Obscures The Effectiveness Of His Intellectual Witness

I hear you brother Michael. Even though I get and understand your use of what is now termed "the N word," I see where it is getting you into trouble and we certainly cannot minimize the effectiveness of your intellectual witness.

"I have decided to stop using it for two reasons: many black folk who otherwise supported my work and agreed with my perspectives were thrown off by my public identification with the downtrodden and the debased of our race through use of the term. Despite all the good they thought I did, they believed that the use of the word made it difficult for them to fully embrace me. [To paraphrase The Apostle Paul said in the Bible that 'if meat offends my brother, I don't eat meat.'] Finally, Rev.Jesse Jackson, after we both attended Johnnie Cochran's funeral, and after we engaged in a healthy political discussion with Stevie Wonder, asked me to refrain from publicly using the 'N' word because it obscured what he termed the effectiveness of my intellectual witness. [As some of you may know, I've also had friendly debates with Cornel West on the subject, and even though we have disagreed about the subject, I have enormous respect for him and all my elders, including Rev. Jackson, who have different views]. So, I have decided to refrain from public use of the 'N' word where I cannot explain the context of the word and its association with traditions of racial response to degradation."

But seriously, I can read and listen to Michael Eric Dyson with the same attentiveness that I can read and listen to Cornel West. They are two modern black philosophers and intellectuals with very different styles - if not similar messages. My issue with the 'N' word (which I have been known to use rather freely in certain circles) is that it is being gobbled up in mainstream culture via the continuously morphing musical/spoken word genre called hip-hop. It started out as a wicked slur. It was re-claimed it back as a term of endearment (or loving disdain) and now has all but been sold into global culture as a generic word that, supposedly, means brother or friend. So, yeah, now that people have been desensitized to the use of the word (and racist types use the excuse that they hear it on the radio so they can use it at will) it has, in a sense, lost its cherished meaning to a once and, often still, oppressed people.

The Joker For President

Why are they even going there? This woman hasn't worked in decades, played enabler to a substance abuser (probably still is) for a good part of her marriage, stayed home to raise two wild assed daughters (who could take charm lessons from Chelsea Clinton) ... I don't care who people like. Valuing inaptitude is how we got her husband. It is a sad state of affairs when people are so horrified and afraid of a brilliant and well-spoke woman that they'd rather see Suzy Snowflake as President of the United States.

First lady Laura Bush would defeat U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton if the two were to face each other in the 2008 presidential contest, Vice President Dick Cheney said on Monday.

Cheney made the prediction after his wife, Lynne Cheney, suggested the matchup in an interview on CNN's 'Larry King Live.'

Mrs. Cheney noted the rampant speculation that the former first lady, now a senator from New York, would make a bid in the next presidential go-around. President Bush cannot seek a third term in office. His father, former President Bush, was defeated after one term by former President Bill Clinton.

'You know, people are thinking of Mrs. Clinton running for president. I think Mrs. Bush ought to run for president,' Mrs. Cheney said. 'If we want to have a Bush dynasty, let's get Laura Bush.'

The vice president, who again ruled out making his own run for president when Bush's term ends, agreed.

'It's a great idea,' Dick Cheney said. 'And I think I know who would win too.' "

If we think the world is laughing now ...

Ancient Buddhist Secret

Realizing that it isn't so much the religion, but rather the culture that places women in subordinate positions, I guess I wasn't surpised when I read that women in Thailand were not allowed to become monks. Since that is one of the same issues I have with some Evangelicals as well as the Catholic Church, I just wrote it off as the ever present remmnants of a patriarchal world that - slowly, surely and inevitably - will change. The fact that they are talking about reinstating an ancient order means that it was once allowed.

In the kingdom, a small group of women are challenging the Buddhist authorities by trying to reinstate an ancient and controversial order of monks.
[...]
Traditionally, the status of women in Thai Buddhism is lower than that of men's.

Women cannot be in physical contact with monks. When offering alms, they must the food on a cloth, and they are not allowed in certain areas of the monasteries.

Dhammananda said that led to women and girls having low self-esteem.

Dhammananda said: 'Women always pray - literally pray - that in the next life I will be born a man. You can be enlightened in a woman's body.'

But not everyone believes in her mission.

Thailand's religious authorities said the Bhikkuni order administered under Theravada Buddhism was over, and could never be revived.

Phra Sripariyattimoli, Buddhism Protection Office, said that to change, one needed to correct many things.

He said Theravada would become like Mahayana Buddhism and these could lead to many other changes, including monks being able to have a wife.

Critics said women who wanted to lead an ordained life should simply become nuns.

However, Dhammananda's supporters argued that by not allowing women monks, religious authorities were sending a message to girls and women that Buddhism was not relevant to them.

And they ask where does that leave Thai women?

Dhammananda said: 'Why is the door for women to be ordained locked but the door for women to go into prostitution so wide open?

"If we open up the door for women to be ordained, would it help to uplift the woman's status?"

I'm not sure that opening the door for women to be ordained would up the status but it certainly couldn't hurt. The million dollar question about the ease of entry into prostitution vs. ordination is one that needs to be addressed with a quickness.

I'm Just Shocked!

Since when do monks partake in street brawls?

"Five Thai Buddhist monks have been defrocked and fined after a brawl with monks from a nearby temple, police and newspapers said.
The street fight was the culmination of years of antagonism between monks from the two temples who had often exchanged curses, insults and rude gestures as they collected alms on different sides of a road, the Manager newspaper said.

'When an ordinary person is given a middle-finger sign, he will be mad. So am I,' it quoted one of the defrocked monks, Boonlert Boonpan, as saying after the brawl in the northeastern state of Nong Khai on Monday.

Boonlert said he usually carried a knuckle-duster in his shoulder bag during the morning collection of alms on which Bhuddist monks depend, it said.

Boonlert and the four other monks, all aged between 15 and 28, were each fined 1000 baht ($NZ35) by police for public brawling and were defrocked by senior monks, Wut Pomraksa, head of Nong Khai police station, told Reuters.

Boonlert was unrepentant.

'If senators can fight in parliament, why can't monks?' he said."

Though I'm secretly finding the thought of robed monks tussling it up rather amusing, and am a little disappointed that they got "defrocked," I cannot help but think they should have been a little more mindful. Perhaps they should review Anger by Thich Nhat Hahn.

For The Love Of Money

It will take decades for the real truth to come out behind this "war on terror" and it is all but guaranteed that it won't be pretty:

"They fed them well. The Pakistani tribesmen slaughtered a sheep in honor of their guests, Arabs and Chinese Muslims famished from fleeing U.S. bombing in the Afghan mountains. But their hosts had ulterior motives: to sell them to the Americans, said the men who are now prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

Bounties ranged from $3,000 to $25,000, the detainees testified during military tribunals, according to transcripts the U.S. government gave The Associated Press to comply with a Freedom of Information lawsuit.

It's obvious. They knew Americans were looking for Arabs, so they captured Arabs and sold them — just like someone catches a fish and sells it.

A former CIA intelligence officer who helped lead the search for Osama bin Laden told AP the accounts sounded legitimate because U.S. allies regularly got money to help catch Taliban and al-Qaida fighters. Gary Schroen said he took a suitcase of $3 million in cash into Afghanistan himself to help supply and win over warlords to fight for U.S. Special Forces.

'It wouldn't surprise me if we paid rewards,' said Schroen, who retired after 32 years in the CIA soon after the fall of Kabul in late 2001. He recently published the book 'First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan.'"

Saved By The Bell

The church bell that is:

"A Kentucky judge has been offering some drug and alcohol offenders the option of attending worship services instead of going to jail or rehab — a practice some say violates the separation of church and state.

District Judge Michael Caperton, 50, a devout Christian, said his goal is to 'help people and their families.'

'I don't think there's a church-state issue, because it's not mandatory and I say worship services instead of church,' he said.

Alternative sentencing is popular across the country — ordering vandals to repaint a graffiti-covered wall, for example. But legal experts said they didn't know of any other judges who give the option of attending church.

Caperton has offered the option about 50 times to repeat drug and alcohol offenders. It is unclear what effect the sentence has had."

Since I think our justice system and sentencing laws need to be totally revamped, I definitely don't have a problem with "alternate sentencing." It's not like church can do anymore harm than jail can ...

(link via daffodillane)

The Evil Doer of Latin America

Even though I am forever seeking a fair and balanced view, Lord knows how I end up stuck on some channels when I am surfing. I ended up hearing way more of this segment than I wanted to this morning. The urgent tone of the "emergency bulletin like" report leaves no wonder why the far right drones often have racist and vigilante mentalities. They did all they could to call Hugo Chavez everything but a child of God. I really had to laugh.

His name is Hugo Chavez. He is the president of oil-rich Venezuela. Mr. Chavez has decided that America is his enemy, so he is building up his army. He has forged an alliance with Fidel Castro, and many think he is going to make trouble for the United States.

Chavez believes he is in a fight with the devil. Sometimes he even brings this visual aid to his rallies, so that his supporters remember what they are up against.

But the devil that Chavez fights does not reside in Hell. Chavez believes that the devil resides in Washington.

Chavez has actually been on a collision course with Washington for years. But for the most part, Washington was not paying attention. It is now.

But Washington's concern has been too little too late, and now some fear that a new Cuban-Venezuelan alliance has a plan to create a new block of Leftist-run, anti-American states across Central and South America."

[...]

Chavez calls the United States the world's greatest menace and says he simply wishes to be left alone to do his work. But there is a growing fear that Chavez is preparing to export his Bolivarian revolution to his neighbors. Why else would he need 100,000 recently purchased Russian AK-47s?^* Why announce plans to increase the size of the army reserves from 50,000 to 1.5 million? Why the ties to guerilla movements?

Chavez says the arms buildup is defensive. His opponents disagree. Taylhardat says, "He wants to do now what Castro failed to do in the 60s, when he sent out Che Guevarra to export the Cuban revolution to the rest of the continent."

Chavez said, "The U.S. administration is behind the opposition in Venezuela, and Mr. George Bush has a black hat, black horse and black flag. He is the main instigator and the main planner of all the movements that have attacked us."

Chavez says the U.S. is plotting to have him killed, and he says if that happens, oil shipments to the U.S. will stop. It is a strange relationship between business partners. But get used to it. Hugo Chavez remains the most popular politician in Venezuela. And he shows no sign of going away.

He states, "I bet a dollar to Mr. Bush to see who will last longer, him there in the White House or this Venezuelan, Hugo Chavez, here in the Miraflores Palace. Let's see who lasts longer, Mr. Bush."

In his fight with America, Chavez intends to be the last man standing.

To hear CBN tell it, between Islam (which is the bulk of the middle east and significant parts of Asia and Eurasia) and Latin America, it looks as though the US is but the one holy place on this earth. So, I also assume that when the rapture comes, the US (and possibly a select few converts in Israel) will be among the few who get caught up in it. How convenient!

^*Gotta chuckle again at the absurd reference to their obtaining, what amounts to, an everyday weapon of choice for average American hoodlums of any means.

This Is How We Do It!

I'm not sure why these young, vibrant and still partying Hilton sisters are so fixated on getting married but if they are going to do it, I think Paris has it right. Merge some empires!

"Who says opposites attract? Hotel heiress Paris Hilton, star of 'The Simple Life' reality show, is engaged to Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis, her spokesman said Monday.

'They are happy and excited,' said Rob Shuter, confirming the story first reported on People magazine's Web site.

Latsis, 27, proposed to Hilton, 24, on Wednesday after she returned from a three-week publicity tour in Europe to promote her horror flick, 'House of Wax,' and her new fragrance.

No wedding date has been set. It would be the first marriage for both.

Latsis is a grandson of John Latsis, the last of Greece's shipping billionaires from the postwar boom years, who died in 2003 at 93. In March, Forbes magazine's ranking of the world's richest people listed the Latsis family at No. 54 with a combined wealth of $7.5 billion.

'I'm so in love and grateful to have found such an honest and loyal person,' Hilton told Us Weekly. 'I feel like we were meant to be, and I'm happy to have found someone to spend the rest of my life with.'"

Gotta love that they both have the same first name!

Extra Crispy

Not making light of this but it's moody Monday and I just can't resist. All jokes aside, the underlying issue is why an American fast food chain was targeted.:

"Six people were burnt alive when a mob protesting a suicide bombing of a mosque torched an outlet of an American fast food chain in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi.

Pakistani poor boys search useful items from the rubble as a police van parked outside the damaged Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant in Karachi Pakistan Tuesday, May 31, 2005. Police on Tuesday recovered bodies of six employees of a KFC restaurant that was set on fire by a mob angry over a suicide attack at a Shiite mosque in Karachi, raising the overall death toll in the violence to 11, officials said. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)
Police and firemen recovered the bodies of six Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) employees after an angry mob set the restaurant on fire late Monday following a suicide attack on a Shiite Muslim mosque here that left five people dead.

'Their bodies were found during the search of KFC,' city police chief Tariq Jamil told AFP."

Everyone Else Is Lying

Again ...

"President Bush on Tuesday dismissed a human rights report as 'absurd' for its harsh criticism of U.S. treatment of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying the allegations were made by prisoners 'who hate America.'

'It's an absurd allegation. The United States is a country that promotes freedom around the world,' Bush said of the Amnesty International report that compared Guantanamo to a Soviet-era gulag.

In a Rose Garden news conference, Bush defiantly stood by his domestic policy agenda while defending his actions abroad. He repeatedly pledged to press ahead - 'The president has got to push, he's got to keep leading' - despite mounting criticism."

Where Does He Get Off?

I had to read this article a couple times to process that it was a judge - not one of the parents - who put a provision into a divorce decree that they cannon expose their child to their Wiccan practices. How on earth is this possible?

"An Indianapolis father is appealing a Marion County judge's unusual order that prohibits him and his ex-wife from exposing their child to 'non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals.'

The parents practice Wicca, a contemporary pagan religion that emphasizes a balance in nature and reverence for the earth.

Cale J. Bradford, chief judge of the Marion Superior Court, kept the unusual provision in the couple's divorce decree last year over their fierce objections, court records show. The order does not define a mainstream religion.

[...]

The parents' Wiccan beliefs came to Bradford's attention in a confidential report prepared by the Domestic Relations Counseling Bureau, which provides recommendations to the court on child custody and visitation rights. Jones' son attends a local Catholic school.

'There is a discrepancy between Ms. Jones and Mr. Jones' lifestyle and the belief system adhered to by the parochial school. . . . Ms. Jones and Mr. Jones display little insight into the confusion these divergent belief systems will have upon (the boy) as he ages,' the bureau said in its report.

[...]

'This was done without either of us requesting it and at the judge's whim,' said Jones, who has organized Pagan Pride Day events in Indianapolis. 'It is upsetting to our son that he cannot celebrate holidays with us, including Yule, which is winter solstice, and Ostara, which is the spring equinox.'

The ICLU and Jones assert the judge's order tramples on the parents' constitutional right to expose their son to a religion of their choice. Both say the court failed to explain how exposing the boy to Wicca's beliefs and practices would harm him."

This is thoroughly absurd and I still cannot believe what I am reading. Aside from believing that the judge probably doesn't have a clue what Wiccans really practice, he is just plain out of line and off the mark for imposing his views on this family. How dare he?!

God Bless Them, Every One

This was exactly my logic when Bush surrounded himself with the "snowflake" children. Forgetting the fact that most of these embryos are destroyed and never implanted, if they are each considered a life, why aren't each and every egg and sperm?

"A couple of things... First of all, evidently, 'snowflake children' is the term someone cooked up to describe kids who have been born from embryos that have been adopted, placed in a womb, and allowed to come to term. Very nice. Wonderful, in fact.

The bill would not in any way interfere with this practice, though it's happened only eighty times and there are over four-hundred-thousand embryos in, uh, cold storage nation wide. The vast majority of these embryos will simply be disposed of if they are not used in research.

The bill has strong bi-partisan support and the figures I've read suggest that eighty percent of the public are on the side of not wasting this valuable resource, regardless of whether or not these tiny miraculous gobs of goo are really people yet.

Many on the far right use the 'slippery slope' argument. They seem to think that if the research moves forward, soon we'll be cloning people for replacement parts like lego pieces.

Plus, they really do believe that because these embryos could, under all the right circumstances, end up being people, that they have an obligation to protect these future Republicans - as usual, worrying far more about the idea of a possible FUTURE person than they do about the people who are already alive and kicking, especially if they happen to be something other than white Americans.

I was thinking, using that logic, isn't every egg a potential person?

Isn't every sperm a potential person?"

The American Taliban isn't fooling anybody. Their plan is to keep every woman pregnant at all times (hence an ultimate ban on contraception), to put the tampon and sanitary napkin industry out of business, to make sure no man ever wastes any sperm via masturbation or premature ejaculation (oooh, now that explains that new drug the FDA approved).

The Stain Of Abuse

Though the modus operandi of this administration is to lie, deny and decry, it looks as though some issues just won't go away. There is not a doubt in my mind that willful and reckless abuse has been committed by some of our interrogators and troops. But, as the world's sole super power, we've acted with impunity and thumbed our noses at the criticism behind our failure to comply with rules of war and the standard of decency we are supposed to be upholding as leaders of the free world.

"The abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan has become a stain on the reputation of the United States that doesn't appear to be fading with time.

New allegations of mistreatment continue to surface, for one thing. Trials of US personnel accused of abuse have kept the issue in the news, for another - not to mention Newsweek's now-discredited allegation that US interrogators desecrated the Koran.

And critics continue to charge that the US has yet to admit that instances of abuse were part of a pattern - and that prisoner abuse on the part of the nation that used to be called the leader of the free world has set a terrible example for others.

'How far from the moral high ground the US government has fallen,' said William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA, upon the release Wednesday of his organization's annual report on human rights around the world.

The US has held hundreds of people without trial or even charges at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the US airbase at Bagram in Afghanistan, said the Amnesty International report. It has gone to great lengths to restrict the use of the Geneva Convention, and 'subcontracted torture,' in Amnesty International's phrase, by handing over detainees to allied nations where forceful interrogation is condoned.

'When the most powerful country in the world thumbs its nose at the rule of law and human rights, it grants a license to others to commit abuse with impunity,' wrote Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan in a forward to the 2005 report."

Who knows. Things can and do change. Perhaps one day, somehow, someway Bush and his cronies can be held responsible for their despicable policies. Perhaps he'll end up in a cell with pictures of him in his underwear circulating the world.

Open Season On Black Girls?

Let's see ... we have one black girl who cannot walk in her graduation because she is pregnant (yet the father can), another black girl who was listed only as 'black girl' in the yearbook because no one knew how to spell her name and now a black girl who says she suddenly became a target once she started dating a white boy and will not be able to participate in her graduation either.

"An honor student says she is being banned from graduation because she is involved in an interracial relationship. CBS 2 News first brought you the story Tuesday night at eleven. Now hear what the archdiocese has to say about it.

The school, through an archdiocese spokesman, says the student in question has a history of disciplinary problems. But the black student and her white boyfriend say the problems seemed to coincide with their budding romance.

Aisha O'Gilvie remains barred from Saturday's graduation ceremonies at our Lady Of Lourdes high school in Poughkeepsie. The cheerleader and honor student has filed a racial discrimination complaint with the Dutchess County Human Rights Commission claiming her troubles are the result of her teenage romance with Nick Hoxie, a popular school athlete.

“It never happened before until me and Nick started dating. That's when all this started happening,” says Aisha O'Gilvie, barred from graduation.

Not so, says a spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York.

But, Aisha, her parents and her boyfriend are all upset over the decision, which came to head last week over an attempt to retrieve a yearbook during class. Nick was disciplined but she got hammered.

“I'm the one who did the serious act and I'm still in school and she did nothing of the sort. She was following the rules and she got kicked out, “says Nick Hoxie, the victim’s boyfriend."

I'd like to discount the girl's claims but it is so similar to something that happened to me (albeit 20+ years ago) that I'm going to err on her side. I had a part-time job as a cashier at a major department store and had a casual friendship with a white stock boy (he had a girlfriend, mind you). We worked in the same cashier booth so, naturally, spent a lot of time chatting.

This drove a couple people in upper management crazy and everytime they saw us talking, he'd get sent up to the dark stock room to "straighten out the boxes of lamps." I ultimately called them on it when they decided that, after two years, I needed to be moved to a different department. The response "well, yes, you and are always talking!" (Since when do co-workers in the same department for 20 hours per week not talk)?

When the Operations Manager couldn't come up with any answer other than that, I decided that - despite being one of the top two cashiers in the store - I could take my cash register skills elsewhere. Did my friendship continue for quite some time afterwards? Most certainly.

Hope Is A Choice

I love hearing/seeing Rev. Jim Wallis - one of the other Christians - speak. Here he gives the commencement address to graduates at John Carroll University - a Jesuit institution. Among other things he stressed that "hope is a choice - a decision - you make because of faith." Amen to that.

"Rev. Jim Wallis (below, left), founder of Sojourners magazine and Christian community, addressed the Class of 2005 at Commencement exercises today (May 22) at John Carroll. 'Faith is for changing the big things,' Wallis said. 'Things that nobody thinks can be changed. Things that others say are hopeless, where the odds are against us. That is indeed the time for faith. I want to ask our graduates today a special question: What is the big thing you're going to do?'"

Take a listen for yourself.

How The Grinch Stole Nothing

Well, thank God this cretin was caught before he committed some gruesome crime.

"City and county attorneys are defending Wheeling police who arrested a man for wearing a Grinch mask while walking along a city street.

Norman Eugene Gray, 42, was arrested Tuesday. He was arraigned and released on a personal recognizance bond.

Officers saw Gray about 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, told him to take the mask off and not put it on again. Gray removed it and asked why he could not wear it, according to Wheeling police reports. Officers told him wearing masks in public is illegal.

Gray said he felt he had a right to wear it and said it was not illegal. He put the mask back on and was arrested. The mask was confiscated.

Wheeling City Solicitor Rosemary Humway-Warmuth and Ohio County Prosecutor Scott Smith said masks as well as dark window tinting in vehicles can pose a safety hazard to law enforcement officers and hinder efforts to identify criminal suspects.

'When we think about masks, we don't always think of Halloween,' Humway-Warmuth said.

Smith said wearing a mask or hood in public is a misdemeanor under state law, punishable by a fine of up to $500 or up to a year in jail, or both. Children up to 16 years old can wear masks. Traditional Halloween masks, safety gear used in occupations, theatrical productions, civil defense or protection from bad weather also are legal."

What is the world coming to when people think they can walk the street in a Grinch mask?

Gee Thanks! A Bible

People in Iraq are being blown up by the dozens, have limited electricity and water and many are still hungry. Yet we have people with not so hidden agenda's imposing their extremist views of Christianity on them:

"Let me highlight a few statements made from its 'Bibles for the Middle East' section:

• People in this part of the world are desperate for such materials. 2004 was declared the Year of the Bible throughout the Arab world and interest is high. Thousands of people are seeking to receive a copy of the Bible.
  
• So, with a new year before us and so many opportunities on the horizon, would you consider a gift of $50 to get 25 Bibles into the hands of people in spiritually dark countries? Whatever you could do would be a tremendous blessing during a time of great spiritual hunger.
  
• People in these nations are hungry for God’s Word, our staff are willing to risk their lives to deliver it.
  

Another section called 'Iraq Schoolbags' offers the following statements:

• Praise God with me. Because thanks to your prayers and gifts, the doors are open to share the love of Christ with the next generation of Iraqis — young boys and girls who are open to new ideas and who are the future teachers of their nation.
  
• Continuing a strategy first launched last year, their goal is to distribute 100,000 school bags to these little ones, each fitted with urgently needed paper, pencils, and other school materials, along with evangelistic children’s books. In this way, just weeks from now, thousands of future Iraqi leaders will have the opportunity to come to know Christ.
  
• I’m sure you praise God with me for this excitement and for the fact that, thanks to this distribution, a generation of Iraqis is finally hearing the Truth about Christ.
  

From 1991 until 2003, Iraq was unable to import paper and pencils for its students. Many times, the Iraqi government pleaded with the world to rectify this injustice. Where was the Campus Crusade for Christ? Most of its affiliated groups are ultra-conservative and supported the sanctions against Iraq.

Today, the organization takes credit for bringing pencils and paper to Iraq. But, inside the package is the obligatory Christian propaganda. I would commend them if they supplied only pencils and paper, but if that were the criteria, the group would stay home in Florida.

Iraq’s Christians have been in existence for almost 10-times longer than the United States. The country is well aware of Christianity.

Until March 2003, Iraqi Christians and Muslims lived in peace. Neither side tried to convert the other. Even Jews lived in Iraq in harmony. But, the new Iraq is on the verge of sectarian violence that could become ugly. All because of the intervention of the U.S.

Christian evangelists who travel to Iraq to save the savages are merely taking a cue from their masters in Washington. They are so ignorant that they think Iraqis have never heard of Christ and must be taught to see the light. In reality, most Iraqi Christians and Muslims are probably more knowledgeable about Christianity’s history than the light-skinned invaders from the Florida group.

U.S. bombs and missiles destroyed the physical portion of Iraq. Now, zealous missionaries are trying to destroy the belief system of Iraq. Fortunately, for the Iraqi people, neither ploy has worked to destroy their will. Resistance works at many levels."

I had to highlight the parts that I find the most ironic and highly indicative of some Evangelical's sheer arrogance and ignorance.

(link via Paul Wilczynski)

Fine! It's Racist!

Why is this my third or fourth post on this silly topic? Now Earl Graves (the man with the pork chop side burns) takes up where Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton left off. So, I give. Fox's remarks weren't insensitive. They were racist. Like most people in the Americas and the world, he views American blacks as being at the bottom of the economic and social totem pole. Keeping in mind the same bias he probably has against the darker/native Mexicans and those mixed with African blood, his remarks must have reflected his true thoughts. Now, was his mistake not singling out poor, "hood rat" blacks like Bill Cosby did? Or was it not mentioning poor whites or poor naturalized Mexicans and other minorities? I apologize if I seem dense but I just think this is the wrong freaking bone to pick! Graves wants blacks to cease giving Mexico our vacation business (sorry, but I was considering South America or Italy next chance I get to leave the states).

"Earl Graves, the 68-year-old founder of Black Enterprise magazine, says he's not a civil rights activist but a businessman.

In that role, he's urging African-Americans to take their vacation business out of Mexico in the wake of President Vicente Fox's comments that 'not even' blacks want the U.S. jobs taken by Mexican immigrants.

'I don't think it was insensitive; it was racist,' said Mr. Graves in an interview in Dallas, where he opened the 10th annual Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference.

Mr. Graves first made the remarks in his opening speech Thursday morning to a gathering of about 2,000 well-heeled conventioneers at the Wyndham Anatole hotel.

That night, he says, he was on the phone talking strategy with a variety of black leaders, including civil rights activist Julian Bond and the head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

'We want to create some sensitivity in terms of the African-American market and respect for us as citizens,' Mr. Graves said.

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson met with Mr. Fox in Mexico City on Wednesday, and Mr. Fox is expected to be on Mr. Jackson's radio show Sunday."

Via blackinformant.com, this black Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel columnist isn't hearing the Jackson/Sharpton/Graves cries either. What really gets me is that throughout college (and even for a year after graduating), I worked minimum wage jobs. I was a gift wrapper in a store, worked at KFC for double shifts, slung hash and bussed carts in the dorm cafeteria. Had I lived in a farming area, I would have been hard pressed not to take a job picking fruit if it put money for books (and cute clothes) in my pocket for the next semester. So, I don't really understand the mentality that permeates, not just blacks, but Americans in general.

Data from the 2004 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' population survey show that in service occupations, 18% of maids and housekeepers are African-Americans, compared with 38.2% for Hispanics or Latinos; 8.5% of grounds and maintenance workers in the U.S. are African-American, compared with 40.2% of Hispanics or Latinos; 17.8% of janitors and building cleaners in the U.S. are black, compared with 26.8% for Hispanic or Latinos; and 11.5% of workers in food preparation and serving-related occupations are African-American, compared with 19.3% for Hispanics or Latinos.

And those are the jobs that are on the books.

"By and large, African-Americans don't want this kind of work," says Clayborn Benson, founder and executive director of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society and Museum, 2620 W. Center St. "What Fox is saying is true. You hear it in the form of black kids who say, 'I don't want to work at no McDonald's' or they don't want a minimum wage job."

White Americans aren't exactly lining up for such jobs either.

But African-Americans aren't high enough up the economic ladder to make the same choices. If you're on the bottom rung, then you've got to climb the ladder in stages, which means you might have to work at a job that you don't enjoy and for lower wages. It's a start; you don't have to stay there.

When you consider the high unemployment rate among African-Americans in metro Milwaukee - 17% - and that 60% of black males in Milwaukee's central city are jobless, the question becomes: Should African-Americans be rejecting work that once played a fundamental role in their very survival and progress in this country?

Read the entire article because it basically reflects my take on the situation. I do have to laugh at one part because sistahgirl didn't have to go there:

Don't get me wrong: It's not that African-Americans aren't willing to work hard, but that many operate in an underground economy where they hustle in different ways to make money - from panhandling to selling goods on the street - vs. working in the mainstream economy.

Consider the growth of the "bootleg" DVD business. You can now purchase a bootleg movie on DVD in the central city faster than you can buy a regular DVD at a video store. How many of us know a back-alley mechanic in the "hood" who can repair just about anything on an automobile for half the money that a bona fide mechanic charges?

Then again, maybe she did.

Another Deadly Month

Two years after the President declared that his "mission" was "accomplished" in Iraq, the war rages on and May could become one of the deadliest months for our troops.

"Hostile fire has killed more U.S. soldiers and Marines in Iraq in May than during each of the three previous months.

If the trend continues, May will be one of the deadliest months for U.S. troops during the past year.

So far, insurgents have killed 54 American troops in May, including 14 in the last three days. With a week left, the month will likely eclipse all but two others - November and September 2004 - for deaths by hostile fire since June 2004, based on figures tabulated by Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, a group that tracks troop deaths from Department of Defense news releases.

The casualty figures appear to end a trend that started soon after national elections in January, when insurgents seemed to shift from targeting U.S. forces to attacking the nascent Iraqi army and police.

With sectarian violence increasing between the nation's Shiite and Sunni Muslims, the figures raise the question of whether Iraq is turning into two battlefields: one of insurgents vs. the U.S. military and another of Iraqi sects fighting each other.

Since the nation's interim government took office on April 28, more than 590 Iraqis have been killed in attacks, most of them civilians.

'There is going to be a wave of violence (targeting U.S. forces) as long there is occupation,' said Amer Hassan Fayadh, a Baghdad University political science professor. At the same time, 'when the regime fell, the Iraq state collapsed, too. The replacements for the police were (sectarian) militias.'"

What's ironic is that the Fundies and bigots are spewing their anti-Muslim rhetoric at light speed -- which will only serve to exacerbate the danger our troops are in.

Jesus! What a mess we are in!

Freedom Fried!

As poppy harvesting runs rampant in Afghanistan, the effects of them on Bush's sheeple seem to be wearing off.

"It was a culinary rebuke that echoed around the world, heightening the sense of tension between Washington and Paris in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. But now the US politician who led the campaign to change the name of french fries to 'freedom fries' has turned against the war.

Walter Jones, the Republican congressman for North Carolina who was also the brains behind french toast becoming freedom toast in Capitol Hill restaurants, told a local newspaper the US went to war 'with no justification'.

Mr Jones, who in March 2003 circulated a letter demanding that the three cafeterias in the House of Representatives' office buildings ban the word french from menus, said it was meant as a 'light-hearted gesture'.

But the name change, still in force, made headlines around the world, both for what it said about US-French relations and its pettiness.

Now Mr Jones appears to agree. Asked by a reporter for the North Carolina News and Observer about the name-change campaign - an idea Mr Jones said at the time came to him by a combination of God's hand and a constituent's request - he replied: 'I wish it had never happened.'

Although he voted for the war, he has since become one of its most vociferous opponents on Capitol Hill, where the hallway outside his office is lined with photographs of the 'faces of the fallen'.

'If we were given misinformation intentionally by people in this administration, to commit the authority to send boys, and in some instances girls, to go into Iraq, that is wrong,' he told the newspaper. 'Congress must be told the truth.'"

Though it's never too late to have a change of heart, it is often to late to recover from the mistake. It's unfortunate that so many of our troops have been killed and injured before people began to question the veracity of the reasons they were given for the war. It sounds like Mr. Freedom Fries got cooked in the grease!

The Drugs Man Makes

No cure for cancer, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's or any other life threatening/debilitating illnesses but this drug is a go:

"If Viagra has made sex possible for men suffering from impotence, a new drug introduced in the United States aims to make it last longer. Much longer...

The new wonder medicine named dapoxetine, unveiled at an annual meeting of the American Urological Association Monday, is designed to help millions of men around the world cope with premature ejaculation wreaking havoc on their sex lives.

Although much less publicized than erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation affects between 27 percent and 34 percent of males of all age groups, according to the association.

By contrast, erectile dysfunction treated by Viagra and similar drugs affects an estimated 10 to 12 percent of all men, usually in the older age group.

This condition is traditionally diagnosed when sperm release occurs two minutes or less into the sexual act, or even before penetration.

'The impact premature ejaculation can have on men and their partners can be devastating for a relationship and, currently, there are no truly optimal therapies for PE,' said Doctor Jon Pryor, chief urologist at the University of Minnesota and lead researcher during dapoxetine's clinical trials."

Priorities!

Make Sure They Have Good Insurance

True or not, this is positively ridiculous! No woman is making their husband sick. They are making themselves sick if they cannot handle their wife's success. Who would want to be married to a whiney loser like this anyway?

"Early starts, late nights and endless meetings may be good for the bank balance, but professional women beware. You could be making your husband sick.

Research will this week say that the more committed and successful a woman is at work, the worse her partner feels. The findings blame a syndrome called 'unfulfilled husband hypothesis' for making men feel inadequate when women stray too far beyond their traditional roles. The man of the house, it seems, is still not cut out for domesticity.

Men's physical and mental health is 'significantly poorer when their wives work full-time', say the authors of the study. The conclusion will exasperate groups such as the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Fawcett Society, which argue that women's ambitions are thwarted by a lack of support at home. Overwhelmingly, women still do the lion's share of the housework.

According to the EOC, a growing number of men are complaining about Britain's long-hours culture. But the latest research, published in the journal Patient Education and Counselling, claims that the longer men work, the happier they are. The researchers also found that the number of hours a wife works is significantly associated with the state of health of her partner.

In short, men are still geared to a traditional life as the breadwinner. 'We found that the more the man works, the better his wellbeing,' the authors say.

The researchers, who also found that men felt better and healthier when they earned more than their wives, say the challenge is for men to find new ways of defining themselves. There are plenty of examples to follow: the husbands of Paula Radcliffe and Dame Marjorie Scardino, chief executive of Pearson, have weathered their wives' success. In contrast, the marriage of the City financier Nicola Horlick appears to have been troubled. "

My solution? Make sure you have a hefty insurance policy on your wimp of choice so when he dies, due to feelings of inadequacy, you can stop working and hook up with the cabana boy of your choice.
(via pandagon.net)

Yes, In 2005

Yes, the conservative side of me comes out when I feel that willful stupidity is involved. I think people know the rules of the school when they enroll - or at least they should. I feel badly this the young lady was being denied a chance to walk with her class but with choices come mistakes and with mistakes come consequences. Perhaps it was a mistake for her to engage in pre-martial sex. Perhaps it was a mistake for her to engage in pre-marital sex without contraception. But, the consequence of both was a pregnancy and a high school with rules against her being able to walk in the graduation with her class. My issue with the school is that they allowed the father of the child to walk. Most certainly it isn't the public viewing of a pregnant teen that is the problem. Most certainly the young man is just as responsible and should carry his share of the consequences.

"'I can't believe something like this is happening in 2005,' said her mother, Sheila Cosby. 'My daughter has been through a lot and I am proud of her. She deserved to walk, and she did.'

The school's guidance counselor delivered Cosby's degree to her house earlier Tuesday, but she still wanted to participate.

'I worked hard throughout high school and I wanted to walk with my class,' she said.

Cosby was told in March that she could no longer attend school because of safety concerns, and her name was not listed in the graduation program. The father of Cosby's child, also a senior at the school, was allowed to participate in graduation."

I do agree with the mother in that I can't believe something like this is happening in 2005 - not the ban from graduation, but the pregnancy. In 2005, girls and women have greater access to contraception than ever before. A student smart enough to make it through a private school, should have more than enough sense to understand the birds and the bees. I cannot believe that in 2005, the United States has the highest STD and unplanned pregnancy rate in the developed world. Yes, the mom should be upset. But not at the school. Perhaps she should look to herself and why she hadn't stressed responsible sexual choices. Perhaps she should look to her daughter who may well have worked hard in school, but obviously didn't study simple things - like how one gets pregnant.

Who Dis?

I am either totally sick or totally cynical because, while this is not funny, it is pretty laughable that a student who was bright enough to be a member of the National Honor Society wasn't known by enough people so that she could be identified as anything other than 'Black Girl' in the yearbook.

"A Texas school district has apologized to a student identified only as 'Black Girl' in a high school yearbook photo.

All the White students are identified by name in a photograph of the Waxahachie High School National Honor Society. The teen identified as 'Black Girl' is the only Black student in the photo.

A schools spokeswoman says the caption apparently was intended as a placeholder until the yearbook staff could identify the student. She tells a newspaper, the Waxahachie Daily Light, the label was a poor choice, but wasn't malicious.

The spokeswoman says the school district will reprint the yearbook pages affected by the mistake. "

And, no, I don't think it was malicious -- though one would think that "unidentified" would have sufficed. I think it is "The Invisible Man" revisited. I'd love to say that things have changed since I was in high school/college (this child could be my daughter) but they are, remarkably, the same. Unfortuntely, sometimes laughing things like this off was my way of coping with the insensitivity, ignorance and invisibility way back in the day too. Oh well, at least they didn't use "Who Dis?" or "Who Dat?" as the placeholder. That probably would have made me mad.

Makes 'Em Wanna Holla

... and throw up both their hands.

Syria has halted military and intelligence cooperation with the United States, its ambassador to Washington said during an interview, in a sign of growing strains between the two countries over the insurgency in Iraq.

A Bush administration official said that Syria's stance had prompted intense debate at high levels about new steps that might be taken against Damascus. The official said the options included possible military or other action that might be taken against people inside Syria who are providing support for the insurgency.

"There's a lot of discussion about what to do about Syria and what a problem it is," said the U.S. official, who works for a government agency that has been involved in the debate.

Relations between Syria and the United States have been souring for months, and some Bush administration officials said that the level of cooperation provided by Syria had been dwindling even before the latest move. The American officials declined to provide an on-the-record response to the statements made on Friday by the ambassador, Imad Moustapha, citing the sensitivity of the issue.

Moustapha said that in the past 10 days, Syria had "severed all links" with the U.S. military and the CIA because of what it called unjust American allegations. The Bush administration has complained bitterly that Syria is not doing enough to halt the flow of men and money to the insurgency in Iraq.

Moustapha said Syria had done all it could to respond to the U.S. complaints, including taking steps to build barriers and to add patrols along Syria's long border with Iraq. Syria has jailed about 1,200 foreign fighters who tried to enter Iraq from Syria, the ambassador said, and has returned scores of others to their home countries, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

But Moustapha said the renewal of U.S. complaints had caused his government to abandon the idea of providing further help.

"We thought, why should we continue to cooperate?" Moustapha said. He said he believed that the Bush administration had decided "to escalate the situation with Syria" despite the steps Syria had taken against the insurgents in Iraq and despite its withdrawal, in recent weeks, of troops from Lebanon, in response to international demands.

Didn't Venezuela just have their "F' it" moment too?

The Koran Needs to Be Flushed!

So says a sign in front of a Baptist church. Apparently, the pastor is standing up for what is right ... in the name of Jesus.

"A sign in front of a Baptist church on one of the most traveled highways in the county stirred controversy over religious tolerance and first-amendment rights this weekend.

A sign in front of Danieltown Baptist Church, located at 2361 U.S. 221 south reads 'The Koran needs to be flushed,' and the Rev. Creighton Lovelace , pastor of the church, is not apologizing for the display.

'I believe that it is a statement supporting the word of God and that it (the Bible) is above all and that any other religious book that does not teach Christ as savior and lord as the 66 books of the Bible teaches it, is wrong,' said Lovelace. 'I knew that whenever we decided to put that sign up that there would be people who wouldn't agree with it, and there would be some that would, and so we just have to stand up for what's right.'

Seema Riley, a Muslim, who was born in Pakistan and reared in New York, was one of those upset by the sign.

She moved to Rutherford County for the 'small town friendly' atmosphere, she said. When she saw the sign on the side of the highway Saturday she felt angered and threatened.

'We need a certain degree of tolerance,' said Riley. 'That sign doesn't really reflect what I think this county is about.'"

Sadly, that sign may not reflect what this country is supposed to be about. But, in many cases, it is exactly what this country is about.

Signed, The Other Christians

There is a difference between talking about God and being about God. I've never been sure that our President knows the difference. However, when he showed up to give the commencement address at Calvin College last weekend, many staff members and faculty made sure he knew that they knew the difference.

In this open letter to the President, they express their views:

On May 21, 2005, you will give the commencement address at Calvin College. We, the undersigned, respect your office, and we join the college in welcoming you to our campus. Like you, we recognize the importance of religious commitment in American political life.

We seek open and honest dialogue about the Christian faith and how it is best expressed in the political sphere. While recognizing God as sovereign over individuals and institutions alike, we understand that no single political position should be identified with God's will, and we are conscious that this applies to our own views as well as those of others. At the same time we see conflicts between our understanding of what Christians are called to do and many of the policies of your administration.

As Christians we are called to be peacemakers and to initiate war only as a last resort. We believe your administration has launched an unjust and unjustified war in Iraq.

As Christians we are called to lift up the hungry and impoverished. We believe your administration has taken actions that favor the wealthy of our society and burden the poor.

As Christians we are called to actions characterized by love, gentleness, and concern for the most vulnerable among us. We believe your administration has fostered intolerance and divisiveness and has often failed to listen to those with whom it disagrees.

As Christians we are called to be caretakers of God's good creation. We believe your environmental policies have harmed creation and have not promoted long-term stewardship of our natural environment.

Our passion for these matters arises out of the Christian faith that we share with you. We ask you, Mr. President, to re-examine your policies in light of our God-given duty to pursue justice with mercy, and we pray for wisdom for you and all world leaders.

--Concerned faculty, staff, and emeriti of Calvin College"

No More Low Lying Fruit

Funny that I had just posted about Bill Maher. I think he's probably a jerk of a guy but as a comedian and satirist, I think he is on target most of the time. He says some of the things that I think. I have similar views about Lynndie England:

And finally, New Rule: The people in America who are most in favor of the Iraq war must now go there and fight it. The Army missed its recruiting goal by 42% last month. More people joined the Michael Jackson Fan Club. "We've done picked all the low-lying Lynndie England fruit." And now we need warm bodies. We need warm bodies like Paula Abdul needs...warm bodies!

Unfortunately for Bill, people come after him and his job when he says something over the top.

"I think it borders on treason," Bachus said. "In treason, one definition is to undermine the effort or national security of our country."

In a statement released Monday night, Maher defended his support for the American armed forces.

"Anyone who knows anything about my views and has watched my show knows that I have nothing but the highest regard for the men and women serving this country around the world," Maher said in the statement.

Bachus said he was appalled after watching a rerun of the show shortly after returning from a visit to Germany, in which he met with a paralyzed American soldier in the hospital. He has since written to Time Warner, HBO's parent company.

"I don't want (Maher) prosecuted," Bachus said. "I want him off the air."

These politicians need to get lives and greater missions than television personalities. Lynndie's lawyers claimed the girl is severely learning disabled. She served in the armed services and committed criminal acts. Calling her low lying fruit is an understatement and it's pretty apparent that the armed services are beyond desperate for recruits.

Non Non-Sequitur

Hearing Scott McClellen address the press to blame Newsweek for the horrendous record of abuse and violation of human rights committed by our soldiers left me speechless. I realize that desecration of the Koran is a greater sin than the others in the eyes of many believers of Islam but stories like this are why there was no hesitation whatsoever to believe that the US had documented cases of Koran abuse.

"A U.S. Army captain forced an Iraqi detainee to dig his own grave and then ordered troops to pretend to shoot the detainee in one of several mock executions described in investigative documents released Tuesday by the Army.

Soldiers quoted the captain as telling them they 'shouldn't talk about it' and should 'have your stories straight.'

Capt. Shawn L. Martin of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment was convicted of aggravated assault and battery in a court-martial proceeding for the mock execution episode, an Army spokesman said. He was sentenced to 45 days' confinement and fined $12,000.

On July 13, 2003, Martin drove the blindfolded Iraqi, a suspect in a roadside bombing against American troops two days earlier, into the desert near Ramadi, according to military documents and Army officials.

Martin handed him a shovel and told him to dig his own grave, soldiers under his command testified during an investigation.

A sergeant said he fired a round over the Iraqi's head on the captain's orders. Afterward, the prisoner was released.

Army officials said the incident violated rules contained in the Army's field manual, which explicitly prohibits mock executions as a form of torture."

Their reaction should have been expected and follows the "if you'll lie, you'll cheat; if you'll cheat you'll steal" logic. If we did everything else, who would possibly believe we couldn't destroy a holy book?

Gasoline Drawers

Perhaps to some, the pictures of Saddam Hussein in his draws (drawers) reduced him from mythic status to regular Joe prisoner who wears and puts his pants on one leg at a time. However, it is highly likely that the pictures served as gasoline drawers for the reputation of the United States and further proof that we have no respect for Arabs/Muslims, their culture or their sensitivities. I don't understand why, after two years at war, we cannot get it right.

"'The event that had the biggest impact for me was when I saw the pictures from Abu Ghraib in the newspapers,'' says Samir Naguib, manager of a Cairo mobile phone company. 'What do I think of when I hear 'America' now? The global bully.''

Mr. Naguib, who has vacationed in America and once entertained offers to work there, is among the millions of past admirers of America. A report earlier this month from the Council on Foreign Relations summarizing a series of focus groups in Morocco, Egypt, and Indonesia found that America's efforts to win hearts and minds aren't working.

'The growth of hostility to America in Muslim countries increases recruitment, and support for extremism and terror,'' the authors write. 'This hostility is a change for focus group members: Most recall that their earlier attitudes towards the US were quite favorable.'

Mr. Naguib says the pictures of Hussein aren't nearly as interesting to him as news on Iraqi war casualties, claims of US abuses of detainees, and the Abu Ghraib scandal.

'Saddam ... deserves what he gets, but the pictures show that if a person is behind US-controlled bars then anything can happen to him. It's clear now that America isn't very different from the Arab states in this,'' he says. 'The Abu Ghraib trials were only at the level of the soldiers, not raised to the levels of the generals that permitted this to happen.'"

Agape or Agape?

First of all, I'm offended that a website named "Agape" would contain some of the most narrow minded and hateful content I've ever seen. However, that is beside the point and I'm further offended that a number of black ministers have allowed a philosophy of intolerance and exlusion (not to mention a few bucks that probably have come their way via the President) to drive them to promote the destruction of democracy as we know it:

"Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is getting support from a group of black pastors who say judicial nominees like Janice Rogers Brown deserve an up-or-down vote.

Republicans in the U.S. Senate have filed a 'cloture petition,' a move that is intended to force an end to the Democratic-led filibuster of judicial nominees. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the matter on Tuesday. Two-thirds of the senators (67) must vote in favor of the cloture for it to pass. Frist says if that vote fails, he will move to have the filibusters declared out of order for federal judicial nominees -- a move Democrats have labeled the 'nuclear option.'

On Thursday (May 19), black religious leaders demanded that senators stop filibustering, and vote 'up or down on Janice Brown.' At a Capitol Hill news conference with Frist, the clergy members accused Democrats of blocking a confirmation vote on Brown because she is a black conservative.

Bishop Harry Jackson, president of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, said judges like Brown are needed to stop courts from overruling the people with decisions like those requiring the legalization of same-sex 'marriage.' Standing outside the Capitol, Jackson asked a question about those leading the filibuster: 'Why are they afraid to put a black woman on the court?'"
[...]
Christians, he said, are uniting against immoral judicial rulings. "The black church is going to clasp hands with the white evangelical church, and we are going to be a part of turning America's moral compass back to the way that it needs to be." Black and white churches, he said, are uniting to restore "America's moral compass."

According to Bishop Jackson, moral blacks will no longer march in lockstep with Democrats. He said the party's agenda must be one of morality and righteousness in order to win over the vote of this new black church.

It amazes me that two issues have united what I still consider to be the voices of hate and bigotry (white evangelicals) and greedy black preachers ... all in the name of God. I stand agape that these people would dare to speak of agape.

Let Them Eat Viagra

We have the courts going out of their way to grant pharmacists the right to deny patients contraceptives but they have to scramble to prevent this?

"The Bush administration is scrambling to find a way to close a loophole that allows convicted rapists and other high-risk sex offenders to receive Viagra at taxpayer expense.

The state comptroller's office called attention to the situation on Sunday, saying audits from 2000 through March found that 198 sex offenders in New York received Medicaid-reimbursed Viagra after their convictions. Their crimes included offenses against children as young as 2, Comptroller Alan Hevesi said.

The auditors did not review the situation in other states, but Hevesi spokesman David Neustadt said Medicaid policies on Viagra are the same across the country.

'The bottom line is, giving convicted sex offenders government-funded Viagra is like giving convicted murderers an assault rifle when they get out of jail,' said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. He said he would sponsor a bill to close the loophole."

Why do they have the right to viagra at all? Where are the pharmacists who would ban contraceptives now?

But She Could Vote ...

The fact is that despite a feigned victory in Afghanistan where women were supposedly granted equal rights under the law, cultural mores still rule the land.

"A ground-breaking Afghan television host whose Western style drew praise from youthful fans and condemnation from Muslim clerics may have been slain with involvement from her own brothers, police have said.

Shaima Rezayee, 24, who tossed aside her burqa for Western dress and became a host on an MTV-style music show, knew her life was in danger, according to a radio interview she gave not long before she was shot in the head at her Kabul home Wednesday. Her slaying highlights the struggle between urban young people and their conservative elders for the future of Afghanistan and its Islamic values. Television and radio stations like the one that featured Rezayee -- often importing music and styles from other countries -- have been leaders in probing the boundaries of acceptability.

Rezayee, like other young Afghan women, was denied schooling and forced to wear the burqa in public until the Taliban regime was ousted by the U.S. invasion in late 2001. The Taliban also banned music -- even humming on the street.

Looks like Taliban-like forces are still having their say and their way.

More Liberation ...

As long as we are occupiers, we will do what we want:

"President Bush said Monday that U.S. troops in Afghanistan will remain under U.S. control despite Afghan President Hamid Karzai's request for more authority over them.

'Of course, our troops will respond to U.S. commanders,' Bush said, with Karzai standing at his side at the White House. At the same time, Bush said the relationship between Washington and Kabul is 'to cooperate and consult'

Bush also said that Afghan prisoners under U.S. control in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and elsewhere, would be slowly returned to their home countries.

'We will do this over time,' he said. 'We have to make sure the facilities are there.'

Bush had high praise for Karzai as a valued anti-terror partner and credited the Afghan leader with 'showing countries in the neighborhood what's possible.'

But Karzai came to their meeting with a long list of grievances. Among them: more control over U.S. military operations, custody of Afghan prisoners held by the United States and more assistance in fighting opium trade.

As for the opium trade, Bush said, 'I made it very clear to the president that we have got to work together to eradicate the poppy crop.'

Karzai said that he hoped Afghanistan would be free of poppy crops within five to six years and that Afghan farmers could find alternative crops like honey dew melons and pomegranates.

There are about 20,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, costing about $1 billion a month. That is in addition to approximately 8,200 troops from NATO countries in Kabul and elsewhere."

What does puppet Karzai not understand about that?

Their Number Is Negligible And They Are Stupid

How scary is this? President Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote these words 51 years ago to his brother. If he could see the Bush cabal in action now, I don't think he'd believe it. A Texan who is both stupid and a millionaire is President.

"Now it is true that I believe this country is following a dangerous trend when it permits too great a degree of centralization of governmental functions. I oppose this--in some instances the fight is a rather desperate one. But to attain any success it is quite clear that the Federal government cannot avoid or escape responsibilities which the mass of the people firmly believe should be undertaken by it. The political processes of our country are such that if a rule of reason is not applied in this effort, we will lose everything--even to a possible and drastic change in the Constitution. This is what I mean by my constant insistence upon 'moderation' in government. Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are H. L. Hunt (you possibly know his background), a few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."

Because It's Plausible!

This is why I think that Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi is working hard for and earning her money on behalf of the State of California:

"'The surge of violence following last week's Newsweek story on the desecration of the Quran at Guantanamo Bay is tragic. That the story was not accurate as printed is clear from the decision to retract it, and Newsweek has a responsibility to review the procedures that failed to prevent the story from running in the first place.

'The fact remains that the story was clearly plausible to Muslims around the world. That plausibility has its roots in the interrogation techniques employed at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere. For months, photographs of tortured prisoners and inappropriate interrogation techniques have made headlines throughout the world. There is evidence that indicates that some of these practices were sanctioned at much higher levels in the Bush Administration than the punishments thus far imposed would suggest.

'Instead of calling for cancellation of subscriptions, as some Republicans have suggested, Congress should do its job and investigate the treatment of detainees, particularly the interrogation techniques employed against them. Democrats on the House Armed Services and Intelligence Committees have repeatedly requested such hearings; Republicans have refused.

'The failure of the House to fully investigate these matters only ensures that we will continue to pay the price for the outrages at Abu Ghraib for many years to come.'"

So true!

I'll Buy That

I like Bill Maher's humor most of the time but think he is an ugly, sexist pig and them some. I agree with the judge. Eight months of dating doesn't entitle anyone to palimony - or anything more than they came into the relationship with.

"Lawyers for comedian Bill Maher have convinced a Los Angeles judge to toss a palimony lawsuit filed by the celebrity's former girlfriend.

Nancy Coco Johnsen filed her $9 million palimony suit last fall, claiming Maher promised her marriage and a mansion, E! Online reported.

Johnsen also said Maher, who hosts Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, abused her physically and verbally.

Maher's lawyers responded with a motion to dismiss the suit, which was granted Monday.

'Eight months of dating doesn't entitle anyone to palimony', said Maher lawyer Adam Streisand."

Why Waste Money?

Gees! Get in line, Hugo! Who the heck isn't considering breaking ties? In 4 short years, George W. Bush has made mortal enemies on every continent except Australia (and they are also a country) and Antartica (doesn't really count). Our brazen hypocrisy and double standards when it comes to promoting democracy and/or denouncing tyranny and terrorism have made us a laughing stock. Leaders like Chavez have just decided to call President Bush on it. After all, it's not like we have much in the way of extra military power to do anything about those who don't tow our line.

He said Caracas would decide 'if it worth having an embassy in the United States, wasting money, or for the United States to have an embassy here'.

'It is difficult, very difficult, to maintain ties with a government that so shamelessly hides and protects international terrorism,' Mr Chavez said.

The president last week described Mr Posada Carriles as 'a self-confessed terrorist'."

Adultery Doesn't Count?

This kills me. Religious types get all indignant over the very thought that someone would support a woman's right to choose - which, by the way, doesn't guarantee or promote abortion. But they don't have a single thing to say about some of the other sins that politicians commit. Did Rudy Guliani not cheat on his wife andparade his mistress through the Mayor's Mansion?

"A Catholic cardinal says he will not attend graduation at a Jesuit university because Rudy Giuliani, who supports abortion rights, is the keynote speaker.

Giuliani, a Catholic and possible candidate for President in 2008, is expected to award some 1,600 degrees and certificates at tomorrow's commencement at Loyola College of Maryland.
But William Cardinal Keeler of Maryland says if Giuliani is speaking, he won't be attending, a spokesman said.

A spokeswoman for Giuliani did not immediately return phone calls."

Does anyone deny communion to adulterers or just to people who support the philosophy of choice?

What For?

It's probably not a conservative take that I have on this issue but rather I just have a thick skin. Mexico's Vincente Fox met with Jesse Jackson to diffuse tensions. What tensions? I'm not tense because I don't give a flying flip what that guy says. I haven't been to Mexico in almost 20 years. What are Jesse and Al going to do, negotiate a "black discount" for those who travel to Mexico? I'll bet the jobless folks who could be hankering for some illegal's job won't be going.

"Mexican President Vicente Fox has met US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson in an attempt to defuse tensions caused by his comments about black US citizens.

Mr Fox had caused offence when he said Mexicans did jobs in the US 'that not even blacks wanted to do'.

After the meeting, Rev Jackson said the Mexican president had expressed regret for his 'harmful' remarks.

While the US criticised his remarks, Mr Fox explained he was merely defending the work done by Mexican immigrants.

Mr Fox is expected to meet Al Sharpton, another prominent US civil rights leader, later in the week."

Though I understand that Al and Jesse may feel that Fox painted - even "uppity" negroes like myself - with the same brush that he paints those who might be eligible for the jobs his fleeing citizens take (heck, white folks here still do that), my question from the other day remains: Is Fox wrong? Who do Jesse and Al know who will take these jobs?

She Has A Theory ...

We're back to recruiting brain surgeons again ... This woman is living with her 16 year old high school dropout son who assaulted her because she wouldn't buy him some Air Jordans. He's been abusing her for years yet she doesn't want him to end up in foster care. However, she has a theory that he'll end up in jail.

"When Katherine Goodman's muscular 16-year-old son asked for a pair of $175 Air Jordan basketball shoes last week, the 49-year-old single mother said 'no.' She explained that even if they were on sale for $100, she couldn't afford them.

In response, her son allegedly pushed her on the bed, put his hand over her mouth to muffle her screams, and threatened to beat her every day if she didn't buy him the shoes.

He then took her into the bathroom of their Glen Burnie apartment, put her in a choke hold, and pushed her to the floor before asking her if she wanted to live. When she said 'yes,' the boy let her go.

[...]

Once on the scene, police charged the boy with second-degree assault. They photographed Ms. Goodman's injuries, including a cut on her knee, bruises on her arm and redness in the area of her neck, all of which they said were consistent with her story.

'He doesn't have a record now, but I'm going to start one,' Ms. Goodman said, believing it is the only way to keep him from hurting her.

But even after everything her son has put her through, Ms. Goodman is unwilling to give up on the boy.

'I don't want my boy to go to foster care,' Ms. Goodman said, explaining her son still is living with her.

The boy dropped out of school in the ninth grade and now spends his days lifting weights and hanging around with friends. His favorite TV show is HBO's 'Oz' and his mother says he's fascinated by jail culture.

'I have a theory he'll end up in jail,' she said."

Well, I have a theory that she's right. Any 16 year old degenerate who beats his mother, is not far off from beating anybody else. There goes another statistic!

What About Kuwait?

Why couldn't Kuwait have been the grand example of freedom in the Middle East? Why have we decimated two countries under the guise of bringing democracy when Kuwait was well on its way to granting women full political rights.

"Kuwait's Parliament granted full political rights to women on Monday, making way for them to vote and run for office in parliamentary and local elections for the first time in the country's history. The surprise amendment to Kuwait's election law ends a decades-long struggle by women's rights campaigners for full suffrage, and promises to redefine the city-state's political landscape.

'It has been 20 years of work, but at last we got our rights,' said Lulua al-Mulla, general secretary of Kuwait's Social Cultural Women's Society, a women's advocacy group. 'It is about time.'

Parliament met Monday to discuss legislation introduced two weeks ago allowing women to run in city council elections. But in a surprise move, members of the cabinet opened the session by proposing a complete amendment of the country's election law, which had permitted only men to take part in the country's powerful Parliament.

The government also invoked a rarely used 'order for urgency' to push through the legislation in one session, despite heated debate by Islamist members."

Even Ordinary Illiterate Peasants Know

Sadly, we cannot say the same of our American "ordinary, illiterate peasants" (on the right) but the Afghan ones aren't buying the Newsweek retraction (mainly because I think we all know it was never really about the Newsweek blurb anyway). So, yet another protest is being planned.

"In Afghanistan, where the 200-word story sparked riots that left 17 dead and more than 100 injured, many Muslims said the apology smacked of a US government cover-up.

'We will not be deceived by this [retraction],' said Mullah Sadullah Abu Aman, one of a group of clerics who threatened on Sunday to wage a holy war against the US for the alleged abuse.

'This [decision] comes because of American pressure. Even an ordinary illiterate peasant understands that and won't accept it,' he told Reuters.

A spokesman for the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, expressed 'in the strongest terms our disapproval of Newsweek's approach to reporting, which allowed them to run the story without proper examination beforehand'.

Anti-American militants, who gained political capital from the protests, also rejected the mea culpa. 'Newsweek is changing its story because of pressure from the US government,' said a Taliban spokesman, Abdul Latif Hakimi.

In Pakistan, officials reiterated a call by President Pervez Musharraf for the US to mete out 'exemplary' punishment to the alleged culprits.

'We have asked for a thorough investigation conducted by the US administration and we would expect the results of the official investigation to be shared with us,' said a foreign ministry spokesman.

A powerful Islamic political party, Jamaat-e-Islami, said it was going ahead with street protests planned for May 27"

This Is Getting Stupid!

And I hope they are pressing their luck with Newsweek.

Newsweek wasn't the first to break a story on Koran abuse at Guantanamo. Their error was reporting that the government was about to admit it and not having another source when their primary one punked out! Our image is hardly the doing of Newsweek magazine. The zealots there seized one of many issues and opportunities to whip their people into a frenzy. Newsweek didn't kill those people. They lost control and killed themselves. The Pentagon got their apology. The Bush administration needs to quit while it is ahead. I don't believe you could find a single, solitary Muslim - anywhere in the world - who thinks that Newsweek is anymore than the government's scapegoat and, if they keep cowtowing, puppet.

"The White House says Newsweek took a 'good first step' by retracting its story that U.S. investigators found evidence interrogators at Guantanamo Bay desecrated the Quran, but it wants the magazine to do more to repair damage caused by the article.

Newsweek on Monday retracted the report in its May 9 issue after officials in the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department criticized its publication and its use of an anonymous source. Protests in Afghanistan, where more than a dozen people died and scores were injured in rioting, and demonstrations elsewhere in the Muslim world were blamed on the article.

'The report had real consequences,' White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Monday. 'People have lost their lives. Our image abroad has been damaged. There are some who are opposed to the United States and what we stand for who have sought to exploit this allegation. It will take work to undo what can be undone.'

McClellan said a retraction was only 'a good first step' and said Newsweek should try to set the record straight by 'clearly explaining what happened and how they got it wrong, particularly to the Muslim world, and pointing out the policies and practices of our military.'"

Hijacking NPR

Well, I guess it will be KPFA (Pacifica Radio) all the way if the Bush administration manages to infiltrate NPR. There is no way I am going to listen to a single, loud mouthed, blowhard spouting right wing propoganda on National Public Radio.

"Executives at National Public Radio in the United States are increasingly at odds with the Bush appointees who lead the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

In one of several points of conflict in recent months, the chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which allocates federal funds for public radio and television, is considering a plan to monitor Middle East coverage on NPR news programs for evidence of bias, a corporation spokesman said on Friday.

The corporation's board has told its staff that it should consider redirecting money away from national news broadcasts and toward local music programs produced by NPR stations.

Top officials at NPR and member stations are upset as well about the corporation's decision to appoint two ombudsmen to judge the content of programs for balance. And managers of public radio stations criticized the corporation in a resolution offered at their annual meeting two weeks ago urging it not to interfere in NPR editorial decisions.

The corporation's chairman, Kenneth Tomlinson, has also blocked NPR from broadcasting its programs on a station in Berlin owned by the U.S. government."

Newsweek Wasn't The First

I'm not sure if those folks were just looking for a reason to have anti-American protests but Newsweek was hardly the first to report on allegations of desecration of the Koran. The mistake they made was saying it was going to be revealed in a government docucument. But, it's been an issue many times over in the form of complaints by former detainees:

Philly.com reported it here:

Some detainees complained of religious humiliation, saying guards had defaced their copies of the Koran and, in one case, had thrown it in a toilet, said Kristine Huskey, who interviewed clients late last month. Others said that pills were hidden in their food and that people came to their cells claiming to be their attorneys, to gain information.

The Raw Story has more:

Contrary to White House assertions, the allegations of religious desecration at Guantanamo published by Newsweek May 6 are common among ex-prisoners and have been widely reported outside the United States, RAW STORY has learned.

Several former detainees at the Guantanamo and Bagram airbase prisons have reported instances of their handlers sitting or standing on the Quran, throwing or kicking it in toilets, and urinating on it.

Where the Newsweek report likely erred was in saying that the U.S. was slated to acknowledge desecrating the Quran in internal investigations, and in relying on a single anonymous source to make grave allegations. But reports of desecration are manifold.

and the Daily Kos was all over it as well ...

They should have left Newsweek alone because now people will be looking high and low for info which proves Newsweek right.

No More Copping a Feel

Seems like some of the little mensy, wensies are mad because Japanese woman are asking for women only trains mainly because they are tired of being groped.

"Several of the Japanese capital's railway companies introduced the single-sex carriages Monday as part of a city effort to tackle the problem of men who take advantage of overcrowding to grope female passengers.

In a Tokyo survey last year, almost two thirds of women aged between 20 and 40 said they had been groped on a train.

'We can't do all that much about the crowding and this kind of crime is hard to prevent, even in cooperation with the police,' said a spokesman for Odakyu Electric Railway.

'Passengers have also been asking for women-only carriages.'

Some men support the restrictions, which apply mostly during rush hour, but others have complained that reserving one carriage for women worsens overcrowding in the rest of the train.

'Women-only carriages are a form of discrimination against men,' one opponent told the Asahi Shimbun daily.

'I cannot agree to their introduction.'

The number of reported incidents of groping and sexual assault leaped to 2,201 in 2004, the worst figure on record and three times the number in 1996.

'On the one hand it could be the number of men engaging in such acts is increasing, but it could also be that women who once felt they had to suffer in silence now have to courage to speak out and complain,' said a Tokyo city government official."

I think I would slap the taste out of someone's mouth if they tried to feel me up on a train - that or loud talk them into embarrassment. It's a shame that it even has to come to this.

Clarification Holds No Weight

The problem is, folks, that this whole Koran desecration business is not new news. Newsweek may not be able to validate the information provided by their source but, former detainees had already reported such acts prior to the Newsweek expose. We are not going to be able to put this genie back into the bottle.

"The head of Pakistan's conservative six-party Islamic alliance, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, told the BBC that Newsweek's clarification held no weight.

'There have been reports by the prisoners who have been released from Guantanamo Bay of desecration of the holy Koran, and different atrocities perpetrated on them. Therefore, the clarification of Newsweek has no meaning.'
We regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence

The apology would not stop his alliance from holding more protest rallies on the issue, he added.

A spokesman for Afghan president Hamid Karzai, Jawed Ludin, welcomed Newsweek's statement but said it disapproved in the strongest terms of Newsweek's approach to reporting, 'which allowed them to run the story without proper examination beforehand'.

The Pentagon has said there is no substance to the specific allegation, but a spokesman for the US military in Afghanistan says there will still be a thorough investigation into the claims.

Several claims of desecration of the Koran have been made by former inmates of the US facility in Cuba. "

Even though Newsweek has allowed itself to be bullied into retracting the story, I think it is positively laughable that the Whitehouse is trying to paint the magazine as the cause of our horrendous image in the Muslim world. Bushco must think that the rest of the world is as stupid as the Dittoheads who blindly support him.

But Is He Wrong?

Granted, like most third generations college graduates - of any race - I'd be hard pressed to say I'd cherish spending even one day picking strawberries, lettuce, oranges or cotton but, I'd dare say (and I cannot speak for people I don't know) that even my uneducated and unemployed black counterparts wouldn't relish the idea of taking an underpaying job in substandard, slave like, conditions. So, even though Fox's comments could be viewed by some as insensitive, was he lying?

"Stung by the U.S. crackdown on illegal immigrants, many Mexicans - including Mexico City's archbishop - said Fox was just stating a fact.

'The president was just telling the truth,' said Celedonio Gonzalez, a 35-year-old carpenter who worked illegally in Dallas for six months in 2001. 'Mexicans go to the United States because they have to. Blacks want to earn better wages, and the Mexican - because he is illegal - takes what they pay him.'

But the Rev. Jesse Jackson said Fox should apologize.

'His statement had the impact of being inciting and divisive,' Jackson said Monday, noting that in many U.S. cities tensions are already high between blacks and Latinos because they compete for scarce jobs and often have children crowded into underfunded schools.

Another American civil rights activist, the Rev. Al Sharpton, said the comment was especially disturbing because Fox was educated in the United States and 'he is not unaware of the racial sensitivities here.'

Fox made the comment Friday during a public appearance in Puerto Vallarta, saying: 'There's no doubt that Mexican men and women - full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work - are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States.'"

Until Jesse and Al can find a slew of black folks who are willing to trade places with undocumented workers, I think they need to back up off this one.

But We Support This Brutal Regime

This is why we have perpetual credibility problems throughout the world. The death toll of those slaughtered by the government has risen to 700, yet we seem to be blaming the citizens rather than the regime which is known to boil its opposition. Why is it that our demands for human rights and democratic values seem to become moot when the country has natural resources that we want?

"Heated criticism was growing last night over 'double standards' by Washington over human rights, democracy and 'freedom' as fresh evidence emerged of just how brutally Uzbekistan, a US ally in the 'war on terror', put down Friday's unrest in the east of the country.

Outrage among human rights groups followed claims by the White House on Friday that appeared designed to justify the violence of the regime of President Islam Karimov, claiming - as Karimov has - that 'terrorist groups' may have been involved in the uprising.

Critics said the US was prepared to support pro-democracy unrest in some states, but condemn it in others where such policies were inconvenient.

Witnesses and analysts familiar with the region said most protesters were complaining about government corruption and poverty, not espousing Islamic extremism.

The US comments were seized on by Karimov, who said yesterday that the protests were organized by Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic group often accused by Tashkent of seditious extremism. Yet Washington, which has expressed concern over the group's often hardline message, has yet to designate it a terrorist group."

Do You Buy This?

Understandably, Newsweek probably didn't have a clue that their reports about Guantanamo abuses, which alledgedly included American interrogators flushing the Koran down the toilet, would spark riots across the Muslim world. But, not only will Muslims not buy that the report was a mistake, I don't buy it either.

"Newsweek magazine has apologized for errors in a story alleging that interrogators at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay desecrated the Quran, saying it would re-examine the accusations, which sparked outrage and deadly protests in Afghanistan.

Fifteen people died and scores were injured in violence between protesters and security forces, prompting U.S. promises to investigate the allegations. After Muslim leaders in several countries assailed the U.S. over the allegations, Pentagon officials blamed Newsweek for the flare-up and accused it of 'irresponsible' reporting.

'We regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the U.S. soldiers caught in its midst,' Newsweek Editor Mark Whitaker wrote in a note to readers."

This sounds like the Bush administration putting the screws to Newsweek to retract the report. But, it's too late and I don't believe it because I know I've heard of similar abuses before:

Moreover, Guantanamo translator Erik Saar, in his co-authored Inside the Wire indicates that techniques of religious humiliation were used at Guantanamo. The Christian Science Monitor reports:

'In his book, Saar describes a tumultuous atmosphere made more intense than usual because of religious tensions. US personnel, he wrote, routinely tempted detainees to look at pornographic magazines and videos, which Islam forbids. Female interrogators, sometimes dressed provocatively, violated Islamic strictures by rubbing against detainees and even leading one to believe he was being wiped with menstrual blood. "Had someone come to me before I left for Gitmo and told me we would use women to sexually torment detainees to try to sever their relationships with God, I probably would have thought that sounded fine," writes Saar. "But I hated myself when I walked out of that room.... We lost the high road.... There wasn't enough hot water in all of Cuba to make me feel clean." The Army, which cleared Saar's book for publication, says the policy is to treat detainees humanely, and an investigation into his allegations is under way.'

As a professional historian, I would say we still do not have enough to be sure that the Koran desecration incident took place. We have enough to consider it plausible. Anyway, the important thing politically is that some Muslims have found it plausible, and their outrage cannot be effectively dealt with by simple denial. That is why I say that Bush should just come out and say we can't be sure that it happened, but if it did it was an excess, and he apologizes if it did happen, and will make sure it doesn't happen again (if it did).

In other words, in my eyes it doesn't matter if this specific example of abuse cannot be verified verbatim and by source. Too many other things happened that were just as treacherous. The violence of the past few days was an accident waiting to happen. If Newsweek wants to allow itself into being strongarmed into taking the fall, so be it. The horse is already out of the barn.

Death To America?

We just aren't getting any love. First, the Afghans take to the streets to share their sentiments about our land of freedom and liberty.

"The biggest anti-US protests since the fall of the Taliban spread across Afghanistan, as unrest sparked by alleged abuse of the Koran at the US jail in Guantanamo Bay left three more people dead.

Seven people have been killed and at least 76 injured during three days of violent demonstrations, all of them in clashes with security forces and police in conservative towns east of the capital Kabul.

Angry Afghans shouting 'Death to America' poured onto the streets of Kabul itself for the first time Thursday as protests at the reported religious desecration also broke out in 10 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces.

The Koran controversy has also spread to Pakistan, where demonstrations were held in Peshawar and Quetta, two major cities close to the border with Afghanistan."

Then, it spread to Pakistan. Seems they had some a few issues with us defiling and desecrating the Koran - a crime they feel is punishable by death.

I guess we should blame Newsweek for outing our dastardly deeds while we are trying to win the hearts and minds of the Arab world. I wonder how they are feeling about this in the largest Islamic nation of Indonesia?

Update:Guess Indonesia was the most peaceful lot but looks like the protests are taking place from Gaza to Indonesia.

The unrest spread to Pakistan, which called for a U.S. probe. Hundreds of people held a peaceful protest in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.

In Gaza, several thousand Palestinians marched through a refugee camp in a protest organized by the Islamic militant group Hamas. Several hundred Palestinians also marched in the West Bank city of Hebron.

"The Holy Koran was defiled by the dirtiest of hands, by American hands," a protester shouted at the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza, where U.S. and Israeli flags were also burned.

Of course our President is urging peach and calm. But we've now ignited a fresh round of the kind of anger that leads to what we call crazy and this is all we need:

"Demonstrations serve no purpose, we should do something practical. I am ready to blow myself up for the sake of my religion to embrace martyrdom," said Mohammad Ghafoor, 18, a student protesting in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Wonderful!

Jump Jim Crow

Now that even Laura Bush is trying to minimize the constant attacks on her husbands intelligence (or lack thereof) by making jokes about him, it's pretty much a given, across the globe, that he's a mope and that he is really working for the people who work for him. We know he's a puppet to the religious right, the oil industry and big business and I'm sure we'll never know how many strings are yanking our puppet President.

... He was a wastrel youth of enormous privilege and arrogance, I said, propped up by his family's money and his father's connections, a man who went bust at everything he tried to do on his own, yet who, somehow, always emerged unscathed. After he got himself elected - or after the first of two elections was stolen for him, if you will - it became obvious that he was a puppet whose strings were held by many masters.

Dick Cheney holds one string, with his dreams of the golden crown of empire. The Bush family holds another, with its hatred of the Kennedy dynasty and its determination to have one of their own. Karl Rove holds one, with his dream of an endless one-party (conservative Republican) state. The inheritors of immense wealth hold another, with their dreams of reversing the New Deal and returning the populace to its "rightful" place as peasants. The oil industry holds one, and so does the nuclear power industry, although they often pull in tandem. The coal and logging industries share one. So do the rabid pro-Israel neoconservatives and the equally rabid Christians who believe they are the favored ones of God.

"I realized that it was not a stretch to say that another string is held by the rogue Saudi millionaire Osama bin Laden, and that Bush is also dancing to his tune.

[...]

Bin Laden's first demand was that the American military, which was, in his eyes, defiling Saudi soil, leave. Bush complied almost instantly. We are out of Saudi Arabia now; we have 14 new bases in Iraq instead.

What else did bin Laden want? He wanted to destroy the American economy by luring it into a vast, expensive, unwinnable war. He wanted to prove that America and the West were corrupt imperialists with nothing but scorn for the Muslim world. He wanted to create political turmoil in the Middle East. He wanted to create a huge uprising of young, idealistic Muslim terrorists who would fight to the death against Western culture and religion.

It is almost frightening how expertly Bush has danced to bin Laden's tune. He responded to 9/11 with a vicious attack on Afghanistan which killed many innocent men, women and children but left bin Laden and his Taliban supporters free to strike again."

The thought of George Bush being tied to so many masters reminded me of a scene from Roots II where Debbie Morgan played the daughter of George Sanford Brown. She was angry about some of his choices and began to sing and dance to the song "Jump, Jim Crow." If ever we've had a buffoon and a minstrel clown for a President, it's George W. Bush and he's jumping higher than old Jim Crow ever did.

Wowzy, Wow, Wow, Wow!

Somebody remind me never to go to South Carolina. It seems that the governor, along with select black folk, don't think that a black can/will be elected to a statewide office anytime soon ... as in the foreseeable future ... as in not this generation or the next. I'm just amazed that the governor could find a consensus of sorts

"'Can I interject?' Sanford asked, interrupting the show's host. 'I think there never will be.'

'You said you don't think there ever will be?' asked Craig Melvin, host of 'Awareness' on Columbia television station WIS.

'In the foreseeable future,' Sanford said. It hasn't happened in the last 100 years and 'that is tragic,' said the governor, a white Republican.

The only way for a black person to assume statewide office would be to allow governors to appoint some positions that are currently elected, Sanford said, referring to proposals under consideration in the Legislature that would restructure the governor's powers.

'One of the reasons I believe so strongly in restructuring is if I was given a chance to appoint those constitutional officers, there would almost certainly be representation from all the different cultures that make up South Carolina,' Sanford said.

Several black Democrats agreed with Sanford, including Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, who said such appointments are 'the only way in South Carolina a person of color will ever hold a constitutional position.' She said voters could elect a black candidate 'maybe a couple of generations from now.'"

Well, unless it's a layover at one of the airports, I don't plan on hitting South Carolina any time "in the foreseeable future." I don't care to be around people with that kind of mentality - be they black or white.

It's Child Abuse ...

... to outfit children in this type of propaganda ...

Exotic My Eye!

Look, I know somebody is only doing these studies because they are sick of trying to pronounce these mammy made names but, good God, something has to turn this trend around. Yes, it's another study on the impact of the misspelled, unpronounceable names on black children. It was less than a month ago that I vented my views after the last survey.

"Figlio said boys and girls with exotic names suffer in terms of the quality of attention and instruction they get in the classroom because teachers expect less from children with names that sound like they were given by parents with lower education levels. He said the lower expectations often become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

'When you see a particular name, like David or Catherine, you internalize it in a different way than a name such as LaQuisha,' said Figlio, whose findings appear in a working paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research.

'And it could be that teachers start to make inferences about a student's parents, the parent's education level and the parents' commitment to their children's education based on the names the parents give their children,' he said.

Figlio found that poorly educated black women overwhelmingly gave their children names that begin with certain prefixes, such as 'lo,' 'ta' and 'qua,' and certain suffixes, such as 'isha' and 'ious.'"

It was just yesterday that someone on one of my discussion lists had to vent about names she's having to type for a graduation program. Somebody tell me what is "exotic" about these names:

Quatasha
Chicolvia
Shantikwa
Shankeesha
Trantessa
Rosteisha
J'lanique
Shardeney
Kaneecia
L'Bryttani

Why didn't they just name the Shardeney child "Wine" instead of messing up Chardonnay? What the heck is a Chicolvia?

Somebody stop them ... before they name more!

I Thought The Christians Would Get This One

Oh well! I thought that since a passage from "The Purpose Driven Life" was being hailed as the quote that soothed the savage beast, Brian Nichols would be a certain convert to Christianity. Guess not. Score one for Islam.

"According to broadcast reports this evening, Brian Nichols, the suspect in the Fulton County Courthouse shootings in Atlanta on March 11, has had a jailhouse conversion to Islam.

Nichols, who was indicted last Thursday on 54 charges, including four counts each of murder and felony murder, has requested -- and received -- permission to talk to a local Imam. Nichols will be allowed to pray in accordance to the tenants of Islam as well.

The indictment includes 18 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, 7 counts of kidnapping, and five counts of hijacking a motor vehicle."

The Rich Are Winning

I happened upon Lou Dobbs on CNN when he was interviewing Warren Buffett. I know I'm far worse off than I was when George W. Bush took office but it seems that no one is really paying attention to the fact that the President's policies are just one big money tree for the rich. It's like he opened up Fort Knox and let his friends in with the mission to take everything that isn't nailed down.

BUFFETT: It's class warfare, my class is winning, but they shouldn't be.

DOBBS: Exactly. Your class as you put it, in point of fact is winning on estate taxes, which I know you are opposed to. I don't know how your son Howard feels about that. I know you are opposed to it.

At the same week the House passed the estate tax, Congress passed the bankruptcy legislation which they had the temerity to call bankruptcy reform -- Democrats and Republicans passing this legislation. Which is onerous to the middle class. Half of the bankruptcies in this country take place, because people fall ill, serious illnesses result in bankruptcy. Nearly half of the people involved. How do you -- you have watched a lot of politics. What is going on in this country?

BUFFETT: The rich are winning. Just take the estate tax, less than 2 percent of all estates pay any tax. A couple million people die every year, 40,000 or so estates get taxed.

We raise, what, $30 billion from the estate tax. And, you know, I would like to hear the Congressman say who they are going to get the $30 billion from if they don't get it from the estate tax. It's nice to say, you know, wipe out this tax, but we're running a huge deficit, so who does the $30 billion come from?

If even the rich (the ones with consciences), are acknowledging that the don't deserve or really need all of the breaks they are getting, why is Bush so hell bent on sending everyone else into a life of poverty?

Where Should I Be?

You Belong in London A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique woman like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well. What City Do You Belong in? Take This Quiz :-) Find the Love of Your Life (and More Love Quizzes) at Your New Romance.

hat tip daffodillane.com

By Hook Or Crook

It is a sad state of affairs when military recruiters are, without authority, threatening prospects with arrest warrants if they don't report for an appointment with a recruiter. Chris Matthews reported similar, if not more dishonest, tactics on a recent Hardball as well.

"'Hey Chris, this is Sgt. Kelt at the Army, man. I think we got disconnected... I know you were on your cell probably, and you just had bad reception or something -- I know you didn't hang up on me. Anyway, by federal law you've got an appointment with me at two o'clock this afternoon at Greenpoint mall, OK? That's the Greenpoint mall, Army recruitment station at two o'clock. Fail to appear, and, uh, we'll have a warrant. OK? So give me a call back.'

Monarch said he didn't receive the message until after the designated time -- and that he hadn't made such an appointment, nor had he been interested in joining the military. 'I was scared,' Monarch said, regarding the message. When he called Kelt the next day to clear up the matter, Kelt explained that threatening to issue an arrest warrant was a 'marketing technique.'"

A marketing technique ... yeah, right!

Hand To Mouth By Any Means Necessary

So what is the point in having cheaper medicine if they are going to take away the difference in your food stamp allowances?

That prescription drug benefit plan the Bush administration pushed through Congress just keeps getting better and better. You remember the plan. It's the one that prohibits Medicare from using its purchasing power to drive down the cost of drugs, the one that the Bush administration swore up and down would cost no more than $400 billion over 10 years when the administration knew all along that the real price tag was something like $732 billion.

You may also remember that, last June, a small furor erupted when a constituent told then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle that the government was going to take away some of her food stamps if she opted into the plan. The Bush administration assured Daschle that the concern was unfounded . Medicare chief Mark McClellan told Daschle: 'New benefits . . . cannot take away any existing federal benefits.' Bush's Department of Agriculture, which runs the food stamp program, followed up with a memorandum to its regional directors saying that it would ensure that 'no food stamp applicant or participant who uses the drug discount card will lose food stamp benefits.'

It turns out that wasn't, you know, 'true.' "

Did The Happy Dance!

I cannot remember the last time a television program had me on my feet and jumping up and down screaming. I've seen all seven seasons of The Amazing Race but this was, by far, the best ending yet.

"The Houston couple lugged boats in London, balanced water jugs on their heads in Africa and weighed complete strangers in Turkey - among other silly and strenuous tasks - in order to reach the finish line.

Unlike previous seasons of 'Amazing Race,' the racers didn't travel around the globe, instead they semi-circled from Long Beach, Calif., through South America, Africa, India, Europe and the Caribbean to their final destination in Miami.

Because the Agus arrived last during a non-elimination leg before the home stretch, the couple was stripped of all their belongings and cash per the reality show's nefarious rules.

The Agus begged their way to the finish line but didn't have enough money to pay their cab driver. Although they were only steps away the finish line and the $1 million prize, the Agus continued to beg from nearby strangers until they paid their cab fare.

'It was all about honor,' said Uchenna. 'That cab driver was going to get his money.'

During an earlier stretch of the race in Jodhpur, India, Joyce agreed to shave her head as part of a Fast Forward challenge, allowing the Agus to skip to end of the leg. Uchenna cites that bold 'sacrifice' as one of the turning points in the race.

'Once you shave it off, you have nothing to hide behind,' said Joyce. 'People can actually see your soul. It's so bizarre. I'm glad I did it.' "

Though the rhetoric of the far right has made me want to cringe when I hear the terms good and evil together, watching Joyce and Uchenna win was one of the best displays of good triumphing over bad. Not only were they a great, non-combative couple, they played with honor and integrity, helped fellow team mates and were good guys who finished first.

No Really. Why Do They Hate Us?

Unfortunately, as time goes on I am sure we will hear more stories like this:

"Delgado's background is unusual. He is an American citizen, but because his father was in the diplomatic corps, he grew up overseas. He spent eight years in Egypt, speaks Arabic and knows a great deal about the various cultures of the Middle East. He wasn't happy when, even before his unit left the States, a top officer made wisecracks about the soldiers heading off to Iraq to kill some ragheads and burn some turbans.

'He laughed,' Delgado said, 'and everybody in the unit laughed with him.'

The officer's comment was a harbinger of the gratuitous violence that, according to Delgado, is routinely inflicted by American soldiers on ordinary Iraqis. He said: 'Guys in my unit, particularly the younger guys, would drive by in their Humvee and shatter bottles over the heads of Iraqi civilians passing by. They'd keep a bunch of empty Coke bottles in the Humvee to break over people's heads.'

He said he had confronted guys who were his friends about this practice. 'I said to them: 'What the hell are you doing? Like, what does this accomplish?' And they responded just completely openly. They said: 'Look, I hate being in Iraq. I hate being stuck here. And I hate being surrounded by hajis.''

'Haji' is the troops' term of choice for Iraqis. It's used the way 'gook' or 'Charlie' was used in Vietnam."

Lost Their Minds I Tell Ya

This mess borders on insanity. Does this man think he is running some kind of cult? I think Dubya's alliance of the far, religious, zealous right has created a block of monsterous people who have lost all sight of reason, morality and ethics. When pastors start telling people to how to vote, the boundaries of that pastor's role have been dangerously crossed.

Religion and politics clash over a local church's declaration that Democrats are not welcome.

East Waynesville Baptist asked nine members to leave. Now 40 more have left the church in protest. Former members say Pastor Chan Chandler gave them the ultimatum, saying if they didn't support George Bush, they should resign or repent. The minister declined an interview with News 13. But he did say "the actions were not politically motivated." There are questions about whether the bi-laws were followed when the members were thrown out.

What Is Wrong With People?

Who would do this?

"Two girls, both under 10 and described as best friends, were today found killed in a wooded park near a small Illinois town.

The area coroner said Laura Hobbs and Krystal Tobias died from 'stab wounds' but were not sexually assaulted.

'We do have two murdered children, and we don't have anybody in custody,' Zion police chief Doug Malcolm said. He added investigators have 'no solid leads.'

The girls were reported missing by their parents Sunday evening."

Key To My Heart

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who have a split personality - cold as ice on the outside but hot as fire in the heart.

In love, you feel the most alive when your lover is creative and never lets you feel bored.

You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please.

Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage as something that will confine you. You are afraid of marriage.

In this moment, you think of love as something you can get or discard anytime. You're feeling self centered.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

The Line Between Wrong And Illegal

Lead abuser and father of Lynndie England's baby may have gotten his former concubine off. Even though she plead guilty and admitted to participating in torture - knowing it was wrong - Charles Graner testified that she didn't know it was illegal and that she was following orders. How does that work? I'm not saying that I want the girl to be incarcerated for life - or even years - but how can Graner's testimony override her sworn testimony? Why is the judge so sure she is less guilty than any other of the participants? Because she is learning disabled? That begs the same question I asked yesterday. If she was so "dumb," why was she allowed in the military and sent to Iraq? That says a whole hell of a lot about the type of individuals we recruit and it's rather scary that these people have access to weaponry.

I wonder how many young minorities would get mistrials because of that, news to me, thin line between wrong and illegal.

"The mistrial came after Graner, the reputed ringleader of the abuse, testified as a defense witness at England's sentencing hearing that pictures he took of England holding a naked prisoner on a leash at Abu Ghraib were meant to be used as a legitimate training aid for other guards.

Other photos showed England smiling while standing next to nude prisoners stacked in a pyramid and pointing at a prisoner's genitals.

England maintained the same stoic look she has had throughout the proceeding. During a recess before the plea deal was thrown out, England peeked at a sketch artist's drawing of Graner on the stand. 'Don't forget the horns and the goatee,' she said.

When England pleaded guilty Monday, she told the judge she knew that the pictures were being taken purely for the amusement of the guards.

Pohl said her statement and Graner's could not be reconciled.

'You can't have a one-person conspiracy,' the judge said before he declared the mistrial and dismissed the sentencing jury.

Under military law, the judge could formally accept her guilty plea only if he was convinced that she knew at the time that what she was doing was illegal."

Kicking The Habit Is Hard

... even if you're a monkey!

"A South African zoo is trying to persuade its star chimpanzee to kick a bad smoking habit.

Charlie, a grown male chimp and the Bloemfontein Zoo, has been picking up cigarettes thrown to him by visitors and smoking them -- a habit he probably picked up by observing humans, zoo officials told the SAPA news agency on Thursday.

'Baby chimps pick up habits by mimicking adults and we think he started mimicking smokers at his enclosure which probably led to smokers throwing him cigarettes,' spokesman Daryl Barnes told SAPA.

Barnes said Charlie was already showing the signs of a true nicotine addict.

'He even acts like a naughty schoolboy by hiding the cigarette when staff approach the area,' Barnes said, adding that the zoo was determined to help him quit.

Barnes said the most important thing was that people stop providing Charlie with cigarettes or any other treats, noting the chimp already had three bad teeth because of all the cans of sweet soft drinks that people throw at him.

Charlie is not the only smoking chimpanzee. A zoo in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou reported last year that one of its chimps had taken up smoking and was desperately bumming cigarette butts off visitors. "

There are times when you can read entirely too much.

So, So Hard To Watch

I woke up in time to see the Sunday morning news programs yesterday and am not sure why I even tried to watch George Stephanopolous' exchange with Pat Robertson as he spouted outright falsehoods about Islam. I felt like I was watching Al Campanis sink himself on Nightline almost two decades ago. But the sad thing is that as ignorant as he sounded and the deeper he dug himself into that cesspool of rhetoric he spews, I'm sure many of his followers were holding their hands to the high heavens in praise of his defense of Christianity.

Fundamentalist televangelist and onetime presidential candidate Pat Robertson said Sunday that he would be wary of appointing Muslims to top positions in the U.S. government, including judgeships.

Robertson, who helped found the Christian Coalition, made his comments on ABC's "This Week."

The remarks drew heated responses from Muslim leaders, who decried them as racist and inaccurate.

Robertson, who launched a brief presidential bid in 1988, said that if he were president, he would not appoint Muslims to serve in his Cabinet and that he did not favor Muslims serving as judges.

"They have said in the Quran there's a war against all the infidels," he said. "Do you want somebody like that sitting as a judge? I wouldn't."

Reaction from the Muslim community was swift.

"Pat Robertson has taken his far-right-wing rhetoric to absurd levels," said Arsalan Iftikhar, national legal director for the Council on American Islamic Relations.

"He is trying to perpetuate this notion that Islam is a monolithic entity inherently at odds with modernity and democracy. That is absolutely false. ... American Muslims have long been contributing members of American society and I guarantee to Mr. Robertson that Muslims will one day become part of the federal bench - whether or not he likes it."

What's more, I'd already watched the very calm and spiritual Deepak Chopra struggling to keep his sanity as he debated Evangelical Christian Greg Koukl on Faith Under Fire last Friday. In the end, he was just chasing his tail. Chopra's historical knowledge of the orgins of Christianity and how it evolved in the West was not enough to budge Koukl's almost robotic recitation of the same old fundamentalist verbiage that you can hear from most people of that "faith." I'm not sure why Deepak bothers to debate those people anymore than I know why I continue to watch him try.

The Sheer Rocket Science Of It

I'm not claiming to be a nutritionist or, by any means, the best eater on earth but somehow I think I knew that fish sticks didn't really count as a heart healthy food item.

"Trying to eat more fish for a healthy heart? Fish sticks don't count. So says a study suggesting only fish that's broiled or baked actually protects against heart disease.

Most fish served fried are types that contain only small amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, the healthy fat that can improve cholesterol and other cardiac risk factors, scientists reported Monday at a meeting of the
American Heart Association"

I wonder if anyone is going to try to sue McDonald's for not telling them that the Filet O'Fish (big fishtick on a bun) won't help their heart?

Lynndie, Lynndie, Why?

I am not going to rehash how disgusting this young lady's behavior was in Iraq, but there are some questions that I must ask.

"England's lawyer Rick Hernandez said last week that the defense will present evidence during the sentencing that England has severe learning disabilities and mental problems. He said there had been no decision on whether she will testify.

Graner is expected to testify for the defense during England's sentencing, as early as Tuesday.

England entered guilty pleas to two counts of conspiracy to maltreat prisoners, four counts of maltreating prisoners and one count of committing an indecent act. Prosecutors agreed to drop another count of committing an indecent act and one count of dereliction of duty."

1. Why are we sending people with severe learning disabilities and mental problems to Iraq and why are they even allowed to enlist?
   
2. Why did she breed a child?
   
3. Why did her "baby daddy" and partner in crime marry someone else?
   
   

   
   

   
   
4. Why is she so gawd dang ugly?
   

What's So Funny?

Yes, I'm a fuddy duddy who just can't stand her husband. I don't understand all the hoopla over Miss Laura's scripted jokes at the press corps’ dinner. Seriously, when you have to read the jokes off of a paper like an unrehearsed speech ...

"She outlined a typical evening: “Nine o’clock, Mr. Excitement here is sound asleep and I’m watching ‘Desperate Housewives’.” Comedic pause. “With Lynne Cheney. Ladies and gentlemen, I am a desperate housewife.”

The line earned particularly rambunctious applause from the area of the Hilton Washington hotel ballroom where actor James Denton from the hit ABC show sat.

Laura Bush added that she and her husband obviously were destined to be together as a couple because “I was the librarian who spent 12 hours a day in the library and yet somehow I met George.”"

Heck, sue me!

There's Praise, Then There's Praise

Wellllll, hmmmmmm! I really want to say that I know what this guy was trying to say. Truly, Chris Rock is famous for his joke that he "loves black people, but can't stand no niggas!" But when it comes from an old white man who is responsible for coaching and mentoring young black men, it's just kinda hard to believe they really had the same concept in mind.

"ESPN reported Friday that before a Tuesday telecast of the Oklahoma-Wichita State game, Cochell, in describing a freshman outfielder, said 'There's no n----- in him.' It also reported that he said in a separate interview, 'There are honkies and white people and there are n------ and black people. (My player) is a good black kid.'

Both interviews, held with separate announcers who were preparing for the broadcast, were off-camera.

Cochell, who coached the Sooners for 14 years, submitted a letter of resignation Sunday to school president David Boren, who had met with athletic director Joe Castiglione and members of the university's black community.

'As I have said in a public statement, I deeply regret that I carelessly used language that is clearly contrary to the basic values of our university,' Cochell said in his resignation letter. 'Those words also created an impression contrary to my own personal values and my respect for all people.'"

It unfortunate (for him) that he had to resign. But, I have the feeling that this is the just time that he got caught. Lord knows what else he's been saying.