Obama the 'Magic Negro'

Trying to one-up Don Imus, Rush Limbaugh played a song on his show called "Barack the Magic Negro." Limbaugh was inspired (and I use that term loosely) from an article in the L.A. Times which points out similarities between Obama and a type of film character known as a 'magic Negro' (see: any Morgan Freeman movie).

In movies and fiction a 'magic Negro' is:

• An African American usually disabled by discrimination, disability, or social constraint.


• He appears one day to help the white protagonist.


• He is a black stereotype prone to criminality or laziness which is counterbalanced with some sort of magic power (Scatman Crothers in "The Shining") or exceptional ability.


• He is patient, wise, and full of sage advice


• He typically uses his power to help the white protagonist get out of trouble, usually by helping him recognize his own faults and overcome them

By now you probably have a good idea of what I'm talking about. According to David Ehrenstein, the writer of the L.A. Times article, and an African American, Obama has arrived, seemingly out of nowhere, with his incredible political ability (or, magic) to "assuage white "guilt" (i.e., the minimal discomfort they feel) over the role of slavery and racial segregation in American history." Ehrenstein points out that Obama's popularity has little to do with his political record, or his books, but has much more to do with his charisma and demeanor. It's a provocative article.

Limbaugh's take on the matter is entirely different. His song is sung by Paul Shanklin, a white, good ol' boy from Tennessee, who channels Buckwheat in order to sing the song like Al Sharpton. The's become da's, and grammar quickly goes out the window because, well, it's supposed to be a black man singing.

Listen to the song here.

The chorus goes like this (to the melody of "Puff the Magic Dragon"):

Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times they call him that because he's black but not authentically

But the point of the L.A. Times article was not to question Obama's "authenticity" as an African American. The article questions Obama's experience. Is he ready to be President? Or is he simply well-liked because whites feel sorry for blacks? Is he, in effect, a "magic negro" to many whites? These are legitimate questions. But criticism of Obama's "authenticity" as a black man is something the author is all too familiar with.

"The only mud that momentarily stuck was criticism (white and black alike) concerning Obama's alleged 'inauthenticity,' as compared to such sterling examples of 'genuine' blackness as Al Sharpton and Snoop Dogg. Speaking as an African American whose last name has led to his racial 'credentials' being challenged — often several times a day — I know how pesky this sort of thing can be."

The author wants Obama to be addressed fairly, based on his merit, not as some 'magic' black character come to save the protagonist. Anyone who views Obama in this way is guilty of a sort of reverse racism. But Limbaugh, Shanklin, and so many others are really only curious about Obama's race, the traditional kind of racism. Obama is so popular because of his charisma, and it seems to surprise some people, including perhaps David Ehrenstein, that charisma is not race based. If Obama were white would anyone question the legitimacy of his charisma?

Qualifications mean little when it comes to running for President. The modern day presidency is dominated by the more charismatic person, starting with the inexperienced John F. Kennedy who beat out political heavyweight Richard Nixon. I can't think of a President from the last 25 years who wasn't more charismatic than the person he beat (Carter over Ford, Reagan over Carter then Mondale, Bush Sr. over Dukakis, Clinton over Bush Sr. then Dole, Bush Jr. over Gore then Kerry).

Because of this Obama's charisma has many conservatives very worried, and they've been trying hard to discredit him, not by talking about lack of qualifications, which they know does not matter, but by talking about the more incidental and, ironically, provocative things: Obama's religion and skin-color. The election in 2008 will show how low we are willing to go, which base prejudices we will allow to rule us.

In this post-Imus era some, like Limbaugh, probably feel compelled to talk about race. Unfortunately when Limbaugh tries it you wonder if he hasn't suffered some sort of brain damage from all the pills he took. Or, more likely, he's just an ignorant fool. But what he shows us is that, maybe, the only thing more important than charisma is the color of your skin.

Cultural Relativism Embraced by the Right

Mark Levin, the man who "nominated" Rush Limbaugh for the Nobel Peace Prize, was named the worst person in the world by Keith Olbermann. Levin struck back, saying Keith "Overbite" is "hung like a thumbtack." He goes on to speculate for about 15 minutes on Olbermann's junk, and the quality of his love life, and then repeatedly refers to him a "pervert mental patient." Then he takes calls.

He also addressed the now famous Limbaugh nomination, briefly, which he acknowledges will not be accepted. "That's not the point," he says.

No one expects Limbaugh's nomination will be accepted. The nomination was made as an obvious conservative retort to Al Gore's nomination. And, along those lines, it has been extremely effective. It's an attempt to make a joke out of the whole process, which Levin refers to as "The Nobel Democrat Prize." That's all.

Tucker Carlson had this to say:

GUEST: (music) Rush Limbaugh may not be the first person who comes to mind when you think of the Nobel Peace Prize. But to the people at the conservative public interest law firm Landmark Legal Foundation, Rush is a regular Nelson Mandela. Landmark was -- has nominated Limbaugh for the 2007 Nobel Prize, saying, quote, "Rush Limbaugh is the foremost advocate for freedom and democracy in the world today," wow. End quote. This news, of course, sets up a Nobel smackdown for the ages, between Limbaugh and Al Gore, whose nomination by a pair of Norwegian parliamentarians was announced yesterday. Wow! Look at that. Nose to nose. Tucker, Rush has the weight advantage; Al has the reach. Who do you think takes that smackdown?

TUCKER: Actually, I think Gore has the weight advantage these days.

GUEST: So, you would take Gore over Limbaugh, or are you just still deciding?

TUCKER: That would make Gore even more pompous and ubiquitous.

GUEST: (Laughing.)

TUCKER: So no, probably not. I think I'd go Limbaugh.

A lot of people have dismissed the "nomination" because it was unsolicited. And, of course, that's true, but as Levin himself said "that's not the point." It's been picked up as "legit" by the news and that is the intended consequence. The point is Al Gore, after all his work pushing for awareness of global warming, has to be paired with Limbaugh where he can be chided. It's like working your ass off only to find out some slacker is up for the same job. It doesn't matter if he has no shot, it's still an insult.

There is no reverence for truth. Evangelicals decry cultural relativism, but it is already all around us, from the far left to the far right. This is how we treat people who, inconveniently, are correct, and whose efforts at awareness infringe on our own right to be ignorant. How many listeners does someone like Mr. Levin have? He isn't concerned with discerning what is true, but defaming those who don't say what he wants to hear.

Even George Will, someone I would consider an intellectual conservative, someone usually governed more by reason than principle, just can't bring himself to accept the world-wide scientific consensus on global warming. Instead, he chooses to get hung up on the word "very-likely" which means 90%. He cares less about truth than feeling good about himself.

People who claim to fight for truth but selectively discard facts are not worth your attention. We all owe people who were behind global warming awareness on a debt of gratitude, but, instead, we allow them to be defamed. It turns out they were right all along, and no amount of cognitive dissonance is going to change our culpability. Far too many see Al Gore and global warming as an a joke. To those people a 10% chance to go on living without any personal responsibility is a well-spring.

Rush Limbaugh nominated for Nobel Peace Prize, Al Gore heats up, explodes

I honestly thought this was a joke the first time I read it but no, it's true: Rush Limbaugh has been nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Landmark Legal Foundation, the leading conservative public interest law firm in the country, put him up for the honor. I'm not sure what is involved in the nomination process but this affirms my theory that adult life is just one, long, insulting extension of high school. In this case merit and substance being shit on by a beying jackass.

In his letter to the Nobel Committee, Levin writes, "Rush Limbaugh is the foremost advocate for freedom and democracy in the world today. Everyday he gives voice to the values of democratic governance, individual opportunity and the just, equal application of the rule of law - and it is fitting that the Nobel Committee recognize the power of these ideals to build a truly peaceful world for future generations."

How's Al Gore taking this one? First, a soul crushing presidential defeat to an impared failure who became the worst president in our history and, just for good measure, losing after first WINNING the popular vote. And now a miscreant hypocrite is nominated for the same Peace Prize? This completely negates whatever honor nomination might have been and even if Gore wins the whole thing is tainted.

Touche. Once again, conservatives played it perfectly.

I mean, sure, Al Gore helped bring awareness about global warming to the forefront of the dim American consciousness. This is an issue he has stressed for years and years and now, in a consensus report from top scientists, it turns out he was right all along. All of it...validated. The most destructive force humans have ever unleashed, and Al Gore was right about it before most of us knew what the hell a "greenhouse gas" was. And he's in the same category as Rush Limbaugh?

Limbaugh, the guy who had his housekeeper illegally supply him with drugs, meanwhile raling against drugs on the radio. The guy who mocks Parkinsons Disease sufferers. The guy who, on top of every other breach, admitted he had been simply "carrying water" for conservatives, essentially depraving his listeners of the very truth he claims to dispense. THAT GUY?? Really?

What will Al Gore do? Will he throw himself down an oil refinery tower? Will he perch himself on the edge of Antartica and erode into the ocean? Will the added concentration of humiliation cause him to slowly heat up and explode? We'll never hear the end of it. I have to throw my TV out and cancel my internet now. I have to move to some island in the middle of Polynesia. I...the injustice...it's....I can't....for the love of.....thank God it's Friday.

Trackposted to: PoliBlog, Sister Toldja, Riehl World View

Stem Cells Ease Muscle Disease in Dogs

In promising new research, adult stem cells worked remarkably well at easing symptoms of muscular dystrophy in dogs, an experiment that experts call a significant step toward treating people.

This is how smart scientists are, people. They're going to use stem cell research to help dogs first, thereby reducing objections among humans. Even though the less controversial adult stem cells were used in this case, I predict resistance to the all stem cell research should begin to fall if more dogs are healed. I mean look at how cute that dog is! What a good puppy!

Listen, let's be frank, people love dogs. Who couldn't love a dog? A godless communist! Thus, if dogs can be helped by stem cell research what type of person wouldn't be in favor of it? I would like to meet the heartless bastard who would rather see a dog suffer than helped. How can you be for saving embryos if you yourself lack a soul? How can you be against helping puppy dogs and little kittens? Gee, mister, what did that puppy ever do to you? What a cute puppy!

You see, ignoring human suffering is part of the human condition and the movies have desensitized us even further. But one area even the movies fear to tread is the shadowy realm of animal abuse. One sure way to establish a villain's defilement is to have him harm a helpless animal. All bets are off if that happens and you know you're dealing with a tough son of a bitch. Even in Borat there's a scene where it looks like he's going to slit a chicken's throat, and, after all of the other insane things he'd done in the movie, I thought, he can't slit that chicken's throat! That's going too far! He can fool people into thinking he's a journalist and then humiliate them on film, but I'll be damned if I'll see a chicken get harmed.*

If I have this weakness then surely you must have it. You may not care about humans suffering and dying from would-be treatable diseases but what if your little Fluffy could be helped? What about Mr. Biggles or Fu-fu? What if they could be renewed by the power of the blood? Ahh, now that *is* something indeed. After all, what has that dog ever asked of you? That dog has shown you love even when you got fired from your job. That dog was there when you broke up with your boyfriend. What a good dog! Sit. Stay! Good puppy!

As one in favor of stem cell research I can tell you that knowing puppies are being helped warmed my heart much more than, say, Michael J. Fox. Call me crazy, but if my prior existence as a ministry student and Republican has taught me anything it's that the human element can be so easily discarded. But what science and puppies have taught me is that there's more to life than not caring about people. Pets matter! I suppose then that even people matter! Life, my friends....life matters!

I'll bet even Rush Limbaugh, who so easily attacked the afflicted Fox, had a pet when he was a kid. Maybe he didn't and that is why he is the way he is. But even if he grew into one of those teenagers abusing animals, I'm willing to bet there's still a cold spot in his heart that longs for the warm, unconditional love that only a dog can give. What a good puppy!

Let celebrities die if you must, Mr. Limbaugh, all you who hate science and progress, but I dare you to let dogs suffer. What a good dog! Give us a kiss! Good puppy!


*no chickens were harmed

Read the original story here.

Rush Limbaugh: I Feel Liberated

The Democrats have been in control of Congress for 15 minutes and already two incredible things have occurred. One, Donald Rumsfeld is gone. Two, Rush Limbaugh feels liberated.

I wondered how the GOP ministry of propaganda would proceed in the wake of a stunning defeat at the hands of the Democrats and I didn't have to wait long to find out. Rush Limbaugh posted a message on his web page that said he felt liberated.

"I'm going to tell you as plainly as I can why," he says. "I no longer am going to have to carry water for people who I don't think deserve to have their water carried."

Carrying water implies that Rush was somehow indentured to the Republican party; that they could buy and sell him; that his relentless shilling, mocking and lying were the result of circumstance rather than a flaw in character.

I guess there's nothing compared to the liberating power of a Democratic victory. This, then, is how the conservative talking heads will proceed and attempt to rebuild.

1. The Nazi defense: we were only following orders. Conservative mouth pieces will now say they never really believed in Bush, his ability, his vision, his mandate, they never believed the very words that have been spilling from their mouths these six, dark years. They were compelled to go against their will because serving a twisted Republican party was still far better for America than letting liberalism win. The Hannities, the Coulters, the Ingrams, the whole lot, they were just victims of a faulty Republican party that hijacked their beliefs and distorted it into a type of political terrorism.

2. Bush will be the scapegoat. This ill wind started to blow shortly before the election when top neocons, to a man, placed all blame squarely on the shoulders of Bush and his inept administration. This, after mountains of evidence, years of results. Again, the fault is not an inherit character flaw, but circumstances. The neo-conservative belief in using American power to promote moral values at home and in the world is not itself flawed. In the same way many high-ranking Germans believed Hitler took good ideas and blew them away with his insanity and ineptness.

It's looking like the last days of the Third Reich and we're just getting started, folks. The Democrats came into town and Rumsfeld tried to jump out an open window, while Limbuagh and company are singing a completely different tune. We've turned over a rock and the exposed bugs are scrambling for cover.

The light...it burns !

Election Tactics Heat Up

Google-bombs, interracial sex, shots at people suffering from Parkinson's disease--all at the same time? It must be time for an election!

A group of clever liberals has come up with a way to make Google's search algorithm work for them during the election. The idea, dubbed Google-bombing, was first outlined by Chris Bowers of MyDD. It involves buying Google AdWords so that negative articles appear next to key Republicans up for election. It's an attempt to sway those who may be searching for more information about someone like George Allen (R-VA) before voting. Of course it's our belief that if you don't know the difference between George Allen and George Webb, or Claire McCaskill and Jim Talent and you're just not trying.

Speaking of McCaskill v Talent, the Missouri Senate race has become extremely close and is now reaching the national state as a key state in 2006. The big issue in this race is stem cell research. Michael J. Fox, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1991, appeared in a TV ad urging Missouri voters to support stem cell research. Fox swayed uncontrolably during the commerical--or was he just over-acting? Rush Limbaugh became so upset that he accused Fox of not taking his medication, exacerbating his Parkinson's symptoms, and preying on public sympathy.



Personally, I think it takes a lot of brass to rip on a guy who has a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. I mean that's so low-class and distasteful it's no wonder Rush has to pop pain-killers to get through the day with himself.

It must be pretty frustrating to live with PD knowing that maybe there could be a cure if only stem cells, which are going to be destryoed anyway, could be used for reasearch. Yeah, I'll bet that sucks. But some see it differently. Opponents have responded in-kind with a commercial featuring Cardinal pitcher Jeff Suppan, former Rams quarterback Kurt Werner, and the guy who played Jesus in Passion of the Christ, telling Missourians to block the stem-cell bill because it could lead to human cloning.

Speaking of ads, the worst campaign commercial of the week goes to the Bob Corker and the RNC. This thing is so bad Corker wanted it pulled but RNC chairman Ken Mehlman pointed that it was beyond his control. It sort of sounds like how we've been running Iraq for the last three years. The add incites speculation that Congressman Harold Ford Jr. may have had—gasp--interracial sex with a white woman from the Playboy mansion. The idea is driven home at the end of the ad when the woman begs Ford to call her.

The NAACP called it “a powerful innuendo that plays to pre-existing prejudices about African-American men and white women.” Even Bob Corker called the add “distasteful.” Mehlman called it "fair."



Adults having sex? This really shows how messed up we are, doesn't it? Those who scratch their head at this kind of behavior are the Republicans, who effectively forfeited the moral high ground after spending a lot of time in white collar crime and recently committing and covering up acts of pedophilia. You can see now why they find Harold Ford's alleged behavior so odd and atypical. Can he really make it in an environment where people fudge their finances, prey on minors, and cheat on their wives?

I for one welcome the new trend of sex between consenting adults. This Ford guy sounds like a real visionary. Maybe he'll go into the Senate and shake things up a little.

Hey, Makaka, Go Long!

It's been quite a week, hasn't it, kids? The Republicans have taken on a wild ride and I, for one, am spent.

So, let's see, it's Friday and...holy crap there's a toxic waste fire in North Carolina! Officials are reporting nothing "alarming" with the air samples they've taken. That, to me, would be little comfort if my house was having flaming waste rained on it.

Rush Limbaugh is barking about Republican George Allen's "double digit" lead over Democrat Jim Webb in Virginia. Actually, it's four points, but we can understand when a Republican can't get basic intelligence right. Go to Rush is Right (*giggle*) and while you're there admire the snappy picture of Mr. Allen tossing the ol' pigskin! Rush knows as well as anyone that cowboy hat + flannel + a football = big votes! "Hey, Makaka, go long!"

Other polling news: Republican Tom Reynolds (R-NY) has watched his double digit lead evaporate. Mr. Reynolds was on his way to easy victory before becoming embroiled in that pesky Mark Foley affair. Oops! His challenger, Democrat Mark Davis is now leading 50-45%

I did a little digging, thanks to the Washington Post, and found out that Mark Foley voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in July. He was one of only 27 Republicans to vote against it--and now I think we all know why. One Republican who voted in favor of protecting marriage was Don Sherwood.