WHITE FOLKS AIN'T STUPID

08/14/2008

I received this in an email this morning. We all have received the list of claims that Black inventors have built just about everything there is here in A-Merry-Ca. Then you get the emails of folks claiming to prove that Blacks as slaves did nothing to further technically these United States.

Well thanks to Larry King, and Chuck Smith we are able to shed a small amount of light on a couple of things that indeed did happen here in this country.

I know the message started as a bit of humor, but I wanted to take a closer look at the facts. And thank God I know people who have already read the facts, and that I didn’t have to scour the internet to write this post.
Again, thank you Larry, and thank you Chuck.

Check it out.

Daddy.

WHITE FOLKS AIN'T STUPID

White folk wanted to make the USA a great country.
What did they do?
They went to Africa and enslaved Blacks to turn the country into an agricultural powerhouse.

Self-evident FACT. Particularly in terms of huge cotton plantations in the South.

White folk wanted to make Washington D.C. A great city.
What did they do?

They used a Black to design the city and Black labor to build it.

FICTION. This is only partly true. All indications seem to be that The District of Columbia was designed primarily by a French immigrant, Pierre Charles L'Enfant, an architect, engineer and city planner who came to the U.S. in 1791 along with French Major General Lafayette. Check out this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C.
As far as Black (slave) labor being employed in construction of the city, there's not much doubt about that.

Chuck Smith say's: Larry,

I have to take issue with you giving L'Enfant full credit for the design of D.C.:

"Around this time, Major Andrew Ellicott, George Ellicott's cousin, asked [Benjamin] Banneker to help him survey the "Federal Territory". Banneker and Ellicott worked closely with Pierre L'Enfant who was the architect in charge of planning Washington D.C. L'Enfant was suddenly dismissed from the project, due to his temper. When he left, he took the plans with him. Banneker recreated the plans from memory, saving the U.S. government the effort and expense of having someone else design the capital."

http://library.thinkquest.org/3337/banneker.html

Charles (Chuck) T. Smith II

White folk wanted to explore the western USA .
What did they do?

Lewis and Clark took a Black slave with them to negotiate with the Indians

FACT. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were accompanied by YORK, Clark's slave (referred to in Clark's journal as a "servant"), who was given duties and responsibilities similar to all other 40+ members of the expedition party. Clark himself noted in his journals that "Those Indians were much astonished ... they never saw a black man before, all flocked around him & examined him from top to toe". "Then they(the Indians) tried to wash off the 'dirt' from his skin with mud and water". (sic)". It is not implausible to infer that the curiosity of the Native Americans caused them to treat the Lewis & Clark pioneers more favorably.

White folk wanted to end the Civil War.
What did they do?
They freed the slaves who helped win the war.

FACT also. Free Blacks largely fought for the North after the 1863 (second) Emancipation Proclamation, which indeed helped to tip the balance of the war in the North's favor.

White folk wanted to take San Juan Hill .
What did they do?
Teddy rushed up the hill, got in
trouble, and was rescued by Blacks who took the hill.

Another FACT. After the Indian Wars ended in the 1890s, the "Buffalo Soldier" regiments continued to serve and participated in the Spanish-American War - including the Battle of San Juan Hill - where five more Medals of Honor were earned. By the way, these brave men fought in SEGREGATED U.S. regiments and encountered systemic race prejudice throughout their distinguished careers! For more info, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Soldiers.

White folk wanted to take the middle and western USA from the Indians.
What did they do?
They sent the Buffalo soldiers to protect the settlers and to fight the Indians.

Definite FACT. Here's another Wikipedia excerpt: "Buffalo Soldiers is a nickname originally applied to the members of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army by the Native American tribes they fought. It was formed on September 21, 1866 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The term eventually encompassed these units:
• 9th Cavalry Regiment
• 10th Cavalry Regiment
• 24th Infantry Regiment
• 25th Infantry Regiment
• 27th Cavalry Regiment
• 28th Cavalry Regiment"

White folk wanted to raise cattle in the mid west.
What did they do?
They hired cowboys to do it (Yes, most cowboys! were Black.)

At least partial FACT. Indeed there were a fair number of Black Cowboys who worked skillfully as ranch hands and horsemen. However, it is a stretch of the facts to assert that MOST cowboys were black. That is certainly NOT true. Notwithstanding, some of the most famous Black Cowboys include: Nat Love (a.k.a. "Deadwood Dick") and Bill Pickett (of the eponymous rodeo fame).

White folk wanted to explore the North Pole.
What did they do?
Adm. Perry took a Black guide along to get him there. The guide reached the pole before Perry.

Absolute FACT. African-American explorer Matthew Henson accompanied Rear Admiral Robert Edwin Peary on his third (and only successful) attempt to reach the North Pole. Henson and a group of Pacific Islanders (Ootah, Egigingwah, Seegloo and Ooqueah) actually reached the pole BEFORE Peary.

White folk wanted to make the USA armed forces better.
What did they do?
Truman integrated the military.

FACT indeed. In 1948, just two weeks after his inauguration, President Harry S. Truman issued "Executive Order 9981" racially integrating the U.S. Armed Forces.

White folk wanted to improve college and pro sports and make more money doing so.
What did they do?
They integrated sports and built larger stadiums and arenas and tougher golf courses.

Double-DUUUUHHHHH? A no-brainer. For the record ... FACT (r u serious?!?!).

Now, White folk want a new president to
straighten out the Bush mess.

WHAT WILL THEY DO, BASED ON HISTORY????
Hopefully, OBAMA Nation RULES!!

WHITE FOLKS AIN'T STUPID

Biography of Malcolm X

08/13/2008

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother, Louis Norton Little, was a homemaker occupied with the family's eight children. His father, Earl Little, was an outspoken Baptist minister and avid supporter of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Earl's civil rights activism prompted death threats from the white supremacist organization Black Legion, forcing the family to relocate twice before Malcolm's fourth birthday.

Regardless of the Little's efforts to elude the Legion, in 1929 their Lansing, Michigan home was burned to the ground, and two years later Earl's mutilated body was found lying across the town's trolley tracks. Police ruled both accidents, but the Little's were certain that members of the Black Legion were responsible. Louise had an emotional breakdown several years after the death of her husband and was committed to a mental institution. Her children were split up amongst various foster homes and orphanages.

Malcolm was a smart, focused student and graduated from junior high at the top of his class. However, when a favorite teacher told Malcolm his dream of becoming a lawyer was "no realistic goal for a nigger," Malcolm lost interest in school. He dropped out, spent some time in Boston, Massachusetts working various odd jobs, and then traveled to Harlem, New York where he committed petty crimes. By 1942 Malcolm was coordinating various narcotic, prostitution and gambling rings.

Eventually Malcolm and his buddy, Malcolm "Shorty" Jarvis, moved back to Boston, where they were arrested and convicted on burglary charges in 1946. Malcolm placated himself by using the seven-year prison sentence to further his education. It was during this period of self-enlightenment that Malcolm's brother Reginald visited and discussed his recent conversion to the Muslim religious organization the Nation of Islam. Intrigued, Malcolm studied the teachings of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad.

Muhammad taught that white society actively worked to keep African-Americans from empowering themselves and achieving political, economic and social success. Among other goals, the Nation of Islam fought for a state of their own, separate from one inhabited by white people. By the time he was paroled in 1952, Malcolm was a devoted follower with the new surname "X." He considered "Little" a slave name and chose the "X" to signify his lost tribal name.

Feb. 18, 1965Photo by Robert L. Haggins

Intelligent and articulate, Malcolm was appointed a minister and national spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Elijah Muhammad also charged him with establishing new mosques in cities such as Detroit, Michigan and Harlem, New York. Malcolm utilized newspaper columns, radio and television to communicate the Nation of Islam's message across the United States. His charisma, drive and conviction attracted an astounding number of new members. Malcolm was largely credited with increasing membership in the Nation of Islam from 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963.

The crowds and controversy surrounding Malcolm made him a media magnet. He was featured in a week-long television special with Mike Wallace in 1959, The Hate That Hate Produced, that explored fundamentals of the Nation of Islam and Malcolm's emergence as one of its most important leaders. After the special, Malcolm was faced with the uncomfortable reality that his fame had eclipsed that of his mentor Elijah Muhammad.

Racial tensions ran increasingly high during the early 1960s. In addition to the media, Malcolm's vivid personality had captured the government's attention. As membership in the Nation of Islam continued to grow, FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) agents infiltrated the organization (one even acted at Malcolm's bodyguard) and secretly placed bugs, wiretaps and cameras surveillance equipment to monitor the group's activities.

Malcolm's faith was dealt a crushing blow at the height of the civil rights movement in 1963. He learned that Elijah Muhammad was secretly having relations with as many as six women in the Nation of Islam, some of which had resulted in children. Since his conversion Malcolm had strictly adhered to the teachings of Muhammad, including remaining celibate until his marriage to Betty Shabazz in 1958. Malcolm refused Muhammad's request to keep the matter quiet. He was deeply hurt by the deception of Muhammad, whom he had considered a prophet, and felt guilty about the masses he had lead into what he now felt was a fraudulent organization.

Cairo mosque, Sept. 1964
Photo by John Launois/Black Star

When Malcolm received criticism after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy for saying, "[Kennedy] never foresaw that the chickens would come home to roost so soon," Muhammad "silenced" him for 90 days. Malcolm suspected he was silenced for another reason. In March 1964 he terminated his relationship with the Nation of Islam and founded the Muslim Mosque, Inc.

That same year, Malcolm went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The trip proved life altering, as Malcolm met "blonde-haired, blued-eyed men I could call my brothers." He returned to the United States with a new outlook on integration. This time, instead of just preaching to African-Americans, he had a message for all races.

Relations between Malcolm and the Nation of Islam had become volatile after he renounced Elijah Muhammad. Informants working in the Nation of Islam warned that Malcolm had been marked for assassination (one man had even been ordered to help plant a bomb in his car). After repeated attempts on his life, Malcolm rarely traveled anywhere without bodyguards. On February 14, 1965 the home where Malcolm, Betty and their four daughters lived in East Elmhurst, New York was firebombed (the family escaped physical injury).

At a speaking engagement in the Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965 three gunmen rushed Malcolm onstage and shot him 15 times at close range. The 39-year-old was pronounced dead on arrival at New York's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Fifteen hundred people attended Malcolm's funeral in Harlem at the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ on February 27, 1965. After the ceremony, friends took the shovels from the gravediggers and buried Malcolm themselves. Later that year, Betty gave birth to their twin daughters.

Malcolm's assassins, Talmadge Hayer, Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson were convicted of first-degree murder in March 1966. The three men were all members of the Nation of Islam.

The legacy of Malcolm X has moved through generations as the subject of numerous documentaries, books and movies. A tremendous resurgence of interest occurred in 1992 when director Spike Lee released the acclaimed Malcolm X movie. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Denzel Washington) and Best Costume Design.

Malcolm X is buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.

Truths!

Good day, good day!

I recieved the following Truths from brother Larry King. (that's Larry in the picture sporting his stingy brim).

I know I 'm always pretty serious on the blog, but I needed the humor today.

Thank you brother Larry for lifting my spirits.

Now first of all no one get mad. It's all in the show. And besides. I happen to know a few of these are very true. So enjoy, and have a great and blessed day. Peace! Daddy

10 Truths Black and Hispanic people know but White people wont admit

1. Elvis is dead.
2. Jesus was not white.
3. Rap music is here to stay.
4. Kissing your pet is not cute or clean.
5. Skinny does not equal sexy.
6. Thomas Jefferson had black children.
7. A 5 year old is too big for a stroller.
8. N'SYNC will never hold a candle to the Jackson 5.
9. An occasional BUTT whooping helps a child stay in line.
10. Having your children curse you out in public is not normal.

10 Truths White and Black People know but Hispanic people wont admit

1. Hickeys are not attractive.
2. Chicken is food not a pet or a roommate.
3. Jesus is not a name for your son..
4. Your country flag is not a car decoration.
5. Maria is a name but not for every daughter.
6. 10 people to a car is considered too many.
7. 'Jump out and run' is not in any insurance policies.
8. Buttoning just the top button of your shirt is a bad fashion statement.
9. Mami & Papi cant possibly be the nickname of every person in your family.
10. Letting your children run wildly through the store is not normal.

10 Truths white and Hispanic people know but Black people wont admit

1. O.J. did it.
2. Tupac is dead.
3. Teeth shouldn't be decorated.
4. Weddings should start on time.
5. Your pastor doesn't know everything.
6. Jesse Jackson will never be President.
7. Red (Kool Aid) is not a flavor, Red is a color.
8. Church does not require expensive clothes.
9. Crown Royal bags are meant to be thrown away.
10. Your rims and sound system should not be worth more than your car.

Pioneering musician Isaac Hayes dead at 65

updated 2:12 p.m. MT, Sun., Aug. 10, 2008

Isaac Hayes, the pioneering singer, songwriter and musician whose relentless "Theme From Shaft" won Academy and Grammy awards, died Sunday, the Shelby County Sheriff's Office said. He was 65.

A family member found Hayes unresponsive near a treadmill and he was pronounced dead about an hour later at Baptist East Hospital in Memphis, according to the sheriff's office. The cause of death was not immediately known.

In the early 1970s, Hayes laid the groundwork for disco, for what became known as urban-contemporary music and for romantic crooners like Barry White. And he was rapping before there was rap.

His career hit another high in 1997 when he became the voice of Chef, the sensible school cook and devoted ladies man on the animated TV show "South Park."

The album "Hot Buttered Soul" made Hayes a star in 1969. His shaven head, gold chains and sunglasses gave him a compelling visual image.

"Hot Buttered Soul" was groundbreaking in several ways: He sang in a "cool" style unlike the usual histrionics of big-time soul singers. He prefaced the song with "raps," and the numbers ran longer than three minutes with lush arrangements.

"Jocks would play it at night," Hayes recalled in a 1999 Associated Press interview. "They could go to the bathroom, they could get a sandwich, or whatever."

Next came "Theme From Shaft," a No. 1 hit in 1971 from the film "Shaft" starring Richard Roundtree.

"That was like the shot heard round the world," Hayes said in the 1999 interview.

At the Oscar ceremony in 1972, Hayes performed the song wearing an eye-popping amount of gold and received a standing ovation. TV Guide later chose it as No. 18 in its list of television's 25 most memorable moments. He won an Academy Award for the song and was nominated for another one for the score. The song and score also won him two Grammys.

"The rappers have gone in and created a lot of hit music based upon my influence," he said. "And they'll tell you if you ask."

Hayes was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

"I knew nothing about the business, or trends and things like that," he said. "I think it was a matter of timing. I didn't know what was unfolding."

It all started at StaxA self-taught musician, he was hired in 1964 by Stax Records of Memphis as a backup pianist, working as a session musician for Otis Redding and others. He also played saxophone.

He began writing songs, establishing a songwriting partnership with David Porter, and in the 1960s they wrote such hits for Sam and Dave as "Hold On, I'm Coming" and "Soul Man."
All this led to his recording contract.

In 1972, he won another Grammy for his album "Black Moses" and earned a nickname he reluctantly embraced. Hayes composed film scores for "Tough Guys" and "Truck Turner" besides "Shaft." He also did the song "Two Cool Guys" on the "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America" movie soundtrack in 1996.

Additionally, he was the voice of Nickelodeon's "Nick at Nite" and had radio shows in New York City (1996 to 2002) and then in Memphis.

He was in several movies, including "It Could Happen to You" with Nicolas Cage, "Ninth Street" with Martin Sheen, "Reindeer Games" starring Ben Affleck and the blaxploitation parody "I'm Gonna Git You, Sucka."

In the 1999 interview, Hayes described the South Park cook as "a person that speaks his mind; he's sensitive enough to care for children; he's wise enough to not be put into the 'whack' category like everybody else in town -- and he l-o-o-o-o-ves the ladies."

But Hayes angrily quit the show in 2006 after an episode mocked his Scientology religion. "There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins," he said.

Co-creator creators Matt Stone responded that Hayes "has no problem -- and he's cashed plenty of checks -- with our show making fun of Christians." A subsequent episode of the show seemingly killed off the Chef character.

Hayes was born in 1942 in a tin shack in Covington, Tenn., about 40 miles north of Memphis. He was raised by his maternal grandparents after his mother died and his father took off when he was 1 1/2. The family moved to Memphis when he was 6.

Hayes wanted to be a doctor, but got redirected when he won a talent contest in ninth grade by singing Nat King Cole's "Looking Back."

He held down various low-paying jobs, including shining shoes on the legendary Beale Street in Memphis. He also played gigs in rural Southern juke joints where at times he had to hit the floor because someone began shooting.

Bernie Mac dies at 50

Comedian Bernie Mac died this morning in a Chicago hospital
By Kelley L. Carter and Glenn Jeffers Tribune reporters
9:43 AM CDT, August 9, 2008


Comedian and Chicago native Bernie Mac died early Saturday morning from complications due to pneumonia, his publicist confirmed.

Mac, 50, had been hospitalized for about a week at Northwestern Hospital, according to his spokeswoman. A few years ago, Mac disclosed that he suffered from sarcoidosis, a rare autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in tissue, most often in the lungs.

The comic born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough could cut an imposing figure. He stood 6-foot-3, was built like a fullback and carried himself with a bouncer's reticence. But perhaps the strongest weapon in the Chicago comedian's arsenal was that voice, that amalgam of thought and a delivery that could rise like a tidal wave, outpace a Gatling gun and remained, to his last days, loud and unapologetic.

He wasn't scared, he told us time and again, to tell anyone what he thought, to say what others were afraid to say. That fearlessness wasn't always welcome, considering Mac didn't get his big break until his 30s. But when he did, the comic skyrocketed to success in stand-up, television and the big screen.

Mac shared screen time with some of Hollywood's larger-than-life leading men, co-starring with Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon in the "Ocean's 11" remake and subsequent sequels.
Most recently, Mac garnered attention for making unsavory comments at a Barack Obama benefit that the presumptive Democratic candidate had to distance himself from.

Growing up on the South Side a hard-core White Sox fan, Mac discovered early on that he wanted to make a go at being a comedian.

Before his 10th birthday, Mac was performing comedy standup, honing his skills on CTA trains and parks before graduating to well-known haunts like the Regal Theater and the Cotton Club. He came to a realization during those first years as a struggling comic: If he could kill in front of a black crowd, he could kill in any crowd.

"Black audiences are hard," he told the New York Times in 2002. "You got to come with a little extra to satisfy them."

He also learned that comedy isn't a lucrative business when you are starting out. During those lean years in the '80s, Mac drove a Wonder Bread delivery truck to pay the bills.

Life changed dramatically for Mac when he was 32. He won the Miller Lite comedy search that year and that performance took him to the standup stage, which ultimately led to regular performances on popular shows like HBO's "Def Comedy Jam."

In a few short years, he was able to put a stamp on this tell-it-like-it-is brand of comedy that audiences had come to know him for. He was a hit on the stage, delivering sordid tales of his early life growing up on Chicago's South Side.

His work hit home to the African American audience -- his aggressive, brash comedy had a down home feel to it, tackling everything from family life to black romantic relationships -- yet Mac was able to cross it over, connecting with a majority entertainment scene.

"When I started in comedy in the clubs in 1977, blacks couldn't do certain clubs -- not because they were segregated. They just didn't want to put the [black comics] out there. In Los Angeles, the clubs would have a black night. People would say, 'Why don't you come by and do something?' I would say, 'I'm a comedian -- don't put a title on me.' Don't limit yourself. How you start is how you finish," he told the Tribune in 2007. "If you let people put tags on you, you'll never be able to remove them. You've got to make people respect you. Respect is bigger than dollars and cents."

Mac got his respect and he gained national attention after his set on HBO's popular late-night series Def Comedy Jam in 1992. Decked out in a pair of jeans with his face illustrated, graffiti-style, on the right pants leg, Mac expounded on one taboo subject after another, from the benefits of snitching to his prowess in the bedroom.

"I ain't scared of you [expletive]!" became his signature tagline.

Many took note of the blue comic's performance, which later led to a bit part in 1992's "Mo' Money," and later an HBO Special, "Midnight Mac."

In 1995, Mac earned a spot in the cult-classic "Friday," and the film helped Mac break out. His portrayal of Pastor Clever was one of the film's highlights, however small it was. He followed it up with bit roles in other films, including "Booty Call," and "Def Jam's: How to Be a Player."

But he wanted more.

Mac sowed the seeds for his success on a cloudy day in North Carolina while taping the 2000 Spike Lee concert film, "The Original Kings of Comedy." There, on a rain-soaked basketball court, buttressed by co-stars Cedric the Entertainer, D.L. Hughley and Steve Harvey, Mac issued a challenge to Hollywood:

"Do I have a television show? Nah," Mac told the cameras. "Why? 'Cause you scared of me, Scared I'm a say something. You [expletive] right. Think I won't say something?!"

A year later, Mac got his chance. "The Bernie Mac Show" debuted on Fox in November 2001, drawing critical acclaim, numerous awards, including two Emmy nominations for Mac and, most important, high ratings. Its premiere episode drew 11.4 million viewers. The second episode, which immediately followed the first, drew 12.4 million.

For the next four years, Mac spoke to the American public--via a break in the fourth wall a la Dobie Gillis--with all the befuddlement of a 40-something taskmaster father lost in a sea of talk therapy and "timeouts." "Now, America," Mac would often begin before going into a rant about undisciplined children, cuddling parents or, one of his favorite topics, the differences between black and white people.

But in 2005, the show went off the air. Several reasons contributed to cancellation: The show's ratings had dropped, Mac was getting more lucrative offers from the movie studios. Before the 2000 concert film, Mac's biggest credit was a recurring role on "Moesha."

But Mac's health was also a factor. In 2004, he halted production on the show while recovering from exhaustion. A year later, he disclosed that he suffered from sarcoidosis, a rare autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in tissue, most often in the lungs.

In spite of that, his star had risen a great deal. In addition to the highly popular "Oceans" films, he co-starred with Ashton Kutcher in a reverse remake of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" in 2005.

Last spring, Mac said that he was hanging up his standup career, and instead would focus more on movies. In 2007, he co-starred in "Ocean's Thirteen," "Pride" and had a role in the blockbuster "Transformers."

Scheduled for release is "Soul Men," with Samuel L. Jackson, which will be released this year, and "Old Dogs," with Robin Williams, which is due next year.

Mac is survived by his wife Rhonda McCullough, their daughter, Je'Niece, a son-in-law and a granddaughter, Jasmine.

Oh No! I’m Thinking Again!

08/08/2008

By Daddy

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since CNN aired the Blacks in America special.

And the one thing that was never mentioned during the program was the fact that American Black folks, although we’ve been in this country more than 400 years, and change, are from different tribes.

Now this may sound a little crazy to you. But what makes us so different than all of the white tribes?

I mean you have Germans, Italians, and Irish etc... And we don’t hear one word about them not getting along. In the East Coast cities they are segregated, and like it that way. Now I know some folks hang together no matter what race they are. But do you see my point?

Just because we’re Black doesn’t mean we're all in this thing together. I have some friends, and then I have a hell of a lot of acquaintances. I find myself bonding with some, and not with others.

It makes me mad sometimes that we are expected to live together in harmony and bliss. African people come from a vast country. Thousands of tribes, with millions of different thoughts and actions.

Maybe we're not as alike as some would prefer to think.

Just a thought. Just a thought.

You all have a great and blessed day. PEACE!

Daddy.

An Antichrist Obama in McCain Ad?

By AMY SULLIVAN / WASHINGTON

Charlton Heston as Moses in The Ten Commandments, left, and presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama.

It's not easy to make the infamous Willie Horton ad from the 1988 presidential campaign seem benign. But suggesting that Barack Obama is the Antichrist might just do it.

That's just what some outraged Christian supporters of the Democratic nominee are claiming John McCain's campaign did in an ad called "The One" that was recently released online.

The Republican nominee's advisers brush off the charges, arguing that the spot was meant to be a "creative" and "humorous" way of poking fun at Obama's popularity by painting him as a self-appointed messiah.

But even this innocuous interpretation of the ad — which includes images of Charlton Heston as Moses and culled clips that make Obama sound truly egomaniacal — taps into a conversation that has been gaining urgency on Christian radio and political blogs and in widely circulated e-mail messages that accuse Obama of being the Antichrist.

The ad was the creation of Fred Davis, one of McCain's top media gurus as well as a close friend of former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed and the nephew of conservative Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe.

It first caught the attention of Democrats familiar with the Left Behind series, a fictionalized account of the end-time that debuted in the 1990s and has sold nearly 70 million books worldwide. "The language in there is so similar to the language in the Left Behind books," says Tony Campolo, a leading progressive Evangelical speaker and author.

As the ad begins, the words "It should be known that in 2008 the world shall be blessed. They will call him The One" flash across the screen. The Antichrist of the Left Behind books is a charismatic young political leader named Nicolae Carpathia who founds the One World religion (slogan: "We Are God") and promises to heal the world after a time of deep division. One of several Obama clips in the ad features the Senator saying, "A nation healed, a world repaired. We are the ones that we've been waiting for.

The visual images in the ad, which Davis says has been viewed even more than McCain's "Celeb" ad linking Obama to the likes of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, also seem to evoke the cover art of several Left Behind books. But they're not the cartoonish images of clouds parting and shining light upon Obama that might be expected in an ad spoofing him as a messiah. Instead, the screen displays a sinister orange light surrounded by darkness and later the faint image of a staircase leading up to heaven.

Perhaps the most puzzling scene in the ad is an altered segment from The 10 Commandments that appears near the end. A Moses-playing Charlton Heston parts the animated waters of the Red Sea, out of which rises the quasi-presidential seal the Obama campaign used for a brief time earlier this summer before being mocked into retiring it.

The seal, which features an eagle with wings spread, is not recognizable like the campaign's red-white-and-blue "O" logo. That confused Democratic consultant Eric Sapp until he went to his Bible and remembered that in the apocalyptic Book of Daniel, the Antichrist is described as rising from the sea as a creature with wings like an eagle.

Sapp knows that the phrasing and images could just be dismissed as a peculiar coincidence. After all, it was Oprah Winfrey who told an Iowa crowd that Obama was "the one!" But, he insists, "the frequency of these images and references don't make any sense unless you're trying to send the message that Obama could be the Antichrist."

Mara Vanderslice, another Democratic consultant, who handled religious outreach for the 2004 Kerry campaign, agrees. "If they wanted to be funny, if they really wanted to play up the idea that Obama thinks he's the Second Coming, there were better ways to do it," she says. "Why use these awkward lines like, 'And the world will receive his blessings'?"

Two months ago, Vanderslice founded a Democratic PAC called the Matthew 25 Network and soon noticed that the negative e-mails she received from conservative Christians fell into two general topical categories: abortion, and the assertion that Obama is the Antichrist.

The cataloging of similarities Obama shares with the Antichrist began nearly two years ago. But it picked up steam in February 2008 after he racked up a string of impressive primary victories. A Google search for "Obama" and "Antichrist" turns up more than 700,000 hits, including at least one blog dedicated solely to the topic.

A more obscure search for "Obama" and "Nicolae Carpathia" yields a surprising 200,000 references.

It's not hard to see how some Obama haters might be tempted to make the comparison. In the Left Behind books, Carpathia is a junior Senator who speaks several languages, is beloved by people around the world and fawned over by a press corps that cannot see his evil nature, and rises to absurd prominence after delivering just one major speech. Hmmh. But serious Antichrist theorists don't stop there.

Everything from Obama's left-handedness to his positive rhetoric to his appearance on the cover of this magazine has been cited as evidence of his true identity. One chain e-mail claims that the Antichrist was prophesied to be "A man in his 40s of MUSLIM descent," which would indeed sound ominous if not for the fact that the Book of Revelation was written at least 400 years before the birth of Islam.

The speculation reached a fever pitch after Obama's European trip and the Berlin speech in which he called for global unity. Conservative Christian author Hal Lindsey declared in an essay on WorldNetDaily, "Obama is correct in saying that the world is ready for someone like him — a messiah-like figure, charismatic and glib ... The Bible calls that leader the Antichrist. And it seems apparent that the world is now ready to make his acquaintance."

The conservative website RedState.com now sells mugs and T shirts that sport a large "O" with horns and the words "The Anti-Christ" underneath.

Even if a fraction of the Internet-using public engages in outrageous Antichrist speculation, feeding those extreme beliefs wouldn't seem to be an obvious political strategy. But McCain advisers are aware that one of the goals of Democratic outreach to Evangelicals has been to simply neutralize their opposition.

"You just have to take the edge off," says Michigan Democratic Party chair Mark Brewer, explaining why he spent much of a 2006 meeting with conservative pastors around his state. "Now that they've met me, they can see I don't have two horns and a tail."

A new TIME poll finds that the most conservative Evangelicals are the least enthusiastic about McCain's candidacy. Convincing them that Obama does have two horns and a tail might be the best way of getting them to vote.

That's what worries Campolo, who also sits on the Democratic Party's platform committee.

"Those books have created a subliminal language, and I think judgments will be made unconsciously about Barack Obama," he says. "It scares the daylights out of me."
• Buzz up!on Yahoo!

White supremacists hope Obama win prompts backlash

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS, Associated Press Writer
Fri Aug 8, 4:26 AM ET

PEARL, Miss. - They're not exactly rooting for Barack Obama, but prominent white supremacists anticipate a boost to their cause if he becomes the first black president.

His election, they say, would trigger a backlash — whites rising up, a revolution of sorts — that they think is long overdue.

He'd be a "visual aid," says former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, in trying to bring others around to their view that whites have lost control of America. Obama's election, says another, would jar whites into action, writing letters, handing out pamphlets rather than sitting around complaining.

While most Americans have little or no direct contact with white supremacists, organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center keep close tabs; the law center estimates some 200,000 people nationwide are active in such groups. These observers think the prospect of a white revolution is fantasy.

White supremacists — many call themselves nationalists or "White activists," with a capital W — have had limited political success: Duke served in the Louisiana Legislature.

And the public has periodically been unsettled by their public events, like the effort by uniformed Nazis to march through Skokie, Ill., the annual Aryan Nations meetings in Idaho and elsewhere or the FBI's clashes with armed white supremacists in several Western compounds.

Richard Barrett is a 65-year-old lawyer who traveled the country for 40 years advocating what he perceives as the white side in racial issues — like his January rally in Jena, La., to support a white teenager who hung a noose in a school yard.

Barrett is convinced Democrat Obama will defeat Republican John McCain in November.

And that could cause an upheaval, Barrett, a leader in the Nationalist Movement, told The Associated Press in an interview at his rural Mississippi home.

"Instead of this so-called civil rights bill, for example, that says you have to give preferences to minorities, I think the American people are going — once they see the 'Obamanation' — they're going to demand a tweaking of that and say, 'You have to put the majority into office,'" Barrett said.

Across the United States, some white supremacists are saying an Obama presidency could create a racial backlash that will give their groups a boost.

Barrett is evasive about his ideology and tries to keep reporters from using "buzz words" to describe him. He doesn't call himself a white supremacist, although the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center do.

The law center tracks the Nationalist Movement, the Klan and like-minded groups from its Montgomery, Ala., headquarters.

The center's "Hatewatch" newsletter reported in June that some neo-Nazis, Klansmen and anti-Semites are saying an Obama presidency could prompt a race war, which many on the "radical right" believe whites would win.

Although not all white supremacists agree, "large numbers of these people really seem to think that an Obama election would benefit them hugely," Mark Potok, the center's intelligence director, said in an interview. He called that view "essentially a fantasy."

Duke, the former Klan leader, posted an essay on his Web site in June titled, "Obama Wins Demo Nomination: A Black Flag for White America."

Obama "will be a clear signal for millions of our people," Duke wrote.

"Obama is a visual aid for White Americans who just don't get it yet that we have lost control of our country, and unless we get it back we are heading for complete annihilation as a people."

Jason Robb, a Harrison, Ark., attorney who represents the Klan's Knights Party, describes himself as a "white nationalist."

"It doesn't really matter if Obama wins the election or McCain wins the election," Robb said in an interview. "Neither of them are going to try to fight to preserve the white race or heritage."

Robb said, however, that Obama's election could prompt more whites to get involved in politics by distributing pamphlets or writing letters to editors.

Although the South has had more racial violence than most of the country, Randy Blazak, a sociology professor at Oregon's Portland State University, says white supremacists live all over the United States.

Blazak, who has studied skinheads for two decades, calls white supremacists a counterculture, not a movement, contending the latter term overstates their numbers.

Blazak said white supremacists thrive on fear of changing race relations, the women's movement and gay rights. Blazak said white working class people in particular long for a "Leave It To Beaver" society.

"Those were the 'good old days' for straight, white males. But for everyone else, it was a pretty raw deal," Blazak said.

Barrett, a New York City native who moved to Mississippi in 1966, said the Nationalist Movement has members in 36 states, but he won't say how many. He compares today's skinheads to the minutemen of the American Revolution.

"The Revolution, if you will, in 1776 brought the 13 colonies together against the king. And the same thing can happen now against Martin Luther King, with the 50 states," Barrett said, if Obama's elected.

Barrett says he is a Democrat but won't say whether he's voting for Obama. He'll only say he won't support McCain, Libertarian Bob Barr or independent Ralph Nader.

Charles Evers, brother of Medgar Evers, the Mississippi NAACP leader killed by a sniper in 1963, chuckles when told about Barrett's assertions.

"See, Richard doesn't really mean what he says. It's popular for him to say it. That's the way he makes a living," said Evers, who hosts a talk show on WMPR-FM in Jackson. "Same as Jesse Jackson, some more of our black revolutionaries who make a living off of keeping things emotional."

Although a longtime Republican, Evers supports Obama. He says the Democrat is more qualified than McCain.

Evers, whose office has photos of him with Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon, George W. Bush and other politicians, said he sees broad, multiracial support for Obama, even in parts of the South where the white establishment dug in to try to preserve racial segregation decades ago.

"I think we're past that stage," Evers said. "I don't think the majority of white people are thinking that way anymore."

Kim Edwards of Matteson, Ill., a black woman who traveled to Mississippi with a racially mixed group so her son could play in a baseball tournament, is more skeptical. Edwards worries that extremists want Obama to be elected so they can assassinate him.

"I'm really concerned for his safety," said Edwards, who plans to vote for Obama. "I'm concerned that once he gets in office that he won't be recognized as an American president."

However, former Mississippi Gov. William Winter, a white Democrat who served on President Clinton's commission on racial reconciliation, doesn't foresee widespread white backlash if Obama is elected.

"We are a diverse country," said Winter, who supports Obama. "We are made up of people of every conceivable racial background."

Man Arrested in Florida for Threatening to Assassinate Obama

8/ 7/08

Let's hope this is the first and the last time we hear a story like this: Raymone Hunter Geisel was arrested by federal authorities in Florida for threatening to assassinate Barack Obama. He is being held without bail. The Secret Service found a loaded handgun, knives, dozens of rounds of ammunition, body armor, and a machete in Geisel's car and hotel room. He was nabbed after a source told the Feds that he made the threat against Obama during a training class for bail bondsmen in Miami last month. Another source claimed he made a similar threat against President Bush. Geisel denies having made the threats.

http://nymag.com/news/index.htm

Is It Just Me?

08/08/08
By Daddy

Is it just me, or has the tide slowly changed to McCain in this years election soap opera?

I took a couple of days off from watching the pundits on the tube because of political fatigue. I found myself going from channel to channel in the blink of an eye. Channel surfing like no other political bloodhound has ever surfed before.

Okay you get the point. I actually ran my wife out of the room. I HAD to take a break!!

But what do I find upon returning to the scene of the crime? McCain is the darling of the airwaves. McCain this, McCain that! “Boy, that McCain sure knows how run a campaign!”

Now call me Conspiracy Brother if you want, but it seems some folks out there think it’s about time to take this Obama guy down, and get to real business. Barack Obama has had his 15 minutes of fame, but that’s all he’s gonna get here.

Is America really ready for a Black president? Do you think the Black nominee will have an equal chance to win this thing? Or will the powers that be tear him limb from limb in their quest to keep American Leadership White?

BALONEY!!

Look. The way I see it is Barack Obama has the style and the moves, and the intelligence to be President of these United States of America. Like I’ve said before, there is no way these people could be stupid enough to vote for John McCain for another Bush term in office. Could they??

This time when the shit hit the fan, it wasn’t only the lower classes that felt the sting of feces on their faces. All but maybe the top 2% had to stop and clean their shoes more than once in the last eight years. And my people, that’s starting to hit a little too close to home for that 2% of the population. So I just can’t see McCain becoming the next POTUS!

But, Barack Obama must step up his campaign to address the issues more vigorously to make the people understand how he will fight the good fight for America. Don’t let the pundits trick him into fighting back with negative ads against McCain. The brother said he’s the new Washington. So let’s see the new Washington!

Tell me how you’ll fix the economy. Tell me how you’ll fight against the oil companies to lower gas prices. Tell me how you’ll have our babies, and loved ones out of Iraq in the coming months.
Tell me how you’ll approach the problems with the environment. Tell me how you’ll deal with the racism that still exists in this country. Yes, tell me my brother how you’ll deal with OUR problems!

I really don’t want to hear what McCain will or will not do. I want to hear how Barack Obama can put this country on the straight track to success.

This is not only history because a Black man has been selected the nominee for the Democratic Party. This is history because the United States of America is at its lowest point ever. And to be president means you have to have strong convictions to change, and strong convictions to the people of this country, no matter what race, creed, or color.

And before I go let me say that I know this next subject may not be what you want to hear, but it’s starting to look like Hillary may be the saving grace that Barack Obama may need to put this over the top. I know I’ve been against her because of Obama’s stance on change, but we must remember Hillary got 18 million votes, and she still has plenty of folks trying to get her the nomination. Barack Obama may have to lean towards the Clinton’s and they know it. But if the brother does decide to go in this direction, he’ll surely be the next President of the United States of America.



You all have a great and blessed weekend.
PEACE!

Daddy.

Our President – George W. Bush

08/15/2008
By Daddy

I’m posting this for the little humor we can find in this man. If you discount over 4000 of our children killed in a senseless war. Or millions of A-Merry-Can's losing their jobs, and homes. Gas prices over $4.00 a gallon. And I could go on, but I’m sure you’re depressed enough by now.

So this post is to remind those Hillary Clinton supporters that are threatening to vote for John McCain if Hillary isn’t Barack Obama’s choice for V.P.

A reminder of how we got to where we are today.
Enjoy!!!!

Daddy.

Changing Lanes

by Elizabeth Kolbert August 11, 2008

Late last month, Senator John McCain went up with a new television ad, titled “Pump.” The ad begins no place in particular with a gasoline pump, circa 1965. “Gas prices—four dollars, five dollars,” a female narrator intones, as the numbers on the pump’s front panel spin. “No end in sight, because some in Washington are still saying no to drilling in America, no to independence from foreign oil.
“Who can you thank for rising prices at the pump?” the narrator asks. She leaves the question hanging, while a recording from a recent political rally grows louder and louder. “Obama! Obama!” the crowd screams.

How important is it for candidates to tell the truth? Throughout his long career in politics, McCain, who called his PAC Straight Talk America, has presented frankness as his fundamental virtue. If his positions—on campaign finance, on immigration reform, on the Bush tax cuts—were unpopular with either the White House or the Republican Party faithful, that just showed that he was willing to tackle the tough issues.

When his campaign very nearly collapsed and then revived, in December, McCain attributed his rally not to the fact that voters liked what he was saying but to the fact that they didn’t. “I’ve been telling people the truth, whether I thought that’s what they wanted or not,” he said.

After his crucial victory in New Hampshire, in January, he again credited his candor: “I went to the people of New Hampshire to tell them the truth. Sometimes I told them what they wanted to know, sometimes I told them what they didn’t want to know.”

The past few weeks have seen a change in McCain. He has hired new advisers, and with them he seems to have worked out a new approach. He is no longer telling the sorts of hard truths that people would prefer not to confront, or even half-truths that they might find vaguely discomfiting.

Instead, he’s opted out of truth altogether. “Well, that certainly didn’t take long,” the Times observed.

The sharp increase in gasoline prices—the national average for a gallon of regular hit a record high, of $4.11, on July 7th—has shown up in several recent voter polls as a top concern. In a CNN/Opinion Research survey released last month, seventy-seven per cent of respondents said that gas prices would be “extremely” or “very” important in their choice for President.

An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll taken in mid-July put energy and gasoline prices just below “job creation and economic growth” but above the war as a priority for the government to address. Polls also show that a majority of Americans believe that more drilling for oil in the United States would alleviate the problem.

The CNN/Opinion Research survey found that seventy-three per cent of Americans back increased offshore drilling—although President Bush recently lifted an executive moratorium on drilling in most coastal waters, a congressionally imposed moratorium remains in place—while a recent Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg survey showed sixty-nine per cent in favor of allowing drilling on currently protected federal lands. (Twelve per cent supported such a move even if it caused damage to “environmentally important areas.”)

Of course, the results of these or any other public-opinion surveys do not alter the underlying reality. The Department of Energy estimates that there are eighteen billion barrels of technically recoverable oil in offshore areas of the continental United States that are now closed to drilling.

This sounds like a lot, until you consider that oil is a globally traded commodity and that, at current rates of consumption, eighteen billion barrels would satisfy less than seven months of global demand. A D.O.E. report issued last year predicted that it would take two decades for drilling in restricted areas to have a noticeable effect on domestic production, and that, even then, “because oil prices are determined on the international market,” the impact on fuel costs would be “insignificant.” Just a few months ago, McCain himself noted that offshore resources “would take years to develop.” As the oilman turned wind farmer T. Boone Pickens has observed, “This is one emergency we can’t drill our way out of.”

If the hard truth is that the federal government can’t do much to lower gas prices, the really hard truth is that it shouldn’t try to. With just five per cent of the world’s population, America accounts for twenty-five per cent of its oil use.

This disproportionate consumption is one of the main reasons that the United States—until this year, when China overtook it—was the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. (Every barrel of oil burned adds roughly a thousand pounds of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.) No matter how many warnings about the consequences were issued—by NASA, by the United Nations, by Al Gore, by the Pope—Americans seemed unfazed. Even as the Arctic ice cap visibly melted away, they bought bigger and bigger cars and drove them more and more miles.

The impact of rising fuel prices, by contrast, has been swift and appreciable. According to the latest figures from the Federal Highway Administration, during the first five months of this year Americans drove thirty billion fewer miles than they did during the same period last year.

This marks the first time in a generation that vehicle miles in this country have edged downward. All told, undriven trips since the start of 2008 amount to some thirty billion pounds of unreleased CO2. Clearly, the only way to change America’s consumption habits is by making those habits more expensive.

McCain, in his straight-talking days, acknowledged as much. In 2003, he broke with the Bush Administration and co-introduced legislation to reduce carbon emissions, by, in effect, imposing a price on them.

That same year, over strong White House opposition, he brought the bill to the Senate floor. (It was defeated, by a vote of fifty-five to forty-three.) In an interview with this magazine, he said that he regarded the opposition to his proposal, largely from members of his own party, as a scandal.

“I think it’s a dramatic example of the influence of special interests here in the Congress,” he said. “It’s a combination of the utilities and the coal companies and automobile manufacturers—an unholy alliance of special interests that have made it a top priority to prevent any action being taken.” He went on to say that he wasn’t sure the American political system was up to dealing with the challenge of climate change.

“How much damage will have been done before we act?” he asked.
Recent history suggests that Presidential campaigns don’t reward integrity; the candidate who refuses to compromise his principles is unlikely to have a chance to act on them. Still, McCain’s slide is saddening. That he has sunk to the level of “Pump” a full month before Labor Day really doesn’t leave him—or the race—far to go. ♦

Committing to Each Other

08/04/2008
by Jon Walker


A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 (NIV)


*** *** *** ***

Today's guest devotional is provided by Jon Walker -
Truth teaches that the quality of our friendships is more important than the quantity. We don't need a lot of friends in this life, but we do need a few good ones.
By moving beyond superficial acquaintance with specific Jesus-ones, we become friends who are closer than family (Proverbs 18:24).
This requires considerably more commitment than our standard "to each his own" approach to getting along. Instead, we agree there will be "none of this going off and doing your own thing" (Colossians 3:15 MSG).
We see each other as individuals, unique creations of God and vessels of God's grace. We "develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results" when we "do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor" (James 3:18 MSG).
Although this describes what a family should be, it's a stone, cold fact that many people find closer relationships among friends than their blood relatives. But there is a different type of blood relative, sisters and brothers who are grafted together through the blood of Jesus Christ.
His power within us gives us the ability to become companions who stick together closer than a brother, or sister.

© 2008 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved.

Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for ministers.




 

Bernie Mac in hospital with pneumonia

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Bernie Mac is in a Chicago hospital with pneumonia.

His publicist, Danica Smith, says in a statement that the 50-year-old comedian is responding well to treatment and should be released soon. He remained hospitalized Saturday.

Smith says the pneumonia isn't related to an inflammatory lung disease that Mac also has. That condition has been in remission since 2005.
Mac is a Chicago native who lives in the southern suburbs. He made waves last month with off-color jokes during a Chicago fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.