Quote Of The Day

"We are heirs to a mind-numbing bureaucracy; subject to a level of legalization that cannot avoid being arbitrary, capricious, and discriminatory. What other outcome is possible in a society in which no adult can wake up, go about their business, and return to their homes without breaking several laws? There are of course many reasons for our present difficulties, but some of our troubles can be laid at the feet of that most innocuous branch – the judiciary…From the 1960s onward, we have witnessed the rise of the judge militant." — Janice Rogers Brown, federal judge and conservative Republican, on jurisprudence

PHILLIP JACKSON OP-ED: Will Globalization Destroy Black America?

Asks the executive director of The Black Star Project, an education group based in Chicago: "In the 21st century, there are only two kinds of people. Not Black or White, or rich or poor, or foreign or national. The two kinds of people in the world today are those who are educated and those who are not. Although education has become the new currency of exchange in the 21st century, the old American educational paradigm stopped working decades ago for Black Americans. Simply sending Black children to American schools without a clear purpose or goal has contributed to the demise of the Black community. Black America watched formerly third-world countries catapult over America to become educational super powers while America rested on its old, stale educational laurels and fell way behind much of the world in educational performance. And because Black America unthinkingly depended on the American education system to educate its children, we have fallen way behind."

Mr. Jackson continues his commentary: "We will not be able to prosper in the cities of America or possibly in any city in the world where the new currency for existence is access to global information, higher-order critical thinking and advanced technological skills. There used to be a time when it was better to be poor in America than rich in other countries. Now it might be better to be poor in some other countries than to be poor in America. Black people in America must immediately disengage from the diversions of mind-deadening entertainment, useless sports, hyper-sexuality, excessive social celebrations, pointless conversations and debates, meaningless media and the civil rights issue de jour approach to managing our problems. We must focus on the most important issue in our communities -- making education the highest priority."

And more: "The solution to the issue of Black America’s poor response to globalization is to 1) Deconstruct value systems that have caused Black people to arrive at the precipice of non-existence; 2) Construct value systems that will rebuild the Black family as a purveyor of positive values, cultures, mores and education, and re-establish the Black family as the primary and most important social unit of our culture and society; 3) Embrace education as the highest value in the Black community; 4) Effectively manage the negative cultural influences that hugely impact the thinking and actions of Black boys; and 5) Understand that for the rest of existence, change is a required part of the living process. The faster Black America is able to put this plan into action, adopt these new principles and manage change, the more likely we will survive....With globalization, Black America has entered into the 'Educate or Die' era. In this era, there are only two questions worth answering: 'Will we change? Can we survive?' How we emerge from this era is up to us."

My response: While we certainly can do better, the picture is not nearly as gloomy as Mr. Jackson paints it. If black Americans survived slavery, then we can survive this current globalization wave. The vast majority of black Americans are not poor, but Mr. Jackson focuses on the 26% who are poor as the face of Black America's future. 92% of us are employed, most black folks now have access to the Internet, about 20% are college graduates, and our per capita GDP ($22,062.67) is akin to that of the Czech Republic, Kuwait, Slovenia, and Greece. By 2009, we should have a combined trillion dollar GDP. I'd bet on black Americans surviving globalization before the vast majority of humanity. However, I agree that education is a top priority for black Americans (second only to combatting fatherlessness). School vouchers would enable us to craft schools that fit the various needs of black children, instead of the one-size-fits-all model that government schools follow.

COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: Togo

The West African country won the random selection. Togo has a population of 5.7 million, and is a republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule. Geographically slightly smaller than the state of West Virginia in USA, Togo got its independence from France in 1960. Togo's per capita GDP is US$1,700 (Black America GDP comparison: $22,062.67)

There are 37 tribal groups in Togo, and the official language is French. Most Togolese population practice traditional spiritual belief, with Christianity (29%) being the second largest religious group. 21% of Togolese are Muslim.

Sources: CIA World Factbook, Wikipedia

Time Running Out For The Making Of A Black President

Beneath all the endless public appearances, television interviews and the hype of "Obama-mania" lies a story of a campaign that has completely failed to budge Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-New York) out of her position as Democratic presidential frontrunner. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois) has barely moved in the polls since he exploded onto the political scene when he announced his candidacy earlier this year. It is Sen. Clinton's poll numbers that have recently been nudging ever higher, not his.

The most recent national polls show Sen. Clinton with a lead over Sen. Obama that ranges from 14% to 22%. A Gallup survey had her on a whopping 47%, against Sen. Obama's 25% and former Sen. John Edwards's 11%. No other Democrat scored more than 5%. Sen. Clinton is also ahead by about 20 points in New Hampshire and has recently moved ahead of Mr. Edwards in the key first voting state of Iowa, where Mr. Edwards has been virtually camped out for the past two years.

Sen. Obama has not led the polls in any state recently, not even South Carolina, where many black voters are expected to back him in his quest to be America's first black president. That has raised serious questions over whether Sen. Obama can actually appeal to black voters. Some of them have been put off by questions over the "American blackness" of his background, owing to his mixed parentage of a white Kansan mother and a Kenyan father. In the meantime, Sen. Clinton has sought to capitalize on the still huge popularity among many black Americans of her husband's time in the Oval Office.

However, many experts warn that it is far too early to write Sen. Obama off, pointing out that there are three months to go before actual voting takes place. Sen. Obama's campaign still has many positives. He has raised more money faster than any other Democratic candidate in history, including 75,000 new campaign donors since June alone. He also has a huge and committed campaign organisation, including twice as many offices in Iowa as any other candidate. His public rallies are always attended by thousands of supporters, who show an enthusiasm for their candidate which beats that enjoyed by any of his rivals.

Last week Sen. Obama's wife, Michelle Obama, spoke out at an Iowa meeting. She warned that without a win in Iowa, her husband's chances would be slim. "If Barack doesn't win Iowa, then it's just a dream," she told a meeting of Iowa supporters. Campaign officials quickly moved to distance themselves from her comments, saying all that Sen. Obama needed was a strong showing in the state, not outright victory.

My response: If Sen. Obama takes second in Iowa and New Hampshire but has strong showings, he will be fine. No one expects him to win those lily-white states, and the earliest primaries are in small, lily-white states. He just needs to be in good enough positioin for black voters down South in later primaries to believe that he has a strong chance of getting the nomination.

'One Drop' By Bliss Broyard

The Los Angeles Times reviews One Drop: My Father's Hidden Life -- A Story of Race And Family Secrets, which is Bliss Broyard's inquiry into the life of her late father, leading literary critic Anatole Broyard (pictured) who hid the family's black ancestry and passed himself off as pure white. "Broyard's 'One Drop' is an examination of one of the most dramatic crossovers of the last 50 years, her father, New York Times literary critic Anatole Broyard. His daughter is determined to know more than just the facts of his life (she didn't learn of his secret until after his death in 1990): She wants to know the particulars of racial oppression, how it fueled the whole phenomenon of crossing over, and how that affected her own family. Why and when did Anatole Broyard do it? How tragic -- or successful -- a mulatto was he? Why did he keep up the whiteface as times changed? And, most critically, what effect does this knowledge of his identity have on her, a white, WASPy girl from Connecticut who, prior to embarking on this project 16 years ago, had almost no experience with black people of any complexion?"

The review continues: "Role-playing is the central theme of 'One Drop,' and whether Anatole was faking it or rightfully claiming his place in a world of artificial boundaries that left him no choice but to fake it is a central question.....As a young woman, she remarks to her dad over breakfast one morning that an admiring black man at a dance club had asked her if she were black. She laughs, although Anatole raises his brow. 'What could he have been thinking in those moments?' Bliss writes with more than a little bitterness. 'Did he worry that someday one of us might be found out?' I wish there were more visceral moments like this, but Broyard defers to the ponderous politesse that tends to wrap most discussions of race in a kind of cocoon."

And more: "In the end, she retreats into the neo-liberal view that color doesn't matter, that it's a social and scientific fiction. But that is, of course, the ultimate white privilege -- the freedom to decide, after careful consideration, that color doesn't matter to you. Blacks have no such freedom to choose. Even Creoles like Anatole knew they had to purge themselves of their blackness to some degree to even aspire to such consideration. The tragedy of Anatole was that he was never the same as his white peers, not because he was less able, but because he paid too heavy a price for his neutrality, a neutrality they got every day for free. Bliss Broyard has expanded the 'tragic mulatto' story, but the moral is still the same."

My response: I don't begrudge Anatole Broyard for passing for lily-white back in the day (although I question how fellow whites could have possibly thought he was pure white - as being considered white in America back then meant being lily-white and not being mostly white but with about 20% black ancestry - because Anatole Broyard was obviously of mixed racial ancestry). Almost half of my 86-year-old grandmother's cousins passed for white back in the day, one of whom is still alive. Cousin Charlie passed for Italian to get a better job. However, why Anatole Broyard was despicable and why it was good for black historian Henry Louis Gates to out the deceased writer in 1997 in order to set the historical record straight was because (1) Anatole Broyard cut off ties to his family, including his siblings, parents, and abandoning his black first wife and their daughter; (2) completely hid his black ancestry because he was a self-hater; and (3) even made derogatory comments about black folks and was not supportive of the Civil Rights Movement. It is one thing to claim that you are white if you are genetically mostly of European ancestry and question how whiteness is defined in America. Fine. It is another thing to try to completely excise your African ancestry as if it didn't exist and dog equal rights for black folks, which reinforces white supremacy. At least my Cousin Charlie did not cut off family ties (he was even married to a dark-skinned black woman so he was a part-time passer; luckily back in those days co-workers didn't visit your house). In fact, Cousin Charlie told me that sometime in the 1960s, his white boss came into the office saying "we gotta hire some n___s, the law says we gotta hire some n____s, do any of you know some n____s we can hire?" Cousin Charles then outed himself, responding, "I am your n___r, sir", to which the workplace was astounded to find out that he had been passing for white all that time.

Museum Clings To Black WWII History

Down a dirt driveway, in one of the whitest states in America, is a museum dedicated to the experiences of black servicemen and servicewomen during World War II. The Museum of Black World War II History is run by Bruce Bird, a 65-year-old white, retired factory worker who sold his home and used the proceeds to convert a two-room 19th century schoolhouse to house it. The museum, which opened in June 2006, offers display cases filled with World War II weapons, models of tanks and aircraft and other memorabilia. At best, it gets a handful of visitors a week.

Mr. Bird doesn't know where the money will come from to pay his next fuel oil bill. But he is steadfast in his resolve to recognize the World War II service and sacrifice of more than 1.1 million black servicemen and servicewomen. ''We don't get enough people yet,'' Mr. Bird said. ''With any museum, you essentially need a rich sponsor. We haven't found one yet. I contend this museum should be run by a rich, famous black veteran, none of which I am.'' However, Mr. Bird's build-it-and-they-will-come approach appears to be working, a little bit at a time.

''I think the museum is a great thing,'' said Gregory Black, a retired U.S Navy officer who runs blackmilitaryworld.com. ''One of the things, overall, that African Americans are very disenchanted with these days is we don't really feel appreciated. We don't feel recognized for the contributions that we've made." Mr. Bird wants to change that. His displays tell the stories of: the 6888th Central Postal Directory Unit, made up entirely of black women who served in Europe; the 761st Tank Battalion, which spent 183 days in combat in Europe; the Pearl Harbor heroics of U.S. Navy mess attendant 2nd class Dorie Miller, of the battleship West Virginia. During the Dec. 7, 1941, attack, he pulled many wounded shipmates to safety and then, wielding a weapon he hadn't been trained to use, shot down at least two Japanese planes. There is also information about the Battle of the Bulge, in December 1944, when about half of the artillery battalions surrounded by the Germans near the Belgian city of Bastogne were made up of black soldiers. Of course, the museum has a display about the Tuskegee Airmen, the aviators who came to symbolize the challenges of black service members who sought to fly in combat and, once there, won the respect of fellow servicemen and the enemy.

Blacks Mull Call For 10,000 To Curb Violence

The men on the corner of 16th and Page in North Philadelphia say they know what their neighborhood needs to stem the violence that has killed 306 people citywide so far this year, and that does not include putting 10,000 men on the streets, as some black leaders have proposed to start on October 21. “It’s just going to be useless,” said Robert Mosley Jr., age 42. “As soon as those 10,000 guys go home, the drug dealers are going back out there, doing the same thing.” However, others said the initiative might help them feel better about leaving their homes at night or allowing their children to play outside. “It does make a lot of sense,” said Cora Crawford, a 36-year-old single mother of five. “Kids in this area are horrible. They need a positive role model in their life.”

The plan to put 10,000 men on the streets for an initial period of 90 days starting late this year is the latest effort by Philadelphia’s black community to curb violence that drove homicides to a nine-year high of 406 in 2006. Groups of volunteers will be stationed on drug corners and other trouble spots in a bid to stop the shootings and other crimes that have given Philadelphia the highest homicide rate among the nation’s 10 largest cities. They will not be armed, will not have powers of arrest, and will be identified only by armbands or hats during their three-hour shifts. They will be trained in conflict resolution, and are intended to be peacekeepers and mentors rather than law enforcers. Each patrol will include a police officer.

Organizers, including Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson and the music producer Kenny Gamble, are open to volunteers of any ethnicity but are appealing mostly to blacks because 85% of Philadelphia’s shooting victims are black. Commissioner Johnson, who is black, said the initiative differed from previous antiviolence campaigns in that it was driven by popular demand, rather than by the Police Department or the city government. Critics say the plan will fail to meet its recruitment goals, partly because it is too closely identified with the police, who will be responsible for selecting the areas to patrol and who are distrusted in many neighborhoods. Others say that it accomplishes a first step: getting law-abiding black men to take back control of their communities.

My response: I support the effort, but it should have teeth. Volunteers (who I assume have no criminal records) should be armed and able to make citizen's arrests in case things get out of hand. If you live in Philadelphia want to sign up, preregister at 10,000 Men.

Quote Of The Day

"The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself.” — Richard Burton (1925-1984), famous Welsh actor, on religion

In Book, Clarence Thomas Denounces Democrats, Media, Activists

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas settles scores in an angry and vivid forthcoming memoir, scathingly condemning the media, the Democratic senators who opposed the conservative Republican jurist's nomination and the "mob" of liberal elites and activist groups who he says desecrated his life. "My Grandfather's Son," for which Justice Thomas has received a reported $1.5 million and comes out on Monday, is a 289-page memoir of his life in rural Georgia, his reliance on religious faith and his rise to the U.S. Supreme Court. His book ends with the day he was sworn in and contains only fleeting mentions of his time on the bench.

Justice Thomas lovingly describes the iron-willed grandfather who raised him after his own father abandoned him as a toddler; critically admires the Catholic church that provided him with an education but was not as "adamant about ending racism then as it is about ending abortion now;" and gives a detailed description of the confirmation hearings that electrified the nation in 1991 and the sexual harassment allegations by Anita Hill that he said destroyed his reputation. Justice Thomas writes that Ms. Hill was the tool of liberal activist groups obsessed with abortion and outraged because he did not fit their idea of what a black American should believe.

Throughout My Grandfather's Son, Justice Thomas describes himself as under siege — either from preening elites, light-skinned blacks or critics who object to his conservative politics.

Justice Thomas indicates that he wrote the book himself, with editing help from three others. It has been eagerly awaited, especially in the conservative community, which is playing an active role in promoting it. The Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society and the National Center for Policy Analysis are sponsoring a six-city book tour, where patrons will pay $30 to attend events in Justice Thomas' honor. The normally media-shy justice has interviews booked on "60 Minutes" Sunday night, ABC on Monday and a 90-minute interview with Rush Limbaugh, also scheduled for Monday.

My response: My Grandfather's Son sounds like a victimology tome. I hope not, as how he overcome his poor, rural Southern roots to become a Supreme Court justice - and advice for others from such backgrounds - would be far more interesting to me.

Hillary, Obama Court Blacks

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said yesterday that she favors a child investment program that provides $5,000 to help every newborn start saving for college as part of her universal pre-kindergarten and education program. "When that young person turns 18, if they have finished high school, they will be able to access it to go to college," she said at the Congressional Black Caucus' 37th Annual Legislative Caucus. Sen. Clinton said the biggest problem for black Americans is access to wealth building and that the "baby bond could be a good way to get them started on a lifetime of saving and growing wealth." The liberal New York Democrat's remarks came in response to an audience member's question about what lawmakers can do to alleviate student debt for black graduates.

Sen. Barack Obama delivered the convocation speech at Howard University detailing his civil rights and criminal justice policies. Sen. Obama said he would end the tenfold sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. He also said he would create a voting rights division of the Justice Department and staff it and the civil rights division with career civil rights lawyers. Sen. Obama also said that current mandatory minimum sentencing laws that call for locking up some first-time, nonviolent drug users for decades should be reformed to provide more drug treatment and rehabilitation programs outside of prison.

Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama now are even in the number of Congressional Black Caucus endorsements at 12. Despite Sen. Clinton's lead by large margins in national polls and slightly in some state polls, with swelling crowds and more than 300,000 donors to Obama's campaign, some are beginning to wonder who is actually the front-runner.

Quote Of The Day

"I believe that international terrorism is a modern form of warfare against liberal democracies. I believe that the ultimate but seldom stated goal of these terrorists is to destroy the very fabric of democracy. I believe that it is both wrong and foolhardy for any democratic state to consider international terrorism to be 'someone else's' problem.... Liberal democracies must acknowledge that international terrorism is a 'collective problem.'" — Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson (1912-1983), conservative Democrat

GOP Candidates Rip Four Who Skipped Race-Issues Debate

Second-tier Republican presidential candidates reached out to black Americans at a debate last night while the party's top-tier candidates stayed away in favor of reaching out for cash. In a decision criticized by some Republicans, the top four candidates cited schedule conflicts as their reason for skipping the nationally televised All-American Presidential Forum at Morgan State University, a historically black school. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson were represented by empty podiums on the stage.

Tavis Smiley, the debate's moderator, jabbed at the no-shows in his opening comments. “Some of the campaigns who declined our invitation to join us tonight have suggested publicly that this audience would be hostile and unreceptive,” Mr. Smiley said. “Since we're live on PBS right now, I can't tell you what I really think of these kinds of comments.” He praised the six candidates who showed up, and noted “there are some in the Republican Party who do understand the importance of reaching out to people of color,” singling out former Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, former Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Rep. Jack Kemp of New York and former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. Mr. Smiley also noted that President George W. Bush last week said it was important for GOP candidates to reach out to racial minorities.

On hand for last's night debate were Texas Rep. Ron Paul, Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, California Rep. Duncan Hunter and former Ambassador Alan Keyes. “Frankly, I'm embarrassed,” said Gov. Huckabee. “I'm embarrassed for our party and I'm embarrassed for those who did not come, because there's long been a divide in this country, and it doesn't get better when we don't show up.” Sen. Brownback apologized for the no-shows and called it a “disgrace that they're not here.” “You grow political parties by expanding your base, by reaching out to people and getting more people,” Sen. Brownback said. “What they're doing is sending the message of narrowing the base, and that's not the right way to go. It's not good for the Republican Party, it's not good for the country. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry to you and I'm sorry to those watching that they're not here.” Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who might join the presidential race, noted that invitations were extended in March and called the schedule conflict excuse “baloney.” “African Americans have been hurt more by the failures of government” than any other group, Mr. Gingrich said this week on “Good Morning America,” adding, “I think Republicans could have, if they had the nerve to do it, a tremendous message” for black voters.

The evening's first question came from Lucille Victoria Rowels of Chicago, winner of an online contest. She wanted to know why blacks “are not able to name even one Republican president in the 142 years since Lincoln's death who have left a positive and significant legacy for black Americans.” She also wanted to know what each candidate would do as president to leave a positive legacy among blacks. Gov. Huckabee said he hoped blacks would remember President Eisenhower's move to federalize the National Guard in Little Rock in 1957 when a Democratic governor denied blacks admission to schools. He also vowed to fix inequities in the criminal justice system. Rep. Paul called for “repeal of most of federal laws on drugs and the unfairness of how blacks are treated with these drug laws.” Sen. Brownback said he'd back “an official apology from the U.S. government for the institutions of slavery and segregation in this country.” Rep. Hunter said, “I can't talk about young black Americans, the need for them to be shielded from pornography, which is certainly a need, without talking about the need for all Americans to be shielded from pornography.

My response: The top-tier Republican presidential candidates did not show up for one reason: blacks are not a key constituency in the Republican primaries that they need to win in order to secure the Republican Party's nomination. Thus, they knew that they could literally get more bang for the buck elsewhere and focus on their fundraising efforts. Especially given the overwhelmingly liberal, Democratic audience at Morgan State University. Right or wrong (and I would argue that it's wrong as they should have viewed that the negative publicity was not worth it for them and may hurt them down the line as they try to secure votes for the general election), that is the top-tier candidates' political calculus....even though they lacked the integrity to just state it. The second-tier candidates need all the votes and especially publicity that they can get, and hence why they were there. This is no different than when Democratic candidates make the same calculation and skip debates sponsored by self-identified values groups, knowing that they are not a needed constituency to secure the Democratic Party's nomination.

LA SHAWN BARBER COMMENTARY: The Jena Dodge

Drawing from another column by Heather MacDonald of the Manhattan Institute, the conservative blogger opines that the Jena 6 issue ignores actual problems holding blacks back such as crime and fatherlessness: "My anger about this 'Jena Six' business is beyond expressing right now. I’ve never been so ashamed to see black people downplaying what these kids did and disgracefully comparing their treatment by the criminal justice system with what happened to blacks during the turbulent civil rights era. Invoking a moral struggle for justice that was owed to blacks in an attempt to garner sympathy for a cowardly group of young thugs-in-training who ganged up on one white kid? Turns my stomach. Unfortunately, this is the state of race relations today, and it won’t get much better. The memory of actual discrimination and injustice against blacks is quickly fading. This 'Jena Six' crap is the result. Nice message these protesting parents are sending to their children. And the cycle will continue."

My response: I agree that Jena 6 comparisons to Selma are over the top, but there is no either/or here. One can be concerned about fatherlessness and the crime rate in black communities and take issue with the prosecutorial overreach done in the Jena 6 case before the public outcry. Most of us crying foul are not stating that the boys should not be punished (they should be convicted of battery), but are questioning the attempted murder charge in the midst of escalating racial tensions where no whites were chraged with anything for their crimes. Conservatives do not encourage more black folks to their point of view by not arguing for prosecutorial fairness here....just as many of them did for the white thug in training with the criminal record who was part of the Duke rape case.

COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: Wales: Did You Know?

— Spillers on The Hayes in Cardiff is the oldest record shop in the world, and was established in 1894 when it sold sheet music

— the equals sign (=) was devised by Robert Recorde, a Welshman who invented the globally used symbol in the 1540s. He was also the first person to write an arithmetic textbook in English.

— Wales isn't represented onthe Union Jack flag of the United Kingdom

— A Welshman invented lawn tennis

— Wales produces more energy than it consumes

Sources: BBC, Cambrensis, Interesting Welsh Facts

Quote Of The Day

"The common political assumption is that conservatives would oppose the potentially radical change promised by reprogenetic technologies, while liberals would embrace the scientific progress they represent. And indeed, the religious right, concerned about the embryo and the blasphemy of playing God, condemns them, while some liberals are more inclined to welcome them on the grounds of 'progress'—and, perhaps, in opposition to 'culture of life' priorities. At the same time, economic libertarians oppose regulation of this three-billion-dollar-a-year industry, and a fringe of neo-eugenicists wants to create a super race. Qualms on the left include the potential exacerbation of inequalities, the eugenic overtones, and the environmental implications of meddling with nature. Other progressive contingents have their worries. Disability activists are wary of technologies that essentially aim to eliminate their community. Gay and lesbian people have an especially complex relationship to assisted reproductive technology......Many feminists are troubled by sex selection, but fear that regulating any aspect of reproduction could jeopardize abortion rights. The relevant legal infrastructure adds another complication. The court decisions that uphold rights valued by progressives could also afford protection to the right to design babies.....Thus can the concept of reproductive choice be appropriated and abused. The first and least controversial task for pro-choice activists, then, is to make it very clear that the rights for which they have fought are fundamentally different from the right to determine the genetic makeup of offspring. Whether the latter right is legitimate or not, it is not the same as or an extension of the former. Pro-choice activists have struggled for women’s freedom to control their own lives and bodies, not to control the lives and bodies of their children. Drawing this distinction could lead to another step: emphasizing the morality of abortion rights. Abortion should be legal because women should have the same rights as men to shape their lives; because sometimes bringing a child into the world is the wrong thing to do; because without legal abortion, women suffer and die. Abortion-rights advocates can frame abortion as a matter of social justice, not just of freedom from government interference." — Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow, liberal journalist, "Designer Babies And The Pro-Choice Movement" article in Dissent

ABDOULAYE WADE COMMENTARY: A Renaissance Takes Hold In Africa

Senegal's president draws upon the old Sam Cooke song, "A Change Is Gonna Come", to argue that Africa's future is bright (hat tip: Black Electorate): "For much of the last half-century, the role that African-Americans play in Africa has been more a subject of lip service and rhetorical fealty than reality. That is about to change. Without much notice in the United States, Africa - and the role that African-Americans can fill in promoting its development - is undergoing a deep-seated transformation.....At the same time, Africa has emerged as an important world market. The US private sector has invested in Africa's stock markets and natural resources. By 2015, it is projected that a quarter of the US oil supply will come from Africa, primarily West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea. Not surprisingly, the US government is deepening its military and security presence in both regions."

He continues: "In America, outdated stereotypes of Africa as a violent continent, rife with genocide, famines, AIDS, and military strongmen still linger. Yet apart from the epic tragedy in Darfur, famine and tyranny are on the wane throughout the continent, and the overwhelming majority of Africans are in better health and living longer. Countries that were once notorious for tribal and racial violence, including Sierra Leone, South Africa, Mozambique, Liberia, and Burundi, are peaceful and have made or are making the transition to democratic government. Even Rwanda, the continent's killing fields only a decade ago, now enjoys rapid economic growth. At the same time that Africa has become a target for Western development, the African-American middle class has mushroomed in the United States. For the first time in American history, most African-Americans enjoy a measure of economic security and a significant minority has begun the arduous process of accumulating assets and building wealth.'

And more from Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, who is considered a fiscal conservative: "To be sure, African-Americans can do more to deepen their personal and economic ties to Africa. But today African-Americans have unprecedented opportunities to buy African products and services, visit the national treasures, cities, beaches, and mountains of their lands of origin, cultivate foreign investment agencies, and tap Africa's boundless potential to produce green energy and abundant food supplies.....Senegal alone spends 40 percent of its national budget for education, the highest per capita rate of spending on education in the world. Since 2000, Senegal has quadrupled the number of high schools in the nation and 83 percent of children are now schooled. As a child, I grew up hearing about 'American ingenuity' and had reverence for any product with the label 'Made in America.' One day, in the not-distant future, American children will hear about African ingenuity and 'Made in Africa' labels."

AVERY TOOLEY COMMENTARY: Racing Nowhere

The moderate-conservative blogger discusses how people discuss race: "In a way, watching (listening to) people dissect people discuss race is painful to watch, but there is a certain familiarity to the dance. First there’s the event, whatever it is. Maybe somebody says somethin, maybe somebody does somethin, whatever. There’s an event. Then there’s the media coverage (or lack thereof). Then comes the question, and later charge of racism. Then comes the denial of racism. Then come the litany of historical precedents. Depending on the scale of the case, we might shimmy out with a comparison to the OJ Simpson trial. Then comes the'“race card' accusation. Not necessarily immediately, but soon enough, '400 years of slavery' enters the question, with the inevitable answer being, ‘get over it.’ And at this point, we simply begin another iteration of the dance, with only minimal focus on the initial event."

He continues: "In certain ways, I think this stuff is interesting. I mean, in general, I like watching and listening to people argue, just to hear how faithful (or not) they’re able to stay to the issue. For the most part, it’s too hard, because generally, the big “wow, there’s really a racial divide” situations quickly devolve into personal reflections — well there might be racists, but I’m not one of them, and I think… or such-and-such happened to me, and being Black (or not) had (or didn’t) THIS impact on the situation. At the same time, it’s frustrating, because I know that no real progress is being made. Once people start bringing out their own personal stories, it’s game over, because the tendency is to use one’s own personal experience as normative. That tendency really leads to a dead end, because first and foremost, a person’s experience cannot really be refuted. If it happened, it happened. Now, we could question the validity of their interpretation of the event, but once a person has exposed themselves enough to tell a piece of their own history, they ain’t really tryin to hear nothin else after that. Only problem is, not all personal stories are created equal. Some things are cogent, relevant, and illustrative of a larger point. Some things just happened to you."

And more: "The other thing I’ve noticed is the tendency for people to talk past each other. It’s like jokers come in with a ready-made opinion and look to see one or two words, then they’re off to the races, not even considering that there might be several points of agreement in what the other person said, or that the points of disagreement might actually be inconsequential in the overall scope of the discussion.....Thing is, I think it’s gonna get worse before it gets better. This is due to a confluence of many factors, but not necessarily that I think that there’s more or 'better quality' racism. People have more access to each other’s attention, so in a sense there’s a great deal more interaction than was possible in the past. At the same time, with the trend towards the informal, we have another problem: we can talk to each other, but we don’t know how to talk to each other."

Beyond Alliances And Nuke Treaties, A New Idea In Foreign Policy

Assert Tom Friedman and Richard Fritz - who served in President Bill Clinton's administration - opine over at Ideas Primary, a moderate-liberal Democratic blog: "The Global Food for Education Initiative (GFEI) offered food to poor children in developing countries who otherwise would have little or nothing to eat. And it encouraged parents to send their children - mostly girls — to school, with powerful results. This is the right time to make an imaginative and dramatic commitment - every child in the world should have enough to eat and get an education. It’s a commitment the United States could lead and support, just as it did the Marshall plan. If we were to lead a new, ambitious effort to enable every child have at least one meal a day it would not only remind the world of America’s commitment to the well-being of others, it could change the future and politics of the developing world. The scope of the problem is huge. Today an estimated 300 million children in developing nations are chronically hungry. More than one-third of these children, approximately 120 million, do not attend school. Most of them, sixty percent, are young girls. In too many countries fathers see no reason to send their daughters to school. The problems of young, uneducated women, some of whom marry as early as age 11, are sadly predictable. A terrible cycle of poor health, powerlessness, and poverty too often affect generation after generation."

They continue their commentary: "The global school lunch program already has bi-partisan backing - originated by President Clinton and supported by Senators Robert Dole and George McGovern. The GFEI program is unique in that students and families must actively participate in educational advancement in order for the child to receive food benefits. In addition, the nations in which the school-feeding program operates must commit to universal education: both boys and girls must be able to attend school. The recipient country must commit to educational goals and agree to take over the US funded school-feeding program after a few years and thus assure the benefits will continue into the future. The cost of a global commitment is reasonable given its potential for good. In the first year we worked on the program, for $300 million a GFEI pilot program provided nine million children in the developing world the assurance of at least one meal a day in a school setting. Expanding the program adds up to real money, but a potential real bargain. For less than $4 billion we could likely feed every child and get them into school."

My response: While I support such a measure, I do not do so with taxpayer dollars as it is neither a power nor responsibility per the U.S. Constitution. Government foreign aid tends to reduce the incentive of both the donor and donee, and all too often get siphoned by kleptocratic politicians. However, private efforts should be set up to support such an endeavor. I have contributed to such a food program in Afghanistan through World Vision, to help families encourage their girls to go to school.

LARRY ELDER OP-ED: Jena Six -- Another Story Of Unequal Justice For Blacks?

The libertarian Republican commentator argues no, even while arguing that reasonable people can disagree about whether or not prosecutors initially charged the Jena, Louisiana, defendants too harshly: "Revs. Sharpton and Jackson claim that harsh treatment of the Jena Six serves as a metaphor for the continued unequal justice for blacks in America. Really? Jackson, speaking in Jena, claimed that more blacks sit in jail than in college. Irrelevant as to the issue at hand, and false. According to the 2000 census, there were over 2.2 million blacks in college. By mid-year 2006, according to the Justice Department, 905,600 blacks were in state or federal prisons and local jails. Even if Jackson meant black men, his assertion is still debatable. The Justice Policy Institute found that at the time of the 2000 census, 603,000 black men were in college, while 791,000 were in jail. Yet only 179,000 of incarcerated blacks were between 18 and 24 years old, the customary 'college age.'"

Mr. Elder continues his commentary about crime and race: "Jackson and Sharpton suggest that the disproportionate number of blacks under the criminal justice system stems from racism. But black defendants are more likely to be acquitted than white defendants. A study in the '90s found blacks convicted less frequently than whites in all but two of 14 categories of felony crimes, including murder, rape, burglary, felony theft, drug trafficking and other crimes against people. The only two types of felonies where blacks were not convicted at a lower rate than whites were felony traffic offenses and miscellaneous felonies. Cases that went to juries (only 2.8 percent of those examined) had a similar pattern, although juries convicted blacks more than whites for robbery, assault and property offenses. What about the assertion that a black defendant, with the same record, is likely to serve more time than a white defendant? Many legal experts blame the results on economics -- white defendants are more likely to hire a private counselor who can get them a better deal in the courtroom. Other factors that can sway judges include family support, job security and the ability to make bail -- with white defendants more likely than blacks to fit this description. And black judges are more likely than white judges to give black defendants harsher sentences than white defendants."

And more: "Supporters of the Jena Six say their actions were sparked by the 'hate crime' of the hanging of three -- later reported as two -- nooses on a high school campus tree. This, activists say, shows a prevalence of hate crimes against blacks in America. But economist Walter Williams notes that when hate crime statistics are adjusted for blacks' lower population numbers, proportionally, blacks commit more than twice as many hate crimes as whites. Rev. Sharpton calls Jena the 'Selma of its day.' Let's revisit. In Selma, Ala., in 1965, 500 to 600 civil rights protesters tried to march in support of black voter registration. Local authorities attacked the marchers with whips and tear gas and billy clubs, leaving 17 people in the hospital. For what it's worth, an Associated Press-AOL Black Voices survey asked blacks to name the 'most important black leader.' More blacks named 'nobody' than anybody else."

Welsh Music Great: Shirley Bassey

Wales is Country of the Week here at Booker Rising. Today I highlight another Welsh of Afrian descent (thanks to various readers who alerted me to her). Born in Cardiff in 1937 to a Nigerian father and a white English mother, Shirley Bassey is best-known for performing the theme songs to the James Bond films "Goldfinger" (1964), "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971), and "Moonraker" (1979). According to Wikipedia, Ms. Bassey is the only singer to have recorded more than one James Bond theme song.

Throughout the 1960s, Ms. Bassey had numerous hits on the British music charts, with much of her music being big band or pop. She was known for her sultry voice, sequined gowns, and showy jewelry. Ms. Bassey laid fairly low until 1997, when she scored a #1 hit on the British Dance Music Charts with the Propellerheads. Wikipedia writes: "With thirty-two hits in the UK Singles Chart, which span a record fifty year period (1957-2007), plus thirty-five hit LPs in the corresponding UK Albums Chart, she has become Britain's most successful female chart artist of all time."

Now residing in Monaco, she got the Dame honor from the British royal family in recognition of her career longevity in 1999.

KEN BLACKWELL COMMENTARY: Locked And Loaded

The conservative Republican commentator argues that the 2008 GOP presidential primary is shaping up to be the most competitive nominating process that the party has seen in decades, but is also the most frontloaded one: "In each of the last four even year general elections, gun owners have had a massive impact. And the National Rifle Association (NRA) has proven to everyone that if you want to win the presidency, earning the support of gun owners and Second Amendment defenders might be the deciding factor. So it's not surprising Republican presidential candidates rushed to appear at the first-ever NRA voters' convention to talk to some 500 NRA members and the organization's leadership."

He continues: "It is a real testament to the NRA's success that almost every major Republican candidate for president engaged the NRA, with Mitt Romney the only one not attending (he sent a taped message). And the way the primary calendar has changed, the gun vote just became more crucial than ever. What do Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Michigan, Nevada, and Florida have in common? They all have their primaries, or caucuses, in January, before Super Tuesday. In a state like South Carolina, opposition from gun owners is the kiss of death in a statewide race. And some swing states are such because of large urban populations that vote Democrat. Their Republican primaries do not include many of those urban voters; the gun vote is huge."

And more: "All the Republican candidates are aware that Hillary Clinton is the most anti-gun candidate ever. Yes, she's to the left of Walter Mondale and George McGovern on guns. She cannot do what Al Gore or John Kerry did, trying to suddenly appear to be hunters and outdoorsmen. Mr. Kerry's staged goose hunt gave rise to former NRA president Sandy Froman's comment that, 'John Kerry is the only man in America who wears blaze orange as camouflage.' Mrs. Clinton cannot even pretend to be anything other than a hardcore foe of gun ownership, setting the stage for a massive battle with the NRA in 2008."

My response: One of my uncles is an NRA member and may vote in the Republican primary, although he was not at the NRA voters' convention. He still does not trust Rudy Giuliani - who he already dislikes for his views on abortion and gay rights - on Second Amendment issues. Other relatives are not NRA members, but gun owners nevertheless who stay on top of such issues.

Quote Of The Day

“Look who they are surrounding themselves with. Who are they listening to? Where are the African-Americans in their inner-circles? Where have the Republicans been on the Jena Six case?....Where are those same people that were crying fowl in the Duke rape case? Why have they not cried fowl in the Jena Six?” — J.C. Watts, conservative Republican and former Congressman, taking top Republican presidential candidates to task for planning to not show up at the upcoming PBS-Tavis Smiley debate at historically black Morgan State University

Not All Traditions Are Good

Asserts Angela Winters, a black moderate blogger: "More little girls are dying as many Muslim societies around the world continue to practice genital mutilation, but Egypt is trying to do something about it. In this story, about a dead 13 year old girl, the men in her village are angrier that the government shut down the clinic that killed her than they are at her untimely death.....They feel it was necessary in order to 'preserve her chastity and honor' and that is just a risk worth taking. Yes, I guess it's bad if an innocent 13 year old girl dies, but nothing could be worse than imagining her experiencing sexual arousal or an orgasm. How do you speak to people who simply do not believe a female has a right to own her own sexuality? Just because something is a tradition, doesn't mean it's right. And I don't want to hear about 'you have to respect other people's culture.' Slavery was a tradition in our culture for 100s of years. Wrong is wrong. I think if you want to protect your daughter's honor, then raise her to be an honorable person. Don't mutilate her to chastity. And by the way, maybe you want to consider raising your sons to be moral too. I might be crazy, but generally I think things go better when both boys & girls are taught to be sexually responsible & honorable."

Ibrahim Index Of African Governance Is Released

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has released the Ibrahim Index of African Governance. 48 countries in the sub-Saharan Africa have been ranked based on five categories of essential political goods: safety and security, rule of law, transparency and corruption, participation and human rights, sustainable economic development and final human development. Top on the index is Mauritius, followed by Seychelles. Botswana is third; Cape Verde fourth while South Africa is fifth. In East Africa, Tanzania comes first at number 14 overall followed by Kenya (15) Rwanda (18) while Uganda comes a distance fourth at 25. Burundi is ranked 40. The five bottom countries are Guinea Bissau (44), Sudan (45), Chad (46), Democratic Republic of Congo (47) and Somalia (48).

WALTER E. WILLIAMS COMMENTARY: Global Warming Hysteria

The libertarian economics professor: "Despite increasing evidence that man-made CO2 is not a significant greenhouse gas and contributor to climate change, politicians and others who wish to control our lives must maintain that it is. According to the Detroit Free Press, Rep. John Dingell wants a 50-cents-a-gallon tax on gasoline. We've heard such calls before, but there's a new twist. Dingell also wants to eliminate the mortgage tax deduction on what he calls 'McMansions,' homes that are 3,000 square feet and larger. That's because larger homes use more energy. One might wonder about Dingell's magnanimity in increasing taxes for only homes 3,000 feet or larger. The average U.S. home is around 2,300 square feet, compared with Europe's average of 1,000 square feet. So why doesn't Dingell call for disallowing mortgage deductions on houses more than 1,000 square feet? The reason is there would be too much political resistance, since more Americans own homes under 3,000 square feet than over 3,000. The full agenda is to start out with 3,000 square feet and later lower it in increments. Our buying into global warming hysteria will allow politicians to do just about anything, upon which they can muster a majority vote, in the name of fighting climate change as a means to raise taxes."

Professor Williams continues his commentary: "In addition to excuses to raise taxes, congressmen are using climate change hysteria to funnel money into their districts. Rep. David L. Hobson, R-Ohio, secured $500,000 for a geothermal demonstration project. Rep. Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., got $500,000 for a fuel-cell project by Superprotonic, a Pasadena company started by Caltech scientists. Money for similar boondoggles is being called for by members of both parties."

Quote Of The Day

“I believe that the death tax is politically misguided, morally unjustifiable and downright un-American.” — Rep. Sanford Bishop Jr. (D-Georgia), moderate Democrat, on the federal estate tax

School Discipline Tougher On African Americans

America's public schools have racial differences when measured in terms of disciplinary sanctions such as suspensions and expulsions, according to little-noticed data collected by the U.S. Department of Education for the 2004-2005 school year. In every state but Idaho, black students are being suspended in numbers greater than would be expected from their proportion of the student population. In 21 states, that disproportionality is so pronounced that the percentage of black suspensions is more than double their percentage of the student body. No other ethnic group is disciplined at such a high rate, the federal data show. Hispanic students are suspended and expelled in almost direct proportion to their populations, while white and Asian students are disciplined far less.

Yet research studies have found that black students are no more likely to misbehave than other students from the same social and economic environments. While such factors contribute to the disproportionate discipline rates, researchers say that poverty alone cannot explain the disparities. "In fact, the data indicate that African-American students are punished more severely for the same offense, so clearly something else is going on", said Russell Skiba, a professor of educational psychology at Indiana University whose research focuses on race and discipline issues in public schools. "We can call it structural inequity or we can call it institutional racism."

Studies show that a history of school suspensions or expulsions is a strong predictor of future trouble with the law—and the first step on what civil rights leaders have described as a "school-to-prison pipeline" for black youths, who represent 16% of U.S. adolescents but 38% of those in youth prisons. After Austin, Texas administrators discovered that black youths were 14% of the school district's population but 37% of the students sent to punitive alternative schools, they introduced a program in some schools based on encouraging positive student behaviors rather than punishing negative ones. At one school, Pickle Elementary, which serves mostly Hispanic and black students, the results were dramatic—disciplinary referrals dropped from 520 in 2001-2002 to just 20 last year.

Students who receive free school lunch are at increased risk for school suspension. Another study concluded that "students whose fathers did not have a full-time job were significantly more likely to be suspended than students whose fathers were employed full time." But those studies and others have repeatedly found that racial factors are even more important. "Poor home environment does carry over into the school environment," said Professor Skiba. "But middle-class and upper-class black students are also being disciplined more often than their white peers. Skin color in itself is a part of this function."

Some experts point to cultural miscommunications between black students and white teachers, who fill 83% of America's teaching ranks. Some of the highest rates of racially disproportionate discipline are found in states with the lowest minority populations. "White teachers feel more threatened by boys of color," said Isela Gutierrez, a juvenile justice expert at the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, a watchdog and policy group. "They are viewed as disruptive. What might be their more assertive way of asking a question, for example, is viewed as popping off at the mouth." Even in urban schools where most of the students are black, black youths are still disciplined out of proportion to their population.

My response: I believe part of the issue is that black students are often punished more severely than other students for the same infraction. However, most of this issue stems from poor home training by black parents of the badass kids. It is not a coincidence that such behavioral problems especially come from black kids from fatherless, poor homes (and especially among black folks, fatherlessness increases poverty for children). Instead of focusing limited resources on not punishing badass kids for their bad behavior, the focus should be on keeping these kids in line in the first place. Back when I was in elementary school down South, teachers used the paddle on bad children. By middle school, that was ruled out as "child abuse". No wonder there are so many problems in today's classrooms. I know teachers who discuss how the bad-acting kids disrupt their class, use foul language, and even physically challenge them...and later the parents are often as bad or worse than the children in response to being told about their child's badass ways. I also wonder if this problem would decrease if there were more male teachers.

The Legacy Of Little Rock

The Washington Post highlights Ernest Green (pictured), who 50 years ago with eight other students integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Ark. under military escort. Today, Mr. Green is an investment banker in Washington, D.C. (hat tip: Politopics): "In the year that followed, Green and the others, who came to be known as the Little Rock Nine, were tripped on the stairs, attacked in the halls and pushed out of lunchroom lines. Teachers and administrators largely ignored them. The few white students who befriended them were subjected to ill treatment as well. 'Clearly, none of us anticipated that it would be as difficult as it was,' said Green, the first of the nine to graduate. 'But once we got there, all nine of us knew how important it was to stay. Backing down was not an option.'....Green never set out to become an icon of the civil rights movement, with a movie made of his life and a congressional medal to his name. What he did, he said, was simply step out of his comfort zone. 'Too many blacks today,' he said, 'opt for comfort over taking a chance that might change their lives. We have to work hard to break through our comforts.'"

THOMAS SOWELL OP-ED: Law Versus Mob Rule

The conservative commentator opines about the Jena 6 case: "The issue is the prosecution of a black high school student accused of stomping on an unconscious white student -- and the lack of criminal prosecution of white students who hung a noose on a tree, who were disciplined by the school. Liberals' skills at moral equivalence have been so finely honed during the long years of the Cold War that they have turned this into a case of 'unequal treatment,' based on race -- as if putting a noose on a tree is equivalent to stomping somebody who is unconscious. The black student was found guilty but the verdict was overturned on appeal -- not on grounds that he was not guilty, but on grounds that the appellate court did not think he should have been tried as an adult. The usual legal procedure would be to try the student again, but this time not as an adult. However, the usual legal procedures are not good enough for those who have once again seized the opportunity to hype race -- and to hell with questions of guilt or innocence or legal procedures. The immediate demand of the mobs that have been mobilized around the country to descend on the small town of Jena is that the young man found guilty of a serious crime of violence should be free on bail pending a second trial. The legal question is whether letting someone accused of such a crime go free on bail is likely to mean that he will not be around long enough for a second trial."

Mr. Sowell continues his commentary: "Racial hype has replaced all rational discussion. Moreover, the Jena episode has shown that two can play the racial hype game. Neo-Nazis have published the names and home addresses of all the young blacks involved in the school incident. The slogan 'No justice, no peace' has been used to justify settling legal issues in the streets, instead of in courts of law. Neo-Nazis have now helped demonstrate what a dangerous slogan that is, since different people have opposite ideas of what 'justice' is in a given situation. Long after the imported demonstrators have left, and the national media have lost interest, the families of the black youngsters involved in the school altercation will have to live with the knowledge that their privacy and security have both been lost in a racially polarized community, with vengeful elements."

And more: "The last thing the South needs is a return to lynch-mob justice, whatever the color of whoever is promoting it. Back in the 1950s, when the federal courts began striking down the Jim Crow laws in the South, one of the rising demands across the country was that the discriminators and segregationists obey 'the law of the land.' But, somewhere along the way, the idea also arose and spread that not everybody was supposed to obey 'the law of the land.' Violations of law by people with approved victim status like minorities, or self-righteous crusaders like environmentalists, were to be met with minimal resistance -- if any resistance at all -- and any punishment of them beyond a wrist-slap was 'over-reacting.' College campuses became bastions of the new and sanctified mob rule, provided that the mobs are from the list of groups approved as politically correct. Otherwise, even an injudicious remark could bring swift and certain punishment under 'speech codes.' The politics of condoned law-breaking is part of the moral dry rot of our times. So is settling issues in the streets on the basis of race, instead of in courts on the basis of law."

My response: Why are so many high-profile black conservatives not seeing the prosecutorial overreach in this case, that they saw in the Duke rape case? But for blogger and later public outrage, the Jena guys would've been convicted of attempted murder - as opposed to battery - for a schoolyard brawl (and no comment from Mr. Sowell about how those white kids who did the noose stunt should've been charged with public disturbance). And peaceful protesters down in Jena are "mobs" and compared to Neo-Nazi thugs and the infamous lynchers from back in the day. Come now.

Freedom Democrats on Saffron Revolution

The libertarian Democratic blog discusses pro-democracy street protests led by tens of thousands of monks - who are revered in society - against the military dictatorship in Myanmar (formerly Burma): "What is going on in Myanmar is absolutely inspiring. This is a part of the world that is in desperate need of freedom. I understand that our President is going to 'support' the protesters by applying more sanctions to Myanmar. I wonder if there isn't a more productive way to aid the protesters. I'm fundamentally opposed to sanctions in the long term, but can they have any effect in the short term in undermining an authoritarian regime?"

Mychal Massie: "Homosexuality Is Not A Civil Right"

Asserts the conservative Republican commentator, about the federal Employment Nondiscrimination Act which seeks to add sexual orientation as a category to the 1964 Civil Rights Act: "It would give special employment rights to homosexuals and the transgendered that would not only harm the integrity of faith-based organizations, but it would specifically undermine an employer's ability to grow his/her business in a productive and profitable way. Civil rights and homosexual rights are not synonymous. Civil rights focus on the right to vote, the guaranteed access to public accommodations, and the desegregation of public facilities and schools. They have never been, nor should they ever be, about attempting to have the federal government mandate acceptance of a particular lifestyle. Homosexuals and cross-dressers may in fact be a lot of things, but an oppressed minority they are not. And I, for one, resent their temerity in suggesting that a rejection of their chosen lifestyle is in any way equivalent to what truly oppressed peoples in this country went through for the right to vote, sit at a lunch counter and/or stay in the hotel of their choice."

Mr. Massie continues his commentary: "Homosexuals are not immutable – there is a difference between refusing to change one's behavior and being unable to change the color of one's skin. They are no more economically deprived than others, and they certainly do not have a history of political and historical powerlessness. Ergo, sexual orientation is not a civil right. Homosexual activists represent one of the most powerful lobbies per capita in the country. But I digress."

And more: "ENDA is the latest attempt to have the federal government enforce what businesses and individuals overwhelmingly reject, i.e., mandated acceptance of a particular lifestyle to the exclusion of their core beliefs and principles. Homosexual activists are demanding the government mandate that rational Americans reject the reality they know to be true and believe that men can be women and vice versa. If ENDA passes, organizations like the Boy Scouts, youth camps, religious bookstores and faith-based services would immediately fall victim to liberal courts eager to do the bidding of those who seek to alter the accepted sexual construct representative of civilized society. Organizations and companies that have served the public for decades would be forced into adopting that which they are opposed to, or lose their ability to continue serving the public. Where is the civil right in that?"

My response: I agree with Mr. Massie that sexuality is not equivalent to race, and also don't like how (white) gay rights activists are leeching off black folks' hard work to promote another agenda. However, I oppose discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. And if anti-discrimination laws were only based on immutable characteristics, then we should have no laws banning discrimination on the basis of religion or marital status.

Cobb on Bollinger's Gambit

The black moderate-conservative Republican blogger discusses Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech yesterday at Columbia University: "The head of Columbia U. thought that he could score points with devastating rhetoric. And so he invited Crazy A. [pictured] into his salon in order to make a fool out of him. He obviously was impressed by the clever remarks made by one member of the Council on Foreign Relations last year, and decided to go one better as many of us wanted to see. But I think in the end, the snubbing would have been a better idea. Not because we are afraid of him, but simply because when it comes down to it, he's a nutcase and we all know it. And so we should treat him as just the kind of sociopath he is. If you don't have an idea how that ought to work, consider how most Americans treat OJ. All the talk about the value of free speech means something if all you have in your arsenal are words. The leader of Iran does not need Columbia University, he can only abuse it. Beating him in a war of words is pointless when it is known that he uses guerrillas and terrorists."

Cobb continues his commentary: "Bollinger has an inflated sense of self-importance that I think is going to be over emphasized by those making points for free speech and the American way. So I don't think there's much bragging that should go on, because the hypocrisy of Bollinger's campus rules are clear. Columbia has banned ROTC from campus in its attempt to create a no-tolerance zone for insults to homosexuals. And yet they allow the man who has them executed to speak. Bollinger can practically be called disingenuous. Did he really believe that Crazy A is not 'a petty and cruel dictator'? Is he incapable of making such a judgment at a distance? If the leader of Columbia honestly believed that the leader of Iran lacked the intellectual courage to answer such questions, how is it that he is just realizing it? And now having made that determination, is the invitation still open? If Bollinger would not invite Mahmoud Ahmadinejad back to Columbia again, now convinced that his apprehensions are indeed true, then he is finally as wise today as the Bush Administration has been all along."

My response: There is some selective free speech arguments here. The Iranian President - who denies the Holocaust, and who funds Hezbollah's terrorism - is allowed to set foot on Columbia's campus, but yet the ROTC cannot so students can decide for themselves whether they want to join the reserves. Foul. Liberals and leftists should have been protesting this man's presence a lot more than they did on their own liberal grounds: women get stoned in Iran for adultery, gays get hanged because they are gay (if President Ahmadinejad's claim that homosexuality doesn't exist in his country were true, then there would be no hangings), few civil rights or liberties, atrocious human rights record, etc. It is disappointing to see so many liberals allow their Bush Derangement Syndrome to undermine their own causes in areas where I agree with their viewpoint.

Welsh Sports Great: Colin Jackson

Wales is Country Of The Week. Wales is lily-white (96%), with most non-whites being Asian. Thus, information about blacks in Wales isn't easy to find. However, thanks to my track & field love, I remembered that Colin Jackson hails from Wales.

Who is Colin Jackson? Born in Cardiff, Wales to Jamaican parents who immigrated to Wales in the 1960s, he is the former world recordholder in the 110-meter hurdles and current world recordholder in the 60-meter hurdles (indoor event). Mr. Jackson was the silver medalist in the 110-meter hurdles at the 1988 Olympics, plus two world titles (1993, 1999) in the event. Retired from track & field since 2003, he is now a sports commentator mostly for the BBC.

Last year, Colin Jackson took part in an episode of the BBC genealogy television series "Who Do You Think You Are?". Of Jamaican descent, genetic tests showed Mr. Jackson's ancestry to be 55% Sub-Saharan African, 38% European (he has Scottish ancestors), and 7% Native American (which is believed to be from Jamaican maroon ancestry on his father's side).

He is on the list of 100 Great Black Britons.

DAVID BROOKS COMMENTARY: The Center Holds

Asserts the New York Times columnist, about the Democratic Party: "In the beginning of August, liberal bloggers met at the YearlyKos convention while centrist Democrats met at the Democratic Leadership Council’s National Conversation. Almost every Democratic presidential candidate attended YearlyKos, and none visited the D.L.C. At the time, that seemed a sign that the left was gaining the upper hand in its perpetual struggle with the center over the soul of the Democratic Party. But now it’s clear that was only cosmetic. Now it’s evident that if you want to understand the future of the Democratic Party you can learn almost nothing from the bloggers, billionaires and activists on the left who make up the 'netroots.' You can learn most of what you need to know by paying attention to two different groups — high school educated women in the Midwest, and the old Clinton establishment in Washington."

He continues: "In a series of D.L.C. memos with titles like 'The Decisive Center,' [Mark] Penn has preached that while Republicans can win by appealing only to conservatives, Democrats must appeal to centrists as well as liberals. In his new book, 'Microtrends,' he casts a caustic eye on the elites and mega-donors of both parties who are out of touch with average voter concerns."

And more from the moderate-conservative columnist: "The fact is, many Democratic politicians privately detest the netroots’ self-righteousness and bullying. They also know their party has a historic opportunity to pick up disaffected Republicans and moderates, so long as they don’t blow it by drifting into cuckoo land. They also know that a Democratic president is going to face challenges from Iran and elsewhere that are going to require hard-line, hawkish responses. Finally, these Democrats understand their victory formula is not brain surgery. You have to be moderate on social issues, activist but not statist on domestic issues and hawkish on foreign policy. This time they’re not going to self-destructively deviate from that. Both liberals and Republicans have an interest in exaggerating the netroots’ influence, but in reality that influence is surprisingly marginal, even among candidates for whom you’d think it would be strong. Several weeks ago, I asked John Edwards what the YearlyKos event was like. He couldn’t remember which event I was talking about, and looked over to an aide for help."

Quote Of The Day

"Famine in Niger is no surprise - desert wastes, locusts and decades of Marxist rule keep it second-to-last on the world poverty list. But there's a common thread: centralized state rule - incompetent at best - marked by corruption and sustained by aid. Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho all lack economic freedom and property rights; all have economies mismanaged by the state; all depend on aid. All these countries have a history of utopian schemes that failed to produce everlasting manna. State farms, marketing boards, land redistribution, price controls and huge regional tariffs left few incentives or opportunities for subsistence farmers to expand. Despite torrents of aid, these cruel social experiments could not turn sands verdant or prevent the granaries of southern and eastern Africa from rotting. After decades of socialism, Ethiopia's agricultural sector is less productive per capita than 20 years ago when Band Aid tried to defeat famine.....Meanwhile, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, the UN's chief advisor on the Millennium Development Goals, believes Africa needs more cash for an African 'Green Revolution'. Prof. Sachs is right about tougher seeds but not about more aid. By his own calculation, 'out of every dollar of aid given to Africa, an estimated 16 per cent went to consultants from donor countries, 26 per cent went into emergency aid and relief operations, and 14 per cent went into debt servicing.' He could not account for how much of the remaining 44 per cent got siphoned off by corrupt officials, nor could he explain why $400 billion dollars of aid over the last 30 years has left the average African poorer. Rwandan President Paul Kagame told Ugandan journalist Andrew Mwenda in April, 'There are projects here worth $5 million and when I looked at their expenses, I found that $1 million was going into buying these cars, each one of them at $70,000. Another $1 million goes to buy office furniture, $1 million more for meetings and entertainment, and yet another $1 million as salaries for technical experts, leaving only $1 million for the actual expenditure on a poverty-reducing activity. Is this the way to fight poverty?" — Franklin Cudjoe, libertarian executive director of IMANI Center for Policy & Education (Ghana), arguing that Africa needs freer markers and fewer tyrants

BOB PARKS COMMENTARY: A Jena Six "Why" Revealed

The conservative Republican commentator asserts that last week's Jena 6 protests in Jena, Louisiana are a classic case of blaxploitation: "I have taken the position that the six young boys involved shouldn't have put themselves in the situation they now find themselves. Sure, they are young, hotheaded, and the initial gestures made by the white kids who hung the nooses should never have been excused, or treated as lightly as they were. But a report I saw on ESPN's 'Outside The Lines' portrayed Jena as a small community where people did get along. Sure, it wasn't a utopia, but when the opportunists got a chance to thrust themselves into the story, it blew up into the power keg that justified the participation of the likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. It's always unfortunate that these two can come in, join in a well-publicized and media covered event, just to leave the infiltrated township more divided than before the events that started it all happened."

Mr. Parks continues his commentary: "I asked myself why District Attorney Reed Walters set the bails so high on these young boys involved in what could be construed as a simple schoolyard fight? I asked myself why some of the high profile, 'well meaning' media liberals like Amy Goodman saw fit to allow some of the young boys they were advocating for languish in jail? I asked myself where's Oprah, Danny Glover, Harry Belafonte, Andrew Young, and the rest of those who are so sensitive to racism issues, and why has only David Bowie stepped forward publicly to date and offered a sizable donation to the boy's defense fund? Why haven't any of these millionaire activists bailed the kids out? Why was bail denied for the young high school football star Mychal Bell?....According to the aforementioned activists, it was all about racism. It was a white town persecuting young black boys. It was a white school committee that overturned the expulsion of the white kids who hung the nooses. It was about a white kid who justifiably got his ass kicked for calling the young boys 'n___r'. It was about a racist white D.A. who railroaded the young black boys, once again calling into question the fairness and integrity of the criminal justice system."

And more: "As it turns out, a bond hearing revealed that Mychal Bell has a history of juvenile scrapes with the law, one of which involved him punching out a 17-year-old girl. I know this will come off as piling on the victim, but as I wrote in my first piece on this subject, it's the choices these boys made that put them in this situation. The little d___s who put the nooses on the tree in the first place would have to live with their prank, and walk around with their heads on a swivel, for the rest of their lives. The expulsions-turned-suspensions would be something in their academic record they'd have to answer for. The tree where the nooses were white kids hung out and the nooses were hung was cut down. This was an ugly incident, but the town of Jena, Louisiana could have moved on. Instead Amy Goodman, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and the thousands they enraged descended on this small town, implied every white there is a racist and every black is a victim. When the ends justify the means, the truth can be a victim as well."

My response: The issue isn't about what the boys did. Most folks agree that the six black boys should be punished. The issue is about prosecutorial overreach that was going to charge these boys with attempted murder for a simple schoolyard fight, and which has only been reined in because attention has been shed on this case by bloggers and now the mainstream media. Mr. Parks should be up in arms about Big Government here, as he was during the Duke rape case...which involved guys who were not choir boys either.

LAURA SPINING OP-ED: A New Federal Broadband Policy

The Internet Innovation Alliance associate writes over at Ideas Primary, a moderate-liberal Democratic blog: "The Internet and the infrastructure that provides us access to it is a series of interconnected, privately-owned networks and each year companies collectively spend billions to improve and expand that infrastructure. However, the digital divide is real in many communities and we believe that the policy- makers can further encourage private investment as well as re-directing federal resources to continue to close the gap. 1. Promote partnerships between state governments and industry to develop mapping programs to identify the availability and gaps in broadband access. Public/private partnerships such as ConnectKentucky leverage new technologies and network mapping data to accelerate broadband access for the purposes of community and economic development, improving healthcare, enhancing education and providing more effective and efficient government services. 2. Support Tax policies that encourage investment and innovation such as a permanent Internet Tax Moratorium, a permanent R&D tax credit, accelerated and rationalized depreciation schedules for technology and equipment, allowing companies to expense new broadband investment in the first year, tax credits for especially robust new networks. 3. Require that all new publicly-financed affordable housing includes broadband ready infrastructure."

The Way Of The Dragon - Memories Of Youth

Wales is Country Of The Week here at Booker Rising. Independence Cymru, a blog that advocates Welsh independence from the United Kingdom, on political memories: "It all began with the Dragon. that mythical, mystical creature which overshadowed my early years and still plays a subtle and pervasive part in my consciousness. I was born in the Chinese Year of the Dragon. Dragons are popular in China as well as in Wales, and dragons represent the earth spirit without which there would be no life or creative imagination. There is more to the dragon than meets the eye. In China you see them alighting on the roofs of the temples and in Wales they adorn the national flags. Can you imagine the flag without the dragon? A plain green and white flag without the red dragon to enliven it would be soul-less and quite uninspiring. In my childhood I read about dragons, in fairy tales and even in Rupert cartoons in comics and in the pages of the 'Daily Express' newspaper which my Conservative parents insisted on taking for their daily read."

The commentary continues: "How much longer does the dragon have to wait before the people of Wales reclaim their nation and vote for their own Parliament for Wales? Without that mythical beast all would have already been lost and trodden under. Wales without the dragon would be impotent. That is the reason why this symbol is so prized and valued by the people, and why the flag is flown across the nation and is a ubiquitous presence throughout the land. It is also the reason why this blog is written, for without the dragon there would be no 'Independence Cymru' to nudge the reader and remind him of our noble destiny."

Stanley Crouch: "Reel Like Story Is No Substitute For A Real-Life Hero"

Asserts the moderate-conservative columnist: "Jeri Elster's story is the sort that fuels our democratic optimism and has supplied the narrative for a Hollywood tale that has become a cliche. The victim is failed by the system, becomes an activist, finds an insider willing to take up the case and, together, they change the law and make a better world. True or not, we have seen it before and will see it again, both in and out of Hollywood. But we are much more likely to see a version like 'The Brave One,' the new Jodie Foster film that will probably remain a hit because it provides us with another story we like: the victim who will not take anymore, who becomes an avenger of the downtrodden and the abused. Revenge served in cold spools of celluloid. Serve it garnished with enough hot blood, and you've got a hit. On black blogs such as DV Republic, seeingblack.com and nowarningshotsfired.com, the issue is seen purely in racial terms, with such absurd statements as, 'Have you ever wondered why after all the ill stuff that has happened to black people over the centuries that you rarely see a black vigilante movie striking back at white folks? This is because the moviemakers know, full well, the power they possess to shape public opinion. So don't ever expect to see a movie about one day when Rosa Parks gets tired of being told to sit in the back of the bus and decides to start blastin' fools with her pistol.'"

Mr. Crouch continues his commentary: "As Esther Iverem wrote in a review of 'The Brave One' for seeingblack.com, 'Most of us realize that we are far more likely to be victimized by our own homegrown thugs than whites will ever be.' So the real question is why we have not seen many black vigilante films focused on the street gangs that, every single day, stack up the corpses of boys, girls, men, women and children across this nation. Even more pressing is the question of why we have not seen stories, real or imagined, about black women like Jeri Elster. But perhaps such stories and character would match only those remarkable black women we see on the news as opposed to those so common to the dumb black comedy shows, the insipid films and the ongoing dehumanization available in almost all rap videos. Whose fault is that? Everyone's."

Pakistan Cutting Back Its Battle Against Al Qaeda

The Moderate Voice, a moderate-liberal blog, writes: "More and more it’s looking as if Pakistan under President Pervez Musharraf is downgrading its battle against Al Qaeda — effectively removing one of the forefronts of American efforts to find and thwart Osama bin Laden and leaving this vital country more and more open to be a safe haven for the terrorist chief and his trainees.....Intelligence officials have told the [Los Angeles] Times that Musharraf is now 'too vulnerable' to participate full-strength with the U.S. in the terrorism war because he is too politically vulnerable, is facing upcoming elections and is under pressure to step down. Other factors: he has been the target of various assassination attempts, many in Pakistan reportedly sympathize more with Al Qaeda than they do with the United States, and Osama bin Laden recently declared virtual war on him."

It adds: "If so, it would be the bitterest of bitter ironies. The United States was attacked on 911, it went after the Taliban in Afghanistan and ejected them from power. A Pakistan reluctant to get too involved was made an offer it could not refuse by Washington. The U.S. moved resources from Afghanistan to fight the war in Iraq. And, in the end, it will be ironic if Pakistan becomes the 'new Afghanistan' — not quite as dominated as Afghanistan but definitely a new terrorist hub, left alone by a fearful government and largely “untouchable” by the United States. And scaling back its operations in the war on terror would be popular in Pakistan domestically, too....The U.S. has a lot invested in Pakistan. It is considered one of the U.S.’ most-loyal allies in the Muslim world. And it has also received some $5.6 billion in U.S. aid. Intelligence officials interviewed by the Times don’t think Pakistan will drop the anti-terrorism effort — it is a national security issue for them — but will significantly cut back. But that in itself will pose a problem..."

Quote Of The Day

"The West is unique not in having slavery but in abolishing it." — Dinesh D'Souza, conservative Republican commentator and fellow at The Hoover Institution

CYNTHIA TUCKER COMMENTARY: Black Victims Of Crime Deserve Outrage, Too

Asserts the liberal editorial editor for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "But there is another, less obvious disparity in the criminal justice system, one that has not received the attention it deserves. It's not just black criminal defendants who are treated unfairly. So are black victims, whose lives and losses are often undervalued. Nowhere is that more apparent than in death sentences meted out in Georgia, where, over the last decade, prosecutors have been more than twice as likely to seek the death penalty when the victim was white than when the victim was black."

Ms. Tucker continues her commentary: "Even black politicians and activists pay less attention to cases where black victims are given short shrift. Though most crime involves a victim and a perpetrator of the same race, there is no tradition of outrage on behalf of black victims who are attacked by black assailants."

And more: "The disparate application of the death penalty is one more excellent reason to abandon its use. But that would merely mute — not change — a distinct pattern of assigning more value to the tribulations of white crime victims. Even outside death penalty cases, there is still a tendency for prosecutors to treat more harshly defendants in those cases that attract community outrage. It's high time for more of that outrage against black criminals who murder and maim black victims."

My response: I disagree with her opposition to the death penalty, as I would argue for stricter application rather than abandon it. Otherwise, I agree with the core of her commentary here.

Brazil's Link For African Americans

Los Angeles Times highlights the town of Cachoeira in Bahia state - where black customs still flourish - as a draw for U.S. tourists hungry for tradition. Thousands of U.S. visitors, virtually all of them black, have journeyed to the cobblestoned lanes of this northeastern Brazilian town in pursuit of roots and a shared history. With its varied and exotic attractions, Brazil has long been a travel mecca, drawing more than 700,000 U.S. citizens annually. But the big attraction for many black Americans is Brazil's flourishing African heritage, most evident here in Bahia state, where vast slave plantations once serviced Europe's craving for sugar and tobacco.

Black Americans' increasing advance into the middle class has created disposable income, leisure time and a multibillion-dollar tourism boom. Brazil may not yet rival Africa as a "roots" destination, but more people are converging on Bahia. Despite barriers of language and culture, many African American visitors speak of a sense of empathy and identification with Afro-Brazilians. Folk practices still thriving here evoke for many the specter of slavery and its aftermath, calling to mind wisps of oral tradition passed down by ancestors.

Preserving belief here is a unique society: the "sisterhood" of Boa Morte, mostly elderly black women who have kept their ways over the decades, even as similar social groups dating from the era of slavery disappeared elsewhere in Brazil. Among other things, the organizations are said to have helped slaves buy their freedom. The groups' connection to the Roman Catholic Church provided a measure of protection, even as members continued to revere their African orixas, or deities, linking them to Catholic saints.

My response: I've been to Bahia - I was in Salvador, the state capital, and nearby Cachoeira - and I highly recommend that black Americans go there. We were very warmly received, with Bahians claiming that black American and Italian tourists treat them with the most kindness. We met with the Boa Marte ladies in Cachoeira, who have preserved African traditions - despite crackdowns - over the centuries. I was fortunate that my Portuguese teacher (I took four months of Portuguese before I left for Brazil) knew someone who lived in Cachoeira, so I saw extra stuff off the tour plan. I even went to a candomblé ceremony, although I didn't get to see everything as we had to leave before they started their secret stuff. Bahian food is outstanding, great dance and history, etc. However, dress down and don't be surprised if you are called "preto rico" (rich black, as black American tourists are rich by Brazilian standards - and folks knew that I was a tourist despite my dressing like I was poor and not going in a huge group because they said "you have American teeth" after I smiled). You will get a bunch of folks swarming you saying, "sista, can you spare some change?" and little kids saying "brotha, I sing for you for a dollar" when you hit the main tourist spots. Ladies, if you hear a hissing sound, that is usually not a snake - like I thought when I hit the beach - but typically nearby men signaling that you are pretty.

COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: Wales

Wales won this week's random selection, so I will highlight this constituent country of the United Kingdom.

According to Wikipedia, the English name for Wales originates from Walha, a Germanic word meaning "stranger", "foreigner", or "Roman". The Welsh call themselves Cymry in Welsh, which most likely means "compatriots" in Old Welsh.

According to the Wales Tourist Board, Welsh is one of Europe's oldest language and goes back to the sixth century. The Board writes: "The Welsh are descended from the tribal Celts who were both fearless warriors and gifted artists. But the Romans also mined for gold here, Normans built castles here and the Tudor dynasty was founded here."

About 3 million people live in Wales, which is about the size of Massachusetts here in USA. The per capita GDP of Wales is US$23,741 (Black America comparison: US$22,062.67).

The Welsh Assembly can propose and pass its own laws, but the British Parliament must agree to them. However, there has been a push for independence by some Welsh, who cite Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland as the last bastions of British colonialism.

Famous Welsh include actors Catherine Zeta-Jones, Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Dalton, Richard Burton and Christian Bale. Colin Jackson, a black former world recordholder in the 110-meter hurdles, is Welsh. Bertrand Russell, the atheist philosopher, was Welsh.

Many famous Americans are of Welsh ancestry, including actors Tom Cruise, Susan Sarandon, and Bette Davis; comedian Bob Hope; writers Harriet Beecher Stowe and Sinclair Lewis; Presidents John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Calvin Coolidge, Abraham Lincoln, James Madison, and James Monroe. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, pioneer Daniel Boone, Robert E. Lee, banker J.P. Morgan, architect Fronk Lloyd Wright, and Jefferson Davis are or were also of Welsh descent.

Quote Of The Day

"What is the greatest threat facing us now? People will say it's terrorism. But are there any terrorists in the world who can change the American way of life or our political system? No. Can they knock down a building? Yes. Can they kill somebody? Yes. But can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves. So what is the great threat we are facing? kill somebody? Yes. But can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves. So what is the great threat we are facing? I would approach this differently, in almost Marshall-like terms. What are the great opportunities out there — ones that we can take advantage of? It should not be just about creating alliances to deal with a guy in a cave in Pakistan. It should be about how do we create institutions that keep the world moving down a path of wealth creation, of increasing respect for human rights, creating democratic institutions, and increasing the efficiency and power of market economies? This is perhaps the most effective way to go after terrorists." — Colin Powell, moderate Republican and former Secretary of State on terrorism and society

Quote Of The Day

"The top four Republican presidential candidates are in hot water with black and Hispanic voters (well, at least with the people who claim to speak for all of them; myself included)....I’m sure they are [interested in addressing issues of concern to blacks], but not on the terms defined by Smiley — where all the debate panelists are on the left, and most of the questioning will be based on 'The Covenant With Black America', a statement defined by its backers to be 'a national plan of action to address the primary concerns of African Americans today — from health to housing, from crime to criminal justice, from education to economic parity.' I’ve read the CWBA when it was announced last year, and most of it consists of proposals and goals based on leftist, collectivist thought. Most of the answers that would be forthcoming from GOP candidates (attendees and no-shows alike) would run counter to what CWBA is demanding, as conservative solutions are mostly rooted in individualism, and not collectivism. However, I agree with Newt Gingrich, Michael Steele, and others who expressed grave disappointment at the top tier candidates declining to attend. Whether they had legitimate scheduling conflicts or just simply felt that participating in a heavily biased, agenda-driven forum would be a waste of their time is already being discussed, debated, or maligned by pundits everywhere. Just as I took black Republican no-shows to the 2006 State of the Black Union (another CWBA themed event) to task, I’m doing the same for the Top 4 — especially Fred Thompson, whom I support for the presidential nomination: Show up anyway. Yes, you’re damned if you do (and of course damned if you don’t), but you’ll earn a lot more respect from those who may not necessarily agree with you. Some may even open their minds and consider your plans and proposals for the future. And just maybe some of those who consider your arguments may come over to your side, lend you their support, and even cast a vote for you. Well, at [least] such sincere efforts convinced me a few years ago. I exhort the Top 4 (especially Thompson) with the following from last year: Hold your head high, present your case, and take the high road. If you’re drowned out by ad hominem attacks and epithets masquerading as 'civil dialogue', then shame on Tavis (and double-shame on the 'open-minded', 'tolerant', and 'peace-loving' left-wing intellectuals). Don’t back down — and don’t get intimidated by the haters. For the sake of political diversity among blacks, browns, and for all Americans who make up our republic, step up and represent." — D.C. Thornton, black libertarian blogger