-=> Lee Lofaso wrote to Bill McGarrity <=-

Hello Lee....


 LL>>> You can find bad people in every neighborhood.  Right-wingers
 LL>>> like to point out that Rev. Martin Luther King was a troublemaker,
 LL>>> a black man who spoke for a violent people, all of whom happened
 LL>>> to also be black.  No white minister would ever encourage white
 LL>>> folks to disobey cops and other law enforcement officials.  There
 LL>>> is a reason why no Republican spoke at the Lincoln Memorial on
 LL>>> the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream"
 LL>>> speech.  There is also a reason why no Republicans were invited
 LL>>> by the organizers to speak.

 BM>> Oh... none were invited?  Sounds like you jumped on the O'Reilly
 BM>> ASSumed bandwagon.

 LL>> Former Republican Party Chairman Michael Steel made that announcement
 LL>> on MSNBC - not on FoxNews or Bill O'Reilly's show.

 BM>
 BM> But many members of the GOP WERE invited, including Sen. Scott and all the
 BM> GOP members of Congress.  They all refused.  O'Rielly went on-air and
 BM> stated there were no invites yet the next day he came with the "ASSumed"
 BM> rhetoric that none were when in reality they were.  You see the way things
 BM> are done, invites go out. If the invited accepts, then a spot is created
 BM> for them to speak.  If they decline, then other arraingements are made.
 BM> The spots guaranteed for the GOP were for the elite of the party, as it
 BM> should be.

 LL> On MSNBC, Chris Matthews made a statement that no Republicans were
 LL> invited.  Michael Steel then corrected him, explaining how the
 LL> organizers of the event ran the show.  Steel's explanation was, in
 LL> effect, the same as what you wrote.

Chris Matthews opened his show with the following statement: 

"Contrary to popular belief, all Republican members of Congress, including Sen.
Tim Scott (R-SC), were invited to at least attend the commemoration. All
declined." 

Mr. Steele, when ask to eloborate stated:

"Quite frankly, not showing up to that event yesterday to me was abhorrent....
to not be there in that moment, to look America in the eye and complete that
leap, that forward progress for the American people, and to say to the
African-American community, that we have made missteps in the last 50 years,
but we stand here united with you in the journey forward in the life and times
of Dr. King.”

Later in the program Mr. Steele discussed Mr. Scott:

“Yes, he was invited like every member of the United States Congress House and
Senate, but if you have the only African-American sitting in the United States
Senate and you do not ask him to speak at that event, then there is something
wrong.”

Mr. Mathews' reply: 

“Why didn’t the the party of Lincoln ask to come?” 

So therefore your recollection of the facts are a bit skewed.

Now, if you want Mr. O'Reilly's take on things... He stated on his show while
talking to Mr. Carville.... 

"no Republican or conservative" was invited to the event.  Then further during
the discussion...

He even mentioned George W. Bush as an example of this unfortunate (but false)
turn of events.

"I do not know if he wasn't invited," guest James Carville said of Bush.

"He wasn't," O'Reilly said. "No Republican or conservative was invited."

Here's a video of his "Ooooopssss..." 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/29/bill-oreilly-march-on-w
shington-republicans_n_3837260.html

He makes the statements at the 57 second mark. 

Here is the video of his apology. I do give him credit for at least making the
statement, albiet half-assed.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/29/bill-oreilly-apology-ma
ch-on-washington-error_n_3840169.html

 LL> Because no Republicans spoke at the event, it gave the appearance
 LL> that Republicans do not care about black folks, or about MLK's "I
 LL> Have a Dream" speech.  Of course, appearances can be deceiving, as
 LL> it is silly to think that all/many/most Republicans are racist.

 BK>> The reality has been it isn't white or black, but haves and have
 BK>> nots. The haves have taken more from the poor black community
 BK>> than the poor black community ever got back.

 LL>>> For Republicans, it really is about white or black.  It wasn't always
 LL>>> like that, but it is today.  For example, George Romney received 30%
 LL>>> of the black vote as a candidate for governor of Michigan.  Mitt LL>
 BM> Romney received 6% of the black vote as a candidate for president.
 LL>> That is how much the Republican Party has changed over the years.

 BK>>> Remember Mitt Romney's infamous 47%?

 LL>>> George Romney marched with MLK and the blacks for freedom.
 LL>>> Mitt Romney refused to speak at the Lincoln Memorial for the
 LL>>> 50th anniversary of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech.  What a
 LL>>> tremendous opportunity that was missed by Mitt Romney and the
 LL>>> Republican Party.  Even Michael Steel admitted the GOP goofed.

 BM>> Agreed.... which only enhances their commitment to a segregated
 BM>> America (My reference here is poor [black & white] vs. the affluent.)

 LL>> Not all blacks are poor.  Not all whites are rich.  However, an
 LL>> economic argument can be made, and strongly supported.  Bob Dole,
 LL>> as a candidate for president, tried to make that argument in
 LL>> reference to affirmative action, and actually had Bill Clinton
 LL>> on the defensive (and on the ropes).  Dole's mistake was not
 LL>> having a viable plan of his own to replace affirmative action.
 LL>> Clinton managed to get up off the canvas, making a comeback
 LL>> by suggesting affirmative action needed to be "fixed" rather
 LL>> than "scrapped" - thus winning his bid for a second term.

 BM>
 BM> I wasn't talking about affirmative action. I am talking about the
 LL> alienation
 BM> and divide that is occuring through the GOP's deep corporate pockets.
 LL> Yes,
 BM> the Dems have them as well, but the Koch Bros/Norquist doctrine is alive
 BM> and
 BM> flourishing in the GOP.  These "platforms" are designed to increase the
 BM> chasm
 BM> between the elite and the serfs.  They speak of the Dems creating the rift
 BM> but if you look at the entire picture, the reason most people think this
 BM> icountry  s turning towards socialism/communism is very simply explained,
 BM> AKorporate  merika wants it that way.

 LL> I was using affirmative action as an example.  For a deeper
 LL> understanding of how corporations interact among national security
 LL> and social welfare policy, you might want to read "Thinking Through
 LL> the Cold War", by David Jardin, free download from smashwords.com

Thanks for the tip. I'll go read it.

 LL> Jardin shows the history of the RAND Corporation from the end of
 LL> WWII thgough the Cold War, and its interaction with government to
 LL> shape national security and social welfare policy making.  Beware
 LL> it is a long read, roughly 207,440 words.

I do know the RAND Corporation was formed to offer research and analysis to the
armed forces after the war and although it's "non-profit", we all know when
dealing with the "Defense Department" and their budget, competition among the
for-profit corporations to push their "ideas" can be cut throat.

 BK>>> Well, since blacks make up only about 13% of the population
 BK>>> of this country, That leaves 34% to be white.

 LL>>> Cajuns make up a much smaller percentage of the population
 LL>>> than blacks, hispanics, or asians.  Why this country wants to
 LL>>> identify itself by race is beyond me, as it is language that
 LL>>> defines a culture ...

 BM>> Agreed....

 LL>> Black folks are more discriminatory of their own than any other race.
 LL>> There are dark-skinned blacks, light-skinned blacks, blacks who pass
 LL>> for white ...

 BM>
 BM> It's turning into survival of the fittest anymore.  Wait, you'll see the
 BM> same
 BM> discrimination among whites when the jobs/wages don't keep up.  It's
 LL> already
 BM> happened many years ago.  When the Irish immigrated here they were
 BM> considered a lower species than the blacks.  Every race (and yes,
 BM> nationality is considered a race, not just color) has had that issue.

 LL> Sure.  Discrimination exists among all races, both within and between.
 LL> Andrew Young once said, "We are all racists and bigots."  I tend to
 LL> agree with that view, with the caveat it is what we do (as individuals
 LL> and a people) to overcome that racism and bigotry that is important.
 LL> That was Andrew Young's real message, or what he was trying to convey
 LL> to others.

You're right, we all have discrimination within us, and I agree with your
assessment on the individual's road to overcome it is of extreme importance,
but I'm not really talking about race, nationality or even religion.  My
thoughts are dealing with how for-profit corporations deal with growing rift
financially between them and the masses.

 BK>>> Since even the 15% unemployment rate among blacks, or more
 BK>>> like 25% real unemployment rather than the fake numbers the
 BK>>> government uses, still means 25% of 13%. Or about 3 1/3% of
 BK>>> the population. That leaves about 45% out of 47% Mitt Romney
 BK>>> considers "takers" to be white.

 LL>>> Cajuns are not exactly the wealthiest folks in the world.  And yet
 LL>>> most of them voted for the man with the red face.  Probably because
 LL>>> they thought he was a crawfish.

 BM>> LOL.... irony as it's best... vote for the man who doesn't give a
 BM>> rat's ass about you.

 LL>> You have to remember - we boil our crawfish LIVE.  :)

 BM>When is Jindal on the menu?

 LL> In the latest poll, Les Miles and Nick Saban are rated higher
 LL> than Bobby Jindal.  Les Miles I can understand.  But Nick Saban
 LL> is hated in these parts, pretty much on the same level as the
 LL> devil himself.  Jindal should consider himself blessed that he
 LL> cannot run for a third consecutive term for governor.  :)

Then I rest my case about Jindal.  Alabama #1 again?  I bet I know who you were
rooting for in last years title game... GO Irish!!  ;)


Bill

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