Different Day, Same Shit.

And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?

They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.

When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left him, and went their way.

The sage advice of Matthew 22:20-22 wasn't in the cards for Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy. The man whose actions nearly precipitated armed conflict between federal agents and a devoted group of self-styled militiamen laboring under misunderstood notions of sovereignty and rugged individualism had no interest in rendering unto Uncle Sam what was rightfully his, whether it was $1 million or so in unpaid grazing fees accrued since 1993 or the 58 head of cattle that were initially impounded as a long-coming result of his failure to pay said fees.

In spite of his professed love of country and willingness to express patriotism with profound ebullience, Bundy continues to operate under the belief that the things which are Uncle Sam's are actually his and his alone. It's the same modus operandi that many militia organizations and those within the sovereignty movement operate under: for whatever reason, the governing bodies of the United States are fraudulent and therefore, the militiamen/freemen are free to operate peacefully* outside of the bounds and without interference from the U.S. government, even as they live and work on U.S. soil. Which, by the way, isn't believed to belong to the U.S. but instead falls under the governing purview of the individual U.S. states, following the old conventions of the Articles of Confederation (and tossing the Supremacy Clause out the window as a result).

The militia/freeman movement and tea-party conservatism both feature a variety of overlaps on the Venn diagram of political ideology, so it was only a matter of time before Cliven Bundy became the darling of Fox News and a folk hero among conservatives longing to stick a Second Amendment thumb into the government's eye. You can't tell yours truly that the images of "ordinary Americans" demonstrating their right to bear arms against a government they could care less for (except when it works for them) didn't give other like-minded conservatives at home the warm and fuzzies.

It all could have went south. At least, if it wasn't for the Bureau of Land Management and other federal officials not wanting to replicate the worst missteps of Ruby Ridge and Waco and if it wasn't for the protesters displaying some rather desperate and craven tendencies just to get their point across. A full-fledged shootout between federal officials (framed for this purpose as "jack-booted thugs") and heavily-armed self-styled militiamen (framed as "real American patriots) not only would have made for great television ratings, but it also would have made for a powerful expression of martyrdom that resonated throughout the tea-party contingent and beyond. The consequences of that are best left uncalculated.

It's little wonder that the BLM decided it would be best to back off and not hand Bundy and Co. the opportunity to be remembered as martyrs for a flawed cause. Instead, the FBI's taking a more mundane interest into Bundy's supporters.

---

Meanwhile, Cliven Bundy represents the picture-perfect embodiment of American welfare in one of its most idealistic forms. It was the massive expropriation of land from its former native owners and the introduction of homestead acts that opened the doors to settlement to the "right" sort of Americans that made it possible for Bundy to have his current livelihood**. And it's only through the generosity of the U.S. government that Bundy was and remains able to maintain his livelihood - otherwise he'd join the thousands of farmers who've lost their lands due to debt and foreclosure. There's no telling how many federal grants, subsidies and loans he's applied for so far to help bolster his ranching operations.

In return, Bundy lashes out with a generous helping of furious pseudo-patriotism, all the while using stereotypical views of black Americans and their supposed affinity towards government welfare as a foil for his own brand of "cowboy welfare":

Former conservative media darling Cliven Bundy ran into a tougher crowd on Thursday, when CNN anchor Bill Weir poked fun at both the disappearing act from his former media allies while also questioning Bundy’s claims that he should be able to graze his cattle for free on federal land.

“You are writing off a whole class of people, African-Americans as sort of dangerously dependent because they get government assistance,” Weir said, playing off of Bundy’s instantly infamous press conference earlier in the day. “At the same time, you’re grazing your cows on public land for free. So, how are you not sort of a welfare queen in a cowboy hat?”

“I might be a welfare queen,” Bundy shot back. “But I tell you something, I’m producing something for America and using a resource that nobody else can use, would use or could use and I’m putting red meat on your table. Maybe I’m not doing enough, but I’m trying.”

Bundy's own desultory views of the Negro as better off under chattel slavery serve as red meat for the legions of unreconstructed who hail Bundy as a "freedom fighter" of sorts against "government tyranny," especially now that the Oval Office is currently occupied (or "tainted" as some conservatives may say) by a "socialist Marxist Kenyan."

As with any major cause, there has to be a generous purse lurking in the shadows. In the case of Cliven Bundy, the purse strings belong to a few groups working on the behalf of billionaire industrialists David and Charles Koch:

Two affiliates of the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity are helping conservative media promote the cause of a Nevada rancher who has made violent threats against the federal government.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the conservative non-profit group, was founded by and has been largely funded by billionaires Charles and David Koch. The Center for Media and Democracy reported that in its previous incarnation as Citizens for a Sound Economy, AFP received $12 million of its $18 million in funding from the Koch Family Foundation.

During the 2012 election, AFP spent $122 million in an effort to defeat President Obama and Congressional Democrats. AFP has also sponsored and organized bus rallies and town hall meetings to promote conservative ideas, including deregulation, tax cuts, and opposition to health care reform.

AFP has been at the forefront of spending in the 2014 election, launching several ads attacking the Affordable Care Act which have come under fire for inaccuracy by independent fact checkers. As of March, AFP had aired a reported 17,000 television ads.

Two of its local affiliates, Americans for Prosperity Nevada and Americans for Prosperity Colorado, have become active boosters of Bundy's actions.

AFP Nevada's Facebook page posted a graphic attacking the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for spending "one million dollars" to enforce the court order to round up Bundy's cattle on federal land. Another photo attacked the Bureau for creating a designated "First Amendment Area" for protesters to gather in near the property.

Still begs the question why the Kochs would be interested in supporting the likes of Bundy and Co.:

Matador Cattle Company operates three ranches: Beaverhead near Yellowstone National Park in Montana, Spring Creek in the scenic Flint Hills of Kansas, and the historic Matador Ranch in Texas.

Acquired between 1941 and 1952 by Fred C. Koch, the ranches total about 460,000 acres under management, including about 235,000 deeded acres. They wean about 9,500 calves annually and support more than 12,000 head of cattle.

In this light, Bundy's defiance over paying his grazing fees takes on a whole different perspective. If the likes of Bundy had the power to run roughshod over the BLM, then it becomes much easier for a heavyweight like Koch Industries to steamroll the agency into accepting concessions allowing the conglomerate to access acre upon acre of formerly protected land for its various resource extraction operations.

The Kochs know what's up. As long as they can advance Bundy's interests in maintaining his livestock and livelihood with little repercussions, their own interests also take a few steps forward. If it doesn't work out, it's back to the drawing board for another plan and avenue of attack. Like any good robber baron, the Kochs are always on the lookout for any opportunity for land and profit, even if it means hitching a rough and wild ride with a welfare cowboy.

* Or so they say.
** Despite claims of his family as the area's first pioneers, official records show that the Bundys were relative newcomers to the Bunkerville area. The range where Bundy makes his living was purchased in 1948.

As Field Negro, Redeye and countless others have pointed out, this wasn't necessary. And the same courtesies asked of liberals by conservatives are seldom returned. Just look at what most conservatives have to say about the president's family.

Jason Easley says it best:

"Harris-Perry took responsibility for the segment, even though she never said what the right accused her of saying. Her apology was heartfelt, intelligent, and insightful. It was typical of what viewers see on her program every weekend. What it wasn’t was necessary.

MHP brought up a great point about families being off limits, but that is something that the same critics that have called for her to be fired have ignored when it comes to President Obama and his family. The fact that Harris-Perry has now apologized multiple times raises the question why do those on the left have to apologize multiple times for things that Republicans get away with daily?

Please spare me the argument that the left is somehow morally superior to the right, and thus held to a higher standard. The left, right, and center are all the same. Partisans like to think that they are morally superior, but each are still human being expressing political views that should be held to the same standard.

The problem is that there is a basic hypocrisy in the media that allows the right to not be held accountable bad behavior. Not only is the right allowed to get away with worse things than the MHP segment on a daily basis, but no one on the left is ever cut the same slack.

Harris-Perry turned her apology into a teaching moment. She demonstrated once again why she is one of the best on cable news. However, the apology was unnecessary. The left should resolve to only apologize when the right is held to the same standard of accountability for their behavior. The only way that the media will ever treat them fairly is if it is demanded. "

The bolded reminds me of how a maligned school administration deals with bullies and their victims - the bully can punch as hard as they want for as long as they want (but not in complete clear view of the admins), but if the victim so much as draws back a fist, the administration comes down on them like a ton of bricks. As long as conservatives insist that liberals follow the schoolhouse paradigm, things like this will continue.

While the president's citizenship eligibility has always been a bone of contention among conservatives throughout his term, there's not much ado about Ted Cruz's Canadian heritage:

When Democrat Barack Obama was running for president in 2008, Republican voter Christina Katok of Walden said she believed he was ineligible for the job.

She reasoned that he was born in Kenya and therefore wasn’t a “natural born” American — one of a handful of constitutional requirements for the job. (Obama's birth certificate shows that he was born in Hawaii, but some critics do not accept that as fact.)

Fast forward six years and another freshman U.S. senator, Canadian-born Tea Party firebrand Ted Cruz of Texas, is being mentioned as a potential 2016 presidential candidate. But Katok, who would vote for Cruz in a heartbeat, doesn’t have any concerns about his eligibility.

“As far as I’m concerned, Canada is not really foreign soil,” she said. Katok said she was more disturbed by Obama's "strong ties to Kenya," the African country where his father was born. She also said she didn’t like the fact that Obama did not release his long-form birth certificate during the 2008 race.

Cruz, who recently released his Canadian birth certificate, is at least “up front about it,” she said.

No wonder the alternative spelling for "hypocrisy" involves the letters G, O and P.

What's being left out of the conversation is the real reason why the so-called "birthers" were up in arms over the president's alleged Kenyan origin, despite his fulfillment of all the constitutional requirements for presidential eligibility. Cruz's Canadian birth certificate is of as little issue to conservatives as his heritage or his appearance, both which are sufficiently American enough to pass muster with birthers and Teabaggers who are chafing under Barack Obama's leadership.

Canada isn't as foreign as Hawaii, nor is it as "dark" or "exotic," if you get my drift. Also, Eleanor Elizabeth Wilson Darragh didn't commit the cardinal sin of cavorting with black men or giving birth to a "half-breed," as Stanley Ann Dunham had done. As for his father, Rafael, he managed to bribe his way into the U.S. after realizing that a post-revolution existence in Cuba wasn't as appealing as he previously thought. After his student visa evaporated, so did the elder Cruz's residency in the U.S. Only in 2005 did he remember that his Canadian citizenship would pose problems for his son's political ambitions.

Which should make the younger Cruz's views on immigration a bit softer than those of his contemporaries:

"The 11 million who are here illegally would be granted legal status once the border was secured — not before — but after the border was secured, they would be granted legal status," he says. "And indeed, they would be eligible for permanent legal residency. But they would not be eligible for citizenship."

Or maybe not. The above would turn today's illegal immigrant into an ersatz version of Japan's Zainichi Koreans - able to live in the U.S. as permanent residents, but not able to vote or otherwise participate in politics. It's fortunate for the younger Cruz that such a policy didn't exist during his younger days, otherwise his political ambitions would have been as limited as the average illegal immigrant's hopes of getting U.S. citizenship the safe and legal way.

Out of consideration for the birthers, the younger Cruz not only released a copy of his birth certificated, but he also announced that he would renounce his Canadian citizenship - he has yet to visit a Canadian Embassy and get it all done in writing, for good.

Being the antithesis of Barack Obama in some respects is Cruz's strongest appeal among conservatives. He's neither a "Negroid half-breed" nor was he born in some seemingly exotic locale. Unlike Mitt Romney, he's not some neo-aristocratic nitwit whom conservatives of all stripes had to hold their nose to support, nor is he a visibly batshit insane wet dream for the teabagger types. As long as there aren't any skeletons flying out of his closet, he's a shoe-in as a 2016 GOP candidate.

President Obama’s latest cabinet-level nominees are running into deep resistance in the Senate, pitching Democrats and Republicans into another tense standoff over White House appointments.

Just days after Republicans used Senate rules to block two nominees from moving to the next step in the confirmation process despite the fact that both have the support of a majority of senators, Democrats are planning to force committee votes without Republican consent.

If Democrats do push the nominees through to the full Senate, they would almost certainly set off a Republican filibuster, which would jeopardize the confirmations and, for now, leave vacancies at the top of two federal agencies.

Republicans have objected to the nomination of Gina McCarthy to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, citing what they said were her insufficient responses to their questions. They have also sought to block the labor secretary nominee, Thomas E. Perez, a lawyer in the Justice Department, on the grounds that he is too political.

A third nominee, Penny Pritzker, a wealthy hotel heiress and a top Obama fund-raiser who has more than two decades of corporate experience, has run into resistance since Mr. Obama put her name forward this month to be the next commerce secretary. Republicans are promising to scrutinize her family’s financial dealings, including their use of offshore accounts to reduce their taxes.

Nominees at all levels of Washington’s bureaucracy — 117 of them in all, including cabinet secretaries, judges and members of obscure oversight boards — are facing delays. Just last week, the Senate confirmed David Medine, the president’s choice to lead the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. The time between his nomination and confirmation was 510 days. Every Republican voted no.

The true scandal isn't at the abandoned consulate compound in Benghazi or at the various IRS offices where selective investigations of 501(c)(4) organizations originated. The true scandal lies deep within the hallowed halls of Congress, where GOP legislators are intent on blocking just about every cabinet and agency appointment possible. It's not just to spite the president and roadblock as much of his agenda as possible, but also in an attempt to fulfill their insistence that "big government doesn't work" by making it stop work:

In doing so, Republicans are not breaking the rules of the Senate. They are, however, breaking the Senate itself, and harming the government. As with all legislative chambers, and in fact all democratic institutions, the Senate runs on a combination of formal rules and informal norms. But Republicans, by refusing to accept those norms, make it impossible for the normal machinery of government to function.

And remember that this is entirely unprecedented. Until very recently, simple majority confirmation was the norm on executive branch nominations with only a handful of exceptions. Not only that, but both Democrats and Republicans agreed that in almost all cases presidents were entitled to their choices when it came to these posts.

Unprecedented, but the GOP's made an exception for President Obama since his first day in office. No surprise here.

The surprise is how this story is getting buried underneath the Benghazi and IRS narrative. Well, maybe that's not a surprise, either. At any rate, you can bet your bottom dollar that those two stories will continue to be pushed hard and often by conservative news mavens. This one, on the other hand, won't rate any greater than typical Capitol Hill background banter.

Smartypants has the GOP pegged:

I suspect that any African American who has had success in this country will be able to relate to what is happening to the President right now. Every single move he makes is scrutinized and if he ever shows his humanity by making a mistake, he is likely to face impeachment.

We should all think about that and let it sink in. I'm sure the President is very aware of that fact. He is cautious by nature and that is probably one of the reasons he was able to become our first African American president.

But in this context, caution is called for. He's carrying a lot on his shoulders...more than is possible for me to even imagine. What he needs from us now is to keeps our heads together, focus on the long game, and remember that "no drama Obama" has always been the winning ticket.

Let the Republicans be the party of hysteria. That's what a beast in its death throes does. And to paraphrase what the President said to Mitt Romney..."Please proceed, Republicans."

So far, President Obama has done a marvelous job of letting the Republicans expose themselves as an obstinate, capricious and hysterical bunch. As long as the president continues on this track, he'll remain untouchable and the GOP will hopefully see itself as the Whigs saw themselves in their twilight years.

I suppose CNN didn't want to make a big deal about a black camerawoman having peanuts tossed at her like a maltreated circus animal, since it'll make them look less "balanced" and not "serious" somehow.

Well, she did speak out and like millions of black Americans who have to deal with the daily rigors of being black in these United States, she wasn't surprised at all.

Patricia Carroll, the CNN camerawoman who was assaulted with peanuts and called an animal by two attendees at the Republican National Convention, told Journal-isms on Thursday that "I hate that it happened, but I'm not surprised at all."

Carroll, who agreed to be named for the first time, said she does not want her situation to be used for political advantage. "This situation could happen to me at the Democratic convention or standing on the street corner. Racism is a global issue," she said by telephone from Tampa.

But Carroll, 34, said that as an Alabama native, she was not surprised. "This is Florida, and I'm from the Deep South," she said. "You come to places like this, you can count the black people on your hand. They see us doing things they don't think I should do."

Carroll noted of the Republican convention, "There are not that many black women there."

She's right. There aren't many black women out there, at the convention or in the GOP's voter ranks. You can literally count the number of black people present at the RNC on one hand, not counting anyone who happened to be part of "the help" out back.

Well, Artur Davis couldn't be the only one to hype up the crowd, so it fell to Condoleezza Rice to get the crowd's blood up:

“Ours has never been a narrative of grievance and entitlement. We have not believed that I am doing poorly because you are doing well. We have not been jealous of one another and never been envious of each other’s success,” she said to more cheers. “Ours has been a belief in opportunity.”

Talk about knocking out two birds with one stone - score a hit against Americans complaining about the nation's wealth inequality while giving the so-called racial grievance-mongers a glancing blow. Rather efficient, she is.

“A little girl grows up in Jim Crow Birmingham, the segregated city of the south where her parents can’t take her to a movie theater or a restaurant, but they have her absolutely convinced that even if she can’t have a hamburger at the Woolworth’s lunch counter she can be President of the United States, if she wanted to be, and she becomes the Secretary of State,” Rice said to more deafening, extended cheers of approval. “Yes, America has a way of making the impossible seem inevitable in retrospect. But of course it has never been inevitable — it took leadership, and it took courage and it took belief in our values.”

Juxtapose the above with the current company she keeps - the same people who're actively denying minorities and the elderly the right to vote. The same people who wouldn't have minded if she ended up being one of the four young girls blown up in a church basement in Jim Crow Birmingham.

At this point, someone points out that the people behind Jim Crow were Democrats and that, in a nutshell, the GOP is still "the party of Lincoln" and blacks are stupid for abandoning them for LBJ's Great Society and Civil Rights Act Flavor-Aid. Here's some required reading material that should finally explain, once and for all, how black Americans saw the great big bait-and-switch coming and how they managed to gingerly step across the aisle without missing a beat. I should thank @Jon_Rollings for bringing this up, but his Twitter account wound up receiving a burn notice a few days back. I can't imagine why.*

Meanwhile, the Field Negro is not pleased with Mia Love:

Ms. Love, of course, isn't from Utah. Her parents are Haitian, and she migrated to Utah from Connecticut.

Ms. Love represents the typical immigrant who came to America looking for a better life with her family. Her American experience is not like the American experience of the Negro born in America. She came here looking for a better life, and like most immigrants she found it. You could argue that anything would be better than the Third World existence that most immigrants left behind.

Ms. Love, in her mind, isn't burdened by America's sad history when it comes the blacks who were brought here under quite different conditions. So sadly she doesn't even view herself as one of those American blacks. When her white friends in Utah tell her that she is "different than those other blacks", she actually believes it.

I can speak to this, because I too came to America from a different country. I was brought here by my family as well. The difference is that my parents didn't come to stay. They came for an education and went back home to the country that they loved. I was taught to understand that I am no different than the Negro in America, the only difference is that my ancestors came off the boats just a little bit sooner. Ms. Love is the type of Negro who looks down on the American born Negro, because she has failed to understand their history and where she fits into it.

Yes, the black immigrants who have nary an inkling of nor a desire to understand the experience of black Americans tend to look their noses down on us. And that's a shame, because it leaves them wide open to be played like fiddles in the Tennessee foothills. White Americans love these guys because they represent what they'd rather black Americans should be and therefore, there's no longer any need or effort to understand black Americans on their own terms. Also, having Mia and a score of other black men and women around allows the GOP to maintain its culturally diverse bonafides while the whitest of white bread continues to administer the party and the Oval Office, whenever the GOP can put itself in a position to command it once more.

It says a lot about the GOP's chances of winning black hearts and minds when there are more black folks on stage than in attendance.

*Anyone who still believes in Twitter Gulag should get a refresher course on how Twitter actually works. Slamming the API with multiple posts just seconds apart is a surefire way of going to Twitter Jail. It's why the most devoted and prolific Tweeters have Jail accounts.

Let's get this one out of the way first.

GOP attendee ejected for throwing nuts at African American CNN camera woman + saying "This is how we feed animals." @takeactionnews #TAN
— David Shuster (@DavidShuster) August 29, 2012

Folks, if you want to know why Mitt Romney has a 0% approval rating among black American voters and why most black Americans wouldn't touch the GOP with a ten-foot pole, here's one of your answers. If you're a black American, joining a party whose members have shown callous disregard towards your people  time and again isn't on your to-do list. Gawker's lady-oriented media dish rag Jezebel has a bit more on that story, plus reports that there were two attendees who reached the Ni-CLANG Event Horizon.

Now, juxtapose the above with Artur Davis' appearance at the RNC:


Seems he's still smarting over the fact that 1)black voters wouldn't vote for him in lockstep as he assumed during the 2010 Alabama gubernatorial primary and 2)trying to be a bigger conservative than the most conservative guy in the room while carrying the Democrat mantle is a sure-fire way to lose. Thus, he's taken on the role as the GOP's designated black voice of disapproval over the president in an attempt to rehabilitate his forlorn image. Personally, I think that despite Artur taking up his new role as the succulent black treat for non-crazy swing state voters, he has yet to realize how utterly insignificant he is in his new home.

More highlights to come...

"I don't believe in calling him the first black president," she said, "I voted for the white guy myself. I call him a monkey."

The above comment left the mouth of conservative radio show host Barbara Espinosa, who somehow thinks that her Hispanic heritage excuses the above outburst. More telling was how her guest, Arizona Republican Party Chairman Tom Morrissey, remained silent during the above tirade and the subsequent argument between her and another caller over her remarks.



Espinosa's outburst, along with Daily Caller reporter Neil Munro's disrespectful interruption of the president and, if you want to go back even further, Joe Wilson's ignorant outburst during the 2009 presidential address, are just one of the countless symptoms of a big problem that many Americans still can't own up to. The blatant disrespect of the president stems not from his party affiliation, but from an old problem that has yet to be laid bare for all to see and discuss.

That problem is defined as a complete and total lack of respect for and outright hatred of non-white Americans, most notably black Americans and especially if they happen to occupy any position of power, hold any considerable amount of wealth or both.

It's hard to explain the irrational hatred that comes over a vast swath of white Americans when it comes to the president, from the prototypical Tea Partier to even the most enlightened of liberals, without learning a fair bit of background information regarding the relations between black and white Americans, from the time Africans were involuntarily imported into the U.S. as slave labor to today. As a way to preserve the status of those slaves as such and to blunt the possibility of poor whites and black slaves from joining in a combined effort to demand and extract economic and social equality, the idea of blacks being somehow inferior became embedded within the collective psyche of the nation and it's been nearly impossible to root out ever since. This idea of the "other" as a "naturally inferior being" also affected Italian, Scottish, Polish and Irish immigrants, at least until they were finally able to literally melt into the great WASP collective, a feat that remains a non-option for scores of black Americans for obvious reasons.

Seeing one of these "naturally inferior beings" ascend to the highest office in the land was a literal mind-fuck for many Americans, as it took the world view they were used to and challenged the living daylights out of it. Seeing an "inferior being" suddenly rise to the top should cause you to ask yourself if they were really inferior in the first place. Instead, many Americans doubled down on these beliefs, provoking the formation of oddities like the Tea Party, the racially-charged GOP presidential candidate race and, of course, the copious amounts of disrespect towards a man of color in spite of holding the highest title in the entire country.

For a while, I wondered how would racism look like when visualized in terms of tribes. It's becoming easier for me to explain this as a case of one tribe's fear and subsequent hatred of the other. No matter how you cut it, one tribe just won't stand for being led by someone from the "other" tribe.

Barack Obama is an "other." He was born from an African father and white American mother in a state unconnected to the U.S. mainland and, in many ways, very much foreign. His childhood wasn't like that of the average American child and his experiences were vastly different than others. His appearance, demeanor, speech and style don't match the expectations and assumptions of many Americans, nor do these attributes match the generally accepted expectations and assumptions made Americans have of those who happen to share his complexion and visual identity.

The fact that he is an "other" who is constantly conflated with being aligned with those who share his visual identity is enough to send the psyche of many Americans into a tailspin. Which explains why many are willing to overlook their dislike of Mormons and their suspicions against an effete moderate conservative who is only concerned with monetary/corporate matters to support Mitt Romney, someone whom the Teabaggers treat as a "second-best" choice. A fiery firebrand of a fire starter like Newt Gingrich probably would have been their first if he didn't come with a matching set of bad luggage.

It's less about President Obama's actual policies (which have so far worked towards benefiting the country as a whole) or his behavior in the White House (which has been nothing short of exemplary), but more about how his mere presence as the highest authority throughout the land constantly threatens to destroy the preconceived notions many Americans have about how those who happen to look like him should behave and are expected to behave, in their minds.

If you want a detailed take on this problem, check out Steven Thrasher's piece and then check out the comments in response.

The above comes courtesy of otherwise charming gentleman George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina. Poor George figured he could get away with calling someone a "dick sucker" and a "cunt" without any repercussions. Being this Twitter, George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina's scathing rant was quickly made available to all 36,882 (as of 5/22) of Sandra Fluke's followers and millions of Tweeters all over.

Of course, George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina's outburst was bound to hit the blogs. And once George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina found that out, he promptly lost his shit:

Whoever runs this site needs to take my damn comments off of it. I did not give you permission, nor did you ask me for it. It shows up on google and I will see a lawyer if this doesnt disappear. Ask me before posting bullshit about me. You fuckers had no right.

Sincerely,

George Tierney Jr

You dont get to make the rules. I am the george tierney that made the comments to sandra fluke, not to you..take it off google. If it goes to a lawyer, it will be settled in court, with me getting paid.

Sincerely,

George Tierney Jr

George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina has no idea how blogs work, how the Internet works or how people don't necessarily need your permission to put your stupidity on display. Teenagers who post naked photos of themselves on Facebook only to find them strewn across the Internet can attest to the impossibility of having Internet content taken down. Perhaps George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina should incorporate his person and secure legal and monetary backing from RIAA/MPAA/etc., but lets not give George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina any ideas.

George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina claimed he was using his "inside voice" and didn't deserve being outed. His "inside voice" is the kind of voice that'd get his mouth washed out with soap as a kid or his teeth punched out of his mouth under some circumstances. Twitter and the Internet in general is usually a safe place for keyboard cowards like George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina to safely mouth off.

That's the thing about wielding your First Amendment rights: not only can other people do it, too, but you also have to consider the consequences that follow. George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina simply didn't know how that worked, nor did he really know how the Internet worked. And how his name and location will most likely pass on as a slightly memorable meme and as an example of how SEO spam can wreck someone's shit on Google and other search engines. Sucks for George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina.

George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina should know when to fold and not double down on the stupid, as shown below:


Poor, poor taste, George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina. If he issued a half-assed apology about being sorry if Sandra Fluke was offended, closed his Twitter account and stayed off the Internet for a few years, people might forget about George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina. Or maybe not. George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina is pretty popular on the Internet now that this is out in the open. Maybe George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina can get a reality TV show out of this or something.

George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina
George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, SC
George Tierney Jr. of Greenville, S.C.
George Tierney Junior of Greenville, South Carolina

ERIC BOLLING: What would you call a guy who not only used cocaine, but dealt cocaine in high school and/or college? What would you call that kind of guy?
GREG GUTFELD: The president.

[laughter]

ERIC BOLLING: Besides "president."

No, they're not speaking about George W. Bush's run-ins with the white stuff. Once again, conservative talking heads over at Fox News are doing their best to tag President Obama with what conservatives usually think of blacks (outside of "the good ones" like our old friend, Jesse Lee Peterson). After the media blow-up over Mitt Romney's prep school escapades, they had to use something to redirect attention back onto the president.

Not only did our dynamic duo attempt to suggest our current president had triple beam dreams, but Bolling tried to cement the idea even further into the heads of low-information conservatives everywhere with the following:

SEAN HANNITY: It's -- the biggest campaign donor in 2008 was the media, Eric. What about this issue? Now, he said I was in a daze for years in high school playing basketball. I drank heavily. Used drugs -- plural. He's admitted to cocaine use. And I don't remember many questions about the specifics of his drug use. Where did he get the drugs? Who did he do drugs with? How did he get off drugs? How deep did this go? What drugs did he use? Is that fair?

BOLLING: That's more than fair, and I think he's actually even admitted to buying or selling drugs, as well, which makes it a little bit different.

Bolling apologized, but the underlying message is still out there. You gotta admire (or better still, abhor) conservatives' ability to let loose with lies and coded rhetoric, only to walk it back with quiet, half-hearted apologies, knowing that in the end, the underlying message still hit its mark.

Come to think of it, conservatives are going positively batshit over Obama these days. First, the subliminals from Senator Rand Paul*. Having a gun pointed at the head of a sitting president is generally A Bad Idea™, especially with your smug mug glowing with conceited approval. The Virginia-based National Association for Gun Rights dismissed the ensuing uproar as "silly" and responded with the same gun pointed at Rand Paul's dome.

What's funny about all this is that the president hasn't proposed any type of anti-gun legislation. In fact, he's thrown conservative gun owners a bone or two. Rand Paul and Co. know exactly what they're doing and what kind of message they're sending.

Meanwhile, Obama-induced social psychosis led one West Virginia county to throw its Democratic primary votes in the general direction of a Texas convict:

Keith Judd, the winner over Obama, is also known as Inmate No. 11593-051 at the Federal Correctional Institution in Beaumont, Texas, where he is serving a 17.5 year sentence after being convicted in 1999 for allegedly making threats at the University of New Mexico and also for extortion.

Somehow, someway, Judd was able to get on the ballot and pull out a victory over Obama in Logan County.

Call it the anti-Obama vote or the ultimate protest vote.

Maybe it was the anybody-but-Obama vote.

Whatever it was it wasn’t even close as Judd was able to win by 11 points in an embarrassment to the Obama camp and the national Democratic Party establishment.

With 37 out of 38 Logan County precincts reporting, Judd had grabbed 2,786 votes to Obama’s 2,231, winning 55.5 percent to 44.4.

With nearly 100 percent of the precincts reporting statewide in the wee hours of the morning, Judd was pulling 41 percent to Obama’s 59 and had garnered close to 72,544 votes.

There's a message in here, too. Apparently, Logan County, WV would rather have a convicted felon in office than suffer the indignities of being led by a nigg...ahem. But it wasn't just Logan County that came down sick with a case of the vapors:

The results were even worse next door in Mingo County where Obama was humiliated by 20 points or 1,005 votes by the Texas prisoner. With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Judd had 2,972 votes (60.1 percent) to Obama’s 1,967 votes (39.9 percent).

Judd also won in eight other counties, taking Lincoln, Boone, Clay, Gilmer, Hardy, Tucker, Webster and Wyoming counties.

Obama only beat Judd by 31 votes in Mercer County by a 2,486-2,455 tally.

Judd took Boone County 2,343 to 2,199 in a 52-48 percent margin and also grabbed Lincoln County 1,533 to 1,382. In Wyoming County, Judd won by a 1,428 to 1,085 vote tally over Obama.

The whole state didn't come down sick -- Obama walked away with Huntington and Charleston, the most populous cities in the state.

And since you're wondering how someone cooling his heels in an federal prison in Texas ended up on a West Virginia ballot? Here's how:

Judd, 53, has been a Democratic presidential candidate before, appearing on Idaho’s 2008 ballot, finishing a distant third behind Obama and Clinton with only 1.7 percent of the vote.

Judd, who lists his hometown as Texarkana, Texas, took advantage of West Virginia’s rather liberal ballot access laws to gain a spot in this year’s Democratic Primary – a head-to-head match-up with Obama.

The law requires prospective candidates meet residency, age and other requirements, including a $2,500 filing fee, to get on the ballot.

Judd met those requirements and landed a spot on West Virginia’s ballot – the only state he was able to do so – despite being held behind bars.

Judd was the only candidate on the WV ballot other than the president. As it turns out, it was more about voting against Obama than it was a genuine preference for a jailbird. In the words of Ronnie Brown, "I voted against Obama." Considering how Hillary Clinton trounced Obama back during the 2008 primaries, you could safely say they just don't like the man.

But I wonder if certain people would have stayed home if the only other alternative on the ballot was yet another person of color. I think I already know the answer to that question.

*Rand Paul serves as proof positive of why voting for Ron Paul is A Bad Idea™

Loesch: You're a scapegoat. They're trying to suggest that you said something that you emphatically did not say.

Nugent: Absolutely ... I have never in my life threatened anyone's life. I am incapable of threatening anyone's life. Because, I'm about positive change.

Ted Nugent is now a "positive change agent." A "Come to Jesus" meeting with the Secret Service can do that to just about anyone, especially when the safety of the president is involved. Considering the current status of the man who brought us "Cat Scratch Fever," making threats is about the only way the man can keep himself on the bleeding edge of the constantly moving spotlight.

The above interview is fitting. You have a woman with a pissing fetish talking to a rank coward who did what cowards are wont to do when securely separated by distance and plausible deniability.

Of course, America's Favorite Rented Negro just had to give the Nuge cover for his latest outburst:

"I think he was just expressing maybe his opinion about something and of course everyone wants to sensationalize things but let's leave it up to the Secret Service to interview him and get to the bottom of it...I don't think the Motor City Madman has any ill will toward the President of United States of America,"

Of course not. This is a guy who literally shit his pants and feigned insanity to avoid the draft.

In another effort to lend himself some publicity, Nugent hitched a ride on the Mitt Romney Express to Irrelevancy and Failure. Turns out Romney only wants paying customers on his tour.

What the GOP really wants is less Nugent and more bashing Hilary Rosen for hurting Ann Romney's feelings.

"I'll tell you this right now: If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year."

The above quoted didn't come from some shut-in FReeper on his Gateway 2000 and its blazing fast 56k connection. It came from Ted Nugent. Don't know who Nugent is? He's the guy who made "Cat Scratch Fever." Still don't know who he is? Don't feel bad. Most people wouldn't know who Jason Newsted was, either.

I wonder why he thinks he'll be either dead or incarcerated after Obama wins his second term. Is he planning to make a cross-country trip on a coke/meth/hooker run while keyed up on PCP and "shrooms," only to OD or wind up in the slammer after the cops box in his rented Winnebago and drag him out in his undies, kicking and screaming all the way?

I'll admit, I'm not a rock fan. Never was. From what I hear, Nugent's talent was a marginal one and his appearances in the spotlight came about from controversy stemming from his conservative views. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that the above was simply a way for Nugent to get some well-needed media exposure. Some might say that negative attention beats no attention at all.

And since I'm not a rock fan, I'll let someone who's more familiar with the genre explain why Ted Nugent made such a monumentally stupid statement against the president. Tom Degan has a post up on why "The Nuge" deserves a dunce cap and some time in the corner.

Does this look like a "little thug ghetto monkey" to you? No? Then chances are you're not a Fox News commentator. Behold the fountain of shit that spewed forth from the comments section of this article:

What a shame—a tragedy, really— because the dead lil’ gangsta could’ve used “‘A-FIRM-TIV AK-SHUN” to go to kollige an play footballz and make lotsa cash munny!”

Fast and Furious didn’t work to pass new gun control so now Eric Holder will try the race card.

No matter how crime figures are massaged by those who want to acknowledge or dispute the existence of a Dirty War, there is nothing ambiguous about what the official statistics portray: for the past 45 years a large segment of bIack America has waged a war of v i o l e n t retribution against white America.

Zimmerman was attacked by the man and defended himself with a gun. Zimmerman’s wounds were verified by police.

17 = child. LOL!!!!!!

Let the LIB word games begin.

Yet the “justice department” refuses to prosecute any voter intimidation that involves a blac k as the intimidator.

Why should anyone care about this kid? Because he is of color? People don’t value kids period. They are property. BTW, I am a conservative that cares a great deal about kids. We follow hundreds of cases each year, many white babies and children, none of them get attention. But he does??

Zimmerman felt threatened by Martin’s gang’s actions…this could have possibly lead to these terrible circumstances. Gang violence MUST BE STOPPED OBAMA!

Blacks can do no wrong, period! That is the DOJ’s excuse for becoming involved. 50+ years of being told they are special and entitled and the gov’t’s only focus is to make it so!!

In any event, it appears to be a case of one sc u m bag Cuban-type (Zimmerman) offing some scummy b l a ck kid (Trayyy-Vonnnn)…in some trash neighborhood….

but now, because the dead kid’s a kneegrow, we have:

the BIG BAD FBI on this “important” case…and

the usual BLACK-RADICAL-PROTESTERS who can’t mind their own business!

Gated communities exist because people are afraid….& negros thrive on crime…Look at our prisons.

Need that too….But Negr0s only have their welfare checks….and in any event can’t follow rules

What time do the riots start? Gotta get my popcorn and munchies ready for the “hood” burning!

Funny you never see them rally against the drug dealing murderers that control their neighborhoods. LOL!!!

How does anyone know what this 17 yr old said, Most likely he threw the race card out ” you stop me because I*M B L ACK” and then became threatning. The media alway plants the seed of doubt when when a B l ac k is sh ot by a caucasian

maybe his gang brothers incited violence too?

How’d the kid get into the “gated” community in the first place?

Them monkeys can jump!

This is going to be a tough case. gang violence is hard to prosecute. martin’s gang may even want to retaliate. this is scary

Let’s find out why the “po’ baby” was REALLY there!

The little thug ghetto monkey should have been home doing his homework, not out gang bangin.

I’m just glad Zimmerman didnt miss and hit an innocent bystander.

THIS IS PURE RACIST!! When do you ever see the DOJ investigate the death of a white child??

This is pure B.S I want to see the kids police record even if something is expounged also why was he removed from facebook it says account terminated.Why because his parents are trying to cover his tracks just like if you hit a bus they see Dollar signs.People have dragged data about Zimmerman out where is the kids past.Don’t say he was a good boy prove it.Ask yourself what is more likely to happen any 17 year old kid when you ask a question.A smartass reply I have never and I mean never seen a teenager run unless he did something wrong.I guess no crinimal has ever cased a place when they went to a store.It takes me aback the way all these facts are quoted by people who read one story on a issue.

Who says his gang wasn’t hiding near by?

he could be a good kid, but being in a gang doesn’t help his case

An unfortunate death, but when will DOJ investigate the death of a Caucsasian?

Here we go again— a LOCAL law enforcement matter (no federal issues) is being hijacked by the FEDS because the alleged “victim” is bl a c k! We all KNOW this kid was up to no good and now he’s feedin’ worms. Too bad-ha ha ha!

Last night on CNN Anderson Cooper kept referring to zimmerman as white when he knew he was Hispanic I wonder why

maybe then the kid was not bIack maybe Hawaiian like tiger woods then we can say s p i c s h o o t s Hawaiian

This has Bl ack racist Holder and his all bl ack racist “DOJ Civil Rights Div” written all over it.

Crack Skittles the new disguise

Skittles actually has a couple slang meanings. Could be referring to recreational usage of Coricidin. Also refers to a male getting lipstick marks from young ladies on the member. Taste the rainbow..

You think the DOJ or main stream will report zimmerman was Hispanic not White

That is all it was — just another n i qq er. No loss

He was slinging crack.

Is tea and skittles slang for guns and crack.

Skittles is actually slang for recreational usage of Coricidin.

This is what happens when you join a gang. kids need to learn from Martin’s mistakes

They should have a hunting season in Florida for these drug crazed gang members.

This could have had a tragic outcome. His gun could have jammed. Whew!

At least he didn’t chain him to the back of his truck?!?!?

How long will it take to get all of those little blk curly nappys out of the White House bedding so that the next POTUS can sleep without that Creepy Crawly feeling .

The picture is of an innocent choir boy designed to evoke sympathy for the “victum” and justify the skewed actions of a corrupt department of justice.

the b!ack community has created a sense of fear with the excessive amounts of cr!me and v!olence and the glamorizing and glorification of cr!mes and v!olence through c rap music (term used lightly) and most are rude, crude, nasty and give others the tough guy BS attitude.You people (term also used lightly) made your beds and now have to lie in them………don’t be angry with us or blame us you did this all on your own.

Hunting, maybe thinning the herd…

It is obvious the un-civilized B!ACKS who dwell in the greatist nation on earth have never wanted to be part of the TEAM, they CRY and P!SS and MOAN at every given oportunity about fairness and equality, While lining up for the free ride at welfare.
The United States is cursed with these baboons, Who will never gain the ability to stand up and make it on their own without our help.
They are the eternal retarded stepchild , needfull and helpless until the end of time.

Now the family of the kid has lost there way out of the ghetto.

ANOTHER TOOKY WILLIAMS, ABORTED.
GOOD SHOT ZIMMY. lol

Trayvon Martin was not a little "niqqer." He wasn't a thug and he wasn't a gang member. He was a normal, everyday American kid who was executed by a man who saw him as a "threat" for the same reason the Fox News commentators saw him as a "little thug ghetto monkey." It's the perfect example of Extreme Color Arousal, in digital form.

I couldn't be Trayvon's parents right about now. To lose your son over senseless, racially-charged bullshit and stumble upon THIS...

H/T to Little Green Footballs for exposing this. Chances are Fox News will remove the comments section altogether on this story, just as they did when they caught flack for those on the Whitney Houston article.

If this article dealt with the death of a white child at the hands of a white man in similar circumstances and the comments were this acerbic and hateful towards that child and whites in general, those comments would be axed at the first opportunity, out of consideration for the family of that slain child.