EDITORIAL
A4
SEPTEMBER 12 – SEPTEMBER 18, 2014
America is a political candy land Have you seen the Jamie Foxx movie “Django Unchained”? If you haven’t take a look at it because the film mirrors the 2014 political landscape relative the AfricanAmerican voters and citizens. In “Django Unchained,” the movie depicts a notorious plantation and slave master that used and abused Black slaves to gain riches and wealth. The plantation was called “Candy Land” and politically speaking, African-Americans are living in a political “Candy Land” right this very moment. In slavery days, everything Blacks did was done to enrich devilish slave masters. Today, everything done by African-Americans in a political context is done to benefit non-Black
LUCIUS GANTT THE GANTT REPORT
politicians. We vote for them and their neocolonialist Negro political puppets, we contribute to their political campaigns, we endorse them, we volunteer for them, we praise them and we honor them.
Nothing in return And, what do we get for all of our political efforts? We get absolutely nothing. To the Black man and Black woman, the American political
system is permeated with modern day carpet baggers and slave patrols! Most of the Black elected officials and politicians in America wouldn’t even go to sleep and dream about hiring a Black political consultant, a Black media consultant, a Black printer, pollster, caterer or other political professional! So what do politicians do? They talk about jobs for you but they give all the jobs they can to carpetbaggers!
Political opportunists Don’t take my word for it. Ask your favorite candidate if his campaign workers come from his state, his city, and in the case of Black politicians, from that Black politician’s community. So how does the politician control the Black voters? The politician uses modern day political slave patrols! Slave patrols (called patrollers, pattyrollers or paddy rollers by
VISUAL VIEWPOINT: AIRPLANE LEGROOM
PATRICK CHAPPATTE, THE INTERNATIONAL NEW YORK TIMES
Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 226 ISIS/ISIL – These radical Islamic fundamentalists are great at public relations and social networking. They call themselves “The Islamic State,” as if they are an internationally recognized sovereign nation. If they are attacked – as they surely will be – they can argue to Muslims worldwide that the attack is on the world’s only Islamic ‘state,’ not on terrorism. I’m not playing their game. Thus, I will forever refer to them as “ISIS/ISIL,” as should everyone else. This group beheaded two Americans and uploaded the video to the Internet, thus provoking a 9/11 reaction at a fraction of the money and complex planning that Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda invested. Bro. Prez is absolutely correct to go slow, as this is the same attempt to inflame American opinion to support waging a Bush-Afghanistan/Iraq-type “war on terror” which saps our energy and finances for decades. That was bin Laden’s goal all along – and he succeeded. I hope Obama will not allow America to be drawn into what is essentially a regional civil war between various factions of Sunni and Shia Muslims, a war that had ebbed and flowed for more than 1,300 YEARS. (That is more than 13 CENTURIES. America itself isn’t even 300 years old.) Why are we even interested in what
QUICK TAKES FROM #2: STRAIGHT, NO CHASER
CHARLES W. CHERRY II, ESQ. PUBLISHER
happens there? Oil – and Israel. People laughed in 1977 when President Jimmy Carter tried to establish a national energy policy and cut America’s dependence on Middle East oil, calling it “the moral equivalent of war.” Had America worked with diligence and foresight to wean our economy and way of life off the “crack cocaine” of imported oil, we wouldn’t give a damn about what happens in Iraq, Syria or Libya. Our Saudi Arabian “dope dealers” – who have financed both al Qaeda and ISIS/ISIL – would have to spill the blood of their own citizens to protect their oil “stash” that provides their opulent way of life.
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the slaves) in the days of slavery were organized groups of three to six White men who enforced discipline upon Black slaves in the antebellum U.S. southern states. They policed the slaves on plantations and hunted down fugitive slaves. Patrols used summary punishment against escapees, maiming or killing them. Slave patrols were first established in South Carolina in 1704, and the idea spread throughout the southern states. Today, the political slave patrols are composed of Negroes from faraway places that show up in Black communities only at election time to persuade and convince every Black voter that no matter how wicked, how beastly, how exploitative, how insensitive, how uncaring, how disrespectful or how evil politicians are that pale politician is “all right”!
Who do you love? The US political party that should love Black people the most
shows their appreciation for all of the Black votes they get by spending money with every race of people but Black people. In political purchasing transactions, Hispanics get more money than Blacks, women get more money than Blacks and even gays get more opportunities in political purchasing transactions than Black people do. There is one exception, so to speak. In slavery days Black people were considered to be only 1/5th, or 20%, as valuable as a non-Black. Today, in politics, Black political professionals are only worth only about 2% of the worth of White political professionals! And, the slave patrols will tell you we are better off!
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Obama’s biggest weakness: He’s weak If I didn’t see it with my own eyes I never would have believed it. Here was President Barack Obama talking with his Russian counterpart, President Dmitry Medvedev, about giving a message to incoming President Vladimir Putin. They thought the microphone was off but the whole world will hear the discussion plainly. He goes, “Tell Vladimir to please wait until after my re-election. Then I could be much more flexible.” Shaking hands President Medvedev says, “Yes I will transmit your message to Vladimir.” We were very curious if not somewhat shocked. What was he about to give up? Now it appears to be the Ukraine, as we knew it. Putin was about to go Stalin style and invade a neighboring nation and the US was going to let it happen. Well, the rest is history. This squeamish approach to foreign relations appears to be a major trait of our president who is supposed to be the leader and valiant fighter for the free world. It appears that isn’t the case.
HARRY C. ALFORD NNPA COLUMNIST
We are approaching the anniversary of 9/11 and Jihadists have eleven planes to play with. Where is our outrage? Where is the bravery and aggressiveness to get those planes and take out the militias? The leadership we used to have is gone until we find a true leader to guide our great nation. Syria is far worse! Chemical weapons have been used on women and children and all the White House can do is sell “wolf tickets” about drawing a line in the sand. That line has been scratched out by the “feet” of Dictator Assad and two rival groups, both some form of Jihadists. This nation is a three ring circus of terror. We could have had a handle on it in the early stages but our President feared to make a move. Once again, his fear overtakes his obligation and 11 missing jets The pleas for increased the world gets worse and security by our Libyan Am- worse. bassador, J. Christopher Stevens, went ignored. This Not a JV team Our intelligence inreticence by our President and Secretary of State Clin- formed the White House of ton caused his death as well this new off shoot of Al Qaeas three of his staff. The da, ISIS, which was gaining President still can’t make a ground in Syria and threatstrong move in Libya. To- ening to invade Iraq. Iraq day, Al Qaeda like mili- was sitting there like a deer tias our carving up the na- in front of head lights. In his tion and we just appear to rush to get our troops out ignore it. There are elev- Obama left the nation unen missing commercial jet trained and ill prepared to planes and we don’t have a protect itself from the hosclue who took them. Listen! tile factions that surround
it. As ISIS was considering, the President made an arrogant statement to the press about them. He referred to them as a junior varsity team that had delusions they were the Lakers basketball team. Two months later, ISIS rushed into Iraq and snatched 40% of the land all the while performing medieval style massacres wherever they went. This group now has over a billion dollars in cash from the banks they seized and modern US military equipment they got from the fleeing Iraqi troops. Mass murder is their trade mark and all the White House could do in the beginning is to send some food. We are now dabbling in helicopter rescues, light equipment and some air strikes here and there. The bitter truth is that we must be very lethal with ISIS.
Meet war with war No one in their right mind wants to make war. Sometimes, a nation has to meet war face to face. If it comes before you, you must act aggressively and win or become defeated and beholden to the new conquerors. There is no in between and somehow this person we elected twice feels he can wait it out for two more years and get the hell out of Washington, DC with all the money accumulated along the way.
Harry C. Alford is the co-founder, president/ CEO, of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Write your own response at www.flcourier. com.
US can’t be world policeman I was struck by how quickly various pundits jumped upon President Obama’s comment regarding ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) in which he stated that “…we do not have a strategy yet…” Why the surprise? Why any outrage? The statement was brutally honest. There is a famous saying, in effect, if you do not know where you are going, any road will get you there. This is the point that many right-wing and liberal commentators seem to be missing. In the age of instantaneous news, there seems to be the expectation of instantaneous decision-making. Real life does not lend itself to such an option.
BILL FLETCHER, JR. NNPA COLUMNIST
the destruction of the country and the proliferation of sectarian conflict; and the ongoing war in Afghanistan have all contributed to a situation whereby clerical fascists, including but not limited to ISIS, have been able to grow. Added to this has been the U.S.-supported, Shiitedominated government in Iraq that engaged in the alltoo-common retribution against Sunnis after years of persecution. And, of course, there is the Syrian civil war that started with a popular, Terrorists groups in- democratic protest that was creasing violently suppressed by the ISIS is the creation of ma- Assad government, fueling a levolent U.S. foreign poli- military conflict which ISIS cies. The collaboration with utilized for its own ends. Saudi Arabia that resulted, ultimately in the growth The magic button of Al Qaeda; the first war Into this situation various with Iraq (1991) that prob- nation-states and political ably would never have hap- organizations have entered, pened had Saddam Hussein many of them strategic, as been clearer on U.S. inten- well as on-again/off-again tions; the second war with allies of the U.S.A. Is such a Iraq (2003) that resulted in situation resolved through
a few missile strikes? A few bombardments? Perhaps a few hundred paratroopers or Special Operations units? There are too many people in Washington, D.C. — and in the U.S. as a whole —who would have loved to have heard President Obama suggest that by merely pushing a button that the U.S. could demonstrate its leadership. Perhaps with the click of a switch the entirety of the ISIS leadership can be zapped away into the Phantom Zone? I hate to break it to you – and to Fox News – but it simply does not work that way. When one is dealing with a criminal organization, e.g., the Mafia, or a clerical fascist organization, e.g., Al Qaeda; ISIS, the problem is not resolved at light speed, regardless of how quickly one receives information on cable news channels. Wake up, pundits: welcome to the 21st century.
Bill Fletcher, Jr. is the host of The Global African on Telesur-English. He is a racial justice, labor and global justice writer and activist. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.