Will the real Barack stand up?

Headline sounds like an attack. It isn't. Merely, recognition.

Senator Obama has locked up the Democratic Party nomination for president by sounding more like statesman than politician. His vision for the possibilities of America are intriguing and refreshing. For that he has my vote.

But politics is dirty business with a rule book all it's own. Everything is 'Deal or No Deal' and who has what information about the other. I have already accepted that in order to win, Obama is going to have to compromise. He's going to have to agree to a lot of things he disagrees with. OK. Understood!

The question is just how far will he go to win? Winning, too, has a life of it's own. I can't imagine the pressure he's under to maintain his stated vision, while keeping his election hopes alive.

I have no answers. Hopefully, he will–publicly–remain statesman enough to keep my vote.
Good luck, sir!

Sad Bell ruling rings of injustice

My most fascinating romantic relationship was with a woman who had a driving need to be dominated. Psychologically, it related somehow to her father. For me, it was the most intense acting I've ever done. I played the role to the hilt. And, I enjoyed it.

From the moment we added 'the role play.' I realized that I could never be wrong--and she could never be right. It was awkward, only at first. Then I adopted and adapted it to our every interaction. She was in heaven. I eventually succumbed to my natural yearning for a partner rather than a slave.

Interestingly, the reason for this public confession is to make a point about race relations in America. Under no circumstances can Blacks or African-Americans win at the game of United States society. The game is permanently rigged. It is fixed.

Are you listening, Mr. Obama?

Paraphrasing my previous example, Blacks can never be right. We might win small victories, but justice, fairness and a level-playing field will always elude us here–good intentions, aside.

One need only look at the recent ruling in the Sean Bell case to prove my point. An innocent man celebrating his bachelor party is gunned down in the street by New York City Police with more than 50 shots. The cops were never threatened, regardless of their mistaken misgivings.

Yet, not one of the involved officers was convicted of anything.

Why? The case was lost in the venue. It was to be decided by one judge, no jury. Fair trial? Come on!

All spin aside, what judge, with any career aspirations, would or could convict and sentence cops?

And, to this day, White folks don't understand the OJ Simpson celebrations.

The Wash

I have been standing at the laundromat, quarters in hand waiting for it. And, now it begins. It all comes out in the wash.
Geraldine Ferraro, former New York congresswoman, former vice presidential candidate, and a staunch Hilary Clinton supporter, has played the race card. Apparently, however, she's playing the same old, tired game.

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept. she teold the Dailiy Breeze of Torrance, California.

There is something about a black man competing on equal, even superior footing that brings out the best in learned whites. Ferraro is not the only one who actually believes that being of color in this still racist country, is an advantage.

This is the same argument, threatened old-boy whites used to defeat any chance of a level playing field offered by Affirmative Action. They are the human resource executives who made sure that the majority of legislated equal opportunity gains went directly to white women. Sure, a few blacks got the scraps. It was, after all, unavoidable.

These are the same people, like Fuzzy Zoeler, who cringe at how much better than anyone Tiger Woods is at 'their' game.