diversifiedminds

Let me be one to applaud the RNC on their selection of Michael Steele as RNC Chairman. While there may be countless liberal naysayers who will say that Steele's selection is a way to appease the populace. I for one tend to think otherwise for a multitude of reasons. I believe that if the RNC wanted to continue down the path that they have been going, they easily could have. There was no compelling reason that the voting members had to select a black chairman. While keeping a white man would have been viewed by many as keeping the party status quo , I do not believe that there would have been as much of an outcry against it. In fact I believe that by selecting a black chairman, the RNC has stepped out in a huge way, making it known to conservative people of color that the time to hear their voices is now. Picking a moderate conservative is also a huge move for the RNC . Many had debated since the election about the path that the Republican Party should choose to go. Some people ...

The mighty Rush Limbaugh strikes again! One day after the inauguration of President Barack Obama, Mr. Limbaugh was already up to his old tricks. The story goes that a few days before the end of Bush's term, a newspaper publication asked Bush to mark the end of his term with 400 words on his hope for the Obama administration. Mr. Limbaugh took this moment to define his own hope, or lack thereof for President Obama. The following is what he said. "My hope, and please understand me when I say this. I disagree fervently with the people on our side of the aisle who have caved and who say, 'Well, I hope he succeeds. We've got to give him a chance.' Why? They didn't give Bush a chance in 2000. Before he was inaugurated, the search-and-destroy mission had begun. I'm not talking about search-and-destroy, but I've been listening to Barack Obama for a year-and-a-half. I know what his politics are. I know what his plans are, as he has stated them. I don't want ...

So I have been delaying this post for some time. For the first time in my life I feel that my words are inadequate to describe an experience. For those that know me well, that is a rarity. But after many requests, here goes my experience on Inauguration Day. My true inauguration experience began Monday night. My friends and I decided that we wanted to head downtown and see some of the monuments and the sights of the city. As we got off at the Smithsonian stop, the amount of people mulling around was amazing. It was well after sunset and thousands of people were milling around the Mall, taking in the moment that was a few hours away. We walked around, took pictures, saw the Capital and the Washington Monument and just breathed in the air and energy that was around us. After dinner we headed back to the station to head back and prepare for the day. While in the station we saw many people with blankets, pillows and sleeping bags heading in the direction that we were coming from. They all ...

It appeared that it was highly unlikely that I was going to make it down to DC this weekend for inauguration festivities. Financially things were tight and I did not see a clear way of me making this happen. My mom asked me Thursday if I thought I was going down. Clearly things did not look promising... But a divine intervention would have it, I awoke Friday to a check in the mail from my grandfather. It was the Christmas money that he had promised. The way I saw it, it was destined for me to make it to DC. I scrounged together some more last minute cash and booked my ticket. Nothing was going to stop me now. As I awoke Saturday morning and began the trip to the bus station, there was an interesting feel in the air. I had made a few trips to DC for a few big events, the most recent being the Million More March and the Affirmative Action March. But there was a decidedly different feel this time. With those times there was a sense of anger and frustration in the journey. Anger and frust...

The murder of Oscar Grant in Oakland this past New Year's Day has struck a cord unlike any case of police misconduct that I have seen in quite some time. Essentially Mr. Grant and a group of people were stopped and removed from a train based on the belief that they were involved in a fight. This on the surface seems fine and in compliance with departmental guidelines. What occurred next is the inexcusable part. Mr. Grant sat along a wall and as the police attempted to handcuff the young man, he appears to put up somewhat of a struggle. As one cop is trying to hold him down, the other cop tried to handcuff him. What shocked me next was what that officer did. As he is trying to subdue Mr. Grant, he reaches into his right side and pulls out his service revolver and fires his gun into the back of Mr. Grant. Ultimately that was the shot that killed him. What separated this case from many recent police misconduct cases was the fact that everything was caught on tape. The aftermath of th...

Last week a member of the Republican National Committee member Chip Saltzman sent out a CD to all the members of the RNC as a Christmas gift. The CD, according to Saltzman was supposed to be a parody of sorts, aiming to poke fun at some of the members of the Democratic Party, as well as issues pertaining to democratic politics. Among the names of some of the songs were "Love Client #9" as well as "Down on the Farm with Al Gore." The song that drew the most reaction was entitled "Barack the Magic Negro." The song, which was set to the beat of Peter, Paul and Mary's famous "Puff the Magic Dragon" created a stir not only for its message, but for the voice on the CD. The singer of the song clearly sounds like a white man trying to imitate a black voice. Now this song is by no means new. It appeared on the Rush Limbaugh show during the campaign and was roundly criticized for its insensitive nature. Clearly Saltzman forgot about this. Saltzman ...