Today I received an email with an article from a Black Caribbean writer titled “Historic Anniversary Marred By White Senators Determined Efforts To Remove Only Black U.S. Senator”. How did this become a black and white issue? In my opinion Senator Roland Burris loved to hear himself talk and did not get his story right before he started talking.  He gave an interview that totally conflicts with his testimony about his involvement with Governor Blagojevich and that is where this whole new controversy started. In my opinion it was never about the white man trying to keep the black man down. Anyone who accepted the appointment from the Governor would have been tainted. I just think Sen Burris has tainted himself. I am tired of the race card being used. You can only cry wolf so long before it means nothing…

I have not watched the Oscars since Halle Berry won. What is with the new “touchy feely” format where previous winner talk about the new nominees. Some of it seems so “fake”. It seems they were brought back to present to give them some relevance. The closeness of the audience to the stage gave the feel of people in a bar watching a stand-up comedian. I also saw more singers that actors presenting. The Oscars are trying to be relavant with the infusion of the “today” singers etc but I am not sure if it works. The broadway stuff with Beyonce was just strange. This format just did not do it for me…Congrats Slumdog Millionaire

What is happening in New York. It is known as a Northern liberal state but recent incidents are really tainting this view. First there was the Negro Head cookie. I understand the outrage about the cookie but the thing that caught me about this video was the reporter saying that this bakery was in a liberal area of New York.   Then came the  New York Post cartoon. What were they thinking? Money is green and people will always go where they can make money whether it is a liberal or conservative area.

In the past few days a few friends mention that Jamaica is now looking better with the US dollar now worth $90. I have a feeling they will not be rushing home once they realize this recession is also affecting Jamaica. I was having the discussion with some relatives about the devaluation of the Jamaican dollar when they started to reminisce about a time when no one wanted US dollars.  The Jamaica dollar was worth more than the US. It was amazing here this. The first time I remembered being aware of the exchange rate in Jamaica the dollar was 2-1. We have come quite a long way.

Can you imagine a black politician, a member of the Republican party being targeted by Democrats because he the powerful office of South Carolina State Treasurer. I read a black history article about Francis L. Cardozo and could not help but think about how President Obama is being given a hard time by the Republicans who used to be the party that blacks had refuge. I am not saying it is a color thing but it is ironic how history tends to repeat. Below is a “snippet” of the biography. You can skip to the end to read what the Democrats tried to do to him.

Cardozo began his political activities the spring of 1866, when he served on a board advising the military commander of South Carolina about voter registration regulations. In the spring of 1868 he was elected to the state constitutional convention held in Charleston. Although he still served as principal of the AMA school while he attended the convention, he had to give up teaching classes. While principal, Cardozo also drew up plans for state-supported public education. His plans allowed but did not require separate schools for blacks and whites. In 1868 Cardozo served as president of the Union League, which worked to ensure a Republican victory in the elections. The only black candidate on the statewide Republican ticket, Cardozo was then elected South Carolina’s secretary of state. He resigned his school position on May 1, just days before Avery Institute was formally dedicated.

As secretary of state Cardozo fought against the fraud he found in the state’s Land Commission, reorganizing the Commission in 1872. He was reelected secretary of state in

1870, and there was some support for him as a possible candidate to the U.S. Senate. During this time, he also worked as a teacher of Latin at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Cardozo was next elected as state treasurer, a position he held until 1876. He supported efforts of reform by the Republicans to lower taxes and do away with corruption.

In 1877 Cardozo left South Carolina, accepting a post in the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. During this time, South Carolina Democrats launched a smear campaign against all Republicans, and Cardozo was charged with eight counts of fraud. In 1879 a political deal resulted in a pardon and the dismissal of the remaining charges.

Photoshop is a pretty powerful tool. I can see the temptation to circulate these pictures once they hit your mail box. Do a quick search and you will see they are fake.  My friends hate me for my constanting checking of anything they forward to me. Call me a skeptic!!!