WHY AM I SO FIXATED ON CORNEL WEST?

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

WHY AM I SO FIXATED ON CORNEL WEST?

IS THIS THE SAME CORNEL WEST WHO WAS
BAD-MOUTHING OBAMA BEFORE IT BECAME CLEAR
THAT HE WAS GOING TO WIN?

A lot of people ask me why I’m so fixated on Cornel West. The reason is simple. I grew up with brothers like West in the hood - they were a dime a dozen - so I know exactly what he’s about - nothing.
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Contrary to popular belief, there’s a wealth of both knowledge and intellect in the Black community. Johnny Cochran came out of the hood, and so did Colin Powell, Barack and Michelle Obama, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr, and Charlie Parker. Langston Hughes came out of the hood - and hell, so did I. So contrary to what's reflected in the media, a large part of this nation's most valuable resource is lying dormant in the inner cities across this nation, because there, you've got to be sharp just to survive.
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But what's generally reflected in the media are the dregs of the Black community.  For every 'gangsta' in the hood, there are literally thousands of young people struggling to get ahead. But the problem is, far too many of us have allowed the media to define who we are, so we no longer have respect for our own intelligence. As a result, many young people tend to have more confidence in the intelligence of frauds like Cornel West than they have in their own ability to think.

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Many of our young people are simply taking the media's word for the fact that Cornel West is suppose to be this powerful intellect instead of actually assessing what West is saying for themselves. The problem is, they’ve been brainwashed into believing that the White man’s water is wetter than their own, so when they hear the words "Harvard" and "Princeton" connected to Cornel West’s name, they simply assume that he possesses a greater ability to think than they do, and that he can see things that they can't. That's nonsense, and it didn't used to be that way. Brother's used to define themselves based upon their ability to think, not by how 'fresh' their tennis shoes look - in fact, unless they ran track, they didn't even wear tennis shoes, because their primary goal in life was to get away from having to wear tennis shoes.
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I remember how much pride my grandparents took in me when I went off to college.  And later, when I got my degree, they stopped debating issues with me all altogether. It was like all of a sudden I went from being one of the kids to becoming the head of the family. I remember my grandmother used to say, "Well, Eric, you’re educated, so you know about all that stuff. We don't understand it."
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They didn't understand it?  They understood enough to waltz through the Great Depression while White folks were throwing themselves out of windows, and they also understood enough to managed to become financially secure in a world that threw every stumbling block before them that it could muster - and without busting a sweat bubble. I don't ever remember them having to suck-up to a landlord.  They always owned their own home.  Yet, even as they were keeping an eye on me and my young family to make sure we didn't falter, my grandmother was saying, due to my education, they didn't understand life like I did.
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I knew my grandmother was giving me much too much credit, but I didn’t say a word, because my young ego had me soppin' up the props like gravy.  But I knew in my heart that even though I’d gone off and gotten a degree, that she - and especially my grandfather - could think circles around me.
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Because even back then, I understood that there was a big difference between innate intelligence and its attendant wisdom and knowledge, and simply going out and picking up a degree. You see, if a ghetto kid who dropped out of high school has an IQ of 140, and a brain surgeon has an IQ of 120, due to his education, the brain surgeon may be in possession of more information, but he'll never be able to connect the dots as efficiently as that high school dropout, because the kid is smarter, and he always will be. Well, I had enough education to recognize that my grandfather was naturally smarter than me, and regardless to how much education I obtained, he always would be - in fact, he was so smart that he had the wisdom not to humiliate me by ramming that fact home. He understood how important it was to let me THINK that I was his peer, so he placed my self-esteem above his need to be 'the man.' That took wisdom, the kind of wisdom that still benefitting from to this day.
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So I knew what my grandfather was doing - after all, I was his grandson - but in spite of that, his actions taught me a far greater lesson - that no institution of higher learning can confer either wisdom, knowledge, or intelligence upon any individual. The only thing that Harvard, Princeton, Yale, or any other institution can confer upon an individual is a receipt indicating that the individual paid his tuition and occupied a seat in a room where knowledge was shared. And while that receipt might also indicate that the individual was able to regurgitated the information once or twice, it cannot certify that any of the information was absorbed, or that it can be effectively manipulated to draw further insight. Education is a solitary pursuit, so the only one who can educate you, is yourself.
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Thus, what my grandmother failed to understand was, my degree didn’t certify that they’d taught me to out-think her, the only thing it certified was that I had been exposed to, and learned to regurgitate, the thoughts of dead White folks. It said absolutely nothing about whether or not I’d learn to think for myself. After all, George W. Bush obtained a receipt from Yale, and we all have a firsthand knowledge of how little that was worth.
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Therefore, it’s important that we in the Black community learn that the very same thing is true of Cornel West, Boyce Watkins, and many other so-called public "intellectuals." While we should have all of the respect in the world for education, we must also have a clear understanding of what constitutes an education. An education is the consumption of knowledge, regardless to whether we consume that knowledge at Harvard, or at the corner library. Knowledge is knowledge, and it's free. So Harvard's knowledge is no more knowledgeable than anyone else's - you just pay more for it, and it comes with public relations support. So if you can't afford to go to college, seek your knowledge from elsewhere - anywhere else - but continue to seek it. And always remember this - Harvard was built to teach what insightful men had ALREADY thought.
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So what most of us fail to understand is, a person cannot BE educated. Each individual must educate himself. Thus, to allow someone else to educate you is not education at all - it's indoctrination. So while having a string of letters behind one's name makes for an excellent calling card and has immeasurable economic value, it says aboulutely nothing about an individual's ability to think. Titles, robes, badges, and all of the other accouterments of alleged knowledge and stature are society’s way of dictating who we listen to, and that’s not always in our best interest. So unless we’re dealing with a highly specialized area of knowledge - like medicine, for example - we should NEVER give anyone else’s ability to think priority over our own, because when we allow someone to think for us, we're also allowing them to control us.
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Consider this - simply having influence over the minds of other people is big business. It can be worth literally millions of dollars to any person who can convince you and others to let him control your attitudes, thinking, and behavior. During the 2008 primaries, one preacher in the south charged Hillary Clinton a specific dollar amount for every brian that he controlled in his congregation.
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A perfect example of how valueable having influence over others can be is, even as we speak Tavis Smiley and Cornel West are on the road trying to portray President Obama as the Bogeyman in an attempt to get Black people to elect the Devil - the Republican Party. Can you imagine how much money the billionaires in the Republican Party would be willing to pay them, not to actually deliver the vote, but to merely keep Black people away from the polls? Now, I have no evidence to suggest that that's what's going on, but it wouldn't be the first time that Cornel West has engaged in the tactic of dividing the vote. West joined forces with Ralph Nader in the 2000 election and helped to get George Bush elected ("Once Again, Nader and West Team to Elect a Republican President").

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DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT NATIONWIDE
IS ON YOUR SIDE?
DO YOU THINK TAVIS SMILEY BELIEVES IT?
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But if you confront members of the Nader/West coalition with the fact that they helped to elect George Bush, they’ll immediately begin to obfuscate and engage in intellectual gymnastics in an attempt to avoid responsibility for the horrific fate that they brought upon this country. They’ll say things like, "It’s not our fault that Gore lost. He just didn’t fight hard enough for a recount." But by using such arguments what they’re actually saying is, "Gore just didn’t work hard enough to undo the damage that we’d done." But here are the facts - Gore lost the 2000 election to Bush in Florida by 537 votes, and the Nader/West coalition peeled off 97,488 votes from Gore in Florida alone. So don’t take my word for it, you do the math. The bottom line is this – Cornel West is more than partially responsible for the very poverty that he's reportedly being paid $10,000 a speech to complain about - period, and case closed..

That's why back in the hood we used to routinely dismiss people like Cornel West. We recognized them as self-serving individuals who couldn't be trusted, because they would do or say anything to get attention. So even if we allowed them to hang around, the minute they opened their mouths we’d simply tell ‘em to shut the hell up, and that would be that. But back then, people like West were simply a source of irritation, under the current circumstance, however, West’s propensity for self-service and chasing public attention is in direct conflict with what’s in the best interest of the Black community. So for that very reason, I try to drag his tired ass through the mud every chance I get. I have a Google Alert on both Tavis and West. I call it the Mutt and Jethro Alert - and I'm about to add Boyce Watkins to it as well, and change the name to the Treacherous Trio Alert.

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At first I tried to prevent it, but this has become a personal thing with me. One of my primary missions in life has become getting Black people to see Tavis and West for who and what they are - two ruthlessly self-serving and dangerous individuals who crave public attention so desperately that they're willing to drag the entire Black community under a bus to get it. West is all affectation, contrived image, and gesticulation, and if you take off his costume and cut off all the fuzz from about his head and face, the only thing you’ll be left with is a goofy-looking little bucktooth punk who takes a very long time to say very little.

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Think about it. Tell me one thing that Cornel West has said in his 30 years of public prominence that’s been either profound, or even the least bit memorable?  Let me answer that for you - not a damn thing. Cornel is best known for two things - slandering the first black President of the United States, and publicly calling his Black female colleague, Dr. Melessa Harris-Perry, a liar and a fraud.  Never mind that it was grossly disrespectful to the President of the united States, Dr. Harris-Perry, and Black women in general, it got him public attention, and that's all he cared about - and this, from a 'brother' who claims to love his people, yet, has never taught at a school that the average Black person can even afford to eat lunch at in his career.

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So in the hood we had a rule of thumb regarding people like West - "Never trust a brother who's always trying to be the coolest thing in the room, because he’s putting so much brainpower into his image that there’s nothing left for him to think with. Hood Rat Wisdom 101.

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LESS WE FORGET  

Here’s a 2008 video of Cornel West calling himself giving, then, Senator, Obama a tongue lashing for deciding to announce his intent to run for president instead of postponing it so he could appear on Tavis’ dog-n-pony show. Think about that for a minute. Tavis was so big headed that he thought the democratic process should be put on hold just for him! And Cornel, latching on to an opportunity for publicity, jumped right on his bandwagon.  I’ve never seen such presumptuous arrogance in my life. Who the hell do Tavis and West think they are!!!?

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Here’s Old-schooler, Dick Gregory, on the same show, essentially telling Tavis and West that they’re damn fools.

 

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Related Article

Dr. Cornel West and intellectual Rice Cake

http://wattree.blogspot.com/2011/07/dr-cornel-west-and-intellectual-rice.html

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Eric L. Wattree

Http://wattree.blogspot.com

Ewattree@Gmail.com

Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

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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ONWARD CHRISTIAN FASCISTS

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

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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ONWARD CHRISTIAN FASCISTS 

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It is easy to claim you love the Lord

as you show up on Sunday to pray;

Then denigrate as heathens all those
at home sleeping

instead of living their lives your way."

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It is easy to cry out,

"Oh save them, Lord!"
of those
immune to the games you play,

As you worship the scriptures

that serve your purpose,

and ignore
those that don’t go your way.

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While the "heathens" do rest

like God did suggest

on this 7^th and most sacred day,

You spend the day frowning

while literally drowning

in hatred even as you pray.

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THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF CRYSTAL SPRINGS

THE HOUSE OF SATAN

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GOD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS

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It’s indeed ironic that the task of saving this country from fascist hypocrites and corporate thugs has fallen on the shoulders of one lone Black man. It shows that God has a sense of irony. God seems to be saying, "This nation’s greatness has been built upon lies, injustice and hypocrisy, so now you have a choice - you can either confront your hypocrisy, or allow it to become the instrument of your destruction."
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Did God talk to you about that, Pat?
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Related Post:

The Religious Right: A Threat to America

Eric L. Wattree
Http://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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Reflections on the Stanley Crouch, Mtume Debate on Modern Jazz

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

Reflections on the Stanley Crouch, Mtume Debate on Modern Jazz

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I recently watched the debate between columnist Stanley Crouch and percussionist James Mtume on the evolution of modern jazz with great interest. Crouch, the steadfast jazz purist, essentially took the position that much of what’s passing for jazz today is actually a corruption of the art form, while Mtume took the position that Crouch was simply out of touch with the new face of jazz.
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In my opinion, Stanley Crouch was right, and James Mtume was simply remaining consistent with what his musical philosophy seems to advocate - playing to the audience and giving applause priority over substance. But Crouch made the mistake of not framing the issue in a way that would allow him to sieze the bottom line. It’s not about the new versus the old; what the discussion is actually about is quality versus lesser quality, and that can be measured.
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First, just because something is new doesn’t mean that it’s better. The problem with a lot of electronic music is electronics is being used to camouflage a lack of technical competence. There’s so much noise and electronic distortion going on that it gives the musicians the "freedom" to play bad notes, be less than melodic, and play musical nonsense. Where, on the other hand, acoustic music is intimate. It’s purely about the musician and his technical ability. Period. If Bud Powell played a bad note, or played the wrong chord progression, it would stick out like a soar thumb. But if he was playing electronic music there’s so much chaos and distortion going on that nobody would notice.

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Mtume was also talking about "technical exhaustion." He said that after a given time, in a given context, everything has been played that can be played in a given form of music. That’s also nonsense - in fact, the ability to do something new with the rhythm and chord progressions of "Stella by Starlight" is exactly what we mean by art.
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Wattree's Chord Chart

There are only ten basic numbers known to mankind - 0 to 9. Yet we can take those ten numbers and combine them in an inexhaustible number of ways. On the other hand, there are TWELVE notes in music, and just like with numbers, you can build an infinite number of scales, chords, and rhythmic constructions with those twelve notes. So Mtume’s claim that you can "exhaust" the possibilities of what can be played on a saxophone is total and demonstrable nonsense.
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The fact is, Miles started having problems with his chops so he went into retirement. But he loved music so much that he wanted to get back into the game, so being the genius that he was, he simply INVENTED a form of music that he could play. Then we had a generation of musicians who came along behind him, who didn’t have a vision of their own, that built an entire musical movement based on what Miles created to accommodate his old age and disability.
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And finally, Mtume justified this "new music" by saying that it inspired young people who weren’t previously into jazz. But the fact is, art is NEVER suppose to lower itself to accommodate the tastes of the lowest common denominator of the people. Art is suppose to raise the consciousness of the people up to it. That’s why it’s called art.

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But the fact is, there’s a very simple way of resolving this debate over the relative merit of this so-called "new thing" over what I'll simply call conventional progressive jazz.  Much like with good parenting, you can measure quality by what quality produces. So we can easily measure the relative quality of the two eras by measuring the quality of what the two respective eras have produced. Where is today’s equivalent of Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, or Jackie McLean?  And where are today’s jazz standards, like 'So What,' 'Round Midnite,' 'Moody’s Mood for love,' 'Impressions' or 'A Night in Tunisias?' I’ll tell you where - they don't exist.
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The great jazz standards of the past are no longer being produced because the towering jazz giants who produced them have become all but a thing of the past. I can’t think of one person of the stature of Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane, or Jackie McLean that’s been produced in over thirty years, and there’s a good reason for that - the quality of the music that’s been produced over the past thirty years is not conducive to producing people of that stature and creative ability. That in itself should close the case on this debate.
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But now let’s look at how young some of the old-school giants of jazz were when they reached their musical maturity. Charlie Christian, the father of the modern jazz guitar - died at 25. Charlie parker - died at 34. Clifford Brown - died at 25. Booker Littler - died at 23. Paul Chambers - died at 33. Fats Navarro - died at 26. So John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy were relatively old men when they died - John Coltrane died at 41, and Eric Dolphy at 36. So many of the giants of the past made their mark on the world and moved on long before many of today’s musicians have even gotten all of their scales together. And there’s a reason for that - because in the past young musicians were held to a much higher standard and exposed to a far superior quality of music and musicianship.

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The Jazz Crusaders as young up-and-comers

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The musicians of the Bebop and Hard Bop eras understood from the outset that they weren’t going to get rich playing the music that they loved, so they sought to validate themselves through excellence, while many of today’s musicians are in a hurry to learn their chromatic scale so they can run out and achieve wealth and fame - they figure they can learn to play in Gb Maj while they're on the road. Then they get out and play distorted chord progressions, add a thunderous beat and loud electronic distortion to camouflage their limitations, and label it as "The New Thang." Thereafter, they slap one another on the back as brilliant, and dismiss those of us who recognize it as noise as being "out of touch."
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So the bottom line is, many of the so-called musical "revolutionaries" never took the time to learn what jazz is really about. Jazz is more than just another form of music, and it's not just fun-n-games. Jazz is also a way of life. There’s a political component to it - a way of thinking that reflects a unique way of viewing reality. So jazz purists are not simply upset over a modified beat and the introduction of electronics, they're also upset over the caving in to mediocrity and the abandonment of the political principles and qualities that jazz represents.
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After all, one of the greatest contributions that jazz has made to the black community is informing the world that we're not the frivolous and thoughtless people in which we'd previously been portrayed. The harmonic complexity of bebop served to bring the dazzling intellectual capacity of black people to the world stage. So naturally, jazz purist are both reluctant and hostile to going back to the people-pleasin' days of what is essentially a musical form of Steppin'-Fetchism.      
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Jazz has traditionally been the cultural anthem of social revolutionaries - both Black and White - who are willing to fight the good fight. Thus, jazz purists resent the mongrelization and surrender of those principles in lieu of "Can we all just get along?" To them, that represents the selling of our principles. That's why the word "commercialism" is looked upon with such disdain by those of us who have come to be known as jazz purists. We're not merely fighting to defend our right to be snobs, we're fighting to defend excellence from sliding down the slippery slope of corporate profit and mediocrity; we're fighting for a way of life, and we're fighting a political battle against the dumbing down of America as a whole. Our fight is an essential part of our jazz tradition. It's expected of us, because that's what jazz is all about - pushing the envelop, and never caving in to convention.
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So you can’t just put a funky beat behind noise and call it jazz, because once you go frivolous, the spirit of jazz has been abandoned. While jazz does kick up it's heels on occasion, it's a very serious form of music that’s designed to appeal to the mind, not just the ass. For that reason, a logical and organized structure is essential to its character. Without that, and it’s arrogantly distinctive swagger, it's not jazz - Period.

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SO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEN AND NOW? 
LOOK AT THE EXPRESSIONS ON THE FACES OF THE OLD-SCHOOLERS BELOW. THEY SAW THEMSELVES AS ARTISTS, NOT COURT JESTERS.

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MILES
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We knew him as Miles, the Black Prince of style,
his nature fit jazz to a tee.
Laid back and cool,
a low threshold for fools,
he set the tone
of what a jazzman should be.
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Short on words, and unperturbed, about

what the people thought;
frozen in time, drenched in the sublime,
of the passion his sweet horn had wrought.
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Solemn to the bone, distant and torn,
even Trane could scarcely get in;
I can still hear the tone of that genius who mourned,
that precious note that he couldn't

quite bend.
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The old-schoolers had a word for many of the people we're applauding as geniuses today - students.  But the problem is, they can't seem to get beyond that point. 

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Eric L. Wattree
Http://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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Presenting Ms Rita Edmond - The Contemporary Face of True Jazz Royalty

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

Presenting Ms. Rita Edmond - The Contemporary Face of True Jazz Royalty
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If you’re a jazz lover and want to look upon the contemporary face of jazz royalty, take a moment to go check out Ms. Rita Edmond on Youtube. She's the jazz world's best kept secret.  She's currently working on her third CD, but even on her first CD, she made it abundantly clear to this writer that she hit the ground fully seasoned as one of the greatest jazz singers alive today. I know, that's a mighty lofty claim to heap onto the shoulders of a relatively new artist, but I'm not given to hyperbole, so I fully intend to back up my assertion with the contents and attachments to this piece.

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Ms. Edmond moves between sultry sophistication, hard driving swing, and childlike innocence without any effort at all. There are many great singers out there, but from the very first bar of anything Rita does, she clearly distinguishes herself as one of those rare individuals who was born to do exactly what she’s doing, and nothing else. She swings with the effortless grace of a Sliver Shadow cruisin' down Pacific Coast Highway, and her ballads are lush with sultry passion, personal depth, and individuality.

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You can't "learn" to sing like Rita Edmond. You either have it, or you don't, and there's only one or two lucky few in a generation who do - but Rita, like Ella and Sarah, is one of those lucky few. But don’t just take my word for it, go check her out for yourself and I’m sure you’ll agree with me that she’s a once in a generation talent, and clearly the heir apparent to some of the greatest divas that jazz has ever known.

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Along with this piece I'm attaching three links to make my point - ‘Here’s to Life,’ ‘Embraceable You' (Live at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art), and ‘It Might As Well Be Spring’ - and each tune shows a different side of her tremendous, and still growing, musical personality.

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‘Here’s to Life’ is a beautiful ballad that’s been done by some of the greatest singers who’s ever lived, yet Ms. Edmond’s version is as good or better than any version of this tune that’s ever been recorded. The soaring passion that she brings to this tune makes it almost impossible for anyone who’s ever had to struggle through life’s adversities and then managed to survive to continue to fight the good fight, to listen to with a dry eye.

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'Embraceable You,' (featuring Harold Land, Jr. on piano) demonstrates the ease in which she can establish the mood of a song and captivate an audience. It also shows an artist who is so comfortable in serenading an audience that it seems like she was born on stage. And after the piano solo, notice the effortless spontaneity in which she throws in a lick that's so exquisite that it sounds like it should have been written into the tune. You won't be able to miss it, because the audience places an exclamation point of approval immediately afterward, as she casually, and routinely, moves on to the next phrase, as though it's all in a night's work. 

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Finally, she does ‘It Might As Well Be Spring,’ a tried and true jazz standard. Not everyone can do this tune well, because it’s such a jazz staple that it’s hard for a singer to put their personal stamp on it, and whenever they try, they either over sing or under sing the tune.  But Rita swings through it effortlessly and makes it her own. King Pleasure himself would smile at her rendition.

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I also wanted to add Ms. Edmond's rendition of ‘This Can’t Be Love’ as an attachment, but unfortunately, it's not available on Youtube. Nevertheless, it deserves a mention. On that tune Ms. Edmond displays yet another part of her musical vocabulary - her growing chops as a scatter and her ability to swing with the best of them. In this case, she scats in unison with yet another powerhouse, tenor sax player Ricky Woodard, and they’re pushed forward by the hard driving rhythms of Albert ‘Tootie’ Heath of the illustrious Heath Brothers on drums - and when it comes to the aristocracy of jazz, they don’t come any more blue-blooded than Tootie. She was also accompanied by Nancy Wilson's long-time pianist LLew Matthews, and the sweet-struttin' Edwin Livingston on bass. So Rita is being tested by fire here, and she literally danced through the flames with blissful abandon.

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So in spite of Ms. Edmond’s unassuming manner, whenever she picks up a mic, her tremendous confidence, individualism and flawless delivery seems to say, “There’s a new diva in town” - and I say, it’s about time! 

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Related Post
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Embraceable You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4SZXO9-jrc
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It Might As Well Be Spring
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVXzYTrrCVE
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Rita Edmond: A Glance At Destiny

(Article)

http://wattree.blogspot.com/2011/11/ms-rita-edmond-glance-at-destiny.html

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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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Republican Greed and Fiscal Irresponsibility: A Brief Look at the Facts

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

Republican Greed and Fiscal Irresponsibility: A Brief Look at the Facts

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Am I the only one becoming nauseous over the Republican Party’s claim that they’re the party of fiscal responsibility?  And what about their claim that they're the only ones qualified to save the American middle class, or that they’re the nation’s job creators, and that they have a plan to rebuild our economy? Well, since we don’t want to go back and forth with a lot of partisan bickering over this issue, let’s just take a brief look at the Republican resume. A cursory look at the facts will tell the true story.   
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Due to the freewheeling fiscal policies of conservative Republicans, between 1986 and 1989, spanning the presidencies of Reagan and Bush Sr., the FSLIC had to pay off all the depositors of 296 institutions with assets of over $125 billion.
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Then in 1988 Silverado Savings and Loan collapsed, costing the taxpayers $1.3 billion. It was headed by Neil Bush, brother of George W. The investigation indicated that Bush was guilty of "breaches of his fiduciary duties involving multiple conflicts of interest." The issue was eventually settled out of court with Bush paying a mere $50,000 settlement.
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Then there was the Lincoln Savings and loan scandal in 1987, involving John McCain. The scandal was very similar to the one that is currently playing out on Wall Street. He was one of a group of senators dubbed "The Keating Five" involved in a scandal by the same name.
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In 1976 Charles Keating moved to Arizona to run the American Continental Corporation. In 1984, shortly after the Reagan era push to deregulate the savings and loan community, Keating bought Lincoln Savings and Loan and began to engage in highly risky investments with the depositors' savings. In 1989 the parent company, which Keating headed, went bankrupt, and it resulted in over 21,000 investors losing their life savings. Most of the investors were elderly, and the loss amounted to about 285 million dollars.
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After having received over a million dollars from Keating in illegal campaign contributions, gifts, free trips, and other gratuities, the Keating Five--Senators John Glenn, Don Riegle, Dennis DeConini, Alan Cranston, and Sen. John McCain--attempted to intervene in the investigation into Keating's activities by the regulators. Later, they were admonished to varying degrees by the senate for attempting to influence regulators on Keating's behalf. Charles Keating ended up being convicted for fraud, racketeering and conspiracy, for which he received 10 years by the state court, and a 12 year sentence in federal court. After spending four and a half years in prison, his convictions were overturned. But prior to being retried, he pled guilty to a number of felonies in return for a sentence of time served.
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So we mustn’t allow ourselves to be blinded by the GOP’s incendiary political rhetoric. Just take a moment to ask yourself, who was the last Republican president who DIDN’T drag America under a bus? If you answer that question truthfully, objectively, and honestly, it will become immediately clear that entrusting this government and economy to the Republican Party would be like entrusting our children to convicted child molesters.
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The Republican congress ran in the 2010 election on the claim that their number one priority was bringing economic relief, and creating jobs for the American people. As of June of 2012, here is a list of what they’ve done in that regard:

.

WHERE ARE TAVIS SMILEY AND CORNEL WEST ON THIS ISSUE?

WHY AREN'T THEY TALKING ABOUT IT?

ALL WE HEAR FROM THEM IS IT'S OBAMA'S FAULT.

HMMMMM . . .

*

Related Post

http://republicanjobcreation.com/

Eric L. Wattree
Http:// wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
.
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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Sweet Bearer of Burden’s Plate

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

Sweet Bearer of Burden’s Plate

.

.

Sweet and innocent

Ebony woman,

Proud bearer of burden's plate,

How regally

You bare your burdensome load,
The essence of dignity

With classless mate.

.

Nine months

plus ten and six you bore

Your sentence from shiftless mate;

Now

All alone, you’re left to grieve,

Your gift of love,

and your child’s cruel fate.

.

Tears of sorrow in the rain,

All alone

You absorb your pain;

Four years short of twenty-one,

Of God's sweet gift

You now have none.

.

But
One last task yet left to do

For your gift of love

Before you're through;
Look to God,

through lonely tears,
and thank him lovingly,

for

sixteen years.

.

.
.
Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
.
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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Scott Walker Recall: A Referendum on American Democracy

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

Scott Walker Recall: A Referendum on American Democracy

The effort to recall Gov. Scott Walker in tomorrow’s Wisconsin election will undoubtedly have repercussions far beyond the boundaries of the state. Walker has come to be seen as the point man in the GOP’s concerted assault on the American middle class. All across the country GOP governors and Republican-controlled legislatures have launched aggressive campaigns to obstruct voting, bust unions, make draconian cuts to the police, fire departments, education, and social programs, all in the name of deficit reduction, only to use the resulting revenue to give huge tax cuts to large corporations and the top 1% of the population.
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In August of 2011 ThinkProgress.org reported that Walker turned away more than $9 million in grants from the Affordable Care Act. The funds were intended to address the state’s problems with drug and alcohol abuse, assessing the impact of public policies on the health of its citizens, and for signing up residents who qualify for state health programs. According to the article, health commissioners were "outraged." Reportedly, Walker indicated that the funds "duplicated existing efforts." This, in spite of the fact that Walker had "slashed $500 million from Department of Health Services and instituted a $1.6 billion reduction in public school funding." In addition, "Wisconsin is also near the very bottom of states for public health funding, ranking 49th in the nation for state funding of prevention services per capita."
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And according to an article in "Labor Notes" written by Eleni Schirmer and Lenora Hanson,"When Walker entered office in January 2011, the state had a budget surplus of more than $120 million. Walker made quick work of creating a budget crisis, allocating $140 million in corporate tax write-offs and giveaways during his first weeks in office." Thus, the GOP’s ostensible concern over the deficit appears to be nothing more than a pretext to redirect funds to corporations, the top 1% of the population, and to make absolutely certain that the poor and middle class remain miserable, angry, and divided until after the next election.
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Did I say this is a concerted effort on the part of the GOP? Absolutely.
.

The Republican Party has done everything in their power to ensure that the American people remain miserable, divided, and angry until the 2012 election every since Rush Limbaugh gave them their marching orders early in Obama’s presidency. Limbaugh said, "I don't want this to work . . . I hope he [Obama] fails." And the Republicans have been on a single-minded mission to ensure Obama’s failure every since - which also means America’s failure. Thus, the GOP has, literally, been on a mission to sabotage America.
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From the moment Rush Limbaugh gave the Republican Party their marching orders, every initiative that President Obama has put forward to improve the economy and create new jobs has been met with fierce Republican opposition. They could care less that America is suffering. In fact, they want America to suffer - the more the better. All the GOP cares about is making absolutely sure that President Obama doesn’t succeed in bringing relief to the misery they caused the American people under eight years of George W. Bush..To that end, the Republicans in congress have engaged in a record number of filibusters in an attempt to block every initiative that Obama has put forward to rescue the American people. Their determination is so fierce in that regard that any Republican who fails to go along with their strategy is in dire jeopardy of being banished from congress. The attack on Utah Republican Orrin Hatch, who has spent 36 years in the U.S. Senate, is clear warning to all others who fail to fall in line.
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And even those initiatives that did manage to miraculously survive were being blocked from implementation by Republican Governors across the country, under the pretense that rescuing America constituted "wasteful spending." But their concern over the budget deficit didn’t prevent Republicans for a minute from holding the unemployed hostage to extend the Bush tax cut for the rich which, to a large extent, is what brought us to this point in the first place
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The Houston Chronicle reported Texas governor, Rick Perry, as saying the following regarding federal money allocated for Texas to assist the unemployed:
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"The money would come with too many strings attached. Taking the half billion would require the state to assist qualified out-of-work residents seeking part-time jobs, an idea that Perry said the state has rejected before, partly because it could discourage them from seeking full-time employment. The federal money injection would also make Texas extend benefits to more low-paid workers, and Perry said the overall expansion would force business to make higher unemployment insurance payments."
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Perry neglected to point out that the money would also be used by the unemployed to purchase goods and services. That would stimulate the economy, and the Republicans can’t have that. Yet, after initially turning down federal money targeted at creating jobs, Perry eventually took the stimulus money. But instead of using it to create jobs and bring relief to the poor and middle class, he used it to plug his budget shortfalls and save his "rainy day fund." CNN Money reports the following:
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"Texas, which crafts a budget every two years, was facing a $6.6 billion shortfall for its 2010-2011 fiscal years. It plugged nearly all of that deficit with $6.4 billion in Recovery Act money, allowing it to leave its $9.1 billion rainy day fund untouched . . . Now that the stimulus money has dried up, state lawmakers last week unveiled an austere budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal years that cuts $31 billion in spending. Schools, colleges, Medicaid and social services for the needy will be hit especially hard."
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So while Gov. Rick Perry of Texas has undoubtedly done his part to promote the GOP obstructionist agenda, in terms of symbolism he pales in comparison to Scott Walker. Walker’s shamelessly blatant assault on the rights and livelihood of the poor and middle class makes him the walking, breathing, embodiment of the Republican effort to lower the standard of living of working-class America. That’s what makes it essential that he’s recalled in tomorrow’s election. He represents the GOP’s trial balloon. If Walker survives, the Republican assault on the rights and livelihood of the working class will go into high gear all across America.

.

.
Related Article:
THE GOP: A ONE HUNDRED YEAR RECORD OF SWINDLING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

Eric L. Wattree wattree

Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
.
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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HERE’S TO THE UNDERDOG

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

.

TO THE

HARD WORKING AND COURAGEOUS

MEN AND WOMEN OF LITTLE CLOUT

WHOSE COLLECTIVE EFFORTS BUILT

AND DEFINES THE CHARACTER  

OF THIS GREAT NATION

*

HERE’S TO THE UNDERDOG

.

Here's

to the magnificent underdog,

majestic--just look at that face;

who struggle each mile, yet, manages a smile,

while the powerful spits in his face.

.

Yes,

a toast!

To the illustrious underdog,

whose courage holds chaos at bay;

for the unshakable steel, which makes up his will,

to stand-up through yet one more day.

.

Let’s hear

a cheer!

For the tireless underdog.

His heart firmly girdered in place;

who finds just enough to survive when life's tough,

while the "powerful" stands in disgrace.
.

Let us

cherish

the heroic underdog,

who walks water routinely each day;

who braves lion Jaws and shun all applause,

then quietly goes on his way.

.

.

*

*

Eric L. Wattree

Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

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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Mitt Romney: A Monument to American Gullibility

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

Mitt Romney: A Monument to American Gullibility

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Every time the American people look at Mitt Romney they should get angry, because he’s the walking, breathing, personification of the biggest scam ever perpetrated on America, "trickle down" economics. Romney is the very embodiment of trickle-down economics returning to rub our stupidity in our face, right down to his cynical pauses . . . and sideways half-smile that seems to say, "Now, let’s see if you’re dumb enough to swallow this load of crap, yet again." He’s such a cynical, insincere, and obvious con man that if he didn’t exist Saturday Night Live would have created him. He’s as stiff and emotion free as Max Headroom, and just as contrived: "Yes, my good friends, and what I love most about your fair city is the height of the trees." What!!!?
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Trickle Down, or Supply- Side Economics, which came to be known as "Reaganomics," was a scheme hatch by U.S.C. economist Arthur Laffer and the Reagan crowd which was supposed to cut the deficit and balance the budget. The theory behind Reaganomics was ostensibly, if you cut taxes for business and people in the upper tax brackets, and then deregulated business of such nuisances as safety regulations and environmental safeguards, the beneficiaries would invest their savings into creating new jobs. In that way the money would eventually "trickle down" to the rest of us. Sound familiar? According to the scheme, the resulting broadened tax base would not only help to bring down the deficit, but also subsidize the tremendously high defense budget. When the plan was first floated, even George Bush, Reagan's vice president to be, called it "voodoo economics."
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Reaganomics, for the most part, sought to undo many of the safeguards put into place during the Roosevelt era and create a business environment similar to that which was in place during the Coolidge Administration. What actually took place, however, was even more like the Coolidge era than planed. Instead of taking the money and investing it into creating new jobs, the money was used in wild schemes and stock market speculation. One of these schemes, the leveraged buy out, involved buying up large companies with borrowed funds secured by the company's assets, then paying off the loan by selling off the assets of the purchased company. This practice cost the citizens of this country millions of jobs, and the country itself, its industrial base. In addition, the bottom fell out of the stock market. On Monday, October 19, 1987 the Dow-Jones Average fell 508.32 points. It was the greatest one-day decline since 1914 - fifteen years before the Great Depression.
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Even though this scheme has brought economic disaster to the American people several times in the past thirty years, the Republican party continues to repackage it and trot it back out every eight years or so. They tend to wait until after the Democrats have rescued the nation, and their previous disaster has retreated from the collective memory of the American electorate.
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Clear evidence of that is in spite of Ronald Reagan's grandiose promise to balance the budget and lower the deficit, by the time he left office he was not only the most prolific spender of any president in history, but he also added more to the deficit than all of the other presidents from George Washington to his own administration combined.
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Reagan tripled the national debt. It went from $712 billion in 1980 to $2,052 billion in 1988. And what was the Republican Party’s plan to deal with that disaster? In it’s "contract with America" (Republicans are real good with slogans), Newt Gingrich’s Republican-run congress proposed a capitol gains tax cut, for the rich.
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It took Democrat, Bill Clinton, to rescue the nation. David Greenberg, a professor of history and media studies at Rutgers University, said the following regarding Bill Clinton’s presidency:
.
"The Clinton years were unquestionably a time of progress, especially on the economy [...] Clinton's 1992 slogan, 'Putting people first,' and his stress on 'the economy, stupid,' pitched an optimistic if still gritty populism at a middle class that had suffered under Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. [...] By the end of the Clinton presidency, the numbers were uniformly impressive. Besides the record-high surpluses and the record-low poverty rates, the economy could boast the longest economic expansion in history; the lowest unemployment since the early 1970s; and the lowest poverty rates for single mothers, black Americans, and the aged."
On September 27, 2000, CNN reported:
.
President Clinton announced Wednesday that the federal budget surplus for fiscal year 2000 amounted to at least $230 billion, making it the largest in U.S. history and topping last year's record surplus of $122.7 billion. ‘This represents the largest one-year debt reduction in the history of the United States."

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Then came George W. Bush, with his huge tax cuts for the rich, and reinstituting the Republican philosophy of trickle-down economics and reckless deregulation. That led to the 2008 economic crash, bringing the nation within a hair’s breath of a second Great Depression, and creating the conditions under which we are currently suffering.
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The primary reason that the American people continues to be stiffed by the Republican Party is because the average American fails to understand that we don’t have just one economy, we have two. We have one economy that governs the prosperity of the investor class, and yet another that governs the prosperity of working class. And both classes are in direct competition for their part of the same economic pie.
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Thus, the problem is, in order for the investor class to prosper, they must squeeze every penny and concession out of the working class. So when Wall Street is celebrating a robust economy, that means they are producing more product with fewer jobs, fewer work hours, and lower pay for the workers. That’s how they make their profit.
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You see, in the past when the United States had a strong internal industrial base, the investor class and the working class complimented one another. The corporate community provided the working class with, essentially, lifetime jobs with solid security and a living wage. As a result, the working class could afford to purchase the goods and services that the corporations produced. So the working class and investor class had a symbiotic relationship. One insured the prosperity of the other.
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But now, in the new global economy, where what used to be considered American corporations have become international conglomerates that have to compete with countries that are paying their workers less per week than most Americans spend on lunch per day, the American worker has become a liability. Thus, the corporate community has a vested interested in lowering the standard of living of the American middle class.
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In order for them to make ever greater profits, they feel that they must squeezing every concession that they can get out of America, and the American worker. That accounts for the aggressive assault on our educational system. They need more worker bees and fewer thinkers - or trouble makers. It also accounts for the assault on collective bargaining, and all manner of corporate regulations and employee rights. In short, they’re on a mission to convert America from a democratic republic, to a corporate sweatshop.
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Now enter Mitt Romney. If we elect Romney, we’ll not just be electing an Republican politician who is highly sympathetic to the investor class, we’ll be electing, indeed, the poster child of the investor class, and the old trickle-down economics crowd. In fact, the Chairman of the Board, as it were. It would be like entrusting our child to one of the most infamous child molesters in the country.
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The New York Post reported in the Josh Kosman article, "Romney’s Past is More a Working Class Zero," "Romney's private equity firm, Bain Capital, bought companies and often increased short-term earnings so those businesses could then borrow enormous amounts of money. That borrowed money was used to pay Bain dividends. Then those businesses needed to maintain that high level of earnings to pay their debts." But of course, the businesses generally couldn’t manage that, so workers were laid off and the businesses would go into bankruptcy.
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The article goes on to list some of the businesses that Mitt Romney squeezed the profits from, then sent into bankruptcy:
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"* Bain in 1988 put $5 million down to buy Stage Stores, and in the mid-'90s took it public, collecting $100 million from stock offerings. Stage filed for bankruptcy in 2000.

* Bain in 1992 bought American Pad & Paper (AMPAD), investing $5 million, and collected $100 million from dividends. The business filed for bankruptcy in 2000.

* Bain in 1993 invested $60 million when buying GS Industries, and received $65 million from dividends. GS filed for bankruptcy in 2001.

* Bain in 1997 invested $46 million when buying Details, and made $93 million from stock offerings. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2003."
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So say what you will about President Obama, but it seems to me that the credentials of Mitt Romney and his Republican cohorts’ as job creators makes the president look like Santa Claus. If you agree, go tell a hungry Republican. He might be Black, but that IS a pork chop in his hand.

.

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Eric L. Wattree

Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com

Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)
.

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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Dr. Boyce Watkins on Gay Rights

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

Dr. Boyce Watkins on Gay Rights

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"If gay is the new black, then black must have been the old gay . . . I don't really know what that means either . . .

I support gay marriage, but it's mainly because I just don't care one way or the other."

.

The author of the "enlightened" quotation above is Dr. Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University. He presents himself as a public intellectual and a dedicated civil rights advocate. He’s also the driving force behind "Your Black World," a popular website that seeks to keep Black people politically enlightened. Dr. Watkins goes on to say the following:
.
"I wonder what it means to simply say that everyone deserves civil rights, and to use that as a blanket justification for gay marriage. So, if I wanted to marry my sister and someone said I couldn't, would that be a violation of my civil rights? I support gay marriage, but it's mainly because I just don't care one way or the other. But if I were deeply religious and considered marriage to be a spiritual union solely designed to be between a man and a woman, I might be offended by someone asking me to support the notion of same sex marriage. Civil rights doesn't mean that every person can do whatever they want, whenever they want with whomever they want. If that were the case, then a mother could decide to terminate her child's life after the baby was born....after all, it's her baby, right[?]"
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So-called public ‘intellectuals’ of Dr. Watkins’ ilk never cease to amaze me. I can’t help but wonder how he could possibly have obtained a PhD without ever learning to think? Shouldn’t we be able to expect a Phd, at the very least, to have the intellect to formulate an argument that’s not totally filled with irrelevant non sequiturs?
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Equal civil rights mean that gays deserve the right to marry the one that they love just like straight people. But his response implies that gays are asking for MORE rights than straight people. Watkins' comments would only be valid if gays were demanding the right to marry their sisters. No one can marry their sister, so that represents equality.
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So in response to his question, yes, it would be a violation of his civil rights if he wasn’t allowed to marry his sister, but only if others WERE allowed to marry their sisters. The fact that this guy has a PhD and can’t see that the issue of equal rights under the law, and his right to marry his sister are far from analogous is a serious indictment against our educational system - after all, he's charged with the responsibility of educating others. But much more important, it’s also clear evidence of the dire need of Americans to become independent and self-sufficient thinkers.
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Again, Dr. Watkins presents himself as a public intellectual and a fierce advocate of civil rights. Yet, when it comes to the civil rights of gays he’s using the very same kind of irrational argument that racists used to try to block Black civil rights legislation of the past. They’d say things like, "Okay, if we allow a change in the law to allow White people to marry Black people, what’s to stop us from passing laws in the future saying that people should have the right to marry their dogs?"
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Both are equally stupid analogies, and although I’ve heard Watkins say outrageous things in the past, for some reason I’m totally shocked to hear him say something as dumb as this, not only because it's a ridiculous attempt at syllogistic logic - "All dogs have fleas, and my cat has fleas, therefore, my cat is a dog"- but it is equally shocking to see that he fails to recognize the racist history of such a stupid argument.
.
But what his attitude clearly illustrates more than anything else is that Black people are the product of the very same racist and socially bigoted environment as White people, and as a result, we can be just as racist and socially bigoted toward other Blacks and minority groups as any racist Hillbilly. That accounts for much of the flak that Obama is getting from some of Dr. Watkins’ Black colleagues, namely, Tavis Smiley and Cornel West.
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While many of these so-called Black "intellectuals" try to cloak their hostility toward President Obama in the language of Black activism, they’re actually upset with Obama for the very same reason that many conservative Republicans are - they consider him ‘Uppity.’ What they’re actually saying is, "Who does this spook think he is, struttin’ around like he thinks he has as much sense as White folks? He’s just another ignorant nigga, just like me." So in short, it’s self-hatred and "bligotry" (Black on Black bigotry).
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For this reason, I’ve dropped all pretense of journalistic detachment on this issue, and I’ve gone on a single-minded mission against these people, as should every journalist, but Black journalists, in particular.  We need to recognize that some things are much more important than some arbitrary rule of journalism about not getting personally involved in a story. White journalists routinely recognize that fact every time this country goes to war, and the fact is, the Black community is now literally in a state of war. It’s currently being besieged by a group of Black, self-serving demagogues that constitute a severe threat to its survival, and we shouldn’t just sit back and let it happen, any more than we would sit back and simply chronicle the events attendant to a drowning child.
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In this case, Watkins, this so-called Black "intellectual," has betrayed an attitude toward gay minorities that parallels that of a member of the Tea Party. That should be a call to arms to all Journalists in the Black community who feel a vested interested in the principle of equal rights under the law. At the very least we must start alerting the community of the importance of  Black people to start thinking for themselves, instead of relying on self-professed intellectuals to help them formulate their view of reality.
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The Black community needs to understand that they should NEVER give anyone else’s ability to think priority over our own, regardless to the hype that precedes the person, or the academic credentials that supposedly attests to the person’s ability to think. Because in many cases, as we saw in the 2000 election that brought George W. Bush into our lives, the credentials of many ‘intellectuals’ only attest to the fact that they’ve spent so much time learning to regurgitate the thoughts of dead White folks that they’ve never taken the time to learn to think for themselves.
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Thus, Black people should always seek to educate themselves, because that’s the only education that we can, unfailingly, depend upon.
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RELATED ARTICLES

http://wattree.blogspot.com/2011/07/dr-cornel-west-and-intellectual-rice.html

http://wattree.blogspot.com/2011/09/once-again-nader-and-west-team-to-elect.html

http://wattree.blogspot.com/2012/03/in-defense-of-my-stance-against-cornel.html

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Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com

Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

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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YET, ANOTHER GRINNIN' THOMAS - WHEN WILL WE LEARN!!!!?

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

YET, ANOTHER GRINNIN' THOMAS - WHEN WILL WE LEARN!!!!?
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I got up thinking about Anthony Thomas this morning, yet another dumb, Republican-leaning Black man that I ran across on Facebook the other day. I cut off communication with him after I lost patience with all of his obfuscation and evasions to avoid recognizing facts that were splattered all across his face. I’m sure you know the type - the kind of person who would rather engage in logical contortions to embrace a lie than to modify their clearly erroneous beliefs.
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People like Thomas seem to feel a vested interest in remaining blind, so I don’t waste my time with them, because it’s counterproductive. They tend to give their ideology priority over truth, so if you tell them the Sun is hot, they’ll say something like, "Well, it depends on what you mean by hot." So it’s just a complete waste of time trying to have a rational discussion on any issue with such people.
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But I’ve come to the conclusion that the internet has the potential to be the most powerful educational tool that man has ever known, so I’ve set upon an agenda of trying educate the people who may not follow politics to what’s going on behind their backs. I also take advantage of the opportunity to allow myself to be educated by others regarding the erroneous beliefs that I may hold. After all, I’ve long since recognized that I don’t corner the market either wisdom, knowledge, or intelligence.
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So I’ve decided that it’s a mistake to ignore people like Anthony. I’m making the very same mistake that the Democrats continue to make with respect to responding to Republican nonsense. Democrats often assume that the many gross misstatement of the facts made by Republicans are so stupid and counterintuitive that it’s not necessary to respond, because anyone with any sense should be able to see through them. But that’s both an unwarranted, and unwise assumption, because there are many people who do not - far too many people, in fact. So even though it may seem like a fool’s errand to argue back and forth with people like Anthony, we should always take the time to do it, or at the very least, take the time to cut the legs off their basic premise before we dismiss them.

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In that regard, while Anthony CLAIMS not to be a Republican, the basis of his argument seems to hinge on the fact that being partisan is never a good thing, and it’s unwise to take sides with one political party over the other. That’s become a basic Republican talking point. They have to push that position - particularly among the poor, middle class, and minorities - because they know that their scorched earth policies toward these groups are antithetical to everything America stands for. They are out to recreate the very kind of society that America’s forefathers left Europe to get away from - an aristocracy, in this case, based on corporate feudalism. If they have their way, instead of living in New York City, you’ll be living in New Halliburtia. You won’t have the right to vote, and Blackwater will enforce what will be called ‘the law.’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX69a45LFLI

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What many anti-government people are failing to realize - due to the brutal assault on educational system - is when you get rid of government it’s going to create a vacuum of power, and vacuums are never left dormant. So that void is going to be filled by the most ruthless and powerful international corporations. Thus, we’ll be left with a form of corporate feudalism where we won’t have the right to vote, or have any say-so in the way we are governed. Oh, did I say governed? There will be no government, which means no rules, no laws, and no protection against our abuse. That’s exactly what the Republican anti-regulation propaganda is about. They are currently conditioning us to be open to such a system, in fact, they have some clamoring for it.
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That explains their stance against organized labor and their assault our educational system. They don’t want any entity in place that has the potential to organize the people against them. And they want to privatize our educational system so they can gain control and condition the minds of our children - sort of like the old Nazi youth camps, where the children are so severely brainwashed that they’re informing on their own parents (http://www.kochbrothersexposed.com/education).

.

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So the Republican Party’s goal is to destroy our educational system’s ability to produce independent thinkers. They also intend to handpick students they deem most susceptible to promoting the corporate agenda, while leaving the majority of students so undereducated that they only have two options - either sheepishly accept the crumbs that the corporations decide to throw their way, for what will essentially be slave labor, or go into the military and become cannon fodder in an endless series of mercenary assaults on the national resources of other countries. Anyone who doubts this should consider the fact that even at this writing the children of the rich are no longer even expected to go into the military to fight America’s wars. Dying is for the ‘little people.’
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So Thomas’ position on the need for bipartisanship is a laughably ridiculous position to take in this current political environment. If the Democratic Party was in a political battle against the Nazi Party, would we try to be nonpartisan and politely listen to the Nazis Party? Of course not. That would be stupid. Well, it’s just as stupid to listen to anything coming from the Republican Party, because they are just as insidious as any political group in modern history. They're out to completely revise our American ideals, and undermine the American way of life.
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Clear evidence of that is the Republicans are currently obstructing any and all legislation that has anything to do with protecting the interest of poor and middle class people in this country. In addition, they’ve mounted an aggressive effort to undermine everything that President Franklin Roosevelt put in place as the ‘New Deal’ to save the American people from the ravages of the Great Depression. And further, they are trying to reverse everything accomplished during the Civil Rights movement that Martin Luther King and millions of others fought so hard for during the sixties, including taking away the people’s right to vote.
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Now this guy, Anthony, is trying to put forward the position that we should feel obliged not to take sides in pursuit of our own interest. He must be out of his Goddamn mind - as is Tavis Smiley, Cornel West, and Boyce Watkins. They have to be either dumb, or duplicitous. These people don’t seem to have sense enough to realize that the coming election has absolutely nothing to do with our love for either Obama, or the Democratic Party. This election is about keeping corporate fascists from gaining power, and their most potent weapon against us is getting us to hate one another more than we love ourselves. Thus, it is essential for us to understand that anyone who promotes division among the people, be they Black or White, is the enemy - and that includes Tavis Smiley, Cornel West, and their new recruit, Boyce Watkins.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRYV0V8q-BU

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"HEY, EVERYBODY!  HERE'S AN IDEA!  LET'S VOTE TO CUT OUR THROATS TO TEACH OBAMA A LESSON!"

 That's easy for these brothers to say. They get paid to tell starving people how hungry they are, so the hungrier YOU are, the more THEY get paid.

THINK ABOUT THAT.

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Related Links:
http://wattree.blogspot.com/2012/03/in-defense-of-my-stance-against-cornel.html
http://wattree.blogspot.com/2011/10/herman-cain-black-people-are.html
http://wattree.blogspot.com/2010/10/gop-one-hundred-year-record-of.html

Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

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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