What's My America?

"I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, 'Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.'

"Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim; he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian.

"But the really right answer is, 'what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country?' The answer's 'no,' that's not America.

"Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?

"Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, 'He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists.' This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

"I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards -- Purple Heart, Bronze Star -- showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old.

"And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn’t have a Christian cross; it didn't have the Star of David; it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life." – Colin Powell on Meet the Press, October 19th, 2008

Privatized owned Cities........

When the government of the city of Sandy Springs in Georgia decided to bring in a multinational corporation to run all of the city's services -- with the exception of police and firefighting -- it effectively became the first fully privatized city in the world.

It's a trend that is already spreading fast, with four new cities launched in the last three years, all of them run by the same company, defense contractors CH2M Hill.

Watch part 2 of this special here.

CH2M HILL is a global provider of engineering, construction, and operations services for corporations, nonprofits, and federal, state, and local governments. The firm was named by Fortune magazine as number 54 of the top 100 companies to work for in 2008.^[1] The firm is headquartered in the Denver suburb of Meridian, Colorado, though the postal designation of nearby Englewood is commonly listed as the company's location in corporate filings and local news accounts. As of July, 2008 CH2M HILL employes 24,000 workers,^[2] and 2007 revenues totaled over $5.1 billion.^[3] The firm is entirely employee-owned,^[4] with an internal stock market that operates buy/sell events quarterly.

Inland GOP mailing depicts Obama's face on food stamp

By Michelle DeArmond / Press-Enterprise

RIVERSIDE, CA — The latest newsletter by an Inland Republican women's group depicts Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama surrounded by a watermelon, ribs and a bucket of fried chicken, prompting outrage in political circles.

The October newsletter by the Chaffey Community Republican Women, Federated says if Obama is elected his image will appear on food stamps -- instead of dollar bills like other presidents. The statement is followed by an illustration of "Obama Bucks" -- a phony $10 bill featuring Obama's face on a donkey's body, labeled "United States Food Stamps."

The GOP newsletter, which was sent to about 200 members and associates of the group by e-mail and regular mail last week, is drawing harsh criticism from members of the political group, elected leaders, party officials and others as racist.

The group's president, Diane Fedele, said she plans to send an apology letter to her members and to apologize at the club's meeting next week. She said she simply wanted to deride a comment Obama made over the summer about how as an African-American he "doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills."

"It was strictly an attempt to point out the outrageousness of his statement. I really don't want to go into it any further," Fedele said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "I absolutely apologize to anyone who was offended. That clearly wasn't my attempt."

Fedele said she got the illustration in a number of chain e-mails and decided to reprint it for her members in the Trumpeter newsletter because she was offended that Obama would draw attention to his own race. She declined to say who sent her the e-mails with the illustration.

She said she doesn't think in racist terms, pointing out she once supported Republican Alan Keyes, an African-American who previously ran for president.

"I didn't see it the way that it's being taken. I never connected," she said. "It was just food to me. It didn't mean anything else."

She said she also wasn't trying to make a statement linking Obama and food stamps, although her introductory text to the illustration connects the two: "Obama talks about all those presidents that got their names on bills. If elected, what bill would he be on????? Food Stamps, what else!"

Club Member Cries

Sheila Raines, an African-American member of the club, was the first person to complain to Fedele about the newsletter. Raines, of San Bernardino, said she has worked hard to try to convince other minorities to join the Republican Party and now she feels betrayed.

"This is what keeps African-Americans from joining the Republican Party," she said. "I'm really hurt. I cried for 45 minutes."

The Obama campaign declined to comment. It's the campaign's policy to not address such attacks, said Gabriel Sanchez, a California spokesman for the campaign.

The newsletter prompted a rebuke from another African-American member of the organization, which is well recognized in the community for its philanthropy and efforts to register and turn out voters in the Rancho Cucamonga and Upland areas.

Acquanetta Warren, a Fontana councilwoman and member of the women's group, said the item is rude and requires a public apology.

"When I opened that up and saw it, I said, 'Why did they do this? It doesn't even reflect our principles and values,' " said Warren, who served as a Republican delegate to the national convention in September and is a regional vice chairwoman for the California Republican Party. "I know a lot of the ladies in that club and they're fantastic. They're volunteers. They really care -- some of them go to my church."

Warren forwarded an electronic version of the newsletter to the California Republican Party headquarters, where officials also were outraged Wednesday and denounced the illustration.

Hector Barajas, the party's press secretary, said the party chairman likely will have a conversation with Fedele, and Barajas will attend the statewide California Federation of Republican Women conference this weekend in Los Angeles to handle any news media there to cover the controversy.

Obama in Turban

The newsletter is not the first such episode Barajas has had to respond to this week. The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday posted an image it said was captured from the Sacramento County GOP Web site that showed Obama in a turban next to Osama bin Laden.

It said: "The difference between Osama and Obama is just a little B.S." The site also encouraged members to "Waterboard Barack Obama," a reference to a torture technique. The Sacramento County party took down the material Tuesday after being criticized.

Mark Kirk, a spokesman for the San Bernardino County GOP chairman, said he expects Chairman Gary Ovitt to also have a talk with Fedele and to attend the group's local meeting next week to discuss the issue with members, although the county GOP has no formal oversight role over the club. Kirk said these kinds of depictions hurt the party's ongoing efforts to reach out to minorities.

"It's very damaging and we're going to take steps to correct this," Kirk said. "Unfortunately, I don't know what you do to correct ignorance like this, but we will do what we can."

Assemblyman Bill Emmerson, R-Redlands, and state Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, both criticized the illustration as inappropriate and irresponsible.

Dutton pointed out that his wife, a member of the club, is of Mexican heritage and has battled criticism that the Republican Party is not the party for minorities. The club's newsletter undercuts efforts to rise above racism, he said.

"Bias and racial comments and even suggestions are frankly what weakens us as a people. I think we as Americans need to rise above that," he said.

Emmerson said he was extremely offended and sickened by the newsletter.

Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and the Media at Cal State Sacramento, said it's imperative that people speak out about these kinds of depictions no matter how small the organization. She praised Raines for doing so.

Lou Dobbs buys Racist Obama Waffles

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=6994

September 14, 2008. WASHINGTON - (AP) Activists at a conservative political forum snapped up boxes of waffle mix depicting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as a racial stereotype on its front and wearing Arab-like headdress on its top flap.

Values Voter Summit organizers cut off sales of Obama Waffles boxes on Saturday, saying they had not realized the boxes displayed "offensive material." The summit and the exhibit hall where the boxes were sold had been open since Thursday afternoon.

The box was meant as political satire, said Mark Whitlock and Bob DeMoss, two writers from Franklin, Tenn., who created the mix. They sold it for $10 a box from a rented booth at the summit sponsored by the lobbying arm of the Family Research Council.

David Nammo, executive director of the lobbying group FRC Action, said summit organizers were told the boxes were a parody of Obama's policy positions but had not examined them closely.

Republican Party stalwarts Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney were among speakers at the forum, which officials said drew 2,100 activists from 44 states.

While Obama Waffles takes aim at Obama's politics by poking fun at his public remarks and positions on issues, it also plays off the old image of the pancake-mix icon Aunt Jemima, which has been widely criticized as a demeaning stereotype. Obama is portrayed with popping eyes and big, thick lips as he stares at a plate of waffles and smiles broadly.

Placing Obama in Arab-like headdress recalls the false rumor that he is a follower of Islam, though he is actually a Christian.

On the back of the box, Obama is depicted in stereotypical Mexican dress, including a sombrero, above a recipe for "Open Border Fiesta Waffles" that says it can serve "4 or more illegal aliens." The recipe includes a tip: "While waiting for these zesty treats to invade your home, why not learn a foreign language?"

The novelty item also takes shots at 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, Obama's wife, Michelle, and Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

The Obama campaign declined to comment.

Wearing white chef's aprons, Whitlock and DeMoss were doing a brisk business at noon Saturday selling the waffle mix to people crowded around their booth. Two pyramids of waffle mix boxes stood several feet high on the booth's table.

"It's the ultimate political souvenir," DeMoss told a customer.

Asked if he considered the pictures of Obama on the box to be racial stereotypes, Whitlock said: "We had some people mention that to us, but you think of Newman's Own or Emeril's — there are tons and tons of personality-branded food products on the market. So we've taken that model and, using political satire, have highlighted his policies, his position changes."

The socially conservative public policy groups American Values and Focus on the Family Action co-sponsored the summit.




September 15, 2008. MediaTakeOut.com just caught wind that CNN anchor Lou Dobbs was out hob nobbing with man who created the racially charged box of pancakes with offensive imagery.

But we can't take credit for this story, it belongs to the progressive site Pam's House Blend:

Hmmm...why would the page on the Obama Waffles site linked above suddenly get pulled? After all, Lou Dobbs, a speaker at the Values Voter Summit, stopped by the vendor table to give a slamming endorsement of the product; it depicts Barack Obama as a Muslim bug-eyed Aunt Jemima. The photo, as you can see, shows an approving Dobbs with a box of the mix in his hand.

For those of you who may have missed yesterday's post, Mark Whitlock and Bob DeMoss, two aspiring Klansmen writers from Tennessee set up a booth sponsored by Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council to sell the Obama Waffles, asserting it was "political satire."

After Think Progress covered this story, the page was yanked from the ObamaWaffles web site, and FRC issued a feeble press release trying to distance itself from the product, claiming it didn't vet the vendor's product and didn't realize the boxes on display were "offensive material."


The man doesn't deserve to have a job. His ratings are awful, his anti-hispanic and anti-immigrant remarks border on racist, and he's well past retirement age.

If you want to tell CNN how you feel, here are some emails to a few of the higher ups at the network:

· Jim.Walton@turner.com (Jim Walton is the president of CNN Worldwide)

· Susan.Grant@turner.com (Susan Grant is executive vice president of CNN News Services)

· Jon.Klein@turner.com (Jonathan Klein is president of CNN/US

· Rena.Golden@turner.com (senior vice president and executive producer of CNN.com)

· David.Payne@turner.com (senior vice president and general manager of CNN.com)

· Mitch.Gelman@turner.com (senior vice president and senior executive producer of CNN.com)

Teens charged in fatal beating of Mexican immigrant

PORT CARBON, Pennsylvania (AP) --

Three white teens were charged Friday in what officials said was an epithet-filled fatal beating of an illegal Mexican immigrant in a small northeast Pennsylvania coal town.

Brandon J. Piekarsky, 16, and Colin J. Walsh, 17, were charged as adults with homicide and ethnic intimidation in the July 12 attack on Luis Ramirez.

A third teen, Derrick M. Donchak, 18, was charged with aggravated assault, ethnic intimidation and other offenses. All are from Shenandoah, where the attack occurred.
Ramirez, 25, was beaten to death after an argument with a group of youths that police said included high school football players. Authorities could not immediately say whether any of the suspects were members of the team, but they confirmed that all three used ethnic slurs during the fight.

"As a result of this crime, a young man has lost his life. Many other lives have been devastated, and the borough of Shenandoah has been filled with tensions between many ethnic groups," Schuylkill County District Attorney James Goodman said.
"Now that the criminal charges have been filed, we must let this case be handled in the criminal justice system," he said.

Police said that as many as six teens were involved in the fight, which ended with Ramirez in convulsions and foaming at the mouth. He died July 14 of head injuries.

Crystal Dillman, the victim's 24-year-old fiancee, who is white and grew up in Shenandoah, has said Ramirez was often called derogatory names, including "dirty Mexican," and told to return to his homeland.

"I plan on moving out of this town as fast as I can. Not because I'm scared. I just don't want to see my children have to deal with what their father dealt with," Dillman said.
Piekarsky and Walsh were being held without bail, while Donchak was held in lieu of $75,000 bail.

Lawyers for Piekarsky and Walsh said that their clients were not guilty and that there was no evidence to support the homicide charges. They also said they would try to have the case removed to juvenile court.

Donchak declined comment.

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Now is the time for people to come together, we hear alot about hate crimes WHITE vs. BLACK.

For all of the people that take such offense to those issues let's see your response to another minority hate crime?

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." ~Martin Luther King Jr.,
Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963US black civil rights leader & clergyman (1929 - 1968)

Disney.....C'mon!

So not a day after I post about the Jim Crow, and give Disney a shout out for the 9 Most racist Characters..... do I get a look at the new preview for Disney's Black movie.....

“The Princess and the Frog”

Now I tend to watch Disney movie with ethnic stereotypes like a Mexican watches Lou Dobbs on CNN.... waiting to cringe at the audacity!

So just when I thought the preview didn't go too far..... Here comes this firefly!



So I did a little research and found pretty quickly that this is still after almost a complete re-write do to . . . . You guessed it, being called out for being too Stereotypical!!!!


===================================================
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/2305515/Disney's-first-black-princess-leads-to-race-row.html

Originally called The Frog Princess, its heroine was to be a chambermaid called Maddy working for a spoilt white debutante in 1920s New Orleans.
But it sparked a backlash from critics who claimed it reinforced prejudice and demeaned black people.

As a result the title of the musical, which has yet to be released, was changed to The Princess and The Frog and the princess will now be called Tiana.
Among the concerns were the New Orleans setting, the portrayal of voodoo and the overtones of slavery.

One of the film's staunchest critics was William Blackburn, a columnist for the Charlotte Observer in North Carolina.

"Disney should be ashamed of what it is trying to pass off as its first black princess," he said."Despite all its resources and experience, it has failed to create a black princess to rival its predecessors.

"For one, this princess' story is set in New Orleans, the setting of one of the most devastating tragedies to beset a black community. And then they throw in the voodoo theme and an alligator sidekick. When you put New Orleans, alligators and voodoo together, there's no beauty there."

He added that Maddy sounded too similar to Mammy, a name synonymous with the segregated Deep South.

Rodney Hinds, features editor of The Voice newspaper, said: "We are talking about a big company who has had to go back to the drawing board. It's disappointing... Some of the stereotyping of people from our community is still rigid in people's minds. We have our own dreams and stories like everyone else, and we want them to be portrayed positively."
Following the rewrite the heroine has been recast as Tiana who is destined to live happily ever after with a dashing character expected to be of Middle Eastern heritage. The race of the villain is also reported to have been revised.

A spokesman for Disney said: "The story takes place in the charming elegance and grandeur of New Orleans' fabled French Quarter during the Jazz Age... Princess Tiana will be a heroine in the great tradition of Disney's rich animated fairy tale legacy, and all other characters and aspects of the story will be treated with the greatest respect and sensitivity."