No one here can or should singularly shoulder the responsibility for the shortcomings in our educational system, but I think we can all plainly see the toll they take on our society.

Re: Africa;

Forget the pants. African society is not American society. African norms of Social and Sexual partner relationships do not follow Calvinist Fundamentalism. Bummer.

I take your point about the continent as a whole though - it's exactly like when I find the biggest house in the neighborhood, rape the mother, shoot the father, sell the daughter to human traffickers, steal all of their electronics and set the house ablaze. Afterwards I often find myself relaxing by the twilight fire wondering how they could let things get so fucked up for themselves in clear conscience.

Re: everything else;

My parents were married when I was born, so I know I'm unqualified to respond as a "bastard," but I'm a southerner if it helps.

I know you're not racist, because racial concerns don't even exist for you. Your assertion that Obama is using the "race card" by virtue of other people calling him black is well taken, however. It brings up a disturbing thread of logic though, in that for this to be true it has to upset a normative "white race card" default mode. As we all know the very existence of racism is a bald lie, because when you're the right color it doesn't (negatively) affect you. Yet we have these people, these... what's the term? These White Media Folk, saying the thing more important than actually governing the country, or legislative experience (Obama and Clinton being generally equal on that) is the relative darkieness of the persons campaigning, ("wouldn't be a serious candidate if he were white") and what's the net result but to bring up belief in racism? Seems like we need to do a better job combating the Lefty Spin Machine by simply downplaying race as any major campaign issue... like Obama had been - then we'd be beating them at their own game (instead of I guess with firehoses).

Don't get me started on Wright - The way he quoted that white man who said that thing about chickens on the news? Makes my blood run cold. And you know Obama and Wright share the same joint brain network as the rest of the minorities - that's how they all know each other. Notice it was a "race issue" all of a sudden? Remember when Pat Buchanan pointed out that 9/11 was God's Judgement for our not having killed all the gays yet? Did he get into any race-based scandals? No - as a matter of fact everybody ignored it. Proof positive racism doesn't exist.

I just can't trust Obama in spite of his reported "accomplishments" and "half-whiteness" because ... well I don't know if he's scratching his cheek when he's talking to me or flipping me off. If he's uppity enough to campaign, imagine if he won? He'd enslave the entire white ra, er... Group of White People so fast it would scratch my Ted Nugent albums.

If Obama won, he'd invent racism. Simple as that. The only way to protect America from racism is to only allow light skinned candidates. For our children's sake.

PS - I have to disagree with you on the relevance of his middle name I'm afraid. To put it in perspective, I've read that your own middle name is "reasoned" but clearly it has never affected your process.