You are right, he was talking about racism! Nothing else, and especially not that he is new to the scene. It really perturbs me to see how he can get away with playing the race card so many times (which usually helps his numbers with those who feel the same way) and the media just kind of blows it off.

Just yesterday I was pondering what real equality is, and in my opinion, comments like this do not promoting what equality should be.

It’s foolishness to pull out the race card.. in whichever direction you’re pulling it. We see conservatives, the religious right specifically pulling the race card in the sense that he is a “militant Muslim” as seen in this article by Michael Reisig:

President Obama.
By Michael Reisig

Well, having observed the progress of the Democrat and Republican
Primaries I would have to say at this point, America is probably close
to electing Barak Hussein Obama as its next president. I understand the
need for change – but for all my observation of Obama I have yet to hear
any decisive, detailed plans – it all seems to be continual rhetoric on
the concept of change.

It’s all rather a puzzlement to me, and more than anything I think this phenomena is representative of the new Survivor/ Oprah Winfrey/American Idol consciousness (where the bizarre is applauded as reality and image is more important than substance), and it is undoubtedly brought about by the overwhelming dissatisfaction Americans have for a government that has cheated, lied and stolen from them for at least the last two generations.

But for minorities, and in particular blacks, this election represents a moment of long-awaited validation. There is no question that the election of an African-American president will empower the blacks of this country. Don’t misunderstand me – this is not a racist statement, this is just a fact, and in many respects this could be a good thing. But there is no denying the sense of audacious rebellion that constantly simmers in much of the black community, particularly with the youth of the large metropolitan areas. I have some concern that the election of a black president will take us back to a consciousness that promotes the power of race over intelligence, reason, and the value of law, and that this may divide black and whites more than uniting them. I hope that I’m wrong.

Obama speaks a lot about a uniting of black and white America, but the church he has attended for years would contradict that. Although you won’t hear much of this on national television, one has but to go to Obama’s church of choice, Trinity United Church of Christ (go to the website to check for yourself) to find, and I quote, “An unabashedly
black congregation with a non-negotiable commitment to Africa. “An African people, ‘true to our native land, the mother continent, the cradle of civilization.”

Nowhere in the website is America even mentioned. Can you imagine if one of the other white candidates for president were a member of a church that declared itself “unashamedly white?” What would the media have done to them already?

I was also startled by a number of the points in Trinity United Church’s 10-Point Vision:

*A congregation with a Non-negotiable Commitment to Africa.
*A congregation committed to Cultural Education (Africa).
*A congregation committed to the Historical Education of African People in Diaspora.
*A congregation committed to Liberation.
*A congregation committed to Restoration. (Could this mean
restitution?)

In addition, Trinity’s senior pastor Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., is considered by many to be a black racist, who, without question, preaches radical Afro-centric theology.

It appears, by affiliation, that we have a man who wants to be president of America while much of his loyalty is invested in black Africa.

But there is also a deeper, perhaps darker consequence in terms of America and its multi-national population when we consider Mr. Obama as our new leader.

Investigations have shown that Obama’s father and stepfather were devout Islamics. Both faithfully practiced their religion. His stepfather, who had a much greater impact on Obama’s upbringing, was a radical Wahabbi Muslim. Obama’s mother married Lolo Soetoro, a Wahabbi extremist who lived in Indonesia. When Obama’s mother moved to Indonesia – before she married her second Muslim husband – she enrolled her son in Francis Assisis Catholic School. He was enrolled as a Muslim because he was a Muslim.

Obama’s campaign website has been hailed as a testament to the candidate’s transformative politics. But at least part of the senator’s online outreach, “Muslim Americans for Obama ‘08″ proposes installing Muslim prayer areas in public places and giving Muslims time off for prayer, and has denounced Obama’s colleagues in the U.S. Senate who
happen to be Jewish.

Further troubling are the issues and solutions on this site:
1. A Law against harassment of Muslim women wearing Hijab at the Airport, DMV and other public arenas.
2. Institute a Law to allow Muslim Employees to take an hour off from work for Friday Jummah Prayer.
3. Make the 2 Eid’s (Muslim festivals), recognized National
Holidays on Calendars with days off from work.
4. Optional Halal meals in federal building, public schools and colleges.
5. Provide prayer areas suitable for Salah and Jummah, in public and private facilities. (i.e. Malls, Airports, Universities and government buildings.)
6. Organize a Muslim American group to assist in recommendations for US foreign policy affecting majority Muslim Countries.

I have to wonder how many encampments of Islamic extremists hidden in the hills of Afghanistan and quiet rooms of Baghdad and Tehran listen to the news of America’s primary elections with unadulterated glee, considering first, that we may have a president who has virtually no experience in managing a government, or attending to military/ international affairs, and secondly; the chance (as remote as it is) of a quasi-Muslim president of the United States.

Think of the possibilities. If you agree with this, I
hope you will do the same, or at least make sure you vote. It really scares me to think of Obama being president. It’s time we as Christians stand up and let our voices be heard. Let’s stop being the silent majority!

This article is obviously extremely biased. It’s not balanced or fair, and as a quasi-aspiring journalist, I am insulted this article actually made it to press…but Reisig is the publisher of the paper in which it appeared…

I also think it’s foolishness when I hear about African-American voters casting a vote for Obama solely on the premise that he’s black. I know that African-Americans are trying to be supportive in the advancement of “their people,” but in my opinion, organizations like the National Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)..combined with having “black history” month doesn’t do much for the promotion of true equality. Instead, let’s celebrate the history of people. All people. It doesn’t have to be white or black supremacy. Let’s advance our society as a whole for the purpose of positive change.

I was pulling for Hillary Clinton, I am however not a fan Barack Obama. Therefore, the only way he may get my vote is if he announces Mrs. Clinton as his running mate. I believe that Mr. Obama hides his inexperience in foreign affairs and the downright fact that he does not possess the qualifications needed to be the President of the United States with an eloquent message of change, and an ultimately false message of promoting equality.

As a result I will be voting for either presumptive Republican candidate John McCain or Libertarian Presidential Candidate Robert Barr.

While we might ideally have “moved on” past race long ago (in our minds at least) it would seem that race indeed plays a large part in American life. One need look no further than Sunday mornings at church for confirmation of the lingering effects of racism (or racialization as some have put it).

I don’t tinkn it’s a problem that’s particular to America either. Whilst in Africa many of the nationals openly promoted their Obama zeal. When asked why such zeal.. they invetibaly replied…. he’s black I’m black. It was a simple equation.

Interesting.

so this is where we get the idea that the bible isn’t infallible… textual corruptions.

Let’s just say that a situation like this doesn’t help the argument for infallibility.

In part, this is why Nietszche took the philosophical path he did. He started off as a philologist trying to work modern texts back to their sources. He eventually realized that when you go back far enough you will have a handful of texts each with it’s own variations. And aside from the fact that no text can even truly represent the real events, we don’t even have the most original of the original texts anyways.

Nietzsche, like Kierkegaard thought that nothing can be known with 100% certainty, that we can never work back to original sources and that even our perceptions of reality are merely perceptions and not the real thing. Kierkegaard coined the term “leap of faith” and took the route of the Christian, while Nietzsche did the opposite.

These two are obviously quite general because there are many subfields that fall under Discourse Analysis, but they are a great introduction to the discipline in theory and practice.

-Johnstone, Barbara. Discourse Analysis. Malden: Blackwell, 2002.
-Widdowson, H.G. Text, Context, Pretext. Malden: Blackwell, 2004.

Don’t misunderstand – I am quite jealous of your vast vocabulary base and ability to dissect statements. I have been making an effort over the last couple years to improve my English and expand my vocabulary for the purpose of being able to create more concise statements for use in debate. After reading your blog entry, I see that I still have quite a bit of expanding to do! Well done, I look forward to reading more posts like this one.