Saturday, March 5, 2011
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Women Reporters Want Equality Stop Crying Harassment Ines Sainz
There are many women reporters who are quite good and demand respect without crying out "Help Me". They go about their jobs everyday. People in the industry and the appropriate professional athletes know their names.
I do not. I don't have any name of sports reporters that come to mind unprompted, male or female. I watch and read a great deal of professional sports, but really could care less about any one that reports it. That includes professional insiders. I suppose I am in the minority, but that's not my point.
Women cry for respect. They say, and normally with reason, that they are shut out or mistreated in many situations. They continue, that people, do not act appropriately. That men tend to be boorish. Well welcome to equality, because that's exactly how men treat other men.
Men do not automatically give respect. It's earned. Sometimes daily. Sometimes hourly.
Oh there are the neanderthals in every group that have no concept of when something has been taken "beyond the pale". Hazing is the social equivalent, to a categorical search of a new individual, to determine his or her worth to be included in a group. It also sequences pecking order.
It can be harsh and brutal. It should be. However, if a neanderthal ties up someone and beats them with; well, name your object here; he or she is not hazing someone but performing a brutal act. There is no fine line here. If something causes "extreme" trauma, mentally, physically and yes emotionally, then a line was crossed.
Here's where a strict dichotomy must be made. Athletes, like true intellectuals, are their own breed. What an average person considers trauma does not apply for these individuals. If a minor incident for the average athlete is trauma for you, then you don't belong. The greatest mistake the latter part of the twentieth century imposed upon people was the belief that everyone's skill sets were equal. That, with a little hard work, everyone's growth of talent could be matched. That is a lie. It doesn't mean stop working. It simply means getting to certain points of achievement might take more than one has or is willing to commit to the act.
With that in mind, before someone commits to a sport, they must know if they can mentally, emotionally and physically handle the challenge. Reporting is a skill. It takes in part, an understanding of communication; empathy with the subject; being able to relay that communication back to others appropriately; timing; a nose for news; quick wits with a good speaking voice and/or writing skills. Everyone can't make the grade.
Beyond that if someone is sensitive then sports reporting is not for you. Men reporters are degraded everyday. They push back. Women reporters are degraded everyday. They push back. If you can't push back..you're in the wrong profession.
Let's take Inez Sainz. The story goes that on Saturday September 11th this reporter for TV Azteca in Mexico was offended by the actions of the New York jets. I believe these men acted exactly as reported. They treated her like a women in a college party. They were loud boorish and obvious. If it had been a friend (or not a friend) or someone in my family, I wouldn't have liked it and I would have told them that with vigor. I also would have understood that that is part of the job.
Men are often treated inappropriately. They are mentally, intellectually and physically challenged everyday. I guarantee that happens often in sports. Know why I guarantee it, but can't prove it? Because if a male reporter were to run to someone for help, he'd be a reporter that no one wanted. He'd be right in his claims, and wrong if he wanted to maintain respect in his profession. Oh don't worry, if someone is "out of bounds" it manages to leak out to the general public without it being tied to any particular reporter. There are always ways to level the "playing field"
Listen, in the beginning, Inez did not "officially" seek help for this issue. She tweeted her concerns that Saturday. Others picked up the ball. Others like the Association for Women in Sports Media, for instance. By Monday Woody Johnson had apologized to her. Later Sainz went on CNN and gave her side of the story. The incident has managed to raise her profile.
It has been mentioned that she was the former Miss Spain beauty queen and dresses provocatively. It seems, some people believe she shouldn't use her assets. These people, have a right to profess that point but they're wrong. As long as she doesn't do any thing in an inappropriate manner, then using what she has, to get the job done, should not be an issue. However "women up" and accept that being around professional athletes is stressful. She may not be able to handle that point. If that is true she needs to move on to other types of reporting.
The "powers that be" are attempting to turn all professional sports into generic family viewing. They believe, that will enhance their "deliverables" and open up various untapped cash streams. Maybe they can do it. If so sports will lose something. That will be, the sense of competition. It will become a job not a sport to these athletes. When that happens then why not stay home and play "MADDEN". You'll find more genuine competition in your living room.
I do not. I don't have any name of sports reporters that come to mind unprompted, male or female. I watch and read a great deal of professional sports, but really could care less about any one that reports it. That includes professional insiders. I suppose I am in the minority, but that's not my point.
Women cry for respect. They say, and normally with reason, that they are shut out or mistreated in many situations. They continue, that people, do not act appropriately. That men tend to be boorish. Well welcome to equality, because that's exactly how men treat other men.
Men do not automatically give respect. It's earned. Sometimes daily. Sometimes hourly.
Oh there are the neanderthals in every group that have no concept of when something has been taken "beyond the pale". Hazing is the social equivalent, to a categorical search of a new individual, to determine his or her worth to be included in a group. It also sequences pecking order.
It can be harsh and brutal. It should be. However, if a neanderthal ties up someone and beats them with; well, name your object here; he or she is not hazing someone but performing a brutal act. There is no fine line here. If something causes "extreme" trauma, mentally, physically and yes emotionally, then a line was crossed.
Here's where a strict dichotomy must be made. Athletes, like true intellectuals, are their own breed. What an average person considers trauma does not apply for these individuals. If a minor incident for the average athlete is trauma for you, then you don't belong. The greatest mistake the latter part of the twentieth century imposed upon people was the belief that everyone's skill sets were equal. That, with a little hard work, everyone's growth of talent could be matched. That is a lie. It doesn't mean stop working. It simply means getting to certain points of achievement might take more than one has or is willing to commit to the act.
With that in mind, before someone commits to a sport, they must know if they can mentally, emotionally and physically handle the challenge. Reporting is a skill. It takes in part, an understanding of communication; empathy with the subject; being able to relay that communication back to others appropriately; timing; a nose for news; quick wits with a good speaking voice and/or writing skills. Everyone can't make the grade.
Beyond that if someone is sensitive then sports reporting is not for you. Men reporters are degraded everyday. They push back. Women reporters are degraded everyday. They push back. If you can't push back..you're in the wrong profession.
Let's take Inez Sainz. The story goes that on Saturday September 11th this reporter for TV Azteca in Mexico was offended by the actions of the New York jets. I believe these men acted exactly as reported. They treated her like a women in a college party. They were loud boorish and obvious. If it had been a friend (or not a friend) or someone in my family, I wouldn't have liked it and I would have told them that with vigor. I also would have understood that that is part of the job.
Men are often treated inappropriately. They are mentally, intellectually and physically challenged everyday. I guarantee that happens often in sports. Know why I guarantee it, but can't prove it? Because if a male reporter were to run to someone for help, he'd be a reporter that no one wanted. He'd be right in his claims, and wrong if he wanted to maintain respect in his profession. Oh don't worry, if someone is "out of bounds" it manages to leak out to the general public without it being tied to any particular reporter. There are always ways to level the "playing field"
Listen, in the beginning, Inez did not "officially" seek help for this issue. She tweeted her concerns that Saturday. Others picked up the ball. Others like the Association for Women in Sports Media, for instance. By Monday Woody Johnson had apologized to her. Later Sainz went on CNN and gave her side of the story. The incident has managed to raise her profile.
It has been mentioned that she was the former Miss Spain beauty queen and dresses provocatively. It seems, some people believe she shouldn't use her assets. These people, have a right to profess that point but they're wrong. As long as she doesn't do any thing in an inappropriate manner, then using what she has, to get the job done, should not be an issue. However "women up" and accept that being around professional athletes is stressful. She may not be able to handle that point. If that is true she needs to move on to other types of reporting.
The "powers that be" are attempting to turn all professional sports into generic family viewing. They believe, that will enhance their "deliverables" and open up various untapped cash streams. Maybe they can do it. If so sports will lose something. That will be, the sense of competition. It will become a job not a sport to these athletes. When that happens then why not stay home and play "MADDEN". You'll find more genuine competition in your living room.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Drugs Are Bad -Let's Do Something About Them
Friday, July 23, 2010
I can balance the budget; clear out the jails; find money for social security; give us time to focus on crime and begin lowering the deficit. Legalize drugs. Yes say it to yourself . Could we legalize drugs? Sure we can and yes we should.
I need you to take a look at this site. http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm .I would like you to stay
there or return to it and take it in for me; for yourself; your kids; for your loved ones and future generations.
Source: Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco
Not enough for you, then please take in this commentary http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/07/20/97758/commentary-war-on-drugs-and-the.html
By Leonard Pitts Jr. The Miami Herald
Need more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/07/20/97758/commentary-war-on-drugs-and-the.html#ixzz0uXtwXHDP.
Not good enough for you I don't blame you. At your leisure please go to this site http://www.realcostofprisons.org/papers-war.html © 2003-20010 The Real Cost of Prisons Project .
"Depressing and unbelievable.", you say. I say "Deep in your heart of hearts, on some level you were already aware of these things". You respond, "But even with these points, if "I" can believe them, we cannot and should not legalize drugs. People would die and drugs have to be controlled..". I respond, "With all due respect if you're paying attention they're dying now and supposedly they are controlled.".
Should we look at the 22,000 dead, since 2006 in Mexico because of the war on drugs. http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/14/government-more-than-22000-dead-in-mexico-drug-war/
Post by: The CNN Wire
Filed under: Latest news • Mexico • World
Let's take a more worldly view from CNN and Evan wood. from The International Centre for Science in Drug Policy;The director of the Urban Health Program at the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and associate professor in the Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/06/03/wood.jamaica.drug.war/index.html
OK we take a more US view with this aptly named, "That Other War". This shows the preponderance of home invasion by officers and others to help eradicate this drug blight, since the Reagen initiatives.
http://reason.com/archives/2010/01/11/that-other-war
Radley Balko January 11, 2010
"But those people are either criminals or involved in criminal activity.", you say . Look closely at that article there is a great deal of collateral damage. Look at this one. It shows to some degree what has transpired since OL " Tricky Dick" Richard Nixon declared our "WAR ON DRUGS about 40 years hence.
http://bit.ly/cARLIR By JOHN STOSSEL
John Stossel: War on drugs worse than drugs
I'm done with links. The links are important. They provide something most of us never allowed ourselves to do.Ponder this horrendous evil of this situation, and put it into Perspective. My kids; your kid; our loved ones are growing up in a world in which every dime and all our energy is spent helping the illicit and cruel become richer and more powerful. From 1921 to 1933 we criminalized alcohol and allowed the organized criminal element to grow and become rich. We of course have forgotten the lessons of the past and we are doomed to repeat our past.
1)We like drugs. We always have and always will. In my bathroom cabinet you'll find aspirin and cough medicine. In my kitchen you'll find salt,sugar and coffee. In my bar you will find alcohol.Not big on drugs but many,many people are.
2)Can't and shouldn't fight what people want. This comes with a caveat. That is, as long as it is not fundamentally wrong. Sorry folks drugs don't make the cut of fundamentally wrong.
3)Alcohol is legal and there are rules to govern its' use and distribution. The same process would govern any other controlled or uncontrolled substance
The facts above are immutable and apply to ALL drugs.
Let's legalize the damn things. Clear the prisons of users and get them help.Stop making evil rich. Stop the death and destruction that goes with this "war" and get on with the business of our lives.
Part I
I can balance the budget; clear out the jails; find money for social security; give us time to focus on crime and begin lowering the deficit. Legalize drugs. Yes say it to yourself . Could we legalize drugs? Sure we can and yes we should.
I need you to take a look at this site. http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm .I would like you to stay
there or return to it and take it in for me; for yourself; your kids; for your loved ones and future generations.
Source: Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco
Not enough for you, then please take in this commentary http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/07/20/97758/commentary-war-on-drugs-and-the.html
By Leonard Pitts Jr. The Miami Herald
Need more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/07/20/97758/commentary-war-on-drugs-and-the.html#ixzz0uXtwXHDP.
Not good enough for you I don't blame you. At your leisure please go to this site http://www.realcostofprisons.org/papers-war.html © 2003-20010 The Real Cost of Prisons Project .
"Depressing and unbelievable.", you say. I say "Deep in your heart of hearts, on some level you were already aware of these things". You respond, "But even with these points, if "I" can believe them, we cannot and should not legalize drugs. People would die and drugs have to be controlled..". I respond, "With all due respect if you're paying attention they're dying now and supposedly they are controlled.".
Should we look at the 22,000 dead, since 2006 in Mexico because of the war on drugs. http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/14/government-more-than-22000-dead-in-mexico-drug-war/
Post by: The CNN Wire
Filed under: Latest news • Mexico • World
Let's take a more worldly view from CNN and Evan wood. from The International Centre for Science in Drug Policy;The director of the Urban Health Program at the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and associate professor in the Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/06/03/wood.jamaica.drug.war/index.html
OK we take a more US view with this aptly named, "That Other War". This shows the preponderance of home invasion by officers and others to help eradicate this drug blight, since the Reagen initiatives.
http://reason.com/archives/2010/01/11/that-other-war
Radley Balko January 11, 2010
"But those people are either criminals or involved in criminal activity.", you say . Look closely at that article there is a great deal of collateral damage. Look at this one. It shows to some degree what has transpired since OL " Tricky Dick" Richard Nixon declared our "WAR ON DRUGS about 40 years hence.
http://bit.ly/cARLIR By JOHN STOSSEL
John Stossel: War on drugs worse than drugs
I'm done with links. The links are important. They provide something most of us never allowed ourselves to do.Ponder this horrendous evil of this situation, and put it into Perspective. My kids; your kid; our loved ones are growing up in a world in which every dime and all our energy is spent helping the illicit and cruel become richer and more powerful. From 1921 to 1933 we criminalized alcohol and allowed the organized criminal element to grow and become rich. We of course have forgotten the lessons of the past and we are doomed to repeat our past.
1)We like drugs. We always have and always will. In my bathroom cabinet you'll find aspirin and cough medicine. In my kitchen you'll find salt,sugar and coffee. In my bar you will find alcohol.Not big on drugs but many,many people are.
2)Can't and shouldn't fight what people want. This comes with a caveat. That is, as long as it is not fundamentally wrong. Sorry folks drugs don't make the cut of fundamentally wrong.
3)Alcohol is legal and there are rules to govern its' use and distribution. The same process would govern any other controlled or uncontrolled substance
The facts above are immutable and apply to ALL drugs.
Let's legalize the damn things. Clear the prisons of users and get them help.Stop making evil rich. Stop the death and destruction that goes with this "war" and get on with the business of our lives.
Part I
NAACP Useful or Past its' Prime
Monday, July 26, 2010
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or NAACP, has in my opinion long outlived its' purpose. Its' chief concern seems to be to keep its' tax free status. It is an embarrassment and either needs to be disbanded or in some way evolve. Let's look at this organization.
beginnings of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, The
New Crisis, The, Jan/Feb 1999
The NAACP is the oldest civil rights organization in America, Dedicated to ending racial inequality and segregation. the association evolved from two organizations. One, the Niagara Movement, began with 29 African Americans who didn't accept Booker T. Washington's dictum that "in all things that are purely social we [blacks and whites] can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress."
These individuals from 14 states met at Niagara Falls in 1905, united in wanting "every right that belongs to a freeborn American, civil and social, and until we get these rights we shall never cease to protest and assail the ears of America with the stories of its shameful deeds toward us."
The other group was the "new abolitionists" who gathered after journalist William English Walling reported a Springfield, Illinois, race riot in the liberal New York weekly The Independent. He described the barbarity in Lincoln's hometown and asked: "What large and powerful body of citizens is ready to come to [the Negro`s] aid?"
Walling conceived an idea of a national biracial organization. Mar White Ovington, a descendant of abolitionists and an independently wealthy social worker, wrote to Walling and suggested they form the organization he had in mind. Ovington, Walling and Henry Moskovitz met in New York City to consider a plan of action. The three issued a "call for a conference" on February 12, 1909, the 100th Anniversary of Lincoln's birth. http://bit.ly/cEA5yB © 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved
There is much more and I encourage you to read the entire article as it shows how the NAACP was active in furthering the equality of people of color. Sadly it does not mention the work of W.E.B. Dubois.This article is not as detailed but a better visceral feel for this organization's beginnings.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The association was formed as the direct result of the lynching (1908) of two blacks in Springfield, Ill. The incident produced a wide response by white Northerners to a call by Mary W. Ovington, a white woman, for a conference to discuss ways of achieving political and social equality for blacks. This conference led to the formation (1910) of the NAACP, headed by eight prominent Americans, seven white and one, William E. B. Du Bois, black. The selection of Du Bois was significant, for he was a black who had rejected the policy of gradualism advocated by Booker T. Washington and demanded immediate equality for blacks. From 1910 to 1934 Du Bois was the editor of the association's periodical The Crisis, which reported on race relations around the world. The new organization grew so rapidly that by 1915 it was able to organize a partially successful boycott of the motion picture The Birth of a Nation, which portrayed blacks of the Reconstruction era in a distorted light.
Most of the NAACP early efforts were directed against lynching. In this area it could claim considerable success. In 1911 there were 71 lynchings in the United States, with a black person the victim 63 times; by the 1950s lynching had virtually disappeared. Since its beginning, and with increasing emphasis since World War II, the NAACP has advocated nonviolent protests against discrimination and has disapproved of extremist black groups such as SNCC and the Black Panthers in the 1960s and 70s and CORE and the Nation of Islam in the 1980s and 90s, many of which criticized the organization as passive. While complacent in the 1980s, it became more active in legislative redistricting, voter registration, and lobbying in the 1990s
http://bit.ly/apE6XB The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved
There is a bit more here as well and I encourage you to go to this link at your leisure. The point is, however, the NAACP was active and involved in the social movement of the United States. It did not shirk its' duty. It was in no way cowed and was unafraid to take the lead. This, unfortunately is not the NAACP of my adulthood. I do not see this organization as a civil rights group. This group to me is just a non taxed, social organization giving awards and keeping its' proverbial "head down".
Sadly the most significant act from the NAACP in years was it's fateful misread of the Shirley Sherrod issue that occurred about July 19th. http://bit.ly/9xxj8O http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/. This link in no way gives the whole story. A conservative blogger got this ball rolling with edited tape and the head of the Department of Agriculture and the NAACP "took the proffered bait". I don't want to bog down this piece with more about this specific issue. It's a blog onto itself. Please read "Shirley Sherrod and the Blame Game-Reference Piece for NAACP" from my blogs for more.
Interestingly enough, though I have said that the NAACP does the "Texas Two-Step" when it comes to the important issues, since their erstwhile beginnings (well I was getting to that issue, trust me), this blunder actually began when the NAACP, rightfully pointed out that the TEA Party had racist elements. The reason it did not resonate was because the NAACP did not "scream" that point from "the rooftops". It was done at a national convention in KANSAS CITY, Mo., that was generally closed to questions. Some news services noticed...Ohh and the TEA Party seemed peeved. The Tea Party is another blog for another day. However let's just say some of its' elements seem to feel strongly enough to attack anyone or anything that is not with them heart, mind and body.
To the point, the NAACP had finally found a platform. Rather the platform seemed to find them. The NAACP had no interest in a fight of any kind. It made an innocuous resolution and took no debate on the issue. The TEA Party or friends of the TEA Party responded with a spliced video and viola the NAACP is relevant, despite itself. Now what does the NAACP do with this "new found" involvement in social injustice? It decides that Shirley Sherrod is a racist and must go. It of course never checked the facts or contacted Miss Sherrod. The NAACP has however taken the time to bury the "N" word 1 and back a call to make Michael Jackson's home and environs a state park 2.... I kid you not.
I send this out as a call to action. The NAACP needs to get back to its' roots and "bedamned" losing its' tax exemptions. It's about social justice for all people. After all, we're all some color 3.
NOTE 1: http://bit.ly/ceUV4c NAACP Symbolically Buries N-WordBy COREY WILLIAMS
The Associated Press Monday, July 9, 2007; 5:34 PM
NOTE 2: http://bit.ly/bLNwvm NAACP Backs Proposal to Turn Michael Jackson's Former Home, Neverland, into a State Park Posted by Janet Shan ©2008 - 2010 The Hinterland Gazette – all rights reserved
NOTE 3: I believe since its' inception the NAACP has helped all people without regard to race.
NOTE : I'm aware that TEA Party is not an acronym and should be presented as Tea ; but as I love tea let's pretend it's an acronym.
NOTE : NAACP WEB SITE http://www.naacp.org/pages/annual-reports © 2009 - 2010 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
:
beginnings of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, The
New Crisis, The, Jan/Feb 1999
The NAACP is the oldest civil rights organization in America, Dedicated to ending racial inequality and segregation. the association evolved from two organizations. One, the Niagara Movement, began with 29 African Americans who didn't accept Booker T. Washington's dictum that "in all things that are purely social we [blacks and whites] can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress."
These individuals from 14 states met at Niagara Falls in 1905, united in wanting "every right that belongs to a freeborn American, civil and social, and until we get these rights we shall never cease to protest and assail the ears of America with the stories of its shameful deeds toward us."
The other group was the "new abolitionists" who gathered after journalist William English Walling reported a Springfield, Illinois, race riot in the liberal New York weekly The Independent. He described the barbarity in Lincoln's hometown and asked: "What large and powerful body of citizens is ready to come to [the Negro`s] aid?"
Walling conceived an idea of a national biracial organization. Mar White Ovington, a descendant of abolitionists and an independently wealthy social worker, wrote to Walling and suggested they form the organization he had in mind. Ovington, Walling and Henry Moskovitz met in New York City to consider a plan of action. The three issued a "call for a conference" on February 12, 1909, the 100th Anniversary of Lincoln's birth. http://bit.ly/cEA5yB © 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved
There is much more and I encourage you to read the entire article as it shows how the NAACP was active in furthering the equality of people of color. Sadly it does not mention the work of W.E.B. Dubois.This article is not as detailed but a better visceral feel for this organization's beginnings.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The association was formed as the direct result of the lynching (1908) of two blacks in Springfield, Ill. The incident produced a wide response by white Northerners to a call by Mary W. Ovington, a white woman, for a conference to discuss ways of achieving political and social equality for blacks. This conference led to the formation (1910) of the NAACP, headed by eight prominent Americans, seven white and one, William E. B. Du Bois, black. The selection of Du Bois was significant, for he was a black who had rejected the policy of gradualism advocated by Booker T. Washington and demanded immediate equality for blacks. From 1910 to 1934 Du Bois was the editor of the association's periodical The Crisis, which reported on race relations around the world. The new organization grew so rapidly that by 1915 it was able to organize a partially successful boycott of the motion picture The Birth of a Nation, which portrayed blacks of the Reconstruction era in a distorted light.
Most of the NAACP early efforts were directed against lynching. In this area it could claim considerable success. In 1911 there were 71 lynchings in the United States, with a black person the victim 63 times; by the 1950s lynching had virtually disappeared. Since its beginning, and with increasing emphasis since World War II, the NAACP has advocated nonviolent protests against discrimination and has disapproved of extremist black groups such as SNCC and the Black Panthers in the 1960s and 70s and CORE and the Nation of Islam in the 1980s and 90s, many of which criticized the organization as passive. While complacent in the 1980s, it became more active in legislative redistricting, voter registration, and lobbying in the 1990s
http://bit.ly/apE6XB The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved
There is a bit more here as well and I encourage you to go to this link at your leisure. The point is, however, the NAACP was active and involved in the social movement of the United States. It did not shirk its' duty. It was in no way cowed and was unafraid to take the lead. This, unfortunately is not the NAACP of my adulthood. I do not see this organization as a civil rights group. This group to me is just a non taxed, social organization giving awards and keeping its' proverbial "head down".
Sadly the most significant act from the NAACP in years was it's fateful misread of the Shirley Sherrod issue that occurred about July 19th. http://bit.ly/9xxj8O http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/. This link in no way gives the whole story. A conservative blogger got this ball rolling with edited tape and the head of the Department of Agriculture and the NAACP "took the proffered bait". I don't want to bog down this piece with more about this specific issue. It's a blog onto itself. Please read "Shirley Sherrod and the Blame Game-Reference Piece for NAACP" from my blogs for more.
Interestingly enough, though I have said that the NAACP does the "Texas Two-Step" when it comes to the important issues, since their erstwhile beginnings (well I was getting to that issue, trust me), this blunder actually began when the NAACP, rightfully pointed out that the TEA Party had racist elements. The reason it did not resonate was because the NAACP did not "scream" that point from "the rooftops". It was done at a national convention in KANSAS CITY, Mo., that was generally closed to questions. Some news services noticed...Ohh and the TEA Party seemed peeved. The Tea Party is another blog for another day. However let's just say some of its' elements seem to feel strongly enough to attack anyone or anything that is not with them heart, mind and body.
To the point, the NAACP had finally found a platform. Rather the platform seemed to find them. The NAACP had no interest in a fight of any kind. It made an innocuous resolution and took no debate on the issue. The TEA Party or friends of the TEA Party responded with a spliced video and viola the NAACP is relevant, despite itself. Now what does the NAACP do with this "new found" involvement in social injustice? It decides that Shirley Sherrod is a racist and must go. It of course never checked the facts or contacted Miss Sherrod. The NAACP has however taken the time to bury the "N" word 1 and back a call to make Michael Jackson's home and environs a state park 2.... I kid you not.
I send this out as a call to action. The NAACP needs to get back to its' roots and "bedamned" losing its' tax exemptions. It's about social justice for all people. After all, we're all some color 3.
NOTE 1: http://bit.ly/ceUV4c NAACP Symbolically Buries N-WordBy COREY WILLIAMS
The Associated Press Monday, July 9, 2007; 5:34 PM
NOTE 2: http://bit.ly/bLNwvm NAACP Backs Proposal to Turn Michael Jackson's Former Home, Neverland, into a State Park Posted by Janet Shan ©2008 - 2010 The Hinterland Gazette – all rights reserved
NOTE 3: I believe since its' inception the NAACP has helped all people without regard to race.
NOTE : I'm aware that TEA Party is not an acronym and should be presented as Tea ; but as I love tea let's pretend it's an acronym.
NOTE : NAACP WEB SITE http://www.naacp.org/pages/annual-reports © 2009 - 2010 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
:
Shirley Sherrod and the Blame Game-Reference Piece for NAACP
NOTE: This will be expanded-A quck link for NAACP reference taken from a TWITLONGER Post 7/22/10
As for Shirley Sherrod glad the truth shines-I definitely blame Andrew Breitbart the conservative blogger that started this with a doctored video; the news services (FOX NEWS etc); BenJealous President of the NAACP; The USDA its' 'Director TomVilsack and USDA Undersecretary Cheryl Cook ... but OBAMA not sure ...
a) Andrew Breitbart is someone that has only a passing acquaintance with the truth. He has lied most recently, before this incident with the #Acorn story. A group, by the way, that had performed some good but had enough on it that the truth by itself would have buried them.
B) News services are supposed to check and then verify their sources. I'm reasonably sure this wasn't done. At least I HOPE this wasn't done. Better to be thought stupid and obtuse rather than...well evil is too strong a word...let's say driven by cruel forces to achieve an end.
C) Ben Jealous and the NAACP have been toothless and useless for more years than it is necessary to mention. When they finally have a chance to stamd up and be counted they once again show their worth.
D) Vilsack and the Dept of Agriculture and his Undersecrestary, whom it seems actually made the call and demanded the resignation. They took this news and attempted to distance themselves from a hot issue without verification. Never spoke to Sherrod (except to tell her to resign), the news source or the "victims" of this story the Spooners, the farmers, who backed Sherrod and told anyone who would listen that she saved their farm.
E) Obama is responsible when the walls fall..Period. Anything done by his subordinates falls into his lap. I'm aware of that tenet of management. I've lived it. HOWever , no one can be sure Obama was consulted before Vilsack made this "command decision". On the other hand we also cannot be sure Obama didn't orchestrate the "firing"..I choose to give him the benefit of the doubt for now.
What's your take-?
All things Shirley Sherrod http://bit.ly/bqZ0k9
As for Shirley Sherrod glad the truth shines-I definitely blame Andrew Breitbart the conservative blogger that started this with a doctored video; the news services (FOX NEWS etc); BenJealous President of the NAACP; The USDA its' 'Director TomVilsack and USDA Undersecretary Cheryl Cook ... but OBAMA not sure ...
a) Andrew Breitbart is someone that has only a passing acquaintance with the truth. He has lied most recently, before this incident with the #Acorn story. A group, by the way, that had performed some good but had enough on it that the truth by itself would have buried them.
B) News services are supposed to check and then verify their sources. I'm reasonably sure this wasn't done. At least I HOPE this wasn't done. Better to be thought stupid and obtuse rather than...well evil is too strong a word...let's say driven by cruel forces to achieve an end.
C) Ben Jealous and the NAACP have been toothless and useless for more years than it is necessary to mention. When they finally have a chance to stamd up and be counted they once again show their worth.
D) Vilsack and the Dept of Agriculture and his Undersecrestary, whom it seems actually made the call and demanded the resignation. They took this news and attempted to distance themselves from a hot issue without verification. Never spoke to Sherrod (except to tell her to resign), the news source or the "victims" of this story the Spooners, the farmers, who backed Sherrod and told anyone who would listen that she saved their farm.
E) Obama is responsible when the walls fall..Period. Anything done by his subordinates falls into his lap. I'm aware of that tenet of management. I've lived it. HOWever , no one can be sure Obama was consulted before Vilsack made this "command decision". On the other hand we also cannot be sure Obama didn't orchestrate the "firing"..I choose to give him the benefit of the doubt for now.
What's your take-?
All things Shirley Sherrod http://bit.ly/bqZ0k9
NOTE : If there is an earlier alternate date on piece then it was taken from another blog.
Pithy ..Normally
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Words are echos in time. Be careful with yours..you'll hear them again.
In the phrase, "..somebody should do something..", it's often lost that, "you" ARE "somebody".
What have you done to further your aspirations today.
Many of the people who wonder loudly and often that people are in their business seem never to have a problem sharing yours.
Early to bed and early to rise ..doesn't really work for me.
When the world is against you, you are either doing something very right ..or incredibly wrong. It's always best to know which one refers to you.
Sticks and stones can break your bones but names can ruin your reputation.
Most people who are "keeping it real" or "only being honest" usually only seem to be "keeping it rude" or are "only being crass".
"When in Rome" remember why you came, get it done and go home.
When traveling the road.. "less traveled by".. ensure you have the will to finish the journey.
True friends help you grow whether you want to or not.
Money is always secondary to happiness but never mistake sloth for fulfillment.
To achieve: get a positive idea; work the idea diligently; amend the idea as needed; accept defeat as an avenue to further expand and complete the correct form of this idea.
In the phrase, "..somebody should do something..", it's often lost that, "you" ARE "somebody".
What have you done to further your aspirations today.
Many of the people who wonder loudly and often that people are in their business seem never to have a problem sharing yours.
Early to bed and early to rise ..doesn't really work for me.
When the world is against you, you are either doing something very right ..or incredibly wrong. It's always best to know which one refers to you.
Sticks and stones can break your bones but names can ruin your reputation.
Most people who are "keeping it real" or "only being honest" usually only seem to be "keeping it rude" or are "only being crass".
"When in Rome" remember why you came, get it done and go home.
When traveling the road.. "less traveled by".. ensure you have the will to finish the journey.
True friends help you grow whether you want to or not.
Money is always secondary to happiness but never mistake sloth for fulfillment.
To achieve: get a positive idea; work the idea diligently; amend the idea as needed; accept defeat as an avenue to further expand and complete the correct form of this idea.
NOTE : The date at the top of this blog indicates when this was originally written-Any piece with a different date at the top indicates a work taken from another blog.
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