Allen West Announces Candidacy for Congress

Palm Beach Gardens, FL - Lieutenant Colonel Allen West (US Army, Retired) today announced he is running for Congress in Florida's 22nd Congressional District.

Hatip Atlashrugged

"After much prayerful consideration and conversation with my family, I am running for Congress to change the culture of defeat and retreat in Washington. Voters in next year's elections will be offered two distinct visions for the future of our country: strength or weakness, resolve or indecision, security or vulnerability. America is at a crossroads, and I intend to be a voice in Congress that stands up for preserving our nation's strength, safety, and future.

"Serving 22 years in the US Army and working in Afghanistan for the Department of Defense have provided me a unique, first-hand understanding of the enemy we face abroad. I'm running for Congress to continue my lifetime of public service and be a much-needed voice for victory in Washington. I understand how the decisions made by elected officials affect our troops overseas and families here in District 22.

"In Congress I will put my experience to work for our national security and honor my oath to the US Constitution by securing our borders and enforcing our immigration laws. I will fight to lower taxes and reduce the size of federal government. I will be an advocate for bringing new, high paying jobs to South Florida and will protect small business by cutting senseless regulations that cost jobs and increase overhead. And I will be a champion for reducing our dependence on foreign sources of oil, promoting energy independence while preserving our coastlines and farmland."

A veteran of Desert Storm/Desert Shield, Col. West served as Battalion Commander for the Army's 4th Infantry Division in Operation Iraqi Freedom, receiving numerous honors including a Bronze Star and 3 Meritorious Service Medals. Col. West and his wife, Angela, a financial planner, have been married 17 years. They have two daughters, Aubrey, 14, and Austen, 10.

http://www.allenwestforcongress.com/

Black English...Ax or Ask?

See Garrard McClendon and his book, Ax or Ask?: The African American Guide to Better English on Fox News Chicago

THOMAS SOWELL COMMENTARY: A War Of Words

The conservative economist opines: "It has long been recognized that those on the political left are more articulate than their opponents. The words they choose for the things they are for or against make it easy to decide whether to be for or against those things. Are you for or against 'social justice'? A no-brainer. Who is going to be for injustice? What about 'a living wage'?

Who wants people not to have enough money to live on? Then there is 'affordable housing' and 'affordable health care.' Who would want people to be unable to afford to put a roof over their heads or unable to go to a doctor when they are sick? In real life, the devil is in the details. But the whole point of political rhetoric is to make it unnecessary for you to have to go into the specifics before taking sides. You don't need to know any economics to be in favor of 'a living wage' or 'affordable housing.' In fact, the less economics you know, the more you can believe in such things. Conservatives, on the other hand, have a gift for phrasing things in terms that are unlikely to arouse most people's interest, much less their support.

John Coltrane Quintet with Eric Dolphy - Impressions

Pretty amazing. Such a quality band with great individual as well as group work. Coltrane, Tyner, Dolphy, Garrisson and Jones: superb.

Bush Proposes Action On Darfur

Today President Bush told the world community and UN that it was time to act on Darfur.The White House reported:

Good morning.

For too long, the people of Darfur have suffered at the hands of a government that is complicit in the bombing, murder, and rape of innocent civilians. My administration has called these actions by their rightful name: genocide. The world has a responsibility to help put an end to it. Last month I announced that the United States was prepared to take new steps if the government of Sudan did not allow the full deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force; if the government did not begin living up to its many commitments, that the United States would act.

I made clear that the time for promises was over, and that President Bashir had to do something to end the suffering. I held off implementing these steps because the United Nations believed that President Bashir could meet his obligations to stop the killing, and would meet his obligations to stop the killing. Unfortunately, he hasn't met those obligations. President Bashir's actions over the past few weeks follow a long pattern of promising cooperation while finding new methods for obstruction. One day after I spoke, the military bombed a meeting of rebel commanders designed to discuss a possible peace deal with the government.

In following weeks, he used his army and government-sponsored militias to attack rebels and civilians in South Darfur. He's taken no steps to disarm these militias in the year since the Darfur peace agreement was signed. Senior officials continue to oppose the deployment of the U.N. peacekeeping force. The result is that the dire security situation on the ground in Darfur has not changed. And so today, at my instruction, the United States has taken the steps I announced in April. First, the Department of Treasury is tightening U.S. economic sanctions on Sudan. With this new effort, the United States will more aggressively enforce existing sanctions against Sudan's government...

Meanwhile genocide in Darfur continues.

Chavez, Chavez, Chavez

Venezuala continues its descent into hell while the American left is silent!

Thanks to ...."Gateway Pundit"

** The Jungle Hut is following the clashes from Venezuala.

** Globovision has photos from the crackdown by the regime.

** Venezuela News and Views- Even in San Felipe we are hearing sirens and pot banging!

** Devil's Excrement- "Chavista thugs are attacking another private station!"
-Photos

** Xeni Jardin has video links of the regime blasting the protesters with water cannons.** Citizen Feathers has video of the "pot-banging" against the regime.

** Bizzyblog has updates.

The Giuliani-McCain Bounce Back

The GOP presidential debate overview is late, since illness and other reasons kept me from catching this live. I instead watched the midnight rebroadcast. Winners: Rudy Giuliani and John McCain. Both were much more on their game than at the MSNBC debate last week. McCain gave a solid defense of his Iraq position, but sounded much more avuncular and less snappish this time.

His answers denouncing the use of torture on morality and efficacy grounds might not have played to the crowd, but they felt genuine He slapped Mitt Romney vert adroitly when the former Massachusetts governor went after him on McCain-Feingold: After saying that he's stayed consistent on both campaign finance and pro-life, McCain said, "I have not changed my position on even-numbered years or changed because of the different offices that I may be running for." His "drunken sailor" line in reference to congressional spending went over much better (though Huckabee's trumped him shortly afterwards)

.On the other hand, McCain's claim that Republicans lost Congress not because of Iraq, but only because of overspending and corruption was a little too cute. Giuliani got the applause of the night in responding to Ron Paul's "blowback" theory of 9/11. Paul was dumb to include U.S. patrolling of the Iraqi no-fly-zone after the first Gulf War in his claim that U.S. Middle East policy had a role in the run-up to 9/11. Hardly any If he had just stuck to bin Laden's statements about U.S. military bases in Saudi Arabia, he would have been on more solid ground. But Rudy was smart to jump on Paul's overstatement and pulled the "I paid for this microphone , Mr. Speaker" line of the night: "That's really an extraordinary statement. That's really an extraordinary statement, as someone who lived through the attack of Sept. 11, that we invited the attack because we were attacking Iraq.

I don't think I have ever heard that before and I have heard some pretty absurd explanations for Sept. 11. I would ask the congressman withdraw that comment and tell us that he didn't really mean that." The house erupted. (However, in the interest of precision, it should be noted that Paul's initial answer -- on general Middle East policy --actually drew light, scattered, applause. Don't take my word for it.

Check the replay online.)That aside, Rudy managed to deflect the abortion and "not conservative-enough for a conservative party" questions and played to his strengths -- security and leadership (strengths which the debate format played). He also managed to display light humor (his embracing of Gilmore's anti-"Rudy McRomney" line as a "ticket" he liked. Mike Huckabee was also a winner because he took the role Jim Gilmore had in the MSNBC debate -- smart, balanced, knowledgeable conservative -- and added the red-meat anti-Democratic candidate line of the night, that Congress had "spent money like John Edwards at a beauty shop." That's a textbook example of how to deliver a cheap shot -- make it very funny.

His defense of his tax policies -- his 94 tax cuts vs. increases for highway maintenance showed the legitimate trade-offs a chief executive has to make. At the same time, he also seemed like the guy who had a broader vision than just the "issues" under discussion that evening. Losers: Mitt Romney -- aside from the exchange with McCain, Romney didn't have any real flubs. On the other hand, he didn't say or do anything that particularly distinguished him apart from the rest of the crowd -- in ways that McCain, Giuliani, or even Huckabee did. Gilmore, unfortunately, didn't distinguish himself this time either. When asked to be explicit about the stands of opponents that he had criticized by name on the campaign trail, he backed away. Be direct, Jim, if you have the opportunity.


Sam Brownback, Duncan Hunter and Tommy Thompson were "OK", but that's not enough in this crowded field (which may get more crowded with Fred Thompson and Newt Gingrich pondering a run). Tom Tancredo is a one issue candidate -- immigration.

Ron Paul was neither a winner nor a loser. Obviously, he has no chance of becoming the nominee, but he came across this time as the equivalent of Mike Gravel in the Democratic contest: He had a real influence on the debate, for good or ill. He articulated the libertarian view of the role of government (and, in a post-debate sequence on Hannity and Colmes, explained how one can be libertarian and pro-life). Furthermore, his historical/ philosophical analysis of the Republican strain of non-interventionism is supported by the facts; his appropriation of Ronald Reagan's assessment of the "irrationality of Middle East politics" is, I believe, something that will be picked up, sooner or later, by another candidate. Mark my words. Finally, Fox News Channel's presentation was a marked improvement over the MSNBC/Chris Matthews Ego Fest.





I give it a solid B for its coherent format and question selection. (Fox had an interesting meta-message going too: White House correspondent Wendell Goler's presence meant Fox had a more diverse panel of interlocutors than MSNBC, a fact that Chris Wallace was able to underscore when he asked the "diversity" question: Why does the GOP field look like a country club? Wonder if the Democrats regret blowing up the FNC-Congressional Black Caucus debate?) However, FNC loses points for its ill-advised hypothetical terror question at the end.


Contrary to the "Law And Order" ripped-from-the-headlines plot motif, the question seemed like a ripped-from-the-last-two-seasons-of-'24' idea. I'm absolutely serious: The endangered shopping center premise was taken from the 2006 season; the one-successful-attack-and-more-to-come-with-the-need-to-debrief-captured-enemy-combatants-in-Guantanamo was the story arc from the first quarter of the current season. Tancredo didn't realize how correct he was saying that his response to the question's premise would be to go "looking for Jack Bauer.

" That's Bauer's storyline! As Paul noted, correctly, there are enough actual ways that the nation has changed because of 9/11 that putting together a hypothetical was a waste of valuable time. Look, I like corporate synergy as much as the next guy, but this is going a bit too far.

Hatip http://raggedthots.blogspot.com/

Pew Poll On Muslim Americans: Spotlight On Black Muslims

Everyone is talking about Pew Research Center's new poll of American Muslims, called "Muslim Americans: Middle-Class And Mostly Mainstream".

The good news: Muslims are largely are assimilated into society, and income and education levels among Muslims mirror those of the general U.S. population. U.S. Muslims also reject extremism significantly more than Muslims in Europe.

The bad news: more than 1 in 4 American Muslims under age 30 admitted that they believe that suicide bombings are justified in the name of Islam. Only 40% of all Muslims believe that Arab men were behind the 9/11 attacks (despite Osama bin Laden's own claim to it). This is certainly disturbing. I want to particularly highlight what the poll says about black Muslims, who - although the Pew poll doesn't expressly point it out - constitute 2% of all black Americans:

Demographics: 26% of all U.S. Muslims describe themselves as black. 20% of all Muslims living in America are native-born blacks. However, more than half (56%) of all native-born Muslims are blacks, with the majority being converts to Islam as opposed to growing up in the religion. Only 10% of foreign-born Muslims describe themselves as black.

Nearly half of all native-born black Muslims identify as Sunni. 34% say they are just Muslim, and 15% have another affiliation, including Shia and the Nation of Islam. 59% of all American converts to Islam are native-born blacks.

Almost two-thirds of native-born black Muslims are male (64%). This statistic suggests that Islam's very conservative values regarding women is surely a key reason hampering native-born black female converts to the religion.

Most native-born black Muslims are also over the age of 30, with this group having among the lowest share under 30 (28% for native-born black Muslims), even though native-born black Muslims are significantly younger than the public at large. This finding suggests that most native-born black Muslims convert after age 30.

57% of native-born black Muslims share a home with one or more non-Muslims, which is opposite of Muslims in general (61% of whom share a home where everyone is Muslim).

Religiosity: Native-born black Muslims (54%), are more likely to attend mosque weekly than are native-botn Muslims and especially foreign-born Muslims in general. The Pew poll doesn't mention it, but this is even higher than the 41% of all black Americans who attend religious services every week.

Employment & Business Ownership: Native-black Muslims (45%) match the full-time employment rate for all Muslims (41%). 32% of native-born black Muslims say that they are self-employed or own a small business. The Pew poll doesn't mention it, but that is compared to the 8% rate among all black Americans.

On Whether To Assimilate Into American Society: Nearly half (47%) of native-born black Muslims (47%) say that Muslim newcomers to the United States of American should strive to keep their religious and cultural identities; only 31% believe they should try to assimilate. By contrast, pluralities of other native-born Muslims and foreign-born Muslims say that Muslims arriving in the United States should try to adopt American customs.

Social Attitudes: One attitudinal thing that the Pew report reveals: "However, there is somewhat more acceptance of Islamic extremism in some segments of the U.S. Muslim public than others. Fewer native-born African American Muslims than others completely condemn al Qaeda." Just 36% of native-born black Muslims have a very unfavorable view of al Qaeda, compared to 65% of foreign-born U.S. Muslims and 51% of all native-born Muslims. This finding is related to another one: native-born Muslims, black American and others, more often believe that they have been singled out since the 9/11 attacks on the United States and are bothered by the extra scrutiny. Half of all native-born black Muslims say they have been the target of bigotry based on their religion in the past 12 months, compared with 28% of white Muslims and 23% of Asian Muslims.

The Pew report continues about native-born black American Muslims: "More generally, native-born African American Muslims are the most disillusioned segment of the U.S. Muslim population. When compared with other Muslims in the U.S., they are more skeptical of the view that hard work pays off [56%, versus 75% for all native-born Muslims and 74% for all foreign-born Muslims], and more of them believe that Muslim immigrants in the U.S. should try to remain distinct from society. They also are far less satisfied with the way things are going in the United States. Just 13% of African American Muslims express satisfaction with national conditions, compared with 29% of other native-born Muslims, and 45% of Muslim immigrants." However, native-born black Muslims are not outliers on these issues when compared to black Americans in general, as a Pew poll last year found that 59% of all black Americans agreed that hard work brings success.

If I was an al Qaeda jihadist reading this report, I would target native-born black Muslims to do my dirty work. They (1) have significantly more grievances about the United States than do foreign-born Muslims living in the U.S., and (2) black American Muslims make up the majority of native-born Muslims, and black American Muslims might slip under the security radar more than Arab or Asian Muslims; and (3) native-born black Muslim are likelier to go mosque services. It is interesting that native-born black Muslims have so much hostility toward America, given that black life in USA is far superior to black folks' lives in any predominantly Muslim country (Yemen or Sudan, anyone?).

Both native-born Muslims and foreign-born Muslims express similar levels of disapproval of homosexuality. But native-born black Muslims stand out for their particularly high levels of opposition (75% say homosexuality should be discouraged). This Pew Research Center report doesn't mention it, but that is compared to 64% of all black Americans.

Religion & Politics: The report found that native-born Muslims, especially native-born blacks (79%), express overwhelming support for the notion that mosques should express their views on social and political matters Foreign-born Muslims who were born abroad take the opposite view, with six-in-10 saying that mosques should keep out of political matters. This is significantly higher than polls done of all black Americans, 66% of whom believe that religious institutions should express political views. Hence, no surprise there.

http://bookerrising.blogspot.com/

The Bible Experience

A cast of some of the most well-known African-American artists and actors (Blair Underwood, Denzel Washington, Angela Basset, Common, Tatyana Ali, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Samuel Jackson, Mo'Nique, Faith Evans, Megan Good, Cuba Gooding Jr, Shirley Caesar, Yolanda Adams, Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin, Pastor Marvin Winans, and SO many more) are depicting the Word of God on this audio CD.

Poll 9% percent of African American Muslims support Al-Qaeda

This video was posted at YouTube by CAIR themselves, so apparently they’re either oblivious to how bad it makes them look, or they don’t care, as Tucker Carlson interviews Ibrahim Hooper about the Pew Research survey of US Muslims. Hooper dances, dodges, and denies in the usual CAIR fashion; the more they put on these kinds of performances, the more they destroy their own credibility.

Quote Of The Day

"Economic independence is the foundation of political independence...we must act in these matters before others from foreign lands rob us of our birthright...Land ownership is the foundation of all wealth."

— Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) Republican educator and free enterprise advocate, to black Americans during European immigration to the United States of America

Waiting To Exhale - Bernadine Harris

This is my favorite part from Waiting To Exhale,
Angela Basset goes crazy and flips out on her mean
hearted husband...Warning bad language.This scene
shows some of the stress black succesful women deal with.

Young, Black, Swedish – The Minister For Controversy

In a tall, blond government, a small, Burundi-born black woman like Nyamko Sabuni - who is Minister For Integration and Equality and seeks to become Sweden's first black prime minister - will stand out. It is also the former refugee and center-right politician’s outspoken views that have demanded attention in Sweden. She wants a ban on the veil for under-15s and compulsory gynecological checks for all schoolgirls to protect against genital mutilation masquerading as “female circumcision”. Her views have led to death threats and round-the-clock protection in Europe’s most tolerant country.

Being appointed minister provoked a petition signed by 50 Muslim organizations declaring that she “breathed populism and Islamophobia”. Minister Sabuni, age 38, whose mother was a Muslim but who describes herself as “not religious”, is unrepentant. “Arranged marriage is not something recommended by Islam,” she said. “Nor is genital mutilation. Many people say this is our tradition, our religion. But it is unacceptable, whatever the reason. I will not be scared into silence. I will never accept that women and girls are oppressed in the name of religion.”

Sweden has been good to Minister Sabuni. It welcomed her father and his seven children as political refugees from Congo when she was 12. She studied at Uppsala University, became a member of the Swedish Parliament at age 32, and married a native Swedish travel agent with whom she has twin boys. Her views were formed by the way that her Christian father found work quickly and helped her family to integrate into Swedish life.

Minister Sabuni has never made any secret of her ambition to be Sweden’s first black Prime Minister. Some see parallels between her and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Somali-born refugee who renounced Islam, became a Dutch parliamentarian and spoke out against the religion, only to relocate in the United States after a row about her asylum application. “We are compared because we are both young, we are both black, we are both politicians,” Minister Sabuni said. “The mission of Ayaan is to reform Islam. My mission is not to reform Islam, my mission is to say that certain traditions are unacceptable. ”

Minister Sabuni believes that Sweden must move away from its generous welfare benefits culture to improve social cohesion and ethnic integration as well as boost the economy. Some also argue that this country of nine million has already taken its fair share of immigrants, leading to the social tensions behind Muslim rioting last month in Malmo. Minister Sabuni believes that the solution is not fewer migrants but more jobs. The Government pays as much as three-quarters of the starting salary for an immigrant in his or her first job. In another very Swedish solution, she is also pushing for a “Guarantee of Activities” program that will match the jobless with useful social tasks, such as reading to pupils or helping the elderly.

She wants the rest of Europe to adopt the same generous approach to asylum-seekers as Sweden, which has taken more Iraqis than any other European Union country – an acceptance rate of 90% compared with Britain’s 12%. “They come to Sweden because they know there is a positive policy. We would rather see the EU start acting the way we do than we have to act like they do”, said Minister Sabuni. Minister Sabuni added that her demand to ban the veil for schoolgirls was a contribution to a debate that she believes that Sweden needs before it reaches the same level of anxiety about ethnic integration as Britain. “The mentality in Britain has been very tolerant and accepting but now you have a problem that suddenly you realised, gosh, there are some values we have to defend,” she said.

Ambra Nykol on Celebrity Hubris

The black conservative blogger writes about entertainer R. Kelly's trial on child pornography charges:

As though it weren't bad enough that Rose O'Donnell might be vying for a slot as the new host of 'The Price Is Right,' now R&B singer/pedophile, R. Kelly is comparing himself with Martin Luther King. In a recent interview with Hip-Hop Soul Magazine, Kelly said, 'I'm the Ali of today. I'm the Marvin Gaye of today. I'm the Bob Marley of today. I'm the Martin Luther King, or all the other greats that have come before us. And a lot of people are starting to realize that now.' Quite possibly cold hard evidence R. Kelly is smoking crack.

To that end, he is possibly right in comparing himself to Bob Marley and Marvin Gaye. Kelly and his publicist have been back-peddling since the New York Post first ran the quote. Kelly's publicist has since clarified that Kelly was simply pointing out that he's a prolific songwriter of his time. Generally speaking, writing and producing a lot of hit songs isn't exactly the qualification for joining the ranks of Martin Luther King. And if I recall correctly, Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Clay) was quite the outspoken activist during his reign as heavyweight champion.

He was outspoken against the Vietnam War among many other things and despite my issues with the Nation of Islam and just about everything he stood for, at least the man stood for something. That is a heck of a lot more than Mr. Kelly can say. What disturbs me more than anything is the fact that people (who deserve to be in jail) such as Kelly and others who shall remain nameless continue to feel comfortable talking up their own egos because there is little to no accountability. Instead, the masses still buy albums and bother interviewing him for the sake of selling magazines. To boot, so-called advancement organizations like the NAACP are idiotic enough to nominate the man for an image award while he was under indictment for charges related to child pornography. Way to go NAACP."

She discusses moral values: "It is interesting to me how rarely we make the connection between talent and the need for character. It's as though a person's giftedness or talent somehow make them exempt from moral standards or accountability for their sphere of influence. If our culture is truly drawing opinions and moral conclusions from such characters, doling out moral byes is dangerous ground to be treading.

Perhaps it is accurately fitting that R. Kelly nicknamed himself the 'Pied Piper of R&B.' A little research on the history of the "Pied Piper of Hamelin" folklore reveals an ending that is terribly eerie: 'While the inhabitants were in church, he played his pipe again, this time attracting the children of Hamelin. One hundred and thirty boys and girls followed him out of the town, where they were lured into a cave and never seen again.'"

Hatip Bookerising

Clip:Will Smith Pursuit of Happyness

Interview clip

MySpace Theme Song?

So it looks like Rupert Murdoch has a new song for MySpace.com,
its called "My Space to Your Place"...the tune is great and sung by
Angela Severiano a big artist in Manhattan,

I guess now facebook will have to get a catchy tune also.
It seems like every artist now hasa Myspace page,I think Myspace
is nothing but a CIA front but thats my personal opinion. All of the
candidates for 08' have a MySpace page, Obama had the nerve to
steal his MySpace page from a supporter who had his name. How
on earth could Obama just snatch someones MySpace with out
permission? Maybe it is a forte of things to come!

Al-Qaeda want's Black Recruits

by Richie

According to a recent Worldnetdaily article Al-Qaida is aggressively recruiting black Americans for suicide operations against America. The article goes on to say that FBI analysts have reviewed recent videotaped messages from the terror group's leaders.

One of these speeches released May 5 by Osama bin Laden's deputy confirms earlier fears that African-Americans are the No. 1 recruiting target for the next generation of attacks. The article goes on to say that Al-Qaida wants to try to lower its Arab profile to reduce the odds that its terror cells will be subjected to

security scrutiny.

In the latest message, al-Qaida No. 2 Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri clearly seeks to sow political and racial discontent among African-Americans. He makes frequent references to what he calls the "martyr" Malcolm X, and says "I want blacks

in America to know that we are waging jihad to lift oppression from all mankind." Zawahiri encourages African-Americans to follow the example of MalcolmX, a.k.a.

al-Hajj Malik al-Shabaaz, who he says was not afraid to sacrifice his life to fight American "oppression."

According to a transcript of the hour-long screed, Zawahiri said this is

"the culture which the struggler and martyr Malcom X (may Allah have

mercy upon him) fought against when he told his repressed black brothers

in America, 'If you're not ready to die for it, take the word "freedom" out of

your vocabulary.'" "Freedom is something that you have to do for yourself,"

he quotes Malcolm X as as saying. "The price of freedom is death." Zawahiri,

again citing the teachings of Malcolm X, suggests that black Muslims who do

not rise up against America are no better than "house slaves."

My opinon is that most of Al-Qaeda's American born recruits have been white

not African American. And it would be allot easier for Al-Qaeda to recruit a white

muslim convert than an African American.According to Wikipedia John Walker

Lindh the white convert to Islam who joined Al-Qaeda became before conversion

a devoted fan of hip-hop music, and engaged in extensive discussions on Usenet

newsgroups about the music,sometimes pretending to be African American.

Walker saw the Spike Lee film Malcolm X which made a deep impression on

him, and began his interest in Islam.

So using John Walker Lindh as a model, it may be that black nationalism could
be a gateway into more radical elements. Hip Hop with its anti establishment
lyrics and the teachings of the Nation of Islam could mold a mind towards
Al Qaeda's way of thinking!

I must say however as much rhetoric African Americans spew about America,
most black Americans are not going to strap on a bombs and commit mass murder.
Even during the painful times during the 60's African Americans who are by far
Christian would think twice before committing such an act. Most African American
can discern between crazy talk from activist in out community and the grain if truth
they spew alongside it.

When I was a fourteen years old I was hospitalized and the nurse who watched

over me was a member of the Five Percenters, a group that was an offshoot of

the Nation of Islam, which itself was viewed by traditional Muslims as heretical.

The person would mention the problems of what he considered to be American

hypocrisy in the areas of justices system, poverty, and health care.

At 14 I figured the guy knew what he was talking about given how passionate he

was about the topics at hand. It was not until he made racist references to the genetic

powers if black skin did I question his mental sanity. He would mention to me that the black nose was created in such a way as to inhale air better than whites, and than black frizzy hair was really antennas for the suns rays to give us secret signals!

I use this simply as an illustration of the mixed messages the community gets and how we in turn determine relevance from mythology.I will say however that I do think it is possible for an African American Muslim to convert and then later become involved with radical elements within a Mosque . A perfect example of this may be gangs in which new recruits mostly impressionable boys are molded by gang leaders to commit acts to get recognition. If Al-Qaeda is victorious in recruiting African Americans into it's fold the philosophy of victimolgy no doubt will be used as an excuse for its success.

Terror Refuge: South Afristan

Jonathan Schanzer at the Weekly Standard takes a look at how al Qaeda is increasingly using South Africa as a base of operations, and meeting very little resistance.

According to one reported U.S. intelligence estimate, al Qaeda leaders are operating throughout South Africa. Other reports indicate that terrorists are exploiting the country's banking system, and that South African passports are finding their way to al Qaeda operatives worldwide.It is only natural, then, that South African jihadists are popping up in terrorist hotspots.

In July 2004, Pakistani police arrested two South Africans--Feroz Ibrahim and Zubair Ismail--along with Khalfan Ghailani, who was on the FBI's most wanted list for his role in the 1998 embassybombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. Subsequent investigations have revealed that the pair was plotting to attack the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the parliament complex in Pretoria, and several other high-profile targets in South Africa.Another South African, Haroon Aswat, was tied to the July 7, 2005, London mass transit bombings.

After the attacks, Zambian officials detained Aswat, who reportedly had exchanged a spate of phone calls with each of the four suicide bombers before they carried out their deadly attacks. Further research reveals that in the 1990s, Aswat was an assistant to London-based Abu Hamza al-Masri, a one-eyed, one-handed terrorist ideologue tied to al Qaeda groups in Yemen and Algeria.

Aswat worked with al-Masri at the radical Finsbury Park Mosque, where a number of other terrorists received their training, including shoe bomber Richard Reid.Read the whole thing.The government in Pretoria is not our friend.

Miles Davis & John Coltrane

Miles Davis and John Coltrane play one of the best renditions of SO WHAT ever captured on film-Live in 1958. This clip is available on two different DVDs. "Miles Davis: The Cool Jazz Sound" and also- "Jazz Masters: Vintage Collection"

Black Boys' Culture Works Against School, study says

By ROBERT L. SMITH

CLEVELAND — The achievement gap separating black boys from just about everyone else springs from a powerful, anti-education culture rising in the black community, a black think tank argues in a new report.

Parents who undervalue education, and a mass media that peppers youth with the quick, shallow rewards of hip-hop lifestyle, are steering alarming numbers of boys down a dead-end path, Cleveland's PolicyBridge contends.

The report calls for public recognition of a phenomenon crippling the black community and the civic will to fight it. It was released Wednesday via mailings to civic leaders and on the group's Web site, www.policy-bridge.org.

"In our community, family culture has changed, and street culture has changed,'' said Randell McShepard, 42, an executive at RPM International and the secretary of PolicyBridge. "But the headline now is, 'Those changes are dragging down the education system.' ''

McShepard, Timothy Goler and Mark Batson, all local black professionals who attended Cleveland and East Cleveland public schools, founded the nonprofit research center in 2004 to explore issues critical to the black community.

They wrote the report with guidance from university researchers and public policy makers, as well as from teachers, principals and Cleveland school students, who are liberally quoted.

Some education experts are skeptical about the report's broad conclusions, but they said the topic is timely and critical to Cleveland.

"The Rap on Culture: How Anti-Education Messages in Media, at Home, and on the Streets Hold Back African American Youth,'' starts from a well-known premise. Black youths, and black boys in particular, perform more poorly in school and on standardized tests than white and Asian youths, regardless of income.

Almost half black children attending Cleveland public schools fail to graduate, and only a fraction will ever finish college.

What's new is the identification of a leading culprit. The report argues that no amount of money or strategy will close the gap as long as black children are raised in an environment that devalues education.

"School is life, and that is the message our kids are not getting, and a lot of this is culture,'' said Goler, 41, a former schoolteacher who is PolicyBridge's executive director. "We have to reverse this anti-education mind-set that our kids have.''

The authors trace underachievement to the breakdown of the black family, a trend Daniel Patrick Moynihan publicized in 1965, when he reported that 25 percent of black children were born to single mothers. Moynihan was called racist and his report was largely ignored, Goler said. Today, more than 70 percent of black children are born to single mothers.

Absent fathers, and with families weakened, corrupting influences gained power and prestige, the report argues. Rap music, poverty and pop-culture celebrities combine to create an alluring "cool-pose culture of self-destructive behaviors.''

The report cites research by a social psychologist who found that black youths enjoy the highest self esteem of any ethnic group, regardless of their grades.

It quotes a Cleveland boy who said he ceased to be taunted at school when he let his grades fall. And it includes the observations of a youth mentor, who said he has been told by children he is the only adult in their lives excited to see their report cards.

Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the leader of Cleveland schools from 1998 to 2006, said she has not yet read the report but that its conclusions sound a bit extreme.

The black achievement gap results from "a number of variables,'' she said. "I'm not sure I would classify it in such strong language as anti-education culture.''

Many black parents simply do not understand the importance of education or their role in the process, Byrd-Bennett said.

The report calls for multifaceted action.

It recommends that the federal No Child Left Behind Act be amended to treat black boys as a distinct category deserving of special attention, including a longer school year.

It calls upon black parents and civic leaders to raise their expectations of black pupils. And it urges black men to "step up'' as role models for fatherless youths.

"We've reached crisis proportions,'' McShepard said. "We need to do something different.''

Robert L. Smith is a reporter for The Plain Dealer of Cleveland.

Voting Rights and the Distric of Columbia

by Marcus Skelton

There are many Senate Republicans that are undecided on whether to support the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act (S-1257). Senate Republicans must support the D.C. House Voting Rights Act because it is an opportunity for Republicans to stand up for the civil rights of the residents of the District of Columbia without violating the constitution.

There has been debate on whether the House Voting Rights Act is constitutional. Residents of the District of Columbia can “constitutionally” have a voting member of the house of representatives due to the District Clause which would restore the district residents congressional vote without cessation to Maryland . Additionally in the senate bill the issues of Utah’s additional seat were addressed by have them redistrict for 111th Congress.

The Republican Party has a legacy of civil rights visionaries like President Abraham Lincoln and former D.C. Republican Party Chairman Fredrick Douglass. There was also debate about the abolition of slavery but Republican leaders did what was right and did it without violating the laws as they were written at the time. We as a party have not had a recent opportunity to reassert our position as of party that was founded on civil rights. When the final vote is cast on the Voting Rights Act I hope the history would reflect a large number of Republicans supported it in the Senate.

As we look to the future of the Republican party and it’s efforts to attract minority voters we have come to a critical point. As an African American Republican I talk to people first hand and hear that civil rights is the key issue that prevents many minorities from switching parties even though they agree with a majority of the Republican platform. People will have a difficult time voting with the our party if they feel the party is not fighting for their equal rights as individuals. I hope as Republicans we do what’s right and pass the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act (S-1257).


Sincerely,

Marcus Skelton Chairman of D.C. Young Republicans,
he is also a commentor at HipHopRepublican.com

Chris Rock on Hip Hop

Chris Rock at its best: Kinda graphic, bad language, Stand up Comedy about society, daily Life, America and Relationship.Here hes talking about how hard it is to defend Rap Music and Hip Hop today.Also mentioned: Tupac, Little John

Quote Of The Day

"One of the reasons that black people are not going to be successful is because of other black people. We tell black kids that if they make good grades, they are acting white. If they speak well, we tell them that they are acting white. We have a lot of demons in our own closet — in our own family — that we have to address....We become our own worst enemy with random black-on-black crime, teen pregnancy, single-parent homes. You know we cannot blame white America for our ills. Does racism exist? Of course it does. But, at some point, I have to make sure I am educated. I don't have ten kids and no job. I am not killing other black people. At some point, you have to grow up."

— Charles Barkley, former NBA star

Yolanda King 1955-2007

By ERRIN HAINES, Associated Press Writer


ATLANTA - Yolanda King, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s eldest child who pursued her father’s dream of racial harmony through drama and motivational speaking, collapsed and died after making a speech. She was 51.

King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center. The family did not know the cause of death, but relatives think it might have been a heart problem, he said.

“She was an actress, author, producer, advocate for peace and nonviolence, who was known and loved for her motivational and inspirational contributions to society,” the King family said in a statement.

Former Mayor Andrew Young, a lieutenant of her father’s who has remained close to the family, said Yolanda King had just spoken at an event for the American Heart Association. She was helping the association raise awareness, especially among blacks, about stroke.

Young said she was going to her brother Dexter’s home when she collapsed in the doorway and “they were not able to revive her.”Her death came less than a year and a half after her mother, Coretta Scott King, died in January 2006.

Yolanda King, who lived in California, was an actress, ran a production company and appeared in numerous films, including “Ghosts of Mississippi.” She played Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries “King.”

“Yolanda was lovely. She wore the mantle of princess, and she wore it with dignity and charm,” said the Rev. Joseph Lowery, one of her father’s close aides in the civil rights movement. He added she was “thoroughly committed to the movement and found her own means of expressing that commitment through drama.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton, called Yolanda King was a “torch bearer for her parents and a committed activist in her own right.” Yolanda King founded and led Higher Ground Productions, billed as a “gateway for inner peace, unity and global transformation.” On her company’s Web site, she described her mission as encouraging personal growth and positive social change.

The flag at The King Center, where she was a board member, flew at half-staff on Wednesday. Yolanda Denise King — nicknamed Yoki by the family — was born Nov. 17, 1955, in Montgomery, Ala., where her father was then preaching. Her brother Martin III was born in 1957; brother Dexter in 1961; and sister Bernice in 1963.

She was born just two weeks before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus there, leading to the Montgomery bus boycott spearheaded by her father.

She was just 10 weeks old when the King family home was bombed in Jan. 30, 1956, as her father attended a boycott rally. Neither she nor her mother was injured when the device exploded on the front porch.

She was 7 when her father mentioned her and her siblings in his 1963 speech at the March on Washington: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

She was 12 when her father was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968.

Yolanda King was the most visible of the four children during this year’s Martin Luther King Day in January, the first since her mother’s death.

When asked by The Associated Press at that event how she was dealing with the loss of her mother, she responded: “I connected with her spirit so strongly. I am in direct contact with her spirit, and that has given me so much peace and so much strength.”

At her father’s Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, she performed a series of solo skits that told stories including a girl’s first ride on a desegregated bus and a college student’s recollection of the 1963 campaign to desegregate Birmingham, Ala.

She also urged the audience to be a force for peace and love, and to use the King holiday each year to ask tough questions about their own beliefs about prejudice.

“We must keep reaching across the table and, in the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, feed each other,” she said.

Funeral arrangements would be announced later, the family said in a brief statement.

~I was deeply saddened by this news, I hope she is with
her dad in peace!

Ella Fitzgerald Sings "Misty", 1965.

"Misty" is a jazz standard written in 1954 by the pianist Erroll Garner. Originally composed as an instrumental following the traditional 32 bar format, the tune later had lyrics added by Johnny Burke and became the signature song of Sarah Vaughan. It has been covered numerous times, perhaps most notably by Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Mathis (1959), and also by Ray Stevens (1975) as a country song. It was also used as a theme song for NBC's Today Show for most of the 1960s.

Bonds, Bombs, & Blowhard Baseball

I don’t like baseball. I never have. I find it an extremely boring sport with to long a season and relatively few interesting characters. But you know what I love…HOMERUNS. The only time I will watch a baseball game is when Barry Bonds is up to bat. The only time I won’t turn sportscenter from a baseball segment is when they are showing homerun highlights. Like the dunk in basketball, the homerun is the signature excitement phenomenon in its sport. It is the game changer, the energizer the crowd pleaser.

The irony of the homerun in baseball and the treatment of Barry Bonds in particular, as he is about to break the all-time record of Hank Aaron, is that it is the homerun that brought baseball back in the late 1990’s.

For those of you with a short term memory, in 1994 there was a strike in Major League Baseball. The strike lasted 232 days and many pundits were theorizing at the time that baseball would simply die. Upon its return in 1995 the enthusiasm just wasn’t there for the fans, particularly the casual fan, anymore. But baseball tumbled along. It tumbled along that is until 1998. In 1998 the homerun battle of the century occurred as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa battled to the wire not just to see who had the most homeruns in a season but to see who had the most homeruns EVER!

Near the end of the year it seemed that every television station, talkshow and newspaper, sports or non-sports, was talking about this historic battle. Attendance skyrocketed and even I, the baseball hater, was watching the games on TV. In fact this phenomenal chase landed bother McGwire and Sosa a spot on Sports Illustrated as the “Sportsmen of the Year” with the quote:

“McGwire and Sosa gave America a summer that won’t be forgotten: a summer of stroke and counterstroke, of packed houses and curtain calls, of rivals embracing and gloves in the bleachers and adults turned into kids — the Summer of Long Balls and Love. It wasn’t just the lengths they went to with bats in their hands. It was also that they went to such lengths to conduct the great home run race with dignity and sportsmanship, with a sense of joy and openness. Never have two men chased legends and each other that hard and that long or invited so much of America onto their backs for the ride.” - Gary Smith

Baseball was revitalized, pre-strike interest restored, and many people made alot of money in the sport based upong the powerful bats of Sosa and McGwire.

My, my, how things have changed. As Barry Bonds is on the precipice of obliterating the all time homerun record the league is suffering the steriods hang over and disrespecting Bonds in the process. Even though steriods was never listed as a banned substance in the Majors, wide nets of condemnation and castigation have been spread, primarily targeted at the big bat bomb boys of Sosa, McQwire and Bonds. It was never proven, only alleged and speculated. It was not illegal (in baseball) only frowned upon.

In the case of McQwire and Sosa to a greater extent and to Barry Bonds, when he hit his 73, to a lessor, their big bats put baseball back upon the map. It was not the dink hitters like Tony Gwynn that fans returned to the ballpark to see but the big bat boys. The homerun hitters brought the fans back. But it is those same fans that now spit upon the names of McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds for ‘allegedly’ cheating. The irony is this, many of those same fans would have NEVER returned to the game had it not been for those same individuals they now accuse and condemn of cheating to hit homeruns. It was those ‘alleged’ cheaters that restored prominent national attention back to the post-strike baseball.

This is why I find baseball, baseball writers and many of the fans a bunch of hypocritical blowhards. My hope is that Barry not only breaks the record but hits 800 homeruns. I will be watching each at bat that I can and when Barry is done I will turn the TV off and never again return to baseball.

http://www.dellgines.com/?p=13

China: Trade With Sudan Can Help Darfur

By Christopher Bodeen,

Associated Press Writer

SHANGHAI, China (AP) — China’s robust oil trade and growing economic ties with Sudan will help end the violence in Darfur, a Chinese official said Tuesday, rejecting claims that financially engaging the Sudanese government is prolonging the humanitarian crisis.

China buys two-thirds of Sudan’s oil exports and is building a pipeline and supertanker installation in the African country, among other projects. The investments have upset human rights activists who say isolating the Sudanese leadership is the only way to stop militias blamed for mass killings and rapes.More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million made homeless in Darfur during four years of attacks from Arab militias allegedly sponsored by President Omar al-Bashir’s government. The attacks began after black African Sudanese demanded autonomy for the vast western Sudan region.

On Tuesday, Li Ruogu, the chairman of the state-owned China Exim Bank, which handles most of China’s overseas aid loans, said accusations against China over Darfur were “totally groundless,” and that trade and investment would reduce conflict by improving Sudanese incomes and lives.

“Chinese aid and investment will in the long run help in the resolution of the Darfur problem,” Li said at the annual meeting of the African Development Bank, being held this year in Shanghai in a sign of growing economic and political ties between China and the resource-rich continent.

Li’s China Exim Bank has approved more than $6 billion in projects for Africa, while bilateral trade has risen by about 30 percent annually in recent years, hitting $55.5 billion last year, according to the African Development Bank.

Beijing says it wants annual trade to reach $100 billion by 2020.

China’s involvement in Africa has sparked comparisons with the plundering of African resources by colonial powers in past centuries. Unlike the West, Chinese money comes without political demands, leading to accusations it is propping up oppressive regimes.

“This is an incredibly important revenue stream for the government in Sudan,” said Sophie Richardson, deputy director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch. One concern is “that the very presence of so much money that isn’t necessarily tied to or conditioned on how the government is conducting itself in respect to human rights weakens efforts by others who do make that point.”

Even so, China recently appointed a special representative for Africa to focus on Darfur, and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Tuesday in Beijing that China has been “playing a constructive role” in settling the Darfur conflict.

As a veto-wielding permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, Beijing has blocked efforts to send U.N. peacekeeping forces to Darfur without Sudanese consent.

Earlier Tuesday, the head of China’s central bank said Beijing will encourage Chinese companies, especially small- and medium-size firms, to invest in Africa. China has already forgiven more than $1 billion in debt to it held by African countries, and is estimated to have pro