Sunday, October 25, 2009
Ellis Washington: 1st Amendment in the Age of Obama
"Let's take a look at how the First Amendment is viciously and relentlessly attacked in the Age of Obama...."
Rush Limbaugh is “Divisive”, but “VIVA FIDEL!” says Jesse Jackson
"As mentioned, this was summer of 1984, so at the time, the world’s longest-suffering black political prisoner suffered his incarceration and tortures in stoic defiance. '#####!' taunted his jailers between tortures. 'We pulled you down from the trees and cut off your tail!'
"I do not refer to Nelson Mandela. No, this prisoner was being tortured a few miles away from the Revs. Jackson, Wright and their entourage of black American luminaries. The prisoner was a black Cuban named Eusebio Penalver and he was being tortured by Reverend Jackson’s gracious hosts. Mr Penalver’s incarceration and tortures stretched to 29 years which makes him the longest-suffering black political prisoner in modern history, surpassing Nelson Mandela’s record in time behind bars and probably doubling the horrors suffered by Mandela during this period.
"Eusebio Penalver was bloodied in his fight with Castroism but unbowed for almost 30 years in its dungeons. He’s what Castroites call a 'plantado'—a defiant one, an unbreakable one. 'Stalin tortured,' wrote Arthur Koestler, 'not to force you to reveal a fact, but to force you to collude in a fiction.'
“'The worst part of Communism,' wrote Solzhenytzin, 'is being forced to live a lie.'
"Eusebio Penalver refused to collude in this lie. He spit in the face of his liar jailers. He scorned any 're-education' by his jailers. He knew it was they who desperately needed it. He refused to wear the uniform of a common criminal. He knew it was they who should don it. Charles Rangel, Jesse Jackson, Jeremiah Wright, Sheila Jackson Lee, Maxine Waters, Ron Dellums, etc. etc. etc. all toast his torturer. But through almost 30 years of those tortures Eusebio Penalver stood tall, proud and defiant.
"Shortly before his death in 2006, your humble servant here had the honor of interviewing Senor Penalver. 'For months I was naked in a 6 x 4 foot cell,' Eusebio recalled. 'That’s 4 feet high, so you couldn’t stand. But I felt a great freedom inside myself. I refused to commit spiritual suicide.'
"Sr Penalver served several months of this 30 year sentence naked in a 'punishment cell' barely big enough to stand in, where he languished naked and in complete darkness. 'Castro’s apologists, those who excuse or downplay his crimes—these people be they ignorant, stupid, mendacious whatever—they are accomplices in the bloody tyrant’s crimes, accomplices in the most brutal and murderous regime in the hemisphere.'
"But have you ever heard of Eusebio Penalver? He became a U.S. citizen and lived in Miami for almost 20 years and would have been a cinch for the media to track down. Ever see a CNN interview with him? Ever see him on '60 Minutes'? Ever read about him in The New York Times? The Washington post? The Boston Globe? Ever hear about him on NPR during Black History Month? Ever seen anything on him on the History Channel or A&E? Ever hear the NAACP or Congressional Black Caucus mention him?
"Why do I bother asking? He was a victim of the Left’s premier pin-up boys…nuff said.."
"I do not refer to Nelson Mandela. No, this prisoner was being tortured a few miles away from the Revs. Jackson, Wright and their entourage of black American luminaries. The prisoner was a black Cuban named Eusebio Penalver and he was being tortured by Reverend Jackson’s gracious hosts. Mr Penalver’s incarceration and tortures stretched to 29 years which makes him the longest-suffering black political prisoner in modern history, surpassing Nelson Mandela’s record in time behind bars and probably doubling the horrors suffered by Mandela during this period.
"Eusebio Penalver was bloodied in his fight with Castroism but unbowed for almost 30 years in its dungeons. He’s what Castroites call a 'plantado'—a defiant one, an unbreakable one. 'Stalin tortured,' wrote Arthur Koestler, 'not to force you to reveal a fact, but to force you to collude in a fiction.'
“'The worst part of Communism,' wrote Solzhenytzin, 'is being forced to live a lie.'
"Eusebio Penalver refused to collude in this lie. He spit in the face of his liar jailers. He scorned any 're-education' by his jailers. He knew it was they who desperately needed it. He refused to wear the uniform of a common criminal. He knew it was they who should don it. Charles Rangel, Jesse Jackson, Jeremiah Wright, Sheila Jackson Lee, Maxine Waters, Ron Dellums, etc. etc. etc. all toast his torturer. But through almost 30 years of those tortures Eusebio Penalver stood tall, proud and defiant.
"Shortly before his death in 2006, your humble servant here had the honor of interviewing Senor Penalver. 'For months I was naked in a 6 x 4 foot cell,' Eusebio recalled. 'That’s 4 feet high, so you couldn’t stand. But I felt a great freedom inside myself. I refused to commit spiritual suicide.'
"Sr Penalver served several months of this 30 year sentence naked in a 'punishment cell' barely big enough to stand in, where he languished naked and in complete darkness. 'Castro’s apologists, those who excuse or downplay his crimes—these people be they ignorant, stupid, mendacious whatever—they are accomplices in the bloody tyrant’s crimes, accomplices in the most brutal and murderous regime in the hemisphere.'
"But have you ever heard of Eusebio Penalver? He became a U.S. citizen and lived in Miami for almost 20 years and would have been a cinch for the media to track down. Ever see a CNN interview with him? Ever see him on '60 Minutes'? Ever read about him in The New York Times? The Washington post? The Boston Globe? Ever hear about him on NPR during Black History Month? Ever seen anything on him on the History Channel or A&E? Ever hear the NAACP or Congressional Black Caucus mention him?
"Why do I bother asking? He was a victim of the Left’s premier pin-up boys…nuff said.."
Humberto Fontova: Rush Limbaugh is “Divisive”, but “VIVA FIDEL!” says Jesse Jackson
"I do not refer to Nelson Mandela. No, this prisoner was being tortured a few miles away from the Revs. Jackson, Wright and their entourage of black American luminaries. The prisoner was a black Cuban named Eusebio Penalver and he was being tortured by Reverend Jackson’s gracious hosts. Mr Penalver’s incarceration and tortures stretched to 29 years which makes him the longest-suffering black political prisoner in modern history, surpassing Nelson Mandela’s record in time behind bars and probably doubling the horrors suffered by Mandela during this period."
Marion Valentine: Things to watch for during a “Declared National Emergency”
“'Since the enactment of Executive Order 11490, the only thing standing between us and dictatorship is the good character of the President, and the lack of a crisis severe enough that the public would stand still for it.'”
Daniel Greenfield: Obama Replaces the War on Terror with the War on Critics
"There’s one word for that kind of behavior, particularly for a party that has secured a veto proof majority and can pass just about any legislation it wants, no matter how destructive or even downright illegal—crazy. After 8 years of being the opposition party, the Democrats have not adjusted to being in power. And while the Republicans have begun to learn to act like an opposition party—- the Democrats bizarrely enough also insist on acting like the opposition party. And what are they opposed to? Anyone who criticizes them or rejects any of their proposals."
and
"The most disturbing aspect of the Obama Administration’s War on Critics is that it is directed primarily not at Republican politicians, but at media figures and ordinary citizens who show up at Town Hall meetings to voice their dissent. Had the Obama Administration directed its full fire at Michael Steele, John Boehner or at least potential 2012 opponents such as Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney, it would still be a profound waste of time and abuse of political power—but it would not be nearly as dangerous as when it assails radio hosts or Town Hall protesters."
"There is a fundamental difference between attacking political opponents in Congress, and attacking anyone in the general public or press who speaks out against your policies. An Administration that consistently does the latter is displaying dangerously paranoid behavior that can easily tip over into going beyond smear campaigns of intimidation and into taking direct action to forcibly suppress that same speech it does not like."
Will they start rounding us up next?
and
"The most disturbing aspect of the Obama Administration’s War on Critics is that it is directed primarily not at Republican politicians, but at media figures and ordinary citizens who show up at Town Hall meetings to voice their dissent. Had the Obama Administration directed its full fire at Michael Steele, John Boehner or at least potential 2012 opponents such as Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney, it would still be a profound waste of time and abuse of political power—but it would not be nearly as dangerous as when it assails radio hosts or Town Hall protesters."
"There is a fundamental difference between attacking political opponents in Congress, and attacking anyone in the general public or press who speaks out against your policies. An Administration that consistently does the latter is displaying dangerously paranoid behavior that can easily tip over into going beyond smear campaigns of intimidation and into taking direct action to forcibly suppress that same speech it does not like."
Will they start rounding us up next?
Yid with Lid: Why Did The Pay Czar Ignoring TARP Recipient General Electric?
"Unlike other major lenders participating in the debt guarantee program, including Bank of America, Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase, GE has never been subject to the Fed's stress tests or its rules for limiting risk. Also unlike firms that have received bailout money in the Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP, GE is not subject to restrictions such as limits on executive compensation."
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