Joe's Bones

In response to former President Jimmy Carter’s correct assertion that Congressman Joe Wilson’s “You Lie!” outburst was racist, Joe’s son Alan Wilson retorts: “There is not a racist bone in my dad’s body!”

Now - as far as my limited knowledge of medical history goes – there have so far been no findings of “racist bones” anywhere in the world. I am sure that if “racist bones” were ever diagnosed or unearthed, there would be a tremendous amount of media coverage, there would be a wholesale shift in the way psychiatrists would pursue the genesis of certain behaviors, and somebody would be up for a Nobel Prize.

So, until we learn more about this hypothesized connection between racism and the skeletal system, I hope Alan will stop trying to move our attention from his dad’s mind to his bones. We would like to focus on his dad’s mind. We want to do so, because his mind informs his politics. And this is only because his big mouth gave us a glimpse of the possibility of racism harbored in his mind, not his bones.

This is not to say we are not open to other possibilities. Obviously, Alan does not think anything came from Daddy Joe's bones. But hey, maybe it did. If it can be proven that the excited racism that was hurled like putrefying vomit out of his dirty mouth, originated from his bones, rather than his Confederacy infected brain – we may have a real medical anomaly on our hands. And - check this! A good excuse too! "Hey people - It WAS the bones - after all." This is something that needs to looked-at, studied closely, and heavily researched. The due diligence on this must be done before we eliminate his bones as a possible cause of his impolite eruption.

Knowing Congressman Wilson as being a “patriotic” American, and with that, I am sure, sincerely wanting America to be ahead in all things – including groundbreaking medical research. I can assume he would love to expedite good research findings by offering himself up for dissection – you know, for the sake of American leadership! Can’t I?

My associates don’t think he will do that.

Alan Wilson also said that: “He doesn’t even laugh at distasteful jokes.” Now, I would not doubt that, he seems to be an OK guy in certain quarters, but that statement does not mean much to the rest of us. The rest of us do not have any comprehensive insight on what Joe Wilson actually considers distasteful. But we can surmise a few things regarding what he does NOT consider "distasteful." Those few things that can be surmised were gleaned from his political history and recent events.

Now – we and the world saw he does not consider it distasteful to shout disparagingly at THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, in the House Chamber, during a major Presidential address. We got this – it’s on tape. He also does not consider it distasteful to belong to or be friendly with, certain white supremacy organizations, like the Sons of Confederate Veterans. We know this - it's on Wikipedia.

He did not consider it distasteful to defend the Confederacy, and the flying of the racist Confederate flag on top of the South Carolina State Capitol – despite the fact that ninety-nine percent of the state’s Black population (also known as citizens) found THAT distasteful. We know this too - it's in several newspapers.

But – I am not so sure about Congressman Wilson when it comes to matters of actual, pinpoint identifiable taste. I am not one to criticize what different people consider beautiful or acceptable. But I would not be surprised to find one of those velvet Elvis paintings in his living room. I would not be surprised to find rope, kerosene, handcuffs, bats, and chain in his shed, and I would not be surprised to find one of his closets full of white, bedsheet-like clothing.

I also would not be surprised to find that the jokes I find “distasteful” are not the jokes he finds “distasteful.” Alan, unfortunately, could not tell us who was telling the jokes, or exactly what kind of jokes Daddy Joe finds "distasteful." Aside from that - we need to find out about those bones. "Racist bones!" Man! Talk about a scientific coup!

Once we vote him out of office, we can make sure he remains useful, and famous, and gone, by checking him into the nearest medical research facility.

Doctors - sharpen your knives!!!

No Visits to the South

Mr. President. Don't make the same mistake John F. Kennedy did. Stay out of the South.

Apology Not Accepted

Joe "You Lie" Wilson

09/09/2009. The supremacists in the Republican Party are so utterly disrespectful, rabid, ignorant, and entitled – they cannot even maintain proper decorum when THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES is addressing a joint session of congress.

1. Superasshole conservative instigator House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va, while THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES was speaking, along with about ten other stupid Republican congressmen and senators - had his overgrown head down the entire speech. He was texting and playing with his Blackberry. Who knows what else he was playing with?

2. Each time THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES made a point worthy of applause, instead of doing so, the Republicans would hold up copies of their (blank) “healthcare reform bill” to protest the detailed outline of reform that THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES was giving in his speech. While I watched, I wished I could run down the line of those guys, with a stiff, ready, properly positioned palm, and – just slap the shit out of each one of them – you know, Three Stooges style.

3. Then we had the venerable Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C. who stole the show, with his sincere and heartfelt “YOU LIE!!!” That voice - heard loud and clear, swiftly piercing through the dignified air of the House Chamber. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave him the glare of death. The Democrats were off-put by the loss of civility. And the pack of dogs known as “The Republicans” turned on him, like a pack of dogs – and forced him to apologize. And he did apologize within hours of the outburst, issued a statement, said a contrite word to the cameras – you know, the usual process when a politician fucks-up. And it was not even a real apology. It was one of those fill-in-the-blanks type deals that his staff keeps on file, in case of emergency.

Now, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES is a really nice guy. He is nice, partly because he really is, and partly because he is procedurally cognizant, and he wisely considers the complexities of the political process. THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES accepted his apology, in his usual gracious and accommodating way.

Wonderful.

Now check this out. I am not a politician (I bet you can tell by the way I write). I am a citizen, a voter, and a Democrat of color. And even though, over the years, I have said many disparaging things about policies and words that emanate from The White House; my sincere disrespect has always been directed toward policies and words, not against the Office of the President, or against the person of The President. Not even with our last President [George W. Bush].

I don’t accept his apology – and you should not either.

Rep. Wilson feels that because THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES is a Black person, he has the latitude and the whiteness to insult this man whenever and wherever he likes. And because he is white – this is supposed to be acceptable. In some areas of this country, it is acceptable. But for the rest of us real Americans that find this particular sort of anti-American behavior reprehensible, censure is just the start. I am mailing him some moving boxes in the morning. He needs to look for another job.

He has insulted – not just Black people, but all people of color who deign to run for office. He has insulted the processes of democracy. He has insulted The Office of the President. He has insulted the Congress. He has insulted the electorate. He has insulted the protocols of the Congress. He has insulted the Democratic Party. He has insulted the best image of America around the world.

That man should be hounded, blogged, cable-newsed, op-edded, talk-radioed, and processed repeatedly through that big media machine – yes, the mean looking one in the corner – until he is ground to dust. Then we can take our broom and dustpan, sweep him up, and dump him permanently into the trashcan.

That dirty Republican bastard unjustly insulted THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. He is over - gone. I will be sending a check(s) to his midterm opponent, Democrat Rob Miller. If Mr. Miller needs me to canvas, or assist with any get-out-the-vote efforts for him, I will go. That man [Wilson] must not ever set foot in the U.S. Capitol again.

I wish Black people were as unforgiving as some other groups, when white folks trespass on their dignity. There would be a lot less of this trespassing mess going on. Other groups feel they can just insult us with no consequences (The output from Hip Hop artists have not helped in this area). And most of the time, insulters don’t get any consequences. This would have never happened if that were a white President speaking. Could you imagine the heated news cycles, if a Black congressman had done that to a white President?

We need to wear his ass out, the same way they [whites] would wear one of us out if the situation were reversed. We need to wear his ass out to the point that he becomes thoroughly cracked. So cracked, and dislocated, he starts sucking his thumb, and dragging around a dirty blanket, and shouting profound stuff at folks on the street like: “Repent infidels!!! Fred Flintstone IS the messiah!!!”

Unquote. I am sober serious and ugly angry to the core.

I am going to keep up with this guy, and I will continue to blog, and complain, about this loud-mouthed motherfucker - until he is gone.

Letter? No... Tear that shit up... APOLOGY NOT ACCEPTED.

Black folks, don’t just be mad; let us do everything we can to get him out of office. There is nothing like organized fire. Write, blog, e-mail, complain to your local congressman, petition, and send campaign contributions to the opponent of your choice. And to those Black folks in the 2nd Congressional District of South Carolina: Do the whole country a favor, and please, vote this bastard out.

A Question

Why are you Black pastors so friendly with openly racist polititians and clergymen (racist - meaning against African-Americans - meaning the only good nigger is a dead nigger type mentality), because they say we are supposed to share certain "values?" Do we really share the "values" of the Right? Could you repeat to me what "values" we Black folks are supposed to share with those people? And if there are possibly any "values" we don't share (like having us back as slaves), that you know of, could you please enumerate those.

For You Michael Steele - No Difference

Sir, your fellow Republicans and their low-minded town hall racists are so anti-American (meaning to be against American citizens of color for just breathing) - they would treat any president of color in the disrespectful way they have treated this one - even if he were Republican. Don't you see this? Your white Republican associates know they are being incendiary. There is nothing they would enjoy more than the assassination of this president. It seems like they are doing everything they can to make that happen.

The only reason they made you chairman of the RNC is because it was expedient. Republicans are good at window dressing. So - this is conservatism, huh? OK. You Black Republicans are not safe from racist murder - they would do the same to you. Your well-professed ideology does not provide you with any protection from the supremacists.

Don't fool yourself.

Lakeisha's Of The World - Unite!

I am an explicit advocate of rights of all kinds. I think that the arc of the United States bends towards the freer exercise of all rights. Be they women’s, civil, gay, disabled or any number of other rights that I can’t think of now. The potential for the further flowering of rights comes from the amendable nature of a constitution that can be interpreted with increasing clarity and fairness as society becomes more enlightened.

One right that is truly inalienable, at least in this country, is the right to name oneself and one’s children. I am not one of those Black folks that will say you should name your children with so-called “normal” or “regular” sounding names, like Robert or William, Mary or Catherine. We have already been through the forced naming thing historically, when we were brought here as slaves. Once we landed on these shores, a lying, mean, parasitic, white, Christian degenerate – also known as a slave master, re-named every one of our great-grandparents “Toby." They were instructed by death threat not to ever indicate their own selves by the parent-given name of “Kunta Kinte” again.

So – apparently this naming thing is real important.

Move the clock forward to the 20th century. And we have an individual now formerly known as Cassius Clay, that lost his attachment to a name that originated from dual sources. “Cassius” was a Greek sourced name that was given to him by his parents. “Clay” (origin - English) was his surname – inherited through his family tree, originally "gifted" to his great-grandparents from their original owners. At a certain point – he decides to change his name to Muhammad Ali. OK, big deal, so what. My dumb ass, I figure if the guy wants to be called this, rather than that – what is the problem. Right? "50 cent" - right?

Well – there was a multi-part problem in this. First, the reason he wanted to change his name, was because in 1964 he became a member of a “controversial” organization that some say, “preached hate.” Also known as “The Nation of Islam.” In some quarters, that organization is still “controversial.” But you know – in this country, any group of Black people that are not fighting each other, or, horrors – trying to do something constructive, is always going to be looked upon as “controversial,” even by some Black folks.

One day, I was having coffee and conversation with four other Black brothers at an outdoor café in the Gold Coast area of Chicago. From the way some white folks were looking at us - that was “controversial.” No way to get around that.

Second – he made the choice of changing his “good – American name” to a “foreign” name. “And a Aaay-raab name on top of that!” White folks would say: “What is wrong with that NIGGER (oops – y’all know I didn’t mean that), uh, I mean guy.” “Ain’t his American name good enough for him?” Black folks would say: “What is he trying to say?” Well he was trying to say a lot – too much for me to go into on this posting. But everything he was saying, through the name-change, and otherwise, a lot of people, both Black and white, did not like what they were hearing – for a plethora of reasons.

His name – which is meant to be said, also became, letter by letter, a silent testament, to the loud and egregious injustices being committed on Black people, at that time, in this country.

Third – he made the choice to exercise sovereignty over himself, without “permission.” It is very important for Black people to put “permission” at the top of the checklist – if they plan to make any substantive changes regarding what they want to be called, or if they want to change their way of thinking, or if they want to think, etc.

"Jack!!! That nigger Leroy is thinking again!"

Doing stuff without “permission” – you can invite trouble. Many Blacks still don’t understand that our “American” surnames were never meant to convey lineage. That’s why white folks never invite Black folks to the Johnson, or Williams, or Robinson family reunions – even though they are (likely) blood kin. Those names were meant to indicate ownership (“These are MY niggers” - sound familiar?). And I suspect when Mr. Ali decided to change his name without “permission,” he did not know, he was going to evoke latent residual attitudes of ownership and white sovereignty over his Black being.

Whenever African-Americans change their surnames to monikers that are not "white-approved" – some white people feel they are losing ownership. You are messing with their "property rights." They will say: “Nigger - you need to get your name LEGALLY changed.” Even though there was no court factor involved when these names were originally “gifted” to our great-grandparents. You STILL must go through them to make that change official (ain't that a BITCH?). If you decide to make a change that may be taken as “political” in nature - you may be pointed out by whites as “un-American,” or “exotic,” or even “subversive.”

The same thing to a lesser degree is happening today in making light of the names that people in my community are “making-up” to name their children. The more “mainstreamed” Black folks are expressing different degrees of embarrassment and shame. The white folks are expressing different degrees of snickering and ridicule – and only because these names (Lakisha, Sheneka, Jaquon) do not carry any “political” weight.

I say – SO WHAT! Let white folks snicker. Let “mainstream” Black folks shame-out until their brains burn-out. Black people that feel shame at white opinions about us deserve no respect. We have nothing to apologize for or to be embarrased about - when it comes to them [white folks]. The so-called “underclass” is showing the avowed “middle class” the kind of ownership they should be showing them.

All names were "made-up" at some time or other.

The dynamics of name in America is so political, confusing, and inconsistent that Black people can be called “exotic” or "potentially subversive" for just being born with a name that is originally African (see Barack Hussein Obama). You know – the kind of surnames Black people are SUPPOSED to have. That’s like putting a Chinese man under suspicion for having a name like Kim Lee.

It seems precious few of my people think it is strange that our genetic mosaic is primarily African, at the same time we are walking around with these English, French, Scottish, and Irish names. A lot of my folks are actually proud of these names... “Ahm ah McSWEENEY!!!”

Un-stupid-believable.

But watch the eyes roll back if a Japanese-looking person walks in and says his last name is Stotkowski. OK? So now that we have the freedom to name ourselves – I have no problem with taking ownership of one’s name. And to hell with those that can always crack their mouths open with unconstructive opinions or ridicule, but dry-up fast when the time for constructive dialogue is needed.

What I am asking for though, is a bit of order. So far I have identified 15 different ways to spell “Lakeisha.” Because of what I do for a living, I was in contact with four different “Lakeishas” all with four different ways to spell it – in two days! I got “attituded” by several "Lakeishas" because I “spelled it wrong.” Really? "What is the correct spelling?.. Oh, the way YOU spell it." (Times Four!!!) This is crazy.

It’s okay to be “unique.” But a consistent variability within a particular subset of anything, becomes a kind of uniformity that then renders the “uniqueness” of each member of the subset meaningless. The "uniquity" becomes the "ubiquity." Do you understand ladies?

AN OH NO MOMENT: I do not think the "namers" out there, have exhausted the possibilities of rendering this name. “Lakeisha” is not the only name, but it is one of the most common of this type. One characteristic that distinguishes these names is that they mostly end in S–H–A or E–K-A. All the letters that go before those three enders could go just about anywhere. And they do.

It is very confusing. So my suggestion is that all the “namers” in our community get together and have a “convention” or “conference” of sorts. It could be called the SHA-EKA Symposium. Right? The purpose would be to deliberate and come to an agreement on how all the S–H–A and E–K–A names should be spelled. Ladies – please establish a standard. It's a good thing that works. The way a whole lot of other things in our lives are good and “standardized.”

The same fries you get at a McDonald's in Chicago, Illinois, are the same fries you get in Kobe, Japan. I have been to Japan, and have eaten at several McDonald's there - the overhead menus were in Japanese (I pointed at the pictures), but the fries were speaking the same language I was.

The scientific community does “standardizing” conferences all the time, out of operational necessity. It is time our community did the same. That way the rest of us do not have to reset our brains and our computers every time we have to put another “Shaquisha” or “Sheneka” in our databases. It’s OK to name yourselves or your children whatever you like, just help the rest of us out when you do so. Please.

It is time for the “Lakeishas” of our community to unite!

The Republican Solution

I was watching "The Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC on Tuesday 09/01/2009. She had a segment focusing on a young lady that was disabled as a result of a shooting. The young lady is a recent college graduate and is unemployed. She has no insurance. Her medical expenses have been offset a bit, because her family and volunteers from her community are washing cars to raise money to help pay those bills.

It will be a while before she fully recovers.

I wonder if this is what the Republicans mean by "bootstrapping" when it comes to dealing with medical expenses.

This may be the way out of the health care mess. Car washes! Why didn't I think of this? Yes. A true "Public Option." Need a heart transplant? Start washing cars! Need a tumor removed? Better get a bucket and a squeegee baby. How many people out there need care right now? No insurance? How many cars are out there?

There will need to be some actuarial work done, so we can see just how many car washes a month per capita the U.S. population can reasonably pay for. This makes you think. I can imagine having the ability to gauge the overall health of a particular community just by counting the number of clean cars on the street. Pure genius! The Republicans said they have a better plan - this could be it.

Wash or die.