Showing posts with label clinton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clinton. Show all posts

Thursday, August 28, 2008

some brother must have really done her wrong...

or at least that was my first impression of Anne Price-Mills, the Black female delegate who was interviewed after Hillary Clinton's speech at the Democratic Convention.



She intends to vote for Hillary Clinton at the convention, but isn't sure if she'll vote for Obama in the general ?!?!?

Monday, June 09, 2008

political bits

1. I really like this image but was a bit surprised by how the mainstream networks were covering it. They were like "what is this mysterious gesture?". It is just another reminder of how "white" the mainstream press is in its perspective. It also an example of how Obama's candidacy (and hopefully his presidency) has the opportunity of being a sort of national teach-in on race relations; first by offering a peek into the Black church, and now introducing white people to African-American greeting practices.


Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, share a victory "dap" during an election night rally in St. Paul, MN

2. I'm not sure who Obama should pick as his running mate but I've been interested in Senator Jim Webb of Virginia ever since I'd caught part of an interview with him on NPR. He's a Vietnam veteran and an ex-Republican who today is highly critical of George W. Bush and the current Iraq War.

NPR: Senator Jim Webb, Choosing His Battles

3. I never cease to be amazed by the number of third-party candidates who run for president in each election in relative anonymity. Of course you have the Greens and the Libertarians, but there are also at least three different kinds of "socialist" parties (four if you count the Nazi party), you have the Fascist party, the Prohibition Party, the Constitution Party and even the Vampire, Witches and Pagan Party which are all putting up candidates. Some of these candidates seem to be running more as a joke or as a publicity stunt and others are "serious" but are obviously long-shots while many seem to lie somewhere in between.

4. A couple of the third-party presidential candidates are former elected officials who "defected" from the major parties. One is former Republican Congressman, Bob Barr who is running as the Libertarian Party candidate this year. One can only hope that he can serve as a spoiler for McCain in this election.

5. On the scary side, I recently found out that former Democratic member of Congress Rep. Cynthia McKinney is running for president on the Green Party ticket. I say scary because I think McKinney is likely to be a "spoiler". Some of the angry/ disappointed/ disgruntled Clinton supporters have already expressed their willingness to vote for McCain. But now McKinney offers yet another (arguably more attractive) option for liberals who don't want to vote for Obama. Given the tensions which currently exist in the Democratic party between Clinton supporters and Obama supporters, I think that there is a non-trivial mass of people who might be willing to make such a protest vote.

6. Now that I think about it, if Hillary had won her argument to the superdelegates, and they overruled the will of the non-superdelegates who went for Obama, I would have given serious thought to voting for McKinney myself.

7. By the way, times like these are why I wish we had proportional representation in the US so that genuine multi-party system could arise.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

thoughts on obama's resignation from trinity united church of christ

So Obama finally resigned his membership at Trinity United Church of Christ. The whole situation is weird and sad on all kinds of levels.

One of the weird aspects is that the straw that broke the camel's back on this issue was a recent sermon last Sunday by the Catholic priest, Rev. Dr. Michael Pfleger but obviously Obama isn't even Catholic.



Also weird is the way that Pfleger's comments are being characterized. As "hateful"? As a rant? As "racist"? Admittedly, he was a bit harsh on Hillary but I would say that occasionally that being harsh on politicians in certainly part of the role of being a "prophetic" preacher. Pfleger's sermon also wasn't a "rant". It was definitely a rhetorically effective performance intended to satirize Hillary Clinton. But it certainly wasn't wild and irrational. By implication, Pfleger was simply making the point that some of the actions and reactions of Hillary Clinton and some of her supporters are motivated by a sense of racial entitlement. That's a perfectly reasonable and coherent claim and it is worth being discussed. It is either true or not true. Especially bizarre is the claim that the sermon was racist?!?!

The sad part of all this is the extent to which liberation theology is being demonized by the media and is being excluded from the political discourse. More generally, it is sad that the media and the political process can have as much influence as they on a person's religious declarations.

Monday, June 02, 2008

"well, i'm not gonna take the white house in 2008 on just my sparkling wit and funding from hostile governments."

I've mentioned the television show Angel and the fictional evil secret-society The Circle of the Black Thorn in a previous post. (see circle of the black thorn.) The only bit I wanted to talk about was how the last season started to get much more explicitly political. For example, from the season's very first episode there is a scene where the main characers are going through the files of Wolfram & Hart, an evil demon-owned LA legal firm:
ANGEL
This is unbelievable.
FRED
I think I've lost my appetite, which is kind of a first.
LORNE
(reading a file)
Hmm, well, this is interesting. Apparently old Joe Kennedy tried to get out of his deal with the firm.
ANGEL
That explains a lot.
LORNE
Yeah, but George, Senior - he read the fine print. There's no one these guys don't have a piece of.

Then towards the end of the season they introduced a Hillary Clinton stand-in, the character of Helen Brucker, a female Senator who is planning to win the presidency in 2008 with the help of Wolfram & Hart:
SENATOR
It's nice to see you again so soon, Angel.
ANGEL (upon finding out that Senator Brucker was a member of the Circle of the Black Thorn)
Senator. I had no idea you were so well...connected.
SENATOR
Well, I'm not gonna take the White House in 2008 on just my sparkling wit and funding from hostile governments.
(chuckles)

Angel being a supernatural drama, the Senator actually isn't really human, but instead is some kind of demonic hellspawn who has managed to occupy a human body. Another interesting bit about this (which really wasn't on my mind when thse episodes first aired in 2004) is the fact that, in the series finale, Senator Brucker is killed with an axe to the head by Charles Gunn, the main Black character of the show. This all aired well before Obama declared his intentions to run for President to run so it is unlikely that Gunn is meant to be an Obama stand-in.

This has all been on my mind because "Power Play", the episode which introduced the Senator's character aired this past Friday morning, and the series finale "Not Fade Away" just aired this Monday morning.

Transcripts:
Power Play
Not Fade Away

Saturday, May 24, 2008

how to write a political poem aka "somewhere in flordia votes are still being counted"

The following poem has been heavily anthologized. (I actually own at least 3 different poetry/spoken word CDs and a DVD where it appears). It was on my mind recently because I had been listening to some of the above-mentioned CDs in my car this week. And I decided to do an entry about it because it started to resonate with some other things going on these days.

For example, it is nearly 8 years after the 2000 U.S. Presidential election and people are still talking about counting votes in Florida. Also, I'm in the middle of reading Gaming the Vote: Why Elections Aren't Fair (And What We Can Do About it) by William Poundstone and I was a bit surprised by Darth Vaderish description of Nader's intentions in 2000 (that he consciously took on the spoiler role as a way to punish the Clinton-Gore administration for not paying any attention to him during their 8 years in office). Finally, I also think that Taylor Mali's cynicism about political poetry definitely applies to much of the political rhetoric coming from the presidential candidates these days... but more on that later...





How to Write a Political Poem
By Taylor Mali

However it begins, it's gotta be loud
and then it's gotta get a little bit louder.
Because this is how you write a political poem
and how you deliver it with power.

Mix current events with platitudes of empowerment.
Wrap up in rhyme or rhyme it up in rap until it sounds true.

Glare until it sinks in.

Because somewhere in Florida, votes are still being counted.
I said somewhere in Florida, votes are still being counted!

See, that's the Hook, and you gotta' have a Hook.
More than the look, it's the hook that is the most important part.
The hook has to hit and the hook's gotta fit.
Hook's gotta hit hard in the heart.

Because somewhere in Florida, votes are still being counted.

And Dick Cheney is peeing all over himself in spasmodic delight.
Make fun of politicians, it's easy, especially with Republicans
like Rudy Giuliani, Colin Powell, and . . . Al Gore.
Oooooh, see what I did? I called Al Gore a Republican.
That must mean that my political sensibilities are much more finely tuned than yours.
Create fatuous juxtapositions of personalities and political philosophies
as if communism were the opposite of democracy,
as if we needed Darth Vader, not Ralph Nader.

Peep this: When I say "Call,"
you all say, "Response."

Call! Response! Call! Response! Call!

Amazing Grace, how sweet the—

Stop in the middle of a song that everyone knows and loves.
This will give your poem a sense of urgency.
Because there is always a sense of urgency in a political poem.
There is no time to waste!
Corruption doesn't have a curfew,
greed doesn't care what color you are
and the New York City Police Department
is filled with police officers!
People who wear guns on their hips
and carry metal badges pinned over their hearts.
Injustice isn't injustice it's just in us as we are just in ice.
That's the only alienation of this alien nation
in which you either fight for freedom
or else you are free and dumb!

And even as I say this somewhere in Florida, votes are still being counted.

And it makes me wanna beat box!

Because I have seen the disintegration of gentrification
and can speak with great articulation
about cosmic constellations, and atomic radiation.
I've seen D. W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation
but preferred 101 Dalmatians.
Like a cross examination, I will give you the explanation
of why SlamNation is the ultimate manifestation
of poetic masturbation and egotistical ejaculation.

And maybe they are still counting votes somewhere in Florida,
but by the time you get to the end of the poem it won't matter anymore.

Because all you have to do to end a political poem is close your eyes,
lower your voice, and say:

the same line three times,
the same line three times,
the same line three times.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

even more assorted bits

1. Is it just me or are the more black "talking heads" on the television news shows? And what is even better is the fact that they aren't just race experts but they are talking about the economy, the war, etc.

2. What is more elitist than being willing and able to whip out 6 million dollars of your own money in an attempt to acquire more political power even when the popular will seems to be against you?

3. I was fortunate enough to see MSNBC's Chris Matthews give a verbal smackdown to Kevin James on live television. It is sad to think that the people in the media responsible for informing the public could be so misinformed themselves. I think that part of the issue is that much of the news is just political propaganda read by "pretty faces" (see "i'm as mad as hell, and i'm not going to take it anymore") and so research is less important.

4. In a similar vein, I was surprised to see some clips recently where Fox's O'Reilly reveals how mean-spirited he can be. The following exchange with Geraldo Rivera makes O'Reilly look like the last juror to switch sides in 12 Angry Men:


and then in the following O'Reilly just shows himself to be short-tempered and crazy:


5. John Hagee really isn't all that unique. Anti-Catholic and anti-Islamic ideas are more prevalent among Evangelicals than is generally acknowledged by the media. I mean, I grew up going to church which taught from the pulpit that Catholics weren't really Christian. I think such sentiments are widespread. I'm not saying that we are anywhere close, but I wonder what kind of pressures, what kind of change in the political and economic situation, how much of a loss of social order and restraint would be necessary for the US to sink to the kind of sectarian violence which has appeared in Pakistan or Iraq (or Northern Ireland for that matter)?

Sunday, May 11, 2008

assorted bits

I feel like quickly sharing a couple of quick items which have been on my mind rather than doing extended blogging on any one of them.

1. I don't think any reasonable person believes for a second that Obama believes that the U.S. government invented HIV/AIDS in a laboratory so why would it even matter if his ex-pastor believes it?

2. Similarly, Obama clearly doesn't believe that bombing government buildings is an acceptable way to change government policy and the Weatherman were from over 40 years ago so why is Ayers an issue today?

3. Maybe its just me, but on my planet Hillary Clinton's comment that "Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again" is orders of magnitude more offensive than the "bitter" comment and may even be the biggest gaffe made by a candidate in the election so far.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3455/1860/1600/pitchblack.jpg

4. I recently bought the Pitch Black trilogy on DVD (see islamo-futurism?) Other than the Dune books, it is the only non-trivial portrayal of Muslims in the future of which I'm aware. Also Vin Diesel is kind of badass. InshaAllah, I'll start watching the first one this Sunday afternoon.

5. Finally, check out Third Resurrection. I updated it yesterday. Recently I've only been able to add entries in spurts. It was gratifying to see that Blackamerican Muslim bloggers are talking about issues related to "Third Resurrection" (in the loose sense of the blog). But I do kind of wish that members would add posts on their own (hint, hint) Still, I'm glad that the bloggers out there are dealing with serious , meaningful topics.

Friday, April 18, 2008

the family, hillary clinton and the religious right

I'm generally not given to conspiracy theories but apparently Hillary Clinton is a member of a rather secretive DC-based religious organization known as the Family (also known as The Fellowship, The Fellowship Foundation, or The International Foundation). The group was founded in 1935 by Abraham Vereide, a Norwegian immigrant and traveling preacher who had been working with the city's poor, and who feared that "socialist" politicians were about to take over Seattle's municipal government. Eventually the group changed its focus to working with the affluent and powerful and moved its headquarters to Washington D.C. The Family's politics tends to lean to the right, with a strong anti-Communist, anti-Union component. Over its history the group has included several Republican Congressmen and prominent businessmen in the oil and aerospace industries, and at the more extreme end, the group has included a number of Third World dictators, ex-Nazis, as well as some homegrown American fascists. (In some respects The Family makes me think of a version of Opus Dei which is American-based and Evangelical instead of Spanish-based and Catholic)

So one question I have is why a Christian organization would associate with such "unChristian" folks? Secondly, why would Hillary Clinton be involved in a group skewed THAT far to the right? Thirdly, is this story going to get as much attention as Obama's involvement with Wright?

Wikipedia: The Family (Christian political organization)
The Nation: Hillary's Nasty Pastorate
AlterNet: Meet "The Family"
The Atlantic: Hillary's Minister Problem
Mother Jones: Hillary's Prayer: Hillary Clinton's Religion and Politics
EXPOSÉ: THE “CHRISTIAN” MAFIA by Wayne Madsen
Harper's: Jesus plus nothing: Undercover among America's secret theocrats

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

there is nothing wrong with rev. wright

Here's a link round-up for the Reverend Wright issue:

The Real Rev. Wright: The Footage Fox and the Other Networks Won't Show. Shows some of the "controversial" comments with more context. Also TRINITYCHGO has posted dozens of other videos from Trinity United Church of Christ onto YouTube.

The two articles The Wright Dust-Up Shows and Proves That Many Whites Don’t Know Black People at All and There's Nothing Wrong with Rev. Wright both place Wright in the broader prophetic tradition of the Black Church.

Then The White Preacher Double Standard: How Hagee, Parsley and the Rest Get Away with Everything and GOP: Only Our Pastors Can Say Crazy Sh*t contrast how Wright has been portrayed to how the media treat white Christian clergymen who say outlandish (or bigoted, or hateful, etc.) things.

Finally, Pastor of Hillary's Former Church: Don't Use Wright to Polarize and Is It Hillary's Turn to 'Denounce and Reject' a Problematic Pastor? mention how Ms. Clinton might have to do some soul searching of her own before she thinks about using the Rev. Wright as a political club against Obama.

see also:
jeremiah wright and the black church
mccain's spiritual advisor hates muslims and islam

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

mumbo jumbo with ishmael reed

Shamelessly taken from Tariq Nelson's blog:

An amazing and involved interview of Ishmael Reed by Pakistani-American writer Wajhat Ali. Topics include race and the Clinton dynasty, Obama, Paul Mooney and the Black/Latino pseudo-divide, the economics of misery, Nazi science, Irshad Manji, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Blacks in NASA, Amiri Baraka, Malcolm X, the racist uses of feminism and the scapegoating of Black males, Gloria Steinem, Geraldine Ferraro, medical experimentation on Black people, Dinesh D'Souza, Crash, The Wire, American Gangster and the canons of Western Civilization.