Into the Lions' Den

It takes an extra big set of cojones -- not to mention a major serving of stupid -- to make a speech at the nation's most prestigious black university that's based almost entirely on talking points normally shared by racist douchebags trolling the comments section at Yahoo News. But then Rand Paul (R-Stoopid) went and spoke at Howard University:

Paul devoted almost none of his speech Wednesday at the historically black college in Washington, D.C., to explaining the GOP’s thorny relationship with black voters over the last fifty years, and most of it arguing that “the Republican Party has always been the party of civil rights and voting rights.” His history lecture focused almost entirely on the period before 1964, when the GOP began to champion the states rights arguments of southern whites. Echoing a popular conservative talking point, Paul repeatedly reminded the audience that Democrats passed Jim Crow laws in the south and that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican, as were the first black legislators and the founders of the NAACP. [emphasis added, ed.]

Did I mention how sick and tired I am of this facile, bullshit argument? What's always left out of the equation, naturally, is that once Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, and it was signed into law by a Democrat, Lyndon Johnson, a whole cadre of racist lunatics -- led by those stalwart proponents of justice and equality Strom Thurmond and Jesse Helms -- walked right out on the Democratic Party and into the open arms of the Republicans. The very same kind of sanctimonious, libertarian assholes are still running the GOP (see: Rand Paul), only now they are so convinced of their own revisionist lies and simplistic political arguments they have the temerity to stand before black America's finest minds and spout that bullshit like it's something resembling the truth.

Funny, We Just Called Them "Beaners"

We meant no insult by it. They just ate a lot of beans is all.

During an interview, Thursday, with KRDB-FM, a radio station in Ketchikan, Alaska, Young was asked about issues currently under debate in Congress like job creation and immigration: 

'My father had a ranch; we used to have 50-60 wetbacks to pick tomatoes,' he said. 'It takes two people to pick the same tomatoes now. It’s all done by machine.' [emphasis added.]

Origin of the term "wetback" (which is really about as close to the "N-word" for Hispanics as you can get):

Generally used as an ethnic slur,[2] the term was originally coined and applied only to Mexicans who entered Texas by crossing the Rio Grande river, which is located at the Mexican border,[3] presumably by swimming or wading across and getting wet in the process.

Debate Subtext Primer

Potential Romney "zingers" in tonight's debate:

1. Teleprompter jokes.
2. Birth certificate jokes.
3. School transcript jokes.
4. Teleprompter jokes (because those never get old).
5. "Dependency President" jokes.

In a nut, each is a thinly-veiled racist attack, predicated on the white Republican base voters' fear of a black president.

Some Jokes Just Never Get Old

Am I right or amirite?

Looks like somebody finally wised-up at the Mecklenberg (Virginia) County Republican Party and made their Facebook Page private, but Wonkette has all the details here.

Teabagger National Anthem

Savages. It's a Wonder They Know How to Breathe

The worst people in the world hang out on newspaper comment threads. The crazed lunatics posting here and here prompted me to cancel my account with the local fishwrap before I drowned in their cesspool of hate.

...but names will never hurt me.

For what it's worth, I never thought it was really even relevant whether George Zimmerman referred to Trayvon Martin as an "effing coon." See, what happened is: Some vigilante kook apparently stalked a 17-year-old kid minding his own business and ended up shooting him dead. Dudn't matter if the kid was black or white. GZ done killed him. As in dead.

The Most Offensive Thing You Will Read This Year Ever

Courtesy of the National Review:

(10c) If planning a trip to a beach or amusement park at some date, find out whether it is likely to be swamped with blacks on that date (neglect of that one got me the closest I have ever gotten to death by gunshot).

Read the rest if you can stomach it.

On Protesting "Black-on-Black" Crime

The next time your lunatic, low-information, teabagger Republican co-worker dismisses your concern about the Trayvon Martin case by asking (rhetorically, of course, as in "I'm not racist, I'm just asking questions!") why no one is protesting "black-on-black" crime, you can tell him: "People have, and people are." They have and they are in Chicago, and in New York, and in Detroit, and in Newark, New Jersey and in Pittsburgh, PA and in Saginaw, Michigan and in Gary, Indiana, and in Brooklyn, NYC.

"Racist Hatemonger"

President Obama noted that if he had a son the boy might look like Trayvon Martin. His presidential comments offered solace to the murdered teen's friends and family.

What the other side is saying.

Simple Answer to [Apparently] Complex Question

In the search for answers in the Trayvon Martin killing, in particular answers to why the battle-lines have crystallized so distinctly along the nation's entrenched partisan divide (with liberals lamenting that "We are all Trayvon Martin" and conservatives hinting that the wannabe gangster may have had it coming), it's always best to consider the simplest possible explanation: Conservatives are attacking the character of Trayvon Martin, and coming to the defense of George Zimmerman, because it pisses off liberals. That's how conservative assholes decide their opinions on most national issues.

Casual Observation: Trayvon Martin Shooting

Lots of people seem willing to entertain the notion that George Zimmerman may have been acting in self-defense, but few seem willing to consider that Trayvon Martin might have been doing so.

On Hoodies and Hoodlums

Perhaps if someone can find an old photo of Trayvon Martin sagging his jeans then we'll know he got what he deserved.

Killer Kurmudgeon.

Among George Zimmerman's 46 calls to 9-1-1 over the past year-and-a-half or so was one on "April 22, 2011, [when he] called to report a black male about 7-9 years old, four feet tall, with a “skinny build” and short black hair."

Racist Bandwagoners Loading Up

Now that the conservative blogosphere has decided to start pushing the "Trayvon Martin was a thug" angle, get ready for FOX News to start piling on.

The nation's #1 propaganda outlet barely mentioned the Trayvon Martin case after it initially splashed across the headlines -- save for Gerald Rivers' claim that "the hoodie was to blame" for the boy's death -- but now that they've got a good racist, fear-mongering angle they can sink their teeth into, it won't be long 'til Hannity and O'Reilly are breathlessly blathering on about LOOKATTHESEPICTURESFROMTRAYVONMARTIN'SFACEBOOK PAGE!!!!! and LOOKATTHESEPOSTSFROMTRAYVONMARTIN'S TWITTERACCCOUNT!!!!, giving cover to every racist asshole you know to speculate the the kid had it coming and George Zimmerman is the real victim here.

So it goes.

Trayvon Martin

Let the victim-blaming begin.

"Just Asking Questions..." The Last Line of Defense for the Racist Asshole.

What is it with racist conservative yahoos and the "I'm just asking questions..." defense? If the question you're just asking is: "What if it turns out Trayvon Martin attacked George Zimmerman?" you're being a racist jerk who's too clever by half. It's not funny, it's not creative, it's not wink-wink witty and you need to be quiet.

I ran across one idiot this weekend who actually began his "just asking questions" line of racist bullshit with the phrase: "I've got no skin in this game, but what if Trayvon Martin attacked George Zimmerman?"

Yes, you read that right. He's the one I finally put on FB ignore.

Flat Racist

Never let it be said some Republicans aren't just so flat-out racist they can't even see how offensive they are. Former Michigan Republican congressman Pete Hoeksrta is running for Senate up in the Wolverine state. He's defending the above ad...

“There’s nothing in here that has a racial tint at all...Well It’s not a stereotype at all. This is a — you know, through the creative — this is a young woman in China who is speaking English. That’s quite an achievement.”

"Let's Go Get a Taco"

Here's what you get when you put a double-digit IQ racist wingnut in charge of your city...

Here's the case to which the mayor is [sort of] responding.

Can't Make this Shit Up

Latino high school students in a Tuscon, Arizona school district who protested the administration's decision to ban all Mexican-American studies programs were punished with janitorial duty!!

What, there were no crops anywhere nearby that needed picking?