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David Duke Calls New RNC Chair ‘Radical Black Racist’

David Duke, former Grand Dragon of the KKK and former Republican congressman from Louisiana isn’t happy about the GOP’s new choice for chairman of the Republican National Committee.  I wonder why…

I got the news from www.BlackVoices.com on Twitter, but I had to go to the horse’s mouth to check it out.

Sure enough, Duke calls former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele “Obama Junior” and “a radical Black Racist”.  He blasts Steele for his pro-affirmative action stance, his opposition to assault weapons and his opposition to the death penalty.

More pointedly, Duke attacks the Republican party for betraying the Republican base.   According to the blog post on his site, Duke told the Washington Post:

I am glad these traitorous leaders of the Republican Party appointed this Black racist, affirmative action advocate to the head of the Republican party because this will lead to a huge revolt among the Republican base. As a former Republican official, I can tell you that millions of rank-and-file Republicans are mad as hell and aren’t going to take it anymore! We will either take the Republican Party back over the next four years or we will say, “To Hell With the Republican Party!” And we will take 90 percent of Republicans with us into a New Party that will take its current place!

Is Duke right?  Many people on the left have accused the Republican Party of racism over the years.  Surely the election of Michael Steele is a political move designed to erase that image and attract more Blacks and other minorities to the GOP.  Continue reading

Death of Sam?

Is the United States in danger of collapse?  A Russian academic and a now defunct Nashville hip hop group say it is possible.

It’s really hard to stay positive with so much bad news flying about.  So the apocalyptic overtones of a December article in the Wall Street Journal entitled ‘As if Things Weren’t Bad Enough, Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S.’ certainly aren’t helping to brighten my day.

However, daily accounts of the economic implosion we are enduring hit much closer to home now.  The signs have been prevalent here in Detroit for quite some time, but even more people are losing their jobs amid what is now a global economic crisis.  Can we even consider the possibility that the United States as we know it may soon disappear from the face of the map? Continue reading

Obama Sides With Bush on Spying

In case you missed it amid the flurry of activity around the White House this week, this tidbit from Wired.com:

The Obama administration fell in line with the Bush administration Thursday when it urged a federal judge to set aside a ruling in a closely watched spy case weighing whether a U.S. president may bypass Congress and establish a program of eavesdropping on Americans without warrants.

In a filing in San Francisco federal court, President Barack Obama adopted the same position as his predecessor.

While the new president has taken a few positive steps to reverse some Bush doctrines since his inauguration on Tuesday, in this case Obama shows that he defends and agrees with the previous administration’s illegal wiretapping.  We should also assume that he will continue it. Continue reading

Secret Service on Vacation?

What is lost in all the hoopla over paparazzi pics of Barack Obama’s physique is this question:

If a photographer got to within 150 feet  of the president-elect to snap this photo, he was close enough to fire a rifle.  Where was the Secret Service??

This photo essay of the Obama family’s vacation and G.W.’s reliance on his cat-like reflexes when dodging Muntadhir Al-Zaidi’s size 10s make us wonder whether the Secret Service’s presidential details have themselves been on vacation over the past couple of weeks.

The photo agency who snapped the shots says security was well aware of the photographer’s presence, and assumes that the Obamas were in the know as well: Continue reading

Can You Say ‘War Crime’?

Can they really get away with this?

In an interview with ABC News, Dick Cheney admitted that he authorized and supported the practice of waterboarding on Guantanamo detainees.

The world has condemned  this form of torture for centuries.  After World War II, the United States prosecuted Japanese soldiers who used the technique, and convicted them as war criminals.

How can the people of the United States allow Dick Cheney and George W. Bush to arrogantly flaunt their crimes in our faces?

We should be embarrassed and ashamed, and we are accessories to the crime if we don’t do something about it. Continue reading

MI 2008: Looking Back, Looking Forward

Nadir's MTV Street Team '08 Profile

Michigan in 2008. There were complex challenges and dramatic stories everywhere, from the “Uncommitted” Democratic primary to the landslide in November.

While covering the state for MTV’s Emmy-winning Choose or Lose Street Team ’08, I came to appreciate the soul and grit of Michigan’s people in new ways. Here’s a look back at my attempt to record history in the making.

VIDEO: We’ve Got The Power! Who Knew?

Nadir's MTV Street Team '08 ProfileMore than anything, the historic 2008 elections and Barack Obama’s election day victory were a testament to the power and the promise of democracy in the United States of America.  In the face of long lines, dirty politics, threatened voter suppression, and the legacy of racism, the will of the American people ruled the day and made history.

And what was the deciding factor?  Young people and African Americans – two groups that historically don’t exercise the right – discovered politics.

Young folks and black folks have always complained that voting doesn’t change America, and to a degree that’s correct.  Voting by itself has never changed anything. Continue reading

David Swanson: How and Why I Just Voted

From AfterDowningStreet.org:

Having spent the past several years trying to end wars and militarism, I have just voted for a presidential candidate who seems intent on expanding them.

Having won the Democratic primary largely on the strength of his extremely limited and inconsistent opposition to the war on Iraq, Senator Barack Obama chose as his running mate Senator Joe Biden, a man who had led efforts in the U.S. Senate to support the invasion. Obama’s staff have told reporters that he is inclined to keep Robert Gates on as Secretary of War (or “Defense”) — exactly the same plan proposed by Senator John McCain’s campaign. Continue reading

Young MI Republican Predicts Strong GOP Performance

Nadir's MTV Street Team '08 ProfileOriginally Published at Think.MTV.com

Don’t get it twisted. John McCain did not pull out of Michigan, and Republicans are going to make a strong showing in races across the state. That note of confidence comes from Central Michigan University senior Dennis Lennox.

The 24 year-old Lennox has been working for McCain and other GOP candidates throughout northern Michigan. He’s running the Republican Party office in his county, and in addition, he is the Republican candidate for Cheboygan County Drain Commissioner. Continue reading

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