Wait – what?

Oh, Jon Voight…. oh my.

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Somehow I knew….I am a Question Mark

You Are a Question Mark

You seek knowledge and insight in every form possible. You love learning. And while you know a lot, you don’t act like a know it all. You’re open to learning you’re wrong. You ask a lot of questions, collect a lot of data, and always dig deep to find out more. You’re naturally curious and inquisitive. You jump to ask a question when the opportunity arises. Your friends see you as interesting, insightful, and thought provoking. (But they’re not always up for the intense inquisitions that you love!) You excel in: Higher education You get along best with: The Comma

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

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Spot on

Unfit for the presidency, 6.

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John Mellencamp – Jena

I bought John Mellencamp’s new CD today. I was listening to it in my office and Jena, the song Mellencamp released last fall came up… I had forgotten about it.

Hearing the song made me want to see the video again. When I went to YouTube, I found out it was restricted (kinda – you just have to click through) – there’s a message reading:

This video or group may contain content that is inappropriate for some users, as flagged by YouTube’s user community. By clicking “Confirm”, you are agreeing that all videos or groups flagged by the YouTube community will be viewable by this account.

The video does contain images of lynching, and of klan members in their lovely, courageous hoods and robes. I do remember the brouhaha when the song came out last fall. And of course other people wrote about it back in October when it was released.

It’s still quite a powerful song and video.

Oh… I guess there’s pro-lynching music (and movies!) out there too. (Full disclosure – I used to like Toby Keith… till he got all let’s bomb all the foreigners/vigilante justice on me.)

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A Day of Blogging for Justice – Blogging Against Extra-Judicial Electrocution (Tasers)

Today, Wednesday July 30th 2008, black bloggers and other interested bloggers from across America are holding “A Day of Blogging for Justice – Blogging Against Extra-Judicial Electrocution (Tasers).”

The blog Tasered While Black has been tracking the issue of black folks being tased for some time now. Amy Goodman of Democracy Now is tracking the death by taser of a black man in Louisiana. We are blogging today against police and other security entities across America, Canada and around the world involved in Extra-Judicial Electrocution by Tasers. African American Political Pundit has called it a campaign against “on the spot pre-trial electrocution” of members of the public (many who are of African descent).

Also see here for more information.

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Monday night video – Struggle No More

I wanna see
my family
get what they want
have what they need

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Iran: Kobra Najjar Faces Imminent Execution by Stoning for Prostitution

When I originally posted this, something in the code that I can’t identify made the rest of the site go screwy.

So – please visit Equality Now, Renee at Womanist Musings or Cara at the Curvature for details and how to respond.

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Measure twice, cut once – or something like that

Oops! Wrong Larry shown on Idaho campaign buttons

LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — Some Democratic campaign buttons made for distribution in Idaho show an unlikely pair: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican Sen. Larry Craig.
But don’t expect the staunch Republican to throw his support behind Obama or for the presidential candidate to ask Craig to change his mind and run for Senate again. Apparently the button manufacturer picked a picture of the wrong Idaho Larry.

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House Resolution Apologizing for Slavery and Segregation

From Racism Review:

Rep. Steve Cohen from Memphis, Tennessee, has introduced a non-binding resolution (H.Res.194) next week “apologizing for the enslavement and racial segregation of African-Americans,” according to John Breshanan at The Crypt. Cohen represents a majority African-American district in Memphis. The resolution, which was introduced at the beginning of the 110th Congress (image from wallyg), makes no mention of reparations, but it does state that black Americans “continue to suffer from the consequences of slavery and Jim Crow — long after both systems were formally abolished…” The resolution also acknowledges that an apology “cannot erase the past, but confession of the wrongs committed can speed racial healing and reconciliation and help Americans confront the ghosts of their past.” The resolution has 120 co-sponsors.

Hmmm… I wonder how far this will go? Not that I’m cynical or anything….

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A Bench By The Road

Toni Morrison has said that her acclaimed novel “Beloved,” which features the ghost of a baby killed by her enslaved black mother, came out of the need for a literature to commemorate slaves and their history. “There is no suitable memorial, or plaque, or wreath or wall, or park or skyscraper lobby,” Ms. Morrison said in a 1989 magazine interview. “There’s no 300-foot tower, there’s no small bench by the road.”

This weekend, on Sullivan’s Island, off the South Carolina coast, Ms. Morrison, the Nobel laureate, and some 300 people held a memorial ceremony to dedicate her long-awaited “bench by the road.” The crowd included members of the Toni Morrison Society, National Park Service rangers, Ms. Morrison’s friends and family, and people from Charleston and nearby areas. They gathered Saturday afternoon under a blazing sun, accompanied by the rhythms of African drums, for a service that included the pouring of libations and a daisy wreath cast into the water to remember their ancestors.

“It’s never too late to honor the dead,” said Ms. Morrison, 77, the author of eight novels, as she sat down on the 6-foot-long, 26-inch-deep black steel bench facing the Intracoastal Waterway. “It’s never too late to applaud the living who do them honor,” she said. “This is extremely moving to me.”

Read the whole story here. (login required)

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