baba ernest withers moved on, just when we need him most

SUNDAY

hello world, i look back on the weeks posts and
except for the one on baba withers they bore me

they dont strike me as words of power
words that might make a difference

withers post neither but baba been true force and
deserve whtever recognition i can give

the other stuff my heart aint really in it
dont feel like it justified the time spent, didnt move

the board

i think maybe next week im going to ignore you dear regulators
only reason i do commentary is because i think i should

i justify it by saying it shows the value of the hoodoo perspective in the realworld, the power in seeing well,

in the orchestrative approach to empowerment
sensitize you to the game, make players of you

then again maybe im not pertinent enough, you try to give
insights that are essential to viable function in 21st century society

so that your readers are informed and empowered, your insights considered . well . . essential
but these insights do not strike me as essential

more like i got to write something every couple of days to keep my readership up
(doubled over the last year by the way, not difficult from where i started but stil . . .)

i think next week im going to work on the 101 talismans of rickydoc
the 101 haints of my wouldbe hoodoo pantheon

kinda esoteric for general readership but something that move the board of destiny
if rootsblog investiture dont move the board i cant justify the spent noveltime

just trying to make the
journey worth your while

and mine
and so, quick riff on recent news and im out of here

misguided scientist says blacks got inferior genes, has confused culture with genetics, dont
worry about it, hes in check

huffing and puffing dont prove nobody wrong, just calm down and
be about our business, let our generations tell the tale

painting by george hunt, babagriot my generation
oldschool memphis artists in the tradition

custodians of baba withers line
wc and lt. lee

fellow practitioners and
keepers of the faith

all my love
rdoc

FRIDAY

hello world, i recently received the following
on two of my email accounts

an email from elaine brown regardiing a post i did some time ago
a post i took from another site (w/attribution & links) regarding

controversy other whether she was a cointelpro agent during the 60s
the post gave both sides so i dont feel bad about it or at least i didnt

before i got this email, but i can imagine how it must feel to have
folk claiming you were a race traitor all over the net - not cool

----------------------
You are presently posting lies about me on various websites with which
you are affiliated, that I was a "government agent," meaning a traitor
to the Black Panther Party--of which I was a leading and dedicated
member--to Black People and to the cause of our freedom.  I ask that
you remove this defamatory material from all websites on which you
have posted it or have had it posted.

-----------------------

i will think about it

i think though that i would have been more amenable to taking it down
if she had been a little more personable in her request,

this legalistic bombastic approach dont move me enuf to take down a post
various websites with which i am affiliated?  she got the wrong guy

this mass mailing approach dont get it

im rather proud of that post because it did give both sides, the accusation and
her response to it, thats about the best i can do about a valid controversy:

the charges have been so widely dispersed on the net
that i dont know that even a well written book would flip that script

id hate to be on the wrong side of the net like that

but the way the net work, impersonal email like this
just becomes part of the mix -  not an effective move

fresh red meat to a blogger, fresh broccoli in my case

that said i feel her pain, i will consider it, and apologize for causing her grief if this is a bogus charge
but bogus charge or not, it is a viable topic of debate, that it would be nice to get clarity on

i am unlikely to take that post down but i did find this site that gives more
perspective on the issue (and further muddies the water)

which mostly consists of all those old pantherites accusing each other of
compradorship, it was a twisty little period and many of the panthers were flawed

folk strutting the stage, and a caution against hero worship

one guy says you got to trust the message, not the messenger
but how can you trust the message if you cant trust the messenger

guess all we can do is accept the period for what it was, try to get as much
understanding as possible for future referene and keep on struggling

a luta continua
rdoc

THURSDAY

hello world, baba ernest withers graduated

legendary memphis photographer and
chronicler of the civil rights movement

irascible elder in his legendary kufi
everytime i see him he ask about my mama

they were about the same age same era,
racemen and racewomen from the oldschool

baba withers did a lot of legendary photos
but i think the one that mean the most to me

was one of the garbage workers strike in 68
my first real campaign in the struggle

my mama had me and my sisters out there on
picketlines, sitins and such since we was old enuf

to wear a sign

but it was the garbage workers strike and the
subsequent death of martin luther king that

turn me out
made me a conscious warrior

the iconic sign of that struggle
was the garbagemens 'i am a man' picketsigns

and baba withers he got this shot of the garbage workers
with their i am a man signs straddling the street

move me to this day

baba ernest withers
1922 - 2007 - well done

in struggle
rdoc

MONDAY

hello world, room being made at gitmo
for a new batch of unlawful combatants

which the bush admin define as combatants outside the military chain
and subject to no international law that they can think of

justice and state have argued that blackwater employees should
not be interned at gitmo for fear they will be radicalized by jihadis

and have suggested they be given their own facilities
the bahamas maybe, honolulu, but the defense dept

concerned about being charged with warcrimes after bush/cheney leave
have insisted that all unlawful combatants must be sent to gitmo

thats what its there for say the joint chief, who then suggest putting
guard uniforms on them to distinguish them from the other guys

see what im saying
rdoc

SATURDAY

hello world

article on foreign policy in focus:
the religion of divide and conquer

how imperial powers have historically used religion
to divide and conquer various populations

article ask what role christian evangelicals play in the
'most religious administration in us history"

ask has that pressure contributed to this 'crusade'
in iraq and the pressure to strike iran

talk about britain in ireland and india
france in africa and indochina

the us in the middleast,

clumsily working sunnis and shiites
in a quest for energy security

fascinating read about
imperial use of religion

and just how much trouble can be bred
in the name of religion and conquest

these matters are of
interest to me

trying to run a chosen people scenario
and avoid the chosen people syndrome

but aint clocked no pages lately
ticktock ticktock, no time to lose

rickydoc has got
the blues