"So do you think Uncle Sam invented AIDS?" Bill O'Reilly and hosts of others have posted this question since the 8 second clip of Wright's stark statement. Let's assume that the government did not invent AIDS (to kill minorities or for any other reason). Given the FACT that the government DID inject syphillis into Black men and WITHELD TREATMENT to observe the results, is it wildly improbable that the government would engage in a different form of disease experimentation? Our government has performed vile acts when it deemed it necessary. The United States used germ warfare against native tribal peoples (smallpox), interred Japanese Americans in camps during WWII and is interring and torturing (without charges) thousands of people at Guantanamo... I won't even get into the institutionalized racism that persisted well beyond the "termination of Jim Crow." Wright used incidiary language, but it was incindiary language that brought us to the great tur...

Obama has addressed America's racial divide more honestly and openly than any public figure since the King era. His comments were honest and true. There was a positive message of reconciliation that any open-minded person could take away from his remarkable address. I challenge anyone to deny that they, or someone they know, has articulated the feelings of frustration and disappointment that Obama referred to. I am more inspired than ever in this candidate and this man. I hope that people can try to frame their feelings in context and remember the random statements of friends, relatives and colleagues that have given us pause over the years. Every grimace, down-turned eye and wistful regret at a racial barb or epithet should be a reminder that Obama's speech today was uncompromisingly brave and an important indictment of the state of race relations in our imperfect, but ultimately redeemable country. Congratulations, Mr. Obama. You will make an outstanding President.

The VP nominee of the worst performing ticket in modern electoral history has some pearls of wisdom about Barack Obama's appeal. Geraldine Ferraro was quoted thusly : "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position, and if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept." What Ferraro WANTED to say was, "Hoke, you're supposed to DRIVE Ms. Daisy, not drive her campaign into the ground." Lest we think this some errant comment, there's this "...if Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race." Ferraro COULD have said that Obama is an outstanding candidate who achieved better than expected success in the South because of overwhelming Black support.  That statement in no way diminishes his successes in states without large Black voting blocs. She didn't; and her quoted comment IS racist in the same way she accu...

By any objective measure, the 11th hour Obama "flip-flop" on NAFTA had a demonstrable effect in the Ohio primary. Both McCain and Clinton made particularly damning statements in the 36 hours before election day. However, new revelations , FROM THE SAME CANADIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS that started the now-disproven allegations are claiming that it was the Clinton campaign who actually made the "grain of salt" call to Canada. To Canada's credit, they are issuing widespread mea culpas fully exonerating Senator Obama. If we're lucky that may help in the Pennsylvania race to come. On the other hand, Clinton's short term gambit may end up backfiring on her . Imagine the ad spots featuring the Canadian quotes opposite the Youtube video of her complaining about Obama's supposed "duplicity." She will do ANYTHING in an attempt to get elected. Bush has used the same scorched earth tactics with our slender Democratic congressional majority and whe...