Tavis: Always pleased to welcome Dr. Cornel West to this program. The Princeton professor and best-selling author is also, I am proud to say, in terms of full disclosure, co-host of “Smiley & West” on public radio, distributed by Public Radio International. Doc, as always, good to see you on the West Coast.
Dr. Cornel West: Always a blessing, my brother. Sunshine, I like.
Tavis: Yeah, good to see you, good to see you. I have some blue cards in my hand. I’m not a blue card sort of guy, as you know watching this program every night, but I wanted to have these cards in my hand because I really want to go through the particulars of this interview you gave with Chris Hedges on Truthdig some days ago that has caused such a furor in the Internet space, the blogosphere, amongst progressives, amongst the Black academy, specifically; in the academy more broadly, given what “The Boston Globe” had to say about you the other day.
West: Oh, yeah.
Tavis: So you’ve kicked up quite a controversy, as you know, with your comments about President Barack Obama, specifically your critique of him not being progressive enough – those are my words, not yours. So to jump right into the conversation and make the most of the time I have, let me pull out some of these quotes that you offered in this interview that you’ve been taken to task for and give you a chance to respond so that I and the viewer understand better what it is you were saying.
In no particular order, number one, you referred to the president as “A Black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs and a Black puppet of corporate plutocrats. And now he has become head of the American killing machine and is proud of it.” Talk to me.
West: Yeah, well, one, I had in mind the fact that as a progressive you begin with the plight and predicament of poor people and working people, and you see their situation with a sense of urgency. It’s a state of emergency, so that mass unemployment, mass under-employment, mass incarceration, massive lack of quality education and housing itself becomes part and parcel of a national security issue.
Next month, president Barack Obama will be the first president since John F. Kennedy to visit Puerto Rico. I was shocked to find out that it has been fifty years since a sitting president has visited the island colony. But hey, I guess it can be said that Barack is going all out campaign mode and pandering to err'body and e'ry group he needs votes from in 2012. Gotta give the brother some credit; he's not taking anything for granted and is putting in work. Yes the Republican prospects are a collective joke, but there's work to do.
Speaking of work to be done, surely you know who Cesar Chavez was, right? You know, the brown skinned brother who was an activist for migrant workers from Latin America? Yeah, the brother who posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom which happens to be this country's highest civilian honor? Well, though his legend and accomplishments in the interest of freedom and equality were deserving of such honor and recognition. Apparently for "certain people" in San Antonio, this poses a threat to the "American" way of life as they know it, as they're opposed to a street being named after him.
A state district judge sided with local groups protesting the name change, after seven members of San Antonio's city council all voted in favor of the name change. The two white members, the one African American member, and the lone Asian-American all voted against the name change. I suppose for them, having your cities main thoroughfare (which is currently named after a Mexican state) named after Chavez would be too much of a compromise on the historical integrity of the city and the lives of "certain people":
The proposal to rename Durango Street, one of the city's main streets, has divided a city where 61 percent of residents are Hispanic.
"It is very important that we protect the integrity of our history, and that includes objecting to changing street names," said Bill Oliver, who represents the San Antonio Conservation Society, which sued to oppose the name change.
I remember my big sister wrote a letter to Ebony magazine, asking them why they always portrayed the children models with fair skin and wavy hair.
My sister, who is brown with thick lips and hips, never got an answer. She lives with shame to this day of her complexion. So much so, that the fathers of her children are fair-skinned. Nope she is not a hood rat, but on her second marriage with a medical degree, and still is not happy with the skin she inherited.
I really wish she could see the beauty we all see in her, and see she is worthy of being adulated and revered like all women.
All of my sisters, including me are a darker shade of brown. I clearly remember having the door slammed in my face by some brothers who opened it for my fair skinned-roommate, the first week I was at Florida A&M University.
They called her redbone. It was the first time I ever heard that name. I asked her what that was, and she explained. Since my mom comes from Louisiana, color complexions varied much in my family, and my folks never favored in complexion. So it was disturbing to be in Florida where color really mattered in most social circles.
I am not saying that I was immune to it. Growing up in Los Angeles, the choice pick was a light-skinned man with pretty eyes and good hair. However, in the black community, to have a physical feature that was as far from being associated to "black" was a luxury and serious bonus when it came to beauty points.
What I mean by that was to have light skin, or a fine nose, or wavy hair, or long hair, or light-colored eyes, brought adoration. So to be big-bootied, big-boned, dark, with kinks was considered inferior. And I have seen so many girls who desired attention would give their bodies and souls to the first bidder, just because they wanted to be wanted.
Still, dark-skinned black girls and women are suffering in many ways.
And it is not a figment of the imagination. Ask why CNN continuously casts fair-skinned newscasters, especially "black" women who are racial-ethnic rainbows. Or why Carol's Daughter, the natural hair care mogul, has all fair-skinned models to represent the line, when dark-skinned women put stock in that effing place.
It hurts to not be liked or loved because of skin color. Getting passed over for a lighter woman, or being treated like shit because you are darker does monstrosities to the self-esteem.
It is disgusting and disheartening when black people still devalue a color that everyone craves. Then, black women must get appreciation from others in order to feel beautiful
And though I love this song by Black Star (Talib Kweli & Mos Def) it boggles me that Mos Def married a bi-racial stripper after being with her for less than a week. It killed me a little inside when I saw his wife because all the time I had been rocking that song, it felt like he never was really singing it to me.
He had me up until the racism tumbled from his mouth on the subject of immigration and Affirmative Action policies. But anyway, good luck should your racist ass decides to run in 2012. As a matter of fact, I really hope you do decide to run and that the media gives you some airtime. I hate to say it, but the reality is that there are some really sick individuals - some of them minorities - who would actually proudly vote for this jerk to be POTUS.
Oh yeah, checkout how he defends the Tea Party against them being labeled racist. One thing of note, he claims Blacks are the real racists because 99% of "us" voted for Barack Obama in 2008. The truth is, 96% and not 99% voted for Obama. But what's a few percentage points, right? The fact remains, the 96% of Blacks who voted for Obama, are just as racist as the 95% who voted for Al Gore and the 93% who voted for John Kerry. Moreover, what's important is him making the point that, “diversity doesn’t bring love and brotherhood; it brings the exact opposite.” So yes, per David Duke, the Tea Party isn't racist.
Satoshi Kanazawa can kick rocks and kiss every black woman's arse. Skadaddle!
by Eco.Soul.Intellectual
Black Bloggers who addressed and shut down the insidious racist and demeaning pseudo-scientific research by evolutionary psychologist, Satoshi Kanazawa, should be proud of themselves. Kanazawa published an article exploring why "Black Women are Less Attractive" on Psychology Today several weeks ago, and was justly met with harsh criticism and opposition.
On Friday, Psychology Today issued a formal apology stating that:
We deeply apologize for the pain and offense that this post caused. Psychology Today's mission is to inform the public, not to provide a platform for inflammatory and offensive material. Psychology Today does not tolerate racism or prejudice of any sort.
Soon after the post on Psychology Today, the well-established publication had to pull the article due to the flood of comments and emails sent by people all over the world. It was after the criticism did they decide to review the research only find out, that measuring beauty is a subjective process, and could never be objective.
No seriously, I have no fucking words other than I miss BET UnCut at 2am; but not so much the preacherman who came on at 3am when it went off the air. All jokes aside, it's kinda hard for me to go in on the following video when "Rump Shaker" was once my shit at a party. Not to mention I never missed an opportunity to yell "Doody Brown," or, "Heyyyy, we want some pussy," when I was in college getting drunk and hoping that some slightly inebriated co-ed would have sex with me. I'm pretty sure you too had your share debauchery to the tunes the young people love and enjoy, no? C'mon, I know I'm not alone.
BIO: Kevin G. Hall, is the national economics correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers. Previously he served as Latin America correspondent. During his career he has reported from Mexico City, Saudi Arabia, Miami, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., for the Journal of Commerce and United Press International. He speaks Spanish and Portuguese.
As a member of the African-American community, as a former High School and Junior High teacher, and as a former civil servant, I can't tell you the times I've had roundtable discussions around the naming of our children.
Ghetto.
That's what I used to call it.
Until I had an epiphany. Black people in the West were re-named, re-assigned, and re-categorized by European and Arabic conquerors. To seize that act of placing the energy and essence of your child, is an act of freedom.
Names are linked to tones, and are linked to energy.
I am sorry, but I don't vibe to Mary. And since I was reared in SCLA were Aisha is a staple, I have a harder time remembering the Mary's and John's instead of the Shaquesha's and Dontay's.
What makes Inga, or Peter the "correct" name? This is a question I posed to myself, and discovered that many folk naming their children is their own liberation, to name, after being named by somebody else.
Naming is critical in the African-American community. And if you look at them, it is ancient.
However, a US federal judge finds some of these names, some hard to pronounce by Anglo-Caucasian-trained tongues, and has ruled that (some) mothers have lost the right to name their children.
Here is a snippet of the article, "Black Women Losing Rights to Their Children's Names" from Essence.
(DETROIT)- In a decision that’s expected to send shockwaves through the African-American community—and yet, give much relief to teachers everywhere—a federal judge ruled today that black women no longer have independent naming rights for their children. Too many black children—and many adults—bear names that border on not even being words, he said.
“I am simply tired of these ridiculous names black women are giving their children,” said U.S. Federal Judge Ryan Cabrera before rendering his decision. “Someone had to put a stop to it.”
The rule applies to all black women, but Cabrera singled out impoverished mothers.
“They are the worst perpetrators,” he said. “They put in apostrophes where none are needed. They think a ‘Q’ is a must. There was a time when Shaniqua and Tawanda were names you dreaded. Now, if you’re a black girl, you hope you get a name as sensible as one of those.”
Few stepped forward to defend black women—and black women themselves seemed relieved.
“It’s so hard to keep coming up with something unique,” said Uneeqqi Jenkins, 22, an African-American mother of seven who survives on public assistance. Her children are named Daryl, Q’Antity, Uhlleejsha, Cray-Ig, Fellisittee, Tay’Sh’awn and Day’Shawndra.
Beginning in one week, at least three white people must agree with the name before a black mother can name her child.
Because democracy isn't a spectator sport, and because some of youse Negroes just don't get it. Allow me to present to you a few folks who do actually get it, who are making demands of their electorate. You know, the same democratic tradition which has long existed in this country? Well, for me it's good to see people - especially people of color - rise up and let their voices be heard. After all, many of our ancestors died for the right to vote as we're always reminded.
However, voting or casting a ballot, though important and very significant, is only the first step in affecting change since democracy is what happens between elections. And just in case you forgot, people in several urban centers while catching hell are being further victiomized (see Baltimore foreclosures here) and marginalized by proposed budget cuts, while wealthy corporations play with our money, as handed out by the government via tax loopholes:
If you've followed this site for a while, you'll know that on Friday we feature posts related to sex and the joys associated with it. But as with everything, you take the goosd with the bad. With that said, I hate to bring this story to light, but the truth is, child prostitution and the sexual exploitation of children happens to be a huge problem that almost always goes unspoken. that is, unless it involves a child being exploited by the last person you'd think would have the gall to commit such an act: a parent. This isn't a story from the crack era. This shit happens today, and every day; and, it needs to stop and should be exposed.
Feeling a little irritated in the airport? Just say, ‘cunt!’ everything changes.
-- Eve Ensler, Vagina Monologues
Pussy, cunt, chocha, toto, twat, beaver, the jade throne -- whatever you call it, the vagina has had a pivotal role in human history. Yet despite its crucial historical location, you might as well have been talking about the dark side of the moon when talking about what we knew of the vagina. This changed somewhat during the late 1950s and early 1960s when William Masters, M.D., and Virginia Johnson devised an experiment that allowed them to observe directly what happens deep inside the vagina during sexual arousal and intercourse. They had women masturbate to orgasm using a camera-equipped plastic penis, complete with a special light to illuminate the mysterious, lightless interior.
Masters and Johnson reported that the vagina is “a potential rather than an actual space.” Its soft, velvety walls (yummy) are collapsed together, touching each other. However, during the first stage of the sexual response cycle, shortly after initial sexual stimulation, two things happen: the vagina begins to lubricate and to expand. According to researchers, vaginal lubrication is the first physiological sign of arousal in women: within 10 to 30 seconds after stimulation begins, the researchers found, little beads of fluid begin forming all over the vaginal walls, giving them the appearance of a sweat-beaded forehead. The little beads rapidly spread to form that deliciously smooth, glistening covering men love so much.*
As a woman becomes increasingly aroused, the deepest two-thirds of her vagina begin inflating, almost like a balloon -- lengthening and expanding in what Masters and Johnson described as a “tenting” effect. The uterus and cervix pull slowly up and back, out of harm’s way. (Some women have retroverted, or tipped, uterus, causing the cervix to stay where it is, suspended in this widening vaginal cavity -- where a man’s penis may batter it, sometimes painfully, during intercourse.)
During all this, the vaginal walls dramatically change in color form their usual purplish red tint to a distinctly darker purplish hue. This is the result of vasocongestion -- the damming up of blood that’s the central event of sexual arousal.
As sexual excitement reaches the plateau stage (the second stage of the sexual cycle), the outer third of the vagina swells as it engorged with blood, to the extent that it actually narrows the vaginal entrance by up to 50 percent. (The deeper part of the vagina is expanding; the outer part is narrowing.) Masters and Johnson called this outer third the “orgasmic platform,” and it was this area that reacted most dramatically during orgasm. At the moment of climax, this whole outer ring begins spasmodically contracting at 0.8-second intervals, anywhere from 3-15 times. At the very highest level of sexual excitement, some women experience a sort of superorgasm: the orgasmic platform explodes into a spastic contraction lasting 2 to 4 seconds (knocking them knees), then downshifts into the 0.8-contractions of “normal” orgasm.
After, during the third (“resolution”) phase of the sexual response, the orgasmic platform rapidly drains of blood, the vaginal opening expands, and the inner, distended part of the vagina shrinks back to its original state.
Whew!
These findings point to one erroneous, but common, misconception men have about the vagina: that it’s deep, hammering penetration that drives women wild. Much of this misconception is the result of male-oriented erotic material that emphasizes the imagery of deep penetration: spikes, spears, lances, swords all plunging to the hilt.
But the truth is that for most women, the deepest two-thirds of the vagina are practically numb to the touch. Researchers have found that deep inside, the vaginal walls have few nerve endings. By contrast, the outer third of the vagina and the vaginal opening are exceedingly sensitive to touch.
On the other hand, more recent research have established that some women do find deep vaginal penetration incredibly pleasurable, reporting that it triggers a “deep” orgasm that’s different from an orgasm touched off by clitoral stimulation. Because the vaginal walls have so little feeling, sex researchers believe that some women enjoy the deep muscular contractions of the uterus and muscles of the pelvic floor (this can also be due to the more recently discovered “clitoral wings” that form a semi ring extending close to the anal area). Other women seem to be especially responsive to firm pressure on top of the front wall of the vagina, also called the G-spot.
I guess what I’m saying here is that basically when it comes to sexual enjoyment -- and sexual equipment -- all women are alike… but also different.
Love,
Eddie
*Note: for the sake of brevity I am using the accepted “stage model” of orgasm. I have problems with this stage-model (as do others) but I am using this model now only because it’s more convenient for my purposes today.
Check out the video to see a demonstration of the various vaginal moans:
My wife isn't very fond of Roland S. Martin. All through the presidential campaign back in 2008 she would let it be known as she watched CNN. Me? I have no problem with the brotha; hell, I even overlook the fact that he's blocked me on Twitter (yes, him and Andrew Breitbart have both blocked me so I must be doing something right); and, I've even went as far as to suggest that he be allowed to have his own prime time network show in mainstream media.
Of course I don't always agree with Roland; and no, I'm not a fan of the Ascot; but, I do admire his tenacity with which he often defends his position publicly whether he's right or wrong. Speaking of which, he's 100% correct in the following video. The following video is the latest in TV One's "The Back Room" installment. And in it, he discusses the subject of black folks choosing to be passive and press president Obama on issues that directly affect us directly, and indirectly, which overall has a negative impact on society at large.
The idea for some, is that "we" should wait until POTUS has secured a second term in office to start making demands. A stance or position that is justified by the notion that president Obama can't be perceived to be "helping black folk," because to do so would alienate white voters, who in turn would refuse to vote for him. Of course you guys know that I think this idea is foolish and dare I say akin to the slave-like mentality some of us are afflicted with. However, it was good to see Roland express the same concern with Kelli Goff, Contributing Editor of TheLoop21.com, and for that, he gets major props from me..
Usually when I feature who deem to be slave catchers or anyone exhibiting slave catcher behavior, I do so without apology. Having said that, it sorta pains me to present Rev. Al Sharpton in this light. Yes many of you Negroes have talked shit about the man in the past, and yes I've defended him and deemed him very necessary in the struggle. However, I caught his interview on 60 Minutes last Sunday, and well, let's just say I saw some things about the man that well, doesn't sit too well with me. The brother was in slave catcher mode.
To put it mildly, he has become, in fact, the "Black Mascot" of the White House as Dr, Cornel West warned him of becoming a few weeks ago. And it's sad that he's happy to be just that in "post-racial" America as it is today.
Don't believe me? OK, well checkout the interview for yourself and tell me I'm wrong. Uh-huh, pay attention to where he says "America has changed and therefore Al Sharpton has changed." And if that doesn't convince you, pay attention to his justification on not critiquing the president on anything ever and especially in the face of double digit black unemployment. I could be wrong, and maybe you can convince me, but Rev Al Shapton has truly sold out.
Sorry Al, but sitting around smoking cigars every week with very wealthy white men in Manhattan is a long way from the days of wearing track suits and carrying a bull horn. And while Negores are still hungry and jobless, that's not a good look. But g'head and get your corporate on while you can. Obama ain't gon' be there4 forever. And lucky for you, cops are gonna shoot yet another innocent Black body in the future. We in the hood are watching you, pimp.
Kelley Williams-Bolar is shown in a "perp" walk as she is escorted to a hearing for allegedly falsifying paperwork to have her child go to school in a better part of Akron, Ohio.
Black women can't win for shit in the United States. Not if they are being progressive, educated, or good mothers who are concerned about the quality of their children's education.
In the past months we have seen three cases in which black women have been jailed for fighting for a better education for their children.
In Detroit, twelve expecting teen mothers were arrested for peacefully protesting to keep their school, Catherine Ferguson, open and running so they could continue to maintain an inner city farm. This is very important since Detroit doesn't have a major grocery store in the city and residents have taken to using community farming.
Then you have Kelly Williams-Bolar from Akron, OH and Tonya McDowell of Norwalk, CT, facing jail time for enrolling their children in districts they don't live. Williams-Bolar thought she went through the proper channels by using her father's address and McDowell used her babysitter's address, but are being charged with felonies of falsifying information.
Okay, so here I am confused again. First, black women are berated for being bad mothers and welfare mothers. Now they are being criminalized for being good mothers?
The attack on black mothers who seek better education is the attempt to remove a continuum women who educate their communities by any means necessary. There are documents of slave women who would teach other slaves at midnight schools in the swamps and woods during slavery, and impart all that they knew to others in the community to uplift.
Even the women of the Black Club's Women's Movement in the late 19th Century, early 20th Century who took on the duty of educating and providing basic social services to severely neglected black communities under the banner, "Lifting As We Climb".
Much of the schools throughout the south and urban black communities of the North were kept alive through the tireless efforts of black women. Feeding children, cleaning the schools, making sure everyone had clothes or some type of school supplies. It was the women who fought for access, a far cry from black men, who often used education as a source to gain status and entry into socially and politically exclusive areanas.
Osceola McCarthy
My father is from Mississippi, and he vividly remembers how the mothers of the students would cook hot meals for children in the morning and after school to make sure they had dinner that night. That was the original breakfast program, waaaaaaayyyyyy before the Black Panther Party.
The history of black women involved in education as been one of selflessness. Even when a black woman could not eat or go to school, she made sure the children of the community were well-fed.
People such as Mary McCleod Bethune who sold pies to open a vocation school for girls that turned into Bethune Cookman College. Or Oseola McCarty, who had to drop out of school in the sixth grade in order to be a laundress, donating her life savings of $150,000 to University of Southern Mississippi to set up a fund for poor students.
And it is known fact in general American history that once women were taught how to read, the society as a whole moved forward. This is why the jailing of black mothers who seek better education is imperative for dismantling public education. Black women have been tireless advocates for access to education, and to criminalize their efforts is sending a message to dissuade others.
When one has the ability to fight for not only free education, but the quality of education, then they become an involved citizen in shaping a society. And if a black woman is putting in her 2 cents, she is flipping that bitch to be $20, best believe.
This is the second in a indefinite series exploring education in America by Eco.Soul.Intellectual
You know you're in trouble when upstate New York voters (some who make the hillbilly characters from the film Deliverance seem sophisticated by comparison) join in kicking a conservative politician to the curb -- in one of the most conservative districts in the state (and possibly the nation). This is a district that voted against Obama in a state he took by a landslide. This is the district who voted overwhelmingly for a racist for governor. This is the same district that hasn't voted in a democrat in, like 100 fuckin' years...
Sure, you say that it's just one measly district, but I believe this is a bad omen for the knuckle-dragging twats on the right. For one, they poured enormous amounts of money and resources into this election -- in what should've been a cakewalk. The right wing parade of national batshittery passed by the district to lend their name recognition and support. They poured millions and made what should've been an inconsequential election in Armpit, USA into a do-or-die for the Ryan plan...
And they lost.
They lost because this was a referendum on right wing fiscal policies -- mostly rehashed dismal failures of past decades: rob from the poor to give to the rich. Otherwise known as Reaganomics, supply-side, trickle down bullshit. Bush I had it right: it's magical thinking dressed as economic policy, or better put: Voodoo Economics. Public Policy Polling shows why this election is very important moving on:
Congressional Republicans are extremely unpopular and voters think they're doing an even worse job than the Democrats they put out of office six months ago. That was true in NY-26 and that's true nationally. Last month we found nationally that 43% of voters thought House Republicans were doing a worse job than the Democrats did while in the majority to only 36% who felt they were an improvement. Even in NY-26, which voted 13 points more Republican than the country as a whole in 2008, 38% of voters think the Republicans are doing a worse job than the Democrats to only 34% who think they're an improvement. You can talk about Jack Davis all you want but the reality is that if voters thought House Republicans were bringing the improvement they hoped for when they went to vote last November Jane Corwin would have won tonight...
And believe me, the take-away here -- the chum in the water -- is that House Democratic candidates will run against John Boehner and the Ryan plan next year. Again, Public Policy Polling lays out the cruel numbers:
Boehner's approval rating nationally is a 25/42 spread and even in this traditionally Republican district it's a 28/45 spread. Barack Obama's not popular in this district either, don't get me wrong- his approval is a 42/51 breakdown. But it's remarkable that his net approval is 8 points better than Boehner's in a district that John McCain won by 6 points in 2008. Again you can talk about Jack Davis all day but if John Boehner was more popular than Barack Obama in this district, as you would certainly have expected the case to be, then Jane Corwin would have won tonight.
Interesting times indeed...
My name is Eddie and I'm in recovery from civilization...
Last night's was a huge upset -- a body blow against the conservative agenda, but it’s also the latest in a spate of recent victories for democrats...
New Hampshire: Last week, there was a special election in a state House district where Republicans have dominated for years. The Democratic candidate won in a landslide, even after a local town clerk illegally required photo IDs to vote.
Florida: Also last week, Jacksonville was home to a high-profile mayoral race, and the state GOP touted the election as the first warning shot of the 2012 cycle. Instead, voters elected Democrat Alvin Brown — Jacksonville’s first African-American mayor — stunning the Republican establishment statewide.
Wisconsin: Three weeks ago, there was a special election in a Wisconsin state Assembly district that has been represented by a Republican for 16 years. In this case, the Democrat won by eight points.
Maine: Two weeks ago, there was a special election to fill a vacancy in the state Senate, in a district that has been very competitive in the recent past. In this case, the Democrat won by a crushing 2-to-1 margin.
This is not to say that Dems have recovered from a brutal 2010. Dems withstood a smackdown after doing well in 2009 special elections, for example. In addition, Let me be clear: last night's winner is at best a Blue Dog democrat, hardly something progressives should celebrate. Still...
Conservatives began the year with the help of a passive corporate-run media with all the national momentum going for them. However, after a series of losses in races Republicans should have won easily, it is clear (except to conservatives, apparently) that the American public isn’t buying what the GOP is selling.
So, apparently white folks are in love with social services and, well, it's not one of those "black folks" things as we are lead to believe. OK, so yeah, I know there are more white people on welfare, food stamps, and all types of government assistance than black folks. But somehow the face of being a lazy recipient happens to be a person of color. Frankly, this is why the following story literally cracked me up when I read it, after reeiving it in email last week.
Yep, a white guy wins the lottery in Michigan, and has been collecting food stamps and disability for almost a year. Sounds crazy I know, but what he did is perfectly legal. But don't tell that to the other white folks who snitched on him. Yep, white folks ain't down with the stop snitching movement:
Now what's really funny about all of this, is that dude is fighting tobe able to keep his food stamps and, um, his disability because, well, the lottery money is about to run out(?). Well damn, that was fast Leroy. What else did you but other than that convertable Audi with your lottery winnings?
Please don't tell me you did a lot of trickin' with the ladies of Auburn Michigan. Just sayin', that's messed up, son. Less than a year after winning $2 million you're damn near broke and in need of gov't assistance?!!
Good luck with that Leroy. I'm not sure if going on Fox News will help you. Somehow some way, if this was Leroy Johnson instead of Leroy Fick, I believe he would be treated differently and much like a criminal. But that's just me reaching with the racial angle once again. Truth is, we're all equal.
Beyonce and her army of girls who run the world in lingerie...
As a fan ofDiplo and "Pon De Floor", I was curious about Beyonce's new song "Run The World (Girls)". I mean, she samples Diplo's cut, so I wanted to see if she turned it into fire. In my opinion, she did not. Naturally, as with everything Beyonce does, there is always a lot of PR and press so we were treated to pictures of her on what seemed like an elaborate, dystopian world type of set. It looked intriguing. I'm not a Beyonce stan, but I've liked some of her work. I wanted to see if the video would at least be worth it. It was amusing if anything... If the concept at the core of Beyonce's video is what the world would look like if "girls" ran things, then we've seriously screwed up this whole suffrage/women's liberation deal up. Hide your daughters...
Copper and Cobalt. It is in every cell phone you used, and if you have a mobile device of any kind then you contribute to the current civil war destabilizing the Democratic Republic of Congo that has left 100,000s of women, girls and boys traumatized from a war culture in which they have been subjected to rape.
The conflict in the Congo is about the control of its opulent natural resources and minerals. Some call it the "Cell Phone War," and the re-colonialization of Africa to others.
It is not just cell phones, but it is a fact that half of the products in your house have a raw material from Africa; especially if it is "Made in China" because China is the #1 trader with Africa.
Lemme give you an example. In 2008, the Congolese government agreed to a trading deal with China in which it would ship 10.6 billion tons of copper and 626,000 tons of cobalt. To harvest these natural resources not only are bodies used, but the removal of people from land is necessary, and the fight of over who gets the profits has been a huge contention.
Women, girls and boys are fodder for a war where the real players have never set a baby toe on any African soil.
With a GDP that totals $13.1 billion, Bill Gates can buy this country by the second round of golf on lazy summer morning in Georgia.
Let me restate that, the whole country of the Congo supplies every cell phone in the world, but grosses $13. 1 billion a year.
Natural Resources of the Congo
Cobalt
Copper
Niobium
Tantalum
Petroleum
Industrial and gem diamonds
Gold
Silver
Zinc
Manganese
Tin
Uranium
Coal
Hydropower
Timber
Recent news outlets have reported that in the journals of Bin Laden he wanted to recruit the oppressed people of the United States and focused on blacks and Latinos.
Well, I have great candidates for al-Qaeda that I just suggested to Fox News. You should see the comments over there. Fuuuunnnnnyyy what white ignorance can produce.
Seriously, these are great candidates because they attempt to hide behind their whiteness. Great at the masquerade, but EcoSoul is outting them and enlisting them.
Columba Bush, real name, Columba Gallo Garcia (George Bush's sister-in-law)
Charlie Sheen, real name, Carlos Estevez (This Latino is winning and loves to slap muthafuckas up on the regular. He will enlist for a lifetime supply of the drug known as Sheen)
La La Vasquez. Now she fits both categories. You can get a 2 for 1 special.
Vin Diesel (According to Fast and Furious movies this negro can reassemble a car in 5 minutes and pull a bitch in 2)
Clarence Thomas, real name, Coon. I know, I know we all thought he was white, but I've got to let you all know, he is a negro.
Eminem, real name, Marshall Jenkins Matthers. This negro is a great candidate because he is always so fucking mad. The angriest negro I've ever met.
I listened to president Obama's speech down on the American-Mexican border in El Paso, TX., yesterday. I was pleased that he actually took the time to address the issue at a time when politicians are focused on deficits and spending as opposed to job creating and economic boost. But I suppose when you're seeking reelection, a little pandering doesn't hurt; especially when it's related to a campaign promise long broken. He did make a good case for reform beyond the usual rhetoric; he made it clear that immigration reform is of economic imperative. Of course this is a point I've discussed before on this site.
I'm of the belief that if more people realized the economic benefit of comprehensive immigration reform, then at least we can see our way forward making positive changes. Unfortunately for the cause, the racist anti-immigration movement spends a lot of money suppressing this notion with nothing but ignorant lies as they push for enforcement of immigration laws, and the tired talk of securing the border. If they had it there way, all undocumented immigrants would be rounded and deported.
And of course it doesn't matter than doing so isn't cost effective; and, providing a path to legalization is. The anti-immigrant movement positions itself as pro-America, when in truth they're pro-racist. This is why I was happy Obama mentioned the economic benefit. Enforcement is one thing, but the economic contributions to this country should not be ignored.
Speaking of enforcement, and the 70% increase in deportations since president Obama has taken office. Check out the following story which illustrates the "problem" with the ICE's Secure Communities program, and just why said detentions and subsequent deportations via effective policing, is working depending on who you ask or who is doing the pandering to secure reelection:
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), its Secure Communities program "improves public safety every day by transforming the way criminal aliens are identified and removed from the United States."
It's certainly transforming the way at least one alien was identified as criminals. Isaura Garcia is now embroiled in deportation proceedings after landing on the Secure Communities radar.
Her "crime"? Reporting to cops the domestic violence she was suffering.
I bet you had JUST started to breathe easier now that Osama is serving as crustacean fare in the low below but low and behold…another enemy is among us and this time it’s not a real tall skinny guy wearing a turban and making Youtube videos as he searches for porn.
Nope.
It’s Not Sarah Palin
Our oldest and worst feared enemy is back… Black Girls.
Yup!
Last month the Superintendent of the Jersey City Board of Education addressed a group of clergy members during a meeting held at the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Jersey City & Vicinitylocated in what is surly a dilapidated area of Martin Luther King Drive (aren't they all?) in Jersey City. During the meeting which consisted of approximately twelve people (plus one journalist allowed to observe the meeting) Epps made the following statements:
"Young ladies" are the community's "worst enemy."
"The young girls are bad. I don't know what they're drinking today, but they're bad.”
During the discussion Dr. Epps mentioned an initiative to recruit "mentors" for Jersey City students as part of collaboration with the Big Brother Big Sisters program. I can also reassure you that these people coming from the financial big wigs of the Exchange Place areas aren’t of the darker hue. Dr. Epps doesn't sound very much like a concerned educator speaking on behalf of a group of kid whom he would like to help.
Epps is quoted as he praised staff members of JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs who have volunteered as mentors to “..signed up to help even the dirty, nasty, bad kids….”.
Now his comments may have caught you off guard, as it did me, but the audience of ministers didn’t seem to be phased by the good Dr’s comment regarding his opinion of young urban girls (read: Black). You might think “of course not, because most of the audience of ministers was probably male, right?”
Wrong…
Pastor Joyce Watterman, of Continuous Flow Christian Center on Monticello Avenue, said later she was "surprised" by Epps' opinions on young girls, but doesn't necessarily disagree with him. Global oppression of women may cause some females to swing too hard in the wrong direction, Watterman said."It affects our young girls, too, so that when we rise up, we sometimes overdo it," she said. Watterman added that she doesn't encounter many girls in her community that she believes are violent. But Epps may see some in his community, she said.
Aside from the fact that this woman belongs to a church whose name reminds me of a feminine product I will also like to point out that the Monticello section of Jersey City is one of the worse areas in Jersey City. I should know since I grew up in this very neighborhood; I can still smell the stench. There has always been a lot going on; this section of the city lost any semblance of civilization long ago. But I digress..
The message in the opinion of the Superintendent and the fact that he was not challenged by his religious constituents is not surprising given that a few sentences that tie in the ills of man to the existence of vagina is an easily accepted meme in religious circles.
Let’s not forget it’s the big, bad Eve and her metaphorical vagina that’s to blame for all of this.
I didn't really get all into the supposed beef between Spike Lee and Tyler Perry. Of course you can look at the banner on this site and you can figure it out pretty quickly, that I'm down with Spike; yes Tyler Perry, say something and imma start a boycott like we did Sal's Famous Pizzaria, son! But anyway, my man "Pinky" appeared on the Russ Parr Morning Show recently, and when asked to share his thoughts on the beef, he went smooth the eff off, son. I mean he put some stuff out there on my man Spike that makes me know if it's true.
Check it out:
"To be honest, I don't like Spike Lee. Spike is worse than any one of the mans [sp]. Because back in the day...and I hope Spike is listening cause I'll beat your punk ass. I don't like Spike. I have never said it publicly out, but Spike is a hater...I shouldn't have said it like this, but I'm going to tell you the truth. I'm from the streets and you got to take care of your people...Spike needs to go sit his punk ass down and stop talking about Tyler Perry. Tyler Perry was homeless about 10, 12 years ago and Spike wasn't writing him no checks. I don't like Spike Lee because I don't like his politics as it pertains to how he deals with African-Americans. I auditioned for Spike several times, he kept all of us waiting for hours. It was insulting, he made people fly across country, pay for themselves and come to auditions. Spike is the worst and he needs to go sit his punk ass down!"
-- Actor Clifton Powell voices his opinion on the ongoing feud between Tyler Perry and Spike Lee. (The Russ Parr Morning Show)
I'ono what Spike has to say about this. But I'ma need a response from Spike. This Negro had brothas and sistas runnin' around in 1989 wearing African medallions, Malcolm X baseball caps screaming "fight the power!!" Yes I'm not really a fan of Tyler Perry's work; and no, this doesn't mean I refuse to watch his productions. But somehow someway, I never pictured Spike Lee as the slave catcher type. Tyler Perry? Well... Gimme a call, Spike; yep, do it for Radio Raheem, son. Uh-huh, clear the air on this one, my brother.
Let me go ahead and premise this by saying that if you want to do war on this post, a war is what you will get. Whenever I do posts like these, the "zombies" come out as if I were on set for AMC's The Walking Dead. If you are a zombie, I've got the bullets in the chamber and I'm a crackshot. Now, let's go'n ahead and dissect the latest fuckery.
I'm going to do a very quick recap. Apparently, several weeks ago Joe Budden recorded a song disparaging an ex-girlfriend, one Esther Baxter, who is a video model. He indicates that she cheated on him, hurt him, etc. She responds that she never did that, and went one step further, speaking about the abuse that she had to deal with while in a relationship with this guy.
Last week, Budden blasted Esther Baxter on a song where he detailed their dysfunctional relationship which he claims ended after she cheated on him with a football player. In retaliation, Esther took to her twitter and threatened to expose Joe for abusing her and making her have a miscarriage. Esther stuck to her word and released photos of her battered and bruised to Bossip (as well as a few inappropriate photos of the fetus she says that she lost). She also granted them a sit down, Barbara Walter style interview where she claims Joe:
“kicked the door down, came into the room, grabbed me by my ankles, choked me so that I couldn’t breathe, slammed me against the door…in an attempt to grab the phone from me he wrestled me, grabbed me by my wrist and sat on my stomach while I was pregnant. [..] I went to the hospital and that’s when I found out I lost my daughter.
She went on to say that before hooking up with Budden, she had no knowledge of his past relationship history and that she eventually dropped the charges against him because she was embarrassed and didn’t want their drama to go public.
“I didn’t want this to go public. It was already embarrassing enough that this has happened to me. I never in my life thought that I would be abused, and further more, lose a child because of it. So in order for it to not go public, I dropped all of the charges with the agreement and understanding that neither of us would ever talk about it.I didn’t cheat on him. We weren’t together, we aren’t together now. We broke up that night that he decided to take this argument and make it physical. I don’t know why anyone would ever want to tell someone that they did something like this.
I have not heard the song because I don't assault my eardrums with anything coming from Joe Budden's mouth (I've never liked his music, and I find nothing appealing about him as an artist), but some indicated that he admitted to abusing her on this "diss" track. However, for whatever reason, he opted to pull a Ronnie from Jersey Shore and "deny, deny, deny!" He even dragged Chris Brown into it and in the process of apologizing for laughing at Chris Brown's expense, showed his true colors in indicating that he had no issues with what Chris Brown did:
On his Chris Brown tweet
Then I felt bad, aside from me being a big Chris Brown fan, he’s somebody that really went through it. He really got put through the wringer because of domestic abuse. So, it made me take a step back. I’m sitting here laughing at it all because I know it’s not true in this instance. You know, in his instance it happened and they hung him for it. I apologize to him, it was the right thing to do.
He was PUNISHED for it and reviled for it, but he certainly has not been hung for anything. That's beside the point, and I don't want to get into that. When I read this over at Necole's blog, I steeled myself for the fuckery in comments. More people came to her defense than with Rihanna's. That was a plus. Matter of fact this comment summed up what I was thinking perfectly:
Same shit everyone (mostly women) did to Rihanna. If there’s one thing I learned over the course of the last few years it’s that the black community has no respect for women. There’s no way that two who have been assaulted by men (there’s proof, physical evidence! It’s undebateable!) and people are joking about it. Or worse, saying, “well she must have done something to deserve it.” F*ck that yo. I’m disgusted. More so with the women who are riding with these men. F*ck a Joe Budden and anyone who tries to rationalize his bullshit. -ChicaGo-Getter
If that person is disgusted, they are obviously new to this, because I ceased being disgusted years ago. Now I'm between livid and fighting mad. I've gotten into these dogfights before on this blog and others and it is emotionally draining especially when you KNOW you are right. Luckily, the comments weren't as vomit inducing as the ones that were present when Rihanna was beat the hell down. I didn't have the sudden urge to pray for Jesus' second coming over and over again like previous events. Of course, there was going to be a faction of zombies to come to his defense as witnessed by this video of his interview with The Breakfast Club (click here to see interview).
So the DREAM Act has been reintroduced. President Obama spoke about it a few days ago down on the border. But the hopes of it passing anytime soon is slimmer now than last winter when Republicans killed it. But like I mentioned in my last post, the president though asking for our help in advancing this initiative, has thew power himself to stop deportation of people who would qualify for a path to citizenship per the proposed DREAM Act. But obviously "certain people" are of the opinion that the president can't do anymore than he has, which is talk. If the president is as serious as he say he is about immigration reform, he would act on it now. He said he wasn't about separating families. But the reality, is that this is happening.
Well, the minute I read Chris Hedges' piece on Truthdig titled The Obama Deception: Why Cornel West Went Ballistic, that there was gonna be serious contention here in Negronia. As you know and as we've discussed on this site a time or two. You just can't be Black and levy any criticism of America's first Black president - yes, it's in the official Negro handbook; you know, the one that tells "us" what to do should we ever encounter police in a traffic stop? Yeah, that rule is in there too; the Skip Gates arrest made it happen.
There's so much I wan't to say about this whole mess, but due to time constraints as I type, I'll leave it up to you folks to have at it. Do share your thoughts, and be sure to read Hedges' piece, as well as Melissa Harris-Perry (here). If you ask me, I think all of this plays into the notion that white folks salivate about Negro infighting. While black folks focus on the trivial and ignore the larger issues. The oligarchy and plutocracy prospers while poor people not able to afford their scraps drown in the sea of economic inequality, hopelessness, and downright neglect by way of public policy.
Checkout the reactions of Twitter's Backademia via Dr. Goddess here. In it you'll find that much of the thoughts expressed centered on Dr. Cornel West feeling slighted or "betrayed" by then President Elect Barack Obama. In the Hedges piece, West reveals how he felt about the fact that he was not able to get a ticket to the inauguration after all the work he basically put in for Obama, and all the personal phone calls and counsel with then candidate Obama. But for some, this is a petty point of contention; yep,, the typical "he's a hater," talk.
What is truly missed in all the subsequent commentary however, is West's larger point. That would be, just how democracy has, is, and continues to be compromised by someone touted as the most progressive American president in history. And you know what? I think this is very sad that this is the focus as opposed to the albeit hostile takeover of democracy by elites and by extension some of Obama's appointments and their reward links to Wall Street. And of course while this is happening, poor marginalized folks have been the scapegoat for economic woes and are being punished via cutbacks.
You might not agree with me, and that's fine. However, I'll say this last bit and I'm out. President Obama spoke at Booket T. Washington High School at their commencement execise this past Monday. He spoke at the first all-black high school in the city of Memphis. A school that is located in one of (if not the most) most impoverished communities in the city. A school which with effort and dedication has improved drastically recently. In his address to those kids he said: "It's about the possibilities and not the excuses." With that said, don't tell me what the first black president can or cannot do for struggling poor and working poor among us. Seriously, miss me with that talk, people....
So let's see, Louisiana, like many states with a republican controlled state government is crying broke. Oh where or where are those stimulus funds when you need 'em? But anyway, governor Bobby Jindal has gone as far as to cut funding for higher education, as well as funding for public schools.
Yup, what benefit is there in assisting poor people escape the trenches of poverty by assisting them obtain a higher education or fixing shitty public schools, right? And this is in Louisiana, the fifth largest oil producing state in the country, where for every dollar per barrel increase in oil prices results in a yield of $12 million per year in tax revenue... but I digress.
Meanwhile, realizing just how broke the state actually is, Rep. John LaBruzzo is contemplating the introduction of legislation that would save the state's much needed funds. According to him, things are so bad that they cannot afford to support their social programs intended to assist poor residents.
So what's his plan? Well, read it for yourself:
Worried that welfare costs are rising as the number of taxpayers declines, state Rep. John LaBruzzo, R-Metairie, said Tuesday he is studying a plan to pay poor women $1,000 to have their Fallopian tubes tied.
"We're on a train headed to the future and there's a bridge out, " LaBruzzo said of what he suspects are dangerous demographic trends. "And nobody wants to talk about it."
LaBruzzo said he worries that people receiving government aid such as food stamps and publicly subsidized housing are reproducing at a faster rate than more affluent, better-educated people who presumably pay more tax revenue to the government. He said he is gathering statistics now.
"What I'm really studying is any and all possibilities that we can reduce the number of people that are going from generational welfare to generational welfare, " he said.
He said his program would be voluntary. It could involve tubal ligation, encouraging other forms of birth control or, to avoid charges of gender discrimination, vasectomies for men.
It also could include tax incentives for college-educated, higher-income people to have more children, he said.
LaBruzzo, 38, is white, married to a lawyer, has a toddler daughter and holds a bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University.
OK folks, so I'm getting ready to head out of town for a few days, and then it hit me: what ever happened to the good old days when a white man could have children by his "servant" and his wife stuck by his side? Yeah, remember those days? Ok, so there's no way in hell you remember, but surely you knew how light-skinned Negroes came to be, right? Uh-huh, we all know about Thomas Jefferson's Black babies thanks to Black History Month, right? Bu today, my man Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife are on the outs, because, well....
The Terminator got some side action:
After twenty-five years of marriage, Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver announced that they were separating last week. According to the Los Angeles Times, the woman with whom Schwarzenegger fathered a child worked for his family for twenty years until last January.
"After leaving the governor's office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago," said Schwarzenegger in a statement, according to the New York Times. “I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family. There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologized to Maria, my children and my family. I am truly sorry.”
Shriver released a statement on the matter on Tuesday.
"This is a painful and heartbreaking time," she said. "As a mother, my concern is for the children. I ask for compassion, respect and privacy as my children and I try to rebuild our lives and heal. I will have no further comment." (source)
Surely this is yet another sign of our now widely accepted "post-racial" bliss. Back in the day Arnold and Maria would never split over this. Instead, they would have adopted young "Ill Neggar" ( BTW, pretty cool how I pulled "illegitimate" and the darker ethnic side of his daddy's name together, huh?) from his crack-smoking Black mother; sent him to a private school where he would've learned to play football and get into the NFL like Sandra Bullock does.
But no, today "Black babies" are embarrassing. Especially in this case when the baby-momma-servant-lady worked for you the whole time and Maria Shriver didn't know until he finally quit his job as governor of California. Which I'm sure clears up any suspicions Maria Shriver ever had over the years. I mean, surely she was suspicious of the little ten-year-old mixed kid with the afro, muscles, and that jacked up foreign accent. Shoot, I know I would if I were her.
And of course I can hear you saying: well RiPPa there ain't no way of knowing that Arnold's side-piece-servant was Black fool!! And you know what, you're right. I tell you one thing; the chances of her being Latina is more likely than her being Black. Hell, they live in California; the state where Republican politicians are against "illegal immigrants" unless they employ them.
So yeah, the kid might not actually be Black, but if said kid's mother is what I think she is, well then that kid is Black. That's unless he/she looks like my man Eddie Blue Eyes, my Puerto Rican "illegal immigrant" buddy.
Ever heard of Margie D. Schoedinger? Probably not.
I really wish I had a photo of Schoedinger, but it seems that there has been a total white out of her existence since the 2002 lawsuit against George W. Bush alleging that he (and members who claimed to be FBI agents) abducted, drugged, raped and carried out other bodily harm upon her and her husband numerous times.
The Sugar Land-based (Houston suburb) Shoedinger also said she dated Bush as a minor and alleged that she miscarried the child she carried for him during one of the incidents of abuse.
Click here for an interesting story by Jackson Thoreau who interviewed Schoedinger shortly before she died of a gunshot wound to the head.
Schoedinger was reported to have committed suicide on December 13, 2003, and the only paper to cover her death was modest, black local paper in London. WTF?
Though the New Nation gave the wrong date in her death, the information re-opens discourse around the privileges of wealthy, white powerful men. As in the case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, French-head of the International Monetary Fund, who is being charged for raping a hotel maid in Manhattan.
According to reports, Strauss-Kahn had a reputation for being a "Lady's Man" which is another word for pussy hound. However, for Strauss-Kahn to be outted on this incident means that this is not a singular incident or extraordinary circumstances.
He more so than likely has raped before.
And like clockwork, a second woman has come forward with the same allegations.
The London Evening Standard of the UK reports the following:
Tristane Banon, a 31-year-old god-daughter of Strauss-Kahn's second wife Brigitte Guillemette, has come forward to claim he attacked her almost a decade ago.
Ms Banon will now tell French detectives about the alleged attempted rape, she claimed to have taken place at a Paris studio flat in 2002. Strauss-Kahn is alleged to have lured the then 21-year-old trainee journalist to the property under the promise of an interview, and then started to rip her clothes off. Click here for more of the story.
Now I'm wondering exactly why the powers that be are making such a fuss of someone in which they knew his habits all too well.
Is it possibly what is going on in the former French colony, the Congo? This sudden concern of women being raped in the Congo when that region of the world is teeming in unspoilt land and natural resources, has one wondering exactly why these reports become salient in the news when there have been a flood of documentaries and special reports on this very same issue.
But let me not deviate too much, the issue I am exploring are the exemptions that men-in-real-power have been getting for eons. And I say this because I have seen it with my eyes and had to chin check a state representative years ago while working in Tallahassee when he felt me up after pulling me to a corner.
Sexual predators are not just in the Congo, that is small beans. They serve in very high places. Someone needs to tell Ashlye Judd that the real rape culture is in politics.
WOMAN WHO SUED BUSH IS FOUND DEAD
by Orantes Moore
New Nation
Monday 8th December 2003
A black woman who claimed to have been raped by US President George W Bush and was planning to take him to court has died of a gun shot wound to the head.
LAST FRIDAY (December 12), Margie Schoedinger, 38, was pronounced dead as a result of a 'gunshot wound to the head'. The death was officially registered as 'suicide' by the Harris County Examiner's Office.
As reported exclusively by New Nation in July, Schoedinger of Sugar Land, Texas, had filed a lawsuit against President Bush (a former Governor of Texas) in December 2002 accusing him of a series of 'individual sex crimes' against her and her husband.
In the amazing seven- page document, filed at Fort Bend County Court in Texas, Schoedinger claimed that Bush had abducted, drugged, raped and beat her.
She also suggested that she 'dated George W Bush as a minor', and the President may have been the father of a child she miscarried following the alleged rape.
Schoedinger said she had filed the lawsuit on December 3, 2002 and although court documents filed on the following day mention Bush and offer him 20 days to respond or appear in Fort Bend, it is still unclear whether the President was ever served with the suit.
Schoedinger was attempting to claim US$1 million in actual damages, plus US$49 million for punitive damages including emotional distress and loss of freedom.
Speaking earlier this year to American journalist Jackson Thoreau, Schoedinger said that the President had personally contacted her to say that he wanted her dead, but could trust no one to carry out the crime.
“He who warned uh, the British that they weren't gonna be takin' away our arms, uh by ringing those bells, and um, makin' sure as he's riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be sure and we were going to be free, and we were going to be armed.” -- Sarah Palin on Paul Revere
