Why Southern Democrats are on the skids...

I will dedicate this blog post to the truth as to why Southern Democrats are on the skids.  It has all to do with the miraculous cloaking of so many leftover Dixiecrats in many positions of these state parties. Like YouTube sensation, Cadillac Kimberly said, "I don't go IN on anybody.  If I was going IN then I would put on a Teflon vest.  I speak the truth".

Most Southern white Democratic politicos aren't shit. It started with the American Civil Right Movement and the fight for equal rights, liberties, and protections for people of color (non-whites) under the law.  Most Southern states until the 1970s were dominated by Democrats.  Due to the Democratic party history of aligning itself with the New Deal programs championed by Franklin D. Roosevelt that benefited a great deal since it provided electricity and other modern amenities that others in the Northeast and Midwest had for a couple of decades.  However, this whole allowing "others" equal treatment and rights just didn't (and still doesn't sit well with most white Southerners).  These voters are called a love term known as Dixiecrats.  Oh yeah, don't let the dissolution of the "party" fool you at all, they still exist but are more covert about their ways...

In the South, many state Deep Southern Democratic parties like Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Georgia have coddled these type of voters with "Yellow Dog", "Blue Dog", or just plain conservative Democrats to conserve their partisan majority of their state legislatures.  This was at the advantage of productive socially progressive and many times fiscally sound decisions to better their respective states.  However, by the "1994 Wave" in states like Georgia, Democrats lost both houses of state legislature due to this persistent of coddling of a group of voters in areas where you know the white voters will associate Democrat label to "bettering others over them".   Now this "wave" has finally come to Alabama in form the same occurring nearly 15 years after neighboring Georgia.

In both states cases, the state Democratic party leadership has spent so much political capital trying to keep Democrats whom would turn on their own in a heartbeat in their ranks.  Now as a political independent, I'm all for fighting for your constituency, but there is a thin line between being a champion of the people and a selfish bastard. The recent episodes in Alabama and Georgia has shown that these types can play-pretend to care about the people but still get away for bloody murder in a gerrymandered or racially imbalanced district.

Many of these types are the latter because the now curious case of soon-to-be former Florida congressman, Alan Grayson, stood to the very end as a champion of the people and socially progressive leader although a number of the foolish asses in Florida's 8th congressional district that will listen to the sound of water boiling and think it's a platform.  (Interesting side note, FL-8 is a district that includes the eastern and northern portions of the city of Orlando, which are both predominately white, whereas the western side and more racially diverse side of the city is in another district.  This is all while the majority of FL-8 is west of the city of Orlando itself.  Another case of gerrymandering...)

What needs occur from here on out is Democrats realize that any white politico that spends more time basically speaking in cues about blocking social progress especially those that benefit non-whites and lower class shouldn't be trusted.  It seems more like these types have a demographic, mostly white males over age 50 years.  That can be traced back to the fact that they were born during or prior to the Civil Rights Movement and doesn't seem to have actual respect for the rights of those different than themselves.  It's time for them to take out the trash and make sure it doesn't stick around for more issues.

Oh yeah, let's not confuse these types with moderate Democrats, whom will actually support socially progressive stance, but show resistance to somethings on fiscally sound grounds.  Those types aren't a part of the problem because when push comes to shove involving social progress they tend to be on the right side of history.

The South continues to be home of the most fat asses

Not surprise to me, but the report issued by Trust for America's Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation depicted that the South is home to 9 of the 10 fattest states in the nation for adult obesity.

Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and West Virginia are all in the top 8 depicted by the bright red color.  The other 2 spots in the top 10 is South Carolina at 9th with North Carolina and Michigan tied for the 10th place.  Georgia and Florida are the only Deep Southern states that lucked out this time around, but that may have much to do with the existence of Metro Atlanta for Georgia and the big 3 in Florida (South Florida, Tampa Bay, and Orlando).  This is embarrassing considering this region is also home to the nation's highest number of black Americans, but on the flip side home to the highest level of abject poverty as well.  It's like if you live in the South then you are already predisposed to be fat because of the lack of infrastructure conducive with mobility, economically or physically.  The region has the lowest amount of public transit infrastructure availability and usage amongst the nation's major metropolitan areas.  Let's not forget the lack of adequate health care services.  Pathetic and scary.

Oh brother, Mississippi is still doing this...

On Tuesday, Senior Judge Tom S. Lee serving in the U.S. District Court of Southern Mississippi had to issue an order requiring that Walthall County in Southwestern Mississippi to desegregate their school district.  Apparently, school officials were allowing a large chunk of the white students to transfer to a majority white set of schools while depleting any sense of diversity in the reminder of the county schools, which are majority black. 

WASHINGTON – A federal court has ordered the Walthall County, Miss., School District to eliminate policies that have resulted in significant racial segregation among students in the school district, the Justice Department today announced.

The United States filed a motion on Dec. 21, 2009, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi arguing that the Walthall School District is in flagrant violation of a prior court order from 1970, the Equal Protection Clause and Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"More than 55 years after Brown v. Board of Education, it is unacceptable for school districts to act in a way that encourages or tolerates the resegregation of public schools," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. "We will take action so that school districts subject to federal desegregation orders comply with their obligation to eliminate vestiges of separate black and white schools."

According to the motion, the district's practice of permitting hundreds of students – the vast majority whom are white – to attend schools outside their assigned residential attendance zone without restriction prompted a disproportionate number of white students to attend a single school in the district, leaving a number of other schools disproportionately black.

Indeed, evidence in the case suggested that the community regarded certain schools in the district as "white schools" or "black schools." The United States also asserted that officials in certain district schools grouped, or "clustered," white students together in particular classrooms, resulting in large numbers of all-black classes at every grade level in those schools.

The order issued today by the court requires the district to modify its transfer policy to permit students to transfer to a school outside their residential zone only if the student can demonstrate a compelling justification for the transfer. The court further ordered the district to implement protocols to ensure that students within district schools will hereafter be assigned to classrooms in a manner that will not lead to segregation.

The enforcement of the Equal Protection Clause and Title IV in school districts is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

According to the Washington Post:

For years, the local school board has permitted hundreds of white students to transfer from its Tylertown schools, which are about 75 percent African American and serve about 1,700 students, to another school, the Salem Attendance Center, which is about 66 percent white and serves about 577 students in grades K-12. The schools are about 10 miles apart.

Salem became "a racially identifiable white school while the student enrollment of the Tylertown schools has become predominantly black" because of the transfers, U.S. officials alleged in December, based on data from the 2007-08 school year, according to Lee's order.

At the same time in Tylertown four K-12 schools, "District administrators group, or 'cluster,' disproportionate numbers of white students into designated classrooms . . . resulting in significant numbers of segregated, all-black classrooms at each grade level," the judge wrote, summarizing the Justice Department lawyers' case.

So the clustering of white students in majority white school and the cluster of black students in other school, huh?  Well, Mississippi Department of Education have a lot of explaining to do considering they likely knew of this when they did their annual enrollment and demographic profiles of each schools in each school district.  Considering this is the notorious for being still practically "Indentured Servitude Country" aka Southwestern Mississippi, I just not surprised that is occurred here at all.  This is portion of Mississippi that is still stuck in the early 20th century in so many ways more than one can explain.  Mississippi is making a name for itself this year and it's only been 4 months in; first, with the prom fiasco in Itawamba County and now this ignorance.  WOW, WOW, WOW! 

My open letter to Constance McMillian

This is my official response in form of a letter to the scheme that apparently Itawamba County School District officials and parents did this past weekend to Constance McMillian, her girlfriend, and a handful of other students.  They invited Constance and those others to an alleged fake prom while hold an actual prom sponsored by the school district unofficially at another location and later confirmed by the local newspaper, Tupelo Daily Journal.  Apparently, the parents and the officials of the district felt it was more important to scheme and set a ploy so that the district wouldn't be held in contempt of court, and with that alone I shake my head.

Dear Constance,


I understand your aggravation and disappointment with your local school district, the parents, students, and even the federal justice system on the case of your senior prom this year.  It's clear that the school district's legal team has made it apparent that the prom isn't an official school event, so the federal judicial circuit could not force them to invite you and your girlfriend or hold it as originally planned.    However, I look at this as a blessing in disguise as you wouldn't have to subject yourself or your girlfriend to the foolishness those idiots have been in their hearts and soul because of ignorance.  If that was me, I wouldn't want to be in the company of anybody who doesn't appreciate my time or presence.  People like your fellow classmates, their parents, and school officials are what is wrong with a great chunk of the South and Midwest where people find it A'OK to discriminate, but you and your girlfriend should graduate from school at the end of next month and move somewhere you and her can live productive and happy lives rather than entertain the idiocy of a significant number of citizen in northern Mississippi.


Sincerely, 


J.L. 

Road rankings and Georgia still fairs better than Alabama

In the Readers' Digest ranking where they looking at the quality of roads and the most deadliest states for DUI, speeding tabulated from the Federal Transportation Administration from 2009.  According to the rankings, Alabama is the 9th deadliest state for roads in general and driving under the influence of a controlled substance and #1 for speeding.  The good news is Alabama has the 28th best roads in the nation based on the quality rankings.  However, our eastern neighbor, Georgia, has the 9th best roads based on the quality rankings, but is 20th deadliest state for roads overall.  Other Southern states are as followed: Tennessee was #19 for best roads, #15 for deadliest roads; Mississippi was #38 for best roads, 6th for deadliest roads and DUI, and 2nd deadliest for speeding; South Carolina was #35 for best roads, 3rd deadliest roads and deadliest for speeding, and 2nd deadliest for DUI; North Carolina was #36 for best roads and 17th for deadliest roads; Florida was 20th for best roads and 14th deadliest roads; Louisiana has the nation's worst roads (#50), 2nd deadliest roads, and 3rd deadliest for DUI; Arkansas was #31 for best roads, 5th for deadliest roads and #10 for deadliest for DUI; Texas was 29th for best roads, 16th for deadliest, 8th for deadliest for DUI, and 10th for deadliest for speeding; Oklahoma was 46th for best roads and 11th deadliest; Virginia was #9 for best roads and 40th for deadliest; Finally, Kentucky was 34th for best roads and  7th for deadliest.  The link for the full list is here.

However, the Southern states got mixed reviews, but the larger states were the ones with better roads than the smaller ones who seem to all rank poorly on the good rankings.

Oh, WOW! Step away for a week and all hell breaks loose...

In Virginia, Bob McConnell pretty much tells his own State Attorney General to STFU on the whole removal of non-discriminatory language from state colleges and universities.  McConnell's own words:  "It was very important for me... to say discrimination will not be tolerated, and there will be sanctions for anyone that engages in discrimination."  Now, that's what I call COMEDY!  He told Mr. Cuccinelli to shut his shit the fuck up on the political grandstanding against LGBTs in Virginia.  Also McConnell is covering his own ass so he won't be seen as an overt bigot but not as a "traitor" to the socially conservative cause. 

The officials in Itawamba County, Mississippi, decided to cancel the main county high school's prom because of a lesbian couple want to attend together as a couple.  Now, unlike what went down at Thraptown High School in Franklin County last year in Northwest Alabama, these students both attend this high school, so the circumstances have a more internalized effect.  Whereas, the Franklin County situation was their "justification" of outside-of-district, but it was soon resolved when the lack of logic and rationale of the argument was exposed for the world to see.  However, in the case of Itawamba County in Northern Mississippi, the officials are standing by their guns so one of the teens has filed a lawsuit against the school district in federal court.  In all likelihood, she will win because the school isn't violating any real policies since they are both students of the school at an event just hosted by not an official event of the school. 

In Texas, a state that I've always considered a lost cause socially and politically, the state board of education has approved a referendum that would enforce an ultra-conservative curriculum in state public schools.  An ultra-conservative faction within the Texas Board of Education was successful in injecting conservative ideals into social studies, history and economics lessons that will be taught to millions of students for the next decade.  They want to remove mentions of the Enlightenment period and Thomas Jefferson from the state curriculum and replace these with the discussion of John Calvin and the Judeo-Christian ideology of the nation.  Also mention the nation is not a democracy, but constitutional republic.  Now, that is true about the last part, but the rest is bologna.  However, I stand my statement that Texas is a lost cause politically because it is one of those places where you see more ignorance-based emotional foolishness pedaled than logic.  Let's be real, the only real election there is the Republican elections because outside of Dallas, Houston, and Austin, there is little to any progressiveness in the state, and even then I wouldn't waste my time trying to move there.  Honestly, Austin doesn't count because it is too damn whitewashed for politically because the non-white population is too small to make any real affect, so that "Keep Austin Weird" crap is for the birds.  It's a crazy state where you have to give the side-eye to altogether. 
 
Also in Oklahoma, another lost cause, the state senate has approved a bill that would become an amendment of the state constitutional allowing the law enforcement to chose not to assist federal officials in the investigation of hate crimes.  Here's some of the bill's language:  Under the new provisions of Senate Bill 1965, reports that were collected during investigations of possible hate crime that did not end in a conviction would be destroyed or kept by the Oklahoma Bureau of Invesigations.  The bill originally was to investigate the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association, but state senator Steve Russell, a socially conservative Republican from Oklahoma City and former army commander at Fort Hood in Texas, was the one who perverted the bill into its current form.  I'm going to take some words from Dr. Martin Luther King, "an injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere".  Especially in a racially-aversive state like Oklahoma, where if you are non-white, LGBT/SGL, or anything out of the WASPy-ordinary then you are subject to be a victim of this ignorant law.

Meanwhile, here in Alabama, a caravan of idiots, OOPS!  I mean Birmingham City Council members, mayor, and some of their staffers are going to the National League of Cities conference in DC this week.  However, they are practically leaving the city without any really leadership.  The jackal, William Bell, just announced last week that the city is going to have to make cost-cutting measures such as delaying funding and contracts for the rest of the fiscal year, yet he along with the rest of the caravan of idiots are going to DC blowing $31,000 of city funds.  Now, Carole Smitherman is staying behind and politically grandstanding saying "somebody has to man the shop".  Yeah, the judgment is clear that all of the leadership in Birmingham is idiotic and irresponsible as hell as far as I'm concerned.  Who in the fuck goes on a trip and then takes their staffers as well to when you have a $77 million gaping hole in the budget?  Smitherman, you are just as irresponsible as the rest in my book because you knew what has been going on since jump and just trying to reconcile your reputation with folks, but it's tarnished so save the drama for ya mama.  SMDH

Oh yeah, the jackal and that xenophobic third-generation Greek immigrant mayor of Hoover, Tony Petelos, wanted to question the financing of the monstrosity that is being forced-fed on people in the Greater Birmingham area.  Here's a clue you two morons, why don't you flat out and oppose the thing instead allowing this bullshit to be constructed? Also the Battle Royale of 2 white women with power trips is amusing to me, Jefferson County Commission President Bettye Fine Collins and Jefferson County Treasury Jennifer Parsons Champion over the distribution of federal funds that were allocated from the federal stimulus package last year.  CUTE, BUT YOU BITCHES ARE BOTH STUPID...

That's what been going on that I want to talk about in the past week, and I'll be back to regularly posting probably this week...

Haley Barbour and his recklessness of MS HBCUs and a womens' university

A little late, but still new to me...

Last week, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour proposed a cost-cutting plan to merge all the state-funded historically black colleges and universities into one saving a whooping $35 million dollars out of a state budget that is running hundreds of millions in deficit for Fiscal 2010.   There is also plans to merge or do away with the women's institution, Mississippi University for Women into Mississippi State University. 

"Under Barbour's plan, no campuses would close but Alcorn State and Valley would be merged into Jackson State. Each of the smaller schools is roughly 100 miles from Jackson. Barbour said the merger would save money by reducing administrative costs and eliminating academic duplication. He also wants to consolidate Mississippi University for Women with nearby Mississippi State University. The governor said the restructuring could save the state $35 million out of a nearly $5.5 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.The black university presidents have made clear they want to remain independent."The governor's proposed budget cuts will change the face of higher education in Mississippi for decades," JSU President Ronald Mason said in a statement. Alcorn State President George Ross said the university leaders didn't find out about the plan until Monday."

Now his plans calls for the merger of Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State universities into Jackson State University (JSU) in Jackson.  The state only has 3 publicly-funded universities, but the thing is that those other 2 besides JSU are all rural universities serving the very impoverish regions of Mississippi's Black Belt and Delta regions where like in Alabama, it's predominately black. 

Before I attack Barbour, I'll be pragmatic for a minute and say this: HBCUs were very pivotal institutions for providing the educations for a significant number of black leaders who led cultural and scientific breakthroughs for modern society here in the US and the world over.  However, since the Civil Right era they become mostly cultural hubs for young blacks who want to get a taste of black culture for the first time or places where alums come back to every year for the homecoming festivities.  On that I digress, the majority of them are publicly funded (barely) or privately funded with lacklaster results from alums and donors.  The exceptions to this rule are Howard, Hampton, Clark Atlanta, Morehouse, and Spelman. 

However, this is clearly callousness on Barbour's part, who for the record said last week that, "a state with about 2.9 million residents can't afford eight universities. He said Monday he's not worried about appearing racially insensitive with his proposal." 

There it is for you, another Southern white governor that doesn't care, but that's too simplistic because he is also the former Chairman of the RNC in the 1990s and current head of the Republican Governors Association.  Also Barbour could careless since he is term-limited and can't run in 2011, but this will buy him some cool points with that "certain demographic group", i.e., rural whites.  However, this doesn't stand a chance in hell of passing Mississippi State Legislature in the 2010 general session due to the shear numbers of the black legislators and how barely helps their deficit.


Oh, the irony!