Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is under fire big time for saying that Barack Obama could be president because he is light-skinned and doesn't speak with a Negro dialect unless he has to. Those comments were made in either 2006 or 2007; the timeline is in dispute and that's not really important in this situation. What is clear is that Reid unwisely voiced points that were thought by many. Except for that antiquated 'Negro' terminology, Senator Reid made the same assessment a lot of whites probably made and some blacks also; let's not kid ourselves.

To be politically attractive, candidates are advised to look and speak a certain way. Candidate Barack Obama fit that mold and his Ivy League education sealed the deal. Am I a Harry Reid fan? No but I'm not hating on him either. I also don't think his comments were nearly as racially-charged as Trent Lott's 'Dixiecrat' comment, that 'Barack the Magic Negro' song and controversial comments by others.

The GOP is attempting to keep this topic in the media by claiming 'double standard' in the treatment of Republicans who have made racial comments compared to Democrats who do the same. Should Harry Reid resign? No. Is Harry Reid a racist? I don't know. Is he out-of-touch? Absolutely --- as are the folks over at the Census Bureau.

Harry Alford, head of the National Black Chamber of Commerce dresses down Senator Barbara Boxer during a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, of which Boxer is the chair.

Alford addressed climate change and Boxer proceeded to read a NAACP resolution which referenced including black colleges and universities in the research and development of alternative energy sources. She also mentioned the 100 Black men increasing the ire of Alford.

Former Colorado U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo ignited controversy here in Miami almost three years ago with his characterization of the area as a third world country. He made other statements that were far from complimentary and let's just say things got ugly. He's now surpassed that deed bycalling Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor a racist because she is a member of the Latino civil rights organization, La Raza. He went on to equate La Raza to the "KKK without the hoods or the nooses."

La Raza chief Janet Murguia disputed Tancredo's description of the organization and refuted his translation of the group's name and motto among other things.

The Translation of Our Name: National Council of La Raza

Many people incorrectly translate our name, "La Raza," as "the race." While it is true that one meaning of "raza" in Spanish is indeed "race," in Spanish, as in English and any other language, words can and do have multiple meanings. As noted in several online dictionaries, "La Raza" means "the people" or "the community." Translating our name as "the race" is not only inaccurate, it is factually incorrect. "Hispanic" is an ethnicity, not a race. As anyone who has ever met a Dominican American, Mexican American, or Spanish American can attest, Hispanics can be and are members of any and all races.

The term "La Raza" has its origins in early 20th century Latin American literature and translates into English most closely as "the people" or, according to some scholars, as "the Hispanic people of the New World." The term was coined by Mexican scholar José Vasconcelos to reflect the fact that the people of Latin America are a mixture of many of the world's races, cultures, and religions. Mistranslating "La Raza" to mean "the race" implies that it is a term meant to exclude others. In fact, the full term coined by Vasconcelos, "La Raza Cósmica," meaning the "cosmic people," was developed to reflect not purity but the mixture inherent in the Hispanic people. This is an inclusive concept, meaning that Hispanics share with all other peoples of the world a common heritage and destiny.

Tom Delay adds to the mayhem and foolishness and injects the name of LULAC. Hmmm...

OK, media mogul Rupert Murdoch apologized for the New York Post chimpanzee editorial cartoon. Since Murdoch is infamously known for NOT apologizing and NOT succumbing to external pressure, the apology is a major coup.

I respect Murdoch for making the public apology but some civil rights activists are still keeping the pressure on Murdoch and the New York Post. 

You see, the Murdoch apology, when finally made, was several days late. It would have been more effective and better received had he apologized right away. Instead, the insulting comments by Post editor Col Allan fueled the protest fire while Murdoch did nothing to stop it.

Speaking of Allan, if Murdoch really wanted to make a statement about racial sensitivity, he’d fire Allan with the quickness but he hasn't.

Since the Murdoch apology came days after the Post’s media drubbing and their parent company’s stock dropped, perhaps the apology was empty and only driven by economics.

The furor over the New York Post chimpanzee editorial cartoon is far from over for me. You see, I was immediately angered by it for several reasons; its racist connotation being one of them.

I observed executives from the Post attempt to deflect the backlash from the cartoon to protest leader, Rev. Al Sharpton. I don’t always agree with the Reverend but that was just wrong on their part. I also heard their so-called apology and learned of the company’s internal turmoil because of the cartoon.

I tried to understand the perspective of folks, even blacks, who thought the cartoon wasn’t as bad as the publicity that exploded around it. I still wasn’t able to make that stretch. I really tired objectivity but it is what it is.

You know, even if you don’t think the cartoon was racist, there was no humor to be made of a woman tragically disfigured by a chimpanzee and the death of that chimpanzee. There was no humor in two police officers shooting an animal. Was the animal a representation of President Obama? Perhaps it was supposed represent Nancy Pelosi or even Congress. It's just wrong.

There have been calls for the firing of the Post’s editor. I support that unequivocally. I also support the demand for a real public apology from the New York Post.

It was pointed out that President Obama and New York Gov. Paterson did not make a big deal of the situation. Gov. Paterson accepted the Post’s apology. Well, my response to that is, “Did you expect them to go Eric Holder and say what they really feel? I think not.”

This situation could be over quickly. The Post’s lame attempt at an apology is far more acquiescence than they’ve offered in the past. I do hope the NAACP and other civil rights organizations will not cave under the pressure.

Rev. Sharpton’s spotlight on the media influence is an issue that definitely deserves more coverage but by which media outlet since he owns so many.

© 2009, Vanessa: Unplugged!, www.vanessabyers.net

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Daniel Cowart and Paul Schlesselman are the latest whack jobs to have their 15 minutes of fame as a result of their plans to kill 88 black people (14 by beheading) and ultimately killing Barack Obama.   Now, we all knew this demographic of nutbags would show themselves eventually.

I was a bit perturbed by the initial media reports indicating that a plot to assassinate Senator Obama had been foiled. Additional research of the situation showed that these two guys had planned to kill 88 people before killing Obama. 88!! Hello, I do believe the headlines should have read something like this, Racially-Motivated Mass Murder Spree and Obama Assassination Plot Foiled. That may not seem like a big deal but it accurately frames the situation. It wasn't just a concern for Barack Obama, it was a concern for black people, period.

It's highly unlikely these guys could have carried out their plan, they'd "met" only a month ago via the internet and planned to don a white top hat and tails while they carried out the murders. Interesting.

Plots such as this are intended to intimidate. I imagine blacks are supposed to be too afraid to vote but that doesn't seem to have affected the massive turnout for early voting in this country.

Cowart and Schlesselman are far too young to buy into this hatred foolishness. These guys don't know the racial struggles this country has overcome except through textbooks or movies. A killing rampage in this country would accomplish what exactly? A few minutes of media attention?

The reality of this presidential election is that Barack Obama has rallied millions of people to support his candidacy. Those people are a diverse group that represent the true face of America. A couple of guys like Cowart and Schlesselman won't defeat the rest of America.

© 2008, Vanessa: Unplugged!, www.vanessabyers.net

Vote for this blog for Best Political Blog and for Best Blog Design in the 2009 Bloggers Choice Awards.

By now you've heard about the foolishness caused by the false report of an assault on a young, female John McCain supporter. The young lady, a Caucasian, reported that she had been attacked by a black man. Not your average-sized black man but a 6feet 4 inch dark-skinned black man. Now if that's not said to scare the hell out of white women and piss white men off, I don't know what is.

But, in this "post-racial" world that we live in, there will be other incidents such as this. The reality of the aftermath of Ms. Todd's lie is that somewhere in the Philadelphia area where this attack allegedly occurred, black mothers were trying to get their sons home and pray that they were safe from the cops and vigilantes looking for revenge for the victimized Ms. Todd.    

Ms. Todd obviously has some psychological issues but she doesn't get a pass for telling a lie and bruising herself. This false accusation crap is old and tired but obviously still effective. How many of you still remember the uproar caused by Susan Smith and Charles Stuart?

While the McCain-Palin campaign doesn't condone such actions by Ms. Todd, they must realize that this is the type of hatred stoked by the flavor of their town hall meetings.

Thankfully, law enforcement doubted Ms. Todd's story from the outset. There could have been a completely different and violent reaction but there wasn't. On the other hand The Drudge Report and Politico.com did but into it and were forced to apologize later.

What happens next with Ashley Todd? I say she needs to be incarcerated for several years and be forced to pay restitution for the cost of law enforcement and other incidentals.

© 2008, Vanessa: Unplugged!, www.vanessabyers.net

Vote for this blog for Best Political Blog and for Best Blog Design in the 2009 Bloggers Choice Awards.

North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms passed away today for an undisclosed reason as to his cause of death. He was 86. Helms was conservative and a segregationist. He opposed so many things that he became known as 'Senator No'.

In spite of his opposition to many things not White, American and male; Helms served as a senator for 30 years before he retired in 2003. When his re-election was strongly challenged by Harvey Gantt in 1990, Helms ran the ad below that literally swiftboated Gantt's choice to unseat incumbent, Helms. Gantt was the mayor of Charlotte and black.

Helms opposed funding to assist AIDS victims; he made a very unkind statement about them which he later retracted after meeting and talking with activist Bono.

Let's face it; it's no surprise that the bigwigs at A&E Network plan to return Dog the Bounty Hunter to its line-up in a few days. After Duane "Dog" Chapman displayed such racist disdain for black people by referring to his son's black girlfriend as a ni**er and proceeded to use the vile term with such hate several times during a recorded conversation.

The foolishness was exposed last fall and the network suspended production. I guess the shelf life of black folks anger about the situation has expired in the minds of the network brass at A&E. It seems they think all is well and black folks have forgotten. Think again.

Here's a reminder of what Duane "Dog" Chapman said. WARNING: The audio is uncensored.

Although Dog went on his expected apology tour --- think Trent Lott, Michael Richards and Don Imus; that's not enough to erase what he did. Are blacks just expected to accept every apology by a celebrity caught in the act? I don't think so. The folks at A&E should be ashamed of themselves but they're not. It's all about the dollar and Dog brings them big bucks.

I missed the initial flap about the 'Obama's Baby Mama' graphic courtesy of the folks over at FOX so-called News. Surely the powers that be over there need to be subjected to random drug testing because they can come up with some shiggitty that defies logic.

That Linda Trotta woman somehow thought it okay to joke about an Obama assassination stirred up by Hillary Clinton; E.D. Hill referred to the Obamas affectionate fist pound as a 'terrorist fist jab'; and now the FOX News Channel referred to Michelle Obama as 'Obama's Baby Mama'. Somebody must be on crack at FOX. Who in their right mind could think that was cool?

Oh, no, don't get it twisted. The things that have been lobbed at the Obamas are shameful but the FOX folks have made funky comments about the Clintons also.

There are still four months left until the general election so the folks at FOX News will likely make more idiotic comments. Until then, force them to pee in a cup or give up some hair follicles and find out what kind of drugs they're on.