by Cody Lyon
"Is Palin and her party's attempt to elevate her into a tomboyish tough love Mom with conservative virtues a party that deep down, at least appears to be complacent with a woman knowing her place in the grand political game of the true powers that be in the western world? While it might be true, that the Republican party claims to be a party that endorses a stronger philosophy of individual responsibility, does the scent of hypocrisy not waif through the minds of millions of women who recognize it is also a party that would deny them the right to choose? "

***

by Mikhail Lyubansky

This is heresy I know, since most of the White majority likes to pretend that it's colorblind, but race needs to be part of the calculus in the November election for all voters. Of course, it was never not going to be part of the equation. And race is certainly part of the explicit discourse for Black voters, as it always is. My point is that it's high time white folks join in the discussion and acknowledge that it matters. Because it does.

Here's what's at stake in November: For the first time in history, there is a real possibility that "The Man" won't be White. The implications will take years to sort out, but here are some very early thoughts about why the candidate's race is important enough to influence our vote. Because the implications of a Black President are somewhat different for different identity groups, I break it down accordingly. But, and make no mistake about this, all other things being equal, having a Black President would benefit all Americans -- well almost all.

This last week I think marks when Iraq is finally sinking into genuine civil war. And our troops are caught right in the middle with no loyal allies, no goal, no exit strategy. I'd say there's a 50/50 shot it will calm down again, but if so it will be on Sadr's terms. Like last time. It could also spiral into even worse chaos and the Republicans have no idea what to do. I fear for our troops and I fear for the civillians of Iraq. 50/50 it calms down if Sadr wants it to...50/50 it will get really ugly.

The Progressive Democrat Newsletter grew out of the frustration of the 2004 election. After much pressure from readers, this email newsletter is now going the blog route. I update the blog once a week focusing on both national issues and issues of interest to particular regions or states. In general, NYC, California, New Jersey, Virginia and the Midwest get special attention simply because those are the areas where I seem to have the most readers. However, these days I am too busy to give each region the attention I used to. As my readership on Daily Gotham and Culture Kitchen goes up, I have to spend more time on those sites. So this newsletter is fading a bit. I hope it is still usefull to you, though.

This week I disucss the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I also discuss some revelations about the 2000 stolen election in Florida: it looks like at the center of it might have been the touch screen machine industry itself. I have more local focus on New Hampshire, North Caronlina, New Jersey, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. I also continue a new feature that started with an unexpectedly recommended Daily Kos.

The Progressive Democrat Newsletter grew out of the frustration of the 2004 election. After much pressure from readers, this email newsletter is now going the blog route. I update the blog once a week focusing on both national issues and issues of interest to particular regions or states. In general, NYC, California, New Jersey, Virginia and the Midwest get special attention simply because those are the areas where I seem to have the most readers. However, these days I am too busy to give each region the attention I used to. As my readership on Daily Gotham and Culture Kitchen goes up, I have to spend more time on those sites. So this newsletter is fading a bit. I hope it is still usefull to you, though.

This week I talk about the Democrats not quite living up to our expectations on FISA and some of what we can do about it, present some chilling numbers from Iraq, discuss the neglect of America further, and bring up an issue too many people dance around: Republican Racism. Additionally I want to bring to your attention a Congressional race in New York (one close to my home and close to my heart, so please read about it and help us out!), the race for Mississippi Insurance Commissioner (happening THIS YEAR) and the New Hampshire Senate race.

"The Cherokee people exercised the most basic democratic right, the right to vote," said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.

How are you going to argue with an Indian Chief named Chad Smith? Besides, what better weekend to exercise this right than the first weekend in March?

When marchers gathered at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, in Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 1965, to demand voting rights, the nation was forced to acknowledge the depth and breadth of racial discrimination and bigotry that existed in the United States.

Sounds like a success story to me. I mean, an historically disenfranchised nation that has suffered discrimination and hardship on a truly epic scale should be proud they have overcome the odds. Free at last, free at last, free to embrace their heritage by exercising their rights to determine their destiny.

Before you start doing a victory dance, you might want some background information about the Constitutional Amendment they are voting on....

An Open Letter to Ehud Olmert

By T.D. "Daddy" Rice

2/18/07

Ehud Olmert
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan St.
Hakiyra, Jerusalem 91919

Dear Ehud,

My hearty congratulations to you and your fellow Zionists! You sure know how to contain those infernal camel jockeys infesting your Holy Land. A man can't help but admire your fierce determination to keep that pack of maggots from maturing into a full blown infestation of flies.

For the third time in a little over a month George Allen must face questions stemming from remarks and actions that demonstrate what could be politely termed racial intolerance, but in fact reek of old fashioned racism. According to a recently released article in Salon, Allen's former college teammates are now coming forward with tales of blatant racism that some, like Rush Limbaugh, will characterize as "college pranks,"  but clearly border on hate crimes. In one incident, Allen had his friends drive him to the local black neighborhood so he could take the severed head of a deer and stuff it into a mailbox.

While Allen's case may be extreme, it says something about what has happened to Republican Party. For some, it's been a game of "catch me if you can" with racism for years. Late night comics tell jokes about "how few Blacks Republicans there are," but the American people have known for years about the underlying truths behind those jokes. The Republican Party has increasingly become a home for racists of every stripe and the sooner that party starts to come to terms with that reality, the better.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming with this important message...

We need to talk:

Specifically, we need to talk about the new CBS program called Survivor:Cook Island, sporting one of the most ethnically diverse casts ever assembled.  Ironically, this is the 13th season of Survivor... and that is not going to be a lucky number for things like ethnic stereotyping.

Jeff Probst popped in on The Early Show Wednesday morning, confirming the reports that the 20 castaways for Survivor: Cook Islands will be grouped by race, with competitors divided into four tribes consisting of whites, blacks, Asians and Hispanics.

I think we should thank Mel Gibson for offering us this opportunity to discuss bigotry in America. Unfortunately, discussions of bigotry rarely erupt here on a national level unless some atrocious event has kindled our wavering national attention.

Truly, bigotry, and race relations in particular, has been a topic largely lost on our government in recent years unless forced upon them by such unfortunate circumstances as those involving the abolishment of Affirmative Action or the outrageous abandonment of New Orleans post-Katrina.

Sadly, such a dialogue may yet be a difficult proposition given that those in charge are bigots -- that's right, BIGOTS! -- and that includes our down-home, folksy dork-in-chief, George W. Bush.

Hear me out and then decide for yourself.

Yesterday morning, it was raining, and on the way to class I picked up a guy who was walking to work (I live in the country, so 'walking to work' can be a several hour event). He was a black dude, and the thing that stood out was how for the first five minutes he was in my car, he started with this unfortunate shuck-and-jive thing that so many older black males unfortunately seem to think white people expect. Truth be told, some of my less enlightened European brethren probably do expect it - mores the pity. He kept calling me sir, when if you went by age, it was obvious that he was the only sir in the car.

Republicans teach me soooooooooooo much! In fact, my vast portfolio of ruthless political tactics was compiled almost exclusively from Republican examples. They're just so damn good at it. You simply have to show some respect.

Take their latest for example...

A recent study backed by 50 years of research found as one of its conclusions, that "George W. Bush is appealing as a leader to those Americans who harbor greater anti-black prejudice."

Not surprisingly, the GOP didn't appreciate that finding a whole lot, so they went straight to work in their newest battle in the Republican War on Science:

Brian Jones, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said he... ...questioned whether the researchers themselves had implicit biases -- against Republicans -- noting that [Researchers] Nosek and Harvard psychologist Mahzarin Banaji had given campaign contributions to Democrats.

Did you see that? So quick! So smooth! In a single breath, Brian Jones undermined the perceived credibility of not only this extensive study, but also the prior 50 years of associated research.

You have to respect that political skill and deflective grace.

This is a little essay that has been brewing in my mind since hurricane Katrina, and which I put together in honor of Martin Luther King, jr.'s birthday, though it applies to all of us, not just blacks.

In an interview with NBC's Brian Williams yesterday, Bush defiantly declared he wasn't a racist:

WASHINGTON -- President Bush said yesterday the federal government's reaction to Hurricane Katrina was appalling, but was not the result of racial indifference to blacks hard-hit by the storm. "You can call me anything you want, but do not call me a racist," Bush said.

That's right, Bush isn't a racist. His incompetence and indifference is an equal-opportunity destroyer.

George Bush doesn't care about black people. While Bush loves to tout that the employment rate is 5%, he fails to acknowledge the huge gap between white and black unemployement rates. The unemployement rate among black today is twice that of the national average--a staggering 10.6%. In too many cities, the rates of black male unemployment are hovering around 50%.  That means one in every two black males in New York (pdf), Milwaukee, and other cities have no stable way to support their families.

More on the flip...

Over the past week, there's been an uproar nationally and in this neck of the woods over an editorial that ran in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last weekend.

In the opinion piece, now being referred to as "The Asterisk Editorial", the Journal Sentinel editorial staff wrote that "In losing a woman, the court with Alito would feature seven white men, one white woman and a black man, who deserves an asterisk because he arguably does not represent the views of mainstream black America."

This comment has resulted in tremendously platitudinal backlash, with right-wing hypocrites throwing around terms like "thinly veiled Liberal racism" and recalling old strawman phrases like "acting white".  But such claims are intellectually dishonest in the context of this editorial, and come down to a simple strategy: The right-wing is playing the race card again.  And this time, like usual, they're laying a 2 of clubs and calling it an ace of hearts.

Continued...