The Fox Smear Campaign Against Sen. Barack Obama

It's pretty interesting how little attention the mainstream media seems to pay to the ongoing smear campaign the Fox News Channel is conducting against Democratic Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama.

On June 18th the Media Matters Website reported that Fox anchor Brit Hume distorted a transcript of an Israeli Army Radio interview with Obama's half-brother Malik Obama; Hume incorrectly quoted Malik Obama as saying Barack Obama was a Muslim. Obama is NOT a Muslim, has stated so on multiple occasions and yet Fox continues to assert that he is in an obvious effort to discredit the Democratic candidate and recklessly pander to the cultural fears and prejudices of white conservatives.

Fox has practically made a sport out of slandering Obama's wife Michelle. In a recent report they called her "Obama's Baby Mama", a derogatory slang term for the unwed mother of a man's child. It's particularly disturbing given the fact that the mother of two is a Harvard Law graduate and a distinguished attorney in her own right - and I don't think anyone thinks Fox would call a married white woman with two children anyone's "baby mama, it's racist and everyone knows it. There's hardly a television news story about Michelle Obama that doesn't refer to, or indirectly bring up her quote about being proud to be an American for the first time.

But fortunately Fox doesn't hold a monopoly on media access. The FoxAttacks.com website posted unmistakable evidence that Fox edited out a portion of an recent Sean Hannity interview with John McCain in which the Republican front-runner says he "Didn't always love America". That's right. Virtually the same thing Michelle Obama said, but you won't hear anything about THAT on Fox. In fact, use the FoxAttacks link about to see the video evidence for yourself.

Fox edited out that portion of the original interview then re-cut it entirely. They also EDITED THE ACTUAL TRANSCRIPT. Only after the video was posted online and became hit #1 on Digg did Fox quietly re-add the footage with the quote and fix the content of the transcript. Will they hold McCain accountable for HIS statement that he "didn't always love America"?

Don't hold your breath, Fox's notorious double-standard policy will not apply any criticism of John McCain; they tried to conceal that he said it - but fortunately, responsible citizens and organizations like FoxAttacks monitor this sad excuse for television journalism 24 hours a day.

People have the power to confront the lies that Fox spews out 24 hours a day. Fortunately this is the age of information and there is a growing movement of bloggers, citizen journalists and Websites who recognize that Fox is nothing more than a PR firm for the Republican Party.

More than 100,000 people have signed a MoveOn.org petition demanding that Fox stop using racism, lies and fear to smear Barack Obama - use this link to sign it and tell Fox to stop trying to use racist fear-mongering and lies to discredit a political candidate because he is black.

It's unacceptable.

Oh So Glamorous!

I was kind of musing about fashion and race over the weekend. They kind of collided together in mainstream media both in print, online and on television.

First, Naomi Campbell's mug was plastered all over cheeky television clips as well as Websites & blogs after the 38-year old anger-management dropout appeared in court at Uxbridge magistrate's court in West London, UK following her latest emotional meltdown.

Check out the facts as reported by CNN ....if you really need to that is.

After hurling cell phones at her former assistant's head for not locating a pair of jeans, her most recent hissy-fit over one of her bags not being put aboard her British Airways flight is simply business as usual for the self-described "Supermodel".

Sure she was found guilty of kicking and spitting at two policemen, you think Naomi can't do better than that? DO YOU? HUH?!?

British Airways has apparently banned Naomi for life. Ouch! I'm sure it'll be such a struggle for her publicist to rustle up a private jet for the oft-deranged diva but God help her/him if they don't...no, seriously God, please protect them.....

The woman is exceptionally beautiful and successful in the business world but clearly has some complex issues (like not hitting people...?) and likely needs some professional help to deal with her explosive temper. I wonder how Naomi's bizarre escapades impact other black fashion models struggling to make it in the industry.

Like it's not hard enough for models of color in the culturally narrow and too often superficial confines of the fashion world as it is?

Cathy Horyn wrote a really a nice piece in New York Times last Thursday that painted a somewhat bleak and puzzling picture of the way the fashion industry treats female models with darker skin and African features. A world that quietly fears that darker skin won't sell as well in front of white magazine readers.

I read a cool piece on Essence Magazine fashion market editor Zoe Washington, an African-American professional who made it in the fashion industry by following her passion and working hard. Interesting that she and many other young women of color identify CNN's Elsa Clinch as one of their inspirations.

Years ago I heard a 2nd-hand story about dear old Elsa flipping a gasket right before shooting one of her little fashion pieces because the agency had sent a black female model to the set. Elsa allegedly insisted on having a white model and the black model apparently left the set devastated.

But that's just a story I heard from someone I know with friends who work in the New York fashion scene; gossip sure, but in the fashion world gossip is an art form and it's usually based in part on truth.

I'd love to hear the real gossip on what all those "fashionistas" think about black models. From the number of photo spreads and ads in the major fashion titles, I'd say not a whole lot.

A Question of Character?

Without question race is playing a major factor in the 2008 presidential elections and the man who's elected will impact the cultural fabric of this nation in a variety of significant ways.

John McCain (pictured with second wife Cindy McCain) tends to talk in lofty non-specifics that make it very difficult to gauge where he'll stand on issues that directly impact race. But he does talk about character quite a bit.

Sharon Churcher wrote an interesting piece on the London Daily Mail Website on John McCain's first wife Carol that offers insight a real look into his character and what kind of person he really is.

She must've been in a rush to get the article finished, as most of it seems to be plagiarized from an extensive article about McCain's life on Wikipedia.org.

The mainstream media has until this point avoided any mention of McCain's first wife, whom he divorced after he returned home to the US from Vietnam to find her disfigured from a Christmas eve car accident. He met his 2nd wife, a former swimsuit model and the daughter of a politically-connected Arizona multi-millionaire who would help engineer his move into the political arena.

No wonder Cindy stays out of the media spotlight silently with that grin on her face.

I don't know Cindy McCain personally but at this point Michelle Obama comes off as more intelligent, well spoken, well educated, confident and strikes me as more in the mold of what a real First Lady is and should be.

With her secretive nature and reluctance to release her tax records for public scrutiny Cindy McCain often comes off as something of a trophy-wife living a privileged insulated life off of daddy's money.

But the facts say otherwise. She's played an active role running her father's business, a beer distributorship. She actively serves on charities that focus on clearing mines around the world and helping poor children with severe oral surgery needs; in fact she adopted a girl from Bangladesh with a severe cleft palette at the behest of Mother Teresa.

I must confess there's much more to Cindy than I thought there was and I wonder why the media seems not to report any of the positive sorts of things she's done. Or the negative for that matter.

Snopes.com reports that she became addicted to Vicodin and Percocet after two back surgeries and a DEA investigation found she used a medical charity she founded to illegally obtain large amounts under false names - she ducked prosecution by striking a deal with the Justice Department. No doubt, Senator McCain's character aided in that episode, one you probably won't hear on Fox News anytime soon.

Meanwhile Fox News trumpets the results of a recent Rasmussen Report that shows 1,000 people polled viewed Michelle Obama more unfavorably than Cindy McCain - a poll which also showed the approval rates for both women were nearly even at 49% and 48%.

Memorial Day Ku Klux Klan Defacement Condemmed by Community

Many Americans celebrate Memorial Day as an uplifting break from the routine of work that both honors those who have given their lives in service to this nation and also heralds the arrival of summer.

In one of the latest examples of a sharp rise in hate-crime activity across the nation, Medford, Oregon residents Gary David Ross, 37 and Devan Grant Klauseggar, 28 decided to express their patriotic fervor by using some kind of propellant to burn the shape of a cross on the lawn of Sol and Jonathan Whyte's home, they also took the time to spell out the words "KKK" on the lawn and ignite it as well before fleeing the scene around 11pm with a third suspect. The Ku Klux Klan is a long way from the their nightmarish hey-day in the 1920's (Klan members pictured above in the infamous KKK march on Washington in 1926) when over 4 million members were registered in the United States and brutal lynchings of African-Americans were at their peak.

These ignorant fireworks enthusiasts selected the Whyte's because they are a mixed-race couple with two young children who are multi-racial as well.

Kudos to the South Oregon Mail Tribune's Anita Burke for reporting this story; Most of the mainstream network news broadcasts were typified by familiar images of picnics, scenes from the beach and picturesque small-town parades.

Both suspects were arrested and are being charged with a variety of offenses, but to me the most important part of this story is the overwhelming response of support by neighbors.

Strangers left flowers, gifts, and notes of support. Local high school students brought letters and gifts from the student body; a landscaper stopped by and offered to repair the lawn.

The Medford City Council voted to unanimously condemn the act in a resolution.

"By making members of specific groups fearful, angry and suspicious, hate crimes polarize communities and damage the very fabric of our society," the resolution said.

That's the real America, strangers and neighbors, politicians and police all coming together to douse the flames of ignorance and bigotry. That's the fabric of the culturegeist, love will always conquer fear and ignorance no matter what some may say or write.

In the community of Medford, Oregon we've seen a true celebration of Memorial Day; one that truly honors the spirit of what thousands of veterans died fighting for.

Clint Slaps Down Spike - Courtney Hazlett Channels Her Inner Bigot

The Blogosphere is rife with commentary on the ongoing media tiff between actor/director Clint Eastwood and director Spike Lee.

Lee has made headlines before for his outspoken and at times left-field criticism of various entertainment figures on issues related to his perception of African-Americans in film and television and Hollywood's treatment of blacks in the industry.

Spike is promoting his new film about a WWII African-American Army unit in Italy, during the interview at the Cannes film festival he openly criticized Clint for not casting any black actors in either of his twin WWII films saga, 'Flags of Our Fathers' and 'Letters From Iwo Jima'.

Despite the fact the both films deal with very specific stories during WWII involving episodes that historically did not involve African-American soldiers, Spike suggested that the media had somehow ignored supposedly racist casting decisions by Clint.

In response to Spike's comments Clint suggested Spike should "shut his face" in an interview with The Guardian's Jeff Dawson.

In response to THAT, MSNBC talking head Courtney Hazlett demonstrated monumental ignorance and insensitivity by suggesting that Lee had been "uppity" in his comments to Eastwood.

How this lightweight pseudo-journalist could not be aware of the racial context of the term uppity (once frequently used by southerners to describe and denigrate African-Americans they felt were acting beyond their station) is mind boggling. As was the MSNBC producer who showed a clip of Clint from one his movies menacing an African-American character with a shotgun as Courtney unloaded here ditzy 2nd rate analysis.

She ignited a media firestorm and quickly issued an apology in an effort to cover her stupidity.

In ABCNews.com interview Spike fired back at Clint "First of all, the man is not my father and we're not on a plantation either," That's vintage Spike; use outspoken, vague and baseless accusations based on his own perceptions to simultaneously bring issues or race and film into the mainstream media discussion and promote his film.

I admire Spike as a director and filmmaker and he's altered the landscape of contemporary cinema, but it's totally inappropriate for him to make accusations about Clint being biased in his casting decisions. Clint's films have featured a range of intelligently portrayed characters of various races including African-Americans over the years - Clint was the filmmaker who made and directed 'Bird' a 1988 film about the life of black jazz legend Charlie Parker.

Just keep it in context and remember Spike has some odd ways of promoting himself and his films - this is the guy who called Eddie Murphy and Bill Cosby "Sellouts".

Frankly Spike had some balls calling out Eddie, (the highest grossing film star in history his movies have grossed over $3.4 billion...) for not giving more opportunities for actors of color despite the fact that Murphy gave roles to a number of up and coming black performers in his movies -Halle Berry in 'Boomerang'; Damon Wayans in 'Beverly Hills Cop'; Martin Lawrence in 'Boomerang'; Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Samuel Jackson in 'Coming to America' as well Chris Rock in 'Beverly Hills Cop II'

So Spike often talks with flare and good intent, but much less actual fact. I wrote a letter to Clint to show my support for him and his record as a filmmaker and to assure him that Spike's left-field accusations are just that, accusations.

A Candidate for All Americans

One of the topics for this morning’s Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC deals with how African-Americans are viewing the nomination of Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate and how it’s going to impact the nation and people of color.

Of course a couple callers were already concerned that he hasn’t been on the soapbox being the champion of African-American causes. I tend to agree that in the strategic sense, Obama needs to run as the President of the United States, he’s not just a leader of the black community but of all American communities.

For the first time we have a candidate who appeals across the fabric of the mainstream and connects with a wide range of voters because of his vision and the positions that he advocates; particularly his opposition to the war in Iraq and the need for a shift in the way we perceive ourselves as a nation.

I agree with a caller of West-Indian descent from New York who felt strongly that just because Obama is running for president does not mean that he has to bear the burden of every single issue and problem faced by every single African-Americans. We should assume he is going to govern on behalf of all people and that he can do so in a way that does not make him automatically beholden to any demographic.

Interestingly, a caller from Amsterdam said that when he walks into shops he is asked who he is supporting for president. He reported that there seems to be a real sense of excitement amongst people in the Netherlands about Obama winning the Democratic primary. In fact Obama’s picture is on the front page of most newspapers on newsstands in Amsterdam.

Something is happening in this country and I think the culturegeist of our nation is going to be the better for it.

Obama Wins, Harriet Christian Rants

Senator Barack Obama has made history by securing the Democratic presidential nomination. But he's going to have to work quickly to heal some of the divisions within the Democratic party.

I'm listening to the 11pm WCBS New York news and reporter Lou Young, reporting from outside an Obama fund raiser on Manhattan's Upper East Side, suggested that Hillary Clinton is going to have to find a way to reunite the party.

Frankly she had her chance at the nomination and she lost it fair and square. Obama is the party's nominee and the responsibility to bring it into line is his.

By now thousands have seen the video clip of Clinton supporter Harriet Christian ranting like an insane lunatic in front of a phalanx of cameras. Sporting sunglasses and sounding like she's on medication, Christian calls Obama an "inadequate black male" before stalking off babbling about how she and her "group" would be voting for John McCain - out of spite it seems rather than based on any kind of political logic or loyalty to the Democratic party.

Bitter is an understatement.

Political consultant Dan Gerstein suggested one of the reasons George W. Bush won and was re-elected was because of the support he received from white women. I've got confidence that there are millions of registered white female voters who do and will support Barack Obama versus McCain based on his character and policy stances - Morons like Harriet Christian are just disenfranchised ignorant and symbolic of why this nation needs change.

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Skinheads Placing Posters in the City of Brotherly Love

The recent shooting of a white Philadelphia Police Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski in Port Richmond while in pursuit of African-American suspects in a bank robbery has received a lot of national media attention in print and online.

The loss of an officer's life in the line of duty is a tragic incident and while the shooting of Sgt. Liczbinski has brought increased attention to the violent crime rate in Philadelphia, it has also spurred action by local hate groups.

According to a May 22nd article in the Philadelphia Inquirer a racist group originally founded in Harrisburg, PA made up of a loose alliance of skinhead groups from Pennsylvania that calls itself the Keystone State Skinheads (pictured above left) claimed responsibility for putting up posters in the Port Richmond and North Philadelphia area.

The posters depict pictures of four Philadelphia Police Officers and pictures of the three black suspects and the words: "Guns don't kill police officers. Dangerous minorities do. How much longer can you ignore this?" View a PDF of the poster here.

This isn't the first time members of the Keystone State Skinheads have been involved in distributing racist literature, committing extremely violent acts of hate and violating the law. Take KSP member and repeated violent law-breaker Keith Carney; he was arrested in December, 2001 for defacing Philadelphia's Vietnam War memorial with racist literature. Click here and scroll down a couple frames to see a photo of Carney at a Mumia Abu-Jamal rally.

Other KSP members have been found guilty for a variety of violent offenses, from enticing and then beating black bar patrons and mixed race couples in Lancaster to brutal murders: Kenneth Hoover and Charles Marovskis were arrested in January, 2007 for the 1998 murder of two homeless black men in Florida - one 62 year-old victim had been severely beaten and stabbed in the eye with a tire iron before being dumped under an overpass - the other killed with an axe and dumped in the woods.

Sadly just one more example of the sharp rise of hate crime activity in the United States, until the mainstream media recognizes the danger posed by these groups mainstream America will remain unaware, or simply ignore them.