It appears I’ve identified my spirit guide and animal totem it is the crow. I suppose it’s always seemed like I’ve had a relationship with them. I glimpse their language I feel their flight. A few days ago as I was meditating and calling for guidance from all things that had my well and good in mind an entire flight of them went right over my head. It isn’t the first time something like this has happened to me and those birds, but it’s the first time I’ve thought to examine what it might mean.
As I was meditating this evening one of them landed on the fence in my backyard looked at me as if to say “yeah that’s right” and took off. Just now one cawed so ok already.
Crow is about Law, most specifically Sacred Law. He is the keeper of these laws and all sacred texts are under this protection. Sacred texts of the Native Peoples are all bound in Crow feathers.
Human law and Sacred law are not the same. We humans, many times, struggle with the balancing of the two ways. Crow sees that the physical world and the spiritual world, as we humans interpret them, are an illusion. As a totem he comes to help us see our personal truth.
The Crow totem will come to us when it is time to reflect on how we see the laws of the Great Spirit in relation to the laws of humanity. Great Spirit is the term many indigenous peoples refer to when some would say the Holy Spirit while others might just say God.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Crow-Totem-Meanings
Crows are the keepers of the Sacred Law
and to have a Crow totem is very powerful.
Personal Integrity are your watchwords and your guide in Life.
If you have a Crow totem, your prime path
is to be mindful of your opinions and actions.
You must be willing to walk your talk,
to speak your truth and to know your life's mission.
Crow is a omen of Change.
Crow lives in the void and has no sense of time,
therefore, it sees past, present and future simultaneously.
Crow merges both light and dark, both inner and outer.
It is the totem of the Great Spirit and must be respected as such.
They are symbols of creation and spiritual strength.
Look for opportunities to create and manifest the magic of life.
Crows are messengers calling to us
about the creation and magic that is alive in the world today
and available to us.
http://www.linsdomain.com/totems/pages/crow.html
If you have a crow as a totem, you need to be willing to walk your talk and speak your truth. You must put aside your fear of being a voice in the wilderness and "caw" the shots as you see them. Crow is an omen of change. If he keeps appearing to you he may be telling you that you have a powerful voice when addressing issues that you do not quite understand or feel that they are out of balance.
Crows are the bringer of messages from the spirit world, and is thought to dwell beyond the realm of time and space.
When you meet crow, he could be telling you that there will be changes in your life and that possibly you should step by the usual way you view reality and look into the inner realms …walk your talk…be prepared to let go of your old thinking and embrace a new way of viewing yourself and the world.
Well I said I was open to the journey.
Update 6:39 ok I write this and 3 fly over and one drops a feather for me. I said alright already!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Adept2u's Sunday Thoughts
On this day we look to commune with our God I open the text to the book of Wonder. If any are confused know the basic answer to all of life’s interesting issues can be solved by how effectively we apply LOVE to it. How do you do it when it hurts so bad? FORGIVENESS, How does one forgive when it hurts so bad? It's for that exact reason that you have to learn how to do it. For who is anyone else to let their actions hurt you so badly.
I step forth into this day with APPRECIATION. I orient myself and emotions to know that all I am given is a blessing. Every event is a chance to learn. Every problem is an opportunity to perform. I have been bestowed by the creator of the universe with the knowledge of his being and for that I am the most grateful of all.
I desire to experience the expression of God through you. It is for that reason I cultivate EMPATHY in my heart as a mother raises her child. May it be strong. May it grow as a light through and about me. May it be the first thing I greet any of my human family with.
My Bellissima
My own being skips a beat
Restarts in your eyes.
The ability contained inside of each human soul is powerful as to be beyond limit. It is because of that fact I ask for HUMILITY. I ask that the awareness of that potential inform my every interaction and color my every decision. May I never endeavor to stand above another, but instead love to stand with anyone.
I am not at war with my tears for they are a sign of COMPASSION. I hope to never be so hardened as to not care. I aim to feel my brother’s pain as keenly as he does so that all pain may end. I add my waters to all those currently hurting.
http://oxfamamerica.org/
Fear is not an option. Fear has no place in the councils of my mind. I was born with all the armor I require and it is a protection that cannot be taken from me. Fear has only the ability to motivate me to Joy for I am a man of VALOR.
So I close today again calling from the Book of Wonder. I pull a page from his time machine of 1976 yet it's message is more important in the next seconds, moments, hours, today and tomorrow. Namaste friends I love you all!
I step forth into this day with APPRECIATION. I orient myself and emotions to know that all I am given is a blessing. Every event is a chance to learn. Every problem is an opportunity to perform. I have been bestowed by the creator of the universe with the knowledge of his being and for that I am the most grateful of all.
I desire to experience the expression of God through you. It is for that reason I cultivate EMPATHY in my heart as a mother raises her child. May it be strong. May it grow as a light through and about me. May it be the first thing I greet any of my human family with.
My Bellissima
My own being skips a beat
Restarts in your eyes.
The ability contained inside of each human soul is powerful as to be beyond limit. It is because of that fact I ask for HUMILITY. I ask that the awareness of that potential inform my every interaction and color my every decision. May I never endeavor to stand above another, but instead love to stand with anyone.
I am not at war with my tears for they are a sign of COMPASSION. I hope to never be so hardened as to not care. I aim to feel my brother’s pain as keenly as he does so that all pain may end. I add my waters to all those currently hurting.
http://oxfamamerica.org/
Fear is not an option. Fear has no place in the councils of my mind. I was born with all the armor I require and it is a protection that cannot be taken from me. Fear has only the ability to motivate me to Joy for I am a man of VALOR.
So I close today again calling from the Book of Wonder. I pull a page from his time machine of 1976 yet it's message is more important in the next seconds, moments, hours, today and tomorrow. Namaste friends I love you all!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
135 Honks in two hours
Ever since Glenn Beck announced his plans to defile the memory of MLK with his brand of hate I’ve been announcing my intention to stand outside his corporate edifice in Los Angeles and protest the genesis of hate in this country his organization Newscorp/Fox/Rupert Murdoch.
All week long it’s been hotter than July in Los Angeles. Those days were trying very hard to give me an excuse to duck out. No one would be there but me and those I brought, It wont do anything, and why should I put peoples health at risk by standing them in the middle of a 105 degree day. So I wake up this morning and it’s overcast lovely and not even 75 degrees. So we got our behinds up and got ready to go.
I’ve always kind of treasured the tradition of protest I can trace in my family. I like to think I’m a worthy inheritor of the tradition and as one I want to make sure it goes down the line. To that end I called 3 of the sweetest smartest young ladies I have in my family to represent the next generation and down we went.
I know the area of the Fox Television Studios in Los Angeles fairly well, but even so I looked up the neighborhood one more time as reconnaissance before we headed down, so we knew what to expect. Our target was a fairly nice looking modern building on the west side of Bundy with a street making it the fulcrum of a T facing the building. Really cool because that means that the building itself had 2 corners of attention plus it’s frontage as a billboard. I’m thinking oh boy if we can get a few folks to show up we can look like we’re doing something.
I was stressing like mad because we were running a little late. We didn’t actually get in front of Fox until 10:15 and I had announced the jump off time of the festivities as 10:00. If anyone showed up and didn’t hang out for us 15 minutes sorry I missed you, but it was just our crew at 10:15 and although I could feel many people with us in spirit it was just us 5 in body.
It is not my nature to be shy. I make my living in being not shy, so I grabbed my sign and started marching up and down. Sweetie and the ladies jumped in like Trojans and we held up what we came to tell them.
I made an attempt to catch the eye of every driver who went by us to notice the double takes and reactions. It wasn’t long until I noticed a few thumbs up a couple of head bobs, and then it started to happen, people would blow their horns in solidarity. Not long after that we began to wonder how many people would honk at us, and the count began.
We went over 25 within the first 15 minutes, and I decided to see if we could make it a game. We decided we would try and hang out until we amassed 200 honks.
Not long after we hit the 30 mark we got our first visitor in the form of a security agent. I had semi expected this to happen from my experience in yelling at the men from mouse at Disney. Sweetie was already talking to him by the time I came down the line with my Fox Sells Hate sign, so I was late to the conversation. He was discussing how active he was in his local chapter of the SEIU, he said I’m off duty now and they know they wrong what group are you guys with you need to hook up with some other groups because they need people who aren’t afraid to protest. He shared his e-mail and promised to put us in contact with one of the groups that has filled in for ACORN.
Honk 50
We went from 30 to 50 in what seemed like an hour. I was starting to think 200 honks might have been overly optimistic. Sweetie rallied us to persevere for as she told us who knows when a string of honkers would come through. It was also at this time I noticed a guy drive into the Fox front door and mouth “oh fuck” you can tell when that happens you don’t need be a mouth reader.
About 15 minutes later we get our next visit from Fox Security and unlike our first visitor he wasn’t wearing a uniform, but he had a fantastic Black lady named Keisha along with him to give him credibility I guess. He asked who we represented and why we were there. I told him as our signs said we were trying to speak out against his corporation’s usage of hate as a weapon to divide the country I love. He tried to point out that where I was standing was not Fox News, and I let him know that if Rupert Murdoch owned a Chuck E. Cheese’s franchise I’d picket that too. There are no happy face companies and I don’t buy the corporate fiction of independent organizations. He told me that I had the right to walk up and down the public sidewalk and that he would appreciate it if I didn’t block their driveway. Fair enough, but for some reason I felt like torturing their security for a bit so I went to their mobile camera and grabbed my sig line sign and hoped they’d send an e-mail to Rupert.
Honk 73
Of all the eyes I caught outside of indifference I only saw two negative reactions. One lady in a very tight Jaguar looked me right in the eyes shook her finger in a tsk tsk and shook her head no no at my Fox Sells Hate sign. I smiled as sweetly and as nicely as I could and said yes they do and shook my head yes and she drove on very nicely. The second was an old man that looked like Willie Nelson who refused to wash his hair, but he was riding in a very nice Mercedes. He rolled down his window yelled “fuck you” at the same time showing me one of his digits in a most unfriendly way. I answered back “thank you sir” pointed at my Hate sign and said “I love you” and he answered “FAGGOT”. He then rolled down about 20 feet and gave the same treatment to a 12 year old girl. So do people who defend Fox exhibit the very thing we had come to speak against? Why yes, yes they do.
Honk 97
The honks are actually coming pretty fast and furious and I’m actually thinking we might make our number of 200. I should have looked in the eyes of my fellow protestors. We’d been out about an hour and a half and arms were getting tired. After we went over 100 we changed the goal. 25 more for Dr. King!
Honk 117
The strip of Bundy that the Fox studios are on is just south of some very rich real estate. All through the day as I was looking at the faces against the quality of car I’d say hey isn’t that, or hmm I think she might have been someone, but honk 117 was special. Black escalade large brother who sweetie and the girls now swear was Terrell Owens.
Honk 125
People are tired. I don’t think we’re going to make it to 150 let alone 200 so I make one more attempt. Can we get 25 more honks for Mrs. King? Mrs. King it seems was only good for 10 more. As if in concurrence the sun started to come out and the lovely Southern California protest weather began to break. Mrs. King’s were the fastest honks we got all day,
I love to think of the concept that a the beat of the wing of a singly butterfly might be the genesis of a hurricane. My little crew and I beat ours speaking out against hate and for unity. I hope I showed my little cousins a good enough time so that they will always know that even if their voice is alone it is theirs to use. A great day was had by all I sprung for some chicken and we had a great picnic afterwards. The greatest President this country has ever elected Barack Obama has echoed Gandhi, heck I even heard Beck said about the same thing today. Be the change you want to see in the world.
All week long it’s been hotter than July in Los Angeles. Those days were trying very hard to give me an excuse to duck out. No one would be there but me and those I brought, It wont do anything, and why should I put peoples health at risk by standing them in the middle of a 105 degree day. So I wake up this morning and it’s overcast lovely and not even 75 degrees. So we got our behinds up and got ready to go.
I’ve always kind of treasured the tradition of protest I can trace in my family. I like to think I’m a worthy inheritor of the tradition and as one I want to make sure it goes down the line. To that end I called 3 of the sweetest smartest young ladies I have in my family to represent the next generation and down we went.
I know the area of the Fox Television Studios in Los Angeles fairly well, but even so I looked up the neighborhood one more time as reconnaissance before we headed down, so we knew what to expect. Our target was a fairly nice looking modern building on the west side of Bundy with a street making it the fulcrum of a T facing the building. Really cool because that means that the building itself had 2 corners of attention plus it’s frontage as a billboard. I’m thinking oh boy if we can get a few folks to show up we can look like we’re doing something.
I was stressing like mad because we were running a little late. We didn’t actually get in front of Fox until 10:15 and I had announced the jump off time of the festivities as 10:00. If anyone showed up and didn’t hang out for us 15 minutes sorry I missed you, but it was just our crew at 10:15 and although I could feel many people with us in spirit it was just us 5 in body.
It is not my nature to be shy. I make my living in being not shy, so I grabbed my sign and started marching up and down. Sweetie and the ladies jumped in like Trojans and we held up what we came to tell them.
I made an attempt to catch the eye of every driver who went by us to notice the double takes and reactions. It wasn’t long until I noticed a few thumbs up a couple of head bobs, and then it started to happen, people would blow their horns in solidarity. Not long after that we began to wonder how many people would honk at us, and the count began.
We went over 25 within the first 15 minutes, and I decided to see if we could make it a game. We decided we would try and hang out until we amassed 200 honks.
Not long after we hit the 30 mark we got our first visitor in the form of a security agent. I had semi expected this to happen from my experience in yelling at the men from mouse at Disney. Sweetie was already talking to him by the time I came down the line with my Fox Sells Hate sign, so I was late to the conversation. He was discussing how active he was in his local chapter of the SEIU, he said I’m off duty now and they know they wrong what group are you guys with you need to hook up with some other groups because they need people who aren’t afraid to protest. He shared his e-mail and promised to put us in contact with one of the groups that has filled in for ACORN.
Honk 50
We went from 30 to 50 in what seemed like an hour. I was starting to think 200 honks might have been overly optimistic. Sweetie rallied us to persevere for as she told us who knows when a string of honkers would come through. It was also at this time I noticed a guy drive into the Fox front door and mouth “oh fuck” you can tell when that happens you don’t need be a mouth reader.
About 15 minutes later we get our next visit from Fox Security and unlike our first visitor he wasn’t wearing a uniform, but he had a fantastic Black lady named Keisha along with him to give him credibility I guess. He asked who we represented and why we were there. I told him as our signs said we were trying to speak out against his corporation’s usage of hate as a weapon to divide the country I love. He tried to point out that where I was standing was not Fox News, and I let him know that if Rupert Murdoch owned a Chuck E. Cheese’s franchise I’d picket that too. There are no happy face companies and I don’t buy the corporate fiction of independent organizations. He told me that I had the right to walk up and down the public sidewalk and that he would appreciate it if I didn’t block their driveway. Fair enough, but for some reason I felt like torturing their security for a bit so I went to their mobile camera and grabbed my sig line sign and hoped they’d send an e-mail to Rupert.
Honk 73
Of all the eyes I caught outside of indifference I only saw two negative reactions. One lady in a very tight Jaguar looked me right in the eyes shook her finger in a tsk tsk and shook her head no no at my Fox Sells Hate sign. I smiled as sweetly and as nicely as I could and said yes they do and shook my head yes and she drove on very nicely. The second was an old man that looked like Willie Nelson who refused to wash his hair, but he was riding in a very nice Mercedes. He rolled down his window yelled “fuck you” at the same time showing me one of his digits in a most unfriendly way. I answered back “thank you sir” pointed at my Hate sign and said “I love you” and he answered “FAGGOT”. He then rolled down about 20 feet and gave the same treatment to a 12 year old girl. So do people who defend Fox exhibit the very thing we had come to speak against? Why yes, yes they do.
Honk 97
The honks are actually coming pretty fast and furious and I’m actually thinking we might make our number of 200. I should have looked in the eyes of my fellow protestors. We’d been out about an hour and a half and arms were getting tired. After we went over 100 we changed the goal. 25 more for Dr. King!
Honk 117
The strip of Bundy that the Fox studios are on is just south of some very rich real estate. All through the day as I was looking at the faces against the quality of car I’d say hey isn’t that, or hmm I think she might have been someone, but honk 117 was special. Black escalade large brother who sweetie and the girls now swear was Terrell Owens.
Honk 125
People are tired. I don’t think we’re going to make it to 150 let alone 200 so I make one more attempt. Can we get 25 more honks for Mrs. King? Mrs. King it seems was only good for 10 more. As if in concurrence the sun started to come out and the lovely Southern California protest weather began to break. Mrs. King’s were the fastest honks we got all day,
I love to think of the concept that a the beat of the wing of a singly butterfly might be the genesis of a hurricane. My little crew and I beat ours speaking out against hate and for unity. I hope I showed my little cousins a good enough time so that they will always know that even if their voice is alone it is theirs to use. A great day was had by all I sprung for some chicken and we had a great picnic afterwards. The greatest President this country has ever elected Barack Obama has echoed Gandhi, heck I even heard Beck said about the same thing today. Be the change you want to see in the world.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
TTFN
I used to wonder why people wrote TTFN type diaries etc, but now I know why. It’s to let the many people you have formed a relationship with here know you haven’t just dropped off the side of the earth.
I’ve had an excellent time as a diarist and commenter here on the Daily Kos and as a Democrat I will always be active in the causes I hold dear, but I have decided to end my active participation on this site for now.
I enjoy too many diarist works to not at least lurk, and I’m hoping something will inspire me enough to scream out about it, but for now this place is far too divided, too unfriendly, and I’m just tired of fighting.
Namaste friends.
I’ve had an excellent time as a diarist and commenter here on the Daily Kos and as a Democrat I will always be active in the causes I hold dear, but I have decided to end my active participation on this site for now.
I enjoy too many diarist works to not at least lurk, and I’m hoping something will inspire me enough to scream out about it, but for now this place is far too divided, too unfriendly, and I’m just tired of fighting.
Namaste friends.
Jeffrey Lord Doubles Down on the Stupid
Jeffrey Lord has come out with a defense of his indefensible article attacking Shirley Sherrod in the American Spectator for referring to the death of her relative Bobby Hall as a lynching. Get a load of this crap in its entirety if you have a strong stomach.
For those who don't have the constitution for open race baiting or want to jump into the crazy world of Jeffrey Lord one in which a person being beaten to death by 3 crazed southern sheriffs isn’t a lynching because they lacked rope here is a great deconstruction of his arguments by Radley Balko over at Reason.com. Who Jeff Lord actually has the nerve to call Balko Boo Radley lol!
Or If I may I’ll just quote how our own Jed Lewison summarized the smear.
Link to Jed's article
Jed wasn’t the only one to see the errors in Mr. Lord’s reasoning, two contributors in his own publication called him to task.
Jim Tabin writes
Link to his post
Phillip Klein chimes in as well.
Link to his post
So what how does Mr. Lord respond to this hail of criticism? Does he reasses his position? Does he think again about what he said? No, if you believe that I have some very attractive swamp land for sale. Unfortunately what he does in defense of his ignorance is what Republicans have done since the dawn of the southern strategy double down.
Link to what Mr. Lord calls his defense
The actual definition of a lynching does not require a mob, as he would like to define it. It actually consists of three people as the federal anti lynching statute and anyone who and anyone who would take the time to actually research the subject can attest.
Mr. Lord also apparently doesn’t have the slightest idea that acting under the color of law does not give you legal authority to beat a man to death. I have to wonder did he give that contention one moment of thought. In this persons world any police officer who has on a uniform basically has a 007 license to kill.
His second defense of his hatchet job on the truth and history is even more hilarious.
Link to what Mr. Lord calls his defense
Yes Mr. Lord the connection is people like yourself. People who so hate the Obama administration that they would rekindle the ugly emotions that fueled the southern racist of yore, but with the damndest twist. Republicans can apparently demand their non white citizens prove themselves, take 3 idiots and a website and make them the terror of the nation, and completely ignore the actual history of race relations in this country.
On the positive side while cruising the comments of this most interesting exercise in sophistry I found that it is not playing well amongst the commenters of the American Spectator.
Just off the top I found these examples.
From Marcus
The Bulge
Ex
It gets far better than this in the original post. I believe if this little interlude in the mind of a Republican is any illustration of how they feel as a group we have tremendous issues to overcome. When a respected Republican thinker can equate the murder of a Black man to something done under the color of authority and not a lynching Shirley Sherrod was right when she was discussing the attitude of Andrew Breitbart. They do want to take us back to the time when a Black man couldn’t look a white one in the face
For those who don't have the constitution for open race baiting or want to jump into the crazy world of Jeffrey Lord one in which a person being beaten to death by 3 crazed southern sheriffs isn’t a lynching because they lacked rope here is a great deconstruction of his arguments by Radley Balko over at Reason.com. Who Jeff Lord actually has the nerve to call Balko Boo Radley lol!
Or If I may I’ll just quote how our own Jed Lewison summarized the smear.
Shirley Sherrod lied when she described Bobby Hall's death as a lynching because the Supreme Court never said it was a lynching (even though everybody agrees a Sheriff beat Hall to death and dragged him through the county courthouse while on his deathbed).
Progressives who sounded an awful lot like Shirley Sherrod are responsible for creating the conditions that led to Bobby Hall's murder because the only way you can advocate for working people is to engage in race-baiting.
Link to Jed's article
Jed wasn’t the only one to see the errors in Mr. Lord’s reasoning, two contributors in his own publication called him to task.
Jim Tabin writes
What on Earth is Jeffrey Lord talking about on the mainpage? He says that the sentence "Claude Screws lynched a black man" is untrue. Lynching is defined as an extrajudicial killing by a mob (which can be as few as two people). The fatal beating of Bobby Hall most certainly qualifies.
Link to his post
Phillip Klein chimes in as well.
A regular part of writing for a political magazine or website is that you sometimes disagree with what is written, or even with decisions to publish certain articles. Such is my sentiment today with Jeff Lord's piece on Shirley Sherrod. I am rendered speechless by a 4,000-word article that is based around the suggestion that somebody is a liar for saying that a black man was lynched, when he was merely beaten to death by a white sheriff who evidence suggests had previously threatened to "get him."
Link to his post
So what how does Mr. Lord respond to this hail of criticism? Does he reasses his position? Does he think again about what he said? No, if you believe that I have some very attractive swamp land for sale. Unfortunately what he does in defense of his ignorance is what Republicans have done since the dawn of the southern strategy double down.
Random House Webster's College Dictionary defines lynching as: "to put to death, esp. hanging by mob action and without legal authority."
I have read the Court's decision. Three people are not a "mob." A mob is defined as a "large crowd." So there was no "mob action" because there was no mob. Second, the Supreme Court specifically said the Sheriff and his deputy and a local policeman acted "under color of law." Which means they had legal authority.
So to say that Bobby Hall was lynched is, factually, according to the Supreme Court and, if you prefer, Webster's, not true. No mob. Therefore no "mob action." And the three had "legal authority." So my new friend Radley "Boo" Balko over at Reason pounced...and got it wrong instantly.
Link to what Mr. Lord calls his defense
The actual definition of a lynching does not require a mob, as he would like to define it. It actually consists of three people as the federal anti lynching statute and anyone who and anyone who would take the time to actually research the subject can attest.
Mr. Lord also apparently doesn’t have the slightest idea that acting under the color of law does not give you legal authority to beat a man to death. I have to wonder did he give that contention one moment of thought. In this persons world any police officer who has on a uniform basically has a 007 license to kill.
His second defense of his hatchet job on the truth and history is even more hilarious.
Second. The larger point. My colleagues seem not to understand the connection between what they are seeing in the headlines everyday -- and history. There is, I'm sorry to say, a direct connection between Southern racists of yore and, say, the Obama Administration policy in Arizona.. The Black Panther case. And what Ms. Sherrod was doing in her speech when she ever so casually linked criticism of health care to racism, which is to say not supporting a (her words) "black President."
Link to what Mr. Lord calls his defense
Yes Mr. Lord the connection is people like yourself. People who so hate the Obama administration that they would rekindle the ugly emotions that fueled the southern racist of yore, but with the damndest twist. Republicans can apparently demand their non white citizens prove themselves, take 3 idiots and a website and make them the terror of the nation, and completely ignore the actual history of race relations in this country.
On the positive side while cruising the comments of this most interesting exercise in sophistry I found that it is not playing well amongst the commenters of the American Spectator.
Just off the top I found these examples.
From Marcus
I usually don't agree with liberal bloggers, because, well they're liberal. However, how stupid are you? They're correct to point out the Hall's murder was, by definition, a lynching. Mob violence is what lynching is. I can't believe you're actually trying to defend that moronic piece you wrote a few days ago. I suspect you've come to the realization of how stupid you came off and how ridiculous you premise is/was. Mr. Lord, just stop, give up, admit you're wrong, because hardly anyone is going to agree with you. Moron.
The Bulge
You're embarrassing yourself. Just admit it was a stupid thing to write, and move on. Or, you know, just keep digging like you're doing. It's hard to believe you could be this dumb.
Ex
Mr. Lords rebuttal is as weak as his initial argument. He gives three arguments based on the definition he supplies and each of his arguments are pathetically weak. The definition that he supplies of lynching says esp. by hanging. Especially implies other means and does not preclude beatings. By Mr. Lords definition Emitt Till was not lynched. Next Mr. Lords says that there was not enough people to constitute a mob, conveniently ignoring Mr. Balko citation of the Dwyer anti lynching bill that defined a mob as three or more people. His last argument is that Sheriff Straw and his two accomplices acted under color of law so therefore had legal authority. Just because they had legal authority to arrest and subdue Mr. Hall did not give them legal authority to kick and beat him with an 8 inch 2 lbs black jack for 15 minutes resulting in his death.
Mr Lord's comparing himself to Atticus Finch is as misguided as his rebuttal is weak. Atticus Finch defended a black suspect from the lynch mob. He did not minimize the mobs action nor did he attack the victim's relatives.
The whole premise or the initial article was wrongheaded. Why imply Ms Sherrod is a liar because she did not use an extremely narrow debatable definition of lynching. The point is Mr. Hall was a victim of Jim Crow racism not whether he was hung in front of the courthouse or beaten to death in front of it.
It gets far better than this in the original post. I believe if this little interlude in the mind of a Republican is any illustration of how they feel as a group we have tremendous issues to overcome. When a respected Republican thinker can equate the murder of a Black man to something done under the color of authority and not a lynching Shirley Sherrod was right when she was discussing the attitude of Andrew Breitbart. They do want to take us back to the time when a Black man couldn’t look a white one in the face
The Leg Kicked from The Presiden's Chair
A very fair contention arising from the Shirley Sherrod affair is the idea that the President isn’t as in harmony with the issues of Black America as he once was or appeared to be. Not that he doesn’t care or isn’t sensitive, but it appears as if issues that should be no brainers to many Black Americans escape his normally razor sharp ability to recognize.
Join me after the fold for some discussion As Maureen Dowd quoted Congressman James Clyburn from her thanks white lady but no thanks column in the New York Times on Sunday the 25th
Link to the Maureen Dowd's NYT concern trolling
It occurs to me at one time the President had such a resource, but America wouldn’t allow him to have it. It occurs to me that resource was stolen from the President in the same manner as Shirley Sherrod had her good name and reputation stolen from her with a 3 minute clipping edited in such a way as to make the person appear like a Black racist. That clip was then fed to America’s Radio Rwanda Fox News for injection into the national blood stream. That resource was the Reverend Doctor Jeremiah Alvesta Wright Jr.
For those who are not of faith or in particular not a member of a predominately Black Church it’s difficult to explain the relationship one has with ones Pastor. Historically it has always been our religious leaders at the forefront for the causes of equal justice and economic outcomes for Black people. It can be no surprise considering even today those who are thought to speak for the Black community have Reverend before their names Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson. The Reverend Wright could easily be mentioned in that sentence.
On another level though there is one thing that access to a Pastor has that no other advisor on earth can offer. The Pastors primary and overriding concern is not that you be elected President, it is not that you gain financial reward, it is his goal to get you into heaven. It is his goal to see that you are always morally grounded it is his job to see that you always do right.
I have a man right now who I could call at any time of day or night a man that I know would give me the straight answer or at least guide my thinking in an honest way as to the right and wrong of anything in the Reverend Lucious Smith of the Friendship Baptist Church of Pasadena. He would not hesitate to tell me I’m a politician and I do what politicians do and I’m here to keep you honest I’ll see that you are answerable, or as a salesperson your first duty is to your client and not your profit and even though you could earn that extra bit there are higher standards to hold yourself to.
There is a reason why the President is reacting like this, and it’s because we poked one of his eyes out. We took away a base he had relied upon to discuss issues like this for over 20 years.
When the Obama’s gave up their church home I felt real pain for them. For we Black people of faith a church is more than a place of worship it is a home, a lodge, one of the only places where we can be free to commune and organize. That’s why it is such an attractive target for racist bomb throwers.
I for one knew what sort of handicap the President would feel when he decided to give up his relationship with the Rev. Wright. I know had Fox News not destroyed that relationship he would have called his pastor, and I have to think he knew who Shirley Sherrod was if he didn't I'm very sure he would have asked the president to give the Black lady the benefit of the doubt. If the President hadn't sought his advice I'm sure the Reverend would have had his direct number and the ability to call, mine does. When Officer Crowley told his lie and got a beer summit out of it I’m confident that Rev. Wright would have had him say a few more things about lying police before he sat down to drink with them.
I do not believe the President was in anyway responsible for the decisions surrounding requesting Shirley Sherrod to resign, however he was briefed. He did say he agreed with Secretary Vilsack’s decision to request her resignation, and he did say he supported it. People say they would like to see an "angry" black president from time to time. Maybe the reason we don't see that sort of passion is we took away the source of that passions fuel, and for that I lament.
Picket Fox August 28th! Do not let Glenn Beck's attempt to steal the legacy of Martin Luther King go unanswered!
Join me after the fold for some discussion As Maureen Dowd quoted Congressman James Clyburn from her thanks white lady but no thanks column in the New York Times on Sunday the 25th
“I don’t think a single black person was consulted before Shirley Sherrod was fired — I mean c’mon, “
“The president’s getting hurt real bad,” Clyburn told me. “He needs some black people around him.” He said Obama’s inner circle keeps “screwing up” on race: “Some people over there are not sensitive at all about race. They really feel that the extent to which he allows himself to talk about race would tend to pigeonhole him or cost him support, when a lot of people saw his election as a way to get the issue behind us. I don’t think people elected him to disengage on race. Just the opposite.”
Link to the Maureen Dowd's NYT concern trolling
It occurs to me at one time the President had such a resource, but America wouldn’t allow him to have it. It occurs to me that resource was stolen from the President in the same manner as Shirley Sherrod had her good name and reputation stolen from her with a 3 minute clipping edited in such a way as to make the person appear like a Black racist. That clip was then fed to America’s Radio Rwanda Fox News for injection into the national blood stream. That resource was the Reverend Doctor Jeremiah Alvesta Wright Jr.
For those who are not of faith or in particular not a member of a predominately Black Church it’s difficult to explain the relationship one has with ones Pastor. Historically it has always been our religious leaders at the forefront for the causes of equal justice and economic outcomes for Black people. It can be no surprise considering even today those who are thought to speak for the Black community have Reverend before their names Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson. The Reverend Wright could easily be mentioned in that sentence.
On another level though there is one thing that access to a Pastor has that no other advisor on earth can offer. The Pastors primary and overriding concern is not that you be elected President, it is not that you gain financial reward, it is his goal to get you into heaven. It is his goal to see that you are always morally grounded it is his job to see that you always do right.
I have a man right now who I could call at any time of day or night a man that I know would give me the straight answer or at least guide my thinking in an honest way as to the right and wrong of anything in the Reverend Lucious Smith of the Friendship Baptist Church of Pasadena. He would not hesitate to tell me I’m a politician and I do what politicians do and I’m here to keep you honest I’ll see that you are answerable, or as a salesperson your first duty is to your client and not your profit and even though you could earn that extra bit there are higher standards to hold yourself to.
There is a reason why the President is reacting like this, and it’s because we poked one of his eyes out. We took away a base he had relied upon to discuss issues like this for over 20 years.
When the Obama’s gave up their church home I felt real pain for them. For we Black people of faith a church is more than a place of worship it is a home, a lodge, one of the only places where we can be free to commune and organize. That’s why it is such an attractive target for racist bomb throwers.
I for one knew what sort of handicap the President would feel when he decided to give up his relationship with the Rev. Wright. I know had Fox News not destroyed that relationship he would have called his pastor, and I have to think he knew who Shirley Sherrod was if he didn't I'm very sure he would have asked the president to give the Black lady the benefit of the doubt. If the President hadn't sought his advice I'm sure the Reverend would have had his direct number and the ability to call, mine does. When Officer Crowley told his lie and got a beer summit out of it I’m confident that Rev. Wright would have had him say a few more things about lying police before he sat down to drink with them.
I do not believe the President was in anyway responsible for the decisions surrounding requesting Shirley Sherrod to resign, however he was briefed. He did say he agreed with Secretary Vilsack’s decision to request her resignation, and he did say he supported it. People say they would like to see an "angry" black president from time to time. Maybe the reason we don't see that sort of passion is we took away the source of that passions fuel, and for that I lament.
Picket Fox August 28th! Do not let Glenn Beck's attempt to steal the legacy of Martin Luther King go unanswered!
No Tom Vilsack you should resign
statementI’ve just had the chance to read Tom Vilsack’s statement regarding Shirley Sherrod and the issues surrounding her resignation, and I’ve never seen such an affront to American justice in all my life.
No person so craven and unwilling to support the very principles of American democracy needs to keep a position of power in this country.
I'm jumping mad.
Isn’t that just American typical. The sordid page you are speaking about is written with your agency failing to perform for non white farmers. Where is the 1.25 billion dollars owed to them is that what you were talking about? To answer that sordid history with an injustice against the first Black lady to hold a position like that is an example a spinlessness so pronounced as to bring serious doubts about this man's ability to make any decision.
His second point is even more disgusting. The idea that the leader of a vital arm of this administration would allow WRONG to color his motivations then have the nerve to actually put that out in a statement is evidence enough that he should not have this position. This is a man who just endorsed injustice. If a group thinks wrongly then he'll ask for people's resignations. That can't be acceptable.
I have to admit I don't follow agricultural issues closely enough to know if the overall policies Secretary Vilsack is working for are positive, but this episode shows he doesn't have the judgement to implement them.
Update: 3:23
Ben Jealous has come out with a new statement that is more in keeping with what he should have said in the first place. I almost called for his resignation too in this diary, but I thought I'd give him a chance to respond. Good response.
Yeah we're cool again Ben Jealous
No person so craven and unwilling to support the very principles of American democracy needs to keep a position of power in this country.
I'm jumping mad.
Yesterday, I asked for and accepted Ms. Sherrod's resignation for two reasons. First, for the past 18 months, we have been working to turn the page on the sordid civil rights record at USDA and this controversy could make it more difficult to move forward on correcting injustices. Second, state rural development directors make many decisions and are often called to use their discretion. The controversy surrounding her comments would create situations where her decisions, rightly or wrongly, would be called into question making it difficult for her to bring jobs to Georgia.Link to TPM article of this cowardly response
Our policy is clear. There is zero tolerance for discrimination at USDA and we strongly condemn any act of discrimination against any person. We have a duty to ensure that when we provide services to the American people we do so in an equitable manner. But equally important is our duty to instill confidence in the American people that we are fair service providers.
Isn’t that just American typical. The sordid page you are speaking about is written with your agency failing to perform for non white farmers. Where is the 1.25 billion dollars owed to them is that what you were talking about? To answer that sordid history with an injustice against the first Black lady to hold a position like that is an example a spinlessness so pronounced as to bring serious doubts about this man's ability to make any decision.
His second point is even more disgusting. The idea that the leader of a vital arm of this administration would allow WRONG to color his motivations then have the nerve to actually put that out in a statement is evidence enough that he should not have this position. This is a man who just endorsed injustice. If a group thinks wrongly then he'll ask for people's resignations. That can't be acceptable.
I have to admit I don't follow agricultural issues closely enough to know if the overall policies Secretary Vilsack is working for are positive, but this episode shows he doesn't have the judgement to implement them.
Update: 3:23
Ben Jealous has come out with a new statement that is more in keeping with what he should have said in the first place. I almost called for his resignation too in this diary, but I thought I'd give him a chance to respond. Good response.
(BALTIMORE, MD) - NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous issued the following statement today after a careful investigation into the presentation of former USDA Official Shirley Sherrod.
"The NAACP has a zero tolerance policy against racial discrimination, whether practiced by blacks, whites, or any other group.
The NAACP also has long championed and embraced transformation by people who have move beyond racial bias. Most notably, we have done so for late Alabama Governor George Wallace and late US Senator Robert Byrd -- each a man who had associated with and supported white supremacists and their cause before embracing civil rights for all.
With regard to the initial media coverage of the resignation of USDA Official Shirley Sherrod, we have come to the conclusion we were snookered by Fox News and Tea Party Activist Andrew Breitbart into believing she had harmed white farmers because of racial bias.
Having reviewed the full tape, spoken to Ms. Sherrod, and most importantly heard the testimony of the white farmers mentioned in this story, we now believe the organization that edited the documents did so with the intention of deceiving millions of Americans.
The fact is Ms. Sherrod did help the white farmers mentioned in her speech. They personally credit her with helping to save their family farm.
Moreover, this incident and the lesson it prompted occurred more that 20 years before she went to work for USDA.
Finally, she was sharing this account as part of a story of transformation and redemption. In the full video, Ms.Sherrod says she realized that the dislocation of farmers is about “haves and have nots.” "It’s not just about black people, it’s about poor people," says Sherrod in the speech. “We have to get to the point where race exists but it doesn’t matter.”
This is a teachable moment, for activists and for journalists.
Most Americans agree that racism has no place in American Society. We also believe that civil and human rights have to be measured by a single yardstick.
The NAACP has demonstrated its commitment to live by that standard.
The Tea Party Federation took a step in that direction when it expelled the Tea Party Express over the weekend. Unfortunately, we have yet to hear from other leaders in the Tea Party movement like Dick Armey and Sarah Palin, who have been virtually silent on the “internal bigotry” issue.
Next time we are confronted by a racial controversy broken by Fox News or their allies in the Tea Party like Mr. Breitbart, we will consider the source and be more deliberate in responding. The tape of Ms. Sherrod’s speech at an NAACP banquet was deliberately edited to create a false impression of racial bias, and to create a controversy where none existed. This just shows the lengths to which extremist elements will go to discredit legitimate opposition.
According to the USDA, Sherrod’s statements prompted her dismissal. While we understand why Secretary Vilsack believes this false controversy will impede her ability to function in the role, we urge him to reconsider.
Finally, we hope this incident will heighten Congress’s urgency in dealing with the well documented findings of discrimination toward black, Latino, Asian American and Native American farmers, as well as female farmers of all races."
###
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
Yeah we're cool again Ben Jealous
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