In the wake of tragedy at the Boston marathon finish line, fear and a rush to classify the nature of the attack have been rampant. But one Texas Republican’s comments have led to outrage and head-scratching after he said that in the wake of the bombing, Americans must remember that radical Islamists are training to “act like Hispanic.”
Ronald Reagan and Racial Politics: What Republicans Won’t Admit About Their False Idol (A Comprehensive List)h/t ReaganAndRacism
(via abaldwin360)
(via azspot)
White Citizens Councils, the political wing of the Klu Klux Klan, detested federal taxes because they were used to promote economic fairness for blacks in the South. Government spending on economic opportunity had upset the pre-existing racialized economic order. So in speech after speech, Reagan promised to “turn back the clock” and won in a landslide.
Once in office, Reagan did as promised. He re-constructed a system which took money from the employed poor and working class—who are disproportionately black and brown—and gave it to a mostly white minority who were already wealthy.
The result of Reagan’s policies—which were turbocharged under George W. Bush—is that the top 1 percent have a greater share of national income than at any point in American history. And 97 percent of the top 1 percent are white. Yet poverty is stuck at decades-high levels. One out of three blacks and one out of four Latinos is poor.
Reagan’s policies, largely followed by his predecessors in both parties, have left us a country where a child born in poverty in any other advanced economy on the planet has a better chance of becoming rich than one born in the United States.
This is blatantly wrong to the vast majority of Americans, regardless of race. They would not allow this injustice to stand, if spoken to plainly about it.
But since Reagan’s success in winning office off of white supremacist notions, the U.S. has struggled to be honest with itself about the racial impact of its economic choices. The trouble is that you can’t solve a problem that you don’t admit exists.
”We Can’t Fix Our Economy Without Confronting White Supremacy (via jayaprada)
Where is my “slow clap” gif?
(via generalbriefing)
(via letfreedomlulz)
![KTBS-TV: Give Rhonda Lee her job back ASAP!
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A female meteorologist, Rhonda Lee, has been fired from the ABC affiliate in Shreveport, Louisiana (KTBS-TV) because she responded to a racial remark posted by a viewer on the station’s Facebook page.
In October, a viewer posted an offensive remark about Lee and her appearance on KTBS’s Facebook page. The comment included: “the black lady that does the news is a very nice lady.the only thing is she needs to wear a wig or grow some more hair. im not sure if she is a cancer patient” [sic].
After the comment was left on the station’s page for days without any response or moderation and after Lee claims the station refused to offer a reply to the comment at her request, Lee wrote a thoughtful and respectful response. In her comment, Lee stated, “I am the ‘black lady’ to which you are referring… I am very proud of my African-American ancestry which includes my hair… I’m very proud of who I am and the standard of beauty I display. Women come in all shapes, sizes, nationalities, and levels of beauty. Showing little girls that being comfortable in the skin and HAIR God gave me is my contribution to society. Little girls (and boys for that matter) need to see that what you look like isn’t a reason to not achieve their goals.”
In November, Lee responded to a comment on KTBS’ Facebook page from a viewer complaining about a segment that feature predominantly children of color to clarify that “the children are picked at random.” She added: “I would like to think it doesn’t matter who the child is.”
KTBS has stated that Lee was fired for allegedly violating a social media policy for staff members. However, Lee said that in a meeting with her supervisors, they told her the policy she violated “isn’t written down, but was mentioned in a newsroom meeting (a meeting she did not attend) about a month-and-a-half prior.” Lee also claims, “There isn’t anything in our employee manual talking about social media dos and don’ts.”
Lee said that initially she was told that she would be having a discussion with the station’s managers about clarifying the social media policy, but instead, allegedly without any discussion, Lee was terminated.
As a mom, I worry that actions by employers like this give girls the idea that they have to conform to a certain look to be successful. One day my daughter will want to wear her hair natural — or maybe not — but I want it to be her choice not her peer’s. If we allow this to go on where will it stop? I want my daughter to be inspired by woman like Lee who achieve success in their fields and stand up for themselves and others.
Please join me in asking KTBS to stand with their meteorologist and return Rhonda Lee to her job.
Please Sign Here](http://24.media.tumblr.com/bcb85f54bf2954ca0d16abae92ac0746/tumblr_mfvstf1rWd1qd0sg1o1_500.jpg)
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A female meteorologist, Rhonda Lee, has been fired from the ABC affiliate in Shreveport, Louisiana (KTBS-TV) because she responded to a racial remark posted by a viewer on the station’s Facebook page.
In October, a viewer posted an offensive remark about Lee and her appearance on KTBS’s Facebook page. The comment included: “the black lady that does the news is a very nice lady.the only thing is she needs to wear a wig or grow some more hair. im not sure if she is a cancer patient” [sic].
After the comment was left on the station’s page for days without any response or moderation and after Lee claims the station refused to offer a reply to the comment at her request, Lee wrote a thoughtful and respectful response. In her comment, Lee stated, “I am the ‘black lady’ to which you are referring… I am very proud of my African-American ancestry which includes my hair… I’m very proud of who I am and the standard of beauty I display. Women come in all shapes, sizes, nationalities, and levels of beauty. Showing little girls that being comfortable in the skin and HAIR God gave me is my contribution to society. Little girls (and boys for that matter) need to see that what you look like isn’t a reason to not achieve their goals.”
In November, Lee responded to a comment on KTBS’ Facebook page from a viewer complaining about a segment that feature predominantly children of color to clarify that “the children are picked at random.” She added: “I would like to think it doesn’t matter who the child is.”
KTBS has stated that Lee was fired for allegedly violating a social media policy for staff members. However, Lee said that in a meeting with her supervisors, they told her the policy she violated “isn’t written down, but was mentioned in a newsroom meeting (a meeting she did not attend) about a month-and-a-half prior.” Lee also claims, “There isn’t anything in our employee manual talking about social media dos and don’ts.”
Lee said that initially she was told that she would be having a discussion with the station’s managers about clarifying the social media policy, but instead, allegedly without any discussion, Lee was terminated.
As a mom, I worry that actions by employers like this give girls the idea that they have to conform to a certain look to be successful. One day my daughter will want to wear her hair natural — or maybe not — but I want it to be her choice not her peer’s. If we allow this to go on where will it stop? I want my daughter to be inspired by woman like Lee who achieve success in their fields and stand up for themselves and others.
Please join me in asking KTBS to stand with their meteorologist and return Rhonda Lee to her job.
Rachel Maddow goes after Fox “News” and Bill O’Reilly about their racist reporting.
Since President Obama issued an administrative directive allowing some undocumented young immigrants to temporarily remain in the country, states have adopted policies to ensure they have equal work opportunity. But on Thursday, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) reiterated her opposition to granting driver licenses to the eligible immigrants and compared them to children or people with a record of driving under the influence.
BREWER: The state is the one who licenses the people to be able to drive, it’s not the federal government. And we don’t license kids under 16. We don’t license DUI drivers. And our laws are very clear and I took an oath to uphold that.
Even if Brewer is right about what the law says, laws can be changed — in fact, two states have passed legislation allowing all undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses, with Illinois set to be a third. These laws have been passed for reasons of public safety; lawmakers believe that unlicensed adult immigrants are likely to drive anyway because they need to get to work, risking increased accidents and higher insurance costs. Public safety concerns, of course, run the opposite direction with children and serial drunk drivers, who cannot ever be trusted to drive safely and hence must be kept off the road.
Former Governor and Wisconsin Senate candidate Tommy Thompson’s son Jason Thompson says at a brunch “we have an opportunity” to send Obama back to Chicago or Kenya.”
(by therearetoomanymikes)
pendejo…
(Source: elisamexica, via definitelyintransit)
John Sununu said Obama “has no idea how the American system functions.”
By EMILY DERUY
John Sununu, a supporter of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, said he hoped President Obama ”would learn how to be an American,” triggering a backlash that forced him to instantly walk back his statement.
