Entries in obama (46)

Monday
Jul262010

NAACP SCANDAL! Ben Jealous Didn't Write Those Op Eds Either! They Said It Not I: Ben Jealous and NAACP Not Ready for Prime Time

Commemorative Snooker-gate poster by Gem2001.

Now before we begin today's post I want to speak directly to our young readers.  I realize we have an audience of teenagers that reads this blog so the Blogmother occasionally likes to pause to offer some words of wisdom lest I lead you astray.   It is never wise to bad mouth a former employer.  So don't do that. Especially if you identify your former supervisors in a a blog post. It's bad form. A, the people at the company you left don't care that you're bad mouthing them, they are still getting a paycheck.  Second, the people at future companies you may work for give you the side eye because you bad mouthed the last place you left.  

 

When it rains, it pours and it's a monsoon over at NAACP headquarters these days.  I received in my email inbox a dispatch from a one-time NAACP employee named Amy Alexander. She's a journo who unwisely pursued employment with the NAACP. I love being a blogger, I have an email inbox full of emails from BET employees.  I suspect that by week's end, I'll have a few more dispatches from NAACP employees.  Keep it coming folks!

I'm torn about Ms. Alexander's post because clearly its the work of a disgruntled NAACP employee, however, Ms. Alexander's blog post is remarkable in that she confirms what many of us concluded about Mr. Jealous with no personal interaction with him.  That he is cowardly and passive aggressive. In other words, Mr. Jealous is a freedom fighter who doesn't like to fight. . . unlike Shirely Sherrod and her husband, but that's a whole other blog post.  Well anywho, Amy Alexander provides additional insight into the dysfunction at NAACP headquarters, in particular Mr. Jealous' dysfunction and the dysfunction of his communications staff. 

DISCLAIMER!

Let me say in advance that I was raised not to make fun of people who have disabilities this includes  speech impediments.  In addition, there is some discussion about an alleged mental health diagnosis.  I do not approve.  I think both items are hitting below the belt.  We can savage Ben Jealous based on his poor job performance alone.  I just wanted to say that in advance lest I get a text message from my Mama after she clicks the link to Ms. Alexander's blog post. I didn't write it MAMA! I'm just linking to the post.

Okay, so now that the PSA is over, pull up some popcorn and soda kids, its time for the show!

First, Ben Jealous  hired Amy Alexander to write for him... he should have kept her on, then maybe we wouldn't have gotten "SNOOKERED:

That is how I came to be the Voice of Ben Jealous for much of the summer of 2009. Not the head of the "I-unit" -- which, I soon learned, was being "temporarily" tabled -- but the writer of Jealous' op-eds, and of the Official Statements, and Press Releases for the association. But mostly, between June and August of last summer, I masqueraded as Jealous in the pages of The NationU.S. News and World Report,CNN.com, and on several other high-traffic websites. (Check out these enclosed links -- they take you to columns by "Ben Jealous," all reported and written by yours' truly.) Amy Alexander

On the NAACP's dress code in the Washington Bureau:

A truly Vampiric black woman in her late 50s. You know the type -- utterly in denial about the fading of their formerly femme fatalephysique yet still committed to thigh-high skirts and Tx3s -- Too Tight Tops. In Vampira's case, sometimes on special occasions, she augmented this look with 5-inch high heels.....Lucite, see-through heels. That's right, just like those that some hookers and sex-workers delight in. Amy Alexander

That's just cruel!

On the NAACP's public stance on Troy Davis... they had serious doubts about his innocence in private:

It eventually became clear to me that the NAACP couldn't be entirely positive, either, that Davis was innocent. Amy Alexander

And the she goes and says what polite people shouldn't:

Jealous rejected -- according to Vampira -- every opportunity to improve his on-camera performance skills. Yeah, I know -- paradoxically crazy, right?

Because what I saw during Jealous' turn at Maher's desk in June 2009 was a handsome, passionate, articulate black man.....who has a speech impediment. Amy Alexander

Note to self, have every single employee I may ever have sign a confidentiality agreement. Because this mess hey-ah! 

So hopefully this is the last swing we'll be taking at the latest dead horse the NAACP has thrown at our feet. But just to demonstrate that I am not the only person who thinks NAACP President Ben Jealous is not equipped to handle the current political, economic and technological environment. You have not one, but TWO NY Times Op Eds this weekend beating him about the head... and did I mention Newsweek has Rev. Al Sharpton sounding like an elder statesman? Heaven help us all:

 

Later, after officials at the organization had found and released a tape of Ms. Sherrod’s entire 45-minute speech, the group’s president, Ben Jealous, apologized and said the N.A.A.C.P. had been “snookered.”

Black people are in a terrible condition right now — economically, socially, educationally and otherwise — and there is no effective champion fighting for their interests. Mr. Jealous and the new edition of the N.A.A.C.P. have shown in this episode that they are not ready for prime time, and President Obama seems reluctant to even utter the word black. Or poor, for that matter.  Bob Herbert, NY TIMES

 

And more from Maureen Dowd:

And why does the N.A.A.C.P. exist if not to help clear a smeared champion of civil rights who gave a stirring speech about racial reconciliation at an N.A.A.C.P. banquet? Its president, Ben Jealous, shamefully following the administration’s rush to judgment, tweeted Monday night that Shirley Sherrod was a racist without even calling his Georgia chapter president or reviewing the N.A.A.C.P.’s own video of the speech. Maureen Dowd, NY Times

 

Okay so now that we've cleared that up....on to more important matters. I cranked out this lovely Snooker-gate commemorative image for y'all. Do you like it?

You can now purchase your official Snooker-gate beer mug at the Snookered Store.

I'm going

I whipped this up in about 20 minutes. My personal favorite is the  Snookered mouse pad.

Monday
Oct272008

CNN and DL Hughley Think Sex Traffickers Are Funny --"Shut Cho Mouth B*tches!"- "Pimps up Hoes Down", "Financing Hoes" "B*tch Better Have My Money"on CNN

I think it was the worst show that I have seen in a long while. TV Newser
What happens when CNN hires a man with a well documented history of animus towards Black women? Well, right out of the box, he takes his Black woman hatred, degradation and misogyny to a world wide audience. Using the financial crisis to introduce the world to the hilarity that is human sex trafficking by bringing on a Pimp ( Human Sex Trafficker) named Freddie Mack to discuss the mortgage meltdown. Yes, you just heard someone say "Shut cho mouth b*tches!" on CNN.- You better watch this clip before CNN yanks it down. They aren't showing it on CNN.com... I wonder why? Y'all will especially enjoy the part where Freddie Mack blames the mortgage meltdown on his sister "Fannie Mae" and he says "Or as I like to call her Fannie Mae or Fannie May Not, depending on how much money you got." Oh yes, he said this on CNN. Oh y'all sohuld split your sides with laughter when Freddie Mack talks about his business being "Financing Hoes." Uh huh on CNN. Y'all. C.N.N. Why aren't the women of CNN raising hell? Where is NOW? Oh yeah... the audience assumes that Freddie Mack's "Hoes" are Black women... no problems.. keep laughing. CNN is using DL Hughley as a straw man to carry out their their dirty work. He immunizes them from criticism and that is what they were counting on. The fact that the Black silent majority would give them a pass, because we are supposed to accept whatever garbage gets spewed at us as long as the one spewing the garbage has some melanin. CNN ain't slick. I tried to tell CNN what Hughley was all about in my post CNN Gives New Show to Black-Woman-Hating Comic DL Hughley. I weep for the employees of CNN. I weep for them in sorrow that DL Hughley has been foisted upon them. I weep for its foreign correspondents who have dodged IEDs, bullets, bombs, coups, and cholera, to only have their service to CNN disrespected by being forced to answer questions from a complete and total Buffoon- a modern day minstrel. A man too illiterate to read a teleprompter and properly pronounce your names and your locations. I weep for you CNN employees who were passed over so a man with few talents, a string of television failures, and did I mention an inability to read was given a one hour show on a international cable news outlet. Folks, there is something called the "soft bigotry of low expectations." On Saturday night the world got a wonderful demonstration of this bigotry when CNN debuted DL Hughley Makes the News. If you will recall, this blog has chronicled Hughley for well over a year after he made the following comments in the aftermath of Don Imus calling a group of College educated Black women "Nappy headed hoes." Now many may say "Isn't putting up video of his horrific show on your blog helping to promote his wretchedly inferior comedic talent?" Not so my friends. My putting up video of his show demonstrates my confidence that no matter how much CNN promotes this show, DL Hughley's inability to read and pronounce the names of places like Mumbai, India will doom this show as all of his other television shows have been promptly canceled. SO here is the first segment called "DL Around the World" somewhere CNN's foreign correspondents must be wondering how far they have fallen to have to endure being interviewed by someone who can't even pronounce their names and locations correctly. You have to feel for the Russian Correspondent who has to endure Hughley's idiot question about the world series. Or when he asked the China correspondent "If McCain ran against Obama in China who would win?" Of how about "Who Would Make a Better Astronaut, McCain or Obama" : I felt so bad for these correspondents. All their education and experience and risking their lives as foreign correspondents only to be subjected to the insulting experience of being interviewed by a man who cannot read. It's like they botoxed his corneas- look at his eyes. Dead eyes. The one bright spot was Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson and Hughley managed to sully that experience by asking Dr. Tyson if he "got some" from girls while talking about an apocalyptic impact from an asteroid. NO I did not make that up. CNN finally gives a show to an African American, and they don't go and find a journalist ( I know those are hard to find), the don't go find a political analyst or an academic, they go get a COMIC. A comic that thinks Black women are "the ugliest [women] he has ever seen in his life." His first show has been panned by those who watched it. It has been declared one of the WORST shows many have seen in a while. We are not surprised. This man's maliciousness and anti-Black woman animus cannot be disguised as humor. He is a mean spirited profane little troll and all the studio lights and makeup in the world cannot not disguise that CNN. I am not surprised that CNN dug into the bottom of the barrel to give a platform to minstrelty. CNN is Bearish on Black people. Remember when they used that Soledad O'Brien documentary Black in America to put a bunch of pathology on display and try to pass that off as telling OUR story? Remember when CNN put up a headline on their website declaring Black women to be "An Endangered Species"? Remember when CNN declared AIDS to be a "Black" disease? For the record, to the reporters who like to quote this blog without so much as an email or phone call, please don't say I am "protesting" DL Hughley and CNN. I don't "protest" or "boycott" -- that's Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. Now MY READERS have been known to do those things... :) . If my readers happen to take note of the advertisers that purchased the ads that run at the beginning of the CNN embedded videos of Hughley's shows, track down their contact information, and loudly protest their financial support of DL Hughley's platform, then I can take no responsibility for that. They are on their own. I can't be responsible for any rogue readers who track down the contact information for Proctor and Gamble and ask them why their PUR water brand is helping to subsidize the online video of a show that thinks pimps and calling women hoes and b*tches are funny. No, I have no desire to cause any type of controversy that might prolong the length of this clearly doomed show. I don't care WHAT HIS PUBLICIST TELLS YOU. This blog is not mounting a protest! Tell his publicist that they will have to find some other way to make this Titanic of a television show viable. You shall get no help from me! My only hope is that the CNN employees forced to appear on this debacle will revolt and demand their basic human dignity back from their bosses. I pity that DL Hughley has been thrust upon them by the bigotry of their superiors. To pull a page out of D.L's Playbook... I'm BLACK and I think he is horrible. So there! Once last question, would CNN let John Stewart, Stephen Colbert, or Don Imus come on their station and do a skit calling women b*tches and hoes? Do y'all get how insidious it is that they use this Black man to carry out his anti-woman agenda? IF HE WAS WHITE ( Yeah I said it).. IF. HE. WAS. WHITE, it would not be tolerated on CNN. It is because he is Black that the b*tches and the hoes Freddie Mack is referring to are assumed to be BLACK women that DL and CNN are going to get a ride. To those who claim I am being bourgeoisie. Oh excuse me BOO-Zhee, for criticizing Hughley. I am not alone. From Average Bro:
Hughley is not now, nor has he ever been, a sharp political comic. He’s not deep like that. And he ain’t too funny otherwise.
From My Urban Report:
I’m not trying to be a hater, but this is a union that I don’t see continuing for very long. D.L. isn’t breaking the news, it seems the news is broken.
From the Raleigh News & Observer:
I don't really know what this show is trying to do. Someone needs to take a breath and figure it out.
From Smoke & Passion:
And if Time Warner/CNN really wants to do a better job competing with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, why not choose a comedian who is actually funny?
From Native Son- CNN+Comedy News +DL Hughley=Not Funny Previous Post: CNN Gives New Show to Black-Woman-Hating Comic DL Hughley

Click to read more ...

Friday
Aug152008

"Obama and The Sisters":The Forgotten Legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, Barbara Jordan and Shirley Chisholm

We as public servants must set an example for the rest of the nation. It is hypocritical for the public official to admonish and exhort the people to uphold the common good if we are derelict in upholding the common good. More is required -- More is required of public officials than slogans and handshakes and press releases. More is required. We must hold ourselves strictly accountable. We must provide the people with a vision of the future.Barbara Jordan 1976 Democratic Convention Keynote

Melissa Harris-Lacewell wrote a mini essay for the Nation about the symbolism of Obama speech in about two weeks on the forty-fifth anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. She points out that in the frequent comparisons between Obama and members of the CRIC ( Civil Rights Industrial Complex) we often leave out some of the most passionate orators in history:BLACK WOMEN:
On August 28, most will be listening for a resonance of Martin Luther King Jr. because Obama will be speaking exactly forty-five years after Dr. King declared, "I have a dream." These are fair comparisons, but they ignore another important tradition from which the Obama candidacy emerges--that of Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, Barbara Jordan, Shirley Chisholm and the many thousands of black women activists whose names history failed to record. These women are the lost prophets of American democracy. As a country we dimly recall their accomplishments and have almost wholly forgotten their words. The epic battle between Obama and Hillary Clinton heightened conversations about race and gender, but it did little to illuminate the intersection between these identities where black women leaders have made significant contributions. The Nation
As a Texan, my idol was Barbara Jordan. My church librarian said they she knew Barbara Jordan and I reminded her of Barbara Jordan ( yes, I was a rather outspoken tot- shocking isn't it?) Sister Robinson had to have told me this when I was four or five. Every February, Sister Robinson would plaster pictures of famous Black folks on the wall including Barbara Jordan. (She also put up posters of Lola Falana, but that is neither here nor there.) I decided I wanted to be a lawyer because Barbara Jordan was a lawyer too. (Kids, that's a really bad way to select a career by the way. Don't do that, Okay?) But Melissa Harris-Lacewell is right. Some of to most powerful oratories in American history were given by Black women, but its amazing how they have gotten excised from history once again. We highlight the work of Barbara Jordan, Shirley Chisholm, Ella Baker, and Fannie Lou Hamer after the break In today's political environment where our politicians are more likely to cut up and act a fool or remain silent in deference to their corporate overseers, take a walk down memory lane to a time when people actually thought about what the heck they were going to say . I know it is not Black History Month, but a little historical perspective outside of the month of February won't hurt you.

Barbara Jordan

Barbara Jordan could" BRING IT!" and not in some rhyme-scheme, nonsensical, empty, rhetorical Krispy Kreme donut kind of way. Every year I take off to trudge up to the University of Texas, LBJ School of Public Policy to attend the Barbara Jordan National Forum. Its free and its always good. When you hear Barbara Jordan speak about the constitution you almost get a tear in the inside corner of your eye and the Star Spangled Banner starts to play in your head. 1976 Democratic Convention Keynote Address: I have quoted some chunks of the speech which is rated one of the Top 100 Speeches in American History, but you HAVE to listen to it.

We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in search of our future. We are a people in search of a national community. We are a people trying not only to solve the problems of the present, unemployment, inflation, but we are attempting on a larger scale to fulfill the promise of America. We are attempting to fulfill our national purpose, to create and sustain a society in which all of us are equal.

Throughout -- Throughout our history, when people have looked for new ways to solve their problems and to uphold the principles of this nation, many times they have turned to political parties. They have often turned to the Democratic Party. What is it? What is it about the Democratic Party that makes it the instrument the people use when they search for ways to shape their future? Well I believe the answer to that question lies in our concept of governing. Our concept of governing is derived from our view of people. It is a concept deeply rooted in a set of beliefs firmly etched in the national conscience of all of us.

Now what are these beliefs? First, we believe in equality for all and privileges for none. This is a belief -- This is a belief that each American, regardless of background, has equal standing in the public forum -- all of us. Because -- Because we believe this idea so firmly, we are an inclusive rather than an exclusive party. Let everybody come. Barbara Jordan 1976 Democratic Convention Keynote

And the most famous passage from the speech:

Many fear the future. Many are distrustful of their leaders, and believe that their voices are never heard. Many seek only to satisfy their private work -- wants; to satisfy their private interests. But this is the great danger America faces -- that we will cease to be one nation and become instead a collection of interest groups: city against suburb, region against region, individual against individual; each seeking to satisfy private wants. If that happens, who then will speak for America? Who then will speak for the common good? Barbara Jordan 1976 Democratic Convention Keynote

Whew! and Somebody a print this out and show this one to Detroit's Mayor, Kwame "The Tethered Superdelegate" Kilpatrick. Read this three times:

And now, what are those of us who are elected public officials supposed to do? We call ourselves "public servants" but I'll tell you this: We as public servants must set an example for the rest of the nation. It is hypocritical for the public official to admonish and exhort the people to uphold the common good if we are derelict in upholding the common good. More is required -- More is required of public officials than slogans and handshakes and press releases. More is required. We must hold ourselves strictly accountable. We must provide the people with a vision of the future.Barbara Jordan 1976 Democratic Convention Keynote

If you ask most partisans, Republican or Democrat to tell you WHY they are or WHAT they are, they couldn't tell you if their lives depended on it. She did it in one paragraph, but perhaps her most famous speech and the one that put her in the national spotlight was her opening salvo during the Watergate hearings.

Nixon Impeachment

Part 1 "I was not included in we the people" Through the process of amendment interpretation and court decision, I have finally have been included in 'We the People'" Part II: Barbara Jordan on Nixon disobeying an order of the Supreme Court of The United States. She goes over impeachment criteria all the way from the days of James Madison.

Shirley Chisholm

Fannie Lou Hamer

Ella Baker

Unfortunately I couldn't find any Ella Baker video on the ubiquitous yet often times demonic YouTube, but I will share with you some Ella Baker quotes.
I have always felt it was a handicap for oppressed peoples to depend so largely upon a leader, because unfortunately in our culture, the charismatic leader usually becomes a leader because he has found a spot in the public limelight.
PREACH!
I have always thought what is needed is the development of people who are interested not in being leaders as much as in developing leadership in others.
Amen!
Strong people don't need strong leaders.
Buy that T-shirt!
There is also the danger in our culture that because a person is called upon to give public statements and is acclaimed by the establishment, such a person gets to the point of believing that he is the movement.
So it will be interesting to see whether the DNC highlights the role of Black women in history at the convention. If they mention everybody else BUT Black women, trust me, I'll be the first to post about it.

Click to read more ...

Tuesday
Aug122008

RUMOR CONTROL: Pastor Wright's "October Surprise"?

I try to stay out of politics on this blog... okay well blatantly political posts having no relation whatsoever to Michelle Obama, however, I was doing my early morning Google News search for "black women" and ran across this article from GAWKER highlighting this tidbit that I admit I missed:

"In October, Obama’s former pastor, [Rev. Jeremiah] Wright, will publish a new book and hit the road to promote it, an occasion that might well place the topic of Obama’s blackness (along with his patriotism and his candor about what he heard in the pews in all those years at Trinity Church) squarely at the center of the national debate." NY Mag
Now Obama's campaign has like a three-month warning so they shouldn't be caught flat footed on this one. If they need help on how to handle Pastor Wright, then this might be the time so take the Clintons out to dinner or something so that they can school you on how to deal with surrogates who might weigh you down. Ask Lani Guiner and Joycelyn Elders the proper swimming technique for being thrown over the side of a boat. The reason this post popped up in my "Black women" serach is because of this quote from Wright:
Many of us are committed to changing how we see others who are different... Many of us are committed to changing, number three, the way we treat each other. The way black men treat black women. The way black parents treat black children. The way black youth treat black elders and the way black elders treat black youth... GAWKER
So what have y'all heard? Is this truth or fiction? What Will the Acolytes do if this is true? UPDATE: This rumor appears to be false.

Click to read more ...

Monday
Jul072008

I Won't Be Covering the Republican National Convention, But You Could Win an ALL EXPENSE PAID TRIP TO DENVER!!

As, y'all know, this blog is nonpartisan. We don't endorse and we don't hold racial loyalty litmus tests around here based on who you choose to vote for. Plus, I know I have a ton of readers from every political party or no party identification at all. Black women need to have a seat at the table no matter which party is in power. So, I applied for credentials to the Republican National Convention at the same time that I applied to the DNCC.

I'm sorry to all of my Republican readers who have been emailing me asking me to cover the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, but I was not granted credentials :(


Dear Special Press Credential Applicant:

Thank you for applying for credentials to cover the 2008 Republican National Convention. We appreciate your interest in covering this historic event.

Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming interest in covering our convention, we are unable to accommodate your request for Special Press Credentials.

We hope you choose to follow our proceedings through other means, including our live-stream at www.GOPConvention2008.com.

Sincerely,

Special Press Credentials Office

2008 Republican National Convention

I tried y'all. But alas, twas not meant to be . So don't email me about a lack of coverage, you can go to www.GOPConvention2008.com to watch the live stream, I know I will be. I am sure some other Black bloggers who don't run a website called Michelle Obama Watch will be there. BWAHAHAHA! I'll be sure to let you know who they are because for all the talk about protesters at the DNCC, the platform fight at the Republican National Convention is lining up to be off the chain.

But seriously, I am one of those people who will be watching the conventions on every night regardless. I'm a political junkie. Political conventions are like the Olympics for political junkies. Doesn't matter which party, we just enjoy watching the sport being played. This only happens once every four years and even if it is a large production of the political parties, it is still an important part of our political process and we should all know more than ever that elections have consequences.

With gas approaching $7 a gallon, the stock market looking as if it is about to head sub 10,000, foreclosures headed up and last I heard, one dollar was worth 2/3 of a Euro ( the last time I was in Europe I want to say 1 Euro was like $0.95), who we select to be our next president is a very important decision. So whatever your choice, let it be an informed and wise choice because I might have to break out a bicycle if gas prices go as high as is being predicted... and did I mention that we have not made it through hurricane season yet?

But on another note.... I'LL BE DENVER!!!! On the same day that the Republicans gave us "THE HAND, " the Democrats, announced that Barack Obama will be giving his acceptance speech at INVESCO Field in front of about 75,000 people. It is the first outdoor acceptance since JFK in 1960. The speech will be given on the 40th anniversary of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech and each and every one of you will have a ring side seat... hopefully, I haven't heard how this will affect press logistics, but wherever I am, YOU ARE!

If you want to enter a lottery to get inside of INVESCO Field, you can enter for $5. The Obama campaign will select 10 people who contribute at least $5 to the campaign between now and July 31, 2008. They are going to fly you and a guest to Denver AND you get to meet Barack Obama backstage.

At the Democratic National Convention next month, Barack will deliver his acceptance speech in front of 75,000 people at a free, open event in Denver, Colorado.

Make a donation of $5 or more between now and midnight on July 31st, and you could be one of 10 supporters chosen to meet Barack backstage and watch his acceptance speech in person.

Each of the 10 selected supporters can bring a guest, and will be flown to Denver to spend two days at the convention, culminating in Barack's speech on Thursday, August 28th. Barack Obama.com


Now that right there is a heck of a deal for $5. $2.50 per plane ticket. I am assuming they are throwing in hotel as well because hotel room rates are a MILE HIGH in the Mile High city and I got what is supposed to be a "deal" through the housing block. Let me know if one of y'all is chosen. I can be your "guest" and save a grip on airfare. Let them know WAOD sent you!

I am also happy to announce that we will be bringing a photographer with us to Denver as photography not one of my strong points. Keep hitting that PayPal button!


What About Our Daughters has received credentials to cover the 2008 Democratic National Convention. We are asking for your support in making sure that the voices, stories, and perspectives of African American women and girls are woven into the fabric of this historic event!Please consider donating by clicking our donate button in the sidebar.

Click to read more ...