Intelligence Always Trumps Ignorance

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In spite of all the negative press, poll numbers and the constant radio and cable talk show attacks the president continues to offer a strong sense of resilience, and possesses a willingness to express that he still has much work to do in his efforts to get the country back on track.

It is unfortunate that there are still those who continue to lavish in their ignorance of the facts, and still cant get over how Americans could elect a person of color to be president. I am still proud that we have made enough progress in our country up to this point to elect an intellectual man of hope regardless of race.


During President Obama's conversation with the hosts of The View he offered a strong sense of optimism and belief in America's ingenuity and (I have to admit) inspires me and possibly others to make an effort to encourage our political officials and citizenry to do what must be done ,( regardless of race or social status) to work hard to build a positive path to a "More Perfect Union."

K. Gerard Thomas

Truth.. What Truth ?

The Shirley Sherrod smear and forced resignation on July 19 has over taken the media by storm and it shines a light on a national issue that is as old as the United States..Race.

Shirley Sherrod who was the Georgia State Director of Rural Redevelopment for the United States Department of Agriculture was forced to resign from her position by a White House representative from the Department of Agriculture. The resignation resulted from an online posted video excerpt of a speech Sherrod gave to a Georgia chapter of the NAACP in March 2010. Hunting for a smoking gun regarding racism in the NAACP Andrew Breitbart a right wing blogger and regular guest on Fox News posted the edited video excerpts from the March 2010 speech on his conservative web site "Big Government."

The edited speech was cut in such away as to make Sherrod look like she was a racist and a story she told about an incident that took place over twenty years ago was recent and while serving in the Obama administration. When Fox News decided to run with the story they turned it into a " Stop the Presses Event " Fox News interrupted their programing calling the edited video a "Fox News Alert" giving the deception that this was a recent story.

Breitbart allegedly claims to have been given the video by an unknown individual who doctored the tape but being that he is not a journalist the rules of vetting and or checking your sources do not apply.


How did This Happen ?

At a recent NAACP convention it was voted by the members of the convention that they would ask the leaders of the Tea Party Movement to repudiate the racism in their ranks. Fox News and Andrew Beirbret countered by attacking the NAACP as racisit and began searching for dirt on the NAACP and its members.


Beirbret wanted to prove that the NAACP were racist he was more than happy to immediately post the video. It was given first to Fox News who was willing to air the unsubstantiated smear, it is no secret that Fox News is a 24 hour propaganda machine for the GOP, and an ardent critic of democrats, the president and the NAACP. When the White house discovered that Fox News and Glenn Beck were airing the video they panicked.

In an attempt to preempt the controversy and the press coverage, according to Ms Sherrod in a CNN interview, a White House official contacted Ms.Sherrod by Black Berry and insisted that she resign on the spot, with out giving her the benefit of explaining her side of the smear campaign, truth be dammed and journalism integrity was thrown out the window. Beirbert, Fox News, and not one member of the White House staff took the time to check the facts before destroying this woman's life.

The whole story of her speech that was taken out of context and supposed racist statement was really a story of change. How a young black woman in the rural south helped a white farmer save his farm in spite of her struggle with anger against white men because her father was murdered in 1965 Georgia by white farmers when she was a teenager.

Once the press picked up on the video, Ben Jealous the president of the NAACP also suggested she resign.

Race, Breitbart and Fox News

Two media entities MSNBC and Media Matters have joined with a minority of bloggers and editorial writers call out Fox News for their continued fake bias news. Yet ABC, NBC, CBS,CNN and others have run scared of criticizing Fox News the big question is why?


It is no secret that Fox has a carefully thought out strategy of keeping negative press on Obama before their audience 24/7. Even MSNBC who is touted as having a liberal slant takes a break from politics on the weekend, dedicating their weekend programing to crime and prison stories
but Fox News never sleeps and neither does their President Obama attack Squad.

Money Buys Intimidation Power

It is as plain as the nose on ones face the owner of Fox News is one of the wealthiest men in the world and as such he calls big shots. Rupert Murdoch is an Australian born billionaire who is the owner of multiple media entities, such as News Corp,Fox News, Fox Business News and all things Fox. The New York Post News Paper as well as 174 other papers. He owned as many as 35 Television stations that reach about 40 percent of the country including Direct TV. He owns the ultra conservative "Weekly Standard Magazine."

He process so much power and pull, that he can command a private meeting with politicians and world leaders even President Obama. So the bottom Line is Rupert Murdoch is a billionaire ultra conservative who is an apologist for the powerful and wealthy racial majority.


Even though all of our news is controlled by big business corporations such as Disney, General Electric, Viacom, only Fox News has decided that lies sell better then the truth. What if Shirley Sherrods whole 30 plus minute speech had not been taped and her story of learning to help others no matter what race and her ability to over come her own prejudices had not been revealed to the press? What if the white farmer who's farm and land Shirley helped to save had not been reached by CNN and they stated on air she was responsible for helping them.

Blame Obama " Why Won't Obama Tackle the Race Issue"?

It worked Fox News and even Berbreit escapped the real media scrutiny because the press decided to go after the president and not the real source of the smear and where it all started. On Sunday Morning programs spent all the time discussing "the rush to judgment and placed the issue at the presidents door.

(Here is the funny part) I love how the Sunday Morning political talk shows want to discuss racism in American with a panel of five white guest and one black guest and they see nothing wrong with that. The president does walk a thin line because if he talks about race he is called a racist, if he does not talk about race he is attacked...a simple case of " Damned if You Do and Damned if You Don't "


Even Fox News got on the band wagon and started blaming the White House for not vetting the information on Ms Sherrod that is like shooting some one and blaming them for getting in the way of the bullet.


Bottom Line

Fox News has been scarring the White public for years and recently they have been using the fact that Barrack Obama and Attorney General Holder are black as an excuse for not going after two or twelve loony members of the so called New Black Panther Party for voter intimidation. Fox News whole agenda is to assure that Republicans take control of the house and possibly the Senate in November at any cost even the truth.


What If the media allowed Fox News and Beirbret racism to continue to control the spin and did nothing..... Oh Yeah They Are


K Gerard Thomas

THE TRUE CLARION CALL: Are Credit Scores Really Good for the Economy

THE TRUE CLARION CALL: Are Credit Scores Really Good for the Economy

Are Credit Scores Really Good for the Economy

The Credit Master

A couple of weeks ago my brother and I were sitting and discussing the state of affairs in our nation, he made an astute comment about setting up a moratorium on credit scores this would be a great incentive to increase more spending and get the economy moving. The question I have often asked is why is it that we are slaves to the almighty credit score. This is one major obstacle that hinders our nation from true economic recovery. Our nations middle class is held hostage by the banking system who continue to keep their pockets full and the rest of America (with exception of the wealthy ) in a constant state of financial purgatory.

" Money is to the Economy as Oil is to the Engine."

The moratorium will begin on a particular date and it will be in affect for two years and as such it will assure that consumers will not be solely judged on their ability to make a purchase based mainly on there credit rating but other factors will be taken into consideration such as employment history , and financial income. Some middle class workers employed for multiple years have been stymied in their ability to make purchases of homes , cars, small business loans, even a toaster all because of the almighty credit score.

A credit score moratorium will encourage consumers to start spending more, possibly leading to increase in GDP sales such as cars,and homes ,even helping previous home owners who after facing or going through a foreclosure are more educated and if given a shorter sentence of negative credit rating would jump back into the market, if financially able. The rules will be stricter but since we immediately bailed out AIG, and other banking institutions when they failed why not the consumer ? who makes it possible for these big banks to continue.

They Changed the Rules

At one time a credit score of 685 or 700 was considered a good score but now it is considered just above fair. The credit score rules our lives even though the market was saturated with foreclosed and financially challenged citizens some how the credit score numbers value increased now.. what was excellent is now good and what was good is now fair and what was fair is now poor.

Free Credit Score Lie

There is no such thing as a legitimate instant free credit report unless one is willing to pay for it up front. Companies who pull your credit will only except the report from their in house agency. Even if you send for a report directly from Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian it would not even be recognize as a legitimate report because it is coming from the consumer and the bottom line is they want to charge you for the report, $25.00 , $30.00 or higher just to pull the report this is a rip off scam.

The Pursuit of Happiness

God help you if you are a minority especially African American and or Latino it appears you will suffer the red zoning curse for being African American. The news reports have informed the public of cases where African American credit scores are always significantly lower then other consumers even if they pay their bills on time, and have no credit issues. Generally speaking if an African American has a 680 plus credit rating it will remain under 700. This has been used by some to offer higher interest rates and sub prime loans to mostly African Americans thus assuring that African Americans remain in a constant state of limited advances financially.

If our country is serious about living out the true creed of the Deceleration of Independence and our Constitution then there should be a system were we do away with the unfair practices of discrimination within the financial sector. The Wealthy do not have to worry about credit scores, case in point particular movie stars and celebrities, politicians and dare I say preachers are given swag items that we ordinary citizens would have to have a credit score of almost 790 or higher to obtain. Paris Hilton does not need free gifts, George Bush, Dick Cheney, or George Clooney all of their credit score can be as low as 550 , but it does not matter because the wealthy are well taken care of.. while the poor and the middle class are judged by a number.

Bottom Line

Finance Metric Online states " We know using more credit might affect our future plans. Yet we keep using it. If you have a bad score, you will find it difficult to get a job, rent an apartment, buy a car, or even a cell phone plan for your iPhone. But to get a good score, as mentioned earlier, you need more credit. Without using credit, you are not even allowed to have basic amenities."

My Father never believed in credit he was born in 1910 his motto was if I cant buy it I don't need it. We are under a new set of rules were even if you pay off your debt it can hurt your credit score. We are living in a Bizarro world were wall street makes the rules for main street.

Of course this is a pipe dream for those of us middle class citizens who don't have the money to lobby particular leaders in congress to back such a revolutionary idea.. could you imagine how the banking industry would squawk at taking away their ace in the hole in assuring that they and the crooked politicians who don't worry about credit scores remain in control of our nations middle class financial setting.



K. Gerard Thomas

http://www.financemetrics.com/how-helpful-is-credit-score-in-our-lives/

Fox News Channel ...America's Fake and Biased News Source

Today Fox News promoted the Tea Party rally in Searchlight Nevada, where Sarah (I truly have nothing to say) Palin, was one of the main speakers. The Tea Party crowed gathered in Searchlight the senatorial district of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ( D) with hopes to intimidate the senator who is in a struggle to hold on to his senatorial seat in the fall.

Fox News promoted this event with glee assuring that Sarah Palin is a celebrity who's appearance is more valuable to Fox then the President of the United States. One blogger on Media Matters for America wrote ...

"I'd like to know how Fox reconciles their assertion that they're an authentic news outlet with their practice of selectively covering events. For instance, President Obama gave several speeches on the health care legislation that was under debate at the time, and Fox was the only cable news outlet that didn't carry any of them. Yet they'll cover Sarah Palin? A half-term Republican governor rates more airtime than the President of the United States? How do Fox fans keep their gazes so firmly averted to the unsubtle bias in such practices? "

n'est-ce pas http://mediamatters.org/research/201003270028


I personally observed how the Fake and Biased Network snubbed the President when all other cable news channels covered his speeches. When former president George W. Bush spoke they were there 24/7 but for some reason since the election of President Obama Fox finds something else to report on when the President speaks the only attention the president receives from Fox is constant attacks on his administration 24/7.

One reason to give her this type of promotion is she is part of the Fox misinformation team she has been hired by Fox to represent the less educated, angry, fearful, racist, extremist, violent, Fox News watcher and keeping in the Fox News tradition she is a good looking woman.


K.Gerard Thomas

The Tea Party'ers the Republicans Black Eye

A gun is used to make a threat against health care reform supporters or possibly
the president. Photo courtesy of the Huffington Post .

They're at it Again

The racist , the homophobic religious zealots, and the down right ignorant have come out to attack all of the democratic congressional leaders who are voting today on the most historical bill since Lyndon Johnson's administration. Since the presidency of Teddy Roosevelt over 100 yrs ago health care for the American people has been a serious issue that 18 previous presidential administrations have not been able to tackle fully until today.

It is unfortunate that the current Republican Party is void of true intellectual leadership and has little to offer in their supposed counter argument except for appealing to the abased ideological attacks on ones race or sexual orientation. The frustrated Tea Party movement made ugly remarks yesterday towards Representative John Lewis one of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.

According to Sam Stein at the Huffington Post

A staffer for Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told reporters that Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) had been spat on by a protestor. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a hero of the civil rights movement, was called a 'ni--er.' And Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was called a "faggot," as protesters shouted at him with deliberately lisp-y screams. Frank, approached in the halls after the president's speech, shrugged off the incident.

Clyburn was downright incredulous, saying he had not witnessed such treatment since he was leading civil rights protests in South Carolina in the 1960s.

The unfortunate response by the Republican leaders is that this is an isolated incident and it does not represent the so called tea party movement, yet when one examines the so called movement it has been latent with those who use racist placards or comments that speak negatively towards the president based on his race.



As of the time of this posting it appears that the vote in favor of Health Care reform is going to take place favorably for those Americans who feel the need for true reform. The republican party will have to wake up tomorrow wondering why the Apocalypse did not take place.

They are still trying to explain how a black president has not destroyed the country, yet most of these angry people are still going to work , paying their bills, enjoying life to the best of their idiotic ability. They will have to face the facts that our nation is at a pinnacle of change and
even though they continue to use the tactics of fear and bigotry this momentous vote will start a greater movement of true governmental change that will finally work for the benefits of the people, and there's not a damn thing they can do about it.


K.Gerard Thomas

Haiti Judgment or Act of Nature

Photo from Media Matters & Huffington Post.com


God Dislikes Slavery Unless Its Black People

I could not believe my ears when I heard Pat Robinson say on his 700 Club television program that Hatti made a pact with the Devil and that is why Haiti is suffering now , so in other words any one who assists Haiti is going against God's will.

"Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it," he said on Christian Broadcasting Network's "The 700 Club." "They were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III, or whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, we will serve you if you'll get us free from the French. True story. And so, the devil said, okay it's a deal."

Being a person of faith and a believer in God's Love and Grace I find it abhorrent that a well paid conservative so called Christian is using a terrible tragedy like yesterday's earth quake to some how blame the victim , and use his warped opinion of God's judgment, thus doing more to alienate people from his so called faith.

What.. Not Enough Righteous People ?

Pat Robertson ideology and his perceived Christian belief in God's word which he claims to represent. If one reads the book of Genesis chapter 18 it is a story where the Hebrew patriarch Abraham's is an ombudsman or intercessor on the behalf of the city of Sodom with whom God was displeased and informed Abraham he was going to judge the city for it's wickedness , wanting to save his nephew Lot and his family Abraham and God struck a deal.

Through out the chapter Abraham pleads with God not to destroy Sodom and he bargained with God to not destroy the city if 45 righteous people could be found, Abraham was afraid that he could not find that many, therefore he asked God if he would settle for ten. God agreed and told Abraham he would spare the city of Sodom from his judgment if only 10 righteous people could be found.

Using this scriptural reference to examine Pat Robertson thinking regarding Gods judgment, why would God spare Sodom over one mans intercession and judge America on 9/11 , New Orleans and the Gulf Coast with Hurricane Katrina and now Haiti? when I am sure there are multitudes of Righteous people who prayed and interceded for America or Haiti before any of these catastrophes took place.

Pat Robertson Apocalyptic History

Referring to 9-11
"Don't ask why did it happen. It happened because people are evil. It also happened because God is lifting His protection from this nation and we must pray and ask Him for revival so that once again we will be His people," Pat Robertson response to 9/11

http://www.patrobertson.com/pressreleases/terroristattack.asp

Referring to Katrina

On the September 1 broadcast of The 700 Club, Robertson also claimed that, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Roberts can "be thankful that a tragedy has brought him some good," inasmuch as Democratic senators may be less likely to question him aggressively.

http://mediamatters.org/research/200509130004


Both of these former tragedies were also blamed on Gods angry judgment against those Innocent people who's lives were taken by tragic events and I would venture to say many of those who died in each of these tragedies were believers in the so called same Jesus as Pat claims to serve and worship.

Haiti Struggle for Independence is Evil but America's is God Ordained.

This online article titled God, Satan, and the Birth of Haiti by
Jean R. Gelin, Ph.D taken from the web site Black and Christian .Com

Explaining Haiti
Right or wrong, Haiti is considered the point of entry of Christianity into the New World because it is the place where Christopher Columbus built the first Spanish colony after landing on December 5th, 1492. Roman Catholicism was the official religion of Spain, and thus was imposed on all the original inhabitants of the island. The natives were made Christians by force and the island was called ‘Hispaniola’, meaning ‘little Spain’. Before long the Indian population was enslaved and wiped out, and Africans were imported as replacements. But that’s not all.

Haiti is the only place in the world where revolutionary African slaves successfully ended slavery and colonialism to build a new and independent country. All this happened when Jean-Jacques Dessalines, his Generals, along with the indigenous army, proclaimed Haiti’s independence from France on January 1st, 1804. On that day, they rejected the colonial name ‘Saint-Domingue’ and reclaimed the Indian name Haiti (Ayiti¹) for the country.

Seeks to offer some explanation as to the lie that was made up by racist religious leaders or missionaries who sought to bring disdain on the freed people of Haiti because former slaves could not be freed with God's help only the devil would help the black slaves. This co insides with the lie of the curse of Ham and the Mormon belief that God cursed the black race.

The worst part of the whole picture is that the story is believed by many sincere Christians in America and around the world; and not only do they believe it, they also spread it as fact. The tragedy of our age is that repeated lies are often mistaken for the truth, especially when repeated long enough. That’s particularly the case in religious circles where faith on the part of the audience is generally expected, but that should never be so for those who believe in the Bible.

Maybe, believers need to return to biblical texts like 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “Test everything. Hold on to the good”.

It’s hard to know where the idea of a divine curse on Haiti following the purported satanic pact actually originated, whether from foreign missionaries or from local church leaders.

http://www.blackandchristian.com/articles/academy/gelin-10-05.shtml


Bottom Line

Dr.Jean R. Gelin, along with most of the civilized cognitive thinking adults in the year 2010 can see that Pat Robertson is an intellectual dwarf and it should be obvious that the notion that Haiti is a nation that is cursed comes form some antiquated superstitious lie that was birthed during the days of the colonial slave trade and it should remain there for the rest of eternity never to raise it's ugly racist head again .


Kevin Thomas