Again, while cruisin’ the net, I found an interesting little book.  The author is one D.T. Pollard, and he has a lot of interesting things to say on this subject. 

The book examines how the shadows of oppressive Jim Crow laws played a role in the hate spewed towards the 44th President of the United States.    He acknowledges (if no one else will!) how race and gender was front and center during the presidential campaign.    How a woman (Pasty Palin) was used as a human shield by the Republicans is also clearly illustrated. 

Of course we know Bam won the election, but it was a crazy  sight to see people gathered around ‘town hall meeting sites’, bearing signs depicting the President as Hitler, a socialist or a tyrant.    Some even carried guns,  and a pastor prayed that Obama would die…    The actions of rabid racists.

A Republican Congressman even called President Obama a liar on national television during a joint session of Congress, for which I still don’t think there were  near enuff consequences!

These are extraordinary events, and D.T. Pollard explores and explains it all.    I read most of an online version , and found what the man has to say very interesting …

“My book points out how free some feel now to express racist views now that Obama is the President.    It seems that having a black President is being taken as a permission slip to do or say anything they want in full public view where racial hate is concerned.   Also an increase in racial violence is pointed out that seems in stark contrast to having a black President.   Another thing that is covered is how approaching racial issues is a no-win time bomb for Obama.    That is just a portion of what Obama Guilty of being President While Black deals with, the new code language, Jim Crow legacy and other issues affecting the first black President and blacks in general are also covered”.                                                              -D.T. Pollard

♦Other books by D.T. Pollard:♦

Poetry For The King
Poetry reflecting the life of Michael Jackson

We Are Free- Verses From America
The American Experience

TARP Town USA
The Recession that saved America

Fool’s Heaven
Love, Lust, and Death beyond the Pulpit

Rooftop Diva
A realistic and emotional account of Hurricane Katrina
and the effects it had on its victims…

Available at D.T. Powell.com

President Barack Obama

CAUTION Editor’s Opinion:

President Barack Obama was elected for his perceived ability to get things done and bring real change to everyday Americans. Almost weekly, the President is featured on every major network announcing ambitious plans to both correct and modernize our country. Yet, he has amassed enemies in almost every corner of Washington for such a plan and is constantly ridiculed by conservatives and moderates alike. Not to deter the President, but perhaps the President should actually listen to those in opposition and understand why those persons are in constant opposition with his agenda. It must be understood that to ignore them now, just as Bush ignored many, is detrimental to the entirety of this country.

Mr. Obama must be commended for his diligent service to this country in only his first, few months at that. In only a few of days after his inauguration, his administration passed the largest stimulus bill in the nation’s history. His administration saved Wall Street and the major auto-makers from extinction. His administration put a cap on the everlasting wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq and went on a world-tour to promote a new American foreign policy and boost the nation’s prestige abroad. Not to mention, the President received, prematurely and he has acknowledged this, the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in this regard. For all these accomplishments in such a short time the President deserves a round of applause. Yet, the President must now slow down and delve deep into the divisive issues that has long separated the country, such as socio-economic disparities amongst the populace which have no quick solution, but need solving nonetheless.

The President is doing an excellent job, please do not mistake this, but he should allow those pieces of his agenda still taking effect to take effect. The President has a guaranteed three years left to take on more work, for now, he should focus all his energies on ensuring those measures already in place are successfully carried out and bring forth the proper results. Furthermore, the President must not allow himself to be the lone-ranger in government in politics when there are 535 members of Congress just as eager to work out the nation’s problems as he. Simply put, a concerted effort is needed by all the members of Congress and the President to truly bring change to the nation; perhaps, Congress should focus on passing legislation that remedy the many ailments of the American people, and the President should focus on carrying out that legislation as it was intended by our founders, in addition to other ambitions.

On the 1st of December 2009, President Barack Obama announced to a full-house at West Point academy in New York, that he would be increasing the number of troops in Afghanistan by adding thirty-thousand more troops to the conflict. However, not straying too far from early campaign promises, to prepare an 18-month timetable for a full-scale withdrawal of U.S. armed forces in the country, Obama noted the need of more troops in Afghanistan to make real this promise and his other promise to end the conflict during his first term.

The troop surge comes at a surprise to many as President Obama made no indication, on the campaign trail or in his current, public policy, of increasing American presence in the Middle East. However, President Obama did promise an 18-month withdrawal of American armed forces in the region much to the dismay of Republicans and conservatives. Nevertheless, the Bush administration’s strategy to “stay the course” was all but ruled out by prominent Republicans once the former Commander-in-Chief left office. President Obama and key, Democratic officials initially presented a reasonable time of withdrawal yet left a possible troop surge to ambiguity.

President Obama’s decision to increase the number of American soldiers in Afghanistan came with a bit of scrutiny from Democrats who did not agree with the President’s new, center-right stance on the conflict. Republicans and conservative democrats did not make much of a fuss of the President’s decision, but humbly accepted his new direction on this issue. On Inauguration Day 2009, only around thirty-four thousand troops were on the ground in Afghanistan, now there are seventy-one thousand, not including President Obama’s recently-announced troop surge. Hopefully, the President’s new strategy is successful and brings the fight in Afghanistan to a much needed end, as well as open the President and his administration to embrace some measures of the Right on many more conflicts, internal and abroad.

(middle) President Barack Obama, (to his right) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, (to his left) Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

This morning, I watched the inauguration ceremony for the 44^th president of the United States. Barack Hussein Obama J.D. is officially the first black president of this nation. Many have taken this as an opportunity to reflect on the struggles of African Americans, in a primary sense, and minorities as a whole. Even if you’re not one of those that care, you can’t deny that it has been a long journey for minorities.

The journey from the disease infested dungeons of the slave ships to the highest office in the land did not pass quietly. Under blood and sweat, the people who were viewed as “lower” did not fail to produce heroes and heroines that argued, whether with words or with bullets, that the Negroes were as equal as the white men. So today, many are reflecting and some are probably wondering if they are dreaming. Years of determination has produce what some are viewing as the “Great Black Hope,” a title that I’m attributing to President Obama because of the expectations that are riding on him. Today, Barack Obama has become the most powerful man in the world.

His speech was not one of a man that is afraid, but of a mighty king who is facing the dangers ahead with an unshakable conviction that he will overcome. Powerful words sprinkled with the aroma of a firm resolution flowed from the lips of he who must be looked at as one of the most gifted orators in recent political history (certainly from the view of this writer). Accompanied with the pomp, elegance, and prestige that the United States can offer, many hearts have melted and have viewed this as a new start. Indeed it is! Others have paved the way and now it seems to some that the cry of the black people to the lord, which echoes the words of Israel to Samuel the Prophet in 1 Sam. 1:5 “Give us a King,” has been answered.

Can we trust Barack? Some will shout “Yes we can!” But the scripture says no! Ps. 146:3 says, “Do not trust in Princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.” No salvation can be found in the rulers of the world, or any man. No salvation can be found in this brilliant minded knight clothed in a shining armor. The blessed is “he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord His God” (Ps. 146:5). Is there anything wrong with rejoicing over a leader? Certainly not, but don’t place your trust or your salvation in a person, but rather in the One, Jesus Christ.

There is something that we can do for the new president. We as Christians do have a sacred responsibility. Many have failed in practicing the words of the verse found in 1Tim. 2:1-3 when George Bush was in power, maybe we will do better this time (smile). The verses says, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquill and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour.” If these things are good and acceptable from God’s point of view; it should certainly be things that those who are interested in what is pleasing to Him do.

Ultimately, God desires for us to live the best life as possible, and the very fact that He tells us to pray for these leaders is a confirmation that He will certainly heed our prayers, according to His will (for we know that the end is near).

This is the start of something new, and if you have never prayed for a president before, you should pray for this one. This one has all the forces of racism gearing up to go after him, so pray for him and his family. Pray that he may surrender himself to Jesus Christ so that he may be one of those who rejoice when the King of Kings appear!

]]> http://kindkerry.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/a-good-president/ Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:46:00 +0000 kindkerry80 http://kindkerry.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/a-good-president/

On Friday, the White House released a family portrait taken in September by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz.  President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters posed in the Green Room. Like their coordinated, muted and casual style.

Some things don't forget.....

and he has the ability to couch “Because I’ve been ballin on these bitches and they can’t stand the rain…”  to sound polite and kind as well….

While much of America had its eyes skyward, tracking what was thought to be a boy in a run-away balloon, President Obama was dealing with another boy very much on the ground.

“Why do people hate you?” asked 4th-grader Terence Scott, posing the final question at the president’s Town Hall Meeting this afternoon at the University of New Orleans.

The youngster seemed earnest and genuinely distressed about harsh words he’s heard people direct at the 44th President.

“They supposed to love you,” said the youngster, “and God is love.”

Son, the reason people hate President Obama is that their candidate didnt win, or that they just hate black people. The guy has been in office less than nine months, but everyone thinks that they can do his job better than he can. It’s like backseat driving. Everyone wants to tell someone else how to do their jobs. Just because you work at Burger King and you have to make it my way, doesn’t mean that you can come to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and tell me how to do my job. You make the burgers, and I will make the policies.  See, that is what he wanted to say, but he kept it politically safe, which was the right, and smart thing to do.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” said the president, grateful for words of kindness and support. He was on a trip to explain why it took him nine months to make his first visit as president to a city still struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Mr. Obama tried to reassure the kid that it’s not as bad as he thinks.

“First of all, I did get elected president, so not everybody hates me now,” he told the 4th grader. But he conceded that “if you’re watching TV lately, it seems like everybody’s just getting mad all the time.”

“You’ve got to take it with a grain of salt,” the president explained. “Some of it is just what’s called politics.”

(CBS)

How do you explain hardball politics to a 4th grader?

“Once one party wins,” said the president, struggling to find the right words, “then the other party kind of gets – feels like it needs to poke you a little bit to keep you on your toes.”

Poke you a little bit? Is that what his political critics and opponents are doing?

“You shouldn’t take it too seriously,” was Mr. Obama’s bottom line advice to the youngster.

Haters hate kid.  It’s a fact of life.  Here is how the hated on me during the election.

What bitches!??!?!?!? Bow down to the Great Allah Barack Hussein Obama!

But that couldn’t stop me, they have done far worse.  Remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?  This is what he and others had to go through.

and the end result was still a minor victory for blacks in the south.

He said a lot of people are losing their jobs or health care or homes to foreclosure. “They’re feeling frustrated,” he said, sounding as though he could forgive them for their bitter words and criticism.

They can’t get over the fact that the oppression is eroding and the control that was once tight as a noose has been gradually reduced.  I just rose above the haters.

HAHAHA Pumas! This is you right here....How did that whole campaign thing work out for you?

And as president, he conceded he gets some credit when things go well and some of the blame when they don’t. “That part of the job,” he explained.

“So you’ve just got to keep on going even when folks are criticizing you,” he said.

And after all, said the president, “I’m a pretty tough guy.”

“Are you a tough guy?” he asked his 4th grade questioner. The kid seemed to accept the explanation as he got another hug from the president.

If nothing else, the youngster got a great story to write about in his next composition.

And bloggers have something else to write about too…

Today is the 26th annual National Night Out. Neighborhoods and community groups organize crime and drug prevention-related events. Last year, my church in Nashville  participated in a march and a program to raise awareness about youth violence. The observance was one of more than 40 held in Nashville last year.

This year’s National Night Out falls on the 48th birthday of President Barack Obama. I suspect this will spark a resurgence among members of the persistent, yet perplexing birthers movement. I enjoyed Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Eugene Robinson’s take on an effort that smacks of xenophobia, the politics of fear and other counterproductive tactics to dismiss the 44th president’s legitimacy.

This evening, the House passed a resolution sponsored by Rep.

Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) that commemorates Hawaiis 50th anniversary as a U.S. state by a vote of 378-0. The resolution also contains this provision: Whereas the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii,

Source:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/27/obama-resolution-hawaii-378-0/

Top 20 Obama Tshirts in no particular order:

Obama inauguration by apollo335
Many more tee shirt designs available on www.zazzle.com

Barack Obama Pop Art Style by spacedust
More Obama T-Shirts

Socialists: Spreading the Wealth by Libertymaniacs
More Marx T-Shirts

Che Obama Socialist by apollo335
View other Obama T-Shirts

Obama – Yes We Can by spacedust
More 08 T-Shirts

Obama Biden Portraits Ringer T-Shirt by Prodem
Many more t-shirts online at www.Zazzle.com

Obama 2009 by apollo335
Design Customized T Shirts at zazzle.com

Obama Red White and Blue by VoteObama
Browse more Barack T-Shirts

One America Inauguration Shirt by VoteObama
Make Customized T Shirts at www.zazzle.com

Obama – Yes We Can by spacedust
See more 08 T-Shirts

Anti-Socialism – Just Say No! by apollo335
Browse Ant socialism T-Shirts

Barack Obama for Hope T-shirt by obamashirts
View other Obama 2008 T-Shirts

Barack Obama Changes by spacedust
Make a personalized shirt on Zazzle

Funky Obama T-Shirt by rudepolitics
More Barack obama T-Shirts

Obama – Customized by apollo335
Create Customized T-Shirts with zazzle

Change by apollo335
Browse more Obama T-Shirts

Barack Obama by spacedust
View other Barack T-Shirts

Obama 2009 by spacedust
See more 08 T-Shirts

Obama Pencil Drawing by spacedust
Create Custom T Shirts at zazzle

Barack Obama by spacedust
View more Barack T-Shirts

It’s 2009 and Barrack Obama is the president.  He is also the first non white president.  Making him a rather big deal.  Now 99% of the world will refer to him as the first “black” or “African American” president.  This kind of bums me out to a degree and here is why:

Barrack Obama is biracial.  Meaning he is of two different ethnic origins.  In his case he is White and African American.  He predominately grew up with his White family.  Again, none of this is a bad thing.  What is a bad thing is that after years of civil rights we only see things as black and white.  Society still kind of refuses to acknowledge the fact that the world is turning to a huge multi racial community.  I myself am Chinese, Cuban and Welsh.  It makes it hard for me to fill out surveys when asked what my ethnicity is because when you mark down other they try to assume that you are Native American, Inuit or a Pacific Islander.  Which I am neither.  So what do I call myself?  The answer is simple.  Me.

At this point in the game race is still rather crucial but never for the reasons we’d like.  It is usually used as a hindrance, crutch or some sort of tally system for voting.  We still associate that people who are not white white the words “poor’ , “crime” or “drug cartel”  as a few examples.  When we fail to realize that these are words that can be applied to the majority as well.  I mean the term “White Trash” just didn’t appear out of thin air.

But more to the point.  The fact that our President is half African American and looks African American therefore has to make him 100% African American.  Which to me is taking two steps back in Civil Rights Movement altogether.  Because we are still playing the race card.  In this instance we see the race card being played on both sides.  The liberals are somewhat idolizing him and at times making him out to be the second coming.  As a matter of fact there was a town house in the city on W.11th st. that had a manger scenario for Halloween that portrayed him as Jesus.  Then you have others that either use his image for profit or think he is a get out of free pass. Visually I am bombarded with Obama mugs, shirts, hats, etc.  All usually saying “First Black President” not first Biracial president.  Or even better, let’s keep it at 44th President.

While I am happy that it does inspire hope to people who would normally feel that they would not be able to achieve what this man has.  We have to remember that our skin is not what makes us.  It is just a part of us.

It seems as though our president is a fad.  Nothing more and nothing less.  Which will probably kill the momentum of anything he may do. As it stands now his magic is starting to wear off.  A lot of his voters failed to realize that he still has a job to do and that job will at times provide results in which no one is happy about.  As it currently stands people are starting to realize how conservative he is with Prop 8 being tossed around in court.  He is tied in tight with his church, most people forget that fact.

It’s the franchise that really gets me though.  It’s as though we are exploiting the fact that we have our first non White president.  Again, in a fad like manner.  Some of these shirts portray our 44th President in an iconic way others in a sort of subtle (and often not so subtle) fuck you to White and Black America.

Here are some examples for your pleasure:
Super ‘Bama….

A jab at Hillary….

At least you can hold onto your “Not My President Shirts”…..

Moving On Up…..

and what that shirt should really say…..

Alright, I made the last one up. Shirts coming your way soon.

]]> http://wanderingminstrelsoothsayer.wordpress.com/2009/05/25/barack-obama-44th-president-of-the-united-states/ Mon, 25 May 2009 00:33:40 +0000 danielchakraborty http://wanderingminstrelsoothsayer.wordpress.com/2009/05/25/barack-obama-44th-president-of-the-united-states/

While working with a company called MOKA in 2007, my boss asked me to work on a ’small’ project that involved promoting Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign in the United States.

Apart from not knowing who Barack Obama was, didn’t care about politics whether Indian or American and most of all, found the person’s name rather QUIRKY.

The only thing that came to mind about American politics was the stand-up comedian, Frank Caliendo’s imitation of George Bush which was deprecating and cynical to a large extent but was really funny and clever… thanks to a good time spent keenly observing the President.

People often express their deepest emotions through humor. And it left me with a feeling that there was a serious divide amongst the American People… very bipartisan in nature… which Obama was very vocal about…

Here’s the video of Frank Caliendo’s impression of George Bush:

And so in order to complete the project, excerpts from Barack Obama’s bestseller, The Audacity of Hope had to selected and so, in order to do that the entire book had to be read.

My first impression was, another politician’s boring autobiography! Well, but once into the second chapter… it was like… Wow!

To cut a long story short, the book was read and the project finished but my company didn’t get the contract it wanted.

But in reading that book told me that there is always hope no matter what. That really spoke to my heart on a personal level. It touched me like no other book has. The man is obviously gifted both intellectually and rhetorically speaking, and what makes him so remarkable is that he exudes honesty and a calm sense of dignity in talking about politics, his personal life and his vision which I gleaned from the book.

The man has the “stuff” that legends are made of. For one’s values determine the course of his/ her life.

And in watching the U.S Marine band playing ‘Hail to the Chief’ at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C at the Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2009 where Barack Obama was sworn in as President, it was obvious that this was the first step to an America that we’ve always known and loved. Perhaps, this is the America that George Carlin wanted! Who knows?

As the 44th President of the United States was asked to repeat the words: I, Barack Hussain Obama… an excerpt from his book about how people were wary of affiliating themselves with him as his name Obama rhymed with Osama of the notorious 9/11 episode came to mind.

This man has risen above his challenges against all odds and the country’s circumstances to take charge of America’s destiny as the forty-fourth President of the United States.

A couple of things that really caught my attention was that he changed the way fund raising for election campaigns have been run by only accepting small donations from individuals as well as his clever use of the Internet in the campaign efforts.

The old principle of ‘Divide and Rule’ is gone. His emphasis for a change in spirit by showing unity in diversity is not just empty talk but he has demonstrated that ever since he was a Senator by working with both Democrats and Republicans, or trying to bridge the existing gap between these parties. The account of the state of politics is mentioned with numerous examples in his book, The Audacity of Hope.

It’s time that everyone worked together to build a better tomorrow. For a real change and a complete transformation of the United States at both the individual and the collective level.

Here’s an inspiring part from his Inaugural Speech, that has inspired the millions around us even more than ever:

“So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

“Let it be told to the future world…that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].”

BRAVO… President Obama! It is hope and virtue that defines the human spirit and that can only reveal a new way forward.

A new and brighter day has indeed dawned for America and its choices. And Barack Obama is the first one towards a better tomorrow.

In closing, here’s the President Barack Hussein Obama’s Inaugural Speech dated January 20,2009: