A New York Times article by Serge Kovaleski, Obama’s Organizing Years, Guiding Others and Finding Himself, attempts to speak well of Obama but it appears that Mr. Kovaleski is willing to do what a journalist is supposed to do–tell the truth. In the article, Kovaleski writes of Obama’s "organizing years" (all three of them…) in Chicago [Kovaleski interviewed Gerald Kellman, the man who hired Obama for the job]:

It is clear that the benefit of those years to Mr. Obama dwarfs what he accomplished. Mr. Kellman said that Mr. Obama had built the organization’s following among needy residents and black ministers, but “on issues, we made very little progress, nothing that would change poverty on the South Side of Chicago.”

When he ran for the Senate in 2004, Mr. Obama told members of the community organization that had employed him that “when I left to go to law school, I couldn’t tell exactly whether I had gotten more out of this than the people I was working with.”

Very little progress on issues. Those are Mr. Kellman’s words, then notice that Obama has admitted himself that he got more out of his time "organizing" than the people he was supposed to be organizing. Just a greedy, opportunist.

Then, these few lines add further proof to my belief that Obama joined Trinity United Church of Christ for nothing more than to benefit himself and his career endeavors:

Mr. Obama faced skepticism from Baptist and Pentecostal pastors unwilling to use their influence to help him organize their members. His group had consisted almost entirely of Catholic churches, and its top officials were white and Jewish.

“Barack had to get beyond the accusation that he was working for Catholics and Jews who were trying to make money off the community,” Mr. Kellman said.

Mr. Obama wrote that a minister suggested it would be helpful if he belonged to a church, and he joined the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.’s congregation after hearing a sermon about faith’s power to inspire underdogs.

Then, Obama is proven a liar, yet again, in this part of the article.:

In a stirring scene from his memoir, Mr. Obama describes an organizing success at Altgeld Gardens, a badly neglected housing project.

Mr. Obama wrote that one day an Altgeld parent handed him a newspaper advertisement soliciting bids to remove asbestos from Altgeld’s management office.

Mr. Obama recounted that he helped arrange a bus trip to the housing authority headquarters where residents had demanded a meeting with the executive director and a pledge that residential units would be tested for asbestos. As television cameras rolled, the residents were promised testing and a meeting.

“I changed as a result of that bus trip, in a fundamental way,” Mr. Obama wrote. It was the kind of action that “hints at what might be possible and therefore spurs you on.”

What Mr. Obama does not mention in his book is that residents of the nearby Ida B. Wells housing project, and some at Altgeld itself, had already been challenging the housing authority on asbestos. A local newspaper had also taken up the issue.

Do yourself a favor and read the entire article. The section about how much of a failure that bus trip was is classic and hilarious to boot. One thing I will give Obama credit for is this. He has managed to bamboozle more people than I could have ever imagined possible. None of his supporters have bothered to actually research him beyond his own website and even in the face of evidence to the contrary to who he says he is, they just don’t want to hear it.

Kovaleski wraps up the article with the most important part of the entire piece. The section that shows Obama for the light-weight, stamina-lacking joke that he is. He quit that "organizing" job. Cut tail and ran like the loser that he is despite all of his present touting of himself as some change agent who can get the job done. After that bus trip proved to be such miserable failure, this is what the Great Black Nope did.:

Later that night, Mr. Obama called Johnnie Owens, whom he would hire as a community organizer. Never had Mr. Obama sounded so downcast or frustrated, Mr. Owens said.

“Barack basically talked about how tough it was to generate real results through organizing and that it was embarrassing to him to have the residents out of control,” he recounted.

“He wondered if he had done a good enough job preparing them for the meeting,” Mr. Owens said. “He sounded angry at himself. He was questioning the whole methodology.”

Mr. Obama had risen to executive director of the Developing Communities group, but the demanding hours, small victories and low pay took a toll on him, and he decided to leave.

“ ‘We are not making large-scale change, and I want to be involved in doing that,’ ” Mr. Kellman said Mr. Obama had told him.

How can you be prepared to make "large-scale change" if you can’t even handle the small things? This man has bounced from one job to another over the years, having earned no real lengthy leadership experience and all of a sudden he’s ready to be leader of the free world??? And, this friends is the most hilarious part of the entire article:

Mr. Obama had mused to friends in Chicago about one day working for unions or becoming a preacher, a journalist or even a fiction writer.

I’d like to let Obama know that he can mark one of those things off of that list because he’s already an accomplished "fiction writer" as both of his memoirs are proving to be more-so works of fiction than fact. A Million Little Pieces, anyone?

One of the greatest things about his candidacy, for my own purposes, is that it has allowed me to break free from blind allegiance to the Democratic Party and democracy run amok. When I think back on John Kerry’s run for the presidency back in 2004, I can barely remember a thing about it. I wasn’t particularly pleased with him, but he was a Democrat, so of course I had to vote for him–or so I thought. In hindsight, Kerry was weak and he too was a joke. I should have just slept in on that morning back in 2004. Were it not for the absolute necessity that we do all we can to keep this con artist out of the White House, I would sleep in this go ’round. But, I’ll get up that morning and head to my local polling place to cast a vote for McCain if the DNC doesn’t come to its senses by August and make Hillary the official nominee. Who would have thought it would have come to this?  Party Unity, My Ass. –SUGAR

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From my blog, Sugar N Spice.

I was one of those who was happy he got off because, "We [meaning Blacks] never get off! Let him get off!" It was only many years later that I grew mature enough [I was 18 or 19 years old during that time...] to realize that we were all wrong to celebrate that verdict because as sure as God made Moses, "The Juice" was guilty as hell.

A woman and her companion were killed viciously at the hands of a madman and we all celebrated–in a show of Black unity. But, look at what that got us. O.J. didn’t give a shit about us. We were rallying around that block head, shouting "If it don’t fit, you must acquit" and all of that other jazz, but we were being foolish and pigheaded. Johnnie Cochran was doing his job as a defense attorney….

Same as O.J., Barack Obama doesn’t give a shit about Black America. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care all that much about any of America in fact.

He wants power. He used those folks in Chicago to get power there and same as I told you months ago that he would toss them aside when he was done–he has. Now, he will attempt to woo the American electorate as a whole, but his negatives will beat him to the finish line.

The DNC had no business shoving him down the throats of this party with as many negatives as he has. The greatest saving grace that this country has is that John McCain is the Republican nominee and not somebody like Mike Huckabee or Ron Paul. If, when the final vote is cast at the Convention in August, Obama is the official nominee, I will once again hang my head in shame of this party and just like O.J., Obama will be getting away with a crime. He is guilty of misleading his supporters into believing he is something he is not and just like with O.J., we will all be forced to admit that soon enough.

He had no business declaring himself the nominee last night when he had not won enough pledged delegates to truly win the nomination and certainly not when Hillary has the lead in the popular vote. This should have been taken to the Convention to be decided. Obama has so many negatives attached to his swizzlestick of a body, the Republican Attack Machine (R.A.M.) won’t even have to expend too much energy to make him look bad.

What say you Hillfans!? My emotions are all over the place. One minute, I feel like "take it to the convention!!" The next minute I feel like Dan suggested in the comments and I figure Hillary should just tell Obama to go fuck himself and let him beg for her supporter’s votes over the next few months, sit back and watch him get his ass kicked in November and then she can make another run for it in 2012. Then, the final minute of it all, I feel like if I were her, I would again tell Obama to go fuck himself where joining forces full time is concerned, feign support for him and do a smidgen of campaigning on his behalf and start thinking about running for the position of Governor of New York and give presidential politics my ass to kiss. Who knows what Hillary will ultimately decide, but I can tell you what Sugar already knows. I won’t vote for Obama as president for anything in this world. He could have Al Gore as his running mate and nothing doing for me. It’s my vote and I get to use it however in the hell I please and I can promise anyone who cares to inquire, it won’t be for Barack Hussein Obama. –SUGAR

I’ve been out of town visiting my family for the past several days, and it’s for the best that I haven’t had the energy to blog, because I needed to let the news about Tavis Smiley resigning from the Tom Joyner Morning Show truly soak in and marinate before I came here to vent. There is a lot of speculation about why he is leaving the show, but he says in a statement released on Friday:

“Contrary to what has been suggested, I have decided to clear some things off my plate so that I can devote my time and attention to some exciting and empowering projects.”

I don’t know if this statement is true to word, but if I were him, I would have resigned because I was sick and tired of the death threats, tired of the completely unfounded insults and just damn tired of trying to make a people see some of the most basic necessities of survival. Examine your surroundings and assess the situation… Other groups are doing it. Do you think any number of organizations that have endorsed Obama have done so without at least attempting to make sure he has their interests at heart? Do you think they haven’t requested, in many cases, and received some sort of idea as to how he feels about their issue or cause?

But, the majority of African-American Obama supporters are in a sick fog of emotions that convinces them that it is okay for him to ignore our issues while campaigning–because after all, we’ll all be going down the Soul Train Line and doing the Soulja Boy and the Electric Slide at the Inaugural Ball after he wins and it will all have been worth it in the end…….silly, silly fools.

Tavis never once said a negative word about Obama. Not once. He merely cautioned Black America to truly examine him along with the other candidates and not simply hand him our votes just because he is Black. I believe that’s only common sense, considering the fact that most African-Americans don’t even know who Obama is [hell, who does???]! They only see his skin tone and that’s more than enough for them. If Colin Powell had run, even though he’d more than likely have run as a Republican, at least we know who he is. Same for that kook Alan Keyes. We know who those guys are. But Obama, this flash in the pan, does not deserve unquestioned support. The mere idea is unconscionable to me.

Even in the comment section of the previous post here, some idiot calls this little water cooler in the blogosphere the Uncle Tom Network. Probably hasn’t read a single post outside of the NO-bama posts, but feels comfortable enough to call this the Uncle Tom Network. The ignorance is palpable. In a Washington Post article Saturday, Roland Martin, that fat stooge, says this about Tavis Smiley’s resignation:

“You have to expect to get heat the moment you decide to offer critical comments about politics or social issues,” Martin said. “You have to be tough enough to take it.”

Added Martin: “For a long time, Tavis was used to people applauding him for taking tough stances. . . . This was the first time he had taken a position that flat-out ticked off his core audience. But [criticism] comes with the territory.”

It’s one thing to “criticize” with concrete examples of why you believe a person is wrong in their view. It’s quite another to simply say that someone is “hating” or to call them an “Uncle Tom”. Oh, that’s right. They couldn’t exactly say, “Look at all of the work Obama’s done as Chairman of that Senate Foreign Relations Sub-Committee,” because he hasn’t done a damn thing. They also couldn’t say, “Look at how well he organized those neighborhoods and looked out for minorities in Chicago,” because we should all know by now that he and his pal Rezko sold those folks up the river and let a number of his “constituents” freeze their asses off in the dead of winter due to political expediency. Those were Black asses freezing might I add.

Tavis, keep your head up. I can only imagine what you have been going through, seeing as how you’ve been trying to slap some sense into millions of folks on a weekly basis. I’m sure you will come out on the other side of this even stronger than you are now. Tom [Joyner], you are as much to blame for this as your listening audience. You guys sat in that booth and had some great laughs at Tavis’s expense over the past few months when if anybody, Tom, you should have been the voice of reason. There will be a high price to pay when this is all said and done. A very high one. So, let me go ahead and issue a collective, “kiss my ass” to all of you Obama supporters who will wake up soon with one helluva hangover, wishing you hadn’t drank that kool-aid…..regretting how you’ve wronged so many.

Sugar N Spice

Thank God for archives. The post below was written on December 11, 2007 in response to a rant that Air America host Randi Rhodes (her ghost as far as I’m concerned) went on regarding Oprah Winfrey and her "blackness". Now, it appears, Randi is rimming Obama, obviously in an attempt to make good on the rant that occurred back in December because Black folks were PISSED and we should have been. I’m not, nor will I ever be an Obama supporter, but there are some things that are still off limits my white friends! Don’t get it twisted. Now, Hillary is in her crosshairs and Air America put her in theirs. –SUGAR

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From December, 2007

Today, "liberal" talk show host Randi Rhodes set white America back at least 30 years. She decided to stick her ignorant foot in her mouth by saying that Oprah was "acting black" during her recent speeches while stumping with Barack Obama.

This is what I heard as soon as I got into my car this afternoon on my way to the gym. And, before I go any further, let me say that for at least the past two months, it has been my routine to get into my car after work and turn on the Randi Rhodes Show so that I could hear what I considered enlightening, intelligent conversation about all things doing with the war and politics. I’ve told almost everyone I know, including other bloggers, about how much I’ve loved listening to Randi keep it real. Well, today, "keeping it real" went wrong.

Randi, who must be blind in one eye and can’t see out the other, said that Oprah was "acting black". She said that Oprah "turned her blackness up a notch or two", Oprah "went all Maya Angelou on us", Oprah was really acting like Harpo, saying, "That wasn’t Oprah up there! That was Harpo! That was Sophia!! You tole Harpo to beat me!" and "we haven’t seen Oprah that Black since The Color Purple" [Of course, that must be Oprah's one and only film since Randi said it was right? Stupid bitch. I just bought Beloved on Saturday]. As I sat in my car in the parking lot at my gym, my mouth hung open for what must have been five minutes straight every 20 minutes. Caller after caller, black and white, called in to tell Randi she was out of line and to try to give her some insight into Oprah’s approach during her two most recent speeches, but she wasn’t hearing it. She yelled at people, she berated them and she acted like an absolute savage [what's new?]. This, only minutes after her previous story was about how she rarely gets to go on television because execs say "we are afraid of you", basically because she acts so damn ignorant and wild. Today, she proved them right.

She went on to say that the Oprah we see on the Oprah Winfrey Show is the way Oprah always acts and she couldn’t believe that Oprah would be different at home or amongst her friends, namely black ones. A lady called in to tell Randi that Oprah is in essence on her job while doing the O.W. show and that she might have been more relaxed around the black audience. Randi went off, telling the woman that she just couldn’t accept that black people have to live "dual lives and if so, that’s pretty pathetic and I wouldn’t want to live that way." Before I insert a "fuck you", let me let Randi know–most of us do live dual lives and I’m about to show you a bit of it.

Bitch, what in the hell do you think we’ve been ranting and raving about all of these years!? It is an open and often spoken of reality among us, professionals and otherwise, about how we have to "Wear the Mask". Has she never read that FAMOUS (at least among black folks) poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar? Has she never watched the Dave Chappelle Show? ANY black comedians–I can think of at least five comedy bits about the fact that many of us have to switch it up when we are at work. The Sugar in the boardroom is not the same Sugar when I’m in the comfort of my own home.

As I listened to Randi rant and rave about how Oprah must be a fake if she’s different from how she is on the show and how blacks who have to switch it up will never get promotions because they act one way at work and then switch it up when they are home, I realized that there was no need in getting my blood pressure worked up any more. There is only one thing I need to do, because her mind will never be changed–and, that is to stop listening to her show.

I call on all of you who listen to it, or even thought about it, to stop doing so as well. The comments today were unacceptable and downright unbelievable. I felt betrayed, hurt, bamboozled and everything in between. Black people struggle enough as it is in this country without some fool getting up on the radio claiming to know how Oprah is when she isn’t on the show, when Oprah probably doesn’t even know who the fuck she is. I felt like maybe she was trying to use black folks, who hasn’t, to garner some publicity for herself for saying something over the top and I thought about not writing this blog post, but I needed to get it off my chest.

It was almost as if Randi didn’t even want to acknowledge that Oprah is black. She repeatedly said things like, "Oprah was sounding like a black preacher", "Hillary does it" (she does) "Al Gore does it (he does) and "Now Oprah did it"…what this stupid bitch didn’t seem to remember is that Oprah IS black. She isn’t acting black!!! I’m trying to temper my swearing as much as I can, because I tend to be hot-headed, but those comments and the revelation that Randi Rhodes is really an ignorant racist has pushed me over the edge.

We all really need to learn more about one another, but as of this moment, Randi Rhodes is dead to me [thus the picture in the post]. I won’t listen to her show again, I don’t care who she has on. And, if I see the bitch on television, I’ll be hitting channel up or channel down. The thing is, she had so quickly started to have an influence on me, there’s this commercial that runs during her show that suggests buying gold from some company called ITM that I was really going to look into. Not now. She’s done in my world. Silly bitch. –SUGAR