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A visit to Meredith Wendell's studio in N.Y




 at Meredith Wendell's Studio



I have for you today another great moment from my first day in New York, a visit to Meredith Wendell's studio. Here I met the wonderful designer and saw her new collection: a variety of materials in functional and modern designs. These are some pictures that I took during this visit and I cam't wait to see all these beauties up on her website here.
My eyes are on that snake green/turquoise square bag, how about you?





                                                                               Coat: Joe Fresh/ option Here
                                                                               Sweater: Land's End/ option Here 
                                                                               Jeans: Truck Jeans Gold c/o Lulu's.com  
                                                                               Sneakers: Supra/ option Here
                                                                               Bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim/ I also love this one Here
                                                                               Sunglasses: Ralph Lauren/ option Here



                                

We Didn't STEAL IT! We BOUGHT It! ... J. D. Longstreet

   We Didn't STEAL IT!  We BOUGHT It!   ...   J. D. Longstreet
            We Didn't STEAL IT!  We BOUGHT It!
                            ... All  Six-Hundred BILLION Dollars Worth!
                                 A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

*************************************************
To say that the US stole the land that now comprises the southwestern United States is a bald-faced lie!

It is a lie the political left is using to their advantage.  The "citizens of the world bunch,"  the globalists, the world without borders nuts, (and the like) have spread this lie so thickly that it is now accepted as truth.  It is NOT truth.  It is a damnable lie! It is propaganda intended to soften up US citizen's sentiments toward amnesty for illegal aliens.

Obama is about to mount an all out push for amnesty for illegal aliens, very soon now, and it WILL pass the Congress this time.    

Do you understand now why no one is correcting the lies that the US stole all that land in the Southwest from Mexico???  Do you understand WHY  they want you to remain "dumb" on the subject?

It is all a part of their Deconstruction of America Project. It is a project, I might add, that appears to be well ahead of schedule and coming to fruition at a pace I would not have believed had I not experienced it since Election Day 2008.  

OK, so -- let’s set the record straight and look at some facts.

First, The Mexican War:

The Mexican War between the United States and Mexico began with a Mexican attack on American troops along the southern border of Texas on Apr. 25, 1846. Fighting ended when U.S. Gen. Winfield Scott occupied Mexico City on Sept. 14, 1847; a few months later a peace treaty was signed (Feb. 2, 1848) at Guadalupe Hidalgo. In addition to recognizing the U.S. annexation of Texas defeated Mexico ceded California and, New Mexico (including all the present-day states of the Southwest) to the United States. 

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the Mexican War, was signed on February 2, 1848, by Nicholas P. Trist, for the United States, and by a special commission representing the collapsed government of Mexico.

Under the treaty, Mexico ceded to the United States Upper California and New Mexico (including Arizona) and recognized U.S. claims over Texas, with the Rio Grande as its southern boundary. The United States in turn paid Mexico $15,000,000, assumed the claims of American citizens against Mexico, ($3.25 Million) recognized prior land grants in the Southwest, and offered citizenship to any Mexicans residing in the area.  Then a few years later, the US bought the land that is now Arizona and New Mexico from Mexico for another 6 million dollars. 

Second: Why did we need that additional land?

After the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, border disputes between the United States and Mexico remained unsettled. Land that now comprises lower Arizona and New Mexico was part of a proposed southern route for a transcontinental railroad. US President Franklin Pierce was convinced by Jefferson Davis, (Later the First President of the Confederate States of America)  then the US Secretary of War, to send James Gadsden (who had personal interests in the rail route) to negotiate the Gadsden Purchase with Mexico. Under the resulting agreement, the U.S. paid Mexico $10 million.  There was a problem with the money, however: Even though the agreement specified $10 million, the US Congress only agreed to pay $7 million. When the money finally arrived, in Mexico City, $1 million was found to be lost, thus making $6 million the amount Mexico actually got for the sale of that land.  Hey, they set the price… we PAID it!

Run the numbers and you will find that the US paid Mexico $24,250,000.00 (24 million, two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand) US dollars for the land in the Southwest US which many claim, today, we (The US) stole! 

You know I get a bit tired, and even short-tempered, with folks who attempt to perpetuate an untruth by the act of sheer omission.  As  a Southerner, I know how that can hurt.  To say the US stole all that land in the Southwest is a flat-out lie.  So, 24 and-a-quarter-million isn’t much money?  Not by today’s standards, perhaps. But back in the mid 1800’s we’re talking about somewhere in the area of $600,000,000.00!  Now that IS big bucks!

So, next time you hear someone prattling on about how the US stole all the southwestern United States from Mexico, set them straight.  Tell them we bought it and PAID for it.  If they refuse to believe you refer them to the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty -- AND --  the "Gadsden Purchase" a few years later.  It’s all there.  It’s a part of history.  It is, apparently, a part of history students in the American government schools never hear about. (Sometimes referred to as The American "Fool" System)

Of course, the claims that we stole the land from Mexico are all a part of the propaganda being employed to saddle Americans with more undeserved guilt.  People who feel guilty will ofttimes respond in the way those prodding them wish them to respond.  That is what is hoped for with all the unmitigated garbage heaped on America (and Americans) today.

Actually, as I view the relationship between the US and Mexico today, I almost ... ALMOST ... agree with those who feel we ought to annex the entire country of Mexico and run it as an American territory.   I mean, it’s not like we are not supporting the country of Mexico, anyway.  The billions of US dollars a year pouring into Mexico, from Mexican citizens who have burglarized the US, by "breaking and entering," is absolutely staggering.

So, as the leftist's propaganda mills continue to crank this unmitigated bovine scatology and pure horse hockey out inundating Americans with all the lies and distortions about how badly Americans treat Mexicans, illegal and otherwise, just keep in mind that all they are attempting to do is prod Americans into supporting Obama's AMNESTY FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS endeavor.  

Comprehensive Immigration Reform (or whatever they are calling it THIS time!!!), is an abomination and should never see the light of day. I’ll be leaning on my Senators from North Carolina to vote against that bill -- and any other bills that will aid in the left's efforts to destroy America -- at every opportunity. May I suggest you do the same?

© J. D. Longstreet

Supremes Considering Striking Section V of Civil Rights Act...

Supremes Considering Striking Section V of Civil Rights Act...
by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty
-vs- Tyranny


The Supreme Court is considering striking down Section V of the voting rights act. The conservative members of the Court, along with swing vote Justice Kennedy, question whether the specific section has outlived its usefulness. Appears the President concurs. At least partially. Striking Section V would remove the need for certain states and counties to get federal government approval before changing their voting laws.

THE HILL - President Obama also seemed to signal earlier this week that a loss at the Supreme Court was possible, if not likely. Obama said in a local television interview last week that losing Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act would not cause people to lose their right to vote.

“People will still have the same rights not to be discriminated against when it comes to voting," Obama said. "You just won't have this mechanism, this tool, that allows you to kind of stay ahead of certain practices." {Read the Details}

Via: Memeorandum

Will the Sky Come Falling Down...

Will the Sky Come Falling Down...
by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty
-vs- Tyranny



The whole sequestration issue is sort of amusing really. Two parties of adult legislators plus one President playing politics again. Rather than governing effectively and in the best interests of the nation as a whole. The following is quite informative.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - And when the Republicans opened the seventh seal of the sequester, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black and the stars fell unto the Earth; and our nation's ability to forecast severe weather, such as drought events, hurricanes and tornados, was seriously undermined. Lo, and the children were not vaccinated, and all the beasts starved in the zoos, and the planes were grounded.

Or so President Obama and his Cabinet prophets have been preaching ahead of the automatic budget cuts due to begin Friday. The bit about the weather is a real quote from the White House budget director.

But if any of these cataclysms do come to pass, then they will be mostly Mr. Obama's own creation. The truth is that the sequester already gives the White House the legal flexibility to avoid doom, if a 5% cut to programs that have increased more than 17% on average over the Obama Presidency counts as doom.

According to Mr. Obama and his budget office, the sequester cuts are indiscriminate and spell out specific percentages that will be subtracted from federal "projects, programs and activities," or PPAs. Except for the exemptions in the 2011 budget deal, the White House says it must now cut across the board regardless of how important a given PPA is. Food inspectors, say, will be treated the same as subsidies for millionaire farmers.

Not so fast... {The Rest of the Article}



Indeed. There is a reason why most Americans distrust their government.

Via: Memeorandum

one room challenge - week 4

We have arrived at week 4 of the One Room Challenge (you can catch up on weeks 1 - 3 here) and this week has been all about fumes. Paint, floor wax and stripping chemicals. Ahh the smell of progress.

Thanks to a well timed play date and some quality grandparent time, the hubs and I took advantage of an empty house and got painting.


Btw, I shared my progress on Instagram, and am now officially addicted. I know I'm late to the party but that sucker is just fun.

Now for those of you who are new, I'm a color girl. I need it the same way I need anything that Andy Cohen will put on TV. So I went with quite a radical choice for the walls. White.

I can hear the sarcasm in your voice, 'White?! That is soo daring.' Well, for me it is. This is only the second time...ever that I've painted a room white. (the kitchen being the other instance)

But you may have noticed from my board, that there is also another paint color listed. I can't go without color somewhere on the walls, so I went for the fifth wall - the ceiling. I took a cue from all of my Pinterest ceiling inspiration and gave the girls what they wanted. Pink.

Not bubblegum pink, or baby pink. We are going for Big Girl Pink.

My 5-year-old Amelia picked out this fabric (she's good, I know) and I used that pink/purple color as our Big Girl inspiration.



I matched up a swatch (BM Springtime Bloom) and slapped that sucker up on the wall.


I knew as soon as I started trimming out the ceiling that I loved it.

These girls' are not wallflowers and neither is their room. It is a really great color that looks different thru out the day. It is a great contrast against the white and it makes the room feel bigger. Win win.


Beautiful ceiling and walls, now on to the floor. I took advantage of the emptyness to get on my hands and knees and clean the crap out of that floor. Soap and hot water, elbow grease and then a coat of wax. I'll do another coat of wax and then buff it. (my mom is very proud at this moment)

The crib was then taken down (sad) and Eve's 'new' bed was brought up from the basement. The girls' have the same beds that were used by my sister and I, which I love.  With both beds in the room, we were able to move things around and I've nailed down where all the little puzzle pieces will fit. Sweet progress.


The paint fumes must have made us giddy because we also went ahead and put up the new light fixture. And in my final burst of weekend energy I took those drawers out of the dresser and started to strip. The drawers. I stripped the drawers.


As of this morning all the drawers are stripped and the base is half way there. More on that next week.

With all of that, I'm pooped. Let's check in on the list, shall we?

  1. Come up with functional floor plan
  2. Paint walls/ceiling/trim
  3. Paint dresser (new hardware?) Progress
  4. Update vanity (maybe some fun color or hardware) Progress
  5. Find curtains and add trim
  6. Add a rug and new bedding Progress
  7. Hang art and create some personalized pieces Progress
  8. Find/Install new light fixture (buh bye ceiling fan)
  9. Reupholster chair and possibly add comfy floor cushions 
  10. Find/Make lampshade(s) 
Now let's see how the others are progressing!

Breaking News: A new Washington blockbuster is set to debut Friday

Breaking News: A new Washington blockbuster is set to debut Friday


By James H. Shott

From the people who raised your moral outrage with "Fast and Furious," drove your anger to fever pitch with "Negligence in Benghazi," and left you scratching your head with "Wasting Billions Again in Green Energyville," comes a new, even-bigger blockbuster that threatens to unleash mass chaos across the land: "The Attack of Sequestration!"

Sequestration is a predetermined set of mandatory cuts to defense and domestic spending totaling $965 billion over the next 10 years. The first round of $85 billon automatically takes effect March 1, unless our elected leaders, the stewards of our government, get busy this week.

There is a great deal of political Tomfoolery associated with this looming event, such as the myth that sequestration represents actual cuts to federal spending — it doesn't. The $965 billion total and the $85 billion for this year represent reductions only in budget increases, not cuts in spending. And even if Congress does not stop sequestration, the federal government will spend $2.14 trillion more in 2022 than it does today.

Then the idea that something so tiny in a federal budget so bloated as ours will be calamitous is just silly. The spending for 2013 is estimated at $3.55 trillion — which is $3,550 billion — and $85 billion is just pocket change. In fact, since the fiscal year is already nearly half over, the damage will be less than that.

And then there's President Obama's idiotic scare tactic that teachers, first responders and other important workers will be laid off. As all informed Americans know, school teachers, fire fighters and police officers are state and local employees, not federal workers, so their jobs won't be directly affected by the sequestration, although cutbacks in programs sending money to the states might have an impact.

Over a 10-year period sequestration would reduce proposed spending increases by about 2.5 percent. In practical terms, that means instead of having $100 to spend, government would only have $97.50, a tough situation, perhaps, but certainly not a catastrophe. And given the enormous and dangerous national debt facing us, it's a sacrifice our public servants will just have to cope with.

The president would have us believe that not only was sequestration the idea of Congressional Republicans, but that he was totally against its development. Both assertions are false. According to author Bob Woodward in his recent book "The Price of Politics," the origins of sequestration rest comfortably with then-White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew (he’s the guy Mr. Obama has nominated to run the economy at the Treasury Department) assisted by then-White House congressional relations chief Rob Nabors, and was approved for presentation to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid by President Obama on July 27, 2011. Mr. Woodward referred to Lew and Nabors as "probably the foremost experts on budget issues in the senior ranks of the federal government," which explains a lot about why we are where we are.

This is no small point. The president has a penchant for laying the blame for his failures on the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress. He cannot run away from this one.

As for the president's strong opposition to the immensely flawed concept, here is what he said on the subject in November of 2011: “Already, some in Congress are trying to undo these automatic spending cuts. My message to them is simple: No. I will veto any effort to get rid of those automatic spending cuts – domestic and defense spending. There will be no easy off-ramps on this one.”

President Obama either has one of the worst memories of anyone to inhabit the office, or simply does not like the truth.

Clearly, even though the "cuts" the Obama sequestration imposes are too small, given the scope of our fiscal crisis, it is a clumsy tool that cuts spending indiscriminately. Typical of the administration's planning, it was poorly thought out, and was designed as a mechanism to bludgeon Republicans to agreeing to even more tax increases than they agreed to last year.

Because it is a rip saw where a surgical laser is needed, sequestration can do serious damage, but it does not have to. Department heads and military service chiefs should have full discretion to apply cuts where they will do the least harm, something that should not be difficult to accomplish by people dedicated to working to sensibly reduce over-spending.

Vast areas of waste and duplication have been well documented, and total at least twice the amount of this year's cuts. And there are truckloads of failed government programs and projects – like Head Start, putting a muzzle on the Environmental Protection Agency, and doing away with SWAT teams carrying out the work of the Department of Education, the Food and Drug Administration and other agencies that have no business using that kind of force.

Of course, this solution assumes that the elected leaders of our government start doing what is good for the country instead of what benefits them politically. And now is the time for the President of the United States to stop campaigning and finally show some real leadership.

 Cross-posted from Observations

NYFW Day 6




Misha Nonoo F/W 2013 Collection

So this is what I wore on my last day at NYFW. I opted for a more casual approach, pairing a red leather jacket with ripped jeans and heels. I wore this look at Misha Nonoo's Presentation that took place at the great Standard Hotel.
I must say that Nonoo's collection was a little bit closer to my origins and I loved that. Russian inspirations with the specific fur hats( my mum had one like this) and long military coats.
My trip to N.Y for Fashion Week coming to an end was so bittersweet but I'm so grateful for everything and I want to thank one more time to Polyvore team for this incredible experience  and also for the great accommodation at the Hudson Hotel!
Polyvore you are the best!



                                                                               Jacket: Zara/ Here
                                                                               Top: vintage Christian Dior/ option Here
                                                                               Jeans: American Eagle/ option Here 
                                                                               Bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim/ another great one Here 
                                                                               Heels: Shoemint
                                                                               Cuff bracelet: Chanel
                                                                               Sunglasses: c/o zeroUV/ Here


The Curse Of The LO/INFO Voter ... J. D. Longstreet

The Curse Of The LO/INFO Voter   ...   J. D. Longstreet
The Curse Of The LO/INFO Voter
A Commentary b J. D. Longstreet

******************

The LO/INFO voter -- sometimes referred to as LIV's -- are a curse on America.  It is they who are driving America's "post constitution" government.  They, however, are SO low-information they have no idea their influence may lie at the root of the problems America faces today.

Now.  Who are these LO/Info voters?  What is a Lo/Info voter?  Let's take a closer look. 

I will guarantee when we finish here you will KNOW who a Lo/Info voter is -- and -- you might be surprised to learn that YOU fall within their ranks.  Not to worry.  Most of us have been, at one time in our lives, card carrying members of the Lo/Info voter classification.

Let's begin with the obvious.  Lo/Info voters are people who may vote, but who are, generally speaking, poorly (or badly) informed about politics.  That fact alone speaks volumes concerning the inherent weakness of a democracy.  It can certainly be considered an important reason the Founders of America decided that a Representative Republic was the way to go for this fledgling country and it's government.

The LIV's could not define their political ideology if their lives depended upon it.  As a rule, with some exceptions, of course, they have no political ideology of their own.  Instead, they choose candidates that are, for whatever reason, appealing to them.  It could be as simple as the physical appearance of the candidate. In fact, it often IS the visage of the candidate.  For instance, America's last balding President was Dwight Eisenhower.

Having no coherent political ideology the LIV's are more likely to be swing voters, and they will split a ticket in a heartbeat.

Some years ago, I was conversing with a young man about an upcoming Presidential Election.  He volunteered that he probably would not vote because his vote didn't really make a difference anyway.  I tried to convince him, as best I could, that he was wrong.  But as the conversation went on I began to understand that this young man knew squat about America's political system. He was married, a high school graduate with possibly some college, a veteran, gainfully employed, and dumb as a post about politics in America. He was, and I suspect still is, a LIV. 

I have a friend, a middle-aged government employee, very intelligent, with more than one college degree, married, very successful in his chosen field, who, when asked his opinion on something or other the government is proposing in Congress, responds with:  "I don't worry about stuff like that.  There's nothing I can do about it. So why worry?"

Do either of these examples remind you of some of your friends and acquaintances?

These are LO/INFO voters ... and they are dangerous to America.

America was very carefully designed for  people who were educated, moral, and involved in the politics of the country. Over the two and a half centuries America has been on the scene we have seen what can happen to her and her government as fewer and fewer Americans deign to take part in the governing process.

By taking part, I mean not just voting, but following, closely, the goings on in the Congress and the Oval Office and writing letters, e-mails and telephoning or faxing their representative in Congress over their concerns about proposed legislation, etc. It means attending City Council meetings, at least occasionally,  and County Commissioner meetings, too.  All these politicians need to see you and hear you and KNOW hey are being held accountable to and by the voters who selected them as their representatives.

It is frighteningly easy to see what happens to a government when the electorate does not  stay involved.  We get exactly what we have today in Washington -- a Congress that is so out of touch with their constituents as to seem almost rogue in nature. 

The current government of the US is a product of the lo/info voter.  Who else but lo/info voters would vote for a man for President based simply on the color of his skin?  How do we get so many worthless, corrupt, politicians returned term after term to the Congress except by the votes of lo/info voters? 

So now, we are paying the price.  We're broke, under water, quickly becoming a third-world country, and we're scratching our collective heads wondering how we ever got into this mess.

I submit that wondering how we got into this mess is not the real question.  We already know the answer to that.

 The real question is "How do we get out of this mess?"

© J. D. Longstreet

past & present - book joy

Merry Monday to all! I hope your weekend was full of giggles and cocktails. I enjoyed both, as well as a very high pitched game of floor wrestling. Eve likes to scream as she wrestles. It's part of her charm.

You will be happy to know that I've picked out my St. Patrick's Day present. Now I know that St. Patrick's Day isn't normally known as a gift giving holiday, but I figure the money I would spend on holiday libations will more than cover the cost of the book.

It's called Past & Present: 24 Favorite Moments in Decorative Arts History and 24 Modern DIY Projects Inspired by Them (how's that for a title). Amy Azzarito of Design Sponge wrote it and I need it.

Basically she picks 24 artists and designers (like Eddie Ross and Todd Oldhman)to create a DIY project inspired by her all time favorite moments in decorative history. Genius. And a DIYer's idea of a good time. Total side note: does anyone else remember watching Todd Oldham and Cindy Crawford on MTV's House of Style way long ago? I just dated myself for sure. And outed myself as someone who watches entirely too much tv. Moving on.

Past & Present
The book comes out March 5th in stores, or you can preorder here. I can't wait! Even the cover has me all giddy.

Read any good books lately?

Overcoming Their Own Worst Enemy ... J. D. Longstreet

Overcoming Their Own Worst Enemy   ...   J. D. Longstreet
Overcoming Their Own Worst Enemy
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
****************


Liberal guilt created a permanent underclass of citizens in America about one hundred and fifty years ago and still there is no light at the end of the tunnel for that underclass to claw their way towards IF they ever hope to crawl out of the societal hole liberals tossed them into at the end of America's "War Between the States."  

There is another entirely different commentary to be written about the way liberals have suckered the black race in America and taken credit for any and all advances American blacks have made since the Civil War.  Most of the left's claims are pure bovine scatology but their willing accomplices in the intellectual community, the halls of academia, and the Mainstream Media have taken those lies and transformed them them into what is recognized today as history.  Never mind that that so-called "history" is mostly lies.  It IS the official record.  And that, dear reader, is THAT.

It is the national leadership of the black community in America where, I think, the problem lies.

But there is a crying need for leadership at a much more critical level.  In the home, in the family, and in the black neighborhoods.

The black family desperately needs two parents at the head of the family unit ... a mother and a FATHER.  That young black male can learn much from his mother --  but -- how to be a responsible, disciplined, self-respecting man, a masculine contributor to society,  can be learned ONLY from a father.  The home is where real leadership begins, where it is born, and where respect for leadership is taught.  It is also where accountability is learned and where one learns to take responsibility for one's own actions or inactions.

It is jaw-dropping to realize that an entire race of people in America were given freedom over 150 years ago and so little progress has been made as a race, as a class, in bettering themselves, taking advantage of the blessings of this country,  seizing the guilt offerings from white America and using all of it to make their way up the ladder of progress  until they truly stand on a level societal field. It just has not happened. 

If anything, with exceptions, of course, the vast majority of American blacks seem to take pride in their victimhood, assumed or real.  See, little is expected of victims.  It is SAFE to play the part of the victim. And besides, white America loves to "rescue" victims by lavishing all sorts of goodies on them if only to assuage the guilt they (white America) feel for having victimized the poor "victim" in the first place.

Then along comes someone like Dr. Ben Carson and blows a hole the size of the moon through all the BS the leaders of the black community have thrown up the past 150 years -- and what happens?  Well, of course, he is attacked for it.  He's not "down" with the "cause."

See, Ben Carson is an embarrassment to the black community.  That alone should tell you just how convoluted the thinking within that hapless community of people really is.

Here's a man who made the most of every opportunity he found, or came his way, or that he himself could create. Ambitious?  HELL, Yes!  But ambition is a necessary element in striving to better your lot in life.

"Black people created their own stereotype. Now its hard for me to be a educated young black man without being labeled as 'acting white." (Quote from "unknown.")

Nobody seems to know who actually created or verbalized the quote above but it is unarguably true.

Mychal Massie, in an Article for WND entitled: "Blacks: Their own worst enemy" said the following: "If you are black, when was the last time you applauded the accomplishment of another black who didn’t play victim or have an edge of militancy earmarking said accomplishment?

Blacks are inculcated from the womb to believe that whites, especially conservatives, are out to get them. Living under that onus creates a debilitating vestige of rage, resentment and inferiority. In reality, whites, apart from liberals who trade on black immiseration, are not interested in holding blacks down or treating them unfairly. And in no way do they reference blacks in the same disparaging ways blacks do them."
SOURCE:  http://www.wnd.com/2007/10/43800/#zqvc6ysDx2m6RJvd.99

(Mr. Massie is, himself, black. He is the former chairman of the National Leadership Network of Black Conservatives-Project 21 – a conservative black think tank located in Washington, D.C. He was recognized as the 2008 Conservative Man of the Year by the Conservative Party of Suffolk County, N.Y. He is a nationally recognized political activist, pundit and columnist. He has appeared on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN, NBC, Comcast Cable and talk-radio programming nationwide. A former self-employed business owner of more than 30 years, Massie's website is mychal-massie.com.)

In the very same article Mr. Massie goes on to say: "Many blacks may not like it, but all too often, when they’re not being their own worst enemies, they are giving their tacit stamp of approval for others to portray them that way."  SOURCE:  http://www.wnd.com/2007/10/43800/#zqvc6ysDx2m6RJvd.99

For evidence of the truthfulness of Mr. Massie's statement above simply look at the leaders the American black community has chosen to represent it and consider how those very same leaders embellish the victim-hood label.

I agree with Mr. Massie who says in the same article:  "It is time to stop feigning insult over nothing, and over that which could be avoided by appropriate behavior, and start promoting positive stories of blacks, regardless of their party affiliation. It is time to stop honoring malevolent anti-social behavior and victimology."  Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2007/10/43800/#zqvc6ysDx2m6RJvd.99
  
The self-appointed leaders of America's black community continue to play the "blame game" and continue to preach hatred and divisiveness when they ought to be preaching a message of repentance and turning away from immorality.   As a result, American blacks have simply traded one enslavement for another.

At some point, blacks are going to have to relinquish their death grip on the battles of the past, accept that most of those battles have actually been won, and join with the rest of us battling today's problems and preparing as best we can to face the unknown problems about to assail us from the future.

Look. Bigots and racists are EVER with us,  have always BEEN with us,  and will always BE with us.  Unfortunately, it is a part of the human condition.  It is a part we can choose to allow influence us -- or -- we can choose to ignore it/them and move forward.   I hope we as a people, both black and white, choose the latter.

America is facing an uncertain future in which she will need all her children, black, white, brown, whatever,  dedicated to her survival.


WE can do this, but we can do it so much better TOGETHER.

© J. D. Longstreet