Nicholas A Loisos:

Could it be that you can't understand how Bill Moyers reached his point of view because you are ONLY seeing things from YOUR OWN point of view? Clearly the media took what Dr. Wright said out of context. And this is not the first time the media has tried to ruin someone for their own agenda. Black, White or Brown. They are supposed to report the news unbiased. Not use sound bites to sum up what a person is about. Bill Moyers allowed us to see who Dr. Wright was and all he has accomplished to go along with the sound bites.

BJ

Charles,

Dr. Wright simply miss spoke in his understanding of what Dr. Hale was trying to say in her book. No big deal, people miss speak all of the time. Again, you are looking for some reason not to like the man and link him to Senator Obama.
Dr. Wright not trusting the government and linking the government to HIV/AIDS and the demise of Black folks throughout the diaspora has nothing to do with his patriotism. He was not goddamning the American people, he was goddamning American policy (the bearucrats)for allowing innocent people to die due to arrogance. He is a pastor and this is typical from a religious man. Scripture talks about God punishing and damning people for sinful things all through it. America is not some all holy place that has never practiced terrorism. Isn't that why we go to church to pray for forgiveness of our sins etc?

BJ

The level of respect I have for Bill Moyers suffered some fraying when I clearly heard him blame the media for R. Wright's statements.

This is a clear case of a person with an incredibly twisted perspective of the world, which is more obvious as one listens to more of his "sermons." He is an extremist on the same level of a KKK person, intent on distortion for political agenda.

To say that it is disappointing that Bill M does not see this, is a vast understatement, one that I can only attribute perhaps to the aging process, catching up to him. I cannot see how else he can reach this point of view.

Bill:

Did you REALLY comment that the media was responsible for what came out of Rev. Wright's mouth...???

*Shaking my head in disbelief...!!!

THa would be like blaming the ambulance for the death of the patient.

Granted...the media loves to cover (even enflame...???) controversy, but to say they are the root cause of fomenting his responses. Respectfully, there is NO agreement. BOTH Rev. Wright and the press should aim for higher values and practices that demonstrate them.

Right now, as the hour grows near...we need to make a clear, concise, wise and unobstructed choice as to which Democratic candidate has the best chance of beating McCain...That's just the bare-naked truth of the matter...The alternative is unacceptable...This country has been damaged so severely in the last 7+ years by the current administration that I personally feel we need someone who's been there before or very close to it...The past elections scared me to my core...The imbecilic 'sheep' of this country, with the help of those who threw their vote away on the likes of a narcissist-Nader (or chose not to vote at all (which was inexcusable, considering the circumstances and importance of what was hanging in the balance 'OF OUR CHILDREN'S FUTURES!!' Or if you place ANY value on human life, whatsoever)...And lastly...& most importantly: 'How America allowed the (election,HA!) to be completely hijacked, held hostage, then outright stolen (or bought and paid for...either way, it was done openly for all-to-see, regardless of how illegal)...Just the simple fact that people, who have audacity to call themselves 'Americans' stood by and watched one of the most morally and ethically bankrupt instances in history take place 'without so much as making a peep'...Deciding instead to take the advice of the village idiot and 'go shopping'...I don't know...I just don't know what else to say...I'm saying the same things now that I said during the very 1st debate (Poor Gore, I still feel bad for what he was subjected to without a fistfight...That took will-power!)...I was really unable to even put two words together, in hopes of forming anything 'even' resembling a sentence...(then, the 'after the debate' political-pundit, talking-heads and their unbelievably-stupid comments...which continue on (& on) today...And yes, once again...yes, I'll say it once again..."We are surely 'all' headed straight to hell...in a petroleum-based, lead-painted, chinese-made, plastic handbasket (from walmart)...sadly, its deserved...that could the saddest part of it all (naturally, I mean besides the all the body bags and families without children or futures)..the saddest thing is that 'we deserve it', because 'for all the INACTION, we have to face the REACTION'...In closing, I really think we must have experience over anything else to close this election and get our country back on track...I think the republicans 'want' Obama as an opponent, simply because they can turn the reverend's comments into 'a doubt'...and they will given the opportunity...without question...THEY WILL...

Kahale - Let's just take one example. One example that does not and should not rely on soundbites, but is best understood in terms of detailed and lengthy context.

At his speech to the NAACP in Detroit, Rev. Wright went out of his way to acknowledge the professional work of Dr. Janice Hale of Wayne State University in Detroit. Wright then proceeded, in his own, uninterrupted words, to ramble on for four or five or more paragraphs about the differences between the Right-brain and Left-brain learning differences between white and black children.

As I sat and watched and listened to Wright's speech, broadcast live and uninterrupted by both Fox and CNN, I thought to myself, "This is a disaster. An unmitigated disaster for the Obama Campaign, and for Rev. Wright personally." I felt the same way as when I saw (also live), Howard Dean's "I have a scream" speech that marekd the disastrous end of his own Presidential speech. I thought, "No white person could ever say such things on television without the severest and most deserved criticism for racist junk science."

But at the time, Rev. Wright's comments didn't seem to sink in with many commentators. I was puzzled. Because now, I am convinced that I was right. And, no less an authority than Dr. Janice Hale herself -- mentioned by name by Rev. Wright -- appears to agree with me.

Check this link to columnist Rochelle Riley writing for the Detroit Free Press:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080508/COL10/805080417

In that column, Ms. Riley notes Dr. Hale's mostly-polite horror at her work having been so badly misquoted by Reverend Wright.

So, in summary, this isn't a case of Wright's being the victim of a soundbite, nor of Wright's being taken out of context. I was "there" in terms of seeing the entire Wright/NAACP speech, live. I've re-read the transcript of the speech. There were no hostile reporters, no questions to Wright of any kind. He wasn't on the defensive that night; he was in front of an adoring audience that was primed to hear him speak. And, Wright had just come off the warm, friendly, softball interview with Bill Moyers.

Still, with all this going for him, Wright committed an embarassingly huge blunder. An error so great that the people he relied upon for his information want to dissociate themselves from him. Dr. Hale wants to dissociate herself from Wright's "neuroscience." And Barack Obama wants to dissociate himself from Wright's politics.

So, there is what I think is a pretty comprehensive case against Wright's value as a speaker. And I didn't even have to mention his AIDS conspiracy theory, or his equation of the United States with terrorist organizations.

Please go on youtube or whatever you choose & PLEASE tell me what was INcorrect about what this man said & how it DID NOT come out of & tie into the Biblical Scriptures! Now make sure you watch the WHOLE THING/SERMON & put everything in CONTEXT (con=with or within; text=written or spoken body) before you truly form an opinion. If after that, you understand, but you STILL have issue with his words or the choice thereof, then say what you will. However, don't act COMLETELY ignorant, or at least look in & around the BANDWAGON before you COMPLETELY jump on board!!!

Thank you.

Please go on youtube or whatever you choose & PLEASE tell me what was INcorrect about what this man said & how it DID NOT come out of & tie into the Biblical Scriptures! Now make sure you watch the WHOLE THING/SERMON & put everything in CONTEXT (con=with or within; text=written or spoken body) before you truly form an opinion. If after that, you understand, but you STILL have issue with his words or the choice thereof, then say what you will. However, don't act COMLETELY ignorant, or at least look in & around the BANDWAGON before you COMPLETELY jump on board!!!

Thank you.

First of all a preacher shouldn't be damning America to its parishiners if he doesn't like it go live somewhere else no one is forcing him to stay. He said alot of anti-american remarks and Obama should have denounced him from day one thats one reason I will not support him. I just can't trust him there is something about him that is not trustworthy from the people he dealt with to never really answering honestly questions about his relations with these anti-americans. Every church I've been to has never cut down blacks or america and if this isn't racial I don't know what is . We are talking about the next President here not a grocery clerk lets get real. I hope Hillary goes Independant and takes away his chances from becoming the first anti-american President.

Are John F. Kennedy or Robert F. Kennedy the kind of "Catholic politicians" you are talking about? John Kerry? Teddy Kennedy? Patrick Kennedy? Dick Durbin? Pat Leahy? How about Robert Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Christopher Dodd (CT-D) or Claire McCaskill (D-MO)? All "Catholic politicians," every one. Should they all take responsibility for "travesties" in the priesthood?

It seems to me that this Comments thread has jumped the tracks in terms of commentary on the methods of Bill Moyers' journalism, which is what I had presumed was its focus.

I think it is unfortunate that all this attention is being given to this man and His opinions. I wonder how many Catholic politicians knew their priest were molesting little childrens all the years that they sat in the pews and applauded their speeches?? Did they NOT know what their pastors or priest were capable of; are they not responsible for their behavior??? If they feel they are not responsible; then how can they blame Mr. Oboma for what another adult does; says or thinks. Some one should ask them what portion of responsibility do they share in the travesty that has affected so many children by the hands of those that many thought they could trust; like their Priest. It is a shame America; because you do not want to take responsibility for your ancestors behavior toward Africans whom were forced into slavery; but you waste so much energy on this pathetic issue in a presidential race. I think all politicians pastors should investigated if this is how it is going to be. Let see what the research shows; and how many have sorted backgrounds that they never knew about; but sat in the pews weekly.

Correction:
Applaud should be replaced Apall or outraged, sicken.

Charles,
It is Rev. Wright’s job to inform his congregation of those things he believes are true. It is our duty as citizens to study, research and explore whether Tuskegee incident could ever happen again. It is our duty that we research, study, confirm whether designer diseases could be created to target a certain race of people. If during your research, you find that those people in 1972 was a unique people and that it is not happening today, then it is your duty to debate this issue and inform the public. However, those of you that hear something, then dismiss immediately, as if it never happened, have no place in public debate. How can you debate someone who lacks knowledge of history and purposely stick their head in the sand and ignore the past?
I'm sure that people were offended and appalled when it was stated that Black men were being purposely infected with syphilis and that the U.S. government allowed this along with the Public Health System to continue for years. I am sure they were outraged as Americans to think that someone would even say that the government had the cure but did not treat black men up until 1972.
I’m sure that many of the incidents in our past were dismissed as not being true until they actually saw it on the T.V. and could not ignore it any longer.
I’m sure when someone said that police were sticking broom sticks up a black person’s personal part where dinner comes out that America was offended and applaud that someone had the gull to say that a member of our police department would do such a savage act.
I am sure when someone said that Black men were being beat beyond recognition by people in authority that many sat in the comfort of their homes, such as you, and dismissed the allegation until they saw it for themselves and even then thought that the person deserved the savage act.
What would you have people to do? Huh? Stick their head in the sand and not learn from the past? What is that saying when people ignore history…. Do they repeat it?
I’m sure to this day there are people in their homes, with comfort thinking concentration camps never happened and that people were not hung from a trees because of their color as people had a picnic with their families.
When you debate someone or try to dismiss someone’s allegations, do the research! Ask the hard questions! Ask where did it come from! Stop shooting the messenger. He could very well be wrong if he even said it, but you are wrong for not exploring the issue and purposely calling the man crazy! Dismiss a whole race of people distrust after Jim Crow laws, Slavery, Tuskegee, and Black Laws.
Here is the ironic thing, these same preachers who expose the fears some blacks have are the same preachers who say forgive them, love them, turn the other cheek, don’t harbor those feelings because it will only eat you up. It is the preacher who helps the person transform and rise above a few ignorant people who would treat mankind so bad.

We still live in the greatest country in the world who can ask these hard questions, then stop it from happening again. We live side by side no matter what the race or what we have been through whether it is Beruit or Pearl Harbor whether it is slavery or the civil war. We love one another as brothers and sister and cherish the freedom that we share despite what happened. That is what separates the U.S. from any other country! We learn from our mistakes and continue to work at the greatest experiment called America. We cannot allow a few ignorant evil people to change the way we treat each other. We debate each other and agree to disagree! We ask the hard questions and seek the truth! We love each other like brothers and sisters despite our differences! Despite hardships we work together. We have always looked out for each other even during slavery and civil rights. There were white people who saw the wrong and risk their own lives to save their black brother. We must never forget that. We cannot drive people's fears underground like we did those who hate blacks because of their color. They have a right to speak and we have a right to not hang around them. What was done to Rev. Wright should have never happened. If anything, it was a chance to change the minds of Black America that we have finally gotten to a place in time where no PHS or Government would ever treat its citizens less than human. We could have had an honest debate instead we demonized Rev. Wright and thereby demonizing all those black Americans who harbor this fear that could be killing them inside to this day. If we could have debated, got our best scientist and health official together to debate where AIDs came from we could have healed deep wounds. Instead we saw what was done when a so called "negro" steps out of place! He will be dismissed as a crazy man for even thinking that PHS could come up with such an evil act. Charles you are asking the hard questions, and that is a start. The dialogue must continue. I will be the first to say I am wrong when I am found to be wrong but calling me names and dismissing my ideas is not the answer. You just drive the hurt deeper causing more distrust.

Can anybody explain what good there is in telling the members of Trinity United Church of Christ that HIV was an invention of the U.S. government?

Sen. Obama says that such statements "are rightly offensive to most American."

So can anyone explain why Wright would ever have said it in the first place, why he wouldn't retract it and apologize, and why he would be defended for having said it?

Again, I ask specifically, what good does such a statement do for the churchgoers at Trinity?

Even Bill Moyers is repelled by the Wright allegations as to an AIDS conspiracy, right?

If in fact it is true that fear is the motivation for the demonization of African American, Black and Negro Reverends, what is it that they fear? Angry “white men”?
1. Do they fear redlining? Being steered to homes that are in bad areas, dangerous plants and electrical lines?
2. Do they fear walking in a bank with a better paying job, better credit score, and greater track record only to be denied or given enough to stay in debt, while their friend from other race, agrees to the experiment, applies for the loan that you did with lessor credit score, lessor paying job and they get the loan plus more money and you are denied or given just enough to stay in debt?
3. Do they fear a doctor telling them that their pain is in their head and let them continue to suffer and in some case die of something as simple as a cold?
3. Do they fear driving while white?
4. Do they fear that the demographic make up of the jails will change to a lighter color?
5. Do they fear being denied a job because of their color? Or Denied a position because they do not make enough to dress for success?
6. Do they fear walking in a store, head toward the electronic section and have a guard stand next to you and stare you down?
7. Do they fear that the teachers who were driven underground for the last 40 years and denied the chance to say what they believe in the hearts because of civil rights would be in the classroom teaching their child? And as a result writing their child up for small stuff and suspending your child from school for nothing, going to court to fight for your child to stay in the county schools? Then having the court stereotype your child just because of their beliefs rather then looking at the facts.
8. Do they fear going to a car dealership and being charged 28% interest on a car? Do they fear being kept in the dealership until 3:00 am until you would sign anything because you were too young to know better?
9. Do they fear that the “FICO scoring method” would unfairly keep your score low because no one has the guts to investigate why the score is low? And why their race score tend to be low?
10 Do they fear the Mortgage company would make an agreement with them , then you pay on the agreement date however, the Mortgage company will continue to report to the credit report agency the original contract date and not the new agreed upon date driving their score down and preventing them from buying anything?
11. Do they fear predatory lending?
12 Do they fear insurance company’s client who is at fault, refusing to pay the medical bills of your children which in turns denies your children medical service for over four years do to the insurance companies decision to drag out the process in the hopes that one will forget the injuries?
13. Do they fear the jury make-up in court would deny them justice because of their own stereotype attitude , fears and belief systems?
14. Do they fear having radio talk show hosts from sun up to sun down dancing around the race issue continuously calling their race victims as if what they describe they face everyday, is not true?
What is it that they fear?
15. Do they fear “White laws” will be developed to keep their race down?
16. Do they fear swinging from a rope, while the so called moral people of that day have a picnic watching this demonic type action?
17. Do they fear being considered less than human and as property?
18. Do they fear being stereotyped as lazy even though their ancestors is the one who built America while the lazy ones raped their wives, sold their children, whip the men and woman leaving deep scars, burning down their churches with children in them, burning down their town that is thriving?
What is that they fear? I challenge you that they do not fear! They know Blacks are a moral people who live by the law and would never ever think of a race of people as property. They would never communicate hate of a people because of their color or preconceived notion of what the people stand for. They would never warehouse people by redlining in the ghettos , then ensure there are no jobs thereby causing people to become like animals because they are trapped , while drugs are flown from other countries into their neighborhoods keeping the weak amongst them in a “stuper” state, ripe for jail while the others cling to God and Guns. Developing a Welfare system that makes a policy to keep the father away from the mother and children realizing this policy will affect generations to come. See Willie Lynch Doctrine.
I think that Limbaugh, Hannity, Levene, and FOX thrive off of demonizing African Americans. I think the “angry white man” who were conceived in the Reagan years are alive and well, targeting prominent Black men and exposing their human defects while hiding their own race’s immoral behavior. I believe there are “think tanks” that spend sun up to sun down , thinking of ways to demonize a race of people. Finally, I think these people are few in number. I think we as Americans no matter what the race live side by side as friends and treating each other as family. I believe there is a few with money who can make it seem like it is many however, we eat dinner with each other, we fight for each other and we love each other like a brother or sister. We even laugh and cry together. Think about it! It is NOT your co-worker or friends of another race that embodies these negative behaviors. It is the “Group Think” people who think they speak for the people. This lie that blacks and whites don’t get along is further exploited through TV that picks and chooses what they want to report or what they want to poll. It is the consolidation of businesses that will follow the “Jim crow laws “ disguised as something else or the “Black Laws” disguised as something else. All you need to keep a people down is the following, a “scoring system” that will keep you score low thereby justifying the “loan sharking behavior”, Car dealership that will sell you a lemon and a State that would have no lemon laws, licensed predatory lenders, IRS and heavy usury type fees and finally a Mortgage company as well as the Car company and dealership with high interest rates. These behaviors will never be exposed because of privacy laws and no transparency as well as no oversight. Ask Fair Isaac why it is that the credit scores matters and how once you are marked there is no way out. All one has to do is target the college bound student and sell a car that is too high, that is a lemon and interest rate is high, Gap insurance that will not pay after 3 or more deferments, repossession by financial institutions who are practicing loan sharking behavior and a court system that enforces the behavior by always ruling in favor of the company, thereby lowing the mark. The court system will further injure the people by granting back interest pay that was never part of the agreement once you have paid for a car that you never owned. Check the court system records. This is not a white and black issue any longer!. This is a greed issue and no, I do not think there is fear as much as there is a few people who thrive off of blaming others for their misfortune! If there was transparency with the FICO SCORE and Car Dealership and how the Court system is ruling in favor of car companies despite the facts, I would not feel so strongly about this issue. There is no transparency, no oversight, and no one willing to take these issue that affect average Americans daily which gives the greedy part of our society, fuel to continue to fleece American citizens.

Charles,
I don't think people really care about what Hagee said. If the media made it a top story and ratings went up then all the news stations would talk about Hagee. The truth is, I have never seen any white reverend demonized in the media, ever. Not that I watch that much but I am pretty sure that the only reverends demonized in the media are Black.
If Hagee wanted to explain he could contact the media himself. I am sure that the media would not miss the opportunity. Did you ever consider that Hagee did not want to address the issue? He has no reason to defend his words because the media is calling for it.

Obama'08
BJ

I think the problem here is that people are using the Dr. Wright thing to have some reason to not trust Senator Obama because of his race. The media, especially the Fox News channel are basically creating fear in the people about Obama. Senator Obama should not have to answer any questions about Dr. Wright. It had nothing to do with the campaign and most Americans were tired of it and wanted to hear about the real issues that affect their lives.

What did Dr. Wright say that hurt people? What did he say that offended people? We have a right to question, debate and disagree with government policy as we are tax payers and have a constitutional right to speak our minds.

Senator Obama simply needed to end the focus on Dr. Wright so the media could move on from it. He answered the questions about Dr. Wright and the media has to move on now (thank goodness) because we know that if he did not end it the media would have milked it forever.

What did Dr. Wright say that peeves you so? And how does that reflect on Senator Obama?

I think Dr. Wright spoke out to stop the hate that was being created toward his church. Fox news channel and others were trashing Trinity and the members, it was ridiculous that people actually believed that Dr. Wright was some kind of crazy man. He is a scholar and at the press club the man was applauded during and after the speech. I applaud him.

We need to understand what the media heads tried to do. The media has an agenda as well. Who owns the media? I am sure that only a few top people are responsible for what we hear and what we don't hear. Why do we hear about Brittany Spears but not about a bill that passed and how it is going to affect our lives? Most people are busy day to day trying to make ends meet and spending time with family. SO we don't pay close attention to the people we put in office to protect us. The Dr. Wright story is another distraction away from who we really need to question, the bureaucracy. This is supposed to be a democracy, for the people by the people. Not lobbyist cutting deals that only help a small group of people. We the people (all of us).

Obama '08
BJ

It is interesting and very disappointing to see all media, commentaries and pundits spin the Rev. Wright words to be negative and even with the truth spoken the story was still spinned as a negative. I was disappointed to see Barack Obama fall for the rhetoric by the media, pundits and commentaries. Why did he feel the need to denounce a man of Rev. Wright's caliber. Group Think has taken over the media and we no longer get the news unfiltered. Stop asking the question Media! This new style the media has with asking stupid questions instead of reporting does not fool us after this last event any longer. You matter as well go ahead and say what you believe on any subject because you truly showed you colors on the Rev. Wright’s prophetic sermon and the question at the bias press club. The media and it’s pundits have been exposed. The conservatives start at 8:00am in the morning until after 6:00pm propagating lies, half untruths and public hatred toward the black race and nothing is said. One Black man stands up and dares to challenge the establishment and ruling party and they tar and feather him. It is because of Michele that I became interested in Barack O. less Barack fool himself into thinking anything else. It is Rev. Wright, who for the first time since Rev. Dr. King (the spokesman for the Civil Rights movement), made a step to heal this nation. First you must admit there is problems before the twoism of American can be healed. Yes, there is distrust of medical field and the role the government played in the Tuskegee incident. Many do not even know what Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment was about. For forty years between 1932 and 1972, the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) conducted an experiment on 399 black men with syphilis. PHS healed white me and let black men suffer with the disease and some cases allowing the black men to die even though there was a cure. Many know that in the heart of Africa Scientist were study SRV/SIV in monkeys and those monkeys supposedly escape the experiment facility. Scientist claim SIV cannot mutate to HIV and there is no way humans could have contracted this in African even if monkey brains was a food source. Tell me why the media does not ask the question about AIDS? Hmmm? “Where did AIDs come from”? What is the DNA of Aids? Did South Africa instruct their scientist to develop biochemical warfare against certain race of people? Is there such thing as designer diseases? I have long known that certain children do not learn well in a class room with 30 students and one teacher and black board. Verbal vs. Visual hands-on led class vs. instruction-led teaching style. Using Power point for instruction that show step-by-step verses verbally communicating what the teacher may not understand. This man in two days went a long way to heal this nation and the few ignorant people could not take it and the squeaky wheel got the grease. What about the silent majority? We watch and were truly perplexed to see what we saw done to Rev. Wright and take a false interpretation of what occurred and tried to make Barack O apologize for the truth? What in the world are people thinking. They called this black man a crazy man. This is a sad time and really made me wake up. I've lost respect for the media except for one man. Bill Moyer who remain the lone voice of reason. If people disagreed with Rev. Wright then debate the man. The DemRubplican, media, pundits and commentaries could not debate Rev. Wright because they knew he was right. What happened to debate in this country? Bill, I first saw you on Charlie Rose and I am blessed for finding out about you. Thank you. The fact that we even care to dialogue about the wounds Black Americans carry, shows how much we love the country built on the backs of our ancestors even though the Willie Lynch followers were to lazy to work. They meant it for bad, but God meant it for Good. We are in the greatest country in the world with all it’s faults. We have a chance to heal and fix what may be broke then move together to be innovators and making a better place for our children. And yes, I believe Cynthia Mckinney, Olie North, Grease Man , Don Imus, Jessie Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Ron Brown and others have a right to say what they believe without being tarred and feathered. I am convinced that the Rev. Wright incident was pay back for Don Imus. I would rather a person be overt than covert. You cannot debate what you cannot see or hear. Driving these type of folks underground for the last 40 years has done a great disservice to my generation. These people driven underground are in our classrooms teaching our children, they are police, they are doctors and because they were not allowed to say “hey, I do not want to live around black people” they take it out on our children and the symptoms are great in every aspect of our lives. Because it is covert behavior they are allowed to say “blacks act like they are the victim” while causes unnecessary stress in the daily lives of the unaware minorities. This is the greatest disservice that I’m sure many are not aware of. May we keep the dialogue going and agree to disagree, then move on to work together and make the greatest experiment called America a reality. Rev.Wright, we heard you and we did not close our ears nor did we shut our eyes. We know that you love this country and cared enough to say what many of us feel on a daily basis. Rev. Wright know that your work is not in vain and the life you live was a testimony to God. Thank you for helping people, standing tall keep telling the truth, many will hear and others will be given over to a reprobate mind. Barack, beware you are treading on a thin line. If change is to come the truth must be allowed to be said. I would have much rather you debated Rev. Wright on the portions you disagreed in instead of playing the role of the good negro and pandering to those who mean you and other no good. The media truly controlled you and you know for a fact that the Press Club was disrespectful to the man and he had no choice to put the moterator on notice on who she was dealing with the questions were a disgrace and still Rev. Wright cared enough to answer them. It is a good thing it was not me up there because I would have been more colourful dealing with the lady who had the smirk on her face as she stated that noone in the audience agreed with rev. wright over and over again. She did not do that with any other offensive people however, she had all the confidence in the world disrepecting the man of God. Unfortunately, she messed with a child of God this time. I welcome McCain to bring Rev. Wright up. lets hear these people explain away Tuskegee!

BJ, are you saying that Obama's "kicking Wright to the curb" was somehow done with a wink and a nod? That it is somehow understood to have been an insincere denunciation by Obama? Something that he just had to do, as a politician, as Wright himself has suggested? With Obama secretly agreeing that Wright's comments were not that offensive at all?

If so, what does all of that tell us about Obama?

On the other hand, if Obama truly thought that Wright had crossed a line of decency, but has somehow forgiven Wright after denouncing him, how should we feel about the offensive comments by the Reverend John Hagee? Should Bill Moyers be offering Reverend Hagee a cahnce to explain himself in a face-to-face interview?

I am not mad at Dr. Wright or Senator Obama. I feel that Dr. Wright is serving his community well and only has to answer to God. Senator Obama denounced some of the things he said. The reason he denounced Dr. Wright is because he felt that Dr. Wright did not apologize for possibly offending people. I think Dr. Wright really offended Senator Obama at the National Press club interview. He did say some things that I thought were unnecessary. But as humans we are imperfect and I understand. When he read his speech, it was very good. "....different not deficient...." But when he answered questions he was on the defensive and it was not a good look for him.
Whether Senator Obama denounced Dr. Wright or not it still hurt his campaign. It was a double edge sword. On one hand he was going to alienate white voters who fed into the news loops and on the other end he was going to alienate black voters for denouncing Dr. Wright.
In the end I like that he gave Dr. Wright a chance to speak for himself before kicking him to the curb.

Obama '08
BJ

I really don't get it -- if Reverend Wright was speaking such profound wisdom and if "most of what he said was true" (interesting phraseology), why did Senator Obama denounce him?

Particularly after Obama said, "I could no more denounce him than my own white grandmother."

Should Wright be denounced? Because that is what Obama did.

Or should Obama be denounced for thowing his pastor overboard?

It has to be one or the other, right?

To those of you who have commented so negatively about the Reverend Wright and see some sort of conspiracy by Senator Obama, I have only one thing to say to all of you. Your racism and blindness is overwhelming. The double standard here is also very troubling. It seems pretty obvious that White preachers can say anything they want, even condoning murder of blacks by the Ku Klux Klan, murder of doctors or perform abortions, of Catholics and Jews, yet Reverend Wright cannot do the same. I am white and quite frankly ashamed of this country for the way it treats people who are not white. If those of you who have made such racist comments consider yourselves christians, then you need to take a long hard look at yourselves. Most of what Reverend Wright said was true - and the truth hurts. It's time to take a long hard look at the history of the policies of this country which have been nothing short of devastating to those less fortunate.

Shame on all of you

To those of you who have commented so negatively about the Reverend Wright and see some sort of conspiracy by Senator Obama, I have only one thing to say to all of you. Your racism and blindness is overwhelming. The double standard here is also very troubling. It seems pretty obvious that White preachers can say anything they want, even condoning murder of blacks by the Ku Klux Klan, murder of doctors or perform abortions, of Catholics and Jews, yet Reverend Wright cannot do the same. I am white and quite frankly ashamed of this country for the way it treats people who are not white. If those of you who have made such racist comments consider yourselves christians, then you need to take a long hard look at yourselves. Most of what Reverend Wright said was true - and the truth hurts. It's time to take a long hard look at the history of the policies of this country which have been nothing short of devastating to those less fortunate.

Shame on all of you

Many of Rev. Wright's ideas remind me of Malcom X, Stokely Carmichael, and the Black Panthers. Too bad our country has no memory, especially for truth. I'm not black, but I have always appreciated those who speak their mind while they actually take care of their community. Obama would seem the bigger man (to me) if he had actually stepped away from Wright years ago. Now he seems rather the self-serving "politician" in his remarks about Wright. Geese. I respect Wright more than Obama for being truthful.

Explain then, Ralph, the differing treatment of Wright and Hagee by Moyers.

With Wright, it was a warm, softly-lit conversation between two people who so clearly were in sync with each other that it was more of a therapy session than a a hard political interview.

With Hagee, it was an arm's-length hit piece. Soundbites of the most inflammatory rhetoric, no interview of Hagee giving him a chance to explain himself, etc.

I'm more than confident that I am the one being even-handed in this analysis, and that all the Obama supporters among the Moyers viewership are the ones that cannot see the imbalance.

C'mon, Charles. To say that there's no substantive difference between the constant barrage of inflamemotainment propaganda from Fox, the explicitly hateful and distorted inanity of Hannity in particular, and that of Moyers sit down interview with Rev. Wright is, well, silly.

Moyers lifelong commitment to the democratic party and liberal social principles notwithstanding, his discipline to high journalistic standards and openness to other viewpoints is what defines him and so inflames the narrowness of the rigid right.

Fox, on the other hand, with it's diatribe force and repetitive, agenda driven content is not only a parody of journalism, but of itself.

We're it not for the likes of Moyers, the desolation of broadcast journalism would be a grim fait accompli.

BJ, I appreciate Fox News because it is such a good antidote to the rest of television news. And Fox, in particular, is unafraid to criticize our PBS and NPR networks (even as Fox News employs Mara Liasson of NPR and Juan Williams of NPR).

I have not utilized this blog to campaign for any candidate as you (Obama '08) have. I have tried to keep the focus on Bill Moyers' journalism standards, which is precisely the focus and function of this Comments page.

Neither Hagee nor Wright would have merited national debate but for the fact that both McCain and Obama sought the two pastors' support and blessing. I kind of wish that neither candidate had involved themselves with either pastor.

But my greater point wsa that there was no substantive difference between what Bill Moyers, a loyal Democrat and a very liberal television personality did, and what Sean Hannity an upwardly-mobile conservative ideologue, did. Moyers wanted his viewers to be scared by Hagee soundbites, as he tried to link Hagee to McCain. Sean Hannity tried to scare his viewers with the Wright sermon soundbites, as he linked Wright to Obama.

Condemn both equally if you want to, but to hold up Bill Moyers as some kind of ideal in this sordid affair is just a joke.

Charles, You must be a Fox News supporter. How is this one interview compared to months of Dr.Wright being looped over and over again in the media. He only tried to show the real man behind the loops. I have never heard of Hagee, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Clearly the Fox News network is trying to change the way people see Obama because they have their own agenda. Anybody could have a pastor or similar in their faith that may have unflattering opinions about the government. So what, shouldn't we all question our government. You don't have to agree with everything your pastor says, especially if it is politics. Give me a break. I have had co-workers, friends, and family that have said controversial things. What are we supposed to kick them out of our lives because of it? No! Because you know deep down they are good people who have good hearts. That is what Mr. Bill Moyers showed us with his interview with Dr. Wright.

Obama '08
BJ

Here is a link that some Bill Moyers viewers might be familiar with.

It is a link to this very website: Bill Moyers' carefully-produced report on the group, Christians United for Israel, and Pastor John Hagee.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/03072008/profile.html

Note the use of the video production tools that Bill Moyers has decried in the case of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. In the Hagee story, Moyers himself apparently never spoke to Hagee at all. There was no chance for Hagee to speak without his words being edited by Moyers' producers.

They used the most inflammatory "soundbites" that they could find on Hagee.

I don't much care for Hagee, just as i don't care for Jeremiah Wright, but I do know what Wright would say if he had been put in the position of Hagee on the Moyers program. He'd have asked Moyers -- "Have you been to my church? Have you heard any of my sermons? The WHOLE sermons? Have you ever given me the chance to come onto your program to speak for myself?"

As I have stated before, the notion that Bill Moyers represents some journalistic ideal is nonsense. Bill Moyers is nothing more and nothing less than a left-wing version of teh Fox News Channel. The difference being that the Fox News Channel has so many more viewers, it can pay for itself on its own private network, thank you very much. We see Bill Moyers only because of the Public Broadcasting network.

So who do we see about getting our money back?

LunchAdmin:

You not fooling anyone with this crap link. Everybody knows it's a fake, bigot. You're anti Obama and that is fine but when you start making up stuff just to feed your own bigotry, that is truly pathetic.

Obama '08
BJ

Beware the terrible simplifiers? You are one such simplifier Mr. Moyers.

Did John McCain campaign from Reverend John Hagee’s pulpit? No HE DID NOT. Did Barack Obama do just that from Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s pulpit? Yes HE DID.

Did John McCain distribute pamphlets claiming him to be a “committed Christian” complete with photos of him praying in Hagee’s church? No HE DID NOT.

Did Barack Obama produce such a pamphlet complete with photographs praying within Wright’s church?

Why yes … YES HE DID, and in so doing he violated campaign guidelines – but that’s an issue needing a separate blog post.
See the pamphlet here. http://departmentoflunch.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/pander.jpg

So you know what Mr. Moyers?

Barack Obama ignored the Constitution’s ban on religious tests for federal officeholders; he put his preacher and his faith out there for everyone to judge. John McCain has been endorsed by a few racist crackpots, but so far he has not worshiped with them or written books praising their message.

In no way do I write this in support of John McCain. It’s just that your argument that black preachers in this case are getting the short end of the stick does NOT hold up.

Mr. Moyers:

Thank you for your very informative piece on Rev. Wright. I, as a Black American, wish that all Anglo Americans could sit down with someone that they may not agree with and seek the truth and the real reasoning behind their position. You do so and as I watched you over the years. You seem to be able to get to the root of the controversy with honest questions with a clear intent.

I taped your program on that day and on the following day, had a friend, Anglo & staunch Catholic, start off with comments about that racist Rev. Wright. I invited him to sit down and view your program. I was dissapointed that he only viewed half, but what really made my day, was when he said was "In context the man is telling the truth and is teaching from the Bible" That really made me feel good to see a mind changed and the truth let out.

All I can say is keep shining your light and please shine some in the direction of our people in the governance of our country, our clergy that want to talk about " this week's ladies tea", Our schools that are producing too many dropouts', nitwhits' and otherwise under educated students. Most of all, please shine plenty of that light in the direction of your fellow journalists.

Thanks,
A longtime fan

Racism, Jim, is harboring hate against other races, not supporting your own in a reasonable, and in this case, in a unique candidacy.

And, you're overstating the percentage, there are many people of color that support the opposition.

Why can 99% of afro-americans vote for obamas and not be labeled as obvious racist? Yet when whites for for clintons they are considered racist?

Double Standard

The odd thing to me, William, is that Wright's historical expertise seems so suspect on so many other dimensions that I am not sure that he is credible on any of them. For instance, Wright finds time to talk about the U.S. nuclear attacks on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, but at the same time butchers history with the urban myth that the U.S. invited the devastating sneak attack on Pearl harbor.

I also wonder why, if Wright is such a prophet of peace, he wouldn't find time to mention the Japanese war crimes, the Bataan Death March and the rape of Nanking?

I am very much struck by the amount of politics that Wright has invovled himself in. That may be somewhat normal in the black church, I don't know. I do know that it is more or less required that any politician seeking election in any large American city must pass through the approval of the city's black ministers.

In every church I have gone to, politics were less than 1% of the church's mission. I know that there are the Pat Robertsons and Falwells and Hagees of the nation, but those are NOT representative of mainstream Protestantism and Catholocism. Is Wright a reasonably representative example of urban preaching?

For the real offense of Jeremiah Wright one need look no further than Bill Moyers's interview with him. In that interview, he provides a fairly scholarly critique of state violence and compares it with other forms of terrorism. He says that violence that destroys innocence people, whether conducted by the state or by free-lance terrorists, is not pleasing to God. In keeping with the prophetic tradition of the Old and New Testaments, he points this out in his sermons. It offends Americans that he includes the United States among the perpetrators of illegitimate state violence. He has obviously thought a great deal about this, and he can eloquently array the evidence, from the fire bombing of Tokyo, to the saturation bombing in Southeast Asia, to the attacks on Sadr City today. But the evidence is of no importance. All that matters is the comfortable assumption that the United States uses violence responsibly and only as a last resort. There is no greater offense than disturbing that assumption and that comfort.

To Mr. Bill Moyers:

Thanks again for offering some insight and perspective into the media's spin and distractions.
Your show is a bright beacon in the darkness of the information blackout we have in this country over issues that matter to all of us who live in the U.S.
To Mr. Charles Brown:
If you aren't a “neocon”, you must at least be a stauch supporter of the Bush Administration. It's becoming clear why you have such an interest in attacking both Obama and Wright. They’re both imperfect humans and as such will not be 100% correct all the time. None of us are 100% all the time. However, Jeremiah Wright isn't running for office. He's taking a stand, wrong, right or indifferent.

You give away your position when you make absurd comments like these:
“As for any "government lie" about a link between the Saddam Hussein government and the attacks of 9/11, I don't know what supposed "lies" that Wright was talking about. I've never heard a member of the Bush administration claim such a link. I have heard the Bush administration discuss links to terrorism within the old Baathist Iraqi regime, but only becuase there were such links.”

If you haven't had your head buried in the sand for the past 5 years, then you must only access media like The Weekly Standard. or perhaps you're a Fox News Fan. I suggest you watch Bill Moyers' excellent documentary, “Buying the War”. You can watch it at this very site. Here's the link:
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/btw/watch.html
Instead of obsessing over every detail of what Wright says or his accuracy, you might consider spending your time reviewing the Bush Administration's lack of accuracy and competence, which has led us into this Global War on Terror, the fiasco in Iraq , FEMA’s many failures in response to Hurricane Katrina and so many other disasters for this country that they can't be summed up here.
Here's one more link to get you started: http://www.democracynow.org/2008/1/24/935_lies_and_counting_study_counts

Hope that helps...

pallist

Only Bill would have to try to fix an interview after the fact by commenting on it and trying to spin it in a different direction. The people who were interested already saw the interview, Bill, and it is way too late to try to fix your poor interview skills with even worse commentary.

It is very interesting how sensitive Americans are w/Wright's comments. Our history speaks for itself and I pray that we will not loose our freedom of speech in the future. There are many angry Blacks in this country regardless of the their professional titles or economic status and that is the reality of the situation. Enough is enough and "it is" time for change. It is time for blacks to speak up and speak out to fellow Amercians about the continued racism in "our" country. As a Christian, despite my imperfection, I am inspired by Rev.Wright and it is not about color. It is about his courage to take on the ever growing beast in America that has the potential to devour everything that has made America what it is today. Study revelations folks. Study our history folks. Now, as for Blacks, we have so much to be angry about and I do believe that if it were not for religous leaders such as Rev. Wright that provide an enviorment for "honest" conversation, the rage will only get worse. There is nothing equal about our society and many of our leaders have done little to bridge the gap between all cultures of America. So all Americans have a choice to make and much work to do. Either we break through the glass ceiling many have tried to demolish, e.g. Dr. King, so everyone one can partake in the "American Dream", or we continue to spread the glass ceiling so far over our land that we all suffer. Our country is being bought up from below our feet daily. Our debt is out of control. Are you serious? All we can do is complain about Rev. Wright. What about gas prices? What about health care? What about the next four years? What about all of "our" children? What about disease control? What about the cost of food? What about the troops? What about foreign policy? What about the air that we "all" breathe? You, me, Rev. Wright, President Bush...we all have to breathe right?

Dear Bill,

Thank you so much for such insightful comment on Rev Wright; we all could almost be fooled again by a media machine... Please keep up the great efforts!!!

America is a great country with great people; given time and good work she will shine again. First we need to find all the root causes that's killing our country, be it anyone, or any group.

Who is benefiting from the pain of the majority; who has hijacked our policy, foreign and domestic, our finances, our values...

Our real enemy is only a tiny few manipulating us right here living at the top and behind the scenes.

Good people have to unite and make them pay, dearly.

Think for ourselves!

Take care

Dear Mr. Moyers,
I would just like to say I am
disappointed with your toothless and inept interviewing style made evident during your interview with Rev. Wright. You just sat
there and nodded sympathetically while the esteemed reverend bitterly complained about being treated "unfairly" by the media.
Let me get this straight!
Rev. Wright is free to espouse and express any beliefs, however unpopular.
Indeed, his holding and expressing those beliefs is
essential to the functioning of our democracy. What makes him a
brazen hypocrite is his claim (stated or implied) that by virtue of him being
a black clergyman he and his statements are exempt from scrutiny, criticism and ridicule. When his remarks first surfaced, a lot of people perceived them as a direct attack against their values. Naturally, those offended fought back. Facing scathing criticism Rev. Wright appeared on your show and instead of defending of what he so passionately believes in on
the merits, he began to whine. As far as I know there is nothing in the Constitution that prohibits criticism of a clergyman's or layman's statements made in the public domain. I find this attempt to justify and advance one's political agenda using religion repulsive. Even worse, this took place on the publicly funded TV station, on your watch Mr. Moyers!

Alex Golubev

Dear Mr. Moyers,
I would just like to say I am
disappointed with your toothless and inept interviewing style made evident during your interview with Rev. Wright. You just sat
there and nodded sympathetically while the esteemed reverend bitterly complained about being treated "unfairly" by the media.
Let me get this straight!
Rev. Wright is free to espouse and express any beliefs, however unpopular.
Indeed, his holding and expressing those beliefs is
essential to the functioning of our democracy. What makes him a
brazen hypocrite is his claim (stated or implied) that by virtue of him being
a black clergyman he and his statements are exempt from scrutiny, criticism and ridicule. When his remarks first surfaced, a lot of people perceived them as a direct attack against their values. Naturally, those offended fought back. Facing scathing criticism Rev. Wright appeared on your show and instead of defending of what he so passionately believes in on
the merits, he began to whine. As far as I know there is nothing in the Constitution that prohibits criticism of a clergyman's or layman's statements made in the public domain. I find this attempt to justify and advance one's political agenda using religion repulsive. Even worse, this took place on the publicly funded TV station, on your watch Mr. Moyers!

Alex Golubev

Dear Mr. Moyers,
I would just like to say I am
disappointed with your toothless and inept interviewing style made evident during your interview with Rev. Wright. You just sat
there and nodded sympathetically while the esteemed reverend bitterly complained about being treated "unfairly" by the media.
Let me get this straight!
Rev. Wright is free to espouse and express any beliefs, however unpopular.
Indeed, his holding and expressing those beliefs is
essential to the functioning of our democracy. What makes him a
brazen hypocrite is his claim (stated or implied) that by virtue of him being
a black clergyman he and his statements are exempt from scrutiny, criticism and ridicule. When his remarks first surfaced, a lot of people perceived them as a direct attack against their values. Naturally, those offended fought back. Facing scathing criticism Rev. Wright appeared on your show and instead of defending of what he so passionately believes in on
the merits, he began to whine. As far as I know there is nothing in the Constitution that prohibits criticism of a clergyman's or layman's statements made in the public domain. I find this attempt to justify and advance one's political agenda using religion repulsive. Even worse, this took place on the publicly funded TV station, on your watch Mr. Moyers!

Alex Golubev

Dear Mr. Moyers,
I would just like to say I am
disappointed with your toothless and inept interviewing style made evident during your interview with Rev. Wright. You just sat
there and nodded sympathetically while the esteemed reverend bitterly complained about being treated "unfairly" by the media.
Let me get this straight!
Rev. Wright is free to espouse and express any beliefs, however unpopular.
Indeed, his holding and expressing those beliefs is
essential to the functioning of our democracy. What makes him a
brazen hypocrite is his claim (stated or implied) that by virtue of him being
a black clergyman he and his statements are exempt from scrutiny, criticism and ridicule. When his remarks first surfaced, a lot of people perceived them as a direct attack against their values. Naturally, those offended fought back. Facing scathing criticism Rev. Wright appeared on your show and instead of defending of what he so passionately believes in on
the merits, he began to whine. As far as I know there is nothing in the Constitution that prohibits criticism of a clergyman's or layman's statements made in the public domain. I find this attempt to justify and advance one's political agenda using religion repulsive. Even worse, this took place on the publicly funded TV station, on your watch Mr. Moyers!

Alex Golubev

The good Reverend Wright speaks the truth and to many the truth hurts. The people who react out of anger, hate, and fear must be in an emission of guilt!

Without getting too much into the merits of Reverend John Hagee versus Reverend Jeremiah Wright, I still think that as it pertains to Bill Moyers, there is a remarkable double standard.

On the one hand, Bill Moyers actually did a story on Reverend John Hagee, and Moyers did the things that he chastised the corporate media for: he used soundbites of Hagee for his own editorial purposes. Moyers did not interview Hagee, and he did not give Hagee a chance to speak more openly and at length, as with Wright, to put himself "in context."

So beyond any serious question, Bill Moyers has acted precisely as a left-wing analogue to Fox News, baiting the opposition with sound bites for his personal benefit.

Speaking for myself alone, I find Hagee and Wright to be equally abhorrent. I'd take no pleasure in attending either one of their respective churches. But it is also clear to me that the soundbite versions of Hagee and Wright are plenty accurate enough. Neither one of them gets any better with hearing more of their comments. And it is a huge conceit on the part of Bill Moyers if he can't see what he's done on his own show that is "Un-fair and Un-balanced."

In his efforts to give Wright a fair and even-handed treatment, I feel Mr. Moyer's has perhaps bent a bit too far, so much that he's glossed over or ignored a few of the key issues. As but one possible example, I believe many people were in fact NOT all that shocked or insulted by the basic idea behind the "chickens coming home to roost" sermon. No intelligent person can argue with the premise that a country takes actions and must therefore expect certain consequences. What WAS shocking and insulting was that fact that Wright and at least a few in his congregation appeared almost joyous that chickens were coming home to roost. The applause and cheers were quite loud! What exactly were they applauding? This was the interesting and important question - and unfortunately one that Mr. Moyers chose not to ask.

In Bill Moyers' summary, he referred to the double standard in that white preachers such as Falwell, Robertson, and Hagee have made hateful and controversial comments but have not been treated like black preacher Wright. Moyers must have a poor memory, for every comment that has been hateful, outlandish, and divisive by these white preachers has also been renounced, opposed, chided, and covered by the media - much of the time in proportion to that person's relevance to national current events.
What is your purpose in distorting the facts, Mr. Moyers? Race-baiting benefits no one.

Elizabeth Sheppard -

Yes, it is true that whe pressed at the National Press Club, Wright evaded the substance of the direct question put to him, with his own flippant comment that the government was "capable" of doing such a thing. It would be nice, wouldn't it, if Wright would answer the question squarely and without equivocation.

For me, Wright gave away his position when he turned on the questioner at the National Press Club and asked, "Have you read Horowitz's book?" The reference was to a crackpot theorist who wrote a book alleging that there was in fact a government conspiracy and/or a major biological accident that created the HIV/AIDS virus. Wright doesn't have the personal command of those facts, so instead he tosses the notion out, with a wink, saying, "It might be true!", just as it might be true that the mafia killed John F. Kennedy, or it might be true that the Apollo mon landing was a hoax.

These kinds of theories are beneath the dignity of serious discussion.

But then, Elizabeth, we can go back to the original sermon in which Wright launched a whole handful of similar theories and charges, each of them as negligent and as devoid of factual support as the AIDS lunacy.

Rev. Wright:
********
"“The government lied about the Tuskegee experiment. They purposely infected African American men with syphilis. Governments lie. The government lied about bombing Cambodia and Richard Nixon stood in front of the camera, ‘Let me make myself perfectly clear…” Governments lie. The government lied about the drugs for arms Contra scheme orchestrated by Oliver North, and then the government pardoned all the perpetrators so they could get better jobs in the government. Governments lie.

“The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of people of color. Governments lie. The government lied about a connection between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein and a connection between 9.11.01 and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Governments lie."
********
So let's work our way through that mess.
The government never "infected" anyone with syphillis in the Tuskeegee case, although it did not treat some of the patients, who were being studied as the disease pogressed.
Rev. Wright's accusation as to Cambodian bombing (the Viet Cong were of course responsible for taking the war to Cambodia in the first place) and Wright's bizarre imitation of President Nixon are almost impossible to put into any sensible context.
As to the "drugs for arms" story, Wright has it wrong. Arms were sold in order to raise funding for the Nicaraguan Contras which had been cut off by Congress. It was not a 'drugs for arms' deal. After Iran-Contra was investigated, and Colonel Oliver North was convicted, his conviction was overturned on appeal. North was never pardoned. President George H.W. Bush did pardon Caspar Weinberger, Elliott Abrams, Robert McFarlane and three lower level CIA employees in the Iran-Contra matter. Most of the charges were low-level "lying to Congress" charges for which the offenders were to have recieved suspended sentences and in Abrams' case, a fifty-dollar fine. Abrams is the only one of the six pardoned by the elder President Bush to have gone back to government service.
As for any "government lie" about a link between the Saddam Hussein government and the attacks of 9/11, I don't know what supposed "lies" that Wright was talking about. I've never heard a member of the Bush administration claim such a link. I have heard the Bush administration discuss links to terrorism within the old Baathist Iraqi regime, but nly becuase there were such links.

So it seems that Rev. Wright is not "misunderstood"; Rev. Wright is regularly, habitually wrong in his political pronouncements, which are almost too many to count.

Wright speaks truth about race and power relations in the U.S. and in how our power structure relates to the world. It is very disappointing to see Obama distance himself from Wright in such a transparently politician-like self-opportunistic way. White folks in this country still benefit from racism and white supremacy and refuse to acknowledge it. It really is as simple as that. This can truly be a turning point to get white liberals to come to grips with their own privilege in the U.S. and in a true telling of all of our history.

Thanks for your thoughtful follow up Friday night regarding The Rev. Wright. I have one slight correction; he did not say the US Government created the AIDS epidemic; he said, given some of their previous actions (he gave notable examples including the syphilis experiment), he believed they were CAPABLE of doing it. And that, for me, doesn't require such a stretch of the imagination, given their past performance.

I read the intro that illicited all of these comments on the issue of Rev. Wright. I read the Black Value System just now and that issue is twisted way before Rev. Wright. Manford Byrd's no. 1 value mention Commitment to God. And like I said in one of these comments before, the politics bleeding into the black church community makes for a very unhealthy body of Christ. I think there REALLY DOES need to be more unity within our community, more responsibility to each other and rearing up our black men in the fear of God. But starting with the Black Value System, for example, that's just a bad idea. Using the black church as black activism isn't all together good. Dr. King didn't do that. If TUCC decided to set up an black activism group outside of the ministries of their congregation, maybe it would stay separate from the Gospel of Jesus Christ from the gospel of Black Power. We are within our rights and quite justified for the anger we feel as a community, but it has gone too far and Obama's campaign is suffering for it.

THE CLASSIFICATION OF AMERICANS BY RACE AND ETHNICITY MUST END

The Racial and Ethnic classification of Americans is nothing more than institutionalized racism and must be ended. The United States of America has been known as a country of rugged individualism based on individual freedom and liberty. Why has America become a country obsessed with classifying its citizens into different racial and ethnic sub-groups?

The only groups that actively support the continued collection of racial and ethnic data are big government bureaucrats and "racial and ethnic special interest groups” that also happen to receive significant funding from the federal government. These organizations argue that identifying people by race and ethnicity is necessary in order to redress some past injustice and that the federal government must continue to collect and use this information in order to set up special racial and ethnic programs, affirmative action quotas and other set-asides for these groups, some of whom consist of new immigrants, illegal aliens and non-citizens. Nothing can be further from the truth. In a country where we can no longer ask people what religion they are, what their party affiliation is or what their sexual orientation is, why are we still asking them about their racial and ethnic background?

Americans are beginning to realize that racial and ethnic identification is more a matter of personal choice than anything else. In the 2000 Census, seven million American citizens refused to place themselves into a single category by refusing to describe themselves as only white, black, Asian, Latino or any one of the other specific categories listed, because they were of mixed race. Attempts by the government to create a “mixed race” box for the 2000 Census was met with resistance by racial and ethnic special interest groups like the NAACP and the National Council of La Raza, because they feared that a mixed-race box could pose a danger to the justification for their existence. The fuzzier such racial and ethnic categories become, the harder it will be for these racial and ethnic special interest groups and the government to traffic in them. If a mixed-race category were to be added, every brown-skinned person of mixed race registered in this category would shrink the government’s official count of Blacks, Latinos, Asians or American Indians, eventually reducing their political influence and ultimately the amount of money these groups receive from the federal government, which amounts to approximately $185 billion a year.

Through the mandated collection and use of racial and ethnic specific information, more and more of American taxpayers’ hard earned money is being routinely distributed to these racial and ethnic special interest groups at the expense of all other Americans who may or may not be members of these groups. Through executive orders, congressional legislation, affirmative action programs, racial set-asides, quotas and other programs based solely on race and ethnicity, our federal government is playing the key role that pits one racial and ethnic group against another, which could eventually lead to our destruction as a country.

Rather than helping a diverse population become assimilated and united as one nation, the Federal government is doing what the Nazi government of Germany did in the 1930’s and 40’s; creating government supported institutionalized racism by the intentional classification of it’s citizens by race and ethnicity.

With the support of racial and ethnic special interest groups, our federal government seems to view our citizens not just as Americans, but rather as “pawns” in some social science experiment to be classified and separated into different racial or ethnic sub-groups for some unknown purpose. By mandating the classification of Americans into specific racial and ethnic sub-groups, the federal government and the advocates of “diversity” are actually perpetuating institutionalized racism and keeping Americans divided. Maybe the real purpose of collecting this data is to justify the continuing flow of government money to these racial and ethnic special interest groups.

If we want to help poor Americans escape poverty, get better health care, find a job or get a good education, why should it matter what their race or ethnic background is? The answer is: It should not! Americans need to come together as members of one country and remember that we are all individual Americans, regardless of race or ethnic background. Martin Luther King, Jr., inspired a nation when he voiced his dream for a color-blind nation, a nation in which people would be judged by the content of their characters, "not the color of their skin." The answer to this government encouraged racism is the concept of Liberty with a limited, constitutional government that is devoted to the protection of individual rights rather than the claims of different racial and ethnic special interest groups. Where Liberty is present, individual achievement and competence are rewarded, not people’s skin color or ethnicity.

I will support legislation barring the federal government from the collection of racial and ethnic information about the American people and/or the classification of American citizens by race and ethnicity, including the collection of census information. Exceptions should be made for law enforcement, hospitals and medical research purposes.

I will also support legislation that bans affirmative action programs, racial set-asides, quotas and any other programs that give special preferences based on race and ethnicity.

By:
JOHN W. WALLACE
Candidate for Congress
New York’s 20th Congressional District
www.FreedomCandidate.com

THE CLASSIFICATION OF AMERICANS BY RACE AND ETHNICITY MUST END

The Racial and Ethnic classification of Americans is nothing more than institutionalized racism and must be ended. The United States of America has been known as a country of rugged individualism based on individual freedom and liberty. Why has America become a country obsessed with classifying its citizens into different racial and ethnic sub-groups?

The only groups that actively support the continued collection of racial and ethnic data are big government bureaucrats and "racial and ethnic special interest groups” that also happen to receive significant funding from the federal government. These organizations argue that identifying people by race and ethnicity is necessary in order to redress some past injustice and that the federal government must continue to collect and use this information in order to set up special racial and ethnic programs, affirmative action quotas and other set-asides for these groups, some of whom consist of new immigrants, illegal aliens and non-citizens. Nothing can be further from the truth. In a country where we can no longer ask people what religion they are, what their party affiliation is or what their sexual orientation is, why are we still asking them about their racial and ethnic background?

Americans are beginning to realize that racial and ethnic identification is more a matter of personal choice than anything else. In the 2000 Census, seven million American citizens refused to place themselves into a single category by refusing to describe themselves as only white, black, Asian, Latino or any one of the other specific categories listed, because they were of mixed race. Attempts by the government to create a “mixed race” box for the 2000 Census was met with resistance by racial and ethnic special interest groups like the NAACP and the National Council of La Raza, because they feared that a mixed-race box could pose a danger to the justification for their existence. The fuzzier such racial and ethnic categories become, the harder it will be for these racial and ethnic special interest groups and the government to traffic in them. If a mixed-race category were to be added, every brown-skinned person of mixed race registered in this category would shrink the government’s official count of Blacks, Latinos, Asians or American Indians, eventually reducing their political influence and ultimately the amount of money these groups receive from the federal government, which amounts to approximately $185 billion a year.

Through the mandated collection and use of racial and ethnic specific information, more and more of American taxpayers’ hard earned money is being routinely distributed to these racial and ethnic special interest groups at the expense of all other Americans who may or may not be members of these groups. Through executive orders, congressional legislation, affirmative action programs, racial set-asides, quotas and other programs based solely on race and ethnicity, our federal government is playing the key role that pits one racial and ethnic group against another, which could eventually lead to our destruction as a country.

Rather than helping a diverse population become assimilated and united as one nation, the Federal government is doing what the Nazi government of Germany did in the 1930’s and 40’s; creating government supported institutionalized racism by the intentional classification of it’s citizens by race and ethnicity.

With the support of racial and ethnic special interest groups, our federal government seems to view our citizens not just as Americans, but rather as “pawns” in some social science experiment to be classified and separated into different racial or ethnic sub-groups for some unknown purpose. By mandating the classification of Americans into specific racial and ethnic sub-groups, the federal government and the advocates of “diversity” are actually perpetuating institutionalized racism and keeping Americans divided. Maybe the real purpose of collecting this data is to justify the continuing flow of government money to these racial and ethnic special interest groups.

If we want to help poor Americans escape poverty, get better health ca