Have Barack Obama Given Up on The Black Community
or Just Acting Like A Democrat By Igging Us

Stay tuned for the inside scoop on Brother Obama.

Read The Full Article:
http://bigloo.wordpress.com/2007/04/02/have-barack-obama-given-up-on-the-black-co
mmunity-or-just-acting-like-a-democrat-by-igging-us/

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

Exodus Mentality Addresses the "N" Word and the
"Afrosphere"

.


Today, after Michael Bouldin of Culture Kitchen accused me of diary "pimping," I submitted a diary there and here and at BlueMassGroup challenging the ubiquitous use by white male "progressives" of offensive and vulgar pseudo-ghetto slang. Exodus Mentality responded, I mostly agreed and addressed some additional issues, and our conversation continues here:

Don't get me started again on the n-word. The ADL hasn't succeeded in stopping or even slowing the rise of anti-Semitism, it just chased it under the covers, much like the dominant societies decision to use other code words besides the n-word to achieve the same purpose in a much more insidious fashion. Also, I don't think the ADL comparison is exactly apples to apples. I know you realize that the Jewish special interest group is operating under a completely different dynamic and also from a position of strength totally unavailable to us at this juncture due to their inclusion in the white majority and the power and privilege that inclusion has provided them. I'll give you that it is a model worth learning from though.

I wish you could stop believing that you were ever on their team. That seems to be a crux of your personal fervor in a several instances, and it will cause you no end of grief if you continue to persist in the belief that there is a place for us at their table as it is currently set. I assure you that they were never on your team and just because they allowed you to come around the playing field and pretend to be involved doesn't change that. You and I aren't going to force our way in there, and I don't think it's necessary for us to get to where we want to be.

However, I do agree with you that we are all particularly suited to a particular kind (or kinds) of advocacy. Most of them are important and those of merit deserve our support. And you do have my support in your endeavor to call our supposed comrades and our avowed enemies on their constant attempts to marginalize and minimalize and degrade the Black collective, women, or any other group undeserving of their vitriol. I rescind my statement that it is an exercise in futility. If you reach even one, I guess that's prgress.

I myself will continue to simply call them on their patent B.S. For me that means, attacking the core of their dysfunction rather than focusing on the peripheral packaging that always accompanies it. In this particular case, although I am not familiar with the specifics of what regulations you allegedly violated, I would postulate that addressing the violation or creating another avenue to accomplish what you intended in spite of that white blogger, would have been a better way of showing him that he would not be able to marginalize you, regardless of the terms in which he chose to couch it. Unlike you, I expect the anti-Black sentiment so am therefore more surprised when it doesn't occur than when it does. The closeted racist undercurrents of their souls that continually bubble to the surface serve as a constant reminder to me. We may work together in a limited sense to accomplish some things, but the larger issue of white supremacy will be resolved in spite of white folks, not in concert with them. Exodus Mentality (in comments here)

E.M., in the whitosphere it is offensively with great vulgarity called "diary pimping" to include a link to one's diary in the comments to another's diary. A couple of days ago, in the comments to my own diary about Shaquanda Cotton at Culture Kitchen, I posted a link to a post at my blog where readers could find telephone numbers to call the presiding judge and the Texas Governor's Office on Shaquanda's behalf. Michael Bouldin removed the link, calling it "pimping".

I don't have enough history in the whitosphere to understand what their objection is to this practice. What they call "pimping," I call "sharing" and "informing". A link was the fastest, quickest way to provide the information that the other reader had requested and it had the added benefit of directing traffic toward my blog. Whatever Michael's problem was, it was more important to him than allowing the other reader ready access to the telephone numbers of the relevant government officials. I think Bouldin needs to stop being so capitalistically possessive and get his "progressive" priorities in order. I would certainly invite the lawyerly Michael Bouldin to explain the public policy interests he was vindicating by excluding the link to those telephone numbers from the comments to my diary at Culture Kitchen.

Above, you said, "I wish you could stop believing that you were ever on their team." Allright, I WILL stop thinking that I was ever on their team. As Michael Bouldin said today, "The term diary pimping is entirely acceptable, and I shall continue to use it." To me this means that Michael couldn't care less that his speech is offensive. That is not the behavior or attitude of a team-member. I guess that's what many white "progressives' have been trying to tell us all along with this offensive speech is that we are not on the same team.

I agree with you that our deconstruction of ther behavior and position has to go beyond and much deeper than a semantic analysis of their verbal micro-insults. In fact, I believe that had I not written constantly about the "white male supremacy paradigm" at DailyKos, I probably wouldn't have been banned. But, what's the value of being present if one cannot address "the core of their dysfunction?" I'd rather be banned for speaking the truth than accepted for cosigning their bullshit. (If you read that DK essay, ask yourself, "If Blacks are more homophobic than whites, then the Catholic Church must be a Black organization, right?")

Sorry, I digressed.

The most constructive thing we can do now, in my opinion, is to link our Blackosphere blogs and agree about some diverse short term and long-term goals that we'll collaborate on in various and sundry ways. I also agree with your observation that we could communicate more effectively if we could have this conversation all at one blog, where we could more easily follow it and readers could more easily follow it. I'm trying to facilitate that in terms of this conversation by posting your fundamental comments as diaries for everyone to consider and respond.



I had a long discussion worked up about "Blackosphere" vs. "Afrosphere", but I just went to Asabagna's blog to cite something he said and I saw a graphic that convinced me that Afrosphere is alright. If we pronounce it "Afrospear," then it is seems almost just as threatening and radical as I would have liked "Blackosphere" to sound. I can get with "Afrosphere", if we have a spear as our logo.

I can't promise not to refer to us as the "Blackosphere", just as I still use the terms "Black" and "African-American" interchangeably, even after having had twenty years to choose between them. But, it's more important now that we link our blogs and get ourselves collaborating than it is what name we have at this point, so I'll go with whatever the majority says. I'll refer to our group by whatever name is chosen.

But, I still think whites might "pooh pooh" the cultural name "Afrosphere" more than they would the simply chromatic name "Blackosphere". Whites love to divert us into unintelligible culture conversations about which we will never agree, solely for the purpose of concluding that we can't make progress because there's no basis for agreement. They're going to demand to know what the cultural content of our "Afrosphere" is (afros?), and then they're going to ridicule whatever we say. It's obvious what the "blackosphere" is, but we're going to have to explain what the "Afrosphere" is, and I'm afraid you might get as many different explanations as you have people participating.

But, the sight of a spear in our literature is likely to be just as potent for waking people up as was the sight of Black Panther and a machine gun in the literature of our forerunners.

Please e-mail me at francislholland@yahoo.com.

Read The Full Article:
http://francislholland.blogspot.com/2007/04/exodus-mentality-addresses-n-word-and
.html

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

Republicans Entrench Themselves on Wrong Side of
Healthcare Debate

Late last week the Senate voted on language that would greatly expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) by raising the federal tax on a pack cigarettes by 61 cents. The measure passed by a 59 to 40 margin, with 13 Republicans,[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/mydd/~3/105903056/18366

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

April Update - 172 books needed

We apologize for the lapse in communication…we were very busy preparing for another Hate Week.Following are the House Inner Party Members who have not yet received copies of 1984.The Senate Inner Party Members have been re-educated fullwise by now.Pick a rep. to sponsor today!CarterChabotChandlerCobleColeConawayCramerCrenshawCubinCuellarCulbersonDavis (AL)Davis (KY)Davis (TN)DealDentDiaz-Balart, L.Diaz-Balart, M.DoolittleDrakeDreierDuncanEdwardsEhlersEmersonEnglishEtheridgeEverettFeeneyFergusonFlakeForbesFortenberryFossellaFoxxFranksFrelinghuysenGalleglyGarrettGerlachGillmorGingreyGohmertGoodeGoodlatteGordonGrangerGravesHallHastingsHayesHensarlingHergerHersethHigginsHobsonHoekstraHoldenHulshofHunterInglisIssaJindalJohnson (IL)Johnson, SamKellerKennedy (MN)King (IA)King (NY)KingstonKirkKlineKnollenbergKuhlLaHoodLathamLewis (CA)Lewis [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://ministryoflove.wordpress.com/2007/04/02/april-update-172-books-needed/

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

April Update - 166 books needed

We apologize for the lapse in communication…we were very busy preparing for another Hate Week.We have sent all the copies of 1984 in our possession, leaving 166 Inner Party Members yet to be indoctrinated.Following are the House Inner Party Members who have not yet received copies.The Senate Inner Party Members have been re-educated fullwise by [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://ministryoflove.wordpress.com/2007/04/02/april-update-172-books-needed/

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

April Update - 165 books needed

We apologize for the lapse in communication…we were very busy preparing for another Hate Week.Following are the House Inner Party Members who have not yet received copies of 1984.The Senate Inner Party Members have been re-educated fullwise by now.Pick a rep. to sponsor today!CramerCrenshawCubinCuellarCulbersonDavis (AL)Davis (KY)Davis (TN)DealDentDiaz-Balart, L.Diaz-Balart, M.DoolittleDrakeDreierDuncanEdwardsEhlersEmersonEnglishEtheridgeEverettFeeneyFergusonFlakeForbesFortenberryFossellaFoxxFranksFrelinghuysenGalleglyGarrettGerlachGillmorGingreyGohmertGoodeGoodlatteGordonGrangerGravesHallHastingsHayesHensarlingHergerHersethHigginsHobsonHoekstraHoldenHulshofHunterInglisIssaJindalJohnson (IL)Johnson, SamKellerKennedy (MN)King (IA)King (NY)KingstonKirkKlineKnollenbergKuhlLaHoodLathamLewis (CA)Lewis [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://ministryoflove.wordpress.com/2007/04/02/april-update-172-books-needed/

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

April Update - 161 books needed

We apologize for the lapse in communication…we were very busy preparing for another Hate Week.We have sent all the copies of 1984 in our possession, leaving 166 Inner Party Members yet to be indoctrinated.Following are the House Inner Party Members who have not yet received copies.The Senate Inner Party Members have been re-educated fullwise by [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://ministryoflove.wordpress.com/2007/04/02/april-update-172-books-needed/

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

Good News for Captain's Quarters

There's good news over at Captain's Quarters. Ed's wife (the First Mate) has had a successful kidney transplant. She and the donor are doing fine. Ed's been blogging through the surgery to relieve the stress. Go on over and send some good wishes.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TalkleftThePoliticsOfCrime/~3/105896890/3202

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

Good News for Captain's Quarter

There's good news over at Captain's Quarters. Ed's wife (the First Mate) has had a successful kidney transplant. She and the donor are doing fine.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TalkleftThePoliticsOfCrime/~3/105896890/3202

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

UPDATE: Shaquanda Cotton is Free! Victory Shows
Power in United Blackosphere

.


"There's power in linking these Blackosphere/Afrosphere* blogs!"

(Shown above are Shaquanda's mother, Shaquanda Cotton and Bryan Muhammad of the Million More Movement at a homecoming for Shaquanda's upon her release from TYC. Plaudits to nationally acclaimed lawyer Bobbie Edmonds of Fort Worth, TX for being there and taking this picture. Hat-Tip to Eddie Griffin for the above photograph.

NPR has also done an in-depth story in which Howard Witt (Chicago Tribune national writer who broke the story) is interviewed, as well as Shaquanda's mother and Frasier Pope, III, the Black man who started the first Facebook group aimed at freeing Shaquanda Cotton. Great interviews at NPR!

In the NPR interviews, Witt says, "I think the difference is the Internet and the existence of blogs . . . I don't think this story could have caught fire the way it did . . . It's a function nof the times and the tools . . . in this new blog world." NPR

Blackosphere/Afrosphere Blog Note: Readers are invited to post links to their blogs and articles in the comments to this and any other diary here. I invite and encourage that. As I learn of compelling new blogs, I hope to be able to add more of them to my bloglist. Thank you.

Read The Full Article:
http://francislholland.blogspot.com/2007/04/shaquanda-cotton-is-free-victory-show
s.html

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!