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Bush-leaguers and minor leaguers
Used as jargon name for the
minor leagues in baseball, the
term, “Bush-League” has sunk
to a new low. The term was
originally used to point out
unpolished manners, igno
rance, and the lack of dlass.
Interestingly, Bush-League is
commonly used in baseball
parlance and can also be used as
a pun for presidents actions.
Further, George Bush once
owned a professional baseball
team, and now he “thinks” he
owns this country and a major
portion ot the world. His
actions as a baseball team
owner, and as president, give
credence and new meaning to
the derogatory term, “Bush-
League.”
We can start with that Bush-
League budget proposal sent to
Congress? More money for the
warmongers and profiteering
corporate thieves like Hallibur
ton, KBR, Custer Battles, and
other shell companies tormed
by the Bushites, with less
money going to the poor, dis
abled, and this country’s veter
ans.
“Social Security is in a crisis,”
reminiscent of the WMD
GUEST COMMENTARY By Ron Walters
Bridge over troubled waters
The Edmund Perttus
Bridge orosses over the
Alabama River, spanning
these ancient and troubled
waters, providing a symbol
of the triumph of black
people over the denial of the
righ( to vote. | have visited
the shrine of Bloody Sun
day, the many other scenes
of struggle and participated
in the ceremonial marches
to commemorate this event.
What troubles me s
whether the courage exhib
ited by John Lewis, Hosca
Williams and others of their
young band of brothers and
sisters who laid down the
initial challenge to racist
troopers, snarling at them
from mounted on horse
back, clubs dangling at the
ready, is still alive in those
who are the heirs of that
legacy.
In the movement, young
people were our shock
tr()()ps. our p()wcr. }"{QVC our
young people today lost the
courage that it took to con
front the dangerous police
on horseback, or have we
failed to create the opportu
nities for the exploitation of
the courage they possess.
The irony in this is that we
strove to create a world
where our young would not
have to face the snarling
racists and their Billy clubs,
but the dangers to the sur
vival and progress of black
people are not yet laid to
rest and still call forth their
courage to confront them.
If they don’t confront racist
cops, we may want them to
exercise their courage in a
confrontation with the
challenges of their self
development, to finish sec
ondary school and college,
to prepare themselves for
the rigors of work, and to
achieve excellence in their
chosen profession whether
mechanical or intellectual.
We may also want them to
exercise their courage on
scare, is yet another Chicken
Litde Bush-League tactic. Two
things could be done to assure
Social Security’s stability: Make
members of Congress and the
President enroll in the system
and have their benetits depend
ent upon it. The crisis would be
over in a heartbeat; they would
make sure of that. Second, raise
the cap on earnings from
$90,000 to, let’s say, $125,000.
Oh yeah, now we're talking,
The lies and deceit just keep
on coming, folks. Remember
how quickly Bush did his best
impenonation of the Apostle
Peter when his buddy Arm
strong Williams got his tail
caught in the wnnger? It was
Rod Paige’s fault! I knew noth
ing about it! Yeah, right,
( ;u)rgc.
Bernard Kenk. “We didnt
know about his background,”
was the message sent out to the
masses from the White House.
Kerik is the same guy Bush put
in charge of training police in
Iraq; sure he didnt know about
Keriks background. What a
joke! Has anyone heard from
Kernks mentor, Rudi Giuliant,
lately?
behalt ot their community
and its global environment
by adopting a set: of
Atrican-centric and human
-Istic values in the face of the
terrible pressures to con
torm to a totally maternialis
tic paradigm of life. In
short, we may also want
then, desperately need them
to engage in serious struggle
with the forces that stull
continue to oppress our
people, whether it be racism
in policing, consumer
atfairs, housing, education,
work, or international
affairs.
The logical extension of
the legacy of Bloody Sun
day is the arrival of more
than 9,000 black elected
officials, made possible by
the passage of the Voting
Rights Act. I worry whether
they have exhibited the
kind of courage that match
es that of the marchers now
40 years ago. In the courage
of Bloody Sunday was the
hope and expectation that
there would arise a genera
tion of black elected offi
cials who would use the
power given to them by
their communities in leg
islative bodies, to affect pos
itive change in the condi
tion of their lives.
What is the relationship
between the fact that black
people in Alabama and Mis
sissippi are still the poorest
in the nation and yet those
states have the largest num
ber of black elected officials.
Does it raise the question
about how we are using that
power?
I believe in the commem
orations of the struggle at
Selma’s Edmund Pettus
Bridge, but I also think that
we should use the legacy of
courage, sacrifice and com
mitment exhibited on that
day in 1964 as an ongoing
object lesson of what it
AUGUSTA FOCUS
Alberto “Speedy” Gonzales
and Condoleezza Rice. Gonza
les said Bush has the right to
detain folks without due
process and it all right to tor
ture them while they're in cus
tody to. Hell make a good
A.G. wont he? Condi, as she is
affectionately called by her
“husband” (she said it; I didn’),
George W, just a few months
ago, was soaring right up there
with the rest of the hawks, like
Rumsfeld and Cheney. She
now has the interesting job of
playing the dove, and making
peace with those she denigrat
ed, intumidated, and lied to.
Some say she is well qualified
tor the job; she had better be.
Oh yeah, only now that
Condi has been confirmed and
the presidential “selection” has
been made, do, we find out
about memos and strategies
regarding Al Qaeda and its
plans to fly airplanes into tall
buildings. But :Edn’t we already
know they knew? Richard
Clark told us.
What about that mysterious
energy policy over which our
“vice” president presided? As
we now hear tapes of Enron
takes to confront racism in
America.
I am afraid that we have
locked too much of our civil
rights legacy away into a rit
ualistic time-warp of cob
web infested memories that
serve little useful purpose in
the here and now.
What should Bloody Sun
day mean today?
I meet too many young
people in my work whose
parents have tried to steer
them away from the mean
ing of the legacy of being
black in the world, rather
than having them embrace
its self-informing richness.
And I find too many con
fused about self and their
role in the world, having to
find their own way to their
identity and to the purpose
of their lives.
I find too many black
officials having settled for a
job, rather than remember
ing how the job was created,
and having the courage to
pull others up and into a
positive space in their firm,
their agency, their business,
or their productive environ
ment, because too many are
still afraid of the man — or
the woman. Too many have
forgotten the courage that it
took for others to prepare
the world for them, and
lack the decency to give
back to others.
The memory of what was
achieved at the Edmund
Pettus Bridge is in our
imagination, in our culture
and history, to be used not
merely as symbol, but as power
for each generation.
Ron Walters is the Distin
guished Leadership Scholar,
director of the African American
Leadership Institute in the Acad
of government and politics at the
Park. His latest book lis
“White Nationalism, Black
Interests” (Wayne State Uni
versity Press).
executives laughing about rip
ping their customers off, we
might have vague memories of
Cheney saying he would not
release the records of his meet
ings with his energy buddies.
As the definition of bush
league states, “unpolished man
ners, ignorance, and the lack of
class” this Bush definitely meets
the criteria. Manners? Why
would any news reporter want
to be in the White House Press
Corps, (unless your name is Jeff
Gannon, or Jim Guckert, or
whatever his name 1s) and ask
questions that are never
answered, and be insulted and
disrespected by Bush during his
s(»q.lfciia press amfi'rcncas‘i.; In
his last one, Bush allowed one
black female, two white
females, and about ten white
males to ask questions he never
answered. Bush's tone was arro
gant and his responses were
condescending; t[‘: reporters
just sat there and took it. They
should have walked out in
protest, but that would take
backbone, wouldnt it
Ignorance? Well, if you heard
Bush's definition of “tribal sov
ereignty,” as he related it to a
GUEST COMMENTARY By Bill Fletcher Jr.
mEpw
Haiti: One year later
Can it be that it was one
year ago that the duly elect
ed government of President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide was
overthrown? This is the
question that | have been
asked in several recent inter
views. At first glance, it
appears to be something of
a throw-away question,
until one understands that
there is a reason that it is
hard to believe that one year
has passed: in most media
we hear nothing about
Haiti.
The coup that overthrew
President Aristide, a coup
that had the clear blessing
of the Bush administration,
has been responsible for
plunging Haiti into a night
mare of violent repression,
stories of refugees’ attempts
at escape, government
incompetence in the face of
political and natural calami
ties (such as the tropical
storm this past fall), all
shrouded in a deafening
silence in most U.S. media.
With the exception of the
occasional paragraph in
out-of-the-way portions of
international news sections
in papers, and certainly
with the noted exception of
the coverage of Haiti
offered by the Pacifica News
Service, little is discussed
about the devolution of
Haiti since the coup.
There really should be no
surprise there. The reality of
Haiti contradicts the fanta
sy that the Bush administra
tion attempts to promote
about its commitment to
democracy and human
rights. Had the Bush
administration truly been
committed to democracy,
then it would not have
sanctioned a de facto block
ade of the Aristide govern
ment, nor would it have
turned a virtual blind eye as
former right-wing Haitian
fzw:up of Journalists, you would
ow exactly what I mean. Say
what? You have more evidence
of his ignorance? You say he
knew nothing about the exten
sion of the Voting Rights Act
that comes up in 20072
Noooo! Get outta here!
No-bid contracts, Ahmed
Chalabi, Abu Ghraib, Jessica
Lynch, illegal kickbacks, cost
overruns, billions in cash unac
counted for, “bring ‘em on,”
smart bombs and dumb chil
dren, denials, lies, deceit,
Afghanistan heroin, gasoline
price hikes, just say “No” to the
Kyoto Protocols. What's left?
Oh yeah, gay marriages and
abortions. Okay, now we're
bringing it home to black folks.
Bush and his brain, Karl
Rove, slicked black preachers
and some of their flock to fall
for the morality charade; of
course, a lide money on the
side, or under the table, made
things easier, I'm sure. The elec
tion was all about sin. The crazy
part is how they got us so
caught-up in the two sins they
were railing against, and how
we completely forgot the sins
Bush and his flock were com-
military began their inva
sion of Haiti from their
camps in the Dominican
Republic during February
2004. As such, Haiti is a sit
uation that is best not dis
cussed in polite company, at
least as far as the Bush
administration seems to be
concerned.
Nevertheless, the Haitian
people do not seem content
to comply with the Bush
administration’s desire for
silence. Despite overwhelm
ing odds, supporters of
President Aristide, as well as
other believers in democra
¢y, continue to protest and
resist. what Is, in effect, a
puppet regime that has no
international legitimacy.
The tragedy of Haiti has
been compounded by the
role of the United Nations
sponsored Brazilian so
called peacckeeping force.
When the Brazilians were
deployed and the U.S.
troops allegedly removed,
there was a sigh of relief in
both Haiti and among
Haiti's friends around the
world. There were very high
expectations that the Brazil
ian troops would actually
serve as peacekeepers, help
ing to bring an end to the
death squads and other
retaliatory violence perpe
trated against Aristide sup
porters following the coup.
Nothing of the kind has
taken place. This was not a
naive hope, given that
Brazil's President Lula has
been a critic of U.S. foreign
policy and a supporter of
more independent paths of
development. Sadly, the
Brazilian troops are now
broadly perceived as being
an occupation army serving
the interests of the Bush
administration and their
Haitian puppets. These
troops have done little, if
anything, to disarm the
March 10, 2005
mitting and presiding over, sins
such as lying, killing, and covet
ing, Sin is sin, isn' it? On those
recently discovered tapes, Bush
himself said, “...How can I dif
ferentiate sin?”
Now that 1 have thought
about it, the president may be a
Bush-Leaguer, but when it
comes to blacks playing on his
team, we are strictly minor-lea
guers.
James E. Clingman, an
adjunct professor at the Universi
ty of Cincinnatis African Ameri
can Studies department, is former
editor of the Cincinnati Herald
Newspaper and founder of the
Greater Cincinnati African
American Chamber of Com
merce. He hosts the radio pro
gram, “Blackonomics,” and has
wnitten several books, including:
FEconomic Empowerment or Eco
nomic Enslavement - We have a
Choice; Blackonomics; and the
recently published Black-o-
Knowledge-Stuff we need 1o
know. Clingman’s books are
avatlable at his Web site,
wuw. blackonomics.com. He can
be contacted there or by telephone
at (513) 4894132
right-wing military death
squads and other armed
units, but have rather served
more to block the support
ers of democracy from
mounting any real counter
offensive against the crimi
nals currently occupying
p()“’cr.
One year after the coup,
the same issues that con
fronted Haiti and its sup
porters then confront it
now. The U.S., despite the
horrendous conditions in
Haiti, refuses to open its
doors to Haitian refugees,
furthering its discriminato
ry policy towards Haitians
in complete contrast to the
policy towards Cubans.
Haiti, rather than progress
ing toward democracy, has
moved back toward an oli
garchy, as such governed by
a ruthless and rich clique.
Yet, with resistance perco
lating in Haiti, the courage
of the supporters of democ
racy must be reinforced by
friends outside of Haiti who
refuse to permit the situa
tion to remain quietly swept
underneath the rug. This
means that a real movement
to support Haitian democ
racy and sovereignty must
emerge within tfie United
States that is prepared to
challenge the hypocrisy and
belligerence of the Bush
administration on foreign
policy. Silence in the face of
the foreign policy arrogance
of this administration
means only one thing: com
licity in the crimes that
Eavc been unfolding since
February 29, 2004.
Bill Fletcher Jr. is president
of Trans Africa Forum, a
Washington, D.C.-based
non-profit educational and
organizing center formed to
raise awareness in the United
States about issues facing the
nations and peoples of Africa,
the Caribbean and Latin
America. He also is co-chair
of the anti-war coalition,
United for Peace and Justice
(www.unitedforpeace.org).
He can be reached at bfletch
er@transafricaforum.org.
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