Saturday, February 10, 2007
Alberto Gonzales Tries to Underhandedly Stop Investigations
Alberto Gonzales should be castrated for trying to hinder the investigations into republican bullshit in the Duke Cunningham case by firing left-leaning lawyers and replacing them with people loyal to him. We don't need this kind of man in power.
HPV Vaccination That I Oppose
The Governor of Texas has issued an executive order mandating all 6th grade girls recieve an HPV vaccination. I say no. I do not like how this is done and there is also a legacy of white men putting women of color on the chopping block with mandates and orders such as these....the sterilization of Puerto Rican women, of Afro-American women, institutionalized hysterectomies and other such procedures. This is not what needs to be done.
One Less Campaign--Gardisil Vaccination
I would like to say something about this new HPV vaccination. When I first heard about this and saw the commerical I approached it with much enthusiasm, believing it to be a good thing. Now that I have read more about it--and especially the way in which the state(federal and state governments) are going about trying to recruit parents to get their children to take this vaccine, and have factored in the implications of targeting vulnerable young girls, particularly young women of color, I absolutely do not support the Gardisil vaccine and I believe that the state should not impose itself upon the parents of these children or force this vaccine. I stand with the anti-gardisil crowd.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Thursday, February 08, 2007
I Don't Know Why This Saddens Me So
but Anna Nicole Smith died today. I felt sorry for her because her son died at such a young age and in such a tragic way. What a sad,sad tale.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
The End of Silence
Elaine Brown
Have you ever stood
In the darkness of night
Screaming silently
You're a man
Have you ever hoped that
a time would come
when your voice could be heard
In a noon-day sun
Have you waited so long
'Til your unheard song
Has stripped away your very soul.
Well then, believe it my friend
That this silence will end
We'll just have to get guns
and be men
Has a cry to live
When your brain is dead
Made your body tremble so.
And have unseen chains
Of too many years
Hurt you so bad 'til you can't
Shed tears
Have so many vows
From so many mouths
Made you know that words
Are just words
Well then, believe it my friend
That this silence will end
We'll just have to get guns
and be men
You know that dignity
Not just equality
Is what makes a man a man
And so you laugh at laws
Passed by a silly lot
That tell you to give thanks
For what you've already
Got
And you can't go on
with this time-worn song
That just won't change the way
You feel.
Well then, believe it my friend
That this silence will end
We'll just have to get guns
and be men
You don't want to think
You just want to drink
Both the sweet wine and the gall
You been burning inside
For so long a while
'Til Your old time grin
is now a crazed man's smile
And the goal's so clear
And the time so near
You'll make it or
You'll break the plow
Well then, believe it my friend
That this silence will end
We'll just have to get guns
and be men
Yes it's time you know
Who you really are
And not try whitewash the truth.
You're a man you see
And a man must be
Whatever he'll be or he
won't be free
If he's bound up so tight
He'll hold back the night
And their won't be no light
For day
Well then, believe it my friend
That this silence will end
We'll just have to get guns
and be men.
Have you ever stood
In the darkness of night
Screaming silently
You're a man
Have you ever hoped that
a time would come
when your voice could be heard
In a noon-day sun
Have you waited so long
'Til your unheard song
Has stripped away your very soul.
Well then, believe it my friend
That this silence will end
We'll just have to get guns
and be men
Has a cry to live
When your brain is dead
Made your body tremble so.
And have unseen chains
Of too many years
Hurt you so bad 'til you can't
Shed tears
Have so many vows
From so many mouths
Made you know that words
Are just words
Well then, believe it my friend
That this silence will end
We'll just have to get guns
and be men
You know that dignity
Not just equality
Is what makes a man a man
And so you laugh at laws
Passed by a silly lot
That tell you to give thanks
For what you've already
Got
And you can't go on
with this time-worn song
That just won't change the way
You feel.
Well then, believe it my friend
That this silence will end
We'll just have to get guns
and be men
You don't want to think
You just want to drink
Both the sweet wine and the gall
You been burning inside
For so long a while
'Til Your old time grin
is now a crazed man's smile
And the goal's so clear
And the time so near
You'll make it or
You'll break the plow
Well then, believe it my friend
That this silence will end
We'll just have to get guns
and be men
Yes it's time you know
Who you really are
And not try whitewash the truth.
You're a man you see
And a man must be
Whatever he'll be or he
won't be free
If he's bound up so tight
He'll hold back the night
And their won't be no light
For day
Well then, believe it my friend
That this silence will end
We'll just have to get guns
and be men.
FREE THE PANTHER 8
Title: FREE THE 8 PANTHER VETS ON LOCKDOWNTime Frame: UNTIL VICTORY IS WON!Plan of Action: Make phone calls, write letters, attend hearings/meetings/rallies, broadly distribute information, provide financial support and resources towards the struggle for the release of 8 senior citizen Freedom Fighters.Eight former Black Panthers were arrested January 23, 2007 in California, New York and Florida on charges related to the 1971 killing of a San Francisco police officer. Similar charges were thrown out after it was revealed that police used torture to extract confessions when some of these same men were arrested in New Orleans in 1973. Richard Brown, Richard O'Neal, Ray Boudreaux, and Hank Jones were arrested in California. Francisco Torres was arrested in Queens, New York. Harold Taylor was arrested in Florida. Two men charged have been held as political prisoners for over 30 years – Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim are both in New York State prisons. A ninth man -- Ronald Stanley Bridgeforth – is still being sought. The men were charged with the murder of Sgt. John Young and conspiracy that encompasses numerous acts between 1968 and 1973.Harold Taylor and John Bowman (recently deceased) as well as Ruben Scott (thought to be a government witness) were first charged in 1975. But a judge tossed out the charges, finding that Taylor and his two co-defendants made confessions after police in New Orleans tortured them for several days employing electric shock, cattle prods, beatings, sensory deprivation, plastic bags and hot, wet blankets for asphyxiation.Purpose of Action: Let the world know of this federal witchhunt, harassment and kidnappings, as proof that this government will terrorize and torture freedom fighters, even in their senior years, to continue their war against those who dared to ever take a stand for the people.Bail Hearing and ArraignmentSet for Feb. 14, 2007The first court hearing for the four defendants who live in California-Richard Brown, Hank Jones, Richard O'Neal, and Ray Boudreaux-was held in San Francisco Superior Court on January 29, 2007. They are presently being held on bail of $3 million to $5 million each (!). Their arraignment and a bail reduction hearing was carried over until February 14 at 9:00 a.m.The Superior Court is at 850 Bryant Street in SF.ParticipateHow you can make a difference today:1. Attend the arraignment and bail reduction hearing on Valentine's Day at San Francisco Superior Court. These men need to get bailed out, which is impossible with the present absurd bail amounts.2. Write these Brothas and ask them what their specific needs may be (i.e. commissary, books, etc.). We must support them and let their captors know that they have folks on the outside looking out for them.3. Stay posted on ongoing developments and Action Alerts by subscribing to cdhrsupport's e-mail list (address below) as well as websites in solidarity with these men.Addresses:Bro. Herman Bell# 79C-0262, Sullivan Correctional Facility, Box 116, Riverside Drive,Fallsburg, New York 12733-0116Bro. Ray Boudreaux2301300, 850 Bryant Street, San Francisco CA 94103.Bro. Richard Brown2300819, 850 Bryant Street, San Francisco CA 94103.Bro. Henry (Hank) Jones2301301, 850 Bryant Street, San Francisco CA 94103.Bro. Jalil Muntaqim (Anthony Bottom), # 77A4283, Auburn Correctional Facility, 135 State Street, P.O. Box 618, Auburn, NY 13024Bro. Richard O'Neal2300818, 850 Bryant Street, San Francisco CA 94103Bro. Harold Taylor#07-00944, 5600 Nehi Road, Panama City, FL 32404Bro. Francisco Torres,#349071576, 1515 Hazen Street, East Elmhurst, NY 11370.(taken from http://www.cdhrsupport.org/)Goals and OutcomesGoals:1. To make the release of these men a global issue.2. To expose this government's campaign of terror against hundreds of U.S. political prisoners, prisoners of war, and exiles.Outcomes:1. To achieve full acquittal of all charges on these freedom fighters, and completely clear Bro. John Bowman's name in connection with this.2. To raise the demand for amnesty for all US freedom fighters by building an even stronger movement!=================CHECK THESE WEBSITES REGULARLY!:http://www.cdhrsupport.org/ (sign up for e-mail list!)
From Venezuelanalysis.com
Communications Minister Rejects CPJ Report on Venezuela
Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007
Venezuela’s Minister of Communications and Information, Willian Lara, yesterday rejected a report by the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) which accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of “controlling, intimidating and censoring the media.”
The “Attacks on the Press” report by the New York-based CPJ, which calls itself “an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide” and which is funded by individuals, corporations and foundations, identified Chavez and his Russian counterpart President Putin among the worst offenders stating, “Presidents Chavez and Putin represent a generation of sophisticated, elected leaders who have created a legal framework to control, intimidate, and censor the news media,” according to the news agency AFP.
In response Lara stated, “The report by the self-proclaimed Committee for the Protection of Journalists is a rehash of the same old anti-governmental propaganda used by forces of the opposition through its television companies, radio stations, and newspapers since 1999,” according to the state news agency, ABN.
“Its falseness is patent when we observe the absolute freedom -even to spread lies for political ends- with which the press operates in Venezuela,” Lara added.
According to the CPJ report, “The rise of 'democratators' -- popularly elected autocrats -- is alarming because it represents a new model for government control.”
Lara hit back saying that Chavez was the most tolerant of all Venezuelan presidents in Venezuela’s democratic era, and pointed out that Chavez did not suspend constitutional guarantees following the short-lived military coup against his government in April 2002, or during the two month long opposition-led oil strike in December 2002.
Lara’s response to the CPJ report comes in the wake of widespread criticism of the government’s decision announced in December last year not to renew the broadcast license for the privately-owned RCTV television channel, which expires in May this year.
In June 2006, the government announced it would be evaluating broadcasters’ adherence to the Law of Social Responsibility in Radio and Television, and warned that licenses up for review in 2007 might not be renewed. According to this media regulation law, passed in November 2004, violations of the law’s provisions can lead to fines and, in extreme cases, to a temporary or even permanent suspension of broadcast licenses.
CPJ immediately condemned the announcement saying, “We urge President Chavez to abstain from making these kinds of threatening commentaries, which inhibit the work of the press,” according to AFP. International media groups such as Paris-based Reporters without Borders and the International Press Institute also expressed their concern at the decision. The government argues it has good reason not to renew RCTV’s license, saying the channel was one of the main protagonists in the organization and execution of the 2002 coup, and actively misinformed the public during the coup when it claimed that Chavez government supporters were shooting at opposition demonstrators. The channel also hosted exclusive interviews with coup plotters and is accused by the government of failing to provide news coverage of the anti-coup demonstrators who took to the streets in support of Chavez, broadcasting cartoons instead. To top it all off, RCTV’s reputation as a coup-plotting channel stems from its support for the December 2002 oil strike, an attempt to force Chavez from office.
Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007
Venezuela’s Minister of Communications and Information, Willian Lara, yesterday rejected a report by the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) which accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of “controlling, intimidating and censoring the media.”
The “Attacks on the Press” report by the New York-based CPJ, which calls itself “an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide” and which is funded by individuals, corporations and foundations, identified Chavez and his Russian counterpart President Putin among the worst offenders stating, “Presidents Chavez and Putin represent a generation of sophisticated, elected leaders who have created a legal framework to control, intimidate, and censor the news media,” according to the news agency AFP.
In response Lara stated, “The report by the self-proclaimed Committee for the Protection of Journalists is a rehash of the same old anti-governmental propaganda used by forces of the opposition through its television companies, radio stations, and newspapers since 1999,” according to the state news agency, ABN.
“Its falseness is patent when we observe the absolute freedom -even to spread lies for political ends- with which the press operates in Venezuela,” Lara added.
According to the CPJ report, “The rise of 'democratators' -- popularly elected autocrats -- is alarming because it represents a new model for government control.”
Lara hit back saying that Chavez was the most tolerant of all Venezuelan presidents in Venezuela’s democratic era, and pointed out that Chavez did not suspend constitutional guarantees following the short-lived military coup against his government in April 2002, or during the two month long opposition-led oil strike in December 2002.
Lara’s response to the CPJ report comes in the wake of widespread criticism of the government’s decision announced in December last year not to renew the broadcast license for the privately-owned RCTV television channel, which expires in May this year.
In June 2006, the government announced it would be evaluating broadcasters’ adherence to the Law of Social Responsibility in Radio and Television, and warned that licenses up for review in 2007 might not be renewed. According to this media regulation law, passed in November 2004, violations of the law’s provisions can lead to fines and, in extreme cases, to a temporary or even permanent suspension of broadcast licenses.
CPJ immediately condemned the announcement saying, “We urge President Chavez to abstain from making these kinds of threatening commentaries, which inhibit the work of the press,” according to AFP. International media groups such as Paris-based Reporters without Borders and the International Press Institute also expressed their concern at the decision. The government argues it has good reason not to renew RCTV’s license, saying the channel was one of the main protagonists in the organization and execution of the 2002 coup, and actively misinformed the public during the coup when it claimed that Chavez government supporters were shooting at opposition demonstrators. The channel also hosted exclusive interviews with coup plotters and is accused by the government of failing to provide news coverage of the anti-coup demonstrators who took to the streets in support of Chavez, broadcasting cartoons instead. To top it all off, RCTV’s reputation as a coup-plotting channel stems from its support for the December 2002 oil strike, an attempt to force Chavez from office.
Yes
I just rebought The Waiting to Exhale CD. Two previous copies went missing(with some suspected places of where they went) and it was definitely a gaping hole in my music collection.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
This Is How It Works
TLC
Not everybody knows just how to do it
Some just learn it on the way
Once you get it right, ain't nothin to it
If you wanna get it right, you gotta learn to pace
Make it smooth, take your time
Make it groove, in, out, in
Make it last, kiss, kiss, kiss, Kiss my ---,
ah, ah, ah
This is how it works
Wrap your hands around my body
This is how it works
Go due south and
This is how it works
Melt yourself into my body
This is how it works
Kiss my mouth
Some guys think they know the answers
Everybody knows how to make you scream
If most guys took time out their fantasies
Maybe we could stop our make believe
Make it smooth, take your time
Make it groove, in ,out, in
Make it last, kiss, kiss, kiss,
Kiss my ---, ah, ah, ah
This is how it works
Wrap your hands around my body
This is how it works
Go due south and
This is how it works
Melt yourself into my body
This is how it works
Kiss my mouth
Ready set go, you don't have to know
We can take forever, learn together any flow
Touch me slow, watch it grow
Kiss the tip, gently flow, be my ho and take the show
We can watch it in slo mo, when the sweet & lo drips
Don't forget to let me wet my finger tips
Write love letters back & forth across your lips
Spread my hips, count to eighty, eighty ways, eighty trips
Make it smooth, take you time
One time for you mind, two times if ya tense baby let it unwind
Make it groove, in, out, in
Three counts let it bou--nce to the motherfucking ounce
Make it last, kiss, kiss, kiss
Here we go, now you know, 4th down, let if flow back around come on Kiss my --- Kiss my, kiss my , mm-wah
This is how it works
Wrap your hands around my body
This is how it works
Go due south and
This is how it works
Melt yourself into my body
This is how it works
Kiss my mouth
Not everybody knows just how to do it
Some just learn it on the way
Once you get it right, ain't nothin to it
If you wanna get it right, you gotta learn to pace
Make it smooth, take your time
Make it groove, in, out, in
Make it last, kiss, kiss, kiss, Kiss my ---,
ah, ah, ah
This is how it works
Wrap your hands around my body
This is how it works
Go due south and
This is how it works
Melt yourself into my body
This is how it works
Kiss my mouth
Some guys think they know the answers
Everybody knows how to make you scream
If most guys took time out their fantasies
Maybe we could stop our make believe
Make it smooth, take your time
Make it groove, in ,out, in
Make it last, kiss, kiss, kiss,
Kiss my ---, ah, ah, ah
This is how it works
Wrap your hands around my body
This is how it works
Go due south and
This is how it works
Melt yourself into my body
This is how it works
Kiss my mouth
Ready set go, you don't have to know
We can take forever, learn together any flow
Touch me slow, watch it grow
Kiss the tip, gently flow, be my ho and take the show
We can watch it in slo mo, when the sweet & lo drips
Don't forget to let me wet my finger tips
Write love letters back & forth across your lips
Spread my hips, count to eighty, eighty ways, eighty trips
Make it smooth, take you time
One time for you mind, two times if ya tense baby let it unwind
Make it groove, in, out, in
Three counts let it bou--nce to the motherfucking ounce
Make it last, kiss, kiss, kiss
Here we go, now you know, 4th down, let if flow back around come on Kiss my --- Kiss my, kiss my , mm-wah
This is how it works
Wrap your hands around my body
This is how it works
Go due south and
This is how it works
Melt yourself into my body
This is how it works
Kiss my mouth
Everything
Mary J. Blige
My everything, everything, everything
You are my everything, you are my everything
You, my everything
It's all because of you
I'm never sad and blue
You brighten up my day
In your own special way
Whenever you're around
I'm never feeling down
You are my trusted friend
On you I can depend
You take me away from the pain and you bring me paradise
And then on a cloudy day, you brought sunshine into my life
It never occurred to me, the first time I saw your face
I would fall so deep in love that your love can't be replaced
You are my (you are) everything (you are my everything)
Love so good (love so good, so good, so good, so good) only you can bring
You are my (you are my) everything
You are everything, and everything is you
My darling, only you can make my dreams come true
And every night I pray you'll never go away
I promise I will try until the day I die
To treat you like a king cause you are my everything
(When your loving me) with your loving arms around me
(When your loving me) said i feel so safe about security
(When your loving me) forever oooo i want you to hold me
my every every every everything everything
(Repeat Chorus til End)
Take me away
[fading]
My everything, everything, everything
You are my everything, you are my everything
You, my everything
It's all because of you
I'm never sad and blue
You brighten up my day
In your own special way
Whenever you're around
I'm never feeling down
You are my trusted friend
On you I can depend
You take me away from the pain and you bring me paradise
And then on a cloudy day, you brought sunshine into my life
It never occurred to me, the first time I saw your face
I would fall so deep in love that your love can't be replaced
You are my (you are) everything (you are my everything)
Love so good (love so good, so good, so good, so good) only you can bring
You are my (you are my) everything
You are everything, and everything is you
My darling, only you can make my dreams come true
And every night I pray you'll never go away
I promise I will try until the day I die
To treat you like a king cause you are my everything
(When your loving me) with your loving arms around me
(When your loving me) said i feel so safe about security
(When your loving me) forever oooo i want you to hold me
my every every every everything everything
(Repeat Chorus til End)
Take me away
[fading]
An Update on Ortega in Nicauragua
I certainly haven't been keeping up completely-but it is great news that Daniel Ortega won his election in Nicauragua!
HungryBlues Post on First Reagan Campaign
1980 Recording of Reagan at Neshoba County Fair Found
Last week the Neshoba Democrat reported the discovery of a recording of Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign kickoff speech at the Neshoba County Fair in Mississippi.
While we wait to find out whether there will be public access to Reagan’s speech, it may be informative to peer into the place where Reagan spoke. Melina was at the 2005 Neshoba County Fair, just one month after Edgar Ray Killen was convicted on three counts of manslaughter for the 1964 murders of James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman:
The Neshoba County Fair’s most famous role is as a venue for Mississippi political speakers. There are only 2.8 million people in the state, and a lot of the most important ones like to hang out at the Fair in their expensive hovels, so as a result, any Mississippi politician who is seriously stumping for office has to put on his shirtsleeves and take a turn sweating it out at the outdoor podium. It’s traditional. Sometimes it’s not just Mississippians who show up to pay their dues — none other than Ronald Reagan kicked off his first presidential campaign at the Neshoba County Fair. This year was not an election year, so the schedulers tried to book current and former elected officials to speak. The turnout was great. There were about four former state governors who showed up, as well as the current one, which made for an astonishing sight….
Before any governors spoke, the state attorney general Jim Hood had spoken - briefly, but intensely. He was the one who made the decision to re-open the case of the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner, which had ended only a few weeks before in Neshoba County with the conviction of Edgar Ray Killen, a native Neshoban. My boss was very apprehensive that he would not get any support from the audience when he spoke or that he might even be booed.
Well, he was not booed, but there was no standing ovation either. He got a little polite applause when he came up to the podium, but in the noisy outside auditorium, wood-hewn benches under a roof with fair-goers milling all around, you could hear a pin drop when he began to speak. And he didn’t mince words. “Aren’t you proud of Mississippi?” he started off. “Aren’t you proud to be from Neshoba County and proud to know that Mississippi did the right thing?”
The audience seemed, I’d say, maybe a little bit proud. They did clap, a little bit. But many of them sat very, very quietly, thinking who knows what. Overt racism is not in fashion in Mississippi politics. You just get these little crypto-racist moments … and also this weird overall attitude toward their history: as far as I can tell, the general mentality of white politicians and of many white Mississippians is that they work very hard to believe that there were never any Klan members and lynching-watchers and quiet racists among their parents and friends and family. They kind of like to think that Killen and the other men who murdered the civil rights workers were evil men from a little evil space ship, who made landfall in Neshoba county, did their evil deeds without any knowledge or support from the community, and were either brought to justice or quietly disappeared somewhere (perhaps to their evil home planet) where they are far too far away for the arm of justice to reach. And so, we should put the past behind us. And so, Mississippi and her fair native (non space-ship-based) citizens have nothing to be ashamed of. And so, everything is fine now and equal now. And so, it’s not very nice of Attorney General Jim Hood to go on bringing it up, even if he is praising Mississippians for “doing what was right.”
Essentially, they’re fighting a battle to avoid historical context. Holocaust eduation is mandatory in Mississippi public schools. Civil rights history education is not.
Neshoba County is 20% black, and Mississippi is 36% black. But I only saw about two black families visiting the fair the entire day I was there, and one local said that she thought that *none* of the cabins were owned by black families. But it’s not that they’re not there –it’s that they’re not guests, not visitors. Black people maintain the fair grounds. They drive the horses in the harness races that fairgoers bet on.
The current governor was the last to speak. He is this big red-faced guy who, rumor has it, is planning to run for president in 2008…. He gave a cheerful speech about his his successes (after a year and a half in office, he claims, job creation rates are at their highest since 1999) and declared Mississippi to be the safest state in the country for the unborn. He was also the only governor to not mention the trial at all. I guess he thinks it’s over and done with, and that everyone should just be looking toward the future.
This long excerpt includes the parts of Melina’s account that relate most directly to what I cover here, but there is quite a bit more, and it is all worth reading.
In 1980 Neshoba County’s only claim to fame was as the location where a band of Klansmen murdered James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman on June 21, 1964. As noted in the Neshoba Democrat article about the Reagan recording,
Reagan’s visit to the Fair was his first public appearance following his nomination with over 30,000 said to be in attendance.
Before the assembled throng, the presidential hopeful declared:
I believe in states’ rights. I believe that we’ve distorted the balance of our government by giving powers that were never intended in the Constitution to the federal establishment.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson has rightly called this a battle cry, the launching of the Reagan revolution, a coded promise to “roll the clock back to the pre-civil rights days when blacks, minorities and women knew their place.”
Last week the Neshoba Democrat reported the discovery of a recording of Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign kickoff speech at the Neshoba County Fair in Mississippi.
While we wait to find out whether there will be public access to Reagan’s speech, it may be informative to peer into the place where Reagan spoke. Melina was at the 2005 Neshoba County Fair, just one month after Edgar Ray Killen was convicted on three counts of manslaughter for the 1964 murders of James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman:
The Neshoba County Fair’s most famous role is as a venue for Mississippi political speakers. There are only 2.8 million people in the state, and a lot of the most important ones like to hang out at the Fair in their expensive hovels, so as a result, any Mississippi politician who is seriously stumping for office has to put on his shirtsleeves and take a turn sweating it out at the outdoor podium. It’s traditional. Sometimes it’s not just Mississippians who show up to pay their dues — none other than Ronald Reagan kicked off his first presidential campaign at the Neshoba County Fair. This year was not an election year, so the schedulers tried to book current and former elected officials to speak. The turnout was great. There were about four former state governors who showed up, as well as the current one, which made for an astonishing sight….
Before any governors spoke, the state attorney general Jim Hood had spoken - briefly, but intensely. He was the one who made the decision to re-open the case of the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner, which had ended only a few weeks before in Neshoba County with the conviction of Edgar Ray Killen, a native Neshoban. My boss was very apprehensive that he would not get any support from the audience when he spoke or that he might even be booed.
Well, he was not booed, but there was no standing ovation either. He got a little polite applause when he came up to the podium, but in the noisy outside auditorium, wood-hewn benches under a roof with fair-goers milling all around, you could hear a pin drop when he began to speak. And he didn’t mince words. “Aren’t you proud of Mississippi?” he started off. “Aren’t you proud to be from Neshoba County and proud to know that Mississippi did the right thing?”
The audience seemed, I’d say, maybe a little bit proud. They did clap, a little bit. But many of them sat very, very quietly, thinking who knows what. Overt racism is not in fashion in Mississippi politics. You just get these little crypto-racist moments … and also this weird overall attitude toward their history: as far as I can tell, the general mentality of white politicians and of many white Mississippians is that they work very hard to believe that there were never any Klan members and lynching-watchers and quiet racists among their parents and friends and family. They kind of like to think that Killen and the other men who murdered the civil rights workers were evil men from a little evil space ship, who made landfall in Neshoba county, did their evil deeds without any knowledge or support from the community, and were either brought to justice or quietly disappeared somewhere (perhaps to their evil home planet) where they are far too far away for the arm of justice to reach. And so, we should put the past behind us. And so, Mississippi and her fair native (non space-ship-based) citizens have nothing to be ashamed of. And so, everything is fine now and equal now. And so, it’s not very nice of Attorney General Jim Hood to go on bringing it up, even if he is praising Mississippians for “doing what was right.”
Essentially, they’re fighting a battle to avoid historical context. Holocaust eduation is mandatory in Mississippi public schools. Civil rights history education is not.
Neshoba County is 20% black, and Mississippi is 36% black. But I only saw about two black families visiting the fair the entire day I was there, and one local said that she thought that *none* of the cabins were owned by black families. But it’s not that they’re not there –it’s that they’re not guests, not visitors. Black people maintain the fair grounds. They drive the horses in the harness races that fairgoers bet on.
The current governor was the last to speak. He is this big red-faced guy who, rumor has it, is planning to run for president in 2008…. He gave a cheerful speech about his his successes (after a year and a half in office, he claims, job creation rates are at their highest since 1999) and declared Mississippi to be the safest state in the country for the unborn. He was also the only governor to not mention the trial at all. I guess he thinks it’s over and done with, and that everyone should just be looking toward the future.
This long excerpt includes the parts of Melina’s account that relate most directly to what I cover here, but there is quite a bit more, and it is all worth reading.
In 1980 Neshoba County’s only claim to fame was as the location where a band of Klansmen murdered James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman on June 21, 1964. As noted in the Neshoba Democrat article about the Reagan recording,
Reagan’s visit to the Fair was his first public appearance following his nomination with over 30,000 said to be in attendance.
Before the assembled throng, the presidential hopeful declared:
I believe in states’ rights. I believe that we’ve distorted the balance of our government by giving powers that were never intended in the Constitution to the federal establishment.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson has rightly called this a battle cry, the launching of the Reagan revolution, a coded promise to “roll the clock back to the pre-civil rights days when blacks, minorities and women knew their place.”
Also From Hungry Blues
Money for Meals for Public Housing Residents Going to DC!
I received this email from Bill Quigley today. Bill Quigley is one of the lawyers for the public housing residents in New Orleans who have brought a class action suit against HANO and HUD to stop the planned demolitions of their homes. Please consider helping out.
From: bill quigleyDate: Jan 31, 2007 11:13 AMSubject: Raising $ for Meals for Public Housing Residents Going to DC!
Friends:
On Sunday morning, about 50 public housing residents will be boarding a bus to go to DC where they will tell their stories, meet with legislators and publicly advocate for the right of public housing residents to return to NOLA. They will return Wednesday.
The residents have taken time off of work, had to make their own arrangements for child care, and the like. The bus trip and a place to stay will be donated.
But people still need to eat. This is a very long bus ride.
I estimate that people will need at least $50 per person to eat during the trip up and back.
This is a chance for the rest of us who are not going with our sisters and brothers to show our solidarity with them.
Please donate as much as you can to help pay for meals.
I will collect the money and distribute it directly to the residents as they board the bus. Please send or deliver donations (preferably cash or check made out to me) to me at:
Loyola Law ClinicRoom 120 (Law School)526 Pine StNew Orleans, LA 70118
I will send out an email listing everyone who donated.
Show your support - and pitch in please.
Peace,
Bill Quigley
For more information on the class action suit and the public housing residents’ fight for justice, see the justiceforneworleans.org, a website of the Loyola Law Clinic.
I received this email from Bill Quigley today. Bill Quigley is one of the lawyers for the public housing residents in New Orleans who have brought a class action suit against HANO and HUD to stop the planned demolitions of their homes. Please consider helping out.
From: bill quigley
Friends:
On Sunday morning, about 50 public housing residents will be boarding a bus to go to DC where they will tell their stories, meet with legislators and publicly advocate for the right of public housing residents to return to NOLA. They will return Wednesday.
The residents have taken time off of work, had to make their own arrangements for child care, and the like. The bus trip and a place to stay will be donated.
But people still need to eat. This is a very long bus ride.
I estimate that people will need at least $50 per person to eat during the trip up and back.
This is a chance for the rest of us who are not going with our sisters and brothers to show our solidarity with them.
Please donate as much as you can to help pay for meals.
I will collect the money and distribute it directly to the residents as they board the bus. Please send or deliver donations (preferably cash or check made out to me) to me at:
Loyola Law ClinicRoom 120 (Law School)526 Pine StNew Orleans, LA 70118
I will send out an email listing everyone who donated.
Show your support - and pitch in please.
Peace,
Bill Quigley
For more information on the class action suit and the public housing residents’ fight for justice, see the justiceforneworleans.org, a website of the Loyola Law Clinic.
From HungryBlues
Ask Barney Frank to Let New Orleans Public Housing Residents Speak THIS TUESDAY (2/6)
ACTION ALERT
Without any input from New Orleans public housing residents, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has approved plans to demolish thousands of livable public housing apartments in New Orleans.
MA Residents Can Help Make New Orleans Public Housing Residents Heard
Please call Representative Barney Frank today and ask him to guarantee two slots for New Orleans public housing residents to speak at this Tuesday’s (Feb. 6) meeting of the House Committee on Financial Services. Representative Frank is Chair of the Financial Services Committee, which has oversight of HUD.
Call Barney Frank now at 202-225-5931 (DC office) or 617-332-3920 (District Office, Newton).
(Make sure you let Frank’s staff know if you are his constituents from the 4th Congressional District of MA. In Metro Boston that includes Brookline and Newton.)
On Sunday morning, February 4, fifty New Orleans public housing residents boarded a bus to Washington, DC, where they will tell their stories, meet with legislators and publicly advocate for the right of public housing residents to return to New Orleans.
The residents have taken time off from work, made arrangements for childcare and have made other sacrifices in hopes that they will be allowed to speak about their desire and their right to return to their homes. Please take a few minutes out of your day to call Representative Frank and let him know you want the New Orleans public housing residents to speak at the House Financial Services Committee meeting this Tuesday, February 6.
For more information, visit the Gulf Coast Fair Housing Network:
Fact Sheet: http://fairhousingnetwork.org/node/30
Condition of the Projects (includes photos): http://fairhousingnetwork.org/node/10
4th Congressional District: http:// fairhousingnetwork.org/node/8
ACTION ALERT
Without any input from New Orleans public housing residents, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has approved plans to demolish thousands of livable public housing apartments in New Orleans.
MA Residents Can Help Make New Orleans Public Housing Residents Heard
Please call Representative Barney Frank today and ask him to guarantee two slots for New Orleans public housing residents to speak at this Tuesday’s (Feb. 6) meeting of the House Committee on Financial Services. Representative Frank is Chair of the Financial Services Committee, which has oversight of HUD.
Call Barney Frank now at 202-225-5931 (DC office) or 617-332-3920 (District Office, Newton).
(Make sure you let Frank’s staff know if you are his constituents from the 4th Congressional District of MA. In Metro Boston that includes Brookline and Newton.)
On Sunday morning, February 4, fifty New Orleans public housing residents boarded a bus to Washington, DC, where they will tell their stories, meet with legislators and publicly advocate for the right of public housing residents to return to New Orleans.
The residents have taken time off from work, made arrangements for childcare and have made other sacrifices in hopes that they will be allowed to speak about their desire and their right to return to their homes. Please take a few minutes out of your day to call Representative Frank and let him know you want the New Orleans public housing residents to speak at the House Financial Services Committee meeting this Tuesday, February 6.
For more information, visit the Gulf Coast Fair Housing Network:
Fact Sheet: http://fairhousingnetwork.org/node/30
Condition of the Projects (includes photos): http://fairhousingnetwork.org/node/10
4th Congressional District: http:// fairhousingnetwork.org/node/8
U.S. Involved in Kidnapping of Iranian Official
This was on the newswire this morning. This comes not to long after several Iranian diplomats were illegally detained in Iraq and admist growing talk amongst people in the knew that the United States intends to widen the war in Iraq into Iran. Write your congresspeople, write the white house and tell them this must stop!
Monday, February 05, 2007
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Strangefruit
Billy Holiday
Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Here is the fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Here is the fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
Something to Think About
It was pointed out to me tonight that the U.S. and the British may be using their old methods of divide and conquer in Iraq amongst the Shiite and Sunnis.
Tainted Love
Sometimes I feel
I've got to
Run away
I've got to
Get away
From the pain that you drive into the heart of me
The love we share
Seems to go nowhere
And I've lost my light
For I toss and turn I can't sleep at night (chorus)
Once I ran to you (I ran)
Now I'll run from you
This tainted love you've given
I give you all a boy could give you
Take my tears and that's not nearly all
Oh...tainted love
Tainted love
Now I know
I've got to
Run away
I've got to
Get away
You don't really want
IT any more from me
To make things right
You need someone to hold you tight
And you'LL think love is to pray
But I'm sorry I don't pray that way (chorus...)
Don't touch me please I cannot stand the way you tease
I love you though you hurt me so
Now I'm going to pack my things and go
Tainted love, tainted love (x2)
Touch me baby, tainted love (x2)
Tainted love (x3)
I've got to
Run away
I've got to
Get away
From the pain that you drive into the heart of me
The love we share
Seems to go nowhere
And I've lost my light
For I toss and turn I can't sleep at night (chorus)
Once I ran to you (I ran)
Now I'll run from you
This tainted love you've given
I give you all a boy could give you
Take my tears and that's not nearly all
Oh...tainted love
Tainted love
Now I know
I've got to
Run away
I've got to
Get away
You don't really want
IT any more from me
To make things right
You need someone to hold you tight
And you'LL think love is to pray
But I'm sorry I don't pray that way (chorus...)
Don't touch me please I cannot stand the way you tease
I love you though you hurt me so
Now I'm going to pack my things and go
Tainted love, tainted love (x2)
Touch me baby, tainted love (x2)
Tainted love (x3)
My Oscar Picks
Performance by an actor in a leading role
Leonardo DiCaprio in “Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson” (THINKFilm)
Peter O’Toole in “Venus” (Miramax, Filmfour and UK Council)
Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland” (Fox Searchlight)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin in “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Jackie Earle Haley in “Little Children” (New Line)
Djimon Hounsou in “Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Eddie Murphy in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Mark Wahlberg in “The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penélope Cruz in “Volver” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Judi Dench in “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
Helen Mirren in “The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada” (20th Century Fox)
Kate Winslet in “Little Children” (New Line)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza in “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Cate Blanchett in “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
Abigail Breslin in “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Jennifer Hudson in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Rinko Kikuchi in “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“I Need to Wake Up” from “An Inconvenient Truth”(Paramount Classics and Participant Productions) Music and Lyric by Melissa Etheridge
“Listen” from “Dreamgirls”(DreamWorks and Paramount) Music by Henry Krieger and Scott CutlerLyric by Anne Preven
“Love You I Do” from “Dreamgirls”(DreamWorks and Paramount) Music by Henry KriegerLyric by Siedah Garrett
“Our Town” from “Cars”(Buena Vista)Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Patience” from “Dreamgirls”(DreamWorks and Paramount)Music by Henry KriegerLyric by Willie Reale
Best motion picture of the year
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) An Anonymous Content/Zeta Film/Central Films ProductionAlejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik and Steve Golin, Producers
“The Departed” (Warner Bros.)A Warner Bros. Pictures Production Graham King, Producer
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.)A DreamWorks Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures ProductionClint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz, Producers
“Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)A Big Beach/Bona Fide ProductionDavid T. Friendly, Peter Saraf and Marc Turtletaub, Producers
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)A Granada ProductionAndy Harries, Christine Langan and Tracey Seaward, Producers
Leonardo DiCaprio in “Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson” (THINKFilm)
Peter O’Toole in “Venus” (Miramax, Filmfour and UK Council)
Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland” (Fox Searchlight)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin in “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Jackie Earle Haley in “Little Children” (New Line)
Djimon Hounsou in “Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Eddie Murphy in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Mark Wahlberg in “The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penélope Cruz in “Volver” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Judi Dench in “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
Helen Mirren in “The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada” (20th Century Fox)
Kate Winslet in “Little Children” (New Line)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza in “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Cate Blanchett in “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
Abigail Breslin in “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Jennifer Hudson in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Rinko Kikuchi in “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“I Need to Wake Up” from “An Inconvenient Truth”(Paramount Classics and Participant Productions) Music and Lyric by Melissa Etheridge
“Listen” from “Dreamgirls”(DreamWorks and Paramount) Music by Henry Krieger and Scott CutlerLyric by Anne Preven
“Love You I Do” from “Dreamgirls”(DreamWorks and Paramount) Music by Henry KriegerLyric by Siedah Garrett
“Our Town” from “Cars”(Buena Vista)Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Patience” from “Dreamgirls”(DreamWorks and Paramount)Music by Henry KriegerLyric by Willie Reale
Best motion picture of the year
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) An Anonymous Content/Zeta Film/Central Films ProductionAlejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik and Steve Golin, Producers
“The Departed” (Warner Bros.)A Warner Bros. Pictures Production Graham King, Producer
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.)A DreamWorks Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures ProductionClint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz, Producers
“Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)A Big Beach/Bona Fide ProductionDavid T. Friendly, Peter Saraf and Marc Turtletaub, Producers
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)A Granada ProductionAndy Harries, Christine Langan and Tracey Seaward, Producers
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)