I’m a firm believer that people shouldn’t ask questions to which they already know the answer.

Queue MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell asking James Zogby why President Obama has yet to visit Israel. Mitchell firmly (as firm as is possible given her peckish disposition) questioned whether President Obama, given the resumed Israeli / Palestinian negotiations, needed to step foot in Israel as he had in Cairo, and other Muslim nations. Wink, meet nod.

Amnesiatic reporters annoy me.

In the exchange between Zogby and Mitchell, there was no mention of the lengths to which Israel went to embarrass Vice President Biden during his jaunt to Israel. Is there any doubt, especially after the heated exchanges between Obama and Netanyahu, that a visit by Obama would only result in a grander humiliation? I’m sure this isn’t the optics desired by the White House during the lead up to the 2010 Midterms, a.k.a. “Apocalypse How”.

When Glenn Beck made his debut on CNN’s Headline News, I quickly dismissed him as the rodeo clown of talk television; a loud and wrong swindler who impishly welled up with an eyeful of tears at the mention of any and all things American.  He was, at least in my mind, an annoying but benign media fabrication.

Now though, Beck has managed to encroach upon the sacred ground of African-American history with his inane ramblings and for that, he should garner the contempt of every African American who still holds dear the struggles of ancestors whose blood, sweat, and genius are the foundation upon which this country is built. READ FULL POST HERE

The truth is that liberals are not radicals, President Obama is not a Muslim (nor is he a liberal), and repeating the word “freedom” doesn’t imbue you with some super uber potent form of patriotism.

But as we all know, one lie begets another.  Small lies grow into whoppers. Once you begin moving and shaping the truth to fit your opinion, well, it’s downhill from there.

As of late, I’ve observed conservatives mocking liberals who aptly point out that the Islamic Center is not actually “on” Ground Zero, but two blocks away.  The usual retort from conservatives is as follows, “umm, yeah, it’s TWO blocks away, big deal.”  Actually, the truth is always a big deal. The fact the the Islamic center is scheduled to be built on what was once a Burlington Coat Factory, and not Ground Zero, is the truth and a big deal.  In fact, the location of the planned Islamic center actually undermines the “Not Here , Not Now, Not Ever” mantra.  Now where? At the Burlington Coat Factory? Is this sacred ground?

Thoughts of 9/11 conjure up images of planes being used as weapons to kill innocent Americans, while  Burlington Coat Factory conjures up images of discount coats.  So, I understand why the lie is being heaped upon us, and served as truth.

Henceforth, I will be referring to the Ground Zero Mosque as the BCF Islamic Center (Burlington Coat Factory). Why? Because it’s the truth. One ought not require more reason than that.

Dr Laura’s not a racist.  She does, however, have a rigid set of ideas which she believes are applicable to all African-Americans. Her rabid attack of caller “Jade” highlighted Dr. Laura’s belief that African-Americans are oversensitive troublemakers with no legitimate grievances which, directly or indirectly, relate to racial disparities or sensitivities.

If Dr. Laura had believed that Jade was a serious caller, then she would’ve approached Jade’s conundrum with serious suggestions. Instead, Dr. Laura attacked the caller with all the pent up rage of a woman who’s bought into the prevailing propaganda about African Americans hook, line, and sinker.

Dr. Laura launched into her “N” word tirade because, in her mind, Jade was an unserious person with an entitled perspective.  The truth about Jade- that she is a modest, hard-working, well-spoken fan of the “Dr. Laura Show” with a legitimate desire for advice on dealing with her interracial marriage – never occurred to Dr. Laura.

Dr. Laura didn’t ask Jade the necessary questions because she thought she knew Jade, and those like her.  She would rather hold fast to ideas about African Americans than get to know African-Americans.  Dr. Laura doesn’t hate us. She just doesn’t know us.

Bell, California

Salaries:

• City Manager Robert Rizzo – $800,000
• Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia – $376,288
• Police Chief Randy Adams – $457,000

Outrage. I get it.

In 1950, the ratio of the average executive’s paycheck to the average worker’s paycheck was about 30 to 1. Since the year 2000, that ratio has exploded to between 300 to 500 to one.

Where’s the outrage?

The Bell County officials were rightfully ousted, but why does the outrage  begin and end with overpaid public servants?  Is the CEO of the company for which you work (if you have a job) worth a 50 million dollar salary with golden parachute to boot? You can fight the little fight (Bell) or the big fight (corporate greed) or both.  The choice is yours. But don’t get so riled up about Bell that you forget about the Bulls.

At the crux of the collapse of our political system is the fact  that key players add absolutely no value to the system:

• Constituents are, for the most part, loud, ill-informed malcontents who drown out their better informed, thoughtful counterparts. What’s worse, their brash, immature rants are celebrated by a media class too lazy to chase the ‘real’ story or do any ‘real’ work
• Commentators and journalists consider themselves celebrities, and thus, it is well below their pay grade to dig for the dirt, or get to the bottom of transformational stories.  Such behavior could mean they’re not invited to the White House press corps dinner, or shunned by the politicos in D.C.  Celebrity journalism is the new norm, and real journalism is dead.
• Politicians are beholden to a corrupt electoral system which is only exacerbated by the bratty electorate.  Citizens don’t want elected officials who do good work, but instead, want people who agree with them 100% of the time, and won’t tell the the painful truth – about anything.  The system encourages politicians to ignore their citizens rather than engage them.  For the most part, citizens have few dollars with which to fill campaign war chests  and are extremely demanding, and thus, it’s much simpler to get along to get along, and kiss the boot of the corporation. At least corporations are clear about their goals.

The solution?

• Grow up.  As long as your politician isn’t a hypocrite of Mark Foley variety, affairs and sexual misconduct don’t matter.  Eliot Spitzer is still the smartest guy in the room and could’ve been a benefit to the government during the economic meltdown had he not been banished from politics for grown up sex with a call-girl. Get over it.
• Pay attention. Yes, you work hard and yes, you’re busy.  But guess what? You’ll work even harder and be even busier if you keep giving politicians a free pass.  Read the news. No! Not Fox, or CNN, try something a bit less glossed over and lazy.  Try BBC, The Atlantic, The Economist, Harper’s.
• Support and recruit candidates on the ground level.  If you meet someone who would be a decent public servant, support them with your work and pocketbook.  Don’t just jump on the bandwagon of a popular candidate because by then it’s too late.  By the time you see a candidate’s commercials, he or she is no longer the “people’s” candidate. They’re bought and paid for by whoever paid for those expensive TeeVee ads.  Candidates are like stocks. You’ve got to get in on the ground floor to see a profit.

If it were not apparent before, it should certainly be apparent now that our government is incapable of meeting the needs of the American people. When Hurricane Katrina strengthened and slammed into the Gulf Coast, the Bush administration was caught flat footed and after all was said and done, their mismanagement of the crisis had lead to an increased amount of death and destruction along the Gulf Coast. Now fast forward to the present moment, where the Obama administration is showing a similar level of incompetence with the BP oil spill. Inaction, Ineptitude, and Inertia show no party allegiance CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL ARTICLE AT SODAHEAD.COM