Barack Obama Elected President!

[Wales2004]

I'm way over that and didn't notice until you mentioned it. The song I like best on The Velvet Rope is #22 Special.

This is off topic too but I laughed at this even though it is pretty tragic....just the idea that people actually thought to take advantage of this loophole and travel out of state to do so:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/14/nebraska....aven/index.html

[Greg's GL]

Wales! My fave from Velvet Rope is a tie between "You" and the hidden track "Strong Enough".

I had read that about the Nebraska safe haven law. How horrible to drop your teenage offspring off at a hospital because...why? What could these children could have possibly done to deserve this? Thinking back to when I was a teenager, if I woke to one day have my father drop me off in a strange hospital, in a strange place...OMG. I can't imagine. It is a laughable that someone would have the thought to fly from FL all the way to NB to "get rid" of a child. Again, how could someone do that to their children? <sigh>

[bandbfan]

Some black preacher on CNN is saying that blacks are treated poorly within the gay community. IMO, it's blacks treating blacks poorly within the gay community.....

[Jess]

Crist has become transparent in his "marriage" plans. He seems to get engaged every election cycle. It seems like he was "engaged" during the governor's race and if I'm not mistaken during his race for attorney general. There were always rumors that he was gay. I guess he is trying to climb the Republican ladder again.

During his race for governor, he ditched Bush at a campaign appearance in Pensacola. It seems like he started distancing himself from McCain after the Palin appointment. Every time I read an anonymous governor bashing Palin, I assume it is Charlie.

On Hillary, I think she would make a good secretary of state. I think world leaders see her as a star and I also think they thought a lot of Bill Clinton when he was president. Like others, I was hoping for Hagle or Powell, but Hillary would be good. Perhaps Hagle will be secretary of defense when the Bush holdover steps down.

You know, I just do not like John Kerry and believe he would be a weak secretary of state. He just comes off as a white wine liberal.

[Dr. Jay S.W.]

I agree. Kerry doesnt have the balls to be Sec. Of State. I would appoint Hillary as Sec. of Health, the former Vietnam vet. Chuck Hagel as Defense, and for the state Department, I would ask Condi or Colin Powell, first, and if they wouldn't want it, I'd go with Bill Richardson. NO to Kerry. The Governor of Arizona reminds me so much of Janet Reno. That's enough to appoint her as Attorney General already!

[GoldenDogs]

Good Morning! Just stumbled across some cool photos and thought I'd share on this beautiful Saturday!

Seriously, the adoration of some Obamaphiles is WAY over the top and is a little scary. Reminds me too much of other things and other places that aren't so pleasant. And with those words, I leave this little story as a kind reminder that not EVERYONE likes Mr. Obama. I got this little gem in the mail yesterday...

Barrack Obama, Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey were flying on Obama's private plane.

Obama looked at Oprah, chuckled and said, "You know, I could throw a $1,000 bill out of the window right now and make somebody very happy."

Oprah shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I could throw ten $100 bills out of the window and make ten people very happy."

Michelle added, "That being the case, I could throw one hundred $10 bills out of the window and make a hundred people very happy."

Hearing their exchange, the pilot rolled his eyes and said to his co-pilot, "Such big-shots back there. [!@#$%^&*], I could throw all of their asses out of the window and make 56 million people very happy."

[Dr. Jay S.W.]

Uhm, that photo was taken in Chicago, Baracks home town. Ya think people would be proud of one of their own. And so the hell what if it reminds you of other places where it isnt so pleasant. It's pleasant as hell here and that's what matters.

[MoTheGreat]

Racists React to Obama Victory

By David Knowles

Nov 13th 2008 9:40AM

It should come as absolutely no surprise that, despite the historic election of the first African American president of the United States, the scourge of racism has not been magically wiped away from every nook and cranny of the country. Just dip your toes into the comment section of this, or any other blog that deals with politics and you'll encounter plenty of it. Despite that regrettable fact, for those who lived through or have studied the milestones marking the advancement of blacks throughout our nation's history, the seeming lack of racially-motivated clashes has been a noteworthy marker of how far we have come.

That said, just as many of us can feel proud of a country so enlightened that its majority can elect a minority to the highest office of the land, we must not shy away from the uncomfortable fact that a significant number of Americans dislike Obama based, first and foremost, on the color of his skin. By the way, that's not the same as claiming that if you criticize Obama you are, by definition, a racist. I'm talking about that proud band of citizenry who'll tell you openly of their disdain and fear of darker skin tones.

Now that the rush of excitement is starting to wane, a spate of media stories is shedding light on those people who wish history had not been made, would never be made, when it comes to black equality. So then, via Editor & Publisher, here's a rogues round-up. An up-to-the-minute cataloging of that which we all know is out there, alive and well.

1. Yesterday, Tommy Christopher detailed the story of a bus load of Idaho elementary school tots chanting "Assassinate Obama! Assassinate Obama!"

2. In a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a high school teacher's aide berated a bi-racial 16-year-old Obama supporter, with the following predictions:

"...[the aide] said that Obama was going to be shot and killed," Mara Gilligan told KDKA News. " And that our flag is going to be the KFC [Kentucky Fried Chicken] flag and that the new national anthem will be 'Moving On Up'--and that all my daughter's beliefs were wrong and her children's lives were going to be ruined because Obama was elected."

3. The Associated Press reports several cars in Long Island, New York, vandalized with anti-Obama messages, including promises to kill the president-elect.

4. At North Carolina State University, four students face expulsion for spay painting the phrases, "Let's shoot that (N-word) in the head" and "Hang Obama by a noose."

5. In Texas, Baylor University students awoke the morning after Obama's victory to find a noose hanging from a tree in front of Morrison Hall.

6. In Maine, several black figures were found hanging from nooses on Mount Desert Island the day after Obama won.

7. California vandals went on a spray painting binge in Torrance, targeting cars with Obama bumper stickers. On one house the words "Go Back to Africa" were inscribed.

8. Of course, we all know of the Tennessee skinhead plot to kill random African Americans, and, with a wing and a prayer, Obama himself.

9. In Pennsylvania's Apolacon Township, situated in an area known for KKK activity, an interracial couple looked out their front window to find the remnants of a burned cross.

10. Two men in the ironically named Friendsville, Pennsylvania were arrested for "racial intimidation and trespassing."

These are but ten incidents. Thankfully, none resulted in physical violence. If you have your own incidents to report, we'd like to hear about them in the comment section.

[MoTheGreat]

Obama has more threats than other presidents-elect

WASHINGTON – Threats against a new president historically spike right after an election, but from Maine to Idaho law enforcement officials are seeing more against Barack Obama than ever before. The Secret Service would not comment or provide the number of cases they are investigating. But since the Nov. 4 election, law enforcement officials have seen more potentially threatening writings, Internet postings and other activity directed at Obama than has been seen with any past president-elect, said officials aware of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue of a president's security is so sensitive.

Earlier this week, the Secret Service looked into the case of a sign posted on a tree in Vay, Idaho, with Obama's name and the offer of a "free public hanging." In North Carolina, civil rights officials complained of threatening racist graffiti targeting Obama found in a tunnel near the North Carolina State University campus.

And in a Maine convenience store, an Associated Press reporter saw a sign inviting customers to join a betting pool on when Obama might fall victim to an assassin. The sign solicited $1 entries into "The Osama Obama Shotgun Pool," saying the money would go to the person picking the date closest to when Obama was attacked. "Let's hope we have a winner," said the sign, since taken down.

In the security world, anything "new" can trigger hostility, said Joseph Funk, a former Secret Service agent-turned security consultant who oversaw a private protection detail for Obama before the Secret Service began guarding the candidate in early 2007.

Obama, of course, will be the country's first black president, and Funk said that new element, not just race itself, is probably responsible for a spike in anti-Obama postings and activity. "Anytime you're going to have something that's new, you're going to have increased chatter," he said.

The Secret Service also has cautioned the public not to assume that any threats against Obama are due to racism.

The service investigates threats in a wide range. There are "stated threats" and equally dangerous or lesser incidents considered of "unusual interest" — such as people motivated by obsessions or infatuations or lower-level gestures such as effigies of a candidate or an elected president. The service has said it does not have the luxury of discounting anything until agents have investigated the potential danger.

Racially tinged graffiti — not necessarily directed at Obama — also has emerged in numerous reports across the nation since Election Day, prompting at least one news conference by a local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Georgia.

A law enforcement official who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly said that during the campaign there was a spike in anti-Obama rhetoric on the Internet — "a lot of ranting and raving with no capability, credibility or specificity to it."

There were two threatening cases with racial overtones:

• In Denver, a group of men with guns and bulletproof vests made racist threats against Obama and sparked fears of an assassination plot during the Democratic National Convention in August.

• Just before the election, two skinheads in Tennessee were charged with plotting to behead blacks across the country and assassinate Obama while wearing white top hats and tuxedos.

In both cases, authorities determined the men were not capable of carrying out their plots.

In Milwaukee, police officials found a poster of Obama with a bullet going toward his head — discovered on a table in a police station.

Chatter among white supremacists on the Internet has increased throughout the campaign and since Election Day.

One of the most popular white supremacist Web sites got more than 2,000 new members the day after the election, compared with 91 new members on Election Day, according to an AP count. The site, stormfront.org, was temporarily off-line Nov. 5 because of the overwhelming amount of activity it received after Election Day. On Saturday, one Stormfront poster, identified as Dalderian Germanicus, of North Las Vegas, said, "I want the SOB laid out in a box to see how 'messiahs' come to rest. God has abandoned us, this country is doomed."

It is not surprising that a black president would galvanize the white supremacist movement, said Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who studies the white supremacy movement.

"The overwhelming flavor of the white supremacist world is a mix of desperation, confusion and hoping that this will somehow turn into a good thing for them," Potok said. He said hate groups have been on the rise in the past seven years because of a common concern about immigration.

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Now playing: Darius Rucker - History In The Making

via FoxyTunes

[Wales2004]

Don't you think that the over the top adoration is balanced out by the over the top hatred? If I get to choose whether I'd rather be surrounded by positive people or negative hateful people then I'll take positive. I can always dilute too much sugar but it's not too easy to sweeten up the bitter.

I never even thought of it as a hidden track because when I saved it to my pc it was part of Special. There's a pause for a littlle over 20 seconds after "I have a need to feel real special too.... work in progress" and it picks up.

Some people daydream about what to do about their rebellious teens.....the story is funny because it's ridiculous that these people who knew this was about saving babies from dumpsters saw it as their solution.

I'm sticking with Bill Richardson as a good Secretary of State pick over Hillary Clinton. I think he's a better fit for Obama. Unless he and Hillary Clinton have had some ideological meeting of the minds, her hawkish position during the primaries does not seem to be in line with the type of diplomacy he was pushing. She's better off pushing some of her pet issues in the Senate than in a cabinet position and the only position that would make sense for her in terms of power base would be Secretary of State.

John Kerry doesn't come across as a strong enough candidate for that position but maybe Attorney General would be good for him.

[GoldenDogs]

Over the top hatred? Perhaps George W. Bush or Sarah Palin could better speak about that.

As for Dr. Jay's response to the very obvious comparison made by those photos... Wales acknowledges the over the top adoration -- Dr. Jay makes an excuse for it.

I simply find it over the top frightening. If anyone is bothered by over the top comparisons of Obama to over the top dictators and other assorted socialists, then perhaps the Obamaphiles should tone down their over the top adoration just a notch and avoid treading on obsessive Hitler-esque interpretations and over the top representations of their freakish Obamalove.

Obama is a state senator who hasn't completed a single term in the Senate. He's just a guy, not the Messiah. He's a leftist, borderline socialist.

[Jess]

I do not think it's over the top, I think it's great. I think the fact the country is excited about its new president is very good. The difference in the banners is that people hung up banners of Obama because they are excited about him and are thrilled about him being a leader.

The other banners were hung up because people were forced to hang them up. It's a bad comparison, but I guess in this country people get to silly comparisons.

I think it's great that most of the country -- 75 percent according to most surveys -- are excited about an Obama presidency and are looking forward to it. I have trouble understanding why anyone would be resentful of the American public being happy and proud. Perhaps someone could explain why being happy and excited about a leader is "frightening."

Brian, Obama is the President-elect, not a state senator. American voters overwhelmingly selected him. It was not even close. Now, the public, including many who did not support him in the election, are looking forward to the new administration. And you, my friend, are a sore loser. :lol:

[Dr. Jay S.W.]

Brian, I don't even see the remote similarities between the two pictures. In the first picture you see one pic of Obama, repeated in, and I say again, his home town. Chicago's own. Read the banner. If no one else at all liked him, his home town would hold him down so taking a picture from Chicago, I think, is a little unfair. In the Second Picture, you are looking at a Saudi memorial. That leaders picture is above it, yes, but the rest of those pictures are of different people. You are a sore loser. Toughen up champ. Or move.

[David_Vickers]

How horrible and racist. OMFG!!!

How dare you compare Obama to Hitler?!! How dare you compare Obama supporters to Nazis. Noone's saying he's the Messiah. He's a good man and he'll be a great President and he beat John McCain and Sarah Palin by a landslide in electoral votes. He may lean left but he's NO DAMNED socialist or communist. Your talk sure sounds racist and communist to me.

[Wales2004]

My response wasn't in reference to the photos or the "joke" you posted so let's be clear about that upfront.

All I'm doing is acknowledging that of the millions of people that are happy about Obama, there are some that are over the top. Of the millions of people that dislke Obama some are over the top and quite irrational to the point of threatening to kill others or even attempting to do it.

I don't condone hatred period but I don't see how you can reference George W. Bush in this instance when he lied to the country and allies in order to justify his "war." Palin was spouting a lot of divisive rhetoric but I don't think there is anything resembling the feeling that some might have for Bush in her case. There were people, who understandably, didn't want to see her as VP, and the media treated her like they do most celebrities except since she was seeking higher office, they zeroed in on some of her "aireheaded" responses.

The fact that you direct a lot of hatred towards Obama is disturbing. I can understand you disagreeing with his politics and not wanting him to be President or in any political office period based on your ideology but you're not directing your venom towards his practices, you're directing it towards him and other people who support him. How does that make you any better than the people ablout which you're complaining when you're going over the top in the other direction?