...the more things stay the same

So, Michelle Rhee, hailed by many as one of the authentic change agents so desperately needed in our Nation's Schools, has just been shit-canned submitted her resignation after seizing the media spotlight by demanding excellence and accountability from teachers. The Washington DC school system, with abominable graduation and drop out rates, seemed to have a glimmer of hope. Here was someone who was finally willing to stand up to the Teacher's Unions and fire lousy teachers who could not produce results. Here was someone who saw past the bullshit myth that all teachers are generally the same, and that the wildly different outcomes are solely the fault of the students themselves.

Hospitals wouldn't keep a Doctor whose patients generally didn't recover from their illnesses and just stayed sick more often then all the other Doctors.

Your local gym wouldn't keep an Personal trainer whose clients didn't really lose any weight and always just seemed to stay fat more other then any other trainers.

But when it come to teachers in Inner-City schools, the students can just keep failing, quitting, or getting kicked out, and the Teachers are generally held-harmless... The defect is assumed to be the child's.

Michell Rhee promised to change all that. She and then Mayor Adrien Fenty were promising to reform DC schools and provide a template for fixing all schools....

But then an election took place...and money changed hands...the special interests and lobbyists went to work...now Fenty and Rhee are gone...the Teacher's Union is jubilant...and the kids are fucked...

Damn Michelle, I was really routing for you...  

Where the Fuck is Superman when you need him?

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I'm a little confused...

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Newt Gingrich and fair-weather Federalism

To be perfectly honest, I think partisan politics is a hustle... It's a well paying gig for the mendacious and charismatic who are either too unattractive or don't have enough of a southern drawl to work a pulpit. So I'm rarely surprised when a politician acts hypocritically or takes contradictory positions based on their personal self-interests... But this one is REALLY a gem...



If you go to Newt Gingrich's website, in his issues section, he has tabs on "limited government" and "religious liberty". (You can already see where I'm going with this can't you)

Under the grand heading of "Religious Liberty", Newt writes:

A steadfast commitment to religious freedom is the very cornerstone of American liberty. People came to America’s shores to be free to practice their religious beliefs. It brought the Puritans with their desire to create a “city on a hill” that would be a beacon of religious belief and piety. The Pilgrims were another group that poured into the new colonies. Quakers in Pennsylvania were another, Catholics in Maryland yet a fourth.

It is important to recognize that the benefits of these supports accrue to people of not just one particular faith, but those of all faiths, and for all people of goodwill, whether religious, agnostic, atheist, or radical secularist. Likewise, the Founders clearly believed that the weakening of these religious supports – such as by the hostile treatment of religion in American public life -- threatens to undermine the very republican institutions under which the religious and the non-religious alike find their liberties.

Under the grand heading of "Limited Government" he speaks about the "gaming the system mentality" and inherent corruption of big government, stating:

Markets are ultimately fair because they empower individual consumers to make their own choices. Bureaucracies are fundamentally unfair because they empower a few insiders who inevitably drift toward cronyism and corruption. The only solution for big-government corruption is smaller government.

Hmmmmmmm, Let's recap... our commitment to religious liberty must be steadfast and should extend to all faiths - AND the government should stay out of free-market transactions...

OK

Now can someone reconcile that shit with Newt Gingrich's NEW position: That when it comes to an old Burlington Coat Factory building being leased to a group who want to construct an Islamic community center, that the Federal Government should "game the system" by declaring the whole Ground Zero area a 'National Battleground'?

He even went on to say:

"The Attorney General of New York, Andrew Cuomo, could intervene because frankly he has the ability to slow it down for decades if he wants to."

"There are a number of different steps that could be taken. There's no reason this has to occur and whether it's city, state, or federal there are plenty of ways for America to stop it."

Clearly, one of y'all (and by y'all I mean "Gingrich A" or "Gingrich B") is pandering... Either website Gingrich is stating your true positions and talking point Gingrich is trying to build support for a political run by fanning the flames of racism and anti-Muslim sentiment, OR - you're just another race-baiting asshole and your website is designed to build political support for you with eloquent displays of fake piety and philosophical fuckery.

I don't know which one is true, but I do know one thing - You sir, are full of shit.

~~**And that's one to grow on**~~

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The Reverend Glenn Luther Beck Jr. can kiss my entire a$$

You know, I've really got to hand it to this guy... On television, radio, and now even at a mass rally, he has been able to successfully portray himself as some kind of Christian faith leader. From his perch, he has managed to lead a pilgrimage of Conservatives to the very spot where Dr. King stood, invoke his name, and claim his legacy, while having spent the better part of a year attacking the idea of "social justice". He managed to portray himself as a common Joe, even referring to himself as "every man", while attacking "Liberation Theology" which is rooted in the idea that we should work to empower the poor and the struggling... And perhaps the most fascinating transformation is that he has managed to portray himself as some kind of 'equal rights' Christian, who even attacked the President by calling him a racist, all while being a proud member of the Mormon faith...

Why is this so fascinating you ask?

Well for starters because what the Reverend Glenn Luther Beck WON'T tell you is that Mormons believe that Black people are dark skinned because we are cursed by God.

BoM Alma 3:6 And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a curse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion against their brethren,

And that God performed this curse to mark us, so that that his people (white people) could identify us and know not to mix with us or our traditions.

BoM Alma 3:8 And this was done that their seed might be distinguished from the seed of their brethren, that thereby the Lord God might preserve his people, that they might not mix and believe in incorrect traditions which would prove their destruction.

Or that when their prophet Jacob spoke to the Nephites, he warned them that if they did not cease their filth and wickedness, God would curse them by making them EVEN BLACKER than he made the already wicked Laminites

BoM Jacob 3:8 O my brethren, I fear that unless ye shall repent of your sins that their skins will be whiter than yours, when ye shall be brought with them before the throne of God.

Or that in God's sight we are not only dark, but filthy and loathsome and God himself has turned his back on us.

BoM Mormon 5:15-18 And also that the seed of this people may more fully believe his gospel, which shall go forth unto them from the Gentiles; for this people shall be scattered, and shall become a dark, a filthy, and a loathsome people, beyond the description of that which ever hath been amongst us, yea, even that which hath been among the Lamanites, and this because of their unbelief and idolatry.
16 For behold, the Spirit of the Lord hath already ceased to strive with their fathers; and they are without Christ and God in the world; and they are driven about as chaff before the wind.
17 They were once a delightsome people, and they had Christ for their shepherd; yea, they were led even by God the Father.
18 But now, behold, they are led about by Satan, even as chaff is driven before the wind, or as a vessel is tossed about upon the waves, without sail or anchor, or without anything wherewith to steer her; and even as she is, so are they.

Nor will he tell you that until the Book of Mormon was revised in 1981, it stated that if and when we would "turn back to God" and be redeemed, we would be made WHITE. And while he may, (as Mitt Romney did during his campaign), acknowledge the fact that Mormon's forbade Blacks from entering in their ministry until 1978, he probably WON'T tell you that the prohibition was based on a belief that blacks were neutral in the war between God and the Devil in some 'pre-existence' and were therefore cursed and forbidden from the priesthood. Nor will he tell you that Mormon's do not believe that they were wrong or that that is now untrue, they simply believe that a new revelation from God came in 1978 that essentially said, "...eh, Fuck it... go ahead and let 'em preach".

But now it's time for an act of community service... Since Glenn Beck seems to be a bit confused about what Racism really looks like like, let me offer this little primer. The things I just quoted from the Book of Mormon - That's some Racist shit...

So Glenn, the next time you want to invoke the name of a Black leader while standing in his shadow, and call upon me to "turn back to God"... take a deep breath - then go fuck yourself.

~~~**And now you know**~~~



Technorati Tags: Glenn Beck Conservatives Restoring Honor

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47 years later: Americans to honor Martin Luther King with racially separate rallies...

Now I know we're not supposed to say this but...

 Tomorrow marks the 47th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington and Martin Luther King's delivery of the famous "I have a Dream" speech. What does it say about us that we would mark the occasion with dueling events - Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin hosting their "Restoring Honor" rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, while the National Action Network, the NAACP and other Civil Rights figures and organizations gather in a DC High School for their "Reclaiming the Dream" rally? One predominantly white - one predominantly black. One conservative - one liberal. One featuring Dr. King's niece - one featuring his son... Each staking its claim to the mantle... Both claiming to be the "real" inheritors of the legacy...

What fucking dream was that?  

You know... "I" now have a dream... I have a dream that my glorious Nunchucks would visit DC tomorrow and kiss all of you gently on the back of your heads; and that then, your sleeping bodies would form a beautiful textured tapistry covering the mall grounds in black and white...

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Dr. Laura of Arc: The Cruci"Fiction" of a wanna be martyr...

Ok, let me acknowledge from the start that I have never listed to this woman's show. In fact I don't listen to any radio advice columnists. I tend to see the 'talk-radio industry' as vacuous and specious; a bunch of bullshit artists who get paid to be curt and inflammatory thereby providing some perverse affirmation to the assholes who actually listen to them. They parrot the sometimes ridiculous and sometimes cruel dictums that old guy who side-eyed you in the Walmart parking lot was thinking when he saw you in your fancy car.

But that said, I was never-the-less intrigued by the Laura Schlessinger story. Not by the fact that she blew off a Black caller asking for advice on how to deal with her White husbands racist friends. Not by the fact that she never once told the caller that perhaps her husband should defend her. Not by the fact that she went on to tell the caller that if she has a problem with being subjected to racist comments then perhaps she shouldn't have married a White guy. And not even by the fact that she took the occasion to say the N-word 11 times to a Black woman who called in because she was hurt and offended by racist comments!

No... That's not what prompted  me to end my blogging sabbatical...

What intrigued me was the fact that Dr. Laura Schlessinger, who was in no real danger of losing her contract, chose to QUIT, and then claim she did it to reclaim her first amendment right to free speech. WTH???

Uhhh... Hello? She had a Nationally syndicated Radio show where she could talk crazy all day long and had just gotten away with saying the N-Word REPEATEDLY like she was channeling Richard Pryor (circa 1978).

Free Speech doesn't mean you can say whatever you want Without consequence... If you go out and offend a few million people, they may in turn, call your sponsors and demand an apology; that's not persecution, that's cause and effect!

But you see, if she stays on the air and keeps her show, then she'll be remembered as Dr. Laura, the asshole who likes to use the word Nigger on the air when talking to Black people. But by leaving she can pretend to be a martyr who was somehow 'pushed' out by the forces of political correctness. Now, newly minted as a "victim", she'll become a symbol to the conservative right. They'll rally behind her and what they believe should be their right to call black folks niggers in public to be free of political correctness.

Mark my words - She'll either end up on Fox, Cable, or Satellite radio with a new show, with a broader reach, making more money. Only THEN her audience will be even whiter, so she won't have to deal with you niggas anymore...

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California Police did WHAT??? Tasered a double amputee in a wheelchair?!?!?

You'll never guess what the fuck just happened in Rush Limbaugh's America... California Police twice tasered a man in a wheelchair with NO LEGS. Even more insipid is the fact that they pressed the taser to his chest and charged it without deploying the prongs. (This allows them to get the tasering effect without having to include the event on all of their taser incident stats)

BUT IT GETS WORSE! The guy falls out of his wheelchair.. The Officer puts his knee on the guys neck and handcuffs him. And while he is on the ground, the guys pants fall down AND THE OFFICERS LEAVE HIM LIKE THAT. The man who obviously could not run away and posed no immediate danger to any of the officers, was tasered, allowed to fall from his wheelchair to the ground, and humiliated by being left on the ground handcuffed and partially nude for 15 minutes.

MAN I WOULD LOVE TO READ THE POLICE REPORT!!!

I would be willing to bet that the Officers will allege battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest. From a man in a wheelchair with no legs...

This is a clear case of why there needs to be national standards for the use of force and particularly for "less-than-lethal" tools like tasers. ALL taser incidents should be inventoried. All incidents should be tallied and categorized on quarterly reports. All Reports should be open and available to the public. And  all officers who abuse the equipment should be wrapped in Christmas lights and tasered in the nuts

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I ain't be seent no racism

Ok, here's why I hate politics... The pathological need to be liked, mixed with the practical need to appeal even to the folks who disagree with your politics and hate you personally, cause even ordinarily bright people to act like feeble-ass escaped slaves. It is a TRAGEDY that Jimmy Carter - an older white man from Georgia - stood up and told the truth - AND WE ALL KNOW HE TOLD THE TRUTH, but the Political negroes are all lining up to scratch and shuffle and pretend that race no longer exists. Of course to do that, they must ignore the obvious (Obama as Uncle Ben on a box of waffles, Obama as a monkey on t-shirts, Signs saying Obama should go back to Africa, and my favorite pictured above)

I am disgusted...

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Point of Order: regarding Taylor Swift, Barack Obama, Kane West, and Joe Wilson

To all my Republican colleagues and the media outlets who give them voice: You can not go on endlessly about how horrible it was that Kanye West (the rapper) interrupted Taylor Swift's (the singer) acceptance speech while lauding Joe Wilson (the Congressman) for interrupting Barack Obama's (the President of the United States of America) address to a special joint session of Congress.

For context: Taylor Swift was saying thank you to her Mom and Dad and to all her fans for watching her videos and singing along to her vapid tales of teen-angst set to acoustic guitar. President Obama was talking about our options for reforming the health care system that is currently in the process of bankrupting the whole fucking country.

Kanye West distastefully expressed his disagreement with Taylor Swift being the recipient of her "moon man" award, thereby challenging the judgement of the panel of twenty-somethings who decided that they liked video A over video B. Joe Wilson distastefully expressed his disagreement with the President's description of the content of the version of the Health Care reform bill that he (the President) supports, thereby challenging the integrity and fundamental honesty of the leader of the free world on International Fucking Television.

To be clear - I'm not defending Kanye West - I think he's an ass. But I can say that Because I am intellectually consistent! There are obvious differences in scale, but they accrue to the benefit of MY argument. They were both stupid, but not equally so...

You can lionize Joe Wilson all you want - print bumper stickers - give him extra donations - wear buttons, hats, or whatever... But don't then turn around and pretend to be paragons of decorum by excoriating Kanye (or Serena for that matter). Just be decent and shut the fuck up. In the pantheon of mindless and Silly Ass behavior, celebrating the one while feigning offense at the other is akin to Zeus (which in this case is Greek for Douche)

Oh Republicans... doth thine fuckbaggery know no bounds?

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Introducing Joe Wilson; From ridiculous nutbag to "political reformer" in 82 hours

So I'm flipping through the channels this morning and come across a discussion on Morning Joe... They are discussing how Joe Wilson's completely inappropriate outburst during the President's address to a joint session of congress might have actually been a 'good' thing in that it injected a bit of friction into the 'debate' a la the British Parliament... They went on to reminisce fondly about how then Prime Minister Margret Thatcher would 'clutch her purse and sling right back' at her detractors.

The problem with that argument is three-fold... (1) This Ain't the fuckin' British Parliament!  (2) The President of the United States is the leader of the free world and is NOT the equivalent of the British Prime Minister  (3) There are Foreign Policy consequences when you publicly undermine the President's credibility by screaming that he's a Liar during a major policy address  

Once again the Refucklicans prove their unlimited capacity for rationalizing the most obnoxious and crazy-ass behavior in their dogged pursuit of the status quo...

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