Filed under: World Watch, BlackSpin, News

For we in the Pan-African diaspora, the election of a black President of the United States has been something for us all to celebrate. But there are those who, despite our apparent victory, still don't have much to be happy about.

It's not new news to you that the tiny nation of Haiti is, and for years has been, in desparate trouble. The only reason it has survived is because of the fortitude of its people over the past two centuries. But things keep going from bad to worse for the nation, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic.

Ravaged with poverty, hunger, and constantly beset by hurricanes, the latest tragedy is the collapse of a school there that killed 94 children because of the poor building construction allowed by lax enforcement of standards and a poor national infrastructure.

Now there's news of a second school collapsed in Haiti this week. ...



It's time we black folk started adopting a global view and started looking at ourselves as citizens of an Africus Mundi and reach out to places that need help in becoming self-sufficient. Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the world because for so long it has been mired in internal strife, poverty, disease and hunger, much more so than its neighbors in the Caribbean.

The solution for any country to get out of poverty is to create an infrastructure that grows and strengthens resources that in turn establishes the ability to form markets to trade with other nations at a profit. Haiti, while a strong culture, has been hindered in its growth. But there is a chance to help the nation get out of the tempest it has found itself in over the past several generations.

The charities below are involved in helping the nation by establishing micro enterprises, providing clean drinking water, medicines, and sustainable development.

+ The Lambi Fund of Haiti
+ Yele Haiti
+ The Mangrove Fund
+ Hope For Haiti
+ Haiti Action Committee

 

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Barack Obama will become the 44th president of the United States and the first African American to hold the office.

A day before an historic election that could make him president of the United States, Senator Barack Obama's maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has passed away.

 

Finally, the candidates have reached the end of the home stretch, the end of the campaign trail and, for one of them, the beginning of four years as President of the United States.

Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, News, Sarah Palin

In the latest example of what she calls "gotcha journalism," Sarah Palin just got pwned by a third grader whose biased temerity compelled him to ask, "What does the vice-president do?" Mrs. Palin's answer:

PALIN: That's something that Piper would ask me! ... [T]hey're in charge of the U.S. Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom. SOURCE

Um nope. That's not it. Wrong answer.
From Thinkprogress.org

Article I of the Constitution establishes an exceptionally limited role for the Vice President - giving the office holder a vote only when the Senate is "equally divided": The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. Moreover, the U.S. Senate website explains that the modern role of Vice Presidents has been to preside over the Senate "only on ceremonial occasions." ThinkProgress contacted Senior Assistant Parliamentarian Peter Robinson, who also disputed Palin's characterization of the Vice President's role: In modern practice the Vice President doesn't really control the Senate. ... If anyone has a responsibility to try to govern the Senate, it's the responsibility of the two leaders.

Further, Thinkprogress spoke to Jim Manley, spokesman to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), he says:

This comment is all the more puzzling because this is at least the 2nd time she has said this. Gov Palin needs to re-read or perhaps read for the first time the Constitution. While the Vice President presides over the Senate, he or she is not in charge of it. Article 1 says The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. The Senate is part of a co-equal branch of the federal government.

PS Just a note, to the some of the Conservative "USA, USA" chanting type folks. One of my most cherished possessions is a little something I received as a birthday present from my mom last summer. It is a complete copy of the United States Constitution condensed into a 3" x 3" red leather book. Its beautiful cover is embossed with gold lettering. I keep it with me almost all the time. I wonder how many of you who chant "USA, USA" in response to protest or comments that you disagree with have ever taken the time to sit down and actually read this magnificent document? And if you have read our Constitution, how do you make sense of chanting "USA, USA" to refute opinions different from your own? I am so comforted by the fact that the candidate I am supporting for President of the United States of America was a Constitutional law professor.

PPS I am working from my local library this evening. In honor of Sarah Palin, I got a library card today.

 

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, Barack Obama, John McCain, News

"Red Meat" is a term political insiders use to describe a speech intended primarily to fire up a party's already committed supporters. Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, served up the "red meat" bloody and in big slabs during her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. She started off straightforward enough:

I accept the call to help our nominee for president to serve and defend America.

I accept the challenge of a tough fight in this election... against confident opponents ... at a crucial hour for our country.

And I accept the privilege of serving with a man who has come through much harder missions ... and met far graver challenges ... and knows how tough fights are won - the next president of the United States, John S. McCain.

But Sarah Palin soon slipped into partisan political theater with attacks on Barack Obama's integrity, record of achievement, readiness for the position of Commander-in-Chief using divisive zingers written by President Bush's former speechwriters.

This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word "victory" except when he's talking about his own campaign. But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed ... when the roar of the crowd fades away ... when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot - what exactly is our opponent's plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet?
[ ... ]
My fellow citizens, the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of "personal discovery." This world of threats and dangers is not just a community, and it doesn't just need an organizer.

Noticeably absent was any specific declaration of Palin's views on the environment, Palin's views on healthcare reform or Palin's views of how exactly we should define and measure victory in Iraq. Not a peep. Read the speech for yourself. You won't find a word about that.

And it's funny. I always think of our founding fathers as "community organizers" in the purest, proudest sense of the words. If not for those men, organizing their community, the 13 not yet colonies could not have found their way to stand up and fight against British tyranny.

Republicans can't have it both ways. Either you value individual citizens getting involved in fixing problems and accelerating positive change or you don't. Sarah Palin's divisive speech is exactly why Cindy McCain's entreaty to "put on our American hats" on Monday night rang so hollow.

 

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, Barack Obama

"Seismic" is how the pundits described Barack Obama's speech accepting the Democratic party's nomination for President of the United States.

Shaken free of my cynicism is how I feel right now. I experienced this history with Twitterfriends and my mom on Twitter. Simultaneously I was instant messaging my oldest friend, who is in all ways except biology my "sister," and who was at Mile High Stadium.

And I was also on the phone with my dear husband who is in Europe on business; we watched together. I cried less than I thought I would, but I was much more deeply moved and motivated than I anticipated. I think I needed to be sure that Barack Obama would fight to win in November. I had to be sure Barack Obama would be willing to punch back without hesitation at every insulting and diminishing John McCain/Karl Rove attack lobbed his way.

For a long time, I did not believe it was possible for Barack Obama to win the nomination. I thought Obama was too ambitious and I thought America too closed-minded to vote for this new voice. It was not only that Barack Obama self-identified as black, but that his full name is Barack Hussein Obama. I figured the first black candidate to win a major party nomination would be like Colin Powell or Condi Rice. I figured it would have to be a black person who was a self-described conservative, one who would pledge in some unspoken way not to stir things up too much.

It was another of my oldest friends, a fifty-something, white conservative Republican, political dynamo, who kept pressing her point to me that Barack Obama would indeed win the nomination. At about mid-point in the primary battle she called Obama's victory correctly. But we've flipped now. I believe he will win the presidency and she believes he cannot. This time I need to be right.

All I can know is that I will work in my little corner of the world to make sure Barack Obama wins in November. I feel like we are in a battle for the soul of America right now. I know it sounds like hyperbole, but that is actually how I feel. I want every child in this nation to have the opportunities and support I had to move from poverty to abundance. And I believe only Barack Obama will restore support for the middle class. I've already recruited some friends to volunteer for Barack Obama and I will recruit others. I will call the Obama campaign tomorrow to get busy with voter registration. And on November 4th, I will be supervising a very big precinct and I assure you no shenanigans will be taking place on my watch.

I first saw Barack Obama speak in a small room, with only a hundred or two others, about 16 months ago. He was confident, open, comfortable and whip smart. I did leave that room with my head spinning. I understand the accusations of "Obamamania" because it easy to be seduced by keen intelligence and articulated passion when we have been starving for it for the last 8 years. I am not glassy eyed anymore. I am steely and determined. No matter how this all plays out, I am determined to not be one who will say "I sat on the sidelines."

How about you?

 

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, Barack Obama, Martin Luther King Jr.

Forty five years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I have a dream speech" and changed America. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, one man with a vision exposed America's abandonment of "justice for all" and pushed basic truths into the light. Dr. King's dream, that all people would be judged "on the content of their character," proved so beautiful, so clear and so powerful, that it still echoes intact through the endless, cavernous debates about America's soul; and probably will continue to for all time. In his time, Dr. King was labeled a radical and subversive.

And tonight, Barack Obama, steps forward to accept the Democratic Party's nomination to become the President of the United States. He is the first self-identified black man to do so. By his presence and new position in society, Obama challenges us again to judge on the content of one's character and to be very clear about what truths we as Americans hold to be self evident. It is an awesome thing to witness.For some like me, still imprinted by the emotional ravages of forced busing and personal encounters with the smoke trails of enforced racial segregation; this is a moment to step up to embrace a fuller, brighter reality. My heart celebrates.

But all is not Roses or fields of abundance. I wish I could simply sit back and float on the Democratic electorate's bold accomplishment and convince myself just for awhile to ignore the events that nag at my heart and my citizen's consciousness and conscience. But the urgency for honest and transparent discussion won't wait and cannot be quieted by ignoring the full dimension of Dr. King's dream and where I believe we've fallen short as a nation. I've got to do my small part to continue calling attention to injustice as I see it.

What will Barack Obama say tonight? What can he say and still be elected President? Can he talk about how the increasing militarization of law enforcement corrodes public trust and sets the foundation for increasing erosion of Constitutional freedom? Will he share any details about what his vision of a sensible, well-reasoned and humane immigration policy looks like? And if he speaks of "enforcement" would it be too much to suggest that arresting the CEO's of companies enjoying the profits of using inexpensive, unprotected labor would be the most effective action to stop the hiring of undocumented workers. Can Obama remind us that perpetual expansion of our prison industrial complex is not an honorable growth strategy for the American economy? Can he be explicit about how teachers, unions, taxpayers and parents can work together to forge a brighter future for public education?

I really don't know. What I hope for, more than anything else tonight, is that Barack Obama speaks true to whatever is in his leader's heart. This is a moment for him to step into his full measure as a man. I hope he will display the full content of his character.

 

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Filed under: BlackSpin, Barack Obama, Politics, Michelle Obama