This man is a stooge

Yesterday, to mark Black History Month, our new U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder got up in front of an audience and called us a "nation of cowards."

I hate to take anything out of context. So, when I heard the outrageous news reports of the incident, I quickly got my hands on the entire text of his little speech.

He really said those words. And, he justified them with a rather poor argument that we are afraid to talk about race in America.

What a load of hooey.

The last time I checked, not only are Mr. Holder and the president he serves both African Americans. But, the heads of both major political parties are also black men.

Clearly, our country as a whole is a lot more comfortable with our multi-racial/cultural environment than is Mr. Holder.

Evidently, he will not be content unless we are constantly talking about our feelings. (More likely, he would expect us all to sit quietly while he pontificates.)

I say we have some bigger fish to fry, and maybe he needs to get to work administering some justice or something that fits his job description.

Hope and change.

Typical white person?!

The fact Senator Barack Hussein Obama used that phrase to describe his own maternal grandmother should refute--once and for all--the liberal mantra that he transcends the racial divide in this country. If you listen to that sort of clap-trap, they would have you believe that he is the only person in America who "gets it."

But, this label he applied to his granny from Kansas tells me that he views white America as one big monolithic group, that thinks, acts, and shares the same attitudes on race.

What a buffoon.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

I thought this guy was Harvard-educated?

Newsflash to the illustrious senator: There is no "typical white person," any more than there is a "typical black person," or a "typical Hispanic person."

We come from different ethnic backgrounds and religious traditions. Does he think an Irish Catholic white person really has the same perspectives as a Russian Orthodox white person? Or, a Southern Baptist white person? Etc. Etc. Etc.

The thing is, we have plenty of labels we can thrust on one another. Liberals like this joke of a Democratic candidate would love to break us all down into these categories, furthering the "hyphenization of America." It plays into their hands to have white-Americans, black-Americans, latino-Americans, Asian-Americans, ad infinitum.

We don't need any more of that sort of divisiveness. Our public servants should be looking at us all as simply Americans.

So much for being a uniter, Senator Obama.

You blew it!

Incidentally, for ye socks interested in such tangential studies, Barack Hussein Obama actually comes from a much more diverse background than the "typical Senator." Check out the details of his pedigree (including his maligned grandma) at:

http://www.wargs.com/political/obama.html

A great genealogy program on PBS

This one kept me up way past my bedtime for a typical work night, but it was well worth it. It is entitled "African American Lives 2," by Harvard history professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

The 2 is added to the end of the title, because he put out a similar program last year. But, that one focused only on media maven Opra Winfrey.

This latest production weaves twelve different family tales that actually transcend race and geography. They include, besides Dr. Gates' discoveries about his own roots:

Linda Johnson Rice - CEO of a media empire that includes "Ebony" and "Jet" magazines, who receives evidence of why her father left Arkansas for Chicago as a young man.

Don Cheadle - The actor is shocked to discover his ancestors were enslaved not by white plantation owners but by Chickasaw Indians.

Chris Rock - The comedian is amazed at the roller coaster life of his ancestor who (in just 15 years) went from being a slave, to fighting in the Civil War, to serving as a South Carolina legislator, to returning to farm land near Charleston.

Tom Joyner - the radio talk show host is stunned to discover two great-uncles were apparently framed from murder and sent to the electric chair.

Peter Gomes - a minister from Cambridge, Massachusetts, talks about the complicated racial identities of his Cape Verde ancestors and growing up in an overwhelmingly-white community.

Maya Angelou - the poet gained even deeper knowledge about the characters who feature so prominently in her masterpiece "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."

Morgan Freeman - discovers an interracial couple in his family tree, who did whatever it took to stay together despite the prevalent racism in 19th Century Mississippi.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee - the Olympic runner draws strength from the examples of her East St. Louis ancestors.

Tina Turner - the mega-star is brought to tears when she discovers her elementary school was built on land donated by her great-uncle and that an ancestor performed 50+ wedding ceremonies in her Tennessee hometown.

Kathleen Henderson - a fan of the original episode had the legend behind her ancestor's Woodbridge surname disproved by the historical record.

And, finally . . .

Bliss Broyard - another non-famous participant was shocked to discover her father's true racial identity after his death in 1990.

If you like ancestor hunting and root digging as much as yours truly, check your local PBS listings to see when/if this great series will re-air.

You will not be disappointed.

Apple core! Baltimore! Who's your friend?!

Did you ever play that game as a child?

Anyway, if you were playing it in Baltimore tonight, the answer would NOT be Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney, or Fred Thompson.

Each of those supposed "top tier" candidates failed to appear at the PBS broadcast of debates hosted by Tavis Smiley in the Murphy Fine Arts Center at Morgan State University--an historically black school.

And, with justification, many in the black community are taking offense. As former Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele told his fellow Marylanders in the introduction, it has been far too long that the GOP and African Americans have "stood at arm's length." The divide needs to end. But, that's not going to happen if we follow the lead of the "top tier" guys.

I will point out that Mike Huckabee was in Baltimore to participate in the debate and addressed important issues to minority voters like unemployment, criminal justice, and health care.

Remember, he's the same guy who has spoken to groups as divergent as union conventioneers and values voters right here in the great State of Florida.

That's what we need to see MORE of in our "top tier" candidates: uniters, not dividers.

I hope I'm not alone in my disgust with the status quo. I yearn for the election of a president next year who is unafraid of speaking to ALL Americans--not just those whose special interests have traditionally supported his/her party with cash or votes.

So far, in my opinion, only Mike Huckabee fills that bill.

Amasa Blakesley

That's the name of one of my Civil War ancestors.

I've known about him for awhile, having traced the old family tree for many years now. And, I even wrote a book about some of them who fought in the War-Between-the-States.

But, imagine my surprise when I discovered his name appears on the national African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, DC!

(If you're in the neighborhood, check out plaque #C-76.)

If you've ever watched the movie "Glory," you're probably aware the "all-black" regiments in the Civil War were not really "all-black." All of their officers and most of their non-commissioned officers were white. My Amasa fell into the latter category, serving for a time as the regimental musician for the 66th U.S. Colored Troops.

Apparently, in memorializing the "colored" regiments, the designers of the memorial made no distinction between the men and the officers, black or white.

And, that's appropriate, don't you think?