Commission To Study Reparation Proposals For African-Americans Act (HR 40)

In other words, "reparations." That's right, Congress will be looking into ways to make people who have never owned a slave pay money to people who have never been slaves. If there was ever a sure-fire way for permanently damaging race relations, this is it.

I know, there are many blacks out there who blame their own personal conditions on the injustices of the past, but that is a cop-out. Many prominent African-Americans made successful lives despite the history of the United States. Here are a few: Barack Obama, Thurgood Marshall, Jesse Jackson, Bryant Gumbel, Tiger Woods, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams, Beyonce, etc. There is no reason why other blacks cannot be as successful. Blaming past slavery is nothing more than coming up with an excuse for personal failure in present.

This proposal is two things: 1) An attempt to act on white guilt and 2) an attempt at further socialist redistribution of wealth.

The problem is that those of us born after the Baby Boom have no white guilt to give.

Here is the executive summary of HR 40

To acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.

So, why should I pay for something I am not responsible for? Before anyone goes out and says that my white skin makes me responsible, let me first say that my ancestors hail from Amherstburg, Ontario, the northern terminus of the Underground Railroad. In other words, my ancestors helped freed slaves find safety in Canada. If ancestry makes one responsible for slavery, ancestry also absolves one if one's ancestors opposed slavery.

If this abomination somehow manages to pass, it will be just like any other spending bill. Money will be apportioned, then spent and then be gone. The people who recieved and spent that money will then be back in line demanding even more money.

This reparations bill will be nothing more than a foundation for a new welfare system. That will guarantee racist attitudes for a long time to come.

You can access the bill text on-line here:

Commission To Study Reparation Proposals For African-Americans Act (HR 40)
OpenCongress.org
January 6, 2009

John David Powell: Don't Underestimate Race And Trust In Choosing A President

I just got a hold of this article. It is a gem that contains nuggets of wisdom that will go a long way to helping people see clearly what is happening in the politcal arena right now and what will happen in the years to come.

John David Powell takes a look at a couple of the issues we have been facing in this election and how the Obama campaign responded to them compared to how other campaigns responded in the past.

Let's start with playing the race card:

[T]oday, less than two weeks from Election Day, it’s easy to understand why some non-black voters don’t want others to know they do not support Obama. Who can blame them when any criticism or questioning of the candidate of change results in immediate old-school accusations of racism?

I've even had some comments left on certain posts of this blog accusing me of racism despite the fact that the issue of race was never brought up in those postings. Just the fact that I am opposed to a socialist candidate was enough justification for commenters to bring out the race card and a braod-brushed, unsubstantiated charge. As Dustin Hoffman said in Hook: "Bad form."

And we always seem to come back to domestic terrorist William Ayers:

And that brings us to the second factor, the issue of trust. Obama never really condemns the past and current political views of fellow Chicagoan Bill Ayers, pointing out, instead, that Ayers’ terrorist activities occurred when Obama was 8 years old, and, therefore, have no connection to Obama today. If that’s true, then Obama’s position negates the argument of some black people who push for reparations because their ancestors were slaves. That’s because slavery occurred before those living today were born, and, therefore, has no connection to anyone today.

That is a dead-on-target shot that the Obama campaign cannot dodge. If Barack Obama cannot be held accountable for being a friend and business partner to a man who committed terrorist acts when Obama was 8 years old, then neither can white people in general be held accountable for something that occurred long before any of them were even born. To hold such a double standard seems to be standard for the Democrats though. They hold a low standard for themselves and high standard for everyone else.

But what is Obama hiding by not being completely forthcoming with his past? And what is he afraid will happen if his past is brought up and scrutinized by the MSM? He certainly can't be afraid of losing the election. Powell looks at this too:

But Citizen Obama does not fully trust the American people to know his full and true relationship with Ayers, because he does not trust the American people to look at his life and accept him as our president. The American people knew George W. Bush grew up around such neo-con luminaries as Don Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, but we elected him twice to the presidency. The American people knew Bush was an average college student, and at one time was what some would call a drunkard who even lost his driver’s license for drunk driving, but we elected him twice to the presidency. The American people knew Bush was an unsuccessful businessman and person not glib or quick on his feet, but we elected him twice to the presidency. The American people only know about Obama what Obama wants us to know. And mistrust in the judgment of the American people may tip enough votes to McCain, a candidate the American people know well.

Yes, we knew more about George Bush in 2000 than we know about Barack Obama in 2008. We also know more about John McCain than we know about Barack Obama because John McCain is not afraid of people looking into his past.

That's trust.

You can access the complete column on-line here:

Don't Underestimate Race And Trust In Choosing A President
John David Powell
MensNewsDaily.com
October 21, 2008