The revelation came to me in a dream. I was dozing in a recliner after consuming a delicious 14-inch pizza with all the toppings and drinking two liters of coke.  Three slices of pecan pie à la mode caused me to feel drowsy and I soon fell into a dream state. Then came my vision of an African doctor wearing a loin cloth and carrying a spear that he plunged into the ground causing a blinding cloud of dust and smoke. When it cleared, the doctor held a newborn in his hands. 

Using a machete, he deftly cut horns from the baby’s head while chanting, “Barack Hussein Obama, I anoint you in the name of Karl Marx to go forth and spread socialism in a faraway nation that worships a system called free enterprise.” But first, you must go to an island in the great ocean and learn to surf.  However, I warn you to avoid descendants of a tribe that invaded the islands many moons ago. They were called Christian missionaries. 

Before my vision began to fade, I saw horns being removed from another child. But I awoke after hearing only a portion of the ceremony. “Glenn Beck, I anoint you in the name of Bozo the Clown……”

Ordinarily, I would be reluctant to share my revelations. But while reading the New York Times today, I discovered I was not alone. Recent polls disclose that nearly 25% of Americans believe President Obama was born in Africa. This means 75% of our nation’s population are fools. Based on the thin evidence of an official birth certificate and contemporary newspaper accounts in Honolulu, these deluded people believe the rumor that Obama was born in Hawaii.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/us/politics/19memo.html?th&emc=th 

It is really sad to think that three/quarters of the people in this country accept official documents as fact. Hopefully, all these confused folks will pick up a copy of the Globe tabloid magazine in the check-out lines of local supermarkets. Although the Globe has never published story that was proven to be correct, there is a first time for everything. The tabloid claims to have evidence that the President’s Social Security card is phony and the publication hopes to produce the evidence one day. No doubt, Obama is alarmed. He is counting on receiving his social security checks in sixteen years. That is, if the system survives. GOP hysterics say it’s doomed.

For anyone who doubts my revelation about the birth of our President, let me point out that I’m an award-winning investigative and the proud recipient of four George Foster Peabody medallions and multiples of every other major broadcast journalism award. No telling how many more awards I would have won if I had eaten more giant pizzas.

Since my semi-retirement, my post-pizza eating visions have produced other revelations. For example, I learned that Neil Armstrong never reached the moon. The hoax took place in the Nevada desert where he actually said, “One small step for man, one giant leap for more casinos.”

I wish I could reveal details of another vision identifying the mysterious man on the grassy knoll. But out of respect for the Warren Commission, the shooter’s name must remain secret. I will disclose, though, that he was wearing a loin cloth and armed with a blow dart weapon.

Sadly, the time has arrived for me to leave. I promised my pyschiatrist I would check into the hospital for the weekend. It’s really fun because I always encounter lots of birthers and Tea Party members there. During recreation breaks, attendants unstrap straightjackets so we can toss around all sorts of conspiracy theories.

Meantime, if you are hoping for pizza revelations, skip the anchoves. They have a bad after-taste.

My memoir, Odyssey of a Derelict Gunslinger, is available at amazon.com and independent bookstores. It offers much more than $19.99 worth of laughs. The book is an account of my illustrious (I choose the adjectives) career.

For people who run out of gas in Arizona while travelling to Disneyland, don’t feel disappointed. Indeed, you have arrived at one of the nation’s top amusement parks. And long walks to ride on over-priced rides and see corny exhibits are unnecessary. Simply check into the air conditioned comfort of a motel, turn on the TV set and watch Arizona politics in action.

As a reporter in Baton Rouge in the 1960’s and early seventies, I became accustomed to seeing wild-eyed polticians running through the corridors of Louisiana’s capitol building shouting “the blacks are coming, the blacks are coming.” The fear of school integration caused near hysteria in political chambers that had adopted laws years before prohibiting the transfusion of blood from African Americans to the state’s lilly-white citizens. At the local level, many municipalities had permanently closed public swimming pools, rather than allow blacks to mix with whites.

In 1969, I was on the founding Board of Directors of the Baton Rouge Press Club, which leased space from a downtown restaurant as the location of an after-hours bar—mainly as an accomodation for reporters working late to put the morning newspaper to bed. To the distress of our landlord, black  members were welcomed into our newly formed club. As a result, we were unceremoniously evicted.  Although attitudes have become marginally more moderate in Louisiana, the damage that was inflicted haunts the state today. It is particularly visible in public schools where white flight to outlying areas has left the elementary and secondary education systems in desperate condition, financially and in terms of classroom achievement.

Arizona is currently imitating the Louisiana of old, except its battle cry is “the Mexicans are coming, the Mexicans are coming. This is evident in the hysteria that gave momentum to the controversial immigration law, which was recently struck down by a federal court. No doubt, illegal immigration is a problem in border states. But attempting to override the protections of the U.S. Constitution is a folly equal to Louisiana’s effort to ignore decisions of the U.S. Supreme court. 

When viewing futility, I always try to look at the entertainment value of dumbness. That brings me to J.D. Hayworth, the radio show talk host and former Republican U.S. Representative. He is John McCain’s Tea Party-backed candidate in the GOP primary Senate race. Hayworth distinguished himself earlier this year by shouting, “the gays are coming, the gays are coming. And they are going to marry horses.”

I recognize my exaggeration in interpreting Hayworth’s fear of gay marriage—not his own nuptials, but for others seeking the privilege—but he has expressed concern that allowing same sex unions will pave the way for matrimony between men and horses. Hayworth didn’t cite any recent horse bridle (oops, I mean bridal) announcements of pending marriages.

The warning of horse-man weddings is only an extension of his cry that the “the Mexicans are coming.” In fact, he has returned to the theme by resuming his attacks on former President George W. Bush for failing to take a hardline approach against illegal immigrants. In high fallutin’ language, Hayworth said in effect that entire Bush family was too removed from the real world to understand the immigration issue. According to the Washington Post, Hayworth told a Baltimore radio talk show host that Bush “was dead wrong on the border” — then added that “the sad fact about the Bush family is this stubborn notion of noblesse oblige combined with verbal dyslexia.”

The McCain-Hayworth primary puts Sarah Palin in an awkward position. She supports all the far right causes advocated by Hayworth, who has the support of 14 Tea Party organizations. But as McCain’s former Vice Presidential running mate, Palin feels an obligation to support the old man even though he probably gags when hearing her name.

The former Alaskan Governor may be impressed by McCain’s stage magic. In a matter of a few months, he has transformed himself from moderate elder statesman  a right-wing loony. Nonetheless, Palin’s endorsement may not bode well for McCain. In addition to turning his 2008 Presidential aspirations from unlikely to impossible, she seems to be putting the kiss of death on other candidates.

Just across the western border from Arizona is another political amusement park featuring Palin-endorsed candidate, Sharron Angle. The Nevada GOP Senate nominee is the best thing that ever happened to incumbent Harry Reid. He has been resurrected from the politically dead by incantations of stupid statements that are regularly recited by Angle. I don’t know her position on man-horse marriages. However, my guess is that she opposes such weddings.

Then again, Nevada is faced with rounding up herds of wild horses that populate its wilds. Rather than euthanize the ponies, wouldn’t it be better to find spouses willing to “love, honor and obey” the animals? 

I’m certain Louisiana lawmakers are trying to keep up with its western imitators, but the best the state has to offer right now is encouraging cowboy shoot-outs in church sanctuaries.

My memoir, Odyssey of a Derelict Gunslinger, is available at amazon.com and independent bookstores. It offers much more than $19.99 worth of laughs. The book is an account of my illustrious (I choose the adjectives) career.   

Right-wing nut J.D. Hayworth provides

More often than not in television, smart producers save on-air personalities from stupid gaffes. Such was not the case this week on the Greta Van Sustern show. The Fox “News” talk show host is an attorney smart enough to realize that a facelift was required for her to succeed on TV. I’m not saying she was ugly. Just ordinary—a condition that plagued me, especially in the latter years of my CNN career when droopy jowls began getting in the way of my shoulders. Unfortunately, my facelift failed to bring me fame and fortune.

But enough about me. Let’s cut to the chase and Fox’s monumental goof of mistaking Shirley Sherrod for U.S. Representative Maxine Waters, the California Congresswoman under investigation for an ethics violation. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/03/greta-van-susteren-sick-o_n_668829.html

The inability of Fox “News” to distinguish between Sherrod and Waters seems symbolic. It is a symptom of the networks underlying attitude toward African-Americans, and President Obama in particular. Time and again, Fox anchors, talk show personalities and pundits have been guilty of subtle racism. And in some instances—hello, Glenn Beck—not so subtle racist comments. During lulls in parroting Republican propaganda, the network acts as an outlet for misinformation spread by right-wing blogger Andrew Breitbart, the source of the out-of-context video that set off a storm surrounding Shirley Sherrod.

Fox denies using the video prior to her resignation as the top USDA official in her native state of Georgia. The edited video distorted an inspirational story she told of helping a white farmer. It was changed to a story of revenge. Displaying a level of stupidty equal to that of Glenn Beck, a Department of Agriculture official in Washington demanded Sherrod’s resignation.

Fox’s denial of jumping the gun on the story is almost true. The video did not air before the resignation, although its existence was disclosed on Fox.com and aired on the Bill O’Reilly show, which was taped earlier in the day. In effect, the over-reaction of the Obama Adminstration saved Fox from itself.

The good fortune of the network in escaping Andrew Breitbart’s racism does not change the past. Breitbart is the same guy who produced altered video that pushed the black activist organization, ACORN, into bankruptcy. And a crazy woman who hosts an afternoon talk show on Fox has been obsessed with the failure of the U.S. Department of Justice to collect a judgment against dirt poor Black Panthers in an uncontested civil case involving voter intimidation.

President Obama’s former pastor in Chicago, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and an obscure administration ”czar” named Van Jones have also been on the Fox hit list. Jones quit his enviromental czaring job after a couple of minor indiscretions in the 1990’s caused Glenn Beck several weeks of insane wild-eyed drooling. The Reverand Wright got the Fox “News” treatment because of irrational sermons that suggested he was slipping into dementia.

With Fox’s history, its too bad that Greta Van Sustern is victimized by people who can’t tell one African American from another. I could understand Sarah Palin making such a mistake. In Wasilla, Alaska, she rarely saw a black face. Although I only encountered Van Sustern a couple of times when she worked for CNN, my impression was she did not make stupid mistakes.

And speaking of stupidity, I can’t pass up the opportunity to mention Sharron Angle—the Nevada Tea Party heroine, who was supposed to send U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid into retirement. Instead, she seems determined to get him re-elected. Reid’s rescue is aided by Angle’s mouth. Everytime she opens it near a TV camera, he is assured of more votes. 

For example, Angle claims that people collecting unemployment are “spoiled,” supports phasing out Social Security and recently refused to answer questions at a news conference she called. But the topper came during a friendly Fox interview when Angle stated that reporters should only ask questions she wanted to answer and report news that she endorsed.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/03/angle-the-press-should-as_n_668521.html

Unlike Greta Van Sustern, Angle can’t blame  blunders on technicians, stupid aides or advisors. All by herself, she has mastered dumbness.

My memoir, Odyssey of a Derelict Gunslinger, is available at amazon.com and independent bookstores. It offers much more than $19.99 worth of laughs. The book is an account of my illustrious (I choose the adjectives) career.

Since the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous 75 years ago and the beginning of Alanon for spouses and families of alcoholics shortly thereafter, the “anonymous” label has been attached to a multitude of 12-step recovery programs. Spin-offs are designed to deal with an array chemical, physical and emotional problems—gambling, sex, eating disorders, addictions to illegal and/or prescription drugs, and an array of struggles that part of the human condition.

Regardless of the ailments, the underlying principles of all the different 12-step programs are pretty much the same. The steps put into practice a value system that is unknown to many—the basics of which include universal tenets of faith, trust, honesty, courage and humility. In AA lingo, incorporating the principles in one’s life leads to a “spiritual awakening.” Not to be confused with a sudden epiphany that is often described as a ”spiritual experience.” Twelve step programs gradually bring about a level of self-honesty. That is why so-called tea partiers need to form a recovery program called, ”Deniers Anonymous.”

From inception, Tea Party members and its candidates have been in a state of denial in responding to any and all criticism. The most recent instance of self-deception is the refusal to acknowledge the NAACP’s claim that the loosely formed organization have been invaded by racists, bigots and hate groups. The denials must be coming from blind and deaf spokespersons. How could they miss an inflammatory road sign in Iowa comparing the President to Hitler and Lenin, or fail to see placards at rallies that are clearly racist, or not accept the word of credible sources that epithets were directed at black congressmen as they walked through a crowd of Tea Party demonstrators? That is the equivalent of my years of denial that alcoholism caused my drunken episodes, delirum tremens, nights in jail, an emotionally abused broken family and eventually led me a failed skid-row audition. 

Vice President Biden refused yesterday to label the Tea Party as racist. And I agree. However, that does not mean the absence of racism among many of its members—a subtle form of which is sometimes more sinister than outward bigotry. Indeed, it is often difficult for people—me included—to detect underlying prejudices. Our failure to see deep-rooted personal bias is troublesome for African Americans. At least they know where they stand with the Klan mentality.

Deniers Anonymous would be particularly helpful for Tea Party candidates, some of whom have denied saying or believing they made statements in radio, television and newspaper interviews. Sharron Angle is an exception. The Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Nevada simply avoids mainstream media interviews. She answers only to God, Fox “News” and right-wing reporters in her home state. God apparently is not satisfied with her answers. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid has been resurrected from the graveyard of politically dead incumbents.

Meantime, God has smiled down on Democrats in Kentucky by delivering a Tea Party-supported candidate whose mouth has gotten him in so much trouble that he is no longer a a sure-fire Republican successor to slightly deranged incumbent Jim Bunning. Dr. Rand Paul stumbled in the race coming out of the gate by making 1960’s era comments about civil rights. Like Sharron Angle, he now avoids interviews that could expose him as under-qualified to occupy Bunning’s Senate seat—a level of incompetence that is probably impossible to achieve. Nonetheless, Dr. Paul’s gaffes have made the Kentucky race competitive. Given his explanations that previous statements are not a real reflection of his position on civil rights, Deniers Anonymous would be helpful in allowing Paul to get in touch with his true views.

Former Presidential candidate Ross Perot is the best example of my own experience of encountering political candidates living in a state of denial. Odyssey of a Derelict Gunslinger provides all of the gritty details. If interested, buy the book and be entertained by my journey to a vast fantasy land. In short, my one hour in-depth confrontation with Perot during the 1992 Presidential campaign was his final sit-down interview with an investigative reporter .

I had flashbacks of the Perot debacle sixteen years later while watching Katie Couric interview Sarah Palin—another political figure who defines accountability as being a personal attack. She has become a role model for refusing to do interviews with anyone but the Fox “News” bunch and their ilk. She and all her cohorts at the Republican propaganda networks are excellent candidates for Deniers Anonymous. Especially Glenn Beck.

In AA, we sometimes classify a category of alcoholics as “low bottom drunks.” Having spent time with my feet planted in a gutter, I fit the label. Glenn Beck is a low bottom denier. In the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, he consistently denies his racially charged and anti-semitic rants. Washington Post poltical reporter Dana Milbank wrote a column last week that provided astonishing statistics about Beck’s hate-filled lunacy and his influence as a self-proclaimed leader of the Tea Party movement.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/16/AR2010071602855.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

If the day comes that someone decides to start a Deniers Anonymous program, Glenn Beck should be among the first recruits. He should have some vague knowledge of recovery based on his past disclosure that he joined AA many years ago. I presume he is still sober today. Outwardly, though, he does not fulfill AA’s promise of restoring its members to sanity. 

That is not surprising. Anyone listening to Beck can easily discern that he knows nothing about the principles that form the basis of 12-step recovery.

My memoir, Odyssey of a Derelict Gunslinger, is available at amazon.com and independent bookstores. It offers much more than $19.99 worth of laughs. The book is an account of my illustrious (I choose the adjectives) career.

After the NCAAP adopted a resolution this week calling on the so-called Tea Party to quit giving aid and comfort to racists and hate groups, Sarah Palin immediately came to the defense of the movement. Bigots? What bigots?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/07/naacp-tea-party-sarah-palin.html

I am not surprised by Palin’s reaction. As Mayor of a town in which only one resident in 50 was a person of color and serving as Governor of a state with an African American population of less than four percent, she probably believes that a single black face in a crowd of a thousand represents diversity. 

The former Vice Presidential candidate obviously closes her eyes when racially charged placards are displayed. And since her reading is limited to glamour magazines and comic strips, she failed to see the Iowa tea partiers hate filled billboard showing President Obama flanked by Hitler and Lenin. But give the woman credit. She has pyschic powers. Although Palin was not present at the Washington rally when racial epithets were hurled at Congressman John Lewis, she labeled him a liar for making such a claim. Given Lewis standing as one of the most respected civil rights leaders in the nation’s history, I will take his word over the denials of a bunch of redneck bigots.

Anyway, today something new. Following the lead of television, I will occasionally post reruns of previous missives that remain relevant to recent events. I begin with a slightly edited February post titled, The Tea Party Klan…Oops, I Mean Clan.  

I apologize for the gaffe. My slip was intentional. Just wanted to piss off some of my right-wing relatives. I realize that Tea Partiers don’t dress in sheets and pillow cases, although a few wear the garb depicted in accounts of  the original Tea Party in  1773, when colonists in Boston revolted against British imposed taxes. Also let me quickly clarify that Tea Partiers don’t hang people. They only hang signs portraying President Obama as a modern day Hitler, complete with a mustache. 

Fortunately, the placards were not on display during a Tea Party convention at Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee. Nor were any black faces on display. At least as far as I could tell from watching CNN (I know, my former employer is supposed to be a liberal media outlet and would not show African-Americans, even if they were in attendance). It seems, however, that GOP National Chairman Michael Steele would have agreed to be a token black in a sea of white voters, who generally pull the Republican lever. But he had a “conflict.”

I recognize that most tea partiers are not blatant racists. But the movement has attracted a fringe element that undermines civility. Protest groups are a vital part of our nation’s history. They most often gain momentum when the country is in the throes of change and hard times. Indeed, the Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1865 in Pulaski, Tennessee by a small group of defeated Confederate soldiers, and subsequently became a force to deal with politically. Membership peaked at five-million. And despite a murderous and dispicable history, it had sufficient influence to force the 1924 Democratic Presidential Convention to abandon a party plank outlawing the KKK. Today, there are still hate-filled Klan lunatics who wrap themselves in sheets and scream epithets at blacks and other minorities. But the violence has subsided and the Klan’s main role is wearing regalia that amuses those of us with perverted senses of humor. 

More enduring from the standpoint of historial impact on the country is the Share Our Wealth Society, which was founded in 1934 during the depression era by the “Kingfish”—Huey P. Long. Prior to his assassination in 1935, he simultaneously served as U.S. Senator and Louisiana Governor. Relying on national radio broadcasts and a motto, Every Man a King, Long developed a following so large that historians credit him with forcing FDR to expand New Deal proposals out of fear that the Kingfish would  become a third-party candidate in 1936 Presidential election, thus handing over the White House to the GOP. In more contemporary times, off-brand populist movements have also played a role in shaping politics.

As CNN’s senior investigative correspondent in 1992, I was assigned to dig  into the background of Ross Perot—the declared, then undeclared and finally re-declared independent Presidential candidate. His rehearsed sound-bites garnered him eighteen percent of the vote. And according to many experts, cost George Herbert Bush a second term. The results of the election prompted Perot to create Reform Party USA. Its greatest success was electing Jesse Ventura as Governor of Minnesota in 1998.

By the time the party was formed, voters had already tired of Ross Perot’s repetitive blabbing. And I can understand why. In 1992, I spent a miserable hour with the little barking lap dog while gathering material for a segment that aired as part of  a CNN series titled, Democracy in America. In my on-camera interview with Perot, several questions deviated from his tightly scripted message. However, the questions were well-researched and considerably more substantive than Katie Couric asking Sara Palin what newspapers she read.

I thought Perot was going to throw me out of his office when I pointed out the many contradictions in his  manufactured myth of being horseback riding paperboy, who grew up to become a billionaire heroically rescuing his employees from an Iranian prison. Still, Perot was far more coherent than Sarah Palin. Ross could even put a noun, verb and object in a sentence.

Is Palin an inarticulate Perot? Darned if I know. Golly, gee, she just confuses the heck out of me. But there was a woman speaking at the Tea Party convention who claimed to be Sarah Palin. However, it could have been Tina Fey doing her dead-on Saturday Night Live impression.

Sarah Palin reportedly asked for $100,000 to appear at the convention. Goodness gracious alive, that sure is a lot of money. I worry, I mean really, really, really worry that maybe Tina Fey was sub-contracted for $75,000, allowing Ms. Palin to pocket the remainder and spend the weekend in Alaska shooting moose.

Bizarre speculation. But not as bizarre as some of things I hear coming out of the mouths of Tea Party folks—such as questions about President Obama’s birthplace. Aside from the lunatics, I hope the Tea Party anger is being directed at both sides of the aisle. There are plenty of targets in Congress, regardless of  political persuation. Everybody I know, left, right and in the middle agrees with Tea Partiers that partisan gridlock must end.

And I know for certain that tea partiers did not exclude blacks from its convention in Nashville. Reliable sources have told me that several African-Americans were allowed to serve food and clean-up after the meals.

My memoir, Odyssey of a Derelict Gunslinger, is available at amazon.com and independent bookstores. It offers much more than $19.99 worth of laughs. The book is an account of my illustrious (I choose the adjectives) career.

Against my better judgment many years ago, I signed off on hiring a relatively inexperienced wire service reporter to work with me in a television investigative reporting unit. It turned out to be a disaster, especially when I allowed her to conduct an important on-camera interview with a character vital to an ongoing exposé. She didn’t allow man a chance to complete a single sentence. Her constant confrontational interruptions rendered the interview useless. I don’t blame the reporter. It was my mistake in hiring her. She was simply trying to do a Mike Wallace imitation, not realizing that he allowed people to rattle on until their egos entrapped them. The Mike Wallace technique, by the way, won me a lot of journalism awards.

Anyway, watching the unbelieveable rudeness of Fox “News” anchor Megyn Kelly early this week reminded me of the long ago interview disaster that I facilitated. Kelly’s boorish interview of New York Post columnist and political commentator Kirsten Powers had all the class of a drunken honky-tonk brawl. Powers—a moderate voice regularly heard on the Republican propaganda network—was not allowed in this instance to express any opinion contradicting Kelly’s obvious racial prejudice.

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/fnc/megyn_kelly_to_kirsten_powers_with_respect_you_dont_seem_to_know_what_youre_talking_about_167499.asp

Megyn Kelly’s screech on her program, America Live, may explain why she gave up the practice of law to enter broadcasting. Had she displayed similar demeanor in a courtroom, Kelly would be spending time in a jail cell for contempt of court. 

The context of the interview was obviously Kelly’s belief that the U.S. Department of Justice engaged in a form of reverse racism by failing to pursue default judgments in lawsuits accusing members of the Black Panthers of imtimidating voters outside a precinct in Philadelphia during the November, 2008 Presidential election. A malcontent, who formerly worked in the Justice Department’s Civil Right’s Division, claims that the Obama Administration and African American Attorney General Eric Holder are going easy on black activist groups like the Panthers. Media Matters covered the issue pretty thoroughly this week.

In short, conservative media outlets have been aggressively promoting the charge by GOP activist J. Christian Adams that President Obama’s Justice Department engaged in racially charged “corruption” when it partially dismissed a case against members of the New Black Panther Party for allegedly engaging in voter intimidation outside of a Philadelphia polling center on Election Day in 2008.

As we have documented extensively, Adams should not be trusted. He is a long-time right-wing activist with extensive ties to the Bush-era politicization of the Justice Department. Adams himself has admitted that he lacks first-hand knowledge to support his accusations. Additionally, Adams’ charge that the DOJ’s action in the New Black Panther case shows unprecedented, racially motivated corruption is undermined by the fact that the Obama DOJ obtained judgment against one of the defendants, and that the Bush DOJ declined to pursue similar allegations against a group of Minutemen — one of whom was carrying a gun — in 2006.

Even the Republican vice chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights called the New Black Panthers case “very small potatoes” and said an investigation into the DOJ’s decision is full of “overheated rhetoric filled with insinuations and unsubstantiated charges.”

And yet again, the fact that this is a completely manufactured scandal didn’t stop conservative media figures from engaging in one of their time-honored traditions: attempting to obscure their own problems with race by accusing others of racism.

Radio host Jim Quinn — who once told “race-baiting” African-American “ingrates” to “get on your knees” and “kiss the American dirt” because slavery brought them to the U.S. — hyped the New Black Panther story by calling the civil rights community “race-baiting poverty pimps.”

Rush Limbaugh — who earlier this week announced that if Obama wasn’t black he’d be a “tour guide in Honolulu” and claimed Obama is using the office of the presidency to seek “payback” for the country’s history of racism — forwarded Adams’ charge that the case was dropped because of racially charged corruption.

Beck, who infamously called President Obama a “racist” with a “deep seated hatred for white people or the white culture,” declared that the Obama administration is “full” of “people that will excuse” the “hatred” of the New Black Panthers. He also relied on falsehoods to try to connect Obama to the New Black Panthers, and claimed today that the New Black Panthers are part of Obama’s “army of thugs.”

If the U.S. Justice Department has adopted a policy of not prosecuting black activists, word of the change has not reached Louisiana. On the west bank of the Mississippi River,African American mayors of Port Allen, New Roads and White Castle were indicted earlier this month, along with a black police chief. A fourth African American mayor is under investigation in the same case. Unless the Justice Department has changed its procedures, the Public Integrity Division in Washington reviews cases involving public officials prior to indictments. Regardless, the recent arrests tends to dispute claims of racial favortism.

Sadly, I sometimes get the feeling that our country is on the verge of returning to the bad old days of race divisions. The NAACP adopted a resolution this week condemning the tea party movement for providing aid and comfort to bigots. If some of the demonstrations are an indications, white hate groups have found a place to spew their hatred. Granted, they are a small minority. But their very presence undermines the legitimacy of the tea party.

I would hope the country had reached a point that resolutions such as the one adopted by the  NAACP were unnecessary. But the election of Barack Obama has triggered the worst in many people. And disgracefully, they are being cheered on by the Fox “News,” its pundits and anchors, and scores of right-wing characters polluting the nation’s airwaves.

Racism is still alive in America. If you don’t believe it, look up the definition of the word in your dictionary.

My memoir, Odyssey of a Derelict Gunslinger, is available at amazon.com and independent bookstores. It offers much more than $19.99 worth of laughs. The book is an account of my illustrious (I choose the adjectives) career.

Well, it only stands to reason that Dr. Glenn Beck has decided to establish his own university. After all, he is now the distinguished owner of an honorary doctorate degree bestowed on him by the late Jerry Falwell’s prestigious Liberty University.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/06/glenn-beck-university-fox_n_635980.html

Beck University is only taking baby steps in the beginning while waiting for accreditation by the American Association of Public Affairs Embeciles (AAPAE). On-line classes begin with three professors, including the Chairman of LSU’s political science department, James Stoner. According to the Baton Rouge Advocate, Dr. Stoner is an avowed conservative, who has spoken to tea partiers about constitutional issues. He compared his Beck University lectures to guest appearances on the Comedy Channel’s Daily Show by prominent educators, politicians and authors. Stoner said his lectures would be devoted to educating students on matters relating to the U.S. Constitution. He has written extensively on the subject.

A pro-family activist and an expert on business affairs are also early recruits for Beck University’s faculty. I have a couple of suggestions for other faculty members. Brother Jimmy Lee Swaggart would be an excellent selection for a class titled, “Tears and Sobs on Demand.” And how about a class called, “Ten Ways to Escape a Straight Jacket”. Neither of the two subjects are offered by other colleges, although I must admit that I have failed to check the curriculum of Liberty University.

Dr. Beck’s “institution of higher learning” will not award credits for its classes. But the scam…oops, I meant to say tuition is a bargain—$75.00 a year or $45.00 for six months. Students will receive either an education or an indoctrination. And despite Dr. Glenn’s racism, I’m reasonably certain Beck University has an open door policy. But as a precautionary measure, African Americans, Hispanics and Muslims should mark “No Preference” when questioned about race and/or religion.

Seriously, folks, I can’t decide if Glenn Beck is the craziest son-of-a-bitch on radio and television or the smartest con man since the days of P.T. Barnum whose famous quote, “There’s a sucker born every minute” is personified by a large segment of Beck fans. Glenn never misses an opportunity to exploit his celebrity to earn a few bucks. In addition to radio and TV shows, he writes barely coherent books, does live video appearances carried in movie theaters at jacked-up admission prices, and he merchandises lunacy in every forum he can find.

I suspected for a longtime that Beck fans were in on the joke—that they really didn’t take his ramblings seriously. But he is the guy who claims to have started the tea party movement. And the folks shouting about taking back their government are deadly serious. Thankfully, it has failed to grow beyond the size of the Ross Perot base, if that big. November will tell the tale of the tea party’s influence on elections. Actually, a couple of the candidates they support are eligible to share a padded cell with Dr. Beck. But you never know the mood of voters.

I hate to use this cliché because people will think it is autobiographical, but “Ignorance is bliss.” For anyone that doesn’t get it, my middle name is Bliss. I was named after my paternal grandfather and don’t have a clue of its origin. I like to state that the name reflects the ecstasy of my wives—or should I say wife. The other two kicked my sorry ass out. Read all about it my book. But I digress.

Anyway, our nation has dumbed down—thanks in large part to television. Part of the blissful ignorance that has swept the country is a result of laziness. People don’t take the time to read newspapers, magazines or do a little research on the Internet to determine the truth of fables spread by Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Keith Olberman and a whole slew of propagandists on the left and right. Like hogs at the trough, they consume whatever is fed to them.

Consequently, politicians treat voters like simpletons. Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen wrote this week about his surprise in learning that a U.S. Senator with a dumb-downed commercial was in fact a pretty smart guy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/05/AR2010070502659.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

In an era when the Internet puts news and background at our finger tips, it is distressing to know that so many people live twitter lives. If Beck University is to succeed, its founder may need to reduce class time to 140 characters.  

My memoir, Odyssey of a Derelict Gunslinger, is available at amazon.com and independent bookstores. It offers much more than $19.99 worth of laughs. The book is an account of my illustrious (I choose the adjectives) career.

Many years ago when Geraldo Rivera was a correspondent for ABC’s 20/20, he chased a pimp down the street during a hilarious ambush interview attempt that began with a fast walk, followed by a jog and then became a full sprint. Had this been in the age of You Tube, the Internet would have been overloaded with viewers. Instead, the video was passed among television newsman as an example of “Geraldo” style jouralism. I’m a longtime critic of the technique, although it was a hallmark of my early career as an investigative reporter in Miami.

Nonetheless, ambush journalism is sometimes the only way to serve the public interest. Such is the case with Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle—the Republican candidate opposing Harry Reid for a U.S. Senate seat in Nevada. TV crews have begun stalking Angle because of her refusal to answer questions about previously stated radical views that seem to advocate taking up arms against our government.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/us/politics/29angle.html?th&emc=th

By limiting interviews to right-wing radio shows sympathetic to her views and to appearances on Fox “News,” Ms. Angle re-enforces the old axiom that “the truth hurts.” Her rhetoric is already part of the public record. Among other things, she has called for phasing out Medicare and Social Security, eliminating the EPA and the U.S. Department of Education and making alcohol illegal. While serving in Nevada’s 42-member state Assembly, she voted “no” so often that legislators described votes as “41 to Angle.” 

So given this public record, newsmen have a simple question for the candidate. “Do you really believe your rhetoric, Ms. Angle, or are you truly a right-wing lunatic.” Senate President Harry Reid—an incumbent whose re-election was in serious jeopardy—must fall to his knees daily and thank God for delivering Angle as his opponent in the November elections.

Also remaining close-mouthed in the presence of newsmen is Kentucky U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul—another Republican with strong support from the tea party movement. Early gaffes about civil rights and his defense of BP in the wake of the Gulf coast oil spill disaster led Paul to become extremely cautious in granting interviews to reporters representing the mainstream media. Early on, Paul cancelled an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, apparently fearing he would make a fool of himself.

More recently, the Louisiville Courier-Journal disclosed that Paul was not certified by the medical clearing house that oversees his Bowling Green practice as a ophthamologist. Instead, he is certified by the National Board of Ophthamology, an organization he created and heads as President. He has refused to answer questions about his self-certification.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100614/NEWS0106/6140307/Rand-Paul-s-ophthalmology-certification-not-recognized-by-national-clearinghouse

When tea partiers are asked about the secrecy of candidates they support, the responses are predictable. “You can’t trust the liberal media.” The “liberal media myth” is a fable fostered by Rush Limbaugh, his idiot clones on Fox “News” and all the Rush wannabes ranting daily on AM radio.

I make no bones about my own progressive political views, which in large part have been hardened by the aforementioned stable of loonies. I know name-calling is counter productive, but at my age it’s better than sex. Indeed, wing-nuts and politicians they endorse have given up on any pretense of civility. So why not join the crowd? More dangerous than the loss of civility is the reality that many journalists have given up on demanding accountability, which allows evasive candidates like Sharron Angle to conceal their true positions on issues.

Maybe it’s time for more reporters to put on Geraldo Rivera running shoes and begin chasing down politicians for answers to tough questions.

My memoir, Odyssey of a Derelict Gunslinger, is available at amazon.com and independent bookstores. It offers much more than $19.99 worth of laughs. The book is an account of my illustrious (I choose the adjectives) career.