Yes, the long pause and awkward grin was epic; and I’m pretty sure the thought of doing a jig at that very moment crossed his mind. Surely such a move would have been greatly appreciated and applauded by the hankerchief-head-wearing Negroes he had bused in after picking them out at the Rent-A-Negro Store. You know, the ones who aren’t into getting “free stuff,” who obviously have no intentions of voting for “the other guy,” because, they would rather pick cotton for free for Bain Capital in China. Yeah, those black people; the ones who love what they see when they look into Mitt Romney’s heart. Yep, the not-so-secret black folk openly willing to vote for Mitt, unlike his down-low black supporters somebody has obviously lied to him about. C’mon, y’know he made that up, right?

Hi, my name is. What? My name is. Who? My name is... Mitt Shady.

I just wanted to clear that up, just in case you may think all black people look alike, like Mitt Romney obviously does. Which is really funny when you think about it; because, there is no way black folks should vote for a guy who not only doesn’t know where and what bank his money sits; but also a guy who can’t remember lies about where and when he ran Bain Capital when we’re trying to find employment, in this terrible economy. Sorry pal, but I’m not buying your, “I’m the savior of black people,” sales pitch. And I don’t know what black leaders you’ve been talking to — my guess is that you’re confusing Jesse Lee Peterson for Jesse Jackson, because we all look alike — but if you think your speech was a winner, you won’t be back next year — it’s not like Mitt wants our vote.

This from Mother Jones:

Leonard Alkins, the former head of the Boston NAACP, has few fond memories of Romney’s tenure. ”There was no relationship between the NAACP in Boston and Gov. Mitt Romney and his administration,” Alkins says. “The only time that the NAACP had any interaction with the administration and the governor was to protest when he eliminated the affirmative action office.”

In one of his early acts as governor, Romneydumped the state’s office of affirmative actionand replaced it with the office of diversity and equal opportunity. In doing so, he invalidated a half-dozen executive orders establishing affirmative action policies for women, minorities, veterans, and people with disabilities; diversity training programs; and equal-opportunity standards for state contractors. Romney’s executive orderreplaced all of this with what was essentially a broad—and, Alkins says, “toothless”—commitment to “diversity.”

Romney didn’t inform civil rights groups about his plans before scrapping the affirmative action office, and the reaction from activists was harsh. The Massachusetts Black Caucus accused Romney of attempting to “virtually dismantle affirmative action in Massachusetts state government.”

Romney eventually appointed a diversity commission to examine his new policy. But, according to Alkins, the NAACP was excluded from the commission—until other commissioners spoke up. “He excluded the NAACP from serving on that special commission until we protested,” Alkins recalls.

Romney appointed Alkins to the commission, but the process didn’t go well. Instead of approving Romney’s policy, the commission worked to strengthen the policies he invalidated. Word leaked to the governor, Alkins says, and the co-chair of the commission, Ruth Bramson, who was also Romney’s chief human resources officer, refused to call any more meetings, thwarting the commission from voting on and issuing final recommendations. Bramson, who is now CEO of the Girl Scouts in eastern Massachusetts, refused to comment, saying she has to stay out of politics. The Romney campaign did not respond to a request for comment. But a Romney spokesman told the Bay State Guardian at the time that Bramson felt the committee’s work was done and no further meetings were necessary.

So, do you think Romney really has the interest of black folk at heart? In his speech this week he spoke of his father marching with civil rights activists in the 1960s. But clearly from a policy position, it’s obvious that he doesn’t give a damn about the well being of black folks or anyone outside of his income bracket. If he did, why then would he propose tax cuts for the rich while raising taxes on the middle class and working poor? But hey, let him tell it, he’s the best thing for black folks since Moses and Joseph Smith delivered us from slavery, Jim Crow, and George W. Bush.

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The last thing I wanted to talk about today was the ongoing debate over last weeks Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare. I’ve written about it enough here and here; but, then Mitch McConnell spoke on Fox News Sunday yesterday. Speaking to host Chris Wallace, when asked about the “repeal and replace” meme circulating in GOP circles, McConnell said (and I’m paraphrasing here) that the GOP is not interested in providing insurance coverage to the 30 million uninsured that Obama’s plan would cover. He also added that the American health care system was the finest in the world; but don’t tell that to the 50 million currently uninsured citizens across the country.

For me, coming from McConnell this isn’t a shocker. Heck, if you have ever listened to him speak, you get the impression that he chews tobacco, drinks moonshine, and beats slaves all at the same time; no seriously, I think he keeps a few left-over slaves in a shed out back. After all, he is one of the good ole boys from Kentucky. According to statehealthfacts.org, in 2010 Kentucky had a total of 655,100 non-elderly residents uninsured, with 24 percent of them living between 139 and 250 percent above the federal poverty line. McConnell has an estimated net worth of $17 million dollars.

Mitt Romney speaks to campaign adviser, Eric Fuhrstom

Now this falls right in line with Mitt Romney’s position of Obamacare resulting in a “massive tax.” An assertion that fuels the repeal and replace meme given that the new law imposes a new tax on everyone as Republicans would have us believe. Of course that false logic has already been debunked. However, to properly define Mitt’s position, top campaign adviser Eric Fehrnstrom said, “The governor disagreed with the ruling of the Court,” and added, “he agreed with the dissent, which was written by Justice Scalia, which very clearly stated that the mandate was not a tax.” Okay, are you with me so far? Yes, Romney said it was a tax, everyone on the right says it’s a tax, but Romney’s top adviser says Mitt disagrees with himself and believes that the individual mandate is not a tax. Okay, are you confused just yet? Yes, I figured you would be. Well, watch the video below to figure it out if you can; pay attention closely, because this is getting confusing.

This via Think Progross:

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Maybe you haven’t noticed, but it’s gotten so bad now that the Supreme Court has upheld ‘Obamacare’, that some of them are threatening to move to Canada. Can you believe that shit? OK, lemme repeat that: Republicans are so disgusted with yesterday’s decision on “socialized health care”, that they’re willing to move to another country that offers, er, um, socialized health care (?). But of course you may say that this is just the typical idiocy exhibited by those afflicted with the mental disorder that is conservatism. I say it takes a lot to make a man compromise on his ideology; and in this case, I say this is sure-fire proof that they’re just downright racist. How racist? Racist enough to leave the country because of a certain black guy — to hell with grabbing guns.

So what’s this ridiculousness about? Of course I’ve already told you; but the real irony is that they’re cloaking it with the “massive tax hike” meme. Which i absolutely false, by the way; because very few people will pay the penalty for not having coverage. But let them tell it as all the talking heads have: ‘Obamacare’ will in effect create an increase on taxes for all. Of course this is very far from the truth. And as a recent report shows, the recently upheld law by the Supreme Court, will actually be a tax cut for millions of Americans, according to Families USA. How many? Oh, about 28.6 million of them — mostly in the middle class — will once entering health care exchanges and receiving affordability credits from the government, But nooo, this is all about more liberal taxes and spending:

We found that an estimated 28.6 million Americans will be eligible for the tax credits in 2014, and that the total value of the tax credits that year will be $110.1 billion. The new tax credits will provide much-needed assistance to insured individuals and families who struggle harder each year to pay rising premiums, as well as to uninsured individuals and families who need help purchasing coverage that otherwise would be completely out of reach financially. Most of the families who will be eligible for the tax credits will be employed, many for small businesses, and will have incomes between two and four times poverty (between $44,100 and $88,200 for a family of four based on 2010 poverty guidelines).

But hey, as entertaining as it is to watch my right-wing friends freak out — one of them even told me that George W. Bush was a closet liberal for appointing Chief Justice Roberts — It’s important that we counter this silly talk with nothing but the truth. Moving forward, it is up to us lefties to continue selling the benefits of the health care law, even more than the White House has to. Because you know the old saying: when you repeat a lie enough, it magically takes on the look of truth. And of course we know that our friends, are very good at that sort of thing, right? But hey, don’t be surprised when the talk of redistribution of wealth via health care, or it being reparations for black people resurfaces in weeks to come. Like I said before: they’ll do anything to stop the black guy.

Look, I’m not suggesting that everyone opposed to the health care law is racist; however, I am in no uncertain terms saying, that to be opposed to the law makes one an idiot. And I say that because I have yet to hear one congruent argument, as to why expanding an access to a more affordable health care model is purportedly a bad idea; and, not in the best interest of consumers across the nation; consumers who will need health care services at some point in their lives. If you can convince me, I would love to hear it.

The post The GOP ‘Obamacare’ Hate Level is Red-Lining: Look Out Canada, Here Comes the Crazies appeared first on THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY.

But don’t tell that to my Republican friends who are chock full of misinformation — you know, like the one that says the IRS will come for you if you don’t get health insurance like Marco Rubio says? — see this law as the death star that hangs ominously over the heads of citizens across the country. Let them tell it, the Supremes and Chief Justice John Roberts of all people, have gotten it wrong on this one — damn those activist judges! But hey, Republicans are idiots about the Affordable Care Act (read here). Let them tell it, the law is supposed to be a major job killer that negatively impacts small businesses, which are the engine of our economy. Wanna hear some truth? Per the law, businesses with less than 50 employees are not required to offer insurance coverage to employees. Wanna hear some more truth? About 96% of small businesses in the U.S. have less than 50 employees; which means, only a very small percentage of said small businesses will be required to provide coverage; and, for the ones that do — you know, the ones with at least 50 employees? — they’ll be given tax subsidies or tax credits as incentive for hiring which offsets cost.

But hey, facts don’t matter:

The post Supreme Court Rules Health Care Law Constitutional, Obama Wins, & Republicans are Idiots appeared first on THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY.

Now, clearly to any rationally thinking mind, it is absurd to suggest anything as ridiculous as the aforementioned. But, don’t tell that to South Carolina State Senator Kevin Bryant, who argues that it is the unborn fetus conceived in an act of rape or incestuous relationship who is the real “victim,” and not its would-be-mother, Yes, I know, this is just re-damn-diculous.

This via The Columbia State:

The dispute focuses on the definition of “victim.” Supporters, like Bryant, say the unborn child is a victim who has rights that must be protected.

“We’re focusing on the rights and the liberty of an unborn child, and I can’t understand why the life of a child that’s a victim ought to be terminated,” Bryant said.

So what is an uninsured rape victim supposed to do? Well, she can pay-out-of-pocket for an abortion — something that isn’t likely given her financial status. Or, she can bare the shame and degradation of knowingly carrying and eventually going into labor and delivering the child of her attacker.

At that point, she can then make the decision to keep the child, or give it up for adoption. Now I’m not a woman, but this seems very wrong on so many levels. I could be wrong, but it seems too much like punishing a woman for 1) being a victim of rape, and 2) for being poor. According to the provisio — which is defined as a temporary one-year law — abortions would be paid for with tax payer dollars only in the event that the life of the mother is in danger.

The three exemptions in the state health plan — rape, incest or life of the mother — mirrors the policy of the federal government health plan, commonly referred to as the Hyde Amendment, named for former U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde of Illinois. That federal policy has been in place for more than 30 years.

Since 2006, state taxpayers have paid for 6 abortions. All of them were to save the life of the mother, according to the state Budget and Control Board.

Currently the state’s health insurance plan covers 417,000 individuals – no word on just how many of them are raped annually. However, this is something SC Republicans have been trying to pass for the last two years. Here’s to hoping that they remain unsuccessful this time around. But whether they are or not, it can never be said that women without access to affordable health care were not under attack like they always have by our slightly-more-conservative friends in the Republican party.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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I wonder about Anna Brown, a single mother who happens to be Black who died in a St. Louis jail cell after being arrested for seeking medical attention in a hospital emergency room. Above all, I wonder how something like this could’ve happened in America and go unnoticed, or fail to gain national attention in the past six months since her death in a jail cell. It was then it hit me: Anna Brown was a Black woman living on a very limited income, and she was homeless. It was after I read the following piece from Christine Byers at stltoday.com that it all made sense:

Anna Brown wasn’t leaving the emergency room quietly.

She yelled from a wheelchair at St. Mary’s Health Center security personnel and Richmond Heights police officers that her legs hurt so badly she couldn’t stand.

She had already been to two other hospitals that week in September, complaining of leg pain after spraining her ankle.

This time, she refused to leave.

A police officer arrested Brown for trespassing. He wheeled her out in handcuffs after a doctor said she was healthy enough to be locked up.

Brown was 29. A mother who had lost custody of two children. Homeless. On Medicaid. And, an autopsy later revealed, dying from blood clots that started in her legs, then lodged in her lungs.

She told officers she couldn’t get out of the police car, so they dragged her by her arms into the station. They left her lying on the concrete floor of a jail cell, moaning and struggling to breathe. Just 15 minutes later, a jail worker found her cold to the touch.

Officers suspected Brown was using drugs. Autopsy results showed she had no drugs in her system.

Six months later, family members still wonder how Brown’s sprained ankle led to her death in police custody, and whether anyone — including themselves — is to blame.

There seems to be no simple answer.

St. Mary’s officials say they did all they were supposed to do for Brown. Richmond Heights police said they trusted a doctor who said she was fit for jail.

Brown’s mother, Dorothy Davis, isn’t sure what to think.

“If the police killed my daughter, I want to know,” she said. “If the hospital is at fault, I want to know. I want to be able to tell her children why their mother isn’t here.”

Davis also faults the St. Louis County Family Court, which she said forced her into a heartbreaking dilemma after the state took away Brown’s children on a claim of neglect. Davis could take in her grandchildren or her daughter, a judge said, but not both.

“I’m mad at myself because if I hadn’t listened to the courts, she would still be here,” Davis said. “If she had been here at this house, she would be here today.”

[...] Anna Brown was one of 10 children. She graduated from Kirkwood High School. At 18, she had her first child, a boy. She had a daughter nine years later. Brown was raising them alone when a tornado destroyed her north St. Louis home on New Year’s Eve 2010. She moved to Berkeley.

Shortly after, she lost her job at a sandwich shop. Bills lapsed. The electricity was turned off. So was the gas. And the water.

Family members say Brown and her children appeared fine during visits at Davis’ home in Normandy.

They weren’t.

In April, a state Children’s Division representative found Brown’s toilet filled with feces. Burn marks scarred the floors and sinks where Brown had used small fires to stay warm. One refrigerator could not be opened. Insects and rotting food filled another, according to state reports given to the Post-Dispatch by Brown’s family.

Brown was not lucid and seemed confused as Berkeley police arrested her for parental neglect. The courts awarded legal custody of the kids to the Children’s Division. Davis could have physical custody, as long as Brown didn’t live with her.

Brown’s home was condemned. She ended up on the streets. She lived in four homeless shelters from May to September 2011.

Brown struggled with officials’ requirements for reuniting with her children. She passed two drug tests but balked at others. “She felt that she had passed them, so there was no point in doing them again,” Davis said.

A court-ordered psychological evaluation to determine whether Brown had cognitive, developmental, behavioral or mental illnesses came back inconclusive. So the courts ordered a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether Brown needed medication or a doctor’s treatment.

But Brown resisted, not understanding the difference between the two evaluations, according to her caseworker’s notes.

Still, she may have known something was wrong. She joined the St. Louis Empowerment Center, a drop-in center for the mentally ill.

“It was like a light bulb went on when she heard others tell their stories,” said Kevin Dean, a peer specialist at the center. “She was just starting to make progress.”

Brown’s witty comments often broke the ice during group meetings, said Warren Brown, another peer specialist and no relation to Anna.

Anna Brown one day said she hurt her ankle while walking near a ditch, Dean and Warren Brown recalled.

The last time they remember seeing her was in August 2011; she said she couldn’t walk up the stairs.

Brown told her caseworker on Sept. 14 that she had been admitted to St. Louis University Hospital for a sprained ankle.

Bills her mother received show Brown stayed at that hospital from Sept. 13-15 and underwent an EKG, some radiology services, lab work and cardiovascular services.

Dorothy Davis, holding 2-year-old granddaughter Isabel Price, talks about the death of her daughter during an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at her home in Normandy, Mo.

“She wasn’t very eager to go home, but we do all we can to take care of the whole patient, and we want to make sure that we do not push someone out the door as soon as she came here,” said SLU spokeswoman Laura Keller. She said there was no indication of a blood clot in Brown’s leg.

Krystle Brown said she saw her sister for the last time after she was discharged from SLU. She dropped Anna off on Market Street downtown, where Anna said she wanted to be.

Davis didn’t want her daughter out in the rain and ordered Krystle to bring her home — regardless of the court order. It was too late. Krystle couldn’t find her sister.

Four days later, Brown had her last supervised visit with her children. She was on crutches.

[...] State inspectors working for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — a federal agency that regulates hospitals — interviewed St. Mary’s staff and reviewed medical records after the Post-Dispatch asked about Brown’s case in January.

They found that on Sept. 20, Brown returned to SLU Hospital for knee and ankle pain. X-rays of her knees were negative and she was given a prescription for a painkiller.

She refused to leave. Hospital security called St. Louis police, who responded about 5 a.m. Brown told them she wanted to go to a better hospital but refused to go in an ambulance, police said.

She then wheeled herself next door to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center, where doctors found tenderness in her legs. They told her she was at a pediatric hospital. She said she wasn’t leaving unless someone took her to an adult hospital, according to the inspectors.

An ambulance then took her to St. Mary’s, inspectors found. She arrived at 11:45 a.m. Her left ankle was swollen. She was there for about seven hours, during which ultrasounds on both of her legs were negative for blood clots. A nurse said she saw her stand up. A social worker gave her a list of shelters and a phone number for transportation.

She returned eight hours later by ambulance complaining of abdominal pain only, inspectors said. She refused to sign discharge papers but was discharged at 7 a.m.

Richmond Heights Officer Jason Tharp was at St. Mary’s on another call about 10 a.m. when a security officer, Steve Schaffer, told him a woman was claiming she “did not receive adequate medical attention and did not have to leave.”

She was sitting in a wheelchair and told officers she was waiting for a ride. Tharp told her to wait outside or face arrest for trespassing.

“You can’t arrest me. I know my rights, I can’t even stand up!” she yelled, according to police.

Officer Scott Stebelman said he waited for about three hours for a doctor to examine Brown before taking her to jail. At 12:30 p.m., a doctor issued a “Fit for Confinement” report, according to the state inspectors.

The irony of the above story being written this week, is that the Supreme Court listened to arguments on the constitutionality of the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act. Over the past few days, there have been many people in Washinton DC protesting outside of those hearings either in support of or against the current law now touted as “Obamacare”. I’ve even heard it said that a repeal of Obamacare would negatively impact the lives of women across the country. Even so, I wonder just how many people protesting are aware of Anna Brown’s story, and the countless stories of women like her? It’s one thing to rightfully fight for justice for for Trayvon Martin; and, in doing so taking the opportunity to speak out against the racial profiling of Black men in America.

However, with the fastest growing prison population in the last decade or so being women, I believe there is room for a conversation about Anna Brown and the numerous stories of struggling poor Black women like her. Please believe, many of them are dying in prison without being able to receive the proper medical attention. And like Anna, many of them can be diagnosed as mental patients; but, nobody seems to care about them. But this is to be expected when gender and race intersests.

It’s not right, and it’s not acceptable.

The post What Does Trayvon Martin and Anna Brown Have in Common, Besides Being Black and Dead? appeared first on THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY.

This is what’s been happening with this not-so-new but ongoing debate over contraceptives between the Catholic church and the White House. People have been asking me what are my thoughts concerning the debate, and I’ll say to you as I have said to them:  for Republicans, treating contraceptives and abortion as one in the same – clearly, they are not – is politically expedient. I mean think about this: the argument made by Conservatives suggests that president Obama is infringing on the Constitutional right to freedom of religion. Let them tell it, the government is forcing a Catholic run facility to provide coverage that covers contraceptives, that somehow kills a fetus.

Mitt Romney himself said on the campaign trail that the policy forces women to use the Morning After Pill, which he considers to be an abortion pill. Simply put, this is not true; this is the twisting of facts for political expediency. And the funny thing about this, is that Romney himself signed into law the very same measure as governor for Massachusetts infamous “Romneycare”. You know, that now evil health care plan that was the template for today’s Affordable Care Act  otherwise known as Obamacare? Yeah, you know that whole Kenyan style Socialist thingy?

This from Team Obama:

Mitt Romney is attacking new Affordable Care Act guidelines that require most insurance providers to cover contraceptive services, accusing President Obama’s administration of “using Obamacare to impose a secular vision on Americans who believe that they should not have their religious freedom taken away.”

But the facts tell a different story. Just as he criticizes federal health reform based on the law he passed in Massachusetts, Mitt Romney is attacking the President for providing women with the same access to contraception and preventive health care services Romney did as governor. Our new infographic takes a look at how contraception coverage compares under the Affordable Care Act and the Massachusetts law Romney stood behind.

But no, today contraceptives used by women and covered by health insurance companies, are treated like back alley abortion. And all the while, nobody on the right like Romney mentions that this rule already exists in 28 states; or that 98% of Catholic women have used contraceptives at one point in their lives. But no, let them tell it, you’d think that Catholic men will go to hell if they use condoms, and the pill is like smoking crack. Yep, and of course nobody wants the government to force people to smoke crack or be damned to hell. Listen, you can choose to believe the lies of the GOP if you choose if you like. But hey, if you’re interested in understanding just what I’m talking about, Rachel Maddow does an excellent job of breaking it all down in the following video. Yep, do yourself a favor and take a few minutes to understand just what this is all about.

Clearly with nothing else to stand on, the road to the White House run through a uterus.

The post The GOP Road to the White House Runs Through the Uterus, & Obama’s “War On Religion” appeared first on THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY.

Anywhichaways… not a real shocker, but I heard the subject of health care came up again last night. Yeah, and from what I’ve been hearing, a certain candidate – who happens to be a licensed doctor-made no bones about how he felt about personal responsibility, health care coverage, and the administering of care to patients. From what I’m hearing, this candidate believes that, well, dying as a result of someone not having coverage is an issue of personal responsibility. Not only that, but it being a personal responsibility issue, paying for medical care is too much like, well, too much government. That’s right, the same ‘ole same ‘ole; and, wouldn’t ya’ know it, the crowd agreed:

The post So Republicans Support Uninsured Americans Dying, But Just Not At Hospitals? appeared first on THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY.

Now of course given that their are currently 14 million Americans unemployed and a total of 25 million unemployed and underemployed. One can assume that with the nations recent greatest transfer of wealth, that folks would support such a gesture by Smiley and West. In particular, Black folks themselves would be welcoming of such a daunting task of traversing the nation showing the many Black faces not seen represented in the media, as the people affected by the economic meltdown which has left many with no other choice than to eat those Satan Sandwiches sugar-coated turd sandwiches with that extra helping of that not-so-secret fuck you french fries on the side.. But, as usual, some of my people are ignorant. Take my cousins in Detroit a few days ago for example. It seems a few of them were against the “Poverty Tour” making a stop last Monday:

DETROIT (WXYZ) – Detroiters have gathered at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center to protest an event hosted by Tavis Smiley and Cornel West.

West and Smiley host a nationally syndicated public radio program and have faced sharp criticism for their stance against President Obama. They have launched an event they call the “Poverty Tour.”

Councilwoman Joann Watson is also coming under fire for letting them into City Hall and hosting the presentation.

Both Smiley and West told Action News reporter Val Clark that the event is not an anti-Obama tour, but do say they believe the President hasn’t done enough for the poor.

A spokesperson for the community organization “Detroiters for Better Government” says Detroiters will stand united against this event.

“We will not stand silent as Smiley and West criticize the man who brought us health care reform, one of the greatest accomplishments for the poor in our nation’s history,” says David Stephen. This event has nothing to do with the poor and everything to do with enriching Tavis Smiley. Detroit must send a strong message to Washington that although some elected officials may support this anti-Obama rally on government property, the people do not.”

Now I realize that everyone’s entitled to their opinions; and no, Black folk aren’t as monolithic as we’re perceived.; and no we didn’t all vote for Obama because he was Black – we love his white side too. But if this isn’t the most ignorant stuff I’ve heard coming out of Detroit since the internet smash “It’s So Cold In The D,” then I don’t know what is. Lemme keep it real with you: Detroit is the last city in America that should be against the “Poverty Tour”. Don’t let those Chrysler commercials fool you; shit is jacked up in Detroit. As a matter of fact, the state of Michigan lead the country in unemployment before the Great Recession. And to be totally honest with you. My wife is a Detroit native. In recent years, all of my in-laws (like all Black folks living up north have been doing lately) have moved south to Memphis because things are as tough as they are economically in the city of Detroit. They love Obama like I do, but I doubt they’s pack up next week and move back just on the strength of him signing the Affordable Health Care Act. Shit, they don’t even grocery store chains

This story of protests of the “Poverty Tour” last Monday had me shaking my head for the past few days. But then I woke up today and read what Steve Harvey had to say about it over at theloop21 and I was out done. This brother had the nerve to fo into a rant on his radio show last Monday, and basically called Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West “Uncle Tom,” for conducting this tour which highlights poverty in America. Now I respect all that Harvey has done for the community, and his BET Lifetime Achievement Award speaks volumes, I’m sure. But where does this guy get the nerve to call what these brothers are doing as “Uncle Tom” behavior. If you ask me, to be quite honest, Harvey’s comments directed at Smiley and West comes off like “slave-catcher” behavior to me.

maurice Garland at theloop21 writes:

Earlier this week during his syndicated morning radio show, Steve Harvey went in on Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West for their constant criticisms of President Barack Obama.

After reading an email from a listener who insisted that Smiley and West’s current Poverty Bus Tour was nothing more than a hustle, Harvey added his two cents blasting the duo for using personal vendettas to go out and sully the POTUS’ name.

“I was a huge fan of Cornel West,” he said. “[But] Tavis, I seen him coming a mile away. His anger started when he had a town hall meeting, President Obama couldn’t come because of the campaign trail and he sent Mrs. Obama. He has held that grudge every since.”

To West’s squabbles about not getting extra tickets to Obama’s inauguration, Harvey offered, “Have you ever been invited to the damn inauguration? Did Bush send for you? Did Clinton send for you? Did Reagan send for you?”

He continued, “You don’t have any real basis behind your dislike for this man…you keep masking it saying it’s not about hate. Then what is it about? Poverty existed before January 20, 2008. Where was your damn bus then?”

The Original King of Comedy, Family Feud host and suit designer didn’t stop there. After reading Smiley’s request that Obama join him for “a roundtable for two or three days on poverty,” Harvey joked, “Who in the hell got 2-3 days for your ass? I ain’t got time to sit down with your monkey behind for two, three days, let alone the President of the United States. We got three wars going on, the economy crashing and we going to sit down with Tavis ass for three days?”

Harvey ended the rant insisting that somebody is paying Smiley and West to produce the Poverty Tour, asking “where are you getting the money for these buses?” But not before performing a skit where he said he was the president of UTLO.org (which stands out for “Uncle Tom Look Out”) and that he spotted an “uncle tom” driving a bus.

“Make sure you don’t get on the poverty bus,” he mocked. ”Because if you ain’t po’, when you ride the bus, you become po’.”

The problem as I see it, is that Harvey, much like many Black folks, cannot separate criticism of policy from the symbolism of Barack Obama being America’s first Black president. Instead, they take constructive criticism of policy as a personal attack, and a reason to make ad hominem attacks. I could be wrong, but wasn’t there a report recently that surmised the economic reality of people of color in America today? Isn’t it by now a well known fact that the recent debt ceiling deal will further marginalize members of an already marginalized and vulnerable group – that would be, working poor and unemployed folks, of whom most are disproportionately women?

Checkout the audio from Steve Harvey:

Listen, I don’t know how much the economy has negatively impacted Steve Harvey. But you can best believe that his Black ass isn’t struggling like the “regular person” in Detroit, and other cities across America. While a large segment og the Black community is struggling to stay afloat, or keep pace with white folks who are twenty times wealthier than we are as we continue to lose what little wealth we’ve accumulated for centuries. It’s a wonder just how we got free back in the days when a few brave souls among us had the courage to say: “Fuck this shit, we ain’t gotta take it anymore!” Not sure if that’s a direct quote from Harriet Tubman, but hopefully you’re intelligent enough to understand unlike a certain horse-teeth-having, ugly-loud-suit-wearing, bald headed, not-so-funny Negro named Steve Harvey, who’s content with us sitting at the back of the bus.

In closing: you can be Black and love Barack Obama all you like; you can seek to protect the symbolism of his presidency all you want from racist attacks. But when you do so, do remember that though he is a Black man with a beautiful Black family. The status quo in America he represents? They damn sure ain’t Black; nor do they sit around worrying about finding jobs. Besides, when exactly did Black folks speaking truth to power become a bad thing in America? After all, don’t we celebrate the birthday of a Black man who got killed for doing the same thing?

Alloew me to make one last point: the poor and “new poor” among us are voters, and are important. In case you didn’t know, nn 2008, Obama won 73 percent of the vote of those earning less than $15,000 a year, 60 percent of those earning between $15,000 and $30,000 and 55 percent of the vote of those earning $30,000 to $50,000. Those were his widest margins of victory of anyincome group and helped to propel him to victory. And as much trouble he is in currently, with the chances of re-election becoming interstingly tougher. Today, there are more people below the poverty line than in 2008; and I’m pretty sure president Obama is going to need all the help he can get in 2012. He might not be able to have a successful push for job creating legislation given the strategy of the GOP. But, he cannot afford to look the part of a defeated lame duck, and expect to win in 2012. It happened to Jimmy Carter, and it can happen again… But y’all don’t hear me tho.

Recommended Reading: In Defense of Tavis and Cornel

The post So Tavis Smiley & Cornel West are "Uncle Toms" for Their "Poverty Tour", According to Steve Harvey? appeared first on THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to yet another example of what it’s like for the working poor in America in 2011. Naturally if you’ve been following this site for some time you’ll know, that unemployment if high, there are millions still uninsured as health care costs continue to rise, and most importantly, the government doesn’t give a damn. Or, they don’t give the impression that they do, whilr attempting to convince us otherwise.

So what’s a person in need of medical care to do while wealthy politicians sit around and squabble over cutting necessary services for poor folk and also Medicare & Medicaid? Well, I’ll leave that up to you because only you can determine your level of desperation. However, meet Richard James Verone, and check out what he did about his situation, and what he did about his need for medical attention, Clearly his is an example of American ingenuity, that can do spirit, and all out desperation. Or simply put: a man doing what he has to do:

STON, N.C — A North Carolina man suffering from an undiagnosed growth on his chest and two ruptured disks walked into an RBC bank and handed a note to a teller demanding $1. He then sat by the door and waited for police to arrive.

Richard James Verone says he needs medical attention and hoped that by getting arrested, he would have access to health care in prison.

“I’m sort of a logical person and that was my logic, what I came up with,” Verone told WCNC. “If it is called manipulation, then out of necessity because I need medical care, then I guess I am manipulating the courts to get medical care.”

Three years ago, Verone was laid off from Coca-Cola after 17 years on the job. He says he has had part-time work since then, but nothing with health insurance.

He is hoping for a three-year sentence, enough time to collect social security and obtain the medical help he requires, Verone says.

“If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything,” he says.

The 59-year-old was unarmed at the time of the incident.

He is being charged with larceny and is held on a $2,000 bond. He will appear in court June 28. (source)

Lemme tell you, as a person who for the last four years has struggled with major health issues for the last four years, I empathize heavily with what this man has done. For the past four years I’ve struggled to deal with complications from 17yrs of diabetes with my eyes. And as I’ve mentioned before, at one point and for a very long time I was legally blind. Most important to note, is that I dealt with this while having insurance, as well as without having any. And to understand where I’m coming from, I’ve had at least six surgical procedures done dur8ng this time. Yep, and I have the bills to prove it, by God.

Check out Ricard’s jailhouse interview:

I’m currently insured, and after surgery a few months ago, I’m no longer legally blind. However, within recent weeks I’ve developed some complications, and it looks like I’ll be having more surgery. You might say it’s a good thing I’m insured this time around, unlike Richard. But lemme tell you something: being insured today since the passage of the much debated Affordable Care Act, at least for me, has been much like not being insured. My premiums have increased, and to be honest, I’m getting less bang for my buck. Let’s just say that since my last procedure and having paid out-of-pocket a total of $2500 in advance, I’m still being billed for a considerably exorbitant amount of money. Before heal care reform? No such problem. So tell me, who’s winning and who’s losing in this sham that is the American health care system?

Surely it isn’t consumers or even people like Richard who represent the uninsured. You know, the people waiting for the Affordable Care Act to kick in so they too can pay out of their asses like myself and so many others are doing currently? You know, the people for whom having health insurance is a necessity? Or dare I say a life or death decision? Which is really what it is, because here in America where health care isn’t seen as a right, you can best believe that having a hangnail while uninsured means certain death. That is, unless you’re enterprising, brave, and willing to commit a crime to be able to access medical care via a prison cell. Hey might as well since they seem to be more concerned about lovking people up these days.

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