Is the Obama Administration Being Sloppy on Black Unemployment?

by Wayne Hodges, Your Black World.

WASHINGTON – With black unemployment marinating at an unfathomable 16%, philanthropist and talk show host Tavis Smiley has an impudent message for President Barack Obama: “Put black folk back to work!”

A few days ago, while promoting his new book (Fail Up: 20 Lessons on Building Success From Failure), Smiley took time to address our nation’s struggling job market along with Obama’s impending role in confronting unemployment.

“We gotta check him respectfully,” said Smiley, referring to Obama. “He can’t be afraid to talk about black unemployment, when he needed to stand up for the Jews, he did. Gays and lesbians? He did. Immigration for the Hispanic community? He did.

“So don’t leave black folks twisted in the wind because you are afraid of being accused of being ‘tribal’ and giving negroes the “hook up”. We are the most loyal part of your base! If you want the deficit to go down, put black folk back to work!”


Everything Smiley stated is true.

Obama has indeed ruffled the feathers of many blacks by lending credence to the claims of women’s groups, gays and Hispanics while shifting pressing African-American concerns to the back of the bus (no pun intended). And blacks are certainly known to expend versus save.

Therefore, by putting more African-Americans to work, we stand a much better chance of increasing consumer purchases for depreciable goods. However, we must remain cognizant of the fact Obama is not Superman.

He alone can’t rectify the black unemployment problem.

Rather than challenge Obama to put more blacks to work, Smiley should push for a national address urging members of Congress to conduct an employment study detailing why so many African-Americans are jobless.

Who knows?

As blacks, our socioeconomic plight may not be the fault of discriminatory business owners after all. Instead, it could involve something as remedial as African-American laziness or lack of qualified applicants.

With discriminatory practice, you’re talking about implementing provisions in the form of affirmative action or similar programs. With laziness, you’re talking about applying additional restraints to key social service programs with the hope of forcing more able-bodied citizens into the job market.

Oversimplifying the issue won’t help.

We won’t know the truth until a diligent study is both conducted and divulged.

So, why the push for a national address?

Because, in my humble opinion, it would give legitimacy to the proposed study while raising political awareness in the domestic job market.

Look, I’m sure Smiley means well.

Hell, everybody’s frustrated.

But it’s not fair to be injurious or to single-out Obama as the primary culprit. An attack must be levied against Congress too.

“We have to respect our President, and I do,” said Smiley in Obama’s defense. “We have to protect the President, and I do. But we also have to correct the President, remember he is a politician not a prophet like Dr. King.

“We have to push him into his greatness for him to become a great President and hold him accountable, lovingly not with malice, but there are some things he has to step up on like black unemployment, wars, and poverty.”

Push him? Yes.

Single him out? No.

Wayne Hodges, an MBA from St. Mary University, is the Editor-in-Chief of MassAppealNews.com. He also serves as District Committee Delegate in Johnson County, he’s a Democrat reporter for the Examiner, and he’s an adjunct professor in Kansas City. Wayne welcomes your comments 24/7 atwhodges@massappealnews.com

Dr. Boyce: Attacking Cornel West Does Not Resolve the Black Political Problem

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, YourBlackWorld.com

If a man is offered a piece of stale bread for dinner, he’s probably not going to want to eat it.  If you were to then say, well, “stale bread is better than horse manure,” this won’t make the stale bread taste any better.  When given the choice between bad food and horrible food, some people would just rather not eat or try to eat someplace else.

But this is what black America is being fed when they are told that they should passionately support the Democrats simply because the Republicans are going to be worse.  The meal is being fed, in part, by elitist liberals like Melissa Harris Perry at Tulane University (formerly Princeton), a darker-skinned staple in the white liberal establishment and fully-indoctrinated member in the Barack Obama fan club.   In a recent article where Perry works diligently to dismiss the political and scholarly relevance of Dr. Cornel West (a huge mistake on her part, since West earned his stripes when Perry was still in high school), she reproduces the same rhetoric that Ivy Leaguers utilize to somehow convince rank-and-file black folks to start seeing things that simply don’t exist.  The same political magic trick was used when the administration got a tiny militia of black Harvard Law Professors to campaign on behalf of Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court in spite of her undeniably racist hiring record – this is how Harvard and Yale folks take care of one another.  Notice that our entire Supreme Court is full of Ivy League graduates; the elite protect their power by manipulating the minds of poor and working class Americans.

Let’s be clear, I am no fan of the disposition against President Obama taken three years ago by Tavis Smiley.  I took Tavis to the carpet for his very personal assault on Obama, which I speculate might explain why he hasn’t ever spoken to me (I could actually care less, to be honest).  I am neither an Obama critic nor am I a super fan.   My agenda is simple:  I want to see leading politicians address massive black unemployment, mass incarceration, rampant racial discrimination in the workplace and the dysfunctional educational systems that are destroying black children and families.  To date, politicians are not standing strong on nearly any of these issues, and given that our surveys show that these problems affect the vast majority of the black community, this should be a concern.

What disturbs me most about the calls I’ve received from the White House and others who somehow believe that we are helping the president by resigning our right to free speech, is that the political types in Washington are more concerned about who gets blamed for the problem than they are about solving the problem.  After Dr. Wilmer Leon and I spoke about the seemingly unproductive relationship between the Obama Administration and the Congressional Black Caucus, most prominent critics of that conversation could only ask, “Why are you blaming Valerie Jarrett for canceling meetings with the CBC?”  Most interesting is that I spoke to Dr. Leon because he could provide an objective opinion on political strategy without any of the selfish agendas that drive those who either reject or support the president outright.  Dr. Leon makes it clear that if you spend all of your time either hating the Obama Administration for no reason or popping champagne bottles because you think we’ve hit Juneteenth Part II, you are not using your political voice in an effective way.

I don’t care if the responsibility for Washington’s political apathy falls on Valerie Jarrett, Barack Obama, the CBC or the pet chicken in the front yard.  All I know is that I just talked the daughter of a formerly incarcerated man who told me that none of his five children graduated from high school because their father was not there to guide them.  I am not sure why any black person on the planet would have any incentive whatsoever to vehemently support an administration with a black male attorney general who has not lifted a finger to reform a justice system that is undeniably racist.

So, perhaps those who are quick to implement the “stop snitching on Obama” policy on Cornel West should stop trying to counter his argument by telling West to remain silent.  Instead, he should be silenced with relevant and meaningful action on the part of the Obama Administration.  Spinning, twisting and reshaping the conversation means nothing when black unemployment continues to rise, mass incarceration decimates our people and our children are not being educated.  You can either get angry at someone for calling you fat, or you can take your fat butt to the gym.  Unfortunately, it’s easier for Washington types and elitist liberals to use political double-speak than it is for them to point to concrete evidence that working and middle class black people (the bulk of whom experience rampant and unregulated discrimination in the workplace) have a reason to be excited about the next election.  Whether they should reject President Obama vs. his Republican counterparts is debatable; but whether they should reject all of Washington is undeniable.

The bottom line is simple:  Giving black folks a choice between stale bread and horse manure is not going to make them want to eat at your restaurant.  It’s time for some political courage and action, instead of asking us to submit to a system that clearly isn’t working.  Whether one agrees with Cornel West or not, he must ultimately be given credit for guiding the conversation back to poor, black and brown people.  Attacking West for pointing out the obvious is nothing more than a counter-productive distraction.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition.  To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

President Bush Speaks About Bin Laden’s Death

Well GW, it was your idea, so what do you have to say about the death of Osama Bin Laden after a successful mission orchestrated by President Obama.

The Former Presidents Bush and Clinton were both briefed by President Obama of the news before his press conference to the nation, and Bush shortly released the following statement of his own.

“This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done.”
Clinton, who had originally started the Bin Laden search back in the early 90′s had this to say,
“This is a profoundly important moment not just for the families of those who lost their lives on 9/11 and in al-Qaida’s other attacks but for people all over the world who want to build a common future of peace, freedom, and cooperation for our children. I congratulate the President, the National Security team and the members of our armed forces on bringing Osama bin Laden to justice after more than a decade of murderous al-Qaida attacks.”

During his address to the nation, Obama said, “Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity. Justice has been served.”

by Charley Been

Did the Saudis (order Pakistan to) sell out Bin Laden?

Osama Bin Laden apparently lived in Pakistan for much of the past ten years. With all due respect to President Obama's pride in the US forces who got Bin Laden, it should be obvious to all that the United States suddenly found Bin Laden now because someone chose to turn him in. But who? Asia Times' Spengler blog believes that Bin Laden's activities in Yemen were threatening Saudi interests, and therefore the Saudis ordered the Pakistanis - who may yet be the principal Sunni ally for Saudi Arabia - to turn Bin Laden in.

In short, while al-Qaeda had drawn funding from both Saudi and Iranian sources, in present circumstances its activity tended to serve Iranian rather than Saudi interests. Support for terrorism, moreover, is a two-way street: precisely because Saudi Arabia was "a critical financial support base for al-Qaeda", Saudi intelligence knows something about the recipients of their money.

The Saudis, moreover, have an interest in cleaning up the terrorist associations of the Pakistani military. As the Saudi cold war with Iran grows increasingly hot, Riyadh may look towards Islamabad for military support. Asia Times Online has reported that the Bahrain National Guard already is recruiting Pakistani mercenaries. (See Pakistan ready for Middle East role, April 2.)

And there is speculation that Saudi Arabia in a pinch might ask for Pakistani troops, and also that Riyadh might source nuclear weapons technology from Pakistan to counter Iran's nuclear program. Where else might the Saudis go for support in a war with Iran? The Saudis cannot trust the United States. King Abdullah reportedly was enraged that Obama pulled the rug out from under Mubarak, a longstanding American ally. And they cannot trust the Turks, who have become the region's spoiler.

Pakistan's military capacity and urgent need for money make it the Sunni power most amenable to Saudi interests. That is one more reason to clear the deck of unreliable elements like Bin Laden.

Ironically, Bin Laden appears to be a casualty in the great Arab breakdown of 2011. We can only guess as to the details of his demise, and may never know the entire truth. But it is a fair conclusion that he was crushed between the tectonic plates now shifting in the Muslim world.

Read the whole thing.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem

Bin Laden's Legacy

Christopher Hitchens has a nice piece about the death of Osama bin Laden over at Slate:

If you tell me that you are staying in a rather nice walled compound in Abbottabad, I can tell you in return that you are the honored guest of a military establishment that annually consumes several billion dollars of American aid. It's the sheer blatancy of it that catches the breath.

There's perhaps some slight satisfaction to be gained from this smoking-gun proof of official Pakistani complicity with al-Qaida, but in general it only underlines the sense of anticlimax. After all, who did not know that the United States was lavishly feeding the same hands that fed Bin Laden? There's some minor triumph, also, in the confirmation that our old enemy was not a heroic guerrilla fighter but the pampered client of a corrupt and vicious oligarchy that runs a failed and rogue state.

Also check out Eight Mysteries About the Killing of Osama bin Laden or you can actually find the full article also at Slate.

Posted byWriter

Yemen police injure over 400 protesters

Thousands of demonstrators had planned a 2 a.m. march to protest Sunday’s crackdown on protesters in Taiz, south of capital Sana’a, that killed two people and injured over a hundred others.

Police fired live rounds and tear gas against the crowd that wounded at least 409 people.

The protesters are demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Salah who has often signaled that he has no intention of resigning soon.

“A successful revolution in Yemen could mean the whole Persian Gulf region erupting into revolution,” Chris Bambery, a Middle East expert, told Press TV on Sunday.

“Yemen has been an important staging post for the Americans … It is one of the major centers of the CIA in the region,” he said.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is an important ally for the US and the Saudis and they are trying to keep him in power to maintain their control over the Persian Gulf region, the analyst underlined.

Therefore, “There is no attempt [by the West] to reveal the realities of the Saleh regime: the torture, the repression, or the record of the Saudis constantly intervening in Yemen, carrying out bombing missions, etc.” he argued.

Inspired by the protests of Tunisia and Egypt, Yemen has witnessed daily anti-government protest rallies since mid-February, which demand crucial economic and political reforms, including an immediate end to President Saleh’s 33-year rule
Several opposition members argue that his long-promised political and economic reforms have not materialized.

PREPARE FOR THE LEFT TO DECLARE “VICTORY” IN LIBYA AND CROWN OBAMA A SAVIOR

by Vilmar
For all the grandstanding and fancy speeches Obama gave about Libya, it appears he does not have the intestinal fortitude to see it all through and so we’ve basically pulled out of Libyan military actions.

Two weeks after a dark-of-night barrage of mostly U.S. missiles and bombs opened the international air assault on Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi, the American combat role is ending, the rag-tag rebels are reeling and the Pentagon is betting its European allies can finish the job.
Gadhafi is still standing, with a few uncertain signs that his inner circle could crack. The Obama administration is hoping that if Gadhafi’s government doesn’t implode soon, a relentless campaign of airstrikes on his tanks, air defenses and most trusted army units will at least weaken his ability to survive a renewed uprising by a disjointed opposition. The rebels initially rattled Gadhafi but in recent days have given up most of their gains.

The bottom line, according to Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: “He’s still killing his people.”

So the mission remains incomplete, but the U.S. is following through on a pledge to shift the main combat burden to Britain, France and other NATO allies.

Starting Sunday, no U.S. combat aircraft are to fly strike missions in Libya. NATO’s on-scene commander can request American strikes in the days ahead, in which case they may have to be approved in Washington.

On Saturday, U.S. combat aircraft flew 24 strike missions in Libya, the Pentagon said.
Some in Congress, including Sen. John McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, have criticized the decision to withdraw U.S. combat aircraft from the regular cycle of NATO strikes.

Also withdrawing from the combat mission on Sunday will be the initial workhorses of the military campaign: U.S. Navy destroyers and submarines that launched Tomahawk cruise missiles from their positions in the Mediterranean Sea. No Tomahawks were fired Saturday, the Pentagon said.

In a nutshell, expect the Kept-Whores to go orgasmic praising their Messiah as a hero with courage to see tough fights through.
And if Gaddafi stays in power, the media will still praise Obama for being “smaht” enough to get us out…all the while ignoring the reasons he said we needed to get in there…..without any Congressional approval or consultation.

Oil Prices Soar to Highest Price Since 2008 on Obama’s Libya War … Up 100% Under Obama

Welcome to Obama’s QUAGMIRE …

It is amateur hour in the White House and “We the People” are feeling the brunt of the inexperience. Obama truly is the worst President ever. 

Thanks to Barack Obama’s “Kinetic Military Operation” WAR in Libya oil prices have climbed to their highest level since 2008. Obama claimed that the military operation in Libya would last days not weeks. The community organizer and “Ditherer” in Chief could never have been so wrong. Who but an inexperienced and completed over-matched individual could ever have thought that a any military action would have ended so quickly.

Instead of a quick outcome and slam dunk in Libya as stated by Obama, fighters loyal to Moammar Gadhafi pushed back rebels from key areas in eastern Libya and have dealt the rebels a severe setback. Today, a spokesman for the Libyan leader said that Gaddafi will stay in Libya “until the end”.  The result … oil prices rose to a 30 month high and the pain at the gas pumps will be felt by American workers trying to get to work. More ‘Hope & Change’ from Obama … rising gas prices.

Battles between Gadhafi’s troops and rebels have seesawed back and forth in Libyan ports and towns since mid-February, with the price of oil rising more than $20 a barrel since then. Energy consultants Cameron Hanover said traders are beginning to view the Libya uprising as a standoff for now. ‘Without control of the air, Gadhafi’s troops have been unable to hammer home their gains. And, without strong and well-trained ground forces, the rebels seem incapable of holding onto their gains. Optimism that Libyan oil might return to the market, seen earlier this week, was dashed.”

Libya’s oil exports, which went mainly to Europe, are shut down. The rebels have said they plan to start shipping oil again, although how soon that could happen is unclear.

As per ABC News, the weekly national average gas price showed the highest price ever during the month of March and the seventh consecutive increase this week,
Under President Barack Obama, oil prices have doubled and are up 100%. THANKS BARACK. Not only has this President been a complete incompetent failure in creating a $787  billion stimulus plan that created no jobs, added a ridiculous amount to the federal debt with Obamacare and has hampered job creation by an over-reaching and over-regulative government … the “Not Ready for Prime Time” President has not got the US into a hornet’s nest in Libya as oil prices skyrocket.

According to the GasBuddy gasoline price tracking web site, the price of a gallon of regular gas was around $1.79 when Mr. Obama took office. Today the national average is $3.58. The lowest average price in the continental United States is $3.31 in Tulsa Oklahoma, the highest is $4.14 in Santa Barbara, CA.

Who would ever have thought that during the 2008 Democrat primaries in the run up to the 2008 Presidential election that Joe Biden would have been the sage of sages and stated the following regarding the rank amateur Barack Obama. Watch VIDEO.

Biden said that Obama was not ready for the job and the Presidency is not one that lends itself to on the job training. Biden’s reply, “I stand by that statement”. Looks like Joe was 100% correct. However, as we are reminded by the Gateway Pundit Jim Hoft, Peggy was wrong. Obama was not going to pay for our gas, he doubled it instead. I wonder what peggy has to say for herself today? Sadly, the Kool-Aide drinking Obamaite would blame it still on George W. Bush.

Obama Inauguration Day 2009 Live Stream | Watch Obama Inauguration Video

Many of us have been waiting for this momentous and probably one of the most memorable event in American history, and the most anticipated occasion wherein the first African-American will be sworn to represent the most powerful country in the world; the United States of America. The Obama Inauguration Day 2009 will take place tomorrow January 20, 2009 and will be covered live on radio, TV, and the internet. So if you are planning to stay at home with your family, better stay tuned and watch the live coverage of the Obama inauguration online, as we will provide you with a live streaming video of this memorable event. So there are quite a number of available options to watch the Obama 2009 Inauguration Day.

The Presidential inauguration will officially start at 10 AM on the West Front of the Capitol Building, replete with musical performances from famous artists, as well as the United States Marine Band, the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus. The most anticipated part of the event is the oath taking and the inaugural speech of president-elect Barack Obama, with millions of people watching around the world listening to what he’s going to say about his achievements, as well as his goals in the coming years to come, now that he’s in the most powerful seat as President of the United States of America.

After the jump watch the 2009 Obama Inauguration Live Video Coverage provided for us in real time.

Obama Inauguration Day Live Feed

Megan Fox on Barack Obama: "He's Very Sexy"

Megan Fox has a thing for President-elect Barack Obama!

"I think he's very sexy," the sultry starlet said at last night's party celebrating GQ's annual Men of the Year list (Obama is among the honorees). "And God help me because I hope I don’t get in trouble for saying this, but I think he's so articulate and so intelligent and so charismatic when he delivers speeches, that there is something very sexy about that—very! And he's also very slim and lean."

And which other actor surprised us by fawning over Obama's sexiness? Read on to find out...

Aaron Eckhart, that's who!

"The dude has got the looks going on," said Eckhart, a sex symbol in his own right. "I don't know what he is on a 1-to-10 scale...but he's athletic, he's in control, he's charming and he's well-spoken."

Person For The Week: Barack Obama

Does ANYONE, in good conscience, question who the Person for the week is, or ought to be?

The answer, of course, is NO.

So we present to you our Person for the week: Barack Obama, and also give some props to his wife, Michelle.