the "Family" - watchyoutalkinboutodog?

more pathetic than the paranoic, is the schemer con-artist who tries to make someone paranoid and fails.

After I was drugged, hypnotized, programmed and "enhanced" at the USNRC in the summer of '97 under the direction of the NSF and the SAIC I'd say I have little reason to be paranoid about anything.

Sure, I was worried with the goons watching me after the test run of the project in September of 97, but then I realized they were more worried about me and what I could do, especially since Gore was not going to be President. They all cut and run - after they paid me the money they had withheld.

I sent the goons to the cornfield.

They would be insane to restart that project.

Call me "Sylar".

Watch out for my thumb!

The Clintons owe me big time - so does Bush.

Ain't No Thing.

g.u.n. project

Please be so kind to enlighten us all on "Black Liberation Theology"...As a male I will also inquire at another time about "White Women Issues"...

One cannot let patriotic fervor and nationalistic sentiments blind us to the total scope of American history. Mingled with the words: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free…” are the signs that say: “colored” and “white.” Fused with the words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” are the laws and policies throughout American history that dictated that we were anything but equal. We must understand that America stands as a paradox of realities. And if we understand that, then it isn’t very difficult to understand the words and tone of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Disagree with his ultimate conclusions or the tenor of his sermons, if you will, but it should not prevent us from an honest and open accounting of American history. Let it further be understood and recognized that Jeremiah Wright enlisted in the Marine Corps and served in the Navy during a time when Black churches were being bombed and burned to the ground; when Blacks were being killed and brutalized for trying to exercise their right to vote; when Blacks were being told where they could and could not live and all with the complicity or indifference of the government at all levels. The common belief is that our enlisted men and women protect and defend the liberties that we enjoy which means that Reverend Wright was ensuring rights that he as a Black man did not even benefit from. His story is not uncommon (we see in the movie Tuskegee Airmen that Black officers in WWII had to give up their seats on a train to German POW’s in the South). After the wars, in 1918 and in the 1940s, some Black veterans who would not take off their uniforms were lynched. They had been out in the world, fought for their country, handled weapons, been accepted abroad in a way they never had been at home, and had a different idea of their humanity than Jim Crow would have recognized. Lynching was used as a method to remind Blacks of who they still were. They had survived the bullets and bombs over and in Germany, Italy, France and the thanks for their patriotism and sacrifice were a tree and a rope and their bodies swinging between heaven and earth. And yet they still enlisted and fought and served. To have your humanity questioned while you wore the uniform and to have your patriotism impugned by those who never served is a bitter pill to swallow indeed.

In this Presidential election year, I have often reflected on the relationships of past U.S. Presidents and America’s communities of color (and in particular, the African-American community). I must admit that my reflections have produced frustration on some occasions and confusion at other times. Many of the Presidents that have been deemed great by the historical scholars and critics were clearly and unabashedly racist. The whole of American history has not yet been told in my opinion. The glossing over of some things, the rewriting of others and the complete omission of many historical facts; has left this country woefully ignorant of its own history and the history of its leading figures. I am not a babe in the woods nor am I a political novice; I realize that none of our political leaders have been saints. Nevertheless, that should not excuse us from critical thought and insight as we examine the history of this nation.

Thomas Jefferson for all intents and purposes is considered the chief architect of our present democracy; who called slavery a “national sin” and fathered children by one of his slaves and helped pen the words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.” However, Jefferson’s belief in the inalienable rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” did not extend to Blacks. Further still, his belief in the humanity of Blacks is in question. Jefferson reveals his sentiments in Notes on the State of Virginia by referring to blacks as lazy, slow, unable to reason, lacking in imagination and even spoke of their “unsightly appearance.” To quote noted historian John Hope Franklin: “Unfortunately and tragically, I would say that in a sense Thomas Jefferson personifies the United States and its history. We have the contradictions that began as early as the 17th century and that persist today. And it's no surprise that one of the great icons of all times personifies in his own life these contradictions.” And knowing this does not cause our celebrated third President to be rejected or denounced.

Abraham Lincoln has long been considered the “Great Emancipator” and “Savior of the Union.” His stature in American history has been cemented by the outcome of the Civil War and his now famous Gettysburg Address. I remember learning in school the words: “Fourscore and seven years ago our forefathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Those profound words are contradicted by other, more ominous words of Lincoln when he said: “I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in anyway the social and political equality of the white and black races - that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.” (Fourth Debate with Stephen Douglas at Charleston, Illinois; September 18, 1858). And, no, Abraham Lincoln is not rejected or denounced

Even LBJ, the architect of the Great Society and the catalyst of groundbreaking work and legislation on civil rights was not immune. After King’s now famous speech in opposition to the Vietnam conflict, he was referred to by President Johnson from that moment on as “that nigger preacher.” For this, he has not been rejected and denounced.

I feel at times that I, as a Black man and citizen of the United States of America, am supposed to put my reasoning faculties and my knowledge of American history on hold and join in the mindless and rehearsed chorus of praise for U.S. Presidents and a government that either greatly undervalued or flat out denied the humanity of my ancestors (both my Native & African-American ancestors). I have heard the explanation “they were merely men of their times” too many times to count. What if the targets of historical American prejudice looked like you? What if you were the consistent and constant mark of governmental and societal oppression and discrimination? Would you be as inclined to consider them “great” men? Would you rush to sing God Bless America? Dear reader, I have another question for you: Have you ever considered anyone great who called you lazy, ignorant, ugly or inferior? And yet many in this country take it for granted that ALL Americans should view these men as legendary and noble. The contributions of people of color in building this country cannot be denied or overlooked. America would not exist without their blood, sweat and tears; but historically, what gratitude has this country’s Presidents shown for these contributions? This is what makes Presidential election years such a precarious time for traditionally underrepresented groups. That is the conflict of Blacks and other historically oppressed groups in this country. Recipients, yet not full recipients, of the liberties and opportunities of America; and sufferers of its greatest injustices.

So if in the face of this preponderance of evidence America is not denounced or rejected; if in spite of the sins mentioned we still call for context; if we conclude that these transgressions are only part of the story and not the whole; then why is this same standard not applied to Reverend Wright? The historical and public record shows us that America, at times, tried to damn her darker-skinned children long before the pastor damned it. If I can, with immense joy, recite the preamble to the Declaration of Independence; if I can, with passion, embrace the truths contained in the Gettysburg Address; if I as Black & Native-American man, when I enlisted in the USMC, could hold up my right hand and take an oath to defend a Constitution and a nation that has, over the centuries, not always protected and defended me, then what is America’s problem?