SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-31

• New post at The SuperSpade: Revisiting the #
• New post at The SuperSpade: John McCain talks Black? – Black on Black Thought ( http://tinyurl.com/5cvzpv ) #

John McCain talks Black? – Black on Black Thought

This is part of the bi-weekly Black on Black Thought feature.

I’m excited to do The SuperSpade’s first author interview today. Cliff Schecter, a friend and former Brave New Films colleague, is the author of The Real McCain: Why Conservatives Don’t Trust Him, Why Independents Shouldn’t, which was released this past May. The book is an insightful look into the political psyche of the Republican Presidential candidate.

I asked Cliff to talk with me about John McCain’s record on issues of relevance to Black voters. With all of the talk in the news over the past couple of days about race in this election, his answers are interesting to say the least.

The Interview

The SuperSpade: In your view, what’s been the most instructive example of John McCain’s ideology to civil rights?

Cliff Schecter: First Garlin, thanks so much for providing these questions. And now onto business.

When it comes to Civil Rights, it’s an easy one. While he has hired a white supremacist to work on his campaign, employed the man who created the racist ads against Harold Ford Jr. in 2006 and voted against MLK day, the one that sticks out is the Confederate Flag. And here is why: McCain has even admitted himself that he threw African Americans under the bus for political reasons in South Carolina in 2000. McCain blatantly changed his position on the Confederate Flag when he thought it would help get him votes–to appear more racist.

In January 2000, McCain said that “The Confederate flag is offensive in many, many ways, as we all know. It’s a symbol of racism and slavery.” Yet, three days later, after talking to consultants and deciding that winning was more important than civil rights, he changed his tune to “personally, I see the flag as a symbol of heritage.” When the campaign was over, he admitted that if he had “answered honestly” he feared that he “could not win the South Carolina primary.” So winning is what mattered. Not as important an issue in this country as the ongoing inequality and racism that African Americans are forced to endure.

Revisiting the ‘I’ in Individuality – Black on Black Thought

This is part of the bi-weekly Black on Black Thought feature.

Today we look again at the concept of individuality. James wrote a piece today called Am I destroying the black community? that is a response to something I wrote last November called How the myth of individualism is destroying the Black community. In it, he refutes many of my points, but I think at the core he misses some fundamental truths that are necessary for individual success and collective advancement.

SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-30

• New post at The SuperSpade: A Day of Blogging for Justice – Against – Extra – Judicial Electrocution – Tasers ( http://tinyurl.com/57wm9f ) #
• Barack Obama is not arrogant. Why is it that every time a Black man shows the slightest bit of self confidence, he is labeled as arrogant? #
• @baratunde The connotation of arrogance is negative narcissism. Obama would just be cool & confident if he wasn’t Black. That’s the problem. #
• @baratunde exactly, don’t get it twisted. #

A Day of Blogging for Justice – Against – Extra – Judicial Electrocution – Tasers

What’s up fam,

Today, The SuperSpade is teaming up with Black bloggers across the country for “A Day of Blogging for Justice – Against – Extra – Judicial Electrocution – Tasers.” This project is being headed up by African American Political Pundit and Francis Holland, who have created Electrocuted While Black for “tracking and reporting on pre-trial, extra-judicial death penalty, because it’s 21st century lynching, by another name.”

More from the website, “We are blogging today against police and other security entities across America, Canada and around the world involved in Extra-Judicial Electrocution by Tasers. African American political Pundit has called it a campaign against “on the spot pre-trial electrocution” of members of the public (many who are of African descent).”

The sick thing about the use of tasers is that it is often portrayed as a less severe form of punishment because proponents say, “Well, at least I am not using a gun.” This belies the fact that you can die from being tasered such as how “17-year-old Darryl Wayne Turner died: He had cardiac arrest after a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer shot him with a Taser gun.

And I know that it is very strategic for blogs to insert pictures or use videos to help illustrate their points. However, the downside of this strategy is that things are not “real” unless someone can supply visual evidence. So when I think about tasers, I automatically revert to one of my favorite books, “The Invisible Man.” In the opening scene, our nameless protagonist gives a speech in front of the city’s leading White men accepting a scholarship and after the speech, he is pressured to fight with other Black boys in a ring blindfolded. After being pummeled, the White men put a couple coins and dollars on a rug and force the boys to fight over the money. Little to the boy’s knowledge, there is an electric current running through the rug and in excruciating detail, the protagonist describes the pain of being electrocuted.

Again, being tasered is a small but significant part of being Black in America. Our stories must be told by us because according to an African Proverb, “Until the Lions have Their Historians, Tales of the Hunted will Always Glorify the Hunter.”

For more on this topic, visit the site, Electrocuted While Black.

Stay up fam,

Brandon Q.

SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-27

• Why are there so many oil company commercials shown during the Sunday morning talk shows? #

SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-26

• @AdamGreenOnline hit me up next time you come to Seattle. I see you were there with my friend Goldy. #

SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-25

• New post at The SuperSpade: Being a Black Man in America is like having a felony record… ( http://tinyurl.com/5zrn6r ) #
• I’ve never seen as many Black people in commercials as I’ve seen during CNN’s Black in America tonight. How ironic… #
• I know Blogging While Brown will be groundbreaking. I’m sorry I can’t attend in person, by I’ll be there in heart, mind, and solidarity. #

SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-24

• New post at The SuperSpade: McCain feels disrespected by NYT – Black on Black Thought ( http://tinyurl.com/6dknft ) #
• New post at The SuperSpade: Over 600,000 Petitioners Call for an End Fox News Racism ( http://tinyurl.com/6amtcr ) #

Being a Black Man in America is like having a felony record…

I think CNN did a better job tonight.  They showed the challenges both sides face. They showed the average black man and his struggle.  Although I think they still did not focus on answers, and it was more of the same as yesterday, this was more powerful and effective.  Here are my quick hit thoughts…

Over 600,000 Petitioners Call for an End Fox News Racism

The SuperSpade’s partnership with Color of Change, Brave New Films, MoveOn.org, and Nas to outline just how racist Fox News climaxed yesterday.

600,000+ signed petitions were delivered to Fox HQ by Color of Change and Nas.  The rapper also spoke to the crowd about why they were there and what they wished to accomplish.

Art & Activism

Artists are important to movements.Their creativity gives movements vibrancy. Their notoriety gives movements visibility. Their passion makes movements inspiring.

Here’s a video of the event:

Nas was also on The Colbert Report talking about this action:

Why this is important

The myth of the post-racial society is becoming more and more pervasive. The problem is that it is itself based on a conservative, racist mode of thinking about race in America that equates progress with individuals. Using this as a measuring stick, makes it possible for the Fox News’ of the world to attack individuals and Black folks collectively.

If instead we saw that progress can only be meaningfully defined as collective improvement, we would focus on solving the root causes that lead to individuals making the choices that look stereotypical. Who knows, maybe CNN will go at it like that? I doubt it.

One Love. One II.

Is There Anything Good About Being Black in America…

…besides hip-hop, Barack Obama and professional sports?

Welcome to a Primetime Pity Party

If you were like me, you watched “Black in America” on CNN tonight; which lead me to the question that is the title of this post.  While I applaud CNN for shedding light on the numerous ails of the black community, I could tell it was not geared towards African Americans or else the discussion would have been much different.

SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-23

• New post at The SuperSpade: Barack Obama rejects Fox News on his Middle East trip ( http://tinyurl.com/5b4w3j ) #

McCain feels disrespected by NYT – Black on Black Thought

This is part of the bi-weekly Black on Black Thought feature

What’s up fam, this week James Dickson ripped into The New York Times (NYT) for their not publishing an article on the conflict in Iraq penned by Senator John McCain. For context, McCain’s piece was a defense of his supporting the conflict in Iraq and it was a response to an article written by Senator Barack Obama that was published the week before.

James said,

Rather than the nation ignoring McCain’s piece, as it almost certainly would have, the NYT has made it the first must-read political tract of 2008. Rather than bypass the piece when it would’ve run in the NYT, I instead read the piece — which, admittedly, was the typical “BUT THE DEMOCRATS ARE WORSE!!!1″ Republican attack line — on CNN.com, a site that, if it has lower circulation than NYT, isn’t by much.

I actually disagree that McCain’s piece is now a must-read political tract. This type of analogy is is akin to people buying NWA’s music solely because it was banned. And not for nothing, Obama is a really good writer and it is painfully obvious that he wrote his article while it appears that McCain’s article was written by the Communications staff and quite frankly, it read like it went through the campaign filter about ten times before they sent it to the NYT.

James himself admitted that McCain’s piece was lackluster which begs the question, why does the NYT editors have to publish bad journalism? Regardless, James went on to point out that decisions like the one made by NYT serve to highlight the growing prominence of the blogosphere and the decline of mainstream media. I think this claim is a bit overblown because the vast majority of political blogs react to articles in the mainstream media via commentary/analysis. (like we are doing right now)

The larger issue is that McCain is losing in the marketplace of ideas and by that I mean that his ability to paint an inspiring vision of a better America is similar to the article he submitted to the NYT; lackluster. And while the notion of fair and balanced news analysis is seductive, it is fleeting, which is why you can get more in-depth analysis by reading Black on Black Thought.

Stay up fam,

Brandon Q.

Barack Obama rejects Fox News on his Middle East trip

There is one good thing that I do see about Barack Obama’s trip overseas. It turns out that his campaign actively refused to include Fox News as a part of his media entourage.

Why this matters

This is important because how candidates and Presidents deal with the media is indicative of how they will deal with the people at large. By Obama rejecting Fox News, he is rejecting their practices as an organization,which is a win for tolerance and open-mindedness. I fervently applaud such actions, and you should too.

On Obama’s Trip

I haven’t said anything about Barack Obama’s current trip to Europe and the Middle East for a few reasons:

• Everyone else is talking about it, so there’s not a lot of new news to share
• It is reactive action. Obama has been very good about taking ownership of issues, national defense in particular, away from the Republicans. For a generation, it has been true that if the debate was about national security, then Republicans & conservatives automatically won. Obama has done quite a bit to change that, but this trip was a step backward because the action was based on the acceptance of John McCain’s completely idiotic premise for critiquing Obama’s war policy. The premise is that Obama is “naive” and that he “doesn’t really know what’s going on”, both of which are wrong. The critique was that he needed to “see things for himself”. By taking the trip, he accepted these. Instead, I would have liked for him to define a different narrative that shows how strong he is and has been in terms of the correctness of his judgement, one that exudes pride in America taking the position as the worlds wisest diplomat with Obama as President. I digress…

I want Progressives and Democrats to stop accepting Republican/Conservative frames of issues. This is the reason that we are always on the defensive. It’s time to go on offense.

One Love. One II.

SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-22

• New post at The SuperSpade: Confronting Racism at Fox News ( http://tinyurl.com/5fha4n ) #
• @urbanreporter Happy Birthday old man. #

Confronting Racism at Fox News

The SuperSpade is partnering with Color of Change, Brave New Films, MoveOn.org, and now rapper Nas to outline just how racist Fox News is and how this racism has been used to stir up fear, uncertainty, and doubt about Barack Obama.

We encourage everyone to sign this petition that Color of Change created to show your support for shining light on the many, many, many examples of racism at Fox. Over 620,000 people have signed on already.

The petition itself will be delivered to Fox News HQ by Color of Change, Nas, and other supporters on Wednesday, 23 July 2008. Make sure you sign it to be a part of this action!

Also, listen to this Nas song from his latest album that talks specifically about Fox News.

One Love. One II.

SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-21

• Rush Limbaugh on Obama’s trip overseas: “He’s like a college student studying abroad, ‘pimping Bush’s ride’”. Wow. #

SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-19

• New post at The SuperSpade: The SuperSpade at Netroots Nation ( http://tinyurl.com/5m29cw ) #

The SuperSpade at Netroots Nation

The one and only Brandon Q. White is holding down The SuperSpade at the Netroots Nation conference in Austin, TX this weekend. The conference is an annual meeting of the minds of progressive activists who’s primary work is being done via the Internet.

Most importantly, Brandon will be leading a panel discussion today designed by the two of us called Black Blogging Beyond Obama. The goals of the panel are to discuss what the importance and position of Black online activism is and should be when we broaden our scope beyond election-focused efforts. Here’s a summary:

Black bloggers voice will be paid close attention given Obama’s candidacy and while the increased attention and addition of new voices are welcome; our collective voice is just as pertinent for issues unrelated to Obama’s campaign. As such, what steps should we be taking now to make sure that this message is not lost on each other and the larger blogosphere/media infrastructure?

I know B will knock it out of the park today and this weekend, raising the level of thought in Black political discourse to ever-increasing heights.

UPDATE: Video of the panel is availabe here.

One Love. One II.

Stop Speculation Now – Black on Black Thought

This is part of the bi-weekly Black on Black Thought feature.

Guess what? Gas is expensive. Expensive gas impacts almost everything in Americans’ day-to-day lives by making almost everything we do or consume more costly. One of the large contributors to the high cost of fuel is speculation, which in simple terms means to buy something you have no purpose for other than to make money off of its unstable price.

Well, the argument against excessive speculation, especially on commodities like oil, has brought together groups of citizens, organizations, and companies that often times are at odds with one another. The Stop Oil Speculation Now effort has caused many to join in a call for smarter, more responsible government regulation and an end to one of the major drivers if high gas prices.

SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-16

• The End of Suburbia: ‘Nintendo geologists’ are to blame for the U.S. ignoring impending peak oil. #
• Why is it that people who “don’t look american” get harassed by uniformed ICE personnel when traveling to the Middle East? #
• New post at The SuperSpade: Who\’s image is it? – Black on Black Thought ( http://tinyurl.com/5aoxqh ) #

Who's image is it? – Black on Black Thought

This is part of the bi-weekly Black on Black Thought feature.

James wrote an interesting response to the New Yorker cover called “The New Yorker and Archie Bunker”. The gist of his analysis is the following:

Wlady Plesczynski, longtime editorial director of The American Spectator, blogged that the cover was “too clever by half, taking some generally known unserious tropes and having a field day with them, as if at some level the magazine actually thought such a caricature had some basis in fact.” That is exactly right. If the cover were an attempt to pre-empt and ridicule conservative attacks on Obama, two things went terribly wrong in that thinking:

1. This will only embolden — it certainly won’t scare — conservatives. Now that a liberal publication has fired the first salvo, one far worse than any that Republicans have conjured up to date, it’s far more likely that we’ve entered Open Season than any chance of conservatives shying away from playing the race angle.
2. Most Americans are, in the words of a former colleague, “only negligibly literate.” While the inside-the-Beltway types will see the cartoon for what it is — a poorly done jab at the right-wing — I doubt that the people in “Flag City, USA,” many of whom actually do believe that Obama is, or was, a Muslim, will see the nuance. More likely they’ll just take it as proof that see, I knew that Obama he was some kind of Muslim; my friends were right all along — even The New Yorker said so.

I agree with James that this is satire done with the skill of dog writing poetry. However, we differ on the underlying reason why this article cartoon cover failed so miserably.

SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-15

• Every time Barack Obama has to deny that he is Muslim, America takes a step away from its ideal of religious respect, acceptance & freedom. #
• Here’s what Republicans think of Socialism: privatize the profit; socialize the losses. #

SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-14

• New post at The SuperSpade: Wow, no comment ( http://tinyurl.com/5fke7l ) #

Wow, no comment

What was that about us living in a post-racial society?

One Love. One II.

SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-11

• The AMA says it’s sorry for 100 years of racist policies. That’s a century’s worth of unnecesarily sick Black folks. Thanks, I guess. #

SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-10

• New post at The SuperSpade: Integrity, Impeachment, and Movement-based Politics ( http://tinyurl.com/6m5h7p ) #
• Election-based thinking is responsible for the post-Civil Rights destruction of the influence of the Black vote. Writing more on this later. #

Integrity, Impeachment, and Movement-based Politics

I received an email today from Dennis Kucinich (remember him?) regarding his introduction of an Article of Impeachment on the House floor, which is scheduled to take place today. In the message was a link to a petition that people can sign to show support.

From the email:

The article of Impeachment will deal directly with President Bush fraudulently obtaining support for an attack on Iraq by creating a false case for war. Full details of the Article of Impeachment will be available after they are read on the floor of the House by Congressman Kucinich.

I have written on this site that I support impeachment. Further, I conducted an online survey in which 54% of people said that they too supported impeachment. Sign the petition and show your support too!

Movements are based on principles

Kucinich is taking a principled stance on impeachment, and I believe it is not only an important stance, but it also sets an excellent example of how politics should be conducted.

Election-based politics are not based on principle, they instead are based on convenience, expediency, and the electability myth. On the other hand, movement-based politics are based on agreement on ideology, on goals, on a way of doing things.

Let’s strongly support politicians who do not compromise their integrity and principles in search of a mythical middle ground. If you agree with someone in principle, you can work through differences in implementation. But the foundation of meaningful conversation must be a common goal. By being open, asking the right questions, and talking honestly, we can find the commonality we need to move forward.

One Love. One II.

SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-09

• New post at The SuperSpade: Introducing: Black on Black Thought ( http://tinyurl.com/62dlea ) #
• New post at The SuperSpade: Race Talk in America ( http://tinyurl.com/5nzusq ) #
• The SuperSpade’s “Black on Black Thought” Series http://tinyurl.com/5dyeyw will be a discussion in Black conservative and Progressive ideas. #

Race Talk in America

This is part of the bi-weekly Black on Black Thought feature.

What’s up fam,

I am happy to kick off Black on Black Thought. This week, James wrote about CNN’s Black in America special (that will highlight life in Black America in all its complexity) and considers whether or not this series will over saturate America with “race talk” and its possible impact on the 2008 election. James basic conclusion is that we are reaching a saturation point in our “race-talk.” I think we are far from the point of saturation.

Introducing: Black on Black Thought

The tag line for The SuperSpade is Black Thought at the Highest Level. So it is in the spirit of elevating Black political discourse that we launch a unique new series called Black on Black Thought, a collaboration between us and James Dickson, a Black libertarian conservative blogger who is the author of The Young and the Conservative at The Washington Times.

With Black on Black Thought, twice weekly we’ll explore various topics with James presenting a conservative perspective at his site and us presenting a progressive perspective here. To date Black conservative and Black progressive have never been juxtaposed in this way. Showcasing the diversity existent in Black political thought is not only a timely experiment in ideological exploration, but it is a necessary conversation that lays the foundation for Black political pride and Black political power.

We look forward to your participation in this journey with us.

One Love. One II.

SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-08

• Steve Biko’s “I Write What I Like” is required reading for anyone who claims to be an activist. #
• Obama said he “may just disagree” with those that “haven’t been listening” & say he’s changing positions. If that’s true, that sucks. #

SuperSpade Quick Notes Summary for 2008-07-07

• Writing a new SuperSpade post. Right now, the title is #
• New post at The SuperSpade: The 5/3 Compromise ( http://tinyurl.com/67pfjq ) #

The 5/3 Compromise

This is not a typo as I am sure you probably thought about the 3/5 Compromise that helped to solidify the political marginalization of Black people in America. This historical update is fitting coming off the heels of the July 4^th holiday weekend. Leading up the Constitutional Convention in 1787, there was a growing divide between Northern states and southern states of if and how slaves (the vast majority of which were Black) should be counted for purposes of representation and taxation.

Delegates that opposed slavery (and not all of these delegates were morally pure) only wanted to count free inhabitants of each state. On the other hand, delegates that supported slavery wanted to count their slave population as part of the total population despite the fact that slaves could not vote and were commonly regarded as property. Of course, delegates that supported the latter position would be over represented in the House of Representatives. The “Great Compromise” resulted in what we now understand as the three-fifths compromise. This compromise has been updated for the times and has serious consequences for the future.