https://reclaimourrepublic.wordpress.com/2015/08/18/video-oath-keepers-to-hold-march-through-ferguson-with-50-armed-black-protesters/
​
Can you imagine what present day America would be like if slavery never occurred in America, and the slaughter of the Indian notwithstanding? Set aside the fact that much of America would never have been built and many of the wealthy whites in this country would probably be piss poor - and think about the impact of slavery on the mentality of those involved. On the one hand you have those who devised the plan, implemented and carried out the plan and were willing to die - and in many cases did in a vain attempt to maintain a lifestyle of privilege and prosperity. On the other hand you have the victims.

Now before we get too high on the horse and begin to believe that because those folks lost that war they stopped fighting… remember one thing, they never have. Those folks continued to fight and although the strategy changed and the battlefield was expanded, the enemy and the spoils of war remained the same. Who’s the enemy? Anyone not wearing the confederate uniform. Who are the spoils of war? Blacks. White folks went right back to war; and their children, their children’s children and their children’s children, children continue to be loaded for bear because they never accepted defeat and they never got over losing the institution of slavery.  And because white folks haven’t gotten over slavery neither have black folks.

Relatively speaking, with few exceptions, THE BELIEF THAT BLACKS ARE ANGRY ABOUT SLAVERY OF THE PAST IS A COMPLETE AND UTTER MYTH. No folks, blacks are not angry about slavery of the past. Blacks are angry about slavery of the present. As I said earlier, whites are the ones angry about slavery of the past. In spite of all the times you heard some white person say that blacks need to, “forget about slavery,” it’s not us, it’s them. The only reason blacks are angry is because blacks continue to be the targets of the very same practices of slavery past

• Family annihilation
• Voter suppression
• Inferior education
• Incarceration
• Stereotyping
• Profiling
• Job discrimination
• Murder

Whites want blacks to forget so that blacks won’t recognize that it is still going on, you know, “watch the birdie.”
Shall I go on? And surprisingly the anger doesn’t come so much from the fact that blacks continue to be the object of these atrocities. The anger comes from the fact that whites continue to be in denial about their complicity and evil intent. Nothing pisses someone off more than to have someone spit in their eye and then deny that they did. Even worse than spitting is the fact that whites pretend as though blacks can’t get over slavery, when as I said, it’s them.
 
Need more evidence?
Put aside all of what I mentioned earlier and consider the argument from this perspective. What, up until Trump’s “Make America great again” crap, had been the chief desire you heard from white voters each presidential election cycle since President Obama took office? Yup, you guessed it, “Take our country back.” Now, what I wonder is do they believe they lost when Obama became president. Could it be a sense of control? And what better way to reestablish control over what you believe you “OWN” then through the use of violence…reestablish and confirm your dominance as lord and master -read Massa.
 
Convinced yet? Shall I go on?
What is prison except for a modern day plantation? And much like slaves that were emancipated and had nowhere to go and chose to stay, most freed prisoners end up returning to prison simply because they have nowhere to go. Even worse, just like slaves they have no training, cannot get a job, cannot vote, which means they can’t feed themselves or their families so they return to what they know, crime/prison/Massa.
 
And finally folks, let’s talk about “OPEN CARRY.”  Think way back to before Obama came into office. How much talk was there about “OPEN CARRY?” Apart from the fear of losing a country what the election of Obama did to whites in America was threefold, 1) it scared whites into thinking that blacks believed they (blacks) had carte’ blanc to kill whites (never our nature), not for slavery past but that we had finally seen the light about the present 2) reminded whites of their past as if they needed reminding and 3) made whites grab their guns as evidence that the war never ended.
 
Listen up folks, this ain’t “GHOSTBUSTERS,” and while you might be afraid of that ghost, black folks ain’t afraid’ of no ghost. 


Jay Arrington is a staff writer for the Maryland Daily Examiner.  
Contact Jay Arrington by EMAIL. 

For information regarding the Maryland Daily Examiner, contact Reginald Kearney, Editor in Chief, by sending your email to: 
reginald.kearney@marylanddailyexaminer.com

Republican presidential candidate, businessman Donald Trump, second from left, gestures as Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich watch him a Republican presidential primary debate at Fox Theatre, Thursday, March 3, 2016, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

​By Jay Arrington March 9, 2016

“Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.” Psalm 69:22

A few years ago I wrote about how people who allegedly vote against their own interest actually vote their interest- their interest being hating folks not like them. Trouble with that philosophy is that by the time those voters realize the self-inflicted damage caused by their hate and false sense of entitlement, the only solution (in their minds) for remedy manifested in the past in the form of folks like David Duke and now in the form of Donald J. Trump. Don’t get me wrong, many members of the [Republican Party] and their other presidential candidates share theirs (angry voters) and Trump’s views. The difference is that unlike Trump the other party members won’t say (publicly) what Trump says, they just whistle, as in doggy. 

Exit polls in Michigan showed that four in ten of GOP voters support Trump’s deportation of Muslims while Mississippi exit polls showed that fifty percent of voters support deportation of Muslims. What might surprise some but not others- and certainly not me- is that in Mississippi many of those supporting a ban on Muslims identify as Evangelical Christians. Shame on you. You do know that God is not mocked? You can’t love the Lord whom you don’t see and hate your brother that you do see. But I digress- just thought I’d remind you. 
Immigration and hate for their fellowman notwithstanding, anger over the economy placed a strong second in both states on the list of “any excuse to vote for Trump.” A majority of those polled expressed dissatisfaction over the direction of the economy. Apparently $1:50 per gallon average for gasoline, 4.8% unemployment and record stock market gains are viewed as “going in the wrong direction.”  However, to be fair, I understand that for those without jobs unemployment in their respective households registers 100%.

Anger and discontent aside, the media attention Trump and to some extent Senator Cruz of Texas command leaves Governor John Kasich R-Ohio looking, well, reasonable. Truth is however, that while [Kasich] comes across as this folksy Andy Griffith type with the calm and seemingly reasonable debate demeanor, his record as governor shows that as a matter of policy he is more extreme than Trump and just as extreme as Cruz. His expansion of Medicaid notwithstanding, Kasich recently signed legislation to stop state funding of Planned Parenthood. Trump by the way supports Planned Parenthood. 

In addition to the Planned Parenthood bill, Kasich signed some of the country’s most aggressive and restrictive Voter ID laws. According to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer Editorial Board: John Kasich’s voting legislation was “a breathtaking bid to suppress voting despite constitutional guarantees of voting rights.” “Ohio’s Republican-run General Assembly has now passed three bills aimed at holding down voting by black or low-income Ohioans, a breathtaking bid to suppress voting despite constitutional guarantees of voting rights. Unwisely, Republican Gov. John Kasich has signed all of them into law. Substitute Senate Bill 205 forbids anyone but the secretary of state’s office from sending out unsolicited absentee ballot applications.” [Cleveland Plain-Dealer, 3/1/14; SB 205, 10/10/13; SB 216, 10/29/13; SB 238, 11/13/13]  correctrecord.org/the-2016-gop-record-on-voting-rights/

So you see folks (angry republicans), no matter which devil you choose he will still have horns and a pitch fork and he’ll be seated at the head of the “others” table…you know the one you prepared for your enemy. Not to worry though. There are plenty of seats.


Jay Arrington is a staff writer for The Maryland Daily Examiner.  For more articles and information regarding the Maryland Daily Examiner, contact Reggie Kearney, Editor in Chief.  

When David Duke the former Grand Wizard of the KKK encouraged his radio audience to vote for Donald Trump this past Wednesday, he (Duke) opened a proverbial can of self-righteous indignation out of which poured hypocrites from both sides of the aisle. The comments first reported by BuzzFeed News quote Duke saying, “Voting for these people, voting against Donald Trump at this point, is really treason to your heritage.” Heritage he says. Well since you brought that up let’s talk about the recent heritage of the Republican Party.

But first a little background. Immediately following  Duke’s statement republican presidential candidates Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas called on Trump to condemn Duke along with Duke’s past association with the KKK. Apparently Cruz and Rubio, hoping to capitalize on the better angels of their respective supporters nature as well as Trump’s supporters, are suffering from an acute case of selective amnesia.

If memory serves me, I seem to recall that the so-called evangelical conservatives that Cruz believes he represents support (as history shows) much of what David Duke represents. Ask yourselves who carried out the lynchings in the south for so many years…only then they referred to themselves as “God-Fearing Christians.” You know it’s true. I mean we are talking about heritage right? And as for Rubio, he and his supporters are hell bent on repealing Obamacare. So much for love for your fellowman that you would prefer seeing them die rather than provide them access to affordable healthcare. May as well hand out infected blankets. Heritage right?

Republican strategists filled the airwaves over the weekend shaking their respective “we are the world” fists while spewing disingenuous platitudes about the ruination of the party of Lincoln and Reagan courtesy of the hate speak of Trump and now Duke. Really? Let’s take a walk further down heritage lane shall we? Remember this 2013 gem posited by Iowa Republican Congressman Steve King referencing Mexican immigrants, “they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’ve been hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.” Last time I checked King is still a Congressman. In fact, King won re-election in 2014 with nearly 62% of the vote. So much for the better angels of conservative voters nature.

Last but not least, let’s go back even further and talk about the crown prince of courting racist votes, the late Lee Atwater. Atwater served as adviser to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and chairman of the Republican National Committee and is remembered for among many things his (Atwater) Southern Strategy in which he explained how republicans could win the southern racist vote without sounding racist themselves. The following represents a small portion of Atwater’s strategy.

You start out in 1954 by saying, “Nigger, nigger, nigger.” By 1968 you can’t say “nigger”—that hurts you, backfires. So you say stuff like, uh, forced busing, states’ rights, and all that stuff, and you’re getting so abstract. Now, you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is, blacks get hurt worse than whites.… “We want to cut this,” is much more abstract than even the busing thing, uh, and a hell of a lot more  abstract than “Nigger, nigger.”

So much for republican cries that the KKK and Trump are ruining the party of Lincoln and Reagan. Heritage would suggest the party was ruined a long time ago. Time to fold that hand guys. No one’s calling your bluff.

Written by Jay Arrington, Featured writer for the Maryland Daily Examiner
For information regarding the Maryland Daily Examiner, contact Reggie Kearney, Editor in Chief.  


To hear the entire Atwater interview visit, http://www.thenation.com/article/exclusive-lee-atwaters-infamous-1981-interview-southern-strategy/

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”      Romans 13:14

On Tuesday Sept 8, 2015, Kim Davis, Rowan County Clerk in the city of Grayson, Kentucky was released from jail. A judge ordered Davis jailed for contempt following Davis’ refusal to issue marriage licenses. Davis stated that her refusal to issue marriage licenses stemmed from long held religious beliefs that marriage was between a man and a woman. As a result, Davis refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. 

The dust up over this issue follows this summer’s U.S. Supreme Court decision granting same-sex couples the right to marry. In so doing, the court declared the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. However, as a country supposedly founded on religious freedoms, the jailing of Davis raises the uneasy specter that America is willing to sacrifice the rights of one for the rights of another. Whatever happened to that hallowed word Americans love to invoke in defense of a particular cause, “principle?” How is it that suddenly that word no longer applies to religions, or has it ever? 

Flashback April 29, 1967, a New York Times headline reads, “Clay Refuses Army Oath; Stripped of Boxing Crown.” A young Mohammed Ali suffered the wrath of those who refused to accept his refusal to serve based on religious beliefs. It would appear that principle applies only when that principle serves personal agenda. In this battle, there is plenty of principled personal agenda. 

For instance, does anyone believe that current Republican Presidential hopefuls Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and former Governor Mike Huckabee, R-Ark. would have joined Ali at one of his (Ali) rallies? And what about those principles abandoned by the conservatives justices on the Supreme Court or better still, President Obama. It was not until his last campaign that Obama revealed that his thoughts on the issue of same-sex marriage were evolving- how convenient. 

The justices and the president are not alone. A study by the Pew Research Center revealed a dramatic shift in attitudes about same-sex marriage. “In 2001 57 percent of Americans opposed same-sex marriage, while 35 percent of Americans supported it. The same poll shows that today opinions have greatly shifted to reflect slightly more support for same-sex marriage than opposition -- with 48 percent of Americans in favor and 43 percent opposed.”

Christian doctrine teaches that we should love everyone. As a Christian, I do my best to apply that “principle” to my life. However, loving someone is not an excuse to enable. Especially what a person believes is immoral behavior. Does not the law in order to recognize the principled wishes of one segment of society by punishing Kim Davis for standing on personal principle render moot the rationale for doing either? I was always of the impression that the purpose of laws is to point out and punish bad behaviors not to encourage them.  


Written by Jay Arrington, Featured writer for the Maryland Daily Examiner
For information regarding the Maryland Daily Examiner, EMAIL Reggie Kearney, Editor-in-Chief


Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/supreme-court-reignites-gay-marriage-debate/story?id=17915540

And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.                                                                                                                                                  Matthew 13:42

According to the CDC, cancer ranks as the second highest cause of death among African-Americans, natural deaths that is. But what about unnatural causes like death by what I like to call ‘Cop Cancer’ that old hide-in-plain-sight epidemic that has plagued African-Americans since reconstruction. For the record, where does that rank among cause of death for African-Americans? What are the symptoms? What are some of the preventive measures to avoid becoming a victim and what treatment is available?

Well, the first question is a bit difficult to answer because within the archives of denial there are no records to research. And besides, do we really expect the fox to admit to the number of chickens he killed? Do we really? The second question regarding symptoms, while still difficult is somewhat less difficult depending on the when and the where. For example:

1)      being harassed for no other reason that being African-American

2)      beaten on the side of the highway by a state trooper  

3)      being called out of your name

4)    taunted about your IQ

5)    slammed on the hood of a car or on concrete

6)    shot while standing on your front porch

7)    shot when officers raid the wrong home

8)    fired upon over 100 times as officers stand on the hood of your car

9)    shot and killed as you flee

10)  shot in the back as you lay on the ground

11)  killed in Walmart while a holding toy gun that the store sells

12)  being choked to death for selling loose cigarettes

13)  dying after having your spinal cord severed in the back of a police van

14)  dying in a jail cell after being arrested for failing to signal a lane change

15)  being shot in the head after being pulled over for lacking a front license plate

Shall I continue?

 
These types of things are nothing new or surprising to African-Americans, or to the majority of whites. Yeah, you all can feign shock and outrage all you want, but you’ve known all along. And you know how we know you’ve known? We know because the cancer has been left untreated and like a malignant tumor has spread leaving scores of African-American bodies in its wake.  You’ve cultivated and nurtured this cancer in your homes, in your schools, in policy and in the media. The difference now is that technology has created citizen journalists who for reasons of viral fame or whatever, record, posts and blast this cancer on social media for all the world to see.  Even so, video provides no guarantee that justice will prevail –for example the cases of Eric Garner and Rodney King.   

As for questions three and four, “What are some of the preventive measures to avoid becoming a victim and what treatment is available?”  Unless we can figure out a way to stop being African-American, I don’t see a viable solution other than prayer… AND PRAY, WE MUST!

If this were paper upon which I write, my tears would wet the page and so alas I stain my keyboard. I cry… no I weep - not so much because I hurt, but more so, because I despair of the fact that we digress and remove ourselves ever so farther away from the love and the unity we claim we seek.

I weep for the first African drawn and quartered in America - made an example to break the resistance of other slaves.

I weep for the countless lives lost in the name of misplaced delusions of grandeur.

I weep for Emmet Till.

I weep for the four little girls of Birmingham.

I weep for those hanged as strange fruit.

I weep for those that weep in solitude abandoned and alone in their jail cells.

I weep for the IRP6 and the Newburgh Four. I weep for the orphaned families.

I weep for those who have yet to know weeping. But mostly I weep for those whose weeping will be accompanied by the gnashing of teeth.

 

Written by Jay Arrington, Staff Writer for the Maryland Daily Examiner

For more articles and information regarding the Maryland Daily Examiner, contact Reggie Kearney, Editor-in-Chief (Email).  Or visit their website at: www.marylanddailyexaminer.com

 

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/populations/REMP/black.html#10

“Imagine if in this world we were all colorblind. If not one of us had any way of distinguishing of race. Oh my what a wonderful world this would be if somehow in our place and time we could live side by side in this world colorblind.” 
                               From the song “Colorblind” by Jay Arrington © Copyright 2011Poetry Emotion Productions, LLC

Raise your hand if you believe that what you contribute to society relative to your values is not a reflection of what you learned at home and be honest. Come on now. Let’s see a show of hands. Granted some of you did not grow up in a two-parent home or with your biological parents. Still, the odds favor that your values descend from your home and what you heard adults say about others, and their (adults) treatment of others. Mind you, these off-the-cuff descriptions and gestures might stem from road-rage incidents or an adult responding to a news story, a politician or a crime. However, the most likely venue for the majority of influence on your values were the conversations had around the dinner table.

Imagine a child sitting around the dinner table hearing his father referring to a co-worker as a “Jew Bastard” or her mother referring to a neighbor as a “Black Nigger Bitch.” You know what I mean don’t you? Fess’ up, we’ve all heard it before. Hell, as a black man I heard my father say “Jew Bastard” many times as I am sure many of you have heard someone say, “Nigger,” “Spic,” “Kike,” or “Wetback.” Chances are the majority of you first heard these words at home around the dinner table. A few years back I wrote a series titled “The Ape Story” about the pattern of learned behavior in the urban community, not that urban communities have a monopoly on setting bad examples but to offer a solution by identifying the problem.

Well folks, guess what? It ain’t only in urban communities. It’s in suburbia also and again if we are honest about it we must acknowledge that bad behavioral patterns have been alive and well in mainstream America (white households) for hundreds of years. In fact, most of the bad behaviors present in urban communities are a by-product of blacks’ assimilation of white societal behavior/s…enough of that however.

This past Wednesday night in Charleston, SC a twenty-one year old white male walked into 200-year-old Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and with malice & forethought shot dead nine black bible study participants. Forget for a moment the act as heinous and hateful as it was and concentrate on this, twenty-one years of age. Where and how does a twenty-one year old amass this much hatred for a race of people especially when his age alone testifies to the fact that his life experience with blacks could never justify such hate? There can only be one plausible explanation and that is perhaps this was a homeschooled curriculum.

Think about this folks. When you see archival footage of lynchings, dogs attacking blacks in the south, protestors blocking school doors and whites spitting and tossing rocks do you ever wonder where those people are now? Really, the majority of these people were white women that brought along their children to enjoy the spectacle of a black man being lynched. Some were white teenagers that enjoyed terrorizing lunch counter protestors, Freedom Riders or beating to death someone associated with the Civil Rights movement sans “Selma.” Where are those people now or better still where are their grandchildren and what were the lessons taught during the conversations around the dinner table?

Well, some are in Congress passing laws that reflect their values, e.g. voter suppression, denial of assistance, deciding what foods families are allowed to purchase (Kansas). Some are in the criminal justice system implementing those laws in ways that reflect their values, e.g. shooting folks down like the animals they view them as or handing down exaggerated sentences. Some are in the school system denying education to those they consider a threat to their perceived superiority, a direct reflection of their values. Some are sitting behind a desk denying work opportunities in an attempt to oppress the already oppressed, another reflection of values. Some are watching their grandchildren walk into a church and gun down nine people worshiping the very God upon whose word America claims to have built its foundational principles/values. Yeah, right.

Listen up folks and you will hear if you haven’t already people referring once again to the country’s need to have a serious conversation about race. This may come as a surprise to you folks but there is a serious conversation being had about race and therein lies the problem. Want to hear it? Get invited to dinner.

RIP brothers and sisters and pray the Father grant us some time to return to Him.

 
Written By Jay Arrington, Maryland Daily Examiner
For information regarding Maryland Daily Examiner, contact Reggie Kearney, Editor-in-Chief at reginald.kearney@marylanddailyexaminer.com

“I am—yet what I am, none cares or knows; 
My friends forsake me like a memory lost: 
I am the self-consumer of my woes; 
They rise and vanish in oblivion's host, 
Like shadows in love's frenzied stifled throes:
And yet I am, and live—like vapours tost.”From the John Clare poem “I Am”

So now everyone wants a piece of Rachel Dolezal’s hide - Some want to tan (pardon the pun) the white part and others want to tar and feather the other. Personally, I could care less. It is even being reported that Dolezal admits that her hair is a weave, duh! Really, what self-respecting black woman doesn’t have a weave of some type in her hair? I am at a lost as to why this is a story anyway. Don’t get me wrong I do understand the shock and the outrage to a degree but what I don’t understand is the surprise everyone seems to be experiencing.

Consider this if you will. White folks have been imitating blacks for years - our music, our style of dress, our dance, our art, our walk, and our talk. Hell, the first time a white person laid out in the sun in an attempt to secure a tan we should have known something was up. Now-a-days, the only things that blacks can say we took from whites culturally speaking is disrespect for parents, promiscuity, lack of morals and tattoos (stolen from the Aryan Brotherhood in prison) and we screwed all of these things up by going overboard. And here is where things get people’s panties and boxers all in a bunch.

You see folks, America is accustomed to whites imitating blacks for entertainment purposes, (can anyone say blackface, Eminem, or Vanilla Ice) because there is no inherent danger of overkill. Blacks on the other hand consistently go overboard when imitating whites. Unfortunately, we blacks have yet to figure out the dangers such as societal regression reaped upon us (blacks) by blazing that obstacle laden trail. Enter Rachel, Dolezal, and suddenly that tabooed glass ceiling has been shattered. Rachel dared to go where no white man or woman that we know of had gone before. Instead of imitating or instead of pretending to be blackish Rachel decided to be black and some of us are insulted.

Remember the weave I mentioned earlier, why do you think weaves exist? Because white folks have brainwashed black women (some) into thinking that unless they have long flowing hair like white women they (black women) are unacceptable and unattractive. Why the hell would anyone be mad about a white woman wearing a weave and subjecting herself to the aforementioned mental psychosis? Hell, if anything, take it as a compliment.

And besides if society accepts whatever Bruce Jenner’s name is claim that although he was born a man he is really a woman trapped in a man’s body, why not accept Rachel as being a black woman trapped in a white woman’s body however ridiculous the argument is or the speculation might be. Oh, but then again we are discussing race and race is not afforded the same “oh you poor thing you deserve to be happy” BS as whatever it takes or whatever someone does to achieve orgasm, can we talk.

In the movie “Watermelon Man,” Jeff Gerger, a middle-class white bigot awakens one day to find he is no longer white but black. Needless to say Gerger’s world is turned upside down. For one thing, Gerger, played by Godfrey Cambridge, is accused of robbery for running after a bus that as a white man he chased for years for exercise. Yet, chasing the bus as a black man, the police assume he is fleeing a crime scene, classic situation relevant even to this day.

In the film “Imitation of Life,” a young fair-skinned black girl named Sarah Jane played by Susan Kohner decides to pass as white to escape the oppressive policies of the era only to discover that passing is not a pass. When her white boyfriend discovers her deception, he beats Sarah Jane mercilessly. My point is that relatively speaking there is no fairytale happy ending for being black, pretending to be white and now we see also for pretending to be black, so what’s the big deal?    

Take a read of that excerpt from the poem at the beginning of the article and marinate on its meaning. What does it say about how you feel about who you are, where you are, versus what you want to be and where you want to be.

There is one thing if nothing else - this entire affair begs me to contemplate how much this girl’s parents hate her to have outed her, and why. 

 
Written by Jay Arrington, The Maryland Daily Examiner

For additional articles written by Jay Arrington, visit the Maryland Daily Examiner website.  For information regarding the Maryland Daily Examiner, contact Reggie Kearney (Editor-in-Chief). 

“You say you only do God’s will. In His name you destroy and kill. You use His name to mask your sin and afterwards you say Amen.”
                                                                                           From the poem “Weaker and Wiser” by Jay Arrington

 
The attack last week by two gunmen at a competition sponsored by the anti-Islamic group the American Freedom Defense Initiative once again highlighted the fact that hate-filled inspired acts do nothing to deter hate-filled inspired acts. In other words, “two wrongs don’t make a right.” Cartoonists were invited to the competition in Garland, Texas to compete for $12, 500 for drawing the most satirically disrespectful caricature of the Prophet Mohammed. The gunmen, killed by a nearby traffic cop acted as did previous attackers in France and Denmark in defense of the Prophet Mohammed as the mouthpiece of God in Islamic faith.

In a Salon.com article posted last week, “When it got to the murders, I think I was surprised by that”: An abortion provider’s story  David S. Cohen and Krysten Connon printed excerpts from, "Living in the Crosshairs: The Untold Stories of Anti-Abortion Terrorism" which, chronicled the perils of an abortion doctor. The man, whose work as an abortion doctor dates back at least two decades has been targeted by anti-abortionists for the better part of those years. According to the article, in the early 90s anti-abortionists began a direct and violent campaign against the doctor including arson. The protestors set fire to the doctor’s house and barn. As a result, the doctor and his family lost all of their possessions, which included in addition to their house and barn, three other buildings, a dog, cats and seventeen horses.

Not unlike the followers of Islam who retaliate against disrespectful caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in the name of Allah, anti-abortionists commit acts like those mentioned above in addition to murder in the name of God. In his January 2015 article, Prophet Mohammed cartoons: the roots of Muslim fury ... John Bingham Religious Affairs Editor of the Telegraph wrote, “Judaism, Islam and some strands of Christianity all, to varying degrees, share an aversion to visual images. In the Bible, the Second Commandment forbids not only any depiction of God but “any graven image, or any likeness of anything” in Heaven or Earth. It has not stopped Roman Catholic, Orthodox and, increasingly, Anglican churches being filled with icons and statues of Jesus.” Bingham went on to say, “Many Islamic scholars forbid images of any living thing and few if any permit depictions of God or any prophet – including Mohammed, Abraham and Jesus.”

After a jury found Paul Jennings Hill guilty of murdering Dr. John Britton along with James Barret an abortion clinic escort, The Army of God (AOG) came to Hill’s defense. The AOG issued a statement, which read, “Whatever force is legitimate to defend the life of a born child is legitimate to defend the life of an unborn child. If in fact Paul Hill did kill or wound abortionist John Britton, and accomplices James Barrett and Mrs. Barrett, his actions are morally justified if they were necessary for the purpose of defending innocent human life." The Army of God is the same group, which claimed responsibility for the 1997 shrapnel bombings by Eric Robert Rudolph of abortion clinics in Atlanta and Birmingham.   

While I understand the anger felt by those offended by abortions and those offended by the misguided hate-filled in the name of ‘free speech’ BS of some groups and cartoonists, I do not as a Christian agree with or condone retaliation, especially injury and/or murder. Call Him what you will God or Allah, He is the same God of Mohammed and Jesus and therefore the laws and commandments apply to us all. The Sixth Commandment says, “Thou shall not kill” except perhaps in defense of one’s life, home or family. Jesus also mentioned that the greatest expression of love is for a man to lay down his life for his brother, lay down his life not take a life. As far as caricatures are concerned, it would serve us all well to revisit the full text of the Second Commandment.

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands who love Me and keep My Commandments.”  Exodus 20:2-17…Who love Him and keep His Commandments.

Notice if you will the crux of this commandment. “Do not make any image of what is in heaven above or the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.” In other words, make no images of man for which to serve or for which to bow down before and especially do not commit murder defending an insult of the person, a form of worship. God essentially says that we should worship the creator not the creation and certainly not commit murder over hurt feelings or because we disagree with the choices of others.

When Peter severed the ear of the Roman soldier in defense of Christ, Christ reprimanded Peter telling Peter that he who lived by the sword shall die by the sword. If Christ would not allow Peter to defend His (Christ) life with violence then surely the life choices of others and certainly no cartoon is worthy of violent retaliation. We cannot be selective regarding obedience of the commandments. It’s either all or nothing because from the law no one is immune and from the judgment no one shall escape.


By Jay Arrington, Maryland Daily Examiner

For information regarding Maryland Daily Examiner, contact Reggie Kearney, Editor-in-Chief at reginald.kearney@marylanddailyexaminer.com

The 21st century's version of Joe McCarthy, Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas announced this past Monday that he (Cruz) is running for the 2016 republican nomination for President of the United States - talk about exalting oneself above measure. Cruz's well -scripted and well-funded affair at Liberty University had all the markings of an elaborately advertised off-Broadway play that is canceled after only five nights. Apart from the idyllic scene of his lovely family, I could not help but think that had it been the 1960s, they would all have been at a different gathering. After all, they were in Lynchburg, Virginia, how ironic, ‘Lynchburg'. 

Really folks, can any of you name anything Cruz has accomplished by way of legislation either positive or negative? I most certainly cannot. The few things that come to mind are not in the least bit flattering. Unless you are of the extreme right wing conservative ilk, Cruz impresses you most as a loudmouthed blowhard. One look at the man and you immediately get chills and not the nice ones either. Personally, I never had to hear the man speak to gauge what type of person he is; a know-it-all who thinks the rest of the world should feel privileged to breathe the same air as does he. Moreover, Cruz somehow has confused book sense with common sense thinking that a Harvard degree trumps rationale, dismisses fairness, and holds that the only self-evident truth is that he is unequalled. 

Narcissism notwithstanding, Cruz's apparent amnesia concerning his role in the government shutdown of 2013 that caused and costs the American taxpayer jobs and money -read the same thing- has slid so far down the rabbit hole that even Alice cannot find it. Furthermore, who can forget Cruz's seemingly never-ending remarks regarding President Obama's origin of birth? Although born in Canada, Cruz seems to think that doesn't count because White is not considered foreign, I guess. In some respects, it would appear that is the correct attitude. After all, republicans once considered drafting legislation that would allow former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (Austrian) to run for president. Moreover, Cruz possesses a knack for injecting dog whistle messages into his speeches. 

For example, among the many things Cruz said Monday, here are a few that in my opinion, really stood out, and give a real sense of his (Cruz) ideology: 

"God's blessing has been on America from the very beginning of this nation and I believe God isn't done with America yet." "I believe in you. I believe in the power of millions of courageous conservatives rising up to re-ignite the promise of America."

"Today, I am announcing that I am running for president of the United States." "It is a time for truth. It is a time for liberty. It is a time to reclaim the Constitution of the United States. 

First, where do Americans and especially white Americans get this absurd idea that America is the only country on earth that God has blessed or loves? Secondly, what exactly is this ‘promise of America’ of which Cruz spoke? What does reclaiming the Constitution mean and from whom would it be reclaimed? Help me out here folks because the only answers that do it for me involves racist sentiment and that old air of entitlement that appears to have never been claimed by anyone other than America. 

Enough of the rant then and back to politics, or presidential politics anyway. Cruz has an uphill battle to say the least. Not only must Cruz overcome the disdain those in his (Cruz) own party feel for him, Cruz must also overcome the self-inflicted wrath of the ever- increasing immigrant population in the United States. It is no secret that Cruz is unpopular among the majority of his republican colleagues. Speaking about Cruz, Republican pollster Frank Luntz said, “His colleagues really don’t like him, and it’s very difficult when your own colleagues won’t stand up for you.” “There’s a subtle message that there is something wrong.”In addition, Democratic strategist and Washington lobbyist Steve Elmendorf said, “The question for Republicans is: Can an unlikable candidate who holds positions unappealing for the general election be viable?” 

General election viability is the least of Cruz’s present worries because he first must find a way to move beyond the republican primaries. Although his message targets disenchanted, cantankerous extreme right wing conservatives, party insiders understand that presenting a more moderate conservative approach enhances the appeal of candidates like Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. However, were Cruz to somehow claim the nomination, general election viability would ruin any chance he would prevail considering his propensity to alienate voters. 

For instance, a 2012 Pew Research Poll showed although a shift in party identification occurred almost entirely among white voters, the Democratic Party’s advantage among blacks and Hispanics, by comparison, has remained largely unchanged. Not surprisingly however, since the election of President Obama the Republican Party increased its advantage over Democrats among non-Hispanic white voters by twelve points. In 2012, four years after Obama’s first election 52% identified with or leaned toward the Republican Party while 40% identified with the Democratic Party or leaned Democratic. However, in 2008, the balance of party identification among whites was almost evenly divided (46% Republican vs. 44% Democrat). 

Unfortunately, for Senator Cruz, the real tale of tape lies in poll numbers tracking his chances against the de facto democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton. The average poll numbers show the former Secretary of State and former First Lady defeating Cruz in a landslide by a fourteen-point margin. Not to worry Senator, should that happen you’ll have plenty of time to stage another 21hour filibuster and read ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ even if it is in your own living room. Cruz in for a bruzin my man. Cruz in for a bruzin. Cruz in for a Bruzin in 2016

Written by Jay Arrington,
Maryland a Daily Examiner
Real World News 
Email:  Poetryemotionbyjay@gmail.com 

For more  news stories at the Maryland Daily Examiner,  visit their website at www.marylanddailyexaminer.com.  
For additional information , contact Reggie Kearney,  Editor-in-Chief at reginald.kearney@marylanddailyexaminer.com



Though Wallace would later apologize for the above referenced words conventional wisdom would suggest that Black America might just accomplish Wallace’s utopia wish. The majority of Black American social thought of present day, America represents an eclectic blend of various solutions regarding the institutions of American racism.  Unfortunately, none it would appear have worked. While the viewpoints of Black America play out buffet style, attitude towards Blacks remains steadfast despite the morphing face of America.

Looking through the store window from rational street affords one the luxury of a quasi buyer’s remorse sense of righteous indignation. Blacks bought integration in the 60s, tried it on in the 70s, realized it (integration) didn’t fit in the 80s, sent [it] to the tailor in the 90s and now in the 2000s, are making every effort to return it, minus the wrappings and the receipt. What is worse is that there exists no store to which to return it. Thus, in lieu of the in-ability to return integration, blacks have decided, as the courts would say to, ‘constructively evict’ themselves from society.

However, in the midst of this constructive eviction/self-segregation, questions arise concerning cause, effect, and intent. Intentions notwithstanding, the term self-segregation evokes for some, images of a reversal of blood-bought progress, while for others a welcomed come-to-Jesus moment. For example, the remaining remnants of Black Nationalists whose originators according to Northwestern University Professor Sterling Stuckey, PhD, "emphasized the need for black people to rely primarily on themselves in vital areas of life—economic, political, religious, and intellectual—in order to effect their liberation.”

Authors Bracey, Meier, and Rudwick argue in [their] book “Black Nationalism in America” that, "the concept of racial solidarity is essential to all forms of Black Nationalism." The authors added that, "no ideological or programmatic implications beyond the desire that black people organize themselves on the basis of their common color and oppressed condition to move in some way to alleviate their situation." However, familiarity demands we must once again ponder what intent, if any, lies in this present day self-segregation of Black America.

Despite the fact that nationalism as a doctrine, manifested in the North, nationalism originated in the South. It was there in the South during the 19th century that Africans banded together in an effort to distance themselves from forced assimilation refusing for many years to refer to themselves as Americans. Subsequently, the south represents in 21st Century America the obvious choice for research pertaining to segregation and [its] effects on blacks.

In 2012, researchers from Dartmouth, University of Georgia, and the University of Washington released a comparative study of trends in racial diversity. According to data obtained from the U.S. Census in 1990, 2000, and 2010, the study found that although racial diversity in the nation’s largest cities has been on the rise over the last twenty-years, African-Americans remain concentrated in segregated neighborhoods; that highly diverse neighborhoods are actually rare; and newly arrived immigrants continue to settle in concentrated racial residential patterns.

The research published in the Professional Geographer, presented substantial evidence of changes in neighborhood racial configuration in major cities. In addition, the research found that while there are no longer all black or all white neighborhoods in major U.S. cities, segregation still exists. According to Dartmouth geography professor Richard Wright, "It's clear from our research that we still have problems…with segregation.” Atlanta, Ga. for example according to Wright is a city that has changed dramatically over the last twenty-years, yet remains segregated.

“The trend we've seen is for predominantly white tracts to become more racially diverse and this is because of immigration….African-Americans have a longer history of settlement in the United States. So old histories are getting rewritten in these metropolitan areas, but African-Americans remain segregated," he said. Furthermore, according to a 2003 report by Harvard's Civil Rights Project at the beginning of the 21st century, education for Blacks is more segregated than it was in 1968.

Moreover, black students are the most likely racial group to attend what researchers call "apartheid schools," — schools that are virtually all non-white and where poverty, limited resources, social strife and health problems abound. One-sixth of America's black students attend these schools. The report also suggests a strong link between racially segregated schools and segregation by class noting that in heavily segregated schools the economically disadvantaged account for nearly half of all students.

Yet, as previously mentioned, proponents of Black Nationalism might welcome this segregated dynamic though surely not the results. In addition to Black Nationalism, the concept of Afrocentricity posits that African paradigms, symbols, myths, and values should constitute the starting point for all things black in America. For instance, adopting of African names, fashions and dress (kente cloths, kufi hats, African beads), hair styles (braids, dreadlocks, Afros), food, music, and religiosity. Despite its popularity however, Afrocentricity was not without [its] critics.

Noted African-American professor Henry Louis Gates and white liberal historian Arthur Schlesinger being among the most vocal. Both Gates and Schlesinger argued that despite its intent and contrary to what proponents of Afrocentricity believed, Afrocentricity might lead to the establishment of distinctive ethnic communities. Schlesinger even went so far as to label the pedagogy of Afrocentricity as racist, writing, "If a kleagle of the Ku Klux Klan wanted to use the schools to disable and handicap black Americans, he could hardly come up with anything more effective than the Afrocentric curriculum."

Having made the aforementioned points it is important to note that the underlying question of how these points detrimentally and broadly affects black America and America by default looms ever so large.  Although the answers appear difficult considering the data relative to schools and education there remains the subcutaneous symptoms festering beneath the visual wounds. Moreover, the side effects of the recommended solutions have yet to be addressed, and might never be.

 If the plight of America were to be determined according to African-American contributions the results gleaned from empirical evidence regarding incomes, wealth, education and political influence might appear to render America’s future bleak. In addition, were the determination real and not imagined other ethnic groups might well champion [their] respective ‘we told you so’ attitudes. Meaning that African-American contributions or the lack thereof might lend credibility to the facially neutral segregation of whites and other ethnic groups.

However, it is not the facially neutral segregation, which causes concern. It is the detrimental effect of self-segregation of Black America. Yet, for us to answer that question we are required to consider the visual wounds in addition to those not seen. In all probability, Black America has no idea of [its] self-segregation. It is likely that Black America sees only a neighborhood, sees only unemployment, sees only crime, and despair.  

What Black America and the rest of America fails to see is how self-segregation effects the health of blacks in the form of hypertension, mental disease, low birth weights among infants, and practically no political representation, - sans Ferguson, Mo. What Black America and the rest of America also fail to see is how self-segregation eclipses the ideological norms of race and neighborhoods. Self-segregation also translates into shunning one’s own people.

For example, in his 2010 book, "Buying Black - the Ebony Experiment," author James Clingman Jr. wrote, “There is $850 billion moving through Black consumers' hands each year, with 90 percent of that amount going to businesses owned and controlled by non-black businesses.” Back in the day blacks created benevolent societies to assist one another in times of hardship. If a member became sick or fell on financially hard times, the society would pitch in with food or visit and clean the affected member’s home.

When blacks needed one another, blacks loved one another and vice-versa. Moreover, it appeared that blacks enjoyed segregation. What frustrates the situation is that it is virtually impossible to remain clinical regarding this topic. Thinking outside the box takes us only so far before returning us back to the known and the visual wounds. Too often making factual observations is confused with passing judgment or assigning blame.

On the surface, it appears Black America is unconsciously attempting to return that old worn out suit of integration. Apart from engaging in the things Black Americans believe qualifies [them] as black, most blacks think of themselves as normal. Yet, it just might be the normal of Black America that results in blacks’ constructional eviction and self-segregation, intentional or not. Finally, self-segregation although strengthening the esteem and imagined superiority of others, undermines the foundation of the American economy and [its] ability to remain globally competitive. 


Written by Jay Arrington, Maryland Daily Examiner

For additional articles and information regarding the Maryland Daily Examiner, visit their website  or contact Reggie Kearney, Editor-in-Chief by sending an Email. 


CAUSE TO SUPPORT:
"Don't Punish a Good Cop for Standing Up to Police Brutality
https://www.change.org/p/thomas-p-dinapoli-don-t-punish-a-good-cop-for-standing-up-to-police-brutality
For more information regarding this cause and petition, contact Carol J. Horne at: carioljhorne@aol.com


 
SOURCES:

*History – UCR - http://history.ucr.edu/People/Faculty/Stuckey/

*Smith, Robert C. "Afrocentricity." Encyclopedia of African-American Politics. New York:  
   Facts On File, Inc., 2003. African-American History Online. Facts On File,  \ 
  Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE01&iPin=EAAP0011&SingleRecord=True 

*Dartmouth University - now.dartmouth.edu/.../racial-diversity-increases-but-s...

*Tolerance.Org - www.tolerance.org/supplement/segregation-today