A MESSAGE TO BERNIE: DO NOT TRUST CORNEL WEST - HE'S A JUDAS GOAT

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

Is Cornel West A Judas Goat - When Was The Last Time You Heard Him Attack A Conservative Republican?

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Bernie, as you know, during the 1960s J. Edgar Hoover disrupted the Civil Rights movement by using provocateurs to infiltrate the various civil rights groups and disrupt their activities. The operation was called "Cointelpro." One tactic that was used was to have loud and disruptive Judas goat "super-militants" join the groups and divide the membership by accusing the groups' leadership of being weak, or "Uncle Toms." That seems to be the very tactic that Cornel West has been using very effectively every since the 2000 election where he was very effective in helping to get George W. Bush elected.
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In my previous article, The "Black Prophetic" Mouth of Cornel West is At It Again - And As Usual, Just In Time To Sabotage Democrats In The Upcoming Election, I pointed out the following:
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After Ralph Nader was rejected for the 2000 presidential nomination by the Democratic voters, instead of acknowledging his rejection and falling into line to help defeat the Republicans, Nader went into a petulant snit and ran as a third party candidate. It was clear that he purposely ran as a third party candidate with the mean-spirited intent of sabotaging the Democratic effort, because third parties never win; the only purpose that third parties ever serve is to help elect the people that you like least, because they divide the vote of like-minded people.
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Cornel West joined Nader in this foolish - or treacherous, you make the determination - campaign, and as a result, George W. Bush won the election over Al Gore by winning Florida by a mere 537 votes. The Nader/West coalition peeled off 97,488 votes from Gore in Florida alone. So when I say that Cornel West is more than a little responsible for George W. Bush becoming President of the United States, and thus, your current economic condition, don’t take my word for it – you do the math.
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Most people, if they were sincere, would look at the disastrous results of their activities and be devastated. After all, causing Bush to be elected was the worst possible outcome for everything West is SUPPOSE to represent. So most people would conclude that they had made a grave error, and that they would never do anything to divide the progressive vote again. But not Cornel West, he teamed up with Ralph Nader yet again in the 2012 election against Obama, and tried do the very same thing that they'd done in the 2000 election that resulted in Bush's presidency. The only thing that stopped them was, this time the people weren’t buying it.
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So yes, in September of 2011 Ralph Nader and Cornel West teamed up to try to sabotage the Democratic Party yet again. They canvassed the country for Democratic opponents to challenge Obama in the primaries. According to Nader, "Without debates by challengers inside the Democratic Party’s presidential primaries, the liberal/majoritarian agenda will be muted and ignored." And he goes on to say, "The one-man Democratic primaries will be dull, repetitive, and draining of both voter enthusiasm and real bright lines between the two parties that excite voters." What he failed to say, however, was it kept the liberal voice solid and united. So if Nader and West had been successful, they would have divided the Democratic Party just enough for Mitt Romney to squeak out a victory, and the nation would now be under conservative leadership. Now, just take a moment and think about what life would have been like for poor people then - especially poor Black people.  But did the illustrious Cornel "I love My People" West care about that?  Not a bit.
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Proof That The Ralph Nader/Cornel West Coalition Purposely Helped Bush Become President
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Outside Magazine, August 2000:
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If California tips Green enough, Bush could win the state and the whole damn election. Which, Nader confided to Outside in June, wouldn't be so bad. When asked if someone put a gun to his head and told him to vote for either Gore or Bush, which he would choose, Nader answered without hesitation: "Bush." Not that he actually thinks the man he calls "Bush Inc." deserves to be elected: "He'll do whatever industry wants done." The rumpled crusader clearly prefers to sink his righteous teeth into Al Gore, ... [and] concludes with the sotto voce realpolitik of a ward heeler: "If you want the parties to diverge from one another, have Bush win."
(http://www.hereinstead.com/QUOTATIONS-FROM-RALPH-NADER.htm)

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Yet, there’s still room to give West the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he’s just politically naive and has more passion than he does common sense. One could say that, I guess, but over the years, too many issues have popped up where West’s position just HAPPENS to coincide with what’s in the best interest of conservatives and the Republican Party - his close association with Tavis Smiley, for example. Smiley just HAPPENS to be the biggest corporate shill in the Black community, and his closest business association is with ALEC-connected Walmart, the biggest abuser of the working poor in America. Now is that the kind of association that you would expect from someone who claims to "love" the poor and minorities? I don’t think so.
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So Cornel West is a man who should be watched very closely. Another clear demonstration of just how untrustworthy, disingenuous, and wishy-washy West can be is how he tried to revise history after Barack Obama won the 2008 election. When Barack Obama won the Presidency and didn’t roll out the red carpet to the White House for West, he tried to frame the situation in a way that made Obama look like an ingrate. He complained that after he went out campaigning for Obama, he couldn’t even get a returned phone call from the newly elected Obama. But he failed to point out what a fool he acted on Tavis Smiley’s "State of Black America" broadcast on the very day that Obama threw his hat in the ring to run for President. He all but flat-out alleged that Obama couldn’t be trusted. He even asked Obama, "Where’s your money coming from?" But in spite of that, when it became clear that Obama could actually win, only THEN did Cornel West jump the fence on Tavis Smiley and started campaigning for Obama.
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So the question is, why would West campaign for someone that he insisted couldn’t be trusted, in the first place? The answer is very simple - Cornel is "Have Mouth, Will Travel." He jumps onboard whatever train he thinks is going his way. At the time that the video below was shot, West benefitted from the exposure that he could gain from Tavis Smiley, and since it was assumed that Hillary Clinton was going to win the election, West had everything to gain by slamming Obama for not coming to kiss Tavis' ring on Tavis' dog-n-pony show. But again, when it became clear that Obama just might win, West jumped the fence on Tavis Smiley and started grinning in Obama's face - and without a bit of shame.

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So, what incentive does a high-profile Black man have to turn on his own people and play this Judas Goat role?
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RAYNARD JACKSON

In his article, "My Republican Party has Abandoned Me," Black Republican activist, Raynard Jackson, says the following:
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"For many years, I have approached the party and its supporters about underwriting programs to bring together Blacks who are Republican or lean Republican so we can weave them into every facet of the party structure. The answer is always, No! But, twice this year some of these same people have approached me about funding for some election year tricks that they (White Republicans) have conjured up and simply need a Black face to execute the plan. On these two separate occasions, these funders were willing to spend upwards of $20 million to have me organize a national campaign to identify Blacks who would be critical of President Obama." (http://www.freedomsjournal.net/2012/10/31/my-republican-party-has-abandoned-me/).
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Now, I want to make it clear that I have no evidence whatsoever that West is being paid by the GOP,  but with that kind of money up for grabs, everybody bears scrutiny. And in that regard, consider the following. First, Cornel West helped Bush get elected in the 2000 election, which led to Black misery - at least, additional Black misery - and then he scurried back into his ivory tower to command $30,000 a speech to DISCUSS Black misery. Then later, he rode all across the country on a bus professing to love poor minorities, while sitting next to a man (Tavis Smiley) who was involved in a scam that caused 30,000 poor minorities to lose their homes and life savings in what the Justice Department says was the second largest housing discrimination case in the history of this country. Now, he’s telling us that Black misery is Obama's fault!!!? A person would have to be a fool to believe that, but obviously, there's plenty of them out there.
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Now, anyone who owns a radio or television set knows that Cornel West went to Ferguson, specifically, to get a photo op of himself being arrested, and to publicize the fact that he has a new book out - I’m surprised he didn’t have a copy of it to show the cameras at the arrest site. West seemed to have deep passion for the underclass there in Ferguson, but it didn’t prevent him from waiting until his book came out to join the protest.
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What many people fail to realize is that Cornel West is the consummate opportunist. Again, West showed great passion in Ferguson, but that’s because he has a new book out and there’s an election coming up, so the Ferguson arrest gives him more television time to sell his book and slam the Democrats before the election. He and Tavis Smiley used the EXACT same tactic just before the 2012 election when he and Tavis Smiley went out on their "Poverty Tour." But after the election, and after they had sold all the books they could sell, they essentially dropped off the radar. That's their method of operation - they just do "drive-bys" to pickup photo ops, and to stir up dissension in the community. That helps the GOP, and Tavis' sponsor, Wal-Mart - the only thing that keeps Tavis' head above water, likes that.
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Scott Collins of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "The sluggish economy and reduced corporate spending have threatened the show's viability. But luckily for Smiley, Wal-Mart, a longtime sponsor, stepped up again, this time with a three-year commitment."
(http://articles.latimes.com/2013/dec/12/entertainment/la-et-st-tavis-smiley-pbs-20131212)
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That explains why, their "love for the poor" notwithstanding, Tavis Smiley and Cornel West were nowhere to be found during the Wal-Mart demonstrations that were being held all across the country - and that was in spit of the fact that one of the demonstrations was being held right down the street from Smiley’s office. They didn't even so much as bother to send a postcard of support.
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Days before the demonstrations, I even challenged them to come and speak-out against Wal-Mart’s abuse of the working poor, and then PREDICTED that they weren’t going to show up. I knew they weren’t going to show up because they were both benefitting from Wal-Mart. So while Cornel West may claim to "love" the poor and downtrodden, there are very specific limits to that love.
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Now, with a very important election coming up that’s going to determine who’s going to control the United States Senate, West just happened to see fit to publicly  announce that he didn’t vote in 2012. Is he serious!!!? Doesn’t he realize how many people died for our right to vote? He claims to love the poor, but he would rather NOT vote than to vote against the people who would rather shutdown the government than to provide jobs, affordable healthcare, extended unemployment insurance, and food stamps for the poor? And he claims to hate killing and war, yet, he would rather NOT vote than to vote against the people who lied to go to war, and then killed over a million people in Iraq? Such a position strains the limits of credulity.
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Doesn’t West have the intelligence to realize that there is no such thing as not voting, and that failing to vote for one side is a vote for the other? I think he does - I think he understands that fact very well - that’s why he publicized it, to influence his followers to follow suit - which again, benefits the GOP. There are two ways for the GOP to win an election, by either getting MORE Republicans to vote, or getting more Democrats NOT to vote - and that’s EXACTLY what Cornel West has been doing EVERY election since he helped to get George W. Bush elected - dividing the Democratic vote. It’s happening so often, and so consistently, it’s beginning to look like it's his assigned role.
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So one of two things have to be at work here - either West knows exactly what he’s doing and is scamming the people, or he’s the dumbest so-called intellectual that the Black community has ever produced. But either way, he’s not a person that anyone with sense would want to listen to.

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Tavis Smiley and Cornel West Ducked The Walmart Demonstrations . . . AGAIN!!!
http://wattree.blogspot.com/2014/11/tavis-smiley-and-cornel-west-ducked.html
A QUESTION FOR BOTH TAVIS SMILEY AND CORNEL WEST
http://wattree.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-question-for-both-tavis-smiley-and.html
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The "Black Prophetic" Mouth of Cornel West is At It Again - And As Usual, Just In Time To Sabotage Democrats In The Upcoming Election

http://wattree.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-black-prophetic-mouth-of-cornel.html

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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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WATTREE'S PEARLS OF LIMITED WISDOM - REVISITED

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

Wattree’s Pearls of Limited Wisdom - Revisited

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God made birds to fly, fish to swim, and man to think, so the pursuit of knowledge should be a lifelong endeavor and used as a primary assessment of all men. But we should never confuse credentials with knowledge, because some of the greatest minds I’ve ever known held court while sitting on empty milk crates in the parking lots of ghetto liquor stores, while some of the weakest minds I’ve ever known roamed the halls of academia in pursuit of credentials over knowledge.

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*Dedicate your life to growing up before you die.
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*One act of deceit can erase a million words of love.
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*Knowledge is free, so one must choose to be ignorant.
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*Self-Esteem: Never Doubt Yourself. You should always dedicate yourself to truth, and be free of  ugliness, mean-spiritedness,  and spite.
Then when others hate you, you know it's due to their ugliness and aversion to truth, not your own.
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*Never be afraid of failure. The only reason you can walk is because you got tired of falling down.
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*The greatest lesson in wisdom, intelligence, and class is the understanding that one doesn't corner the market on any of them.
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*Intrinsic to every zealot's passion for justice lies the seeds of tyranny.
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*An efficient thinker gives truth priority over ideology, while ideologues give ideology priority over truth.
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*The contemplative must always endure the pestilence of mediocrity.
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*The petty is forced to view life through a microscope in order to find their virtue.
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*Wit without wisdom is a waste.
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*An unexamined life is a waste of skin.
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*Socialism: Any government policy that impugns my right to swindle others.
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* Freedom: The right to deprive others of their rights, freedom, and equality.
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* Religion: The pursuit of God's approval to hate all those who don't look, think, and act like myself.
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* Faith: The embrace of something that doesn't make sense, but it's convenient for me to believe.
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*History: The romanticized account of ordinary men engaged in routine stupidity.
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*American History: The often exaggerated, and invariably sanitized account of ordinary men committing unconscionable atrocities in the name of God.
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*Seek to become your own hero, and never allow anyone to remove your cape.
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*To Black people: The establishment doesn't recognize the power of your intellect. Use that to your advantage, because your history lies before you.
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*The very rules designed to curb the excesses of irresponsibility, also tend to restrict genius within the boundaries of mediocrity.
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*Ask not, what your country can do for you. Ask, what YOU can do for yourself.
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*Hostility is a sign of a weak and frustrated mind.
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*There are only two kinds of people in this world - good people, and bad people - and ignorance is the dividing line between the two.
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*The only true road to perfect fulfillment is dedicating your life to becoming your own hero.
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*Without mistakes we would never grow; so we shouldn't mourn our mistakes, we should celebrate our growth.
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*You must recognize who you are, to visualize who you can become.
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*The difference between a discussion and a debate is in a discussion both parties have the maturity to understand that since neither corners the market on either wisdom, knowledge, or intelligence, the point of the encounter is to share their respective points of view - not to win, but to learn.
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*Money is the root of small people.
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*Never seek recognition. Always seek excellence, and allow recognition to seek out you.
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*What an individual says is meaningless - always watch what they do.
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*When you choose to live in a fantasy, you're forced to view reality as a myth.
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*You can either speak the truth for the sake of humanity, or be popular. You cannot do both.

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*Efficient thought requires that we first, see life as it is, and only then, as we would have it.
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*There is no status more lonely than that of an exceptional Black man - he’s hated by the White establishment because he’s a threat to the status quo, and he’s hated by the Black "aristocracy"  because he’s a pie in the face of their delusions of grandeur.
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*The subconscious mind doesn't deal in self-assessment, so what you tell it you are, it believes, and begins to work on that assumption.

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*You are what you think, so if you refuse to think, you're nothing.
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*We all have a burning desire to impress others with who we are, but more often than not we try to express that need through what we have, and there's a huge difference between the two.
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*Pseudo-intellectual: One who imparts common knowledge like he's telling you something new.
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*American Exceptionalism: "Of course we believe in the Bible, EXCEPT when it's in conflict with our greed, prejudice, and self-interest."
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*It's one thing to feel superior, that's merely high self-esteem, but when you begin to believe it, that's arrogance.
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*Guns are a metaphor for penises, and "American exceptionalism" is a sexual fantasy.
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*Waiting on happiness to make you happy will insure an unhappy existence. Be happy now!
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*Never confuse hedonism with happiness.
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*The only mature form of competition is against you're last best effort.
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*God made birds to fly, fish to swim, and man to think - but fish have sense enough to adhere to their nature.
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*Never give anyone else's ability to think priority over your own.
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*It's not the system that's dysfunctional, we are - we're so apathetic that we're allowing the craziest among us to control the system.
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*Heroes are for kids - they don't have bills to pay.
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*Poverty Pimp: One who has an overwhelming need to buy a homeless man a sandwich - but feels an even greater need to bring a camera crew along to record the event.
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*Conservatism: 21st Century pretexts for 19th Century thinking.
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*Demagogue: One who's quick to give you all he's got - but all he's got is a passionate desire to manipulate you.
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*Compassionate Conservative: A Christian conservative who's morally, and fundamentally, opposed to lynching - so he'll starve you to death instead.
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*Donald Trump: Hitler in a wig.
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*Never fully trust ANY politician - after all, they've dedicated themselves to a life of crime.
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*Political Rule of Thumb: Trying to find a politician who's not self-serving is like searching for a homosexual who's not gay. 
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*In order for ANY politician to get the majority of votes from people who disagree, he must lie to at least some of them - so if your favorite politician is holding office, he's a liar by definition.
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*One's intelligence rises to accommodate one's level of curiosity and your desire for accomplishment.
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*Ninety-nine percent of the people are petty, self-serving hedonists. I only hope the remaining one percent can save me from myself.
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*When you feel obliged to lock out differing points of view, you incarcerate yourself in a prison of ignorance.
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*Never become so enraptured by the thoughts others that you fail to formulate your own.
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*Soaring rhetoric is only as meaningful as the backbone that sustains it.
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*We often confuse literacy with intellect. Intelligence is the capacity to assess and creatively manipulate information that the literate merely regurgitates.
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*Indulging in name-calling is a waste of both time and energy, because fools have a tendency to do all the heavy lifting for you.
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*Some of the best money I've ever spent was on the gratitude in the eyes of a homeless man.
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*Truth was the very first victim of American Exceptionalism.
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*Politicians are not our leaders; they're our employees - and we're grossly neglecting the business.
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*Friends are at their best when rewarding our failure to succeed, but when we do succeed we'll soon find that they were not friends at all.
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*True love is always having your lover's back, and knowing you don't have to worry about your own.
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*Some of the greatest minds I've ever known held court while sitting on empty milk crates in the parking lots of ghetto liquor stores.
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*Some of the weakest minds I’ve ever known roamed the halls of academia giving the pursuit of credentials priority over the pursuit of knowledge.
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*Before you point your finger at another, you should smell it first.
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*The only difference between Arab terrorism and American terrorism is the cost and efficiency of the delivery system.
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*The great institutions of learning can only certify that one was present in an environment where knowledge was shared. But no institution can confer either intelligence, character, or common sense, nor can it certify that the knowledge shared was absorbed.
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*Man's innate thirst for knowledge will someday overwhelm his passionate lust for stupidity.
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*Show me a man who believes that Moses parted the Red Sea, and I'll show you one whose grip on reality can't be relied upon.
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*More often than not, the happiest moments in your life won't cost you a dime.
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*The only difference between you and Socrates is that you're still capable of correcting your erroneous beliefs.
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*The key to Black liberation is to practice excellence as though it's a jump shot.
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*State's Rights: We demand our constitutional right to lynch whomever we wish.
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*Libertarian: I demand my individual right to abridge the rights of whomever I please.
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*The GOP: Liberals are un-American - they're engaged in a socialist plot to protect your family.
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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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*We accept the Bible as the word of God because the Bible says it is. Go figure it.
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*Question: When we're asked to "have faith," are we being asked to have faith in God, or to have faith in what man tells us about God?
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*Question: Can one believe in God, yet have no faith in man?
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*Question: If we can only be "saved" though Christ, did God condemn everyone born in non-Christian nations before birth?
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*Question: If God knows all, and he knows before Billy is born that Billy is going to Hell, can Billy do anything in life to make God wrong?
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*Every experience is a source of knowledge, so having to endure adversity makes one more, rather than less.
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*One should take great pride in being the product of adversity, because your mere survival provides you with unassailable credentials.
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*Unfortunately, man is most generously rewarded for his collusion in the conspiracy against mankind.
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*If one can’t find happiness in poverty, wealth will prove to be an ineffective mentor.
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*It is always gratifying to win a debate, but losing one is of much more value.
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*We’re Black and we’re proud - right up until we escape the adversity of our Blackness.
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*Question: Why is it that we allow our children to watch murder and mayhem all day long, but if a woman's breast is exposed we feel they've been irretrievably corrupted?
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*We must buy a license to marry, but we're free to hate with impunity. Go figure it.
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*I love you madly, my brother - until you succeed.
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*Black people are the product of the very same racist environment as White people. Thus, we're just as racist toward other Blacks as any Hillbilly.
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*Corporatists: It is always a delight to take so much credit for what so many others have done.
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*Always follow truth, regardless to where it leads, or whose ox it gores.
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*Older women aren't quite as frisky as young ones, but at least I have someone to talk to when I'm done.
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*The perfect woman: One who only tells me to go to Hell half the time.
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*An epiphany: The triumph of common sense over wishful thinking.
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*A personal epiphany: Never publish without running spellcheck.
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*Truth: You know you're aging when you've got the hots for the lady in the Depends commercial.

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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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WHY DO I SUPPORT BERNIE SANDERS?

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

WHY DO I SUPPORT BERNIE SANDERS? 
IT’S SIMPLE - BECAUSE HE WAS FIGHTING FOR MY RIGHTS BEFORE I WAS

Bernie Sanders first captured both my attention, and admiration, because he's a fighter, and his life is symbolic of the American struggle itself. Prior to the founding of this nation, America was a hopeless underdog, yet, it faced-down the mighty forces of England based on principle alone, and Bernie Sander’s entire life has been perfectly representative of that kind of courage. All of his life he’s been an underdog, yet he’s never given up on or wavered from the one solitary pursuit that has defined his existence - the fight for the freedom, justice, and equality that was guaranteed us all by the United States constitution. In spite of the fact that he’s been shunned, dismissed, and laughed at as being impractical and living with his head in the clouds, he’s managed to maintain the courage, dignity, and fortitude to face-down the mighty in the name of justice.

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In the past Bernie’s been content to fight this battle alone, but now, for the first time in his life, and from seemingly out of nowhere, he’s gained a tsunami of grassroots support from an America that's aching for a change, yearning for justice, and feeling a fierce affinity for this little guy who refused to give up. That’s why Bernie supporters are so passionate, because we all want to feel like there’s a little bit of Bernie in us as well, and that we too have the courage and tenacity to stand firm in the face of impossible odds. So to us, this is much more than just a political campaign; we’re Bernie’s cavalry, and this is a crusade, for good over evil.

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On the other hand, the Clintons are a perfect metaphor for the arrogance of wealth and power. During the time of our founding fathers, they would have represented the crown. While they have the tremendous clout of establishment backing and a long list of accomplishments, all of their accomplishments tend to benefit the wrong people. Although they talk like liberals, and act like liberals, they always seem to leave behind conservative policies that are detrimental to the average American. For example, Bill Clinton’s 1994 Crime Bill led to the mass incarceration of Black people; NAFTA rewarded corporations for sending American jobs out of the country; the Repeal of Glass-Steagall led directly to the 2008 Great Recession; The Welfare Reform Act only served to devastate many poor Black families; and finally, when Hillary joined the neocons in voting for the senseless war in Iraq, while it greatly benefitted war profiteers, it led to the death of a million Iraqis, and the death or maiming of thousands of American troops.

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In addition, It has been reported that the Clinton's net worth is over $100 million, and they control the $2 billion Clinton Foundation, so they're comfortably entrenched in the very corporate culture that has the American people virtually enslaved. Even their daughter, Chelsea, is married to Marc Mezvinsky, an American investment banker, co-founder of the hedge fund, Eaglevale Partners, and he was formerly an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. So the Clintons and Wall Street are, literally, in-laws.

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So I feel that Bernie deserves my support, if for no other reason than to reward him for his lifelong struggle to improve the lives of others instead of feathering his own nest. I'd be willing to bet that Bernie's one of the poorest men in the senate, and there's a good reason for that - he didn't have time to become wealthy, because he was too busy fighting for my rights as a human being, and even before I was.  So that's the kind of man I want having my back in the Oval Office.

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BERNIE SANDERS FIGHTING FOR BLACK PEOPLE IN 1963

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ONE FOR BERNIE

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Receding hairline, failing vision,

hair now turning grey,

an aging boomer in final protest,

Father Time his foe this day.

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Donning his headband, tie-dyed jeans,

and scorched draft card of protests past,

he set out for one last battle,

as in his youth that had quietly passed.

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Ode to an aging Boomer,

a different kind of man;

colleagues all now in the wind,

as he makes his final stand.

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But he found no placards or the sound of Trane,

no passionate speeches in the gentle rain,

no pretty girls wearing mini skirts,

and no solemn guards on pig alert.

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All he found was a new America,

and more freedom across this land;

the fruit of his struggle

for women's equality,

and the rights of his fellow man.

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He found Martin, Chavez, and Malcolm X,

all standing by his side;

He found Thomas Jefferson

and all his forefathers

beaming down with pride.

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He found minority children across this land

whose reach now exceed their grasp;

He found Jim Crow angrily cursing him,

as he took his final gasp.

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He found pride as an aging boomer,

more hero, than common man;

He found a quirky old fart embraced by history,

for having the courage to take a stand.

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Alone, an aging Boomer,

fellow travelers now in the wind;

but one last time he limps to his trench,

to defend his fellow man.

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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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THE BLACK COMMUNITY’S BLIND LOYALTY TO THE CLINTONS REFLECTS THE ENDURING IMPACT OF OUR SLAVE MENTALITY

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

THE BLACK COMMUNITY’S BLIND LOYALTY TO THE CLINTONS REFLECTS THE ENDURING IMPACT OF OUR SLAVE MENTALITY

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FROM THE EYES OF BABES
"I'm not feelin' this lady."

Hillary Clinton will never admit it, but considering she has the most powerful and well-oiled political machine in America, and Bernie Sanders is only being sustained by a passionate group of grassroots voters, his virtual tie in the Iowa Caucus and his win over her by a historic margin in New Hampshire represents a humiliating defeat.  But Hillary’s not worried about that, because she intends to more than make up the difference in Nevada, South Carolina, and the various other upcoming states where there’s a large Black population . . .  and therein lies our story.
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Considering what both Bill, and Hillary, have done to Black people over the years, the mere fact that Hillary is so confident that she has Black people in her pocket should be an embarrassment to the entire Black community, because regardless to how sophisticated Black people try to strut around acting, or how educated or militant we talk, the Black support for Hillary Clinton is a glaring reflection of the powerful impact of an enduring slave mentality. If you ask the average Black person to tell you just one thing the Clintons have done for Black people, they wouldn’t be able to do it, and there’s a good reason for that - because the Clintons haven’t done anything for Black people.  The fact is, they've much more too us than for us.
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BERNIE SANDERS FIGHTING FOR BLACK PEOPLE

IN 1963

Bill Clinton secured the everlasting loyalty of many Black people by simply swaggering onto the Arsenio Hall Show in dark glasses and trying to play the saxophone - that was it. That's all he ever did for the Black community, but that seems to have been enough for many Black people.  Just having a White man acknowledge our existence and pat us on the head will cause many of us to love him forever - even if he does beat us every now and then (“for our own good," of course). 
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And the Clintons have been doing just that every since they’ve been in the public eye - beating us mercilessly. They talk like liberals, and act like liberals, but they always seem to leave behind conservative policies that are detrimental to both Black people, and America as a whole - The 1994 Crime Bill, which led to the mass incarceration of Black people; NAFTA, which rewarded corporations for sending American jobs out of the country; the Repeal of Glass-Steagall, which led directly to the 2008 Great Recession; The Welfare Reform Act, which only served to devastate many poor Black families; and finally, Hillary joined the neocons in voting for the senseless war in Iraq, which led to the death of a million Iraqis and the death or maiming of thousands of American troops.
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So the Clintons have done more to promote the Republican agenda than most legitimate Republicans have ever done - and only with a smile, a swagger, a mouth full of pimp-talk, dark glasses and a saxophone. So wake up, America. Bill Clinton is the Iceberg Slim of American politics. His personal life even reflects that. That's why they call him "Slick Willie."

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BILL CLINTON'S CRIME BILL

BARRY GOLDWATER ALSO VOWED TO REPEAL

THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT IF ELECTED

Bill Clinton's omnibus crime bill is a prime example of the beating that Black people have been taking from the Clintons.  Every since the Nixon administration the word "crime" has been a 'dog whistle' term to mean "Black people."  In spite of all of the crimes that are being committed by Wall Street executives, White criminals, and the White establishment itself, whenever a politician mentions either "crime" or "welfare," they're dog-whistling to the rest of America that they're referring to Black people. That's why one of the worst things that can be said about a White politician is that "He's soft on crime," because what that actually means is that he's soft on Black people. So Bill Clinton made absolutely sure that he'd never be accused of such a thing by signing into law HR 3355, The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.

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In spite of the fact that the Black community embraced Clinton so passionately that they started calling him "The first Black President," shortly after assuming office he signed "the largest crime bill in the history of the United States, consisting of 356 pages providing for 100,000 new police officers, $9.7 billion in funding for prisons and $6.1 billion in funding for prevention programs which were designed with significant input from experienced police officers.^"  The bill also allocated $4 billion to all states that would adhere to it's provision to make violent criminals serve 85% of their sentences before being considered for parole, but some states mandated that all prisoners be required to meet that standard.
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Ben Collins reported in The Daily Beast that Jeremy Travis, former director of the National Institute of Justice (the research arm of the Department of Justice), said that “The pieces of the bill that Joe Biden is most closely identified with have generally been very well accepted. The Violence Against Women Act [also included in the bill] has been acknowledged by everybody as a tremendous influence . . . The parts of the bill that put more people in prison in our country—that’s a Republican part of the bill. The part that I’m on record being critical of is funding states to increase the length of sentences.”  Travis went on to say, “Mandatory prison sentences intensified enforcement of drug laws, and long sentences contributed not only to overall high rates of incarceration, but also especially to extraordinary rates of incarceration in black and Latino communities.”
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THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!

In Bill Clinton's statement on crime during his 1994 State Of The Union Address he specifically targeted the Black and Hispanic communities by dog-whistling
Dixie. He said the following:
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"Many years ago, when I started out in public life, I was the attorney general of my State. I served as a Governor for a dozen years. I know what it's like to sign laws increasing penalties, to build more prison cells, to carry out the death penalty. I understand this issue. And it is not a simple thing. First, we must recognize that most violent crimes are committed by a small percentage of criminals who too often break the laws even when they are on parole. Now those who commit crimes should be punished. And those who commit repeated violent crimes should be told, "When you commit a third violent crime, you will be put away, and put away for good; three strikes and you are out . . .
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"I think you know that to really solve this [crime] problem, we'll all have to put our heads together, leave our ideological armor aside, and find some new ideas to do even more. And let's be honest, we all know something else too: Our problems go way beyond the reach of Government. They're rooted in the loss of values, in the disappearance of work, and the breakdown of our families and our communities."
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Here Clinton is specifically referring to, or 'dog-whistling,' about the Black and Hispanic community. One must ask, what about white-collar crime, is that the result of "the disappearance of work, and the breakdown of our families and our communities" as well? No it's not. Then who is he talking about? Black people, of course, but instead of simply saying it, he's dog-whistling it. And thereafter, Clinton teamed up with the Republican Party to produce the biggest, most abusive, and lopsided crime bill in this nation's history, and created yet another kind of crime - but the kind of crime they approved of - the creation of the private prison industry, Black concentration camps, and the mass incarceration of Black people.
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But now that Hillary is trying to get them back into the White House, here comes Bill again, going to the NAACP apologizing, and saying he made a mistake. But where was that apology over the last 16 years before Hillary decided to run for president?  And if he was so sorry about it, why was the Prison Industrial Complex one of Hillary's biggest donors before she distanced herself from them after declaring her candidacy?  But nevertheless, when Bill came, hat-in-hand, asking for forgiveness, here comes John Lewis, Gregory Meeks, and the Congressional Black Caucus running to the Clintons' side like Pavlov's dog after hearing the dinner bell. It's not only embarrassing, but disgusting. It's reminiscent of a scene right out of Django.
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BILL CLINTON APOLOGIZES TO NAACP FOR CAUSING MASS INCARCINRATION

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"I signed a [crime] bill that made the problem worse. And I want to admit it," Clinton said at the 106th NAACP National Convention, which concluded Wednesday in Philadelphia. "In that bill, there were longer sentences, and most of these people are in prison under state law, but the federal law set a trend. And that was overdone; we were wrong about that."

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THE MENA, ARKANSAS CONNECTION

So the irony of the Clinton crime bill, their connection to the private prison industry, and the mass incarceration of Black people for drug violations is Bill's own connection with the grossly illegal operation that flooded the Black community with crack cocaine in the first place. So he was involved in creating a problem, made the Black community pay for it, and then benefited from our misery. 

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A CASH COW FROM A LOVING HUSBAND,
AT THE EXPENSE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY

Thus, when dealing with either Bill, or Hillary Clinton, dog whistling is a concept that the voting public would do well to become very familiar with, because it's the most formidable weapon in the Clinton political arsenal, and they both use it prolifically - they have to in order to play both ends against the middle. It allows them to say one thing to us, while sending an altogether different message to their corporate cronies at one and the same time.

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It has been reported that the Clinton's net worth is well over $100 million (some report over $200 million). They also control the $2 billion Clinton Foundation, so they're comfortably entrenched in the very corporate culture that has the American people virtually enslaved. Even their daughter, Chelsea, is married to Marc Mezvinsky, an American investment banker, co-founder of hedge fund Eaglevale Partners, and was formerly an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. So the Clintons and Wall Street are, literally, in-laws. 

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So Black people, don't allow yourselves to be played - for a second time.  These people don't care nothing about you; they just need your vote, to finish enslaving America.

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DID HILLARY CLINTON TRY TO DOG-WHISTLE BARACK OBAMA'S ASSASSINATION DURING THE 2008 PRIMARIES?

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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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THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS NOT VOTING - NOT VOTING, OR WASTING IT ON A THIRD PARTY, IS A VOTE FOR ANOTHER DICK CHENEY

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS NOT VOTING - NOT VOTING, OR WASTING IT ON A THIRD PARTY, IS A VOTE FOR ANOTHER DICK CHENEY

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Voting for a third party, or a party that can't possibly win, is a wasted vote. It's like not voting at all. It constitutes a vote for the people that you dislike most. You should never get so angry at the Bogey Man that you leave the backdoor open for the Devil. That's how George W. Bush was elected in 2000, and that didn't work out too well for us, did it?

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After Ralph Nader was rejected for the 2000 presidential nomination by the Democratic voters, instead of acknowledging his rejection and falling into line to help defeat the Republicans - the people who represented the very policies that he was supposedly so passionately against all of his life - Nader went into a petulant snit and ran as a third party candidate. It was clear that he purposely ran as a third party candidate with the mean-spirited intent of sabotaging the Democratic effort, because third parties never win.  Again, the only purpose third parties ever serve is to help elect the people that you like least, because they divide the vote of like-minded people.

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Then Cornel West joined Nader in this foolish - or treacherous, you make the determination - campaign, and as a result, George W. Bush won the election over Al Gore by winning Florida by a mere 537 votes. The Nader/West coalition peeled off 97,488 votes from Gore in Florida alone. So when I say that Ralph Nader and Cornel West were more than a little responsible for George W. Bush becoming President of the United States, and thus, your current economic condition, don’t take my word for it, you do the math.

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Yes, the conservative Supreme Court Cheated for Bush, but if it hadn't been for the stupidity of Nader and West the vote wouldn't have been close enough to be thrown into the Supreme Court. So as a direct result of those voters who decided not to vote, or to waste their vote on Ralph Nader (who couldn't possibly win), over a million innocent Iraqis (mostly women and children) and thousands of American troops are now either dead or permanently disabled.

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SO NO, I NEITHER LIKE, NOR DO I TRUST, HILLARY CLINTON A BIT,
BUT IF SHE WINS THE NOMINATION I’M GONNA VOTE FOR HER,
AND HERE’S WHY . . .

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THE MODERN REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS MORPHED INTO THE DOMESTIC ENEMY OF THE UNITED STATES

http://wattree.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-modern-republican-party-has-morphed.html

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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THE CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS’ ENDORSEMENT OF HILLARY CLINTON IS OUTRAGEOUS!

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

THE CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS’ ENDORSEMENT OF HILLARY CLINTON IS OUTRAGEOUS, AND IT SIGNALS THAT IT'S TIME FOR THEM TO BE REPLACED 

When I first heard that the Congressional Black Caucus had endorsed Hillary Clinton, I couldn't believe my ears.  And yes, I said the Congressional Black Caucus. The debate over whether or not every member of the caucus agreed with the PAC's endorsement of Hillary Clinton is nothing but a political ploy. It merely provides establishment-entrenched Black politicians a backdoor to escape having to account for what is clearly an unconscionable act of political betrayal - or, in other words, politics as usual. If that's not the case, every member who disagrees with Hillary's endorsement should stand up and express why.
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"Sanders helped found the Progressive Caucus as a member of the House in 1991 and is currently the only member of the caucus from the Senate. The group, which started with six members, has grown into the largest caucus in the Democratic conference with 76 members."  Where was Hillary when she was in the senate?
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These politicians have obviously been in Washington too long. They've bought into the political assumption that the people are stupid - well, some of us are, but not all of us. So this clumsy ploy could turn out to be a good thing. First, we can now find out once and for all who actually controls the Congressional Black Caucus, the caucus members themselves, or a group of self-serving lobbyists; secondly, if this is a dirty political trick hatched by Clinton operatives to mislead the voters, it could backfire if individual caucus members who disagree with this endorsement step forward and say so in no uncertain terms. It's time that the voters begin to demand that we stop being treated like idiots and assume our rightful place, as the employers of these politicians, not their mindless sheep. And it's also time for us to start getting rid of those politicians who don't know the difference - starting with CBC PAC Chairman, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY).
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What on Earth could these people possibly be thinking!!!? With this one act, they’ve shown themselves to be puppets of the establishment and of absolutely no use to the Black community. So we should vote every one of them out of office and replace them with people who have sense enough to realize that it was Bill Clinton who created the Prison Industrial Complex, signed NEFTA into law, that not only made it possible, but financially advantageous for corporations to send American jobs out of the country. He also repealed the Glass-Steagall Act that led directly to the Great Recession of 2008. And if that wasn't enough,   Hillary tried to ‘dog whistle’ the assassination of Barack Obama during the 2008 primaries. So what kind of fools are these, who would endorse such a person!!!?
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HILLARY WAS OUT CAMPAIGNING FOR BARRY GOLDWATER
WHO PLEDGED TO REPEAL THE CILVIL RIGHTS ACT.

Bill and Hillary Clinton are clearly Republicans in drag. When Bernie Sanders was out marching with Martin Luther King, Hillary Clinton was working for Republican Barry Goldwater, who pledged that if elected he would repeal the Civil Rights Act.  And Hillary’s conservative predisposition could also be observed in her behavior during her first high-profile position on the Board of Directors of Walmart.
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During the six years that Hillary was in that position Walmart was undercutting labor unions, paying their workers slave-like wages, and discriminating against women by paying them less than they paid men for doing the same job, and Hillary didn’t say a word. The reason for that was simple - it wasn’t convenient for her to speak out at the time. Speaking out on behalf of women and the working class wouldn’t do anything to promote her ambition. It was a zero sum gain, and Hillary is not motivated by conviction; she's motivated by self-interest. But all of a sudden - now that she needs the votes of the working class - she’s trying to portray herself as a gladiator for the people, but that’ll only last until she gets into office. Then it’ll be business as usual - paying back political favors (like the $25,000 campaign donation that she received from Walmart to just "explore" the possibly of running), and building up future credits with other corporate elites for her next campaign.
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The Clinton's net worth is over $100 million and they control a $2 billion foundation - which is currently under investigation, by the way. So the Clinton’s are comfortably entrenched in the very corporate elitist culture that is keeping us virtually enslaved.
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http://wattree.blogspot.com/2016/01/bill-and-hillary-clinton-republicans-in.html

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HILLARY CLINTON ON WALMART BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

"Mrs. Clinton’s six-year tenure as a director of Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest company, remains a little known chapter in her closely scrutinized career. And it is little known for a reason. Mrs. Clinton rarely, if ever, discusses it, leaving her board membership out of her speeches and off her campaign Web site.
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"Mr. Walton was vocal in his opposition to unions. Indeed, he appointed the lawyer who oversaw the company’s union monitoring, Mr. Tate, to the board, where he served with Mrs. Clinton.
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"During their meetings and private conversations, Mrs. Clinton never voiced objections to Wal-Mart’s stance on unions, said Mr. Tate and John A. Cooper, another board member.
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“'She was not an outspoken person on labor, because I think she was smart enough to know that if she favored labor, she was the only one,' Mr. Tate said. 'It would only lessen her own position on the board if she took that position.” http://www.nytimes.com/2007/…/20/us/politics/20walmart.html…
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And then there's the machinations of Bill Clinton while out of office:

A NO NO-LOSE SITUATION FOR THE CORPORATE ELITE

According to a Washington Post report in August of 2015, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump had a private phone call weeks before Trump got in the presidential race, in which the former president reportedly “encouraged” Trump’s political efforts.  The report by Robert Costa and Anne Gearan  indicated that people close to Trump and Clinton confirmed that the two men spoke some time in May of 2016. It went on to say:
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"Trump took the call from his office in Trump Tower in New York, according to the four allies, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly. The call came as Trump was making a final decision about whether to run, and he was candid about his political ambitions and his potential interest in seeking the White House during the talk, these allies said. The 42nd president listened intently and then analyzed Trump’s prospects and his desire to rouse the GOP base, the Trump allies said.

"The tone of the call was informal, and Clinton never urged Trump to run, the four people said. Rather, they said, Clinton sounded curious about Trump’s moves toward a presidential bid and told Trump that he was striking a chord with frustrated conservatives and was a rising force on the right."
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And finally, during her 2008 campaign against Obama, while trying to get Ted Kennedy’s support, it was reported by the New Yorker that Bill Clinton said to Kennedy regarding Barack Obama, "A few years ago, this guy would have been carrying our bags." True progressives don’t talk like that. He was sounding just like a White Southern politician behind closed doors - which is exactly what he was, and is - dark glasses and saxophone notwithstanding. They don't call him "Slick Willie" for nothing. 
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So one of two things have to be in play with these Congressional Black Caucus members - either they’ve become so comfortable with their huge salaries, perks, and prestige that they’ve lost sight of what’s going on around them, or they’ve been corrupted to the point that feathering their own nest has become more important to them than protecting the interest of the Black community.  But either way, it’s time for them to go.
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A MESSAGE TO THE BLCK COMMUNITY:  Pay no attention to what they say; always watch what they do.

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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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Stanley 'Tookie' Williams - An All American Boy (Reprise)

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

Stanley 'Tookie' Williams - An All American Boy

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This article was originally written in December of 2005.  It wasn't written to glorify either crime, murder, or the gangster lifestyle that a minority of Black and Hispanic youth embrace in the hood. It was written to reflect the reality of life in this nation’s inner cities, and the culture of wasted humanity that it spawns. 
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In the end, it turned out that Tookie Williams was a brilliant young man, and he just might have possessed a mind that could have cured many of society’s ills. This nation cannot afford such a waste, and the Black community cannot just sit back and allow this sort of thing to continue, because the fact is, Stanley 'Tookie' Williams was actually an All American Boy; the only thing he did that we don't routinely honor our young men for, was applying his American values toward his own interest, instead of Exxon/Mobile's.

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I went to view the remains of Stanley 'Tookie' Williams, the Friday after America released his body from its death chamber. He went to Washington High School with my late wife. When I went inside the mortuary’s Slumber Chamber where Tookie’s body lie in repose, there was only two of us there, a lady sitting in the front pew quietly weeping, presumably a member of Tookie’s family. It was obvious that the lady was in great pain, so in spite of the fact that I didn’t know her, I offered her my condolences. The chamber was quiet and solemn.  Then, after paying my respects, I walked out the side door of the mortuary - and into an absolute zoo.    
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In the parking lot next to the mortuary there was a crowd of people partying like it was New Years Eve - the music was blasting, one car was on lifters so high that it seemed to be standing on end, and three sisters were dancing in a heated frenzy before a crowd of maybe a hundred people shouting, “Go ba-by! Go ba-by! Go ba-by!” It was unbelievable. But the scene outside the mortuary that night served to reinforce a point of view that I’ve held for many years now - it's time for our people to wake up and sniff the funk, because the fumes are emanating from all around us, and it’s coming at us from every direction. That goes for the American people in general, but black people in particular.
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As black people, we have a beautiful and festive culture, and I realize that in the past that festive spirit has been used to great effect as a defense against pain.  But times are changing in this country, and they’re changing faster and more drastically than we’ve ever known before.  So, if we are to survive as a people, we must adapt to that change - and we’d better do it real fast.
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Looking at the United States today, one can’t help but recognize that it’s become reminiscent of Germany during the 1930s, just prior to the rise of fascism.  We have a regime currently in power that’s stolen two elections, and has taken over every branch of government; they invaded a sovereign nation on false pretenses, and they’re saber rattling towards others; They’ve set up concentration camps all over the world, and they’re torturing innocent people.  As we party, they’re not only passing laws that will allow them to spy on American citizens, but arrest those citizens, while denying them rights supposedly guaranteed under the Constitution of the United States.
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We’ve got to start thinking the way this government thinks (notice that I didn’t say “the White man,” because if a White man happens to be poor or middle class, he’s in trouble too). We‘ve got to start thinking ahead.  When I was in the Marine Corps way back in 1971, even then, they had me out in Twenty-nine Palms training reservists in desert warfare.  So you see, while we’re living in the moment, this government is thinking ahead.  And when you consider the fact that Bush is now spending 2 billion dollars a week in Iraq, and sending this country into so much debt that it precludes our funding education, Medicare, most entitlement programs, and possibly, even Social Security, you’d better believe they have a game plan in mind.  They have to have one, just to deal with the resulting social upheaval that is sure to result - and they are practicing that game plan in Iraq as we speak.  So it is past time for black people to set our party hats aside, at least for the moment, and embark on a very serious and sober reassessment of where we stand in this country today.
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Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-America - I Love America.  America has provided me and my family with a way of life, and opportunities, that we might not have found in any other place in the world. But what I love most about America is the American ideal, those ideals that we may not always live up to, but we aspire to.  It is the American ideal that makes America special, and it is the assault on those ideals that makes me very nervous about the Bush administration. Under Bush, we seem to be losing sight of what America stands for. He claims that the terrorists hate us because of the American ideal of freedom, justice, and equality.  But if that is indeed the case, the terrorist are clearly winning this war, because with every day that passes those ideals are being whittled away.
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When Bush invaded Iraq in response to 9-11, he demonstrated very clearly his propensity for venting his hostility towards people of color.  In spite of the fact that all available evidence pointed to the fact that Saddam Hussein had absolutely nothing to do with attacking this country, his invasion of Iraq seems to say, “Oh well, one Arab is just like another - they’ll do.”  That is not the American way.
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And as a result of that policy, United Press International reported on July 12, 2005 that according to an Iraqi humanitarian organization, 128,000 Iraqis have been killed since the U.S. invasion began in March 2003.  The report goes on to say,  “chairman of the 'Iraqiyun' humanitarian organization in Baghdad, Dr. Hatim al-'Alwani, said that the toll includes everyone who has been killed since that time, adding that 55 percent of those killed have been women and children aged 12 and under.”  Thus, according to this report, more women and children are being killed in Iraq than anyone else - and that, is not the American way.
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In addition, it has now come to light that the Bush administration has been spying on Muslims in their homes, businesses, and mosques, without warrant, since September 11, 2001. Conservative spin doctors try to justify this policy by saying that this fudging of the Constitution only affects 0.1% of the people, so those of us who don’t have anything to hide, don’t have anything to worry about. But the fact is, these violations set a precedent that sends the nation down a slippery slope that affects us all.  It’s not only a gross violation of an entire community of people, but a corruption of the United States Constitution that places us all in jeopardy. That is not the American way.
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So it is clear that our government, under Bush, has no understanding, nor respect, for limits.  Since he's already demonstrated his propensity to paint all people of color with the same brush, it’s not a very big leap from terrorist, to Muslim, to Black Muslim, to black people in general.  And while that's not the American way, it's a glaring reality.
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So, again, it is past time for the black community to turn down the music for a minute and get serious. The Cabbage Patch can wait, because if there has ever been a time in our history where it is incumbent upon us to focus, educate ourselves, and become politically engaged, it is now. We’ve demonstrated over the years that we can party hardier than any group of people in the world, but at this point in our history, we have absolutely nothing to party about.  Tookie’s body should attest to that fact.

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ADDED AFTER BARACK OBAMA'S ELECTION

Since I wrote that article eight years ago, there has been some change - with respect to the Black community, it's gotten worse.  Some Obama critics - like Tavis Smiley, Cornel West, and the entire Republican Party - would say, that makes their point.  Even though we've elected a Black president things have gotten worse. But that's not true.  On a national level things have gotten a lot better. Under the Bush administration the nation was hemorrhaging 850,000 jobs per MONTH, and this nation, and the world as a whole, was racing towards a second Great Depression, so on a national level things are much better.
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What the steady decline of the Black community does clearly indicate, however, is that we're not doing nearly enough to help ourselves. So why are Obama critics wasting so much time on television selling books, and rolling around in buses promoting themselves when there is so much work to be done in the community? Why aren't they in the community with their sleeves rolled up and educating the community to the need for change, and about how to bring that change about?  The answer is, because they don't care. All they care about is their own enrichment. So the fact is, we've got to stop waiting for them, and start caring about ourselves. So let's get moving.
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About Tookie and Others Like Him

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We must also remember while we’re condemning Tookie that society creates it’s own monsters. All any person is, is a walking, breathing, bundle of past experiences, and society creates those experiences. So society plays a huge role in what we become as individuals. Then, why is it that two people from the very same sociological group will become complete opposites - one will become Stanley ‘Tookie’ Williams, and the other, Dr. Ben Carson?
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First, is parenting - our parents help to shape the way we view reality, how we deal with adversity, and determine whether we feel entitled or deprived. Second, is predisposition - some people tend to be appeasers, while others are combative. And finally, every individual is shaped by micro experiences - the individual experiences that serve to shape our personalities. Maybe at some point in his life Tookie Williams was slapped by a cop, and Ben Carson never had that experience. So although Carson is from the very same sociological group, his INDIVIDUAL life experience has shaped him differently.
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Thus, Tookie Williams wasn't just BORN to be rebellious, he BECAME rebellious as a result of what he'd experienced in life. And Ben Carson wasn't BORN to be a subservient kiss-ass - which is clearly what he is. His INDIVIDUAL experience has shaped him into what he's become. Therefore, society creates its own monsters, both in fact, and portrayal. So what you saw in Tookie was a brutal murderer.  What I saw was a pensive guy who I found, in the middle of a raging party, sitting quietly in the glow of a red nightlight in my kid's bedroom watching them as they slept - he was in pain, because his legs had been injured in an attempted assassination, so he couldn't party.  Nevertheless, he took his life in his hands and came all the way across town, where he would have been killed on sight, just to share a few moments with a high school friend.
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Tookie regretted forming the Crips. he told me that he and a guy by the name of Raymond Washington organized the Crips at Washington High as a defense against bullies, and my wife confirmed that.  But the group took on a life of its own, and he got caught up in the fame, folklore, and notoriety of his name. He didn't want to live that kind of life, but it got to the point where he either had to live the life or die. But actually, Tookie had a brilliant and curious mind. I was already in college studying psychology the first time he came to our house to visit Val, and considering his reputation, I was amazed at his brilliance. He could discuss, in detail, any subject that came up - cosmology, philosophy, epistemology, etc. I was taking epistemology (the science of knowledge and logical thought) when I first met him, and he could discuss the subject in so much detail that it was like he was the star student in the class. So I went from being angry over my wife inviting such a notorious person into our home, to looking forward to seeing him.  I could write an entire book on my discussions with Tookie, and I might do just that in the future. So I can say without any fear of contradiction, Tookie was much more brilliant than the people who executed him. When they killed Tookie Williams, they sent a lot of knowledge into the next world.
.
So those images came back to me as I looked upon him in the mortuary in what seemed like a peaceful slumber. That's why I don't believe for a minute that Tookie was guilty of the crime that he was murdered for. They couldn't produce a shred of hard evidence at his trial, but he was infamous, he was smart, and he was Black. That was enough for them. So as I looked upon Tookie's stilled body, I didn't see the infamous Tookie Williams, I saw who my late wife (who had died in April of that year) used to call Stan, and the image of him as he sat quietly in the glow of a red nightlight still remains with me.
.
But, that said, this society also created Gorge W. Bush and Dick Cheney, and we know for a fact that they're responsible for the death of over a million people, the maiming of thousands of others, and the brutal torture of still more. So even if Tookie was guilty of what he was accused of, his crime doesn’t even begin to approach the magnitude of Bush and Cheney’s. Yet, instead of killing Bush like society did Tookie, they built him a library. Thus, Tookie’s major crime wasn’t murder, per se - the mere murder of men, women, and children is a part of the American ethic. Tookie’s major crime was allegedly murdering in the promotion of his own agenda, rather than the agenda of Haliburton and Exxon/Mobile, the kind of murders in which we routinely hand out medals.
.
Now, those are the facts. Bush and Cheney turned the American military into nothing less than the Crips with a dental plan, and Tookie merely took the American ethic - in which he’d been indoctrinated into all of his life - and applied it to his own environment. As far as he was concerned, he was America, and everybody else that didn’t see things his way, was the USSR.
.
But the existence of the Tookies in the Black community is also partly our fault, because we’re so busy watching BET, MTV, ESPN, partying and having a good time, that we're failing to educate our own young people in OUR own values. We're allowing them to take on the very values that were responsible for our enslavement - and I'm not speaking as a detached academic from an office atop Mt. Olympus; I'm speaking as a "hood rat" . . . just like my late friend, Tookie.
.
Tookie was a brilliant writer, with a brilliant mind, and he had the respect of the very young Black people we need to get through to. So his institutionalized murder was a complete waste of what could have been one our most valuable assets.  His influence could have prevented the pending murders of the innocent people who are today walking around happy and smiling, and completely unaware of the horror that lies in their future.

.

.

ODE TO TOOKIE

*
Tookie?
Yeah,
I knew Tookie;
I WAS Tookie,
And I knew his pain.
*
I knew the pain of a child
That the cold, smirking
Eyes of society
Peered down upon;
Of being caught like
A doe in the headlights
Of unbridled hatred
For nothing more than
Just . . . being;
Of being
Under-acknowledged,
Under-appreciated,
And under-educated,
By a society
Intent on robbing me
Of the innocence
That is every child’s birthright.
And I know the churning, agonizing,
And unfocused anger
Of a youth
Who knows anger
Much too soon.
*
So,
Tookie?
Yeah,
I knew Tookie;
I WAS Tookie,
But I ain’t going out like that.
*
Because some the greatest minds
I’ve ever known
Held court while sitting
on empty milk crates
In the parking lot
Of ghetto liquor stores;
And at their feet I embraced
The love of knowledge,
And through their tutelage
Defined self-worth
In my own terms.
*
These were the "Eulipians"—
Writers, poets, musicians, painters,
And uncommon drunks—
Those shade-tree philosophers who
Contemplated the fungus
Between the toes of society;
Who danced with reckless abandon,
Unfettered by formal inhibition
Through the presumptuous
Speculation of the ages.
*
Yes, the Eulipians,
Who lived in county jails,
Cardboard boxes, alley ways,
And luxury apartments.
Seemingly insignificant
Here in Great Bruteland,
But of ultimate significance
In the eyes of God.
*
While these obscure intellectuals
Stood well outside the mainstream
Of academy,
I watched with astonished delight
As they sang, scat, blew, and scribed
Their various philosophies into the
Mainstream of human knowledge.
*
Tookie?
Oh Yeah,
I knew Tookie;
I WAS Tookie,
*
But I met the Eulipians,
Who, from their ragged podiums,
Put forth the proposition
That knowledge was free, thus,
Would transcend attempts to be
Contain through barriers of
Caste and privilege - and even,
Institutionalized murder -
Leaving man's innate thirst
For knowledge free to overwhelm
His lust for stupidity.
*
So,
Tookie,
Yeah,
Yes in deed, I did know Tookie;
I WAS Tookie,
But I choose a different tact.
While I refuse to lunge
Against your saber,
In a glorious and defiant act,
Look into my eyes, my man--
I still got my brother’s back.
*
You thought you had him,
While facing death,
But he went down like
Like Trojan -
Leaving your silly asses,
With your silly smiles,
Standing there
Shocked and frozen.
*
"What’s up, baby,
Can’t find a vein?
You been beggin’ to do this,
So let’s us do this thang.
But if y’all
Waitin’ around
To see me grovelin' in pain,
I ain’t the only one gon’
Die here,
You jive ass, lame.
*
"Faint of heart?
Give it here,
I’ll stick the damn thang for ya;
I’m a man of the hood
And strong of heart,
So I goin' down
Like a warrior.
*
"Naw, my man,
You don’t see no fear;
You really look surprised!
I’m gon’ honor my people
As I leave here,
So just stick me,
So I can close my eyes.
*
"You schemed and you cheated
To take me out,
So let us get this on;
You can still my body
And take my breath,
But my heart
Will still live on."
*
So,
Tookie?
You mean
THAT Tookie.
Yeah, I knew Tookie,
We’ve planted his heart
Within the hood;

So what you saw as dirt,
We see as soil,
To sow this tragedy,
Into something good.
*
Tookie,
Oh yeah,
I KNEW Tookie,
But I ain’t goin’
Out like that.

.
A SENSIBLE SOLUTION TO WHITE SUPREMACY
http://wattree.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-sensible-response-to-white-supremacy.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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