Monthly Archives: June 2015

A House Divided – Part 2 of 3

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….Recently, Mrs. Obama gave the commencement speech for the 2015 graduating class of Tuskegee University.  She warned the young graduates about the world they would soon encounter, saying in part:

“…They  [presumably White Americans]  will make assumptions about who they think you are based on their limited notion of the world.  And my husband and I know how frustrating that experience can be.  We’ve both felt the sting of those daily slights throughout our entire lives — the folks who crossed the street in fear of their safety; the clerks who kept a close eye on us in all those department stores; the people at formal events who assumed we were the “help” — and those who have questioned our intelligence, our honesty, even our love of this country. 

“And I know that these little indignities are obviously nothing compared to what folks across the country are dealing with every single day — those nagging worries that you’re going to get stopped or pulled over [by the police] for absolutely no reason; the fear that your job application will be overlooked because of the way your name sounds; the agony of sending your kids to schools that may no longer be separate, but are far from equal; the realization that no matter how far you rise in life, how hard you work to be a good person, a good parent, a good citizen — for some folks, it will never be enough.  (Applause.)”

I wonder if the history books will reflect that children from low income neighborhoods didn’t have to attend those separate but unequal schools.  They were sentenced to those schools by an Obama Administration that almost immediately after Inauguration Day, got rid of school vouchers in Washington, DC. (U.S. News & World Report online, Obama Wrong on D.C. School Vouchers and Hypocritical, Just Like Congress, by Peter Roff, located at:  http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/peter-roff/2009/04/22/obama-wrong-on-dc-school-vouchers-and-hypocritical-just-like-congress) 

I wonder how the disenfranchised children of Washington, DC and the Tuskegee graduates will perceive and react to life’s inevitable challenges and setbacks?  Will they ignore race, see things objectively, accept them with grace, continue to compete and climb the ladders of success; or, will they cling to the words of the First Lady, seeing a bigot behind every adverse event and passing  those perceptions of prejudice and hatred to still another generation?  Sadly, or luckily – I don’t know – we cannot look 20 years into the future to see what those not so small seeds of hatred will have produced over time.

As discussed in Part 1 of 3 last Friday, as a white man, I experienced the same type of  traffic stop in the 60s, that former Attorney General Holder claims to have experienced as a college student.  I couldn’t claim it was race-based. But, I can tell you that my so-called “white privilege” didn’t help one iota!

Does the First Lady really expect us to believe that she and Barack were mistaken for being “the help” at “formal events?”  Does the President really expect us to believe that white restaurant patrons throw keys at him, while he is waiting for the valet?  Well, according to guidelines published at University of California, under University President Janet Napolitano (you remember – Obama’s first Director of Homeland Security!), if we were students or faculty members at University of California, we’d have to believe it, because  “Denying the experiences of students by questioning the credibility/validity of their stories” is a “microaggression.”  I suppose that questioning a story told by the First Lady would then qualify as a MACROAGGRESSION.  …just sayin’

Other so-called “microaggressions” in the UC world now include saying that:

  • “America is the land of Opportunity”
  • “There is only one race: the human race”
  • “I believe the most qualified person should get the job”
  • “Everyone can succeed in this society, if they work hard enough”
  • “California professors instructed not to say ‘America is the land of opportunity’” by JOSH HEDTKE – UCLA JUNE 10, 2015 http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/22839/

And, so  the drumbeat of divisiveness, painting pictures of hopelessness and a disdain for all things American doesn’t stop at the edge of the Tuskegee University campus, or the 10 University of California Campuses.

 

To be Continued…

9 Worshipers Killed in Church Massacre – Political Leaders Respond

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Out of respect for the nine people murdered in Charleston, South Carolina’s Emanuel A.M.E. Church during last Wednesday night’s bible study, I am holding Part 2 of our 3 part series – A House Divided –until next Friday, June 26th.

Most politicians and many others have weighed in on this horrific crime.  Here are some of their comments.  As you read them, consider their substance and tone – whether or not they have sincerely expressed their feelings, or if they have politicized the event.  With these things in mind, which – if any – of the comments quoted here rises in you estimation, to the level of being “Presidential,”  Rank them in order from most (1) to least (6) “Presidential.”  We’ll tell you who was quoted and how you received their message.

A.______ “We have to have a candid national conversation about race, and about discrimination, prejudice, hatred. The people who do this kind of dastardly, horrible act are a very small percentage. But unfortunately public discourse is sometimes hotter and more negative than it should be, which can, in my opinion, trigger people who is less than stable to do something like this.”

“I think we have to speak out against it. Like, for example, a recent entry into the (    ) presidential campaign said some very inflammatory things about Mexicans. Everybody should stand up and say that’s not acceptable. You know you don’t talk like that on talk radio. You don’t talk like that on the kind of political campaigns. I think he is emblematic. So I want people to understand, it’s not just him, it’s about everybody. The second thing is guns. Let’s just cut to the chase – it’s guns.”

 

B.______“A church is called a sanctuary because it’s a place of refuge and respite from the earthly and connects us to the heavenly. The Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C. became a scene of unspeakable carnage because an evil person violated the sanctuary where earth and heaven meet and turned it into a place where earth and hell meet. No civilized person can react except with revulsion to such a senseless, cowardly, and despicable act. And for it to happen in one of America’s truly great and gentile cities adds to the horror. All Americans join in the condemnation of this act, but for Christians, such horror is especially painful because a holy place for peace and prayer has been infected and desecrated by demonic violence. The prayers that were interrupted by a mass murderer will be continued by a grieving nation.”

 

C.______  “The tragic and senseless murders that occurred in the sanctuary of Emanuel AME Church were the acts of pure evil.  To kill in a place of peace and in the House of the Lord is revolting and cowardly.  My wife (   ) and I extend our deepest sympathies to the victims of this despicable horror.  We pray for the victims and for their families to find peace, solace, and comfort during this difficult time.  And we pray for law enforcement and the entire Charleston community as they come together through the ties that bind them together.”

 

D._____ “( )and I know several members of Emanuel AME Church. We knew their pastor, Reverend Clementa Pinckney, who, along with eight others, gathered in prayer and fellow ship and was murdered last night, and to say our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families and their community doesn’t say enough to convey the heartache and the sadness and the anger that we feel.

“Any death of this sort is a tragedy. Any shooting involving multiple victims is a tragedy. There is something particularly heartbreaking about a death happening in a place in which we seek solace and we seek peace, in a place of worship.

“Mother Emanuel is, in fact, more than a church. This is a place of worship that was founded by African Americans seeking liberty. This is a church that was burned to the ground because its worshipers worked to end slavery.

“When there were laws banning all-black church gatherings, they conducted church services in secret. When there was a nonviolent movement to bring our country in closer line with our highest ideals, some of our brightest leaders spoke and led marches from this church’s steps.

“This is a sacred place in the history of Charleston and in the history of America.”

 

E.______ “The tragic shootings in Charleston, South Carolina yesterday are a manifestation of the evil that has gripped our society.   Many of us have allowed the purveyors of hatred and division to create conflict between the races, the genders, religious groups, age groups and income groups. The Bible says that a house divided against itself cannot stand. With external jihadist forces trying to destroy us, why would we aid them by engaging in self-destructive behaviors stimulated by hate?

“We must remember that we are a pluralistic society with many components and many beliefs. If we are to live together peacefully and with prosperity, we must learn the true meaning of tolerance, and that it goes in both directions.

“I join with millions of Americans in praying for comfort for the families who lost loved ones in that tragedy. Someone close to me lost relatives last night in that tragedy. We all lose when senseless tragedies like this remove vibrant lives from our midst. May God give us the ability to rise above hatred and join hands and recognize that our strength is in our unity and love heals all wounds.”

 

F.______ “This morning we are all trying to make sense of this senseless act. This is pure evil. It’s infuriating. Mankind’s capacity for evil is horrific.

“I’m enraged by this ungodly act and my heart breaks for these families. I hurt for them.

“To happen in a place of worship is unconscionable. They were opening their hearts to God and lifting their concerns up to Him.

“Every American needs to take a few minutes today, and in the days to come, to pray for the families of those murdered last night. They all need the comfort and peace only God can provide and we should all pray they will find it.

“We also need to ask everyone who might know this suspect to have the courage to come forward and help the police apprehend him. Justice must be done and this killer must face the consequences of his awful actions. This monster needs to hunted down and brought to justice.”

 

Quotes cited from:

Hot Air.com, Foxnation.com and Washington Post.com

 

A House Divided – Part 1 of 3

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We’ve heard some pundits call Obama “Divisive.”  Why would they think so?   Well, let’s start with a  statement reportedly given  to Ryan Lizza of the New Republic, by Mike Kruglik, an early Obama mentor

“He [Obama] was a natural, the undisputed master of agitation….”   

O.k., but what does that have to do with divisiveness?

Saul Alinsky – author of Rules for Radicals and father of the school of Community Organizing practiced by Barack Obama – described the Agitator’s job as

“…first to bring folks to the ‘realization’ that they are indeed miserable, that their misery is the fault of unresponsive governments or greedy corporations, then help them to bond together to demand what they deserve.”

And what better way to evoke misery and divisiveness than by resurrecting  a historical tragedy that has long since passed its proper burial date.  As the Reichstag fire proved in 1933 Germany, creating a common enemy is a potent tool for consolidating political support and power – and is never intended to benefit the people whose lives will most likely be shattered by its effect.  Today’s common enemy is White?  Black?  Latin?  Police? How do you think President Obama answers that question?

Do you Remember when Obama said  that  the Cambridge Police Department acted stupidly and then followed that comment by saying

“…what I think we know separate and apart from this incident (Cambridge Police) is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately.  That’s just a fact.”  

A  fact?  And the credible source is…

While visiting Ferguson, MO during the Michael Brown protests, with riots, looting  and for the innocents – fear – filling the hours of darkness, Attorney General Eric Holder took advantage of the opportunity to address an audience of local college students regarding his own alleged experience with police officers.  According to an L.A. Times article posted August 20, 2014, Holder told students:

“I am the attorney general of the United States. But I am also a black man. I can remember being stopped on the New Jersey Turnpike on two occasions and accused of speeding. Pulled over…. ‘Let me search your car.’ … Go through the trunk of my car, look under the seats and all this kind of stuff….” 

As police officers and members of the National Guard were putting their lives on the line to protect people and property – while cars and buildings were burning – while looters were gutting businesses that others spent their lives building – was this really the time and place for Mr. Holder to be giving this type of speech – to this kind of audience?  And, if someone died, or had their business destroyed because of that speech, who would hold him accountable?  Would people call for his indictment, or demand he be fired?  Probably not, because his actions would have merely set things in motion for another citizen/police confrontation and perhaps another shooting, indictment, riot – but nothing that would attach to Holder or to others who gain power and notoriety by fanning the flames of racism.

I had an experience similar to Mr. Holder’s – mine in Louisiana while serving in the U.S. Navy in the 60’s.  I was not speeding, but I was reminded that I was in a city that operated under French law and he [the officer] could put me in the jail and throw away the key – nobody would ever find me.  Perhaps, a little scarier than searching my trunk.  Like Holder, I was stopped by a white police officer.  Unlike Holder though, I happen to be white.

You may also remember when Obama  said that if he had a son, he would look like Trayvon.  Then, on Dec. 5, 2014, the President gave an interview to Jeff Johnson of the Black Entertainment Network, in which he further personalized the events in Ferguson and around the Country.

“When they described their own personal experiences of having been stopped for no reason, or having generated suspicion because they were in a community that supposedly they didn’t belong, my mind went back to what it was like for me when I was 17, 18, 20…”

He went on to say “It used to be, folks would say, “Well, maybe blacks are exaggerating, maybe some of these situations aren’t what they described.” What we’ve now seen on television, for everybody to see, gives us an opportunity, I think, to finally have the kind of conversation that’s been a long time coming.”(Emphasis added)

We should and must hold police officers to a very high standard and we should expect the best judgment, based on state-of-the-art psychological screening and the best training available.  Should we also hold politicians, judges and attorneys responsible?  Do teachers, social workers and parents also bear  responsibility for what ultimately explodes on our streets?  Should we also assign just a touch of responsibility to the criminals  themselves and to others whose behavior, while not criminal,  initiates the scenes we so often see played out with negative consequences.  Those who have read President Obama’s two books are aware of his provocative behaviors as a young man – behaviors that could easily have resulted in unfortunate confrontations.  Does his mind also go back to his own behavior and the potential consequences when he “…was 17, 18, 20…”?

Police officers are the uniformed representatives of government.  When police officers abuse their powers, or exercise poor judgment, citizens begin to distrust their government.  But, it also works in reverse.  When government is ineffective, corrupt, or abusive, the frustration and distrust of citizens is likely to find voice on the streets and in their attitudes and conduct towards police.  When President Obama and others talk about the need to improve relationships between police and the communities they serve, they should first also look to the actions of government and the relationship of those actions to the prosperity, freedom and satisfaction of the citizens they too are sworn to serve.

Recently, Mrs. Obama gave the commencement speech for the 2015 graduating class of Tuskegee University.  She warned the young graduates about the world they would soon face, saying in part:

To Be Continued…

The Good News – The Bad News

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So, which would you like first?

I’m going to take a leap here and say that the Good News is that Our Free 50 is back. I hope you’ll agree.  You’re the reason.   Some of you have – after more than a year – still been returning to the site to check for new articles, or to re-read older ones.  I apologize that there was nothing new.  Likewise, many readers have continued to visit, or Like our Facebook Fan page – 203 Reasons Not to Vote for Barack Obama..  I thank all of you.

The Bad News is that Barack Obama is still President and will remain so for the next 19 months.  God knows what, or how much additional damage he can do to America before his term runs.  They say the first step to healing is to recognize that you have a problem.

It should grieve all of us, that our President is so far from this important first step.  Instead, with all the arrogance of a child king, Obama looks at the colossal mess he has made around the globe and declares with absolute certainty, that he has restored the world’s respect for America.

In our next few issues, we’ll revisit the strategy and tactics that Obama has employed to create divisiveness at home and chaos both here and abroad.

Look for our new posts every Friday, beginning .June 12, 2015. My pledge to you is that the writing here will be both true and accurate to the very best of my ability.  I’ll also try to keep things fast moving and as interesting as reality allows.  One thing I am not is a computer expert…or even a computer average – so, if you can think of some ways to make this blog better, friendlier, better distributed, etc., I hope you’ll let me know.  In the meantime…

Thanks for being here and God bless the Un-Transformed United States of America.