Semantics is a part of politics like beer is to an alcoholic. Under ANY president, you will always find fans of that president making the difference between the responsibilities of that president and the government he ultimately controls.
As I perused through much of our online Black media last week and over the weekend, I found it interesting to see how some of the stories below were either framed as “government” problems or in most cases not even mentioned at all.
Story 1: TSA getting their feel on.
In case you have been either living under a rock (or had your cable cut off), there has been much buzz lately over the increased security procedures that are now being implemented in airports all across the nation. According to numerous media reports, there are widespread complaints of inappropriate touching by TSA agents as they search for the next bomb. Airline unions and consumer groups have joined in the outcry of this course of action by the TSA, but Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has simply doubled down with the policy.
Following the playbook that was used under the Bush administration during the domestic eavesdropping/surveillance ordeal, it was at this point online Black media wasted no time to remind us of how Black civil rights groups back in the day were targeted by these same practices.
Our same media also wasted no time to jump all over the Arizona immigration law debate as they echoed rumors that people of Hispanic origin could be randomly targeted by police based simply by the color of their skin.
Today, we have Americans of all shades and stripes who are being targeted by our government in our nation’s airports. People are being asked to give up more of their privacy by allowing random and intrusive searches in the name of “national security”. This is not a rumor–this is happening right now as we speak. But if you notice, we are not hearing the same concerns about civil liberties that were being raised under Bush or during the Arizona situation by our own Black press. Browse through some of our media today and you would not have a clue that this issue is going on.
TSA ejects Oceanside man from airport for refusing security check
Flight attendants & pilots protest new TSA scanners
Story 2: Our first Black president issues a “civil right” pass
Remember all the yammering about how Obamacare was a “civil right” and anyone rejecting it did not care for the uninsured. Jesse Jackson recently said that any repeal of Obamacare would be “creeping genocide” (never mind the fact that present government care doesn’t exactly have Blacks cheering about it).
Over the weekend we find out that the Obama administration recently handed out over a hundred Obamacare waivers to both companies and unions. In other words, they are being exempted from implementing the very same insurance coverage that was being hailed by our media as a step closer to equality in this country. Why would our first Black president exempt unions and companies from this “historic achievement”? Bigger question, why no questions about this from our media?
Approved Applications for Waiver of the Annual Limits Requirements of the PHS Act Section 2711 as of November 1, 2010
Story 3: Cyburn’s calamity
The tension between the GOP establishment and Michael Steele has largely been portrayed as a dispute with deep racial overtones. Make no mistake about it, the GOP placed Steele in that position in the first place to save face in light of the Democratic party’s success with Obama. Race could be behind this ongoing spat with Steele, but it does appear other factors are involved.
But here we have Rep. Jim Clyburn being rejected the #2 spot by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and pushed into a newly-minted #3 spot. Again, I believe this has more to do with other factors than the color of his skin (Al Sharpton and Robert Johnson feel differently). So is Clyburn “selling out” or is this just politics as usual?
I am and will always be a huge fan of our Black media. We must hold them accountable and demand that they tell us the entire truth about our government and the man who currently runs it. Otherwise, in the name of racial loyalty, they will continue to be nothing more than a mouthpiece of the very institution that has proven to be no true friend of the Black community.
Obama or “government”
by Duane on November 15th, 2010 at 10:01 amSemantics is a part of politics like beer is to an alcoholic. Under ANY president, you will always find fans of that president making the difference between the responsibilities of that president and the government he ultimately controls.
As I perused through much of our online Black media last week and over the weekend, I found it interesting to see how some of the stories below were either framed as “government” problems or in most cases not even mentioned at all.
Story 1: TSA getting their feel on.
In case you have been either living under a rock (or had your cable cut off), there has been much buzz lately over the increased security procedures that are now being implemented in airports all across the nation. According to numerous media reports, there are widespread complaints of inappropriate touching by TSA agents as they search for the next bomb. Airline unions and consumer groups have joined in the outcry of this course of action by the TSA, but Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has simply doubled down with the policy.
Following the playbook that was used under the Bush administration during the domestic eavesdropping/surveillance ordeal, it was at this point online Black media wasted no time to remind us of how Black civil rights groups back in the day were targeted by these same practices.
Our same media also wasted no time to jump all over the Arizona immigration law debate as they echoed rumors that people of Hispanic origin could be randomly targeted by police based simply by the color of their skin.
Today, we have Americans of all shades and stripes who are being targeted by our government in our nation’s airports. People are being asked to give up more of their privacy by allowing random and intrusive searches in the name of “national security”. This is not a rumor–this is happening right now as we speak. But if you notice, we are not hearing the same concerns about civil liberties that were being raised under Bush or during the Arizona situation by our own Black press. Browse through some of our media today and you would not have a clue that this issue is going on.
TSA ejects Oceanside man from airport for refusing security check
Flight attendants & pilots protest new TSA scanners
Story 2: Our first Black president issues a “civil right” pass
Remember all the yammering about how Obamacare was a “civil right” and anyone rejecting it did not care for the uninsured. Jesse Jackson recently said that any repeal of Obamacare would be “creeping genocide” (never mind the fact that present government care doesn’t exactly have Blacks cheering about it).
Over the weekend we find out that the Obama administration recently handed out over a hundred Obamacare waivers to both companies and unions. In other words, they are being exempted from implementing the very same insurance coverage that was being hailed by our media as a step closer to equality in this country. Why would our first Black president exempt unions and companies from this “historic achievement”? Bigger question, why no questions about this from our media?
Approved Applications for Waiver of the Annual Limits Requirements of the PHS Act Section 2711 as of November 1, 2010
Story 3: Cyburn’s calamity
The tension between the GOP establishment and Michael Steele has largely been portrayed as a dispute with deep racial overtones. Make no mistake about it, the GOP placed Steele in that position in the first place to save face in light of the Democratic party’s success with Obama. Race could be behind this ongoing spat with Steele, but it does appear other factors are involved.
But here we have Rep. Jim Clyburn being rejected the #2 spot by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and pushed into a newly-minted #3 spot. Again, I believe this has more to do with other factors than the color of his skin (Al Sharpton and Robert Johnson feel differently). So is Clyburn “selling out” or is this just politics as usual?
I am and will always be a huge fan of our Black media. We must hold them accountable and demand that they tell us the entire truth about our government and the man who currently runs it. Otherwise, in the name of racial loyalty, they will continue to be nothing more than a mouthpiece of the very institution that has proven to be no true friend of the Black community.