Acquiescing to white supremacy by any means necessary

“We declare our rights on this earth…to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary.”   -Malcolm X 

Southern Segregationists always reacted to Malcolm X and those of like mind with alarm and repudiation.   In time, they came to understand the utility of the mantra “by any means necessary” and adopted it as their own. Today, Dixie Dianne Feinstein played her self-assigned role to assist her neo-confederate colleagues Trent Lott and Thad Cochran in preserving white supremacy by any means necessary as they pushed through the nomination of their judicial minion, former Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Leslie Southwick, for a lifetime position on the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

In my Dixie Dianne’s Betrayal post, I wrote that she approved a nomination for “a judge who makes light of the fact that he ordered the reinstatement of a white female state employee that called a black female co-worker, “a good ole nigger.”  As I’ve said before, there is no circumstance where it is ever acceptable for a white person to call a black person a nigger in freakin’ Mississippi.  Never.    He also concurred with his collegues homophobia by taking away a woman’s child in a child custody case because he objected to her being a lesbian.

Her reasons for this betrayal were less than convincing.   She said yesterday, “In my conversations with Judge Southwick, I have gotten a sense of the type of person that I believe him to be. He is not either insensitive or a racist but one who is thoughtful and analytical and a strong believer in the law. As an appellate court judge, he evaluates the specific legal issues of the case before him, not necessarily the veracity of the parties involved as would a trial judge.  

“…While I respect the views of my colleagues who oppose this nomination, I also respectfully disagree. I think Judge Southwick made mistakes by concurring in the two opinions in question, but I don’t think those rulings define his views. I don’t believe they outweigh the other factors that suggest Judge Southwick should be confirmed.”

Southwick’s  record in criminal cases reveals a troubling pattern of racist myopia.  According to the Alliance for Justice, “Judge Southwick has participated in numerous cases involving challenges to the racial makeup of a jury under Batson v. Kentucky, in which the United States Supreme Court held that peremptory challenges to jurors cannot be used in a racially discriminatory manner.

 

“In 59 of the 70 Batson cases reviewed for this report, the defendants challenged their convictions on the ground that the prosecution had used peremptory challenges to strike African-American jurors. Judge Southwick, voting with a majority of the Court in every case, voted to uphold the convictions in all but five of these cases.” 

 

“In 10 of these 70 Batson cases, the defendants challenged their convictions on the ground that the prosecution had unfairly prevented them from using their peremptory challenges to exclude white jurors (in one case the juror whom defendant sought to strike was Asian American). Defendants, with Judge Southwick again joining the majority of the Court in every case, lost all ten of these challenges. In the final case, the defendant challenged his conviction on both grounds and lost on both grounds, with Judge Southwick again in the majority.

 

“In other words, Judge Southwick and a majority of the judges on the Court of Appeals routinely rebuffed allegations of prosecutorial racism against African Americans in jury selection while upholding allegations of anti-white discrimination levied against defendants.” 

Mississippi Senators have an unbroken record of white nominations to the Fifth Circuit and they intend to keep it that way.   Since 1985 when they broke the color barrier to nominate an African American to the Federal District Court, they have adhered to a rigid whites only policy for the Court of Appeals.   They’ve nominated women and a judge with a Turkish background but no African Americans.  As a general rule, nobody has to worry about Trent Lott or Thad Cochran sniffing around their law offices looking for federal judicial nominees unless they have a track record of supporting Republicans and a demonstrated hostility to African Americans.  

Dixie Dianne knew all of this and still chose to confirm him.  She knew and opposed all of the previous troglodytes they’ve nominated to fill this spot. She has served on the Senate Judiciary Committee for the last 14 years and watched as Republicans filibustered President Clinton’s nominees for this same position until the clock ran out and the Supreme Court selected Bush as President.

Another battle in the war movement conservatives have waged to radically remake the federal judiciary was won tonight and it happened because of the acquiescence of the Senate Majority Leader and the rank cowardice of both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.   As I said in August, “Dixie Dianne’s betrayal has had one fortuitous consequence.  She has provided the Democratic frontrunners in this contest one more opportunity to prove their progressive fealty or (reveal) their politically expedient treachery.  Judge Southwick’s nomination is coming to the Senate floor whether we like it or not. If the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the Majority Leader green light a filibuster, it will happen.” 

“Even if they don’t concur, Hillary and Barack have the power to force one.  …Reading an obligatory statement into the record will not do.  Voting against cloture will not do.   Putting up an aggressive fight and making several lengthy statements on the floor and to the media that make it clear that their opposition is not merely for show; and their active and visible participation in floor strategy that kills this nomination, that’s what we must demand.”

It didn’t happen. Hillary and Obama issued obligatory statements of opposition on their respective websites but neither made much effort.  Even former Senate Judiciary Chairman Joe Biden, who killed the Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork, took a pass.   No matter what test of progressive political fortitude is given, Hillary and Obama will fail it with flying colors.   Hillary and Obama made a big statement today about what they really stand for: getting elected President and acquiescing to white supremacy by any means necessary.  

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ABC Republican Debate

The comb-over caucus met again for another one of their forgetable debates yesterday morning on This Week with Georgie the Greek.   On display was the full panoply of GOP wingnuttia and delusional posturing on abortion, immigration, and the War in Iraq.  It was truly not worth watching except that the applause of partisans cheering for their guy was totally unexpected.  

The buzz being generated on the right by Ron Paul is interesting.  First, he’s foresquare against the war and they applauded him lustily for it.   Second,  he’s a former libertarian Presidential candidate and has generated fanatical enthusiasm from the small government and anti-tax zealots that dwell therein.   Third,  his fundraising is picking up substantially.  His candidacy is harnessing the resurgence of far right wing extremism and in that respect, his candidacy is reminesent of Barry Goldwater’s in 1964.  He is not a traditional Republican by any means.  He’s too far to the right.  Crony capitalism is not his deal.   He’s all about drowning government in the bathtub.    

My favorite line of the debate was Mitt Romney’s shot across the bow to Barack Obama.  He said “He’s willing to have tea with our enemies and to bomb our allies,” or something to that effect.   It was a great line and a signal to the sentient that this crowd are the most dangerous reactionaries to ever seek the presidency in a long time.   Nothing will be settled in this contest until Fred Thompson joins them on stage and his full campaign platform is unveiled for all to see.  

After the mauling that Giuliani took on abortion, I was surprised that the NYPD didn’t storm the stage to arrest his challengers.  In the perfect police state of his fantasies, this is what would happen.

Louisiana Senator caught up in D.C. madam scandal addresses the media

David Vitter: Good afternoon. Last week, Wendy and I thought it was very important to have some time in seclusion until the firestorm that erupted over the blatant hypocrisy of preaching family values while simultaneously bedding hookers died, so that’s what we did for a few days. We want to thank the countless friends and fellow citizens who have offered their encouragement and prayers. Those have meant the world to us.

I want to, again, offer my deeply insincere apologies to all those I have let down and disappointed with these actions from my past. I am completely responsible. And I am so very, very sorry I got caught. No matter how long ago it was, I know this has hurt the relationship of trust I’ve enjoyed, and never deserved, with so many of you, and that I have a lot of work to do to rebuild that. I will work every day to pander to the lowest common denominator to rebuild it.

Wendy and I dealt with this personally several years ago when she threatened to castrate me like John Bobbitt. I confronted it in “confession” and “marriage counseling,” while Wendy held a sharp instrument to my crotch.  I believe I received forgiveness from God. I know I did from Wendy because she didn’t castrate me, and we put it behind us-at least I thought we did until my nightmares and night sweats began.

Since then, I’ve gotten up every morning, checking my crotch and the bed only to be relieved that neither is saturated in a pool of blood.  Everything I really believe in kinda centers in my crotch region and if continuing to believe in and acknowledge those values causes some to attack me because of my past failings, well, so be it.

Unfortunately, my admission has encouraged some long-time political enemies and those hoping to profit from the situation to spread falsehoods too, like those New Orleans stories in recent reporting. Those stories are not true-at least that’s what I’ve said in the past and I need to stick to that to cloud the issue.

Now, having said all of this, I’m not going to answer endless questions about it all over again and again and again and again-because then I would inevitably be caught in a tangle of lies. That might sell newspapers, but it wouldn’t serve my family or my political aspirations well at all because I have a lot of important work to do for Louisiana that I didn’t do while indulging my S&M fantasies with hookers on the side and missing Senate votes.

For my part, I’ll be helping finalize a crucial water resources bill to provide much better hurricane and flood protection-what I shoulda been doing instead of calling escort services. I’ll be following up on our demagogic and racist defeat of an immigration bill by working for draconian and unworkable border and workplace security. I’ll be fighting for my political life, undermining liberals and much more.

From here, I’ll go directly to the airport and to Washington for votes, because I’m desperate for this face saving press conference to end. Thank you.

Wendy Vitter: To those of you who know me, are you surprised that I didn’t castrate the bastard? You know, in most any other marriage, this would have been a private issue between a husband and a wife — very private—until he bled to death. Obviously, it is not here.

Like all marriages, ours is not perfect. None of us are. But I have him where I want him now and my lawyer is on speed dial. When I dealt with this privately years ago, and damn near castrated David, I made the decision to turn the tables and assume the power in the marriage. To spare a prick was not the easy choice, but it was and is the right choice for me. David and I are now the best of friends and he better pray it stays that way.

Last week, some people very sympathetically said to me, “I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes right now.” I told the bitches off.  This is the part where I’m supposed to say some politically soothing crap about being proud to be Wendy Vitter and then attempt to invoke sympathy for the ordeal my children have gone through.  I’m just gonna skip it though in the interest of time. 

And now I’m going to attempt to invoke your sympathy for me as a wife and I hope you will understand. It’s been terribly hard to have the media parked on our front lawn and following us every day. And yesterday, the media was camped at our church — at our home, and at our church every day.  So even if I wanted to castrate and kill him for this latest outrage, I would have been caught.

As David returns to his right-wing pursuits and self-promotion in Washington, we’re going to return to our life here. I would ask you very respectfully to let us continue our summer and give us a pass on our obvious hypocrisy, just as we and our media advisors had planned.

Thank you very much

The Neo-Con Beatitudes

THE NEO-CON BIBLE :

The Book of Libby, chapter 28301-016

   ¹And seeing the multitudes, Dubya went up to Kennebunkport; and when He was set, His right-wing minions came unto Him.    
   

²And Dubya opened His mouth and taught them, saying,     

³Blessed are the poor top 1%, for theirs is the plutocratic Kingdom of America.    

⁴Blessed are they that mourn for Iraq War and Katrina victims, for they shall be forgotten.    

⁵Blessed are the meek Democrat Leadership, for they shall be steamrolled.    

⁶Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after Clinton’s Impeachment but not for Scooter’s imprisonment, for they shall be filled with bulls***.    

⁷Blessed are the mercenary shills for war, for they shall receive a Presidential reprieve.     

⁸Blessed are the ideologically pure in heart, for they shall never see the inside of a prison cell.    

⁹Blessed are the warmongers, for they shall be called “one of the most capable and talented individuals I have ever known.”    

¹⁰Blessed are they that are persecuted for Dick Cheney’s sake, for theirs is the corrupt nexus of the military industrial complex and pay to play government.    

¹¹Blessed are ye when the liberal media shall revile you and Patrick Fitzgerald persecutes you, and says all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake.      

¹²Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward on K street and the lecture circuit; for so persecuted they the prophets of Iraq regime change who were before you.    

¹³“Ye are the light of the world. Republican hypocrisy this big cannot be hidden.    

¹⁴Let your criminality so shine before men, that they may see your arrogant disdain, and glorify your neo-con Father who is in an undisclosed location manipulating the levers of power.

Elizabeth Edwards confronts Ann Coulter, the fascist strumpet

Hat Tip: The Hill by Klaus Marre

With the second quarter drawing to a close, the presidential campaign of former North Carolina senator John Edwards (D) on Wednesday again turned to one of its most reliable “fundraisers,” Ann Coulter.

In an e-mail to supporters, Edwards’ wife Elizabeth described why she called in to MSNBC’s “Hardball” Tuesday. The show featured the conservative pundit, who has often attacked Edwards. This week Coulter proclaimed “If I’m going to say anything about John Edwards in the future, I’ll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot.

Elizabeth Edwards said she decided to call the show to appeal to Coulter to stop the attacks. “I told her these kinds of personal attacks lower our political dialogue at precisely the time when we need to raise it, and set a bad example for our children,” she said. “How did she respond? Sadly, perhaps predictably, with more personal attacks.”

The e-mail is coupled with an appeal for campaign donations. “Please give what you can right now to help raise the dialogue and show that Ann Coulter-style politics will never carry the day,” Mrs. Edwards wrote.

It is the second time in as many quarters that the Edwards campaign is using Coulter for a fundraising appeal. In March, the 2004 Democratic vice presidential candidate raised “Coulter cash” after the right-wing pundit called the senator a “faggot.”

Elizabeth Edwards is a good one, Y’all.   I woulda cursed the heifer out.  It may not have solved anything but at least it would have made me feel better.  I then woulda cursed out Chris Matthews for his craven ratings grasping.   The fascist strumpet is a mouthpiece of hate and doesn’t deserve the platform.  It only legitimizes her hate.  He is beneath contempt.

I categorically oppose the CBC/Fox Noise Democratic Presidential Debate

 

A letter is making its way across the black blogosphere denouncing the Congressional Black Caucus/ Fox News Democratic Presidential Debate.  I don’t think I have to recap the many sins of Fox Noise against the black community.   I signed the letter without hesitation and commend the three leading candidates:  Senators Edwards, Obama, and Clinton for their refusal to appear.

Dear [candidate],

Your decision last month not to attend the debate sponsored by Fox News and the Congressional Black Caucus institute demonstrated truly principled leadership.

Now, a group of CBC members, led by Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick(D-MI), is asking you to reverse that decision.  But the truth about Fox and its partnership with the CBC institute has not changed.  A Fox-CBCI partnership will use the brand of the CBC—perhaps the most prominent and powerful Black political institution in America—to lend legitimacy to a propaganda network that regularly denigrates black people, black culture and black institutions.  This partnership is bad for Black America, and it is a huge mistake.

Since before the debate partnership was announced publicly, Black bloggers, community newspapers, columnists, and radio hosts have expressed outrage that such a partnership would even be considered.  Over 16,000 members of ColorOfChange.org reached out to individual CBC members and the CBC institute in hopes that they would be responsive and accountable to the community they purport to represent.  But the leadership of the CBC institute has continued to willfully ignore the voices of Black Americans, and amazingly, also dismissed voices of dissent from within the CBC itself (nearly a quarter of CBC members have expressed opposition to the debate, either publicly or privately).  Now, more than ever, it’s obvious that the CBC’s leadership is painfully out of step with Black America.

It has been suggested that by skipping this debate, you are missing a valuable opportunity to speak on issues of concern to Black Americans.  However, the CBC institute debate broadcast by CNN as well as Tavis Smiley’s debates on PBS provide similar opportunities to address these issues without sending the message that you are willing to validate a network that is consistently hostile to Black Americans and Black political interests.

You did the right thing by rejecting Fox.  We applaud your leadership and will continue to support your decision.

Skeptical Brotha

Joe Scarborough needs to put down his crack pipe

Proving that he is unequivocally on crack, Scarborough’s latest commentary urges Republican Presidential Candidates to embrace and praise the successes of President Bush in tonight’s debate.   WTF would those be?  Bankrupting our nation to subsidize the wealth of the wealthiest one percent?  Putting the mess back in Mesopotamia?  Stealing the Presidency through the most racist scheme to nullify black votes in the history of the cosmos?   Brownie?   Making the world safe for torture, secret rendition and domestic wiretapping? Failing to raise the minimum wage for a decade? Just what in the Hell are his successes, other than managing to not be impeached, convicted, removed and extradited to the Hague to face a war crimes tribunal?

Ann Coulter: Fascist Strumpet

Do you remember that time when your Mama came home disgruntled and “tore out the frame,” grumblin’ under her breath about some “white bitch” she works with that tap danced on her last nerve like a manic celebrity on “Dancing with the Stars?”

Of course you do, because she was talking about Ann Coulter’s doppelganger.  Your Mama’s nemesis is just like Ann, an obnoxious hypocrite with a sense of white entitlement and an ego larger than the circumference of the earth. She’s a privileged WASP who thinks that she’s the smartest person in the room and that your mother is better suited to be her maid, rather than her colleague.  She’s a woman whose every offensive utterance makes people scatter like projectile vomit. If your Mama ever penned a dictionary of Black Vernacular, she would put Ann Coulter’s picture beside the uncharitable definition of “White Bitch.”

Well, Chillun, it seems the High Priestess of Hate, done caught a case in her new home state of Florida.  Election officials in the sunshine state are going to prosecute a bitch for felony vote fraud. I guess the “constitutional lawyer” cut class that day in law school.  Perhaps when her case gets to court, she can begin by launching into an arrogant tirade announcing her desire to be found innocent or she’ll put rat poison in the Judge’s creme brulee. 

Then she can megalomaniacally assert that she was an integral part in bringing Bill Clinton to justice and in whose “nightmare of a presidency…there would be debates about whether to impeach or assassinate.”  Skillfully leaving the threat of assassination in the air, she can then demand the Judge dismiss the case, he will indignantly refuse, pronounce her narrow ass guilty of vote fraud and for being a fascist strumpet, and sentence her to five years of torture in Abu Ghraib prison.

After her release from prison, she can publish a memoir about her experiences and call it: GUTLESS.