Steve

Jesse and Rev Al were self appointed 'black leaders'. They positioned themselves with the media as such and the big media were too scared to tell them otherwise. I can assure you, the majority of blacks never viewed Jesse as their spokesman and certainly not Rev. Al. When ever I was around any other black person even in South Central or other poor areas where one would think are his 'constituents', and Jesse was on TV, there was laughter and a 'Jesse doing his thing and tryna get paid' joke. Rev Al was always seen as a buffoon with almost every black person I know. I can't recall one complimentary thing ever said about him. The term African American started because Jesse thought black folks should get a hyphen like Italian-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Irish-Americans, etc. He held a press conference and said 'call us this' and the media went along. No one had a problem with being called black prior. I don't use African American personally. I don't mind being called as such however I say I'm black. Kids under 30 grew up with AA so they use it. I never liked it and thought it was divisive. What I liked about black was that it included all black people of the African diaspora. It was an instant connection to someone who was perhaps vastly culturally and linguistically different than you but you shared a color and an ancestry from a few hundred years ago. If you were Haitain, NIgerian, Jamaican, American, Cuban and black you were black. Now, only American born blacks without ancestry from a non African country are called that. If you are black and come to America from Haiti, Canada, Jamaica, Cuba, etc. you can't say you're African American. You're neither. The term did more harm than good but then again Jesse does more harm than good. The best thing about Obama's emergence is that it weakens Jesse and Rev Al. If nothing else we should thank Obama for that. Black conservatives never had a voice before. Some were on talk radio like Larry Elder and others but no huge media attention that made them a household name. With regards to more media spotlight on black conservatives voicing their displeasure about Obama it has a galvanizing effect on the black masses. The conspiracy theorists amongst the masses is that the ubiquitious 'they' are using blacks to go after Obama because they can't be accused of doing it based on race. The problem black conservatives have and this applies to the vast majority of Conservatives/Republicans is that they don't seem to have any sympathy or empahty for the plight of the poor and working classes. Its probably unfair but its how its taken. The irony is that Obama has been saying the same things conservatives have been saying with regards to the blacks and the poor. Obama has always preached a stop whining and start working message whenever he's spoken at black churches or black groups. Republicans know this but haven't given him credit for doing that. He's not a coddler. Colin Powell has been the only exception because he spoke as if he empathized. He spoke of unity amongst all americans long before Obama used it in his campaign. John Stewart said it best about conservatives. They speak about taking America back from other Americans. That's how its viewed. Occupy Wall Street and such similar groups talk about taking America back from institutions like big banks, oil, etc.

HH!! Great to see posting buddy. Unfortunately you're still brainwashed by the right 5555 The Republicans are offering nothing in the way of ideas or credible fixes to the mess they helped start. Come to the good side of the force. There are Sith lords that control the Republican party. "Search your heart Luke and you'll see this true"

No surprise there. He's very consevative. There have been a few articles by black conservatives disagreeing with Obama. Black conservatives have ALWAYS disagreed with Democrats. The only difference today is they are getting more media attention. It seems some in the media are surprised some blacks disagree with Obama as if all blacks like him because he's black. Its never been that way with regards to black conservatives. Before Obama, these conservatives disagreed with every other Democratic black congressperson. West is saying the same thing Perry, Bachman or Palin would say. Its only noteworthy to the media because he's black. I woudn't see that as significant.

This has been going viral on the net...again. It was supposedly suggested by Warren Buffet. Can't say I disagree. Congressional Reform Act of 2011 1. Term Limits. 12 years only, one of the possible options below.. A. Two Six-year Senate terms B. Six Two-year House terms C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms 2. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office. 3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. 4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do. 5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%. 6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people. 7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people. 8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/11. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves! Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work. If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message. Maybe it is time to act. THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS !!!

If it does its an opportunity for the Dems. Too many Republicans are on record as being opposed to them. Cain has and if it grows it can come back to bite him if he gets the nomination (I doubt he will get it by the way). I don't know how Romney feels about it. Has he said anything? He plays it close to the vest. He's like that team that is winning and playing prevent defense. Obama has been on record as backing them but its a bit hypocritical since he's very tied to Wall Street support.

Chris Hedges discusses the Occupy Wall Street movement. The crowd is no longer young folks. I see a lot of 'middle America' looking types out there.

Thanks. Can't remember the movie though. May have to check out the group a little via youtube. Don't know why I thought of them, I just did radomly.

I think anyone who runs for president can't fully be sane judging by the insanity of the current process. Even the candidates I like have to be a little crazy. That said, some of the Obama stuff coming out as the article above is getting near Bill Clinton territory where the fringe right were accusing him of killing off folks. It makes me seriously question the party when you have folks going on about stuff like that and playing pop psychologist in order to justify a person shouldn't be president. Next thing you know they'll be saying he wasn't born in the U.S.

Didn't want to start a thread so thought I' piggy back on to this one. There is a movie that escapes me right now where in the beginning there was a song in the backgrund. Sounds as if its a german hard rock group and part of the hook they say 'bang bang'. What's the song and group?

Obama loses celeb supporter Hulk Hogan. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/losing-wrestling-primary-hulk-hogan-tells-fox-news-125944714.html Hulk Hogan supported President Obama in 2008, but alas, the honeymoon is over, Hogan said Thursday during a Fox News appearance. "I was a big Obama supporter and kinda, like, believed everything he said he was gonna do," Hogan said on Fox and Friends. "But now that nothing's happened..." Hogan said he was still sore about the president using his theme song, "I Am a Real American" when Obama addressed the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner shortly after he released his long form birth certificate earlier this year. "I kinda was a little upset that he didn't ask me permission to use my music," Hogan added. "But the change of heart is that I think I should be president. I know nothing about politics. I think a flat tax across the board would straighten everything out." When told that the Hulk's idea sounds something like presidential candidate Herman Cain's "9-9-9 Plan," he responded, "Wow, yeah well he's not a real American like I am. . . . I've been around, people know me, they know everything about me, they know I'm for real, they know I know nothing about politics. I'll just make decisions on what's right or wrong."

I agree. The problem is not so much the banks but Congress that allows them to do what they do. I do think the OWS people have some influence. My guess is Congress fears they're next. Its also brought the attention of Wall Street greed to the general public and I think possibly some politician(s) may use it as a platform to run for office.

If this is what I can expect from the Republicans as a way to create jobs. No thanks. Its the same old bullshit. Its giving big business and big oil money, plan and simple. Obama's idea does something. Something tangible, sometihng needed. Boehner also scares me with the fiscally responsible way. I don't like putting on debt anymore than the next person. However, if we're going to spend more than we rake in, infrastructure is the way to go. It helps us, its needed, its direct American jobs, its millions of blue collar and middle class jobs. Cutting corporate taxes is okay but again, companies aren't hiring because the taxes are too high. They don't have faith in the economy and the consumer to spend. That's it. Companies that have a good product or service, that they know will be a hit will hire. Apple for example. Time for Obama to show some balls. Go on the offensive. He needs to pick out a few big public projects in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida and tell them the amount of jobs and money that will be spent right there. In their back yards. I've so done with the ideas to line big business pockets that the Republicans have been touting for eons and I bought for a long time. Again, not saying targeted tax cuts and reduced regulations aren't needed. However, corporate profits are up in a recession. Billionaires who lost a lot of net worth a few years ago have gotten a lot of it back while the middle class has been taking it up the brown eye. The banks we bailed out are not only making money they are now increasing fees on Americans that are struggling. Why give them more right now with tax breaks? For the umpteenth time companies don't hire because of low taxes they hire when they sell their product and service. The only thing they got right is spending but they want to cut across the board and certain things that will hurt people like Social Security, Veterans Affairs, etc. Cuts have to be targeted. It can't be across the board ad hoc. http://news.yahoo.com/boehner-obama-talk-jobs-senate-gop-offers-plan-215009594.html Boehner, Obama talk jobs as Senate GOP offers plan Boehner told Obama that Republicans are willing to address new transportation and infrastructure spending but "in a fiscally responsible way." Boehner challenged Obama's statement Thursday that he had not seen many job-creation ideas from Republicans. The discussion came during a call from Obama to congratulate Boehner for congressional passage of trade deals with South Korea, Panama and Colombia. It also came as Senate Republicans introduced legislation aimed at creating jobs by overhauling the nation's tax laws, cutting business rules and boosting offshore oil exploration.

I'm all for it. I have a credit union account. They are great. Big banks have been trying to get Congress to legislate them out of existence even though they have a very small portion of the banking money. Banks want total control. Bastards. http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/113658/bank-transfer-day-mainstreet?mod=bb-budgeting Occupy Wall Street has dominated headlines for the past few weeks, with advocates and critics jaw-boning over whether it was government or Wall Street that fueled the financial crisis (here's a vote for both). But even critics can't argue about the growth prospects of the "occupations" taking place in urban centers across the U.S. Now comes an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street that takes aim at banks where it hurts them most — in their vaults. The social uprising — called "Bank Transfer Day" — encourages bank customers to take their cash out of big banks and put it in smaller banks and credit unions instead. The movement is ostensibly in response to aggressive fees institutions are rolling out to recover profits lost from new financial regulations, notably Bank of America's (BAC - News) decision to stick debit card users with a $5 monthly fee and Wells Fargo's (WFC - News) $3 test of the same. On the movement's Facebook page, protest organizers say that, even with new government regulations in place to keep banks in check, they're still making out like bandits. For example: • With the Durbin Amendment in effect, banks will still make 19 cents profit per processed transaction. • The average consumer uses his or her debit card 24 times per month. • Without the additional fee, Bank of America stands to turn a $3.3 billion annual profit from its 59 million customers' debit card transactions. Here's an explanation from the organizers of Bank Transfer Day, straight from the group's Facebook page: "Together we can ensure that these banking institutions will always remember the 5th of November!! If the 99% removes our funds from the major banking institutions on or by this date, we will send a clear message and give the 1% a taste of the fear that we experience every day when we aren't able to pay for our rent, food, medication, utilities, student loans, etc." As of Oct. 10, the group's organizers say 6,500 Americans have already signed up in support of the event. How many of those consumers will actually yank their deposits from big banks is an open-ended question that won't be answered until Nov. 5, if at all...

I think America would elect a 2nd black president. Cain seems so much different and speaks to a different kind of ideology that its easy to separate the two. I can tell ya though it would be an interesting set of debates they'd have. I wonder who Cain would choose as a VP? If Biden could be coaxed into taking early retirment, I think Obama should get Hillary on as VP for this round. It would shake and up and ignite the Dems. Maybe I didn't search hard enough but I didn't see detailed info on the polls where the candidates beat Obama. If its nationally, it won't mean mean much. As I've said, it only matters who can beat Obama in Florida and Ohio, then only slightly less important, Pennsylvania and Michigan. About 40 states are already decided. As far as Israel and the Saudis, they both need each other. The Saudis need Israel to check Iran and Syria. The last thing Israel wants is an arab spring in the kingdom which may result with some more radical government with all that money and power to side with Iran.

Iran is outta control if this report is true. Leave the middle east alone and they will fight each other. Many experts say that Saudi Arabia's biggest fear isn't Israel its Iran. I totally agree. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/envoy/saudi-ambassador-adel-al-jubeir-201032231.html The Justice Department unsealed a five-count criminal complaint Tuesday alleging Iran Qods force-backed agents plotted to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States and possibly bomb the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Washington, D.C.

Cain is getting a lot of mileage out of his 9-9-9 plan. Basically, 9% flat corporate and private tax rate and a 9% national sales tax. It sounds very good actually. The worst candidates can say about it is that it won't pass. If he's elected I'd guess it would also be deemed some sort of mandate for the plan. I wonder if Romney, if he wins the nomiation, would add him to the ticket and I wonder if Cain would accept? I wouldn't vote for them but it would be an interesting ticket. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/night-9-9-9-plan-022011966.html

I think Cain would have a rough start and later on perhaps learn how to play the game. I don't put a lot of stock into elected office except for one thing. It forces you to compromise and work with opposition as well as be exposed to public opinion. if you haven't held elected office it can be a shock to the system. I think of Ross Perot. He had running his own company for years and ran it autocratically. He was highly principled like Cain as well but I doubt would have made a great President. He was a bit too idealistic as well thinking America was this Rockwell painting. Cain would get frustrated trying to get Dems or even his own party on board with what would seem common sense legislation. I also think he wouldn't take having his legislation changed to the point it may not be recognizable as they often are. I love his story though. Its a great story. Another of many great American stories that this country is known for.

I don't think Beck is authentic. I have no proof, its just my feeling. He found a niche and is cashing in. Everyone has been trying to out Rush, Rush LImbaugh and he found out how to make it work in a sizeable audience. Cain's reaction to the occupy Wall Street thing shows how much he is out tune with the average American and how much we are hurting. He's made his money and has for a long time. Not saying he's not a highly moral person. He certainly appears that way. I just get the feeling he wouldn't make a good President. Head of something like Commerce, etc.? Sure. Gets my approval but not the oval office.

Banks have been using their political power to end credit unions as well. Credit unions are great often charging lower interest rates for cars, 2nd mortgages, etc. I belonged to a credit union once and they did not charge an ATM fee when I used other credit unions ATMs, they had a partnership with other credit unions in the city, which goes to show you how much BS the commercial bank ATM fees are. The occupy wall street movement is peaceful and they are stressing that. I notice that its Republicans that have said bad things about it. I saw a news show that showed how the Republicans had nothing but good things to say about the Tea Party when they first started out and had protests but did not use the same words for the occupy Wall St. people. Both started as grass roots and populist. It wasn't until the Tea Party morphed into a wing of the Repubican party did Dems have bad things to say about them. If either of the parties were smart they'd tap into the occupy Wall St. people. Obama would be wise to. There is a lot of anger and frustration out there. Paul's emergence should be a wake up call to the party as well. The heirarchy just wants someone who can beat Obama. Paul's supporters tend to be those more principled I think. Cain's supporters see both a person who is principled and has the ideology and someone they think has a chance against Obama.

I can't recall my original reaction to the occupy Wall Street thing going on but my guess was I was skeptical if not outright against it. I am now far more sympathetic. I'm a capitalist. I believe in capitalism. I have no problems with Wall Street, banks and insurance companies making a profit. Nothing at all. For a long time now they have been greedy bastards and what burns me up is the government helping them. The banks and other financial institutions have been nickel and diming us for years now. Fees for this and that. Fees for things they didn't need to charge us for or didn't need to nearly as much. ATM fees are a joke. The amount of fee income banks make is rediculous. Same with other companies. They are too scared to lend money in this economy so can't make as much interest (which are tantamount to usurous) and so they make up new fees or increase existing ones to make even more money. Companies are making lots of money. Certain industries at least. Financial firms are making a mint but aren't hiring and are the same ones we bailed out. Its all BS.

Steven Jobs' commencement speech at Stanford University

I asked a few guys on my soccer forum what they thought about Obama. I tried to be objective. I was curious if the euphoria over him had waned as it did in America. He seems more popular abroad than here. The same could be said in reverse for Tony Blair. Hero worshipped here but was not nearly as popular in England. CS: I have a question that I hoe doesn't sound too political or gets derailed into a political discussion. What is Obama's reputation in the UK (as well as Aussies, Irish, NZ) these days? First response: He seems to be pretty smart but feel that he came in at the wrong time. The massive worldwide damage (crippling overconsumption of debt) had already been done and he seems to have been tied up the entire time fighting fires. Then when his party managed to come up with a good idea for fixing some mess (which might be painful for the populace / corporates) he gets shut down by populist rhethoric. From the outside looking in, it would seem that there are no easy fixes despite what the opposition says. Unfortunately most of the population either don't see it, or don't care because they didn't create it so don't feel obliged to pay for it. The same could be overlayed on Greece, Italy, Ireland or any other country that thought the party would never end. In general he's probably viewed as less of a militant bully than many of his predecessors and more open minded about other countries' points of view. Second Response: Yeah I would pretty much agree with that view. Right man ... wrong time! Third response: He is virtually hero-worshipped here in Ireland. I wouldn't share that view but he is undoubtedly better than dubya. I don't know if you saw the coverage of his visit to his relatives in the pub in Co Offaly. He really does have the common touch and I was impressed by how he dealt with that and genuinely seemed to enjoy the experience.

Its funny but he makes sense and I think it goes to illustrate that all of us are in the same boat and feel the same frustrations as Americans. Whether you're a small town guy in Iowa or a guy from the inner city. Congress' disapproval rating of 82% encompasses all of us. It also brings home that a lot of this stuff in Congress isn't rocket science. They make it out to be but its mosty common sense stuff. There is a lot of anger out there. Against everyone, the President and the Congress. Both have low approval ratings. Its not about party any more. People just want them to do their friggin' job. "The country got a 350 credit rating.." haha...I knew guys like this. Street guys and smart and had common sense.

RIP Steve Jobs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX9GTUMh490 Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. - Apple Inc.

I hope this link works. I grew up with guys like this. Maybe they didn't or couldn't go to Harvard but they had street smarts and common sense. I respect the latter more than the former. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?v=10150311478847717