Colin Powell

"I'm also troubled by... not with what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say, and it is permitted to be said... Such things as, 'Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.' Well, the correct answer is that he's not a Muslim, he's a Christian, he's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop this suggestion, that he's a Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America."

You know what? I forgive him. He just exonerated himself in my eyes. I'm not saying what he did at the beginning of the Iraq conflict was okay. But this is something too many liberals don't have the balls to say right now. Colin Powell is going to be run off the field for this endorsement. Not only does he not care, but he's willing to carry that ball right into the end zone. He didn't have to go this far. He did. Bravo.

Dear Mr. Obama,

The more you denounce the very necessary message being brought forward by Reverend Wright, the more you distance yourself from my support. I'm sure you have analysts and campaign managers who specialize in figuring out these numbers for you, but I just wanted to let you know.

Thank you for your time.

The Bigot Vote

I'm not entirely interested in an argument over whether sexism or racism is the bigger problem, or whether racism has hurt Obama more than sexism has hurt Clinton. But it bothers me that it is casually recognized that Clinton is winning and, in fact, depending on the bigot vote. The results in Pennsylvania made this very clear, and it has raised questions about Obama's electability in a national election. 20% of Democratic voters said that race was an issue in their vote, and 49% of Clinton voters said they would stay home or vote for McCain if Obama won the party's nomination. Those are some crazy numbers, especially for the Democratic party. The media's codeword for these people is "lunch-bucket Democrats", because apparently "racist assholes" won't make it past the censors.

Nobody with any sense wants to see McCain win the national election. But there are some people I don't care to have in the big tent, and self-righteous bigots are certainly high on that list. Can we stop pretending that this is a legitimate interest group the candidates need to be courting? If we need their vote to win, we're doing it wrong.

Softballs

You know what I hate? Well, yeah, I guess you do if you read this thing, since almost every post could be titled "What I Hate". But today, it's this.

I hate that the media, and I do mean just about the entirety of the media, couches the questions of race and gender in this campaign in such a way as to shield people from their own opinions. Everyone, from top-level politicians to random guys on the street, is asked questions like, "Do you think this country is ready for a black president?" Of course, that's not really what's being asked; legally, a black person can be elected and hold the office, so the country is as ready as it needs to be as a legal entity. The question they are answering is, "Do you think a black person should be able to be president?" The same goes for asking about women; if someone says, "This country just isn't ready for a woman president," what they mean is, "I don't want a woman as president." If that's what people mean, let them say it. Don't offer them cover for their racism and misogyny in the form of vague questions that don't really mean anything.

One's racism and misogyny are not made acceptable by projecting them onto the rest of us.

Monkeys Are Arboreal Primates

Look, I understand the need to be racially aware. Really. And when presented with something that is supposedly racist, I tend not to give it the benefit of the doubt. There is no context that makes nooses and actual epithets okay. Subtle racism pisses me off on pretty much a daily basis in a place like Westchester, New York. So I don't think I'm being an insensitive ass when I say that the reaction to this goes over the line.

An Illinois delegate for presidential candidate Barack Obama resigned Tuesday after she used the word "monkeys" to describe black children playing in a tree.

...The father of one of the boys told her it was none of her business, she said, and "I calmly said the tree is not there for them to be climbing in there like monkeys."

It was a stupid thing to say. I'm sure she regrets it. She should be apologizing for offending them. But it seems pretty obvious that there was absolutely no racial intent there. I was compared to a monkey several times as a child, almost always in reference to climbing or swinging from something, and I'm pretty sure it was never said under the mistaken impression that I was of African decent. They're called monkey bars, and children of every ethnicity use them.

There should be no fine. There should be no dismissal. There should be an apology, and that should be the end of it. There is a point where you degrade the value of language by reading more into it than was obviously intended, and this is exactly that kind of situation.

This is not to say that people should not be careful what they say, but simply to say that context is important. This guy, for instance, is an ass.

Catching Up

Sorry I've been quiet. I've been occupied with a brief bout of sick and an extended battle with customer service. A quick, point-by-point update follows.

1) John Edwards. Terribly disappointing, but obviously not unexpected. His was a difficult message to sell to Americans who have become entrenched in their entitlement, and his campaign was nearly invisible to the media who focused on peripheral concerns instead of the candidates themselves. America needs John Edwards right now. But it's not going to happen. We are all the worse for it.

As it stands right now, my support leans toward Obama, but obviously not with anything approaching the fervor with which I endorsed Edwards. Like Amy, however, if it comes down to it, I will be voting for Hillary Clinton. I don't want to, but it certainly beats having McCain or Romney... okay, McCain in the white house.

2) Helio. Last month, while talking about my iPhone, I also talked up the Helio Ocean, which I liked very much but found did not suit my needs. I feel obligated, then, to warn anyone considering Helio away from the company. Despite my having phone records that show I canceled my account one day after activating it, Helio claimed to have no record of my canceling the account or even calling that day. I was willing to consider this an honest mistake except for two things. First, they informed me that because their records were incomplete, there was nothing they could do, and I would be held responsible for the upwards of $400 their mistake had cost. Second, a bit of searching provided enough evidence that this scenario is not at all unusual. I felt like a scam was taking place, and while maintaining (with great effort) a respectful tone with their customer service supervisors on the telephone for the third day, I made it clear that the issue would be taken care of over the phone immediately (not via postal mail or a mediation service as they helpfully suggested) or I would be contacting the Better Business Bureau. That took care of it, but nobody should have to be as tenacious as I was to avoid a $400 charge based on someone else's mistake. Avoid Helio. 'nuff said.

3) Bryant Wilkerson. My wife sent me this story, courtesy of the Field Negro. It deserves to be read in whole and angrily pointed out whenever anyone claims that racism no longer infects our justice system. Short version: Rich white underage drunk girl collides with black man making a legal U-turn. Friend of rich white drunk girl dies in the accident. Black man registers well within legal limits of blood alcohol content, white girl still registering above it an hour after the accident. The result: No charges for white girl, nine felony charges for black man.

4) Scientology. Scientology seems to be all over the place lately. Scientology bashing seems to be fashionable. Awesome. Glad to hear it. Scientology is a scam and it is dangerous. Religious tolerance has nothing to do with it. L. Ron Hubbard famously denied that Scientology was a religion until it became obvious that reversing that stance would offer him legal protection and tax-exempt status. I can not recommend the site Operation Clambake enough.

They Can't Resist

CNN.com decides that if all the other major news sources are going to insult southern black women, they're not gonna miss the bus.

Recent polls show black women are expected to make up more than a third of all Democratic voters in South Carolina's primary in five days.

For these women, a unique, and most unexpected dilemma, presents itself: Should they vote their race, or should they vote their gender?

Because voting on politics is apparently more than we can expect from the monolithic entity of South Carolina Black Woman Voters. We are to believe that they can understand nothing deeper than skin tone and bra size.

Regardless of how this thing turns out, I think it's safe to assume that this will go down as the most embarrassing political race ever in terms of journalistic integrity.

So... Ron Paul?

Ron Paul is being torn into over newsletters carrying his name that included some absolutely disgusting racist and heterosexist content. You probably already know this, because the mainstream media has given it more attention than any other aspect of his campaign.

Is it fair? That's a damn good question. Obviously the media is all over this thing. Paul supporters like Weird at Slacker Nation are obviously unfazed. The impact this is going to have is still unclear. But is it fair? I almost feel bad for saying it, but yes. It's fair.

I can not tolerate racism or heterosexism. I have dropped longstanding friendships over single instances of overt, unapologetic heterosexism. I have cut ties with members of my family over racism. I'm serious about this. So if there were a newsletter carrying my name in 72 point font across the top, and it had a pattern of obscene racism and heterosexism, I would a) know about it. b) put an immediate stop to it. and c) apologize profusely.

Ron Paul, by his own admission, did none of these things. If a) and b) fell through the cracks, the only thing left is c). But if you watch his reaction, he's not apologetic. Hell, he's barely willing to repudiate the articles without being prompted by someone else.

It is unfair that Ron Paul's campaign has been ignored by the media. Absolutely. But it is not unfair that this particular angle is being covered. The media should be digging into the background of candidates and informing us of this sort of thing. Hell, if they'd done their job in 2000 and given this kind of attention to anything in G.W.'s past, maybe we'd be in better shape today. (Anything. Anything at all.)

Just because the media hasn't fairly covered him up to this point does not mean that Ron Paul should be excused from this particular coverage.

JWF Quote of the Week

Jammies Wearing Fool Quote of the Week:

"In a time long ago the Confederate Stars and Bars flag was a symbol of resolve, courage, and fierce independence. That was in the days before Jesse Jackson and his ilk managed to promote their campaign of hate and racism across the country blackmailing quite a few states and corporations along the way. Why is it that the flag is still worn by people trying to show their independence? It is not a symbol of racism and never has been."
- Just A Grunt

You are so totally right, dude. The confederate flag has absolutely never been a symbol of hatred or racism. Ever. It's just worn by people trying to show their independence. Sometimes, for instance, independence from racial tolerance.