(REAL TIMES MEDIA)—Last week I packed up my things and headed off to Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh, Pa. Most of you are thinking, what is “Netroots Nation” and are assuming it has something to do with hairnets or hair dye, but neither guess is correct. “Netroots Nation 09” is the fourth annual meeting of the political left’s largest most influential groups of bloggers, writers, and Web activists. All of the big names were there, from Moveon.org representatives to Actblue, and the political bigwigs made sure to put in an appearance with this group that was so instrumental in Democratic electoral success in 2008. Former president Bill Clinton spoke, as did recent Republican-turned- Democrat Arlen Specter and former DNC head Howard Dean. Of course all of that meant little to me at first since I had gone to Netroots Nation with a clear plan and story in mind.
On Aug. 1 and 2, the Community Empowerment Association, Inc. held its 6th Black Family Reunion Festival at Mellon Park. It is an affair that promotes urban peace, justice and empowerment. I was in attendance with about 5,000 others, and excluding an incident that took place outside, all had a good time.
(NNPA)—When it was announced that Michael Vick had been signed by the Philadelphia Eagles, echoes of “Who Let the Dogs Out?” became popular again. Bigmouths on sports radio, proposed some new lyrics for the Eagles’ fight song: “Die, Fido, die...”
(NNPA)—Congress is engaged in an enormously important national debate on health care. But we all know our health is also shaped in discussions closer to home—around our kitchen tables and in our communities. So while AARP is working with the President and Congress to make sure all Americans have affordable, quality health care, we’re also working to make sure every person has the resources and the information to take care of his or her health.
The narrative currently being written by the new left posits that opposition to their attempts to reform health care is fueled by political impotence, crackpot extremism and racism. Alas, elected officials demonstrating contempt for the people they represent has sadly become the rule rather than the exception. Calling the American people Nazis and fools may make a more compelling story than the truth, but it will not alter the fact that Americans simply do not want the expensive, top-heavy government health care boondoggle currently being stuffed down their throats.
(NNPA)—It is time for testing on several fronts as the health care debate becomes the platform for a general uprising over President Barack Obama’s governing program. His very life is being tested, as people, like William Kostric, show up to a New Hampshire Town hall meeting with a gun strapped to his leg. In an interview with Kostric, he claimed his right under New Hampshire law, to carry a weapon openly, but he also had a sign with him carrying the words saying that “it is time to water the tree of liberty.”
Representative David Scott, a Black congressman from Georgia, is getting pretty popular on video. The lawmaker, speaking at a recent town hall meeting on a road project in his district, has been widely described as ranting against someone who asked questions about proposed health care reforms working their way through Congress.Today Blacks may not be expected to tip their hats or cross the street, but the expectation that Blacks will not challenge White authority, White opinions or White sensibilities remains.
