Audra Shay the Latest Republican to Embrace Racist Humor

It is as if the Republicans can not help themselves. The love of racist humor must be a pre-requisite for party membership. We have seen Barack the Magic Negro, we have had a South Carolina state representative compare the First Lady to a gorilla, a Tennessee state employee send out a historical presidential pictorial with the image of Present Obama as a wide eyed spook, and now we have one of the candidates for vice chairman of the young Republicans affirm the use of the word “coon” in reference to the president. “On Wednesday, Shay—a 38-year-old Army veteran, mother, and event planner from Louisiana who has been endorsed by her governor, Bobby Jindal—was holding court on her Facebook page, initiating a political conversation by posting that “WalMart just signed a death warrant” by “endorsing Obama’s healthcare plan.” At 1:52, a friend named listed as Eric S. Piker, but whose personal page says his actual name is Eric Pike, wrote “It’s the government making us commies… can’t even smoke in my damn car… what’s next they going to issue toilet paper once a month… tell us how to wipe our asses…” Two minutes later, Piker posted again saying “Obama Bin Lauden [sic]  is the new terrorist… Muslim is on there side [sic]… need to take this country back from all of these mad coons… and illegals.” Eight minutes after that, at 2:02, Shay weighed in on Piker’s comments:  “You tell em Eric!  lol.” * After she received some responses that challenged her affirmation of Piker’s remarks she dismissed them as friends, but held on to Piker. Eight hours later Shays issued her obligatory apology and said that she was simply responding to the first posts  and not to the racial posts. The Republicans do not want to increase their “tent”. These incidents happen too frequently to be viewed as isolated and in spite of having Michael Steele as chairman their actions are loud and clear, and their actions say minorities not welcome.

 

*The Daily Beast

Burr Oak Cemetery is the Site of Black on Black Crime

Chicago is my home town and it is also the place where my parents are buried.   Today one of my friends called me to make sure I had heard the Burr Oaks cemetery story. Fortunately my parents were not buried there, but the story is still heartbreaking. It is estimated that 200-300 bodies have been dumped so that the graves could be re-sold, and some of the bodies were packed down so that new bodies could be buried on top of them. Four people have been arrested and all of them are black. This is black on black crime at its worst. Many prominent blacks are buried there including Emmitt Till.  ”Carolyn Towns was the brains behind the operation, the one calling the shots,” a spokesman said. The charges against Towns allege that “numerous graves were excavated and the human remains were then buried in a rear vacant lot in Burr Oak cemetery, Alsip … She then sold the vacant grave sites for her own personal financial gain.” The scheme was successful because bereaved relatives often came into the cemetery office to buy grave sites with cash. Towns would take the cash and destroy the deeds and other paperwork for the existing graves. Towns would keep the cash and pay off the other defendants by increasing their overtime pay, which she controlled as cemetery general manager. Mahoney described the defendants’ actions as “cold, calculating and showed a total disregard for human souls.” There is a special place in hell for Towns and her cohorts, but before they get there they will have to make a stop at their final resting place and hopefully they will not encounter the same kind of cruelty that they freely dealt out.

Al Sharpton Holds His Own Against Fox News Bill O’Reilly

Tonight while channel surfing I came across Rev. Al Sharpton on the O’Reilly Factor. He was defending statements that he made at the Jackson memorial service. O’Reilly said that he made Jackson sound like some kind of civil rights worker. O’Reilly said he seemingly equated Jackson’s contribution to the that of  Martin Luther King. Sharpton said that Michael Jackson did bring people together like King did and his talent opened doors for others to enter the music industry. Sharpton also took on Rep. Peter King for calling Michael Jackson a child molester. Sharpton said the matter had been adjudicated and Jackson was acquitted on all charges and it was irresponsible for King to make the statement. This did not stop O’Reilly who continued on to another insane tangent when he asked how could the black community view Jackson as an icon since he had white kids? The look on Sharpton’s face said it all. How many white people have adopted black children and no one ever questioned their status as a white person. Madonna and Angelina Jolie come to mind. Sharpton looked at O’Reilly as if the man was crazy, and only a crazy person  would make a statement like this one. Sharpton said that was Jackson’s personal choice and had nothing to do with his iconic status. Then O’Reilly pulled out the OJ card and said OJ won a Heisman does that make him a hero? Sharpton asked what does OJ have to do this? O’Reilly did not immediately respond because OJ has nothing to do with this it just was an opportunity to bring up an infamous black man. Over the past two weeks I have developed new respect for Rev. Sharpton.  He has shown that he has the ability to hold his own no matter who is hurling the accusations, and tonight he more than held his own against Bill O’Reilly.

It’s 2009 not 1959, and Philly Kids Are Kicked Out of Pool Because they Might “Change the Complexion of the Pool”

It’s 2009 and 60 campers from Northeast Philadelphia were asked to leave a private swim club. Members feared that the black kids might do harm to their children. The Creative Steps Day Camp paid $1900 to the Valley Swim Club for use of their facilities during the summer. The Valley Swim Club is a private club that advertises open membership. Dymire Baylor one of the campers said, “I heard this lady, she was like, ‘Uh, what are all these black kids doing here?’ She’s like, ‘I’m scared they might do something to my child.” “When the minority children got in the pool all of the Caucasian children immediately exited the pool,” Horace Gibson, parent of a day camp child, wrote in an email. “The pool attendants came and told the black children that they did not allow minorities in the club and needed the children to leave immediately.” When pool officials were asked for an explanation they were told John Duesler, President of the Valley Swim Club said, “there was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion … and the atmosphere of the club.” So for those of you that say we are living in a post-racial society….THINK AGAIN!!!

The Long Goodbye is Over…Michael Jackson Can Now RIP

Today I sat in the Memphis Airport and watched the memorial service for the King of Pop. It was strange to see so many people transfixed as they watched. Seeing Michael Jackson’s casket brought it all home. Our heads knew Michael had died but the finality of seeing the casket brought the truth to our hearts. It has been almost two weeks since his death, and we have watched endless tributes and analysis ad nauseum, but today we witnessed the end of an era. We were electrified by Rev. Al, we shed a tear as Queen Latifah read the poem written by Maya Angelou, and we laughed when Berry Gordy recalled his first meeting with the future superstar, and finally our hearts broke as his daughter Paris told us about the wonderful father she will miss. It was a day we will always remember because the world moved as if the King of Pop had choreographed the steps. We were one on this day. He brought ebony and ivory together for one last time.

Congressman Peter King Guilty of Hatespeak

Michael Jackson settled out of court in the early nineties when he was accused of child abuse. In 2005 he was acquitted of all charges. This would mean he is and was not guilty. Jackson exercised poor judgment when dealing with children but he was not a pedofile or a molester. So to hear Congressman King’s hateful tirade one has to wonder what was his motivation? He like so many others wants to attach themselves to Michael Jackson. This guy while known as a conservative Republican in New York was not a household name, but now he is. He is the man that called the late superstar a pervert and tried to say he felt we should be honoring the men and woman that serve our country and not Jackson. It galls me when someone utters hateful words and then tries to cloak them in patriotism. King achieved his goal we all are talking about him and he is now another pathetic person just trying to get a little of the Jackson spotlight.

MSNBC Second Banana Courtney Hazlett and Willie Geist Dismiss Al Sharpton

Yesterday Rev. Al Sharpton complained about how the media has been covering the death of Michael Jackson. Sharpton said that in the past criticism of fallen stars did not happen until after the celebrity had been buried. Jackson’s death is almost a sidenote in some of the stories as the press salaciously cover the drug angle of the story. On MSNBC Morning Joe second bananas, Courtney Hazlett and Willie Geist, took exception to Sharpton and Hazlett said she felt the media had been handling the Jackson affair with kid gloves. She said they barely covered the sexual molestation charges and she went on to say the media created Al Sharpton. She went a little too far in her characterization of Rev. Al as a media creation. Rev. Al was front an center in defense of Abner Louima who was raped by the NY police and it was Rev. Al who brought the Jena 6 case to the national stage. Hazlett and Geist would have been within their rights to disagree with Sharpton but the fact is before I ever heard of Willie Giest or Courtney Hazlett I knew who Rev. Al was.

Why Did Sarah Palin Quit?

It was a surprise to hear Sarah Palin quit today. She made her announcement on a holiday weekend when all the political talking heads are hobnobbing at the Hamptons. Say what you want about her but she is politically savvy. She is getting ready for 2012 and she knows her work in Alaska is finished. In making her announcement she took a swipe at the press. In the Memphis Commercial Appeal today ironically columnist Jonah Goldberg advised the governor to stay home and study. He said she needs to learn to pick her battles.  Goldberg said“for starters, every time I see you on TV you’re whining are about unfair press coverage. Much of it is unfair, and some deserves response. But it’s not presidential. It’s not gubernatorial. You are constantly taking the bait, taking up the fights your biggest fans want you to take up.” The key to winning is increasing the fan base and that will not happen if she does not stay home and study.

Mark Sanford Needs to Simply Stop Talking

Gov. Sanford needs to simply stop talking. He has admitted his affair. He has admitted that he has almost crossed the line with other women and he has called his mistress his soul mate. Please Governor, enough already. This man has just simply revealed too much of his personal business to us. To call a woman other than your wife your soul mate almost dooms any chance of reconciliation. When you listen to this man you can hear the pain in his voice. You have to wonder what does he want to achieve. He is not running for anything so why does he have the need for this very public purging? In the AP report Sanford said “This was a whole lot more than a simple affair this was a love story,” A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day.” This is not the kind of conversation that a politician should be having with a reporter, and it is hardly the kind of conversation that a man should be having if his intent is to reunite with his family.

July/August Ebony Signals the Beginning of the End

On newstands today you can find the new Ebony. Instead of being for the month of July it is the July/August edition. This does not bode well for print media. Combining months indicates falling ad revenue and that signals a company in trouble. We recently learned Vibe magazine is shutting down and it  used to be the go to magazine for urban issues. “The print advertising collapse hit Vibe hard, especially as key ad categories like automotive and fashion, which represented the bulk of our top 10 advertisers, have stopped advertising or gone out of business,” said company source. Quincy Jones , one of the creators of the magazine called Time Warner and expressed an interest in buying the company. The fact is as we become more and more digital  magazines that used to grace the coffee table will simply become artifacts.