9/30 News Tidbits

USA: Ban Handguns? Supreme Court Taking A New Look

The Supreme Court says it will take up a challenge to Chicago's ban on handguns, opening the way for a ruling that could set off a vigorous new campaign to roll back state and local gun controls across the nation. A ruling against the city's outright ban could lead to legal challenges to less-restrictive laws across the country that limit who can own guns, whether firearms must be registered and how they should be stored. The case is to be argued early next year. Last year, the justices struck down a prohibition on handguns in the District of Columbia, a city with unique federal status, as a violation of the Second Amendment. Now the court will decide whether that ruling should apply to local and state laws as well.

Guinea Bans 'Subversive' Meetings

Hat tip to reader Cultural Strategist for the heads up on what's happening in Guinea. Guinea's military leader has banned all "subversive" gatherings days after soldiers opened fire at a mass rally, killing a large number of people. Local activists say at least 157 people were killed when soldiers fired on protesters, though government officials put the death toll at 57. Eyewitnesses said that soldiers raped women in the streets and ran protesters through with bayonets. Rumors that Captain Moussa Dadis Camara intends to run for president sparked Monday's protest. He took power in a bloodless coup late last year and promised to step down after overseeing a transition back to civilian rule. But recently he has refused to rule out his candidacy in a scheduled January 2010 election.

USA: East Cleveland Mayor Loses Election After Cross-Dressing Photos Emerge

Photos surfaced last week allegedly of Mayor Eric Brewer dressed in heels, wig and lingerie. While the Democrat reacted with anger over the release and dissemination of photos, he neither confirmed nor denied that the photos were not of him. Despite many voters public statements that the photos shouldn't matter, voters chose his opponent, Gary Norton, Jr, by a margin of nearly 2-to-1 in Tuesday's election. Mr. Norton says he has known about the photos for a couple of years. Mr. Brewer claimed that some folks on the city's police force were responsible for peddling the photos to the public and the media; and that they did so in response to differences over certain police conduct.

USA: Palin 'Grateful' For Top Spot

Two days after the release date of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s memoir was announced, it's already become the top seller at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. Her publisher announced Monday that the former Republican vice presidential candidate had finished Going Rogue: An American Life early and was moving the release date up from the spring to November 17. A Palin source told POLITICO that she "is very grateful" for the strong early sales. HarperCollins will print 1.5 million copies for the book’s first run, the same number printed for late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s memoir.

USA: BET And MTVN Unveil New Lifestyle And Music Network

BET and MTV Networks very quietly soft-launched Centric, a new basic-cable network aimed at African-American adults, on Monday. BET is rebranding its nearly 32 million subscriber BET J network under the Centric moniker, which will target black viewers with music and lifestyle programming. Centric — handled by MTV Networks’ affiliate-sales team, but otherwise run by BET — plans to work with affiliates to reach 45 million subscribers by 2010.

The Obamas & The Olympics: Bookerista Perspectives

Bookeristas have strong feelings about the Obamas' involvement in pitching Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics. I'm pulling for my hometown, but most bookeristas ain't feeling the bid:

Afrocity: "The Chicago Olympic Games From Start To Finish"

The moderate-conservative Republican blogger in Chicago, Ill. argues that President Obama needs to be more focused on the violence happening in his home base of Chicago's South Side: "New York rarely takes a backseat for anyone but thanks to the election of Barack Obama, a Chicagoan, the city has benefited from being the most mentioned in the news. While not an Obama supporter, I did find it fitting that Chicago produced our first African American president. As the nation’s 'Black Metropolis' she definitely deserved that accolade. However, I am troubled by what this all means for black Chicago should the 2016 Olympic games happen. Today as President Obama makes his way to Copenhagen, in a last ditch effort to pitch the Chicago games, there is a lingering faint smell of blood and death in the air. A boy, an honor student, was beaten to death in the fair city."

She continues her commentary about the president and Olympic pitching: "Where are the words of hope and change President Obama? Yes you can fly to Copenhagen with Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley to pitch for the 2016 Olympic Games. Yes you can speak out during a national press conference on the alleged shoddy racist treatment received by Professor Henry Louis Gates from the Cambridge Police Department. Yes you can give props to the Chicago White Sox and put down Republicans like Michale Steele during fancy $700 a plate dinners…But where is the outrage over what is happening in the great city that you community organized? For many of the residents in Chicago your presidency is not translating into real change they can believe in. Who can they pray to? Who will they light a candle for at the alter [sic]?"

Namaste: "Obama Plays Hooky, Goes To Copenhagen"

The conservative blogger argues that President Obama has misplaced priorities: "Last time I checked we were in the middle of heated debates about Obama’s urgent health care plan. Last time I checked we were also in the middle of a WAR. Oh and excuse me, but Chicago?! Last time I checked the man-child thugs were beating an honor student to death with a wooden plank in the Chicago streets. Teenage murders have been on the rise in Chicago for the last three years. All three of these clowns, Barry, Shelly, and Harpo are from the [W]indy [C]ity of killing fields. One would think they would leverage their celebrity to reverse the crime rates, especially among youth. This is the hypocritical liberal garbage that really grinds my gears. B/S and Harpo are more interested in preening than applying themselves where it might do some good. As for the inner-city Chicago constituents that helped put them in the White House? What do they care? All that really matters is their president is black. Hooray."

Clarence Page: "Violence Video Spur Bad Politics"

The moderate-liberal columnist argues that while Chicago has its problems, it is much preferable to Rio de Janeiro: "As Richard Nixon once said of presidential campaigns, there are no silver medals in this race. The competition for the games is intense and so is the opposition in Chicago. Chicagoans were about evenly split on hosting the games, according to a recent Chicago Tribune poll. The Internet crackles with critics of the Olympics, Daley, Obama or all three. Some raise the death of Derrion Albert and other young victims of school or street violence to argue Chicago might be too unsafe, too corrupt or too indifferent to the plight of its poor to host the Olympics. Unsafe? Compared to...Rio? Here's an Associated Press account of life in Rio during a week in early September: A police shootout 'stopped a commuter train and sent passengers fleeing for cover.' Officers conducted a drug raid on a slum, 'keeping 2,000 children out of school.' Police gun battles 'killed more than a dozen suspected traffickers.' Yet that was the same week the IOC released a report that gave high praise to Rio's bid for the 2016 Games. The sad fact is that most of the violence that plagues metropolises like Rio or Chicago occurs in parts of town to which tourists do not usually go. Tragically, this makes the pain of poverty and violence too easily ignored by those who could do something about it. Yet video and the Web have the power to break down the emotional walls that separate communities from one another, even when they transmit a misleading message."

Cultural Strategist: "Some Chicagoans Want Better Schools Rather Than The 2016 Olympics"

The conservative blogger in Atlanta metro, Ga. writes: Many Chicagoans hope city loses vote Friday Interestingly enough - today I read an article that indicated that the Chicago City Council has voted to cover any Olympic based losses using city financial resources. The first thing I thought of upon reading this was last year's protests in Chicago about school funding. How is it that the city council that could not find money to full fund their schools can find money for backing the Olympic games?"

Sandra Rose: "Obama Makes Pitch For Olympics While Children Are Dying In Chicago"
The conservative blogger in Atlanta metro, Ga. opines: "Last night Chicago police arrested residents who tore down an Olympic 2016 banner. Score another one for the me-president. Barack Obama will fly into Copenhagen tomorrow to make a pitch to bring the Olympic games to Chicago in 2016. Obama makes his pitch despite the fact that unemployment in his political hometown is in the double digits and crime is at an all time high. So far there is no word from Obama about the death of Derrion Albert, 16, who was beaten to death last week as he walked home from school. More children died violent deaths in Chicago this year than in any other city in America. But all Obama cares about is bringing the Olympics to a city where basic services like water, sanitation and power often don’t work. He doesn’t care about the children or the residents who don’t want the Olympics in their city."

More: "Some residents are so concerned about the burden that the 2016 Olympics will place on the city’s budget that they created a web page NotChicago.com. The sole mission of the website is to support the other cities that are vying for the Olympic games 'because we would very much prefer that the Olympics be held somewhere other than Chicago — anywhere but Chicago.' If Chicago does win the bid there will be plenty of police and National guards on hand to protect the International visitors. That’s more than they are willing to do for their own residents."

Bob Parks: "Michelle's Copenhagen Taxpayer-Funded Junket"

The conservative Republican blogger in Manassas, Va., on Mrs. Obama's arrival in Denmark: "Yes, she’s from Chicago. Yes, she’s the First Lady, but she’s also First Lady of the whole United States. Why do we all have to pay for a trip her hometown may or may not benefit from? Half of Chicago doesn’t want it, but we all get the bill.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are both traveling to Copenhagen this week to promote Chicago’s bid to host to the 2016 Olympic Games – and they will be making the 3,979-mile trip on separate airplanes. Taxpayers will pick up the tab for both jets ferrying the president and first lady separately to Europe.

Using the Congressional Research Service cost estimates and the inflation adjuster from the Bueau of Labor Statistics, the cost for the one-way 7.5-hour trip from Washington, D.C. to Copenhagen on the first lady’s plane would range from $29,532 (White House Military Office) to $107,717 (U.S. Air Force).

Obviously it will never happen with this First Couple of lottery winners, but maybe the next president and wife will respect forcibly-confiscated tax dollars as we do."

African Bookeristas on Africa

James Shikwati: "Africa Must Adapt Knowledge-Driven Economy"

The libertarian head of the Inter-Region Economic Network asserts that the human mind is the ultimate capital: "It is a tragedy that Africa, in spite of its vast geological and human resources, still wallows in poverty with close to 75% of its population living on less than $1 a day. The African leadership and policy makers have over the years focused on natural resources instead of the African people. What passes for education in Africa is nothing but a conveyor belt system that churns out labor as opposed to critical thinkers. We must urgently probe political and economic systems that have alienated Africans from their own wealth and relegated them into spectators who watch on the sidelines as huge trucks ship out tree logs and small jet planes ship out minerals and ship back beer, pornographic magazines, cigarettes and guns. Switzerland produces the finest chocolate yet she has no [c]ocoa plantations; Japan, an island country is a major player in the global economy but she has no geological resources to boast of. Knowledge driven economies focus on creating a critical mass of innovative citizens as opposed to those who simply wait for manuals in order to operate. Knowledge is more than simply learning how to read and speak English and French; it entails utilizing logic (reason) to interact with one’s environment (in this case geological resources) for purposes of improving one’s living standards."

He continues his commentary: "We ought not to be hoodwinked by Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that focus on mere enrolment ratios but ignores the content of school curricula. The [f]ocus on oil, diamonds, coltan, huge tracts of agricultural land among other resources simply turn our political leaders into corrupt salesmen. The focus ought to be on African people and how to impart relevant knowledge that can enable them transform such resources into wealth. Africans’ ultimate capital is the human mind!"

The African Executive: "Multi-Polar World Good For Africa"

The libertarian website, which is based in Kenya, pens an editorial: "A multi-polar world is just but a lesser evil unless Africa’s leadership and people seize the current competing interests to position the continent as a major player in the global economy. Recall, it was a multi-national world that scrambled for Africa. Therefore, an increase in global spheres of influence does not leave Africa any safer! Africa is not only under-represented in global decision making, but it also operates on the terms of developed nations. The continent is trapped in a skewed global market system that only relegates it to produce raw materials for export but forbids it to engage in value added activity. Now that we know it, and can organize and participate in Third World Country Summits, do we need further prodding? Developed countries underwent revolutions that positively changed their economy. The agricultural revolution saw the use of inputs and supplies to boost production. The industrial revolution saw inventions of new machinery that improved efficiency and replaced manual labor. The information revolution has created a digital economy where online transactions such as electronic learning, tele-medicine, e-businesses and virtual offices (among others) are all possible. Africa need not re-invent the wheel as results of the previous revolutions are already available to it."

More commentary from The African Executive: "Due to long-term neglect of the agricultural sector, Africa spends $19 billion a year to import food. Corruption alone costs Africa over $148 billion annually. The informal sector, which transacts most business, is neglected. The continent easily trades with foreign nations but imposes barriers on its internal market. Africa should realize that the key to its development rests within itself - the African people. Priority must be in investing in people so that they can in turn transform Africa's resources into wealth."

Obama & His Critics: Bookerista Perspectives

Clifton B.: "A Military Coup Against Obama? Oh, Oh Newsmax Goes There"

Newsmax has since taken down this way-out-of-order, un-American and possibly treasonous article, but Mr. B. saved a copy so you can read it in full on his website. The conservative blogger writes: "Yes this is some pretty radical stuff; first, I think Mr. Perry has some major issues with Obama and is getting cart way out in front of the horse. While Obama’s policies are dreadfully socialist and Washington has grown rather deaf to the voice of the people, public pressure is still working. Just look at yesterday how a Democratically controlled [S]enate was unable to pass an amendment for the Public Option. Why do you think that is? Easy, public pressure still works. Those Democrats saw our anger at those Town Hall meetings. They know their jobs are on the line and they responded to our wishes. So, we are not at the end of the rope and We The People are not without power."

He continues his commentary: "Our Founding Fathers gave us both tools and encouragement to over throw ANY government that grows tyrannical. This is why our words and our weapons take the number one and number two spots in the Amendments. Now here is the shocking part, this kind of stuff has been true since the dawn of our government and so long as we keep our true rights and liberties, it will remain true until the end of time. So while talk of a military coup is shocking and scary, the military’s allegiance to the Constitution is just another check and balance in our form of government designed to keep a free people free. Now let['s] get back to opposing those dreadful policies the way Americans normally do, protest, protest, protest!"

Slyram: "Tardy For The Party: President Obama, Michael Steele, Blue Dog Democrats"

Drawing from a song, the moderate Democratic blogger writes: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq4JAUz-cYs&feature=related With a nod to the ladies of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, 'Don’t Be Tardy For the Party' should apply to some folks in the political arena also. First, Kim should understand that the song is as much her tune as the GOP is Michael Steele’s operation. Kandi is the wizard behind the curtain who made that track hot and Nene came up with the idea. Steele is a smart man but heads a party with a different mindset and demeanor than his. To continue the analogy, Rush Limbaugh is Kandi and Glenn Beck is Nene. Steele, who I really wanted in the Senate, heads a party that is not remotely interested in the blueprint he outlined while running for chair. Diversity and reaching out has given way to the 'spirit' of the protest movement; moderates and centrists shouldn’t be comfortable in the new-look GOP. Georgia is one of the best states in the nation for African Americans and Steele’s party should find a Black [C]ongressional candidate down here. The brother is tardy for the party because he knows that what is being played is something he doesn’t want to hear — it’s back to the future with a rehashed [S]outhern [S]trategy. This tune sounds very familiar."

More: "The Blue Dog Democrats must be with the party on healthcare reform. Of course, my mother used to say the only thing I must do is 'stay Black and die' when I said I must be at a party or the skating rink. Georgia Rep. Jim Marshall skipped the Democratic National Convention and likely didn’t vote for Obama/Biden — the ultimate tardy for the party but voting no on the healthcare reform would be the final indication that his district really is a red one and not blue. I am not going to slam the guy for voting the will of his constituents but I question the supporters of the public option who allow Democrat money to flow into his war chest. My Blue Dog [C]ongressman in southwest Georgia took heat this summer for standing strong at townhall meetings regarding his views on healthcare reform – I respect that. But, Georgia Democrats who will vote against healthcare reform should anticipate the erosion of their Black bases — remember, that base gives you more votes tha[n] the vocal protesters."

Anglosphere Politics: Bookerista Perspectives

Walter Williams: "Is Disagreement With Obama Racism?"

The libertarian economics professor writes: "For these people, it is inconceivable that many Americans are outraged by the president's spending policies, budget deficits, industry takeovers, not to mention the appointment of Czars, a term that ought to be alien and offensive to American values whether used by a Republican or Democratic president. Obama's presidency is truly a remarkable commentary on the goodness of Americans and how far we've come in resolving matters of race. Obama convincingly won votes in states with insignificant black populations, such as the New England states, Iowa and Minnesota. For the nation as a whole, he managed 53 percent of the popular vote and 365 of the Electoral College votes when he only needed 270 to win. So now Jimmy Carter, Dowd, Rangel and other race-carders want us to believe that the massive discontent with Obama is racism. I say nonsense!"

More: "Race is no longer the problem that it once was. That doesn't mean there are not white and black bigots and that every vestige of racial discrimination has been eliminated. What little racial discrimination remains is nowhere near the insurmountable barrier it once was. For the most part, white bigots are no longer respected among whites and I look forward to the day when black bigots are no longer respected among blacks."

James Cleverly: "The Sun Stops Shining On Labour"

The London Assemblyman and Conservative Party member, on the woes of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his Labour Party: "That Labour have lost the backing of the Sun newspaper probably isn't a deal breaker but it is significant. Gordon Brown is trying to say that the backing of the Sun is unimportant. Really? Then why did Blair, Mandelson, Brown and Campbell all try so hard to win over the paper in the past? The Sun, like all printed media, has lost some of the influence it once had, but that is not the same as saying that it has no influence at all. Millions of people read the Sun every day and they are likely to represent the kind of voters who will move their support between parties. Perhaps the more significant point is the timing of the Sun's announcement, it was clearly designed to undermine Brown's set piece speech. This time next week few people will remember any of the points Brown was trying to make but they will remember that the Sun turned on him the very next day."

Alan Keyes: "The Saving Grace Of The Republican Imperative"

The conservative activist and America's Independent Party member takes issue with supporters of both U.S. President Barack Obama and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who he argues are trying to undermine America's national sovereignty and republican form of government: "Both the Obama national socialists and the Ron Paul nationalists turn away from the beautiful symmetry of the Declaration's wisdom. Both treat the idea of limited government as if it were simply about the good or bad results of action, with respect to the particular aspect of justice they hold to be paramount. The Obama faction does so claiming to seek social and economic equality. The Ron Paul nationalists do so in the name of personal freedom. They either fail, or else refuse to see the essential purpose of limited government, which is to establish the exercise of government power on a basis that keeps the pursuit of particular goods within boundaries that respect and preserve the possibility of justice for all."

He discusses his appreciation of the Declaration of Independence, which starts when he did his doctoral dissertation: "I learned that liberty involves more than freedom, even as justice involves more than getting good results. Both have an intrinsic source and foundation, to which respect is due at every step along the way. So I came to the paramount truth on which the substance of republican government depends: the presence and authority of the Creator God. This is the truth in which America's identity truly abides: 'in all places, and against all foes, and at whatever cost.'"

News: Centrist Democrats

Blue Dogs Join GOP to Restore Abstinence-Only Education Funds

Booker Rising disagrees with both the Blue Dogs and the GOP on this issue, arguing that such an agenda is neither a federal power nor responsibility. The Senate Finance Committee voted yesterday to restore $50 million a year in federal funding for abstinence-only education, which was eliminated from U.S. President Obama’s budget in a change of policy towards teen pregnancy prevention. The passage of Sen. Orrin Hatch's (R-Utah) amendment, restoring the funds to a failed program, was made possible by the yes votes of two Blue Dog Democrats. The two Democrats joining with Republicans were, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) The close 12-11 vote was objected to by the Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.). Sen. Baucus disagreed with Sen. Hatch’s contention that abstinence-only education works. Sen. Baucus then proposed an alternative amendment, which passed 14-9, that would make funds available for education on contraception and sexually transmitted diseases in addition to abstinence. Both measures would still need to pass the full House and Senate.

According to the Office of Management and Budget, from 2001-2009, almost $1.3 billion in federal funds have been spent on abstinence-only education.

Pro-Business "New Democrats" Try To Shape Financial Regulations

The New Democrat Coalition holds 15 of the Democrats’ 42 seats on the House Financial Services Committee - which is rewriting rules on bank supervision, executive pay, and other issues - and is using that clout to push changes that may ease the plan’s impact on companies and improve passage. The bloc was won several concessions from panel chair Barney Frank (D-Mass.) in his draft legislation that creates a new agency to regulate credit cards, mortgages and other financial products used by consumers. Rep. The New Democrats got Rep. Frank to drop provisions that would have required banks to offer so-called "plain vanilla products" like 30-year mortgages or low-fee credit cards. The lawmakers were also influential in excluding non-financial companies such as accounting firms, auto dealers and retailers from the proposed agency’s oversight. Now the group is brokering a more difficult compromise over whether the agency should have the power to enforce its rules over banks that already answer to federal regulators, and whether states should be allowed to enact consumer-protection rules for nationally chartered financial institutions that are stricter than federal standards. The group also generally favors making the Federal Reserve the overseer of financial firms deemed too-big-to-fail -- another much-debated plank of the Obama administration’s plan.

Founded in 1997, the New Democrat Coalition group, has 68 lawmakers from across the U.S. The New Democrats share some values with the Blue Dog Coalition of moderate and conservative Democrats, though the Blue Dogs tend to focus more on budget issues and typically come from more rural districts. Along with financial services, the New Dems concentrate on national security, trade, energy and health care. Their business ties - many of them are former businesspeople - also help with raising money. The 15 New Democrats on the Financial Services panel received $1.9 million in contributions from the finance, insurance and real estate industries from January 1 to June 30, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Liberals Hit Moderate Dems After Public Option Fails

On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee voted down two versions of a "public option" as part of its health care reform legislation. Despite Democrats' 13-10 majority on the Finance Committee, the failed votes came as no surprise, since several conservative Democrats, including the chairman Max Baucus, oppose a government-run option. Several prominent liberals were nevertheless angry that their own party brought about the defeat. With lightning-rod liberals like Michael Moore and Howard Dean getting increasingly vocal in their criticism of moderate Democrats, the threat of a circular firing squad is growing.

Roman Polanski: Bookerista Perspectives

Robert A. George: "Roman's Rape Apologists"

The moderate-conservative Republican blogger writes: "So, after 32 years, director Roman Polanski was finally arrested for raping a 13-year old girl and skipping out of the country before he was sentenced for the crime. Since 1977, he's been 'in exile' in France and Switzerland, making movies -- including the Oscar-winning 'The Pianist' for which he received the Academy Award for Best Director. What do his fellow members of the cinematic creative community do in reaction to this news? Give an outpouring of support for this poor, oppressed artist being bullied by agents of law-enforcement!! Some 138 directors, producers, actors and others signed a petition 'demand[ing] the immediate release' of Polanski...."

He continues his commentary: "What are these people thinking? Why not get a note of approval from Woody 'Marrying my ex-girlfriend's daughter was a great idea!' Allen while they're at it? Oops! Too late, Allen is one of the petition signatories! And what a quaint phrase on the petition -- 'opens the way for actions of which no one can know the effects.' What does justice denied for more than 30 years open the way to? Polanski committed a horrible crime. He was a 43-year old man; the girl was 13. But it wasn't merely 'statutory' rape. The full details are heinous, as Salon's Kate Harding forcefully articulates. And, considering a contemporaneous interview, he had very little regret. Nonetheless, because Polanski is a great 'artiste,' the man has defenders who manage to find prestigious platforms from which they can squeeze out a defense..."

More: "The disgrace isn't that this talented filmmaker is being punished just as he's about to get some lifetime achievement award. The disgrace that it took the state of California this long to finally nab him. That delay doesn't make him the victim of justice denied. It's true that the wishes of the victim should be considered in the prosecution of a crime; but in the U.S. criminal justice system, the offended person is, legally, not the actual victim. The offended party is the state. That the now-woman who[se] life Polanski grievously abused wants the matter dropped -- out of concern for her and her children's privacy should be factored into how the prosecution proceeds. But it shouldn't determine whether there is a prosecution at all. Victims have their views; but the state has responsibilities to tell its citizens that no one is above the law. As for the Hollywood petitioners, no wonder they make such perfect targets for conservative politicians and activists. They have sympathy for a 76-year old man. Faux sympathy for the 45-year old woman who says she wants the matter dropped -- but not an iota of empathy for the 13-year old girl whose innocence a 43-year-old man stole with drugs and violence. They live in a far different world than the one inhabited by the people whom they depend upon to see their movies."

Kenneth Durden: "Polanski, Another Reason To Have Contempt For The Hollywood Crowd"

The libertarian-blogger writes about Hollywood's support of filmmaker and fugitive child rapist Roman Polanski: "Is it just me or is anyone else disgusted by actors and directors defending perverted child rapist Roman P[o]lanski? Every time I've heard this guy's story I've been angered. Finally the Swiss government, unlike the noble French, arrested the creep. After reading the transcript of the charges against him and the victim's testimony, I decided that only someone who is insane, deviant or soulless would support P[o]lanski. Anyone who would those things to a 13-year-old child should put in jail and never allowed to see the light of day."

Condi Rice: "The U.S. Must Continue To Lead"

As the keynote speaker at the 25th annual Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce dinner, the former secretary of state plied the capacity ballroom crowd with an affirmation of the role the United States must play as the ambassadors for democracy -- not only abroad, but at home. "The U.S. needs to stand and reaffirm this great model of democratic capitalism, which has the ability to raise millions out of poverty and expand," she said. "While it's fun to talk about the death of capitalism in France and Germany, the U.S. has to stand for growth and capitalism and free-market economies."

Ms. Rice had no criticism for President Obama, except a mild critique of his address to the United Nations last week in which the president said the United States alone can't solve the world's problems. Ms. Rice cautioned that the U.S. must continue to lead. "If we don't lead, the world will be the chaotic place that it tends to be," she said. Otherwise, though, Ms. Rice said she was living by the credo of former President George W. Bush, who has said the new administration deserved "our silence and our loyalty." She called President Obama the "personification" of American values, making a point to say where else could the son of a "Kenyan father and an American mother who was born in Hawaii and lived in Indonesia grow up to be president, except in the United States of America?"

Ms. Rice reserved her harshest criticism for Iran, saying that regime's nuclear arms ambitions are undisputed and "for no good." She said further sanctions will force the world to choose between siding with the U.S. or Iran. "And there is no option there," she said.

Questions from the audience prompted Ms. Rice to say that she and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are friends and have been since "she brought her daughter as a freshman to Stanford." She has no regrets about the Iraq war. "The one thing I would say again and again: It was time to deal with Saddam Hussein, who was a homicidal maniac who attacked his neighbors." Ms. Rice said the war will be justified if "after much, much difficulty, you have a government that is a friend of the United States that will not drag us into wars of aggression."

She called former President Jimmy Carter's charge that some of the stronger criticism of President Obama was driven by racism "nonsense." "It's a pretty rough policy debate. People feel strongly about these issues. It's not fair to attribute racist motives for people who just disagree," said Ms. Rice, who grew up in segregated Alabama and was friends with one of the young girls killed in a Birmingham church bombing in 1963.

Booker Rising response: Death of capitalism in Germany? German Chancellor Angela Merkel just won re-election, on a campaign to cut taxes. Germany (51% capitalist, 49% socialist in terms of government spending as a proportion of GDP) is moving in a more capitalistic direction than the U.S. While France is no beacon of capitalism (61% socialist, 39% capitalist), even it is moving in a less socialist direction.

Mayor Booker Newark Mayor Cory Booker Bans Conan O’Brien From Airport

New Jersey has been the butt of a late-night joke made by "Tonight Show" host Conan O'Brien. The Brick City is fighting back, and has put the comedian on Newark Airport's "no-fly" list:



The moderate-liberal Democratic mayor is a publicity hound, but he sure knows how to bring attention to his city's reforms and get free publicity for Newark. He's joking, right? LMBAO

Michael Steele: "Tom Friedman Is A Nut Job"

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele called New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman a “nut job” for suggesting that current fury in among the conservative grassroots is creating the “same kind of climate here that existed in Israel on the eve of the [former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin assassination.”

After being read Mr. Friedman’s comments during an interview on CNN’s “American Morning,” the moderate-conservative Republican lashed out at the Times’ columnist. “Where do these nut jobs come from?” Mr. Steele said. “I mean, come on, stop this.”

Asked by host John Roberts if Mr. Steele was calling Mr. Friedman specifically a “nut job,” the RNC chairman responded: “I’m just saying to make those kinds of equations, you know, examples, and put that out there that way, to me is just crazy”, he said.

“I’m sorry, but if you’re going to approach this discussion, approach it from a rational position, you’re saying because you disagree with the president on policy, that all of a sudden we’re going to make this leap into, you know, assassinations and all this other stuff,” Mr. Steele continued. “I mean, at the height of all this stuff on Bush and people complaining and protesting, and jumping up and down, you didn’t have this kind of conversation,” he added. “Now all of a sudden you’re going to color it because of a public policy debate...because the president is black.”

Mr. Steele then defended recent conservative protests, and warned Mr. Friedman and others against drawing a connection between outrage at the president’s policies and implications of racism or threats of violence. “We need to be very smart and very careful about jumping, making these leaps on race and connecting dots that may or may not exist there,” he said. “We are engaged as a country right now in a very important public policy debate, whether it’s the war in Afghanistan or health care, cap and trade or what it happens to be. There are passions that run deep and long on both sides of the aisle.”

“Don’t necessarily jump to the conclusion that, because someone says something vitriolic or hot that that’s necessarily from the right or necessarily from the left,” he said. “It’s reflecting deep-seeded frustrations that people have.”

Booker Rising response: I don't recall Mr. Friedman talking about the political climate when there were assassination movies and plays about President George W. Bush, President Bush was being compared to Adolf Hitler, and the like. Since he claims to be concerned about the political climate. However, Mr. Friedman isn't a "nut job". Mr. Steele, that's over the top.

A Rising GOP PR Star

Booker Rising first profiled Princella Smith back in 2004, when the then-collegian won an essay contest and a spot at the 2004 Republican National Convention. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich calls the conservative Republican “one of the most talented people I’ve met.” Mary Matalin, a Republican strategist, calls her “the total package.” And there’s a Facebook group of more than 150 people hoping she’ll return to her home district and run against incumbent Rep. Marion Berry (D-Ark.). Meet Princella Smith, who at age 25 is poised to be a key player in Republican messaging come 2010.

Earlier this year, Ms. Smith took over as communications director for freshman Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao of Louisiana. And her boss — a Republican in an overwhelming Democratic district — is one of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s top targets in 2010. Rep. Cao faces a tough re-election: Black voters make up a majority, and they voted overwhelmingly for President Obama. Rep. Cao, the first person of Vietnamese descent elected to Congress, won in a political upset after longtime Democratic incumbent William Jefferson battled corruption charges. Rep. Cao’s challenge will be to explain the rationale behind his voting record, which has bounced between a vote against the Democrats’ government-run health care plan and a vote with them for expanding children’s health insurance.

In Ms. Smith, he’s got a solid communications advantage. Her attention-getting voice booms from her nearly 6-foot frame — and her résumé boasts training with some of the best message makers in the political world, including Mr. Gingrich, who has made a major comeback as a GOP voice over the past several years. According to Ms. Smith, the key to an effective message will mean steering clear of a bad GOP habit: trying to formulate special messages for minority and youth groups. “We can’t just ride in there with a partisan flag and wave it. So this is the most challenging thing I’ve ever done,” she said. “The hype of, ‘Let us all fashion a special message for African-Americans’ in some ways could be insulting because they just want to know, ‘How are you going to make my community better?’”

Republican leaders have been eyeing Ms. Smith as a young rising star for several years. And now she’s poised to help Rep. Cao’s campaign set a working example of how to attract voters that largely migrated to the Democratic Party last year, especially youth and minority groups. “She has real good rapport within the African-American community. It’s really a win-win for the state to have her here. And for Rep. Cao, she adds tremendous value to his organization,” said Louisiana Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere Jr. “Cao made a good selection; she’s really going to help him out.” “While her value to [Cao] and to the party has always been natural and creative strategic and tactical abilities to communicate policy, her greatest gift is the passion she brings to conservatism. She walks the walk,” said Ms. Matalin, former aide to George W. Bush, a mentor to Ms. Smith and a constituent of Rep. Cao’s. “In short, the total package.”

As gas prices skyrocketed above $4 a gallon last summer, Ms. Smith dominated major network media outlets as a voice for Mr. Gingrich’s American Solutions for Winning the Future, a 527 think tank. She served as a key face behind Mr. Gingrich’s catchphrase, “Drill here, drill now, pay less,” a slogan that soon took on a life of its own. The job catapulted her into the national media space with regular appearances on major networks including Fox News and CNN, debating energy experts and Democratic strategists twice her age. Mr. Gingrich credits Ms. Smith for the success of the campaign as much as himself. “She did some amazing television and radio hits and aggressive outreach development,” Mr. Gingrich said.

9/29 Quote Of The Day

“I would like everyone to write the following on postcards and send to governments around the world. Freedom of expression and of thought was not invented by the West. It has existed in traditional societies — even primitive ones — for centuries. Human progress would not have been possible without it. I’m saying this as a black African from Ghana because today around the world, we have 'educated' barbarians who want to suppress this freedom by arresting and jailing dissidents, writers, journalists and those they disagree with. In fact, the U.N. should expel those countries that do not respect freedom of expression, which is Article 19 of the U.N. Human Rights charter. When everyone has written this thought on postcards and sent them, they should also put them on POSTERS and hang them up in marketplaces, in windows, on the sides of buildings everywhere. So that around the world will be the unmistakable visual reminder of the freedom everywhere.” — George Ayittey, Ghanaian-born economics professor at American University and libertarian co-founder of Radio Free Africa

Is There An Obama Cult?

I'm not sure why a 9-month-old video clip (Gamaliel Foundation) is getting a lot of play now, but black conservatives are commenting about it. That, and other recent things::

Zo Rachel: "Obama Worship"

Zo Rachel, a conservative Republican vlogger, argues that liberals deny calling U.S. President Obama the Messiah, but their reverence for him says it all:



Tyrone: "Deliver Us Obama?"

The conservative Republican blogger in Baltimore, Md. provides an overview of what he calls the "Obama cult": "Recently a hand full of videos have popped up of teachers indoctrinating their students to worship Barack Obama. The excuses of the Obama cult have been pathetic at best. They've tried to down play their derangement as merely conservatives 'overreacting'. Back in November, I showed a video of Louis Farrakhan referring to Barack Obama as the 'messiah'."



He adds: "The excuses that were given by the Obama cult were that Louis Farrakhan 'misspoke' and again that conservatives were 'overreacted'. I've come to realize that their use of the 'overreaction excuse' has been used almost as much as their use of the 'race card'. One of god's Ten Commandments is that 'thou shall not have no other god before me'. Since most liberals worship government control as their god, that commandment doesn't really hold up in their eyes. It's one of the main reasons why liberals want god to have as less influence in American society as humanly possible. It's pretty self explanatory I think. This video was shot back in December in a church. If you heard people in your church saying 'Obama hear our prayers' and 'Deliver us Obama', what would be your first thought? This is why liberalism and religion doesn't mix."



More: "This video showed the 'community organization' group know as the Gamaliel Foundation. They are one of Obama's domestic brown shirt groups. This type of behavior towards an elected politician goes way beyond 'mentally deranged'. When School Districts around the country started renaming schools in honor of Barack Obama back in January, I knew right then and there things were getting very weird very quickly. If Obama asked his loyalists to drink cyanide laced purple [K]oolaid, I wonder what percentage of his devoted flock would actually do it? Obama definitely has a larger cult following then Jim Jones. The days of left explaining away their derangement for Obama as being somehow normal is over."

James T. Harris: "Praying To The Chocolate Jesus"

The conservative Republican radio host in Milwaukee, Wisc. writes about the Gamaliel Foundation video clip (which can be seen above): "To all my friends on the left who were offended by my calling Obama, 'The Chocolate Jesus...' Who's laughing now? I am!"

Robin Martin: "Hear Our Cry Obama? Deliver Us Obama?"

The conservative blogger argues that the people in the Gamaliel Foundation video clip are "praying to their golden calf": "This is wrong on so many levels. But the part about Obama delivering them from 'fears that replace God's abundance' betrays the hypocrisy of environmentalism. Well isn't that what the whole green movement is about? It seems liberals believe that God only has abundance when it suits their issue and he lacks abundance when it doesn't. God is abundant enough to give health care to all inhabitants of this land legal or illegal without raising taxes or cutting [M]edicaid but God doesn't have enough abundance to replenish the Earth that He created...only humans can do that through cap and trade (tax). The liberal mind is utterly twisted and sick. Black Christians are equally twisted and sick -- because too many professing followers of Christ have thrown the Lord Jesus Christ under a bus trusting and believing that Barack Obama will 'hear your cry and deliver you'. Even if you don't believe that you still threw Christ under a bus it you voted for a candidate who stands in direct, undeniable, unquestionable opposition to those things you are called to uphold as a follower of Christ. I'm not saying Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ, but he sure does have that 'spirit' and so do the stupid fools praying to him in the video."

DEROY MURDOCK OP-ED: Oscars Of Entrepreneurship

The libertarian Republican commentator writes the Pioneers of Prosperity Awards, which highlight and provide capital to cutting-edge, small-to-medium Caribbean businesses: "Jamaican prime minister O. Bruce Golding presented the $100,000 first prize to Guyana’s Bulkan Timber Works, established in 1997. Its 37 employees carefully grow, harvest, and replant tropical hardwoods on Bulkan’s 60,000 acres. As lumber, these trees yield $300 each. But rather than roll logs onto freighters, Bulkan transforms timber into shutters, moldings, and other products. This added value creates jobs and generates $3,000 per tree. 'The road getting here has not been easy,' CEO Howard Bulkan says in a visually stunning short directed by Emmy nominee Jeff Zimbalist. 'No start-up capital. No reliable supply of electricity. But we’ve managed to overcome most of these hurdles.' Runner up Totally Male, Ltd. won $75,000. This Jamaican salon’s twelve personnel provide manicures, massages, and otherwise groom 'very competitive' men, as founder Sandra Samuels describes her 2,400 clients. Her success since 1994 notwithstanding, Samuels says her challenges include 'exorbitant taxes' and high interest rates, exacerbated by America’s sinking currency. 'The constant slide in the U.S. dollar makes it difficult to plan your budget,' she tells me. Samuels also happens to be a ten-year breast-cancer survivor. The other $75,000 runner up was the Alternative Insurance Company of Haiti, launched in 2001. CEO Olivier Barrau’s micro-insurance covers people who earn less than $4 per day. Through small transactions, Barrau and his 80-member team help those without much protect what little they have. 'I would love to see the day when Haiti doesn’t have to be looking constantly for donors to help in situations,' says Barrau. 'It starts from within.'"

More: "The remaining seven finalists each received a $40,000 check. (They include a Bahamian civil-engineering firm and a Trinidadian cosmetics concern whose president, Kama Maharaj, says, 'Do something you love. You never have to work a day in your life.') These $530,000 in prizes must finance technical infrastructure or employee development and training....Beyond the Caribbean, may the Pioneers of Prosperity help resuscitate America’s spirit of enterprise. Rather than slice up a shrinking pie, as typified George W. Bush’s latter days and all of Barack Obama’s so far, the U.S. once again must bake a bigger pie. Businesses — especially the young, small, and innovative — propel that effort. How odd that, at least on this occasion, entrepreneurship enjoyed a warmer welcome on Jamaica’s beaches than on America’s shores."

News Tidbits: USA

Key Senate Panel Rejects Public Health Care Option

Liberal Democrats failed today to inject a government-run insurance plan into sweeping U.S. health care legislation taking shape in the Senate Finance Committee, despite accusations that private insurers routinely deny coverage in pursuit of higher profits (hat tip: Sophia Nelson). The 15-8 rejection marked a victory for Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana), the committee chairman who is hoping to push his middle-of-the-road measure through the panel by week’s end. It also kept alive the possibility that at least one Republican may yet swing behind the bill, a key goal of both Sen. Baucus and President Barack Obama.

Obama's Approval Ratings Level Out

After sliding through the summer, President Barack Obama’s job approval ratings have leveled out, settling in the low 50s and comfortably next to those of recent presidents. The liberal Democrat's polling position going into the autumn is a far cry from the spring, when he was cruising in the mid-60s. But despite his summer plunge, a number of top pollsters say that Obama’s 52% average approval rating in Gallup’s September survey is well within the expected range in the first year of a new administration. Presidents Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon all settled into the 50s by this time in the Gallup Poll. Dwight Eisenhower averaged a 61% approval rating during his first September as president. The only recent presidents with approval ratings in the 70s at this point in their terms were John F. Kennedy, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush — though the younger Bush’s rating was strongly influenced by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

U.S. Consumer Confidence Falls

U.S. consumer confidence fell unexpectedly in September, suggesting Americans are not as convinced as U.S. policymakers of an economic recovery (hat tip: BreakingNewz). The Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board business organization slipped to 53.1 from a revised 54.5 in August. Economists expected confidence to improve after it rose in August. Earlier this month, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the U.S. recession was probably over, while President Barack Obama has said the economy is improving. U.S. consumer confidence is closely watched, as personal spending accounts for 70% of the U.S. economy. An index reading of 90 is the minimum to indicate a healthy economy. However, there was positive news on housing prices. The Case-Shiller Home Price index rose by 1.6% from the previous month, although prices remained 13.3% below July 2008 levels.

Gallup Poll: Renewed Desire For U.S. Government To Promote Traditional Values

Americans now show a clear preference for the government's promoting of "traditional values," a change from recent years, when the public's views were more divided, but a return to the prevailing view from 1993 through 2004. 53% of Americans say the government should promote traditional values, while 42% believe the government shouldn't favor any particular set of values. Last year, Americans were divided, with 48% taking each position. The shift in attitudes this year comes primarily from the political middle. Independents' views show a dramatic turnaround, from a 55%-37% split against government-promoted morality last year to a 54%-40% division in favor of it today. By contrast, Republicans' and Democrats' views have been relatively stable, with the former solidly in favor of the government's promoting traditional morality, and a majority of the latter opposed. There has been a similar shift according to political ideology, with self-identified moderates moving toward favoring government involvement in promoting traditional morals; liberals' and conservatives' positions have been much more stable.

Gallup Poll: More Americans Consuming News

Americans these days are paying closer attention to political news than in any non-election year since Gallup started tracking the issue in 2001. Gallup reported that 36% of those surveyed said they follow political news very closely, 42% said they follow it somewhat closely, 16% said they follow it not too closely, and 6% said they don’t follow political news at all. “The long-term increase in very close attention to national political news is seen among all three party groups", said Gallup. "More Democrats (with an increase in very close attention from 21 percent in 2001 to 30 percent today) and Republicans (from 29 percent to 41 percent) are now following the news this closely than was the case eight years ago; independents show a slightly larger gain (from 18 percent to 37 percent)". Men were more news-conscious than women, and older Americans were more news-conscious than younger adults. Men age 50 and older were particularly interested in political news, and younger women were among the least interested.

Odd Couple

Even though both folks are now divorced, this is definitely an odd (& alleged) union (hat tip: Javier David). She must be looking for another political comeup...

News Tidbits: Africa

Prospects Are Good For African Agriculture

After decades of decline, sub-Saharan Africa's agricultural sector grew more than 3.5% last year. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says nearly all the growth was due to smaller farms. A new FAO paper says the gains are "driven" by improved policies, better response to higher commodity prices and technological advances, such as drought-resistance rice. About 80% of sub-Saharan Africa's agricultural sector is made up of smallholder farms. Sub-Saharan Africa's population is expected to grow to nearly two billion by 2050 - up from 770 million in 2005.

East Africa Drought In Fifth Year, Millions Hungry

Drought for a fifth year running is driving more than 23 million east Africans in seven countries towards severe hunger and destitution, international aid agency Oxfam said today. Launching a $9.5 million (6 million pounds) appeal, it said the situation was being worsened by high food prices and conflict. The most badly hit nations are Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Uganda. Some 3.8 million Kenyans, a tenth of the population, need emergency aid, partly because food prices have risen to 180% above average. One in six children are acutely malnourished in Somalia, while conflict meant people were less able to grow food and drought is ravaging areas where half the population has fled. In Ethiopia, 13.7 million people are at risk of severe hunger and need help. Many are selling cattle to buy food. Farmers in northern Uganda have lost half their crops. Other countries hard hit are Sudan, Djibouti and Tanzania. Rains are due next month, but are likely to bring scant relief or even deluges that could dramatically worsen matters. Oxfam said there were fears that East Africa could be hit by floods that would destroy crops and homes, as well as increasing the spread of water-borne diseases.

AFRICOM Begins Training In Gabon

Members of the U.S. Africa Command are in Gabon for the start of a military communications exercise involving more than two dozen African armies. AFRICOM'S Africa Endeavor program seeks to improve communications between African armies by establishing a network linking their command and control structures to better prepare for joint operations. It is the third annual training exercise and field test of communications systems following earlier Africa Endeavor programs in South Africa and Nigeria. U.S. officials say information sharing is critical to improving cooperation in joint peacekeeping interventions and humanitarian assistance missions both inside and outside Africa. The creation of AFRICOM during the Bush Administration was viewed with suspicion by some African governments wary of U.S. military bases in Africa in the thick of the fight against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S. Africa Command took charge of an existing base in Djibouti as well as Defense Department personnel at embassies and diplomatic missions. But it has not opened any new bases and has kept its headquarters in Germany. AFRICOM is responsible for U.S. military relations with all African nations except Egypt.

Botswana’s Economy Rebounds As Diamond Mines Reopen

Botswana’s economy returned to growth in the second quarter, expanding 1.3% from a year ago as diamond mines reopened after a four-month shutdown and farming surged. Gross domestic product rose after contracting a revised 18.8% in the first three months of the year. The mines account for 70% of Botswana’s exports and a fifth of global diamond production. Botswana’s government earns about half of its revenue from diamonds. Plunging sales since the fourth quarter of last year will probably widen the budget deficit to a record 14% of GDP this fiscal year, according to the finance ministry. The government secured a $1.5 billion loan from the African Development Bank in June, the first time it has turned to the African lender in 17 years. The International Monetary Fund said in April that Botswana's economy will probably contract 10.4% in 2009.

The Obama Administration: Conservative Perspectives

Thomas Sowell: "The Brainy Bunch"

The conservative economist argues that the cited braininess of U.S. President Barack Obama and his advisers are not quite as reassuring as one might think: "In an age when facts seem to carry less weight than the visions of brilliant and charismatic leaders, it is more important than ever to look at the actual track records of those brilliant and charismatic leaders. After all, Hitler led Germany into military catastrophe and left much of the country in ruins. Even in a country which suffered none of the wartime destruction that others suffered in the 20th century, Argentina began that century as one of the 10 richest nations in the world -- ahead of France and Germany -- and ended it as such an economic disaster that no one would even compare it to France or Germany. Politically brilliant and charismatic leaders, promoting reckless government spending-- of whom Juan Peron was the most prominent, but by no means alone -- managed to create an economic disaster in a country with an abundance of natural resources and a country that was spared the stresses that wars inflicted on other nations in the 20th century. Someone recently pointed out how much Barack Obama's style and strategies resemble those of Latin American charismatic despots -- the takeover of industries by demagogues who never ran a business, the rousing rhetoric of resentment addressed to the masses and the personal cult of the leader promoted by the media. But do we want to become the world's largest banana republic?"

Mychal Massie: "There's Good Reason Not To Trust Obama"

Asserts the conservative Republican commentator, who argues that President Obama has misplaced priorities and hasn't been transparent: " How can we trust a commander in chief who values playing basketball more than he does giving immediate and full attention to his general's desperate plea for more troops? What other president, Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro notwithstanding, has publicly threatened and bullied privately owned companies in his own country for providing accurate information pursuant to what his proposed measures will truly mean for their clients? Obama promised that his administration would be based on transparency. Yet, it took external news and information sources to expose Van Jones. And to date, Obama still has not revealed that which we are finding out on our own about his other czars, the power they have and their true political affiliations. Where is his transparency pursuant to legislation intended as payback to unions for their support? Has he taken to his teleprompter to tell the nation that in order for non-union contractors to get government contracts they must hire union laborers, even though they are non-union? Has he told the nation that he is forcing non-union contractors to pay union wages and in some instances even contribute to union pension funds? Has he told us by what constitutional authority he took over the banking and automobile industries? Speaking of transparency, why won't he produce his birth certificate? Why are his transcripts and most other artifacts that concern his life being kept from public scrutiny?"

More commentary from Mr. Massie about the president: "He is the president that tried to slip the Employee Free Choice Act with its 'card check' provision by us. He is the president trying to saddle us with cap-and-trade. He is the president who supports health care for illegal aliens. His is the administration that came up with the 'cash for clunkers' program – a program, I argue, that will ultimately serve only to put people in debt for that which they could have easily done without. Now he is using every means at his disposal to convince us we have the worst health-care system in the world, to vilify and threaten the insurance companies and to have us believe that only a government-involved (read: government-run) health-care system will save the day. Obama is trying to convince us that the same government that was so spectacularly incapable of handling the $3 billion cash for clunkers program can now handle health care, which is one-sixth of our total economy, with more efficiency than it handles the post office and more cost effectiveness than Medicaid. We cannot trust Obama or his congressional minions. Not even his loyal surrogates can trust him – just ask New York Gov. David Paterson. Paterson followed the Obama talking points and played the race card, only to watch Obama pretend to be above such thoughts. To further show his appreciation, Obama attempted to secretly undermine Paterson's candidacy and force him into not running – because he believed Mario Cuomo (a white candidate) has a better chance of winning."

The Murder Of Derrion Albert: Bookerista Perspectives

The city of Chicago, Booker Rising's hometown is mourning the senseless murder of Derrion Albert, the honors student who was beaten to death last Thursday just a few blocks away from Fenger High School. Four black conservatives and 1 black moderate weigh in on the murder (which was cell phone videotaped):

Ripclawe: "Derrion Albert Murder An Indictment Of No Action"

Asserts the conservative Republican blogger in Florida, who argues that it's time for Black America to stand up to wayward youth: "Especially in Chicago but it['s] a nationwide problem. The only reason this is hitting home for people is you have video footage. I am tired of seeing the same crap of holding up signs and chanting slogans about stopping violence. The fact is the complete lack of values and morals within certain black communities that are excused away as people being victims of their environment or in this case 'misguided' youth. They are old enough to know right from wrong. No more excuses, get the animals off the street and crack down on crime to give decent people a chance to survive.

Sandra Rose: "Did Jay Z Kill Derrion Albert?"

With that provocative title, the conservative blogger in Atlanta metro, Ga. takes aim at hip hop culture's thug worship on black American youth: "These are not my words, but I can relate. I found this post on AOL Black Voices Entertainment board. You may not agree with the message because your sons wear their pants saggin’ and they immerse themselves in that criminal culture called Hip Hop. Or they idolize these thug rappers, who but for the grace of God would be behind bars or dead themselves. But the reality is that the innocence of youth has been rudely snatched away by the violent and destructive imagery of Hip Hop despite what music mogul Russell Simmons and others who benefit from Hip Hop say.

Lenny McAllister: "Sins Of The Father, Part 2: Why We Have To Act Now"

The conservative Republican in North Carolina compares Mr. Albert's death to that of Emmett Till in 1955: "I wish that I hadn’t watched the Derrion Albert video. I really wished I hadn’t. It broke my heart and sickened my stomach simultaneously. But, then again, I feel like God has called many of us to watch it, remember it, and burn it into our memories forever. And then ask how the brutal beatings of two young Black men from Chicago can come for two different reasons but maybe, just maybe, their deaths could symbolize two different movements that will usher in change. It is going on 50 years since the death of Emmett Till. The beating of this Chicago youth in 1955 was senseless, brutal, and tragic. The kidnapping and torture of this teenager symbolized the brutality and insanity that was SDT (Southern Domestic Terrorism) during the heyday of Jim Crow. To her credit, the late Mrs. Till forced America (and the world) to take a good look at what we yielded and tolerated in America. To her credit, it forced American (and the world) to look at the real-time effects of racial hatred and the consequences of tolerance and inactivity. What Mrs. Till gave us in 1955, we receive via the Internet in 2009. Now, the vivid death of Derrion Albert – an honors student from the South Side of Chicago – gives us a chance to see the consequences of our inactivity and tolerance towards the continued destruction of our cities and urban residents due to drugs, crime, and lack of education. We get to see what continues to occur because of our underfunded efforts to fix our communities; (and no, it’s more than money from the government – it’s about underfunding of resources: time, materials, community members giving back, personal accountability from each of us to change this epidemic in our communities, etc.) For young people, we get to see the horrible consequences of being in the wrong place and the wrong time – or of letting your guard down for one moment in a moment of crisis."

Mr. McAllister continues his commentary: "The question now comes: what do WE do about it? Are we going to rally as we did during the Civil Rights Movement after the Emmett Till murder and ensure that we can remove this latest scourge from the face of the earth? Do we protest and not stop until we get those changes, just as we did during the 1950s and 1960s, even as the murders of Emmett Till were not convicted of their crimes? Whereas a moment in time (or a series of moments, if you will) got us to protest, march, demand, and challenge in court, what have the continued senseless deaths prompted this generation to do? When are we as Americans going to address the violence in our cities to a point where we end this reign of Black Urban Terrorism (BUT), just as we did with SDT?"

More: "Folks - Stop waiting for teenagers and misguided youth to turn things around themselves. Stop blaming the misguided and the victims of this generation for its current conditions without engaging this generation towards the solutions. Stop thinking that it's someone else's problems or someone else's children. It's not. They're ours. It's enough. And it's now that we are going to step up. Not have to step up. Will step up."

Sophia Nelson: "This Is So Sad And So Tragic"

Sophia Nelson, a moderate Republican pundit, writes on Facebook: "This is so sad and so tragic--what in the hell is wrong with US black people -- we can't blame white folks for this mess -- this is on US. The black on black hatred, violence, disrespect is an epidemic. Where is the CBC and WH on this?? Time for black leaders to STEP UP NOW!!!!!!"

James T. Harris: "Murder"

The conservative Republican radio show host in Milwaukee, Wisc. writes: "It's been embraced by the culture, endorsed by the culture and celebrated by the culture. Why are we shocked? It's the culture stupid."

Felix Taylor Jr.: "I Respect And Support My Prime Minister. Especially On Foreign Policy"

The Canadian moderate-conservative blogger opines about Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper: "This is a man who says to moral relativism and moral equivalence in foreign policy, 'Go away and be damned!' There is a thing called, right and wrong and it is not a bad thing. It is neither stupid nor childish. It may be simple but never simplistic. This is a leader with brass balls to do the right thing in condemning the policies, the anti-Semitic, anti-Israel theories, and the terror and the corrupt practices in government of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This is where my fellow conservative friends on both border[s] (US and Canada) are going to embrace me with open arms: President Obama can learn a lesson from Harper."

He continues his commentary: "In contrast to Harper’s foreign policy, President Obama’s [foreign policies] have been a disappointment frankly. This is NOT a newfound hatred of President Obama (let’s be unmistakably clear on that) but when it comes to foreign policy, as the Mafia would say, 'It’s not personal, it’s business.' Yes, I take it very seriously as it has serious world consequences. I support my Rabbi-In-Chief Shmuely Boteach’s displeasure of President Obama’s handling with the Iranian uprising this past summer. I felt President Obama was actually COLDER than Harper on a hands off policy towards Iran. Millions of young Iranians wanted freedom and a United States President could have said a word of support for their struggle for democracy and freedom. That didn’t happen. To make matters worse, President Obama has a rift between him and the Israeli people. While I think Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has every right to the Eddie Murphy 'FU' three times routine to Obama, he is being a gentlemen in every sense of the word, wanting to give Obama a chance (so do I)."

More commentary from Mr. Taylor Jr.: "It may be a dream to wish that my Prime Minister become the Winston Churchill of the 21st century but I it is my firm hope that Prime Minister Harper will go very far in the world stage. At least Canada is handling the recession better than the U.S. (though the problems remain) and as David Frum suggested when we’re out of the recession, we will probably have lower taxes than the U.S. Contrary to what left-wing bullies and critics think, Stephen Harper is doing something right!"