. At a rally tomorrow in Central Florida, Mr. Beck will unveil a “big plan” for 2010, which is expected to involve the 9.12 Project, the group he started earlier this year and named for the day after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when he says the nation was unified. Tomorrow's rally is timed to coincide with the kickoff of a tour promoting his new book, Arguing With Idiots.

After Mr. Beck unveiled his 9.12 Project, dozens, if not hundreds, of local 9/12 groups sprung up across the country and some have merged in purpose and tactics with the tea party movement of conservatives that exploded onto the scene this summer. Though the local 9/12 groups look to Mr. Beck as their de facto leader, they maintain no formal ties to his 9.12 Project. The 9.12 Project is co-sponsoring a march on Washington, D.C. on Sept. 11, 2010, partly to protest the policies of President Barack Obama and Congress.

Tea Partiers Turn On Each Other

Hat tip to reader Nanakwame for this one. After emerging out of nowhere over the summer as a seemingly potent and growing political force, the U.S. tea party movement has become embroiled in internal feuding over philosophy, strategy and money and is at risk of losing its momentum. The grass-roots activists driving the movement have become increasingly divided on questions as whether to focus their efforts on shaping policy debates or elections, work on a local, regional, state or national level or closely align themselves with the Republican Party.

“These groups don’t play as well together as they should,” said Kevin Jackson, a St. Louis-based black conservative author and activist who has spoken at dozens of tea party-type rallies and is traveling across the South with a convoy sponsored by the national Tea Party Patriots group. “They’re fractured at the organization level, I think mainly because there are a lot of people who have not had managerial experience who all of a sudden are thrust into the limelight and become intoxicated with it. And when a potential rift comes up, instead of handling it and maybe agreeing to disagree, they splinter and go off on their own.”

The movement is composed of hundreds of independent local groups, many of which are incorporated as nonprofits and have localized names referencing the tea parties, 9/12 or We the People. While some tout a planned National Tea Party Convention in February (at which former Alaska governor Sarah Palin is listed as the keynote speaker) as a potentially unifying moment and others point to online coordination efforts, there is deep disagreement about what any national organization would look like and who would lead it. FreedomWorks, Americans for Prosperity, Grassfire, Americans for Limited Government and a host of other groups have helped organize various efforts capitalizing on the energy behind the tea parties, including providing training, online war rooms that help generate phone calls and ready-to-distribute canvassing literature. But the groups have also jockeyed — mostly behind the scenes — to take credit for leadership of the movement, which — depending on who’s doing the telling — took its name either as an homage to the 1773 Boston tax revolt that played a major role in sparking the American Revolution or from an acronym standing for “taxed enough already.”

Bookeristas In The News

2009-11-20T14:08:00.005-06:00

USA: Jackson Backs Off Criticism Of Davis

Rev. Jesse Jackson backed off his criticism of Rep. Artur Davis last night, issuing a statement saying he has "abiding admiration" of the moderate Alabama Democrat. "I talked to Congressman Artur Davis today to assure him of my abiding admiration of him as a leader who is engaged in a huge challenge," the liberal Democratic activist said. "I offer no challenge to his integrity as a leader. Representatives should all vote their conscience in the interest of their constituency."

Mr. Jackson criticized Rep. Davis on Wednesday night for voting against the healthcare overhaul legislation sought by President Barack Obama. Rep. Davis was the only member of the Congressional Black Caucus to vote against the bill. “We even have blacks voting against the healthcare bill from Alabama," Rev. Jackson said at a CBC reception in his honor. "You can’t vote against healthcare and call yourself a black man.”

Rev. Jackson did not refer to the comments in his statement, nor did he state an apology. But he struck a markedly different tone than Wednesday night, and even appeared to back Rep. Davis's campaign to be the first African-American governor of Alabama. "The historical Davis journey as a change agent continues and his latest quest deserves the support of the caring," Mr. Jackson said in the statement. But he did reiterate the need for changes in healthcare, saying they are most needed by "the black and the poor."

Tanzania/Britain: Dambisa Moyo: "Community Banking Helps The Excluded Poor"

Sitting, sun-dappled, under a canopy of trees, members of Vicoba - the Village Community Bank - in Tanzania are holding their weekly meeting "Pasha, Pasha, Boresha!" they cry, rubbing their hands and giving an enthusiastic clap as each member stands and hands over money. This bank is run by villagers who were trained in saving methods, credit group responsibility and business planning by the Swedish organization Orgut. It has 28 members, aged between 22 and 86. They pay in at least 50 shillings (US 4 cents) a week and after 16 weeks can apply for a loan of three times their contribution. Loans for health or education are interest-free; otherwise, interest is charged at 10%.

John Modaha has benefited from a similar scheme. Having borrowed 100,000 TZS (US$75) he bought beans from farmers and sold them to townspeople, making a profit of 60,000 TZS (US$45). This helped him expand his farming business. "My life has changed since the loan," he said. "My family are better off. It is good."

In 2006, a survey revealed that over half the population of Tanzania had no access to any kind of financial service and less than one tenth had a bank account. For poor rural communities, micro-finance is the way forward. Dambisa Moyo, the Zambian-born conservative economist, is enthusiastic. 'The important point," she writes, "is that the previously unbankable and excluded poor are now part of a functioning financial dynamic. With this comes a culture of borrowing and repayment crucial for financial development in a successful economy."

Britain: 'Black Farmer' Tells His Story At Kingston Maurward College

More than 200 students received an inspirational talk by the award-winning director and entrepreneur Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones. He shared his life story with students at Kingston Maurward, charting his journey to award-winning entrepreneur, farmer, founder of "The Black Farmer" food range and a former BBC producer.

The Conservative Party parliamentary candidate for Chippenham said he is passionate about vocational education following his own experiences of leaving school without qualifications. He said: “I was also dyslexic and the traditional education system failed me. That’s why I’m calling for more support for colleges such as Kingston Maurward because agricultural education is so important. The most crucial thing for success is to have the courage to dream. You also need to have focus and the right attitude.”

Students representing animal conservation and welfare, agriculture and land-based studies packed into the college’s indoor arena to hear the talk. Mark Hymas, animal care lecturer who organized the visit, said: “He is a fantastic role model for our students and shows them anything is possible if you put your mind to it.”

Dad Executes Son For Molesting Toddler

2009-11-20T13:30:00.005-06:00

Responding to Booker Rising's post about a U.S. father who killed his son for molesting his half-sister, libertarian-conservative blogger Kenneth Durden writes: "This story is disturbing on so many levels. It goes without saying that the father was completely out of control. As much as I feel child molesters should face the ultimate punishment, a father doing this is too extreme to fathom. Perhaps the father had some similar issue in the past with this child. Still he should have turned the boy in to authorities. I was also disturbed by the excuse makers who say there's no way the teen would have done such a thing. I get so tired of that crap. There's always someone who comes along to make excuses for bad behavior, and this is why chaos reigns in urban neighborhoods. The boy was accused by his MOTHER, not some random stranger. Certainly she would have confessed to lying before her son was killed before her eyes."

More commentary from Mr. Durden: "SIDE ISSUE: As far as the death penalty, I'm in the midst of reconsidering my perspective on the issue. If the government would stop letting people out of jail, I would go for a lifetime of solitary confinement without any human contact. No doubt insane liberal groups like the ACLU would even fight that type of confinement as cruel and unusual. So, for now, speed up the executions."

Lorraine Spencer, conservative in Indianapolis, Ind., writes on Facebook: "An unbelievably horrible tragedy. I am all for prosecuting and even excecuting child molesters. But first they have to be proven and found guilty. No, this is not something you sweep under the rug, but you let the authorities do a proper investigation and ALL that it entails. Then you let the law handle it. I do understand the father's rage, but he went about it the wrong way. I have often said what I would do if it was my child and we don't know really unless actually confronted but I just can't condone what this man did in the manner that he did it. So cruel and so inhumane."

Race-Baiting Leaders: Bookerista Perspectives

2009-11-20T12:57:00.009-06:00

Javier David: "Jesse Jackson's Race-Baiting Is Doing The President No Favor"

The conservative writer in New York City, USA opines about Rev. Jackson's attack on Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.) for voting against government-run health care, stating against the moderate Democrat: "You can't vote against health care and call yourself a black man": "With those impolitic remarks, Rev. Jackson set a new low in the already controversial debate over President Obama's signature domestic initiative. Because some of the president's most ardent defenders continue to conflate legitimate opposition to his policies - as well as animated grassroots activism such as the Tea Party movement - with racism, it's not a leap of logic to view Rev. Jackson's comments as an extension of a very cynical ploy to use race to intimidate President Obama's critics. It is also consistent with a disturbing pattern of black public figures attacking other blacks who express reservations about President Obama's agenda, or even slightly agree with his critics."

Mr. David argues that the Left's obsession with race delays racial reconciliation: "The behavior exhibited by Rev Jackson - and those like [Warren] Ballentine [against moderate-liberal commentator Juan Williams] - is consistent with the relentlessly hostile treatment, which black liberals normally reserve for black conservatives. Since President Obama's ascendance, anything less than complete fealty to the president is perceived as traitorous to the black community. Rev. Jackson's remarks not only have a chilling effect on public discourse, they also undermine the concept of African-American political maturity, one that doesn't require all blacks to think and vote monolithically. Alas, race-baiting is proving a stubborn beast to slay, despite the initial promise of racial comity when the president was inaugurated last January. Little wonder that a recent Gallup poll showed only marginal movement in America's attitudes toward race relations after a spurt higher in the wake of President Obama's historic election."

Justice Malala: "Blackened By Fire"

The South African center-right journalist opines: "I am launching a new black consciousness movement for black managers. Call me the New Management Steve Biko. Or New Man Steve for short. Because we black managers are tired, just plain tired, okay, of being misrepresented by [African National Congress Youth League president] Julius Malema. The aim of the new movement is to fight for the right of black business leaders to be fired for failure to increase profits, just like any leader of a company, and not have our colour come into it. Let the world know: we too can be incompetent. In Malema's world, no matter how gross our transgressions, we are fired because we are black. Otherwise we are perfect. When the Eskom board tried to kick out on-off CEO Jacob Maroga, Malema donned his blue light and was first on the scene. He fingered the white miner, Bobby Godsell. 'He hated Maroga for nothing. He hates Maroga because Maroga is black, that is the only thing,' said Malema. 'This is not a banana republic where a white chairperson of a board can wake up and harass people, as they used to do in the past.' Hawu batho! What if Maroga was asked to step down because he forgot to make sure there was enough coal to fire the power stations? It is an insult to the man to say he was fired because he is black."

More: "Oh, and then along comes Armscor CEO Sipho Thomo. While Maroga was allegedly being fired for being a black manager, Armscor board chair Popo Molefe told parliament's portfolio committee on defence that he had asked Thomo to quit. He said Armscor had come to the conclusion that Thomo was 'taking all of us down' and that the state arms procurement utility's woes could be resolved only if he left. 'We have asked him to resign,' Molefe said. No statement, flashing blue lights or toyi-toying from the venerable ANC Youth League leader. Only blacks can say other blacks are 'taking all of us down'."

Deneen Borelli: "Jackson Is Acting Like A Slaveowner"

That's what Ms. Borelli, a Republican fellow for black conservative group Project 21, asserts in a news release emailed to Booker Rising about Rev. Jackson's comments against Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.): "Shame on Jesse Jackson for using the race card in an attempt to influence the views of another black politician. Ironically, Jackson is acting like a slaveowner trying to keep blacks on his ideological plantation, where they are required to support government programs that increase public dependency on a bureaucracy. In Jackson's world, it appears a black man cannot have independent thought. They must follow Jackson blindly or face lashes from his tongue."

Kevin Martin: "Welcome To The Club, Davis"

The conservative Republican and Project 21 member states in a news release emailed to Booker Rising: "What makes Jesse Jackson an authority on being black in America more than anyone else? Why is he able to determine how we must think? It's no mystery why Jackson consistently failed to win broad appeal for his goals and must instead resort to ugly racial politics. Blacks who have sought to exercise their free will are well aware of the disdain, disrespect and derision that comes with straying from the liberal plantation. Welcome to the club, Congressman Davis."

Afrocity: "Your Race Card Has Been Declined"

The moderate-conservative Republican blogger in Chicago, Ill., on Rev. Jackson: "Now you know what Afrocity would say: Country before race, gender or party!!! What gives Rev. Jesse Jackson the right to say who is and isn’t black? Look Jesse…Thank you for your contributions to African American history but you of all people, the man who stood by Martin Luther King Jr.’s side as he was assassinated should know that no man worth his salt will be intimated by the hateful words and deeds of others. I suppose you voted for Obama while secretly wanting to cut off his nuts because ….he was black? Jesse are you OK? Are we talking about the same man who fought for the civil rights of others? Now you have the audacity to take away someone’s 'black card' (As if there should even be such an idiotic thing) because they voted against the health care bill? Who died and made you the melanin fairy?"

More commentary from Afrocity: "At precisely the point where we are in a so called 'post racial America', the weak Uncle Tom vs. the symbolic black Patriarchal Mandingo leadership meme once again attempts to strip power and virility from any person of color that dares to cut the cord with Democrats. Sounds like a plantation to me."

News: Ghanaian Bookeristas

2009-11-20T12:29:00.003-06:00

Danquah Institute: "Ghana’s Economy Shrunk By US$2 Billion In 2009"

Danquah Institute has revealed that Ghana’s economy shrunk by nearly US$2 billion this year. The first time this has happened in U.S. dollar terms since 2000. According to Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, head of the Accra-based liberal-conservative think tank, “for nearly a decade, Ghana’s economy witnessed significant consistent nominal growth in both cedi and dollar terms. What we are witnessing this year is a worrying departure from that trend to a reversal of the situation that prevailed before 2001. It makes it difficult to fully appreciate whether indeed our economy actually grew last year or shrunk, as it is shown in dollar terms, even though the economy might have grown in real terms by 4.7% (per GSS figure) or 6.3% as targeted by Government.”

The think tank is worried that the Ghanaian government is continuing to play politics on petroleum by saying it is reviewing the impact of the 5% reduction it made on petroleum levies last year. “There can no clearer indication of impact than the fact that revenue from petroleum taxes are already 32.3% lower this year than the September target of Gh¢320 million [US$223.8 million],” Mr. Otchere-Darko said.

Michael Ampong: “Re-Branding NPP Is Crucial For Victory”

Michael Ampong, a known youth activist of the opposition center-right New Patriotic Party has stated that before the party can win the 2012 elections, it is important for the leadership, particularly the national executives that will be elected into office, to re-brand the party. Party leaders must repackage its activities to face the ruling center-left National Democratic Congress (which won by less than 1% of the vote in the 2008 presidential election) in the 2012 elections. "Our chances depend on how we package the party," he said.

According to Mr. Ampong, the perception that the NPP is an elitist, Ashanti-based and unrewarding party must be addressed adequately by the new leadership, as part of the re-branding exercise to deal with the perception that their opponents have succeeded in creating in the minds of many Ghanaians. He also called for mass grassroots mobilization to wrestle power from the ruling government.

Mr. Ampong, who is contesting for the National Youth Organizer position of the party, argues that the party has many young talents who haven't been properly utilized to increase the party's profile. "We must embark on talent hunt," Mr. Ampong reiterated.

Does Rudy Giuliani Have A Political Future? Bookerista Views

2009-11-20T11:48:00.003-06:00

The New York Daily News is reporting that there is a good chance that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani may seek Hillary Clinton’s old U.S. Senate seat in 2010 now that the moderate-conservative Republican has decided against running for New York’s Governor. Bookeristas in New York and neighboring New Jersey weigh in:

Robert A. George: "Rudy's End"

The moderate-conservative Republican blogger in New York City opines: "Any slight chance that New York might get a Republican governor next year basically ended with Rudy Giuliani's apparent decision not to run for the office in 2010. There's still some discussion in Hizzoner's camp that he might run for senate against incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand. It's not likely that Giuliani would win a race against Gillibrand. He demonstrated back in 2000 that his heart isn't really in a [S]enate race. Besides, the idea floated -- that he would run against Gillibrand and, if successful, would look at a presidential run in 2012 -- is a perfect way to sabotage the Senate run!! Why would anyone vote for Giuliani knowing that he would turn around in two years and run for president? Given how presidential campaigns are organized, the race would begin in 2011 -- right after a 'Sen. Giuliani' had just been sworn in. Sorry, there's no way that New York voters would elect someone into office under those circumstances."

More: "It's safe to say that Rudy's political career is over. There's nothing wrong with admitting that. He had his major moment in New York city politics -- and it was a remarkably successful one. Arguably, that impact is still being felt, considering Mike Bloomberg would never have become mayor were it not for Giuliani (and the after-effect of 9/11). It's fine for Rudy to settle into an elder statesman role in Empire State politics."

Clifton B.: "Senator Giuliani?"

The conservative blogger in New Jersey opines: "In a match up [sic] with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Rudy comes out on top by a whopping 14 points with about a third of Democrats saying they would vote for him. I don’t know about this. Rudy is a RINO [Republican In Name Only] and the winds are changing against them. However in a very blue state like New York that may not make a difference. I wanted to vote for Rudy in the ’08 primaries, he was my second choice behind Fred Thompson. While Rudy was a RINO then too, I know he is a fiscal conservative and a strong chief executive. I lived in NYC during his days as mayor and the turn around was stunning."

He continues: "Today, I am not so sure I could support him. America is going to be on the brink in 2010. Can we afford to take a chance? What if he abandons his fiscal conservatism at the worst possible time? If this was still ’08 and the Dems had not brought America to the brink of disaster I would feel very comfortable taking the chance, today not so much. The big question is will most New York conservatives feel the same way I do next year? Time will tell."

Open Thread Friday

2009-11-20T11:45:00.003-06:00

Mi thread casa es su thread casa. What's on your mind?

11/19 News: Women In Entertainment

2009-11-19T22:35:00.007-06:00

USA: Winfrey To Leave Talk Show In 2011

After more than 20 years at the top of the daytime talk show game, Oprah Winfrey is calling it quits (hat tip: Drudge Report). Tim Bennett, president of Winfrey's Harpo production house, said Ms. Winfrey will confirm the news on tomorrow's edition of her show. "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will not move on to the cable Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).

Since "Oprah's" 1986 inception, Ms. Winfrey has grown to be far more than a shoulder to cry on for scandal-scarred stars. Her billion-dollar empire -- which includes films, books, magazines and Web sites, in addition to her TV show -- influences people the world over.

Egypt: Lebanese Diva Accused Of Singing Racist Song

Hat tip to reader Dragon Horse for this one. A famous Lebanese pop singer, who normally stirs controversy for her seductive dresses, provocative dancing, and praise for Hezbollah, has now been accused of singing a song with racist lyrics that compares black Egyptians to monkeys. Haifa Wehbe has the minority Nubian community in Egypt distraught over her latest children's album "Baby Haifa" and the community's activists have launched several lawsuits over the lyrics. The Nubians took issue with a verse in the song "Where is Daddy?", in which Wehbe croons: "Where is my teddy bear and my Nubian monkey?"

Nubians come from the southernmost region of present-day Egypt, where a culture later known as Nubian first arose around 3,800 B.C. along the Nile and in northern Sudan. It was one of Africa's earliest black civilizations, complete with an independent kingdom.

Motez Isaaq's group, Committee for Nubian Issues, has held protests, and is also suing Egypt's culture minister and the country's state censorship board for allowing Wehbe's latest album to be on the Egyptian market. The Nubians want a formal apology and an end to airing the song in Egypt, Mr. Isaaq said, expressing also hope that the action would change the way other Egyptians treat their Nubian fellow countrymen. "Egyptians have to stop treating us as second class citizens," he said. "We are the original Egyptians and the country needs to remember it."

USA/South Africa: Jennifer Hudson Set To Play Winnie Mandela

Jennifer Hudson is set to star in a drama that casts her as the former wife of South Africa’s first black president, Nelson Mandela. "Winnie," based on the Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob biography Winnie Mandela: A Life, begins shooting May 30 in the South African locations of Johannesburg, Capt Town, Transkei and Robben Island, where the future president spent 18 of his 27 years in prison. The film will be directed by Darrell J. Roodt, the veteran South African filmmaker whose 2006 movie “Yesterday” was Africa’s Best Foreign Film nominee, and who also directed “Cry, The Beloved Country,” and “Sarafina!”

Winnie Mandela has been depicted as the mother and wife who was a steadfast supporter of her activist husband and who was jailed herself for campaigning for his release and fighting against apartheid. Her image subsequently took a hit when she was associated with a bodyguard who murdered a 14-year old alleged informer, and she was later convicted of fraud. Ms. Hudson is also expected to sing the film’s theme song.

Combating Jihadism: Moderate Vs. Conservative Perspectives

2009-11-19T21:51:00.003-06:00

Dennis Sanders: "The Case For Trying 9/11 Terrorist In New York"

The moderate Republican blogger in Minnesota opines: "There has been a lot of talk about how a trial could result in [Khalid Sheikh Mohammed] walking free. Senator Chuck Grassley, a politician that [I] respect, has nonetheless come out with one of the most asinine statements, likening the upcoming trial to the OJ Simpson trial. Please. The judicial system has tried terrorists before and did a good job of it. The thugs that plotted the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center were given a trial before a judge and were put away for a long time. As for this being a place where KSM could start ranting and raving….well, as frustrating as that can be, I think the American judicial system can handle a crazy man spouting inanities. As for the risk of a terror attack in New York? Well, we could not try KSM and NYC would still have a target. The recent arrest of plotters in different parts of the country proves that there are people plotting to do harm regardless. Just because we don’t try KSM in New York doesn’t mean that the city is now safe. Yes, going this route has its weaknesses, but it is the system of justice that we have. And it also shows something to KSM and other terrorists. Even though they treated us with no respect by their wanton killing, we will not respond in kind and stoop to their low level. We are their superiors and they will be brought low and get the justice they deserve."

Kevin Martin: "How Political Correctness Kills"

The conservative Republican member of Project 21, a black conservative group, opines that it's time to profile Muslims: "Nidal Malik Hasan faces murder charges in the shooting deaths of 12 soldiers and one civilian at Fort Hood. His co-conspirator, 'political correctness,' remains at large. While political correctness runs amok, no one is safe. In Hasan’s case, political correctness protected his extremism and apparently allowed it to fester until it exploded with deadly consequences. Why? Apparently no one wanted to be considered a bigot. To act against Hasan would open up allegations that one was anti-Arab or anti-Muslim. Hasan’s embrace of radical Islam - including advocacy of violent jihad and trying to contact al Qaeda terrorists - was known to fellow soldiers, people at his mosque and even our government’s intelligence community. Lt. Colonel Val Finnell, Hasan’s classmate at the Uniformed Services University, told Fox News: 'They should’ve confronted him - our professors, officers - but they were too concerned about being politically correct.' Rather than confronting Hasan’s radicalism, his superiors passed the buck. Walter Reed Army Medical Center sent him to Fort Hood. Fort Hood tried sending him overseas, but that set him off."

Mr. Martin continues his commentary about profiling: "John Allen Muhammad was recently executed in Virginia for his part in the 10 'D.C. sniper' murders of 2002. He was discovered sleeping in his car in Baltimore by police early in his killing spree, but it is likely concern about charges of racial profiling may have led police not probing further at the time and allowing him to simply drive away. After authorities stopped obsessing about a white van and a presumably white suspect did police once again find the black Muhammad and black accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo sleeping in the same car and brought them to justice."

He adds: "Even 9/11 attacks could be blamed in part on political correctness. How many of the hijackers who overstayed their visas did so with impunity because someone was worried about racial profiling? Indeed, what would Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-CA) - who thinks the Bush Administration knew the hijackers’ plans but did nothing - do if former Attorney General John Ashcroft had ordered federal agents to storm airliners throughout the nation that morning detaining Arabs at will? Might there have been a call for his head for racial profiling? As we salute and bury our dead, it is time for Americans to wake up and understand that our enemies are not allowing political correctness to get in the way of their mission of inflicting as much damage to our way of life as they can. So it shouldn’t be a distraction to us either."

News: Wall Street & Congressional Politics

2009-11-19T21:00:00.005-06:00

Black Caucus Blocks Wall Street Vote

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus threatened to oppose a key financial regulatory reform bill today over unrelated economic concerns, forcing Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) to yank his bill before a final committee vote. The move is being interpreted as the CBC sending a message to the Obama administration that they need to be more aggressive in supporting government measures to help black communities.

The effort is being led by Rep. Maxine Waters, the most senior CBC member on the Financial Services Committee, and the move was the product of numerous meetings, said a source familiar with the talks. The anonymous source said the decision to put the breaks on the committee vote is based on a substantive critique of the Obama administration on regulatory reform and financial issues that pertain to African Americans.

Pelosi: "Wall Street Tax Must Be International"

Any tax imposed on financial transactions would have to take effect internationally to keep Wall Street jobs and related business from moving overseas, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said today (hat tip: Drudge Report). Several House Democrats have proposed a Wall Street tax to pay for jobs legislation they plan to pass in December. The tax, which could raise $150 billion per year, would tap into widespread public outrage at Wall Street in the wake of the financial crisis. However, support is tepid among key legislators, especially those from the New York region who worry that finance jobs could disappear if the tax drives trading activity overseas.

Britain urged other governments earlier this month to consider a bank tax as a way to fund future bailouts, and France and Germany have also called for a bank tax. The International Monetary Fund is studying the idea. However, it has little support in the Obama administration. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said today that he has "not seen a version of that tax that I think would be appropriate for our country."