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Rootsbag12/27: Yusef Bey and Fundamentalist Abomination, Debra Dickerson and The End of Blackness

cultural predators: malachi, yusef and fundamentalist abomination

malachi york (aka chief black thunderbird and other assorted titles )
of the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors is going on trial
for allegedly raping underage girls at his compound in Georgia.

believers claiming whitefolk out to get them
a modern day lynching

(chilling the folk who claim the modern day lynching bit
clarence thomas, michael jackson and now malachi et al)

the nuwaubian nation comes off cultic to me
and malachi claims to be from another planet.

i will however reserve judgment,
based on the innocent until proven guilty premise.

but this raises an issue that came up at the death of oaklands yusef bey
43 wives and numerous children and and accused of
fathering children on 13 year olds and on his own underage children

he died before he could be brought to trail
so I will reserve judgement on his guilt

but i take issue w/supporters who claim such behavior
justified according to traditional african values

at the bey memorial one maleek al maleek said "he was a born leader in the sense of an african chief or a muslim caliph. what is prohibited here is not prohibited in east india, where there are child marriages. i can show you chiefs in africa who have 30 wives ....the ways of the high priests are not shared by the commoner."

indeed. well spare me that fundamentalist bullshit.

if anything we should hold our leadership to a higher standard
than that of 'commoners'.

if he did these things he should have been sanctioned by the community
apparently his power and good works innoculated him from
years of accusation

now his supporters claim the whitefolk out to get him
well this aint got nothing to do with whitefolk

this is black outlaws hiding unacceptable behavior behind
a figleaf of racial solidarity
and cheapens everything black unity stands for

malcom didnt accept it and neither do i

this is an example of fundamentalist cultural traditionalism gone wrong
fundamentalism is probolematic be it islamic, christian or african
may have been appropriate in some ancient african context
but it is clearly inappropriate in the here and now

it is not only against the law it is fundamentally wrong.
a felony charge in the great black book of generations

his epitaph shall read
"here lies yusef bey, he could have been a great black man."

debra dickerson and the end of blackness

debra dickerson wrote a curious nyt op ed piece (12/26/03) accusing kwanza
of denying african americans christian heritage

im not going to worry about kwanza, kwanza can take care of itself
my favorite principle is kujichagulia. self determination.

i live and breath kujichagulia

but the tone of the piece was interesting
this neocon/progressive blend that was hard to pin down

shes a good writer and she knows how to code the unacceptable
her bio said she had a new book coming out, the end of blackness
this was not a reassuring title so I went to her website and checked it out.
an interesting piece in the racial uplift tradition.

only an excerpt but I have to say in agreement with one of her primary premises

that blackfolk should stop depending on whitefolk to save and/or validate them
that we have to take responsibility for our own condition.

i have to say im impressed with her strategic focus on the future
and self determination. her concerns with an ethics of blackness.
her concern with a viable black paradigm for the future.

sound like kujichagulia to me.

somebody i can work with

but the kwanza piece was classic sellout. not a good sign.
and her defense of ward, condelezza and tigers right to be what they want to be
was unfortunately simplistic

i will reserve judgement until i read the book
i asume we will hear much of it
the system loves to support the latest flavor in counterblack intellectuals

and its so easy to sell out these days

we will have to see how those progressive/neocon tensions of hers play out
and just hope they playout in our favor
that she uses her new platform to make the contribution shes capable of

shes obviously got identification issues
but who doesnt

she strikes me as a powerful potential force
that will be either an historically significant power on our side

or sell herself out to the
highest bidder

stewardship and the geas of rickydoc

lord legba open this gate

as an elder practitioner of the hoodoo way
stewardship is something that very much concerns me

occasionally the question of ethics come up in hoodoo forums
usually related to the use of spells on or against people without their knowledge

there are a wide range of positions on this matter
from a moralist concern with the ethics of soulcare
to a total rejection of ethical restraint on magic

most fall somewhere in between, the long as i dont hurt nobody position
and of course there are those who just dont care

i somewhat abashedly tend to the soulcare extreme.
if its not about caring for souls, it its not about healing and nurturing souls
its not about anything far as im concerned.

ima spiritdoctor

and souls are very fragile entities
to be handled w/a very light touch
w/a very delicate hand

its all stewardship:
at the moment and for some reason
this clients soul has been entrusted to my care

i man not speaking to the folk who have no sense of stewardship,
the predators among us who specialize in taking advantage of the weak and the desperate
pigs grown fat on the pain of those who come to them for help or guidance

i man speaking only to the righteous.and i will not abide
a thief of souls.

i speaking only to those who do consider this a calling of service
and believe that it is in that service that we find our strongest power
a true and significant power, a power capable of changing the world

i believe that sense of stewardship once restricted to client
family, house or immediate community
must be expanded to encompass the whole of human destiny.

this i believe could be construed as a naturally evolving function of hoodoo magic
and our role as spiritworkers
reaching for a greater influence in the course of human events
and manifesting an afrospiritual vision unto the world

in this context i believe stewardship an unequaled power
and were we to take up the challenge of it
we could guide our generations and all others
into a prosperous and illuminated future

i believe that stewardship at its most fundamental entails
being effective forces for evolutionary change in this world

this reality

its only a question of how deep do you want to take it

there are many %s of stewardship:

striving yourself to always be greater than you are.
helping your clients grow and evolve
empowering and illuminating your chosen tradition/house
encouraging whenever possible the highroad in the traditions of others
accepting responsibility for humanity’s march into its ever greater self

gods instrument

now i understand this dont speak to everybody
no sense in me getting a attitude cause folk dont see my vision
thats why they call it a vision

my personal understanding of stewardship is that i must always strive to be a positive and empowered force in human destiny and that whenever the choice is given, grace lies in chosing the greater me

this i must do

beyond that i go with the flow. good stewardship is apparently something along the lines of fa, something i must constantly strive to understand

i do know that as a wouldbe visionary my vision of human destiny must at all times be a great and grand and glorious one, one worthy of the people I would our generations be

listen then o ye firstborn to the geas of rickydoc and i will give you
a vision greater than your adversity

this then is my vision, this is what i see:

i see struggle, i looking generations down the line and i see generations of struggle

but i see humanity always striving towards its ever greater self, always striving to evolve and take the next step in human evolution, whatever it is, whatever that be

and i see a great and grand and glorious people. humanitys living ancestors and gods true chosen striving always to be greater than you are

for if you would reclaim your legacy as gods holy instrument you must stand on higher ground

and when you come to the crossroads always take the highroad
guardian of humanitys march into its ever greater self.

it is the geas of rickydoc

may the gods be good
to you

Outlaws and Superstars: Cornel, Tavis, Michael Eric and Rudy

Recently my boy Rudy over at Chickenbones did a review of a Black Superstar Review touring Baltimore in which three black public intellectuals, Cornel West, Tavis Smiley, and Michael Eric Dyson did a show at Baltimores Lryic Theatre.

Clearly Rudy was not impressed. I understand his irritation.

Apparently they came out rocking and rolling a blend of hiphop preaching like they do before an adoring crowd of over a thousand blackfolk at $60 a pop. (Surely $20 would have been sufficient)

Got to give the brothers their propers, their heart is good, and they perform a service. But it irritates those of us laboring unappreciated in the vineyards to see slick get over like it does today.

Mostly because it reflects a grievous African American loss of direction in the struggle and where we are as a people when media superstardom defines our leadership. Which in order to be anointed must almost by definition have to be shallow and commercially inclined. (Or demagogic and bombastic foolishness).

I like Cornel and I think he plays a significant role but I remember when him and Skip Gates did a book called The Future of the Race and I picked it up looking to see something real and it was like academic popcorn. I was offended that they had wasted a good title like that.

Makes you wonder sometime if you wasting your time and need to focus on making a living like everybody else instead of trying to save the race. Trying to be serious and not pandering. Dyson did this piece Why I Love Black Women that was so shameless it was a farce.

I too respect and admire these brothers at their best. Cause they committed and they got game. But its hard sometime not to resent it when you just got to sit there and watch bullshit walk.

I hear folk talk of public intellectuals and its hard not to sneer. A buddy of mine once said I was an cutlaw. I was offended, I aint no outlaw I told her. She said, I didnt say you were a criminal, I said you were an cutlaw. Since Ive known you youve operated outside of the system.

Ive since embraced the term. Outlaw intellectuals. Cause I know Im doing what Im supposed to do. I am sometimes dismayed by the media superstar leadership mode that has left us directionless in these perilous times. But Ima keep my Perspective. Cause I am even more dismayed that Im not one of them.

I hope one day to get some play, a larger platform from which to make my points and get taken seriously.

And I hope that if I ever do get some play that I dont lose sight of whats Real. Ima keep the Faith. Like John O Killens taught me to.

I am a Master of the Longgame and Im proud of it. And whatever price it cost me to be real, to be true force, Im willing to pay it.

Thats why folk like Rudy and myself and the folk over at The Black Commentator and Freedom Rider have begun to forge our own vehicles for Speaking Truth to the People.

I often feel that I am speaking to the void with Rootsblog but Ive decided to maintain it at least a year without whining. By then I hope it will just be a habit. Cause I am a child of the 60s and I believe in the Struggle. I am Flowers of the Delta Clan Flowers and the Line of O Killens.

I am an Outlaw.

Blacks & Hispanics: Post Most Favored Minority Blues

Well, its official, Hispanics are the largest minority in America now. What do we do now.

We got to come up with a brand new bag.

This development raises all kinds of issues of race, color, strategy and identification.

We can try to stand in their way if we want to, we can try retain our advantage, our crumbs from the table, or we can help them and maintain what has been, for all its occasional bumps, a good working relationship.

Forget MFM, it was weak game anyway. I say we move into global shadowplay.

We as a people tend to Oldthought. Thought that has not kept up with ever changing developments. Thought that has been left behind or diverted. Fighting tomorrows game with last years strategies.

When tactics become old and countertactics developed you must move into new ground before your opponent does. We held onto to busing long after it was counterproductive and should have been traded in for increased allotment and development as guilt gelt.

Affirmative Action is a harder call. The black achiever has always had to be twice as good as everybody else. Operating at 265% just to stay in the game. Affirmative action just gets the door open. But its probably a lost cause, the rightwing ascendancy has turned public opinion against it. Those of us who took advantage of it hate to see it closed off to those still struggling behind us. On Affirmative Action I suspect I go down swinging.

But at best its a rearguard, defensive action. We got to start thinking about Post Most Favored Minority Strategies. I see where both Malcolm and Martin evolved when conditions did, where Martin began to speak of the necessity for black empowerment and against the Vietnam war. Where Malcolm rejected the religious cultism of the Nation before his death (for which we are still owed a more sincere apology.).

Instead we got is the NAACP still doing whats its been doing for damn near 100 years. We got a radical movement think Marxism is fresh thinking and fundamentalists who want to bring it all down - apocalyptic thinking that dont help nobody.

First I look to our traditional mentors in diasporic game, how a minority, even a disrespected minority can achieve security under hostile conditions. They have not moved to try to directly take state power but they have made themselves indispensable to the functioning of modern society. Though individual achievement and a ruthless group identity buttressed through ritual. Through the control or influence on critical 21st Century infobased cultural fiefdoms like education, finance, media, and Hollywood that, when coupled with high electoral activity and financing, has given them both mainstream security and influence.

The most effective mobilization of modern times has been that of the Rightwing Ascendency which learned new infobased techniques of manipulating public opinion and mobilizing their forces. It is already Oldthought. Our advocacy organizations havent even mastered that model much less created any new innovative mobilization techniques. You would think the something like the internet based 'cyberdemocracy' of the Black Radical Congress would be a natural for mobilizing a broadbased membership organization like the NAACP.

It would be nice would it not to forge a people who are capable of systematically responding to changes in the political/social environment in both a timely and effective manner. Cultures that are incapable of adjusting rapidly to cultural challenges are problematic. The advantage of a having a consciously conjurational culture is that it is a transformational culture (say for instance, one that changes its name every 20 years or so, Negro, Black, AfricanAmerican), one that enables effective responses to social and cultural challenges.

Adept in cultural conjuration.

Part of my aspirant afromology has been the attempt to come up with some shorthand word that will encompass the struggle and define the 21st Century, something like CivilRights, like Blackpower or the New Negro. I have struggled to understand the dynamics, come up with a functioning answer and boil it down to an impressionable word.

Empowerment is what Ive come up with.

This is flexible enough to cover a wide range of activities. Whatever our new strategy is, it has to be some complex aspiration to Empowerment. Its short and sweet, its comprehensive and to the point. Empowerment addresses all the concerns in this work - cultural empowerment, economic empowerment, social empowerment, political empowerment, personal empowerment, family empowerment, community empowerment, the proper use of political, economic and social resources, you name it Empowerment will cover it. I decide to ride with it.

Course Ive tried to implant concepts into the black dialogue before and none of them have taken. This is most likely just my latest futile orchestration. Specially since Ive chosen to hook it up to taking power. Blackfolk not comfortable with the idea of taking power. We have been so long the victims of power that we instinctively distrust it.

In my heart I believe that blackfolk must bid for power. I further believe that power can be used ethically. Assuming that my conjuration of black empowerment will be successful I am concerned that an empowered black culture be a beneficent and illuminated one. I have tried to build severe proscriptions against the abuse of power into my aspiring cosmology. Make it clear that true power never forgets whats right and power without compassion is a sin.

I man speaking only to the righteous.

Take Power. Then do what you can to support humane public policy. To alleviate the lot of the poor and the disenfranchised. To awaken the sleeper. To protect the weak. To guide the strong.

The disenfranchised will always be with us. A condition that will increase as society becomes more and more complex. A condition that will be an ongoing concern of the righteous. First thing though is to as much as possible remove ourselves from that category. This is critical.

Our strategies are generally predicated on being a poor peasant people. Im not saying we arent. What de old rootdoctor is saying is that as long as we playing out of weakness we always gon be weak. The old conjure see this as fundamental. Got to play strong if we ever want to be strong.

Conduct yourself as you aspire to be and you will.

Once you Take Power learn how to hold power. Be it a family or the world order, enlightened rule is stable rule. Every society, every ruling class, every creed, pays lip service to the principles of enlightened rule - but watch what they do when their own privileges are at stake.

The basic human pattern seems to be when the weak finally get power they immediately start throwing their own weight around and the cycle continues. I have tried to build severe proscriptions against the abuse of power into my evolving cosmology. I ask of my people a higher road.

There has never been a perfect society and problems, some new and unique to the situation, are inevitable. But you can always strive for a better society. This is our country too. Folks trying to weaken or bring down America dealing in Oldthought.

Blackfolk have long been the conscious and consciousness of American society and through the export of American culture, to the world. Theres room in that dynamic for some serious Longgame. Specially in its evolving multiculti future.

And when I say Take Power I aint talking about no obvious and overt bids for power that would raise all kinds of resistances, hackles and countermoves. I aint talking about no huffing and puffing and putting an ad in the New York Times. I need you to restrain your tendency to wolf blackpeople. Im talking about the bank shot. From now on my people I want you to worship subtlety. I want you to learn how to hunt in silence.

A function of strategic posture:

our habitual strategic inclination

a freefloating strategic readiness alert to hidden agendas

constantly positioning itself to finesse both challenges and opportunities

constantly calibrating a multifaceted defensive and offensive mix

Strategic Posture (stratpo) is both Individual and Collective. Dependent on our strengths and weaknesses at any given moment. On our attitudes, goals and strategies. On the strengths and weaknesses of our friends, allies, competitors and enemies.

I look at the peoples of the world and everybody got an angle but blackfolk. Whitefolk got the power, Arabs got the oil, Jews got the game, Hispanics and Asians coming on strong, blackfolk still limping tailend along.

Im thinking what global power factor aint locked up already, I think Information, but if it aint locked up its pretty damn secure. Course I say go for it anyway. Make the strategic use of information a cultural forte.

But I think the one thing thats not really locked up and compatible with blackfolk anyway is Strategy

for i would you my people
be masters of strategy
lord legba moves
without limitation

Old player that I am I still hope to program an instinct to power into the black psyche. The old strategy of the weak - Trickeration - manifested through strength - Strategy - the key that opens all locks.

In a democracy such as ours, state power is a function of resources, wealth, education, skills, knowledge and organization. Manifested through the electoral process. In a democracy the contender must first accumulate personal power and position, then empower their communities and bid for power.

The organization and mobilization of your constituency is the fundament of power. Pay no attention to those who would have us for feel guilty for racial organization. Competency in the dynamics of voluntary organization is the single most effective instrument of empowerment in a democratic society.

In all cases and whatever your field, blackfolk understand that you have to build black institutions.

As we reach for power by becoming essential components of mainstream institutions we strive with all our might to simultaneously build our own and make them competitive. Join them, start them, nurture them - be involved be experienced in group activity in organizations both formal and adhoc. Be flexible. Be creative. Do things nobody ever thought of doing before. Get ahead of the curve and stay there.

Our infrastructure is not all that strong but it is tenacious and we feel so beleaguered that we often dont give ourselves credit for being as organized and mobilizable as we are. In truth we are a formidable machine and our positions must often be taken into consideration. We are actually a very organized people, its just that we arent organized enough (if there is such a thing).

You are only as strong as your people. To take state power in a state with strong democratic principles demands a strong grassroots movement. The war is therefore one of incessant community organizing, empowerment and capital formation through the education, politicalization & mobilization of your constituency. The more sophisticated your constituency the more power you wield.

The primacy of community organization is imperative. The dysfunction in our communities is no longer acceptable. There is no reason why our communities have to be filthy cesspools of crime, despair and low property values. Yes we have to vigorously address local and state complicity in the devaluing of our communities but some communities, some peoples, if they found themselves in our condition would change their ways to deal with the problem, would take increased responsibility for their condition and deal with it instead of crying about it. You in a desert you irrigate it, you on a floodplain you regulate it, if you need a Block Association you just do it - you do whatever have to be done to maintain viable communities. You Organize Organize Organize. We can no longer blame others for our problems. Kujichagulia.

We want to claim self determination we got to accept self determination.

African American are not only a minority, we are a dwindling minority. As America hurtles into a multiculti future, the ability to get along with other folk becomes more and more critical. African Americans are in a precarious position here. Latins, Asians, NativeAmericans coming on strong, blackfolks still limping tailend along, still slotted as society's bottomfeeders. It doesnt take very long for new immigrants to start dissing blackfolks just like a native.

Current dynamics lead to a scenario of us as excluded subordinates while everybody else is getting along. Hispanics already mixed, Asians mixing, dont nobody really object to NativeAmericans, everybody mixing it up except the blacks. If the Hispanic mix model is the trend, blackness will still be the disrespected, eminently erasable, part of the mix.

Everybody gon be whitening up.

I do not want blackfolks excluded from the mix. Nor do I want blackfolk to eventually disappear as a distinct race and culture. I want blackfolk to be a comfortable part of the mix. But I want blackness to be proud and respected. A vibrant and viable culture to which others emulate. This is a function of racial confidence and security. It is our insecurity that makes us so confrontational.

As long as blackfolk are bitter and confrontational, we will be working against ourselves and alienating ourselves from the political center. Excluded subjugated outsiders while everybody else is getting along.

Folks applauded Colin Ferguson for what was obviously the act of a disturbed man, folks supported OJ Simpson, for God knows what reason. Folks encourage the ravings of Khallid Muhammad and Leonard Jeffries. Folks indulge in little bogus weaknesses like antisemitism. No, this is not the way blackpeople. This is not the answer. You got to listen to the old rootdoctor here, understand what Im trying to say.

In the final analysis the battle will be one of grace. Which is the better way.

We got to maintain struggle but we dont want to establish a dynamic where we got to fight the world. I need for you my people to be an grand and illuminated people, not a petty little bitter xenophobic people. Its a deadend.

I am a nationalist but not a separatist. I dont mind mixing with folk. I just want some respect. I believe blackfolk ought to identify black, but I dont see this as withdrawing from interaction with other folk. I just want some respect.

Blackfolk the most disrespected folks on this planet. I find this intolerable. I want to blackfolk to be one of the respected peoples on this planet and eventually the cosmos. I want folk to envy and admire us. It is almost totally a function of our own comportment. We must carry ourselves with the dignity that demands respect. Its understood that it will be going against the social grain and reality but if we maintain the conjuration it will eventually be the norm, both to us and to everybody else, that both individually and communally, that blackfolk are a strong and dignified people.

Takes about 3 generations minimal to program a new headset. What we know in our heads, our children will know in their hearts, our generations in our souls. (Well, its a tough and entrenched condition, lets say 6 for this one.)

The world is slowly but inexorably moving towards a uniworld global culture. The question is not only shall Afroam culture survive but shall it be one of the worlds definitive cultures. One need not think long to deduce my answer.

I say we consider the security and prosperity of our generations the Prime Directive. I say we calm, cool and coldblooded. We remain forever vigilant, we maintain an ever evolving, multifaceted strategic posture - some moves bold and strong, some hidden in shadows, some waiting silently in the wings - we grow in power.

Masters of the Longgame

i ask my people that you
armor yourself in dignity
and bid for power

i would you my people be a race of achievers

model yourself on those who have walked this path before
study the lives of the great, both peoples and individuals
learn both from their victories and their defeats

i would you my people be a race of activists

knowledgeable and active on issues affecting the community
the world the galaxy the destiny of all things

we must be unto each an army
with a gameplan of historical influence
research identify contact network
empower, organize & orchestrate
peoples, players & institutions

develop a multifaceted game
that covers all contingencies

write your name bold in
The Great Black Book of Generations

Rootsbag 12/01: Six Niggers In A Woodpile

WEEKLY GRABBAG OF INTERESTING NEWBITS 12/01 - 12/08

Longgame 12/04

Evidence has been found of a massive meteor strike that wiped out life on earth some 251 million years ago. Everybody knows about the one that wiped out the dinasaurs about 65 million years ago, but apparently that was a baby compared to what the scientists are calling "the great dying".

As much as 90% of life on earth may have been vaporized.

Another great meteor is expected in 2880 and one could hit any minute. These may sound like remote possibilities to you but to somebody obsessed with the Longgame such as myself, these threats to human survival must be factored.

And let us not even consider scenarios like nuclear war run amok or global warming. At the risk of sounding like a space ranger, We Have Got To Get Off The Planet.

One planet is too iffy, accidents happen, humanity got to spread out, increase the odds of survival. Space is the next great human adventure and we need to get busy. The clock is ticking.

I would like blackfolk to be at the forefront of that endeavor. I would like black culture seeded among the stars. It will ensure the survival and evolution of our culture and our generations. It will be by definition Transcendental. It is our Destiny to be a star faring race.

It is the Geas of Rickydoc.

Six Niggers in a Woodpile 12/03

Emory Anthropology Professor Carol Worthman has been taking some serious heat for using the phrase ‘Six Niggers in a Woodpile” in a speech back in September celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Anthopology Department. When asked how she felt as a biological anthropologist working among the much more numerous cultural anthropologists she replied that she felt like ‘six niggers in a woodpile’. Not exactly the most judicious phraseology to use at a departmental function. This has caused a fury of protests at Emory and demands for sanctions against her.

The demands for sanctions have raised issues of academic freedom and free speech, with some saying comments like this are covered and others asking exactly what academic purpose did this comment serve.

Academics being what they are, some of her more curious colleagues have tried to trace the etymology of the phrase. Some have speculated that it refers to underground railroad activity. Hiding escaped slaves under a pile of wood. Other meanings and interpretations of her intent have been bandied about campus but I like the one by Associatate Professor John Juricek the best “It means trouble” he said, “That’s what it means.”

Dancing to a Shiite Tune12/03

Iraqi Shiites are demanding immediate direct elections. The Americans have balked because they fear an Iranian influenced antiwestern theocracy. But the Sunnis are bringing such fire on them that they are afraid of riling up the Shiites too and basically have to give them whatever they want. The irony is that the US would prefer to give Iraq to the more secular Sunnis but they have declared war on the Sunnis (and the Sunnis on them) and so the US must give Iraq to the Shiites.

Basically the plan now is to give it to the Shiites and get out before the November elections. But since the Bush Administration is leaving troops on the ground even after they ‘transfer sovereignty’ they are basically kinda crossing their fingers and hoping the Iraqis quit killing Americans before November. They are hoping that there are no telegenic Civilwars or Islamic Theocracies raging there during the election season.

They are basically abandoning their effort to build a Democratic society in Iraq and running with their tails tucked. Their moves are, as always, driven by electoral politics rather than strategic interests. So now the same folk who insisted on attacking Iraq to counter Islamic Fundamentalism are now dancing to Ayatollah Sistani's Theocratic Top Ten. These Bush League Bumblers have so boxed themselves in that there aren’t any good options left in Iraq. Their fumbles to date do not encourage one to be optimistic that they know what they doing this time either.

Vietnam Redux: Bogus Bodycounts

This guy Raimondo, whose link I used for Sistani in the last paragraph, also talks about the blatant lies that came out of the gunfight in Samarra. (My question was why newspapers accepted at face value a miliary machine that has made questionable and false accounts Standard Operating Procedure. Almost every account theyve given of Operations in Iraq has been later retracted and proven false.) But be that as it may all of a sudden the US is giving invisible bodycounts. We killed 54 of them, but we cant find the bodies.

Vietnam deja vu.

According to Iraqis on the scene the bodycount was a lot lower and many of them were civilians. Apparently only about 8 bodies were found. The US says the others must have been carried away by the guerillas. Reports say 60 to 100 guerillas attacked. If it was 60 guerillas I guess the 4 survivors carried away the 54 bodies. If it was a 100 guerillas and about 40 surivors that comes out to about a body and a half apiece. Under fire.

Give me a break why dont you.

Naders At It Again12/02

Sounds like Naders gon do it again. Another run in 2004. He and his Fellow Band of Political Puritans still swear there is no difference between the Democrats and the Republicans and if their efforts help reelect George Bush again then, in the words of one of their pundits "Let the Democrats Drown"

This man Nader must be a undercover Bush counteragent. A clone of the real Nader we used to respect, planted many many years ago by the Heritage Foundation just for this spoiler scenario. Damn hes good at it.

So now we got Progressive Forces held hostage to another bout of egostarved grandstanding and revolutionary purity - a problematic combination under any circumstances. Their new website, Naderexplore04 is a blank page. How terribly fitting.

Is there nobody who can get thru to this man. Make him realize this aint no joke. That this is going to be another tight election and that people are really dying behind this meglamanic act of his. Does he really approve of Bush and Cheney dismantling the Great Society. Ask him whats the last weeks bodycount of Bushs War. He probably cant be bothered. Too busy being the Green Guru.

Is there nobody who can get thru to this man.

Paul Krugman, Google News and Diebold Inc

Krugman Watch: About a week ago I met Paul Krugman when he gave a speech at my school. Thats my boy. Often it seems the only mainstream pundit willing to say forthrightly that the Emperor is as naked as a jaybird.

I asked him about websites hes found useful and he mentioned some, but it was his tip about Google News that Ive gotten the most mileage out of. I can put almost anything into their Search function and get a slew of the latest news reports from all over the world. I like me some Paul Krugman and some Google News too.

In his NYT column today he quotes a letter to Bush True Believers from Walden O'Dell, host of a recent Bush fundraiser, "I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year."

The problem with this vow is that O'Dell is also the chief executive of Diebold Inc., the manufacturer of touch-screen voting machines increasingly used throughout the United States. Including for instance Georgia, where Republicans pulled off a stunning upset victory in the 2002 midterm elections.

Diebold refuses to make its software available for public sruntiny but writer Bev Harris, researching her book on voting machines, "Black Box Voting", found a Diebold file on an unprotected server entitled "rob-Georgia.zip"

Apparently these files included information like diagrams of remote communications set-ups, passwords, encryption keys, source code and user manuals that should have been secured at the very least and whose title 'Rob Georgia" is shall we say 'interesting'.

The real problem is that not only will they not make their machine information public, but their machines leave no paper trail, so we just have to take their word for disputed or problematic vote counts regarding their machines. There is absolutely no way to check their figures.

Rob Georgia Indeed.

This strikes me as a particularly disturbing development. While not yet alleging 'conspiracy' forgive me if I would like some public oversite on such a critical link in the voting chain. The willingness of Team Bush to play dirty tricks has already been established in Florida. We cant say its beyond them to play games with voting machines whose numbers can be manipulated and whose figures cant be checked.

So, after reading Krugman's article, I went to Google News and put in "Diebold" and "Bev Harris". Turns out Diebold has been threatening to sue students and voting advocates who had linked to online leaked Diebold memos raising many of these same issues and Diebolds cavalier attitude towards addressing them.

Apparently they reconsidered only when Dennis Kucinich provided a forum for charges against them on his House of Representatives Web Site".

In an 11/13 article on website Liberal Slant Colleen Redman wrote:

" Former conservative radio talk-show host and current Republican U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel was also on the hot seat when it was revealed that, just prior to his senatorial campaign, he had ownership in the voting machine company that counted his winning votes (The Hill/January 29 ’03) and did not disclose it.

Why were three Republican candidates in Canal County, Texas, declared victors in their respective races by the exact same margin of 18,181 votes? Why did Diebold post a California county’s election tallies on its website before the polls closed (Associated Press/September 10 ’03)? . . .

She gives many other examples of possible malfeasance. She goes on to say:

"Since the SAIC findings, the same companies who assured us their voting systems were secure are now just as vigorously assuring us that they will fix the problems they insisted they didn’t have. But should private corporate industries with possible vested interests in election results have such control over our most fundamental and essential democratic act? Should their computer programs that tell the voting machines how to tally votes continue to be allowed to be held as “trade secrets?” The computer voting industry is like a financial institution that doesn’t keep records. Would we accept such loose standards from a bank that holds our money?

Representative Rush Holt is sponsoring legislation (HR 2239, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003) that would require electronic voting machines to produce an actual paper record so that voters can verify their vote and election judges would have a paper trial to follow. I urge citizens of all political persuasions to contact their representatives and let them know they support this step in the right direction. I think we all should inform ourselves on the electronic voting issue and ponder what the John Hopkins study concluded: “…we must carefully consider the risks inherent in electronic voting, as it places our very democracy at risk.”

Couldnt have said that no better myself.

a luta continua