Recently in Politics Category

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100428/ts_ynews/ynews_ts1831

 

I just got through reading this little slice of heaven and it is infuriating. Republican Tim James, who is in the gubernatorial race in Alabama appears in a campaign add where he promises to give the state's driver's license exam in English only. His reason?: it will be a cost-saving measure...um, ok? I fail to comprehend how getting rid of the existing non-English versions of the exam will cut costs. He goes on to say: "This is Alabama, we speak English. If you want to live here, learn it".

This topic always gets my blood boiling. I have been all over Mexico and I have yet to see an American make an attempt at speaking Spanish. Also, whenever people do make an effort at speaking English here in the U.S., they get discriminated against because they'll speak it with an accent. This happened to my mom the first time we went to Chicago in 2003. We were in an elevator at the Sears Tower and some people were being rude. My mom made a comment about it in English so that the men would understand, and I see an employee of the building give my mom a dirty look and rolled his eyes...My claws came out at that point. I said, "You got a problem there cheif?"...he denied he had a problem..."So why are you rolling your eyes? You think every Mexican that comes here doesn't understand English or speaks with a heavy accent? Are you that ignorant?" ...he profusely apologized and said I was right in calling him an ignorant moron. I doubt he was sincere but it gave me great pleasure to call him out in front of a large group of people. I've seen this type of crap all the time.

Not only do people have to speak English while they're here but they also have to speak it without an accent as well. Otherwise they're some kind of simpleton who don't know anything.

This proves the point I was trying to make yesterday in class while discussing Cassie's book Black Like Me. Although people are a little more open minded than what they once were, there are still a lot of places in this country, particularly the South, that continue to be overtly racist.  

What do you guys think of this idiot's campaign?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/36714961#36739929

This is an interview that was done with Latino Civil Rights leader Janet Murguia regarding the recent immigration bill that was passed in Arizona. She talks about some of the negative consequences of this bill on the Latino population of Arizona. She argues that the passing of this bill will essentially legalize racial profiling in that if anyone is at all suspected of being in the country illegally, authorities will have the right to search their homes and/or personal possessions. It sounds that if one is of Latino decent, that is all the proof authorities need to, basically, remove your constitutional rights. I'm not all that familiar with this story, but it definitely sounds unconstitutional to me.

What do you guys think? Does it seem to you that racial profiling is inevitable through the passing of this bill? Does the bill need to be changed to better protect the rights of the Latino population in Arizona? If you have not already heard about the passing of this bill, I would imagine that it will be hard to avoid as it snowballs in the uproar it is causing.


Here are a couple more news clips regarding some of the details of this bill - They make it sound that people can be identified as "possible illegals" based on appearance only, including the type of SHOES a person wears.....Are you kidding me?! Is our country going backwards away from civil rights legislation? What the hell....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/36714961#36735699

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/36714961#36726296

Something tells me this bill will not be around for too long....

I know this doesn't sound like it belongs here by the title, but I think it has some important points to make. Last night, South Park was censored by Comedy Central (Viacom) for attempting to depict Muhammad (the prophet of Islam forbidden to be shown). His image was censored as well as any his name being bleeped out and the end message (ironically the end message was supposed to refer to what fear and terror does to our freedom). Do we really have free speech in this country? The episode was censored beyond what the creators allowed due to threats from one Muslim group. Also ironic is the fact that the show depicted Muhammad once before prior to 9/11, but now it's not allowed? 

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/15/hospital.gay.visitation/index.html?hpt=T2

"In the absence of gay people being able to legally marry in most jurisdictions, this is a step to rectify a gross inequity," said David Smith, an executive at the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights group. "Because without gay marriage, much more inequities exist. It should be applauded."

It is always nice to find something like this in the midst of all the civil unrest that the news presents. This is a definitely major step in equal rights in the U.S., and while we still have a distance to go yet, in the meantime, thank you Mr. President!

Here's a link to a video about the U.S. Census: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/36101466#36101466

The problem is people are having difficulty filling out the form when they have to choose a "box" or group to identify with. One of the newscasters shares his family's stories. Also, the statistics about Hispanics are interesting too.

What should be done about this issue? How should we address it?

 

I came across the following article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36449471/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts about a man named Albert Snyder. His 20 year old son was killed in Iraq four years ago and now he is in a legal battle against the Westboro Baptist Church. Church members picketed his son's funeral with signs reading "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" and "You're Going to Hell". The church, which is mostly comprised of the Phelps family, has targeted several soldier funerals and claim that "military deaths are the work of a wrathful God who punishes the United States for tolerating homosexuality." This is completely perposterous to most people, but the question becomes: When do we draw the line when it comes to freedom of speech? It is illegal for someone to yell "Fire!" in a public place, but it is perfectly legal to express such hatred towards others because of their sexuality, race, ethnicity, and the like. I have a serious problem with this. Next week the U.S. Supreme Court decide whether or not the actions of the Westboro Baptist Church are protected by the first ammendment. What do you guys think? Where do we draw the line in terms of freedom of speech?

This is a short article about the tea party movement that's been happening that found some surprising (or maybe not) findings about people in support of the movement. The study found that people who think the government has done too much to support blacks are also more likely to support the tea party.

This article on msnbc: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36208200/ns/us_news-washington_post/ immediately caught my eye. Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) of Virginia recently declared April as Confederate History Month. Various civil rights groups have expressed outrage over the governor's move, and I think rightfully so. Gov. McDonnell's defense was that it is a means of promoting tourism in the state. Seriously?? You have got to be kidding.

This also brings to mind the issue with the Confederate flag. I know driving through the south I have sometimes seen people displaying the Confederate flag as if it is something to be proud of. I once asked someone why they didn't view the flag as being a problem and their response was that the flag symbolized southern tradition and not racism. Aren't those one in the same though? To me they are.

What do you guys think? 

Author Tim Wise does an excellent job describing the state of racism in America (both before the age of Obama and during his 2008 presidential campaign). Wise's book is broken down into two main parts, or essays as he describes it. The first is an overview of racism and discrimination in America, citing both explicit and subtle forms of racism within the realms of employment and income, housing, education, criminal justice and law, health care, and even going into great detail of the inequality demonstrated during hurricane Katrina in 2006 and the 2008 presidential campaign. This portion of the book was mainly aimed at getting across the point that racism in America is still going strong, despite the fact that statistics show that most white Americans believe Obama's election as our president signals the end of racism in our country. Wise argues that although the election of a black man to our highest ranking position is a big step in the right direction, it does not mean that white people view black people on the same level they may see the president (he uses the analogy of Bill Cosby and the Cosby Show in terms of how white people view him differently because he does not fit the stereotype-consistent role of the "black man in America". Wise also spends a good portion of this part of the book criticizing Obama for his failure to address racism in a more direct fashion, stating that Obama has often side-stepped the issue of race in America and what needs to be done to promote more equality within the realms I mentioned above. My question regarding the first part of the book is: Is it really Obama's task to focus more of this effort on racism in America because he is our first black president? Because of the fact that he is our first black president, does it just come with the territory, whereas presidents before him were not "expected" to tackle this issue because they were old white men?

The second essay of the book focuses on what needs to be done to help alleviate modern racism (or racism 2.0, as Wise refers to it). In particular, Wise focuses on what white America needs to do in order to help promote equality in our country. He mentions five main goals for white America: 1) Take personal responsibility addressing racism and white privilege. 2) Listen to black people regarding racism. 3) Stop the denial of our disturbing history dealing with race. 4) Connect with anti-racist white culture to help promote understanding. 5) Speak up! - When you see racism, no matter how subtle, take action and make a difference.

Overall, I thought this book was a well organized argument for how racism is still a very big issue in our country and it can be seen where ever we go. Wise definitely did an excellent job getting the point across about how Obama's election to president does not mean racism is ending, it is simply not what it used to be....racism has evolved. Wise point out several instances of racism and discrimination in the book that relate to many concepts we have discussed in class, including stereotype threat, ingroup/outgroup biases, situational factors that bring out hidden prejudices, and institutional and modern racism. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good overview of where America stands in our battle against racism and discrimination.

Everyone should check out this website and the accompanying video! This has changed my entire view on the history of the United States in terms of racial relations between white people and black people. Is it possible that we have all been brainwashed through years of exposure to the superiority-inferiority of the two races? Would this explain why so many people still hold strong prejudices and/or are outright bigots?

http://www.stopthebrainwash.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIBQPORReWY&feature=player_embedded

I think that we, as a society, need to take a long look in the mirror and figure out where we have been in order to decide what we really are today. This does not only include the white race, but the black race as well. The perpetuating harm that is being done today through the media has ties to early advertising of slaves, mockery of black people, and early silent films. However, we do not even realize this because of how long this propoganda has been around. I don't know about you, but I totally buy into what Tom Burrell is getting at through this website. Check out Kim's post on Burrell's NPR interview if you want to hear more from him.

 

Paul Mooney is one of the Kings of comedy. He has written stand up comedy for Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Saturday night live and many other venues. He is mainly known for his active stance in confronting racism in America through Stand up Comedy and going on different talk shows to address these issues faced by society today. Paul has a strait forward or blunt approach he takes which makes most White people uncomfortable and upset. There are a lot of good youtube videos that go into greater detail with his views. Do you think by him being direct about these issues help or harm the message he is trying to portray?

This is one of the first petitions I have seen that has the particular goal of trying to curb Tea Party hate-speech. There have been several posts on here about the Tea Party movement being racist, but I think more importantly there is an unacceptable amount of downright hateful rhetoric coming from the protesters. For an example see below:

http://www.bing.com/videos/?FORM=MFEVID&publ=2BE19A43-506C-4905-B386-894988BC18EB&crea=STND_MFEVID_core_HuffPo_CustomVidLink_1x1&q=tea+party+hate&docid=1710637056421

This link is a plea for signatures by a group on Facebook called Cuentame. I suggest you go to their page and check out some of their videos. It's pretty cool stuff they're doing. You could sign the petition too if you wanted. http://www.facebook.com/cuentame?action_id=1494448&akid=.1122584.lu_Vgz&v=app_10339498918#!/cuentame

Here is their video posted on Huffington Post today.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/24/latino-group-pushes-petit_n_511476.html 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/the-tea-party-is-all-abou_b_484229.html

"The tea party is almost entirely about race, and there's no comparative group on the left that's similarly motivated by bigotry, ignorance and racial hatred."

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/rusty-weiss/2010/02/01/rush-racism-media-stunned-black-woman-could-win-over-limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh surprised the media in voting for a Black women at the Miss America Pageant in which she actually won. He has been labeled as a racist by many sources and people. Rush has a conservative talk show where he expresses his opinion about various issues going on in America and the world. The other judges were Vivica A. Fox and Shawn Johnson. Do you think Rush's vote was sincere or do you think he was singled out by the other judges? Another questioned to keep in mind is if he picked her to convince people that he wasn't a racist.

I found this article that talks about how homosexuals that live in states that ban same-sex marriage have an increased risk for developing mental disorders. I don't find this surprising because it's basically telling a person they are wrong for doing something that seems completely natural to them. It also infringes on their personal rights and is essentially telling them that it is unlawful to be with the person they love.

Does this surprise you at all? Do you think that studies like this will aid in passing same-sex marriage laws or will people continue to ignore the evidence? How would you feel if the gov't told you cou couldn't be married for some reason you felt you had no control over?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life/health-fitness/health/Policies-up-risk-of-psychiatric-disorder-in-gays-lesbians/articleshow/5640204.cms

The Southern Poverty Law Center's annual report just came out, and it reported that there was a 244% increase in the amount of "Patriot" groups forming. These groups espouse anti-government conspiracy theories and blind Patriotic messages of upholding the constitution. This rise blamed on the state of the economy, frustrations of unemployment, and derivations of rhetoric coming out of the Tea Party movement.There was a 40% overall increase in hate groups throughout the U.S. in the past year. The report also sites a number of crimes connected to these hate groups in the past year.

http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/splc-report-number-of-patriot-groups-militias-surges-by-244-in-past-year

In the report they talked about a moving toward a bit of a threshold. In my opinion I very much believe that this report is related to the events at the various universities. I think that frustration, especially economic frustration is a potent variable when it comes to expressing prejudice and hate toward the out-group. Moreover, when frustration is fueled by conspiracy theories, fear mongering, and misinformation, the corollaries are to sure to be hateful and harmful.
 


    

This is a pimp named Ken who pimps all over the world. "Pimpin" is a form of power that one may have on another. This video shows some of the concepts he goes by also shows his reasoning. He is promoting his new book called Pimpology and DVD series which he explains 48 laws to the game of pimpin. What is the psychological aspect they use to get the women? what is wrong with the thought process of a PIMP and HOE? Does our US government pimp us?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/us/23scotus.html

Two cases of racial discrimination were brought to the table of the Supreme Court.

   Firefighters filed that there has been issues with the Chicago fire department, claiming that they has been issues were applicants who took the exams passed, and because of there ethnicity (White's & Hispanic's) there test were throw out based on racial bias. 
  
   According to new york times"The Chicago firefighters sued under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits race discrimination in employment and required them to file a claim within 300 days of the contested practice. the Argument on Monday concerned whether each of 11 rounds of hiring based on the 1995 test reset the clock on the statute of limitations."
   Based on the statute of limitations, I don't believe that the Supreme Court should not throw the case out, if there is a problem the Chief Justices should take it into consideration that there is a problem that has not only affected someone because the color of their skin, but it effected their families as well. Because of someone using bigotry, and a bias to select applicants.    

Alex found this cool website for an organization called Annunciation House. They're an organization comprised of volunteers who aid thousands of people who immigrant to this country from all over Mexico and Latin America. Check out the video to get a better understanding of the hardships that people go through when immigrating to this country:

http://annunciationhouse.org/about/video/

This video really hit close to home because my parents went through enormous amounts of hardship when they brought my sister and I to the U.S. They left their families, their language, their culture, and everything else behind in order to provide a better life for all of us. My mom went 5 years without seeing her mom and 10 years without seeing some of her siblings because she couldn't cross back into Mexico while her paperwork was being processed. My father went from being a Mining Engineer to a farm hand and later a garbage collector for the city of El Paso. They've faced a lot of racism and discrimination not just because of what they look like or where they come from, but also because they speak with an accent. I too remeber being 5 years old and being made fun of for not knowing how to speak English very well. Also, my great grandfather used to tell me horror stories of when he worked on fields in McAllen, Texas and California during the 1950's and 1960's. He said he and his friends would do back breaking labor, in very harsh conditions, and at the end of the day they would see multiple truckes filled with limes leaving the place where they worked, and thinking, "Look at all those limes, the owners are making a lot of money, and here they are paying us 12 cents a day." One of the things that stood out the most however was that he paid into Social Security and never saw a dime out of that money. A lot of people don't realize that there have been millions of workers who are exploited and pay into things like Social Security and taxes, and never see any of that money. Instead, others reap the benefits of their hard work. Anyhow, that's my two cents for the day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIB6ST9nNG0

This video is based on the actions of war which soldiers endure in the field. How does a man or women dissociate emotions while seeing a fellow solider or a comrade die before them, the reaction of the flight or fight is built in all of us, as a mechanism to protect  us from harm. It maybe graphic for some people to watch live action..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APVa_55Jpgs&feature=channel

this video is something that is not very surprising to me due to the results of war, we maybe fighting the war on terrorism, but in actuality we our also promoting violence in the heart of kid, maybe one of there family member were killed by our US or collation forces. Making children want to did for a cause, or the jihad. I not saying that it is justifiable for the kids to do it, but for the American/collation force soldiers at war, how does it effect them in taking a child's life or murdering a women or a man that have bombs strapped on to there bodies...

What do you think about this? Do you think it is right that I touched on this subject?

I did it for a reason i do have a friend that lost her husband in the War of Afghanistan living his wife to raise three children alone, and the effect it has on soldiers families that people do see.. 

I randomly found this video from a show in Australia interviewing Americans before the last presidential election. They found a wonderful sample to represent us. There is a lot of anti-Middle East sentiment and general prejudice involved. How do you think other countries perceive us from videos like this and more generally? Are you surprised by any of the comments in the video? How well do you think this sample represented the general American public?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/08/meghan-mccain-calls-out-t_n_453778.html 3.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/09/colbert-sarah-palin-is-a_n_454744.html   2. 

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/02/02/emanuel-steps-up-his-apology/    1.

Several links here in reverse order, so I suggest you start with number one and then go that way (I numbered them).

Rahm Emmanuel called the liberal democrats 'f'n retards' then Sarah Palin called for his resignation for saying such things. Rush Limbaugh said that Rahm Emmanuel's comments were much ado about nothing and that you can't say anything in this PC world. "Why can't you call people who are retards 'retards' [referring to the liberal democrats]....they're going to go to the White House and have a retard summit". Sarah Palin defended Limbaugh as being satirical and that she wasn't the 'word police'. Colbert diagnoses the situation in video 3 rather bluntly...

First of all is the r-word comparable the n-word? (another reference Palin made). Is there a ranking of words that are more taboo than others? Does such fuss about word usage and policing words create a feeling of disillusionment and desensitization to the general public or even worse defensiveness? Are we just filling up news dockets, or does this stuff matter?    

http://www.kwwl.com/Global/story.asp?S=11953503

Friday afternoon  I learned about this incident while having a meeting with the Cedar Falls Police Chief, Mayor, and City Attorney. As I was showed pictures of the graffiti, seeing it i was upset knowing that this type of activity is still going on here in the city. This is the first time  mentioning anything about it, because seen it on the news.      

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIuimjehBvo&NR=1&feature=fvwp

I know everyone see Jesse Jackson as a Good Civil Rights Leader who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and he did start the Operation Bread Basket in Chicago during the Civil rights movement. Jesse saw talking shit about Presidential candidate Barrack H. Obama, when he was being interviewed.  If one of us made that comments we would be rushed in and talked to by the secret service and maybe throw in jail for making a threat to harm the Presidential Candidate. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhCjmM3psAc&feature=related

Jesse Jackson''s reaction reaction when Obama won the Presidency I can understand the happiness and the tears of joy, of having a historical moment as Elected President Obama is elected the first black President of the United States. 

An I can understand the frustration that Rev. Jesse Jackson has in not being the first president as he ran in the 80 or 90's, which he failed.  But to be hypocritical and a ass on national television talking about dismembering someone else tells us the people about his character as a man of god..

What do you think???