Thread: Cuban democracy advocates address the Black Caucus that went to Cuba

It's about time someone challenge them! What kindof an idiot thinks Castro is going to show them what's REALLY going on?

Oh yeah, I know one. Michael Moore.

Cuban democracy advocates went to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to call on three members of the Congressional Black Caucus who recently met with Fidel and Raul Castro to also address human rights concerns on the island.

Berta Antunez delivered a letter from her longtime civil rights activist brother accusing Reps. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., Bobby Rush D-Ill., and Laura Richardson, D-Calif., of being "insensitive" to their cause during a trip to Cuba last month because they didn't meet with any dissidents.

"It is ironic that individuals such as yourselves, who have been elected to your positions through a democratic system, and who enjoy all human rights, do not wish the same for the Cuban people," the letter read.

"It is undignified to use prerogatives that for us are inaccessible, such as to traveling to and from one's homeland, having an opinion without fear of persecution, or associating with others who share similar interests, and then to ignore the victims of oppression in Cuba," the letter added.

Antunez, who was joined by fellow activist Anolan Ponce on Wednesday, is the sister of famed Cuba civil rights advocate Jorge Luis Garcia Perez Antunez, who served 18 years in prison for protesting the regime.

Lee, Richardson, and Rush were part of a six-member delegation that traveled to Cuba in April and called for improved U.S.-Cuban ties and met with the Castro brothers.

Upon arrival at Lee's office, Berta Antunez and Ponce met with a legislative aide for the California lawmaker.

"I came to deliver a letter to the congresswoman from my brother which expresses the insult of the pro-democracy movement on the island that just kilometers away from where they were meeting with Fidel and Raul Castro that my brother and other pro-democracy activists in Cuba were being assaulted with tear gas and were being subjected to the most repressive activity," Berta Antunez said through a translator following the meeting.

"It was almost a slap in the face to the pro-democracy and human rights movement on the island," she added.

A spokesman for the CBC did not respond to a request for an interview.

The letter questioned whether the black lawmakers had abandoned their commitment to social justice.

"When we recall the fight and integrity of Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, without whom you would still be giving up your seat on the bus and would not have the right to vote, we ask ourselves if the legacy of those who conquered the space of opportunity that you enjoy today, has been reserved only for political speeches and has ceased to be a commitment of your generation to justice and truth," the letter continued.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009...eeting-castro/

Race-baiter Rep. Diane Watson praises Cuban health system, Castro & Guevara who “kicked out the wealthy”
August 28, 2009 04:03 PM

Longtime readers of this blog will be quite familiar with race-baiting Democrat Rep. Diane Watson of California.

She attacked Ward Connerly for marrying a white woman.

She bragged about Washington, D.C. being a “chocolate city.”

She polluted the Hurricane Katrina aftermath with race card-playing nonsense.

Thanks to KABC, there’s audio of Watson heaping praise on Castro, Guevara, and the Cuban health system at her town hall meeting last night — as well as injecting her usual racial poison into the health care debate. (For a reminder of what Cuban health care is really like, click here.)

I wrote up a transcript of her remarks. Bring an airsickness bag before reading:

WATSON: You might have heard their philosophical leader. I think his name is Rush Limbaugh. And he said early on, “I hope that he fails.”

Do you know what that means? If the president, your commander-in-chief, fails, America fails.

Now, when a senator says that this will be his Waterloo, and we all know what happened at Waterloo, then we have him and he fails. Do we want a failed state called the United States?

And remember: They are spreading fear and they are trying to see that the first president that looks likes me fails.

Now just understand what’s at the bottom line.

And you know we just got, 48 hours ago, we just go back, we were in Beijing, China, Hong Kong, China, we were in Taiwan, we were in Guam, we were all over the Far East.

I just want you to know: People look at the United States as a country that has changed its way and has elected someone from Kenya and Kansas, I’ll put it like that.

And they’re saying, “We thought you would never do that.”

So we don’t want to have this young man, and he just turned 48 — we want him to succeed, because when he succeeds, we regain our status. We regain our status.

It was just mentioned to me by our esteemed speaker, “Did anyone say anything about the Cuban health system?”

And lemme tell ya, before you say “Oh, it’s a commu–”, you need to go down there and see what Fidel Castro put in place. And I want you to know, now, you can think whatever you want to about Fidel Castro, but he was one of the brightest leaders I have ever met. [APPLAUSE]

And you know, the Cuban revolution that kicked out the wealthy, Che Guevara did that, and then, after they took over, they went out among the population to find someone who could lead this new nation, and they found…well, just leave it there (laughs), an attorney by the name of Fidel Castro…

http://michellemalkin.com/2009/08/28...t-the-wealthy/

Ahem—did Watson mention that Castro doesn’t let Cubans leave Cuba????

..or that when he needed bigtime surgery, he went to SPAIN to get it??

At what point do people stop putting up with blatant ignorance and racism such as this? Stop whining about white racism against any minority until something is done about this kind of blatant and public racism.

How is it that people like this keep getting elected ??

Is it possible that people in her district need government largess? Check her Census data which also compares against the National average.

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/e...a/district-35/

I don’t see much here that would validate why they have to have such an idiot for a congressperson other than the families and individuals below the poverty level are higher than the national average.

Families
Her district 23.2 National 9.2

Individuals
Her district 26.4 National 12.4

She is an 8 term congresswoman.

Hows that working out for you District 35?

But shes making money for somebody:

Though Waters has never been indicted, and the accusations apparently did not affect political career, she has faced corruption allegations related to her local and family connections. In 2005, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington listed her as one of the “13 most corrupt members of Congress,” citing a December 2004 Los Angeles Times investigation that revealed that Waters’ family members made more than $1 million over eight years doing business with companies, candidates and causes that she endorsed or assisted...

A culture of poverty and corruption.

How is it that people like this keep getting elected ??

Cuba visitors must have travel health insurance
By Will Weissert, Associated Press Writer 31 mins ago

HAVANA – Cuba has quietly begun requiring foreign tourists and Cubans who live overseas to hold travel insurance approved by island authorities, while making those who don't have coverage buy a local policy that can cost over $3 a day.

The new law took effect Saturday and mandates that travelers who can't show they have authorized insurance buy a policy from state-run Cubatur before being allowed into the country.

A Cubatur kiosk at Havana's airport sold 113 policies on the first day alone, Ricardo Lopez, a Cubatur office manager, said Monday.

The measure was made law in February, but there had been no mention of how it would be implemented. A government spokeswoman said officials were still waiting for details Friday night, hours before the law took effect.

Lopez provided a government document explaining that kiosks selling health insurance had been established in international airports across Cuba. They accept U.S. or Canadian dollars, euros, British pounds and Swiss francs — though all prices are set in Cuban convertible pesos, pegged at US$1.08.

A policy covering medical expenses up to 7,000 pesos, or $7,560, costs between 2 and 3 pesos ($2.16-$3.24) a day, depending on an array of factors. Travelers 70 or older or those planning to engage in high-risk activities will have to pay an unspecified additional premium.

Lopez said he had not seen a list of what kinds of insurance was approved and from which countries, but said he had been told Cuba will accept state or private insurance from any country except the United States, given Washington's 48-year trade embargo.

He said all foreigners — except diplomats and those who live here while working for oversees companies — would be required to show proof of insurance. But enforcement appears spotty.

Interviews with five passengers getting off a flight from Toronto on Monday found that none had been asked to show insurance. A passenger who arrived earlier from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and one who came from Mexico City on Saturday also said no one asked them to show proof of insurance.

A record 2.4 million foreigners came to Cuba last year, with Canada the largest source, followed by Britain, Spain, Italy and France.

Like communist Cuba, all those countries provide their citizens with health care financed totally by taxes, and often reimburse the cost of care during overseas travel. Still, Canada is recommending its citizens visiting Cuba purchase supplemental health insurance.

A Canadian government travel advisory says that "your provincial plan may cover only part of the costs and will not pay the bill upfront, as required."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100503/...NsawNwcmludA--

Rep. Allen West Threatens to Resign From Congressional Black Caucus
By Larry Elder – 7 hrs ago

The tea party, according to Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, would "love to see us as second-class citizens" ... and "some of them in Congress right now with this tea party movement would love to see you and me ... hanging on a tree." Of the tea party's influence on Congress, Carson called it an "effort that we're seeing of Jim Crow." Another CBC member, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said, "The tea party can go straight to hell."

This was too much for Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., the only Republican member of the CBC. Another black Republican, Tim Scott, R-S.C., pointedly declined to even join the CBC. Given the hard-left views of the CBC, one wonders why West joined in the first place. West, presumably, thought he might change the CBC's "blame whitey" approach to the problems and concerns of black Americans.

West wrote a letter to the chairman of the CBC, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., to denounce the comments by Carson and Waters: "I believe it is incumbent on you to both condemn these types of hate-filled comments, and to disassociate the Congressional Black Caucus from these types of remarks. Otherwise I will have to seriously reconsider my membership within the organization."

Insert laughter.

Does West really think the CBC intends to condemn racial rhetoric, the very rhetoric CBC members routinely use? Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., a founding member of the CBC, said of the 1994 GOP House: "It's not 'spic' and '******' anymore. They say, 'Let's cut taxes.'" Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., another founding member, was once asked why a largely Arab area outside of Detroit flourished economically, while a mostly black area nearby continued to suffer. "Racism," said Conyers.

Does West really think the CBC cares whether West wants to "seriously reconsider" his CBC membership? In the '90s, another black Republican, Rep. Gary Franks, R-Conn., joined the CBC over the objection of other CBC members. Because of Franks' opposition to race-based preferences, CBC member Rep. William Clay, D-Mo., said, "It would probably be better for all concerned if you did resign ... admitting you never should have joined the ranks of black legislators who fight to protect the rights of black people."

West represents a direct threat to the CBC's worldview — that the problems of "Black America" stem from racism, and more government spending remains the answer. How racist is a country that elected a black man as president with a greater share of the white vote than either John Kerry in 2004 or Al Gore in 2000?

Waters, the California CBC member, before the recession demanded that banks lend to "underrepresented" borrowers — even if the applicant could not come up with a down payment: "We ought to be encouraging our financial institutions to have more products where you have no down payments. When you look at the philosophy behind down payments, it just does not make any sense anymore. There are people who will never have a down payment (saved), who make their rental payments on time, and they would be just fine if they could get a (mortgage)."

Then came the crash. On what does the CBC now blame for the higher-than-national-average black unemployment and the number who face foreclosure? Racism, of course.

"The black community is experiencing a great recession," said CBC member Frederica Wilson, D-Fla. "And all of the growth in the past 30 years, we see it slipping away. From home ownership, the middle class; it's slipping away from our hands. And it has a lot to do with ... racism."

Meanwhile, Rep. Carson stood by his tree-hanging comments. "The tea party," said his spokesman, "is protecting its millionaire and oil company friends while gutting critical services that they know protect the livelihood of African-Americans, as well as Latinos and other disadvantaged minorities. We are talking about child nutrition, job creation, job training, housing assistance and Head Start, and that is just the beginning. A child without basic nutrition, secure housing and quality education has no real chance at a meaningful and productive life."

Carson is right: A child needs basic nutrition, secure housing and quality education. This is the job of the parents. People have no business breeding if he and she cannot provide these basic needs. The question that Allen West uncomfortably brings up is whether the "anti-poverty" policies endorsed by the CBC, including public welfare, actually encourage bad behavior by subsidizing and rewarding it.

Public policy expert James Q. Wilson said to avoid poverty one must do three things: finish high school, delay marrying until after the age of 20 and marry before having a child. West believes CBC policies create perverse incentives to do the opposite.

Is the CBC rattled by West's threat to leave to the point of reconsidering some of its policies? Please. "Rep. West," members will happily say, "don't let the door hit you on your way out."

Lhttp://news.yahoo.com/rep-allen-west-threatens-resign-congressional-black-caucus-070000037.html

comments

Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., the only Republican member of the CBC should have never joined the CBC. This is the year 2011, America has a Black President and the Congressional Black Caucus is still stuck on stupid talking about race and the problems of racism. Let's change the discussion in that group to individualism and personal responsibility, or about each person seeking to become self reliant, or seeking solutions to many of the social ills that plague everyone. Yes, there is racism out there in America, it is your jobs to make sure that it does not come from government. Just focus on your jobs and protect individual rights, all individuals, and the group will be just fine because a group be it Black, White, Asian or Latin is nothing more than a collection of individuals. The group that you should truly be apart of and not separate from is the one you were voted into: CONGRESS! Why is there a "Black" Caucus Anyway? If you guys don't have your act together enough as Congressmen to show solidarity as one group, then how can you lead a fragmented country? We are looking at a fragmented Government; which came first; The chicken or the egg? Fragment Government or fragment people?

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The CBC is racist by nature.....Good call by West and Scott.

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West doesn't care about "black issues' ie: playing the Blame Game and playing the Race Card... He's not part of the club.

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Martin Luther King, Jr.'s goal was for all black men to be like Colonel West - true equals in our society, who "will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Just saying...

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I am sorry to say but maxine waters does not need to be in office any where in this country or in another one. This so called lady just influenced a lot of children to hate a party of people. Abraham Lincoln once said a Nation divided amongst it self will not survive. Where did he get this saying you might ask. he did not make it up! It came from the good old Book called The Bible. This woman just caused a lot of people to feel hate for another group of people as I have stated. A grown woman does not stand before congress or any where else and say another group can just go to hell how lame is that. It shows how far she has come doesn't it. I would not want her any where around my children or grand children. She sounds like a woman full of hate her self. Shame on her and shame on the other members of congress that allowed her words to go out. Keep God in America because with this kind of talk coming out we are going to need Him. God Bless America again

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They spend all day long fanning the fires of hatred and discontent. They want to keep blacks dependent on them for everything, which keeps them in power. Too bad for blacks that the wrong one is going out the door.

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Maybe there should be a White Congressional Caucus, but if such a group was organized you would hear such a scream from blacks in Congress it could be heard all the way to the west coast. They don't want blacks to have equality -- they want blacks to be more than equal, have special rights and receive special treatment. Equality they already have, but if they want success and respect they will have to earn it just like everyone else. Those things cannot be given, they must be earned. No person, black or white, will ever have much respect or success when they live off of the government with money collected from those who work and pay taxes.

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If a white would say these things they would be called racist,but the ignorant blacks can say it and it is okay. There is a double standard by which this country is ruled. The communist,socialist leaders and media is to blame.

]September 6, 2011 at 9:44 pm by FPP
Video Game Allows Players to Slay Tea Party Conservatives

Have you ever fantasized about beating Bill O’Reilly to death with a crowbar or shooting up the offices of Americans for Prosperity with an Uzi? Well, the folks at StarvingEyes Advergaming apparently have and they’d like to share their latest creation with the world. The game is called “Tea Party Zombies Must Die” and, apart from abysmal game play, features several different levels where your only objective is to mercilessly slaughter everyone around you whether they are a Fox News stars or simply Americans For Prosperity employees.

Among the notable conservatives who you are tasked with brutally killing are Sarah Palin, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Newt Gingrich, Brit Hume, Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, Glenn Beck, and the Koch Brothers. Check out just how graphic things get in our exclusive video of the game play.

Of course there are plenty of lesser targets to mindlessly butcher like the “factory made blonde Fox News barbie who has never had a problem in her life zombie” or the “Koch industries Koch Whore lobbyist pig zombie”. The names are as creative as they are classy. Kind of like the game itself.

http://www.frontporchpolitics.com/20...conservatives/

cemments

What would happen if the zombies being killed were obama and his minions. How long do you think that game would last for sale? Imagine if it was the cbc or muslims!


What if Congressional Black Caucus Were Accused of Wanting Jews Gassed?


Imagine a Jewish Congress member accusing the members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) of wanting to see Jews gassed. How would any decent American — on the right or left — describe such a statement? Loathsome? Morally reprehensible? An obvious lie?

All three descriptions would be entirely accurate.

Next question: How much media exposure would that slander be given?

Would it make the front page of The New York Times​ and The Washington Post​? Would we read ferocious editorials from coast to coast? Would the story lead on TV newscasts?

Correct on all three, again.

Final question: Would said congressman be allowed to stay in office?

We all know the answer to that one, too.

So here’s a real question: If a black congressman charged that members of Congress who support the tea party “would love to see you and me (blacks) hanging from a tree,” what’s the difference between that libel and the made-up libel about the CBC wanting to see Jews gassed?

http://www.frontporchpolitics.com/20...g-jews-gassed/

comments

Why is there a black Miss America competition when they can enter the real Miss America contest ? Why is there a black NCO organization when they are welcome in The NCO oorganization ? Why is there a congressional black caucaus but no white congressional caucaus ? The answer to all these questions is the same , to keep rascism alive .

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If we do something that is not liked by the Black Caucus then were raciest and should be put in jail or sued till were broke.
But when they do the exact same thing it becomes a minorities Rights to do so and were told to shut up and sit down there is no reverse discrimination going on here.

~~~

Here is a small list of black peoples’ organizations:

NAACP : This organization, based in Baltimore, MD, is the oldest black organization that fights for civils rights and equal opportunity.

National Urban League (NUL) : This black organization empowers and encourages African Americans to be active in the political and professional arena.

Rainbow Push Coalition : This black organization, led by Jesse Jackson, fights for equal rights for minorities, women, and gays/lesbians.

100 Black Men of America : Working to improve the quality of life within the African American community. Based in Atlanta, Georgia

African American Planning Commission (AAPC) : Addresses issues of homelessness (domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, housing shortage, and unemployment) within the communities in which we live and serve. Based in Brooklyn, New York

African American Speaker Bureau (AASB) : This organization is dedicated to the representation of people and projects that address the issues, concerns and celebrations of the African American community. Based in San Francisco, California

Be Someone, Inc. : Uses numerous tools, including the game of chess, to promote self-esteem, responsibility, and analytical thinking amoung at-risk kids. Based in Atlanta, Georgia

Black Culinarians Alliance (BCA) : A nationwide non-profit, educational and networking organization of hospitality and food service professionals. Based in New York, New York

Blacks In Government (BIG) : Promotes equity in all aspects of life, and excellence in public service. Based in Washington, DC

Black Women In Sisterhood For Action (BISA) : Develops and promotes alternative strategies for educational and career development of black women. Based in Washington, DC

Jack and Jill of America : A family organization that provides cultural, social, civic and recreational activities that stimulate and expand the mind to enhance life. Based in Washington, DC

Miss Black USA : Provides educational opportunities to outstanding young women of color and to develop the whole woman mind, body, and spirit. Based in Upper Marlboro, Maryland

National Action Council For Minorities in Engineering (NACME) : Offers support to African Americans and other minorities who want to pursue careers in engineering, technology, math and science. Based in White Plains, New York

National Action Network : This organization, led by Al Sharpton ,promotes a modern civil rights agenda that includes just and decency for all people regardless of race, social justice for communities, and the improvement of race relations. Based in New York, New York

National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers (NABHOOD) : Works to increase the number of African-Americans owning, developing, managing and operating hotels; increase vendor opportunities & executive level jobs for minorities. Based in Fort Lauderdale, Floria

National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) : The leader in expanding the influence of minority professionals in the fields of accounting and finance. Based in Greenbelt, Maryland

National Association of Blacks In Criminal Justice (NABCJ) : Provides leaders dedicated to improving the administration of criminal justice, with a goal of achieving equal justice for blacks and other minorities. Based in Durham, North Carolina

National Association of Market Developers (NAMD) : Cultivates the aspects of the Black experience that can produce results for both the African-American community and institutions, private and public. Based In Plainfield, New Jersey

National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) : Improves and protects the lives of African American children. Based in Washington, DC

National Registry of Black Baby Names : Largest online collection of names that African American and African parents can choose for their unborn child. Based in Columbus, Ohio.

National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) : One of the largest student-managed organizations in the country that focuses on increasing the number of Black engineers who excel academically and in the workplace. Based in Fairfax, Virginia

Cleaver: If Obama wasn't president, we would be ‘marching on the White House’
By Alicia M. Cohn - 09/18/11 03:48 PM ET

Unhappy members of the Congressional Black Caucus “probably would be marching on the White House” if Obama were not president, according to CBC Chairman Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). "If [former President] Bill Clinton had been in the White House and had failed to address this problem, we probably would be marching on the White House," Cleaver told “The Miami Herald” in comments published Sunday. "There is a less-volatile reaction in the CBC because nobody wants to do anything that would empower the people who hate the president." http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/1...eads-line.html

CBC members have expressed concern in recent months as the unemployment rate has continued to rise amongst African-Americans, pushing for Obama to do more to address the needs of vulnerable communities. "We’re supportive of the president, but we getting tired, y’all,” Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said in August. “We want to give [Obama] every opportunity, but our people are hurting. The unemployment is unconscionable. We don’t know what the strategy is."

Rather than targeting Obama’s leadership, many CBC members aimed their fire at the Tea Party movement over the summer’s congressional recess. Waters said in a public meeting in her district that the Tea Party "can go straight to hell." Another member, Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), called the Tea Party “the real enemy” seeking to hold Congress “hostage.”

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), the only Republican member of the CBC and also a member of the Tea Party Caucus, objected to hostile language used by members targeting the Tea Party movement and threatened to leave the caucus unless Cleaver condemned remarks made by other members. West singled out comments from Rep. André Carson (D-Ind.), the CBC’s whip, who said that Tea Party-affiliated members of Congress see African-Americans as "second-class citizens" and would be happy to see them "hanging from a tree."

Cleaver persuaded West to remain a member of the caucus, with West indicating later that one reason he decided to stay was that the CBC membership needed a conservative presence. “I will not be resigning from the Congressional Black Caucus,” West wrote on his Facebook following a meeting with Cleaver at the beginning of September. “Cowards run from challenges, while warriors run to the sound of battle.”

According to West, he is working with Cleaver to produce a plan to confront the rate for unemployment amongst African-Americans, which at 16.7 percent is nearly double the rate nationwide. Cleaver acknowledged that some of the things members of his caucus say might not be in the best interests of the “aggressive agenda” he said he is seeking to develop as chairman. “Maxine Waters represents central Los Angeles first and she has to represent her constituents first and she's going to say things in order to represent them,” he said.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefi...on-white-house

comments

So in other words, they would march on Washington if the President was white, but not if he is black. What a bunch if hypocritical racists. And they expect the country who is striving to overcome racism to tolerate their down with whitey rhetoric? Censor every one of them I say for their racist remarks.

....

And it gets worse. He absolutely can't do anything that will help only the black community and we all know it. It is precisely because of statements like those made in this article that it would be a waste of Obama's rapidly dwindling political capital to boost his support in a community that he know will vote 85% plus for him, no matter how bad it gets. They basically sold all of their power to Obama very cheaply back in 08, with no way to get it back as long he is president.

...

So lets get this straight..they are not marching on the white house, because a black man is there, but if it were a white man, they would be marching on the white house? how racist is that? where is obamas attack dogs for something like this…what the heck is a black caucus anyways? is there a caucus for every race or is it only for "special people"? sheeesh this is the worst case of racism that I have ever seen…

...

You can't fix stupid. LBJ's great slacking society of child breeding for dollars has runined this country but the dems get the votes anyway while the rest of us pay for them! Eat what you earn for a change!!! Start taxing welfare yesterday and have a child tax for each person on welfare that continues to bring mouths for the rest of us to feed!! Better still let warren buffett pay for the trash since he seems to have plenty of money he needs to redirect to the ghetto.

....

So the congressional black caucus is admitting that The Big Zero is a huge failure. :facepalm:

Obama tells blacks to 'stop complainin' and fight
By MARK S. SMITH - Associated Press | AP – 11 hrs ago

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-tells-bl...HRlc3QD;_ylv=3

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a fiery summons to an important voting bloc, President Barack Obama told blacks on Saturday to quit crying and complaining and "put on your marching shoes" to follow him into battle for jobs and opportunity.

And though he didn't say it directly, for a second term, too.

Obama's speech to the annual awards dinner of the Congressional Black Caucus was his answer to increasingly vocal griping from black leaders that he's been giving away too much in talks with Republicans -- and not doing to fight black unemployment, which is nearly double the national average at 16.7 percent.

"It gets folks discouraged. I know. I listen to some of y'all," Obama told an audience of some 3,000 in a darkened Washington convention center.

But he said blacks need to have faith in the future -- and understand that the fight won't be won if they don't rally to his side.

"I need your help," Obama said.

The president will need black turnout to match its historic 2008 levels if he's to have a shot at winning a second term, and Saturday's speech was a chance to speak directly to inner-city concerns.

He acknowledged blacks have suffered mightily because of the recession, and are frustrated that the downturn is taking so long to reverse. "So many people are still hurting. So many people are barely hanging on," he said, then added: "And so many people in this city are fighting us every step of the way."

But Obama said blacks know all too well from the civil rights struggle that the fight for what is right is never easy.

"Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes," he said, his voice rising as applause and cheers mounted. "Shake it off. Stop complainin'. Stop grumblin'. Stop cryin'. We are going to press on. We have work to do."

Topping the to-do list, he said, is getting Congress to the pass jobs bill he sent to Capitol Hill two weeks ago.

Obama said the package of payroll tax cuts, business tax breaks and infrastructure spending will benefit 100,000 black-owned businesses and 20 million African-American workers. Republicans have indicated they're open to some of the tax measures -- but oppose his means of paying for it: hiking taxes on top income-earners and big business.

But at times, Obama also sounded like he was discussing his own embattled tenure.

"The future rewards those who press on," He said. "I don't have time to feel sorry for myself. I don't have time to complain. I'm going to press on."

Caucus leaders remain fiercely protective of the nation's first African-American president, but in recent weeks they've been increasingly vocal in their discontent -- especially over black joblessness.

"If Bill Clinton had been in the White House and had failed to address this problem, we probably would be marching on the White House," the caucus chairman, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, recently told McClatchy Newspapers.

Like many Democratic lawmakers, caucus members were dismayed by Obama's concessions to the GOP during the summer's talks on raising the government's borrowing limit.

Cleaver famously called the compromise deal a "sugar-coated Satan sandwich."

But Cleaver said his members also are keeping their gripes in check because "nobody wants to do anything that would empower the people who hate the president."

Still, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., caused a stir last month by complaining that Obama's Midwest bus tour had bypassed black districts. She told a largely black audience in Detroit that the caucus is "supportive of the president, but we're getting tired."

Last year, Obama addressed the same dinner and implored blacks to get out the vote in the midterm elections because Republicans were preparing to "turn back the clock."

What followed was a Democratic rout that Obama acknowledged as a "shellacking."

Where blacks had turned out in droves to help elect him in 2008, there was a sharp drop-off two years later.

Some 65 percent of eligible blacks voted in 2008, compared with a 2010 level that polls estimate at between 37 percent and 40 percent. Final census figures for 2010 are not yet available, and it's worth noting off-year elections typically draw far fewer voters.

This year's caucus speech came as Obama began cranking up grass-roots efforts across the Democratic spectrum.

It also fell on the eve of a trip to the West Coast that will combine salesmanship for the jobs plan he sent to Congress this month and re-election fundraising.

Obama was leaving Sunday morning for Seattle, where two money receptions were planned, with two more to follow in the San Francisco area.

On Monday, Obama is holding a town meeting at the California headquarters of LinkedIn, the business networking website, before going on to fundraisers in San Diego and Los Angeles and a visit Tuesday to a Denver-area high school to highlight the school renovation component of the jobs package.

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Online:

Congressional Black Caucus: http://thecongressionalblackcaucus.com/

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation: http://cbcfinc.org

Congresswoman found speech to blacks 'curious'[i]
AP – 6 hrs ago]/i]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Maxine Waters says she's not sure who President Barack Obama was talking to when he told black Americans to quit complaining and follow him into the battle for jobs and opportunity.

The California Democrat, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, says she found the president's language "a bit curious." She says Obama didn't address Hispanics in such a blunt manner and would never use that language in a speech to a gathering of gays or Jews.

Interviewed Monday on CBS' "Early Show," Waters said black Americans fully support Obama and are working to promote his agenda. She says African-Americans want voters to be enthusiastic about Obama in 2012.

In Saturday's fiery speech to the caucus, Obama told blacks to "put on your marching shoes" and "stop grumbling.'"

http://news.yahoo.com/congresswoman-...115603569.html

Was transcription of Obama speech "racist" ?

By most accounts, President Obama gave a fiery speech at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual awards dinner in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, telling blacks to "quit crying and complaining" and support him in the fight for jobs, according to the Associated Press. But was the AP transcription of Obama's remarks racist?

That's the subject currently being debated after the issue was raised on Chris Hayes' MSNBC show on Sunday.

On MSNBC, the African-American author Karen Hunter complained the news service transcribed Obama's speech without cleaning it up as other outlets did--specifically including the "dropped g's."

Via the AP version:

"Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes," he said, his voice rising as applause and cheers mounted. "Shake it off. Stop complainin'. Stop grumblin'. Stop cryin'. We are going to press on. We have work to do."

Hunter called the AP's version "inherently racist," sparring with New Republic contributing editor and noted linguistics expert John McWhorter, who argued the g-less version "is actually the correct one," noting that the president's victory in the 2008 election was due, in part, to how effortlessly "he can switch into that [black] dialect."


Whatever the reason, Hunter found it offensive. "I teach a journalism class, and I tell my students to fix people's grammar, because you don't want them to sound ignorant," she said. "For them to do that, it's code, and I don't like it."

It's worth noting that the same sorts of arguments arose during George W. Bush's presidency, with the White House cleaning up the president's speeches to make him sound smarter, and news outlets sometimes not doing so.

According to Mark Smith, the AP reporter who filed the story, Obama was making a point by dropping his g's, making the transcription a no-brainer. "Normally, I lean toward the clean-it-up school of quote transcribing—for everyone," Smith told Mediaite. "But in this case, the President appeared to be making such a point of dropping Gs, and doing so in a rhythmic fashion, that for me to insert them would run clearly counter to his meaning. I believe I was respecting his intent in this. Certainly disrespect was the last thing I intended."

"The AP Stylebook counsels against using spellings like gonna or wanna--or in this case, complainin' and cryin'--'in attempts to convey regional dialects or informal pronunciations, except to help a desired touch or to convey an emphasis by the speaker,'" Tom Kent, the AP deputy managing editor for standards and production, said in a statement to The Cutline. "In this case, our reporter, who was there in person, felt the spellings were appropriate to convey a particular touch that President Obama appeared to be intentionally making use of."

Conservative bloggers agree--mainly because the story showed Obama pandering to a black base. "The first job of a journalist is to report a story as accurately as possible," Howard Portnoy wrote on HotAir.com. "Part of the job of reporting Obama's speech last night was to highlight his obvious pandering, which is borne of desperation. The only element missing from the story is whether any of the listeners were offended by the president's 'blaccent.'"

"The AP did not print the words as written for the president," Mike Opelka wrote on Glenn Beck-owned TheBlaze.com, "instead choosing to transcribe the speech with what might be considered a bit more accuracy."

"He was specifically, and intentionally, using an African-American linguistic style to emphasize his message," a conservative blog called the Last Refuge noted. "Now that the presidential campaign season has begun," Courtland Milloy wrote in an op-ed column for the Washington Post, "it's okay for President Obama to openly court black people again."

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/...173438340.html

comments

If the president spoke those exact words, that's what should be reported. Television and radio get their sound clips with the exact words, why shouldn't newspapers and magazines report the unbiased facts. If that's what he said, that's what he said. There should be no "cleaning up." Just some cleaning out...in Washington.

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Dropping G's is 'black dialect' ? I should check my Irish American heritage!

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This is insane. First off I was taught in Journalism classes that you should write a quote down the way it was said. I was specifically told NOT to clean it up. If it needs that much cleaning up, don't use it and paraphrase. It goes against the very definition of a quote.

Second: By saying that this has anything to do with race is completely ignorant. I grew up in Vermont. I only knew one African American growing up. We ALL dropped our g's when speaking. (Well, almost all.)

Third: By saying that quoting Obama speaking in "the black dialect" and then saying that it "made him look ignorant" this woman is, herself, being racist. She is implying that if you speak in this mythical "black dialect" you are ignorant. What a freakin' tool!

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How in the world could this be considered racist?! Im from the deep south and i rarely even print all word with"g's". In my opinion its just a way of " speakin' " nowadays. This is not racist and i believe that the press must be the racist here to even suggest that. I mean COME ON!!!! Is this really the focus of his speach? I think not.It sounds to me like JOBS were his focus and the press totally missed it by FOCUSIN' on something so stupid as to correct his wording. Who really cares if he drops a g somewhere so long as the big problems are addressed. Some people just have way too much time on their hands.

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he also said y'all in the speech... did they clean it up to say "you all" instead. I don't even see the reason they would clean up a speech. I say leave the speeches alone and quote everything people say.

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If that's the way he said it, that's the way it should be told. People are carrying this "racist" crap way too far. Nobody put the #$%$ words in his mouth, so how can reporting what he said be racist? That is the dumbest thing I've heard today, and I've heard some pretty #$%$ dumb stuff.

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If we want to talk racist the Congressional BLACK Caucus is racist, just the name promotes BLACK ONLY group... If there was a Congressinal WHITE Caucus that would be shot down in a heart beat....There are alot of BLACK only groups that are accepted in our country but ANY white majority group is labled racist... Lets talk about who are the racists..... If u voted for the Pres only based on his race then YOU ARE RACIST... Oh wait thats only if ur white...

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So now reporting exactly what Obama said ... a direct quote ... is "racist" ... if it gets bad reviews ??