so, this is a comment that was left on another post. i felt it worthy of center stage.
i pray that all that have an ear, hear. this message is what God loves...the truth!
i have been busy in preparation, i pray that more will do the same. NOW is the time!
"FP,
I hope you don't mind me borrowing your forum for a moment for an urgent public service announcement. This has been on my mind a lot lately, and I'm feeling more alarmed with each day that passes.
WARNING TO ALL BLACK FOLKS:
If you haven't already done so, I strongly urge you to get a 2nd source of income immediately!
Here's why:
In the midst of our mass Obama-mania, most of us really haven't thought through the repercussions of having him in the White House.
1-If Sen. Obama is elected, the days of crying to White folks about racism will be OVER. They won't entertain that anymore. After all, racism can't be that bad if there's been a Black (sort-of) president elected. This is a problem because we don't have a collective Plan B. Our entire strategy (such as it is) revolves around protesting racism.
2-I firmly believe that this economy is going to crash. I also believe that the powers that be have been mitigating & concealing the full extent of the damage to protect George W's image. They won't extend the same favor to Obama if he's elected. In fact, they'll be sure to let all of the rotten economic eggs drop to the ground on his watch. [To make sure that he gets the blame for the past 8 years of fiscal mismanagement & crime.] This is why everybody needs a side hustle. Right now. Being totally dependent on a single (more fragile than you realize) paycheck is courting disaster.
3-When the full extent of the economic disaster hits, help WON'T be on the way from an Obama Administration. At least, not for Black folks. A Pres. Obama will feel the need to prove to White folks that he's not partial to Black people or our problems. Given our hypnotic support for him, the masses of Black folks won't even scream out while he ignores us. Our elders will quietly start eating dog food instead of groceries. They'll quietly go without medication that they can no longer afford. Many of us will quietly go without heat during the winter. And they'll want YOU to suffer quietly too! After all, "we" gotta support the "brother." You won't get any support from other Black folks for crying out (or making any noise at all) during an Obama Administration. Don't let this scenario happen to you or your loved ones. Get ready. Get prepared. ASAP.
Peace, blessings and solidarity."
i pray that all that have an ear, hear. this message is what God loves...the truth!
i have been busy in preparation, i pray that more will do the same. NOW is the time!
"FP,
I hope you don't mind me borrowing your forum for a moment for an urgent public service announcement. This has been on my mind a lot lately, and I'm feeling more alarmed with each day that passes.
WARNING TO ALL BLACK FOLKS:
If you haven't already done so, I strongly urge you to get a 2nd source of income immediately!
Here's why:
In the midst of our mass Obama-mania, most of us really haven't thought through the repercussions of having him in the White House.
1-If Sen. Obama is elected, the days of crying to White folks about racism will be OVER. They won't entertain that anymore. After all, racism can't be that bad if there's been a Black (sort-of) president elected. This is a problem because we don't have a collective Plan B. Our entire strategy (such as it is) revolves around protesting racism.
2-I firmly believe that this economy is going to crash. I also believe that the powers that be have been mitigating & concealing the full extent of the damage to protect George W's image. They won't extend the same favor to Obama if he's elected. In fact, they'll be sure to let all of the rotten economic eggs drop to the ground on his watch. [To make sure that he gets the blame for the past 8 years of fiscal mismanagement & crime.] This is why everybody needs a side hustle. Right now. Being totally dependent on a single (more fragile than you realize) paycheck is courting disaster.
3-When the full extent of the economic disaster hits, help WON'T be on the way from an Obama Administration. At least, not for Black folks. A Pres. Obama will feel the need to prove to White folks that he's not partial to Black people or our problems. Given our hypnotic support for him, the masses of Black folks won't even scream out while he ignores us. Our elders will quietly start eating dog food instead of groceries. They'll quietly go without medication that they can no longer afford. Many of us will quietly go without heat during the winter. And they'll want YOU to suffer quietly too! After all, "we" gotta support the "brother." You won't get any support from other Black folks for crying out (or making any noise at all) during an Obama Administration. Don't let this scenario happen to you or your loved ones. Get ready. Get prepared. ASAP.
Peace, blessings and solidarity."
SELF LOVE~ SELF ACCEPTANCE~ SELF RESPECT
33 comments:
Khadija-
girlfriend we are peas in a pod!
i am working myself into exhaustion to generate not one, not two, but THREE streams of cashflow! btw, income, is a term for the monies generated by corporations. i have heard "straw man" thrown around a lot in the blogosphere, there is another reason/explanation using straw man which is why the monies we generate is referred to as "income". google it.
you haven't said anything that takes me by surprise or even alarms me at this point. knowledge is not to make you scared, but prepared.
notice that i have done exactly zero posts on how glorious the speeches and the going ons of the dnc and denver shenanigans were. i have simply said in other places that black folks will get it too late. as usual.
we are headed into the next great depression. one need not be a rocket scientist to see it. black folks are so pathetic, collectively, that most refuse to see what is plainly before them. while banks fold, black folks are focused on the buffer biracial and setting themselves up for a major fall.
i did a post awhile back, zeitgeist, which spells it out. i have been learning about the federal reserve, which is as federal as federal express---not at all! this entity, which makes all of our our "money" despite it being unconstitutional---congress is supposed to make the money, is in total control of life as we know it.
while black folks foolishly argue about who is democrat and who is republican---for the record, both are the same, the powers that be are in the business of enslaving all. for all the white folks that indicated that black folks should wait...the poetic justice is that they, too, have waited too long. now, we all get to be enslaved if we don't seek knowledge and remedies. for the white folks brazen enough to belly ache in my presence, i make a point of drawing their attention to the fact that most things end as they began. this country was built on slavery and it is only fitting that now ALL get to be enslaved.
the federal reserve is a private corporation, owned by the rothschilds, warburgs, and rockefellers. they are the ones that bring us the mccains AND the obamas. all that are not on the program are not on t.v. it is silly to argue and fight about which of these devils will inhabit the white house. at the end of the day they will go along or be discarded, just like the rest throughout history. read it, it is all there.
money, real money is to be backed by silver or gold. our current money is a federal reserve note, which is debt from the beginning---as there is never enough printed to cover the interest, hence the trillion dollar debt that america is currently in. money that is backed by nothing or fiat currency, is created out of thin air. in the history of the world this type of system folds after several decades. we are right on schedule!
while you generate different streams of money for yourself and loved ones, do NOT put it in the bank. our banking system is a fractional reserve one. which means that if there is a run on the banks and there will be, most will walk away empty handed, just as during the great depression. sound familiar? not only is fashion cyclical folks! silver and gold is the real money. the last time i checked, gold was about nine hundred dollars an ounce. buy gold if you can afford it, or silver and definitely a gun. seriously.
back in the day, i said that the "it" would hit the fan with a black-ish face in office. i was not joking. black folks would do well to stock up and arm up, it is going to get much worse before it gets better.
i have so tired of the bubbleheads that cannot hear. i suppose when they are starving in the streets, clues will be easier to get. in the interim, i will NOT get worked up about it. i urge you not to either. save yourself. people perish for lack of knowledge, and since there are buildings full of knowledge on loan; there is no reason nor excuse to be ignorant.
black folks need to wake up and DO better. there have been many that have sounded the alarm. George Carlin was the last to bite the dust, and i don’t for a millisecond believe the official reports surrounding his death. it seems that not only do black folks hate ourselves, but many of us also hate the truth!
Khadija, God bless you. hijack this forum whenever you would like.
blessings sis,
focusedpurpose
truth is simple. so in keeping with that simplicity, please find the straw man link:
http://www.cyberclass.net/strawman.htm
it is for this reason that monies generated by private citizens is referred to as "income".
slavery, anyone? anyone?
don't take my word for it---rightly divide the word for yourself. this is just one link with which to start one's study. TURN OFF THE T.V. AND READ. READ. READ...
blessings all,
focusedpurpose
FOCUSEDPURPOSE: I was the person who called "No_slappz" out on his vile comments on Torrance's last post on the mutilation of slaves. I'm glad you noticed. I'm impressed with the tolerance and big-heartedness of most of T's commentariat. I'm "White". That is to say I'm of dark complexion, Mediterranean feature, the child of Russian Jewish immigrants to USA and grew up bilingual in Spanish and English and have lived in Panama the past few years. I have not set foot in the US since I left.
No_slappz is just an ill-mannered fool who is obssessed with this theme. He searches out majority Black blogs and writes racist shit until he gets bounced. He's an irrelevancy.
YOUR post is more interesting, however. It raises points that I, as an exile, have raised on many blogs without too much success. There are things I KNOW about the state of political, mostly executive, play over the Bush years which might even shock you. I could catalog them but that's old hat, really. I am a well-to-do self-made White man and my attorneys felt it best for me to relocate even though I HAD NOT BROKEN ANY LAW THAT THEY COULD FIND in doing my normal work. Certain recent prosecutions and decisions and the passage of PATRIOTS I & II and UIGEA have created huge gray areas in Federal Criminal Statutes and Procedure so as to make everyone guilty of committing felonies at the federal level just by going through their normal work and family day.
Now, your Obama point is very IMPORTANT and every American who does not want to live in a police state should read it. It is worse even for Black Americans than the way you present it.
I write this as someone who hopes against hope that Obama is elected president although I can neither vote nor even donate money to him. Until informed otherwise my president is Martin Torrijos.
You cannot find a country in the world that is not in favor of Obama's election by huge margins. That's a good thing. We foreigners are well aware, however, that the USA is the only country which could elect Barack Obama on account of his views. Quite simply, Barack Obama's domestic social views are too far to the right of those of any major RIGHT-WING party in the rest of the capitalist democratic-republican-parliamentary West.
Just going by Panama, Manuel Noriega was a loony-liberal compared with Obama. I would say of the West to which I refer, the two countries whose governments have the most harsh right-wing social policies are Colombia and Israel. Obama's views are too extreme for Uribe's in Colombia or Olmert's in Israel. Those countries both:
(1) have no death penalty
(2) do not incarcerate juveniles with adults
(3) do not have mandatory minimum sentences and all sentences have the option of parole
(4) do not have mandatory life sentences which are rarely handed down anyway
(5) do not have such a thing as "3-strikes-and-you're" out
(6) do not have privatized prisons with convicts performing slave labor
(7) do not have the option to suspend habeas corpus (someone under arrest in Colombia must be charged within 48 hours; in Israel, 7 days if related to terrorist activity, 24 hours otherwise)
(8) do not have a GITMO apparatus for political detainees
(9) do not allow warrantless wiretapping of telecommunications of any kind...both require court order, issuing normal 10-14 day wiretap period supervised by judge
(10) DO HAVE SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE
(11) DO NOT HAVE RESTRICTIONS ON CONTRACEPTION OF ANY KIND
(12) do not commingle "church" and state [Colombia has an official religion: Roman Catholicism but the church has no role in government whatsoever; Israel is a "Jewish" state not a state whose official religion is "Judaism"; religion plays no role in government there]
I could go on but you get the point.
As clear a choice as Obama is for the USA over the more brutal McCain, Obama is on the more fascist side of all of the above issues than URIBE and OLMERT are.
And, friend, there isn't much to like about the current Colombian or Israeli governments.
Obama's social policies are to the right of a real bastard, Jean Marie LePen of France's National Front.
I believe that Obama is too smart and too "normal" a person to hold those views at a gut level. They have been essential views for him and every other candidate for President, though, except Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul.
I gave you examples of two countries in the West which have right-wing extremist governments. Check out how countries with center-left or center-right governments are on those issues: the whole EU, Canada, the rest of South America except Peru, all of Oceania.
It's a chicken-egg thing. I don't know if the plurality of Southern White Baptists drive the politicians or the other way around but it happens.
I would recommend every American be saving money, keeping passports up to date, establishing bank accounts elsewhere and getting in touch with relatives and friends elsewhere. Just in case.
Ultimately, it's of course all about money and the depression is coming because of the deficit, debt, psychopathic monetary policy, US wars, and the need for stores of value. China and Saudi Arabia cannot support the dollar forever. It could still happen in the interim because let's say McCain or even an Obama under media pressure decides to aggress on Venezuela for political points. They lose that war of course because they don't have enough personnel, but before the first shot is fired, Venezuela which is a very wealthy country will void its central bank of close to $1 trillion USD and then a tidal wave of USD will hit the markets and the cities and towns of the USA will erupt because of hunger and thirst -- Blacks and Whites alike. Blacks merely have the privilege of suffering FIRST.
Your argument runs agroud, though, on the villains you cite specifically: the Rothschilds, Warburgs and Rockefellers. That was power in the 50s and 60s! Not anymore. A little out of date. I guess Rockefeller is a famous name and all and Rothschild and Warburg fit a series of THE FINAL CALL talking points about Jews which has rhetorical bite, but the examples are no good. And as far as the Nation Of Islam is concerned, whose calls do you think the Reverend Farrakhan takes? It isn't Toni Morrison that's for sure. It's Felix Rohatyn of Lazard Freres, not that Lazard is part of any conspiracy.
It's definitely true that the corporations run the candidates. It's definitely NOT TRUE that it's done conspiratorially with the most important element of the conspiracy being "keeping the Blacks down." These companies are way too competitive for that kind of thing. That said, their trade associations have their individual favorites.
Obama gets his money from the financial services, insurance, coal, fashion, arts and entertainment industries. He also has a lot of support from labor and the bar.
McCain gets his money from manufacturing, service, agricultural, and energy corporations and big extremist religion be it Baptist Protestant, Non-Jesuit Catholic, Orthodox Jewish or Tibet-style Buddhist (you read that right, the Dalai Lama has always favored Republicans).
The "high" Protestant churches like the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Quakers, Unitarians, AME and upper-echelon Black churches like Wright's Trinity lean strongly Democratic, though. As do Jesuit Catholics, Reform and Humanist Jews, and of course atheists and agnostics.
Wal-Mart, GE, Microsoft, and ExxonMobil each dwarf the COMBINATION of Rothschild (including both L.F. Rothschild and Rothschild et cie) and any Rockerfeller holdings. Warburg only exists as a private Swiss bank these days. The Warburg powerhouse you allude to in the post long ago was merged into what's now Citibank/Travelers.
This alignment of money and power politics actually isn't that bad. Other than coal and insurance, Obama's sources of money kind of depend on freer minds and freer markets. Calvin Klein can't make money if its clothing had to conform to White Baptist standards! Goldman, Sachs couldn't move government paper and underwrite huge equity issues if it had to face Republican ideas about "money changers in the temple". So, that makes the Democrats the least worst. Obama's main sources of money, Hollywood and Wall Street, broadly, are also more susceptible to progressive protest and somewhat left-wing pressure because of the volatile nature of markets.
Obama can be pushed in the right direction by money, I think. The Republicans know only one way. I think it's important for Americans to vote for Obama and to stay involved in pushing him to his better self. VOTE AND ORGANIZE. Disciplined organization is the best tool to get what you want out of a politician. You put enough pressure on Russell Simmons and Ted Field and you'll be able to move Obama on an issue or two your way. You won't make him as "liberal" as the rest of the modern world's most right-wing leaders, but you'll move him in the right direction in American terms.
Good luck to you and please make America better. I doubt highly I'm coming back but there has been a tremendous brain drain to other Western nations since the first Patriot Act passed. Maybe Obama, if pushed, will do enough to prevent it from continuing. You are losing your best and brightest with all of these insane rules and laws and sadistic racism and militarism and law enforcement practice.
Everybody who's "the other" in America have to find a way to put aside internal jealousies and PUSH. That means Black, White, Latino, Jewish, Asian, Eastern European, Gay and Lesbian, High Church White, Jesuits, atheists, city dwellers, pro-choice advocates, and so on.
The Obama vs Clinton thing was kind of a joke to us foreigners. We liked BOTH of them. We thought White Democrats were insane for threatening to vote for McCain instead of Obama. We thought Black Americans were insane for making the Clintons into imaginary Sheriff Bull Connor and Lester Maddox.
This is a worse problem in some ways for all Americans. Democrats and Republicans than even a third Bush term. You all not only have to get together to PUSH for modernization of social policy, you also have to find a way to come together and fix the economy. End the wars. Put in some kind of steam-valve tax relief for every middle-class, working-class and poor person with or without jobs, make a large investment in infrastructure repair and alternative energy R & D, trim the bureaucracies in Washington, especially the Department Of Homeland Security which really should get scrapped altogether, sharply reduce the "Defense" allocation, get rid of the Medicare prescription scam and add back the old Medicare, VA and GI Bill rules, demilitarize police, de-federalize crime, create alternative sentencing rules making use of all non-custodial sanctions for non-violent felons. Try to come to some compromise on Social Security payouts. And bring back AFDC at the federal level. That's the fiscal side. A little give and a little take with the spending cuts outweighing the tax cuts and transfers.
On the monetary side: SUPPORT THE DOLLAR! That's just for starters. Eventually, force China to de-link from the dollar and make the Yuan convertible and floating.
The Republican aggression and Democratic timidity have caused this mess. Republicans can't have everything they want: war, low taxes, harsh social control, maximum role for the folkways of superstitious people in public life. Democrats have to have a spine and come to grips with the fact that America is a rough and tumble capitalist country with all sorts of inequalities and "not offending" is not the purpose of a politician. They also have to realize that some Right-Wing economists are absolutely correct about a number of important things. Such as: MONETARY NEUTRALITY.
You, FOCUSEDPURPOSE, have pointed out how weak the USA is right now economically. It would not require China or Russia to bring America down. Right now any of Switzerland, Venezuela or Canada could do it alone.
Electing Obama is necessary but far from sufficient.
FP,
{waves excitedly}
Yes, we most definitely are peas in a pod! I'm in a frenzy working on my cashflow streams too. Sis, I praise God that I've run across kindred spirits like you.
Thank you so much for your wise & calming words...I've been extremely agitated lately about the looming fate of our childish, foolish people. I've been yelling the alarm about this, but only about 5% of the people I've mentioned this to are taking heed.
[For those who care about such things, it's been the so-called "working class" Black folks who've been more likely to listen, prepare & spread the word. My fellow so-called Negro "professionals" and so-called "Talented Tenth" are "partying like it's 1999."
Even the Black Republican at work has caught the gotta have a Black-ish face in the White House fever---his only response was to ask "You're gonna do the right thing and vote for Obama, RIGHT?!"]
Like you said, I can clear my mind of such anxiety on their behalf. As you've observed, clues are not hard to find for those who actually want them. I was a teenager during the Reagan years. I remember the news interviews during that era with elderly people who were buying dog food . . . I remember.
And thank you for your tip about the banks. I've read the stories about the banks that have folded. And the ones that are in the process of folding. But I hadn't connected those particular dots to the dots of where to keep my money. Thanks for correcting this blind spot of mine.
Thank you and may God bless you.
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
First off I know we are in a depression. Since 1987, the government has set up stop gaps to keep the fianancial systems from showing numbers that would appear the same as they did in the 1930's in order to pronounce a Depression, even though the effect on the general populace is pretty much the same. Secondly, the masses of people functioning in our society are the living dead. I see them looking like zombies never once having the ability to "see" what's around them. Stream of income? Huh? What? That is the reaction from many let alone trying to get them to begin the first step in even thinking about the "strawman". I have deep fear on this one for the general population they are lost. They can wake up but the drugs, you know the drugs, radio, tv, television news, rap, r&b, and yes real drugs are very powerful in the minds of the Zombie.
hi all-
i am on the fly. i will come back when i can dialogue more thoughtfully.
welcome Kelso's Nuts. thanks for stopping by. i had several knee-jerk responses to your thoughts. i must tell you ahead of time, i don't play patty cake the way that the owner of the blog where our paths crossed does. let me say that first and foremost. i will come back; thank you for the opportunity to challenge my natural inclination to respond a certain way. you gave me much to ponder. i prefer to do that for awhile prior to speaking:-) you are for sure not dull and i appreciate your stopping in and providing a different perspective.
Khadija and Ensayn 1, i am thankful that others get it. really and truly. i love you both tremendously and pray that you will find strength, peace, and guidance as you protect yourselves and your families.
i will be back. i am off to create a beautiful day!
blessings to you,
focusedpurpose
Ditto about Obama's presidency and future claims of racism. As for the flow of income, I'm lucky that my district provides many opportunities for extra income. I'll start taking advantage of the opportunities.
FP: I love honest debate. I have very strong opinions and I always write what I believe. I can take a tough, direct, counter-argument at any time so long as it's respectful. I enjoy being challenged because we all need to be sharpening our viewpoints on the whetstones of bright people who have different ideas and are bold and learned in expressing them. You cannot offend me by disagreeing with me. If you catch me in any errors of comission or omission, I'll just go back and do more research and I ALWAYS ADMIT WHEN I'M WRONG!
I was just going to leave a little thank you on RDB but I decided to check out your blog instead and liked it so much I was inspired to go deeper.
I've never been "American" in that way of TV.
I've lived all over the world but always in businesss situations I'm self-made yet I've never losing a core sense of justice (the same which made my great grand uncles fight with the Bolsheviks to topple the Tsar and then run like the wind when their vision turned into something monstrous).
So, for me, there are no pat answers to the biggest questions. There are some "better" answers to the smaller instrumental questions.
Fire away. I have very few "fighting words": "Hitler," "cancer," and anything about my family are all out-of-bounds. The rest is fair game.
[NB: I guess for the same reason that "Hitler" is a curse word for me, I couldn't let No_slappz's racism and trivialization of American slavery go by.]
I'll give you an honest response to anything you offer.
Your words here in the comment thread have inspired me to remark about something else: US debt, deficits, and possible central bank backing apparati like precious metals which might put a brake on the dangerous fiscal and monetary policies of the USA.
Everything changed at Bretton Woods and in some ways the Bretton Woods decision was visionary. A gold or silver standard were appropriate when gold and silver were permanant stores of value. The "Big Bang" in London and the publication in 1973 of Black-Scholes effectively rendered gold and silver useless as dollar backers, because they presaged financial futures and derivatives markets which would always overwhelm any other market by quanta.
There is no way now for any country to back its currency with anything but another country's currency or its own "full faith and credit." That's not as crazy as it sounds. Because a country's currency whether in the form of cash or government debt carries an embedded OPTION revealed in work of Black, Scholes, Merton, Ross, Roll, etc: a CALL OPTION on the underlying assets of the debtor. Full stop. No doubt. It's nearly a law of physics. Only agreement between both parties can obviate it.
In big, global terms, this means that should the US government ever default on a payment of its debt held by, say, Norway, Norway is within its rights to EXPROPRIATE a portion of US government property equal to the amount of the default. Yes, FP, Norway could insist on a piece of Yosemite National Park, Washington DC or the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
hi Kelso's Nuts-
we agree, happy slapz, is an idiot. i feel in no ways obligated to suffer him in silence. i have decided going forward, though, that i will simply choose to ignore him. it has occurred to me that his pitiful tangents are born of a thirst for attention. i will simply ignore him going forward. this is not the first time i have suggested he get a clue. i think he is clear on how i think/feel, no need to be redundant:-)
so once my knee stopped jerking, i decided to pull it in and go back to basics. tell the truth as i know it and shame the devil.
if you were to re-read what i wrote in my initial comment, i said plainly that ALL get to be enslaved now. for the record, i consider it no privilege, as a black person, to suffer first. please know, it is growth that allows me to say this so kindly. black folks suffering and dying first and without ceasing, in this land of the "free" where there is "liberty and justice for all" is as american as apple pie. in fact, it is a global trend it seems.
i have tried to be clear and consistent with the message that de-population efforts are in full effect for black americans. short of drawing pictures, i don't know how to make it more plain. (my drawings would be of stick figures so i don't know how helpful THAT would be!:-) what more could i possibly say to get black folks to get it. maybe as a white man blacks will hear you? say it, in plain talk if you dare. by all means, you have the floor on that one. p.s. the u.s. is already a police state, it just hasn't hit the white folks yet.
you said:
"There are things I KNOW about the state of political, mostly executive, play over the Bush years which might even shock you. I could catalog them but that's old hat, really."
let me tell you that absolutely NOTHING would shock me about these devils. that would be poppa bush, dubya, prescott, and the rest of the clan. they are nothing but murderous criminals lacking in souls and conscience. throw the george washington look-alike, barbara, in there, too! i make the statement knowing full well that it might cause cancer or violent death, which seems to befall all that happen to see the truth and speak it. at the very least, i can expect to be audited...again.
p.s. i know you indicated that "cancer" was a fighting word. please know that i am not looking for a fight, just to be fully expressed. since this is MY blog, i reserve the right to be just that here if no place else! and am i the only one to notice that people that can see clearly/speak plainly catch bullets, cancer, or very long jail sentences? it seems a very consistent pattern as far as i can see.
i will bundle my response to your assertions about the international bankers that have americans in an economic choke hold with my thoughts on white folks that belly ache about the patriot acts and other unconstitutional crazy practices.
all of this mess is dated. there is truly nothing new under the sun. bear it mind, while the merging, morphing, and name changing occurs the end result(s) are the same. only, in keeping with the self evident truth that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everyone, now EVERYONE gets some of that injustice! it has caused me to laugh to the point of wetting my pants to ask ANGRY white men WHY they are so angry. of course, i know the answer. injustice. it tends to make ALL folks not just the black ones angry! this still tickles me. i must find humor where i can. i am figuring out a way to suggest they "wait" for justice. ok, i just cracked myself and a few of my ancestors up!
the patriot act is merely a re-packaged cointelpro which also made "everyone guilty of committing felonies at the federal level just by going through their normal work and family day."
only "everyone" then was black or non-white and now "everyone" includes white, self made you. do NOT pass the tissues, i won't be needing them. i say this with all due respect. i wrote about this awhile ago in a piece called dear dr. king, check it out if you feel so inclined.
why would those that function as money changers stop doing what profits them so immensely? just because the names are not out in the open does not mean they no longer occupy the seat of power or have turned from their wicked ways. in the new millennium, NOTHING is overt anymore. it is all subtle, sophisticated, re-packaged, re-named and so called NEW! life, my friend, is dated. there is truly truly truly nothing new under the sun.
i am not concerned either way about who becomes president. due in part to the realization that presidents are not elected, they are selected. when they cease to behave as directed, they too catch bullets...http://www.john-f-kennedy.net/thefederalreserve.htm...wonder why no president will enforce Executive Order 11110 when it is clearly in the best interest of the american people? hmmm, about that...
KN, why is it that even the seemingly most reasonable white folks always want to talk to me and other black folks about the honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan or administer the Farrakhan test? who mentioned him? or the final call? was that your way of making sure that i understood that i was not permitted to speak to the undeniable role that jews play in all of this? will i, too, be painted with the anti-semite brush? have you not noticed that anything less than stellar, rosey raves about the jews gets one labelled an anti-semite? i personally care as much about that label as jewish hollywood cares about my dislike of the non stop negative depictions of black folks. not.at.all. the truth is the truth.
as for your:
"And as far as the Nation Of Islam is concerned, whose calls do you think the Reverend Farrakhan takes?"
all i will say is clearly you missed the pucker comment i posted not too long ago! please. i.see.clearly. thanks.
obama and mccain are the flip sides of the same coin. one is a blatant hole of the ass. the other is a charming, gifted speaker that has no problem speaking out of both sides of his neck. routinely. i prefer the former, (not voting for the idiot!) personally---blame it on my southern roots and desire to know where i stand at all times. i have said it before and will say it again. those that are not on the program are not on t.v. you named two candidates, i will mention Cynthia McKinney despite the propensity of most white folks to act like they don't know she is both qualified and running for potus. marginalize the dumb white women that just won't stop...hrc, ferraro, and now this palin creature. wth??!!! please! is no one else embaressed?
you said:
"Good luck to you and please make America better. "
i say:
blessings are eternal. luck runs out. thanks all the same.
i have given up trying to make black men better, to hell with america! until this whore of a nation first learns the truth then tell it, i don't think nothing or anyone will be able to make her better. i am all too aware of our collective karma as americans and will hold firm in my resolve to tell the truth. our very lives depend on telling and acting on the truth and not...tradition...aka...lies! i choose instead to focus my energies on making the lives of black women and girls better with focused purpose. i am not sorry.
you said:
"End the wars."
i say:
and tamper with ALL that PROFIT??? i feel a bullet coming on or...
...nothing gets in the way of profit, not even human life. did you not get the memo that non white life is a little less human in the eyes of the powers that be, aka money changers? those non white lost lives are LITERALLY not counted.
because this is easily more a series than a comment, i will stop there. no where in any of your well written/researched thoughts did you mention a little ditty aka manifest destiny.
btw, the non stop creation of money out of nothing means that there are more dollars chasing the same goods and services. this causes the cost of everything to go through the roof. stopping this practice would stop the hemorraghing (sp?:-)! what if america was not in debt at all? if the constitution was applied there would be no debt to begin with. but then maybe the constitution was not intended to apply to ALL money just as it has not with ALL people.
in closing a few warning words from the founding hypocrites, racist enslavers, rapists, and holes of asses:
""History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and its issuance."---james madison
"You are a den of vipers and thieves. I intend to rout you out, and by the Eternal God, I will rout you out... If people only understood the rank injustice of the money and banking system, there would be a revolution by morning."---andrew jackson
""The Government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and credits needed to satisfy the spending power of the Government and the buying power of consumers. By the adoption of these principles, the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest."---abraham lincoln
"if the american people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks...will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered... The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."---thomas jefferson
KN, more than fashion is cyclical. i am an american. i love my country and fellow woman and man. i HATE lies and injustice. the truth and answers are found in history. it has all been done before. the sins of the father are visited upon the children to the second and third generation. for all of the hypocrisy and the violent brutal defense of inhumanity...enslavement is visited upon ALL americans. i agree, we must cast aside the isms and unite. it was this self evident truth and efforts to unite the poor that caused Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to catch a bullet.
thanks for an interesting dialogue. i do not debate. i do not find it interesting. it is not my desire to change you nor your views. you have grown me in this exchange and i am eternally grateful.
know that you are welcome anytime.
blessings,
focusedpurpose
Hmmm. . . yes, I also noticed The Farrakhan Litmus Test (trademark). I will say this:
1-He is the only Black leader I can think of whose ministry is literally improving the material quality of life of the majority of his follwers. His followers will be bettter situated to deal with the coming 2nd Great Depression than the bulk of Black folks in this country.
The more they follow the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's economic teachings, the better material quality of life individual NOI members have. The better odds they will have of NOT starving in the streets.
2-Min. Farrkhan has also indirectly saved countless Black folks' lives. Every Black criminal that his organization has reformed was on a collision course to harming other Black people.
How many people DIDN'T have their heads bashed in for their purses, or WEREN'T killed by a stray bullet because the criminal that would have ultimately killed them was reformed by the NOI's ministry?
3-Because of points #1 & 2, the Honorable Minister Farrakhan is the most effective Black leader in this country. I give credit where credit is due. Even though I have serious problems with large chunks of the NOI's teachings---which is why I'm not a member.
4-I am annoyed by the subtle denigration of Min. Farrakhan by the refusal of people who know better to use his proper title. He is NOT a Christian "Reverend." His title is "Minister." This is as offensive as deliberately referring to Rabbi _____________ as "Rev. _____________."
5-I have no interest in trying to make this country better. This is not my primary responsibility. Furthermore, most of the inhabitants don't want it to be made better. This would require adjustments on their part that they don't want to make.
6-I am only interested in making Black women's and girls' lives better. I don't want to see Black women & their children starving in the streets. This is the focus of my efforts.
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
hi Khadija-
peas in a pod...
yes, the refusal to call one by their proper name and title. it reminds me of the Kunte vs. toby struggle. notice the practice with more than just Minister Farrakhan. quite a few white folks do it all the time i notice.
i personally LOVE Minister Farrakhan. he is a man. there are not many men, of any color, among us it seems.
create a beautiful day sis. that's my plan.
blessings,
focusedpurpose
@ Khadija, I agree. Min. Farrakhan has done more as you said to improve the material position of Black people in the U.S. and to enlighten our minds as well. And anyone that doesn't recognize this chooses to see the glass half empty, so be it. As they see their own demise.
@FP, though they may have been arse holes they did speak the truth on the monetary issue. I am sure at this point if they were alive and maintained this view point they would be first to begin the overthrow of the current evil holding office in D.C.
For me, I am about bringing light to the minds of those standing in darkness. First and formemost for Black people then for humanity in general. I know the power is in the hands of the masses but, the masses are sleeping, no in a coma. But, I pray to continue knocking on their heads. They say the mind is the seat of the soul so, in enlightning the mind I hope to raise the consciousness of the Soul, The Ab Ba. The Ab Ba is the primary or ancient Soul. Translated in the bible as Abba to mean Father/God. Transliterated as Allah, The God within each and every one of us. In so doing I hope to create a better space. But, we first have to know that many are in that coma! I know you and Khadija both KNOW THIS TRUTH!
Alright now!!!!! A larger audience needs to read this post.
Our cities and towns are full of people who are "asleep". It frightens me how little we expect of our "leaders" (including the "one" currently running for POTUS). We accept crumbs and then wonder why things are, well...as they are.
Speak from the rooftops K & FP. You are on point!
*Aya*
FOCUSEDPURPOSE:
Errata (mine) first:
(1) My clause: Blacks merely have the privilege of suffering FIRST...." was a joke. Going FIRST is hardly a PRIVILEGE!
(2) Mis-stating of Farrakhan's honorific was my error. I stand corrected.
(3) I have no particular DISAGREEMENT that the way of American corporatism (I'm 100% a capitalist, btw) is uniquely unjust and inefficient in the modern self-governing West. I took exception with the references to Rothschild, Warburg and Rockefeller are names of family businesses often invoked in White Supremacist literature which decries the same things we do, albeit from a twisted, religio-populist and sadistic perspective. Rothschild and Warburg were very large worldwide banking entities when the KKK began so that became the shorthand because those were Jewish banks. Your point was well taken, but I thought you needed fresher examples if you wanted to be specific. Microsoft, GE, Citbank, LockheedMartin all work as fine examples for me.
(4) My attitude toward Louis Farrakhan is not negative at all. It's neutral. I like some of his writings and speeches. I dislike others. I am a Diasporal Ashkenaz who grew up in NYC bi-lingual in Spanish and English with a little of the olde tongue, too. I'm not a Zionist. So, none of his remarks about Israel bother me at all and some of his goofier statements about Jews didn't offend me. I know he himself doesn't believe that! On balance, I think he's as good person as any to be proud of if you like the lion's share of his opinions. I'm absolutely neutral.
(5) I have no reason to believe that you are an anti-Semite at all. If you give me reason, I'll let you know but I doubt that will happen. I merely refer to The Final Call because I mistakenly assumed that the international banks of old are really only mentioned in the Final Call and whatever Aryan papers circulate. I surely don't mean to hang the NOI in some perjorative way on you. As I wrote above, I don't mind the man or his organization. Sorry if there was confusion. "Rothschild" and "Warburg" are as much code as Farrakhan or "personal responsibility" are. I will stake my life on the fact that if you add up the wealth of all the Rothschilds and Warburgs the world over they don't have half of what the Walton family has. There is no way in the world that there are sleeper cells of descendents of Leon Rothschild and Samuel Warburg getting set to resume the BANKING CONSPIRACY. It's just not possible.
I could easily make the point that Rothschild is a French family and Warburg is a Swiss one so perhaps it's easier for all Americans, left and right, to blame "foreigners". It might well be true that a Sam Walton or a Pat Robertson is easier for Black America to tolerate than those European banking families because of a shared "Americanness" with Walton and Robertson and certainly a shared religious SECT.
You and I needn't be arguing over trivia when we agree on the broader point.
(6) With regard to the words "Hitler" and "cancer" I was making a little fun of my own culture. I lost no direct relatives to Hitler's ovens and I don't have cancer that I know of. These are said to be the only two true Jewish "curse words"!
And now I press on to discuss some more issues your raised.
I agree with you that the USA has some POLITICAL INTEREST in a Black depopulation and restrictions on abortion because the vast majority of the nation's poor are White. Surely, the severe criminal justice system in the US which I highlighted earlier is part and parcel and OVERTLY so in that effort.
This is the same reason that the anti-Mexican and Central-American immigration issue is so popular. The vast numbers of struggling Whites will find being merely a plurality intolerable so many back candidates and philosophies designed to maintain a White majority. It is also why "urban teenage pregnancy" is cited as a disease and not a symptom of a the disease you cite. Any society under attack will tend to reproduce at at faster rate so as to help in its survival --in all of man's variations and millions of times over in the animal kingdom.
I don't think the symptom is good but I surely am not in a position to preach about it. My tribe is DEPOPULATING itself in America just as successful Catholics, Protestants, Muslims and atheists are depopulating in Western Europe, South America and Oceania.
I still don't believe that Black depopulation and laws designed for Latino and pan-Arab expulsion are anti-thetical to the needs of corporate and financial America.
It does not help them to have a monochrome and small labor pool. They need a large and diverse pool to as to get a wider choice of workers and face a looser labor market with less unionization and less worker collective power. It so happens that the same POLITICAL forces behind White Supremacy ALSO do a slightly better job public-relations wise of convincing business that they represent business interests. They do not. But they are merely amoral as a rule. Immoral sometimes when conditions suit!
Now, as to the possibilities of my being A WHITE MAN aiding in my ability to sell the idea of an ongoing Black Holocaust to Black America, I'm skeptical. I've lived part of my life as a White American although given my heritage, appearance, travels, wherewithal, spoken and written languages, and point of view, I am a pretty poor excuse for a WHITE AMERICAN! I'm too short. My skin's too dark. My hair's too dark. My eyes are too dark. My family was never exactly "American". We have been stateless. I mentioned that we're not Zionists and we strongly oppose the current policies of the state of Israel. We, like most Israelis in fact, believe in full Palestinian statehood. I don't even really speak English.
I speak New York English.
My Spanish is much more elegant although I can speak a series of slangs and patois.
Plus, I don't come from a soft suburban background so I never had any illusions that I was either White or Black because those categories implied "American" and while I hold a BA and MBA from top 10 schools and can speak, I was always told by my folks' from an early age that I should expect exile at some point in my life because the USA was a way-station not a place for roots.
So, when my attorneys to me it was a good "idea" to go, I dithered for a couple of years for the sake of my family. When they told me I "had" to go, I didn't hesitate (being separate made that somewhat easier).
But I've never been shy about expressing myself on just the issues that you've highlighted and I have about persecution in America. You've had problems with the IRS. Be glad it was the IRS and not the DoJ! Bush's DoJ is so cruel and politicitzed that there are very few criminal tax cases brought these days. The federal prosecutors since Bush took office mock the IRS and treat the service as a 2nd class citizen. The IRS only wants your money and is happy to take in installments and will negotiate. The Justice Department doesn't care about your money. They want you to either leave (which I did) or suffer horribly.
This is one area in which I think Barack Obama for all his concessions and surrender will be a great plus. I would expect him to have an apolitical Attorney General like Deval Patrick, Eric Holder or Alan Vinegrad whose priorities are normal FBI functions like terrorism foreign and domestic, kidnapping, bank robbery, interstate violent crime large financial crime, forgery and fraud. Most importantly and least likely would be a return to the kinds of proportional criminal sanctions the rest of the developed capitalist self-governing West uses. Even such out-there right wing states as Colombia and Israel. I make these points on White blogs, Black blogs and on my blog which is a diverse team of 25 writers of all self-identities.
I believe that if a person can't feel at a gut level white a state-imposed death penalty is wrong. Or why imprsioning juveniles with adults is wrong. And those people are the American majorities across ethincities, colors, races, gender, sexual orientation or religion, than I just don't think America is really ready for self-government but is well suited for exactly the government it has now. You know why I feel that way. You also know that, while I admire your love of a country which is performed a holocaust upon your people with systematic precision for 3 centuries and sub-rosa for 1 century, I never have nor ever will feel that love. When the powers that be made me feel unwelcome and threatened, I left. I will soon be a citizen of a different country. Maybe I'll be a citizen of yet another one. Maybe I'll bounce around the world on real and false papers. I have no idea what the future will bring.
Finally, please don't misundertand me about anti-Semitism, the Rothschilds, the Final Call, Judaism and Jewishness, Black Americanness and Orthodox Baptist Christianity. I don't want you to sing hosannas to either me or my tribe. Why would I want that? I'm not worthy of it, first of all. I move money for a living. I am a bastard. I'm not a criminal but I'm not a saint. I love the work and the profits and mathematical puzzles it overs me and I love the idea that I can leave my son well off. I'm a pleasant person, I think, but I won't walk a mile out of my way to put a dime in a blind man's cup.
Was I responsible for slavery? No. My family was in Russia then. Did they have advantages in America that Black people didn't have? To be sure. My grandfather still spent most of his US years in prison and died there. I have despair and tragedy marbled through my American experience. But I don't want POINTS for that. I make the most out of my opportunities and was NEVER an ANGRY WHITE MAN! Merely angry at injustice and fear. I am living in a South American country. Not the USA of my birth for trivial political reasons having to do with a law that was sewn by the Christian Right onto a Homeland Security Bill and the law that affects me has nothing to do will terrorism. It's an arcane bank law. I still don't want POINTS. I'm still not angry. I don't mind exploring some of my Latino roots, speaking in a language I like, and living a modern Republic. I'm not "bellyaching" at all. I made a good choice for me, my son and parents and even for my ex. I feel freer here and more relaxed. I'm not challenging you to a game of "INJUSTICE POKER"! I already admitted that I am a bastard. I know how to do a lot of things based upon higher mathematics and financial enginnering that you would not approve of. I know how to put on a synthetic Polish Zloty/Kyrgyz Som non-delverable forward cross. And about a zillion things like that.
No argument whatsoever with you about Jewish Hollywood. That point of yours didn't offend me in the slightest. And, hell yes, right-wing Jews play a role in the shit you and I abhor. Let me start with Joe Lieberman, Martin Peretz, Peter Beinart, David Remnick, David Horowitz, Paul Wolfowitz, Roy Cohn, David Schein, Judah Benjamin...you get the point.
I hope you'll share my revulsion at T.D. Jakes, Creflo Dollar, Donny McClurkin, Ward Connerly, John McWhorter, Shelby Steele, Thomas Sowell, Armstrong Williams, Larry Elders, "DR" RICE and the worst of the worst of the worst COLIN POWELL...you get the point!
We're going to agree on Cynthia McKinney. I can't vote but I've advocated voting for her at least in jam-up Blue or Red states and have been a fan of hers for a long time. We're going to agree on Manifest Destiny. Wait until you hear my rant on the great unacknowledged progressive president Martin Van Buren [anti-slavery, anti-"Manifest Destiny]/
We're going to agree on Malcolm X and Herbert Marcuse, too.
The nicest compliment you could pay me, you already did when wrote "thanks for an interesting dialogue. i do not debate. i do not find it interesting. it is not my desire to change you nor your views. you have grown me in this exchange and i am eternally grateful.
know that you are welcome anytime."
Ensayn1 & Aya,
Greetings! Yes, there are plenty of folks in a coma. Some of them desperately want to remain unconscious. FP's comment about not getting worked up about such persons reminded me of something my imam told me years ago. He warned me that "not everybody wants to get to the promised land."
I had temporarily forgotten this fact; and had let myself get agitated worrying about the fate of all these frolicking-in-Obama-delerium Black folks.
{sound of me releasing my grip on that particular trickbag; and letting it drop to the ground}
{thud}
Upon reflection, it seems to me that we are all discharging our duties by speaking out and helping those who genuinely want help. What people choose to do with the information (which is nothing in many cases) is up to them. They're adults with free will and self-agency.
Onward & forward.
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
i must adjust my language.
i should not say that the other blog owner plays patty cake. he is a teacher. teachers have special gifts. it seems they received triple portions of patience.
my best friend is a special education teacher of science physics. i am always blown away by her patience. it never ceases to amaze me.
i, on the other hand, feel at times as though i skipped the patience line altogether. with time, i am getting a little better. i have a magnet on my fridge that sums it up well...
..."God grant me patience...but hurry!"
my heart squished while reading the new comments.
thank you all from my soul for blessing me so abundantly. i will come back when my brain is not fuzzy:-)
blessings all,
focusedpurpose
Khadija, Thanks for the reminder. It is true that not everyone wants to get to the promised land.
@ KHADIJA: You and I probably have more in common that you think.
Your priorities, I think, are exactly right -- those with whom you share a bred-in-the-bone-bond, those who will be with you when the barricades go up.
It was absurd of me to bring up Louis Farrakhan to make a rhetorical point about POWER (with no desire to criticize the man). I'm not against the guy and I have no reason to doubt all of his fine deeds. He's not a bogey-man to me at all.
Like you, I have no interest in making America better at all. I'd like to see it be better because the world has seen the damage it's capable of internally and externally.
Like you, I don't ever want to be thought to be claiming I'm an angel on the blogs, because I'm not. I'm quite happy with "bastard." It so happens that there are direct intersections between MY PERSONAL NEEDS AND SENSE OF SECURITY and the needs of Black Americans. Were there no material intersections, I would be indifferent. Knowing my own personality, I wouldn't be going out of my way to make anyone's life WORSE. But my level of sympathy and preoccupation would be rather limited were Black people in seeking out their own power and advancing their own leaders', also helping me in my particular line of work.
If, let's say, Obama were to deepen his public relationship with Rick Warren, Pat Robertson and Colin Powell, I'd be a LOUD off-shore blog voice for Cynthia McKinney. Obama's kind of a cipher, though very gifted. When she was in Congress, McKinney had MY SIDE on every issue of MATERIAL IMPORTANCE to me. I'd really say the entire CBC and CPC have.
I do advocate strongly for Obama but from a personal perspective and now from a global perspective. He was not my first choice. Ahead of him for me were Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd. Then Obama. I was looking specifically for a number of civil liberties issues and they all had either voting records or rhetoric which spoke to my side of these arguments.
I believe Obama would make a fine president and McCain would make a hideous president. I feel no social pressure to hold that view at all. It's completely instrumental, material and directly concerned with the health, wealth and safety of me and my family.
That said, I'm far more concerned with Balbina Herrera's pending primary fight against Navarro for the PRD nomination here. Herrera is good for me because she'll maintain the tough posture of the "Torrijista" wing of the PRD in terms of dealing with the USA. She can be trusted to maintain sovereign status and not to let the US military back in.
When I've heard Obama make sabre-rattling remarks about off-shore bank, tax and privacy law, I consider that a very bad sign. I know that Obama and one of our ex-prez's, "Toro" Perez-Balladares, whom I like, use the same attorney for their personal US affairs, so I assume that Obama is just dotting his "i's" and crossing his "t's" with the White electorate which is militaristic, racist, envious, and xenophobic.
I've read what a fantastic role model and overall fabulous human being Colin Powell is, but from what I know about the gratuitous violence for no good reason he brought to my adopted country, I consider him no better than Bush, worse than Reagan, and probably on par in bloodlust with McCain. His being Afro-Caribbean-American has nothing to do with that. His sadism and cowardice does.
He could well now be the most selfless guy in the world doing everything he can for inner city America, maybe like Mother Teresa but more selfless, and it wouldn't MEAN ANYTHING TO ME. My INTERESTS, you see, intersect with Louis Farrakhan's far more than with Colin Powell's, aside from one being an important spiritual and intrumental leader and the other being a US military ultra-sadist.
I could not possibly care less about being disliked by anyone for the color of my skin, for my ethnicities, for the languages I speak or how I ply my trade. For now, an aggressive truth-telling Black power movement in the USA would be completely in line with the issues that are important to me, even though I rather like Swiss and Curacovian bankers. They've never caused me any problems at all.
I would like to see a strong, cohesive left-wing Black movement in America. My personal intensities lie there. Should that movement become corrupted into a union with the Southern Baptists and become as militaristic and hateful as the White Baptists are, Black America becomes another thing I have to worry about even from 6000 miles away. Not a huge worry, but a worry nonetheless.
It's not likely. It's possible though. I never thought I'd live to see the day that the USA would have concentration camps for Muslims. It's sickening enough how most Americans worship the death penalty. Say what you like about off-shore bankers, none of them support the death penalty or the "war-on-drugs." That puts them moral light years ahead of Obama, who likes GITMO and the death penalty. Obama is still the right choice for US president.
He'd make a shitty president of Panama, but he has a chance to be a great president of the USA.
FP is absolutely right. The knowledge needed to make money and to protect it and to get some legal power for yourself is all there for free in the public libraries.
Revolution in the US is not possible. Even if it were, think for a second what revolution means? It's a violent overthrow of a government and an entire social class. In order to be an effective revolutionary, one has to be able to kill a police officer or an innocent child in cold blood and feel no remorse.
I could never do that. I'm not a revolutionary. I'm a social-democrat.
No preaching here, but I should think learning the essentials of business, economics and finance with an eye toward making your own money is a better alternative, if not a socially progressive one!
Cheers.
Kelso's Nuts,
We probably do have a lot of political views in common. From what I've read of their positions, the Green Party comes closest to my views & values. I don't have a problem with people acting in what they believe to be their best interests. This is only natural and consistent with self-preservation.
My problem is when non-Blacks expect me (or other Black folks) to put their interests over my own. This is what's usually underlying The Farrkhan Litmus Test when it's deployed. Segments of the White population expect us to disavow a leader who is good for us because they don't like him. Or because he is bad for their interests.
Like you, I also make no claims to sainthood. I support justice. But not to the extent that I'm willing to be a martyr for other people's interests and agendas.
I've warned Black folks. Let me give a sincere warning to justice-seeking Whites and other non-Blacks:
DON'T assume that the bulk of Black Americans support justice! Especially don't make this assumption if your life or liberty depend upon such support.
I know, I know. We (and our leaders) have marketed ourselves globally as "America's conscience." If it was ever true in the past, it's definitely false now! We will support ANY policy that is marketed by a prominent Black politician. ANY policy whatsoever.
Bomb & murder helpless people? That's a-okay with most of us as long as there's a prominent Black face like Colin Powell selling the policy.
Invade Pakistan? That's fine by most of us if Obama is selling this idea.
Nuke Iran? That's just peachy if Obama says we need to do it.
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
hi Ensayn 1-
yes, i can freely concede that the founding criminals were telling the truth. that was the purpose of my quoting them.
the mess that america has become was at the very least, predictable. i have since childhood noted that like all evil empires, it will come crashing to the ground in due time.
when september 11th happened, i think i was the only person that i know, that was not surprised. i am only surprised that it does not happen more often at the hands of others than the u.s. government.
you said:
"...I am about bringing light to the minds of those standing in darkness. First and formemost for Black people then for humanity in general..."
i think that when black folks pull it together, all humanity itself will be positively impacted.
for those that are choosing to sleep despite the loud alarms---remember that it is a choice. for those that know no better yet demonstrate a true desire to learn, i will take the time to shine light that they may see the path out of darkness.
those that choose to sleep soundly and respond unkindly or even violently to my loving efforts to shake them awake can expect NOTHING from me. these souls have every right to choose what they would like to do. God doesn't interfere with their choices and i will not either.
blessings,
focusedpurpose
KHADIJA, FP: Good heavens! Do you mean we're all having an ADULT discussion about the meaning of POWER as opposed to the candy floss debate in the USA?
I very much DO have a Farrakhan litmus test. It is not however one I apply as a White person to Black people. It is one I apply as a White person to White people. And it goes like this: if you cannot realize that Louis Farrakhan is not your enemy and quite possibly could be your friend in the fight you have before you against a society which has probably gotten close to fascism, then there's no hope for you. I thought I had made that point initially. I'm still allowed to find the views of many Final Call writers and writers of letters to the editor to be FAR AFIELD of both my interests and their own, though.
My ability to ply my trade is curbed by a Church-Police State, plain and simple. I am not seeing this election or the larger American debate as one pitting Black against White. I see that your views on that are similar to mine.
It is a battle of common interests. For me to ever consider repatriating, I would ipso facto NEED for your greatest fantasies for the needs of Black women and children to be fulfilled. ONLY under those conditions would a general American gut-level belief in the kinds of freedoms be sufficient for me to have the ability to ply my trade, even though it has nothing whatsoever to do with the immediate needs of Black women and children.
I have an open mind on this because at the end of the day a lot of the old saws hold true: money talks, and bullshit walks.
I particularly like Cockburn's remark about the best chance for any "left" in America to succeed is to realize how many friends they have on the "right."
Germany and Spain can change a culture of violence and dominion lasting a millenium in 30-50 years with an acceptance of vested interests forming temporary coalitions with former enemies to achieve ends in a social-democratic self-governing environment. So, the idea is hardly so difficult for any country to understand.
I can only conclude, therefore, that the USA is where the people --all of the people -- want it to be.
When the DEMOCRATS are ready to give the average, middle-class, American citizen the same rights and privileges that Colombia and Israel give their underclasses, the same ADULT discussion we're having here can happen in the USA.
And once again, there's not too much to like about either the government of Colombia or the government of Israel. It's a pretty low bar I've set!
Khadija-
i love Minister Farrakhan. he and several other NOI men have greatly impacted my life. i see these men as real men and feel both immense pride and love for them.
it is exceedingly difficult for me to be middle of the road on any issue. i am blazing hot or ice cold.
as i have said earlier, i will no longer exert energy fighting on behalf of black men when they demonstrate no willingness to fight on my behalf. Minister Farrakhan's efforts are on behalf of black men. i have searched for anything anywhere of him addressing the obvious trend among many black males to do great harm to black women and girls. i have not been successful just yet.
i have been able to find him addressing the obvious pitiful acceptance of the consolation prize becky. i think that is done more as an effort to prevent black males from making such a fool of themselves on the regular. he has addressed black males killing themselves/each other in alarming numbers. i still have not seen any address for what black males are doing without shame to their wives, sisters, daughters, and mothers.
Minister Farrakhan did not address the dunbar village atrocity either. obama didn't address it. hell, oprah and tyra wouldn't address it despite me notifying them repeatedly. i will not waste an ounce of energy defending those that will not address my interests. fair exchange is not robbery, black women are allowing ourselves to be robbed. we just need to stop it already.
yes, Minister Farrakhan has taught black men to do for self. it is in fact a no brainer. the suffering of black women and girls by black males has yet to be addressed. i will not ever denounce him as whites would have us to do to prove we are "acceptable" blacks. i won't get worked up with mounting a defense for him either. black men owe him that effort. i am actively challenging my conditioning to fight for, stand up for, and protect black men. it is backwards and detrimental to me as a woman.
the pucker reference is in response to the undeniable truth that at the core of all blacks with highly visible platforms are white folks. these white folks must never be upset no matter what. i would go further to say there is always a jew or two...running things...
i felt compelled to address that. know that i fought the desire to come out swinging on behalf of Minister Farrakhan. i will not do it anymore. period.
will you please give me a link for your blog? i googled the name and a ton of stuff came up, not you though.
i must do my public service and let ALL know that you have started a blog! SO many will be SO happy to have the link. we have been waiting what seems like a long time! i am excited and know that all good things are worth the wait:-)
blessings,
focusedpurpose
welcome back Aya! i don't think i could shut up if i wanted to:-)
KN-
i am not a white supremacist by any stretch of the imagination. my noting the ones that started the fed is not to speak ill of all jews, it is to only speak the truth. there are other families that also should have been listed, it would have mandated my researching rather than speaking off the top of my head as i did in my initial comment. there is in fact no need to resume the banking conspiracy as it has never ceased. that was my greater point. everything old is new and relevant now. jews are scattered everywhere. so french, swiss, italian, american---it is all the same to me. i feel no allegiance to those that care not about the havoc they reak in the lives of others. this would include powell, rice, and the other black and black-ish faces that are trotted out to make the unacceptable acceptable. for me, it is really that simple.
since we don't know each other and you can not see my soul, i can understand how you may have had a knee jerk response. i, too, experienced that as a result of some of your comments as i shared earlier.
i must explain my love of america. despite all that i know and am quite vocal about, i still love the country of my birth. i am an american. any place else that i go, i am away from home. i do not think america to be the greatest country on the planet however. how americans make that exertion is beyond me.
america is like my badly drug addicted (drug of choice= lies, hypocrisy, white supremacy), negligent, wayward parent. despite all that i hate about my parent, i still love my parent.
i will not waste any energy trying to save america. america must choose to do right by itself, all american citizens, and the world community. since i happen to be a part of america's most despised citizenry---black women---i am not so delusional to believe that my efforts to "save" america would be successful, appreciated, nor wise.
i am not a saint. i am a sinner with a repentant heart. i would however, go out of my way to help someone less fortunate than me. others have shown me that mercy/grace and i consider it a blessing to be able to pay it forward.
thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
blessings in abundance,
focusedpurpose
FP: I think I have a comment still pending your approval in which I could not have been more polite in expressing where we have a meeting of the minds and why I feel we've broken some ground in having a VERY adult discussion without ever resorting to rancor of any kind.
One of the aspects of Louis Farrakhan which I appreciate is how he has employed his power, money and influence to do good things by his supporters, but being an intelligent man and having made his personal fortune and knowing the ways of business, has always been one ready to negotiate and deal beyond the rhetoric.
Having been born in America, I suppose one of the "identities" I have is AMERICAN. It is far, far from my primary identity. My primary identity is my last name, meaning myself and my family.
So, that is where we part company, perhaps also in my being an atheist, and maybe even in my "Jewishness" making me more of a pan-Semitic COUSIN of Muslims, though not appreciative of the radical strain of Islam coming from the dangerous social steam valve dance in Saudi Arabia.
I see organized religion as a malign force in general. Not always. But in general. I see nationalism that way as well. Not always. But in general.
Color me a "Cartesian" not a "spiritualist," so I don't think I could ever see your soul. I don't need to see it to know that at the very least you and I are allies in the same fight. If your vision of America obtains, that's better for me and for the world. Whether we're allied philosophically is yet to be determined but we've got the same fight on our hands for at least a decade to come.
I also like the way you think and write. And any knee-jerk responses to my words cannot offend me because I know that even if you dislike me personally or dislike my tribes, you are still my ally in a bigger fight. You surely don't think any reflexive anti-Jewish remark is going to stop me and my multi-ethnic cohort of exiles from materially advancing your agenda. We are.
Just in the course of our plying our trades, enjoying the fruits of our labor, providing for our families and being merely "agnostic" on the present American agenda we as social-democratic capitalist civil-libertarian citizens of the world are advancing your causes. The intellectual capitalist diaspora has begun. They want a return but are not yet willing to show us they've CHANGED. So, the brain drain goes on.
Let's say you really felt a deep-seated HATRED of Jewish people and felt like insulting me for shits and giggles. Would that stop me from having two big houses and a full-time staff? Would it stop me from being a successful investor? Would it stop me from sleeping well tonight or enjoying myself tomorrow? Please. I'd get a good laugh at it actually and it would probably make me like you more for putting your cards on the table. I'm surely not so thin-skinned as to think that makes you any less my ally in my fight.
It seems strange, right? You could easily wonder: how could a free-market capitalist WHITE JEWISH MAN, foreign resident, speaker of a foreign language, with money POSSIBLY have the same American agenda as I do? You are obviously well-educated enough to understand the whys and wherefores. If anyone else is curious, I'd be happy to give a primer in such arcane things as fiscal policy broken down into tax and government spending priorities and how that both leads and gives rear-guard support to a Bush or a McCain at the expense SOME people like me. I could also go into monetary policy and national income accounting. Or how foreign exchange rates are determined. All of those basic choices in the social contract make us allies.
Minister Farrakhan was a stupid reference on my part. I have a way better litmus test for YOU: TD JAKES. To me, he's perhaps not evil but very, very dangerous. I well understand your misgivings about Obama. I have the same ones when he edges too close to the televangelist community.
This may well be our philosophical fault line. Minister Farrakhan has never said anything to suggest that he'd like to see me imprisoned and my family in a state of corporeal abject poverty or in a lake of fire spiritually. That is what televangelists Black and White are all about. I don't buy their spiritualism or God and I certainly don't buy their politics.
But maybe there's another side to the story. Maybe Jakes knows that he's playing a shell game and is enabled to do so by White interests. So, if it's possible for him to use his shell game to MY advantage generally speaking, I'd like to know his price.
If not, I know that he'll ultimately be FORCED off his spot merely by a stronger Euro or Swiss Franc or something like that. TD Jakes's 10 homes will be raided for food and potable water in a US dollar crash before mine will!
Depending on my mood, I might have a good laugh from 1000s of miles away. Or I might sigh and say "what a pity." But not much more. How many signs did the American people need?
All I know is that living in South America I see the GOOD that Christianity can do. Catholics down here take their Jesus VERY, VERY seriously. I don't believe as they do, but I appreciate the words of Jesus they live by. So, while I find all organized religion in the US distasteful, I really don't have a problem with it elsewhere in the developed West. Nor do I have a problem with Islam. Nor Judaism. Nor Buddhism.
I don't care how proud TD Jakes makes any Black American feel really. He makes me sick. The idea that there could be contemporary believers who see Jesus as the source of love and peace is quite a bit more comforting than Reverend Jakes.
The idea that Jesus is a finessed plank in a Republican platform, against abortion and contraception, and in favor of the death penalty, prejudice, poverty and war is blasphemy down here. The color of the person testifying as such is irrelevant. Yes, ultimately, Fascistic televangelism is a litmus test because there's no place for me if they have a role to play. We cannot co-exist. The televangelist does not want to see the successful Black woman in America. Full stop.
As you say, everything's already happened. It's a continuation of a very old story. It's 1928 right now. You're in the full-cry of a weak economy and the dominant culture has given you versions of Volstead jand Jesus instead of peace and prosperity.
All I know is that evil racist bankers or not my ancestors usually figure a way out. At that time, they were doing the fighting at the New York/Ontario and Vermont/Quebec borders. Not out of love of their fellow man but for profit and because it was the ONLY way for OUR PEOPLE with the Billy Sundays and Father Coughlins setting America's tone.
Europe from 1929 to 1946 didn't work out so great but you take the bitter with the better, I guess. How different are the philosophies of TD Jakes and Adolf Hitler really, though?
For me, though, spirituality does not enter into the picture. I want to know what the profits and losses are. I want to know what the mean is and what the variance is.
What makes me a bastard makes me a decent man. I want to know whose interests intersect with mine.
FP,
I also love Min. Farrakhan. DESPITE the appalling stance he has taken toward Black women & girls (when he's not ignoring our issues altogether). Considering what he has said in the past, it's just as well that he hasn't addressed the Dunbar Village Atrocity. He would be almost certain to further damage Black women's & girl's interests.
Min. Farrakhan has said the most vile things when he supported the collaborator-sexual harrasser Clarence Thomas. He denounced Bootlicker Clarence's most prominent victim, Anita Hill. He has said the most vile things when he supported the convicted rapist Mike Tyson. He denounced & made mockery of Tyson's most prominent victim, Desiree Washington.
Min. Farrkhan has said some of the most backward & destructive things I've heard while attempting to counsel Black men not to beat their Black wives.
All of this (in addition to bizarre beliefs such as an Earth-orbitting "Mother Ship") is a large part of the reason why I backed away from the NOI years ago and never joined.
I haven't forgotten any of the Minister's trespasses against Black women's interests. I'm still working on my kneejerk reflex to defend Min. Farrakhan. Old habits are hard to break; but I can feel my grip slipping on this particular trick bag too. [How I enjoy that little phrase of yours---it's so handy for so many issues!]
About my blog, the address is:
http://muslimbushido.blogspot.com
For some unknown reason, the blog currently only comes up when I do a search using the above web address formula.
My blog is called "Muslim Bushido" Thanks for your kind words, support, and inspiration. I've decided to join you and others in the struggle for Black women & girls in the cyber-arena.
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
welcome Lormarie-
taking advantage of the opportunities is the wisest course of action. that was the purpose of this post, to get sisters thinking and acting in their best interests.
blessings sis,
focusedpurpose
Kelso's Nuts,
Yes, it is refreshing to have an adult conversation. I also look to see who recognizes that their interests intersect with mine.
I know very little about TD Jakes, except that I find him (along with the bulk of the televangelists) annoying. The only observation that I can make is that most of these evangelists' Black followers have extremely misplaced priorities.
In the election prior to Hurricane Katrina, I found myself having repeated arguments with confused Black Christians who supported Bush. They supported Bush because their pastors had said that Bush was "a good Christian." These people were also mesmerized by a lot of hate speech regarding gays, and the importance of so-called "moral values."
[Don't get me wrong. I'm all for, and often preoccupied with, ethical behavior. However, ethical & principled behavior has nothing to do with what these people call "moral values." Their "moral values" seem to consist of:
1-Having categories of people--the gays--that they can look down on & freely oppress.
2-Controlling women's bodies.
3-Controlling women's sexuality.
4-Rolling back all of the intellectual achievements of the Enlightenment.]
Anyway, if I remember correctly, TD Jakes was among the group of Black clergy that were cuddling up to Bush to get some of that faith-based government money.
Later on, I found some small measure of amusement in watching these people slowly back away from publicly embracing Bush. It became. . . awkward. . .for these Black clergy (and their followers) to laud Bush after he ignored all the Black bodies floating in New Orlean's streets during Katrina.
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
KN-
welcome back!
i find you very interesting. this to me is a blessing because most people, from everywhere, are dull and completely disconnected from what they think. in fact, most don't know at all.
you indicated that we are parting company on a few issues. please know that this is completely ok for me. when i said that it was not my intent to change you nor your views, that was precisely what i meant.
the way that we are speaking may seem different, yet, as i read your thoughts---mine are not that different at all.
organized religion is another form of slavery as far as i am concerned. i have said before and will say it again, the best thing that black women can do for the so-called christian church is to come out of it. fast! other organized religions seem to prosper while those that hold it up backs break under the weight of it all. not p.c. true as far as i can see though.
i am not even remotely interested in coloring you or anyone else anything. i don't have the interest, time, nor energy for such wastes of time. at the end of the day i find it best and more productive to focus on our commonalities. everything else is a distraction. it seems most want to dwell on our differences. the powers that be are comfortably in their seats of power for this very reason.
you said:
"Let's say you really felt a deep-seated HATRED of Jewish people and felt like insulting me for shits and giggles..."
you are funny! it is unfortunate that you are incapable of seeing souls. i can. sometimes. i have encountered those that are quite skilled at cloaking themselves in deception. i have learned to sit back and watch behavior more than i did when i was younger. this in fact, has been my greatest nugget of wisdom this year. if you were able to see my soul, you would know that such tomfoolery is far from my divine purpose. in fact, the world doesn't need anyone else to sign up for that hurl insults and hurt role. there are too many already that are content to waste time and energy sowing seeds of dissension.
you said:
"Would that stop me from having two big houses and a full-time staff?"
uh, should i go ahead and say that i am impressed? would that help? i got it several times the first time you said it. you are a well to do, multi-lingual, educated, jewish white man. got it! i sense that this is a great source of pride for you. at the end of the day, repeat it as many times as you feel compelled. it bothers me not. i just find it peculiar that's all. in my journey i have experienced this peculiarity often, so i suppose you could say that i am used to it?
you said:
"I have a way better litmus test for YOU: TD JAKES."
even if i liked Jakes, how would/should that affect our alliance in the greater battle? it would be like my saying that until you decide to believe in God, all bets are off, no? silly, i think.
Jakes and others like him are highly irrelevant to me. i neither like nor dislike him. why is it important for white folks to have black folks denounce other black folks? at no time have i asked you to denounce anyone. i have no patience for lies and injustice. it does not matter to me who you are, if you are on the wrong side of the truth and justice, we got problems.
Jakes wrote a book that helped me tremendously, woman thou art loosed. after that he, like most people of color became so concerned with being accepted by whites/non blacks and acquiring money that he ceased to address me or my interests. at that point, i stopped listening. simple.
when i say to sisters everywhere that they need to come out of the church as it presently exists, i am not joking. let these men preach this gobbly gook to men. they will die of hunger and broke. black women are only being robbed, because some of us choose to permit it. i don't need to go after Jakes specifically. he is merely a symptom of the greater disease.
here's the thing, i don't care if i passed your test. i care about moving with focused purpose. tests, hoops to jump through, and lines to tow distract me from my purpose and diminish my focus. no thanks.
cool beans?
"How many signs did the American people need?"
true that. not ALL americans are sleeping, just the VAST majority. those that are not sleeping are either fleeing or being persecuted in some way. i have decided to focus my energies on my sisters and daughters while i prepare for my next step. truth be told, i would be financially richer and in panama now had i not chosen to partner with an imposter idiot. all choices come at a price! i own my choices and the consequences. it is what it is. i am undaunted however, my journey is not a sprint, it is a marathon.
so...catholicism and christianity are technically two different things. since you come off as mister smarty pants:-) i couldn't resist the urge to share that little tidbit. at the end of the day, your relationship with God or lack of one is your personal business. this has always been my position. for this reason, organized religion and i don't mesh well. "God told me to tell you..." please, stop that!
"The televangelist does not want to see the successful Black woman in America. Full stop."
amen. i have no use for these phonies as a result. it is more honorable to be robbed at gunpoint than to have these imposters robbing you because god said to do it. black women will need to choose to wake up though. most continue to sleep at their expense, literally and figuratively.
Jakes and hitler. ok that's a stretch, i take it you really don't like him. lol!
"...my ancestors usually figure a way out.."
and my ancestors figure out a way to survive. i am not worried in the least for me and mine. i possess the will and courage to survive and grow. i know without qualms that i am blessed and highly favored.
i, too, would like to know whose interests intersect with mine. as different as we appear, we have more in common than not my friend.
i appreciate and respect your voice.
blessings,
focusedpurpose
Peace & Blessings Focused purpose:
I found your blog from Khadija's blog list.
This post, as well the comments have me sitting up here nearly speechless...
I'm just awakening and trying to find my way for the sake of my family. Khadija has been instrumental in that approach.
I'm going half to print out this post and comments so that I can digest this stuff bit by bit.
Not something to be glossed over.
Be back later with questions, concerns, on my way to the doctor...
And for pete's sake, put in a garden, people! I've never grown anything more ambitious than tulips until a few years ago, and this past summer had quite a respectable little garden.
No matter what, you gotta eat.
"I've been yelling the alarm about this, but only about 5% of the people I've mentioned this to are taking heed."
----------------------
Khadija, i hope you don't mind but i printed out your words and handed them to others. none of these people listened! they voted for him anyway because, according to them, we need a black president/there's something "special" about him/blah, blah. whatever! i will definitely be planning my escape.
thanks, ladies.
Chantal,
Thank YOU for being willing to listen. It does my heart good to hear of each additional person who is seriously preparing for the future!
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
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