As I listen to the ranting about Obama I am convinced this guy is the shit. The psychotic departure from reality that ensues from the mere mention of his name can only be produced by a real pro. This guy is like fucking Elvis.
It’s a good thing I don’t drink kool aid.
I’ve been in “discussions” where teenagers and AARP Baby boomers have wept in furious frustration at the mere mention that Barack might not be ready for the prime time.
I understand that Zbigniew Brzezinski likes the idea of a black face going to quell the angry Muslims on the world chess board. I even understand if Mr. Soros sees this as one of the great moves to an open society.
But, there is something in the response to Obama that still gives me pause. And it’s not really Obama. If anything, Obama has blazed a trail in the evolution of political manipulation. When you integrate financiers from coast to coast, sea to shinning sea, with the idealism of similac voters, then hell – you’ve got serious game.
Without a doubt, Obama hit the ground with a wicked team integrating grass roots populism with board room cronyism. In the March issue of Ebony (which I could link to if they understood it’s better for you to give away your article online and drive site traffic than to restrict it to print only – wake up black media! Print is a loss leader.). Sylvester Monroe, Kevin Chappell and Bryan Monroe spin the Obama machine to mythic proportions.
“The team of Wall Street bankers, Midwest investment managers and West Coast private-equity advisers had already created a national network of supporters and access to big money that was ready to be tapped as soon as Obama indicated he was ready to run for president …”
The marriage between the lower upper class, the mega wealthy and the grass roots can be summed up as the two pronged “shucks and bucks” campaign. The “shucks and bucks” is the revitalization of Alinskian consensus manipulation where constructed participation, Delphic rituals of vicarious participation, stands in the place of real political thought. Why do I say this? Because no one in the Obama or Clinton campaign has challenged the security of the electronic vote. No one in either campaign has addressed the issue of the PATRIOT ACT. But we’ll let that rest for now.
What I really noticed was the inability to grasp distinctions.
Bdub wrote:
“However he and anyone else is wrong to criticize Barack Obama for not attending the upcoming summit.”
Well … no. If the radically unified black vote is the key to his legitimacy and success then I think it appropriate he attend; send a video link; state his case; say hello – you know the shit your mother taught you in kindergarten.
All he had to say was, “Family, I’m sorry, I have to grind out Texas, Ohio, etc.” Issue a statement. Blow a kiss. And float on. Believe me we get it. “You had us at hello.” Just leave a towel and glass of water. Show that “you too understand drymouthedness.”
What pissed me off was the way he dismissed the issue. “I have nothing better to do …”
Just like Bill Clinton went into the “overseer register” when he dared to counsel Black America on our voting options. Barack went deep into ungrateful “B**CH” mode when he insinuated that the State of the Black Union was beneath him.
As “cg.eye” wrote:
“Make every candidate work for your vote. Even Tavi and Tom. Sing out, Louise!”
As Teddy Riley said … “it ain’t over”
We ain’t there yet. You have to stay true to the game. Keep the pressure on. If he can’t handle criticism and diplomatic ruptures within the black community, what the hell is he gong to do on the world stage? Work for the vote.
Advocate against police brutality – white people get their ass beat too.
Advocate against discrimination in housing, lending, education – poor people get doors slammed in their face as well as blacks.
Advocate against discrimination based on poverty, gender, sexuality, religion, ethnicity, and even, yes, race.
But, we’ll let that go.
I want to know, will you allow finance and capital to destabilize Kenya and Somalia so that it can be the http://www.correntewire.com/somalia_the_... "> Silicon valley of the East?
But here is my real problem.
“We should listen to the tom joyner interview, stop trying to mkae obama the “black president” you can’t win america when you are only catering towards one group.”
“BUT, we also need folks inside ’the suite’ to work on our behalf. A President of the United States cannot be just pro-black. He has to be pro-American.”
What I’m really reading here or at least think I’m hearing is the battle, between Booker T. and W.E.B. Chris Rock called it the civil war in black America. A four hundred year struggle for the ground of Black identity. The struggle is over whether or not one’s identity is predicated on the accommodation of humanity to the interest of capital or are the grounds of human identity predicated on resistance to the excesses of capital.
What people call “Black” and “African-American” are not representative of a people but a cultural and political orientation. When people ask if Barack Obama is “Black enough” they are not questioning his heritage or authenticity – that’s obvious. What they are asking is “what’s your ride?” “What’s your set or clique?” They are asking for your code?
What we are asking about is the question of Black power. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr. “The nettlesome task of Negroes today is to discover how to organize our strength into compelling power so that government cannot elude our demands.”
What people want to know when they ask “is he black enough” is where he stands in the tradition of the American conversation, particularly concerning the 13th
,14th and 15th amendments to the constitution. When do the rights of capital as citizen
trump those of the human as citizen?
Where do you stand on the issues of housing, poverty and education? Not as policy but as you understand them in terms of political economy? Do you believe that improved education and improved housing will eliminate poverty or do you think, like King,that :
“We are likely to find that the problems of housing and education instead of preceding the elimination of poverty, will themselves be affected if poverty is first abolished.”
Would they still give you money if you said that?
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“What’s your ride?”
This means, who do you go home with after the party's over? (Not familiar with the vivid idiom).
[x] Any (D) in the general. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win. -- Mahatma Gandhi
It means
What neighborhood do you belong to? What is your street oraganization affiliation - who do you ride or die with?
Ah yes. Not, perhaps, so much Chicago style...
... as Chicago School.
[x] Any (D) in the general. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win. -- Mahatma Gandhi
East West
The basic idea behind the campaign has nothing to do with our, i.e. the country, needs. It's all about a cynical man with average capability and an enormous talent as a charlatan. We are a the bodies on which he steps on to his higher desire to be president. If and when he gets there, expect anything; it might be very similar to the last 7 years give or take Iraq.
KoshemBos
SoBU and NaN
I'd probably be a lot more sanguine about Obama dissing the State of the Black Union conference if he hadn't shown up to kiss Al Sharpton's ass at Sharpton vanity convention last April.
(Speaking of Sharpton and his National Action Network, for the first time since at least 2005, the NAN Convention won't be held in New York. Instead, he's holding it in Memphis from April 2-6, to gain maximum exposure from the 40th anniversary of MLK's assasination -- including a march to the site of the assassination on April 4th...the march starts at 1PM, after a debate between Sharpton and Sean Hannity on "How America Should Handle Race Relations 40 Years Forward")
al sharpton, no
al doesn't speak for much more than al, imho. he's the 'radical' black voice the white folks allow on teevee once in a while, to scare moderates and remind them that they must never believe black leaders are more than clowns and controversial hucksters. if al cared about the black community, he'd shut up and let someone else run those traveling shows and fundraisers he's always floating near. i respect what he has said and done lately, i don't mean to harsh on him, but he's in that contruction by which the black community is limited and reduced in the media and policy discussions. "jessejacksonalsharpton say..." how about letting someone who isn't a polarizing, been on for decades now figure "speak for us?" as obama assumes that role, as X is pointing out, he sure is short on speaking with substance about and to the poor.
showing up with sharpton, but not in NOLA. yup. part for the course for Barry.
What's wrong with black
I wonder if people realize that they wan't a preisdent who is good at being un-offendingly black. That is he doesn't make white folk uncomfortable.
Making nice so they won't get nervous is not what you should be concerned about. What kind of world do you live in where you are so scared and so repressive that other people are compelled to concern themselve with whether or not you are comfortable.
I'm certain that is not my idea of strength and autonomy.
"He's just trying to get into office"
A crack whore is just trying to cop a fix.
BTW - OFB
: The electronic voting machines still are not secure. Don't forget about the electoral college. But of course your money ... I mean ... your vote counts.
The MSM are greatful for Al
He brings that comedic touch we all expect from a minstrel, a verbal softshoe with a smile and just enough menace to give the white folk a shiver but not make them run for the hills.
I thought he was just a blowhard until seeing what he did to that Brawley girl, used her and threw her away like a rag, poor thing. He does have some sort of sensing ability, he was very early in calling out Bernie Kerick as a fraud, but Sharpton lacks common sense and lets his passion for himself override his passion for any cause. Whatever he's into he's into it for what it will get Al, like Oprah but without real flair.
So pleased to read someone else sees him for what he is, and yes it would be nice for a change to have someone new with a black-issues orientation on the TV but hey, I'd also like to see some competent white people for a change.
More commenting fun
Good to know. This seems a little different from arithmetic problems...
[x] Any (D) in the general. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win. -- Mahatma Gandhi
Kos took a deep drag on the pipe of power
and loved the taste. Like crack or opium, exhilarating but destructive and the effects are sad to see. I stopped going there several months ago.
whoa! talk about spats
that was a funny link, LB. i won't bother to read all 329 comments but gosh, what fun primaries can be.
BIO: i think of that scene if pulp fiction. "if you were going to make it by now, you would have." that's my take on sharpton. they have put you in the white people's media for a long time now, has it made a difference that they have "included' your voice, Al? no, not unless you are speaking of the bottom line: Al.
i know 1000 smarter, better, sexier black men who would be so much better on teevee "representing" us. starting with some of the brothers here. but no-we get james brown, woman beater preacher, instead. how Serious
! (and i'm blaming the white controlled media here, not sharpton. he's said lots that makes sense in his life. too bad no one wants to treat with him in a serious way that recognizes how complex he is a human being. that treatment is only for white folks, i guess)
Funny, when you said "spats" I thought...
... Wow, I should have paid closer attention to David Byrne's footwear on all those Talking Heads posts I put up for jake. No, I'm not kidding.
I got one of those things myself, CD, for uprating an usually trollish OFB
comment to make sure the historical record was preserved.
The interesting is, that given a dialog box and a group of censors, this thing is administered from within DK itself. Wonder of the flamewar conducted against non-Obama supporters was similarly organized? If so, that would have important legal, and more importantly, tax consequences. Just sayin.
[x] Any (D) in the general. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win. -- Mahatma Gandhi
Zbiggy and Soros
It's all the kinder gentler version of Drs. Strauss and Friedman.
No Hell below us
Above us, only sky
No Hell below us
Above us, only sky
Xenophon, what's your reaction to...
... the oft-made arguments that Obama can't do (fill-in-the-blank), because people won't accept that from a black Senator/President?
For example, "Obama can't be angry about economic injustice like John Edwards is because...."
I think I asked you about this once before, but I'm not sure I really fathomed your answer.
Zbiggy and Soros
It’s all the kinder gentler version of Drs. Strauss and Friedman.
Mad love to you kelly b.
But, that’s a little bit reductionistic. This isn’t the difference between Athens and Jerusalem this is the difference between Sparta and Yathrib.
If there is justice there is peace. X
The oft-made Arguments
Funny you should say that. (see ... 25th Hour).
In this I think that Senator Obama is correct. I would never display my sentiment against privatization, commodification and the reduction of humanity to commodity labor in a society dedicated to the accumulation of wealth through the exploitation of alienated labor value. In an arbitrage society, who the hell wants efficiency?
Arbitrage, interesting
Of course, for the arbitrageur, the treasure trove of surveillance data gathered by the NSA -- of course they would never look inside the mail -- represents the greatest business opportunity. Eh?
Seems like that might be one reason they only want the "court" to look at the rules for data collection ("minimization") and not where the data actually flows.
[x] Any (D) in the general. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win. -- Mahatma Gandhi
See here
I refer you to the Xenophon paradigm of political media analysis
Sentiment Analysis
AMI
real "change" is threatening, not unifying--
--accomodation is not threatening but in fact reassuring to those in power and happy with the way things are--i don't get why more Obama supporters don't understand that, and don't acknowledge the massive corporate support he has (Hillary too, but she's not running to "change" anything but to fix things)-- Fortune mag: http://money.cnn.com/2007/12/14/magazine....
this is good and somewhat related too (there wouldn't be such media love for Obama if he was going to make any sort of real change): Columbia Journalism Review: Of Love and Other Demons -- (on the media love for Obama) -- http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/of_love_and_other_demons.php?page=all
Nice
Now you tell two friends and I'll tell two friends. And then ... ready forward!
WWJD? - The next big TV talk show