By request – my thoughts on No Wedding, No Womb!

A certain Stacey from Baltimore sent a bitch a request for my thoughts on the No Wedding, No Womb!  movement.

Okay, Ms. Stacey – you asked for it!

Full disclosure – my parents were married for several years before they had children.  They separated when I was around 11 years old and officially divorced when I was in college.  So, some of my thoughts on this issue come from that experience – that weddings are easy, marriage is work and what we really need to do is focus on empowering women.

Shall we?

The fantabulous Michel Martin interviewed the woman behind the No Wedding, No Womb! Campaign on a recent edition of her Tell Me More show on NPR. Christelyn Karazin is the founder of the No Wedding No Womb movement – you can listen to the show and read Martin’s interview here.

The “out-of-wedlock” birth rate for black babies is 72 percent.  Although many debate the particulars, there is little debate that unplanned pregnancies present challenges to parents, families and communities.  And I use the term unplanned pregnancy deliberately, because I believe it is a mistake to approach this issue from a wedding centered or marriage centered perspective.  Trust me, divorce has a huge impact on parents, families and communities too…and, with a 50 percent failure rate, this bitch often wonders at the lack of attention people pay to the cost and impact divorce has on society.

Something tells me Impact of Divorce is playing jacks with his cousin Cost and Impact “out-of-wedlock” Birth Rates.

My opinion is that we need to focus on empowering black women…on advocating for and creating a lifelong commitment to sexuality literacy…and on comprehensive sex education, which should include an exploration of self worth and reproductive health.

We need to acknowledge the fact that the same community that stigmatizes women who carry an unplanned pregnancy to term has also failed to embrace and advocate for comprehensive sex education…many of the same people who cut their eyes at a pregnant teen have rejected the call to teach our youth about safer sex and are pretty damned silent when it comes to the issue of sexually transmitted infection rates among black teens.

The old "you play, you pay" is anti-knowledge, clearly does not work and will only continue to get us nowhere fast.

  

Planning parenthood must…it absolutely must…involve more than a call to wait until someone puts a ring on it.

And the cold reality is that planning parenthood must…absolutely must…involve more than promoting marriage.

Are we listening to young black women?

Catch the knee!

Not thinking about our own experiences, but listening to a generation that has it’s own experiences.

Do we get involved in the lives of black youth…volunteer and support our young sisters…talk openly about sex and pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections or sexual exploitation and abuse?

Pause...consider...continue.

I’ve been a volunteer with young black women for over six years and I’ve struggled to get grown black women to join me at the grassroots level.  

I’ve struggled to recruit my sisters to volunteer at local shelters for teen mothers and teach them about basic household budgeting, reproductive health and prevention, and basic women’s health.

What I like about the No Wedding, No Womb movement is that is calls for a discussion. 

Lawd knows we need one.

We need to start talking about sex from a sex positive perspective that empowers women, frames sex as something to be enjoyed and celebrated rather than something to be dispensed as a reward or withheld like a carrot.

We need to address marriage too…because right now that rickety institution is an unstable solution at best.

But on a whole, a bitch supports the call for black women to think about this shit…to talk openly about single parenting and the many challenges facing our communities.

I also hope that this movement includes a discussion about same-sex marriage, because some black women couldn’t get married if they wanted to.  And don’t sleep – same-sex couples face many of the same challenges if they become single parents. 

I’ll wrap up with this – that black folk discussing the consequences of unprotected sex and/or unplanned pregnancy is a good thing. 

I support the dialogue and pledge to actively participate.

Because I’m an activist advocating for the complete physical, mental, spiritual, political, economic, and social well-being of women and girls.

I believe that will be achieved when women and girls have the economic, social and political power and resources to make healthy decisions about our bodies, sexuality and reproduction for ourselves, our families and our communities in all areas of our lives.

That's reproductive justice…no weddings required.

Happy NHL pre-season, y’all!

Longtime readers know that this bitch is a hockey fanatic in general and a Blues fan specifically.

I’ve waited and waited…watched classic games on the NHL channel…haunted hockey blogs, read about trade rumors (that Kovalchuk drama was beyond entertaining) and followed my team's off-season antics on Twitter.

Now…finally…the pre-season has begun.

Hooray!

The Blues are looking good…trimming their roster and seeing what the youngsters can do.

Blues Fanfest is scheduled for October 2^nd…and a bitch is tempted to attend since there will be a meet and greet with our new goalie Jaroslav Halak.

Confession – this bitch has been beyond excited about Halak’s arrival having watched him kick major ass for the Habs during the playoffs.

I’m not sure if I’ll make it down for Fanfest, but a bitch is sure as shit is going to be at the home opener October 9^th against the Flyers.

Happy pre-season NHL hockey, y’all!

Let’s go Blues!

Like inviting the vampire in for dinner…

Christ, a bitch is tired.

I’ve been stressed and thus haven’t been sleeping worth a shit.

Sigh.

Anyhoo, shall we?

This bitch just read an article about how candidates with big business resumes won big during the primary elections and are poised to win in November.

Voters are concerned about the economy and they are responding by…inviting the vampire into their house.

Blink.

Walk with me a moment…come on, take my hand and let’s stroll along this ugly lake of fubar.

CBS Sunday Morning featured a really good segment yesterday that explored why this current economic malaise is different from other downturns.  The segment featured economists who researched around 80 years of economic history.  They explained that we’re not going to see relief until workers see an increase in employment rates and wages. Their history lesson is that economic policies that do nothing to increase employment and wages for folks making less than $200,000 a year are economic policies doomed to fail. 

And now you’re wondering what the fuck that has to do with big business Wall Street candidates doing well at the polls.

A lot, actually.

Beyond the initial quizzical of Tea Party supporters claiming to want to take America back for average folk and then tossing their support behind robber baron’s…Lawd, have mercy…there is the overwhelming lack of common sense demonstrated by voters being seduced by candidates who were part of the industry that pushed for the policies that got us into an economic clusterfuck-based malaise in the first place.

Makes a bitch long to shake people and tell them to think before they throw out the welcome mat for that vampire they met at the bar Friday night.

I’m sure she or he was real cute…dressed to kill and talking a good game.  Maybe they even had a hot as hell make-out session in the car before making plans for dinner. 

Whatever.

That’s a fucking vampire!!1

And when vampires do what they fucking do and attach themselves to that voters neck for a good suck, you don’t want to be the dumb ass motherfucker looking on with shack and awe while gasping “Help me, there’s a fucking vampire attached to my neck!!”

Jesus.

What the fuck?

One of these poised to win GOP motherfuckers is still talking about privatizing social security, for the love of dumb ass ideas proven to be fubar by the volatility of the stock market!

Another one is a former Lehman Brother’s executive. 

Really?

Shit, if you’re going to vote for a robber baron at least vote for one who knows how to fucking rob worth a damn!

Pause…sip coffee…continue.

Fuck it.

This shit demonstrates a level of resistance to common sense that probably can’t be reasoned with…the kind that responds to hidden camera video footage of their vampire date draining a previous victim to death by shouting “Don’t tread on me, you socialist communist fascist illegal immigrant loving un-American!” and then flings open the door to embrace the architect of their doom.

Remembering the person at the center of the plan…

Longtime readers know that this bitch is my older brother’s co-guardian.  My brother Bill is 40 and autistic and each year his team gathers for a series of meetings to revise his Person Centered Plan (PCP).

My brother’s plan is…well, it’s his life captured in print.  The PCP contains everything from his diet to his medical needs to his behavioral goals…and it also contains a lot of shit we’d like for him to have and he's indicated that he would like to have but that we know he won’t get because Missouri has slashed funding for most social service programs.

As an activist, I regularly dive into the world of state funding for programs.

As my brother’s co-guardian, I am constantly stressed the hell out by the limits of his personal budget and how those limits impact his quality of life.

As a sister…well, this is why I wake up at 2 o’clock in the morning thinking about how the hell we’re going to afford two dental cleanings with behavioral assistance this year.

Sigh.

The PCP meeting is today and I need to get myself ready…I need to put my guardian hat on so I don’t lash out when his team of caregivers talks about my brother’s life in clinical terms.

It’s hard…very challenging…emotional as hell even though I don’t want it to be and even though I know that the other folks in the room care about Bill too.

We’re lucky to be in a position to have a say in this shit…to have an active role in these decisions and this plan.

So, I’m getting myself together…calming my spirit…preparing to flip through page after page of a life that means the world to me…page after page of needs and wants, of hopes and goals…page after page of my brother’s life.

We’ll get through it…we always do…by remembering the person at the center of the plan.

But damn it...damn, damn and damn it again...I wish traditional family value voters and politicians valued social programs for adults with autism

Sigh.

Bishop Eddie Long…

If you haven’t heard about the lawsuits filed against mega-church leader Bishop Eddie Long claiming financial improprieties and sexual harassment…well, you probably will.

Bishop Long heads up one of, if not the, largest black congregations in America…he also has long led a campaign against the LGBT community in general and same-sex marriage in particular.  Long, with Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter Bernice King by his side, led a march against same-sex marriage in Atlanta a while back…and he has said that “homosexuality” and “lesbianism” are “spiritual abortion”. 

Now three young men who were active in Long’s church have filed lawsuits claiming, among other things, that Long pursued them sexually and sent suggestive pictures through his phone, gave them expensive gifts in exchange for sex and used his power to force them into sexual relationships.

Long adamantly denies these claims.

This is shaping up to be one hell of a legal battle in Hotlanta!

Pause…sip coffee…continue.

Homophobia within black churches is a serious problem for a lot of reasons, one being the role churches have traditionally held in black communities.  Churches have historically served as the foundation for community organizing in many black communities…they provide social activities for youth and run literacy programs.  Many look toward their church for guidance on social issues facing their community…and too many church leaders have led their congregations down Homophobe Avenue, Long chief among them.

That doesn’t make the allegations contained in the lawsuit true…but it does provide some context.

And Long's anti-gayism is an interesting factor...because one of the key ways to distract folks from wondering if a public figure is gay is for that public figure to go forth and preach the gospel of anti-gay fear-based hate. 

If I had a dollar for every homophobic politician or public figure that has been outed as gay I’d be able to open a mega-church version of the United Church of Bitchitude and Latter Day Drunks.

The funny thing about this scandal is that one of reasons I’m leaning toward believing the allegations is that Long is so damn anti-gay…and I just can't ignore the Mehlmanification factor in all this.

Sigh.

The sad thing is that this drama, regardless of the outcome, does nothing to address homophobia in black communities or to repair the damage done by so-called leaders like Long or Bernice King - leaders who frame LGBT people as predators and same-sex marriage as a threat to the black community, who have so much power yet chose to use it to stir up hate and fear rather than inspire understanding and empower their congregation to lead with love and peace.

Whether these allegations are true or just an attempt to cash in on some of the bounty Long has amassed by preaching the gospel of prosperity (the man drives a Bentley, for the love of greed…my childhood pastor drove a used Ford, mercy!)...

Yeah, so um…whether or not this shit is true or not, the haze of homophobia will continue to hover over Long’s massive congregation and restrict them from seeing the damage hate does to the community...

...or the impact the tithe-based hustle going down in the pulpit is doing to their pocketbook.

Blink.

By request – my thoughts on yesterday’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell happening…

A certain Twitter follower asked me for my thoughts on the Senate’s failure to move forward on a repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell yesterday.  Well, that’s just not something I can express in 140 characters or less…and Lawd know I don’t want to be one of those Twitter people who sends 20 tweets to make one statement (wince).  So, I’m going to share my thoughts here…and then maybe tweet the link!

Shall we?

America is always having an identity crisis and we're sure as shit having one now.  From the national debate of immigration, to the continuing debate over whether to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, to the outbreak of intolerance and hatred toward Muslims…we are a society struggling to live up to our founding values even as some try to re-write what those values are.

We’ve been here before.  In many ways, this is how American society moves forward…painfully, reluctantly and through embarrassing public displays of ig’nance. 

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) needs to go. 

There are LGBT Americans serving in the military and there have always been LGBT Americans serving in the military.

We need not wonder what a repeal would do…many of our allies have already done away with their bans on LGBT people in service and, as a result of our coalitions in current wars, many Americans are serving along side LGBT service members who are not limited by DADT.

But the resistance to repealing DADT isn’t about the logical…it’s about politics and votes and pandering to the segment of Americans who respond positively to politicians who deny LGBT people equality.

Just as some respond to anti-Muslim statements...just as some respond to anti-immigration propaganda…we are a society struggling to be true to our founding values even as some try to re-write what those values are.  

And don't even get me started on how we became a nation while not being true to the values we proclaimed at the time...shit.

Pause...sip water...continue.

Yesterday’s failure is not an end any more than a repeal of DADT is an end.

Of all the walls to LGBT equality currently on the table, DADT is the one I’m willing to bet is going to fall in the next few years if not sooner.  Then the segment of Americans who would deny LGBT people equality will cry out in protest…and politicians who seek their votes will ratchet up the homophobic rhetoric…and what should just be will painfully become after a series of embarrassing public displays of ig’nance.

It’s moments like this that make me wonder how we look to the rest of the world - walking around pounding our chests over how we’re the best and we’re the nation where people are free and we’re #1…USA, USA, USA!!!

...even as we demonstrate intolerance, hatred and fear of the other coupled with a willingness to withhold justice and equality...even when our actions make our cheers of greatness and freedom damn near laughable.

But we’ll get there.

It won’t be pretty, but it will be.

And then we the people will have arrived at the beginning…again.

Our identity crisis continueth…

Little pink houses for you and me...

One of the many under-reported stories from the world of politics is what Republicans plan to do if they gain control of Congress.  

 Oh, we all know what the GOP is against…they have been holding a clinic on how to leverage the preserved failure of those currently in power to gain support. 

But I just read this article on StlToday.com about how the GOP plans to dismantle health care reform…and, well it’s one of the few pieces out there chewing on the crucial question of what the fuck the GOP intends to do with the power they seek.

This is huge…massive…beyond important…because this is what voters will really be deciding in November.

And the GOP’s definition of “reform” is to repeal, rollback and restrict – to block implementation of health care reform by any means necessary.

Pause…sip coffee…continue.

Should they gain power, the GOP would first tackle the mandates.  They intend to destroy mandates for businesses to offer health care coverage and for individuals to purchase health care insurance.

And they acknowledge that, by denying funding and blocking the power of panels, they can pretty much starve the few health care reforms Congress managed to pass to death.

The GOP acknowledges that some measures within health care reform are popular...protections for people with pre-existing conditions, for example.

But it is important to understand that the GOP never accepted the premise of the argument for health care reform – that health care is a right.

Hell, more than a couple of Democrats didn’t accept that either.

And as the GOP gets their strategy development on in hopes of seizing power, they are walking down the road the nation just traveled…’round the same curves that take them past the millions of people without health care coverage, the workers who do not receive coverage from their employer and the many Americans who seek care for a crisis because they weren’t able to afford treatment for an illness.  They’ll even go up one side and then down the other of the mountain that is the amount of money all of us end up paying for all those folks who seek care for those catastrophic conditions in emergency rooms.

But when they arrive right back where they started, the GOP will come to a different conclusion.

They’ve already made up their mind.

The journey is mostly for show.

As Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee says in the article, "If there was a straight bill to repeal the health care law, I would vote for it because I think it's such a historic mistake. If that doesn't succeed, I think we'll go step by step. We can try to delay funding of some provisions and remove some of the taxes."

Oh, but ain’t that America for you and me…

This isn’t about revising some shit that probably needs to be revise but keeping the stuff that everyone likes.

Ain’t that America somethin’ to see baby…

This is about killing the whole idea of health care reform and offering nothing...because the GOP doesn't see the millions of Americans without coverage as a problem any more than they view health care as a right.

Ain’t that America home of the free…

And they want to take us right back where we started.

Little pink houses for you and me…

Blink.

***logs off humming Pink Houses by John Mellencamp***

Delaware wackiness and the GOP identity crisis…

Happy Monday, y’all!

Let’s jump right on in.

Just when my ass thought the Delaware Senate campaign couldn’t get any wackier news of witchcraft comes along and take that wacky shit to a whole new level.

If someone had told me that a party nominee for the United States Senate would be answering questions about claims she made years ago that she dabbled in witchcraft and had a date with a witch that involved a midnight dinner on a Satanic alter…well, umm…shit, I’d probably have said it was possible but not likely.

This is America and when it comes to politics nothing is off the table.

But damn.

I mean…damn.

The candidacy of Christine O’Donnell has officially entered the Y’all Vote for Her then You Deserve Her phase for Delaware voters.

Shit.

What’s interesting about Delaware, Alaska, Kentucky and Florida is how Tea Party primary wins have thrown the GOP into a rather serious identity crisis.

This bitch understand why…’tis confusing as hell!  On one hand the Tea Party stands to the right of the GOP and blasts them for failing to uphold traditional conservative values.

On the other hand the Tea Party candidates are running on GOP tickets, which makes them more internal “reformers” than rebel outsiders.

And leaders within the GOP are struggling to resist the tempting bone of Tea Party enthusiasm for fear that they may lose their power to the upstarts who are storming the gates.

The resulting presentation is beyond strange.

In Delaware Christine O’Donnell cast a spell on primary voters, won that shit and clearly pissed off the GOP establishment.  Now she’s got them backed into a corner that forces them to support her.

In Alaska, the Tea Party candidate’s win has triggered a write-in campaign from the ousted Republican incumbent Murkowski…and who the hell knows what’s gonna happen in that race.  Odds are the unknown Democrat won’t benefit from the civil war within the GOP…but it will make things interesting.

Kentucky has been curiously quiet…a certain Rand Paul has been flying under the radar and, unless he let’s himself go during a debate, will likely maintain his low altitude until November.

And in Florida…well, Florida is being Florida – the GOP actually likes he Tea Party candidate running there, but they don’t want to be too public about that because Gawd knows they don’t want Tea Party supporters to think their anti-establishment candidate is an establishment candidate who sometimes like to drink tea. 

Meanwhile here in my home state of Missouri the GOP has successfully taken over the Tea Party and are using it as a voter mobilization tool for Mr. Establishment Roy Blunt’s run for Senate. 

Recent Tea Raver rallies in St. Louis city looked a lot like cattle being moved through chutes toward the ballot box in November…there’s lots of dust and noise, but with a little prodding the herd moves where they are guided. 

Pause…sip coffee…continue.

And while some are asking whether the Tea Party has taken over the GOP or did the GOP take over the Tea Party…

…this bitch is wondering how both of them keep cruising on without having to declare what the fuck they stand for and how the hell they’d govern.

Blink.

But...but...

Happy Friday, y’all!

I’m going to vent for a bit…okay?

Cool.

A woman in Vancouver Washington claimed that a black woman threw acid in her face.

The woman…Bethany Storro…was indeed burned by acid on her face.

She was hospitalized…there was a press conference…a police sketch artist assisted her in recreating a likeness of her alleged attacker…and folks from all over the world expressed outrage at the attack and concern for Ms. Storro.

But Bethany Storro was not attacked by a black woman…a black woman did not toss acid in her face…she made the whole thing up.

Robin Roberts of Good Morning America covered this shit this morning and when she spoke with a representative from the police she asked a question that far too many folks aren’t asking – where black women questioned in relation to these false accusations?  The representative skirted the question…saying that the police had questioned people and did do canvasses. 

Robin didn’t press her on that.

But…but…hello?

This has happened before…in Union South Carolina and Boston Massachusetts where people tossed out the accusation that a black person did this or that and then it came out that the person making the accusation is actually the guilty party.

And I suppose I understand the tug some people have to feel sorry for Ms. Storro…’cause she’s probably not well and has seriously hurt herself.

But…but…

Hello?

But I’m feeling sorry for the black women of Vancouver Washington who were questioned about a crime that never happened…who had people look at them twice with fear and condemnation…who were so swiftly assumed to have done the heinous that many will make the excuse that it’s their own fault that the false accusation was believable in the first place.

My concern is for them…for us.

I can’t help but wonder where the outrage is for them…for us…as I listen to news reporters, their voices softened in concern and compassion, ponder the condition of Ms. Storro even as they circumnavigate the fact that she could have and might have falsely accused a black woman all the way down the line to a trial.

Don’t sleep - this nation has a history of this shit…black people have swung dead from trees for this kind of shit…right now some people are unjustly in jail on that shit…

…because it is so believable…because the press prefers to circumnavigate the race part of these incidents when they happen…because, as Attorney General Eric Holder said, we are a nation of cowards when it comes to race…

…because we are so not post-racial that we can’t even see a post-racial America on the horizon.

Susan Smith…Ashley Todd…Bonnie Sweeten…and a theme so woven into the fabric of our culture that right now some knavish troll is gleefully typing a comment to this post claiming that black people wouldn’t be falsely accused if black people didn’t attack people all the time.

But…but…

Accused…suspected…questioned…and so easily assumed to be violent without provocation…wild and uncontrollable…

Hello?!?

And in hush voice someone says...well they are like that, right?

But…but…

Blink.

Distractitude….

A bitch woke up into a frenzy of distractitude this morning.

Dawgs wanting to go out to pee…alarms going off…dawgs wanting attention…weird emails (and I knew I shouldn’t have check the motherfucking email)…and so forth and so on.

I can’t concentrate worth shit!

Pause…sip coffee…continue.

Maybe I need a new writing routine.

Early as hell mornings used to work until everything in The House of Bitchitude started waking up early as hell in the morning.

Sigh.

Anyhoo, bitchitude shall return this evening…these dawgs can't stay awake forever...

Ooooh, Delaware…

Let’s jump right on in, shall we?

A bitch just caught up on the political primary happenings and…well, it looks like there’s been a shake-up on the right side of the room!

Mmmmhmmm, a certain Christine O’Donnell of the Tea Party took down Mike Castle of the GOP in Delaware.

The national GOP had backed Castle and they and their minions, including Head Minion in Charge Karl Rove, are pissed off!

Pause…rub hands together…continue.

Some thoughts...

Delaware has a better Tea Party than we do here in Missouri.

Catch the knee – a bitch isn’t saying the Tea Party is a good thing, but if you’ve got to have a political party that positions itself to the right of Joe McCarthy then they ought to be for real about that shit.   

The Delaware Don’t Tread On Me-ers make our Missouri Tea Ravers look like cheerleaders for the Republican status quo! 

Delaware kept it real…they got national tea adorers to come on down and back their candidate…and they forced the GOP to denounce their candidate so thoroughly that they can’t now pivot and back her because then they’d look like the win at any costs power hungry assholes that they are.

Brilliant move...classic purge-ification…they need to start making This is What a Political Shake Up Looks Like t-shirts!

More thoughts...

Now that the party of tea has taken down a GOP establishment backed candidate and turned the page on Rovian politics, isn’t it ‘bout time for candidates like O’Donnell to stop talking about the GOP as if they are still part of that party?

‘Tis subtle, but it matters.

O’Donnell has a habit of saying “our” and “we” and so forth…but um, the GOP publicly stated that they don’t want her on their kickball team, will never pick her for their kickball team and would rather forfeit the game than have her on their kickball team – take off the jersey, Christine officially form your own team!

***please, pretty pretty PLEASE...rubs hands together again***

Back to the fact that Delaware has better Tea Party people than Missouri– just look at how O’Donnell got up in the face of Rove after he tried to diss her after she defeated his homeboy!

Rove said…

“Why did she mislead voters about her college education? How come it took nearly two decades to pay her college bills so she could get her college degree? How did she make a living? Why did she sue a well-known…conservative think tank?”

Translation - no way in HELL she gets on our kickball team!

Oooooh.

So then O’Donnell said…

“I was ahead in the general election according to Rasmussen, before this Republican cannibalism started.” … “So if they were serious about winning we can repair the damage done and move forward and that's the challenge I put out to them. And if not I truly believe that we can win.”

Translation – I think you betta recognize, son!

Fascinating...and the complete opposite reaction to the Missouri party of tea's reaction when establishment candidate Blunt defeated their guy in our primary.

Anyhoo, a bitch is far more interested in this comment from O’Donnell…

“When Governor Palin stood up and so boldly made a statement that she supported me it allowed them to get past the politics of personal destruction, to look at the message…she helped to bring it back on track.”

Pause…sip coffeee…continue.

First Alaska…now Delaware…is Sarah Palin doing a gut rehab on the GOP one red state at a time?

Has she…wait for it…gone rogue?!?

Wink.

More on that latter today.

Final thought...

This shit just got interesting.

'Tis a conservative showdown…and whoever blinks fist loses.

And damn it all to hell if it doesn't look like the GOP is currently holding their eyelids open with duct tape!

Clearly all Tea Parties are not the same…

Shall we?

A bitch is pretty sure that today is the final primary day of 2010…Gawd, I hope it is.  Don’t get me wrong – the only thing I love more than primaries are general elections.  But primaries come with a down side – they inspire all manner of strange speculation from the press…complete with confused hyper analysis of polls and calls for election day predictions. 

Sigh.

Anyhoo, I’ve been watching the excited anticipation over the Delaware primary...and listening as anchor people set it up as a battle between the party of tea and the GOP establishment…and, well it made me think of my home state of Missouri and the lack of a battle between the party of tea and the GOP establishment.

Pause…sip coffee…continue.

Oh, Missouri Tea Party folks made a sort-run against GOP establishment candidates like Roy Blunt.   

They put forth a certain Chuck Purgason as their “A” rated candidate for Senate in the August primary. 

But…um, they never backed Purgason the way those Delaware Tea Party folks have backed their primary horse.

As a matter of fact, even the Republican establishment candidates who are trying to seduce Tea Party voters didn’t back Purgason the way they’ve stepped up to back Christine O'Donnell in Delaware.

In Missouri, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) of the Congressional Tea Party Caucus Bachmanns backed Rep. Roy Blunt over Purgason in the Missouri primary.  Even though there was a fuss when that shit first went down, Missourians who love tea and rallies swiftly fell in line once Purgason lost in the primary to Blunt.

And when I say that they fell in line…I mean they fell in line like a group of scouts looking to win a badge.  Hell, they even invited Blunt on stage this past weekend during their latest rally! 

Meanwhile in Delaware the Tea Party declared war on the GOP establishment and they are pushing for their Sarah Palin endorsed candidate to pull out an upset of the GOP backed Mike Castle.

Pause…sip coffee…continue.

The whole thing is fascinating!

If ever there was a candidate who represents what’s wrong with our federal government its Congressman Roy Blunt.

Even Republicans find fault in him.  Blunt was part of the Government the Tea Party claims to have given notice to.  A bitch wouldn’t be surprised if he has I *heart* Establishment tattooed to his right ass cheek!

Yet it seems the rebels have found their cause…they’ve reverted back to usual and embraced a man who will change nothing except his office furniture should he win.

Mind you, I'm not lamenting the failure of tea party politicians to gain traction in Missouri...Lawd knows Purgason wasn't any more likely to get my vote than Blunt is...but it is fascinating to observe.

Fascinating and an interesting example of the power the lust for victory has over newly formed political parties claiming to represent the people’s call for radical change.

A bitch is reminded of a Barry Goldwater quote - “I will offer a choice, not an echo.”

***logs off to listen as “bullshit” echoes across Missouri***

What, what…?

That preacher in Florida’s commitment to calling down fubar boggles the mind!

He and his Islam hating church went from planning to burn the Koran on September 11…to not planning to burn the Koran ‘cause they thought they'd extorted a deal from the NYC mosque building people…to maybe still planning to burn the Koran - they’re not sure but they’ll let us know ‘cause their deal may not have been a deal so the bonfire may or may not be off.

Lawd, have mercy.

No really...mercy!!!

This preacher is more than an asshole…he and his followers are assholes with power.

And he seems to be confused his damn self…because he thinks he struck a deal with the person or people planning to build a mosque in New York but the person or people who are planning to build that facility deny that a conversation took place, so now I’m left thinking that this preacher is either hearing voices or flat out lied about having struck that deal.

And if he lied about the deal…or even if he’s hearing voices…

Fuck it, this situation makes my Afro hurt!

Pause…consider…continue.

Now folks are feeling uncertain and anxious because of the actions and planned future actions of a religious zealot and his small band of followers.

Blink.

On blackness...

It’s been a while since I went the hell off…but it was only a matter of time before someone said something in my comments to inspire a good purge-based rant.

This comment did the trick!

blk bitch 2 said...

I don't mean any disrespect but are you really black? Reading a few of your blogs I got confused and even cringed a few times. I don't mean to offend but I am a black woman and to me you seem to sound like your puttin' on. You know what puttin' on means don't you? Maybe this is some inside joke that you and your viewers share, I don't know. Sarcasim, especially about black women, is lost on me. This is my first time visiting. Definitely my last.(Lawd?.... Really?)

Where to start?

On not meaning to disrespect, I call bullshit!  Why the hell do people add that shit to comments that are clearly meant to be disrespectful?  I don’t get it.  When I want to disrespect a person I just jump right on in and do it.  But there’s a trend out there in the land of comments that seems to be built on the belief that bullshitting about not wanting to disrespect someone is more acceptable than full out disrespecting them.  But damn it all if that “I don’t mean any disrespect…” lead in isn’t always followed by a huge serving of disrespect. 

I’ve got more respect for assholes who just let their assholia hang out there. 

I’m just saying.

I’ve noticed that some people question my realness because they are uncertain of my voice. 

What does she sound like…why aren’t there pictures of her doing all manner of shit up on the blog…why does she cuss so much...why does she deliberately misspell certain words…why would a black woman call herself an angry black bitch?

Lots of y’all know what I sound like.  Some of you know me personally.  I’ve been on NPR a few times and damn it all if some folks aren’t thrown by the reality of how I sound (my cousin calls it my county black girl with a touch of valley girl voice).   

Yes, some black people talk “like that".

Yes, this black woman writes “like this”.

Some folks question what they cannot see.

I don’t post pictures of myself out and about because I don’t take pictures of myself out and about…but anyone with a fucking computer can Google my ass and see a picture – hell, my picture is up on Feministing and RH Reality Check – and…gasp…I’m black, black, black, black, BLACK!

I write like I talk…though I speak this shit in my county black girl with a touch of valley girl sounding voice.  I cuss because I like the spice – so cringe or go away…hell, drop to the ground and pray if you want to…but do not confuse your dislike of my blog with my somehow not being black.

I can’t stand Tyler Perry…but I’d be the last person to accuse his ass of not being a black man.

But other folks question my blackness because they don’t like my kind of blackness.

Those are the people who take exception to my blog with a lame ass passive aggressive “I don’t mean to disrespect…but here’s my disrespectful as hell comment from a non-existent Blogger account wrapped up in a ‘and I won’t be coming back, neither’ stealth piss in your Corn Flakes” huff-based comment.

Yeah…and that’s exactly the kind of person who needs a good cringe.

Pause…consider…continue.

And you know what really pisses me off about that shit - I didn’t even think to question whether blk bitch 2 is black.

Ain’t that some shit?

Ooops, I said "ain’t" – someone is gonna cut up my Black Card!

***rolls eyes and then wonders if that'll be interpreted as more "puttin on"***

Fuck it.

Comments like that aren’t about a real question…they are about a narrow definition of what black is, what a black woman thinks, worries about, sounds like, acts like, supports and how we present ourselves. 

And black women who are strict constructionists of the Code of Correct Blackness cringe when someone steps outside that box…they lash out when someone resists conforming to their boring ass rules…and ultimately they disrespect the hell out of people in an attempt to regulate the behavior of others.

I get that.

I think it is sad as hell, but I get it.

Lawd.

Yes, really.

Fear and loathing in Gainesville…

Shall we?

There’s a small congregation in Florida and they hate Islam.

Specifically, the Christian fundamentalist congregation believes Islam promotes violence and that Muslims want to impose sharia law in America.

The congregation is led by Terry Jones…

…and he’s fixin to call down a clusterfuck of monumental proportions when he and his minions indulge in a festival of stupid by burning the Koran on September 11.

Here are my thoughts and quizzicals…

Why the fuck is Jones getting a pass for naming September 11 Burn a Koran Day?   

Where’s the angry mob sporting American flag t-shirts and shouting at the top of their lungs?   

The man has taken over September 11…he’s controlled the media spin for days…all anyone can talk about is whether or not this asshole is going to burn the Koran. 

How is it that the same folks who find the idea of building a Mosque blocks away from Ground Zero offensive don’t find the framing of September 11 as Burn the Koran Day offensive? 

I’d like to know…seriously…because it seems to me that Terry Jones has done quite a lot to distract the masses from a true remembrance of September 11.

Pause…sip coffee…continue.

As I watch interview after interview one thing jumps out at me – journalists seem unwilling to question the premise of Jones’ theory.

Have we really come to this…are we really so far gone off the deep end that some Mel Gibson adoring freak can make absolute and inaccurate statements about Islam and they are allowed to linger unaddressed like a stinky fart in a humid room?

For the love of reason, would someone puh-lease challenge this ass on the foundation of his protest – because the lack of challenge is an acceptance of his flawed premise and that acceptance adds fuel to the anti-Muslim frenzy that's sweeping across America.

The fire will eventually burn out...the debris will be swept away...but the lie will cling, lingering long after the smoke clears.

Remembering Jefferson Thomas…

He probably woke up early that first day.

He probably didn’t get much sleep the night before.

He had to be nervous…hell, he had to be scared.

But Jefferson Thomas went to school in 1957...and he kept on going, despite threats of violence and constant harassment.

I have long been in awe of the Little Rock Nine.  My parents used them as an example of the price paid so I could get a decent education, so I was raised on the story of nine brave young people desegregating Little Rock Central High.  Their story got me through many a challenging moment at school – when some student called me a racial slur or made fun of my kinky hair, I’d think of the Little Rock Nine and the constant harassment they faced.  Not only did they pave the way in 1957, but their story offered inspiration and emotional fuel for those of us who faced racism at our desegregated schools years later.

Jefferson Thomas died Sunday after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

But his legacy…the legacy of the Little Rock Nine…lives on.

Jefferson Thomas was 67 years old.

A Friday political pondering…

Shall we?

The one thing I like about Tea Ravers is that they are regular people getting active in politics. 

Catch the knee!

A bitch is all about people getting politically active.

I disagree with a lot of what our local Tea Ravers believe…and Lawd knows their party is all over the place on policy issues nationally.  But I like the idea of voters taking an active role in the political process.

Having said that, being all over the place on policy issues leaves supporters of the Tea Party vulnerable to hustles.  All a body has to do is say they are a Tea Party candidate…throw out some rhetoric while waving a Don’t Tread on Me flag…and they could become the patriot du jour overnight.

Delaware Republicans appear to fear that scenario may be going down in the state’s Senate race.

The Delaware GOP is backing Representative Mike Castle while the Tea Party is backing a certain Christine O'Donnell. 

Things are getting nasty…particularly after the Tea Party Express took out GOP incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski in Alaska.

The GOP doesn’t want to see a repeat of that shit in Delaware, so they are going all out to destroy O’Donnell…and their technique is fascinating.  Apparently the GOP is attacking O’Donnell for being…well, for being a regular citizen without political experience.

When comparing O’Donnell with Alaskan Tea Party Senate Candidate Joe Miller, a GOP member said…

 "When you look at Joe Miller, he's an Ivy League graduate, a war hero and an attorney who is prominent in the community." … "We could go across the street from the apartment Christine O'Donnell rents and we probably couldn't find anyone who knows her."

Oh my!

I don’t know what I enjoy more – that the GOP is comforted by Joe Miller’s elite education or that they are freaking the fuck out because the Tea Party may get someone elected in Delaware who they have no control over.

Regardless, it looks like Delaware could drive a wedge between those who adore elephants and those who adore tea.

One party’s nightmare is another party’s platform.

Blink.

Pondering political ads…

Let’s jump right on in!

My sister C-Money pointed out that the political ad season seems to start earlier each cycle.  We watched a series of political ads this past weekend and…well, truth in advertising clearly does not apply to political ads.

Some group is running ads supporting Congressman Blunt ® against Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (D) in the Missouri Senate race.  The ads feature a disgusted sounding voice proclaiming that 70% of Missouri voters rejected federal health care reform when it recently came up for a vote.  Another Blunt supporting ad goes on and on about how health care reform has hurt small businesses and cost Missouri jobs.

But…but, but…um, hold on a hot minute!

70% of registered voters in Missouri did NOT show their happy asses up in August and reject federal health care reform.

That’s just not true.

70% of the voters who did show up…and around 20% of voters did…voted to diss the benefits of health care reform.

A bitch wonders if the group behind the ad is supporting Blunt based on flawed math…but odds are they fucked up that shit on purpose.

And in what way has federal health care reform already hurt small businesses and cost jobs…and I want specifics, because that shit just passed a few months ago and most of it hasn’t been implemented.

The ad makes it seem as if health care reform passed when President Obama took the oath of office.

Lawd.

Pause…consider…continue.

And how the hell do we reconcile the argument that Missourians rejected health care reform in August with the argument that health care reform has hurt Missourians?

If 70% of 20% voted to diss it in August, didn’t it get dissed?

***cue crickets***

Gawd, this shit makes my Afro hurt…and we’ve got weeks of this yet to come.

Wince.

***logs off praying for at least one demon sheep ad in Missouri to make this shit interesting***