President Obama campaigned on the notion of “change” and “partisan cooperation”. This is no doubt what caused him to be elected. Advocating for such change was so potent that it etched itself within the pillars of history, as it swept across racial and even partisan lines to elect the first African American president. For that moment in time, there was hope and a sense of a new direction for America, along with a belief that he would be the one to bring about that change. Now in 2010, a little over one year of the President being elected, we see very little change and an even more partisan Washington.

Some may say that it is because Republicans are not willing to work with the President. As an organization, for the first year, we reserved our opinion, with a willingness to give President Obama the opportunity and time to bring about that change and to involve both parties. But now, we feel that it is time to speak out.

For those such as Glenn Beck, Lloyd Marcus, and Kevin Jackson that believe America is past the point of needing “hyphenated-Americans” in our nation – believing that we no longer should use such terminology to enrich (not separate) our collective culture because the nation and its leaders are completely past this line of thinking, I say to you sadly but firmly: you’re wrong.

People like Bill James show the reason why.

And to those such as Bill James and other public figures that feel that they are now capable or authorized to privately or publicly state twisted lines of logic to promote their vile justifications for toxic beliefs because Black America is in crisis and President Obama is becoming more unpopular, I say to you passionately and confidently: you’re wrong. America shows the reason why.

With a Black Democrat in the White House we are experiencing an unusual upsurge in concern about “government takeovers, “creeping socialism,” and other claims that can only fairly be described “in quotation marks.” The Republican Party has a very important role to play as the country adjusts to the demands of 21st century global capitalism, but so far we have our guns trained on ghosts. This hysteria seems to be blooming densely in the South, where it is part of a wider suspicion of any sort of government intrusion into personal life, regardless of the legitimacy, purpose, or merit.

Perhaps a metaphor would be useful. In the fall of 2004 I moved my family from Houston to the Chicago-area. Never mind for a moment what this says about my sanity or morals. It happened. Let’s all learn from it. One of my earliest introductions to Yankee life came in the form of a charming orange flier delivered to our door by the town council. It was printed front and back in small type with a laundry list of laws governing the disposal of our leaves.

In 2008, then Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin gave a speech to an adoring group of supporters. She chided elitist urbanites and “appealed” for supporters of the “The Real America” to come forward. Palin’s populist appeal intentionally or not led many people (liberals in particular) too accuse her of having racial undertones.

To her loyal critics Palin was promoting a false utopia of the past based on the white protestant work ethic of years gone by. A time free of ethnic diversity when mothers stayed home and fathers went out to work. A time when there was no welfare, and a time and a place far removed from the fast pace of America’s Urban Cities. For many others, however, “The Real America” slogan, as it was interpreted, was a reference to hard work; faith; and simple living. “The Real America” slogan was irrespective to one’s race.

While she was not the first proponent of Women’s Rights, Susan B. Anthony was amongst the earliest of The Women’s Rights Advocates. Born on February 15th, 1820 in West Grove, Massachusetts she was the second oldest of seven brothers and sisters. Susan B. Anthony had two brothers named Daniel Read Anthony and Jacob Merritt Anthony who were the fourth and seventh in the birth order respectively. Her sisters were named Guelma, Hannah, Mary, and Eliza. Susan Brownell Anthony’s parents had been named Daniel Anthony and Lucy Read. Daniel Sr. was an open-minded Quaker who was both a cotton manufacturer and an abolitionist. This dichotomy was not usual for his day since the popular belief had been that the institution of Slavery was needed to cultivate, pick, and to spin cotton into fabric.

I originally had no intention of commenting on the recent controversy surrounding the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) most recent foray into racial politics. But, because of the volume of phone calls and emails asking me to give my take, I have decided to oblige my followers.

Let me state this in the strongest possible terms, the Finance Director, Rob Bickhart (a paid, fulltime staffer) and Finance Chairman, Peter Terpeluk (a non paid volunteer and former ambassador to Luxembourg under President George W. Bush) should have immediately been fired and removed from his position, respectively. They are both dead men walking.

The bigger question that I have is, what does Bickhart’s and Terpeluk’s actions say about how they view Michael Steele, the first Black chairman in the party’s history. What type of environment has Steele allowed to fester under his leadership, that his staff would feel comfortable making such a presentation? This is the pressing issue I would love to have the RNC answer.

What would life in the inner city be if the federal government paid residents ( called hostages from this sentence forward ) to defend themselves? It’s a good thought experiment given millions spent with little or no safety to show for it. Self-government seems to pass us by. By ” us ” I mean fellow would-be urban hostages. This is written from first hand experience. Could would-be hostages, armed and adequately financed, do worse than commuting officers policing the same problems? Sounds wild I’m sure. The nerve of promoting broke Negroes being mobilized and funded on their own behalf. If it’s good enough for Iraqis and Afghans it should be good enough for us. Especially when underwritten by our tax dollars!

Oh I forgot, the government game plan isn’t actually stopping neighborhood crime. The role offered hostages is playing silent Sambo while law enforcement and lawless enjoyment use our community as their profitable playing field.

Last weekend our family had the privilege of joining colleagues from both political parties on a walk through the historic sites of the Civil Rights movement in Montgomery and Selma, Alabama. We will never forget the experience. I served as co-leader of the 10th Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage sponsored by the Faith & Politics Institute.

We arrived in Montgomery on Saturday afternoon and made our way to the home church of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sitting in the front pew at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, we heard from Dorothy Cotton about her years working with Dr. King. She spoke of the faith that sustained their work and the historic importance of music and singing to the movement.

We now look to the federal government for most of our troubles. Education issues are blamed on federal laws, even though schools largely use State dollars to run. Local economic issues are blamed on the Presidential administration. Crime is blamed on federal dealings. State social issues are seen as federal issues. These and many more examples can be named.

There is one fundamental issue I see with this choice of accountability: the more we look to the federal government for that accountability, the more power we designate to it. Our nation was designed with a compromise: “The Great Compromise.” This compromise, which created our Constitution, was predominantly successful because the smaller states had a say in it. The small states constantly questioned how powerful the federal government would become under the new Constitution. Madison, Hamilton and Jay, with the introduction of the Federalist Papers, explained that the national government would get its power directly from the states. The Federalist Papers assured the small states that they would still be protected. Unfortunately, the passage of the income tax changed all this. The tax almost naturally transfered accountability from the State governments to the Federal government permanently.

Where is the Black John Walsh? He’s the host of the America’s Most Wanted show and publicizes open cases weekly. Our victims should be put on blast by enlisting the community in its own security. Those silent about suffering condone more to come. Beyond simply locking people up is another overriding concern: reloading the civil right of safety back into community consciousness. This is done by mobilizing against hoods in the ‘Hood as vigorously as racial profiling and police brutality. Selective response on our part gives thugs a green light. So long as we exclusively march against external violators of Black Life internal ones run wild.

I have been recently inspired to begin to share my ideas about the current Congress and itʼs Constitutional proposals (or lack thereof). This past week, our own Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, was asked what I believe to be a very relevant question about the Health Care bill going through Congress. A media reporter asked Mrs. Pelosi “where does Congress get the Constitutional authority to enact a health care mandate?”To this question, Mrs. Pelosi simply answered “are you serious? Are you serious?”

If this is not bothersome to all Americans, then I should be rather worried. This answer, to me, highlights a very specific characteristic about our Speaker of the House. When pausing after the question, delaying after the question, and ridiculing the question, I have come to the conclusion ( a logical one) that Nancy Pelosi simply does not care about the Constitutional powers of Congress (enumerated or implied).

A reader recently sent me an email admonishing me for not being more supportive of President Obama. For reasons that were not immediately clear, he also raised the issue of my confessed Christianity.

The “aha” moment came when he asked, “Do you pray for your leader like you’re instructed in the good book?” I responded that while I have prayed for the president, I do not do so regularly. That, in his mind, was evidence of my Christian hypocrisy.

This is an elementary school argument, but sadly one that is far too commonly made by the religious left and their secular allies. All Christian stumbling is demonstration of falsity; individual failure to practice principles is ipso facto proof of the bankruptcy of those principles. Sophistry of this sort allows the new left to dismiss ideas they disagree with and evidence they find inconvenient with a simple label: “religious right-wing extremist.” That sure beats actually having to make a substantive argument. What remains unclear is why the regular and unabashed support the religious left offers candidates whose policies are incompatible with or in direct contradiction to Christian principles is not more damning evidence of their Christian hypocrisy.

Aside from the fact that the left takes it as a given that they are both smarter and morally superior– one answer might be that the religious left now preaches moral relativism as opposed to the objective truth of God.

I am a Conservative because I believe in American Exceptionalism; I believe that Democracy and the rule of law is man’s best hope on Earth and that our way of life must be defended. As President Kennedy said, “we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” I believe that in the absence of American as the defender of Freedom, the world would dissolve into chaos, leaving Totalitarianism to rule the day and enslave the people. I am a Conservative because I believe in Open and Free Market Capitalism, and that Capitalism is the engine for economic growth and a nation’s prosperity, not wealth redistribution.

When I say Capitalism, I mean Laissez-Faire, with little to no government intervention into the private enterprise. I believe and history has shown that it is because of Government intervention, that Economic prosperity evades a nation. It is because of Capitalism and the Free Market that America has remained the envy of the world in terms of our standard of living, which is second to none.

During the climax of slavery in America, one of the most critical methods in which a slave Master used to maintain order amongst his slaves, was the indoctrination of dependency within the mentality of the Slave.

Willie Lynch, a European slave owner, once proposed ‘dependency’ as a key component in breaking the will of Slaves. Lynch believed that the Master must be viewed, in the eyes of his Slaves, as their sole source of survival; even to the point of defending the Master from attacks by other Slaves. Traditionally, the greatest defender of the slave Master was neither he nor his family; but rather, it was those whom he had enslaved that often came to his defense.

In today’s society, we witness the Willie Lynch method of ‘Slave control’ continue to affect the urban and inner-cities of America.

Can you imagine Michael Jordan seeking advice on basketball from a ping pong player, or Tiger Woods seeking advice on his golf swing from a rugby player, or Bill Gates seeking advice on technology from a Buddhist monk? Even Hollywood, with all its creative energy, could not have come up with such a script. Even if they did, no one would believe them. They would be run out of town. But, what would you say if I told you of a real life story that seems just as ridiculous, but yet, actually happened?

What if I told you the irony of all ironies was that it happened during Black History Month and there has been little public reaction to this amazing occurrence.