Do I Hear An "Amen!" ?

[howeird]

Today's media-manufactured election controversy involved the allegedly reverend Jesse Jackson muttering under his breath to a fellow guest on a Fox interview that he would like to cut Obama's nuts off for speaking down to black people. He was referring to Obama's stock speech #387, "Ain't it horrible that black men abandon their families and ruin their children's lives".  Jackson apologized and claimed he didn't know the microphone was on.

I have two completely separate comments:

1. Mr. Jackson, if you were truly a reverend, you would know in your heart that the Lord's microphone is always on. Do I hear an "Amen!", brother?

2. Mr. Obama, your African father deserted you and went back to his other four wives, leaving you to be raised by white women, yet you are now one tiny step from being the Democratic Party's nominee for President of the United States. Tell me again how having an absentee father ruined your life?

---

I have worked with Jesse Jackson. I actually owe him for landing me a job. In the process I learned what a complete phony he is.  In 1978 I'd been fired from what turned out to be my last newspaper job, and was living with my folks in Seattle. Mom suggested I look on the temp job board at the city's offices, and I found a 1-week opportunity to be videographer for the Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC). OIC was a black-owned and operated vocational school in Seattle's Central Area. They hired me to record, edit and produce a tape they could use in class. What they wanted me to tape was their annual banquet, which featured a keynote by Jesse Jackson. They also wanted me to tape an interview with him, conducted by one of their staff. When they saw the finished tape, they hired me full-time as head of their A/V department, and I spent a year and a half with them in that role, plus heading their GED testing center, plus co-teaching pre-vocational communications classes.

The speech was Jackson's famous "I am somebody" sermon. It assumed the audience has low self-esteem, and low self-esteem is what keeps the black folk down. It was the biggest pile of crap. In the interview, Jackson was on stage when the camera was on, and a not very likable guy when the camera was off. Charlatan was the word that popped into my head at the time. He hasn't changed.

Comments

[smallship1.livejournal.com]

Did Obama say having an absentee father ruined his life? I'd be very surprised if it didn't have some negative effect on those children who don't grow up to be presidential nominees. But you're right, it's vulgar of him to draw attention to it. :)

Seriously. If he wasn't a politician, he wouldn't be in politics. If he wasn't a phony to some extent, he couldn't be a successful politician. And the same goes for Jackson. We can only hope to get one one day who doesn't have PHONY all the way through like Blackpool rock, who just wears it for the occasion. A phony phony, if you will.

[howeird]

The myth that the single parent family is harmful to the children is not one I subscribe to. It's a huge emotional issue, especially in the African-American community, but I know far too many successful people of all races whose fathers were absent and far too many losers who had the luxury of both parents present for that argument to hold any water with me.

Obama is also extremely hypocritical to be putting himself forth as the African-American family values spokesbozo, because his father was not American, but abandoned him anyway. Abandoned him to get into politics and rejoin his other four wives.

Love your Blackpool rock reference - I would have had no idea what you were talking about except I went to a cousin's wedding in Brighton a few years ago and watched the non-diabetics chomping them. In Obama's case, if you bit into his Blackpool rock, it'd be white inside.

[cinchntouch.livejournal.com]

I detest both of them and will be voting for McCain. He is too old to be really obnoxious.

[howeird]

You can always write in my name. I'm too old the be really obnoxious, but young enough to scare the conservatives.

I think I need to come up with a platform. Watch my LJ....

[cinchntouch.livejournal.com]

"I'm too old the be really obnoxious..."

But you are Blanche, you are.