99 Problems

Now that the precious offspring of Beyonce and Jay-Z has been born either by cesearean or by surrogate depending on what news source or gossip blog you want to believe. The media circus surrounding Beyonce's pregnancy, baby bump or lack thereof, was a cross between the outrageous and benign. Now that it's over, I can only wish the Carters and their baby the best however I'm just wondering about Jay-Z .

The word bitch has been such a staple of his rap music, most of it denegrating women and referring to women as bitches, hoes and gold diggers. Now that little Blue Ivy has been born, will Jay-Z continue to toss the word bitch around like he's done in the past? Lord knows Beyonce wasn't bothered by '99 Problems' and a Bitch Ain't One'. I'm certain his credibility in the rap world would take a hit if he stopped using the word bitch. Rap is about creativity and personal expression isn't it?

Where would rap be without words that degrade women? Bitch and hoe have become eponymous to rap.  It certainly can't be rap or hardcore unless women are being defiled, debased and denigrated. So what is Jay-Z going to do now that he has a daughter?

Certainly all those bitches he's rapped about over the years have given him pause now that he has a daughter.  I know how easy it is to remove oneself from the situation, sure he raps about bitches but that's just part of his hardcore persona. Surely he can't think all women are bitches, maybe not his wife, daughter, mother or any other women in his immediate family, but what about the rest of us? Are we all bitches too? I understand rap music is entertainment and a big part of that entertainment is done at the expense of women as bitches, hoes and gold diggers.

And seriously, does it really take the birth of a daughter for Jay-Z to have second thoughts about using such the word bitch? For all those apologists out there, the word bitch, no matter how you use it, can never be a term of endearment.

Jay-Z should have saw this one coming. A man who has made his career out of degrading women is now the father of a baby girl. It should be interesting to see how fatherhood changes Jay-Z..

Et Tu Newt?

Displaced New Orleans residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in  2005.

I'd like to give a shout out to The Field Negro, who wrote a great post about the backpedaling Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, please read about it here. Santorum isn't the first Republican to play the race card. Former Republican front runner Newt Gingrich has jumped on the race-baiting band wagon too.

After a lackluster showing in the Iowa Caucuses, Gingrich is hoping some of that Santorum magic will rub off on him in New Hampshire. He told a group in New Hampshire that he plans to go the NAACP Convention and tell black people why they should demand paychecks instead of food stamps. I guess it's open season on black folks now for Republican politicians slumming for votes.

Given their predominantly white audiences, both Santorum and Gingrich are pandering to the widely held belief that most poor people and welfare recipients are black. It doesn't matter if this is true but it always seems to get applause and buy in from white people who believe black people are undeserving of welfare and responsible for their own poverty. I mean Newt said it himself, he's going to tell black people at the NAACP Convention that they should demand paychecks instead of food stamps. Too bad the black people Newt wants to reach can't even afford to attend an NAACP meeting so his harsh words are likely to fall upon deaf ears.

When did Newt Gingrich become so concerned about the lives of black people? The truth is, he isn't and this is just another trick up his sleeve to gain attention of a certain white electorate. I don't think that's it at all, he's just looking to score some easy political points at the expense of black people.  According to a study by Joe Soss of American University, poor African Americans are over emphasized in media representations of the poor. The black people have become synonymous with welfare and during periods when welfare and other government programs are under scrutiny and when their is black president, programs like these come under greater scrutiny. I call that the reparation effect. How many times have you heard that Obama care is reparations or that welfare is a form of reparations to black people. As ridiculous as these both sound, some people believe this to be an honest truth.

Furthermore, the news media portrays black people are unsympathetically when it comes to stories about welfare fraud and you only need to tune into your local evening news to hear about these stories. Remember the images from Hurricane Katrina a few years ago? You got the sense from the news media that black people there deserved what they were getting, when you saw them stealing food or basic necessities, it was called looting but when white people were doing the same thing, they were stealing food to feed their families. There was no great outreach to help these people because the common perception was that they were responsible for their own misfortune.

It's the same thing with welfare, most white black people are undeserving of welfare and are responsible for their own poverty. However the reality is quite different when it comes to the actual recipients of public assistance, white people account for more than 38.% of the recipients while blacks account for 37% .Since whites comprise the largest part of the population and that large number only makes sense but that doesn't stop the perception that most whites have that Black people are lazy, untrustworthy, less intelligent and more violent and these are certainly not the people you want getting checks from the government.  Just ask Newt, he's going to the NAACP Convention in July this year to straighten black folks out but I'm just wondering who his audience will be. Good luck with Newt.

God Has Spoken

God has been busy this week. Let's talk about Michele Bachmann first. In a farewell speech to her supporters Bachmann said she looks forward to the next chapter in God's plan but then she doesn't really have a choice does she? After garnering only 6% of the votes in the Iowa Caucuses, her campaign failed miserably in a crowd of candidates who were pandering to the same tea party voters anxious to take their country back and thwart President Obama's evil plan to spread socialism to all aspects of American society.

I'm sure losing in Iowa, her home state had to be particularly painful for Bachmann since she spent alot of time there campaigning and had won the Ames straw poll last summer.  I don't know if her defeat had more to do with the waning influence of the tea party or whether other candidates like Rick Perry and  Rick Santorum did a better a job of winning over the Iowa voters who would have voted for her. We'll have to wait and see what God's plan is for her but I'm glad she told Michelle Bachmann to drop out of the race. Good riddance I say, the less I see and hear of Michele Bachmann, the better.

God makes me nervous sometimes. She can be very picky about who she chooses to communicate with.  I know she's spoken to Michele Bachmann at times but she has an ongoing dialogue with TV evangelist Pat Robertson. Although he didn't reveal what god told him, Robertson did let on that she is not pleased with President Obama's agenda. Surprise, surprise. Not even God likes President Obama.

According to Robertson, only overwhelming prayer can get Obama out of office.  Watch it for yourself here:



I always like the sidekicks on Pat Robertson's show. They act as if what this man is saying is the God's truth when in fact it's really a bunch of hokum.

Rick Santorum Causes His Own Trouble

Republican Rick Santorum

Here's another one to file under GTFOH* courtesy of Raw Story.com.

To further prove that the Iowa Caucuses mean nothing, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is the latest Republican to be king of the hill. I'm still not impressed. Santorum was interviewed by Fox News' Sean Hannity and was asked about the racist statements he made about black people the other day. If you missed it, click here. As expected, Santorum denied making those comments and blamed it on someone trying to start trouble. In the same interview, he also claimed that he was responsible for bringing black people into the Republican party.

Instead of using the tried and true technique of naming one black friend, Santorum went the extra mile and mentioned two: J.C. Watts and former RNC chair Michael Steele. *rolls eyes* Both have been conspicuously absent from any discussion about black people and the Republican party. I wouldn't call on either of those two to co-sign anything for me but I'm sure they have Santorum's back.

Black Republicans are a strange breed. They are noticeably silent when their Republican brethren play the race card or make racist comments. They only exist in the Republican party so that they can make white people feel good about themselves and remain delusional about race and racism in this country. They are irrelevant.

Furthermore, black candidates in the Republican party are like affirmative action hires. It's one of those "you know you don't really want to hire any black people but since you have to and don't want to look racist you go out and find the most mediocre, docile negroes you can find so you can parade them around like show ponies to prove that you aren't racist when you really are." situations. See, we've got two black people on our team, they said racism doesn't exist and we believe them. 


Right wing blabbermouth Ann Coulter recently praised conservative blacks while fawning over former Republican presidential front runner Herman Cain.  Her assessment of blacks in the Republican party:  "Our blacks are so much better than their blacks."  If Herman Cain, J.C. Watts and Michael Steele is the best they can do, she can keep all of them.

*Get the F*ck Out of Here

As If Iowa Matters

You probably didn't know that Republican Rick Santorum is running for President

You'd never know it by watching the news, but the Iowa caucuses are not as important as the Republicans and the news media would like to have you think.  First of all, Iowa is 91.3% percent white so whoever wins will not likely reflect how the rest of the country would vote. When was the last time someone who won the Iowa primaries actually won the Presidential election?  Very rarely does the winner of the Iowa caucuses win their parties nomination let alone the Presidential election. Remember Mike Huckabee?

In an attempt to gain some traction for his lackluster Presidential campaign, Republican Rick Santorum assured his audience that he wants to make welfare a thing of the past. He also reminded them that Medicare is just a plot to make people dependent upon the government.  And in case you didn't know who Santorum was really talking about, he came out and said "I don't want to make black people's lives any better by giving them other people's money."  So according to Santorum's logic, only black people are welfare and Medicare recipients. Since there was no lie detector, Santorum's assertions went unchallenged but that didn't stop him from playing up common stereotypes about black people.  Hmmmm, okay. For the record, my life is made better by other's people money.  I have a job and get paid twice a month.  

I'm certain there weren't any black people in the audience but if there was, they would find a way to co-sign Santorum's outrageous claims. Where are Herman Cain and Allen West when you need them? Anytime a Republican politician wants to score some easy political points they will play the race card. From Ronald Reagan's welfare queen to George Bush's Willie Horton, Republicans have made folly by playing up black stereotypes. Don't believe me, ask Ron Paul.

Iowa is a must win for Santorum, he is desperate. By claiming that black people are welfare recipients who are reliant on the government, he is pandering to a narrow minded group of people who know nothing about black people, have probably never met a black person and believe that all black people making a living off their tax dollars.  Yeah, it's 2012 but we are not living in a post-racial America.  Folks are just as ignorant now as they were in 2011.