Good morning!

More of the same tactics of denying Americans health care coverage, from the same conservatives.

Billions and Billions Wasted

Conservative States Rejecting Medicaid Expansion Are Sacrificing Billions of Dollars And Leaving Millions Uninsured

The fight over Medicaid expansion continues, with 24 conservative states still refusing to expand health care to low-income working residents simply because of politics. As we have documented before, these political games have real consequences: Charlene Dill, a 32-year-old working mom with three small children, died in late March because she fell into Florida’s Medicaid coverage gap and wasn’t able to access the care she needed.

A new report from the Urban Institute and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation details the scope of these consequences in the number of people going without insurance and the economic losses to states. Both of these outcomes are the result of conservative lawmakers’ decision to reject federal funds to expand health care in their states. Here are the key findings, by the numbers:

• 6.7 million: The number of residents that would have been eligible for affordable coverage projected to remain uninsured in the 24 states that have not expanded Medicaid.
• $423.6 billion: The amount of money that states are sacrificing in federal Medicaid funds from 2013-2022. These are billions that would not only go to help make sure people have the health care that they need, they would also heighten economic activity and spur job growth in the states.
• $167.8 billion: Amount of money from additional Medicaid funding that hospitals in these 24 states are projected to lose. This funding was intended to offset cuts the Affordable Care Act made to Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates: more people covered could mean lower rates. But without the bigger pool of insured residents through Medicaid expansion, hospitals lose out big time. Some hospitals, especially in rural areas, are evenbeing forced to shutter their doors.
• 32.3 percent: The increase in Medicaid payments that hospitals in non-expansion states would see in 2016 if these states decided to go ahead with Medicaid expansion.
• $13.41: The amount of federal funds, for every $1 the state invests, that would flow into these 24 states if they chose to go forward with Medicaid expansion. The study projects that states would have to pay a combined $31.6 billion and receive $423.6 billion from the federal government. The report also mentions that even these costs to the state would be offset: “Every comprehensive state-level budget analysis of which we know found that expansion helps state budgets, because it generates state savings and additional revenues that exceed increased Medicaid costs.”
• 38 percent: How much the uninsured rate has dropped in states that have expanded Medicaid since September 2013, from 16.2 to 10.1 percent.
• 9 percent: How much the uninsured rate has dropped in states that have refused to expand Medicaid since September 2013, from 20.0 to 18.3 percent.

BOTTOM LINE: The latest analysis underscores why conservative lawmakers need to put people over politics and expand Medicaid in their states. By denying health care to low-income working people, they are only hurting their citizens and their state economies.

*****

Readers: I had a fun and full weekend - I HOPE you enjoyed yours too! What’s on your mind? Blog me.

Peace out. 

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

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Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

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Good morning!

Mike: You comment is a common thing done by the media to black men. A White suspect is portrayed in a positive light and the Black victim is portrayed in a negative one.

Here’s a  write from the Huff Po:

When The Media Treats White Suspects And Killers Better Than Black Victims

On the afternoon of Aug. 9, a police officer fatally shot an unarmed, black teenager, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri. Details remain in dispute. Eyewitnesses have said that Brown was compliant with police and was shot while he had his hands up. Police maintain that the 18-year-old had assaulted an officer and was reaching for the officer’s gun. One thing clear, however, is that Brown’s death follows a disturbingly common trend of black men being killed, often while unarmed and at the hands of police officers, security guards and vigilantes.

After news of Brown’s death broke, media-watchers carefully followed the narratives that news outlets began crafting about the teenager and the incident that claimed his life. Wary of the controversy surrounding the media’s depiction of Trayvon Martin – the Florida teen killed in a high-profile case that led to the acquittal of neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman — people on Twitter wondered, “If they gunned me down, which picture would they use?” Using the hashtag #IfTheyGunnedMeDown, users posted side-by-side photos, demonstrating the power that news outlets wield in portraying victims based on images they select.

On Monday, Twitter user LordSWVP tweeted out a photo driving home another point: Media treatment of black victims is often harsher than it is of whites suspected of crimes, including murder.

This is by no means standard media protocol, but it happens frequently, deliberately or not. News reports often headline claims from police or other officials that appear unsympathetic or dismissive of black victims. Other times, the headlines seem to suggest that black victims are to blame for their own deaths, engaging in what critics sometimes allege is a form of character assassination. When contrasted with media portrayal of white suspects and accused murderers, the differences are more striking. News outlets often choose to run headlines that exhibit an air of disbelief at an alleged white killer’s supposed actions. Sometimes, they appear to go out of their way to boost the suspect’s character, carrying quotes from relatives or acquaintances that often paint even alleged murderers in a positive light.

Here are a few examples:

WHITE SUSPECT

That’s how the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal chose to present the story of Amy Bishop, a former college professor who eventually pleaded guilty to killing three colleagues and wounding three others at a faculty meeting in 2010.

BLACK VICTIM

And that’s the headline AL.com ran about the shooting death of a 25-year-old black man in Alabama earlier this year.

WHITE SUSPECT

This is how the Staten Island Advance covered the case of Eric Bellucci, a mentally ill New York man who allegedly killed his parents.

BLACK VICTIM

Meanwhile, NBC News ran this headline during ongoing coverage of the Trayvon Martin killing.

WHITE SUSPECT

This Fox News headline quoted friends shocked that 15-year-old Jared Michael Padgett had entered his high school heavily armed and killed a classmate, injured a teacher and took his own life.

BLACK VICTIM

But in Florida, this headline in the Ledger focused on a police account that made the death of a black 19-year-old seem somehow expected, or at least unsurprising.

WHITE SUSPECT

In the wake of the mass shooting in Santa Barbara, California, earlier this year, the Whittier Daily News offered a headline showing one man’s disbelief that Elliot Rodger could have committed such a crime.

BLACK VICTIM

Earlier this month, the New York Daily News ran this headline, carrying comments by the Ohio attorney general that appeared to defend police after killing a black man at a Walmart.

WHITE SUSPECT

This was the headline given to an Associated Press story at Mlive.comabout an Ohio teen who later pleaded guilty to a school shooting in which three students were killed and two were wounded.

BLACK VICTIM

But when an unarmed father of two was killed by a police officer while entering a vehicle that contained his own children, the Los Angeles Times served up this claim from officials.

WHITE SUSPECT

In 2008, 18-year-old Ryan Schallenberger was accused of plotting to bomb his South Carolina high school. Ohio’s Chronicle Telegram wanted readers to know that he was a straight-A student, running an AP story with this headline.

BLACK VICTIM

And according to the Omaha World-Herald, this is what you needed to know about Julius B. Vaughn, a 19-year-old gunned down in Omaha last year:

WHITE SUSPECT

Kerri Ann Heffernan was charged in 2012 in a string of bank robberies and stores. This headline at Wicked Local wonders how she’d come so far from her days as a smart high school student.

BLACK VICTIM

Of 22-year-old black man Deon Sanders’ killing in Ohio earlier this year, WKBN’s headline said “gang member,” and that apparently was enough.

*****

Readers: Do you know of someone who has experienced this kind of racist bias from the media? Thoughts? Blog me.

Happy Saturday! 

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

I decided today that the Koch brothers can wait. I’m sure they won’t mind that I put them off for another day. Instead, I decided to post about some other sickos…you know, the thugs with guns. I am repulsed by this story. A Black person’s life to these thugs means nothing.

 From The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell:

Eyewitness to Brown shooting tells her story

Analysis of Brown shooting witness’ story

*****

Readers: I only posted two videos from the show. There are several that are worth watching.

I applaud this young woman, Tiffany Mitchell for standing up and having the courage to be a key eyewitness to Michael Brown’s murder. Mitchell is most definitely a Wonderful Woman Of The World. One can only imagine how tough this is on her but she is certainly holding her own. I just HOPE that she stays safe and strong throughout the trial which I cannot imagine will not happen considering all that we have heard.

I had a hard time sleeping last night. The visual scene of this intentional murder of this young boy, went through my mind over and over and I just got more and more upset. My condolences go out to the family, friends and supporters of Michael Brown. May they too stay strong, courageous and ruthless. Yes, ruthless. The only way for this sickness to ever stop is for people to take a strong stance like they have been and be ruthless in their commitment, because the racists, i.e., rogue cops and their supporters most certainly will. And may this killer cop go down and pay big time for his murder crime.

Thoughts? Rants? It’s Friday…Go for it – Blog me. 

Robert I: You are correct, if what you say is true. After reading what you posted it makes sense. It makes his death more sad even though the end result is the same. I just really feel for the family now. I sincerely HOPE that it doesn’t come out in the news. It’s no one’s business. And from what I have been seeing on the news the family is making sure that it doesn’t with all of the talk about his finances, health, etc,. backing up reasons for him to commit suicide. I think I’ll be missing him even more now. Too bad. So sad.

Brittany: Happy you could get in this time to express your love.

Mike, TM: I always like it when I open up my blog to read the comments and I see your moniker. Anyway, as usual you always have something very interesting to say. It looks like AnonZ’s very bold move to take out the police chief had quite the desired effect that was intended, upon the other Libyan officials who had kidnapped the girls. If whom you feared most was taken out by AnonZ, then you had better be smart and return them or suffer the same consequences. At least they’re thinking with the big head.

I checked out Islamabad and this was posted even before CNN or anyone else that I could see. Stay safe and be well.

Peace out. 

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning.

Social Butterfly: That is how I feel. My concern is the women too.

I really don’t give a damn about men. Why can’t the men leave the women out of it, and just go fight the wars they create amongst themselves until they all kill each other off? Why? Because like the men in countries such as Congo, they use women as weapons of war, and to satisfy their sick animalistic behavior.

The Islamic State group is no different. One can only imagine what these captive Yazidi women are having to endure now. Yes, the Yazidi men are not exactly like the Muslim men – the Yazidi faith has borrowed from multiple traditions, including Christianity. But don’t make the mistake, that Yazidi women still don’t endure hardships. In 2007 an honor killing made national headlines when a young 17 year-old Yazidi girl fell in love with a muslim boy and was stoned to death by 8-9 male members of her family (with hundreds to a thousand men, including armed police, watching and doing nothing.), her dead body tied behind a car and dragged through the streets.

Still, for most women whatever lives they had before…whatever they had to face before…probably was nothing compared to what many of their lives look like now that they are in the hands of ISIS.

My heart is heavy. I pray for them too.

From US News:

Iraqi official says 100s of Yazidi women held captive by Islamic State group militants

By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — Hundreds of women from the Yazidi religious minority have been taken captive by Sunni militants with “vicious plans,” an Iraqi official said Friday, further underscoring the dire plight of Iraq’s minorities at the hands of the Islamic State group.

Kamil Amin, the spokesman for Iraq’s Human Rights Ministry, said hundreds of Yazidi women below the age of 35 are being held in schools in Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul. He said the ministry learned of the captives from their families.

“We think that the terrorists by now consider them slaves and they have vicious plans for them,” Amin told The Associated Press. “We think that these women are going to be used in demeaning ways by those terrorists to satisfy their animalistic urges in a way that contradicts all the human and Islamic values.”

The U.S. has confirmed that the Islamic State group has kidnapped and imprisoned Yazidi women so that they can be sold or married off to extremist fighters, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information came from classified intelligence reports. There was no solid estimate of the number of women victimized, the official said.

Tens of thousands of Yazidis fled when the Islamic State group earlier this month captured the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, near the Syrian border. The Yazidis practice an ancient religion that the Sunni Muslim radicals consider heretical.

The extremist group’s capture of a string of towns and villages in the north has sent minority communities fleeing for their lives. The Islamic state views Yazidis and Shiite Muslims as apostates, and has demanded Christians either convert to Islam or pay a special tax.

About 50,000 Yazidis — half of them children, according to U.N. figures — fled to the mountains outside Sinjar where many of them remain, trapped and running out of food and water. Late Thursday, the U.S. military cargo jets dropped humanitarian aid to the mountains.

Amin’s comments were the first Iraqi government confirmation that some women were being held by the group. On Tuesday, Yazidi lawmaker Vian Dakheel made an emotional plea in parliament to the Iraqi government to save the Yazidi people, saying the “women have been sold in a slavery market.”

President Barack Obama said the humanitarian airdrops were made at the request of the Iraqi government as the Islamic State militant group tightened its grip on northern Iraq. In his remarks late Thursday, he mentioned “chilling reports” of fighters with the group “rounding up families, conducting mass executions, and enslaving Yazidi women.”

The U.N. Security Council issued a statement Friday condemning targeted attacks against Iraq’s minorities, adding that any widespread attacks against civilian populations based on ethnic, religious or political background may be considered a crime against humanity for which those responsible must be held accountable.

Readers: If it weren’t for the sick men all around the world, women wouldn’t be slaves, forced to endure living in such daily horrific conditions and in fear of their lives.

I hate the saying that men are dogs because that is an insult to my favorite four-legged friends, but I do wish, like dogs, we could castrate the mother fuckers. And while we’re at it, take the dick too. Hell, if I thought I could call a genocide….no a “menocide” against men and get away with it, you can bet I would. Why not. There is an unspoken “Femocide” against women on this planet.

I never used to feel this way but after years of writing and highlighting the plight of women and witnessing what women around the world go through every day, as I sit here, so blessed, safe in my home…I am desperate for an answer…desperate for a way to end the abuse. And that sadly, is the only answer that has come from my “I am an eye-for-an-eye kind of girl” attitude.

When men continue to do the sick things they do, they need to suffer the consequences of their hideous acts of violence and hate. Don’t like it? Most men don’t when the tables are turned. In fact, most men are cowards when you take away their guns and knives.

No doubt Anonz has witnessed many a gutless men pleading for their lives. I HOPE he is never kind, and they endure a slow painful death like the lives of the women disgusting men have taken. Oh, how I wish there were a thousand men that embodied Anonz’s bravery, skill, and love for the women of this planet, so that they could annihilate the men as they have done to so many women. Unfortunately, all we have is one Anonz. And thank God we do. But my heart is heavy for him too as there is only so much one can endure when one has seen the atrocities that he has seen.

Anonz: Thank you for being a true Man of mettle and a Hero to so many women. Thank you for your love and courage and commitment. I am so thankful for the man that you are, and so grateful to you for all you do for women. Wherever you are, I HOPE you and your men are safe, and kicking ass big time if you are in the mix of it all. But mostly, I HOPE that you have a respite soon, as no doubt you need it.

Lastly, and once again for you thin-skinned pussy men out there who can’t handle harsh words thrown at you (ouch!)…who are just frothing at the mouth to call me a “man hater,” –  I don’t hate men, I hate the things men do. What choice do you give me to feel any other way?

You men have it so easy. Oh, how we women wish it was just harsh words we had to endure everyday instead of harsh hands.

Well…what do you have to say? Blog me. 

Nancy:  Your nomination of Ann Coulter is noted and accepted.

Peace & Love…”Live, it, Give it.”

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

Readers: I loved reading all of your suggestions for which Wonderful Woman Of The World should grace our currency. Thanks for partaking in on all of the fun. 

Speaking of racism, a black man in the White House, people wanting the president to fail etc., the comments from yesterday inspired me to post this from West View News:

“Just noticing…”

THE NIGGER IN THE WHITE HOUSE

By James Lincoln Collier
Published July 2014

James Lincoln Collier is a writer and musician. His book My Brother Sam Is Dead (1974), was a Newbery Honor book that was also named an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book and nominated for a National Book Award in 1975. His email addess is Jazzcol@aol.com

Jim Collier is a straight talking man so when a few months ago he wanted to use the word “nigger” in an article to shock us into accepting that there still are people who believe and use this outrageous word, our editorial staff took collective objection and we did not print it. The editorial staff continues to object. In this article however Jim reminded me that the New York Times avoids using the word which convinced me that WestView should. –George Capsis

The uproar in the press at the stunning defeat of Eric Cantor, the former majority leader of the House, “unrivaled in the history of Congressional primaries,” according to the New York Times, has shown a spotlight on the persistence of racism in the United States. The newspaper reports have said that Cantor was “insufficiently conservative” on issues like immigration. This is undoubtly true; but it covers a greater and more important truth: Cantor was defeated mainly because his opponent, a man happily named Brat, was able to tie him to Obama in the minds of voters. Again according to the Times, Brat’s most effective campaign tool was a photograph showing Cantor standing next to the president. Brat took it for granted that a connection to Obama would be disliked by the voters in question. The Times added that such conservative Republicans have “a vocal base that demands unflinching opposition” to Obama and are “determined to stage confrontations with the president at every juncture.”

Presidents have been subjected to stinging attacks before. Franklin Roosevelt was royally hated by conservatives for his advocacy of social programs and support for unions; and Lincoln was shot for his tolerance of the recent enemy. Ironically, Obama has never strongly pushed for the strong social programs liberals expected of him. He has, indeed, been quite passive in his approach to governing. Conservatives ought therefore to have recognized that for a Democrat Obama was about as good as they could get. But, says the Times, “any hint of cooperation with the president” was the kiss of death for candidates in conservative territory.

It is possible to draw only one conclusion: these far right voters hate Obama because he is black. The simple truth is that there is still in America an irreducible measure of racism. A large minority have for some six years have been quietly angry that they must have in the White House a member of an inferior class of people. Until recently. however, they have felt constrained to keep their mouths shut. But America’s increasing tolerance of far right opinion has made racism more acceptable, so long as it can be disguised, however thinly, as politics.

Unfortunately, the media, including the New York Times, has been wary of addressing this issue. In its reporting on the subject it says only that Cantor’s problem was his support for immigration reform, including the legalization of people who had been smuggled in as children. There is no doubt that easing of restrictions on immigration, which basically means admitting more Hispanics from Central and South America, is opposed by substantial numbers of Americans. So doing is entirely consistent with what we know about the behavior of groups, about which I have written in WestView before. Groups don’t like strangers, and to non-Hispanic Americans these Central Americans are strangers, with a different language and set of folkways.

But blacks are seen as even more “different.” In this viewpoint, Obama is not “one of us” to many Americans and is therefore, if not exactly the enemy, at least an outsider.

One of the great surprises of this particular election was that the polls consistently showed that Cantor had a huge lead over Brat. The polls were not just slightly off, as they often are, but dramatically wrong. Nobody should have been surprised. Clearly, a whole lot of people who would not admit to a stranger on the phone to being racist, in the polling booths did what their hearts urged them to do: vote against Obama, even though he wasn’t on the ballot. And one of the results of the Brat victory is that we are unlikely to see another black candidate for president for some time to come; the risks are too great for major political parties to take.

*****

Thoughts? Rants? Blog me.

Happy Birthday Social Butterfly & Al! I HOPE you both are having wonderful celebrations.

PS: I never see any banter by anyone on the blog as “monopolizing” my blog, so you don’t need to ever apologize.

Lewis: Your comment made me smile. You may be a true conservative but I somehow don’t think that you are a modern one riding on the extreme right. You sound pretty levelheaded…even though you are kept up ranting about the insane opinions of my highly liberal regulars denigrating the right. (I have to say there is very good reason to…denigrate the right, that is :)

I’m going to side with your Darling Wife and HOPE that I, and my readers, can covert you to a liberal.  It won’t be the first time. C’mon, try it, you might like it. After all, it seems you did marry one –  am I right?  Happy you read here nonetheless. I HOPE that we continue to keep you up. :)

Rufus: Loved your comeback comment.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Peace out.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

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“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

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