Does this need to stop, as Harris says? Or do Black "thugs" who disobey cops deserve to be shot?

[SexyAsianStud]

Back on topic, with the writings of James Baldwin, from way back in 1971, as he writes to Angela Davis in an open letter:

One way of gauging a nation’s health, or of discerning what it really considers to be its interests—or to what extent it can be considered as a nation as distinguished from a coalition of special interests—is to examine those people it elects to represent or protect it. One glance at the American leaders (or figure-heads) conveys that America is on the edge of absolute chaos, and also suggests the future to which American interests, if not the bulk of the American people, appear willing to consign the blacks. 

[Suckrates]

1 hour ago, SexyAsianStud said:

if anyone needed an additional reason to never visit the daddy's site... even out of curiosity...

there is an impassioned argument going on there between supporters of the child who killed 3 people in kenosha and those who believe he needs to be held accountable for his actions

"His actions were a clear cut case of self-defense"

yikes. some things can't be "unseen". 

Daddy's right wing posse' is unable to divert from their rhetoric, even if facts and common sense dictate they should.   It's their dialog and they stick to it, so its not unexpected that they defend the WHITE killer, who crossed states lines with an assault rifle and placed himself in the middle of a Protest...  They will say he was just there for a "picnic" and found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Yeah, uh-huh !    We know the righty's are gullible and will buy any bullshit Trump feed them, so perhaps they think WE have the same gullibility DNA and they can feed it to us too ?   And then when you have the in-ept leader of our country defending the action too,  what do you expect... These people are like rusty old cans tied to the bumper of an old jalopy headed to Crazy town....

Fucking Fools...

[AdamSmith]

On 9/1/2020 at 1:21 PM, Latbear4blk said:

Can you share who wrote that? I am not going back over there, it is against my religion.

 

 

[Latbear4blk]

1 hour ago, AdamSmith said:

 

 

I was already scared even before listening to it.

[Buddy2]

The White Is considering refunding Democratic Party run cities.

 

Comment:

 

Nice campaign bull crap follow up to the Attorney General claiming Jacob Blake was armed and it was why the police shot him.

 

Next Mr. Barr will claim Jacob Blake shot himself by accident, the plane full of thugs shot him.

[JKane]

[AdamSmith]

On 9/2/2020 at 7:49 PM, Latbear4blk said:

I was already scared even before listening to it.

There are a lot more of these if you Google  for them. 

[stevenkesslar]

On 9/2/2020 at 10:16 AM, SexyAsianStud said:

Back on topic, with the writings of James Baldwin, from way back in 1971, as he writes to Angela Davis in an open letter:

One way of gauging a nation’s health, or of discerning what it really considers to be its interests—or to what extent it can be considered as a nation as distinguished from a coalition of special interests—is to examine those people it elects to represent or protect it. One glance at the American leaders (or figure-heads) conveys that America is on the edge of absolute chaos, and also suggests the future to which American interests, if not the bulk of the American people, appear willing to consign the blacks. 

That's the interesting question.  What kind of a nation do we want to be?

I've been saying for years that we are headed to a Moral Awakening.  Black Lives Matter, Occupy Wall Street and the growing awareness of income inequality, the Sanders campaign, the Warren campaign.  To me those were all signs of what may be coming.

Now I would not say an Awakening is coming.  I's say it's here. 

By Awakening I mean eras like the 1960's and civil rights.  You could also throw in the explicitly religious Great Awakenings in US history, although that fuzzes it up more.  They are periods of social renewal and a focus on the "soul" of the nation.  As opposed to what might be called "greed is good" values.  And one sign that we've arrived is that suddenly people see things that they were slumbering or passive about previously. 

BLM is certainly a good example of that.  There was protest, including violence and looting, after Ferguson.  But not like this.  What goes along with the new tide, which President Toxic is missing entirely, is that part of the movement is around personal morality.  That was true in the religious Great Awakenings.  It was also true in the Civil Rights Era, when MLK asked us to look into our own hearts.  Is this the nation we aspire to be?

Any leader who thinks the simple and one-dimensional answer is bulldogs or water hoses or federal troops or assault rifles is missing a huge part of what's really going on.  Of course, why am I not surprised that President Toxic is not the kind of guy who gets this?

I was impressed with a new Biden ad running which I will post below that fits into this theme.  I went to find that "Jobs Not Mobs" tweet President Toxic sent out.  When I Googled "Jobs Not Mobs Trump", this ad from 2018 came up, which I'd never seen.

I thought the first part of the ad, about the economy, was powerful.  This is clearly the campaign President Toxic was hoping to run in 2020 as well.  And the little kick at Hillary at the end was a nice touch.  

So you have to wonder.  If this didn't work in 2018, what makes them think it will work better in 2020?  One number that pops up in this ad refers to 4.1 % GDP growth in the second quarter of 2018.  In the second quarter of 2020 it was - 9.5 %.  In 2018 they said "the core economy is on fire".  In 2020 Coronavirus is spreading and killing like wildfire.

I'm going to keep using Charlie Cook's 2018 phrase:  "color intensifier".  Ads like this probably did work in states like Indiana and Missouri and North Dakota in 2018, where Democratic Senators got their asses kicked to the curb.  But they didn't work in most places.

If it was just the economy stupid, the Republicans probably should have done better in 2018.  So some part of this is that voters, particularly women, just aren't sold by this.  This 2018 ad proves that this has nothing in particular to do with any of the riots or looting that happened when the BLM protests really took hold of the nation.  This shouldn't be any surprise.  It's the same President Toxic that was just Donald Toxic back in the Central Park 5 days, when he said this:

Quote

Of course I hate these people.  And let's all hate these people.  Because maybe hate is what we need if we're going to get something done.

Same hate, different century.

So he got his wish.  He's had three years to preach hate. My sense is that this is partly why things didn't go so well for Republicans in 2018, despite a good economy.

I can't imagine the 2020 tweet is going to work much better, since it doubles down on the fear and hate without mentioning a thing about the economy, or COVID-19.  Wonder why?

Here's one of the Biden/Harris ads that is being blanketed all over about 15 swing states.

I can't think of a clearer distinction between campaigning on fear, and campaigning on hope.  I'd take it further and say it's the difference between offering up hope, and offering up hate.

And that ad is Moral Awakening territory to me.  Biden is gambling on the idea that the nation is ready to talk about racial justice.  And the question, "Who do we want to be?"  I used the word gambling.  But if I'm reading the polls right, it's a pretty solid beat.  I don't think the Democrats could have run an ad like this to rebut "law and order" in 1968.  The fact that this is what Democrats are selling today is itself a small sign of progress, at least to me.

Ron Brownstein has delivered yet another great analysis relevant to this, full of both good data and good insights.

The Huge Snag in Trump’s Reelection Pitch

The president’s own volatility complicates his effort to convince Americans that he can stabilize their lives.

He's coming at it from a somewhat different angle, which I think compliments what I'm saying.  It's a bit hard to sell "law and order" when even your supporters equate your Presidency with chaos.  It's hard for President Toxic to say he'll calm down this situation when he's the one saying he hates "these people", and we should, too.  The one thing he's got going for him is the idea that hating people gets something done.  Although even the majority of Independents seem to think what it actually gets done is more violence, not less.

This is where I wish Elizabeth Warren was our nominee.  I think Biden is probably a bit more of a calming presence than her, actually.  But he's not the guy I would put forward as the poster child to fidelity to the law.  Which is not to say he's broken any law.  But Team Toxic will keep arguing he did.  As well as his family.   All they had against Warren was "fake recipes" in a cookbook called Pow Wow Chow.  She's the one that could have said "Really?  President Law And Order?  Really?  I know you don't read, Donald.  But the polls say people see you as President Chaos, and President Corruption.  You want us to buy President Law And Order?  Come on.  Give the viewers a break!"

That said, I'm becoming increasingly convinced that this issue of race/crime/safety does not hurt Biden, and probably mostly works in his favor.  The polls certainly suggest that.  There is zero evidence it's hurting him in Wisconsin.  And my gut feeling is that President Toxic is making sure Black turnout will go through the roof.  And not, of course,  to vote for him.  Biden is simply giving Blacks who think America has racial justice problems - meaning almost all Blacks - a positive reason to vote.

If there's a problem with the ads above, it's not what it says but what it doesn't say.  As Brownstein says in that article, for a lot of people it's not about race.  And if it's about safety, it's COVID-19.  But the biggest thing for most people is still the economy, stupid.

PENNSYLVANIA: PRESIDENTIAL RACE TIGHTENS

That poll is worth digging through a little.  It's the only "bad news" for Democrats.  And with bad news like this, who needs good news?  The scary headline is that Biden dropped from a 13 point lead in July, 53/40 to a 4 point lead today, 49/45,  in Pennsylvania.  

There was no change in support for Democrats in general.  The partisan lean question went from favoring Democratic Congressional candidates 49/45 in July to 48/45 today.  Biden's favorability rating actually went up, from 45 % in July to 48 % today.  My read of those numbers is that Democrats are solidifying a lead that is close to 50 %, but not quite.

Monmouth says this about the people who shifted away from Biden:

Quote

This shift from Biden’s larger lead just over six weeks ago is due to declining support for the challenger among men, voters under age 50, and voters in key swing counties.

My guess is this shift is more about the economy than anything else.  The slice of President Toxic's supporters that think like the McCloskeys, and own lots of guns that they feel okay pointing at Black people, are never going to consider voting for Joe Biden or Kamala Harris.

There's no reference to geography in the polls.  But I'd also guess that a lot of these men under 50 live in the parts of Pennsylvania Jim Carville refers to as "Pennsyltucky".  Or the ailing old factory towns, like Scranton. 

I'd also guess that some of these men under 50 are Black.  And probably a big chunk of them are Hispanic.  The 2018 version of "Jobs Not Mobs" didn't cut nationally, and it certainly would cut less well today.  But it's the best thing President Toxic still has going for him.  As an article I posted in a different thread argued, it's the last strength of President Toxic Biden has to go after.   

The good news in the bad news is that if Biden had these folks seriously thinking about him in July, there is no particular reason he can't close the deal with them by November.  No one is talking yet about all the factory jobs NOT CREATED in President Toxic's three "good" years, before the plague started.  Or about that fact that Pennsylvania now has fewer factory jobs than when President Toxic was elected.  

When I say we have arrived at Moral Awakening, that is a statement of hope as well as what I think is a statement of fact.  I'm fine with Biden winning by asking, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?"  Or by asking, "Are you safer than you were four years ago?"  But he is definitely adding a moral dimension here, which is clearly targeted at Blacks.  But not just Blacks.  "Are we a better nation than we were four years ago?"

I do find that genuinely hopeful.  It is an invitation to move forward, into a new and better era.

Edited September 4, 2020 by stevenkesslar

[Latbear4blk]

[stevenkesslar]

Could LeBron James Defeat Donald Trump?

In securing major concessions and expanding voter participation, NBA players may have ended up changing the way 2020 plays out.

This is probably one of the best developments since the Black Lives Matter movement rose to a whole different political and moral dimension this year.

I've already said I think we have arrived at the new Moral Awakening I've been anticipating (or at least hoping for) for most of this decade.  I think BLM, a movement for both racial and economic justice, existed mostly at the periphery of our political culture until 2020.  The fact that it is now front and center, and driving the election debate, is one indicator that lots of people woke up about something.

All the news with Black athletes (and White allies) and the NBA is another indicator.  This is unprecedented.  Athletes doing politics is not new.  But the fact that James can call Obama, a former Black President, and Obama can advise James to double down and make this all about voting and access to voting?  That's new.  We have never been here before.  Nobody, not even the people in the middle of it, have a clue where it's going.  But it is all very, very, very good news I think.

One of the things that I'm enjoying about 2020 is that my ignorance about all kinds of things relating to race is being exposed to me on an almost daily basis.

So on this one, I feel ignorant.  I don't have a clue whether, or how, this will impact the election.  I don't think Biden can say or do anything that will be particularly compelling to the segment of the Black population that Charlemagne Tha God probably speaks for.  I don't know whether Blacks, or anyone who follows basketball, will listen to basketball players about the urgency of voting.  I guess we'll all learn together on Election Day.  But the idea that American sports arenas may now be symbols to Black youth of a ladder up - both by way of athletic prowess, and the urgent need to vote?  I just love it!

With all due respect to Rev. Sharpton, when the violence started, I kept wondering: where are the Black pastors?  So one piece of personal ignorance that was partly cleaned up is that I learned this is not Dr. King's movement.  The women who founded Black Lives Matter are, in fact, women.  The real wake up call to me was when Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told people to go home.  She was the first voice I heard that gripped me in the way MLK does.  She cited MLK, and everything she said was eloquent (and seemingly effective, in stopping the looting that was happening in Atlanta).  But the moments that were most moving to me were when she looked at the camera as spoke as a Black Mom.  Rev. Sharpton is himself a bit of an anachronism.  I mostly hear him on Morning Joe.  That's typically a good place to hear the voices of Never Trump Republicans.  The fact that the Black guy who used to BE the cutting edge is now, in part, the one who explains it to White Americans like me is interesting.

I did not need Rep. Clyburn to explain to me why there is no real distance between Joe Biden and the Black community on the crime bill.  In fact, I'd like to see Clyburn and his fellow South Carolina native Charlemagne have it out.  Because I do think Charlemagne probably speaks for lots of younger Blacks who do see distance between themselves and Biden on the legacy of the crime bill.  

Which leads to the next area where I feel ignorant.  It's reasonable to think that White America would react to all this by voting for President Toxic as a "law and order" quasi-Nixon.  And that may still happen.  So far, though, there's little to no indication of that.  In fact, it's the opposite.  Majorities or pluralities see Biden as better able to deal with race relations and public safety.  They believe President Toxic is the one who will lead to more violence, if re-elected.  Who knew?

Apart from race, I do think the fact that so many people see President Toxic as a poster child for chaos and corruption is a big part of his problem.  But on race, it could be that America knows that since the 1980's Trump has basically been preaching about how Whites should hate "those people."  His theme of "Jobs Not Mobs" in both 2018 and 2020 is the same hate and fear, different century. 

Why is it working less well today?  The simplest explanation might have come from Republican Tim Scott, in his RNC speech.  In explaining how he was elected to the US House and then Senate in a crowded field of Republicans, including a Thurmond, he credited it to "the evolution of the Southern heart".  I can go with that.  Were it not a partisan speech, Sen. Scott easily could have taken out the word "Southern", added President Obama, and spoken about the evolution of the "American heart".  Or even the "White American heart". 

I think some of that is what's happening today.  And if it is, we can thank Dr. King and fighters like John Lewis for that.  President Toxic may be a fighter.  But on race relations, I think he only makes matter worse.  My reading of the polls is that most Americans agree.  If the American heart evolved, President Toxic's heart has not appeared to evolve with it.

Scott is a shining light in the Republican Party.  If the GOP had chosen him as their leader in 2016, or if the collapse of the Toxic Trump Republican brand leads them to choose him in the future, I think both the Republican Party and the United States will be in a much better place.  That said, some of his "radical socialist" rhetoric was just laughable.  Since I'm praising him, I feel like I have to offset his rhetoric with reality.  There's only two Presidencies under which Black poverty went down in my adult lifetime.  It went from 33.4 % (1992) to 22.5 % (2000) under Clinton.  W. ended up leaving Obama with a Black poverty rate of 24.7 %  (2008).  Obama and Biden brought Black poverty from a high of 27.6 % (2011) to a new all-time low of 22.0 % (2016).  You can blame Obama and Biden for not doing better.  But they got handed The Great Recession to start with. And they handed President Toxic the lowest Black poverty rate ever.

President Toxic could take credit for continuing - not achieving -  the lowest Black poverty rate in US history, which hit 20.8 % in 2018.  By the time the 2020 poverty rate is measured, though, his legacy will probably not look very good.  The gloomiest projection I've seen is that COVID-19 could force Black poverty back up to about 32 %.  Meaning all the gains made since 1992 under 16 years of Democratic Presidents would be reversed.

The flip side of the poverty equation is this.  The HEROES Act passed by Pelosi's House and blocked by Republicans in the Senate could lower Black poverty to 10 %  by one estimate.  That would truly be a historic low.  That would have involved continuing the $600 a week benefit through December, a second round of stimulus checks, and increases in the SNAP (food assistance) programs.  If President Toxic's Republicans really wanted to brag about lowering Black (and Hispanic and White) poverty, they should have been supporting this - not killing it.

My point is that I think part of the change in the American heart is that people understand the links between poverty, crime, and success more than ever before.  Sen. Scott was never a criminal.  But he talked about how his Grandfather never learned to read and write, and he himself was a failure in school at one point.

I feel I was ignorant about this as well.  Meaning I didn't know how open-minded and open-hearted Whites, especially college-educate Whites, would be. 

Black conservatives and ex-cops like the one I started this thread with describe many of the Black men and women killed by cops as "the criminal of the criminals".  Or, in a word, "thugs".  That gives any White who wants one a "get out racism free" card.  And if we're talking about policing, it's baked into the cake that we won't be talking about the La David Johnsons of America - the Black Army Sgt. who was killed by Islamic militants in Niger in 2017.  We'll be talking about Blacks who have likely had some association with criminals, and a police record.  They are perfect candidates for the game of "Whack A Black".  No matter what they do, there will always be a reason to justify why the use of deadly force was appropriate - after the fact.  Black conservatives will say they just don't get why so many people want to wear t-shirts that, in their eyes, glorify "thugs".

Last night, despite my better judgment, I looked at Daddy's "Racism is OK" website for the first time in months. There was a predictable argument from one of the predictable conservatives that goes like this:  1) If no one had called the cops because something bad was happening, they would not have arrived at the scene and shot Jacob Blake.  2)  If Jacob Blake had obeyed them, they would not have shot him.  That's all quite true, probably.  It's also true that if all people were perfect, we could defund the police 100 %.  Because there would be no crime, ever.  Back on the Planet Earth, to me this is a recipe for empowering police to shoot and kill whoever they want.  And it especially empowers Whack A Black thinking among aggressive and/or racist cops. 

By this standard, cops had complete justification to shoot and kill me several times in my life.  Like when they responded to a call about a burglar in the house and I answered the door with a knife in my hand.  It was actually a screwdriver, I owned the house, and I was preparing the floor for a handyman coming at 6 AM to lay carpet.  But someone who thought I was a burglar called the cops.  True, when they said "Put the knife down" I said, "Officer, it's a screwdriver, I'm working on a rental property, and I am bending over to put the screwdriver down."  I did not seriously think the cops would shoot me.  That right there may make me NOT BLACK.  One way or the other, I don't buy the idea that any of this empowers a cop to shoot me, or Jacob Blake.

The same predictable conservative on Daddy's "Racism Is OK" website argued exactly the opposite about the White vigilante who killed two protesters.  By the same logic, if the vigilante hadn't driven to Wisconsin, he wouldn't have had to kill anyone.  If he didn't have a gun, he wouldn't have to defend himself from people who who were upset that he had a gun. Or because he had already used the gun to shoot someone.  But no.  In a battle between a skateboard and an AR-15, obviously the White vigilante had no choice but to pull the trigger.

The main difference between the two situations is that the cops actually do have to show up in situations like this.  It's their job.  And part of the job is that their lives are at risk, they are trained in the use of force, and it is expected that some people won't obey them.  There is no similar justification for a 17 year old White vigilante carrying a gun around to defend whatever he thinks he is defending.  It is not his job.  So you have to feel really good about White vigilantes with guns to argue that he really needed to be doing what he was doing.

Spending 30 minutes reading stuff like that reinforced that I have no need to get into such debates.  What I need to do is send as much money as I can to Democrats, or volunteer, and definitely vote.   Hopefully,  we can throw President Toxic into the sewer he came from.  And get serious about the huge problems facing us.  Including income inequality and racial inequality, which are related to each other and to the violence.. 

The conservatives (especially the White ones) will always argue the cops and White vigilantes were right, the Black thugs were wrong, and that's that.  In 1915, this thinking was immortalized in The Birth Of A Nation.  The vigilantes were the KKK, and the thugs were any living Black, primarily in The South.  This thinking worked fine in 1915.  It does not appear to be working as well in 2020.  So we're going to learn soon whether 2020 is a somewhat less racist remake, or something better and more just. If it's the latter, I think that's because most Americans know that racism is a real problem.  And that dealing with it will necessitate serious initiatives about poverty, education, and economic empowerment.

After I thought about it, it struck me that the Blacks who spoke at the RNC actually reinforced what Black Lives Matter and Democrats are saying about racism and the economy.  This was not a gathering of Black CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.  One takeaway from several speakers is that success rests on being a good athlete, and being friends with Donald Trump.

As Sen. Scott described, his is mostly a story of political empowerment, not economic empowerment.  Understandably, he did not focus on how Republicans fought tooth and nail for decades against everything that made his political success possible.  I thought it was very graceful and effective of him to simply speak about "the evolution of the Southern heart."  But most of the Black cast of characters who spoke at the RNC, or who have defend President Toxic, are Black conservative athletes and entertainers.   Jack Brewer.  Herschel Walker.  Diamond And Silk.  Mike Tyson.  Kanye West.  (Is he a conservative?  Or just a gadfly?)  They represent a particular path to economic advancement for African Americans that starts with the phrase "exception to the rule".  There is only one LeBron James.

That brings us right back to where I started.  I'm grateful Black athletic superstars like LeBron James are taking an unprecedented stand against racism.

There's three specific things they add to this political debate, that I hope helps tip it toward success.  

First, they add a successful, powerful, and respected Black male voice.  Again, with all due respect to the women who started Black Lives Matter and the women who run cities like Chicago and Atlanta, the outspoken Black athletes tend to be men.  Many if not most of them came up from poor inner-city neighborhoods.  So a small minority of Black conservatives or cops are saying these Black men being shot are "thugs".  This activism puts the faces of Black men who are icons - not 'thugs" - in the front line of the effort. 

Second, if Sen. Scott is right and there has been "an evolution of the [American] heart", I think these athletes are speaking to that evolution.  If all of them thought this was only about a small group of "thugs" who are "the criminal of the criminals" who get shot by cops, I just don't believe they'd be risking their jobs and reputations over it.  Granted, if they lose some of their income over this they're still super rich.  Just like when they started charities  focused on issues like education and poverty, they were still super rich.  What their actions say to me is they are bearing witness to the fact  that, despite their success, systemic racism is a huge problem in America.  To quote President Toxic, what have they got to lose?  They actually have a lot of things to lose by speaking out.  So I have to assume they are doing so because, unlike Trump, it's not just about money and power.  They know what it was like to grow up around poverty and racism.

It seems like the majority of America is on the same side as "thugs" like Jacob Blake, anyway.  But it makes it easier when that means you are on the side of LeBron James, and very successful and respected Black men like him who have climbed the same ladder as Jack Brewer.

Third, precisely because they are the exceptions to the rule who made it to the top, just like Sen. Scott they are excellent leaders to speak to what actually needs to be done.  According to the NCAA, the odds of making it from high school athletics to the NCAA are under 10 % for almost all sports.  For basketball, it's 3.5 %.  The odds of going from NCAA to pro sports are about as low.   For professional men's basketball, it's 1.2 %  If I'm reading the NCAA numbers right, out of a pool of over 500,000 high school basketball players something like 50 of them ended up being drafted into major pro basketball every year.  Meanwhile, that NCAA link says this:

Quote

In contrast, the likelihood of an NCAA athlete earning a college degree is significantly greater; graduation success rates are 86% in Division I, 71% in Division II and 87% in Division III.  

Black professional athletes probably have a particularly good idea of how challenging Black economic empowerment is precisely because they are among the success stories. 

I hope President Toxic loses, and Sen. Scott and Jaime Harrison make South Carolina the first US State to elect concurrent Black Senators, who happen to be members of different political parties.  That would be a really good sign of progress and, to quote Scott again, "the evolution of the Southern heart".  Then we can really start to get to work on moving forward.

I'm grateful that LeBron James and his baskbetball buddies have put their heart into this.  I think it is potentially going to make a big difference.

And one final image, with all due respect to Sen. Scott.

That's the image that I'll always remember from the 2020 Republican Convention.  Not Tim Scott, not Jack Brewer, not even Ivanka or Melania.

Right after President Toxic equated the Democratic push for "economic and racial justice" with tearing America down, the tv camera panned to some of the most powerful Cabinet members sitting in the front row.  They are White, male, and very rich.  So if you want to talk about who's got power in President Toxic's America, that's it.  I don't see Jack Brewer in that crowd, or in the Cabinet.

It did look at least somewhat different when President Toxic's favorite person to hate, Barack Obama, was in charge.  We have a ways to go just to get back to where we were.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 7, 2020 by stevenkesslar

[Suckrates]

 

Bring HIM in....he'll restore Peace !

[JKane]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[stevenkesslar]

Biden as President May Mean More Black Governors

An interesting story.

On the good news side, there are 15,000 local Black elected officials today - a more than tenfold increase from 1970.

On the good news/bad news side, the good news is that President Biden is in a position to "create" more Black Governors in one month than the US has had in a century.  That's also the bad news.  The US has had almost no Black Governors.

In theory, appointing the Democratic Governors are four states - Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and New Jersey - to Cabinet posts would result in the immediate elevation of four Black Lieutenant Governors.

In theory, the 2020 election could also result in four new Black Senators, all Democrats.  Jaime Harrison (South Carolina) and Rev. Warnock (Georgia) could win through election.  Gov. Newsom could appoint someone like Rep. Karen Bass to replace VP Harris.  And if Warren becomes Treasury Secretary, she could be replaced by Senator Pressley.  Although that would require a special election, before which a Republican Governor would no doubt temporarily appoint a Republican placeholder.

I like this scenario a lot.   

I also like the scenario that South Carolina would improbably have the honor of being the first US state to elect concurrent African American Senators of two different political parties.  That right there makes a very positive statement.

I tend to agree with Republican Sen. Tim Scott that more than anything else what enabled his election is, to quote him, "the evolution of the Southern heart".  If he were not speaking at the RNC, my guess is he would agree that Obama's election counts, too.  And it's really about the evolution of the American heart.  So I don't discount the importance of gradual changes that can not be seen or measured in concrete results - until something big like Obama's or Scott's election happens.

That said, so far the concrete achievements of Black Lives Matter have been minimal.  That's okay.  If we're talking about police reform, it's going to take years.  And the incremental changes are probably the ones that will make the most significant difference in the long run.

The swift elevation of four Black Governors and four Black Senators would make a very clear statement about something Blacks have made clear they feel strongly about.

I'm all for this kind of racial justice math.   4 + 4 = GREAT.

[stevenkesslar]

And now that I've advocated for more Black Governors, let me argue against one.  To me, this is a Justice Rapist moment for the Democratic Party. 

Democrat Fairfax announces bid for Virginia governor

Quote

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax is launching a run for governor despite facing two high-profile allegations of sexual assault he has strenuously denied.

Last February, Fairfax briefly seemed poised to rise to the governor’s post as Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam faced intense calls to resign over a racist photo that appeared in Northam’s medical school yearbook. But two women came forward with accusations that Fairfax had assaulted them more than 15 years ago, forcing him to fend off calls for his own resignation during one of the most tumultuous times in Virginia politics.

Neither man ultimately resigned. Fairfax said the sexual encounters with the women were consensual, has taken lie-detector tests he says prove it and has urged police to investigate. The women have maintained that Fairfax assaulted them and have asked the legislature to hold public hearings, which Democrats have blocked.

Of course, I don't live and vote in Virginia, and I'll have nothing to do with this race.   But I do think this is a good opportunity for Democrats to set a clearer standard for our own versions of Justice Rapist.

As a clarification, I get that Kavanaugh was never accused of rape.  Let alone convicted of it.  My use of the word refers to two forms of rape.  The rape of the FBI investigation process, which did not take multiple credible allegations about a pattern of sexual misconduct seriously.  We can thank President Toxic, Don McGahn, and Rich Mitch for that.  And rape of the legislative process, which pushed the confirmation through even as President Toxic  focused on humiliating pretty much any woman who was ever raped.  I'm happily sending $100 a month to Sara Gideon.  If Senator Susan Coverup - who I used to respect - loses, I'll be sure to send her a "Goodbye And Good Riddance" note in appreciation.

I think there was an obvious solution with Justice Rapist, which was employed multiple times by Reagan and W.  Nominate somebody else.  President Toxic thought it was better to attack the alleged victims.  There's no evidence that strategy paid off.  They filled a vacancy with a conservative Justice, which they were sure to get anyway.  And the voters threw in House Speaker Pelosi as a bonus.  Trump isn't a  genius, is he?

I haven't followed Virginia closely since the initial craziness of the racism/sexual assault trifecta.  But in a lot of ways it is like Justice Rapist.  On the one hand you have a man accused of sexual assault who is fiercely defensive of his innocence.  On the other hand you have multiple women making allegations that appear to be credible.  Even more credible, in that they're clearly not trying to tear a Black man down just because he's a Democrat.  There's enough ambiguity that you can go either way and no one can prove you wrong.  Unlike with Justice Rapist, all the parties were adults and agree that something happened.  The conflict is whether what happened is consensual.  

It's that last part that goes to the heart of Me Too.  Define "consensual".

I regret being one of the ones who called for Al Franken's resignation.  I regret it in part because Republicans like Senator Susan Coverup, who called for his resignation, ended up being a total hypocrite, I think.  More importantly, Franken was accused of being a slightly gross man that did gross things in public.  Being gross is forgivable.  In retrospect, his unforgivable sin was being gross exactly when the questions Me Too raises were right in front of the nation.  For a comedian, it ended up being the shittiest timing ever.   

That "boob" photo said it all.  You don't pose for a camera when you're trying to cover up rape.  Some Democratic Senators have as much as said that they now feel they overreacted.  The happy outcome perhaps would have been that Senator Franken became the poster child for why it's good to take a time out and get some training.  Putting your hand on a female constituent's butt during a photo at the State Fair is tacky and offensive.  But not criminal.   At Franken's expense, his forced resignation prior to any investigation did have the virtue of giving a lot of people who have political aspirations a warning they'll never forget.

The problem with Fairfax is that, like with Justice Rapist, there is no middle ground.  I think it's even worse with Fairfax.  With Justice Rapist, the argument that made complete sense to me is that he had the most to gain by a thorough investigation. In theory, they could have cleared him of all the new allegations that were coming out of the woodwork.  My guess is it would have gone the other way, and the FBI would have at least further documented a consistent pattern or sexual assault allegations.  A Virginia legislative "hearing" that resulted in a police or private investigation perceived as credible was being debated at one point.  I'm not sure that's an option anymore.

I think the standard that Democrats proposed for Justice Rapist makes sense for Fairfax.  It is in his interest to clear his name.  And I don't have a problem with putting the obligation on him to do so - whatever that means.  The alternative is telling two credible Black women that the burden is on them to prove what they allege is true.  That seems like Anita Hill times two to me.  That's not progress.  Besides, they have been trying to prove it, by calling for a hearing.  Anita Hill at least got that.

Given the ambiguity of the situation, the standard I like is that guys like Fairfax just need to step aside.  In this case, part of the context that matters is there are several Black women (not the alleged victims) who have already declared they are running for Governor, too.  

The story directly above did state that regardless of what President Biden may do in terms of Cabinet appointments involving Democratic White Governors and Black Lieutenant Governors in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and New Jersey, he is very unlikely to touch Virginia with a ten foot poll.  That makes sense to me.  Northam and Fairfax both have lots of options for successful careers, other than politics. I wish they went that route. 

Since Fairfax apparently sees it differently, perhaps the best option is for Democrats in the Virginia primary to just choose somebody else.  If he wins the primary, and two Black women say they are being ignored, that's not a good look for the post-President Toxic Democratic Party.

Where would others draw the line in what is clearly an ambiguous situation like this?

 

 

Edited September 11, 2020 by stevenkesslar

[gaothanear]

On 9/1/2020 at 7:37 AM, SexyAsianStud said:

And as if we needed further proof of Mr. Kesslar's helpful assertion, I made the fatal error of browsing the daddy forum just now and came across this piece of brilliance:

I was so happy when Obama got elected since I though all that crap about black people getting discriminated was going to end.....but now is even worse than before.
I dont understand if black people are SO discriminated how come they dominate all the track and field sport events, the basketball competitions, in MMA, Bellator most of the time black fighters dominate and will win over caucasians, asians and first nations fighters .....where is the discrimination here???....they are there and earn BIG $$$ because they are GOOD at it!!!....they are strong, have stamina and have better reaction times than the others......
I am sure that if I reacted the same way those poor black guys did when they got arrested I would also get the same treatment......but it wont be in the news.....

But, then again, I am sure there are good people.... on both sides!

 

On 9/1/2020 at 10:21 AM, Latbear4blk said:

Can you share who wrote that? I am not going back over there, it is against my religion.

 

On 9/1/2020 at 10:28 AM, SexyAsianStud said:

You are wiser than I am, my friend..... That site should be off limits to fair thinking individuals across our land.

The person who, by the way, went on to post this:

Do you really think that all these protests after these incidents are going to make race relations better in this country??....do you think that only one side is guilty? Don't you think that certain black people do stuff that helps those racist stereotypes to continue??

goes by the nickname of Gaothanear and is unknown to me, so is probably just a reincarnation of one of the other racists on that board.

May he experience eternal agony.
 

 

On 9/1/2020 at 12:23 PM, Suckrates said:

@Gaothanear has been a member over there since 2016 but has only posted 72 times, therefore considered a lurker... He crawled out from his roach hole to let us all know what HIS side is in all of this, as if we cared.....  Dont think he is a reincarnation of any of the usual suspects, but certainly a supporter of that team.  Look, everyone has some opinion and should be able to give it, but when common sense doesnt prevail, I turn-off.....  I dont understand what these people need to see or hear to make them see what's actually going on.   And Trump will continue to fan the flames and promote anarchy because it is better for his side.   Then since he is the Law & Order President, he will swoop in with his WonderWoman cuffs and handle the situation and CLAIM hero status....  Anyone can see his demented plan......

And then today he releases this sick, twisted LIE about "someone" he knows being on a plane and seeing it "filled with rioters, looters and anarchists" simply because they were all "wearing dark clothing"......  No proof, just word of mouth....   YES girl fan those flames of fear and terror,  spread that FAKE NEWS....  it will get you another 4 years ?    

Wow guys!!!.....I am really ELATED!!!.....lovely opinions.......I should experience ETERNAL AGONY!!!!......LOL........wonderful opinions!!!!.....so.....whatever....

Actually I really hated Trump and the Republicans but since the riots its the other way....so much hypocrisy in CNN news Npr etc etc.....so biased news.... ......Thanks a lot for helping THIS "COCKROACH"  find its place in this country and to understand how wrong I was supporting guys like you and your ideology..........Mercy!!....Obrigado!!!....Danke!!!....Gracias!!!....Tak!!!!......well I should just write "thank you", at the end all you guys are of course just americans and usually only speak english, but are very secure of yourself and enlightened of how the world should be, how justice should be, how democracy should be....of course thats why you invaded IRAQ and bombed Serbia in the 80's.....of course you are the only guys that have the ABSOLUTE truth in your hands......here goes a very racist statement......as usual white people have to tell everybody how things should be....it has been like that since the time when you invaded America bringing with you Christianity........now you have other ideas and have zero tolerance for any dissent.....by the way if things are SO BAD in this country then WHY THE WHOLE WORLD wants to come here???.....to such a RACIST and UNJUST society and people from Asia, Africa.....yes Africa....Latin America want to come here and are even ready to die trying to get here to be EXPLOITED and DISCRIMINATED??.....Guys.....you don't have a clue how good you have it here.....all of you guys, black white yellow brown whatever color you are this is the country of opportunities.....here you can get whatever you want to do based on your own merits.....try doing the in Pakistan, or in Nigeria,  or in China or in India or even in Europe......all of you guys are so blinded by your ideas, so indoctrinated...either side of the political spectrum....

Sometimes I really want to get the hell out of here!!!!.....its a shame.....there is so much hatred for political gain from both of the sides......and of course you are the CENTER OF THE WORLD......

[gaothanear]

On 9/7/2020 at 7:06 AM, Suckrates said:

 

Bring HIM in....he'll restore Peace !

OMG I would not like to be fucked hard and non stop by this dude....he looks like one of those Trump supporters and bigots.....

[Suckrates]

1 hour ago, gaothanear said:

OMG I would not like to be fucked hard and non stop by this dude....he looks like one of those Trump supporters and bigots.....

Trump supporters ARE, and will continue to be the SCUM of the earth, just like HIM...And if YOU support that man, YOU are pretty scummy too !     Your attempt at humor falls flat in the face of the stunt Trump pulled this weekend with the Covid relief bill signing.   He needs to be in prison OR a mental facility. 

[gaothanear]

2 hours ago, Suckrates said:

Trump supporters ARE, and will continue to be the SCUM of the earth, just like HIM...And if YOU support that man, YOU are pretty scummy too !     Your attempt at humor falls flat in the face of the stunt Trump pulled this weekend with the Covid relief bill signing.   He needs to be in prison OR a mental facility. 

He is all that and a psychopath and a narcissist but you have to recognize that he is smart and very skilled in playinng with the human psyche.....probably thats just an innate quality in the guy. How do you explain that almost half of this country  voted for him?...and the worst part is the  percent of the minorities votes that he got.....votes of people that are supposedly so exploited and discriminated....votes of people that have.....no....must vote blue to be protected from this evil and racist and inhumane society????......incredible!!!

the share of the hispanic vote that he got is indeed incredible after he spent the last six years demonizing them and demonizing immigrants.....its really something!!!! And with african americans the same...

and after all the crap he said about McCain, ....provably that costed him Arizona or New Mexico.....just for nothing!!!! He deserved to loose there.

and after twiting  so much crap and imbecilities non stop about Covid “cures”.....and anyway he got all those votes....

its incredible but thats the way society works.

A lot of People are not rational when it comes to these issues....

And I dont think that is going to help at all dems to call everyone that voted fir Trump scum or  rats the ways germans in the 3 reich did with jews

people should try to have a rational conversation and to convince other people that they are wrong.....thats absolutely not the way to do it, its going ti antagonize society even more.....i dont know....do they want a civil war.....or maybe thise are covert Trump/Maga agents????

i am just bored with nothing to do right now....hence I am writing all this crap Lol....

take care man.....for someone to win an election you gave to be in the middle of the political spectrum.....independents are the guys that define election results in the Us.... not the fanatical guys to the left or to the right....at the end there are only 2 (two) political parties in this country....one party will govern for 4 or 8 years and then its the turn for the other party. .per secula seculorum....

well at least irs a little better that in China. There there is only 1 party...at least here there are 2 ....lol.....

Thats WHY so many people dont even bother to vote at all!!!!

 

 

[RockHardNYC]

1 hour ago, gaothanear said:

How do you explain that almost half of this country  voted for him?

How do you explain your ignorance? Simply bad at math? Or awful at writing in English?

The U.S. population in 2020 is close to 331,000,000. That makes "half of the country" around 165,000,000. Trump only won 74,200,000 votes, which is about 22.3% of the U.S. population.

How does anyone explain Hitler?

 

Edited December 28, 2020 by RockHardNYC

[gaothanear]

What I mean it is almost half of the votes that were casted in the election.

maybe not half....maybe 45 percent?

But dont you think even if it was only 45 percent..... thats to many votes?

And what percent of the votes did Biden got?....25 percent....27 percent?

the other HUGE percent is people that dont even bother to go and vote spite all the propaganda, constant ads and the obscene amount of money that is spent in the elections

[Suckrates]

When we talk about the people supporting and voting for Trump as a percentage of the US population,  we MUST specify a percentage of the "voting age" population and not the total population.   That nuance changes the numbers AND perspective drastically. 

[Pete1111]

That he received so many votes is certainly amazing, but is no reason to applaud him.  He only knows how to cheat and take, and not how to run anything.  No I can't waste any time admiring anything about him but rather grieve how Americans still vote for him, and how the GOP puppets still line up to support him.

 

Anyway, back to the topic.  To the original post, the rhetorical question whether blacks deserve to be shot I might add (in the back.).  Or I might add why are these cops shooting to kill?  Is this what they're taught in police school or does it represent the lack of value for human life?

[Suckrates]

10 hours ago, Pete1111 said:

That he received so many votes is certainly amazing, but is no reason to applaud him.  He only knows how to cheat and take, and not how to run anything.  No I can't waste any time admiring anything about him but rather grieve how Americans still vote for him, and how the GOP puppets still line up to support him.

 

Anyway, back to the topic.  To the original post, the rhetorical question whether blacks deserve to be shot I might add (in the back.).  Or I might add why are these cops shooting to kill?  Is this what they're taught in police school or does it represent the lack of value for human life?

It has to do with the cultivated RACISM and hatred these individuals possess.  Their anger, fear and hostility towards people of color is being manifested in the most heinous and vicious of ways, and they feel "protected" by the BLUE !

[JKane]

 

 

 

 

 

[JKane]

Taking a stand, right way vs. wrong way: