What If Powell Had Run - And Won- In 1996?

Colin Powell officially endorsed Barack Obama for President today after much speculation that he might....eventually. Should it matter that a former Secretary of the State endorses the candidate for the opposing political party? Does the fact that Colin has some African heritage like Barack give more weight to it? Does the timing help being that it's a little more than 2 weeks from election day? Is this the death knoll to the McCain campaign  - which has become a rallying cry for every racist to come out of the woodwork?

Powell's reasoning for his support:

"I think we need a transformational figure. I think we need a president who is a generational change and that's why I'm supporting Barack Obama, not out of any lack of respect or admiration for Sen. John McCain."   POW! 

"This Bill Ayers situation that's been going on for weeks became something of a central point of the campaign," Powell said. "But Mr. McCain says that he's a washed-out terrorist.  Well, then, why do we keep talking about him?"  BAM!

Powell said McCain's choice of Palin raised questions about judgment.  "I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States," Powell said.   ZAP!

There you have it.

********

I'd love to be able to rewind time back to the 1996 election. Powell was rumored to have been considering a run against an incumbent Bill Clinton. Now that would have been an election to remember! The Republicans held a majority in both the House and Senate. They had control of the corporate media. They had a very organized machine and a united party. 

Clearly there were and are some who would have never supported a Powell candidacy, but I can't help but wonder if other more moderate Republican voices had seized the moment and convinced him to go for it anyway. That would have been a real gangsta move! Powell was held in such high regard and had impeccable credentials. He could have been an excellent President depending on how much influence the Neo-Cons would've had over the direction and platform. Clinton was in trouble politically and of course we now see just how much trouble was to come. He would not have been elected at all but for the inadvertent assist he received from Ross Perot shaving off enough votes from Bush Sr. for him to eek out a win. 

Clinton could not have afforded to alienate the Black vote (mules that we were) by attacking Powell racially like he did to Obama. The Democrats were not united. This was before September 11th. People were not as scared or hurting financially as they are now. Where would the prejudiced Republicans have gone? To the Democratic party? That's doubtful. This was 12 years ago and I'm sure they would've been told to suck it up.

This was the brilliantly strategic move the Republicans should have chosen. Many Blacks would have voted for Powell and perhaps even switched parties because we're not all socially liberal. It would have been the death knoll to the Clinton campaign and I think he would have won. We would have had a moderate Republican who supported reproductive rights, fought wars well and is an intelligent and thoughtful man. 

We may have been able to dodge the Bush Jr. bullet and quell the rise of the Neo-Con facists who have scorched this nation and caused almost irrevocable damage to the hopes and dreams we have for it. I can't help but think this is why Powell left the Bush administration.

When he gave his case for war in 2003 at the UN I did not believe him. I won't claim he was lying because the official word is that the intelligence was faulty, but I don't need a PhD in physics to know that apples will fall from trees either. Common sense and intuition are just as powerful tools of discernment. I knew the public was not being given accurate information. For his involvement with this, there will always be that stain that never quite comes out, that scarlet A on his chest. 

For Obama though this is a victorious moment where some good can triumph. Both Sec. Powell and Sen. Obama came from economically challenged backgrounds but applied themselves and succeeded. Nothing was handed to them. Obama had even considered joining the military as a means of service before he chose community organizing and moved on to politics. I am certain Powell was pressured to either endorse McCain or offer none at all. All of his praise for McCain aside I do not agree that he is fit for the office of POTUS, but then neither was Bush Jr.  True to form McCain, like a petulant child has already dismissed Powell with his version of, "I've got other former S.O.S. officials voting for me - so there!"

Former Mayor Willie Brown called this two months ago (in an SF Chronicle article from Aug 18th to be exact):

"Here's a prediction: Colin Powell is going to endorse Barack Obama. I'm not pulling this out of thin air. I'm basing my forecast on a series of phone calls that I received this week. I can't say who called me, but I can tell you one of the questions I was asked, "What do you think the reaction would be if former Secretary of State Colin Powell - a Republican - introduced Democrat Obama at his big acceptance speech at Mile High Stadium after being made the nominee?" My reply: "It would seal the deal. It would be the presidency." I don't think Powell will go to Denver for the Democratic National Convention, but based on the recent conversations, I have to believe that something big is in the works."

Mr. Brown has said he thinks the delay in endorsement came by request from President Bush asking Powell to hold off on it. Just look where we are now and how some of us allowed for this by supporting the Bush and now the McCain candidacies - ultimately at the expense of us all. You know the the price for our collective 'holding off' has been very high, too high even. The current stakes in this election are even higher. There can be no going back unfortunately. Hopefully most of us have learned the impact of one single choice - even if that choice was to do nothing. We've got 16 days and counting....and all the work to come after that.

Updates with videos:

Powell On Tavis Smiley After Iowa Caucus


Powell Endorsement on Meet the Press Today


Powell Discussing His Endorsement

Can Somebody Explain This Photo?

I thought this was somebody's Photoshop experiment, but it was taken at the debate!

Crypt keeper?

Wicked Wizard?

This is just.....creepy and may I add not very Presidential!   

 

Oprah Just Honored Gloria Steinem: Why Am I So Mad?

So I was watching Thursday's Oprah episode where she featured Maria Shriver. Maria has an annual conference for women and this year Billie Jean King and Gloria Steinem are amongst the honorees. Now Steinem might be an ally of Oprah but is she an ally of mine? What about Laquisha from the hood? Or Monique from a small town? So many people are ignored not only by corporate media but by us when they don't easily fit into our vision of what an ally is or we dismiss others without giving them an opportunity to prove themselves from the get-go.

Blogger Host Lisa at Black Women Blow the Trumpet posted a discussion about how Black women needed to vet their potential allies back in June. When I go through the criteria I find key elements lacking for matters that are important to me. How did I come to such a conclusion?

Well I looked back at Ms. Steinem's behavior during the Democratic primary. Per her Op-Ed article in the New York Times back in January: her charge was that sexism is worse than racism. I was outraged by that assessment and to me it signaled the same white male supremacist power structure Black people have been fighting against since we helped found this country with our blood, sweat and tears. I also looked at the historical interactions from previous generations of white feminists, black feminists and civil rights activists.

If there's any one authority of the ravages of sexism it is Black women. We were uniquely affected by it as well as racism when our female ancestors were forced to breed and lived with being raped on a daily basis. Our bodies were never our own. Being enslaved required 18-20 hours day of skull-crushing, back breaking labor while white people fought for 'freedom' and built their wealth. Now to be certain, there was the slave owner but there was also the slave owner's wife who benefitted from this practice and had an equally vested interest in keeping the status quo. 

That violation of Black women continued after slavery, through Jim Crow and still resides today. Do you think the brouhaha over Janet Jackson being exposed had to do with indecency or a reaction to the historical image distortion of Black women as being wanton and having no morals? 

White women = the definition of "woman" in this country. White. Blonde. Thin. Young. Pure. Wife material. Innocent. Worthy of protection. American.

Ms. Steinem made a point of mentioning she ran as a delegate for Shirley Chisholm and praised her contribution to feminism. Nice, but that was 1972. Then there's the fact that she was also supporting George McGovern's run (in states where Chisholm wasn't running). Now color me stupid but I'm thinking of two words right now. Divided loyalty. Hedging bets. Not Sincere? 

What has she done for Black women since then?

Watch the documentary Unbought & Unbossed. Note that Mrs. Chisholm didn't get a whole lot of support from the Black (male) politicians of the day but she was definitely abandoned by the so-called leaders of the (white) feminist movement at a crucial moment when they could have gone for broke and supported her candidacy.  For a white male candidate no less. So I am rightfully incensed with Steinem and a host of other white women (Geraldine Ferraro, Joan Walsh, et al) who were given media access and were carping about how 'unfair' it all was that they were victims of a vast Black (male) conspiracy (and not getting their way)! Their sense of entitlement was palpable. Otherwise why title your Op-Ed piece, "Women Are Never Front-Runners" when you had the chance to support a female candidate more than 30 years prior and decided to choose white?

Furthermore, where were the BLACK WOMEN in this equation? Yeah Hillary Clinton had Sheila Jackson-Lee and Stephanie Tubbs-Jones in her corner but was that from a position of power? Or was this standard water-carrier activity? How was the average Black woman benefitting from this discourse? Then....and now? If you have no idea what I'm talking about now's the time to do a little historical research, compare it to the coverage last Spring and connect the dots as to why I've drawn this conclusion. You don't have to agree of course.

Then there's the very telling debate between Steinem and Melissa Harris-Lacewell on Democracy Now a week after the Op-Ed was published. Steinem had this paternalistic attitude of how 'grateful' Black women should be. This is the ongoing indicator of how some people are not our allies, including other Black women and Black men. Watch and judge for yourself.

Oprah referring to Steinem as the "Mother of Feminism" is really giving her far more credit than she deserves. A key contributor - sure -  because a path was created for her to do so. This is when I see why some people are critical of Oprah for seeming to fawn over some white people too much. I can't quite agree with the charge of the 'selling out' of Blacks by Oprah but I do see the distinction of money, access and celebrity. Besides, those part of the elite classes and those with access to them are not interested in opening their doors to the masses. 

First of all Steinem is in her 70's and part of the 2nd wave of feminism. We're in the 3rd wave now and believe me there's a reason why so many young girls don't know anything about feminism other than having a vague sense of the word. Most women under 35 don't consider themselves feminists at all.  At times it is an exercise in privilege because there is so much 'choice' involved. When there are systematic barriers in place that prevent some women from being able to make certain choices or have equal opportunities then there is no choice! It is just white woman privilege under the construct of white male supremacy.

There can be no truthful acknowledgment of Steinem's contributions without discussing her privilege as a white woman, her class status and appearance. She was single with no children, educated and is still attractive and articulate. She was not a poor woman from Appalachia with a GED. Sorry Glo, I am still not convinced. There is a blogger whose interests lie in deconstructing and dismantling this privilege.

Now as a member of the (in)famous X generation perhaps I am missing something. This could a generational difference. Just like the Civil Rights Industrial Complex the old guard wants to keep their status and accolades. Where is the grooming and nurturing of future leaders? More women would make a concerted effort to align themselves with the Feminist Industrial Complex IF they felt it spoke to them and addressed their needs.  There are women who are anti-racist activists trying to form valuable alliances with each other. We need to have more than one declared leader of the FIC anyway. Women, like Blacks are not a monolith. So many are quick to object to blind support for Obama and not make him into a Messiah. Well we don't need a "Mother" either. We need to be on equal footing with a seat at the table.

For too many there is a huge socio-economic barrier at play. If you have to address more immediate needs such as affordable housing or even personal safety as a result of racist/sexist policies negatively impacting your sphere of the world being ignored by these pillars of the movement won't encourage your participation. Another example of this is the current fight against Proposition 8. The Gay Rights groups seeking support for its opposition approach communities color during an election year but ignore them otherwise. 

Steinem now claims to have been in support of Obama all along - she just wanted Hillary Clinton in the White House first.  Remember those calls for Obama to "wait his turn"? As if he had to make it easier for the white women (and those that support their agendas) to deal with playing on a level field. Isn't that what equality means? See where white privilege demands deference? Obama has already capitulated to white people to make them feel at ease enough!! Look how close we are to election day and you can read numerous reports of how whites are calling Obama a terrorist or dressing up monkey stuffed animals and all the ways they are making their displeasure known. 

The convenient fall back position is to claim they didn't know they were being offensive, or because they have a Black friend/lover/neighbor/co-worker they can't be racist. Not correctly labeling their actions means there can be no progress. Without respect there can be no real relationship. Standing by and doing nothing to hold people accountable will never resolve these conflicts. Until white people like Steinem take up the charge of first acknowledging then letting go of white privilege and all its benefits she can NEVER truly be an ally in my opinion. It must always about RECIPROCITY.

You can also go the Democracy Now! site for a stream and transcript.

About that Joe the Plumber Guy and the Real Tax Increase Planned for All of Us

We know the Republican party will stop at nothing to use psychological warfare in pushing voters to work against their best interests. This man Joe Wurzelbacher was used as a prop by John McCain during last night's debate. I thought Obama was caught of guard for a moment in fact, though he was able to recover. Debating is not one of his strengths though he has improved vastly over the past six months. Sparring and (stumbling at times) through his debates against Hillary Clinton did help him step up his game. 

I don't believe in coincidences. The Republican party has been on the offensive and have been engaging in highly offensive behavior. McCain dismissed any calls of admonishment for those that have shouted for bringing harm to Obama or have engaged in racially charged actions. So he is giving his approval of such tactics. Yet he wants Obama to throw John Lewis under the bus for calling him out on it. Lewis was claimed as a hero by McCain in an earlier debate now he wants his head on a platter? As I stated before McCain has sunk so low he has to reach up for the gutter.

There is this meme being presented whereby Middle class values are equated with white people who live in smaller towns. They are imbued with a distinctive moral fiber and are being elevated as the only 'true Americans'. Populations to the far East or West are 'liberals' and everyone else is completely discounted, particularly people of color. This is where Joe Six Pack and Joe the Plumber come into play.

As it turns out this man is an employee of a small business and is nowhere near in a position to buy the business. He doesn't have a license. He owes the state of OH $1200 in back taxes. He doesn't earn $250K. I find it curiously convenient that this man approached Obama to plant seeds of discourse over his tax plan that would in fact reduce taxes for 95% of the country. 

That big bad scary tax increase turns out to be not so much in fact. It would increase from its current 36% to 39% for those earning more than $250K. I don't consider a 3% tax increase an exorbitant amount, particularly when other plans are in place to reduce other costs of living across the board. Like with health insurance. It's still better than the across the board tax increase McCain is proposing under the guise of a tax credit for health insurance. That tax rate increase for all wage-earners is anywhere from 1-10%. It is a scam and a sham and I really hope people read between the lines, do real number crunching and figure out it's the typical Republican politricks at work again. 

McCain claims the average cost of health insurance is $5800 per person. In what state is he referring to and with what insurer? Magicland?! So going back to his plan of a $2500 for single, $5000 tax credit for families let's do the math. Not that a family has been specifically defined but let's assume it's the 2 parents and 2 kid scenario. That's a total $23, 200 for the four but McCain's credit is $5000. Your family's taxable amount has now increased by $18, 200. This policy is penny wise but pound foolish and sets a bad precedent for how strapped we'd end up. Meanwhile the multi-national corporations get an increase in their windfall profits at our expense. 

McCain also alluded to those with top-tier insurance policies are not part of the equation, but tried to misconstrue it as those with coverage for plastic coverage surgery or other 'unnecessary' coverage. Well I'm not aware of insurers covering plastic surgery unless it's reconstructive in nature from an accident. Plastic surgery is typically classified as elective (meaning not covered).  So much for choice! He has also failed to mention he currently has top-tier insurance at a heavily subsidized rate through our tax dollars. 

I went to the Obama Tax Cut website to punch in my numbers to determine what my tax reduction would be and to compare the difference under the McCain plan. I'd save several hundred dollars under the Obama plan and less than $100 under the McCain plan, but like I stated above if I add in the cost of the health insurance as taxable income goes up by about $8000 (and counting). That puts me in a higher tax bracket and my taxes would go up 3-5% regardless. So McCain's plan, like McCain's choice in a running mate is a Trojan horse and a set up to cause more harm than good. 

Meanwhile the Republicans are lying about ACORN while trying to purge legally registered voters from rolls in all the battleground states, esp. Ohio, Florida and Colorado. There are 19 days left. Even if you have reservations about this so-called utopia of hope floating in the horizon I urge everyone to get out and take action toward something positive. Phone bank, knock on doors, sign a few petitions and donate. Be engaged politically. It's our country and we should not forget that. 

Update 140pm:  See I hadn't read any blogs before I wrote this post. I just glanced through the Yahoo article I linked to when I was checking my messages. Apparently all heck has broken loose over Joe the Plumber. He was definitely a plant and is in fact a relative of Charles Keating, white collar banking thief and friend of McCain. You can't make this shizz up!!

Geez Is This Debate Over Yet?

It's not even half-way through and I am ready to turn it off! I am hearing the SAME talking points I've been hearing for the past few weeks now. McCain is slowly but surely losing it though. He's getting testier by the minute. The CNN peter meter is dropping like a lead stone at everything McCain says. Neither candidate has addressed working class and lower income or homeless people. It's all about Joe the Plumber. McCain has not yet offered any solutions about setting this economy right - though he says his campaign is all about that. He just keeps trying to claim Obama is going to raise taxes, or that he has shady connections. Who is he trying to convince about this? 

It is code word for: He's Black don't vote for him. What does that have to do with YOU John McCain? He had the nerve to say, and I quote "ACORN is destroying the fabric of this country." So the banks and private companies and their shady lending practices and setting up the biggest Ponzi scheme since the tech stock implosion has nothing to do with it? He started off this debate complaining about Secretary Paulson. I'm hearing the man who couldn't distinguish the difference between Shia and Sunni try to diss Joe Biden's credibility in the Senate when Joe has been there longer. This isn't about the American people. This is about his ego and feeding his ambition. Obama is holding his own and by now I've accepted he's not going to go on the attack. He's just going to stay chill and he's not letting McCain walk over him. Sorry McCain but your bulging eyes and that smirk on your face are a dead giveaway. He keeps misrepresenting his own positions and oversimplifying things. Sigh. I wish McCain has been the Maverick he used to be. Instead he is a pathetic shell of his former self and I can't sit by while he tries to pull 3-card Monty with facts and promises. McCain = Worse than Bush.  

Update: 740pm It's a wrap. I didn't see any extra ground covered during the last portion of the debate. The pundits are on offering their jaundiced points of view, because honestly they don't know what they're talking about. I'll update again when the polls come out. I call an Obama win. Even if McCain is seen to be ahead it's not going to turn the tide. 

Update: 810pm McCain you lose AGAIN. 

MSNBC: Obama 85%, McCain 12%

CNN:  Obama 58%, McCain 31%

CBS:  Obama 53%, McCain 22% 

So McCain might want to try to make the next three weeks about "Joe" but let's not forget about Lilly Ledbetter. Let's not forget about a gov't freeze under a McCain administration. Let's not forget about the economy. This isn't a pugilist contest. Or a popularity contest.  If John McCain is not President Bush then what plans does McCain have that are different? Or better?  He has NOT answered that. He claims to be opposed to earmarks yet he signed that $840 Bailout package that had $140B added to it. He talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk...... 

Update 10/16 259pm:  Ok here's a funny video put out by the campaign linking McCain and Bush and the SEIU put one out a few days ago as well.

Blog Action Day 2008: Focus on Poverty

Well things are winding down and headed to the wire for the Presidential election in the US. I wrote a post a few days ago where I mentioned the lack of discussion about poor people by the major party candidates lately. Of course the corporate media in conjunction with the Republican party are trying to shift responsibility for the economic free-fall by blaming people of color and the poor when it is as always greed and no accountability that results in great profit and equally greater catastrophe. 

There has always been a group who've fallen through the cracks in this society but never have their numbers been as high as they are now. In fact there has been a record number of applicants requesting immediate assistance from their states. When I think of large corporations receiving billions of dollars and their executives multi-million dollar pay-outs but the family down the street gets nothing I know that we are living in a form of hell on earth. 

There have been key circumstances that strip people of their earning power and accumulation of assets in this country:

1.  The cost of health coverage - and by extension the lack of health. Having high-fructose corn syrup added to everything does not help! It's banned in Europe for a reason. 

2.  The over-valuation of property. If you managed to hang on to your house is it worth the same today as it was when you purchased it?

3.  The cost of good and services - up by x amount year and year. 

4.  Inflation versus salary. The cost of living goes up but the salaries do not meet the minimums.  

5.  Living beyond their means. Greed is not good. Having a plasma tv is not a necessity.

Now let's be clear that those of us that live in Western countries have a lot more than those who live in developing nations. By 'developing' it should correctly be identified as recovering from having its resources stolen or destroyed by their former colonizers.  

Now let's look at some solutions for emerging nations:

1.  Making sure there is a steady supply of clean water.

2.  Micro-loans being provided to women - who are then able to provide for their families. 

3.  Get rid of the debts owed to the World Bank and IMF. 

4.  Providing medicine and other medical services. 

These nations have to rebuild and shore up their infrastructure. In some countries where socialism is employed to even the playing field the citizens have a much higher quality of life. Sure the wealthiest of its citizens pay as much as 40% of their taxes, but they all have free health care, free schools including university, paid time off for primary care givers of children or the elderly, less crime and homelessness is practically non-existent. 

Capitalism may rule in this country but it only benefits a very limited few. Having that carrot dangled in your face about what you might possibly get does nothing to improve the quality of one's life. Being on the lower economic scale is not fun but having to go without food in this country is inexcusable. Let's acknowledge things are not working to our benefit and move on. 

Where's a good place to start?:

1.  Donate your time...and money. As bad as things may be they could be worse. We will find strength and purpose in helping other people. We will also regain some perspective. There was a time when we knew our neighbors. I think it would be a good idea to start caring about other people again just to remember that we're not so different after all. 

2.  Check out Volunteer Match and Charity Navigator. 

3.  Vote. Take responsibility for your gov't. 

4.  Develop a spiritual base, positive thinking, whatever you want to call it. 

5.  Decide that we have important core issues to resolve in this country that have nothing to do with race, religion or whether you want to have a beer with someone. 

As always the choice lies with us. We will sink or swim together. 

People Get Ready

Beware the Ides of March and Republican voter theft. Don't wait until November 4th to vote people. Let's look back at 2000 and 2004 shall we. 

1.  The lines may be long and you might be cut off. 

2.  Some voting places may suddenly not be available. 

3.  The police may block the roads leading to your specific one. 

4.  Your name may be removed from the voter roll. 

5.  Someone might challenge you for wearing an Obama pin. 

6.  You might be refused because of an error in how your name was listed.

These are just some of the ways an election can be stolen. Don't be lulled into complacency either. The corporate media reporting of poll numbers that favor Obama is not an accident. Don't start celebrating a 'win' just yet. He still has to cross that finish line. Our votes will put him there (if you are so inclined to do so). 

All I have to say is this: if the opposition candidates would rely on their message and had a strong platform then tampering with votes should not be necessary. On the other hand some people are only interested in maintaining a status quo and making their friends rich at the expense of everybody else and will do whatever they think will tilt the results their way. 

The Brennan Center for Justice is an excellent resource. Also Vote for Change. Make sure you are registered and able to vote. The earlier the better!! Like healthcare, it is a right not a privilege. We must be diligent and actively engaged.

Our battle has only just begun. This country is broke. According to the former Comptroller General (did you know we even had one?) the real national debt is close to $50 TRILLION. I just did a quick search and found a wiki entry that has it listed at $59.1 TRILLION. That breaks down to more than $516K per person.  Our greed is going to keep us in beggar status unless we change our spending ways. We will not really be free until we end our dependence on oil and driving big cars. We need to cut back on our use of electricity and maybe lay off the bottled water while we're at it. Are there really that many fresh springs in the world to support our designer water habit? 

Think about this for a moment: we buy water. There are people who are suffering the effects of drought and have to walk 20 miles for water or drink contaminated water. This is in addition to the water we use and pay for that's provided by our local municipality. So we pay twice. Then let's take into account other wasteful spending by the gov't and fraud. How can we wonder why we are in so much debt? 

So we need to examine our motivations and actions as well as monitoring those that don't have the country's best interests at heart. Get out and vote and take it from there.