Saturday, January 9, 2010

NEGRO: Did Harry Reid Call Pres. Obama "The Magical Negro"

Special Post: So is Harry Reid a color aroused bigot? Did he say "code words" which we would expect out of Republicans, skinheads, and birthers? Is he bringing up memories of Jim Crow and slavery? Why is he using the word ""Negro" ? Why is the word negro becoming in vogue by whites, and the Obama administration. Read more HERE 


No Harry Reid didn't say, Obama “light-skinned” and has “no Negro dialect" that's why he could be President. 

Damn, did the Senate President just call the President of the United States, a light skinned house negro, who knows how to talk with whites? Did the president of the United States, just say, "that's OK Boss." ?


Now we have a former black man, who some blacks consider the next generation  "uncle tom,"  in the name of Al Sharpton - who is now standing with Reid. I guess "The magical negro" is the operative word in 2010.


 
Damon Winter/The New York Times


The NY Times, Washington Post, Politico, Huffington PostChicago Sun Times are reporting that Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, apologized on Saturday for saying that he believed Barack Obama could become the country’s first black president because he was “light-skinned” and had the advantage of carrying “no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”  More HERE

Get this, as reported by the NY Times, the apology was prompted by the release of a new book on the 2008 presidential campaign, which reported that Mr. Reid privately urged Mr. Obama to seek the presidency more than three years ago despite his limited experience and the historical obstacles to making a successful bid for the White House.



Harry Reid response: 

I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words,” Mr. Reid said in a statement. “I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African Americans for my improper comments.”

The remarks from Mr. Reid were the latest in a long-running series of statements that several political figures have made about Mr. Obama, which have underscored the uneasy evolution of race and politics in the United States. Mr. Reid telephoned Mr. Obama on Saturday to apologize.

AAPP "That apology is not accepted, not by this African American Political Pundit (AAPP). You should resign Senator Reid. What are you saying, black folks that are dark skin should not be President?  Black Folks who have dark skin should pass the harry reid "bag test?" 

And what is this word "Negro" and "Negro dialect."


Question No. 9 on this year's census form asks about race, with one of the answers listed as "black, African-Am. or Negro."
Question No. 9 on this year's census form asks about race, with one of the answers listed as "black, African-Am. or Negro."


But, President Barack Obama has accepted Harry Reid's comments saying:


“I accepted Harry’s apology without question because I’ve known him for years, I’ve seen the passionate leadership he’s shown on issues of social justice and I know what’s in his heart,” Mr. Obama said in a statement released by the White House. “As far as I am concerned, the book is closed.”

AAPP: "Ouch! Mr. President, with all due respect,  “As far as I am concerned, the book is not closed for the African American community.” - “You have accepted Harry’s apology without question because you have known him for years." Well Mr. President, you have known a bigot for years. This man, Harry Reid needs to resign." He is part of a culture in America that should be alarming to all reasonable people in America. I urge you to watch this video and then ask the qurestion, does Mr. Reid add fuel to the fire of these bigots: 





NOTE: Harry Reid's comments about Barack Obama are contained in a passage of the book “Game Change,” by political journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, which is set to be released by Harper on Monday.

You can contact AAPP via email at: africanamericanpoliticalpundit@gmail.com

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

New 'Miranda Rights' against taser abuse,"

"These are new 'Miranda Rights' against taser abuse,"
says Atty. Francis L. Holland


There's been a ground-breaking decision by the 9th Circuit US Federal Court of Appeals against taser abuse, entitled Bryan v. McPherson.  This decision was announced on December 29th, between Christmas and New Years holidays but it deserves our immediate attention and dissemination via our EasyWidgets:

The decision writes into federal caselaw many of the arguments and advocacy that we afrosphere bloggers have been making at our Days (months and years) of Blogging for Justice Against Police Pre-Trial, Extra-Judicial "Taser" Shock, Electrocution and Execution devices.  The Easy-Widget HTML code below enables us to educate the public of their newly announced rights.

The 9th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals agreed with us that:
". . . we must “balance the amount of force applied against the need for that force.”  Bryan v. McPherson, 9th Cir. Fd. Ct. App., December 29, 2009.
This decision has direct legal effect throughout the 9th Circuit, consisting of populous California, Alaska, Washington, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Hawaii and Guam, and influential in other parts of the country.  Nearly 20% of America's population is within the jurisdiction of the 9th Circuit.  The Court announced what we have long insisted:
"A reasonable police officer . . . would have foreseen these physical injuries when confronting a shirtless individual standing on asphalt. We have held that force can be unreasonable even without physical blows or injuries." Bryan v. McPherson

We've got widgets up at 123 afrosphere blogs telling the public that, in many cases, when "Tasers" are used, "The price is too high". Now, lets post Easy-Widgets to inform the public that one of the most influential federal circuit courts of appeal in the country agrees with us that:

"The presence of non-minor physical injuries like those suffered by Bryan, however, is certainly relevant in evaluating the degree of the Fourth Amendment intrusion.Bryan v. McPherson

Let's celebrate! Here's a new EasyWidget that takes readers to our anti-electrocution blogs. This Easy-Widget HTML (immediately below) links to Electrocuted While Black, but there are visibly identical widgets below that lead to Tasered While Black and the Police Brutality Blog.

The result is better than that for which many of us had hoped. Instead of arguing locally for changes to voluntarily enforced police taser policy, Bryan's lawyers in this case, and bloggers making similar arguments, convinced the 9th Circuit Federal Appeals Court to write these requirements and limitations into Federal caselaw, which is probably faster, better and politically safer than having the restrictions enacted into law by the US Congress. 

Afrosphere bloggers and the Ninth Circuit encourage other circuits to follow this example by observing that:
"We, along with our sister circuits, have held that tasers and stun guns fall into the category of non-lethal force.   Non-lethal, however, is not synonymous with non-excessive; all force—lethal and non-lethal—must be justified by the need for the specific level of force employed."   Bryan v. McPherson
Not everyone -- blogger or reader -- has had a chance to read the whole Bryan v. McPherson case. So, the Easy-Widget quotes the most powerful language of the decision and links to our afrosphere blogs for more information.

In Bryan v. McPherson, the 9th Circuit Federal Appeals Court basically wrote into federal caselaw many of the arguments that we taser opponents have been arguing. But this is better than what many of us had sought, because instead of it being a change in local optionally enforced "guidelines," it's a change in obligatorily obeyed federal case law for the states in the 9th Circuit, and also, as the decision alludes, the 9th Circuit has enormous influence on other "sister" circuits courts.

Please join Electrocuted While Black in celebrating this decision by posting a widget that tells readers their rights and takes them to a blog where they can learn more, be it Electrocuted While Black or the Police Brutality Blog. Installation of the Easy-Widget below is a quick and easy way to quote some of the best parts of the case for your readers.

References:

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/81381.html

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2009/12/28/08-55622.pdf

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/content/view.php?pk_id=0000000135

http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/stop-the-electrocutions-and-executions-175px

http://police-brutality-blog.blogspot.com/2009/12/important-taser-case-is-must-read-for.html

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/14353/stop-taser-torture-blogging-for-justice-day

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/13151/taser-abuse-how-many-have-to-die-before-something-is-done-about-it

http://francislholland.blogspot.com/2009/12/important-taser-case-is-must-read-for.html

http://stoptasertorture.wordpress.com/about/

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=taser+abuse&btnG=Google+Search

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Day+of+Blogging+for+Justice%22+taser&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Tasered+While+Black%22&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=