Looking Back on 2018

As we head on into 2019 and look back at 2018, there is no doubt we had lots of challenges, hardships and triumphs with lots more work to do…

2018 was a year where we saw institutions ratch up strategy of Fear and Blame… Sadly some of us got caught up in the rhetoric and added to to it…

We saw close to 2000 children snatched from their parents as families sought asylum at the border, with two of them Jakelin Caal (7) and Felipe Gómez Alonzo (8) dying while in the custody of ICE and Homeland Security..

There were huge outcries and condemnation, but we saw homeland security director Kirstjen Nielsen along with this president pretty much blame the parents for these tragic deaths.. They said the parents should’ve never tried to seek asylum…Sadly what was overlooked was brutal US foreign policy which lead to mass displacement..

All of this bashing on immigrants is centered around a desire to appeal to the racist xenophobic attitudes of supporters and do serious money grab to ‘build a border wall’…We should never forget that…

While some brought into the simplistic rhetoric of insisting we close the borders and not worry about the plight of other people’s kids, many others astutely connected the dots and reminded us that the taking of children from oppressed peoples is an American past time..

From the days of African enslavement and Indian boarding schools up to today where we see parents who can’t afford water bills in Flint, Michigan or parents who have been made homeless thanks to gentrification having their kids snatched…We have got to improve these horrific conditions in 2019

Speaking of gentrification in 2018 we saw an increase in homelessness..Many who work with the homeless estimate we have 4-5k homeless folks on the streets of Oakland alone..

It was just 5 or 6 years ago we saw tent cities sprout up all over the country during the Occupy Movement. At that time we saw folks call out income disparity with the framework of 99 vs 1%..

Fast forward to 2018 and the amount of tent cities and encampments we see have exploded, making the Occupy Movement seem miniscule. Tent cities and homeless encampments are now the norm with so many of us just a paycheck away or natural disaster away from joining the ranks.. What’s even more frustrating is seeing the brutal way in which Occupy encampments were broken up, continue with this increased homeless population. Folks are treated like crap and blamed for their dire predicaments.

It was in 2018 we saw gentrification accelerate all over the country. Here in Oakland we saw apartment buildings spring up and start charging 8k a month rent..(pictured below) We saw more and more folks forced to leave Oakland and move to far off places like Stockton, Modesto, Tracy etc and have to endure 3 hour commutes to work. These super commuters are now being hit with expensive highway tolls that via surge pricing can hit as much as 10-13 dollars a day..

In 2018 we saw all sorts of natural disaster all over the world. Here in Cali it was massive wildfires, that have resulted in scores of people dying and thousands losing their homes. All of us in the state were subjected to breathing contaminated air with no full understanding of its long term impacts..Rocking gas masks and driving for hours to places that have clean air is now the norm.

Its interesting to note, that in the middle of the horrific Campfire of Northern Cali that decimated the City of Paradise, a place that’s long been known for being conservative and racially hostile, President Trump quickly hoped on a plane and made his way out there to ‘inspect the damage’. It was a perfect photo op as we saw enthusiastic families cheering him on.. Only problem is during his remarks he got the name of the city wrong. He called it ‘Pleasure’ instead of Paradise…

Now granted many folks who dislike the president got their clown on, but many overlooked the real villains in this fiasco.. In Sacramento we had a bunch of chumps as legislators and an outgoing punk azz governor in the form of Jerry Brown who signed bills that would shield and limit PG&E’s liability from lawsuits even though in some of these key fires it was their negligence and ‘cost cutting’ measures that led to all this destruction.

Even worse we saw these bills give PG&E permission to raise rates to help pay for the billions of dollars in damages and lawsuit settlements.

in 2018 we saw the selling out of average folks as the Supreme Court ruled against unions, saying they can’t collect dues from non union members even as those non dues payers may enjoy the benefits of union benefits. That ruling happened in June and came on the heals of another death blow by the Supreme Court which basically said employers are protected from class action law suits.. That ruling happened in March…

Lastly we had this massive tax cut which completely upends everything.. One trend that we will see continue with these tax cuts will be workers no longer being employees of a company but being a contractor.. We that taking place throughout Silicon Valley.. It’s is most highlighted with the practices of ride share companies like Lyft and Uber… This means workers can’t collectively bargain, have no healthcare benefits, pensions, seniority, no workers compensation etc.. When all is said and done many find themselves holding down 2 or 3 gig jobs and make less than minimum wage..

After witnessing the circus around the Brett Kavanaugh hearings for the vacated seat Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy, we can expect more drama to unfold in 2019..

Mad Skillz give a year end Rap Up.. End Joy

There’s More to Election 2016 than Donald Trump

Davey-D-brown-frameBy now most people whether they are into politics or at are at the very least, remotely aware of the circus Election 2016  has become. The presidential race is bananas. Soap operas can’t compete with all that’s unfolded. Donald Trump and all his over the top antics are in the news every hour, every minute and damn near every second.

His recent disparaging remarks against the family of a soldier who died in combat and happened to be Muslim has resulted in a vicious firestorm and huge backlash. Folks who are fearful and absolutely hate the brand of politics Donald Trump stands for have been gleeful that all that push back against him has moved his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton up 10 points in the polls. Many are gleeful that the Republican Party seems to falling apart at the seams as more and more prominent figures are distancing themselves from Trump.

Some Republicans are publicly stating they are pledging support for Hillary Clinton citing that they see Trump as unfit. Is that a good thing? Does that mean Hillary will even further abandon her base to cater to an appeal to new right wing arrivals? Will she be gentrifying the Democratic Party?

Gary Johnson is gaing ground among Republicans angry at Trump

Gary Johnson is gaining ground among Republicans angry at Trump

Still others are staying they will either sit this election out or throw their support behind Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson who is on the ballot in all 50 states and is scheduled to be featured in a CNN backed Town hall.

With all this political turmoil going on at Trump’s expense, there have been a more than few who have done some premature celebrating. bad move. Don’t do it..

If there is one thing we should’ve learned over the years from 9-11 to Katrina to major storms and earthquakes, it is in times of chaos that dirt gets done. It’s in times of chaos that moves are made in relative silence by the most powerful among us. The political chaos caused by Donald Trump is no different. If anything it seems a bit manufactured. It keeps the corporate press focused on his antics vs investigating key issues and the merits of proposed policies

Karl Rove has quietly started a Shadow RNC and plans to toss unlimited amounts of money at specific contests

Karl Rove has a Shadow RNC and plans to toss unlimited amounts of money at specific contests

While we have been focusing on the Presidential election clown fest, we should be asking ourselves who are we NOT hearing anything from? For example, where is Karl Rove these days? Once touted as the brains behind President Bush and a master strategist for the GOP who has raised hundreds of millions, we should be asking why is seemingly so quiet? Did he pick up all his marbles and go home after Jeb Bush who he publicly backed was soundly defeated?

We should be asking ourselves what are the Koch Brothers up to? These are the guys who backed the Tea Party Movement, flipped lots of elections and have been key investors in ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) which have led to all sorts of regressive state side and voter suppression laws being passed.  Many people gave huge sighs of relief when it was made known the Koch Brothers would be sitting out the Presidential contest and not supporting Donald Trump. But did they totally disappear?

A recent article that appeared in Alter Net shows clearly their formidable ground game and Get Out the Vote apparatuses are set and will be in full effect come November. You can read that HERE.

There are  many who have been turned off by electoral politics who have famously asserted that it doesn’t matter who is in the White House. Many like to quote Malcolm X who noted Democrat or Republican are the same.  Thats probably true on a number of levels, but truth be told Malcolm wasn’t the only one who believed that.  Many others including the folks I mentioned Rove and Koch Brothers) understand that it doesn’t matter who sits in the oval office as long as you control the economics and politics of your community. That’s something Malcolm pushed us to do as well. How are we doing that in 2016?

Blue Lives matter bills are being proposed all over the country

Blue Lives matter bills are being proposed all over the country

So why are some of these powerful aforementioned forces and individuals so silent? Because while everyone is talking about Donald Trump, they have been steadily investing time, energy and laying out strategies to rule the day by winning stateside and local races. In short these folks haven’t disappeared they are literally out in these streets grinding. They’re allowing Trump to be the clown that everyone laughs at while they make sure hard-hitting, ruthless lawmakers are pushing and passing laws like the recent slew of Blue Lives Matter bills designed to give police even more power.

The latest was proposed in New York which would make police a protected class of citizens where hate crime status could be applied to any attacks on them. The person who proposed this is NY Assemblymen Ron Castorina who blames Black Lives Matter for the recent polkice shootings. How do we plan to counter those bills and what will we do to law makers proposing them?

smash the police state-001Powerful forces like the Koch Brothers and Karl Rove  are looking into local races in key cities where they can flip school boards and further privatize education. They are looking at local city council races where they win contracts to control water, electricity and other entities and institutions that effect our day-to-day life.

These forces are looking to see who they can win key US Senate seats to continue controlling the senate as well as win key congressional seats to continue locking down the house. They are looking to see who will be district attorney and who will be sitting on benches as a judge?  The game for them is down ticket candidates and measures which has been a pretty effective for GOP over the past 6 years. The question we should all be asking how are we locking down the community on a local level?

Several City Council Seats are up for grabs in November

Several City Council Seats are up for grabs in November

In the city of Oakland there are 5 city council seats up for grab. What’s are thoughts on this? Did all those running for re-election do right by us on key issues? Were they on the right side for issues like Gentrification? Police accountability? etc..

In June, San Francisco saw a huge surge for progressive candidates. Does that momentum carry over in November? Who gets rewarded who gets booted? What’s our electoral strategy to leverage those contests and get whats needed in our community?

There are local elections ranging from Bart Board to state Assembly and Senate seat? What’s our relationship with the candidates running. Some of them are friends and steady do work in our communities are we supporting a Lateefah Simon or a Jane Kim over opponents who haven’t done right by us?

Are we talking to people like Nicole Lee of the Black Movement law Project about electable judges?

Are we talking to people like Nicole Lee of the Black Movement Law Project about electable judges?

With respect to judges. We saw a lot of attention being given to Judge Aaron Persky who gave a light sentence to a convicted rapist and former Stanford student Brock Turner. There is currently an attempt to recall this judge. But what do we know about other judges who are up for election  in November. Have we been speaking with folks from the National Lawyers Guild or the recently formed Black Movement Law Project or the NAACP Legal Defense to find out which judges are social justice minded vs corporate or prosecutorial minded?

Now is the time we should be sharing information with one another, making up voting guides and figuring out all the ways we can control our community from top to bottom, from dog catcher to mayor, from congressional rep to state and US senator. Leave no stone un-turned. Some will need to be political punished and ousted or recalled while others are rewarded with the clear understanding you will hold feet to the fire..

So again don’t be fooled by the silence of the Karl Roves and Koch Brothers types. They are plotting and scheming and plan to run the table in November, While we’re laughing at Trump, they intend to install people who hold ratchet views like Trump but can look and sound ‘respectable’. #staywoke #beprepared

Whose Gonna Take The Weight To Stop Donald Trump?

Davey-D-brown-frameIf you are observing the rhetoric and subsequent hateful action inspired and empowered by Donald Trump and you are calling for him to be stopped at all costs, then there should be some tangible things you are asking people to do and realistic directions you are pointing people toward.

How and why should anyone take you seriously when you say ‘We Must Stop Trump’, but you are not putting in consistent, and committed organizing work to make that happen? As Guru from Gang Starr once famously asked ‘Who’s Gonna Take The Weight’?

No matter how you cut it, it’s just plain ole laziness, lame excuse making and low hanging fruit grabbing to blame others for not sharing your political point of view then to actually put in the hard work and be about that political life you espouse and make things happen.

Donald Trump Speaking at RNC-029Yes, Donald Trump is a Klansman in a suit. Yes Trump will appoint conservative supreme court justices who make Clarence Thomas look liberal. Yes, Donald Trump will try and build a wall. Yes, Trump will push to put electronic monitoring devices on Muslims and declare anyone associated with Black Lives Matter a terrorist or a lethal enemy to police who should be curtailed.

Trump will do all these horrible things and yet in the face of this we have some who are sitting back and doing nothing while demanding everyone else put in work.  In the face of all this we folks who are demanding that people tow a particular political line while they themselves are not practicing what they preach. We have folks demanding that folks move a certain way while they are not making no moves at all.. What part of the game is this?

The other day I met a bunch of folks who are so committed to their political goal they are taking a semester off to go volunteer in swing states.. What are you doing to match that?

I interviewed a bunch of folks the other day who are working day and night to start a viable third party and working to get folks to run for office.. How are you matching that work?

protest Signs at RNC-005I talked to some folks who are hard at work researching key down ballot issues and making voting guides to pass out on college campuses.. What research are you doing? What voting guides are you creating?

To sit up here at this point in time with all that’s transpiring and demand that everyone drop everything and come together to Stop Trump while you yourself are not personally committing time and resources to that effort is akin to a someone stating we must do everything to stop lung cancer while they smoke 2 packs a day..

Either put up or shut up.. Be about that ‘Stop Trump Life’ and do like Rihanna and ‘Work, Work, Work, Work‘ or just admit you about the business of talking loud and saying nothing

Nuff said..

Forget ‘Hope & Change’, Trump is About ‘Fear & Blame’ (A Report Back from the RNC)

Davey-D-purple-frameStill trying to process everything I took in this past week during the RNC (Republican National Convention) in Cleveland. It was the ultimate  reality TV show starring Donald Trump. First thing I wanna do is clear up any misconceptions because I’m not sure how things were conveyed on TV. It should be noted the overwhelming majority of attendees to the tune of 97% of the delegates attending the RNC were white.

One might have gotten the impression the RNC was somewhat diverse due to the fact that party leaders found Black and Brown speakers to put on stage at prime time. Network TV cameras panned the faces of Black and Brown journalists or Black and Brown vendors and janitors who worked at Quicken Loan Center which added to the illusion of diversity. Don’t believe the hype. It was a sea of whiteness and I have the pictures from the floor of the convention to prove it.

Donald Trump speech Floor shots-247Second, with respect to the Trump campaign, the man is no dummy. Don’t be fooled. Donald Trump is a masterful,  pop culture and media manipulator who should not be underestimated. I repeat do not underestimate him..Key word… ‘masterful’.

While many of us have clowned him and gleefully denounced his appearances on Reality TV as something far beneath our intelligence, Trump saw clear openings and embraced it. He clearly understood there is a sizeable, passionate audience that is attracted to celebrity. He understood, that many in that audience love Reality TV. They thrive on bodacious, over-the-top, in-your-face, boombastic showmanship which helps them escape the hardships of dead end jobs and never ending poverty.

TRUMP’S WHITE PRIDE APPEAL

Donald Trump Speaks at RNC-061 While many of us watched Trump give his spiel and responded by pointing out his numerous hypocrisies, scandals, offensive rhetoric and blatant wrong doings, his audience CONNECTED and continues to CONNECT with him. They don’t HEAR him. They FEEL him. Again I repeat, for his supporters it’s not about Trump being right or wrong. It’s not about him being caught in a lie or distorting the truth-Its about the way he makes his audience feel. His audience FEELS him.

For those who say they can’t understand that way of thinking, I would ask them to go back to 2008 and recall the types of things that were being said about Obama when he ran for the white house. Many openly talked about how Obama made them beam with pride. Many talked about voting for him so our kids could see a Black man in the white house. Many talked about being unapologetically Black in their support of Obama.

Crowd shots at RNC-020That mindset is not much different from the mindset many hold today with Trump. Contradictions and political shortcomings be damned. Exaggerations and distortions of truth be damned. Many rationalized their support for Obama and rode with him, no matter what.

Well, in 2016, we are seeing unbridled support for Trump by people who feel he is giving them a sense of pride… It’s White Pride and folks are increasingly vocalizing, that they are unapologetic about it.

TRUMP BORROWS FROM OBAMA

Donald-Trump-Fear-and-BlameWhen listening to Donald Trump we can see clearly that he’s borrowed from President Nixon with his ‘Law and Order’ rhetoric. What’s not so clear is seeing that Trump also borrowed from President Obama.

Trump is basically doing a ‘Hope and Change’ type campaign that specifically targets poor, anxious, angry, blue collar white folks who are feeling marginalized. For them, ‘Fear of a Black Planet’ is real. ‘Fear of a Brown Planet’ is Real. Trump is feeding ‘Hope and Change’ to this demographic under the guise of ‘Fear and Blame’.

There are 3 main clarion calls to Trump’s campaign. One is to ‘build a wall to keep out Mexicans. Two is to increase surveillance and ban of all Muslims who are depicted as ‘Radical Islamic Terrorists’. Third is to return to the good ole days of ‘law and order’ where criminal oriented Black folks are locked up and harshly punished. These are appealing to a disenchanted segment of the population.

WILL TRUMP BETRAY OR EMPOWER HIS POOR WHITE BASE?

Crowd shots at RNC-002As I watched and listened intently to his speech on the final night of the RNC, I saw it resonating with that large crowd hungry for change and in need of hope. I also knew that one of two things will happen if Trump gets into office. He will either do like Obama and quickly abandon and betray many of the poor, marginalized folks that drove his campaign. That could result in violent reaction considering he has courted and attracted lots of armed anti-government militia types who have been preparing and yearning for confrontation.

What is more likely to happen is Trump as President, will find a way to incorporate these angry constituents and spread the love by empowering them to go full throttle on marginalized, poor folks of color.

It’ll be 1676 all over again when after Bacon’s Rebellion where the concept of whiteness was created and poor white indentured servants were granted privilege and power over their African indentured counterparts.

The payoff for those desperate to escape economic destitute and oppression was to buy into the logic that they were better then Africans and as newly minted ‘whites’ who were a step closer to the elites who ran the show, they would patrol and keep the enslaved Africans in check.

Bacon's rebellionThese poor whites back then were able to unite and form solidarity with the planter class elites over fear of slave uprisings. It should be noted that in many places enslaved Africans outnumbered whites as a result the oppression and brutality was harsher. It’s a mindset that would be a driving force around Black oppression for generations to come.

Trump’s message is plain and simple. Vote for me and I will keep you safe by putting all these Black, Brown and Muslim people in their place.

When you see outlaw biker gangs hanging with police which I did while in Cleveland (‘Bikers for Trump’) and popular anti government figures like Alex Jones riding for Trump and talking about Blue Lives Matter, it underscores the notion of white solidarity and empowerment which is being fostered by Trump.

ProfTinaWright-225As my good friend Professor Tina Bell Wright pointed out in a recent conversation what we are also seeing is a racialized backlash to Obama in much the same way the rise of the KKK and Jim Crow were backlashes to the Reconstruction era.

Professor Wright also noted that we are seeing a backlash to globalization and globalism which is being upheld by Hillary Clinton and Neo-Liberal policies she champions. In the face of corporate tyranny, the nationalism Trump is selling sounds good for many. It sounds rebellious and anti-establishment. people are emphatic about his willingness to protect ‘Americans’.

The question we are all faced with is at the end of the day, who does Trump see as Americans? Even more importantly who under Trump do we see his understanding of Americanism’ with all its privileges and protections get extended to? Its a direct throwback to the way the concept of whiteness were extended to certain immigrants in past generations?

IS TRUMP THE NEW AGE ANDREW JOHNSON?

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson

I have long said Donald Trump is a new age Andrew Johnson. For those who are unfamiliar Johnson is the man who succeeded Lincoln after he was assassinated. He hated the elite and he hated the planter class establishment that ruled the South. He wanted them to crumble and kiss his butt. But he hated Africans even more and immediately went to work to dismantle Reconstruction, starting with the closing of the Freedman’s Bureau.

It’s with that understanding of history, I see Donald Trump and his proposed policies of containment, banning and surveillance. It’s with this understanding of history that none of us can afford to be apolitical at this time. It’s with this understanding of history that none of us can afford not to be connected or involved in organizing efforts to rebuff whats coming down the pipe…

All of us are going to step up. Black and Brown folks for now will be the obvious and immediate targets, but also everyone else from young millennials to women to LGBT etc are in line to catch this backlash.

BUILD A WALL & BLUE LIVES MATTER

Crowd shots at RNC-008Over the week, I saw thousands stand on the floor of the Quicken Loan Center cheer and chant in unison ‘Build a Wall’. At one point the frenzied cheering and jeering by an emboldened white crowd made it feel absolutely unsafe to be in the vicinity or outside in the adjacent courtyard.

Speaker after speaker blamed Brown folks for everything ranging from ruining our economy to stealing precious resources to setting off murderous crime sprees against ‘innocent’ American citizens. The hateful rhetoric was validated by the RNC including a Black or non Latino Brown speaker to parrot the anti-immigrant vitriol.

The ‘Build a Wall’ chants and tough talk against Latinos were accompanied by the equally vitriolic demonization of Muslims who were called ‘Radical Islamic Terrorists’… And while RNC speakers attempted at times to qualify their statements by noting that ’not all Muslims’ are terrorists’, what was being advocated was the wholesale surveillance and banning of Muslims along with a call for policies to be put in place to eradicate Muslim practices like Sharia Law which were grossly distorted.

Police at RNC 2016 cleveland-001Just as frightening as thousands chanting ‘Build a Wall’ was thousands chanting of ‘Blue Lives Matter’ and cheering wildly to the news that one another police officer connected to the killing of Freddie Gray was acquitted. The unapologetic upliftment and all out debasing of the Black Lives Matter movement was beyond disconcerting.

Everywhere you went you saw Blue Lives Matter buttons and t-shirts being sold like hotcakes ironically by Black vendors desperate to capitalize on sales who were lined up all up and down Euclid Avenue, one of the main streets in downtown Cleveland.

Police at RNC 2016 cleveland-003This was accompanied with the presence of several thousand police officers from all over the country including Florida, Massachusetts, Indiana, Montana to name a few, running and executing what amounted to be crowd control drills against demonstrators who were all forced to be confined in a park blocks away from the RNC called Public Square. 300 of those police were from California Highway Patrol.

It was not lost on me the irony of RNC attendees chanting ‘Blue Lives Matter’ in the same Quicken Loan arena where Lebron James, Kyrie Irving and other members of the World Champion Cavaliers who were openly revered from the stage of the RNC, showed support and helped increase visibility to Black Lives Matter and the police accountability movement when they famously wore ‘I Can’t Breathe’ t-shirts in response to NY Police choking Eric Garner to death in 2014.

It also wasn’t lost on me the irony of this week being one in which while ‘Blue Lives Matter’ was being loudly chanted in a sports arena, the WBA (Women’s Basketball League ) had threatened to fine several players for wearing Black Lives Matter t-shirts. The WBA felt it was wrong to use a sporting platform to put forth a political position. The threats of fines had been rescinded after much public pressure and WBA players promising a media boycott.

It was here in Cleveland during the RNC we saw police unions flex and attempt to get Ohio’s open carry law suspended for a week once it was made known that Black protestors would show up with their guns especially after it was made known that white militias would be in Cleveland ‘exercising their second amendments rights.

Just to show you how deep things got, prior to us coming to Cleveland, our radio station got a visit from the FBI warning us of credible threats by armed white supremacist militias. There was no attempt to suspend the Open Carry law when that took place.

CONCLUSION

Kali Akuno

Kali Akuno

Kali Akuno of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movements recently noted in an article, that progressives minded folks will have to fight a war on two fronts. One will be with the white supremacy being uplifted by Donald Trump, the other will be the corporate back Neo-Liberal and equally repressive policies of Hillary Clinton.

A Trump presidency is not something to romanticize about or even see as ‘business as usual’ especially for those who have not prepared in terms of establishing strong networks to help sustain you and your family economically.

Trump in office is not something to take lightly if you don’t have a strategy in place to deal with an anticipated rise violent racist attacks backed by and in many cases initiated by members serving in various police departments that have been infiltrated by white supremacist types.

Old Man with trump t-shirt RNC-001Many Trump supporters are experiencing economic hardships coupled with deep seated fears of being outnumbered and overwhelmed by a growing Black and Brown population. That anger under a Trump presidency will be directed at our communities with the full unapologetic backing of the state. How prepared are we for this?

Some will try to avoid this harsh backlash by seeking favor and cutting deals in an attempt to obtain what I will call overseer or buffer status. In short many will seek relief and protection by betraying their community and taking on the role of oppressor. How prepared are we for that?

For many, the goal is defeat at all costs Trump with Hillary being the viable option. We can debate the pros and cons of that at another time. But for those who see casting their lot with Hillary as a solution, I will say this, inaction, lackluster political engagement and uninformed political analysis will cost you dearly. Believe that..

Don’t believe out of touch TV pundits, 30 second sound bites or brought and paid for polls. One will have to do more than just pull a lever in 2016. In most elections 50% of the population stays home. One had best figure out how to get them to the polls…

If you are not volunteering your time, door knocking, phone banking and vigorously engaging, organizing family neighbors and friends not just in your own community but also in so-called battle ground states, then you will lose this election, Trump will be your President and you will have no one to blame but yourself.

While in Cleveland, I saw a sign in Cleveland that said: ‘Love Trump Hate’. During the RNC, Trump provided his supporters with lots of policies to be angry about and lots of people to emphatically hate. Hatred of the the ‘Non white American will be a powerful, motivating incentive that will turn out many come this November. Trump folks will be riding hard.. The question here if ‘Love Trumps Hate’ who are we loving and how deep is that love?

Was President Obama’s Re-Election About Our Hopes or Our Fears?

There’s a lot to reflect and say about last night’s election. The re-election of President Barack Obama brought enthusiastic cheers from all corners of the country. But one should be cautious and not misread those cheers. They weren’t the cheers of 2008 where there was literally dancing in the streets as history was made and folks were left hopeful.

Last night what we heard were cheers of relief. It was relief that came from millions of people having to endure he humiliation of chaos at the polls , where many wound up standing for up 6 or 7 hours or were aggressively questioned by Tea Party backed True the Vote poll watchers who suspected their eligibility, and a range other widespread voter suppression efforts.

Last night the cheers were being relieved of having to deal with Neandrathrolic behavior from sitting lawmakers who felt that there was ‘legitimate rape‘ and that women should not only not be allowed to have abortions, but shouldn’t have access to birth control

Last night we heard cheers of relief, because folks were fearful of having what little safety nets were left to be immediate dismantled or repealed on the day those seeking power took office…

Like it or not, Obama won last night’s election because of widespread politics of fear..not hope. Many who voted for him, did so with lots of dissatisfaction and disappointment on an array of policies the President championed or did not champion, but what they perceived was coming down the pipe was so frightening folks quickly got in line and pulled the lever for the President..

It was clear with Mitt Romney that there was a 47% of the population that needed to be ousted. He and many of his supporters felt like many of us were ‘leeches’ and no longer needed to be seen as fellow human beings… The mean-spirited racially charged policies being proposed and brought before the floor in Congress, sent a strong message to many, that there was a helluva a lot of white folks who were not playing around and were going all out to roll back anything and everything that had progressed in the past 50 years. That frightened people and Obama was a beneficiary.

Last night Mitt Romney had a voting base that consisted of 89% white people. That xenophobic angry base and how they see the world is best personified with the remarks of Bill O’Reilly and his Fox News cohorts. Its personified with the nasty tweets sent out by singer Ted Nugent where he refered to Obama supporters as whores and welfare cheats. Its personified by the angry tweets from Donald Trump who said the election was  sham and a travesty and America must fight to stop what had just happened.. (an Obama win)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZZt3jPDvNQ

Only time will tell if what we experienced was some grand exercise of Good Cop Bad Cop with the end game of getting everyone to reinvest into a system that has constantly failed people. But for now many are happy that they pushed back on something they felt would be irreversibly catastrophic. By voting and re-electing Barack Obama many who are part of a growing demographic of folks who feel they’re constantly marginalized felt like they were standing up and pushing back on the type of attitude expressed in the O’reilly video..

Unfortunately, it’ll take more than just voting. More push back is needed. It ranges from deading citizens united which allowed unlimited money to come into politics to having comprehensive election reform that restricts deceptive practices and voter suppression tactics. Close to 5 Billion dollars was spent for this past election..

It’s gonna require push back to stop the relentless attempts by corporate giants to own and privatize everything from our drinking water to FEMA which is what Mitt Romney proposed. It’s gonna require us to push back and demand economic and social justice..

All the forces that worried folks are still here, most likely plotting and scheming on how to better advance their cause. Bain Capitol and uncaring companies like it are still around and doing business as usual. In fact that might be vengeful and economically spurn their workers because of the win.

The forces behind banning ethnic studies books in Arizona have not left. Those who wish to public education and privatize public universities are back at work gearing up for the next round of tuition hikes. Police are still gunning down Black people every 36 hours..The people who obstructed Obama and demonstrated racial hostility are still in Congress and the Senate.

The policies that Obama embraced or didn’t embrace are still in front of us..How will we get him to match the words he uttered in his speech last night that left many feeling re-charged?  How will we become partners in reshaping America so that beneficial for all vs being disposable tools who are only tapped when its election time? In short there’s lots more work to do and hopefully all of us are up to the challenge.

written by Davey D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddx8t6zGWxA

Mitt, Meg & Trump The New Age Firing Squad

So today Mitt Romney is coming to the Bay Area to meet w/ Meg Whitman..Y’all remember Meg? In 2010 she  ran for governor and promised to fire 40k state workers.. She’s now the CEO of HP where she is now firing 27k…This is what she does best…

Her buddy Mitt is on record saying he likes to fire people and his company Bain Capital has proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt..Ask the folks who work at Clear Channel, one of Bain’s companies..

Lastly Mitt is hanging out with Donald ‘Klansman’ Trump... What does Trump do every week? He has a TV show where he fires people..

So where’s all the job creation? Perhaps its overseas or perhaps its amongthe low wage/ minimum wage crowd

Mitt, Meg & Trump.. They’re the new age Firing Squad..

A Look back at Some of the Most Dubious & Outlandish Moments of 2011

2011 proved to be a year with some dubious, sometimes humourous, shocking and outlandish moments.

For example we had an outrageous moment when Barack Obama wound up showing his birth certificate the world to prove his American Citizenship. Thanks to constant public doubting by people dubbed birthers and led by then potential presidential hopeful and business mogul ‘Klansman’ Donald Trump, President Obama finally caved and showed us along form birth certificate. After doing so, one would think that would be the end-It wasn’t. Donald Trump and other still think the certificate is fake. The response to this incident from comedian political commentator Baratunde underscored how many felt .

In 2011 we had the situation where a Homeless Woman was Facing 20 Years for Sending Her Child to Better School. This was disturbing on so many levels. First you have someone who is trying their very best to make sure her child doesn’t get in the same economic predicament as she found herself in. The best way to do that is to make sure that child gets a darn good education.

The fact that we have wide disparities in public schools should be cause for alarm. This mother, Tanya McDowell obviously could not afford to move into the more affluent district so she basically lied about her address and sent her child to school. One would think we would applaud the effort and try to find ways to accommodate this woman and her child. Apparently she had enraged school officials in Norwalk, Connecticut who pressed charges and demanded she pay back the school district.What made this story even more outrageous was the fact that similar scenarios had gone down 4 other times this year, but only McDowell was being charged and fined

when she lied about her address in order to send her child to a school outside her assigned district

We had other scenarios like Public Enemy hypeman Flava Flav Opening a Chicken Spot in Iowa which closed down after four-months. There was a lot of controversy about employeee not being paid..Flav emphatically refuted the claim..In recent days he says he’ll be reopening the the chicken spot in Las Vegas.. Flav also introduced a line of flavored vodka (LeFlav) which included bubblegum..

V-Nasty

We had the controversy with white woman rapper from Oakland named Kreashwan who made alot of noise when she dropped the song ‘Gucci Gucci’.. The song was pretty good and people were with it, but raised eyebrows when she introduced her crew ‘The White Girl Mob‘. People began to sour when it became known that her partner V-Nasty routinely uses the N word and made no apologies. People really flipped out when fellow Oakland rapper Mister FAB offered up a ringing endorsement of the V-Nasty and defended her use of the word.. The video FAB put out was definitely an Outlandish Moment for 2011.

We had a dubious moment when it was revealed that longtime Hot 97 deejay and producer Mister Cee was arrested for lewd conduct. He was caught having sex in public and supposedly that wasn’t the first time.. That alone got everyone talking, but when word got out the person he was having sex with was another man, folks really got to talking.To Cee’s credit, he didn’t miss a beat literally with all the drama. The next day he was back on the air rocking the tables like nothing happen..

Rayvon Mcintosh

We were shocked and dismayed around the story of Rayon McIntosh. This was a brother who made headlines when he was shown beating two women with a metal club in McDonalds.

The back story to this went as follows: McIntosh was following company procedures when he inspected the large bill two unruly female patrons handed him. The pair verbally went off and one reached over and struck him. Emboldened, they then jumped over the counter and went after him..McIntosh responded by picking up an iron rod and whupped the two women, fracturing the skull of one and cutting the arm of another..Peep the video HERE

When it was discovered that McIntosh shad been incarcerated for 10 years prior to working at the franchise, folks went off.Many said he went too far, others argued the women got what they deserved. McIntosh was later fired and arrested, spending 7 weeks in Rikers Island. Charges were eventually dropped and he’s now suing McDonalds especially since it had been revealed he had been pushing the company to get security.

Disgraced presidential hopeful Herman Cain gave us lots of dubious moments in 2011. This loquacious pizza chain owner was the gift that would not stop giving. We recall him bragging about his woeful ignorance on foreign policy. We recall his over simplistic approach to solving the economy with his 9-9-9 plan. We cringed when he asked if it was ok to ban mosques. Cain seemed to take pride in sometimes being abrasive. He asserted he was just being frank and straight forward. We say Cain was a loudmouth and abrasive as away to distract from his ignorance. The best dubious moment for Cain was when he told those who are unemployed to Blame themselves..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHMEC8Xk9cg

One of the most Outlandish moment for 2011 came at the hands of Lt. John Pike. For those unfamiliar with Pike, he’s the douche bag police officer for UC Davis who decided the best way to disperse a group of peaceful protestors upset that their tuition which had already doubled was being increased again, would be to pepper spray them. His was the spray can heard and seen all around the world. He also gave us a glimpse of just how sadistic police officers can and usually are toward the folks they are suppose to protect and serve.

Pike was suspended and the chancellor of UC Davis has apologized. Some think that should resolve the issue. We found it disturbing that police agencies across the land didn’t come out and denounce Pike’s action. Talk about thin blue line..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AdDLhPwpp4

There’s a long list we highlight a few…

Kim Kardashian: Yes this woman could’ve won this award for any number of violations. First she did a full court press blitz where she appeared on damn near every TV network news show and Late Nite show to encourage folks to tune in and watch her get married to NBA basketball player Kris Humphries. She was trying her best to match the hype of the Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton. Sadly the marriage lasted for less than 90 days..

But that wasn’t the worse of it..Folks got pissed at Kim because she was casted to star in Tyler Perry’s new movie ‘The Marriage Counselor‘. There was a backlash as folks petitioned Perry to get Kardashian canned.

Like I said those two incidents along get Kim a DUBIOUS AWARD, but what sealed it for me was when she was kicked off stage during a Prince Concert for not dancing… Y’all remember this right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKunZnUSl_s&feature=related

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Penny Chapman: This is a Philadelphia woman who gets on a crowded bus with her 4-year-old son.. Apparently he’s acting up and so she decides to swat him on the butt to discipline him.. Homegirl decides to calmly call her people.. who show up at the next step with assault rifles and start shooting into crowded bus..Whats scary here is seeing just how violent folks can get and how impervious someone like Chapman who is a mother could be in calling for retribution over something so minor. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/06/earlyshow/saturday/main20089055.shtml

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qR6HJrZUtU

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Governor Scott Walker: He’s the union busting Governor of Wisconsin who took advantage of lackluster turnout during the 2010 mid-term elections. Once in office he ran full tilt toward trying to strip away bargaining rights of public sector unions. His actions set off a fire storm of protests at the state capitol in Madison throughout the month of February. As many as 100 thousand folks were routinely showing up with people camping out and ‘Occupying’ the Rotunda building months before there was an actual Occupy Movement.

The thing that stood out about Walker was how he positioned himself as this free thinking independent type of guy. It was later discovered that he was beholden to the billionaire Koch Brothers, who are best known for founding the Tea Party. Someone did a prank call to Walker pretending to be David Koch, what emerged from that conversation was Walker’s willingness to do whatever it took to crush protests at hand. Among the tactics expressed was sending in folks to disrupt the proceedings. It was also scary to hear how subservient he was.. It made me wonder who was really the Governor of Wisconsin We encourage folks to listen to the exchange between Walker and the fake David Koch.

We also want people to look at how things unfolded and were ultimately handled in Madison to get a better understanding about some of the things that unfolded during the Occupy Movement. Again Madison and the fight over union rights was the Occupy before the Occupy.

Peep the tapes HERE

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One of the lewd pictures Wiener sent to twitter followers.

NY Congressman Anthony Weiner: Here’s a guy who seemed to have it all in 2011 only to lose it all in what many would describe as an Epic Fall from grace.. Wiener was a firebrand who was the pride and joy in many left leaning circles because of his willingness to take on his Republican colleagues and pretty much blow up their spot. He had garnered a reputation for being the man who would set it off anytime anywhere and with anyone … Time and time again Wiener would come out on top.

Adding to Wiener’s lure was the fact that this one time storied playboy bachelor had landed and married powerful a woman named Huma Abedin who is an aid to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton which means homeboy had access and was making his presence felt in high circles.

With all that in mind one has to wonder what would possess the outspoken Wiener to send lewd pictures of him and his private parts over the internet? What would possess a 46-year-old married man to act a fool with no regard for his wife who was pregnant at the time? Even more disturbing is what would possess Wiener to go on TV and hold press conferences where he would lie over and over after he was busted? At the time I penned a story suggesting that Wiener may have been influenced by the Ying Yang Twins.

What made Wiener’s fall so Dubious was it came at the hands of conservative commentator Andrew Breibart who runs the website Big Government. At the time Breibart had soured his reputation by stretching the truth and out right lying in some of the exposes he unleashed about his liberal rivals. Most notably was the case story around Shirley Sherrod

Unfortunately, for Wiener, Breibart had peeped some of the exchanges he was having on twitter with female followers. When Wiener accidentally tweeted a picture of an erect crotch shot Breibart grabbed it before it was deleted and the rest his history. You can peep the time Line of the Weiner scandal HERE

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Psychology Today: Who could forget the over the top insulting article put out by this supposed esteemed magazine titled: Why Are Black Women Less Physically Attractive Than Other Women?

In this piece which has since been pulled from the website they ran down all sorts of backwards pseudo science ranging from Black women having higher testosterone levels on down to sistas having mutant genes..Here’s some of the outlandish claims written by the author London School of Economics’ evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa

I can think of that might potentially explain the lower average level
of physical attractiveness among black women is testosterone .
Africans on average have higher levels of testosterone than other
races, and testosterone, being an androgen (male hormone), affects the
physical attractiveness of men and women differently. Men with higher
levels of testosterone have more masculine features and are therefore
more physically attractive. In contrast, women with higher levels of
testosterone also have more masculine features and are therefore less
physically attractive. The race differences in the level of
testosterone can therefore potentially explain why black women are less
physically attractive than women of other races, while (net of
intelligence) black men are more physically attractive than men of other
races.

The fallout from this article resulted in Psychology Today apologizing for the article and the author Kanazawa almost losing his job. He apologized to school officials, admitted some of his work was flawed and forbidden from publishing articles in non peer reviewed publications

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Superman Renounces His Citizenship: Everybody loves the Man of Steel Superman aka mild mannered reporter Clark Kent who has long used the tage ‘Truth , Justice and the American Way… Key words ‘The American Way..

Well in 2011, Superman noted that he was tired of having his actions construed as a instruments of US policy. As a result he renounced his citizenship to the US in a comic book plot. He says he’s tired of having his actions construed as a instruments of US policy-Oouch!

Maybe Superman looked out at and realized he was no longer working for the people but instead uber rich corporations who want to suppress the people. Maybe Superman looked out and saw the over the top antics of racist and sexist policies championed by the Tea Party…

Maybe Superman got tired of seeing that Justice is only for the Rich and Powerful and the American Way is increased imperialism at all costs.. Who knows..Maybe it was slow box office sales.. In any case its a reflection of how this country seems to fall out of favor with folks all over the world everyday..

All this took place last Spring in a what is now a collector’s item Action Comics #900

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Common Underfire for White House visit: Back in may of 2011 there was manufactured Fox News style ‘outrage’ over rap star Common‘s appearance at the White House for a Poetry event. At issue was Common standing up for exiled former political prisoner Assaata Shakur and current political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal

Dave Jones of the Fraternal Order of Police in New Jersey was upset that Common over his 20 year career, did a couple of songs/poems addressing police brutality…songs I should add, that most people if queried would be hard pressed to name…They were ‘Letters to the Law’ and ‘A Song for Assata’.

He raised a stink and in your tried and true typical scenario Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Bill O’reilly went reaching for an old standby tactic-Demonize a Black person or some or some sort of cultural expression to get ratings, bring attention or distract from an issue. That’s been done for decades and with each deployment there are scores of willing participants who are eager to engage these clowns in a feeble attempt to go toe for toe…

I’m not a big fan of folks going on Fox and engaging them over outlandish claims, but it was good to see TV host Jon Stewart defend Common and hold it down during this memorable exchange.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im8WhG-8FGw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7fIjufCPsg&feature=relmfu

Remember President Obama isn’t the Only American Having to Show His Papers to Racist

A few thoughts on this madness surrounding Donald Trump, Barack Obama and the Birther nation..

First we should keep in mind this ‘papers please’ mentality is being levied on several other communities. Many of us got upset about seeing a Black president have to prove his citizenship to a white racist.. Hopefully we’re just as upset knowing that many of our Brown and indigenous brothers and sisters have to do that everyday in places like Arizona where they passed the infamous SB 1070 law. Proposals to pass similar laws await in places like Georgia and Texas..

The fact that we have white citizens, many of them the offspring of immigrants running around demanding proof of authenticity from folks who’s lands they colonized and stolen is beyond insulting. Sad part is many of those being stopped and accused of being ‘illegal’ are actual ‘legal’. Try explaining that to your Trump-like racist and its hard for them to comprehend.  To hear them speak the country is under seize with dangerous Mexicans  and hence everyone and anyone must be stopped and frisked.

Texas lawmaker Debbie Riddle

Some like Texas nutcase Debbie Riddle have taken this hysteria to insane levels by claiming that our country should be afraid of so called Anchor and Terror Babies and thus laws should be passed to deny American citizenship to someone born here..

Be sure to connect the dots to the indignation we’re feeling with watching this President hand over his papers.

We should not forget the insult levied on Asian Americans when Texas lawmaker Betty Brown suggested that they change their names to ‘American sounding’ names so they wouldn’t confuse people at the voting booths. Brown was responding to the concerns voiced by members of the Asian community who were discovering that the names and spellings on their IDs weren’t always matching on voting rolls and as a result many Asians were being denied an opportunity to vote.

Just another example of ‘Papers Please.’.

Peter King

We should not forget the demand for papers and proof of Americanism being levied on Muslim Americans… We saw some of this ugliness rear its head during the Ground Zero debates this past September. But the real insidiousness occurred when NY Congressman Peter King held hearings on Islam public claiming that Muslim Americans were more loyal to their religion than the country. Of course King conveniently overlooked that any devout person of any religion in theory would be loyal to God then to man. What religion doesn’t demand that?

he also conveniently overlooked that all religions have extremist including good ole Christianity where in recent years have led to the arrest of Christian militia members bent on committing heinous acts.. Nevertheless King and his supporters put Islam on trial and like Donald Trump demanded papers from entire populations of American citizens.

All this was supported by the numerous states from Oklahoma to North Carolina that decided to lambast Islam by passing or proposing to pass laws banning Sharia Law as if the extreme practice of that was somehow a problem..Its amazing that all these Papers Please type laws have gotten on the books at a time when we have record unemployment and all sorts of economic upheavels. One would think law makers would be hard at work tackling these other issues.

Donald 'Klansman' Trump

With respect to Klansman Donald Trump..What more can be said about the overt racism he displayed?  Our reaction to such nonsense should be firm, impactful and without delay. We can start by boycotting his show ‘Celebrity Apprentice‘ and more importantly his sponsors which include; Enterprise Rental Car, Clorox, Sprint, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Walt Disney, and Groupon.

We must also remind ourselves  that given his racial attitude that things shown on that show like the upcoming fight between Black participants Star Jones and Nene Leaks from Real Housewives of Atlanta are akin to slave owners pitting their prized property to fight one another.. Star and Nene bring Klansman Trump high ratings and while we understand that most of what has been shown on the show has been pre-taped, their antics should not be supported in the least.  I’d be embarrassed to be associated with a show such as Celebrity Apprentice after seeing the display Trump put on this week.

I think this commentary by Baratunde Thurston of the Onion explains it best..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX5ueEKsSWc

Lastly we should not lose sight at some of the larger issues at play, primarily President Obama’s policies.. While smashing back at the racism of white folks demanding proof of citizenship, we should also remind our president that some of his policies including support and signing of the Patriot Act, him approving warrant less wiretaps and having increased surveillance  of American citizens helps foster the Papers Please environment that we’re experiencing.

Sometghing to think about

-Davey D-