(Join hands in a good cause, y'all! - promoted by mooncat)
So here it is, an international event that many of us who happen to be Left in Alabama will be participasting in:
Hands Across the Sand Tuscaloosa.
On Saturday the 26th of June, we will gather on the Quad at UA, to say No to offshore drilling, and Yes to clean energy! The protest will begin at 11 am, when we will share stories about what we have seen along the Gulf as a result of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, and discuss ways to be more energy effecient, and less dependant on oil. From 12-12:15 we will join hands, offically participating in the international protest.
Please join us on the quad! For more information search Hands Across the Sand Tuscaloosa, on facebook, or visit www.handsacrossthesand.org
I was both pleasantly surprised and delighted to see a commentary by George E. Curry in today's print edition of The Huntsville Times. My delight became disgust when I read the title of the commentary, Beyond the Spin; Obama is right on Warren. Why is it the only time African American opinion is welcome in the media is when it justifies the conservative point of view? But I digress.
I was especially pleased to see George E. Curry's byline because he is a respected voice in the African American Community, a Tuscaloosa, Alabama native, a product of the Tuscaloosa City school system, and someone whose opinion I am usually in complete agreement.
Born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Curry graduated from Druid High School of that city and attended Knoxville College in Tennessee, Harvard and Yale. At Knoxville, Curry was editor of the school paper, quarterback and co-captain of the football team and a member of the school's Board of Trustees. In 1986, he wrote and served as chief correspondent for the widely praised television documentary, “Assault on Affirmative Action,” which was aired as part of the "Frontline" series on PBS. He was featured in a segment of "One Plus One," a national PBS documentary on mentoring that was first televised in 1989.
This time we part company. As a matter of fact Curry was on Rev. Al Sharptons radio show recently talking about this issue and recieving heat from callers for his position.
President-elect Barack Obama is taking a lot of heat for selecting the Rev. Rick Warren, an ardent opponent of abortion rights and same-sex marriage, to give the inaugural invocation next month. Obama differs with the evangelical preacher on abortion and many other social issues, but he did not let those differences prevent him from extending the invitation.
It was a courageous decision. It was also the correct one.
Of all the tests Americans take each year, It's time to throw out the most narrow-minded kind: the litmus test. The left and right are equally guilty of administering these political pass/fail quizzes.
I wasn't able to get a call in to the radio show, so I will use this diary to explain why I disagree with Curry below the fold.
A couple of weeks ago BenGoshi pointed out that Bill Maher had named Tuscaloosa, Alabama as the least likely place in America to vote for Barack Obama.
I hope that the Tuscaloosa County Democratic Party will, in 1 and 1/2 weeks, be able and inclined to touch base with Mr. Maher, show him the voting totals and note that, indeed, it's not the racist place Maher implies it is.
The challenge has been made. It's not the time to tell Maher what an uninformed putz he is, it's time to work to make sure he's proved wrong on November 4.
The election is behind us and Tommy Stevenson wasted little time in pointing out that, although Tuscaloosa County went for McCain, the city of Tuscaloosa was a little piece of Obamaland on Nov. 4th.
Now it is true that Republican John McCain carried Tuscaloosa County 55.5 percent to 44.4 percent, but within the city limits of Tuscaloosa, which is a majority white city and the home of the University of Alabama (whose Crimson Tide football team is ranked number one in the country, in case you haven't noticed), Democrat Obama had approximately 26,000 votes to about 15,600 for McCain. The countywide vote was 45,351 for McCain and 32,738 for Obama.
I like Bill Maher, but he owes Tuscaloosa an apology this time. Maher's comment played to the stereotype that folks in Alabama are nothing but uneducated rednecks who would never vote for a black man. Not true. We're a diverse bunch down here, so please stop trying to paint Alabama with a broad brush, Bill.
I don't know who is to blame for the failure of Prop 8, the California ballot initive to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, however there are some who are trying to blame black folks for it's demise. Others say not so fast there is enough blame to go around.
It's been an strange month to be black and gay in America so far. First there was the gay bashing that killed Michael Sandy in New York, and the disturbing news of Tyrone Garner's lack of a burial 37 days after his death with the possibility of a pauper's burial in the end. Those depressing stories were balanced out somewhat yesterday by the news of the New Jersey Supreme Court decision and the fact that a black lesbian couple was among the plaintiffs whose willingness to take a stand yielded that historic moment.
But even that good news was tempered by reading Keith's post about his speech at Central State University, a historically black college in Wilberforce, Ohio. It was the inspiration for the title of this post. I considered titling it "Hysterically Black Homophobia," because of the reaction Keith says his speech got. But it felt too serious a topic for snark, though the response of the students as described by Keith does indeed seem hysterical, and the homophobia at its foundation is historical.
Excuse me? I voted against Proposition 8. I'm among the 30 percent of black Californians that did so. And as much as I can condemn the homophobia and intolerance that drove a portion of the 70 percent of blacks that voted in favor of Proposition 8's ban on gay marriage, it's an outrage to lay its passage at their feet. I've read several editorials already about how the ungrateful blacks betrayed gays right after America gave them their first president. I know there are some wounds and frayed nerves right now, but this type of condescending, divide and conquer isn't going to help at all. And it's a gross oversimplification of what happened.
Each and every argument I’ve read since Proposition 8 passed that lays blame on Black people --- whether only like the worst of the haters or even primarily -- for the passage of Proposition 8 starts with CNN’s exit poll statistics about Proposition 8 at its foundation. Yet anyone who knows anything about the demographics of the State of California – or anyone who spent ½ as much time looking up actual data as ranting all over the free world about what "Black people" did "to gay people" (as if those groups are wholly separate, telling you a lot about the racism that underlies the argument) would know that 10% simply defies reality, unless a million or so Black folks snuck into the state just before the election so they could say they cast their vote for Barack Obama on sunny California shores.
There is a possible explanation for this Anti-Gay victory that came alongside the Obama victory... false advertising.
It has been reported that thousands of flyers were distributed throughout several majorly African American districts. These flyers advocated "Yes on 8" showed Obama (stating that he doesn't support gay marriage) and several prominent African American religious leaders. These flyers falsely implied that Obama/Biden endorsed Prop 8.
Add to that the fact that it was entirely confusing, especially for the "low information" voter... to vote No on a Prop 8 was a Yes but a Yes was a No which meant No in a Yes manner. No... Yes... No...Yes... No? This all focuses on people who don't comprehend what they are reading.
TUSCALOOSA | Two weeks ago on his HBO show "Real Time," comedian, social commentator and movie producer Bill Maher said something to the effect he would believe race had not played a role in the 2008 presidential election "When Tuscaloosa, Alabama, votes for Barack Obama."
Well, guess what, Bill, our fine city of 80,000 or so on the banks of the lovely Black Warrior River, went overwhelmingly for Obama, 62 percent to 38 percent, by my preliminary, rough estimate.
Having lived and having been quite involved in some campaigning in Tuscaloosa during the '90s*, I know something of about the town, its people and the various political currents that run through it.
I haven't lived there for a few years, so I don't pretend to be an expert on conditions on the ground today, but I have some certainty that it'll be tough to call for either Obama or McCain; too many variables involved that I don't know about.
That said, I've just found out that last night Bill Maher more-or-less challenged Tuscaloosa to not go for McCain; that he called-out Tuscaloosa on his show, "Real Time". He names -- of all places in the United States -- Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as the LEAST likely town in the nation to cast more votes for Obama than for McCain, owing to race.
Here's the vid, pay attention from 6:00-30:
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I hope that the Tuscaloosa County Democratic Party will, in 1 and 1/2 weeks, be able and inclined to touch base with Mr. Maher, show him the voting totals and note that, indeed, it's not the racist place Maher implies it is.
The challenge has been made. It's not the time to tell Maher what an uninformed putz he is, it's time to work to make sure he's proved wrong on November 4.
bg
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*Noting that my recollection of how the T-News did the story may not have been 100% accurate, more than 13 years after the fact, but I'll wager I'm 90% accurate.
That's not some left wing blogger talking -- that's the title of an editorial in the Tuscaloosa News, deep in the heart of Alabama.
In a new book, former Bush spokesman Scott McClellan says the president broke his promise to the country by not firing Rove for leaking CIA operative Valerie Plame's identify. He said Rove and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, both lied to him when they said they had no part in the leak.
Libby took the fall. But Rove continued to serve the president until his retirement last year.
Rove's attorney says he never volunteered the information on Plame or actively sought to have it published. Rove has never been charged with a crime.
However, if Rove is guilty of the leak, as McClellan claims, he should be in jail for committing treason.
Scott McClellan's book is definitely shaking up the media view of the Bush administration. Were journalists the only ones left who didn't know BushCo lied about the war, about Valerie Plame and about anything else they could get away with?
Seems like it took Scott McClellan to convince the traditional media that Scott McClellan lied to them them. Makes my brain hurt just thinking about it.
For those of you in the Tuscaloosa area, Artur Davis will be speaking to the Blue River Democrats there on Monday, Dec. 3rd. This is from their announcement:
I just spoke with Ken King, and he once again confirmed that Artur Davis will be our guest at the Blue River Democrats meeting this Monday, Dec. 3, at Chuck's Fish in downtown Tuscaloosa! Ken expects Congressman Davis to be at Chuck's at 5:00, so we need a big group to be right on time.
As most of you know, Artur Davis is a strong supporter of Barack Obama. He is making appearances to boost the Obama campaign and to explain to Alabamians why he thinks Barack Obama is the best candidate for President. Although the Blue River Democrats group is not endorsing any particular presidential candidate, we are more than happy to host those who are and to listen and learn as much as we can before this important election.
Rep. Davis has been putting in quite a few appearances in his district during this holiday recess, speaking about poverty and immigration in Bessemer and meeting with Alabama legislators to discuss Medicaid funding.
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For those of you in the Tuscaloosa area, Artur Davis will be speaking to the 
