How the media injected black men with syphilis

March 23, 2008

When Malik Shabazz spoke for the New Black Panthers on talk shows last week in regards to Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s racial comments, he stated the US gov’t infected black men with syphilis according to the Tuskegee Experiment. Conservative pundits didn’t know how to rebuttal him. They couldn’t deny the Tuskegee Experiment took place between 1932 and 1972 where over 300 poor and mostly illiterate black sharecroppers were denied treatment for syphilis. It is one of the more shameful chapters in US history, alongside slavery and lynching.

However, it’s disconcerting pundits didn’t argue a crucial fact. Black men were NOT injected with syphilis. The men who volunteered to participate were already infected. The ethically unconscionable and monstrous act by federal researchers was denying them proper treatment of penicillin. Instead, the subjects were informed they had “bad blood” and were studied like lab rats to examine how syphilis would take its toll over the course of years.

But Shabazz was not the only one to have uttered this dangerously misleading inaccuracy without question. Obery Hendricks, professor at the NY Theological Seminary, stated on The O’Reilly Factor “we do know the government injected black men with syphilis.” Journalist Ed Gordon also stated “the government was giving syphilis to black men” on Hardball with Chris Matthews. Woefully inaccurate statements, which can’t be excused as “taken out of context”, have now become, for some, absolute truth.

Extreme fear of political incorrectness coupled with ignorance has muddied the waters of a needed dialogue once again on mainstream news channels. It’s no wonder we have yet to achieve a rational and peaceful resolution between blacks and whites as well as the left and right, when those in the media who speak to millions of viewers each day and earn just as much per year don’t do their homework.

As the battle for network ratings continues on the issues of racism and politics, it’s amazing no one has touched upon another study from the Tuskegee Institute to addresses the utter irony behind Rev. Wright’s hateful berating of Condoleeza Rice as “Condoskeeza” or Colin Powell as “Colonel Colon” for their Republican partisanship. Between 1880 and 1951 over 3,437 African Americans were lynched in the US. These crimes occurred not only due to the deep-rooted hatred in states along the Cotton Belt, but mainly because lynching wasn’t considered a federal crime.

Yet, during that same time, 1,293 white Americans were also lynched. Nearly all were Republicans who no doubt defied the Southern Democratic agenda of segregation. Also known as the Dixiecrats, this was the Democratic base Franklin D Roosevelt didn’t want to upset in order to pass his New Deal programs. This was the reason why FDR, nowadays viewed by many as a Democratic demagogue, never signed anti-lynching legislation during any of his four terms in office. Ultimately, some of these programs granted unions power to lock blacks out of the labor force during the Great Depression.

It wasn’t until after 1948 when Harry Truman introduced anti-lynching legislation that lynching finally became a federal crime. Truman, the same president who dropped the atomic bomb and inspired Rev. Wright to state “God damn America” (and break with the Third Commandment no less) for Americans supposedly not even batting an eye to the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Just another obscure and ironic historical fact that shows life isn’t as black and white or left and right as the mainstream media would have us believe.

The Ron Paul Revolution lives!!

I just got this absolutely killer Ron Paul video from  www.HighTidepromo.com.

Ron Paul wins! and so does the human race

As the Democratic presidential race descends to new depths of personal negativity and John McCain disintegrates,  the cause of human liberty has emerged as the clear winner in the 2008 presidential race.

 

A little over a year ago few people had ever heard of Ron Paul, there were no Ron Paul meet up groups.  Rudy Giuliani was a shoo-in to win the Republican nomination and probably the presidency.  The Republican Party was firmly in the hands of the big government neo-cons and the Libertarian party was as usual pondering its naval.

Cultural change has to happen before political change and as Avery Knapp, leader of New York City’s Ron Paul meet-up puts it “ collectivism won the 20^th century”. 

What a difference a year makes!  Today pretty much everyone, whether they like him or not, knows who Ron Paul is. Twenty-somethings debate non-interventionist foreign policy, the gold standard and elimination of the Fed and the IRS.  By the way they don’t debate “whether” on these issues, they debate “how”.

Of course that debate hasn’t made it through the thick skulls of the vast majority of major party candidates yet or even a majority of voters.  But no one is dismissing the Ron Paul Revolution anymore either. 

Let’s look at a few areas where the Ron Paul Revolution won resounding victories. The internet is considered by many to be the campaign tool of the future and the Ron Paul Revolution buries the competition with 106,000 meet-up group members, in over 1500 meetups.  Mike Huckabee is a distant second with 19,000 members and 496 groups.  But let’s look at what those meetups are doing.  Ron Paul meetups are 10 times more active than Huckabee’s and account for about 90% of all presidential meetup activities.

Candidate            Members         Groups            meetup events

Ron Paul                 106,000          1500            37,000

Mike Huckabee        19,000            496               3,600

Barak Obama             7,000            105               1,000

Hillary Clinton             1,800              36                  334

John McCain                   36                1                      0

Source: http://www.meetup.com/topics/polact/cand/pres/

How about fund-raising?  Of course the party of big money, the Democrats, have their fangs much deeper into corporate America. Clinton and Obama have each raised about $140 million primarily from people connected to financial institutions and law firms.  McCain gets his money from people in similar industries and firms but he has only raised about $50 million.

Compared to the big money crowd Ron Paul, having raised about $32 million, might not look like much.  But as Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney know, money can’t always by you love.   And when an unknown guy who ”had no chance” raises nearly as much as the winner of the Republican nomination you have to ask yourself where it all came from.  It turns out that the guy who wants to bring the troops home from everywhere, and leave health care to the free market gets much of his money from people in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Health Care. 

It’s also worth mentioning that “budget-balancer” John McCain has about  $5.2 million cash on hand and about $5.5 million in debt.  You do the math.  Is that how he’d run the country?   In contrast “crazy” Ron Paul has about $6 million cash on hand and 0 debt.  What? Zero debt?  Excuse me – I’ll have what he’s having.

Sources: http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/moneyweb.asp?cycle=2008

What’s wrong with this picture? 

The democrats are busy spewing venom.

The big government Republican nominee has more debt than money and his army consists of a professional campaign staff.  The sitting Republican President is a world-class bozo with record low approval ratings and the neo-cons are in disarray.

On the other hand, the Ron Paul Revolution is flush with cash and bursting with young, energized, committed volunteers who are busy right now expanding their grass-roots decentralized, free market network.  They are preparing for phase 2:  running Freedom Movement candidates, raising awareness and educating the public as to why Human Liberty works better for everyone, and taking action to change outcomes in DC, State Houses and City Halls.

As Arlo Guthrie said if “50 people a day do it they call it a movement.”  This one goes by a few names, the Freedom Movement or perhaps the Second American Revolution and it’s happening now, right before your eyes.  Everyone doesn’t agree on everything.  That’s the beauty of the free market.  But we share a belief in Human Liberty as the best way to improve the human condition.

The majority of the Ron Paul army is Republican or “libertarian-republican” but there is a significant minority of  “libertarian-democrats” as well.   It also includes some members of the Conservative Party and Constitution Party.  We also share critical principles with social liberals.

Major party approval ratings dwindle and the Ron Paul army has declared it’s intention to save the Republican Party, to turn it away from Bush, neo-cons, big spending and war and back to principles of freedom and small government. Meanwhile, Libertarian Party membership is up 25%.    Freedom Movement candidates are starting to build their campaign teams with veterans of the Ron Paul primaries.

People are talking about non-intervention, sound money, free markets and all the other thinsg that go along with Human Liberty.

What’s wrong with this picture? 

Nothing is wrong with it.

Ron Paul wins, and so does the human race.

Iran: Do you really know what you are talking about?

Since Hillary Clinton and John McCain are both well-established Iran-baiters it might be a good idea for the rational humans among us to develop our thinking on Iran based on actual knowledge and understanding of the facts.  Somebody has to do it and in keeping with tradition the major party candidates are not up to the task.

So where should we look to understand the Iranian “problem” better. 

In the book department Scott Ritter, the former Iraq nuclear inspection chief, has written  Target Iran, which  reviews Iran’s nuclear program from the perspective of someone with first hand knowledge of the subject.  In All the Shah’s Men, Steven Kinzer details the CIA sponsored coup that ended democracy in Iran in 1952 and replaced it with the brutal Shah of Iran.

More recently,Trita Parsi of the National Iranian American Council has written Treacherous Alliance. This book describes the tangeled relationship among the US, Iran and Israel. Dr. Parsi was born in Iran, grew up in Sweden and earned his Doctorate at John Hopkins under (among others) Francis Fukuyama and Zbigniew Brzezinski. I’d say that’s a pretty interesting and useful perspective to balance against that of two of our least favorite Senators.

The NIAC has also just launched a brand new blog. I suspect this will be an invaluable source of information and analysis that won’t appear in the mainstream media as well as a great place to make your comments and hopefully enrich the debate in a positive way. I doubt you will have that opportunity on Fox News.

Yes we can, but what?

By Ignacio Gutiérrez
February 10, 2008

It was only a matter of time until someone successfully invoked JFK’s image alongside Barack Obama’s timely call for change and hope beyond mere comparison. And with Theodore Sorensen endorsing Obama, it’s no accident either. The legendary speechwriter for JFK has claimed giving Obama “a phrase or suggestion or two”.

And for “the cynics who believed that what began in the snows of Iowa was just an illusion” as Obama stated after winning the South Carolina primary, there’s something for them too. A video making it’s rounds on the internet, replete with celebrities singing out the phrase “Yes we can” along with excerpts from other speeches.

OK, so I’m one of those cynics. And yet, I personally like Obama. He’s refreshingly honest, genuine and an optimist to say the least. It’s great that he’s managed to thwart apathy among voters and is getting more and more people involved. But his message and his following are starting to get a little creepy.

Democracy is the worst form of government if people choose evil, Churchill once said. While it would be an incredibly far stretch to label Obama as such, for anyone familiar with the Spanish translation of “yes, we can”, “si se puede”, and it’s overt use by the Castro regime in Cuba, this subtle call for socialism hits a little too close to home.

Ask anyone who has even traveled to Cuba and seen the inordinate amount of communist propaganda that puts Nike ad campaigns to shame. It’s unspoken and subtle reminder to everyone of its citizens that “yes we can” imprison you for decades without even so much as a trial by judge or jury for daring to question the common good and supposed “will of the people”, reverberates from every other street corner throughout the country.

Were it not for the fact that “si se puede” is actually referenced in the video, with someone even pumping their fist into the air, perhaps this connection would be superfluous. But whether by accident or design, the actual speech’s message is unmistakable. And just like clockwork, it’s timed to the best and noblest of intentions.

“It’s not about rich vs. poor” Obama mentions. However, the part where we “can’t afford another four years without decent wages because our leaders couldn’t come together and get it done” misses one obvious point. It’s not up to government to decide wages, its up to the marketplace, ie the people speaking with their dollars. And what better way for them to lose their jobs to foreign markets than by imposing mandatory wage increases on companies and increasing their costs of production, not to mention the cost of living for everyone overall.

“There are those who will continue to tell us that we can’t do this, that we can’t have what we’re looking for, that we can’t have what we want, that we’re peddling false hopes.” Intentionally peddling false hopes, maybe not. But then again, informing and educating people as to how the economy of any society functions most effectively and efficiently when government gets out of our way and stops mixing up our rights with entitlement programs has never been the hallmark of any Democratic, let alone socialist rhetoric.

Hopefully Sorensen will pen a more compelling line for Obama and all of us to follow. One as inspiring as “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”. At least that one didn’t foster an entitlement mindset. Instead it motivated people to give more than they took and drove many to find and even create their own opportunities and destinies as opposed to expecting prosperity to be doled out like some welfare check. It almost demanded people take responsibility for themselves, and yet still be there for one another.

“Yes, we can heal this nation.” Sure, as soon as government stops intruding in our lives and the marketplace and ends the slow and steady pace towards a nanny state that could imperceptibly morph into a totalitarian one. Then there’ll be no doubt that “yes, we can seize our future” once again.

Foiled Again by the Board of Elections

Last August I submitted a Change of Enrollment form to the Board of Elections, indicating that I was switching my enrollment to <shudder> Republican just so I could vote for Ron Paul in today’s primary. I had been enrolled as “Other,” which was the closest the NYC BOE was capable of coming to complying with the court order to record Libertarian enrollments.

Anyway, I submitted the change way ahead of the October deadline, and you’d think they could handle something simple like enrolling me in one of the two major parties. But nooooo, I show up at my polling place today — the same polling place that I’ve used for the last three years — and my name wasn’t in the voter book, which means the stupid BOE bureaucrats didn’t yet have my change of enrollment listed. So I had to fill out an “Affidavit Ballot,” which will no doubt be duly counted shortly after the next ice age.

But I can’t really be too angry with the Board of Elections. To paraphrase Otter from Animal House,  I fucked up — I trusted them.

UPDATE: My wife changed her enrollment from Democrat to Republican in September — still way ahead of the October deadline — but they still had her listed as a Democrat this morning. So she had to use an Affidavit Ballot too. Grrrr!

McCain Soft on Taxes - Hard to Stomach

What sets John McCain apart from the rapidly thinning Republican Presidential field? He is the only remaining Republican candidate who has not pledged to refuse to raise taxes.  According to Americans For Tax Reform, Huckabee, Romney  and of course, our hero Ron Paul, have all all signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.   McCain has not.

With a recession looming, tax cuts (and of course the attendant spending cuts) are badly needed.  Recessions reduce tax revenue and increase deficits so you could argue that the only politically practical way to control the deficit is to keep the economy strong by cutting taxes.   Interest rate cuts just encourage more bad investment decisions and prolong the agony. For some background on the problems with interest rate regulation check out www.mises.org.

But does McCain get it? Apparently not. While McCain has scored at high as above 80% with the ATR he has also fallen to 66%. ATR suggest that he has “tried to reinvent himself as a taxpayer friendly Senator”. Sure John, I trust you.

Here is a short list of other completely wrong headed McCain Votes

No - Economic and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act, Conference Report - May 26, 2001
No - Death Tax Repeal Sense of the Senate – February 13, 2002
No - Permanent Repeal of the Death Tax - June 12, 2002
No - Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 - May 15, 2003
N0 - Jobs and Growth Conference Report - May 23, 2003

The list goes on and on.

To all you prospective McCain voters - please ask yourself whether our economy can withstand higher taxes. Then ask yourself if Ron Paul isn’t a better choice.

The Myth of Giuliani the Manager

Campaign myth #4762: Rudy Giuliani is a good manger

Fact: Giuliani is a poor fiscal manager

- Today’s Daily News headline story: “Poor Rudy - Cash crunch leaves Giuliani campaign aids without pay”.  Ok so he’s putting his remaining $7 million into Florida and a few aids “volunteered” to go without pay.  What will Rudy do with the Federal deficit the next President is bound to inherit from our current ”conservative” administration?   By the way Rudy’s personal net worth is estimated by some to be between $30 and $60 million.

-While Rudy deserves some credit for controlling spending in his first term,  he left poor Mike Bloomberg with a $6 billion deficit. By the way - this wasn’t only due to 9/11, remember the economy was headed south long before 9/11 and City revenues along with it.  Tax-Hike-Mike’s dismal handling of the deficit will be the subject of another post on this blog.

Fact: Giuliani doesn’t set priorities well.

-In Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11, Wayne Barrett goes on for chapters about Rudy’s turf wars with the Port Authority, his failure to prepare NYC for terrorist attack even after the first World Trade Center bombing, his inability to cut through bureaucracy to acquire new radios for the Fire Department… the list goes on.

-Meanwhile Rudy picked fights with anyone who couldn’t defend themselves such as cab drivers, street vendors, night clubs, African hair braiders….

Fact: Giuliani can’t manage his team

In Grand Illusion, Barrett also describes how Rudy failed to resolve the turf wars between the Police, Fire Department and Emergency Management which to a great degree led to many of the problems encountered on 9/11.

 This list just scratches the surface.  Take a look at what Jacob Weisberg said in this Slate post.

“This comparison doesn’t make the case for Bloomberg as president so much as it underscores what a scary place a Giuliani White House could be. President Rudy would give powerful speeches denouncing terrorism while assuming extraordinary wartime powers. He’d reject compromise with his antagonists and ignore the nuts and bolts of running a government. After a few years, he’d be on nonspeaking terms with much of his Cabinet, never mind his fellow world leaders. By the time he got done, he might make us appreciate George W. Bush.”

Fortunately Rudy’s chance seem to be dropping fast.  Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell who would be worse given the choice of Rudy and John McCain.

Of course that isn’t the only choice.  There is still a libertarian choice in the New York primary:  Ron Paul.

As Rudy fades, what new evil lurks?

Remember back in September when Giuliani was the heir apparent to the neo-con throne?  According to an average of poll results at RealClearPolitics.com in 3 short months America’s Mayor has slipped from about 23% in the New Hampshire polls to about 9% dropping from 2nd to 4th place.    I guess he’s not New Hampshire’s mayor. Unfortunately,  he has been replaced by an even scarier proposition,  the free-speech-snuffing John McCain.

As illustrated in this famous video , John McCain thinks it’s OK to joke about bombing Iran, but as an author of  McCain-Feingold he feels that serious political speech must be regulated.   According to this story, when asked about criticism of his “bomb-bomb-Iran” joke, he suggested critics should “get a life”. 

Now of course we hear that the new National Intelligence Estimate indicates that Iran ended it’s effort to develop a nuclear weapon in 2003.   But we can’t hold Senator McCain accountable because he might not have read it.  He didnt bother to read the one on Iraq before he voted for that war either.  They don’t read the bills they pass.  Why read National Intelligence Estimates?  It will only cloud the decision making process with pesky old facts.

Is this the kind of judgement and due diligence we should expect from a Presidential candidate?  Well - unfortunately yes.  Particularly if you are talking about Republicans.   With the exception of Ron Paul,  they all cling to the same neo-con dogma that ruined the Bush regime (not to mention our civil liberties and our economy) and which will almost certainly hand the White House over to the socialists in November.

But New Hampshire voters might still surprise us by turning away from the big government neo-cons and their welfare-warfare state.

 Granite State Republicans and Independents - vote for Ron Paul.    

Astounding Time Mag censorship of Ron Paul

I was so astounded , I just sent this letters@time.com :

Subject: The GOP Race: None of the Above
Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2007 13:32:32 -0700
From: Bob Armstrong
Organization: Coherent Systems
To: letters@time.com

I find 2 things astounding in this 2007/12/13 :

That you post articles with no feedback commentary mechanism .

Weak .

That this article bitching about the choice of GOP candidates never mentions even once the candidate that is stirring minds around the world , RON PAUL :
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1694094-2,00.html

Talk about obvious intentional bias to the point of censorship !

Astounding !