Wendell Pierce Posts an Interesting Tweet About Guns

I must admit, I've thought about the point that actor Wendell Pierce makes in this Twitter comment he posted on Nov. 22. It is thought provoking to say the very least.

Would that many black males joining the National Rifle Association change perceptions for better or for worse?

It's, of course, difficult to say, but I have little doubt it would generate some discomfort.

O'Reilly, Criticism, Blacks

I found this quite interesting. Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly had interesting comments related to what has been happening in Ferguson, Mo.

This is how he was quoted by Media Matters:

O'REILLY: Do we as a society -- what do we do? Do we weigh in as the boy's father -- and if it were my son, I probably would have said same thing, but he's obviously talking through an emotional prism. His son is dead. He believes, probably -- I know he believes -- that it was an injustice, that it was done for nothing, it was a murder. And many, many African Americans believe that without knowing the facts. Do we criticize them, or do we remain silent?

O'Reilly has never really been shy about criticizing black folks. So, it's hard to understand where he's coming from with this one.

Random YouTube Video: A Mormon Explaining How Blacks are Cursed

It is interesting to look at this guy and try to figure out his body language. I hate to get into the Bill O'Reilly body language crap, but in this case it would be kind of interesting to get a feel for what someone thinks is going on with this guy.

Is Bill O'Reilly Playing The So-Called Race Card?

Once again, Fox News far-right commentator Bill O'Reilly showed his true colors as he used his platform to again demonize and attack NBC and use racial politics to inflame conservative whites who are the Tea Party. Notice how O'Reilly cherry picks an NBC interview asking about that has a question regarding race in the Tea Party movement (a very legitimate issue). O'Reilly takes the question and spins it as NBC using race to strengthen the liberal strength among minority groups. It also plays into that old stereotype that O'Reilly buys into that blacks are not that smart and so easily influenced by white liberal leaders with sinister intentions.

What you will read below also shows that O'Reilly and Fox News clearly are in the corner of the Tea Party movement and are willing to go to great lengths to defend it to anyone who will listen.

Read how O'Reilly starts the segment with his mini soliloquy and then starts with what he sees as an inflammatory question.

Here is an excerpt from a recent O'Reilly Talking Points Memo:

For now, the liberal media and the left-wing establishment in general greatly fear the Tea Party movement. And so, led by NBC News, the media is trying to brand the Tea Party people as racist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY O'DONNELL, NBC NEWS: There aren't a lot of African-American men at these events.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

O'DONNELL: Have you ever felt uncomfortable?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No. These are my people. Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Now, the NBC News reporter Kelly O'Donnell's question was legitimate. But coming on the heels of NBC's unrelenting racial attacks on the Tea Party, the question also illuminates the left-wing media strategy.

By the way, with 95 percent of African-Americans voting for Barack Obama, you would not expect them to sign up in great numbers for the Tea Party, would you?

Going forward, the Tea Party movement will face some challenges. Will it become a legitimate third party, or will it stay as an anti-Obama protest group? Or will it expand its passion into other areas?

There is no Tea Party leader. Sarah Palin comes closest, but she doesn't want the designation. So it will be interesting to see just how the Tea Party evolves.

But for now, these folks are scaring liberal America big time.

First of all, I find it funny that Fox News would accuse another network of unrelenting racial attacks when it has been doing that against President Obama since he was Sen. Obama, candidate for the presidency. Even in the last few days, Fox News has been working tirelessly to convince white Americans that President Obama is playing racial politics with the immigration legislation in Arizona. How can Fox News legitimately accuse any other network of playing racial politics without cleaning up its own racial backyard? Will Bill O'Reilly condemn his own network for its relentless racial attacks on black people. Why did Bill O'Reilly never speak out about racism on Fox News Web sites?

Next, the Tea Party people are not scaring liberals. To the contrary, I think some on the left are probably quietly liking the Tea Party protests for exposing the extremism in our midst. In fact, part of the reason that liberals are working to expose the Tea Party people is because of the anger of the movement and how the movement really only came to life shortly after President Obama was elected.

Is Bill O'Reilly playing the so-called "race card" when he says that liberals are trying to portray the almost exclusively white tea party people as racist? Is he playing to white racial anxiety?

Now, no one is saying that all tea party people are racist. Some are, but obviously not all are racist. BUT, far too many excuse the racism in their midst and make excuses for it.

Where were the (fiscally-conservative and anti-big government) Tea Party protests when George W. Bush was president?

There is nothing wrong with the angle that the NBC reporter took and it's difficult to tell if it was just one small part of a larger series of interviews that might have been conducted. It's just obvious that the Tea Party protesters are overwhelmingly white (whether that is a good thing or a bad thing). After Bill O'Reilly hosted that Wall Street Journal reporter (James Taranto) on to spew his racial garbage, it hardly seems that Bill O'Reilly can legitimately come back and accuse anyone competitor of launching a racial attack.

The Latest WTF Moment: Republican Congressman Suggests Blacks Are Worse Off Now Than During Slavery

Add Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) to the list of far-right nuts making absurd claims about black people and the issue of race. From the realm of the extreme far right comes Franks, who is out of the mold of fellow hate-driven talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh. Franks, in one of the most absurd comments ever, suggests that blacks were better off in slavery than they are now under current policies in the U.S.

FRANK: In this country, we had slavery for God knows how long. And now we look back on it and we say “How brave were they? What was the matter with them? You know, I can’t believe, you know, four million slaves. This is incredible.” And we’re right, we’re right. We should look back on that with criticism. It is a crushing mark on America’s soul. And yet today, half of all black children are aborted. Half of all black children are aborted. Far more of the African-American community is being devastated by the policies of today than were being devastated by policies of slavery. And I think, What does it take to get us to wake up?

Come on, now. Where are these far-right morons coming from with this unbelievably divisive rhetoric? Is it any wonder why the Tea Party gatherings are so diversity challenged? Honestly, why would black people want to be a part of a movement so extreme, hateful and antagonistic in its rhetoric. But, this is about more than just Tea Party turkeys. This is also about the far right and its constant yearning to pick at the scabs of racism to create fresh wounds from old wounds.

Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/02/26/franks-slavery-abortion/

The Majority Of Blacks Lean Left, But That Doesn’t Stop Name Calling

I found this kind of interesting as I took one of my many daily travels through the blogosphere in search of interesting little nuggets. On the blog, Politics, Policy, Pathology and Hope WITHIN The Black Community, I found this finish to a blog entry:

There are two names that one will never be called in Black America (OK – 3 now that I think about it)

1. “You are a left-wing extremist”
2. “You are carrying the water for the Democrats”
3. “You have sold out to Barack Obama where you care more about his political fortunes than you do your own permanent interests”.

Here are a few thoughts I had off the top of my head:

1. First and foremost, this is pretty much assumed of many black people (in and out of the media). Secondly, does the name Van Jones ring a bell?
2. Pretty much any black person who goes on television, as a liberal, is presumed to be carrying the water for the Democrats (so it doesn’t necessarily need to be spelled out explicitly).
3. Oprah Winfrey was nailed with this charge during the campaign by conservatives who became angry that she did not give Sarah Palin, then the vice presidential candidate, a forum on Oprah’s popular syndicated talk show.

Those are just a few examples off the top of my head.

Now, for the most part, these are indeed labels a lot of blacks do not have to fear, but that is mostly because many people simply assume all blacks are in the corner of Democrats.

A FEW SIDE NOTES: I am not sure that everyone would agree with Sen. Evan Bayh about the Democrats moving too far to the left. Some would say (considering the Dems gave in on aspects of health care, sending more troops to war, etc., that President Obama has moved too far to the middle and has upset his base). That is just something to think about with this kind of discussion. Also, keep in mind, Sen. Bayh is trying to position himself as a centrist for political purposes.

Hater Rush Limbaugh Exploits Haiti Disaster, Race To Attack President Obama

Rush Limbaugh, who has built a financial fortune and a large fan base on hate, sunk to a new low (and that is saying something by his standards), with his words in the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. The disaster in Haiti, by the time everything is said, done and written, could claim in the neighborhood of 100,000 lives. The death toll, the destruction and the loss of life are so incredible it’s almost impossible to fully comprehend. But, that has not stop the disgraceful and hateful Limbaugh, the lowest among us, from taking this international tragedy and using it as an opportunity to score political points against and take a racially tinged shot at President Obama.

Jan. 13, on his hate radio show, Limbaugh had comments that you can check out on this video clip from Media Matters for America.

Rush Limbaugh never misses an opportunity to take a shot at President Obama and rarely misses an opportunity to use race as a wedge issue.

Still, so many people continue to support this man and so many people wonder why black people turn away from Republicans and are disgusted by so much of what Republicans stand for in this country. It’s a shame (and I’ve written it so many times on this blog) that good conservatives (reasonable conservatives) lack the character to stand up and speak out against hate speech like this from Rush Limbaugh which serves only to divide people. Instead, they either go silent or they make every excuse possible for Limbaugh and his hate speech.

Be honest, this is Limbaugh’s way of using race to attack President Obama for wanting to go out of his way to help black people (suggesting the president would not have done the same, as quickly, for white people … because all black people stick together).

I commend Ed Schultz (and the others who did likewise) for calling out Rush Limbaugh for these unbelievably callous comments in the wake of a disaster of epic proportions.

Rush Limbaugh is a disgraceful man who has no decency. Limbaugh makes his millions of dollars off such hate speech, but what about the cowards on the right who are unwilling to face him on his bigotry. What do they get out of supporting his hate and daily forms of bigotry? Maybe he speaks to what truly exists in their hearts … things they want desperately to say, but lack the courage to say it. Those are the people we should truly fear.

Great Work By Media Matters Research Team On Rush Limbaugh’s History Of Race-Bating, If Not Racist, Language

From Media Matters for America:

Limbaugh claims he is “colorblind” and “treat[s] every equally”

From the October 12 edition of Premiere Radio Networks’ The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: I’ve had people say to me, well, I think you’ve got a blind spot. You don’t know what it’s like to have a heritage that black people [unintelligible] — oh, I most certainly do not have a blind spot, and I most certainly do understand it. I understand that all human beings have obstacles. We all have to overcome them. There’s no better place to overcome those obstacles than the United States of America. The freest country, the freest people on Earth. And what really saddens me and disappoints me to this day is that there are people who are not inspired and taught about how great they can be because they are Americans.

Frankly, the biggest problem I face in the current climate of political correctness is that I’m colorblind about it. I don’t say politically correct things about it. For example, in the Today show interview, Jamie Gangel: “Weren’t you moved by the election of the first black president?” Yeah, I was. Great historical fact, but I got over it pretty quickly, because I don’t see him as black. I see him as president of the United States, and I’m more concerned about his policies.

I love this country. I want everyone in this country to succeed. I want everyone in this country to pursue happiness. I want everyone to benefit as an American, as I have. I stand in no one’s way. I am not the one putting obstacles in people’s way. I’m the one trying to sweep them away, and in so doing, I don’t speak politically correct language, and as such, I’m accused of being insensitive. I guess my problem is I treat people as adults. I treat them as informed, I treat them as educated, and I treat them as equals. I don’t condescend to people, and I don’t run around feeling sorry for people, because that doesn’t help them. After you feel sorry for somebody, then what do you do?

It’s all up to us to make the most of the one life we are blessed to be given by God. And I cringe when I see so many lives not reaching anywhere near their potential, because others capitalize on their failure to do so. And that happens not just with racial issues; it happens with all minorities. We have assumed that we’re an unjust and unfair country. That all of the minorities, for whatever reason they are minorities, are victims of an unfair, unjust, immoral America.

And there are white people that buy into that stuff, too, because they don’t want to run around feeling guilty, and they don’t want to run around people thinking that they are racist. It’s all political correctness that has led people to thinking this. And so, when I, for example, say, I think the media has little interest in a black quarterback doing well, I mean it. Most of the sports media is politically correct liberals.

And that kind of surface stuff matters to them. I’m interested in people’s hearts and their souls, because that’s what animates us as human beings. Not our skin color. I’m colorblind. I have reached the point where everybody professes we need to go. I treat everybody equally. Nobody is — in the political arena — I don’t care. Male, female, black, white, gay, straight, bisexual. If you are opposed to the things I think are great for the country, I’m going to say so. I’m going to criticize you. Not because of whatever it is distinguishes you from me on a surface basis, but because of ideas. I’m just a lone guy here, in the arena of ideas, sharing mine. [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 10/12/09]

Limbaugh has made numerous racially charged remarks about Obama

• “We are being told that we have to hope [Obama] succeeds, that we have to bend over, grab the ankles … because his father was black.” After Obama’s inauguration, Limbaugh said during an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News that “[r]acism in this country is the exclusive province of the left. We’re witnessing racism all this week that led up to the inauguration. We’re being told that we have to hope he succeeds, that we have to bend over, grab the ankles. Bend over forward, backward, whichever, because his father was black, because this is the first black president. We’ve got to accept this. The racism that everybody thinks exists on our side of the aisle has been on full display throughout their primary campaign. So I think they’ve done a great job, the media has, of covering up his deficiencies.”

• “I do believe” Obama is an “angry black guy.” Responding to accusations that he had called Obama “an angry black man,” Limbaugh said on July 27 “they’re finally hearing me — he’s an angry black guy. I do believe that about the president. I do believe he’s angry; I think his wife is angry. All liberals are enraged all the time anyways. They’re always mad.” Previously, Limbaugh had said that Obama is “one angry guy.”

• “[I]n Obama’s America, the white kids now get beat up with the black kids cheering.” On September 15, Limbaugh said: “It’s Obama’s America, is it not? Obama’s America, white kids getting beat up on school buses now. I mean, you put your kids on a school bus, you expect — you expect safety. But in Obama’s America, the white kids now get beat up with the black kids cheering, ‘Yay, right on, right on, right on, right on.’ And of course everybody says, ‘Oh, the white kid deserved it. He was born a racist, he’s white.’ Newsweek magazine told us this. We know that white students are destroying civility on buses. White students destroying civility in classrooms all over America. White congressmen destroying civility in the House of Representatives. We can redistribute students while we redistribute their parents’ wealth. I mean, we can just redistribute everything. Just return the white students to their rightful place, their own bus, with bars on the windows and armed guards. They’re racist. They get what they deserve. Newsweek magazine told us this — post-racial America. I mean, I wonder if Obama’s going to come to the defense of the assailants the way he did his friend Skip Gates up there at Harvard.”

• “Obama’s entire economic program is reparations.” On June 22, Limbaugh said, “What they don’t know is that Obama’s entire economic program is reparations. If I were [Al] Sharpton, if I’d been guest-hosting Sharpton’s show, and I got a call like that, somebody complaining, I’d say, ‘No, hey, hey, hey. Shh, shh. Let me tell you the truth here. Everything in the stimulus plan, every plan he’s got is reparations. He gonna take from the rich, he’s gonna take from the — he’s gonna give it to you. It just can’t happen overnight. Be patient.’ That’s what’s — redistribution of wealth, reparations, returning the nation’s wealth to its rightful owners, whatever you want to call it, it’s reparations.”

• Obama is “more African in his roots than he is American” and is “behaving like an African colonial despot.” After reading extensively from an American Thinker column smearing Obama, Limbaugh said on June 26 that Obama is “more African in his roots than he is American” and is “behaving like an African colonial despot.”

• Obama is “Halfrican-American.” On January 24, 2007, Limbaugh referred to Obama and actress Halle Berry as “Halfrican-American[s],” stating that “Barack Obama has picked up another endorsement: Halfrican-American actress Halle Berry.” Limbaugh then said: ” ‘As a Halfrican-American, I am honored to have Ms. Berry’s support, as well as the support of other Halfrican Americans,’ Obama said.” Limbaugh then conceded that Obama “didn’t say it.”

• “Obama has disowned his white half … he’s decided he’s got to go all in on the black side.” On March 21, 2008, Limbaugh said of Obama’s handling of the controversy surrounding remarks by Rev. Jeremiah Wright: “It is clear that Senator Obama has disowned his white half, that he’s decided he’s got to go all in on the black side.” Limbaugh had earlier said: “[Y]ou know, opening these race wounds like this, taking us back 30, 40 years, making it look like no progress has been made — what Barack Obama has done — I’m going to say something here that might offend — or not offend — but might make some uncomfortable. But it is clear to me that there has been a major transformation in Senator Obama.”

• Sotomayor “a reverse racist” appointed by Obama, “the greatest living example of a reverse racist.” On May 26, Limbaugh said then-Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is a “reverse racist” and that liberals are wrong to assert that “minorities cannot be racists” because Obama is the “greatest living example of a reverse racist and now he’s appointed one.” On his May 29 show, Limbaugh compared Sotomayor’s nomination to nominating David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan member, and said the way to “get promoted in the Barack Obama administration” is “by hating white people.”

• Obama “wants us to have the same health care and plan that he had in Kenya” and “wants to be the black FDR.” On August 24, Limbaugh said he “finally figured out why it is Obama’s pushing so hard on this health care bill.” He asserted: “He just wants us to have the same health care and plan that he had in Kenya. And look, you know, economic anxiety is necessary if you want to become the next black FDR, which is — well, the black FDR. That’s what he wants. He wants to be the black FDR, the next FDR, and FDR fed off of economic anxiety.”

• Latching onto LA Times op-ed, Limbaugh sings “Barack, The Magic Negro.” On March 19, 2007, Limbaugh highlighted a Los Angeles Times op-ed that described Obama as “running for an equally important unelected office, in the province of the popular imagination — the ‘Magic Negro’ ” — a term used by critics of pop culture to describe certain benevolent African-American characters. Limbaugh stated: “The term ‘Magic Negro’ has been thrown into the political presidential race in the mix for 2008. And the term ‘Magic Negro,’ as applied to Barack Obama has been done by an LA Times columnist, David Ehrenstein.” Limbaugh later asserted: “I’m going to keep referring to him as that, because I want to make a bet that by the end of this week I will own that term,” adding, “If I refer to Obama the rest of the day as the ‘Magic Negro,’ there will be a number of people in the drive-by media and on left-wing blogs who will credit me for coming up with it and ignore the LA Times did it, simply because they can’t be critical of the LA Times, but they can, obviously, be critical of talk radio.” Limbaugh continued to refer to Obama as the “Magic Negro” throughout the broadcast — 27 times, to be exact — and at one point sang “Barack, the Magic Negro” to the tune of “Puff, the Magic Dragon.” Limbaugh defended his use of the song, stating, “Well, that’s what we always do here. We do parodies and satires on the idiocy and phoniness of the left.”

• “God does not have a birth certificate. Neither does Obama”; Obama “has yet to prove he’s a citizen.” Limbaugh has also advanced the theory that Obama was not born in the United States, saying that “God does not have a birth certificate. Neither does Obama” and that Obama “has yet to have to prove he’s a citizen. All he’d have to do is show a birth certificate.”

• Limbaugh on Gates controversy: “Here you have a black president trying to destroy a white policeman.” On July 24, Limbaugh said Obama “all of a sudden, this guy that [moderates] elected, who they thought was all of these wonderful, perfect things, is now behaving as a community organizer and is fanning the flames of race, and is calling the police stupid. And I guarantee you those people — we’ve all been waiting to ask the question, when are the Obama voters going to wake up? Well, this incident might be — I don’t know yet, a little early to say — this incident might be the wake-up call for some of these moderates. … You know that there were a lot of people that voted for Obama out of pure guilt. Hoping that that — the election, his election would just wipe the slate clean, at least make them feel better about it. And this just destroys that. Here you have a black president trying to destroy a white policeman when he doesn’t know the facts of the case.” Limbaugh also said on July 23 that white policemen are “under assault” “from the East Room of the White House.”

• Limbaugh suggests Obama would not have acted on Somali pirates if he’d known they were “actually young, black Muslim teenagers.” On April 14, Limbaugh suggested the “correct” way to look at a situation in which Obama sent the military to retrieve American hostages from Somali pirates was that “if only President Obama had known that the three Somali community organizers were actually young, black Muslim teenagers, I’m sure he wouldn’t have given the order to shoot.”

• Limbaugh suggests Democrats, media believe “you can’t criticize the little black man-child.” Referring to GOP ads comparing Obama to Britney Spears during the presidential campaign, on August 20, 2008, Limbaugh said: “It’s — you know, it’s just — it’s just we can’t hit the girl. I don’t care how far feminism’s saying, you can’t hit the girl, and you can’t — you can’t criticize the little black man-child. You just can’t do it, ’cause it’s just not right, It’s not fair. He’s such a victim.” The previous day, Limbaugh had said that “it is striking how unqualified Obama is and, and how this whole thing came about with, within the Democrat Party. I think it really goes back to the fact that nobody had the guts to stand up and say no to a black guy.” Limbaugh went on to say, “I think this is a classic illustration here where affirmative action has reared its ugly head against them.”

Limbaugh has an extensive history of making racially charged comments

• “The government’s been taking care of [young blacks] their whole lives.” On February 1, 2007, Limbaugh responded to a Reuters report about a University of Chicago study that found that “a majority of young blacks feel alienated from today’s government” by asserting, “Why would that be? The government’s been taking care of them their whole lives.”

• “The days of [minorities] not having any power are over, and they are angry.” On June 4, Limbaugh said, “This has been the argument the Reverend Jackson has proffered throughout my life — that it’s impossible for minorities to be racist because they don’t have any power. Well, president of the United States. We’re talking now about a Supreme Court justice. The days of them not having any power are over, and they are angry. And they want to use their power as a means of retribution. That’s what Obama’s about, gang. He’s angry; he’s going to cut this country down to size. He’s going to make it pay for all the multicultural mistakes that it has made — its mistreatment of minorities. I know exactly what’s going on here.”

• “[M]inorities never do anything for which they have to apologize.” On April 12, 2007, Limbaugh criticized Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson for refusing to apologize to three former members of the Duke University men’s lacrosse team who were accused of rape in March 2006 — all charges were dropped on April 11, 2007 — and asserted that “minorities never do anything for which they have to apologize.” Presumably referring to the decision by CBS Radio and MSNBC to stop airing Imus in the Morning following controversial comments by host Don Imus, Limbaugh stated: “Everybody’s demanding that everybody apologize in this country for simply breathing. It’s getting to the point some people are not allowed to breathe or exhale, or make syllables.” Limbaugh went on to complain about the protests Sharpton and Jackson led condemning Imus’ remarks, saying: “They’re members of the minority. Don’t ever forget that this is the case. Minorities, victims, members of groups, are allowed to do anything to address their grievances and to get noticed, because … they’re so oppressed.”

• Limbaugh: “The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well.” In 2003, Limbaugh resigned from his job as an ESPN commentator after saying that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb hasn’t “been that good from the get-go” and “got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn’t deserve,” because “[t]he media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well.” After the Eagles reached Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005, Limbaugh returned to making racial comments about McNabb, saying, “There’s no question McNabb has improved and I’m happy to see it,” but that “when the defense … was propping the Eagles up,” the media “were still giving McNabb credit — because there’s this social hope.”

• Limbaugh says “NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips.” On January 19, 2007, Limbaugh stated: “Look it, let me put it to you this way. The NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There I said it.”

• Limbaugh declares basketball “the favorite sport of gangs.” Discussing the government’s attempts to curb violence, Limbaugh told a caller on October 7: “It’s not reasonable that you should understand the insanity that local and state and federal bureaucracies are doing. It’s perfectly normal and understandable that none of what they do would make sense to you. My question — OK, a 1 cent sales tax to fight gang violence. What do you spend the money on to fight gang violence? Afterschool program — don’t we already have afterschool programs? Don’t we already have — what do you call it, extracurricular events? Midnight basketball — I mean, we’ve done it all. We’ve taken the favorite sport of gangs, and we put it at midnight to get them on the basketball court. We had 100,000 new cops with Clinton — we’ve done it all. And the problem still is out of control. Liberalism doesn’t work.”

• Limbaugh invented “racial component” to Hackett’s decision to withdraw from Ohio primary race. During the 2006 Democratic primaries, Limbaugh invented a racial element to explain Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett’s departure from the Ohio Democratic Senate primary race against then-Rep. Sherrod Brown, asserting, “And don’t forget, Sherrod Brown is black. There’s a racial component here, too.” In fact, Brown is white — a point on which Limbaugh was corrected later in the program.

• Limbaugh on Survivor series: “African-American tribe” worst swimmers, Hispanics “will do things other people won’t do.” On August 23, 2006, Limbaugh suggested that the competition in a season of CBS’ Survivor, in which contestants were reportedly divided into competing “tribes” by ethnicity, “is not going to be fair if there’s a lot of water events.” In support of this assertion, he cited a March 2, 2006, HealthDay article reporting that “young blacks — especially males — are much more likely to drown in pools than whites.” He later added that Hispanics have “probably shown the most survival tactics,” that they “have shown a remarkable ability to cross borders,” and that they can “do it without water for a long time, they don’t get apprehended, and they will do things other people won’t do.” On his September 29, 2006, show, Limbaugh claimed “[t]here can only be one reason” Survivor scrapped “segregated” competition after two episodes — “the white tribe had to be winning.”

• Limbaugh suggested Colin Powell only supported Obama because of race. After Limbaugh asserted that Colin Powell should leave the Republican Party because of his support for Obama, Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe that “[i]t’s not up to Rush Limbaugh to decide who ought to be in the Republican Party.” Limbaugh responded on his May 18 show that all Democrats “had to do was nominate an African-American and [they've] got Colin Powell.”

• Limbaugh: Gates is an “angry racist.” On July 27, Limbaugh said Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates is an “angry racist.”

• Limbaugh called illegal immigrants an “invasive species.” Referring to an April 1, 2005, federal court ruling that prohibited shipping boats from dumping of ballast water containing “invasive species,” including some types of mollusks, into U.S. waters, Limbaugh described illegal immigrants as an “invasive species” that U.S. courts willingly permit to enter the country.

• Limbaugh repeatedly calls Native Americans “Injuns.” Media Matters for America documented at least four separate instances of Limbaugh using this slur on his program.

• Limbaugh says Democrats’ interest in Darfur is securing black “voting bloc.” On August 21, 2007, Limbaugh claimed that Democrats “want to get us out of Iraq, but they can’t wait to get us into Darfur.” He continued: “There are two reasons. What color is the skin of the people in Darfur? It’s black. And who do the Democrats really need to keep voting for them? If they lose a significant percentage of this voting bloc, they’re in trouble.” A caller responded, “The black population,” to which Limbaugh said, “Right.”

• Limbaugh says that if “feminazis” had remembered to oppose “affirmative action for black guys … they wouldn’t face the situation they face today.” On May 21, 2008, Limbaugh said that “one of the objectives of the feminazis over the last 20, 25 years has been to dominate the public education system so as to remove the competitive nature of boys. You know, there’s a crisis of young man-boy education in the schools. And they did this on purpose, to eliminate male competition in the work force. This is part of feminazi grand plan.” Limbaugh then said, “They forgot affirmative action for black guys. And because of that, every bit of their plan has gone up in smoke now, because they — if — they had to come out in favor of affirmative action for black guys, and that’s — see, this is one of the things that really irritates the women. And there are women all over this country fit to be tied — trust me on this. … [L]iberals eventually are going to be devoured by their own policies. And it has happened here. Because Barack Obama is an affirmative action candidate.” He concluded, “So, it’s just — they just forgot that one thing: affirmative action for black guys. And if they had remembered to oppose that, then they wouldn’t face the situation they face today.”

Non-Whites Tend To Reject Fox News

Reading a story published by the Washington Independent confirms what will likely not be a big shock to a whole lot of people who follow much of what is going on with cable news these days. Fox News performs well as it draws nearly all Republicans/conservatives to its right-leaning broadcasts. Left-leaning MSNBC, as one might expect, runs strong with liberals. CNN tends to be more popular with those who consider themselves independent. I would imagine CNN also gets some conservatives and some liberals who want a bit of a break from the more partisan approach to news that is popular on Fox News and MSNBC.

But, the Washington Independent article opens up a different kind of argument as it discusses who are the viewers who gravitate toward Fox News. Those who appreciate Fox News most tend to be white, Southern and Republican.

The biggest swing region in the poll? The South. In Southern states, 46 percent of viewers say that Fox News is “extremely reliable” or “reliable.” Only 6 percent of them say that of MSNBC, compared to 26 percent who say it of CNN, a huge shift from the days when CNN was derided as the “Communist/Clinton News Network.” And non-white viewers really don’t like Fox. Only 5 percent of African-Americans, 11 percent of Hispanics, and 8 percent of other minorities consider the network reliable, while a majority of every one of those groups trusts CNN and sizable pluralities trust MSNBC.

Interestingly, this research sows that only five percent of blacks, 11 percent of Latinos and eight percent of other minorities consider Fox News “reliable” with respect to its coverage and commentary. Frankly, it surprises me that the number is even that high for Fox News.

Rep. Steve King Not Interested In Recognizing Work Of Slaves In Building Capitol

Rep. Steve King, an infamous Iowa Republican, was the lone member of the House of Representatives to vote against (399-1) a resolution designed to recognize (with a marker) the role that slaves played in the construction of the United States Capitol Building. The resolution’s text hardly comes across as something that should in any way be offensive or controversial.

Whereas enslaved African-Americans performed the backbreaking work of quarrying the stone which comprised many of the floors, walls, and columns of the Capitol…

Whereas recognition of the contributions of enslaved African-Americans brings to all Americans an understanding of the continuing evolution of our representative democracy; and

Whereas a marker dedicated to the enslaved African-Americans who helped to build the Capitol will reflect the charge of the Capitol Visitor Center to teach visitors about Congress and its development…

Here is what Rep. King said the following as an explanation:

In the Capitol Visitor’s Center, we agreed to change the name of the Great Hall – which honored the immigrants that came legally to America – to Emancipation Hall to honor the 645,000 slaves and their descendants who were brought to the United States more than two centuries ago.

Last night I opposed yet another bill to erect another monument to slavery because it was used as a bargaining chip to allow for the actual depiction of ‘In God We Trust’ in the CVC. The Architect of the Capitol and liberal activists opposed every reference to America’s Christian heritage, even to the extent of scrubbing ‘In God We Trust’ from the depiction of the actual Speaker’s chair in the U.S. House of Representatives.

This is just the latest example of a several year effort by liberals in Congress to scrub references to America’s Christian heritage from our nation’s Capitol. Liberals want to amend our country’s history to eradicate the role of Christianity in America and chisel references to God or faith from our historical buildings.

Our Judeo-Christian heritage is an essential foundation stone of our great nation and should not be held hostage to yet another effort to place guilt on future Americans for the sins of some of their ancestors. Christian abolitionists gave their lives by the hundreds of thousands to end slavery. Great American leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. worshipped God just as our Founding Fathers did. We must never forget this important aspect of our heritage or use it as a political bargaining chip.

Isn’t Rep. King using it as a political bargaining chip? It kind of seems like it. At 399-1, his vote was insignificant in terms of the final outcome, yet fairly symbolic in the statement it makes.

This vote kind of gives a glimpse into what darkness exists in the heart and soul of Steve King. It’s sad Rep. King would spit in the face of hard-working slaves who made such an important contribution to building the U.S. Capitol Building. He then smears liberals by saying they “want to amend our country’s history to eradicate the role of Christianity in America and chisel references to God or faith from our historical buildings.” That’s just plain stupid. He then tries to help his own futile cause by invoking the name of Dr. Martin Luther King. If Rep. King feels so strongly about the religious aspect then he should speak up, but to spit on the hard work that slaves put in to help build a historical part of this country (to play partisan politics) is disgraceful.

Here is an update from Talking Points Memo:

DCCC national press secretary Ryan Rudominer gives us this statement: “Steve King’s lone vote against acknowledging the role slaves played in the construction of the United States Capitol is a slap in the face to the very sacrifices and contributions African Americans made to our nation. This is the latest in a long line of erratic behavior from King that has made him an embarrassment to Iowans and to the Republican Party.”

Talking Points Memo:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/steve-king-i-opposed-yet-another-bill-to-commemorate-slavery-in-order-to-protect-judeo-christian-her.php

Check out the Think Progress story that documents some of Rep. Steve King’s history: http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/08/steve-king-slavery-capitol/