JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA - IDIOT IN A ROBE

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA - IDIOT IN A ROBE

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Symbols play a very important role in our society, because uniforms, badges, robes and such help us to identify the various roles that people play to hold our society together. That's why it is so important that people who are given symbols of authority represent those symbols well, and it's also important for the public to always remain aware of the psychological impact that symbols have on our psyche. 
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We've become so accustomed to responding to symbolism that we tend to often respond to the symbol alone, and that's not always a good thing, because when a flawed individual lacks the character, demeanor, or intellect to live up to what he or she is suppose to represent, we often fail to recognize those flaws. So far too often we have severely flawed people hiding behind respected symbols of authority. That doesn't serve society well, and that seems to be exactly the case with respect to United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.  

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During oral arguments in the Fisher v. University of Texas case before the United States Supreme Court, Justice Antonin Scalia said, "There are those who contend that it does not benefit African Americans to get into the University of Texas where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a slower-track school, where they do well." Scalia went on to say, "Most of the black scientists in this country don't come from schools like the University of Texas. They come from lesser schools where they do not feel they're being pushed in classes that are too fast for them."  
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In response to that thoughtless, unwarranted, and presumptuous comment, it should be pointed out to the "Honorable" Justice Scalia that Barack Obama went to Harvard and he didn't seem to have any problem keeping up at all, and he doesn't seem to have any problem keeping up with the White establishment today - in fact, just the reverse seems to be the case. 

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It should also be pointed out to Scalia that life itself is an affirmative action program for White people, so why shouldn't colleges, universities and other institutions be allowed to level the playing field? And as for being able to keep up, African Americans are forced to compete against White folks after spotting them 50 yards and having to run in lead boots all of their lives, so what makes Scalia assume that these Black students may not be able to keep up?  With all of the advantages that White people are given in this country, just the fact that the relatively dimwitted (by Black standards) Clarence Thomas is sitting next to him strongly suggests that Thomas is, at the very least, as smart as Scalia, and quite probably, much smarter. One indicator of that is at least Thomas has the good sense to keep his mouth shut on the bench. 

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Scalia's heinous propensity to continually self-promote, grandstand, and play to his conservative audience from the bench is absolutely outrageous in what is suppose to be an august, contemplative, and deliberate body. It betrays an underlying ignorance and immature need to give himself priority over the solemn deliberations in which the court is suppose to be engaged. Justice Scalia has single-handedly made the United States Supreme Court a joke.  Instead of wearing a black robe Scalia should be wearing a court jester's costume ( "Wait a minute, folks. If you liked that one, here's one you'll really like!"). He's, literally, a conservative clown (Low IQ And Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice).

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Here's a fact reported by ThinkProgress.com that obviously slipped passed Scalia's presumptuous radar:

Black Women Are Breaking Barriers But Still Not Getting Compensated For It

"After they leave high school, black women have begun to dominate college. 'Though all women lead their male counterparts in college enrollment and degree attainment,' the report says, “Black women do so at higher rates than any other group of women in America.' In 2010, they were 66 percent of all blacks who finished a Bachelor’s Degree, 71 percent with a Master’s, and 65 percent with a Doctorate.

"And they keep excelling after they graduate. 'As they have from the beginning of their experience in America, Black women lead all women in labor force participation rates,' according to the report. Their labor force participation rate is higher than all other women, and that continues to be true even after they become mothers. They are also very entrepreneurial, starting businesses at six times the national average and representing the fastest growing segment of women-owned businesses. Black women own more than 1 million firms, employ 272,000 people other than themselves, and generate an estimated $44.9 billion in revenue." (http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/04/03/3422550/black-women-education-work/). 

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What presumptuous White conservatives fail to recognize is that Black people are generally much smarter than they reveal.  Hiding our intelligence has become a cultural trait that the Black community is going to have to address, but there are several factors that contribute to that cultural inclination. One, is survival - there's no faster way to lose a job than letting your White boss find out that you're smarter than he is.
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When I was a kid, one of the first things my grandfather taught me was to "Never let others know what you know, because then they know everything you know, plus what they already knew, and that will make them more knowledgeable than you."  What he was actually trying to relate to me in his own fashion was, in order to survive in a racist environment you have to let the White man think he's smarter than you are.  He needs that, so give it to him, and then use it to manipulate him in order to get by.  That explains the demeanor of many Black people like Clarence Thomas.
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Jack Benny and Rochester once did a skit where Rochester is carrying a long plank on his shoulder and Jack Benny is behind him and on his right. Then Jack said, "Turn left," but Rochester turned right instead. Jack then said, "I said left, you idiot!" With that, Rochester did a hard left and knocked Jack out with the back of the plank. That's how Black people routinely deal with White racists - by playing dumb and out-thinking them. 

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NOBEL PRIZE WINNER AND FORMER
OBAMA CRITIC

And consider this - if  all of America had followed the good sense of the Black community in refusing to vote for Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush in droves, this nation wouldn't be in the dire shape that it's in today. And in spite of how horribly Black people have been treated in this country, isn't it completely ironic that it took a Black man, Barack Hussein Obama, to save this nation from the disastrous consequences of their misguided, and yes, idiotic policies?  In addition, if the White conservative establishment hadn't been childishly obstructing President Obama at every turn, this nation would be thriving like it never has before at this very moment.

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So what about Black men?  Why aren't they moving forward like Black women?  The answer is simple. Many of us (but far from all) are being crippled by our macho mentality and our tendency to hide our intellect due to the experiences of slavery and the very same kind of anti-intellectualism that's sweeping the the entire nation.

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Another reason that Black men tend to hide their intelligence is because during slavery the only Blacks that field slaves knew who spoke anything close to proper English were the house slaves, and house slaves were often looked upon with disdain, because domestic slaves tended to look down their noses at the slaves who worked the fields. As a result, even though many Blacks fail to realize it on a conscious level, a negative attitude has been passed down through the years towards anything that reminds us of the house slave–and that includes articulate speech, any outward display of exceptional intelligence, or an obvious desire for academic excellence.  It's considered "Trying to act White."  That's why you will often hear young Black men saying things like "What it is?" or "What it be like?"  They know that's improper English, but that's what makes it cool - they're being as un-White as they can possibly be.

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The above also explains one of the reasons you hear so many Black PhDs on national television quoting Tupac Shakur instead of Frederick Douglass or Langston Hughes. Essentially, it's a public apology for being a seeker of knowledge. The message is, "Yeah, I've got an education, but don't worry about it - I'm still one of you." The anti-intellectual attitude of some Blacks also explains why some Blacks, like Cornel West, was questioning whether Barack Obama was "Black enough," and why there was so much pressure on Obama to attend functions like Tavis Smiley's "State Of The Black Union" and Jesse Jackson's "Operation Push" - they wanted him to prove that he hadn't been "tainted" by his pursuit of excellence.
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But partially due to the pride the Black community has taken in the excellence of President Obama, those attitudes are rapidly changing.  Obama has made it "cool" to be an intellectual, but obviously, Scalia has seen fit to miss that memo:

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Harvard Has the Highest Black Student Graduation Rate in the Ivy League

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"The eight Ivy League colleges are generally considered to be among the most prestigious institutions of higher education in the nation. All of these institutions have graduation rates for African Americans of 85 percent or better. Nationwide the college graduation for African Americans is 44 percent.

"At Harvard, 96 percent of all African-American students earn their degree within six years. The graduation for African Americans at Princeton and Yale is 94 percent. Columbia University trails the Ivy League with a still very respectable 85 percent graduation rate for African Americans."

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So with regard to Scalia's supposed concern that if they leveled the playing field Blacks might not be able to keep up, that's an a suggestion that's literally drenched in mindless presumption and racist condescension.  Black people have benefited from having to maneuver their way around both overt and covert racists like himself every day of their lives.  That has served to give many of them an intellectual muscularity that Scalia could never match. 

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Christopher Hitchens vs Playthell Benjamin - 2006 Debate on Iraq

    

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WOULD SCALIA BE ABLE TO KEEP UP? I DON'T THINK SO.

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 Eric L. Wattree 
wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
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Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

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Black Suffering Is Not Obama’s Fault - It’s Ours!

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree
 

Black Suffering Is Not Obama’s Fault - It’s Ours!

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Any objective assessment of the Black community’s current predicament will clearly show that Black suffering is a direct result of two things: First, many of us in the Black community have a pronounced tendency to follow self-serving poverty pimps and fools instead of thinking for ourselves, following truth wherever it leads, and thereafter, addressing the issues that the truth reveals. Instead, we’d rather stick our heads in a comfortable patch of sand and pay a poverty pimp to tell us what we want to hear. Secondly, we’re more interested in appearances than reality. We’ll go absolutely broke to make it LOOK like we’re living high on the hog instead of living more modestly and investing our time, money, and resources into actually obtaining the lifestyle that we’re willing to go broke to pretend to already have. So the bottom line is, many of us are broke and suffering because we refuse to face up to, and address our shortcomings, and we also insist on living a lie (Of course, Black people aren't the only ones who suffer from these dysfunctions, but it is the Black community that's being addressed here).
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A perfect example of the first dysfunction is, many of us literally worship people like Cornel West. Then if you ask them what is it about West that they most admire, they’ll say something like, "He speaks the truth." But if you continue to question them it becomes abundantly clear that they not only don’t know the truth, but even worse, they can't recognize a glaring lie when they hear one (much like the Fox News crowd). In addition, they know absolutely nothing about Cornel West other than what they've HEARD.  So the fact is, they ACTUALLY admire West because he tells them what they want to hear, and what brings them comfort. But chasing emotional comfort rarely brings about an improvement in one’s life. In fact, more often than not, all it does provide is a convenient excuse for failure.  
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They're not getting the truth because the fact is, people like Cornel West can’t afford to tell them the truth. The reason for that is, if he spoke the unfettered truth West would have to admit that he himself is more than a little responsible for the Black community’s current suffering. He'd have to reveal that George W. Bush won the 2000 election by winning Florida by a mere 537 votes as a direct result of the Ralph Nader/Cornel West coalition taking away 97,488 Democratic-leaning votes. So in essence, Nader and West did more to elect George W. Bush President of the United States than the Republican Party. But of course, Cornel West defenders will claim, "No, the Supreme Court helped Bush STEAL the election." But the fact is, if it wasn’t for the 97,488 Democratic-leaning votes that the Nader/West coalition took away, the election wouldn’t have been close enough to even go before the Supreme Court. Thus, Nader and West were ESSENTIAL to Bush’s election.
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Thus, Cornel West is much more than a little responsible for the Black community’s current plight, and contrary to West’s mantra-like contention that Obama’s not doing enough for the Black community, the fact is, if it were not for Barack Obama, the community would be in much worse shape, because America, and the world, would currently be in the midst of a second Great Depression. Obama critics rarely stop to think about that, nor do they consider the impact of GOP obstructionism. All they think about is times are tough, and Barack Obama is President.
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Yes, times are tough, but we're very lucky that Obama is President, because they could've been a lot tougher. When Barack Obama took office this country was hemorrhaging 500,000 jobs A MONTH, and due to the gross irresponsibility of GOP obstructionism, he had to save this nation nearly single handedly. That's why we watched a young man grow grey before our eyes. And the irony is, many of the rabid middle-class conservatives who are calling him a socialist and the worst president in the nation's history, would have neither their jobs, nor their homes today if it weren't for Barack Obama. 
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But history will set the record straight, just like it did for another young man when many Black critics of Cornel West's disposition used to call him "Martin Luther Coon." They'll never admit it today, and fortunately for them, they've been obscured by the fog of history.  But that won't be the case for people like Tavis Smiley and Cornel West. The flawless memory of the internet will allow posterity to pull up their stupidity in living color, and in all it's glory, four hundred years from now, with just the touch of a button.
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Posterity will clearly see that when Cornel West tried to blame President Obama for our current condition, it was the perfect equivalent of his walking into a restaurant, taking a crap in the middle of the floor, and then calling the Health Department because the owner didn’t get it up fast enough. And considering Cornel’s Association with Tavis Smiley - the biggest corporate shill in the Black community - posterity will also see that when Cornel complained about the condition of the poor, it was as disingenuous as a man running down the street ranting about fascism after just having lunch with Mussolini.  
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You see, unlike West, posterity will understand that it’s not the President’s job to go from house-to-house handing out gift baskets. His job is to create an environment where we can help ourselves, and that shouldn't be a serious problem in the Black community. African Americans have a documented buying power of $1.1 trillion. That’s equal to the Gross National Product of Germany, the third richest industrial nation in the world. So there is absolutely no reason why we have to wait around for the White man to come and give us a job. Our problem is, we need to start taking care of business, and our failure to do that is not Obama’s fault - it’s OUR fault. Our biggest problem is, many of us are doing more whining than we are thinking. And instead of acting like responsible adults, many in the community are acting like helpless children, waiting for their White daddy to come home and feed them.
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Think about this: "Currently, a dollar circulates in Asian communities for a month, in Jewish communities approximately 20 days, and White communities 17 days. How long does a dollar circulate in the black community? 6 hours!!! African American buying power is at $1.1 trillion, and yet, only 2 cents of every dollar an African American spends in this country goes to black owned businesses." That’s why we don’t have jobs. Is that Obama’s fault? I don’t think so. So the fact is, it’s not money that the Black community needs; it’s an education that we’re in most dire need of.
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So contrary to popular belief, critics like Tavis Smiley and Cornel West do both the Black community, and America, a disservice. While they're taking bows for being willing to "speak truth to power," they're doing the complete opposite of what they should be doing. If they were REALLY concerned about the people, they wouldn't be calling the President names, and trying to play "The Dozens" with the President of the United States. They're only doing that to call attention to themselves and their self-serving agendas. If they REALLY cared about the people they would be trying to educate the people to how to best leverage their economic and political clout, and they would be supporting the President and offering CONSTRUCTIVE suggestions in order to help him maintain the political support necessary to get things done. But instead, they're trying to tear him down, which weakens him in his battle against GOP obstructionism. So their behavior suggests one of two things - either they're not very bright, or they're in collusion with the GOP. Whichever is the case, that's bad news for the people.
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One gentleman in the community told me the following:
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"All that you stated is all true, but how does it translate POLITICALLY? One can have a lot of consuming power, and that's what you are truly pointing out, but at the end of the day NO TRUE POWER EXIST because WE are dependent on policies created by others to help US. WE ARE NOT SITTING AT THE TABLE; I think that's what’s frustrating. The power of the POTUS becomes beneficial WHEN WE ARE AT THE TABLE. The only way to ensure that is to RAISE HELL, for he alone cannot bring us to the table. Our frustrations and dislikes must be shown and felt in order for any TRUE ADVANCEMENT. Seems that we are going backwards, when it comes to the Civil Rights struggle. Those gains in the past did not take place by having our people sitting on the sideline NOT CRITICIZING what needs to be criticized. OUR president NEEDS US to step up our game, [but] so far whatever it is we are doing IS NOT WORKING. Look at how they are slaughtering us in the streets, STATE SANCTION TERRORISM, with no regards on how upset we get...for we HAVE NO TRUE POLITICAL POWER."
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In response, I pointed out that the world doesn't set a place for you at the table. We have to set our OWN place at the table by getting our OWN affairs in order. The world only allows those at the table who it respects, and it doesn't respect us, because we don't respect ourselves. So we've got to change our cultural mores, begin to recognize who we are, and begin to understand that the adversity that we've endured over the years is a valuable source of unutilized knowledge that makes us MORE rather than less. In addition, we’ve got to learn how to leverage that $1.1 trillion that we have at our command, because the one thing that the White establishment is more enamored with than its passionate romance with racism, is money, and it’s not going to allow $1.1 trillion dollars - again, the gross national product of Germany - to slip through its fingers.
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That brings me to the second dysfunction that the Black community has to overcome, and that’s how we handle our money. Currently, the establishment doesn’t have to acknowledge the Black community, because we fall all over one another to take them every penny we have. But if we were more selective in how, and with whom we spent our money, they’d forget all about racism just to get their hands on it. If, for example, the community organized and decided that we weren’t going to put our money in Wells Fargo Bank, or Bank of America, you can bet that both of those institutions would open up branches in the Black community that would be run, and controlled, by Black people. As a result, when Black businesspeople needed a business loan, they’d be talking to another Black face, which would lead to more loans being approved, and more jobs in the community. And the very same thing would be true of many other national and international franchises coming into the community.
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Then, as a direct result of the improved economic conditions in the community, our young people would see other young adults being hired and prospering in this new economic environment. That would cause them to begin to see the wisdom of staying in school so they too could take advantage of this new prosperity. That, in turn, would lead to the building of new homes in the community, the stabilization of family life, expanded political clout, and a reduction in crime.
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So while peaceful demonstrations do have their place in calling the establishment’s attention to community concerns, we’ll never be able to scream, whine, or beg our way to a better life - and nobody will ever be able to give it to us, because even if they did, we wouldn’t have sense enough to hang on to it. So the only way that we’ll ever acquire, and then hold on to, the kind of life that we aspire to, is through careful thought, planning, responsibility, and above all, education.
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But Cornel won’t ever tell you that, because at $30,000 a speech, he makes a great living on faking compassion over your misery. Oh, how do I know he's faking? That's easy. Has he ever felt enough "compassion," or "love" for the people to teach in a predominately Black school?  Not once in his entire career.
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Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)
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Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.   

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Herman Cain: Black People Are Brainwashed? Please!

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

Herman Cain: Black People Are Brainwashed? Please!
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Herman Cain claims that the reason that black people won’t support him is that they’ve been brainwashed. And many conservatives are saying Cain is President Obama’s worst nightmare. I would have loved to have been in the White House when those statements came out. In spite of Obama’s laid-back demeanor, I’d be willing to bet that he was laughing so hard that he was rolling on the floor of the Oval Office in tears.
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One would think that this man would have sense enough to know that no one takes him seriously - and especially the GOP. And if the GOP had ever taken the time to truly get to know the Black community, they’d know that the only thing more toxic to Black people than a flat-out racist, is a Black conservative (with the notable exception of Colin Powell, because he’s not really a conservative - he was just smart enough to flimflam the overseer, instead of the reverse).
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Most Black people have very little use for Black conservatives. It's not that we disagree with everything they say, but because we’re suspect of the reasons they're saying it. With the possible exception of those who believe in talkin’ snakes, virtually without exception, every Black conservative I've ever known was a self-serving  opportunist. Their conservatism tends not to be so much grounded in their actual philosophy, as it is an opportunity to gain exposure and wealth. They realize that conservatives are looking high and low for Black people willing to step forward to validate their views toward the Black community. So they gleefully allow themselves to be used in return for personal wealth, position, and notoriety.
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Clarence Thomas is a case in point. There is no way that a man of his renowned level of mediocrity should be sitting on the highest court in this land - in fact, he shouldn't even be allowed to sit in traffic court. But due exclusively to his willingness to validate the conservative view of Black America, he's been given one of this nation's highest honors. Thus, Thomas' very presence on the Supreme Court is a stain on American values, our fidelity to jurisprudence, and an unabashed affront to every Black person in America.
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Clarence Thomas is allowing himself to be used as a national monument to every negative stereotype of Black people ever put forward - grinnin’, subservient, lazy, White-woman-lustin’, treacherous, dishonest, and ignorant. Then every time there’s a State of the Union address, Black people are forced to sit and look at his lecherous ass.
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So the Black community looks upon Clarence Thomas in precisely the same way as White Americans look upon a man guilty of treason against the United States - and other Black conservatives are not far behind. Why? Because most of these people would have happily voted against the Civil Rights Act in order to promote their own personal interest if they'd had the chance. And to demonstrate how transparent they are, Thomas took the unprecedented action of lobbying his colleagues to except what has  now clearly been demonstrated to be a meritless challenge to Barack Obama's eligibility to become President of the United States, while he didn't say a word as the Supreme Court casually APPOINTED George Bush president after he lost the 2000 election. And with respect to the challenge to Obama, it took his colleagues, some of the most conservative White men in the country, to tell Thomas that he was going too far - and now Herman Cain says it is Black people who are brainwashed?
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People like Thomas and Cain tend to be self-serving accommdationists who are wholly lacking in character. Black people have suffered a long history of such people, going all the way back to slavery - in fact, it was probably a Clarence Thomas clone who sold us into slavery in the first place. These were the very same people who would informed on slaves who were trying to escape to freedom: "I don't know what's wrong wit him, boss. Ya jest can't get him to appreciate nothin' you do for us. What he needs is a real good beatin'. Want me to do it? I’ll do it real good for ya, boss."
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So having Clarence Thomas sitting on the Supreme Court, with his happy, grinnin’ face, his eager to please attitude, and his quintessential ignorance, is a bad joke at the expense of the Black community. His presence is the equivalent of giving every Black person in America the finger. It wouldn’t be any more insulting to Black people if they chiseled a picture of Buckwheat on the Supreme Court seal.
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And now we have another ‘happy face,’ in the person of Herman Cain, saying that Black people won’t support him and his fascist overseers because we’re brainwashed? And worse, we get this from a Black man whose advice to Black people during the deepest recession since the Great Depression is to, "Get a job!"  Please! This is an absolute idiot.
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Get out the whip, Rush - it sounds like Herman's been into your stash.

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Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)
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Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

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