As much as I loath Harry Reid, he’s being slammed for saying something that ought not to draw any criticism.

CNN:

“He (Reid) was wowed by Obama’s oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama – a ‘light-skinned’ African American ‘with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,’ as he said privately. Reid was convinced, in fact, that Obama’s race would help him more than hurt him in a bid for the Democratic nomination,” they write.

Barry Obama is half white, thus he is lighter skinned than many black men. He does not have an accent when he speaks, unless he chooses to use one – much like Rev. Jesse Jackson. Both are facts and not subject to dispute.

I cannot provide proof that a light skinned black man would do better in an election than a dark skinned black man. It is a moot point since Obama did win the election and his race was indeed a factor.

A 2004 article about the play “Yellowman”, by Dael Orlandersmith, explored the issue of color within the black community as seen in the play.

From The People’s News:

Leeds is among the millions of blacks trying, for the first time, to enunciate clearly and properly use all the words they speak. This attention to language actually is a return to their roots. Until the mid-1960s, blacks, including groundbreakers like Jackie Robinson and Malcolm X, spoke in a cadence that sounded whiter than someone asking for Grey Poupon.

“If Malcolm walked up behind you and started talking, you would think ‘What white man has come in here?’” the late black nationalist’s friend, Elliott Saffron, told The Peoples News. “What Malcolm was saying was black, but how he was saying it was white.”

There was a paradigm shift, however, in the late 1960s when the speech patterns of blacks like Stepin Fetchit and Buckwheat—who had previously been considered buffoons—became a favored way of speaking. ‘Talking white’ became an insult.

New Black Man blog:

The notion of “talking white” and “acting white” have long been bandied about in black communities, but for a nation that has historically chosen to be oblivious to the inner dynamics of Black life in America, such a discussion elicits a fresh focus. It was just last year that perennial protest candidate Ralph Nader accused then Senator Obama of “talking white” as part of Obama’s effort to assuage white voter fears that he might be cut from the same cloth of traditional Civil Rights leaders. Nader’s comments would have been offensive, if not for the fact that there quite a few Black Americans who also read diction as an index of racial authenticity.

The black community as a whole does not recognize all their black brothers and sisters as equal. Being human, they have the same mix of prejudices and stereotypes as any of us. The notion that Harry Reid was being racist for recognizing two true facts about then candidate Obama and concluding that they would help his candidacy is plain stupid.

One list can be found by clicking on the image in the upper left or by going to Tea Party Patriots.

A second list may be found at Tea Party Day.

Be sensible. These parties are both a grassroots movement and the efforts of a number of regional and national groups with agendas. The followers of Ron Paul are heavily involved in some areas. The Libertarian Party is also an organizer in places. If Barry Obama’s “real” birth certificate is not something you worry about, or the actions of the Tri-Lateral Commission bore you, you might find some of the people at a Tea Party just a little off-putting.

A large number of people with a variety of beliefs are joining together for this movement. Bite your tongue or keep it firmly planted in your cheek if you must, but the overarching message of the movement must come through to the media and those undecideds. We are tired of graft, corruption, taxation and the lack of control over our own lives and our own earnings.

Play nice for the cameras. If interviewed, be concise and direct. Taxes, pork and government out of control. A, B and C.

Yet again, I will close an election disappointed in the Republican Party. We lost and lost soundly.

The only good thing is that the Democrats will not have a veto proof majority in Congress. And, of course, we get to vote again in two years.

South Florida is demonstrating tonight why we ought to let UN observers conduct the elections there. Palm Beach County in particular cannot seem to run an election. The mechanics are simple enough for most of Florida’s counties. What is the problem in South Florida?

We do have to find a national way to count votes. Our current system is wide open to abuse, and the notion that Gary Indiana can be one of the last places in the nation to records its votes is silly.

It appears the exit polling was correct this time. Wishful thinking about Pennsylvania and Virginia have given way to disappointment. As I write this McCain has 146 electoral votes and can count on only 13 more from Arizona and Alaska. I’m hoping he gets over 50 million votes.

Twitter was a decent tool for following the chatter on the net. Fox News goofed up their map. BBC and MSNBC had good resources all night. CNN’s map page resolved to text only for me all night.

Tomorrow will bring the final results. I can wait.

Here’s my final prediction. 270 needed to win. Real Clear Politics has the tool to create this map. Remember that you only need to win by one vote to win all the electoral votes in the state. I’ll predict the final percentages for votes cast, anyway. McCain 50.9% Obama 48.8%

CNN

Here is a list of poll closing times for 2008, by time and state. All times are Eastern Standard. Some states have multiple closing times based on time zone or local option.

If you find this post useful, please help us continue our work with a donation, below.

POLL CLOSING TIME EST	STATE	EV	SENATE SEATS	HOUSE SEATS
6:00 PM	Indiana (East)
	Kentucky (East)
7:00 PM	Florida (Peninsula)
	Georgia	15	1	13
	Indiana (West)	11		9
	Kentucky (West)	8	1	6
	South Carolina	8	1	6
	Vermont	3		1
	Virginia	13	1	11
7:30 PM	Ohio	20		18
	West Virginia	5	1	3
8:00 PM	Alabama	9	1	7
	Connecticut	7		5
	Delaware	3	1	1
	D.C.	3
	Florida (Panhandle)	27		25
	Illinois	21	1	19
	Kansas (East)
	Maine	4	1	2
	Maryland	10		8
	Massachusetts	12	1	10
	Michigan (East)
	Mississippi	6	1	4
	Missouri	11	1	9
	New Hampshire	4	1	2
	New Jersey	15	1	13
	Oklahoma	7	1	5
	Pennsylvania	21		19
	South Dakota (East)
	Tennessee	11	1	9
	Texas (East)		1
8:30 PM	Arkansas	6	1	4
	North Carolina	15	1	13
9:00 PM	Arizona	10		8
	Colorado	9	1	7
	Kansas (West)	6		4
	Louisiana	9	1	7
	Michigan (West)	17	1	15
	Minnesota	10	1	8
	Nebraska	5	1	3
	New Mexico	5	1	3
	New York	31		29
	Rhode Island	4	1	2
	South Dakota (West)	3	1	1
	Texas (West)	34		32
	Wisconsin	10		8
	Wyoming	3	2	1
10:00 PM	Idaho (East)
	Iowa	7	1	5
	Kansas (West)
	Montana	3	1	1
	Nevada	5		3
	North Dakota (East)
	Oregon (East)
	Utah	5		3
11:00 PM	California	55		53
	Hawaii	4		2
	Idaho (West)	4	1	2
	North Dakota (West)	3		1
	Oregon (West)	7	1	5
	Washington	11		9
1:00 AM	Alaska	3	1	1
		538	34	435

]]> http://northshorejournal.org/2008-poll-closing-times/feed 1 http://northshorejournal.org/2008-election-poll-closing-times http://northshorejournal.org/2008-election-poll-closing-times#comments Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:38:18 +0000 Chuck Simmins http://northshorejournal.org/?p=8956

Here is a list of poll closing times for 2008, by time and state. All times are Eastern Standard. Some states have multiple closing times based on time zone or local option.

POLL CLOSING TIME EST	STATE	EV	SENATE SEATS	HOUSE SEATS
6:00 PM	Indiana (East)
	Kentucky (East)
7:00 PM	Florida (Peninsula)
	Georgia	15	1	13
	Indiana (West)	11		9
	Kentucky (West)	8	1	6
	South Carolina	8	1	6
	Vermont	3		1
	Virginia	13	1	11
7:30 PM	Ohio	20		18
	West Virginia	5	1	3
8:00 PM	Alabama	9	1	7
	Connecticut	7		5
	Delaware	3	1	1
	D.C.	3
	Florida (Panhandle)	27		25
	Illinois	21	1	19
	Kansas (East)
	Maine	4	1	2
	Maryland	10		8
	Massachusetts	12	1	10
	Michigan (East)
	Mississippi	6	1	4
	Missouri	11	1	9
	New Hampshire	4	1	2
	New Jersey	15	1	13
	Oklahoma	7	1	5
	Pennsylvania	21		19
	South Dakota (East)
	Tennessee	11	1	9
	Texas (East)		1
8:30 PM	Arkansas	6	1	4
	North Carolina	15	1	13
9:00 PM	Arizona	10		8
	Colorado	9	1	7
	Kansas (West)	6		4
	Louisiana	9	1	7
	Michigan (West)	17	1	15
	Minnesota	10	1	8
	Nebraska	5	1	3
	New Mexico	5	1	3
	New York	31		29
	Rhode Island	4	1	2
	South Dakota (West)	3	1	1
	Texas (West)	34		32
	Wisconsin	10		8
	Wyoming	3	2	1
10:00 PM	Idaho (East)
	Iowa	7	1	5
	Kansas (West)
	Montana	3	1	1
	Nevada	5		3
	North Dakota (East)
	Oregon (East)
	Utah	5		3
11:00 PM	California	55		53
	Hawaii	4		2
	Idaho (West)	4	1	2
	North Dakota (West)	3		1
	Oregon (West)	7	1	5
	Washington	11		9
1:00 AM	Alaska	3	1	1
		538	34	435

]]> http://northshorejournal.org/2008-election-poll-closing-times/feed 1 http://northshorejournal.org/my-electoral-map http://northshorejournal.org/my-electoral-map#comments Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:00:04 +0000 Chuck Simmins http://northshorejournal.org/?p=8933

Here’s my prediction. I’ll post another at week’s end. Real Clear Politics has the tool to create this, and they have Barry Obama winning with 306 EV.

270 EV wins

Sarah Palin finally is on Rush.

Taxes. Everyone hates paying them. The courts have repeatedly held that it is legal to avoid paying taxes but not to evade paying them. We max our deductibles at year end. Some of us try very hard to have that next child by the end of December.

Taxes. You pay taxes if your income exceeds your deductions. In other words, if your life is more profitable. The same holds true for companies of all sizes, from the mom and pop grocery all the way up to the giant corporation like GM or Microsoft.

Let’s phrase that differently. If your life is more successful, you pay taxes. If your business is more successful, you pay taxes. Your penalty, assessed by our government, for making money is to pay taxes.

Now, you and I just pay taxes and try to have something left at the end of the day. Businesses have other options. They can cut distributions to their owners or stockholders. They can raise prices for their goods and services. Taxing a businesses either hurts the owners, causes price increases, or both.

Barry Obama wants to both cut taxes and raise taxes. Nice trick.

For about 50% of American taxpayers, this will not mean a tax cut because they pay no income taxes to begin with. Their deductions and tax credits equal or exceed their income. They will get a check in the mail. A “rebate”. Oh, I don’t know what they will call it but it amounts to a gift for not paying taxes.

Some of the rest of us may see our taxes drop. That’s good.

But, as taxes increase on people and companies that are very successful, are very profitable, our costs will go up. These successful people and companies will have less money to spend on buying things, creating jobs, paying dividends that add to the value of our retirement plans. Prices will go up. Marginal plants and divisions of companies will close. The successful will do things to maximize their ability to avoid taxes, just like everyone else does. Higher taxes = more efforts to avoid.

Barry seems to have the curious notion that the profits of the successful are somehow stashed in mattresses and never used for anything. That’s why they are there to be taxed. He’s a silly man.

No one leaves money just laying around. Rich people, successful people and companies, became that way by using their profits to make more profits. Investing in growth, spending the money on living expenses, donating the money to worthy causes. Taking those profits in taxes means that the successful, profitable people and companies will not have as much money to spend on those things.

If you believe that Barry Obama knows how to spend our money better than you and I do, please vote for Barry. If you believe that letting the government punish, with higher taxes, the people and companies that are actually producing and succeeding in the economy is right, please vote for Barry.

But if you begrudge every penny the government takes from you, if you see the government wasting money, hard earned money that could have produced jobs and savings and a better future, then you must vote for the lesser of two evils. John McCain and Sarah Palin.

See: Allen West for Congress 2010

Lt. Col. Allen West Stands With Gov. Palin: Sen. Obama Is “Not One of Us”

In response to the inflammatory racial statements made by Congressmen Meeks D-NY, Towns D-NY, and Jackson D-Ill. in the Jason Horowitz New York Observer article, “Black Congressmen Declare Racism in Palin’s Rhetoric,” (Ret.) Lt. Col. Allen West, congressional candidate for Florida’s district 22, wrote the following:

“I have just finished reading an article written by Jason Horowitz in the New York Observer, “Black Congressmen Declare Racism in Palin’s Rhetoric,” and I am absolutely appalled. I refute the inflammatory comments of Rep. Meeks, Towns, and Jackson and I challenge them to debate me on the issue of race. Yes, I am a black conservative congressional candidate from district 22 in South Florida. This is a congressional district that is approximately 92% white. The tremendous support I’ve received in district 22, and throughout the country, doesn’t jibe with Rep. Towns’ claim that, “racism is alive and well in this country.”

With that said, I reiterate the comment made by Governor Palin: Senator Obama is “not one of us”. We are freedom loving Americans that believe in the Constitution, and shun marxist/socialist dogma. Sen. Obama’s political and social allegiance with William Ayers proves he is, “not one of us.” Let me bring to mind a simple maxim that my mom and dad taught me growing up in Georgia, “folks will know you by the company you keep.” And as a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel I shall share a simple point: because of Senator Obama’s associations, he would not be able to pass a background investigation in order to receive a security clearance. Yet, he seeks to be the Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces?

It has become apparent that any person taking a stand against Sen. Obama’s campaign will face the “Brown Shirt” intimidation tactics of individuals seeking to stoke racial fires.

I am sick and tired of the 21st century version of plantation overseers that pass themselves off as black leaders but only keep the black community hostage. When I win this congressional race it will be interesting to see if the Congressional Black Caucus will open their doors to me. I suggest that the door be opened, but then again, would they be racist for not allowing me membership?”

Best Regards,

Lieutenant Colonel Allen B West (US Army, Retired) Candidate, Florida’s US Congressional District 22

Allen West For Congress

Via Gateway Pundit

Dear God! Shoot me now!

And the winner of the most boring television show in history, including all future history, was

Sarah Palin.

Seriously, could either candidate been more dull? More afraid to cause a fuss?

This was the format that McCain excelled at? You mean, after the stroke?

Are either of these men our best and brightest? Do either of these men deserve to be President? How about dogcatcher?

At best a draw. Advantage Barry Obama.

Oh, yeah. Fire Congress!