Dear Glenn Beck: Malia Obama is Off Limits

Oh.Hell.No.



Dear Glenn Beck,

You are such a little punk. Dude you are a grown a** man! It is totally uncool for you to pick on Malia Obama who is only 11 years old! I mean you question her intelligence?  Have you ever seen your own show? You my friend, should never ever ever talk about someone else's intelligence.  You are hardly intelligible at all.  Your rants, Communist this, Nazi that, complete with your chalkboard craziness is proof that all the neurons in your brain are not firing properly.  Malia and Sasha Obama are off limits to you.  Hell Michelle Obama should be off limits to you too but you seem to not understand boundaries and respect.  Please STFU.

Sincerely Yours,

Z

History: House Votes to Repeal Ban on Gays in the Military

The Murphy amendment to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell passed the House 234 - 194 earlier this evening.

Change we can believe in indeed.


Speaker Nancy Pelosi FTW yet again.  Check out her floor speech and who went against their party line vote after the jump.

More After The Jump>>

Glenn Beck Needs To Fall Back

Did Glenn Beck just talk about the First Lady's breasts? Oh.Hell.No. What do you think this is homie?! I don't know if it's because it's blatant sexism or whether I'm just frustrated that even Michelle Obama the First Lady of the United States can't escape the Jezebel curse. You know, the one where black women are seen only as sexual objects in the eyes of some white men. It's nothing new (read: turn on a rap video) but I didn't think that it would extend all the way up to the White House. Maybe I'm just naive. Did Michelle Obama look amazing at last weeks State Dinner with Mexico? Yes. Do I need some sweaty chubster named Glenn Beck to ogle her like she is an around the way chick on his radio show? No.

This post can also be found over at This Week In Blackness.

The Curious Case of Rand Paul

Who is this Rand Paul character anyway? We all knew who Ron Paul was of course, but few Politicos had any idea that he had a son, let alone a super Tea Party vigilante disguised by day in true Clark Kent-like fashion as a 47 year-old ophthalmologist. One thing is for sure: the entire political world knows who Rand Paul is now. After he trounced the GOP establishment's candidate in the Kentucky Republican Primary for the United States Senate seat, the Tea Party crowd exalted Paul from coast to coast as the proverbial second coming and perhaps as the answer they had all been looking for in order to solve the Obama problem. And for a second it all seemed possible...but then it happened. In a rather monumental "aha" moment, the likes of which had not been replicated since the infamous 2008 Katie Couric destruction interview of Sarah Palin, Rachel Maddow displayed her tiger-style investigative journalism skills and revealed the man behind the curtain last week to the world. The media, apparently encountering pure Libertarianism for the first time, has been buzzing about it ever since. So far be it for us to not provide our own break down of the curious case of Rand Paul.

More After The Jump>>

Unmasking the Prison Industrial Complex Part 1: The High Profits of Prison Labor

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. - 13th Amendment: US Constitution





Our country has its share of problems. There are many aspects of this democracy, which are in serious need of reform. Yet we believe that no matter how bad things get in America, that her cause is ultimately a just cause and that America is generally concerned with its citizens being the best that they can be in every facet of society. We believe that each citizen is entitled to the PURSUIT of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but at what cost? What happens when your confidence in this concept is shattered? When the foundation of our belief in this country is broken by statistics and horrifying stories that show an unjust cause and malicious intent? During the course of the next few weeks, we are taking a close look at what has been dubbed the Prison Industrial Complex in America. We will unravel and expose some of the mysteries that have been centered around this controversial topic. Our goal is to first enlighten ourselves, through research, personal experience and even third party experiences and to then use that information to enlighten you. Please tune in over the next few weeks and show us your support as we take a stab at Unmasking the Prison Industrial Complex.

More After The Jump>>

Get Off My TeeVee: Rand Paul Edition

This is just CRAZY.  You are going to say out loud that you would have been against the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Really? You think that's a good plan even in Kentucky? Fail.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Update: Rep. James Clyburn responds after the jump!

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The Aftermath - What does it all mean?

THE RESULTS:

• Rep. Joe Sestak wins the Senate Democratic primary in Pennsylvania against Republican-turned-Democrat incumbent Senator Arlen Specter.
• Democrats Sen. Blanche Lincoln (44%) & Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (43%) will go to primary runoff.
• Democrat Mark Critz wins race against Republican Tim Burns in a special election in Pennsylvania to fill the seat of the late Rep. John Murtha.
• Tea Party Candidate Rand Paul defeats Republican establishment opponent Secretary of State Trey Grayson (Mitch McConnell's candidate) in Kentucky GOP Senate primary.

So you had the Tea Party guy beat the Republican candidate, which as Z pointed out yesterday, will now lend a bit of self-proclaimed political mojo to their resume.  But do they have the juice to go all the way this fall during the General Election?  That remains to be seen. For now, however, the media seems content with pointing out two take away points: (1) The Tea Party has juice and Barack Obama better listen up, and (2) Mitch McConnell and by extension, the Republican Party Establishment, was dealt an undeniable blow last night as McConnell's boy went down in flames by a 20 point spread.

What is also gaining some tracking in the media (although not much surprisingly) is the seat that Democrats held on to in Pennsylvania against the Republicans.  There's been a lot of hype lately that the Democrats are all going to collectively go the way of the dinosaur come this fall's General Election because (according to legend) the Republicans are going to take over the Senate and the House.  Ehhh...according to last night, not so much.  The Republicans had one seat to focus on last night where they went head to head with the Democrats in a district where Obama's approval rating was only 35%, and the Republicans lost.  So much for urban legend.

After last night, the media buzz  now seems to be less about the new Republican wave that's coming in November and more about the "anti-establishment" wave that's coming in Novemeber.

What are your thoughts?  Is the Tea Party taking over?  Are the Dems still going to lose in the General Election this fall?  Does this give us any insight into 2012?

It's Election Day! - 3 Key Primary Races To Watch

It's election day and there are some critical races that we are keeping an eye on here at the UP. Watch for the media to start the narrative based on how the results turn out as to how the Democrats will fare in the Midterms Elections in November.

Races to Watch:

Senator Arlen Specter Needs Magic Ballot Theory To Pan Out ( h/t @GregMitch )

Pennsylvania Democratic Primary - Republican Democratic Senator Arlen Specter vs. Congressman Joe Sestak (pictured top left).

Key Take Away: Specter is on the ropes.  He was a Republican Senator for 30 or so years and even was the person responsible for the famous Magic Bullet theory of the Kennedy assassination.

Whoever wins this race will face SUPER Conservative Pat Toomey who is funded by Club for Growth (read: he's WAY WAY WAY over there to the right).  If PA voters want someone sane, no matter who they select today, they will have to mobilize once again in November against a Republican Tea Party electorate who is pissed off and motivated.  Bottom line is that even though President Obama and the White House are publicly supporting Specter, they are also keeping their distance in case Sestak pulls out the victory today.  It will be interesting to see if Democratic primary voters can ignore the fact that Specter was a Republican for 30 years and only switched because he had no shot in winning a Republican primary against Toomey.

Blanche Lincoln Faces Challenge From The Left

Arkansas Democratic Primary - Senator Blanche Lincoln vs. Arkansas Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter (pictured center left).

Key Take Away:  Lincoln is not only facing the anti-incumbent fever, she's also been singled out by the LEFT as a key barrier to getting the public option during the health care fight (REMEMBER THAT!?).  Halter used the anger on the left to launch his candidacy and received a flood of cash as soon as he announced he was entering the race.  It is possible to make the argument that Lincoln would have had a tough time even if she had not blocked the public option because pollsters agree that the desire to kick out incumbents is at the highest level in years.

UPDATE: Senator Lincoln turned away from home polling place this morning! Wow....that's an EPIC TOTAL COMPLETE AND UTTER FAIL.

Can the Tea Party Movement Go Mainstream?

Kentucky Republican Primary - Dr. Rand Paul (son of Texas Congressman Ron Paul) vs. Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson (pictured bottom right).

Key Take Away: This is the TEA PARTY race.  If Paul pulls off the upset here, the Tea Party will claim they have electoral mojo and are living up to all the hype.  If he is defeated, well I guess they can go back to making misspelled signs about Obama being Hitler's 3rd cousin.  Rand Paul is an interesting candidate because despite having no support from the Republican establishment, he is leading comfortably in the polls.

Check back throughout the day for more updates on the status of these races! 

More After The Jump>>

Get Off My TeeVee: Newt Gingrich Edition

What is this guys job?  No seriously, does he even have an actual source of employment?

Let's not compare anyone to the Nazis except Nazis. Thanks.

The Black Vote: Taken for granted, ignored or necessary

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ftsr/2010/05/17/the-black-vote-taken-for-granted-ignored-or-necess

The black vote is important because it represents the behavior of a group of people whose voting power had been denied. However, the black vote is unique because African American voting behavior is intrinsically rooted in the people's history. Since the Reconstruction, the general behavior of blacks is to vote in block, either for one party or the other. Until Roosevelt came into the presidency and began the New Deal, blacks were committed to the Republican party. So what happened? Looking back at the 2008 presidential elections, where blacks voted overwhelmingly Democrat, the question still remains: Just what went wrong or has changed? Tonight we'll break it down with a robust panel of guests representative of Democrats, Republican, and Independents. Most notably to present the case for the Republican party, will be Claudio Simpkins and Lenny McAllister, both of the Hip Hop Republicans. Also joining us would be Kris Broughton of Brown Man Thinking Hard, Joshua Lazards of Uppity Negro Network, and Kriss of The Insanity Report - all notable writers and contributors within the black blogosphere. Central to our discussion is the question: Which party today, best represents the interest of black America? Tonight, our guests will all make their best case for the parties with whom they identify. Please join us, feel free to share your opinions, and you be the judge, on Freedom Thru Speech Radio at 8pm EST/7pm CST.

Call In Number:

(914) 803-4881

Does It Even Matter If Elena Kagan Is Gay?

Lady Z's 2 Cents:                                                                                                   

Whether Elena Kagan is gay is NONE OF OUR BUSINESS PEOPLE!  (BTW - She's not gay).  Come on, it's 2010, what people  do in the privacy of their homes (as long as it is legal) is not our business.  I have such a problem with the fact that this question is even being asked.  Does she *look* gay because she has short hair?  Is it because she doesn't look like a barbie?  So what if she is unmarried without children.  There are alot of people that way and like blogger Jon Pitts-Wiley said earlier today, plenty of panels are convened about why there are so many black professional single women but they are called pathetic, inimidating, and picky instead of gay.  Phew what a relief!  That is unless there was anything wrong with being gay or if it were anybody's flipping business to begin with.  I say it is NO ONE'S BUSINESS.  Not mine.  Not yours.  Not anyones. 

Why does it matter?  A gay justice is going to be more or less fair if an issue of same sex marriage comes before the court?  If you even begin to answer that question then you a missing the point.  It shouldn't matter!  What this really is for me is sexism plan and simple.  This woman opted for the law degree and prestigious clerkship with Thurgood Marshall and perhaps either chose not to or was unable to get married to a person of her chosing whether male or female.  I mean what's the next revelation to come out an interview with a boyfriend who is like Elena is not gay we had sex?  C'mon son.

A recent post over at Mother Jones summed the arguments for Kagan's alleged gayness nicely:

■She kicked military recruiters off the Harvard Law campus because of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

■She looks like a lesbian.
■She's single and childless, has been known to smoke cigars and play poker.
■She looks like a lesbian.
■Jeffrey Toobin won't say whether she brought a date to his wedding.


That's it. You could make a better case that Kagan is simply a celibate workaholic, given the paucity of information that's leaked out about her personal life thus far.


Again this is no one's business.  But hey just for fun let's throw out a suggestion for what Kagan could say if asked by one of the male Senator's on the Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing:


Senator White Man:  "There have been numerous reports in the media that you are gay.  Ms. Kagan are you a lesbian?"


Elena Kagan: "[Smile and calmly say] Are you gay sir?  I know that you are married, but that does not mean you are not gay in the cover of night right?  What I will say is that, my private business is my private business, and it is overreaching for you sir to try to peak into this aspect of my private life with America watching.  No sir, I am not gay, but even if I was my sexual preferences have nothing to do with how I will do my job as a Justice on the nation's highest court.  Next question please."


That's all I can get out for now without switching to all caps as a representation of my furor over this discussion even taking place at all.


Is this question even relevant or is asking it completely out of bounds?

More After The Jump>>

Did the Obama Administration Flip Flop on Miranda?

What I'm about to say may piss off some of our progressive readers but, if we're honest with ourselves, we must be equal opportunity bloggers when it comes to calling a spade a spade.  If you caught Meet the Press this past Sunday then you saw U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder speaking on what soon turned out to be somewhat of a controversial take away message regarding the Obama Administration's use of Miranda rights for terrorist suspects. According to the NY Times:

The Obama administration said Sunday it would seek a law allowing investigators to interrogate terrorism suspects without informing them of their rights, as Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. flatly asserted that the defendant in the Times Square bombing attempt was trained by the Taliban in Pakistan. Mr. Holder proposed carving out a broad new exception to the Miranda rights established in a landmark 1966 Supreme Court ruling.

It didn't take long before other media sources (mostly liberal) seized upon Holder's interview and demonized the Obama Administration for attempting to "take away people's Miranda rights" with this "brand new exception."  There's only one problem: Holder never said any of that.

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Elena Kagan Is Obama's Choice For Supreme Court

This morning President Obama announced that his pick for the Supreme Court is Solicitor General Elena Kagan.  Kagan who is the first ever female Solicitor General would be only the fourth, female ever to serve on the nation's highest court.  I repeat, in the 220 year history of the Supreme Court there have been 111 Justices and only 4 women, including Kagan if she is confirmed.

So basically, this is a good thing and everyone should be happy that President Obama went with something other than a white guy right?  Well, maybe not.

There are plenty of people who have written about other choices including a number of qualified black females (Our post here) and even perhaps a male of asian descent.  And what about her record?  Is she the right person to replace a liberal icon like Justice Stevens?

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Black Republicans Part 3 of 3: The Black President

This is the third and final installment of our Black Republican series inspired by the question: "How in the hell could a Black person ever vote Republican?!?!?" In this episode, we look at Black Republicans in the age of the new Black President. We've enjoyed exploring the history behind this topic and we especially appreciate the shout-outs that our series has received from The Root, St.Louis Today.com, and Urban Mogul Life.

So...how in the hell COULD a Black person ever vote Republican? Well before you Black Liberals or Democrats out there get too hype about the underlying anti-conservative sentiment contained within this question, you might want to go back and look at what we discovered over the course of this series.

More After The Jump>>

Thanks For Hitting Us U.P.

We are a relatively young blog having only been around for about a year now, so we wanted to take a moment to say "Thank You" to all of our readers for helping us reach a significant milestone: as of today our blog has had 50,000 visits!  We hope you'll still be with us when we reach 100k!

Cheers!!!

- The Urban Politico Team:
Godson
The Janitor
Lady Z
The Fed

The "Keeping America Safe" Myth

Let's talk about this idea of "safety."  As you probably have heard by now, there was a recent scare in New York City when the man now identified as 30 year-old Faisal Shahzad, a U.S. citizen originally from Pakistan, parked a dark green SUV in the middle of Times Square with a cargo of goodies in the back that authorities would later call an "amateur" attempt at a car bomb.  Fortunately, authorities were able to put 2 and 2 together just in time to nab Shahzad at JFK today after he had already boarded a plane destined for Dubai. He is currently in custody and cooperating with federal law enforcement.  As a New Yorker who has walked through the intersection of 45th & Broadway more times than I could possibly count, allow me to disclose my biases up front: if it is determined that this cat did this act of attempted terrorism, then I want him prosecuted and imprisoned to the fullest extent of the law with no mercy.  And if he had any buddies helping him, then the same goes for them as well.  This is America, Jack, and we don't tolerate terrorism.  But another thing we don't do in America is take away the rights of U.S. citizens, no matter how scared we may be for our own safety.

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Get Off My TeeVee: Heckuva Job Brownie Edition

When did somebody tell this douche it was okay to COME BACK into my consciousness?!  YOU of all people sir are the very last, the absolute last person, even after Bush, Cheney, and Chertoff that I want to hear from when the words Gulf Coast and "natural" disaster are in the headlines.


Please return to whatever hole you were in prior to BP effing up.  That is all.

Michael Brown: Obama Wanted The Oil Spill To Happen

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs felt some type of way about Brownie's interview:

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May Book of the Month - Brainwashed

Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority

by

Tom Burrell

(2010)

Per the back cover:

“Black people are not dark-skinned white people,” says advertising visionary Tom Burrell. In fact, they are much more. They are survivors of the Middle Passage and centuries of humiliation and deprivation, who have excelled against the odds, constantly making a way out of “No way!” At this pivotal point in history, the idea of black inferiority should have had a “Going-Out-of-Business Sale.” After all, Barack Obama has reached America’s Promised Land.

Yet, as Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority testifies, too many in black America are still wandering in the wilderness. In this powerful examination of “the greatest propaganda campaign of all time”—the masterful marketing of black inferiority, aka the BI Complex—Burrell poses ten disturbing questions that will make black people look in the mirror and ask why, nearly 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, so many blacks still think and act like slaves. Burrell’s acute awareness of the power of words and images to shift, shape, and change the collective consciousness has led him to connect the contemporary and historical dots that have brought us to this crossroads.


Brainwashed is not a reprimand—it is a call to action. It demands that we question our self-defeating attitudes and behaviors. Racism is not the issue; how we respond to media distortions and programmed self-hatred is the issue. It’s time to reverse the BI campaign with a globally based initiative that harnesses the power of new media and the wisdom of intergenerational coalitions. Provocative and powerful, Brainwashed dares to expose the wounds so that we, at last, can heal.