With Senator McCain's campaign new desperate attempt to paint Barack Obama as a socialist, someone need to remind him what the true meaning of socialism is. The latest government bailout of the financial markets in which McCain and George Bush supported could be considered socialism. Hugo Chavez joked about Bush turning into a socialist with his recent bailout of the finacial markets with tax payer money:
Chavez, who describes capitalism as evil, ridiculed Mr Bush for his plan to buy stocks in American banks despite his widespread criticism of Venezuelan nationalisations.
"Bush is to the left of me now," Mr Chavez told an audience at a debate on the benefits of socialism. "Comrade Bush announced he will buy shares in private banks."
Chavez, who has insulted Mr Bush in the past as a drunkard or the devil, accused him of parroting the words of his aides without understanding the new policies that rely on heavy state intervention.
"I am convinced he has got no idea what's going on," said Mr Chavez, who has nationalised large parts of the Venezuelan economy in recent years and is in negotiations to take over a Spanish bank.
The Bush administration, which has promoted free-market policies throughout Latin America, resisted taking shares in banks for weeks. But, faced with a spiralling financial crisis, it reversed course this week with a multi-billion dollar plan.
Mr Chavez, who the US labels an autocrat, is a vocal critic of Mr Bush.
The 2008 BET Hip-Hop Awards was taped last Saturday (October 18) in Atlanta's Civic Center with New Orleans rapper Lil' Wayne coming out on top.
Weezy, who had a phenomenal year - selling over one million copies of his album Tha Carter III after its first week of release - won three awards, including "Lyricist of the Year," MVP of the Year" and "People's Champ."
Other winners included Atlanta rapper Shawty Low, who won the "MySpace Music Rookie of the Year" award as well as DJ Khaled, Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Big Boi, Fat Joe, Birdman and Rick Ross who won the "Best Hip-Hop Collaboration" award for "I'm So Hood (The Remix)." LL Cool J also hit the stage to present Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons with the "I Am Hip-Hop" icon award for his commitment and contributions to the hip-hop community.
Among the performers at the third annual event were Nas, Ludacris, Common, T.I., Young Jeezy, Bow Wow, Soulja Boy and N.E.R.D. MC Lyte, Lady of Rage, Salt-n-Pepa and Yo-Yo also hit the stage to perform in a special segment honoring the women of hip-hop.
As previously reported by SOHH's Gyant Scoop blog, in a surprising turn of events, comedian Katt Williams, the show's scheduled host, was mysteriously replaced by T-Pain at the last minute. Williams hosted the last two year's ceremonies.
BET's third annual Hip-Hop Awards will air on Thursday, October 23 at 8 p.m. EST
I got to give it up for Colin Powell on this one, first the indorsement of Barack Obama and then he gave a post Meet the Press interview in which he really called out the McCain campaign and their McCarthyism like smear campaign against Barack Obama.
Colin Powell was using his emcee and dancing skills to reach a younger crowd at London’s Africa Rising Festival:
Former secretary of state Colin Powell is the latest politician to get the urge to emcee, as the respected Washington veteran performed an impromptu freestyle this week at London’s Africa Rising Festival. The festival, which has become a popular showcase for African music and culture, paired Powell with African rapper Olu Maintain, originator of the Nigerian dance and song “Yahoozee.” Powell, to the crowd’s shock, alternated between performing the dance and spitting various call and response chants into the mic. After his set’s conclusion, Powell took a moment to pontificate with the crowd on the importance of African heritage, acknowledging their culture and never dismissing or forgetting it despite their achievements. “I stand before you as an African-American,” Powell reflected. “ Many people have said to me you became secretary of state of the USA, is it still necessary to say that you are an African-American or that you are black? And I say yes, so that we can remind our children.”
Well, there’s nothing like an influential person doing whatever is necessary to get the job done. Colin is legit, but the cat with the burgundy blouse on that is 2 sizes too small…not so much.
On another note speaking of Colin Powell, I admire his accomplishment but I still can't forgive him for what he did. Let's just remember: Colin Powell is one of the major reasons we went to war in Iraq. In his 2003 United Nations speech, he perpetrated one of the biggest frauds in the history of international diplomacy - a deliberate and calculated fraud that, in terms of its blood-and-guts ramifications, dwarfs major scandals like Watergate. Sure, there were certainly other Bush officials who helped get us into war. But to deny that Colin Powell was a major factor in sending us into a war based on lies is to quite literally deny that the sky is blue.
Wow! Have there ever been a politician in America that generated so much excitement? Today in St. Louis, One hundred thousand people turned out to a rally held by Barack Obama the Rock Star. America has a lot riding on the next presidential election so I'm happy to see that people are engaged, I just hope they make the right decision.
One reason McCain picked Sarah Palin was to try to compete with the celebrity of Barack Obama and to generate some excitement for his campaign. So if that's the case Sarah, you got a lot of work to do beeotch!
Look like D.L. Hughley is making some major moves. The brother has joined CNN and I'm interested to here his take on the shit that's going on in the country right now. I read this over at Hiphopdx.com:
After starring in his own sitcom, The Hughley’s and traveling nationwide on the highly successful Original Kings of Comedy tour, D.L. Hughley is ready to try his hand at “reporting” news Saturday nights on CNN. Currently titled D.L. Hughley Breaks the News, Hughley will poke fun at current events, as well as interview political figureheads in front of a live audience every weekend.
In a press release statement, Hughley was adamant about the new gig that will see him sitting alongside a reputable list of well-established anchors. “I am very excited for the opportunity to work with the network that I have watched for a very long time, and that to a large extent, has shaped my comedic view,” Hughley stated. Hoping to provide a fresh face to a network that caters to an average age of 56, Hughley continued, “CNN offers the perfect blend of news and information on a local, national and international level. What more can a comedian ask for?”
CNN U.S. President Joe Klein reiterated this same point adding, “When you watch as much news as our audience does, there comes a time you just want to stop and laugh -- and that time will be Saturday nights at 10 on CNN.” Providing an overall scope of the new show, Klein explained, “The basic premise of the show is, what if a guy like [Hughley] was let loose in the CNN building for a weekend after the lights went off?” D.L. Hughley Breaks the News will
Should be interesting, I never saw that coming, stay tuned.
At last night debate between Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain, McCain was making some of the craziest faces. Is the old guy loosing his marbles, check out some of the strange faces he was making last night:
HipHopDX reported a few months ago that Suge Knight was arrested for attacking a woman in Las Vegas. The woman who was attacked by Knight, his former girlfriend, is currently missing. After her apartment was visited by police seeking to re-interview her the police were then informed by neighbors that she had not been seen and here whereabouts were unknown. Back in August, the woman was allegedly kicked and punched by Knight and then left naked on the streets. For the past few months Knight has seen his fair share of conflict. A few months before he allegedly attacked his girlfriend he was himself attacked at a nightclub in Los Angeles.
As U.S. President, Democratic candidate Barack Obama would fundamentally change American policy in the Middle East and keep "Zionists" from controlling it, civil rights activist and Baptist minister Jesse Jackson was quoted as saying Tuesday.
The quote appears in an article written in the New York Post by Amir Taheri, who spoke with Jackson in Evian, France, where Jackson participated in the World Policy Forum.
Jackson said that the most important change in the U.S. administration's policy under Barack Obama would occur in the Middle East, where "decades of putting Israel's interests first" – as Jackson is quoted – would end.
"Jackson believes that, although 'Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades' remain strong, they'll lose a great deal of their clout when Barack Obama enters the White House," the Post article continued. It is not clear from the report what part of Jackson's comments was made before the World Policy Forum and what part was made in a conversation with Taheri.
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Obama's campaign responded to Jackson's statements Tuesday by stressing that "Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. is not an adviser to the Obama campaign and is therefore in no position to interpret or share Barack Obama's views on Israel and foreign policy."
As we are witnessing, the conservative movement is in shambles now and the only thing they can do is spew racist hatred out into the world and hope it sticks to their audience in droves. And how is the conservative right going to make sure race is all you can think of when you think of the name Obama?
How about by making the case that blacks in general are lazy, angry, and engaged in a 3 decades old plot to train black children as militants against the US? It's those scary black terrorists again. Don't think anyone would actually SAY that? Think again.
Here are few of the quotes Rush Limbaugh recently said on his radio program:
Limbaugh: We know that technological advancement is going along at light speed. And yet during this period of time, whether it be the last 57 years or be it the last 20 years, it seems that a majority of the black population has remained angry, frustrated, and behind. They've been left behind. They are acting like they've been left behind, and of course we've heard that this is because of racism, natural systemic institutional racism in America, that we are unfair, that this country is just horrible and rotten.
...The federal government became the father. The father didn't have to hang around in order for the kids to be okay, depending on how you define okay. But as you study more and more of this ACORN stuff, you find that it has been part of an entire movement that has been going on for two, maybe three decades, right under our noses.
We thought that it was just liberal welfare policies and all that that kept blacks from progressing while other minorities grew and prospered, but no, it is these wackos from Bill Ayers to Jeremiah Wright to other anti-American Afrocentric black liberation theologists with ACORN, and Barack Obama is smack dab in the middle of it, they have been training young black kids to hate, hate, hate this country, and they trained their parents before that to hate, hate, hate this country. It was a movement. It was a Bill Ayers, anti-capitalist, anti-American educational movement. ACORN is how it was implemented, right under our noses. It has been a movement, it has been a religion, and Obama and Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers were all up to their big ears in it.
Un-fucking-beleivable! This is at a Sarah Palin rally in Ohio. These racist motherfuckers are not even afraid to get on camera with their racism, you would think this was a Klan Rally.
Rap star Nas greeted some 900 people at Hampton University's Convocation Center on Sunday as part of a rally and registration event hosted by the Barack Obama campaign. The rapper is a sometimes controversial figure but is nonetheless considered one of hip-hop's most respected and politically minded figures.
Not that that means he's always been interested in politics, mind you.
"I have never voted before," the rapper said before addressing the crowd. He is 35 years old. The son of a jazz musician, Nas grew up in the housing projects of Queens, N.Y., and his opinions reflect the approach that rappers have historically taken toward voting and politics, which is to say none.
"I've never seen a reason to vote. I would speak out against voting. If you'd seen what happened in my community, it's a shame. People in jail, guns, drugs ... I always felt like there were thing happenings in my community that would have never been allowed to happen in other communities. There was no help. But now, it's a new day."
In the New York Times, Adam Nagourney identifies "race" as one of the six factors that could prevent the election of Barack Obama. The others, as paraphrased by Mark Halperin, are "(1) not everyone who has recently registered as a Democrat may vote on Election Day; (2) the Democrats' improved voter turnout effort may still not work as effectively as the Republicans' effort, (3) the race may swing back to McCain under the "pendulum theory," and (4) a national security event in the closing days could "shuffle the deck of cards," and (5) the Ayers attack could end up sticking."
Matt Drudge appears to have decided which horse he is going to ride. All day, the Drudge Report, which has been more one-sided than usual recently (lots of Bill Ayers, little Troopergate), has featured this picture of Barack Obama (presumably) campaigning in Ohio.
...at the direction of unrepentant terrorist Bill Acorn, Buddhist Democratic candidate Barack O'Leary, who is not eligible to run for President on account of the fact that his birth certificate says he was born in Europe, instructed a voter registration group known as Filbert to conspire with the Iraqi government to give risky loans to black people, which has caused the nihilistic practice of the U.S. government bailing out Walmart, which is especially bad when you consider the fact that Tony Rezko, who is currently in prison for letting gay men and women get married in Kenya, is trying to force them to unionize, a practice that maverick Sarah Palin said "No, thank you" to as mayor of Alabama when she wasn't steadfastly monitoring whether or not Vladimir Preston was or was not rearing his head out from Mexico, which we need to build a wall around, because the mostest importantest thing to the U.S. Americans is who is going to pick our orange juice for $50 an hour, which we can't do on account of the fact that Raila Odinga wants to tax not just the RICH, but the Sexual Education Class for kindergartners, which is why YOU MUST VOTE for What's-His-Name, who ABSOULTELY AND COMPLETELY has a plan to catch Harry Pelosi, and whom Republicans only nominated because the rest of their candidates were total ball-sacks.
Yesterday, we were treated to the bizarre spectacle of John McCain trying to talk down his own supporters as their anger boiled over and they slandered Obama in crazed, often racist terms.
"No, ma'am," McCain replied to a woman's declaration that Obama was an "Arab terrorist."
Yeah - where would you have gotten that crazy idea?
Apparently, McCain and his advisers had no idea how ugly the strain of race-baiting they were stirring up would look, once it was out there in the light of day, and are now reconsidering their strategy. Funny, since anyone who's stopped by NoQuarter or RedState lately could have told them exactly what to expect.
McCain's strange contortions in trying to raise doubts about Obama show the dilemma the GOP finds itself in. The attacks that conservatives seem to relish most, be it Ayers, Wright, or Obama's obscure ties to African dictators, have practically no substance or bearing on the day to day concerns of voters and little appeal to the independents the GOP needs to win elections. But, should Obama get elected, that's exactly what we can expect from the right-wing noise machine, in spades. I wouldn't be surprised if the likes of Limbaugh and Hannity are secretly salivating over the prospect of an Obama presidency, so they can crank the hate and fear up to 11 and sell lots of books with scary titles.
In some ways, the rise of Obama-hatred is just a manifestation of a larger trend that's been bubbling under for quite some time. With whites set to become a minority within decades, it may have been inevitable. Almost every country with a large influx of immigrants has seen a nativist political movement rise up to counter the cultural shift. Dovetail that xenophobic strain with the cultural conservatism that has been the mainstay of the GOP base for the past couple decades, and you could have a powerful movement focused on American traditionalism, one that has been building for some time but that was sparked into being by the first black president.
If Obama gets elected, expect to hear lots of "Remember when..." and "I barely recognize this country anymore!"
At the same time, this week's embarrassing focus on McCain's unruly crowds revealed that this movement could do more to hurt the GOP than to help it.
Republican Congressman Ray La Hood denounced Palin's attacks on Obama, saying they "don't befit the office she's running for" and "certainly don't reflect the nature of the man." It's also hard to interpret McCain's clumsy walking back of his own attacks as anything other than a response to GOP insiders worried about where this is taking them.
So they've lost David Brooks, and Bill Buckley's son...you have to wonder how many other fiscal/libertarian conservatives are going to flee the GOP if the turn towards "small town values" and cultural issues continues, combined with the newfound race-baiting rhetoric directed towards Obama. What happens if that rhetoric boils over into instances of right-wing domestic terrorism and violence a la Timothy McVeigh?
And so the GOP will face a choice, both now and in 2012. Do they go full-in with the culture war approach epitomized by Palin, Tom Tancredo and others? Or will they move in the other direction, towards a kind of social moderation of the kind practiced by Schwarzenegger or Michael Bloomberg? And, if they do moderate themselves, how will the rabid, nativist element of the base react?
