Latinos Have Become America's New Whipping Boy

In my almost 40 years as a black man, I have seen and experienced more than my fair share of racism. I have seen acts that would make most white people's hair stand on end, and some acts that many people simply would not believe.

I have always believed that of all the ethnic groups in America, black people have it worst. But I am beginning to have second thoughts. The level of racism and hatred directed at Latinos is beginning to dwarf the discrimination that African Americans face. A recent Associated Press poll stated that 61 percent of Latinos face significant discrimination, compared 52 percent of African Americans.

These news reports back up the AP poll's findings:

Much of the vitriol directed at Latinos, like the Arizona pass laws, is mixed up with xenophobia and the erroneous belief that all Latinos are illegal immigrants. Republican politicians are tapping into the rage of blue-collar and middle class Americans, who are still reeling from the economic recession. Politicians would rather have angry white people direct their rage at poor brown people, instead of the reckless Wall Street executives who got rich while they wrecked the economy.

And that might be why the instigators of these new laws think they can get away with this new form of racism. Since undocumented workers are not supposed to be here, no one cares about them or will fight for their rights.

It is the worst form of hatred, because it is targets the most helpless segment of society. Much like criminals who victimize undocumented workers, these bullies want to beat up on defenseless people. But this really should not be surprising. Illegal immigration is tolerated because American companies like having workers who will work for slave wages and are too scared to complain. If you can drive down workers' salaries, that means more money for the shareholders. And one of the constant complaints from arch capitalists is that American workers cost too much and demand too many benefits.

One can only hope that all this anti-Latino rhetoric will shake voters, black, white and Asian, out of their apathy. The other side has shown us what direction they want this country go, now it's up to us to stop them.

Need a Reliable Uncle Tom? Call Project 21

Jesse Lee Peterson

FOX News knows that its a right-leaning/white-leaning network, but they realize that these days neo fascists, like Sean Hannity, cannot just came out and call black people, lazy shiftless bums, even though that is what is going through their minds. To vocalize these ugly ideas, they turn to a small cadre of black conservatives. While there maybe some black conservatives, who believe in the principles of fiscal moderation and traditional values, there are also several black straw men.

People like the Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, a notoriously self-loathing African American, who is happy to vocalize every racist and offensive comment white commentators are too scared to say. The good Rev. Peterson, showed true Christian spirit, when he blamed the Hurricane Katrina disaster on the poor moral values of the mainly black residents of New Orleans. Some of his other hits include:

• Calling civil rights leader W.E.B Dubois "a communist pig."
• And calling black men "weak and insecure."
• He also said Obama was elected by "black racism and white guilt"

Another Project 21 member Kevin Martin compared the NAACP to the Ku Klux Klan in an appearance on Hannity's show. Peterson is close friends Hannity, who was a major contributor to his Brother Organization of a New Destiny (BOND) foundation, a fact that Hannity failed to mentioned when he regulalry hosted Peterson on his show. So effectively Hannity was writing Peterson a check, and then asking him to appear as an "objective" guest. (But really, is any guest objective on FOX?.) Peterson has also associated with white sepratist and immigrant hating groups.

If you ever wondered where these professional Uncle Toms come from, you need to look to Project 21. Tomming has been a pretty good gig for Patterson, who has gotten a book, radio show and numerous television appearances out of it. According to left-wing journalist Max Blumenthal Project 21 was created by the National Council for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), a right-wing think tank, who were looking for black faces to rebut the many charges of racism levied at the Los Angeles Police Department after the Rodney King riots in 1992. Project 21 provided black media pundits who could refute these charges, and in many cases vocalize the offensive comments that white pundits where too scared to say.

NCPRR Executive Director David Almasi, who is white, almost blew the lid of the Project 21 scam, when he stood in for one of his talking heads. Almasi also coordinates Project 21 media strategy and tells its pundits what to say.

poll by twiigs.com

Journalist Says Religious Right Sowed the Seeds for American Fascism

Pat Robertson, one of the leading voices

in the American Evangelical movement

If you ever wondered where the Teabbaggers, deathers and other angry, white men came from, Chris Hedges has the answer. In his book, "American Fascists," he details how Conservative Christians could easily move the nation towards fascism. He also adds that the dire economic situation, which President Barack Obama inherited, has left a landscape full of angry, disenfranchised American workers.

Many of these workers, believe that these are the last days, and Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ. The Christian Right's apocalyptic fantasy appeals to them.

The Evangelical movement partnered with corporatists to produce the Bush administration, which moved America as close to fascism as we have ever come. The Bush government had many of the characteristics of a fascist regime. Authoritarian government, check; melding of the state and corporate interests, check; and accusing dissenters of being unpatriotic, check.

If the idea of a Christian-dominated authoritarian government doesn't frighten you, consider this. American Evangelicals motivated legislation in Uganda that called for the execution of gays. I can easily imagine an American Fascist party calling for the ejection of people from certain countries. Republican congressman J. Gresham Barett has already introduced legislation that calls for the expulsion of legal residents from countries linked with terrorism. And you also have right-wing commentators, such as Anne Coulter who have called for the execution of traitorous liberals.

The scary thing about this movement is the power of religion and how dangerous it can be when mixed with a far-right agenda. If a pastor stood up in church and told his congregation that God had instructed him to kill all the gays and Muslims, I am afraid that many people would follow his instructions.

poll by twiigs.com

West Bashes Obama, Says He Almost Went to Prison

Dr. Cornel West is one of the nation's preeminent Black intellectuals. In this article from Alternet.org, he discusses his recently published autobiography, "Brother West: Living Out Loud."

West, a self-avowed member of the far left, expresses disappointment that Obama has stocked his cabinet with left overs from the Clinton era. He also says that Obama ran as a liberal, but many of his cabinet picks are neo-liberals, who helped Bill Clinton push through some of his more controversial economic policies, such as loosening the reigns on Wall Street.

West says that he almost was imprisoned while he was a student at Harvard in the 1960s. Apparently a white female student was raped by a black man, and the local police were pressuring her to pin on it West, simply because he was the same color as her rapist. Fortunately the victim, stuck to her guns and refused to pin the crime on West. It is scary to think that one of the smartest men in America could have easily ended up wasting his talents in jail. This another damning indictment of the American legal system.

http://www.alternet.org/rights/144569/always_controversial_cornel_west_disses_obama,_survives_cancer_and_almost_spent_his_life_in_prison/

poll by twiigs.com