"Bobby's Berms."

*

I want to start this post by giving a shout out to GQ Magazine for featuring the last surviving member of the original three Wailers in this latest issue of their magazine. It was a pleasant surprise to open up the pages and see my man Bunny Wailer in full effect.

Anyway, tonight I want to write about rising GOP star, Bobby Jindal. Seems my man, like so many wingnuts before him, was wrong about something else:

Remember when Jindal was ripping his O ness a new one about his administrations inactivity and incompetence during the gulf oil spill? My man even wrote a book about it and was on every wingnut talk show from California to Maine patting himself on the back and praising his skills as a governor on knowing how to get things done. Not so fast.

Now it seems that Jindal might have been wrong all along.

"The GOP's rising star, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, was the driving force behind the construction of sand berms to curb the Gulf oil spill. They were considered environmentally unsound, and a presidential commission has found that they didn't even work.

A draft of the commission's report was released yesterday, and aside from the obvious (BP), Jindal comes out looking pretty scummy. That shouldn't really shock anyone, but the particulars of the berm deal are pretty bad. So what really happened? Well, the berms cost about $220 million to build with another $140 million committed to finish the project. The report describes them as "underwhelmingly effective, and overwhelmingly expensive." The sand berm project got nearly three times more money than any other oil spill relief project in Jindal's state of Louisiana.

But how does Jindal himself feel about the berms' effectiveness? According to Bloomberg, on November 15, Jindal appeared on the Today Show touting the project's effectiveness: "The reality is, it worked. And the reality is, it prevented that oil from getting into the wetlands 15 to 20 miles away." Hmm. How well did it work? According to the presidential commission's report, the berms only stopped about 1,000 barrels of oil... out of about 5 million barrels that were spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. Nice try, Bobby!

And Jindal could have listened to skeptical experts during a June meeting to weight the pros and cons of moving ahead with the project. According to the report, "A Coast Guard officer present at the summit offered a similar [dismal] assessment. According to that officer, the experts ‘all said it's pretty crummy' and offered no ‘glowing endorsements' of berms as a spill response measure." That sure doesn't sound like something a fiscally responsible Republican would get behind.

Jindal responded with a typically shitty statement, calling the report "partisan revisionist history at taxpayer expense," which means we can call Bobby's Berms "the result of very little scientific evidence, at the environment, and people of Louisiana's expense," right? So, to all of the Gulf residents struggling to squeeze money out of BP in the wake of the oil spill, you can thank Bobby Jindal for sucking up hundreds of millions of dollars for a joke of a relief project." [Article]

What a fraud! It just goes to show you that you can't trust a wingnut with anything having to do with science.

Finally, I would like to invite all of you reading this to come to Philadelphia and see the "President's House "display. If you are a student of real history it will be worth the trip.

* Pic lifted from Gawker.com

First they took our clippers....

To all you brothers in central Florida getting your domes clipped in barber shops, please consider buying some clippers and learning to cut from the comfort of your homes.

Honestly, I have to ask: Is there no place sacred for brothers anymore? It used to be that the barber shop was our refuge. A place we could get together and bond. Cut up. Practice our own form of therapy with each other. But, sadly, if you are in central Florida, you might no longer enjoy the black barber shop experience.

"A while back, some black barbers in central Florida must have felt like they fell asleep – and woke up in 1833.

In Alabama.

That was the year when that Confederate state – as well as a number of others – passed codes that forbade five or more black male slaves from assembling. Such laws were aimed at discouraging slaves from plotting revolts, or sharing wisdom, or bonding too much for their masters’ comfort.

More than a century has passed since then, and black men have been gathering all over the place; at lodges, at the post and especially at the barber shop.

That’s where they get a haircut, where they take sons and grandsons to get their first haircuts, where they talk about the news of the day, and where they dispense wisdom and talk trash.

But nowadays, this misguided War on Drugs seems to have given law enforcement free rein to do what slave owners and Bull Connor once did: To act on stereotypes instead of evidence; to automatically see a bunch of proud and often boisterous black men as being up to no good.

At least that seems to be what’s been happening in Orlando.

Officers with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office raided some 40 barber shops in black and Latino neighborhoods between August and September. Rather than go through the trouble of obtaining search warrants, they tagged along with inspectors from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to enter the shops.

To hear the barbers and customers tell it, what happened next was nothing short of a nightmare.

According to the Orlando Sentinel and other news outlets, witnesses said the officers conducted SWAT-style raids on the shops, complete with police dogs and, in some cases, drawn weapons.

In some shops, barbers were forced to lie on the floor and submit to pat-down searches. Drawers and lockers were pried open with bars and a battering ram, and extensive damage was done.

Lawyers representing the barbers said that customers, including those who were in the middle of getting haircuts, were ordered out of the shop, and criminal checks were run on them.

After all that humiliation, however, only three drug-related crimes were uncovered. But dozens of barbers were arrested and jailed for minor license infractions – and, for extra fun, were driven around in police vans as they moved on to raid other black barber shops.

Keep in mind that only three barbers in the past decade have been arrested for license violations. Most get a citation and a $500 fine.

To his credit Jerry Demings, Orange County’s black sheriff, has ordered an internal investigation of the raids and has said that the license arrests were overkill. The DBPR has fired three officials involved." [Story]

Maybe some over zealous inspector mistook shaving cream for cocaine one day, and things kind of went down hill from there. Or, maybe you Negroes are up to something in those barber shops. All that laughing and joking around has to be artificially induced. You black men are never happy.

The chase continues.

Things seem to intensify during the holiday season. People's emotions tend to get the better of them, and their true feelings always comes out. It's why my man racism works in overdrive around this time. But I have no problem with chasing his ass around the room and shining a light on him when he stops. The trick is to find the real Mr. R, and not fall for the fake ones like this author did.

Dateline Indiana:

"A business owner in Nobesville, Inidana has been selling soap with racist slogans. Residents of his town have come to support him after he was criticized for the racist soap. Fox 59 Reports:

The controversy over soap with racist labels being sold at a Noblesville store continues. In addition to those who are offended by the store selling these items, there is also growing support for the vendor who has been ordered to take the soaps off the shelves or face eviction.

After hearing about the soap, Carolyn Gentner bought two bars including one labeled “Kolored Kids.”

“I don’t think they’re offensive, I think they’re nostalgic,” she told Fox59 News. “I believe if this is going to be an issue, we should be in Kroger for selling Aunt Jemima syrup. " [Story]

"Growing support", indeed. Oh for those good ole days.

Dateline Illinois:

"CHICAGO-Chicago Sun-Times) A 4-year-old boy was Duct-Taped at the Pui Tak Christian School, in Chicago Illinois and the boy’s parents, Harold and Cara Irving, who are African-American, are claiming that race was a factor. The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

“I received a call from the school informing me that my son was in the principal’s office because he refused to take a nap, and he didn’t want to wash his hands,” Irving told me.

“I told them that I would come and pick him up. I arrived shortly after that and found him standing there with his hands duct-taped together.”

“She told me that I have to tell my son that it is not acceptable not to listen, and this is how it ends up with kids getting guns,” Irving said.

“My reaction was: ‘Are you kidding me. Is this what you think of little black kids?’ ”

Irving said he’s also concerned that school administrators treated his son like a criminal, thus reinforcing the stereotype that young black males are dangerous.

“I can’t think of any other race that they would have done this to,” Irving said. “If we don’t stop stereotyping and demoralizing black boys, we will precipitate the stereotype. We have to send a message that this is unacceptable for anyone’s child.” [Story]

Momma don't let your sons grow up to be Negroes.

Still, I don't know; it doesn't seem that anybody is safe in A-merry-ca these days.

Troy Dale's revenge.

AOL.Black Voices, you are killing me with material tonight. (No, not this clown, he is just looking for attention. *Yawn*)

I think I will start down in that beautiful state of Georgia:

A white man from Georgia who beat a black female Army reservist as her young child looked on and begged him to stop has been released from jail early.

Troy Dale West (pictured above) had only been sentenced to six months in prison for beating Tasha Hill (pictured below), after they had words while both trying to enter a Cracker Barrel restaurant.

West allegedly punched Hill in the face, kicked her as she fell to the ground and yelled racial epithets.

An early release for a man who beat a woman-one who is serving our country no less- in front of her child while screaming racial epithets? Nice. (I know slave catchers and house servants, she had it coming. You can't just go walking around looking like a victim.)

"The sheriff in Clayton County, Georgia, said West received two days of time served credit for every day he painted trailers. He also acknowledged receiving pressure from West's friends to release him early, but said he did not relent. "

You can't make this stuff up. What gets me is not the ignorant racist who attacked this woman. I expect that in A-merry-ca. What is troubling is the justice system, once again, failing one of its citizens. It would have been nice if the folks in Clayton, Georgia decided to send a message to Mr. Deliverance. But I guess the sheriff wanted to get reelected. Old Troy Dale must have had a lot of friends. [Story]

Finally, you Negroes can pat yourselves on the back for contributing to modern science here in A-merry-ca:

"University of Illinois professor Deborah McGregor has shed light on an important piece of American history. McGregor has noted that Dr. James Marion Sims, considered the father of modern gynecology, developed many of his techniques by operating on slaves, many of whom were not given anesthesia.

McGregor, author of 'From Midwives to Medicine: The Birth of American Gynecology,' said "There is no doubt that he carried out experiments on women, and that he was only able to do so because they were slaves."

Part of the controversy regarding Sims centers around a statue placed near Fifth Avenue and 103rd Street in New York City. The statue is located next to the New York Academy of Medicine, in a neighborhood that is majority black and Puerto Rican. EastHarlemPreservation.org put a poll on its Website that asks: "Should the NYC Parks Department remove the statue of Dr. Marion Sims from its East Harlem location considering his experiments on female and infant slaves?"

Child birth without anesthesia? Goodness! How did Dr. Sims look into the eyes of those poor women? [Story]

I bet Troy Dale West would have made a great assistant to the good doctor.

Oprah, next time take in a nice game of Cricket.

How is this for irony? So Ms. O's peeps were upset when she visited a doll shop "down under" and found "Mamee dolls" for sale.

This is ironic, because some would argue that part of the reason for Ms. O's allure and staying power is because millions of suburban housewives who are her loyal viewers tune in because of a certain....how do I say this? "Mamee" comfort level.

"As part of her Australian adventure, for some reason Oprah Winfrey thought it was important for her lucky troupe of 300 viewers to visit the Dafel Dolls And Bear Shop in Melbourne. Who knows? Perhaps this store has a cultural legacy that makes it of critical importance to visit when one goes to Australia. But Ms. Winfrey was shocked and disturbed when her producers discovered that this store makes some of its money by promoting one of the most unflattering stereotypes of black women in history: the mammy. Yet, she visited the store anyway. Hip Hop Wired offers a summary of what occurred:

An Australian store was forced to remove seemingly racist dolls called "Mamee Dolls" to prepare for a visit from Oprah Winfrey.

As previously reported, Winfrey and her audience on an eight-day Aussie adventure as part of her 'Favorite Things' segment give-away.

According to the Herald Sun, the talk show mogul and her 300 guests were scheduled to visit The Dafel Dolls And Bear Shop in Melbourne when her producers requested that the store's "Mamee" dolls be removed from the shelves.

The Mamee dolls show a dark skinned African-American woman with red lipstick, wearing a maid costume and a scarf around her head.

The store owner reportedly obliged and the dolls were removed." [Story]

A couple of questions: Why was Ms. Winfrey "shocked and disturbed"? Does she really believe that the world that exists on the set of Harpo Productions- where all those white assistants fawn over her is the real world? Second question: Why did the store owner remove his/her Mamees just to accommodate Ms. O? Is he/she not going to put them right back out after she leaves? And I know I said a couple, but I have one more: If Ms. O was so offended, why did she still go to the shop?

It's been a rough week for Ms. O. (Rough being a relative term.) Seems some folks were saying that she was trying out for The Color Purple 2 by doing a little acting when she sat down recently with Barbara Walters:

"There is no way Oprah would be able to end her 25 year run without any noise. Only two days after Oprah’s interview with Barbara Walter aired, now writer and journalist Ian Halperin, suggest that one of Oprhah’s former employees has decided to share some info on the fake tears shed during the taping…

Oprah Winfrey had a dramatic display of emotions, in an interview with Barbara Walters, when she rebutted rumors that she was in a secret lesbian relationship with BFF Gayle King.

However; investigative journalist and writer, Author Ian Halperin claims the billionaire media mogul used a special chemical so she could come across all emotional for the Barbara Walters’ interview.

“She wanted to make the interview as dramatic as possible so she could promote her new TV station,” said one of Oprah’s former employees.

“Her tears were fake. She put a chemical in her eye to make her cry. She has used that technique before on her show.” [Story]

Don't worry about the haters Ms. O. I got your back. Do you have any of those giveaways left?

Our black president: Sarah does Haiti.

I am watching "G" on the tele while I get ready for my birds. (Hey,whatever happened to Chenoa Maxwell?) I better get this post in or I won't have time to do it later.

So it finally took a Havaaad professor to tell A-merry-ca what black folks already know: that his Oness, in spite of his white mama, is black. And I know that I tease and call him the beige president and half and half, but I knew it too. Please believe that the one drop rule is still in effect here in A-merry-ca. It's why that clown who used to have the great golf game before he started playing like he was a young Hugh Hefner had us black folks laughing when he tried to come up with some exotic name to define himself. Yea right Tiger, and I am a Jamaricanegro.

Anyway, there is now academic evidence that most A-merry-cans view his O ness as a black man, first:

"A recent study out of Harvard University has concluded that the typical adult American sees mixed-race Americans like Barack Obama and Halle Berry as being more black than white. The study, conducted by Arnold K. Ho, a doctoral student of Psychology at Harvard, says that even when bi-racial people are equally mixed with both the white and black races, they are seen as being more black than white.

Ho conducted the study with James Sidanius, a Professor of Psychology and African American studies, also at Harvard.

The authors interpret their findings to relate to the "one-drop rule," based on a 1662 law in Virginia that connected mixed-race individuals to their lower social class. Even as recently as 1985, a Louisiana court ruled that a woman with a black great-great-great-great grandmother could not claim that she was white on her passport.

"One of the remarkable things about our research on hypodescent is what it tells us about the hierarchical nature of race relations in the United States," Sidanius said. "Hypodescent against blacks remains a relatively powerful force within American society."' [Source]

"Hypodescent", that's a fancy word, what dat mean?

"In societies that regard some races of people as dominant or superior and others as subordinate or inferior, hypodescent is the automatic assignment of children of a mixed union or mating between members of different socioeconomic groups or ethnic groups to the group that is considered subordinate or inferior.[1] The opposite practice is hyperdescent, in which children are assigned to the race that is considered dominant or superior.

Parallel practices include agnatic descent and cognatic descent, which assign race according to the father or mother, respectively, without regard to the race of the other parent. Since either parent (or both) might be of mixed-race, hypo- and hyper-descent can operate in tandem with, or separately from, a system of agnatic or cognatic racial assignment."

Thank you. That explains a lot.

And it's not only Obama. Halle, this means you too. I guess having that white boyfriend didn't help much.

Finally, I see where my girl Sarah is down in Haiti getting her missionary work on.
Good for her. Although I hear that her trip has more staging than a Broadway play. (Sorry folks, only FOX NEWS allowed.)

“I’ve really enjoyed meeting this community. They are so full of joy*,” . “We are so fortunate in America, and we are responsible for helping those less fortunate.”

Yes they are Sarah. They are a joyful bunch those Haitians.

Anyway Sarah, I hope you read my blog before you leave, because I have some travel tips on Haiti for you:

1. Caribou does not mean I love you in Creole.

2. Papa Doc was not the name of a famous pizza company there.

3. Port-au-Prince was not named after a famous American pop star.

4. Those little black things you see running around are children, not baby grizzly bears.

5. I know it seemed like a short flight but Haiti is not a part of Louisiana.

6. And, finally, whatever you do; please don't tell them that you are there on behalf of FOX NEWS to investigate their pact with the devil.

Go Birds!!!

A post for the adults.

It looks like terrorism has hit home for the folks in Sweden of all places. It just goes to show you that no one is safe in the world anymore. This battle for the soul of militant Islamic minds could be raging for awhile. -Coming to a town square near you. -

Anyway, tonight I want to share something I ran across while reading Slate.com and get your opinions on it. It has to do with the very serious and sensitive subject of incest and how one particular case is being prosecuted in the state of New York. Since we are all adults I figured we could discuss it and learn from each other.

"David Epstein, a 46-year old political science professor at Columbia University, has been charged with third-degree incest for allegedly having consensual sexual relations with his 24-year-old daughter. Under New York State law, a person is guilty of that crime when he or she has sex "with a person whom he or she knows to be related to him or her, whether through marriage or not, as an ancestor, descendant, brother or sister of either the whole or the half blood, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece." If the allegations are true, that would apply to Epstein—and also to his daughter. Why wasn't she charged for the crime as well?

Because she's seen as the victim. Prosecutors could have made a case against the daughter, but when it comes to incest, the authorities tend to focus on one party. In this situation, "consent" is irrelevant, since it's the act itself that constitutes the crime; and blame tends to fall on whichever half of the incestuous couple has more control. A law professor told Salon today that children are generally assumed to be part of a "protected class" even when they're above the age of consent. So the older party tends to be considered the guilty one, although in some cases—a man caring for his bedridden and elderly mother, for example—the ages of perceived control could be reversed.

In some cases, both parties are held accountable. Earlier this year, a 48-year-old man from Palm Coast, Fla., named Alton Everett Smith pleaded guilty to incest after impregnating his 27-year-old daughter. She, too, was charged with incest (after giving birth to her own half-brother) and is now serving five years of probation.* That's despite the fact that the father was clearly in control of the relationship: He was pimping her out for sex on Craigslist. According to court records, the daughter has a tattoo reading "Daddy's Girl" on her behind.

What happens in cases in which the power dynamic is less clear—as between similarly aged siblings? As a general rule, an older sibling will be in greater legal jeopardy than a younger one, and a brother gets more blame than a sister. In 2003, a football player named Tony Washington was convicted of engaging in sexual intercourse with his biological sister. At the time of the act, she was 15 and he was 16. While Washington pleaded guilty (and is now a registered sex offender) his sister was never charged." [Story]

Now before anyone goes off the rails on this and says that this is a double standard and reverse sexism run amok; I give you cases where mothers were charged with having incestuous relationships with their sons, here and here.

I am just trying to help you come to a "fair and balanced" opinion. There seems to be so little of that these days.