Monroe Anderson

Obama's no joke to Al Qaida, KKK and other haters

 

         A little more than a year ago, I went to The Second City Theatre to enjoy its side-splitting hit revue at the time, "Between Barack and a Hard Place." The famed improv comedy ensemble, which is the comedic mother of Saturday Night Live, had put together a show that was all about Barack Obama, his candidacy and his political appeal.
    I was reminded of the series of satirical skits today when Al Qaida's mouthpiece for Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, released an audiotape calling our President-elect a House Negro.
    "You were born to a Muslim father, but you chose to stand in the ranks of the enemies of the Muslims, and pray the prayer of the Jews, although you claim to be Christian, in order to climb the rungs of leadership in America," observed bin Laden's sidekick in the recording.
    Has The Second City gone international with its satire? Is Al Qaida giving up on being a bunch of murderous religious zealots for stand-up comedy? What is going on here? And, where the hell is Osama bin Laden? Is he dead or simply too chicken to play straight man his deputy-villain's new routine?

    As it turns out, Obama's historic election as the first black leader of the free world has haters all over the planet in a bind. Right after the election, Thomas Robb, a grand poo-pa-pa in the Ku Klux Klan attributed Obama's success to his being only half black. Apparently Obama's Kansas mother's white, superior blood contributed to all the positive qualities that got him where he is going.
    And before our homegrown, historical terrorist group could finish explaining this inexplicable phenomenon, that terrorist group abroad figured it had some 'plaining to do as well.
    If America was as evil, racist and anti-Muslim as Al Qaida would have its followers believe, then what was the rationale behind Barack HUSSEIN Obama's popular, un-Saddam-like landslide election victory?
    Hmmm. Maybe the K.K.K. was on to something, sort of.
    The Al-Qaida tape definitely had a racial edge to it. Obama isn't a black man or anything the world's majority population--colored people--should relate to. He's a tool of the white man. The House Negro that Brother Malcolm tongue-lashed. Al-Zawahiri's audiotape features snippets from Malcolm X's 1965 speech in Selma, Alabama where he compared the "house negro," who Uncle Tommed for favors from the slave master to the "field negro," who picked cotton and would rather see the plantation owner dead. Malcolm X, the spokesman for the Nation of Islam who later became a convert to a more orthodox Muslim faith.
    Federal surveillance of both Al Qaida and the K.K.K. made it too difficult for note comparison so the Muslim haters left out the white mother part that the Christian haters promoted so prominently.
    Apparently, hiding in the cave lands of Pakistan is not the best place to keep abreast of current events or the latest trends in humanity. If bin Laden is still alive, then al-Zawahiri might want to slip him into Chicago to check out Second City's latest show so the two terrorists, like their counterparts in America the Klan and the neo-Nazis, can work on updating their hateful passions and pronouncements.
    Their work is cut out for them. Two weeks before the November 4 election, an Al Qaida website backed John McCain, not understanding that America was in the process of changing.
    The Second City, on the other hand, was right on it. The comedy theatre's current hit revue is "No Country for Old White Men." I don't hear the haters laughing.

           (This post is also on Huffingtonpost.com.)

Understand this first: Obama is the last one

    When Barack Obama becomes the first President of the United States, African American history will not only be turning a new page or be in need of a new chapter--we'll have to write and read volumes of new books. Here's my personal observation of one way we'll have to reshape our perspective. It's my latest ebonyjet.com post.

I was the first black reporter at the National Observer. 

In the eight years it had been around before I arrived immediately after graduating from Indiana University, the weekly Dow Jones publication was a whites only destination.  Its managing editor let it be known that he was not about to hire anyone black for his newspaper. He had turned down, I was told, a young Bob Teague, who went on to be an award-winning NBC network reporter, and a young William Raspberry, who went on to become the Washington Post’s best-known black columnist.

Months before I was all set to slip on my cap and gown, the conservative ME got his gold watch. His retirement was followed by this pledge from the Observer’s younger editors: they would hire the first qualified black journalist that applied. About that time my resume—highlighting my Newsweek Magazine internship in the summer of 1968—arrived in the mail.

I was with the D.C.-based Observer just shy of two years and during my brief stint, it was just me. There were no other blacks. No other black reporters. No black secretaries. No black pressmen. No black janitors. No black anybody but me. In 1972, I left for Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, in truth, not because I was black but because I was too green for the job.

After a couple of years of being mentored and challenged at Ebony Magazine, I went to the Chicago Tribune. When Harold Washington became Chicago’s mayor on April 29, 1983, I became the first black reporter to cover City Hall for the Chicago Tribune; make that the first black reporter from any mainstream media newspaper to cover Chicago’s City Hall and city council. The one thing I brought away from both my Observer and Tribune experiences is that it’s not easy being the first black.

At the Observer, I felt as if I had the weight of the race on my shoulders and that any mistake I made would have negative ramifications far beyond me, setting back any opportunity for any other black reporter that might try to follow me. At City Hall, I was the man in the middle of a racial council war as black aldermen were outgunned and outnumbered by white aldermen who were dead set on torpedoing the political agenda of Chicago’s first black mayor. I was second fiddle to an eight-year younger David Axelrod, who had been named the Trib’s political editor and who, more recently, as chief political strategist, brilliantly helped carry Obama to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

It’s not going to be easy for America’s first black president. But that is so obvious and the reasons are so many that a brief discussion couldn’t begin to address them, right now.

It wasn’t easy for Jackie Robinson either. The name-calling and taunts from the baseball fans and the hostilities from the players are history. Since Robinson became the first black major league baseball player 61 years ago, there has been a long and steady stream of first blacks. There was the first black country and western recording star 42 years ago, the first black NFL quarterback 40 years ago, the first black astronaut 29 years ago, the first black Radio City Rockette 20 years ago, the first black governor 18 years ago, and the first black CEO of a Fortune 500 company seven years ago. And, of course, there’s Oprah Winfrey and Tiger Woods.

No doubt, there will be other Jackie Robinsons, in other fields and professions in America. Someday, there will be the first black executive editor of the New York Times or Washington Post. Someday there will be the first Black baseball commissioner. Someday we’ll see the first head of a major movie studio and the first black owner of a major TV network.

But, while any and all of these future black first accomplishments will be important and welcomed when they finally arrive, what Barack Obama has pulled off dwarfs them all—past, present and future.

He may not have run as the black candidate for president but he is, in reality, symbolically and metaphorically, no less than that. So when he is sworn in as POTUS on January 20, he will officially—and forever—be America’s last first black.

Monroe Anderson is an award-winning journalist who penned op-ed columns for both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. Check out his blog at monroeanderson.typepad.com

(Illustration by Kyle F. Anderson)

Wingnut Watch: Bitter and clinging to maniacal memes

    Members of America's rad-right are almost always strangers to reality. I know because I make it a point of keeping an eye on them. I like to watch Fox Cable News just to see what their aberrant version of fair and balanced is on a given day. I also read the dauntingly diminutive observations on conservative blogs.
   Over the past few days, I've noticed that with Barack Obama's landslide victory on Tuesday the losers are losing it even more.
    Let me give you a sampling.
    Here's the beginning to the latest post on the WesternFront America blog:

Some Of Us Mourn The Loss Of America Today.
By J.D. Longstreet

We mourn the loss of Freedom, Democracy, and America’s position in the world as it’s leader. In place of all these, America has chosen SOCIALISM the “Destroyer of Nations”.

I am ashamed of my fellow Americans for giving up their freedom, their constitution, their liberty, everything the Founding Fathers gave us, for so cheap a price and so fleeting a dream. They were promised nothing. They accepted nothing and will be given nothing.

The disunity of America is now complete. There is nothing left of that which bound us together. The descent of America, into the ash heap of history, has officially begun. The decline will be relatively swift and excruciatingly painful.

May God have Mercy on America, on those who warned “the other people who live in this country”. I cannot use “fellow Americans” as that phrase no longer applies. It has been shredded by the Obama Machine and by the Democratic Party.

It is now time to prepare for the coming anarchy. Providence, it seems, has decided to withdraw it’s protection and leave exposed those who have defaced and destroyed this land from within.

Soon America will face wars within and without our bordrrs, financial collapse, descention between the races, and open hostility in the streets of our cities. Those expecting utopia will quickly learn they have been duped and no such paradise on earth is within their reach nor their sight. They will learn they were simply a means toward an end and now that that end has been accomplished they are no longer needed nor wanted.

    As anybody who reads a newspaper, watches or listens to the news or reads anything but other right-wing propaganda online, we're in the midst of financial collapse. As for the racial "descention" between the races, ahem, more white Americans voted for Obama than black Americans so don't be surprised if you see black and white together marching through our city streets singing "We Have Overcome."

    And here's what Big Dog's Weblog had to say:

The Message About Obama

by Big Dog on Nov 7, 2008 at 14:13 Political

I have listened to people who think Obama is the anti Christ and that his election marks the end time as depicted in the book of Revelation. I am not convinced that the election of Obama is a sign of end times but an interesting thing happened the day after the election.

The day after the contest was declared over and Obama declared the winner, the evening three digit lottery number in Chicago was drawn. That number was 666. Those of you who pay attention will recall that Revelation 13:18 designates that number to “the Beast.”

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

      I'm not big on this Satan stuff but if I had to go with it, I'd say we've been under that spell with George Bush and Dick Cheney. That's unless you don't believe that lying to get us into a war, then occupation, trashing the U.S. Constitution and turning a deaf ear to drowning and starving Americans in New Orleans is the handiwork of a couple of saints.

    And no honeymoon for President-elect Obama on Teri  O'Brien's blog. Apparently, the Harvard law-educated Illinois Senator is just another black man who got the job a more qualified white man deserved. Here's some of what O'Brien, who is also known as “America’s Conservative Warrior Princess,” had to say:

The Affirmative Action President-Elect

     A friend wrote “Let's look on the bright side. At least we won't have to listen to all those liberals whine and bitch for the next four years.” To which I responded, “you have GOT to be kidding!” They will whine even more now, and louder. Think about it this way: Michelle Obama parlayed her victim status and sense of entitlement into affirmative-action spots at elite schools and a six-figure salary for a white-guilt generated community liaison gig, considered necessary only because of the stoking of anger and the aforementioned sense of victimhood and entitlement in people exploited by “community organizers.” Let me know when the bottomless pit of race-obsessed rage that is Michelle Obama stops whining.

    How about Jesse Jackson? He managed to shakedown the lily-livered, spaghetti-spined suits who run American corporations for millions. Has he been whining less? If anything, today he’s probably whining more, and certainly about the fact that he wasn’t up on the stage last night with The One. Hey, Rev. Jackson, are you rethinking that remark about wanting to neuter the man-god?

    The examples are endless. When you tell people they have been victimized by an immutable, inherited condition, so much so that they deserve to be compensated, all you buy with your compensation is an increased sense of entitlement and more complaining.

    Barack Hussein Obama is our first affirmative-action President-Elect. Many of the white voters who cast a ballot for him did so for the same reason as the administrators at Columbia and Harvard admitted him to their elite schools: his race. Perhaps in both cases it wasn’t the only factor, but it was definitely a factor, as they all freely admit.

    For a bunch that claims to be more American than the rest of us, there is a curious and instant disrespect for the man who is going to be POTUS. Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. presents an interesting challenge for these folks: How do you love your flag and love your country while hating your leader?

   

Except for the voting and the celebration, it's all over

     

     This is the historical day we've been anxiously awaiting. If you haven't voted yet, read my post then go do it. I'd suggest that you vote early and often but, apparently, that's only legal in Chicago. 

     Here's my ebonyjet.com commentary and have I got a prognostication for you. It was posted on the website this morning.

A Simple Prediction
a bold proclamation on Election Day 
November 4, 2008 

By Monroe Anderson

At the risk of ending up with egg on my face and having to eat crow come tomorrow morning, allow me to go out on a limb and make this prediction: This time, it won't be close.  Barack Obama's margin of victory is going to be so wide that the GOP won't be able to steal the election.

To make myself perfectly clear, can you spell l-a-n-d-s-l-i-d-e?

That's what I see coming and that's what the Republicans no less deserve.

In one national opinion poll after the next, from last week to last night, Obama has enjoyed somewhere between a double-digit to a high single-digit lead over John McCain. The O-Man also had an edge in six of the eight battleground states.

The advantage to Team Obama doesn't stop there.  More than 153 million Americans, a record, have registered to vote with about 10 percent being newbies most anxious for a change. You've seen, maybe even waited in, those long lines of early voters in state after state, night after night, as seen on TV. Nearly a third of the Americans registered to vote have already been there and done that, giving Obama a 20 percent advantage even before the polls opened this morning.

But McCain and the gang would like to have you believe that all the polls are wrong; that the Mavericks have better than a chance of drawing an inside straight for ending up with the winning hand. "They may not know it, but the Mac is back," McCain has taken to boasting in his final-hour rallies.

Believe not what they say, but what they don't do.  The Republicans have not been campaigning in Obama country because they've been working overtime in defending their own turf. Since the credit crisis hit and the stock market did a belly flop, McCain and Sarah Palin have been forced to campaign in the states that George Bush owned in 2000 and 2004.

But eight years of Bush have proven to be eight years too many.  After lying about the weapons of mass destruction, mishandling the New Orleans rescue after Hurricane Katrina and driving America to the poor house, the president has thoroughly ruined the Republican brand.

There are scores of other reasons why any politician with an R at the front of his party's name is wearing a scarlet letter.  But, I'll just tick off three color-coded terror alerts for McPalin and the rest of the GOP.

*Black pride. The enthusiasm among African American voters alone may help turn some red states blue. In North Carolina, for instance, half of the state's registered African American voters have already cast their ballots.

*Brown anger. The incessant rants against illegal immigration by the rabid right's pet radio hosts, Rush Limbaugh, Lara Inghram et al have infuriated Americans of Mexican descent—seventy-five percent of their votes will be cast for the black man.

*White fear. The hockey mom from nowhere may have ginned up McCain's presidential prospects in early September, but by late October Gov. Palin was a total drag on the ticket. Once she'd been exposed as the pitbull who was all bark with no intellectual bite, true blue white American patriots shuddered at the thought of her possibly having her hand on the nuclear trigger.

That's why I'm predicting an Obama blowout--with one not-so-minor caveat: For those of you who haven't voted yet, it's up to you. If you don't go out to vote and encourage all your family members and friends to do the same, by Wednesday you'll find me plunging off the end of a broken limb, gagging on a nasty breakfast of raw egg and cold crow.

Monroe Anderson is an award-winning journalist who penned op-ed columns for both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. 

     And, before you go, take a look at this hilarious YouTube video, Hockey Moms Against Sarah Palin, which is just one more bit of evidence as to why the Republicans won't rule this day. (h/t to An Average American Patriot)

Sarah Palin gets punked, not ready to be POTUS

With the exception of those who believe that Sasquatch or the Loch Ness Monster really exist, all the rest of us fully understand that John McCain and Sarah Palin are professional misspeakers or, to put it more bluntly, liars.

Whether you talking about Palin saying "no" to the Bridge to Nowhere or McCain charging that Barack Obama's tax cut is like welfare, the Mavericks have been playing fast and loose with the truth from the St. Paul convention to their last stump speech. 

McCainpeida.org, a project of the Democratic Party, places the number of McPalin lies at 175 and counting.

I knew there was a whole lot of lying going on, but I couldn't put a number on it. But there is one lie, repeated too many times to count, that is heads and shoulders above the rest: Gov. Palin is ready to be the POTUS.

Well, the hockey mom just got punked and the Big Lie about her being ready to assume the office just got exposed for what it is. 

Canadian comedian Marc-Antoine Audette pulled a Borat on Gov. Palin during a prank call where he pretended to be French president Nicolas Sarkozy. During the fake interview, Palin unwittingly admitted that she may be a good American president in eight years.

The funny thing with that confession is that we don't know if she was deferring to McCain, for a change (did you see the Palin Country sign with McCain's name missing at today's rally) and allowing him the post for the next two terms or if she was caught in a moment of candor.


 

I'd like to believe a bit of honesty slipped out of her mouth.

Here's some of what Washingtonpost.com reported on Palin's Sacha Baron Cohen-like moment:

Sarah Palin Pranked by Sarkozy Impersonator

Two well-known Canadian pranksters tricked Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin into thinking she was on the phone today with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The conversation, captured on a Montreal radio program, was, in a word, embarrassing. (Politico's Ben Smith was among the first to pick up on reports fromThe Canadian Press.)

The fake Sarkozy buttered Palin up by telling her he hoped she would president some day. "Haha, maybe in eight years," Palin replied. Then the conversation turned to helicopter hunting, with a mention of Vice President Dick Cheney's infamous bad shot.

"One of my favorite activities is to hunt, too," the fake Sarkozy said. "Oh, very good, we should go hunting together," Palin replied, adding, "I think we could have a lot of fun together as we're getting work done. We could kill two birds with one stone that way."

"I just love killing those animals! Taking away life, that is so fun," the Sarkozy impersonator said.

Palin laughed.

"As long as we don't bring Vice President Cheney," the jokester said. "I'll be a very careful shot, don't worry," Palin said, laughing.

You can hear the entire prank call here. 

To read the rest of the Washingtonpost.com report, click here. 

        And while you chuckling to yourself, consider this: Why would the would-be vice president engage in a talk with the president of France without preconditions?