The Senate Hall Of Shame

Remember my post last evening about how the Senate was going to "unanimously" pass legislation apologizing for not yet passing an anti-lynching law? Well as I told you then "unanimous" is only a procedure. What happens is one Senator makes a motion to pass the proposal by unanimous consent. The rest agree and viola you have a new bill..........and the racists who aren't willing to stand up and let their constituents or the rest of us for that matter, know they still give tacit approval to lynching can hide like the rats in the dark they are. Furthermore, and perhaps even more important than who co-sponsored and who didn't. I would like to know why this was done in the dead of night with only 6 Senators present. And how about a "voice vote" Senators? Well here are the names. Let's call it: "THE SENATE HALL OF SHAME Lamar Alexander (R-TN) Robert Bennett (R-UT) Thad Cochran (R-MS) Kent Conrad (D-ND) John Cornyn (R-TX) Michael Crapo (R-ID) Michael Enzi (R-WY) Chuck Grassley (R-IA) Judd Gregg (R-NH) Orrin Hatch (R-UT) Trent Lott (R-MS) Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) Richard Shelby (R-AL) Gordon Smith (R-OR) (he's fine) John Sununu (R-NH) Craig Thomas (R-WY) George Voinovich (R-OH) Now isn't that an interesting list. What was that quote from Howard Dean? That said the Republicans are "not very friendly to different kinds of people, they are a pretty monolithic party " it's pretty much a white, Christian party.". Just take a look at that list one more time. An African-American point of view is called for here. From IntelligenceSquad.com whose homepage description says "News, Politics, Opinion From a Black Perspective" If the Senate is looking for something to apologize to blacks for, how about sending judges to the federal bench who failed to enforce the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution for, oh, about a hundred years? Some folks may not have noticed, but during that period the ability of most blacks to advance through the standard institutions of property ownership, education, and career-development was systematically undercut throughout the nation by law and by practice. How about apologizing for passing that mean-spirited tax cut for rich people a few years back, which will place a crushing debt on the backs of most Americans, but almost all black Americans, a few decades from now?! [snip] And confirming Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court? What's up with that?!!! He was one of just three justices who just this week dissented in a ruling that a black death row convict in Texas was intentionally denied black jurors for no reason other than race. Y’all need to be apologizing for foisting his sorry behind on us! The Senate can eat its apology, for all we care. If it wants to do something to assuage its guilt over its heinous racial past, it needs to bring the substance. It found a way to come up with cold cash for the Japanese-Americans, so substance is a possibility. We'’re not saying that cash payments to African-Americans is necessarily the answer - or even feasible. However, it is within the power of the Congress to pass legislation that substantively attacks the crystallization of the secondary political/socio-economic status of African-Americans. In fact, it is not just within its power; we feel it is its obligation. Something about this entire sneaky maneuver by the Senate tells me that both the writers from IntelligenceSquad.com and Howard Dean are right on the mark. And to think King George is running around saying he wants to teach democracy to other countries. Forget it George, your kind of democracy the world DOES NOT need. I would urge everyone to contact those members of the Senate Hall Of Shame and let them know you want no part of their view of America. Their phone numbers are available HERE