Can Racism Drive Blacks Insane?

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Sunday February 04, 2007 · 6:48 AM PST

2007/02/04 · 06:48

One insult would not derail most people,
but the cumulative effects of a lifetime of insults is clear.

Cross posted at MYDD.Com.

Once during my second marriage, I led a group to the State House as part of a statewide project requesting more funding for English as a Second Language projects. As the local managing attorney for a national organization, I led a group of ten mostly white people to the State House, to meet with a white legislator from our district, with whom we had a prearranged appointment.

We were led into the walnut lined halls of the legislative office and I introduced myself first the legislator’s secretary and then to the legislator, proffering my organization’s well-recognized business card.

The first thing the white legislator said to me when receiving my business card was, "You’re a lawyer"? He asked me incredulously, but I could not immediately understand his disbelief.

manic lawyer

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Friday February 02, 2007 · 4:29 PM PST

2007/02/02 · 16:29

If Fox News is to be believed, there is a growing consensus building around the presidential candidacy of Senator Hillary Clinton:

Hillary Clinton continues to have a sizable lead, receiving the backing of 43 percent of self-identified Democrats, compared with 15 percent for Obama, 12 percent for former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and 11 percent for former Vice President Al Gore. No other candidates reach double-digit support. Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, who made his candidacy official this week, comes in fifth at 4 percent. FAUX NEWS

More poll data and some conjecture below the break.

manic lawyer

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Thursday February 01, 2007 · 1:47 PM PST

2007/02/01 · 13:47

Last night, I watched one of the old "Carrie" movies with my daughters. I noticed immediately and pointed out to my daughters that, although there were many African-American walk-on actors in the background of the movie, none of the Blacks actually said anything at all. There were many African-Americans, but they were cast neither as friends of Carrie nor as friends of Carrie’s tormentors, not as teachers, parents, police or medical personnel. They were nothing, literally seen but not heard!

manic lawyer

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Tuesday January 23, 2007 · 5:26 PM PST

2007/01/23 · 17:26

If You Don't Like Third Way Politics, You Might Have Difficulty With Barack Obama's Politics.

I’ve finished reading Senator Barack Obama’s "Dreams from My Father", which I gave glowing reviews in a previous diary, and now I’m reading Senator Obama’s "The Audacity of Hope", which I find quite insightful and thought provoking. I confess that I have only read the first 70 pages, yet certain things stand out so far:

Obama says of Bill Clinton’s Third Way politics: (Please follow me beneath the fold.)

manic lawyer

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Monday January 22, 2007 · 6:24 AM PST

2007/01/22 · 06:24

After reading a diary yesterday about John Edwards’ voting record, many of us are are unhappy that Senator John Edwards voted back in 2001(?) in favor of limitations on the ability of poor and working-class families to file for bankruptcy. As a guest blogger at Think Progress on October 14, 2006, John Edwards wrote:

It’s well past time to install leaders who care about issues like predatory lending, rising mortgage foreclosure rates, increasing the minimum wage, and helping middle and low-income families. Americans deserve leaders that have the backbone to stand up and do something about their concerns. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again until it’s a reality — we need a government that works for all of its people, especially the most vulnerable among us. http://thinkprogress.org/...

manic lawyer

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Sunday January 21, 2007 · 3:16 PM PST

2007/01/21 · 15:16

Mrs. Barack Obama (Michelle) is a Very Impressive Woman

Now that Barack Obama is in the presidential race, the newspapers and blogs are even more interesting for me to read on a daily basis. For example, although American media and government resources are usually focused on black arrests and detentions, news articles about Senator Obama's high-powered professional wife show me that his candidacy is going to be good for America's appreciation of Black people overall, introducing a real-life "Cosby Family" to an America where real examples of such families have been mostly invisible to the media. Now, Obama family details presented in today's Chicago Sun Times show Michelle Barack to be a real-life "Claire Huxtable" figure.

manic lawyer

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Sunday January 14, 2007 · 12:42 AM PST

2007/01/14 · 00:42

I’m reading Barack Obama’s "Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance" ($8.97 at Amazon.com). This book is not a political tract but is something much more important and beautiful. It is a deeply thoughtful literary work about what it means to be a Black man, an autobiography on a literary par with "Manchild in the Promised Land" and the "Autobiography of Frederick Douglas", with the narrative fluidity and honesty of E. Lynn Harris' novels. "Dreams from My Father" is about Barack Obama’s successful personal journey to becoming a Black man who values himself and commits himself to making a difference in the world rather than succumbing to self-hate, insanity or self-destruction.

Poll

42 votes Show Results

Have you read one or more of Barack Obama's books?

42 votes Vote Now!

Have you read one or more of Barack Obama's books?

I have read "Dreams of My Father".

8 votes

I have read "The Audacity of Hope".

8 votes

I have read both "Dreams of My Father" and the "Audacity of Hope".

13 votes

I have read neither "Dreams of My Father" nor the "Audacity of Hope".

13 votes

Why I've Left America: Making a Contribution in Brazil

manic lawyer

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Sunday October 29, 2006 · 5:30 PM PST

2006/10/29 · 17:30

Dear DK Readers and Supporters of the Brazilian Peninsula Project:

This is a letter of great thanks and an update with photographs for all the DailyKos readers who have offered spiritual and material sustenance to the Brazilian Peninsula Project, which provides the only functioning Internet access for 4,000 Indian families and tourists on small but incredibly beautiful peninsula on the east coast of Brazil. We started this project in August 2006 and offered the first Internet access in October, with financial help and many constructive and practical suggestions from DailyKos members. I wrote the letter below to one DailyKos member who contributed $25.00 to the Project, but I also want to share this with all of you now, with photos:

Teachers and their students using the Internet Cafe
Read More

Spirituality at DailyKos: One Guy's Version

manic lawyer

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Friday October 27, 2006 · 9:57 PM PDT

2006/10/27 · 21:57

Since August of this year, I've been contributing time, money and a heap of my spirit to start an Internet access point for the indigenous residents of an isolated peninsula on the east coast of Brazil. Helping to start the Brazilian Peninsula Project has been one of the best experience I've had in recent years. [ http://www.dailykos.com/... ] I've published diaries about this at DailyKos, and also about my experiences with manic depression. [ http://www.dailykos.com/... ]

Since I began publishing these diaries, many DailyKos readers have been exceptionally supportive, sharing with me their personal experiences with mental and physical illnesses as well as making contributions to help support the Internet access point I've been helping to start in an isolated indigenous community on the East Coast of Brazil. Read More

Brazil's Pres. Candidates Both Commit to Natl. Health Care

manic lawyer

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Tuesday October 17, 2006 · 12:17 PM PDT

2006/10/17 · 12:17

Compared to the United States, what is shocking about Brazil's presidential contest is the overwhelming consensus between the presidential candidates and the population about the Government's role as a principal provider of health care and medicines. Both current presidential candidates in the October 9th run-off, center-leftist Inácio Lula Da Silva [ http://pt.wikipedia.org/... ] and more market-oriented Geraldo Alckmin, Governor of the State of São Paulo [ http://pt.wikipedia.org/... ], publicly agree that government provision of national health care is essential. Read More

Nyceve Is Right About Medical Tourism

manic lawyer

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Tuesday October 10, 2006 · 6:35 PM PDT

2006/10/10 · 18:35

In a diary of yesterday, nyceve told of a friend who traveled to Thailand for dental care because dental care is "ridiculously cheaper" in Thailand. [ http://www.dailykos.com/... ] Nyceve said,

For some reason when it comes to our mouths, the insurance industry has successfully removed the oral cavity from the rest of our bodily organs. Hence the dental industry has become the preserve of the rich. There is no way average Americans can maintain their oral health--the costs are simply prohibitive. Obviously, even the middle class can no longer afford the crippling costs of dental care. Look no further than my neighbor who is on his way to Thailand.

This really struck a nerve with me, as did Nyceve's closing question. Read More

Saturday Night in Brazil

manic lawyer

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Saturday October 07, 2006 · 11:36 PM PDT

2006/10/07 · 23:36

It's Saturday night in Brazil! I "should" be attending the Cajun-like Forró dance party next-door. In the Forró dance hall, pleated dresses are twirling in the darkness, men press the small of women's backs with the left hand while leading tem about with the right, to and fro, around and about the dance the floor, to the insistent beat of base drums, accordion and guitar. Laughing and gaeity reign. It's really not my scene. I feel more comfortable in my element, writing about . . . life. Read More

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Can Racism Drive Blacks Insane?

Fox News Has Senator Clinton's Lead Increasing

Silence of the Blacks

Weighing Senator Obama's "Audacity of Hope"

Comparing Votes on the Bankruptcy Bill

The Woman Beside Senator Barack Obama

Barack Obama's "Dreams from My Father": It's Beautiful

Why I've Left America: Making a Contribution in Brazil

Spirituality at DailyKos: One Guy's Version

Brazil's Pres. Candidates Both Commit to Natl. Health Care

Nyceve Is Right About Medical Tourism

Saturday Night in Brazil