The Blackwoman grew up in and with Chicago politics. As a result I do not even remember an election in the city where the outcome was not determined during the primaries. In Chicago it comes down to which Democrat wins the primary. In the city of Chicago, republican'ts are a non starter. This is why I am not amazed at the level of contempt and the cynicism shown toward black people by the republican'ts in the state of Illinois. Just disgusted.
First, Alan Keys. He was for all the folk I know a "Negro puleeze" moment.
The only positive thing I can say for him is that in the tradition of black folk having to be better just to compete, he is better at being crazy than the vast majority of nutjobs the republican'ts recruit to run for office. He takes it to another level altogether.
It seems Illinois republican'ts think black folk are interchangeable. Just find one to run against another one, and they have a shot at it. Or some such.
The latest incarnation of their madness is a man named Isaac Hays. Yep, that's his name. I suspect they think black folk will get confused.
He is running against Triple J (Jesse Jackson Jr.). The news is reporting that Triple J had an affair with a waitress with blond (they emphasize the color) hair. Pundits are saying that black women will refuse to vote for Triple J out of anger that he cheated on his wife with a white woman. This apparently might be enough for them to switch black men and vote for the repubican't.
Yeah right.
I don't usually do this, but allow me to speak for black women with functioning synapses.
First, allow me to say that I am deeply disappointed in Triple J. There was a time when his political future was so bright he needed to wear shades. Now, it is unlikely that he will fulfill his promise. This is just plain disappointing. In anyone.
Second, only his wife and family pay the emotional price for what he has done. I know for a fact that a betrayal is a betrayal no matter the color of the accomplice.
This is a variation of the Tiger Woods theme. Again, let me speak for black women with functioning brain cells. We didn't give a shit about Tiger before or after.
I am offended that some people are still trying to play, the black woman against white woman bullshit. It's time to stop.
It's also time for republican'ts to stop trying to make up wedges in the black community for political gain. What follows is addressed to all the repubican'ts that haunt this site and post here as trolls on a regular basis.
Go back and tell your masters that black folk are not monolithic. What we are is able to see and vote for our own self interest. At this point in history, the republican't party does not work to benefit black folk. We are aware of this. So...if you want our votes, something is gonna have to change.
You are going to have to work for it.
You will not get it by placing some generic black man on the ballot thinking we are all alike and one black man or woman is interchangeable with another. You might also think about the thing you have with your generic understanding about all minorities and women. Just sayin'.
You will not get our vote for as long as you pander to and associate with the racist of this country. In spite of anything you say to the contrary we know the dog whistles, we hear them and we know racism when we see it. Comes from centuries of exposure.
So take the Alan Keys and Isaac Hays that you find on a comedy tour and don't bother with the usual in black districts within the city of Chicago. It is truly a waste of time. Triple J will win re-election. Easily. Black folks are aware of the fact that the other Isaac Hays is dead. You and yours might not have known it but black folks do. They will not vote for him by mistake.
Black women are not going to vote for a republican't because Triple J had an affair with a white woman. We are not that stupid. We may talk about him like a dog, but when the time comes, we will vote a straight Democratic ticket in the city of Chicago. That is how we roll.
Cease and desist with the bullshit candidates. Get real with policies that are important to black folk, and brown folk and women and gays. Then we can talk. Til then what you do speaks louder than what you say.
Now run and tell that.
Editors Note
This week I want to share the story of a woman who was able to buy her first home at the age of sixty plus because of the 8K tax credit and FHA's low interest rates. This may not seem like much to some folk but to her it meant the difference between renting and setting up a situation where she would begin the process of homeownership which can lead to having something of value to leave the next generation. I believe that one of the reasons black people are so far behind in wealth accumulation in this country stems from our living and dying paying off other people's mortgages. Our children do not have a house to sell or live in,again building equity and enabling them to build and give to the next generation. Each generation, starting from scratch,trying to get ahead has been the model. Now, thanks to the tax credit and FHA, this woman is taking a step forward for the next generation. Tis a good thing.
The maddening thing about Beltway political culture is not its oft-maligned partisan divide, but rather its ever-present consensus that tomorrow will be better, when all evidence points to the contrary. American families have been spiraling in a steady and quickening economic decline for years, a devolution that did not begin with this recession and will not soon end without massive and sustained intervention. That hard truth is as plain as the troubling reality that few in Washington are prepared to face it.
The Poverty Nation Washington Built
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On Friday U.S. President Barack Obama will press to keep Sudan's crucial referendum on track and prevent Africa's largest country from returning to civil war.
Obama Presses Sudan Solution
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The most fundamental political right in our society is the right to vote. Today (Sept. 21) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco will hear arguments in a case (Farrakhan v. Gregoire) that accuses the state of Washington of stripping that fundamental political right from citizens in a racially discriminatory manner. The provision in the state constitution that accomplished this appears neutral; in operation, however, its discriminatory effect is not disputed.
Your Take: Getting Back the Right to Vote
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Larry Summers, a thorn in the side of many progressives is out. Rahm Emanuel, another hugely contentious member of the White House Administration, is clearly on his way out. Just last week, Obama appointed Elizabeth Warren to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a new federal agency established as part of regulatory reform. Warren is a folk hero for progressives. Yesterday, the Democrats pushed unsuccessfully for a repeal of "don’t ask don’t tell" in the military. They also pushed to move forward on the Dream Act, something close to the heart of many Latinos in the country.
Will progressives bite the hand President Obama is extending?
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When college officials talk about the extra help they provide to applicants who are alumni children (and it’s rare to get them to talk about the topic outside of alumni circles), they tend to say a few things: that the preferences are modest, just an extra "tip" for some well-qualified applicants; that alumni children likely would have had a much greater chance than others of being admitted even without the preference; and that such modest boosts are a small price to pay for the spirit of community and philanthropy created by multigenerational ties to a college.
Legacy of Bias
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Andrew and Jack Shafer's reminiscence over the legacy of Martin Peretz, and quasi-defense of his bigotry, motivated me to do some of my own reflecting. To the present business, there is no actual defense of the statement "Muslim life is cheap, particularly to Muslims." African-Americans are overrepresented among both the perpetrators and victims of homicide. And yet had a writer for The New Republic, in the midst of asserting that blacks should not enjoy constitutional protection, argued that "Black life is cheap, particularly to blacks," and then doubled down on the assertion, I don't think we'd be having this debate--emphasis on "think."
On The Cheapness of Life
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World leaders are descending on the UN headquarters in New York for a display of commitment to reduce sharply global poverty and hunger. The summit aims to take stock of progress on eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted 10 years ago, and redouble efforts to meet them by 2015. BBC UN correspondent Barbara Plett looks at the issues officials will face.
Uneven progress of UN Millennium Development Goals
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If you adjust for inflation and income, Americans have never spent less on food than they have in recent years. And yet many feel we've also never paid such a high price.
U.S. Department of Agriculture figures show the average American spent just 9.5 percent of his or her disposable income on food last year, a lower percentage than in any country in the world.
The High Cost of Cheap Meat
