Wednesday, December 10, 2008

You Want Real Change, Appoint Ralph Nader Auto Czar

If you want a true Auto Czar who will be accountable to the American people, I urge President Bush to appoint the highly esteemed Mr. Ralph Nader. Mr. Nader has sterling credentials and is eminently qualified and prepared to be the new Auto Czar. Moreover, Mr. Nader has an extensive demonstrated exemplary track record of success as a consumer advocate for the American people. I can’t think of no other person other than Mr. Nader that could effectively lead, guide and direct this country (USA) in the present prolonged malignant financial crisis with the Big Three Automakers. Furthermore, Mr. Nader does not have strong ties to Congress, special interest groups, the multi-national corporations, the Big Three, the auto lobbyists in Washington, D.C. or the UAW nor Wall Street. Mr. Nader is feared on Wall Street and praised on Main Street and he appears to be independent of all the previously above named constituents. Mr. Nader is not a Washington insider nor a political or corporate retread.
Mr. Nader could be the catalyst that could help to restore confidence in the public’s perception of the Big Three and the American buying public that Detroit is building viable, well made, safe and fuel efficient vehicles. Further, Mr. Nader would not give the Big Three carte blanche or a free pass to continue to build and profit from the junk and inferior products they are presently building. Mr. Nader would demand the highest standards in all phases of restructuring, production, costs, staffing, health and safety, the environment, research and development. The new Auto Czar should have more power than your typical chapter 11 bankruptcy judge thus ensuring total compliance of the Big Three Automakers in fulfilling all the requirements of the “bridge-loan agreement” with the American public.
Although I am vehemently opposed and against the bailout of the Big Three, if we are going to give the Big Three a “bridge-loan”, let’s appoint Ralph Nader to make sure that the auto giants are meeting the needs and expectations of the American consumer as we progress in the 21st century. I am urging the American public to call, e-mail or write letters to your respective U.S. Senators or Congress person or to George Bush requesting that Mr. Nader be appointed as the new U.S. Auto Czar.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Obama's Historic Victory

African American Pittsburghers celebrate historic presidential vote
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
By Monica Haynes and Deborah M. Todd, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Janet Pollard and her son, Jordan, 14, watch early returns at the home of Ron Saunders in Penn Hills last night.
In the cozy family room of his Penn Hills home, where family photos and African-American art adorn the walls, Ron Saunders danced.
It wasn't anything elaborate. Just a little shimmy, a small celebration after MSNBC projected that Sen. Barack Obama had won Ohio, clearing the way for his sweeping election win.
But Mr. Saunders didn't dance alone. Also celebrating were his wife, Judy, her sisters, Linda McDougald of Massillon, Ohio, and Gwen Howze of Stanton Heights, and their sister-in-law, Janet Pollard of Lincoln-Lemington.
They'd all gathered to watch election returns.
Pennsylvania had been checked off for Mr. Obama about 90 minutes earlier, but the call for Ohio meant he was even closer to the 270 electoral votes needed to become president of the United States.
Network exit polls reveal that the economy was a major issue for most voters.
But for many African Americans there was also the matter of history.
For the first time in his 62 years, Mr. Saunders was able to vote for an African American as a major party candidate for president.
"I just had a feeling of, Wow, maybe I am a little bit part of this democratic experiment," he said. "It was just a feeling of euphoria."
It's a feeling he wanted to share with family as they gathered to watch something none of them thought they'd see in their lifetime. His late parents, he said, would be "ecstatic."
The historic nature of the 2008 presidential race has prompted African Americans throughout Pittsburgh and across the country to hold election night parties, gatherings and "watch night" services.
At the Urban League Young Professionals watch party at Sports Rock in the Strip District, results were viewed in nervous anticipation. But when Mr. Obama's victory was secured and Sen. John McCain delivered his concession, the nervousness changed to cheers and, in many cases, to tears.
Often they talked of what Mr. Obama's victory would have meant to parents and grandparents who didn't live to see it.
"I'm ecstatic. My grandparents, they died for this moment. I have one grandmother alive. When Obama gave his speech in 2004, she cried. When he won tonight, I cried," said Sterling Goodrum, 25, of North Side.
Marisa Bartley, a branch manager for Citizens Bank, said she and other African Americans had cast their vote for Mr. Obama "for their ancestors. My grandfather served in the Air Force ... and he didn't live to see this," she said through tears.
"I'm just proud of America. It's beautiful. Growing up with my grandparents, that's stuff we never thought would happen. I thought a lot about it as a kid but to see it, that makes me teary," said Rod Nixon, 26, of McKeesport, an information systems specialist.
Shauna Brown, 27, of Oakdale, senior conference manager, UPMC, said she was still a little stunned. "I've never been more proud. I keep rubbing my eyes to make sure I'm seeing this. I don't feel like I've completely internalized this all yet."
La'Tasha D. Mayes, 27, of Highland Park, the president of Urban League Young Professionals, said, "When I woke up this morning, I knew today our lives would never be the same. The fact that a person of color, a black man, someone so universally exceptional has become president of the United States, today our ancestors and all that come after us watched what we did,"
Kingsley Adeoye, a graduate student in electrical engineering at University of Pittsburgh said the message in Mr. Obama's victory was good for everyone. "Blacks can think of themselves better and whites can look at blacks in a different way. It's a different country right now."
"It could be a reality at the end of the night," said 28-year- old Terrell Williams, admitting he was a little antsy watching the returns. He acknowledged the race has invigorated a whole new set of voters.
Brittany Lay, a 23-year old auditor from Chartiers, agreed, saying new voters from the black community have likely been drawn into the political process for the long haul.
"Once you get started learning what's going on in politics, it's hard to back away," she said. "Obama definitely got it started, but I think it can continue."
Ms. Lay said she was especially proud of young people who showed up to vote and were at the polls right along with her as soon as they opened at 7 a.m. She said she "didn't know what was going on at all" as a college freshman during the 2004 elections, but turbulent times and excitement generated by Mr. Obama's candidacy have made politics relevant to young people today.
"People are actually paying attention to politics because of Obama and normally they don't know what's going on," she said. "Our country is suffering tremendously and I think a lot of people are just tired of it. They're scared for the future and Obama came along and he's a drastic change."
Susan Jackson, a chemical engineer from Cranberry, said an Obama presidency would benefit the country as a whole, not just the black community. She said black people would also benefit, however, from a new representation of what the world thinks of when it thinks of black Americans.
"It's nice to have such a positive African-American role model when all you see these days is not the best of us," she said. "Hopefully, he casts African Americans in a better light in the whole world."
In Atlanta, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, Bernice King and other ministers and civil rights activist held an election "watch night" at Ebenezer Baptist Church, the home of Dr. Martin Luther King's ministry.
Watch Night, traditionally held on Dec. 31 in African-American churches, began taking on a special significance when slaves held the service in 1862 in anticipation of the Emancipation Proclamation taking affect Jan. 1, 1863.
"It is not just a political moment. It is a sacred and historical moment ... as we see part of the dream become a reality and be in a position to make the other parts of the dream closer to fruition," the Rev. Sharpton said before the service.
Mr. Saunders is part of that dream, too.
"I grew up in the Hill and everybody on [Francis] street went to college," Mr. Saunders said. "Everybody succeeded at a time of harsh Jim Crowism."
"That was the era of Jackie Robinson," he said. "You had to be better."
His parents, Beatrice L. and James S. Robinson Jr., owned confectionery and grocery stores in the Hill. His mother worked as an office manager for the New Pittsburgh Courier and was the first African-American female board executive for the American Newspaper Guild. His father, a judo expert, trained troops in self-combat during World War II. He also helped integrate the Highland Park swimming pool.
Active in the community, starting block watches and civic organizations, Mr. Saunders' parents were role models, he said. But so, too, was the guy next door and the lady across the street.
The activism of his parents and neighbors spilled over onto him.
Mr. Saunders, a retired youth care counselor for the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center, blogs about politics and social issues. His wife is a retired supervisor for Common Pleas Court, Family Division.
Both are active members of the St. Paul Cathedral's Race & Reconciliation Dialogue Group while he is also a member of the Black Jewish Dialogue of the American Jewish Committee.
The Saunders' efforts on behalf of Mr. Obama started long before they went to the polls yesterday.
"We've been making calls, canvassing, donating to the brother," he said. "It's been inspiring, It's been uplifting, something to really believe in."
Moriah Balingit contributed to this report. Monica Haynes can be reached at mhaynes@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1660. Deborah M. Todd can be reached at dtodd@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1652.
First published on November 5, 2008 at 1:24 am

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Never Underestimate the Youth of the Real America!

By Elizabeth Roach (bettanne@online.no)

As a nation we have so many things to be thankful for, and the youth of America go to the top of the list. Their devoted involvement in Barack Obama’s message of change was grossly underestimated by the political pundits. They were skeptical of any major turnout on the part of the young voters. Although they were excited by Obama’s rallies, it was said that their enthusiasm would not last; that when it really counted, they would probably not actually vote. Well, guess what? Their interest was not just skin-deep. These young people were enchanted by Obama’s poetic rhetoric and its content.
A worthy cause will attract decent young people and they will commit. Remember Kent State? Remember the Civil Rights Movement of the 60’s. Youth made a difference every time. A new cause was found in Barack Obama’s call for change. A committed youth saw through the McCain/Palin attempt to abscond with Obama’s message of change; they saw through the desperate Republican smear campaign; they ignored the divisive “us-vs-them” language that characterized it. And they delivered.

By the same token, African American voters command no less respect for their turnout. We have not seen such numbers relating to an election or political event since Martin Luther King’s "I Have A Dream” speech during the March on Washington. The Civil Rights Movement is another example of the power of Black unity when it is focused and determined to achieve a goal. Remember Andrew Young‘s call for African Americans to take their destiny into their own hands and to force the local bus company to end discriminatory practices by holding on to the mighty dollar “so tight the eagle screams.” That monumental challenge was taken on by a united black community. People walked everywhere rather than continue facing the humiliation of sitting in back of a bus. The loss of income forced the bus company to cave in to their demand.

If the African American community learns anything from the success of Barack Obama’s run for the Presidency, it is this: the force they mustered to vote as a block, should not be saved for special occasions. African Americans must nurture and maintain this political force. It must be ever present and on the ready to vault them firmly into the political arena on a level playing field.

And finally, all honor to the Americans who braved the elements, the long lines and the long hours to keep democracy alive in our country.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Vote Barack for Hope

By Kaitlyn Taylor

(The following poem was written by Kaitlyn Taylor who is 16 and is a sophomore at Woodland Hills High School, located in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA.)

Here’s something that’s evident
Obama will be our new president
Why should we discuss presidential issues
Cause being afraid will affect me and you
Obama plans to help struggling families
Which I’m sure is both you and me
I’m sure you’ll need that healthcare
Because being on welfare won’t compare
Obama shall be your choice
And as long as you can vote
You have a voice
Obama is the change we need
Or need we change to excel and proceed
In order to change the game
It’s time for something new
Obama’s plan involves what’s best for you
Barack the vote
Because he gives us hope!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

RONALD REAGAN WAS A MARXIST! WHO KNEW?

By Elizabeth Roach (bettanne@online.no)

Recently, an anchor for Eye Witness News in Orlando, Fla., asked this question of a stunned Joe Biden:

“You may recognize this famous quote: ‘From each according to his ability, to each according his need.’ It’s from Karl Marx. How is Sen. Obama not being a Marxist if he intends to spread the wealth around”?, she asked.

Republicans and Eye Witness news have now set the bar for a new low. The manner in which the question was put implied that Obama is a Marxist, and it was premised on a quote taken out of context.

The label, Marxist, comes at the end of a long string of words leveled at Obama: “terrorist”, Elitist and Socialist, the latter a code word for Communism.

The McCain Campaign knows well what effect these words have on the American People. Witness the planned attempts on Obama’s life. But one would not have expected such a fear inducing-insinuation to comefrom the anchor of a major network. She is admittedly a Republican, by the way, so no impartiality there.

David Gergan, a revered professor and contributor to CNN said the following about the charge of Marxism. “I don’t think the Democrats have really answered appropriately. Teddy Roosevelt was very much an advocate of what is called Progressive Taxation, and that is: The rich should pay more than the poor in terms of taxes.

One of the most effective poverty programs we’ve had in the last three decades is called Earned Income Tax Credit. It’s a program whereby if you’re a working person, or working couple, and you’re below the povertyline, the government will actually give you money---that’s a redistributionprogram. It’s a program which takes money from the upper class and gives it to the working poor. Now, who started that program----Ronald Reagan. It was the achievement of the Reagan Administration that Bill Clinton then built on…The wealth of the last three decades has been redistributed upwards .. .”

So, what does this mean for John McCain? Since he is a professed Reagan Republican, it means that he’s a Marxist and doesn’t know it! It also means that he has lost the last argument he had and it means he has to drop the “M” word and re-examine his position on the economy!

It is apparent that no one in the Republican Party knows or truly understands the history of American economics and what we have achieved through it. That our economy is in an economic shambles today attests to this. John McCain openly admits that he knows nothing about economics and his no-regulation policies led to Wall Street’s collapse. He seems not to recognize the Iraq War has contributed to this economic mess. He has diverted attention from that part of the equation and placed the blame solely on Wall Street’s greed.

So, fear-mongering through the use of loaded and divisive code words goes on. There is talk of “the real America”, “the very Patriotic Pro-America”, “the real Virginia”.

In the words of Ronald Reagan, “There you go again, (John)”.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Obama Will Not Be Tested and for Good Reason

By Elizabeth Roach (bettanne@online.no)

Paris, London, and Germany - Barack Obama broke crowd records everywhere he went in Europe. It was touching to see the enthralled faces of Obama's intent listeners who believed that he could bring peace to the world and change the order of things. In Germany they complained that his speech was too short - they had waited for hours on end to hear him, and they wanted to hear even more!

The McCain campaign sulked and labeled him a rock star, and a celebrity. They made an offensive video depicting Obama, superimposing images of Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears . I would not have been offended if they had superimposed images of Bob Geldorf, Bono and Bon Jovi. At least those men are known the world over for their intelligence, generosity, largeness of spirit, humanity and desire to make a difference in the world, much like Obama. But then McCain's petty little point would have been lost. The video did more to underscore the McCain campaign's pettiness and meanness of spirit than to diminish Barack Obama.

In dismissing and deriding Obama's phenomenally successful tour in Europe, the McCain campaign argued that "Europeans don't have a vote". I would contend that they do, in subtle and not so subtle ways. Remember how hard it was to get France and other allies to join us in the preemptive strike against Iraq? I'd say that was a vote against the Bush/McCain policy whose childish response was: "change the name "French fries" to freedom fries"! That’ll show ´em! and don't drink French wine, either”!

"What do you make of the Obama-mania that seems to have swept not just France, but all of Europe?" Fareed Zakaria, respected Newsweek journalist and host of CNN's Global Public Square asked that question of his guests. The French author and philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy answered: "If (Obama) were to (run for) President of Europe, he would be elected by 85%...If you ask me the reason for that, I would say that he's the re-embodiment in one person ... of the two greatest heroes, in our eyes, of modern American history, Martin Luther King and John Fitzgerald Kennedy. ...We see in Obama a sort of mixture of realism and idealism."

On another GPS program, the Singaporean United Nations' Ambassador said, "Obama understands the Muslim world in a way that McCain cannot. If elected, 50% of the anti-Americanism would disappear." This is huge! What kudos for Barack! These two remarks come from men of stature, with the world knowledge and political savvy that the McCain-Palin ticket so sadly lacks.

When Joe Biden said that Obama would be tested within the first year of his term in office, McCain and surrogates jumped on those words as if the sky had fallen. It is, however, a matter of public record that almost every President in our history has faced a crisis within the first year. John F. Kennedy was tested when the Russians placed missiles on Cuba. So the McCain campaign's reaction to Biden´s words reflects only one thing - that they don't know their history.

Now to my point: Barack Obama will not be tested if within the first year the Israeli-Palestinian crisis is put back on the table in a meaningful way. It must be solved with all the leverage we have, putting equal pressure on both sides to go the extra mile to achieve a fair solution. The headway made by President Clinton was shamefully squandered as the Bush administration turned its back and allowed the situation to deteriorate.

Solving the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, as well as that of Iraq, would relieve us economically and allow us to turn our diplomatic efforts elsewhere. As it stands today, we are increasingly being perceived as anti-Muslim. The diplomacy in the Middle East has been driven by the neo conservative, largely pro-Israel elements in the Bush War Department. New headway must be brokered by a strong, yet even hand, and the playing field has got to be level. Obama must reject neo conservative policies and agendas that ruled the White House Defense Department these past 8 years and led us down that woeful path to Iraq!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Is Osama Dead?

Many people around the world seem to feel that Osama Bin Laden is dead. Osama has had advanced liver disease for the last five years. Bush and McCain use Osama as a boogeyman to scare and frighten certain types of low information voters such as Joe Six Pack and Susie Six Pack for political reasons and expediency. Wake up America!

The Six Black U.S. Presidents

If elected, would Barack Obama, be the first black president of the United States?
What determines if a person is black or of African descent? In the 19th and 20th centuries, the standard for determining one’s race was, one drop of black blood, made you black, socially and in the eyes of the law. So by that standard, it would appear some U.S. presidents would have been considered black or mullatto.


Mulatto (-noun 1. the offspring of one white parent and one black parent: not in technical use. 2. a person whose ancestry is a mixture of Negro and Caucasian. adjective 3. of a light-brown color.


In February of 2004, an article was written by C. Stone Brown, titled “Who Were the 5 Black Presidents?” for DiversityInc magazine. The article was based on a book by Dr. Leroy Vaughn an opthalmogist titled “Black People and Their Place in History”. The following text is a collaboration of his theories and other known
historians and authors.

Thomas Jefferson the third elected president, who served two terms between 1801 and 1809 was described as the “son of a half-breed Indian squaw and a Virginia mulatto father,” as stated in Vaughn’s findings. Jefferson also was said to have destroyed all documentation attached to his mother, even going to extremes to seize letters written by his mother to other people. Only in recent years did the family of Thomas Jefferson acknowledged he was the father of the (5 or 6) children born to a slave on his plantation, Sally Hemmings.


President Andrew Jackson, the nation’s seventh president, was in office between 1829 and 1837. A
renowned African-American historian J. A. Rogers, author of the “Five Black Presidents” wrote that Andrew Jackson Sr. died before his son, President Andrew Jackson Jr., was born. The president’s mother then went to live on the Crawford farm, where there were Negro slaves and one of these men was Andrew Jr.’s father, Rogers wrote.
Vaughn cites an article written in The Virginia Magazine of History that Jackson was the son of an Irish woman who married a black man. The magazine also stated that
Jackson’s oldest brother had been sold as a slave.

Abraham Lincoln, the nation’s 16th president, served between 1861 and 1865. Author Vaughn, states
Lincoln had very dark skin and coarse hair and his mother allegedly came from an Ethiopian tribe. His heritage fueled so much controversy that Lincoln was nicknamed
“Abraham Africanus the First” by his presidential opponents and cartoons were drawn depicting him as a Negro.
In a book, titled “The Hidden Lincoln” written by William
Herndon, Lincoln’s law-office partner, said that Lincoln’s father of record, Thomas Lincoln, could not have been Lincoln’s father because he was sterile from childhood
mumps and later was castrated.

President Warren Harding, the 29th president, in office between 1921 and 1923, apparently never denied his ancestry. According to Vaughn, William Chancellor, a
professor of economics and politics at Wooster College in Ohio, wrote a book on the Harding family genealogy. Evidently, Harding had black ancestors between both sets
of parents. Chancellor also said that Harding attended Iberia College, a school founded to educate fugitive slaves. Professor Chancellor says the Justice Department agents
allegedly bought and destroyed all copies of this book.
Harding suffered nervous breakdowns at the age of 24 and had to spend some time in a sanitarium. Between 1889 and 1901, Harding paid five “protracted” visits to the J.P. Kellogg sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan “to recover from fatigue, overstrain, and nervous illnesses.” Some speculate his illness was due to the pressure of not fully disclosing his black heritage and living as “white”.
http://stewartsynopsis.com/8percent/
Warren%20Harding%20and%20Jim%20Crow.htm

Calvin Coolidge, the nation’s 30th president, served between 1923 and 1929 and supposedly was proud of
his heritage. He claimed his mother was dark because of mixed Indian ancestry. This notion was disputed
by Auset Bakhufu, author of “The Six Black Presidents” who said in her book that by the 1800s, the New England Indians hardly were pure Indian, because they had mixed so often with blacks. Coolidge’s mother’s maiden name was “Moor”
and in Europe the name “Moor” was given to all blacks just as “Negro” was used in America. It later was concluded that Coolidge was part black.



The last elected “black” president was Dwight David Eisenhower who served from 1953 to 1961, the
34th president. Eisenhower’s mother, Ida Elizabeth Stover was a mullato woman making Eisenhower part black.
Eisenhower as president moved military integration from a law to reality. He battered Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus with federal force to desegregate Little Rock’s Central
High School. He was the first President to elevate an African-
American to an executive position in the White House. He established the first regulations to prohibit racial discrimination in the federal workforce. He was the first President since Reconstruction to meet with Civil Rights leaders in the White House. He helped turn Washington, D.C., into an integrated city.
http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/ forum.aspx?tsn=13&nav=messages&webtag=abracerelation&
tid=9705


The only difference between Barack Obama and most of the former “black” presidents is that none of their family histories were fully acknowledged by others or themselves. Even though Obama is half-white, he strongly resembles his Kenyan father. And not only is Obama open about his ancestry, most people acknowledge and recognize him as a black man, which is why people will identify Obama, if elected, as the first black president of the United States.

Another excellent source of reading on the "Six Black Presidents" is an article titled: "Racial Heritage of Six Former Presidents Questioned" by Monica Haynes, staff reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, dated February 5, 2008.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08036/854713-51.stm

Blogger Black Buzz states that John Hanson, the first president of the country under the Articles of Confederation was a Moor/Black. He is also ignored and relegated to an obscure footnote in the annals of American history. George Washington was the first president of the country under the U.S. Consititution.

Warren G. Harding's sister taught in a Black segregated school in segregated Washington, D.C. for all her life and she never married. Harding's sister loved the students under her charge and inspired and motivated them to be all that they could be in the post Plessey/Jim Crow era. Records show that she was rather fair skin with semi-kinky hair. It has been reported that some of Mr. Harding's relatives are very well aware of the fact that their great grandfather had Black ancestors.

The Hardings, like many Blacks of that era, passed for White because of the brutal, harsh, cruel, inhumane and ungodly treatment that people of color suffered at that time. My Mother's great uncle, Kit Gady who was from the Pee Dee River area of South Carolina and who was a Cherokee Indian, married a White lady by the name of Della. Della was born in 1877. To this union were born four children, Thomas, Ben, Jewel and Kate. When they were contacted for attendance for the family reunion in 1980, they responded that they did not want to be bothered because they had crossed over into the White race. This part of the family settled in Savannah, Atlanta and various parts of North and South Carolina.

The miscegenation that has taken place in the United States and throughout the Americas is beyond our comprehension.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

• Early Voting Sees Reports of Voter Intimidation, Machine Malfunctions *

(Blogger Black Buzz says the United States has the gall and audacity to try to lecture the country of Zimbabwe on how they should conduct an honest election when our presidential elections in 2000 and 2004 were more reminiscent of the scandalous elections in South and Central America. The Republicans stole the presidential election in 2000 and they had their ideologues on the U.S. Supreme Court validate that theft. The same thing happened in 2004, particularly in the State of Ohio. Independent watch groups should be asking Zimbabweans to come in to monitor our present presidential elections for fraud, dishonesty, voter suppression, manipulation of the voting machines and for possible violations of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and other state, county and federal laws governing elections. When will the individual and systemic racism cease to exist in this country)?

Today's Democracy Now!
Early voting has begun, and problems are already emerging at the polls. In West Virginia, voters using touch-screen machines have claimed their votes were switched from Democrat to Republican. In North Carolina, a group of McCain supporters heckled a group of mostly black supporters of Barack Obama. In Ohio, Republicans are being accused of trying to scare newly registered voters by filing lawsuits that question their eligibility. We speak to NYU professor Mark Crispin Miller, author of Loser Take All: Election Fraud and the Subversion of Democracy.Listen/Watch/Readhttp://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/22/votes

Palin’s $150,000 Wardrobe!

What happened to her Wal-Mart and Sears’ suits? Joe Six Pack and Susie Six Pack don’t wear suits from Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue or Brooks Brothers. Oh, I get it. Sister Sarah is all about show and style and no substance. Palin having executive experience does not compensate for her lack of knowledge…..nor does experience mean she has good judgment…..it just means she knows how to delegate.
Bush II had a vast amount of executive experience before becoming president, which is clearly not an indication or predictor of future success in the Oval Office.

The Trail of Tears

The month of October is Native American Heritage Month and my poem titled: “The Tail of Tears” is dedicated to all the descendants of the Cherokee and other Native American tribes that lost their loved ones on the treacherous, murderous Trail of Tears.
Background: In 1838, the Cherokee Indians were forcibly removed from their homelands against their will and were stripped of their prior treaty rights in the State of Georgia and in the Carolinas by the United States government. The Cherokee Indians were brutally moved to the Oklahoma Territory on the “Trail of Tears”.

The Trail of Tears
Torrid hot summer days and ferocious wintery nights
Their obscure future didn’t appear too bright
A once proud people were dying on the trail from left to right
With no foreseeable end to the systematic genocide in sight.

October, 2008 Ronald B. Saunders

Watch for the First Black Buzz College Football Rankings on October 29th.

Blogger Black Buzz has followed and studied college football since 1949. Stay tuned for his rankings next week.

McCain/Palin’s Infidelity

How can any true Christian Evangelical or the orthodox of any religion vote for two known adulterers in John McCain and Sarah Palin? Shouldn’t our president and vice-president be role models for an entire country? Why shouldn’t character and moral judgment be a requirement for the presidency and vice-presidency of the United States of America?

Monday, October 20, 2008

JOHN LEWIS HAS NO REASON TO APOLOGIZE!

By Elizabeth Roach (bettanne@online.no)

In my last commentary, I took up the inflammatory language used in the McCain campaign. I pointed to the rabble-rousing directed at Barack Obama. Through the use of innuendo, tone of voice, code words, and a uniformed policeman on the podium, Palin was creating a climate in which some people in her audiences felt free to shout "traitor", "terrorist" and kill him". I also pointed out that "the fear-mongering tone of the McCain campaign was nurturing latent racism." Not until there was an outcry from viewers who were shocked to see and hear these outbursts, did McCain begin to repudiate them.

Since my commentary, Congressman John Lewis, the legendary civil rights activist of the 60´s with "the scars to prove it", found the language so offensive that he issued a statement criticizing the McCain campaign. The following quotes from both men will show you how illogical McCain´s response was:

LEWIS: "What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse. George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans ... Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama."

McCAIN: "Congressman John Lewis´comments represent a character attack against Gov. Palin and me that is shocking and beyond the pale. The notion that legitimate criticism of Sen. Obama´s record and positions could be compared to Gov. George Wallace, his segregationist policies and the violence he provoked is unacceptable and has no place in this campaign. I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I´ve always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hardworking Americans who come to our events ... I call on Sen. Obama to immediately and personally repudiate these outrageous and divisive comments."

LEWIS: (A careful study of my remarks) would reveal that I did not compare Sen. John McCain or Gov. Palin to George Wallace. My statement was a reminder to all Americans that toxic language can lead to destructive behavior."

It is clear that Lewis referred only to the toxic rhetoric of the campaign, and in doing so, he gave a poignant example of how situations could get out of hand if allowed to continue. And he certainly did in no way mentioned or maligned the character of "the thousands of hardworking Americans" who attend his rallies.

McCain´s feigned indignation is a two-pronged diversionary tactic:

1. First he obfuscates Lewis´ real point by introducing into the discussion, something that was not at all at issue in Lewis´ criticism - "hard working Americans". He does this in order to deflect attention from what Lewis was really talking about - i.e., the toxic rhetoric.

2. Then he hurls a barrage of emotionally charged words at Lewis - "Shocking", "beyond the pale", "outrageous", "brazen", and "baseless" - all words that are more descriptive of the tone of McCain´s campaign rather than of Lewis`criticism! Here, McCain tries to portray himself as the victim of a character attack.

These diversionary tactics turn the discussion from being not about McCain´s toxic language, but about his character (good ploy because who would dare criticize the character of a war hero who has "the scars to prove it"? ) Unfortunately, talk show hosts fell for it hook, line and sinker, saying that Lewis had crossed the line.

If McCain really doesn´t understand the psychology of toxic language, he should not become President - and if he does understand, then that´s even more reason why he should not become President!

America has a diversity of ethnic groups. Her history lies buried in their genes. Toxic words can conjure that history up in the blink of an eye!

McCain, if the shoe fits, wear it.> > >

General Colin Powell Endorses Obama

Former Secretary of State under George Bush II, Colin Powell, endorsed Barack Obama for president yesterday on NBC’s “Meet the Press”. Mr. Powell stated the same things I have been voicing for the last two months in my previous postings relative to McCain’s lack of depth and shallowness on the economy and his miserably poor judgment in choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate. Mr. Powell stated Sarah Palin is a distinguished governor from Alaska but is not ready or qualified to be president. Furthermore, General Powell stated that John McCain’s campaign has turned extremely negative and is over the top with its false accusations of Obama’s religion, character and his very limited association with Bill Ayers.
Hmmm, I get it, all those Blacks stick together. The most important part of the Powell endorsement is the fact that Mr. Obama will bring an infusion of a high degree of intellectual depth and curiosity which have been missing for the last eight years and is not remotely present in the form of McCain/Palin by any stretch of the imagination.

John McCain Receives the Endorsement of Henry Kissinger

John McCain has received the endorsement of Dr. Henry Kissinger, three other former White Secretaries of State and 200 White generals and admirals solely because John McCain McSame is White. Their endorsements of McCain are based solely on his race and not his qualifications and suitability to be President of the United States.

Dawgs for Obama

Forget about all the pre-season hype which had the University of Georgia in the number one spot in the Coaches and AP polls. The Dawgs play the most difficult schedule in the land in the toughest conference in the country, the SEC. The teams in the Southeastern conference basically eliminate each other from any possible consideration for the national title by killing each other each weekend. If the Dawgs can slay LSU this weekend, that will eliminate the Tigers from any consideration for the bogus national title. It appears to be a mission impossible for the Dawgs to beat LSU, Florida, Kentucky and the other school in Georgia, called Georgia Tech, which is presently ranked number 18 in the nation.
Furthermore, it appears as though the UGA campus police and the Athens police department just lie in wait for the UGA Black football players to run afoul of the law with a host of petty criminal violations while dismissing similar alleged violations of White UGA football players. Are the UGA campus police and Athens police department merely enforcing the law in a non-discriminatory fashion without regards to race? It might be fitting for the president of UGA to convene an investigatory panel to ascertain the true nature of many of these arrests of UGA’s Black football players which as a result have devastated the team’s depth chart in key areas. All of the arrests of the Black football players could make the recruitment climate not conducive in getting the top Parade All Americans throughout the State of Georgia and the rest of the country to matriculate to a superb world class university such as the University of Georgia if these patterns of incidents continue to persist.
Disciplined parents, teachers, coaches, staff produce disciplined student athletes and much of that responsibility lies with the parents for providing consistent positive modeling of behavior that will have carryover effect when they leave home for college.
Let’s go Dawgs! Beat those Tigers from the Bayou!

McCain (McSame) Voted for 700 Billion Socialist Bail-Out of Wall Street

Why did John McCain vote for the largest socialistic 700 billion dollar bail-out/rescue in American history if he was not a socialist in disguise? So doesn’t that make McCain an undercover socialist masquerading as a reformer? And what about his wife Cindy’s beer distributorship in Communist Cuba?
Tell me why has the sponsored media stayed away from the McCains’ business dealings with Cuba which are against U.S. trade sanctions. The sponsored media also refuses to investigate the role that John McCain played in manipulating the fraudulent land deal in Arizona that ostracized the Navahos from their property/land for the sole benefit of the Peabody Coal Company.
It’s unfortunate that our educational system in the United States does not accurately teach the correct and true meaning of the terms or ideologies such as socialism, communism, fascism, totalitarianism and other political systems. Therefore, we have many citizens who use the aforementioned terms incorrectly, not knowing their true definition or meaning in proper context. Technically, unemployment compensation insurance and Medicare are the by-products of socialism as well as a whole host of other governmental programs that benefit hundreds of millions of American people.
McCain’s criticism of Barack Obama “spreading the wealth” is false and misleading because the government on a daily basis gives all types of governmental largesse in the form of subsidies to farmers, corporations and every other entity in the American society.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

SARAH PALIN HAS BECOME A LIABILITY TO McCAIN

The following posting was submitted by Elizabeth Roach of Oslo, Norway (bettanne@online.no). Please see prior posting of September 29, 2008 for Elizabeth’s short bio.
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It turns out that Sarah Palin is in bed with the enemy! Her husband Todd Palin was a registered member of the radical Alaska Independence Party (AIP) between 1995 and 2002! This extremist group, founded by Joe Vogler, advocates Alaskan secession from the United States. Using hateful language, Vogler has reportedly said, "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American Government" and "I wont be buried under their damn flag!", exhorting members to "renounce allegiance". After seven years, Todd Palin dropped out of the AIP only because it would not look good while his wife was running for public office. Although there is no record of Sarah Palin´s membership in the party, she has allegedly attended some of their meetings - and there is actually a video of her as she spoke at the AIP convention while she was Governor of Alaska, praising their work and wishing them luck!

Whoa! That´s unpatriotic! Those two could end up in the White House! Wake up, America! WHY AREN´T TALK SHOW HOSTS TALKING ABOUT THIS? Contact them and demand that they take this up!

By the way, the AIP motto is "Alaska First!" Well, whatever happened to "America First!"?

Palin was recently censured because the Alaskan State Legislative Committee established 3 facts about her: (1) that she abused her authority as Governor when she dismissed her Public Safety Commissioner, Walter Monigan; (2) that she was in violation of the State Ethics Law; and (3) that she fired Monigan to advance a personal agenda.

Earlier, I pointed out that McCain was censured some years ago by the Senate Ethics Committee for his role in the Keating Five fraud case. That makes two censured people on the Republican ticket! Need I say more?

Palin has been on the scene for only a short time, but long enough to do damage to McCain´s campaign. Her latest rabble-rousing rants about Barack Obama backfired. At a recent rally, Palin bashed Obama, exclaiming in a knowing tone of voice, "This is not a man who sees America as you and I do". Then, after a pregnant pause, she went on to say, "Our opponent is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country."

Palin´s incendiary statements were viewed with dismay by decent, thinking Americans, but those statements were met with shouts of "kill him" and "traitor" by the rabble she intended them for. The next shocker was the appearance of a policeman in uniform on the podium, speaking for the McCain campaign. Now "That sent shivers up and down my spine"* A policeman in uniform at a political rally sends a very negative message to African Americans, and with very good historical reasons.

According to observers, racial epithets and shouts of "terrorist" have been more numerous at Palin´s rallies than at McCain´s rallies. But the bottom line is that McCain is responsible for the unfortunate turn his campaign has taken. When you throw out questions to a crowd like "Who is the REAL Obama?" in a sinister tone, some of the crowd will give you back the sinister answer they think you want. People answered McCain by yelling "terrorist" and "traitor". It is clear that the fear-mongering tone of the McCain campaign is nurturing a latent racial undercurrent.

McCain is reining in his pit bull, but it may be too late!

Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Race

Blogger Black Buzz states that since the beginning of the present presidential campaign, there has been a lot of false, intentionally misleading, distorted and inaccurate discussion by all media pundits, news analysts, guest news analysts, news anchors, the candidates, radio/TV talk show hosts, academia personnel, pollsters, the legal community and everyday American citizens which has revealed a gross total lack of knowledge and understanding on the subject of so-called “race”. It is my intent, with this posting to fill the void of knowledge within the well-meaning, less informed public. In my posting, fact and the statement of fact should remain paramount while subjectivity is relegated to a position of secondary consideration. Hopefully, the below information on the “Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Race” will be helpful to all.


RACE---The Power of an Illusion was produced by California Newsreel in association with the Independent Television Service (ITVS). Major funding provided by the Ford Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Diversity Fund. The “Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Race” are some of the facts that are included in the video: “RACE—The Power of an Illusion”.


Our eyes tell us that people look different. No one has trouble distinguishing a Czech from a Chinese. But what do those differences mean? Are they biological? Has race always been with us? How does race affect people today?

There’s less---and more---to race than meets the eye:

1. Race is a modern idea. Ancient societies, like the Greeks, did not divide people according to physical distinctions, but according to religion, status, class,
even language. The English language didn’t even have the word ‘race’ until it turns up in 1508 in a poem by William Dunbar referring to a line of kings.

2. Race has no genetic basis. Not one characteristic, trait or even gene distinguishes all the members of one so-called race from all the members of
another so-called race.

3. Human subspecies don’t exist. Unlike many animals, modern humans simply haven’t been around long enough or isolated enough to evolve into
separate subspecies or race. Despite surface appearances, we are one of the most similar of all species.

4. Skin color really is only skin deep. Most traits are inherited independently from one another. The gene influencing skin color have nothing to do with
the genes influencing hair form, eye shape, blood type, musical talent, athletic ability or forms of intelligence. Knowing someone’s skin color doesn’t
necessarily tell you anything else about him or her.

5. Most variation is within, not between, “races.” Of the small amount of total human variation, 85% exists within any local population, be they Italians,
Kurds, Koreans or Cherokees. About 94% can be found within any continent. That means two random Koreans may be as genetically different as a Korean and an Italian.

6. Slavery predates race. Throughout much of human history, societies have enslaved others, often as a result of conquest or war, even debt, but not
because of physical characteristics or a belief in natural inferiority. Due to a unique set of historical circumstances, ours was the first slave system where all the slaves shared similar physical characteristics.

7. Race and freedom evolved together. The U.S. was founded on the radical new principle that “All men are created equal.” But early economy was based
largely on slavery. How could this anomaly be rationalized? The new idea of race helped explain why some people could be denied the rights and freedoms that others took for granted.

8. Race justified social inequalities as natural. As the race idea evolved, white superiority became “common sense” in America. It justified not only slavery
but also the extermination of Indians, exclusion of Asian immigrants, and the taking of Mexican lands by a nation that professed a belief in democracy. Racial practices were institutionalized within American government, laws, and society.

9. Race isn’t biological, but racism is still real. Race is a powerful social idea that gives people different access to opportunities and resources. Our
government and social institutions have created advantages that disproportionately channel wealth, power, and resources to white people. This affects everyone, whether we are aware of it or not.

10. Colorblindness will not end racism. Pretending race doesn’t exist is not the same as creating equality. Race is more than stereotypes and individual
prejudice. To combat racism, we need to identify and remedy social policies and institutional practices that advantage some groups at the expense of others.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Palin Should Learn About, Not Mock, an Important Profession

The following “letter to the editor”, written by Jim Cunningham, appeared in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on September 10th. The letter is a rebuttal to Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani’s negative, despicable comments in reference to all the individuals who work in the area of community service and development which includes community organizers.

Vice-presidential aspirant, Sarah Palin laced her Sept. 3 convention address with demeaning assumptions and charges vilifying the humble but historically significant occupation of community organizing. Doesn’t this bright and lively young woman know that St. Paul the apostle was a community organizer who first made Christianity an international faith, as he sailed around the then-known world spreading a powerful new vision and recipe for happiness?
Right here in Pittsburgh, Tom Murphy, a mayor who started out as a community organizer, helped to provide our town with flourishing PNC Park and Heinz Field before the curse of underpopulation weakened the vigor of our city center.
Right here today throughout the neighborhoods and nearby towns of Pittsburgh, dozens of community organizers help residents preserve and build their small communities. A prime example is Carl Redwood, who has put a lifetime of energy into his own Hill District.
A heroic trio of organizers, Rick,Swartz, Aggie Brose and Richard Flanagan, have spent an unbelievable 25 years patiently bringing renewed energy and stability to once-hopeless Garfield.
The Post-Gazette almost daily celebrates the work of this profession, although those doing the work are not always labeled as community organizers. In the last 50 years, thousands of community organizers have been turned out at Pitt and other colleges in our region as well as in other regions of America. We can only be hopeful that in the next 60 days, Sarah Palin will be educated to the important and productive roles played by members of this profession.

James V. Cunningham is Professor Emeritus of Community Organization, School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh, Oakland
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Blogger Black Buzz received the Humanitarian Award from the nationally acclaimed Operation Dig/Careers, Inc. in 1987 for outstanding community service. There are millions of people who have been involved with community service and community development work locally, statewide and nationally. And for anyone to attack the people who have been involved in community service is very petty and reveals the person’s basic lack of understanding and appreciation for improving the conditions of ordinary American citizens.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Sarah Palin Says Barack Obama Associates with Terrorists

After the shallow, miserable debate performance by sister Sarah, the vile, malicious, mean spirited, fear mongering, hateful (racial subtext) McCain camp who can’t win the battle with the voters on the issues, now has their trashy, non-critical thinking, stupid, dumb, empty, backwards, dangerous, Pit Bull Palin with her nauseating, squeaky, whiny sounding voice saying Barack Obama associates with terrorists. Palin is acting as an old school demagogue with her attacks which are inflammatory, divisive and appear to be inciting crowds. With shouts such as: “Obama is a terrorist”, “kill him”, “we want his head”-------the crowd’s reactions are reminiscent of a supremacist’s meeting relative to their castigation of anything that looks different from them. Threatening a person’s life is against the law in the United States of America and these vicious threats should be investigated immediately by the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies. Because of the lack of a cohesive campaign strategy, how is reintroducing the gutter kitchen sink tactic of Bill Ayers, Rev. Wright and Minister Farrahkan helping to solve the problems of high gas prices at the pump, home foreclosures, escalating food prices, crisis in the national and global financial systems, almost 800,000 jobs lost since the beginning of the year, highest rate of unemployment since 2002, and businesses going out of business?
The Obama camp needs to stay on message and simultaneously fiercely attack Sarah and Todd Palin who both belonged to the jingoistic, fringe Alaskan Independence Party, which seeks to secede from the United States. Both Palins should have been placed on the U.S. Justice Department and Homeland Security’s Watch List of individuals who are very similar to various Patriot groups such as the Minutemen and other Texas Secessionist Organizations. While the Bush administration was preoccupied with the misadventure in Iraq, the various radical nationalist, survivalist, anti-immigration groups and secessionist organizations increased their memberships and resources. And these home-grown domestic front organizations, some with strong fascist leanings, a la Tim McVeigh, can be as treacherous and dangerous relative to posing a threat to our internal security than the perceived threat coming from foreign extremist terrorists.
Now sister Sarah has the gall and audacity to question and berate Obama’s patriotism while she pals around with known anti-American kooks from the Alaskan Independence Party while again getting a free pass from the sponsored media who refuse to inquire about the Palins’ motivation for joining such an anti-American movement. Why does the McCain camp keep their lying, winking Pit Bull Palin on a narrow leash away from the media? What is the McCain campaign afraid of----exposing her true ignorance and lack of substantive knowledge on the serious pressing issues facing this country?
How will Sarah Palin be able to pass an in depth FBI background investigation for the highest level of KRYTO clearance unless it is a selective, bogus inquiry into Palin’s extremist activities with the Alaskan Independence Party? Do the American voters really want an extremist kook only a heartbeat away from the presidency and an erratic, reckless John McCain McSame who is all about winning an election and self aggrandizement rather than putting the interests of the American people first?

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Are You Ready to Play Pro Football?

Blogger Buzz is the creator of this brain stimulating fun exercise which was originally designed for fourth graders but can be utilized by all age groups. This exercise tests one’s knowledge in the areas of science/physics, zoology, ornithology, Native American history/culture, U.S. history, geography, World History, African American History and Americana. Share with your friends, family, students and associates. Send your answers to the comment section for: http://blackbuzz.blogspot.com/. I will publish the answers at a later date. Enjoy.

How Many Pro Football Teams Can You Identify?

1. Driven by propulsion_______
2. Indigenous people________
3. Colonel Andrew Jackson defeated the British in 1815 at the Battle of_______
4. Located where the Cuyahoga River enters Lake Erie____
5. Quantrill’s________
6. Crispus Attucks, Paul Revere, Salem Poor, Ben Franklin_______
7. King of the beasts________
8. The males are bright red_____
9. Site of the signing and ratification of the United States Constitution__________
10. Young equines_______
11. Trained birds of prey_______
12. A major city during the Gold Rush Era____
13. The Comanches and Kiowas tried to save and protect them on the Great Plains_______
14. Male sheep______
15. Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Elaine Brown, Kathleen Cleaver_______
16. Brownish yellow colored animal with black spots_______
17. One dollar for an ear of corn_________
18. One of Edgar Allan Poe's famous poems________
19. Plastic abusers_______
20. The confluence of three rivers meet at the Point_________
21. Aquatic birds_______
22. Used by the Navy in underwater security operations_______
23. Composed of five (5)boroughs______
24. Carnivorous big cats from India_____
25. Eric the Red, Leif Erickson________
26. Half-wild____________
27. Heavy animals with thick fur________
28. November 22,1963___________
29. Tecumseh, Crazy Horse, Mangas Colorado, Red Cloud, Rain-in-the-Face__________
30. Barbara Jordan, LBJ, Sam Houston, Doak Walker, Bobby Layne, Earl Campbell____
31. This team is owned by a group of community stockholders_________
32. The Volunteer State________

Bonus question: Name the U.S. Olympic Medal winners who are also in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Adolf Hitler Blamed the Jews for All of Germany's Problems and the Republicans Blame Blacks for America's Financial Woes

In the United States’ anemic political climate, is George Bush and Treasury Secretary Paulson telling the truth to the American electorate about the obscene 700 billion dollar bail-out and purported financial crisis on Wall Street and Main Street? Have the American people been duped by Bush, Paulson and McCain with this extortion bail-out? Show me the evidentiary proof and facts to support the Bush/Paulson position. Or is this just a Republican ploy to give more socialized (capitalism) corporate welfare to Bush’s, Paulson’s and McCain’s friends and cronies on Wall Street while 90 % of all Americans are left to fend and survive in the tumultuous free market trickle-down capitalism. The Republicans wrongly and inaccurately blame the current financial dilemma on the Clinton Administration and the Democrats. Furthermore, the Republican pundits and the Republican members of Congress such as the racist Michele Bachmann of the 6th District of Minnesota, Republican voters and the powerbrokers in the Party of Lincoln state that in 1999 the Clinton Administration put undue pressure on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to relax lending standards so that more racial minorities and lower income people could buy homes. The Republican arguments are flawed and inaccurate because of the following:
1. President Bush inherited a budget surplus from the Clinton Administration and Bush used up that surplus in the first nine months of his first term.
2. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac weren’t compelled to issue sub-prime mortgages. Instead, Freddie and Fannie invested millions in Congressional lobbyists such as McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis and other McCain lobbyists who worked in concert with John McCain on the Hill to ensure that stricter regulations with oversight were not passed. Thus most of the lobbyists were paid to curry favor with Republicans who controlled Congress until 2006. (Check factcheck.org).
3. The Republicans and some misguided and uninformed Democrats and Independents state that the majority of sub-prime mortgages were issued to Blacks/Hispanics or lower income people. They were not. That is a blatant fallacy and those assertions are based upon unadulterated racism and scapegoating. Instead, the sub-prime mortgages were issued primarily in areas where housing prices had escalated sharply and many home buyers on Main Street (at all income levels) could not get a prime mortgage because they did not have the necessary minimal down payment or income to qualify.
What we have in the instant case is a classic Republican attempt to shift the blame away from the corrupt, inept Bush administration and the do-nothing Republican Congress led by John McCain and Phil Gramm who advocated and lobbied for the deregulation and lax oversight at every fork in the road.
Was the Communist Lenin right? It was Nicolai Lenin who said that people always have been and they will always be stupid victims of deceit and self-deception in politics, until they learn behind every kind of moral, religious, political, social phrase, declaration and promise to seek out the interests of this or that class or classes.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Sarah Palin Uses God to Advance Her Personal Agendas

The following posting was written by Elizabeth Roach (bettanne@online.no) who resides in Oslo, Norway. Ms. Roach is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin where she majored in English, Latin and Greek. Ms. Roach taught these languages at Rockford West High School in Rockford, Illinois and was the first Black teacher in the Rockford, Illinois school system. Upon moving to Oslo, Norway, Ms. Roach taught American students on the American base. She later opened an American bakery before retiring several years ago. Ms. Roach’s big interest of late is American politics.
Ms. Roach is the sister of Jean Bryant, an award-winning journalist and founder of the Miss Black Teenage Pageant and the Mister African American Pageant. The Miss Black Teenage Pageant has provided participants with $400,000 in educational grants to date. She is a recent recipient of the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation Legend in Journalism Award for her distinguished career as reporter for the Pittsburgh Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In recognition for her community service, Jean also received the New Pittsburgh Courier 2008 50 Women of Excellence Award.

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In a speech at a church in Wasilla, Alaska, Sarah Palin claimed that the Iraq war was God’s plan! Then she proceeded to make the case that it was also God’s plan to dig for oil in Anwar.

I’d like to know if she thinks it was God’s plan for our young men and women to attack a country that had not attacked us? Sarah Palin, you got that wrong. It was George W. Bush’s plan. Do you also think it was God’s plan for 3,000 young, innocent American soldiers to spill their blood in Iraq? Was it God’s plan to send them to war with equipment so inadequate that they were sitting ducks for the adversary? Was it God’s plan to bring so many of our young men and women home from Iraq in caskets or with maimed bodies and broken dreams?

Sarah Palin, My God does not make such plans—only people make such plans—people like you, like John McCain and like George Bush!.

Sarah Palin also said that people in Alaska had to “get right with God” and vote for digging in Anwar for oil. This was a cynical use of God to sell her plan and to connect being “right with God” to her political agendas.

Sarah Palin, that’s religious blackmail! Stop using God as your personal lobbyist. Leave Him out of your politics!

And now the evangelicals have abandoned their stand on ethics and family values to suit Sarah Palin’s because it was politically expedient to do so. They are falling all over a woman who paraded her unwed, 5-month pregnant teenage daughter on the stage where she sought the Republican nomination for Vice-President.

Her daughter’s pregnancy tells me that Palin’s stand against sex education and prevention hasn’t worked, at least not in her own home. It tells me that she’s a hypocrite---the kind that tells you to live your life one way, while she practices another way. I’m not holding Palin’s daughter responsible, but Palin herself who puts running public offices above “minding the store” at home.

WHY YOU CAN´T TRUST MCCAIN - PLS FORWARD THIS MESSAGE

By Elizabeth Roach (bettanne@online.no)

You cannot trust John McCain´s judgement. He supported Bush´s war
against Iraq, a country that had not attacked us. Like Bush, McCain was a mediocre student who landed as nr. 6 from the bottom of his class at the U.S. Naval Academy! By the way, Bush once told a graduating class that he had been a c-student, proof that even a c-student could get to be President. Well, just look at what that got us: a preemptory 5-year war in Iraq, a debt that is over half a trillion dollars, and an economy that is a shambles. WE DON´T NEED ANOTHER C-STUDENT IN THE WHITE HOUSE. And speaking of poor judgement, McCain was censured for his poor judgement in the Keating Five debacle of which he was a part. He went to bat for Keating, the man who looted his own S&L bank causing huge losses to his customers and a huge bill for taxpayers. Keating went to jail.

John McCain is what I call a "closet" war monger. He says he hates war, but was filmed singing "Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran". He tried to pass it off as a joke, but many truths are hidden in jokes. Later, when he heard that Iran was a major importer of American cigarettes, he said, "Maybe that's a way of killing them." It´s incredible that these words came out of the mouth of a man aspiring to be President! It is clear that diplomacy would not be his strong suit if he makes it to the oval office. His words bespeak a hidden agenda which the American people had better be aware of!

It is, therefore, no coincidence that one of his campaign mangers is Randy Scheunemann, a neo-conservative who pushed for the Iraq war and who is a paid lobbyist for the foreign country of Georgia, which recently received 1 billion dollars to rebuild after their military confrontation with Russia! We´ve been hoodwinked into giving them 1 billion dollars at a time when our economy is in the tubes! And get this, McCain was the first one to run over to Georgia for a photo-op with President Saakashvili - and while there, he dramatically declared that we Americans are all Georgians, reminiscent of JFK´s "ich bin ein Berliner". McCain, you are no JFK!

Thanks, but no thanks, McCain. I´m not a Georgian, I´m an American, so leave me and the American taxpayers out of it! We shouldn´t egg the Russians on by fooling around in their backyard! It´s obvious that McCain is spoiling for a fight with Russia. Think about it - did we like it when Russia tried to install missiles on Cuba? No, we did not! John F. Kennedy invoked the Monroe Doctrine and sent the Russians packing!

Why would McCain have Scheunemann as a campaign manager, anyway? In some ways that set up reminds me of the former Congressman, Charlie Wilson and his shenanigans. Wilson found ways and means to fund a covert war in Afghanistan. (Remember the movie, Charlie Wilson's War?) Well, substitute Georgia for Afghanistan and, oops - dèja vu - I smell another "Charlie Wilson's War" coming on some time further down the line with McCain and Scheunemann leading the cavalry against Russia!

McCain also has a dark side. Remember that hateful joke he told at a gathering making fun of Chelsea and Hillary Clinton: "Why is Chelsea so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno." Chelsea was just a teenager at the time and he made her the butt of a smutty joke! Then there was the time McCain was speaking to an audience and cruelly referred to Leisure Village, a senior citizen's complex, as Seizure Village!

In addition, McCain has a pattern of lying to get what he wants. Take the time when he made his move on 17 year old Cindy - he lied about his age to cover up the fact that he was 18 years her senior! Then, years later, he wrote a book and lied about the date of his application to marry Cindy to cover up the fact that he was still married to his first wife and he was still living with her! And now that McCain is running for President, his lying streak is showing up in his statements and attack-ads against Barack Obama.

Don't let a man like that get into the White House!

A Black Man

Blogger Buzz says every American should have knowledge and understanding of the achievements and contributions of African Americans which are far more numerous than those mentioned below. For these contributions helped to make America a first rate power. And without the thousands of contributions and the blood, sweat and tears and over 300 years of free labor, America would be a second rate power.
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Why is it that a Black Man can create a tiny piece called a filament (electric light - Lewis Latimer) that allows people to see in the dark? But can't be seen fit to lead a country to the true light.

Why is it that a Black Man can create an instrument (clock - Benjamin Banneker) that all People use to tell time? But people don't think it is time for him to run a country.

Why is it that a Black Man can design a place for the high authorities to meet in & a place for the President to live in (The Capitol & the White House) Phillip Reid (a slave) & Pierre L'Enfant)? But not be good enough to lead these meetings or live in himself.

Why is it that a Black Man is brilliant enough to do the first open heart surgery (Dr. Daniel Hale Williams) and show the world how to get and preserve plasma (Dr. Charles Drew)? But not be good enough to put a program in place where everyone can afford this surgery.

Why is it that a Black Man is creative enough
to design an instrument (traffic light - Garrett Morgan) to bring multiple people (traffic) to a halt? But not be seen creative enough to design a plan to bring all this unnecessary and worthless Fighting between countries to an end.

Why is it that a Black Man can create the soles (shoes - Jan Matzeliger) that people walk on everyday? But not be seen good enough to fill the shoes of a bad president.

Why is it that a Black Man is smart enough & brave enough to teach himself (Fredrick Douglas & Thomas Fuller - both slaves) and others how to read, write and/or calculate math? But not be seen (as) smart enough and bold enough to calculate a platform to b e President to a country that sure needs another first by us.

So you see my Brothers and Sisters what I am saying is let us not forget our past, which led us to our present and can definitely be the backbone to our future.

We were good enough, smart enough, creative enough, and bold enough then, so let us all give Obama the chance to show that we are still good enough, smart enough, creative enough and bold enough and more.
We all are as strong as our weakest link, so don't be that weak link that denies our people that chance to show we still can OVERCOME & BE THE FIRST

Palin vs. Biden

Hopefully Gwen Ifill of PBS, the moderator of Thursday’s Vice-Presidential debate to be held at Washington University in St. Louis, will permit or afford the distinguished Sarah Palin the opportunity to utilize a lifeline to Dr. Henry Kissinger, Joe Lieberman, Tom DeLay and her favorite political ally, Ted Stevens whenever she feels that she may make a gaffe or error. And Mr. Biden, please don’t point your finger in sister Sarah’s face.
This Thursday’s vice-presidential debate promises to be the greatest vice-presidential debate in American political history.

Gov. Palin Meets with World Leaders in New York?

I am still rather baffled as to what sister Sarah could be discussing with such notable leaders from Georgia, India, Iraq, Pakistan, and Ukraine other than the art of effective moose hunting or salmon or ice fishing! Why is sister Sarah getting a free pass in not having a legitimate, bona-fide news conference or interview with the media after having met on the world stage with various leaders? Is this another campaign ploy on the part of the rambunctious John McCain to shield, hide and protect Palin from the public? What is the McCain camp fearful of----sister Sarah’s lack of substantive knowledge or her non-preparedness or both?

I Can See Russia from My House on a Clear Day

So by being able to see Russia on a clear day, makes Mrs. Palin an expert on foreign policy and foreign affairs? Russia has an airbase 40 miles from Alaska. Perhaps on a clear day, Mrs. Palin can see that base. But I think sister Palin should be more worried about her Alaskan legal problems than about the Russians.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

McCain Loses His Head

Can his dismaying temperament be fixed?

By George F. Will
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
"The queen had only one way of settling all difficulties, great or small. 'Off with his head!' she said without even looking around."

-- "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
Under the pressure of the financial crisis, one presidential candidate is behaving like a flustered rookie playing in a league too high. It is not Barack Obama.

Channeling his inner Queen of Hearts, John McCain furiously, and apparently without even looking around at facts, said Chris Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, should be decapitated. This childish reflex provoked the Wall Street Journal to editorialize that "McCain untethered" -- disconnected from knowledge and principle -- had made a "false and deeply unfair" attack on Cox that was "unpresidential" and demonstrated that McCain "doesn't understand what's happening on Wall Street any better than Barack Obama does."


To read the Journal's details about the depths of McCain's shallowness on the subject of Cox's chairmanship, see "McCain's Scapegoat" (Sept. 19). Then consider McCain's characteristic accusation that Cox "has betrayed the public's trust."

Perhaps an old antagonism is involved in McCain's fact-free slander. His most conspicuous economic adviser is Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who previously headed the Congressional Budget Office. There he was an impediment to conservatives, including then-Rep. Cox, who, as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, persistently tried and generally failed to enlist CBO support for "dynamic scoring" that would estimate the economic growth effects of proposed tax cuts.

In any case, McCain's smear -- that Cox "betrayed the public's trust" -- is a harbinger of a McCain presidency. For McCain, politics is always operatic, pitting people who agree with him against those who are "corrupt" or "betray the public's trust," two categories that seem to be exhaustive -- there are no other people. McCain's Manichaean worldview drove him to his signature legislative achievement, the McCain-Feingold law's restrictions on campaigning. Today, his campaign is creatively finding interstices in laws intended to restrict campaign giving and spending. (For details, see The Post of Sept. 17; and the New York Times of Sept. 19.)

By a Gresham's Law of political discourse, McCain's Queen of Hearts intervention in the opaque financial crisis overshadowed a solid conservative complaint from the Republican Study Committee, chaired by Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the RSC decried the improvised torrent of bailouts as a "dangerous and unmistakable precedent for the federal government both to be looked to and indeed relied upon to save private sector companies from the consequences of their poor economic decisions." This letter, listing just $650 billion of the perhaps more than $1 trillion in new federal exposures to risk, was sent while McCain's campaign, characteristically substituting vehemence for coherence, was airing an ad warning that Obama favors "massive government, billions in spending increases."

The political left always aims to expand the permeation of economic life by politics. Today, the efficient means to that end is government control of capital. So, is not McCain's party now conducting the most leftist administration in American history? The New Deal never acted so precipitously on such a scale. Treasury Secretary Paulson, asked about conservative complaints that his rescue program amounts to socialism, said, essentially: This is not socialism, this is necessary. That non sequitur might be politically necessary, but remember that government control of capital is government control of capitalism. Does McCain have qualms about this, or only quarrels?

On "60 Minutes" Sunday evening, McCain, saying "this may sound a little unusual," said that he would like to replace Cox with Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic attorney general of New York who is the son of former governor Mario Cuomo. McCain explained that Cuomo has "respect" and "prestige" and could "lend some bipartisanship." Conservatives have been warned.

Conservatives who insist that electing McCain is crucial usually start, and increasingly end, by saying he would make excellent judicial selections. But the more one sees of his impulsive, intensely personal reactions to people and events, the less confidence one has that he would select judges by calm reflection and clear principles, having neither patience nor aptitude for either.

It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed?
georgewill@washpost.com

Blogger Buzz says this isn’t the first time that John McCain (McSame) lost his head. His flippant irresponsible remarks in removing Mr. Cox from the SEC and his political stunting in attempting to postpone the debate to be held in Oxford, Mississippi on Friday, are just further evidence that John McCain appears not to be in the right mental frame of mind with his reckless self-seeking behavior. Furthermore, it should also be noted that Mr. McCain will do absolutely anything to win an election, even if it involves our crisis situation with the economy that shouldn’t be politicized for his own advantage. This present strategy by John McCain is a knee-jerk reaction to his numbers going down in the polls. John McCain is the same man who said last week: “the fundamentals of our economy are strong”. So how did those strong fundamentals that Mr. McCain talked about erode so rapidly within less than six days? McCain is attempting to steal the stage from Obama to make himself look more presidential in a crisis to deflect attention away from his own lack of knowledge of the complexities of the economy, his ineptness and incompetency.

John McCain is a person who can’t be trusted and who would actually put his own self-serving interests above his country to win an election. For a guy who has one of the worst attendance records in the Senate and who claims he avoids Washington as though it has the plague, he is going to Washington in a vain attempt to embarrass Barack Obama. For John McCain and Phil Gramm are the principle architects of deregulation of our banking and finance industry which has caused this most serious damaging potential for collapse of Wall Street. Only the fools amongst us or un-American bigots would vote for McCain/Palin.

Obama’s Plan for Recovery Is Excellent

The Obama campaign is asking folks to support a responsible recovery plan that is fair to taxpayers and will fix our broken economic policies moving forward.
It’s actually a very simple plan:
* No Golden Parachutes---------------------------Taxpayer dollars should not be
used to reward the irresponsible
Wall Street executives who
helmed this disaster.

* Main Street, Not Just Wall Street---------------Any bailout plan must include a
payback strategy for taxpayers
who are footing the bill and aid to
to innocent homeowners who are
facing foreclosure.

* Bipartisan Oversight------------------------------- The staggering amount of tax-
payer money involved demands a
bipartisan board to ensure
accountability and oversight.


Join me and support these principles for economic recovery:

http://my.barackobama.com/econrecovery

Drill, Drill, Drill, Drill

So what else is new? Now that you raped Mother Earth from many of its vital natural resources, now you want to rape the ocean and ocean beds for its resources because of your incessant, gluttonous greed to feed your excessive, materialistic, epicurean lifestyle of behavior. Yes, my father and ancestors are turning over in their respective graves in admonishing and condemning the caretakers of planet earth. What is it about this modern day Renaissance man that has limited his ability to live in harmony with nature and his environment? Perhaps the Amish and a few remaining indigenous tribes are the only true people who understand how to live compatibly with nature by not destructively damaging the environment. When will these crimes against Mother Nature and our planet cease and desist? What will you drill for when there is nothing remaining to feed your insatiable appetite?

Monday, September 22, 2008

Where Is Spain Located, Mr. McCain?


John McCain committed another gaffe by not knowing that Spain is located in Southern Europe. Mr. McCain confused Spain with a Latin American country. The media continues to give Mr. McCain a free pass when he consistently makes error after error and lie after lie. McCain’s chief foreign policy advisor, Randy Scheunemann identified Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero as the prime minister of Spain whereas actually Mr. Zapatero is the President of Spain.

Also, McCain said on September 22nd that Sarah Palin’s son was deploying with the Alaskan National Guard to Iraq. Palin’s son is deploying to Iraq as a member of the regular U. S. Army.
The sponsored media is in bed with John McCain particularly the racist pundits at Fox News.

This is Your Nation on White Privilege

By Tim Wise 9/13/08

For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help. White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challenges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges" are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

White privilege is when you can call yourself a "fuckin' redneck," like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll "kick their fuckin' ass," and talk about how you like to "shoot shit" for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.

White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don't all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you're "untested."

White privilege is being able to say that you support the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it's good enough for me," and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the "under God" part wasn't added until the 1950s--while if you're black and believe in reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school, requires it), you are a dangerous and mushy liberal who isn't fit to safeguard American institutions.

White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto is "Alaska first," and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she's being disrespectful.

White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you're being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college and the fact that she lives close to Russia--you're somehow being mean, or even sexist.

White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because suddenly your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a "second look."

White privilege is being able to fire people who didn't support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.White privilege is when you can take nearly twenty-four hours to get to a hospital after beginning to leak amniotic fluid, and still be viewed as a great mom whose commitment to her children is unquestionable, and whose "next door neighbor" qualities make her ready to be VP, while if you're a black candidate for president and you let your children be interviewed for a few seconds on TV, you're irresponsibly exploiting them.

White privilege is being able to give a 36 minute speech in which you talk about lipstick and make fun of your opponent, while laying out no substantive policy positions on any issue at all, and still manage to be considered a legitimate candidate, while a black person who gives an hour speech the week before, in which he lays out specific policy proposals on several issues, is still criticized for being too vague about what he would do if elected.

White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just a good church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you're an extremist who probably hates America.

White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a "trick question," while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O'Reilly means you're dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.

White privilege is being able to go to a prestigious prep school, then to Yale and then Harvard Business school, and yet, still be seen as just an average guy (George W. Bush) while being black, going to a prestigious prep school, then Occidental College, then Columbia, and then to Harvard Law, makes you "uppity," and a snob who probably looks down on regular folks.

White privilege is being able to graduate near the bottom of your college class (McCain), or graduate with a C average from Yale (W.) and that's OK, and you're cut out to be president, but if you're black and you graduate near the top of your class from Harvard Law, you can't be trusted to make good decisions in office.

White privilege is being able to dump your first wife after she's disfigured in a car crash so you can take up with a multi-millionaire beauty queen (who you go on to call the c-word in public) and still be thought of as a man of strong family values, while if you're black and married for nearly twenty years to the same woman, your family is viewed as un-American and your gestures of affection for each other are called "terrorist fist bumps."

White privilege is when you can develop a pain-killer addiction, having obtained your drug of choice illegally like Cindy McCain, go on to beat that addiction, and everyone praises you for being so strong, while being a black guy who smoked pot a few times in college and never became an addict means people will wonder if perhaps you still get high, and even ask whether or not you ever sold drugs.

White privilege is being able to sing a song about bombing Iran and still be viewed as a sober and rational statesman, with the maturity to be president, while being black and suggesting that the U.S. should speak with other nations, even when we have disagreements with them, makes you "dangerously naive and immature."

White privilege is being able to say that you hate "gooks" and "will always hate them," and yet, you aren't a racist because, ya know, you were a POW so you're entitled to your hatred, while being black and insisting that black anger about racism is understandable, given the history of your country, makes you a dangerous bigot.

White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism and an absent father is apparently among the "lesser adversities" faced by other politicians, as Sarah Palin explained in her convention speech.

And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because a lot of white voters aren't sure about that whole "change" thing. Ya know, it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.White privilege is, in short, the problem.