The people of Mississippi have not been angels. The history of the Magnolia State and segregation invites the kind of scrutiny and criticism that has recently been visited upon the state. Media reports that the Walthall County School District has been ordered to stop segregating its schools raised the ire of most Americans because it was a reminder of a particularly ugly moment in this nation’s history–-a history that Americans have no desire to repeat.

Still it stretches the limits of credulity when a school that is 66% white and 35% black is labeled a “racially identifiable ‘white’” school and the county supporting the school is depicted as filled with a bunch of ugly racists just itching to don the bed sheets and ride through the night terrorizing the countryside. Yet, that is exactly the case in Walthall County, Mississippi.

Walthall County is a rural community of about 15,000 people – 54% of whom are white, 45% of whom are black. The school district services a total of 2,500 students. At issue are Tylertown, which sits in a predominately black community and has a black enrollment of 75%, and Salem Attendance Academy the “racially identifiable white school.” (more…)

Such was our founder’s belief in the preeminence of God that when the First Continental Congress convened in 1774, Massachusetts delegate Thomas Cushing suggested to the assembly that together they pray for divine guidance and protection.  The historical events that would forever change the world were preparing to unfold: war loomed on the horizon; the Declaration of Independence would be signed, and a nation “conceived in liberty” would be born.  In this moment, men of varied religious beliefs — Presbyterians, Episcopalians, some Quakers, others Baptists or Congregationalists – were led in prayer by an Episcopal priest in an appeal to the almighty that was described as “extraordinary…filling the bosom of every man present.”

It would not be the last time the founders appealed to the Almighty God.

James Madison acknowledged God’s favor in our founding in Federalist 37 referring to “a finger of that almighty hand, which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution.”  I dare say that men like Madison and Cushing would not recognize the America of today, filled with politicians afraid to confess their faith or educators fearful of offending the sensibilities of their students with any mention of God. (more…)

I received my census form, dutifully filled it out and mailed it off. In the blank reserved for racial classification I wrote in capital letters, “HUMAN.” It was widely reported that for racial classification President Obama checked the box marked “African-American” as opposed to writing in “mixed race,” which would have been more factually correct, but wouldn’t have played well with black voters (or so he supposed). It is my considered opinion that if the President can make a political statement when filling out his census form I can as well. Obama chose to shore up his street cred; I chose to give voice to the conviction that this country will never move beyond race so long as the federal government continues to be in the business of race.

Yet we remain consumed even if we can no longer actually define what race is. What we lose in our attempts is any sense of ourselves as individuals created with unique gifts to offer an expectant world.

Is race in America a matter of pigmentation? DNA? Given the fact that most of us are “mutts,” how dark or light must one be and which ethnic distinction predominates? Our President is bi-racial and was raised by his white mother and grandmother, yet he describes his race as African-American. His choice seems to suggest that race is a matter of opinion; a man is whatever he believes himself to be. How then does one determine the authentic from the merely delusional? My friend Amy is married to a black man; she has black children and lives in a black neighborhood. She earnestly asks why she is precluded from becoming a member of the sisterhood. And what of all the blond, blue eyed “Native Americans” and their cousins in the black community that “have a little Cherokee on their grandmothers side of the family.” Are their opinions not as valid as our President’s? Are we prepared to give moral credence to the “one drop” rule of days gone by? Have we now determined that absent the idea of racial supremacy the one drop rule is in fact not racist and is civilly acceptable? (more…)

“Distinctions by race are so evil, so arbitrary and invidious that a state, bound to defend the equal protection of the laws must not invoke them in any public sphere.” –Thurgood Marshall

Perhaps it was unfair to expect that the election of Barack Obama would “bend the curve” on hundreds of years of racial attitudes and the politics that developed around those attitudes. Then again, for a man that entered office with a promise to calm the seas and heal the sick doing “post racial” should have been a piece of cake. Moreover, with all the talk of “hope and change” it was not outrageous to imagine that there might be some positive change in the tone surrounding discussions of race. Certainly it was not unreasonable to imagine that at the very least this President- who was going to win back the worlds respect — would not stoke the fires of racial enmity here at home. Well, as my mother used to say: “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” Instead of bringing Americans together, this President is proving to be the most divisive and racially polarizing president in recent memory. And France still isn’t all that crazy about us. (more…)

There was much laughter following the presidents signing of the health care bill. Democrats were positively giddy over having successfully secured America’s decline. There were fist bumps and back slapping; the champagne flowed.

Democrats were not alone in their celebration. Republicans too shook hands with constituents and lapped up attention and praise for, let’s face it, having done very little. But, hey, why let that spoil a good time? My fear is that not only will Republicans not “repeal the bill” should they take control of congress after the mid-term elections, but that in the very near future Republican candidates will also be running on promises to nurture it. Such is my confidence in the current GOP.

Inasmuch as we are toasting the expansion of the administrative state (and thus the demise of our American Republic) we should perhaps also raise our glasses to Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain. All these nations are on the verge of economic collapse due to their fiscal promiscuity. They too love their entitlements and are demanding them even as the ship of state sinks. Portugal is currently running a deficit that is 9.3% of GDP with a debt that is 80% of their GDP. Greece has a deficit of 13% and a debt of 113% of GDP. Just for laughs consider that they are appealing to the United States for financial aid. The U.S. currently carries a deficit that is over 12% and debt that is 94% of GDP. (more…)

I’m not crazy about congressional Democrats right now.

As I write this, Congressional Democrats are engaged in a furious partisan battle to pass their idea of healthcare reform. Alas it is an idea the majority of Americans do not share. It is in fact an idea that the majority of congressmen do not share, which is why President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are twisting arms, bribing, cajoling and threatening all manner of mischief in order to eek out a majority vote – or non vote — on a bill the people have made clear they do not want. They may succeed.

I am not all that enamored of Congressional Republicans either. It is painful indeed to listen to the feigned outrage of so many Republicans who spent years in office redefining the meaning of concepts like “limited Government,” and “fiscal conservative”. Surely they must realize that their inept stewardship over so many years not only opened the door for the leftist now in power, but also rolled out the red carpet for them.

The contract we strike with government holds that citizens will give up certain of our rights in exchange for government protection of our liberty and property. The foundation of that bargain is trust. And that trust must be guarded jealously. Men must trust that their wishes will be respected and that government will not over step its bounds. When that trust dissipates due to the contraventions of officials within the government, the actions of government lose their legitimacy. (more…)

A little bit of wisdom that was shared with me not too long ago. “God gave us a Powerful gift – your mind. As you look around at any object, it began as an idea in some one’s mind. Any change of situation begins as a thought.” Indeed there is infinite power in an idea.

Russell Kirk wrote, “Conservatism is not a political system, but a way of looking at the civil order.” Put more plainly, it is a world view. People often confuse being a conservative with being a Republican. However, Republican is a political party not a way of thinking. All republicans are not conservatives. In fact as we have seen over the years there are even some republicans that are not republicans. Being a conservative is really about the embrace of an idea.

There is a film I recommend everyone rent and watch. It is called “Amazing Grace.” It is the story of William Wilberforce and his struggle to end the slave trade in the British Empire. (more…)

Speaking on ABC’s “This Week”, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi commented, “I think everybody wants affordable health care for all Americans. They know that this will take courage. It took courage to pass Social Security. It took courage to pass Medicare. And many of the same forces that were at work decades ago are at work again against this bill.”

There is that word again. What exactly does affordable mean? The left tosses the word about but never bothers to define exactly what they mean by affordable. It could mean anything and everything and no doubt it will. Affordable is a political term that is unassociated with actual costs, only addresses price and means, “you pay according to the amount of political capital you have.” For instance if you belong to the SEIU you pay less than if you didn’t. But I digress.

I dare say that the only reason it takes courage to pass Obamacare is because a majority of Americans oppose it. According to a recent CNN poll only 25% of Americans want congress to pass this healthcare bill. It is particularly telling that the new left continues to depict the 75% of Americans that oppose their efforts to nationalize healthcare (which is the end game) as ignoble, uncompassionate, ignorant racists. More annoying is that they portray themselves as visionary, compassionate champions of good. (more…)

A reader recently sent me an email admonishing me for not being more supportive of President Obama. For reasons that were not immediately clear, he also raised the issue of my confessed Christianity. The “aha” moment came when he asked, “Do you pray for your leader like you’re instructed in the good book?” I responded that while I have prayed for the president, I do not do so regularly. That, in his mind, was evidence of my Christian hypocrisy.

This is an elementary school argument, but sadly one that is far too commonly made by the religious left and their secular allies. All Christian stumbling is demonstration of falsity; individual failure to practice principles is ipso facto proof of the bankruptcy of those principles. Sophistry of this sort allows the new left to dismiss ideas they disagree with and evidence they find inconvenient with a simple label: “religious right-wing extremist.” That sure beats actually having to make a substantive argument. What remains unclear is why the regular and unabashed support the religious left offers candidates whose policies are incompatible with or in direct contradiction to Christian principles is not more damning evidence of their Christian hypocrisy. (more…)

Even as a bloodbath looms in the November distance, the Obama administration continues to push healthcare because they know that Americans love theirentitlements like winos love wine. They are betting the farm that once that fiery warmth begins running through the National body we will not only lovenational health care, but will fight to defend it. We will also be too glassy eyed to notice that we have suddenly signed away our liberty, becoming slaves to those that serve us. But I digress.

Like wine, entitlements cost money. Sadly the more addicted we become the less money we have to spend on more important and often essential things. The wino lacks food, housing and clothing; the entitlement addict lacks employment, savings and luxury.

Consider that today our national debt stands at roughly $12 trillion or roughly 70% of our gross domestic product or GDP. But wait. We have promised today’s workers Social Security and Medicare benefits totaling another $41 trillion. Toss in another trillion for miscellaneous expenses, and suddenly our debt skyrockets to $54 trillion. In layman’s terms it means in order to pay our future obligations we would need $54 trillion dollars invested today. How much of that money does this nation have sitting around? Zip! Zero! Zilch! (more…)

The new Audi TDI ad was one of the more provocative commercials shown during the Super Bowl.

The commercial opens with an unsuspecting grocery shopper asking for a plastic shopping bag rather than paper. He is immediately taken into custody by the “Green Police.” As his head is being slammed into the check-out counter the green officer barks, “You picked the wrong day to mess with the eco-system plastic boy!” The spot ends with a long line of cars stopped at an “Eco-check point.” An officer spots the Audi. “TDI here,” he observes. “Clean diesel.” The officer then nods to the driver, “you’re good to go sir.” The driver smiles and then speeds past the traffic jam. The tag line reads: “Green has never felt so good.”

More fascinating than the commercial is the fact that certain environmental Cassandra’s claim the commercial speaks for them. David Roberts for instance, writing in the Huffington Post, argues that “the ad only makes sense if it is aimed at people that acknowledge the moral authority of the green police.” Indeed the driver never challenges the moral authority of the green police. To the contrary, the Audi driver is actually subordinate to that authority. The driver is only able to by-pass the eco check point because his car passes muster. The message of the commercial is that it is possible to be both stylish and eco friendly. (more…)

Appearing on television and radio is good for my career. Every time I show up in the media it sells books and further legitimizes me as a cultural and political commentator and answers a question that, alas, has been asked far too frequently of late: “Whatever happened to.”

Last week I canceled an appearance at the last minute in order to attend my youngest son’s gymnastics tournament and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I had originally planned to miss the tournament. I explained to my son that “Daddy had to work.” He was disappointed, but he understood. Early in the morning I changed my mind and I am glad I did.

During the team competition the top three teams battled back and forth through all six events. My son’s team was in second place going into the final round and spirits were high as the high-bar was our team’s best event and my son was the team’s strongest high-bar competitor.

My son went last. He looked good; toes pointed-legs straight, lots of height and then he stumbled. My son missed an element – an element he can do in his sleep. He finished with a decent score, but much lower than normal.

Anyone that has watched a televised Olympic gymnastics competition can tell you that a step on the landing results in a one tenth of a point deduction. That afternoon the difference between the first place team and the third was one tenth of a point; literally one step. There was a tie for first place between our team and a team from Redondo Beach. The other team won the tie breaker and our boys took their place on the second step of the podium.

Afterwards I gave my son a huge hug; he had performed well all day. He fell into my arms in tears. To his young (and competitive) mind the difference between his team taking first and finishing in second place was the missed element in his routine. (more…)

It is said that when Alexander the Great visited the philosopher Diogenes he asked the wise man if there was anything he could do for him. Diogenes is said to have replied, “Yes. Stand a little less between me and the sun.”

I thought of Diogenes as I read portions of the president’s speech from Cleveland, Ohio. The New York Times reports that the president used the word fight or some version of it more than 20 times.

Mr. Obama vowed to fight for jobs; he promised to fight for quality education; he promised to fight for health care; fight for transparency in government. He promised to fight! Fight! Fight! And never stop fighting. “So long as I have some breath in me,” he said, “so long as I have the privilege of serving as your President, I will not stop fighting for you.”

Such pronouncements of chivalry no doubt came as a surprise to the parents and children of the opportunity scholarship program. (more…)

Following the death of Senator Edward Kennedy, Democrats in the Massachusetts state legislature rushed to change a procedural rule thus allowing Democratic Governor Deval Patrick to replace Kennedy with an interim and Democratic Senator. During the 2004 Presidential election this same august body had taken that power away from Republican Governor Mitt Romney fearing he would appoint a Republican should their junior senator, John Kerry, become President. The maneuver displays the arrogance of the left. So significant is their agenda that changing the rules in the middle of game is justified. Arrogance also leads them to dismiss disgruntled Americans as racists and dimwitted “tea baggers.” It is arrogance of the strongest sort that leads them to believe their policy solutions divinely inspired such that they say openly that Americans will take the medicine of the new left and learn to like it.

On Tuesday, Massachusetts voters humbled Democrats by reversing the decision of their state legislators and electing Republican Scott Brown to a U.S. Senate seat that has been held by democrats for all but 6 years since 1926. Tuesdays vote provided definitive proof that “God don’t like ugly. And he ain’t too fond of cute.”

As Republicans anticipate the mid-term elections and what appears like an opportunity to shift the balance of power in the Congress, it is wisdom the GOP would be wise to remember. The special election in Massachusetts was not solely a referendum on the healthcare boondoggle the new left is attempting to force down Americas [clearly unwilling] throat; it was also a clear refutation of the President’s economic policy as well as a refutation on the free spending ways of the previous administration. It would be arrogance of the Democratic sort for Republicans to imagine that Tuesday’s repudiation of democratic over-reaching was an endorsement of Republican congressional governance of the sort America witnessed during the first decade of the 21st century. (more…)

Harry Reid is not racist and Republican calls for his resignation are misguided. There I said it.

The senate majority leader has recently come under fire for remarks attributed to him in the new book “Game Change.” Authors Mark Halperin and John Heilemann say that in 2008 Reid described then candidate Obama as a ” ‘light-skinned’ African American ‘with no Negro dialect unless he wanted to have one.’” The comments have been seen by some as being racially insensitive.

Reid’s defenders argue that he was merely making the point that Americans were ready to elect a black president (or at least a light- skinned black president. Baby steps.) DNC chair Tim Kaine insisted that Reid’s remarks were offered in the context of saying something positive about the Obama candidacy and why his candidacy would be strong. (more…)

To the common definition of pessimist – one who anticipates the worst — I plead guilty. Yes, I know that it is the start of a New Year and I ought to be looking forward to the new decade with -dare I say it- “hope” and anticipation, but I can’t. Recent events have gathered the clouds of funk, casting long shadows on all that I see.

The malaise actually began to overtake me on Christmas Eve when the Senate passed its healthcare reform bill, now commonly known as “cash for cloture.” This unpopular piece of legislation succeeded only in proving that when you ask politicians to solve social problems you get political solutions; those connected politically get the goodies and those out of political favor get the bill, which is why Longshoremen and the people of Nebraska are exempt from the sacrifices the rest of us must make “for the greater good.” Compassion and humanity are lovely words that exist in the cleanliness of theory. The rubber, however, meets the road in the grit and grime of the reality of trillions of public dollars. (more…)

My wife and I have big dreams for our children. We want nothing for them but health, happiness and success and we recognize that a good education can be a step towards realizing that goal. We also demand that our children perform up to their potential. The skills one learns in school – study habits, attention to detail, and meeting deadlines – are essential for success in the work world. In this we are like every other parent in America.

However we are also Black parents of a certain generation and so the subtleties of race continue to speak to us and they are very real. Sometimes we are not sure if we are responding atavistically to the faint smell of something in the air or if what we are hearing are the soft echoes of our own imaginations. It’s sometimes impossible to tell, which is why race and issues associated with race (to coin a phrase from the late Ralph Wiley) continue to make Black People want to shout.

Last week I had what my parents’ generation used to call a “come to Jesus meeting” with my 7th grade son. His mid-term report card arrived in the mail. His mother and I were under-whelmed.

The comments on my son’s report card indicated that he is under the mistaken impression that school is for socializing and his grades reflect a rather lackluster effort at best. I went “old school”: after a brief lecture he received some tactile encouragement to start taking care of TCB. (more…)

The classical poet A.E. Housman wrote, “For nature, heartless, witless nature.” He might have said the same thing about history, which like nature is neither cruel nor kind; right, nor wrong; it is simply indifferent. It has, as they say, no dog in the fight.

If, however, one is looking back and telling history, it might then be said that one is right or wrong about history. One might say as much about Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who was wrong about history in his remarks accusing Republicans opposed to Democratic healthcare reform of using the same stalling tactics as the defenders of slavery and Jim Crow.

In remarks intended to further paint the political right as immoral, racist and evil, Reid offered that, “Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all the Republicans can come up with is, ’slow down, stop everything, let’s start over.’ If you think you’ve heard these same excuses before, you’re right.  When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said ’slow down, it’s too early, things aren’t bad enough.’”

(more…)

If indeed former Alaska Governor and Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is the joke the new left claims her to be, one wonders why they don’t simply ignore her. On the contrary, they devote an unusual amount of energy into making her the butt of their jokes and seeking every opportunity to discredit her and cover her with political dirt. The Associated Press for example assigned 11 reporters to fact-check her new book “Going Rogue.” The AP assigned exactly 2 reporters to read through the more than 4 thousand pages of the Obama healthcare bills. So much attention seems to belie the New Lefts claims that Palin is a light-weight– not worthy of our respect or attention.

Such a focus of energies seems a tacit acknowledgement that Palin and the principles she represents are a force to be reckoned with.

The primary knock against Palin is that she is dumb, or what is more politely called an anti-intellectual. Of course, the new liberal narrative views all conservatives as not only evil, but downright stupid – not ill informed or teachable, but simply intellectually inferior. From Carter to Obama the new left has consistently claimed a superior intellect. (more…)

I am always troubled by those in government claiming they have a moral imperative to enact this or that policy. A little digging often reveals that their motives are more self serving than moral. I am doubly troubled when those raising the moral banner tend to reject the very idea of an objective morality applicable to all men at all times.

Such is the case with liberal Democrats and their insistence that the moral laws of the universe – laws that have been with us since God breathed life into man (or as some would have it when we rose from the primordial soup) – command Government to supply every citizen (and many that aren’t) with health insurance.

But as is generally the case all we need do is scratch the surface and the truth reveals itself.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, John Cassidy of the New Yorker lets the cat out of the bag when he writes on The New Yorker website that we must be clear about what the reform amounts to. “The U.S. government is making a costly and open-ended commitment,” Cassidy writes. “The Obama Administration . . . is creating a new entitlement program, which, once established, will be virtually impossible to rescind.” And why are they doing it? Again the WSJ quotes Cassidy: Because “ObamaCare serves the twin goals of making the United States a more equitable country” and furthering the Democrats’ “political calculus.” In other words, the purpose is to further redistribute income by putting health care further under government control, and in the process making the middle class more dependent on government. As the party of government, Democrats will benefit over the long run.” (more…)