Autauga County Civil Rights History

At some point in the 1950s or 60s, there were Blacks organizing in Autauga County, Alabama, participating in the Civil Rights movement. The sheriff of the county at that time and local klansmen plotted to hide up in some trees one night and when the (men I am presuming)came from their meeting, they would descend on them from the trees and attack them. A black woman who was working as a maid in the home of one of these men(I believe it was the sheriff), heard what was being planned and ran back to tell the black community what was going to occur. The Black organizers prepared themselves. The night of the planned incident, they carried guns and held them pointed straight up at the trees. When they reached the place where the men were hidden in the trees, they fired their guns into the air. The sheriff was shot in the behind and from what I am told that later developed into cancer, from which he died. Interesting bit of history.

God Bless the Iraqi people and may all they dream of come to light.

Someone should cut Mukasey's penis off if he thinks George Bush can hold people indefinitely without charges.

Dear Mr. President

Dear Mr. President,
Come take a walk with me.
Let's pretend we're just two people and
You're not better than me.
I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly.

What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?
Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep?
What do you feel when you look in the mirror?
Are you proud?

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why?

Dear Mr. President,
Were you a lonely boy?
Are you a lonely boy?
Are you a lonely boy?
How can you say
No child is left behind?
We're not dumb and we're not blind.
They're all sitting in your cells
While you pave the road to hell.

What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away?
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine.

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye?

Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Building a bed out of a cardboard box
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
You don't know nothing 'bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
Oh

How do you sleep at night?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Dear Mr. President,
You'd never take a walk with me.
Would you?

Bill Cosby on Oprah

While I agreed with some things said on the show, I believe the failure of Cosby and Toussiant to critique white male capitalist patriarchy and incorporate social,economic, and political factors into the discussion of the plight of Blacks was detrimental to any effort.

Louis Farrakhan Calls On Blacks to Build Up Their Own Community

I very much respect Louis Farrakhan, most of the time, and this is one occassion where I absolutely agree with him.

I am very proud to say I have never listened to, read in print, or watched on television anything George Bush has ever said.

Soviet Anthem

United forever in friendship and labour,
Our mighty republics will ever endure.
The Great Soviet Union will live through the ages.
The dream of a people their fortress secure.

Long live our Soviet motherland,
Built by the people's mighty hand.
Long live our people, united and free.
Strong in our friendship tried by fire.
Long may our crimson flag inspire,
Shining in glory for all men to see.

Putin Stands With Iran

God Bless Vladimir Putin. He too, is a lovely man.

Ain't No Stopping Us Now

Ain't no stopping us now, we're on the move

Ain't no stopping us now, we've got the groove



There's been so many things thats held us down

But now it looks like things are finally coming around

I know we've got a long long way to go

And where we'll end up I don't know

But we won't let nothing hold us back

We're putting our show together

We're polishing up our act now

And if you've ever been held down before

I know you refuse to be held down anymore well...



Don't you let nothing nothing

Stand in your way ay ay ay

I want y'all to listen listen

To every word I say every word I say...



Ain't no stopping us now We're on the move

Ain't no stopping us now We've got the groove

Ain't no stopping us now We're on the move (I know I know)

Ain't no stopping us now We've got the groove (we got it)



I know you know someone that has a negative vibe

And if you try and make it they only push you aside

They really don't have nowhere to go

Ask them where their going they don't know

But we won't let nothing hold us back

We gonna put our show together

Gonna polish up our act well

And if you've ever been held down before

I know you refuse to be held down anymore well.....



Don't you let nothing nothing

Stand in your way ay ay ay

I want y'all to listen listen

To every word I say every word I say...



Ain't no stopping us now (no no no)

We're on the move (we're moving grooving)

Ain't no stopping us now (moving yeah yeah yeah)

We've got the groove

Ain't no stopping us now

We're on the move (I know we got the groove)

Ain't no stopping us now

We've got the groove

God Bless the Armenian people-and the person that proposed that bill in Congress is brilliant!

Appletree

I'd like to dedicate this to all the children
I have some food in my bag for you
Not the edible food, the food you eat, no
Perhaps some food for thought
Since knowledge is infinite
It has infinitely fell on me, so um...

It was a stormy night, you know the kind where the lightnin' strike
And I was hangin' out with some my artsy friends
ooh wee ooh wee ooh wee
The night was long, the night went on, people coolin' out until the
break of dawn
Incense was burnin' so I'm feelin' right, aight

See I picks my friends like I pick my fruit
My Ganny told me that when I was only a youth
I don't walk around trying to be what I'm not
I don't waste my time trying to get what you got
I work at pleasin' me
Cause I can't please you and that's why I do what I do
My soul flies free like a willow tree
doo wee doo wee doo wee

And if you don't want to be down with me, then you don't want to pick
from my
apple tree x3
And if you don't want to be down, you just don't want to be down

I have a hoe
And I take it everywhere I go
Cause I'm plantin' seeds so I reaps what I sow, ya know, ya know
On and on, and on and on my CYPHER keep's movin' like a rollin' stone
I can't control the soul flowin' in me
ooh wee ooh wee

See I picks my friends like I pick my fruit
My Ganny told me that when I was only a youth
I don't walk around trying to be what I'm not
I don't waste my time trying to get what ya got
I work at pleasin' me
Cause I can't please you and that's why I do what I do
My soul flies free like a willow tree
doo wee doo wee doo wee

And if you don't want to be down with me, you don't want to pick from my
apple tree x3
And if you don't want to be down with me, you just don't want to be down
Oh my my my my, oh my my my my, oh my my my my my my my

I picks my friends like I pick my fruit
My Ganny told me that when I was only a youth
I don't walk around trying to be what I'm not
I don't waste my time trying to get what you got
I work at pleasin' me
Cause I can't please you, and thats why I do what I do
My soul flies free like a willow tree
doo wee doo wee doo wee

And if you don't want to be down with me, you don't want to pick from my
apple tree
And if you don't want to be down with me, dum dum diddy
And if you don't want to be down with me, you don't want to pick from my
apple tree
And if you don't want to be down with me, you just don't want to be down
You just don't want to be down,
You just don't want to be down

Fade

Watada's Double Jeopardy

by JEREMY BRECHER & BRENDAN SMITH

[posted online on October 12, 2007]
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071029/brecher_smith

The double jeopardy clause of the US Constitution
ensures that no American can be tried twice for the
same offense. But at a time when our civil liberties
are rapidly eroding, a drama is unfolding in Washington
State over whether that constitutional protection
applies to a US soldier.

After his February court-martial ended in a mistrial,
Lt. Ehren Watada, the first commissioned officer to
refuse to serve in Iraq, seemed certain to face a
second court-martial on October 9 at Fort Lewis, an
Army base near Tacoma. Three military courts had
rejected Watada's claim of double jeopardy, finding no
abuse of discretion by the military judge in declaring
a mistrial. But in an unusual civilian intervention in
a military legal process, US District Court Judge
Benjamin Settle issued a last-minute stay October 5 in
Tacoma, temporarily blocking the trial.

Settle will hear Watada's double jeopardy claim October
19. Nationwide Iraq Moratorium protests are scheduled
for that day, many of which will feature Watada's case
and his stand against the war.

Watada has consistently maintained that the Iraq War is
illegal under international law and the US
Constitution, and that to participate in it would make
him guilty of a war crime. At the video press
conference on June 7, 2006, in which he first announced
his refusal to go to Iraq, he explained, "It is my
conclusion as an officer of the armed forces that the
war in Iraq is not only morally wrong but a horrible
breach of American law."

Watada was tried in a military court in February for
failing to deploy and conduct unbecoming an officer for
his statements opposing the war. After the prosecution
had completed its case, the military judge, Lt. Col.
John Head, intervened, declared a mistrial and ordered
Watada to be retried. [See our report on that trial
here.]

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution states that no
person shall be "subject for the same offence to be
twice put in jeopardy of life or limb." As the Supreme
Court explained in a seminal 1978 double jeopardy case,
United States v. Scott, "The underlying idea, one that
is deeply ingrained in at least the Anglo-American
system of jurisprudence, is that the State with all its
resources and power should not be allowed to make
repeated attempts to convict an individual for an
alleged offence."

Like the erosion of the right to habeas corpus, the
denial of the protection against double jeopardy
represents one more Bush-era encroachment of the
all-powerful state on basic human rights and the rule
of law.

While the legal arguments about double jeopardy are
quite complicated, Watada's lawyers are convinced their
arguments are strong. They wrote in their emergency
motion, "This is a remarkably clear case of an
egregious violation of the double-jeopardy clause."
Judge Settle's opinion states, "The Court has not been
presented any evidence showing that Petitioner's double
jeopardy claim lacks merit. On the contrary, the record
indicates that Petitioner's double jeopardy claim is
meritorious."

Growing Support

Watada's term of military service was scheduled to
expire on December 4, 2006. He has not been discharged,
however, because of the pending court-martial charges
against him. If convicted, he could face up to six
years in prison.

In an October 4 editorial, the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer declared, "However the defense
appeals turn out, we think there is a case for letting
Watada leave the Army without further ado."

There's no evidence yet that the Army is listening. But
Judge Settle's ruling has energized Watada's
supporters. They have formed a new national steering
committee with representatives from regions around the
country. Michael Wong, a military resister during the
Vietnam era who took much of the initiative to mobilize
the current wave of support, explained in an interview,
"We have three demands. The first is to bar the Army
from trying Ehren Watada again. The second is to drop
all charges against him. The third is to let him leave
with an honorable discharge."

Wong asks peace groups to incorporate Watada's defense
in local and national demonstrations and encourages
individuals to write letters to the editor and articles
to educate the public about the case. "They had a
chance to try him once. They blew it. The prosecution's
case was so weak that declaring a mistrial may have
been the only way that Judge Head could save the Army
from humiliation and defeat," he said. "They should
just drop the charges and let him go."

San Francisco organizer and lawyer Bill Simpich has
been active in both the Iraq Moratorium and the Watada
defense. He is working to make Watada's stand against
the war a central theme of the monthly Iraq Moratorium
Day October 19. "The Iraq Moratorium and the Watada
Support Campaign are moving tightly with plans to get
the word out to stop the war now so soldiers like
Lieutenant Watada aren't forced to choose between
supporting the Constitution and going to prison," he
said.

Simpich said the signature event of the Iraq Moratorium
Day in the Bay Area will be a dramatic end-of-workday
event outside the downtown office of Senator Dianne
Feinstein, co-sponsored by the Iraq Moratorium and the
Watada Support Committee. Community events and
leafleting at transportation hubs such as BART and
CalTrain will also link the Moratorium and the Watada
case.

In Washington, activists plan demonstrations and a
counterrecruiting effort outside a Seattle-area
recruitment center.

"The US government and military is waging two illegal
wars and is actively planning for a third," said
organizer Gerry Condon, referring to increasing
hostilities between the United States and Iran. "It is
more important than ever that we support GIs who follow
their own consciences and obey international law."

The Watada case is also drawing international
attention. Amnesty International issued a statement
October 5 warning that a guilty verdict would make
Watada "a prisoner of conscience who should be
immediately and unconditionally released."

Watada's case is different from typical conscientious
objector cases because the US military recognizes as
conscientious objectors only those who oppose war in
any form. Watada did not apply for conscientious
objector status because he said as a soldier he would
be willing to fight in a war--unlike Iraq--that was
necessary, legal and just.

Amnesty International argues in its statement that the
right to refuse to perform military service for reasons
of conscience, thought or religion is protected under
international human rights standards, including the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR)--treaties that have been ratified by the United
States.

Watada's Impact

The Watada case has presented a serious challenge to
the military. As Daniel Ellsberg put it, "Lt. Ehren
Watada--who still faces trial for refusing to obey
orders to deploy to Iraq, which he correctly perceives
to be an unconstitutional and aggressive war--is the
single officer in the United States armed services who
is taking seriously...his oath."

Despite strong traditions in the military against
publicly criticizing the government, more than twenty
retired US generals have criticized the Commander in
Chief about Iraq or spoken out against the war. In
2005, five retired military panelists discussed the war
at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. Retired Brig.
Gen. John Johns told the San Diego Union-Tribune, "Four
out of five of us retired military panelists there said
it was a moral duty for us to speak out in a democracy
against policies which you think are unwise." One of
the participants, retired Lt. Gen. Robert Gard, said,
"When you feel the country--to its extreme
detriment--is going in the wrong direction, and that
your views might have some impact, you have a duty to
speak out."

In a video press conference announcing his refusal to
deploy to Iraq, Watada noted, "Although I have tried to
resign out of protest, I am forced to participate in a
war that is manifestly illegal. As the order to take
part in an illegal act is ultimately unlawful as well,
I must as an officer of honor and integrity refuse that
order."

While evidence of the war's illegality was barred in
Watada's court-martial, his position is grounded in
military law and doctrine. At a National Press Club
luncheon February 17, 2006, just a year before Watada's
court-martial, Gen. Peter Pace, then Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked, "Should people in the
US military disobey orders they believe are illegal?"

Pace's response: "It is the absolute responsibility of
everybody in uniform to disobey an order that is either
illegal or immoral."

The Army wants to sentence Ehren Watada to six years in
the brig for the crime of trying to fulfill that
absolute responsibility.

One good thing about Purdue. They do teach you about technology, no matter what your major. I have overcome my fear of technology, somewhat.

What I'm Thinking About Now

Cornel West said America was a corporation before it was a country....the Virginia Club of London based in Jamestown Colony...what does that have to say about the phenomenon of the Cyborg, the power of corporations and the creation of corporations as people? What does that have to say about the United States?

The Thing About Blackwater

The issues to look at with Blackwater are not only the atrocities they have carried out and are carrying out in Iraq and Afghanistan. The root of it is privatization. The right wing/neo-con effort to privatize everything where the government is concerned from toll roads, to hospitals, to healthcare, public services, and the military... What we have is people elected to public office taking public money and placing it in the hands of private corporations,handing $92 millions dollars and then hundreds of millions more to Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater. What has happened in Iraq should prove beyond a doubt that the neo-cons are nothing but fuckups and that we should not be allowing them to have way with the public trust.

As A Matter of Fact

We have listened to Bill Cosby enough. We should ask Camille what she has to say.

On Bill Cosby and His New Book

Bill Cosby, in his declining years and now that he has become an elder statesmen, wants to speak profoundly about Black people and to Black people. The only trouble is, what he is saying is bullshit, and I am sure he doesnt even recognize it. Bill Cosby and Allen Toussiant, in their new book, call on "Black men to take up their responsibility." Calling on patriarchy. You see, white people didn't suck patriarchy out of their thumbs....also, American Blacks learned too well from their great white fathers. Instead of talking about Black youths pulling up their clothes, Bill Cosby should have been in Vieques getting arrested with Jesse Jackson and other people of Conscience. To get back to the point, however, and to address Bill Cosby's statements--while I do believe that every one should be a responsible parent(if they are parents), there is absolutely nothing wrong with single-mother households. There is nothing wrong with women heading their own households, with them choosing or simply just being successful at running their own households.

The problem with men like Bill Cosby(and other people who think like him) they speak about single-mothers and the reality of being a single-mother as if it is a disease. Instead of asking men to go "retake their places in the household" why not work to restructure an economy that puts female-headed households at a an economic and political disadvantage? Why not end male privilege and eradicate patriarchy? Just the same, instead of a constant harangue against poor blacks about the way they talk, dress, and fail to live up to white male capitalist patriarchal standards, why not eradicate white male capitalist patriarchy? I heard Bill Cosby say something to the effect that "yes, there is racial discrimination in this country, but there was racial discrimination in the forties and fifties as well." We don't want a return to the 40s and 50s, when they killed Emmett Till and when they lynched so many Black men just coming home from WWII and Korea, some still wearing their uniforms. The next time that happens, we will be cutting somebody's penis off. We want progress and we demand an end to the bullshit.

We have to get rid of Blackwater. Period.

I wish the whole world joy.