The greatest American moral values remain liberty and justice for
all! Those are the moral values we had in mind when voting against
the racist, war-mongering, corporate-pig George W. Bush.
Feeling the Thunder
The BC cover
story of November
4, 2004, "Concede
Nothing to Bush - Black Consensus Remains Intact" caused Okello Olok
to become exuberant.
Well, it now seems that we are truly heading somewhere
somehow despite all the tall walls built around us. Our silent
voices seems to
be heard and heard loud. You truly can not push a determined
soul down
for good...it has been a long walk and the white people are
beginning to properly feel our presence in the world.
The article (Black consensus remain intact...) uplifted
my soul. Though I don't live in America, I can feel
the
thunder right across the ocean. Feeling you are the most hated
living thing
every time you step out of your house in a white world is not
just threatening but, morally sinks you too. I always walk with
my head
up in the air
and with smile on my face...why? If someone wants to
hate you so much they are willing to go the extent of suppressing
your
rights, that shows how powerful you must be and what a formidable
strength they see right inside of you.
We have learned and we can play by the rules but,
we do have the edge because our hearts are pure and our minds
are not
tarnished and we
are still underestimated.
How wonderful!!!
A reader named Jim also sees a bright side.
The swelling white Republican base that triumphed on Election
Day, is a nightmare
.....but Mr. Rove's "nightmare" technique to achieve the Republicans'
hollow "victory" is not new. It is a technique built
on fear.....specifically (in today's world) ethnic fear (Muslims
and Islam) and is the same
technique used to shackle African Americas since they first arrived
in this country as slaves. It is the foundation stone that segregation
is built upon....Create an external "threat" based on
prejudice of any kind and hammer on that issue until it drives
a wedge between
peoples....
Creating fear, hate and division among peoples is the foundation of
Mr. Rove's evil plan . It will not/must not continue to succeed. I
feel that unity among African Americans is building (as you do) and
if that is followed by political activism then success will be achieved.
The philosopher Hegel advocated this same recipe for worldly "success" and
it has been used many times since it first appeared in the public
discourse.
"The times they are a changin"......truer words were never
spoken.....
Yes, something is in the air. Ain't felt like this in
a very long time.
Cherishing freedom, liberty and justice And M. Dianne Shatin of Levittown, PA is prepared
for the long battle ahead.
I believe that it is African Americans who stand for truth and justice;
freedom and liberty....
I believe it is African Americans who cherish, more
than anyone, freedom, liberty, and justice. I believe it is African
Americans
once again
who will remain steadfast in our uphill battle for free and fair
elections in America.
It is the soul of African Americans that
never, ever surrenders; endures, and never surrenders. When I was
a little girl, I remember the first
time I saw someone with a skin tone different than mine; I guess
I asked about this and some old lady told me that just as G*d made
different
colored flowers, so G*d made people of different colors. It was simply,
clear, and true. As I grew older I came to understand how different
white and black people are from one another based on the black experience
of enslavement and oppression. Black people had unbreakable faith;
a people who could find hope and inspiration just around the bend;
on top of the mountain; or around the other side of the mountain;
while enslaved; mocked; oppressed; harassed; beaten; followed; spat
upon;
and condemned to cruel suffering for so long. And today, at 52, I
have come to realize that it is the African Americans in the United
States
who today, again, light our path; our guardians of our democracy;
bearers of freedom's torch through the darkness of this oppressive
theocratic
totalitarian white power regime.
I stand with you today and all the way in the battles that lie ahead.
Just as the Buffalo Soldiers, we will fight, we will overcome, we will
win for there is no option. I stand with you until the day I die.
Rowan Kaiser is Ready for Revolution.
I am willing to give up my right to vote. After observing the election,
and seeing African-Americans vote with a mere 11% for Bush, I would
like to say, as a white person, that we should not vote.
I envision this scenario. Someone gets up to make a speech, saying "Ladies
and Gentlemen, the United States of America, as an apology for
decades of disenfranchisement and centuries of slavery, has decided
that the
blacks in America will get to chose the direction of the nation
from this point on. After all, since they've been screwed over
the most*,
they should get the chance to make things right. We're gonna sit
this one out. Have fun!"
Imagine a presidential contest between Cynthia McKinney and Barack
Obama, with the corporate media determining that one of them is
now a liberal and the other conservative, then evenly dividing
the electorate
between them, as the media must do. Maybe Alan Keyes will run a
spoiler campaign, and people are going to wonder who will move
to the right
to take Keyes voters. Maybe white politicians would actually speak
to the needs of the people who have the most needs so that they
could get elected, instead of following the imaginary "middle class" to
which well over half of Americans think they belong.
I might have hope for America. But sadly, I won't be disenfranchised
anytime soon.
*I grant that American Indians have a fairly valid claim to screwed-overness,
therefore they should be allowed to vote as well.
Living under dumb corrupt idiots Vernon S.Burton of San Leandro, CA thinks the election results
casts a shadow on the IQ of white folks.
As I ponder the results of the Nov.2nd election,I keep coming back
to the question:What is wrong with White Folk in America?
How can this
many people vote to continue living under the control of some
of the dumbest, most corrupt idiots I have seen in my lifetime?
Has
the intelligence
bar in this country been set so low as to render this many
people incapable of seeing when they are being conned?
Well no one
can blame the inevitable
debacle of the next four years on Black Folk, most of us
went for the lesser of the two evils.
And Bert Adams is down, but not out.
It is difficult to understand how Bush's
so-called morality can measure up against the administration's
immorality of job loss, environmental destruction, deficit,
corporate crime, wealthy tax breaks, and fiscal deficit.
Societal
morality
is infinitely more important than so-called personal faith.
. . .
It is hard not to be too discouraged to continue working
for
justice. But you (and I) must work to change this political/
economic/media-driven world of racism and injustice.
Thanks
for all your efforts - keep it up. And I'll do whatever
I can
to
help.
Wimping out Margaret Kimberley's Freedom Rider column
in  on October
14, 2004 entitled "A Desperate White House" rang the bell for
Karen Parks of Los Angeles.
Thank you
for saying ("The outcome of this election depends on the willingness
of a wimpy political party to suddenly show some courage."),
and in print, no less, what no one seems willing to say
to our Democratic leaders and other elected officials.
Why they haven't stood up and shouted long before this (including
John Kerry, to be perfectly honest) is well beyond my understanding.
I have been appalled in recent years at the lack of dissent among
Democrats in the House and Senate ... and was brought to tears
by what I
had not seen before, when I saw in Fahrenheit 9/11 that not one
Democratic senator
would stand with the African-American congress people after the
sham of the Florida presidential election. How they can even look
their colleagues or constituents in the eye after
that miserable lack of guts is well beyond my understanding.
I certainly hope we, and they, have learned something .... and
that your words ring in the ears of every Democrat in public office.
Thank you, again, for being a clear voice. I hope you are heard.
Bob Reynolds of Orange Park, Florida enjoyed Margaret's recognizing
the coaching Bush received electronically during the debates.
A fine analysis.
On the question of Bush and the "boxes on the back",
stills from all three debates show this. At the end of the last debate
when
the families came on stage he was forced to turn his back to the
cameras and a rectangular shape shows clearly.
What is interesting is that Kerry patted Bush on the
back. Was he checking?
I would think that the Kerry campaign had grounds to complain
to the Debate Commission that Bush may have violated the agreements
which
specifically prohibited any electronic devices. They chose not
to do so, and Kerry and the others have not even made a joke of it.
On Meet the Press Bob Shrum had the opportunity at the end of the
interview to comment on it, but instead just grinned. This occurred
when Russett asked Ken Mehlman about it and Mehlman blew it off
as
a joke.
This failure of the Kerry campaign to attack at every
opportunity is incomprehensible. Since the GOP misses no opportunity
to attack and
to distort Kerry's comments and positions it seems stupid not to
retaliate. I learned as a kid in a tough neighborhood people will
keep hitting you if you don't hit back.
The only explanation I have gotten on the Kerry campaign tactics
was from a knowledgeable source who suggested that a counter attack
would
be misconstrued and distorted by the media particularly Fox.
That the Dems no longer can get a fair hearing in the media.
That's probably true, but does not mean you cede the field to the
enemy?
We know now the wimpy party didn't show the courage needed to fight
for Peace, Jobs and Justice.
On October
28th, Sister Kimberley anticipated vote theft and nervously
considered packing a bag for a move to the north. From Louisiana Gertrude
F. Treadway echoed the thought.
I'll be right with you (if only in my dreams)! I was up in Canada during
the month of August. This was my first trip there, and it is truly
the beautiful, peaceful country. It's government has four parties,
also.
Our country has truly reached a sad impasse in the electoral process.
I pray John Kerry wins, but I agree we'll have to work hard to
get him on the "straight and narrow" (or wide) and keep
him there. I have never worked so hard to help elect a Democrat as
I
have this
year. Perhaps we were just lazy during the last election, and
were too sure of Al Gore's success. Without the Florida debacle he
would
have prevailed. The Republicans are trying to pull an upset again.
This time it looks like both Ohio and Florida are in line for
voter suppression.
Just had to get this all off my chest. Thanks for your article.
reader P. Roberts says he is more than dreaming about Canada.
I have to applaud your piece on the new America (read: the new Evil
Empire) that exists today because of bush....or, as I prefer to
call him, the Chimp and his flying monkey corps........Your observations
on the situation at hand is, I'm afraid, right on the money.....people
who have found their brains (and subsequently their heart) from
this
lemming-like mentality are probably like you....packing their bags
to head up to Canada. The Chimp has made it almost intolerable
(if you are middle class or lower middle class or worse) to live
here unless
you're a racist, xenophobic, sexist, rich republicanazi meathead
because in his delusions of grandeur, he wants nothing but people
who will
follow him over the brink, because he says so.......nowdays where
the world looks at us not in awe or for inspiration, but with loathing
and disgust, the chimp still looks out of his beady little eyes
and
says "either you're with us or against us"????? What
planet is this guy from? Hasn't it been bad enough to make war
on the world,
without rubbing the other countries' faces in the mire? And please
don't get me started on the New Toms..........
I really do believe that I will be retiring in Montreal...........
In either case, your story was wonderful and insightful. Please
keep up the voice; in this age of people being silenced, it takes
true
courage to speak the truth.
As this issue is being published, Margaret continues to reside in
New York City.
In case you missed it
Author and Filmmaker, Michael
Moore has a number of reasons
not to slit your wrists.
- It is against the law for George W. Bush to run for president
again.
- Bush's victory was the NARROWEST win for a sitting president
since Woodrow Wilson in 1916.
- The only age group in which the majority voted for Kerry was
young adults (Kerry: 54%, Bush: 44%), proving once again
that your parents are always wrong and you should never listen
to them.
- In spite of Bush's win, the majority of Americans still think
the country is headed in the wrong direction (56%), think
the war wasn't
worth fighting (51%), and don't approve of the job George
W. Bush is doing (52%). (Note to foreigners: Don't try to figure
this one out. It's an American thing, like Pop Tarts.)
- The Republicans will not have a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority
in the Senate. If the Democrats do their job, Bush won't
be able to pack the Supreme Court with right-wing ideologues.
Did I say "if
the Democrats do their job?" Um, maybe better to scratch
this one.
- Michigan voted for Kerry! So did the entire Northeast, the
birthplace of our democracy. So did 6 of the 8 Great Lakes
States. And the whole
West Coast! Plus Hawaii. Ok, that's a start. We've
got most of the fresh water, all of Broadway, and Mt. St. Helens.
We can dehydrate
them or bury them in lava. And no more show tunes!
- 88% of Bush's support came from white voters. In 50 years,
America will no longer have a white majority. Hey, 50 years
isn't such a long
time! If you're ten years old and reading this, your
golden years will be truly golden and you will be well cared
for in your old age.
- Five more African Americans were elected as members of Congress,
including the return of Cynthia McKinney of Georgia.
It's always good to have more blacks in there fighting for
us and doing the job our
candidates can't.
- The CEO of Coors was defeated for Senate in Colorado. Drink
up!
- Bush is now a lame duck president. He will have no greater
moment than the one he's having this week. It's all downhill
for him from
here on out -- and, more significantly, he's
just not going to want to do all the hard work that will be expected
of him. It'll be like
everyone's last month in 12th grade -- you've
already
made it, so it's party time! Perhaps he'll treat the next four
years like a permanent
Friday, spending even more time at the ranch
or in Kennebunkport. And why shouldn't he? He's already proved his
point, avenged his father
and kicked our ass.
- Should Bush decide to show up to work and take this country
down a very dark road, it is also just as likely
that either of the following
two scenarios will happen: a) Now that he doesn't
ever need to pander to the Christian conservatives again to get
elected, someone may
whisper in his ear that he should spend these
last four years building "a
legacy" so that history will render a
kinder verdict on him and thus he will not
push for too aggressive a right-wing agenda;
or b)
He will become so cocky and arrogant -- and
thus, reckless -- that
he will commit a blunder of such major proportions
that even his own party will have to remove
him from office.
- There are nearly 300 million Americans -- 200 million of
them of voting age. We only lost by three and a half million!
That's not
a landslide -- it means we're almost there.
Imagine losing by 20 million. If you had 58 yards to go before
you reached the goal line and then
you barreled down 55 of those yards, would
you stop on the three yard line, pick up the ball and go home
crying -- especially when you get
to start the next down on the three yard
line? Of course not! Buck up! Have hope! More sports analogies
are coming!!!
- Finally and most importantly, over 55 million Americans voted
for the candidate dubbed "The #1 Liberal in the Senate." That's
more than the total number of voters who
voted for either Reagan, Bush I, Clinton
or Gore. Again, more people voted for Kerry
than Reagan. If the media are looking for
a trend it should be this -- that so many
Americans were,
for the
first time since Kennedy, willing to vote
for an out-and-out liberal. The country
has always been filled with evangelicals
-- that is not
news. What IS news is that so many people
have shifted toward a Massachusetts liberal.
In fact, that's BIG news. Which means,
don't expect the
mainstream media, the ones who brought
you the Iraq War, to ever report the real
truth about November 2, 2004. In fact,
it's better that they don't.
We'll need the element of surprise in 2008.
Send your e-Mail to [email protected].
Thank you very much for your readership and keep writing.
gratefully
acknowledges the following Websites for sending visitors our way:
http://mathaba.net/
http://youwillanyway.blogspot.com/
http://www.blackelectorate.com/
http://www.buzzflash.com/
http://www.liberaloasis.com/
http://www.okayplayer.com/
http://www.airamericaradio.com/
http://www.jsums.edu/
http://membersc.blackplanet.com/
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/
http://www.commondreams.org/
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