Should Private Industry Be Exempt From The Civil Rights Act?

by Dick Mac

I say no, of course; but many who worship at the crotch of capital, like it was Ronald Reagan's genitals, think that private industry should not be held to the same standard as our government.

Rand Paul, newly nominated Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show last night and I had the good fortune to be watching.

Paul has attracted attention because of his lack of clarity on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He'll tell you up and down, inside and out, that he abhors discrimination and racism. And he is believable. But, then he says that the laws that protect Americans from discrimination on the basis of race should only be applied to the federal government, not to private industry.

So, the host asked him point-blank if Woolworth's should have been allowed to keep their lunch counter segregated (that is for whites only).

For those of you unfamiliar with the history of the civil rights movement of the mid-20th Century, Woolworth's lunch counters became a focal-point of the struggle against segregation; and many people were beaten or arrested for being black at the lunch counter or aiding and abetting blacks who attempted to be served at the lunch counter.

It's a particularly ugly chapter in America's more recent history.

Now, conservatism has changed in the past thirty years, and even more rapidly in the past 18 months, so I don't know what the "conservative" position is anymore. I know that even the most heinous right-wingers of our times have expressed unwavering support for the Civil Rights Act, even politicians who are known racists see the benefits of that Act of Congress. It created a huge new market. Blacks would become consumers and that was good for industry.

Since the teabagger movement, though, "conservatism" has become something I can't quite wrap my mind around. (They are NOT racists, just ask them!) It's just not clear yet, what brand of conservatism teabaggers support. It's probably not conservatism at all.

Rand Paul is a teabagger, and he is unable to offer a clear answer to the question: "Should Woolworths have been allowed to keep their lunch counter segregated?"!

It's a pretty easy question. There isn't any hidden subtext. Either the federal government should enforce the notion that discrimination against American taxpayers on the basis of race is wrong; or the federal government should not be allowed to enforce the notion that discrimination against American taxpayers on the basis of race is wrong. There really isn't any in-between.

This clip is 20 minutes long, and I think it is worth the watch:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

So, which is it?

Should Woolworths have been allowed to remain segregated or not?

Rachel Maddow Takes A Teabagger To Task

by Dick Mac

I was going to post an entry about the unintended benefit of the health care reform battle: there is now a schism between anti-choice Republicans and anti-choice Democrats. Perhaps that movement can implode!

Instead, I have to follow-up on my Rachel Maddow and Scott Brown post from yesterday. The story where Scott Brown has insulted and smeared one of his constituents (Maddow) in an anti-Massachusetts campaign across the nation.

Today, Maddow strikes back by purchasing the following advertisement in Boston newspapers.

"Hi, I'm Rachel Maddow. I host a TV show on MSNBC. I also live in Western Massachusetts, in the beautiful hilltowns of Hampshire County.

"This week, our new U.S. Senator, Scott Brown, sent a fundraising letter that says I'm running against him for Senate when he's up for re-election in 2012.

"I'm not running against Scott Brown. I never said I was running against Scott Brown. The Massachusetts Democratic Party never asked me to run against Scott Brown. It's just not true. Honestly. I swear. No, really.

"Senator Brown never even tried to find out if it was true, before using the made-up threat of me running against him, to try to scare donors into giving him more money. He sent the letter all around the country, to the out-of-state conservative activists who provided so much of the funding for his successful Senate campaign.

"Do you remember when Mitt Romney ran for President after being our Governor and he went around the country insulting Massachusetts, talking about what an awful state we are? To have our new Senator raising money around the country by saying how terrible one of his Massachusetts constituents is, kind of feels the same way to me.

"It's standard now for conservatives to invent scary fake threats to run against -- things like the made-up 'death panels' in health reform, or the fake controversy about the president's birth certificate. Senator Scott Brown's only been in DC seven weeks, but he already seems to be fitting right in with how conservatives operate there.

"I'm running this ad not because I'm running against Scott Brown -- I'm not, he made that up -- but because he's the Senator for all of us, and maybe this will make him think twice the next time he wants to smear one of his constituents to raise money out-of-state.

"My show airs at 9PM Eastern in Massachusetts on MSNBC. So far, Scott Brown refuses to come on. Maybe he'll change his mind -- I hope he does.

I will try to find a link to the actual published ad later today.

Good going, Rachel! Don't stop 'til he gets enough!

Constitutional Law Breakers or War Criminals?

by Al Falafel

Could it be that this whole global economic tsunami was engineered by Bush & Cheney at the end of their tenure just to divert attention away from their obvious culpability for their admitted war crimes and save their sorry asses from prosecution?

I'm just asking...



Smells like Karl Rove in the house!

Bush Economic Success

by Dick Mac

Did you know that George W Bush inherited a recession in January, 2001, and he is leaving office in a recession, but everything in-between was seemnigly OK.

There were over 500,000 created during the housing boom that is the cornerstone of Bush's economic miracle. Since the collapse of that house of cards, however, more than 2,600,000 jobs have been lost (the most since WWII).

Bush did inherit a huge tax surplus, which must have been a terrible burden to him. He decided to make our nation a better place, and squandered this money by issuing tax cuts to the wealthy. How's that working for you?

Rachel Maddow had a field day with yesterday's Bush press conference (essentially his last as President), in a series titled "Lame Duck Watch Special Report." Here is an excerpt about the Bush Economic Successes.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

My favorite part of her show last night was her repeated use of the word "quackatude," which I think sums up the current American President's mental condition quite accurately.

George W Bush and his buddies destroyed America. The Bush legacy will not be complete until he or his buddies are imprisoned or hanged for treason.

That's a Wrap! Two Short Videos from '08

by Al Falafel
Happy New Year!

As we kiss the old year goodbye and wrap up commentary on one of the biggest debacles of last year's elections, the two videos below I think provide a 'nuff said postscript to the discussion of California's Proposition 8 and the subject of same-sex marriage. At least for 2008.

Melissa Harris-Lacewell discusses the ramifications of the African American vote on Prop 8 with Rachel Maddow, MSNBC Nov. 10.



Two Law Professors Debating Strategy on Marriage Rights, Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships: Jack Balkin & Ann Althouse on Bloggingheads.tv