If you had your doubts about Lou Dobbs being a racist. . .

. . .watch this:



Hat tip to Talking Points Memo

Note to crooks: you may want to stay off of MTV

March 30, 2008

An Oilman Entices, and Investors Cry Foul

By JULIE CRESWELL

LIKE so many of the over-the-top birthday parties that typically appear on “My Super Sweet 16” on MTV, Ariel’s celebration took the fairy-tale-princess theme to new heights.

Horse-drawn carriages delivered teenage guests to a faux-castle tent where they were met with dancing jesters and disco lights. The birthday girl, wearing a white dress and tiara, flew in via helicopter. And the evening ended with fireworks and the arrival of Ariel’s gift from her father: a brand new BMW 325i.

As viewers learned, Ariel’s dad was a successful oilman. “I love oil. Oil means shoes and cars and purses,” Ariel exclaimed to the camera as she and her father stomped around oil drilling sites in the muddy hills near her home in Campbellsville, Ky. When her father pointed to one of the sites and told viewers that it produced 120 barrels a day, Ariel asked, “How many Louis Vuittons is that?” Her father’s answer was “a bunch.”

The show typically attracts younger viewers, but this particular episode, shown in February 2007, caught the attention of an entirely different demographic: government regulators.

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Chicago Tribune: Struggling Asians go unnoticed

Struggling Asians go unnoticed

Poor grades lumped in with standout students

By Azam Ahmed and Darnell Little

Tribune reporters

March 30, 2008

If her native tongue was one commonly spoken in the U.S. instead of the less familiar Khmer, Thana Ouk might have more help at school.

She would have access to classes in her language and programs attuned to her cultural heritage. Her mother, who speaks no English, would be better able to communicate with teachers.

But Thana, a junior at Roosevelt High School, is Cambodian and can find few services tailored to her needs. Instead, she falls under the broad umbrella of "Asian" for public school funding and testing purposes.

Because many families of Asian heritage are well-educated and have comparative material advantages, and because students in the broad Asian category often perform as well as or better than white students on standardized tests, resources are scarce for Asians who are struggling in public schools.
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Mediabistro: Roland Martin Calls Out Bill O'Reilly

Roland Martin Calls Out Bill O'Reilly

CNN contributor Roland Martin is fighting back against Bill O'Reilly's characterization of him during last night's O'Reilly Factor. Martin posted a pair of emails on his blog that he sent to O'Reilly, to SVP of programming Bill Shine and to SVP of development Joel Cheatwood.

In a discussion about the comments of Barack Obama's pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, O'Reilly called Martin the "chief apologist" for the pastor. "I don't know much about him," O'Reilly said. "But he has basically said this is no big deal."

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Guest column in the Chicago Tribune: Rev. Wright in a different light

Rev. Wright in a different light

By William A. Von Hoene Jr.
March 26, 2008

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I have been a member of Trinity, a church with an almost entirely African-American congregation, for more than 25 years. I am, however, a white male. From a decidedly different perspective than most Trinitarians, I have heard Wright preach about racial inequality many times, in unvarnished and passionate terms.
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I do have a bit of personal context. About 26 years ago, I became engaged to my wife, an African-American. She was at that time and remains a member of Trinity. Somewhere between the ring and the altar, my wife had second thoughts and broke off the engagement. Her decision was grounded in race: So committed to black causes, the daughter of parents subjected to unthinkable prejudice over the years, an "up-and-coming" leader in the young black community, how could she marry a white man?

Rev. Wright, whom I had met only in passing at the time and who was equally if not more outspoken about "black" issues than he is today, somehow found out about my wife's decision. He called and asked her to "drop everything" and meet with him at Trinity. He spent four hours explaining his reaction to her decision. Racial divisions were unacceptable, he said, no matter how great or prolonged the pain that caused them. God would not want us to assess or make decisions about people based on race. The world could make progress on issues of race only if people were prepared to break down barriers that were much easier to let stand.

Rev. Wright was pretty persuasive; he presided over our wedding a few months later. In the years since, I have watched in utter awe as Wright has overseen and constructed a support system for thousands in need on the South Side that is far more impressive and effective than any governmental program possibly could approach. And never in my life have I been welcomed more warmly and sincerely than at Trinity. Never.
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Mitchell in the Sun-Times

Hillary insults voters in attack on Rev. Wright

March 26, 2008

Recommend (10)

BY MARY MITCHELL Sun-Times Columnist

What I find the most sickening about politics is that some politicians think the American people are idiots.

No, strike that.

» Click to enlarge image

Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell

RELATED STORIES

Sweet: Hillary retaliates, rips rev amidst her false claim Wright cancels Houston appearances, citing security Clinton: 'He would not have been my pastor'

Some politicians depend on them being idiots. That's how they get elected.

For instance, what are voters supposed to believe about Sen. Hillary Clinton's back-handed criticism of Sen. Barack Obama's decision not to disown the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., his former longtime pastor?

Click here for entire column

Goudie in the Daily Herald: Critics off base with 'Obama Commandment'

Critics off base with 'Obama Commandment'

By Chuck Goudie | Daily Herald Columnist

On Easter morning, Chicago churches would have been as empty as Christ's tomb if everyone were expected to live by "the Obama Commandment."

Ever since it was revealed that Barack Obama's South Side Chicago pastor said some things that certain white commentators have labeled as racist and seditious, the candidate has been crucified for his association with that church.

According to critics, he was supposed to have followed what is best described as the Obama Commandment: Thou shall not remain in a church pew when nasty ideas are presented, especially when those ideas are being shouted in a very scary voice.

The Obama Commandment (OC) requires that you immediately leave your church and never return when your pastor says or does something outrageous. If you are a public person, then the OC requires an exorcism-like ritual of spiritual cleansing followed by a network TV appearance to explain it all.

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News Star: Stone political workers to appear in court

Stone political workers to appear in court
Complaint alleges vote fraud against 50th Ward

At a recent CAPS meeting in the 50th Ward when the subject of court advocacy came up, Naisy Dolar, who lost last year's aldermanic runoff to Ald. Berny Stone, encouraged residents to attend another upcoming court hearing different from the usual tagger, drug-related and housing court cases.

Although it wasn't a violent crime, Dolar said, it was important for ward residents to have an interest in the case and follow it closely.

"The victims in this case are the people of the 50th Ward," Dolar said in a phone interview.

On Monday, two members of Stone's political organization will appear in a preliminary hearing in Cook County's criminal court division set for 11 a.m. in Room 101 at 26th and California. The indictments come on the heels of a joint investigation into alleged vote fraud in last year's heated aldermanic election by the offices of the Chicago Inspector General and Cook County State's Attorney.

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