Vision Circle

Low Down and Foul

Coretta Scott King has been hospitalized.

Michael King, (any relation?), wrote this: "Professional widow Coretta Scott King was admitted to Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta this morning, for an undisclosed ailment."

Foul.

I'm not much on how the family tried to get money from Dr. King's works by attacking the fair use of his speeches.

I'm not much on how the family has controlled the King Center to the point of it being a disgrace because it's falling apart.

But show some class.

That was just foul.

"Just damn".

I Keep Saying

So, I'm home a little early from work, stretched out on the bed, with my headphones on, listening to sometimes talk radio. (The kid is asleep at the head of the bed, I'm at the foot of the bed).

I wake up from a catnap to hear Black people talking about the Republican vs. Democratic party thing.

One person gets his facts twisted and states "Republicans" when it should be "Democrats". The Republicans in the discussion jump on him.

Should I mention this was an all Black panel?

Anyway...

What got me is one person said that parties don't matter, it's the policies that matter.

That's where I'm at in this stage of my life.

To hell with the party labels, I'm going to support the PERSON who is saying things that most align with my views.

Alan Keyes and Michael Steele and Olympia Snowe are all in the same party. (Shouldn't Keyes be pissed about the GOP pushing Steele as a star?)

Mfume, Ford, Teddy Kennedy and Zell Miller are all in the same party.

Screw the labels, I'm staying independent and will support the person not the party.

Footnote: I find it a damn shame that some people can't handle a person being critical of a party but that not meaning that a person supports the opposition party. How many people realize that the U.S. political system is not a 2 party system, but a multi-party system with the 2 primary parties rigging the game against all other parties?

Roberts and Racial Justice

I told you so! OK, two weeks ago doesn't exactly establish my prophetic credentials, but it does suggest a useful degree vigilence outside the carefully scripted narratives of the dopamine distraction theatre of U.S. politics. Nowhere in the mainstream media do we hear anything about Supreme Court nominee Roberts record on racial justice. Trust me on this one, conservatives will continue to warm to Roberts the more they learn about his Reagan-era writings on civil rights. So-called black conservatives will predictably bite their tongues and fall in with the party line. Perhaps the conservative black afrostocracy will step up to the plate and say a little something about this nominee, but I'm not holding my breath for that deus ex machina moment.

Noam Scheiber at The New Republic has a fair amount to say about it, viewed from the perspective of a Rovian dopamine distraction programmer and gamesman....,

Ward Connerly

OK, I've been writing that Ward Connerly has taken advantage of affirmative action programs. I have no problem with people taking advantage of such programs.

I've come to understand affirmative action programs, in government contracts, as being pure set asides OR requirements that companies who win government contracts use some percentage of "disadvantaged companies" as subcontractors. Here "disadvantaged companies" tend to mean minority and/or women owned companies.

LaShawn Barber found it "repugnant" that I mention this because in previous "discussions", she has mentioned that she discussed this with him and he denied it.

So, I did some Googling...

104 & Avalon

It has been over a year since Los Angeles suspect Stanley Miller got clocked in the noggin by the LAPD. Activists have waited patiently for the police to make a big mistake and are now capitalizing on the sensation caused by the Pena Shootout.

In a Vision Circle exclusive, I have obtained photographs of the spontaneous demonstrations.

Why No Catholic Terrorism?

The London Bombings have yet to be digested and extruded by the narrative manufacturing system. There seems to have been a nasty bit or two that may prove difficult to digest - but leaving aside vast conspiracy theories for the time being - one thing for sure is that no British spin-sphincter should be so audacious as to call this bombing Islamic Terrorism. Given the decades of Catholic Terrorism which Britain experienced at the hands of the IRA without ever once stooping to such base and inaccurate propagandism to describe the same, one can only hope that British propriety will hold sway when the machine begins to extrude in earnest for sheeple consumption.

Too Much Common Sense

OK, now THIS has been what I've been trying to get at with the "Black liberal" vs. "Black libera" madness. This is true for especially the last quote.

Joseph C. Phillips nails it!

And it is not just those on the left who are guilty. There is an old saying that when you point one finger at others, you point three fingers at yourself. Those of us on the right have engaged in our share of outrageous rhetoric. I have not cut off my Democratic friends, but I cannot claim innocence. The fact that I am now mourning the loss of a cherished friend has convinced me that we must turn down the fire. Political passions run deep but what do we accomplish by raising the temperature so high that we are unable to speak to one another, no longer able to recognize each other’s humanity?

...

What is clear is that none of us has a monopoly on morality, patriotism or good ideas. It also becomes increasingly clear that our republic and the citizens therein suffer when the exchange of ideas is sacrificed in favor of overblown political rhetoric.

The Way they Do My Life

As Father's Day fades away, NYC readers were greeted with news of opulence, greed and envy. It seems that big bucks are the order of the day. I won't rush to judgment with an opinion on this in either direction - but $250k is alot of cheese. It will be interesting to see how this is handled in the judicial system. Mr. Combs may decide that the legal fees are not worth the pursuit of his definition of "justice."

She Deserves A Beat Down

The subject line says it all:

Waldorf Mother Accused of School Bus Brawling

A Charles County woman was one angry mom this week -- enraged enough to try to block her daughter's school bus, spit at the driver, pull an ice pick from her purse, and then hop on the bus's hood, police said.

The apparent reason: A driver attempted to move her daughter to a different bus seat because of the girl's alleged rowdy behavior.

Black Fortitude Questions Neocon Hegemony

Farrakhan is willing to say publicly what other black leaders only say privately.....,

Here's why Farrakhan is presently being given the anti-semitic bum's rush..., and why Foxman et al.., don't want a million person gathering or live televised C-SPAN coverage..,

~1hr 9minutes into the speech comes the black political bunker buster question for neocon hegemonic ambition - thanks to ConPermiso at P6 for a tizzight definition of hegemony.

~1hour 26minutes into the speech, the Minister's prophetic warning to the 30 recipients of Foxman's letter against the false allure of neocon $TD's.

~1hour 43minutes the Minister distinguishes between righteous defense of the nation and unrighteous defense of interests..,