Mistrial in Satender Singh killing case

This sucks. I just don’t even know what else to say about it.

A mistrial was declared Wednesday in Sacramento Superior Court on hate-crime charges against a man linked to a volatile feud at Lake Natoma last summer that killed Satender Singh.

After more than four days of tense deliberations, the jury of seven women and five men could not agree on whether the defendant was involved in the confrontation because he believed Singh was gay.

The panel emerged before noon and told Judge Gary S. Mullen that they were “irrevocably deadlocked” on the hate-crime allegation that Aleksandr Shevchenko, 22, faced for his role in last year’s fight.

The Sacramento man was found guilty on two misdemeanor counts: disturbing the peace and simple assault for throwing a bottle.

He could face a maximum sentence of about nine months in jail when he returns to court on July 11.

It remained unclear Wednesday whether the District Attorney’s Office would re-try Shevchenko on the controversial hate-crime charge. [Full story]

The bolded parts are the most infuriating. This man was involved in a fight that killed another person (although he did not throw the fatal punch). If I remember correctly, witnesses saw and heard him call Satender Singh both racist and homophobic slurs. But the jury is not sure if it’s a hate crime and he’s facing a maximum of nine months?

Would that be the outcome if the roles were reversed?

More Obama rumors

A huge hat tip to a certain LiveJournal community which will not be named for the link to this incredible Slate.com article, which shares a few of the new Obama rumors, already formatted for your e-mailing pleasure:

From: [Redacted]
To: [Redacted]
Subject: WHO IS BARACK OBAMA?

There are many things people do not know about BARACK OBAMA. It is every American’s duty to read this message and pass it along to all of their friends and loved ones.

Barack Obama wears a FLAG PIN at all times. Even in the shower.

Barack Obama says the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE every time he sees an American flag. He also ends every sentence by saying, “WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.” Click here for video of Obama quietly mouthing the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE in his sleep.

A tape exists of Michelle Obama saying the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE at a conference on PATRIOTISM.

Every weekend, Barack and Michelle take their daughters HUNTING.

Barack Obama is a PATRIOTIC AMERICAN. He has one HAND over his HEART at all times. He occasionally switches when one arm gets tired, which is almost never because he is STRONG.

Barack Obama has the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE tattooed on his stomach. It’s upside-down, so he can read it while doing sit-ups.

There’s only one artist on Barack Obama’s iPod: FRANCIS SCOTT KEY.

Barack Obama is a DEVOUT CHRISTIAN. His favorite book is the BIBLE, which he has memorized. His name means HE WHO LOVES JESUS in the ancient language of Aramaic. He is PROUD that Jesus was an American.

Barack Obama goes to church every morning. He goes to church every afternoon. He goes to church every evening. He is IN CHURCH RIGHT NOW.

Barack Obama’s new airplane includes a conference room, a kitchen, and a MEGACHURCH.

Barack Obama’s skin is the color of AMERICAN SOIL.

Barack Obama buys AMERICAN STUFF. He owns a FORD, a BASEBALL TEAM, and a COMPUTER HE BUILT HIMSELF FROM AMERICAN PARTS. He travels mostly by FORKLIFT.

Barack Obama says that Americans cling to GUNS and RELIGION because they are AWESOME.

Do I smell a challenge to Chuck Norris?

Why do we have to be the perfect ones?

Jack has an entry up about California’s overturn of the gay marriage ban:

That’s right, folks: no camp here. No gender non-conformity, either. And definitely no guys in gowns.

Why? Because the marriage equality movement is largely predicated on the notion that us queers are just like “everyone else,” meaning mostly white, mostly middle-class or up, gender conforming monogamists. You know, the non-threatening queers. The rest of us should apparently find a nice closet to go hide in for a while, lest we threaten the rights that are apparently meant for the more upstanding, respectable members of the LGsomeotherlessimportantletters community. [Full story]

This reminded me of Dr. Elle’s entry on the Civil Rights Movement and the Jena Six:

Do you ever wonder why sit-in participants had to be so well-dressed, so calm, so “respectable?”

Well, of course you know. The people who would be the face of the Civil Rights Movement had to be virtually blameless. They couldn’t give white bigots fodder to dismiss them or the movement. They had to tread a line between being the human face of the movement while upholding super-human reputations and faithfully remaining non-violent.

It was a lot to expect, this demand for perfection, this unspoken implication that African Americans had to be more than human, had to prove themselves worthy of fair treatment, of justice.

But I believe it was necessary then, to stave off attacks from enemies of the movement. Because a flaw, a sign of poor judgment, an episode of human error could be used to question the validity of not only the people involved, but the movement itself. [Full story]

It’s really sad that, in the United States in 2008, people are still beaten or tortured for being black or Mexican or Asian, still murdered for being queer (or even just “appearing gay”), and yet the people who have to be protected are not those people whose rights are being violated, whose lives are being destroyed or taken away, but the upper-middle-class straight white people who cannot handle that others might be different.

And despite striving for perfection, things have not gotten much better; the target has merely been shifted. And it will shift again once that target starts fighting back.

Finding jobs as a poor kid

My mom gave me “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America” by Barbara Ehrenreich, so I’ve been reading it the past couple of days. Ehrenreich, a journalist who post as a recently-divorced housewife trying to re-enter the job market, found that these low-end jobs do not make ends meet. Often, the people working them must work two or three jobs to make rent and care for their kids.

Ehrenreich finds that she cannot get by. And she rightly points out that, in her time in Florida at least (she also works in Minnesota and Maine), she and her fellow employees are given cushier, better-paying low-end jobs because of their ethnicity and native language skills, and that as a single woman without young children, she has fewer expenses than many of her co-workers. She also notes that, with a lifetime of gym memberships and health care, she’s physically more able to work than many of the people in her same situation. While she masked her educational and employment background, these things also gave her coping skills and resources to her advantage.

These are all things that people like Adam Shepard, a white college graduate with good physical and mental health, English fluency and a safety net, who “beat” homelessness, fail to take into account when exhorting people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Just because you take your advantages for granted does not mean they are not there.

And middle-class teens have these same advantages, and they are driving poor teens and even some poor adults right out of the job market.

NEW YORK (AP) — When Theodor Gervais was 14, he took a summer job selling cell phone covers in Brooklyn for $100 a month, sitting at a table outside a phone store in what he describes as “somewhat of a bad area.” His cousin worked inside and, worried for Theodor’s safety, checked on him all day.

Now 16, Theodor hoped this summer would be safer and more profitable. He applied for a summer job through a city-sponsored program in his neighborhood and found he was one of 3,200 applicants — for fewer than 1,200 jobs.

Across the country, poor teens face similarly long odds.

As summer arrives, the job market for teens is suffering along with the rest of the economy. And those jobs will be harder to find this year for the poorer kids who need them the most as laid-off adults compete for work at the lowest rung.

“Summer is a time when the rich get richer and the poor get poorer,” said Ron Fairchild, executive director of the Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University. [Full story]

Poor adults may be counting on their teenage children being able to get minimum-wage-paying summer and after school jobs. Many poor kids may work 40 hours a week even after school starts, lying about their age, in order to help support their families or at least themselves. Poor adults may be counting on being able to get two or three of these jobs themselves to get by without assistance.

So when the economy is headed downward, it’s really hurting people to have to compete with well-connected, middle-class or wealthy teens who may be willing to work for less, both poor teens and poor adults. Both are more likely to be hired than poor teens.

Do I think that well-off, privileged children need to learn a work ethic and financial responsibility? Of course. But I do not think that they should be learning it at the expense of a poor person being unable to feed her kids, or a poor teen being unable to help support her family.

And then you have “freegans” and other middle-class and upper-class people competing for edible food from the garbage, decent thrift store finds, and so on, making things even more difficult. Again, while self-sufficiency is admirable, at what point does it become okay to deprive other people for your spiritual superiority?

Perhaps the economy would improve if major employers such as Wal-Mart and McDonald’s actually paid their employees enough for them to afford more than food or rent (but never both in the same month)? Or maybe it’s time that we came up with another solution instead of hoping that major corporations, labor contractors and business owners might suddenly develop a social conscience.

Feminism and elections

Fox News “charmingly” chose to refer to Michelle Obama as “Obama’s baby mama.” [Source] Sexist AND racist. Nice job, Fox.

The National Organization of Women, of course, has a blistering rebuttal on their website. Nah, just kidding, they totally don’t. But there are, of course, several pieces about Sen. Clinton’s loss and what it means for women, paycheck discrimination, and “reproductive rights” (although they only seem to deal with the right to birth control/abortion part of that issue). … Come to think on it, NOW didn’t have a response to Imus’ “nappy-headed hos” comment for over a week after it happened. And they’ve never put up a response when someone in the media insinuates that Dr. Rice has her job because she sleeps with the president.

Neither have Gloria Steinem or Rosie O’Donnell. Neither have several other mainstream feminist organizations or magazines — at least on their websites. And very few bloggers have done more than give it a passing mention with more than an ironic comment about how Fox News is stupid, ell oh ell.

So, Linda Hirschman, I don’t think you need to worry about intersectionality “ruining feminism” any time soon. Mainstream feminist organizations still aren’t worried about anything but middle-class white women’s issues.

Larry Johnson reads books.

You know how I know?

Stephen Frey’s “The Power Broker” told me so.

The camera focused on Wood, who was standing with Clarence Osgood, Stephanie Childress, and another man.

“Who is that guy?” Johnson asked, taking a sip of soda. He’d known Osgood and Stephanie for a while so they were familiar to him right away. “He looks so damn fa-“ Johnson banged the sofa. “Now I remember. That’s Jefferson Roundtree, that activist minister from Philly.”

“Nut job from Philly is more like it,” Forte said. “We don’t want Jesse anywhere near him now, don’t want Jesse seen with him at all because he scares the crap out of whites. But he served his purpose here,” Forte added quietly.

“Boy, it’s a nice clear shot of Jesse-”

“Shh! Here it is, here it is.” Forte picked up the remote and turned up the volume.

The camera panned in on Wood’s handsome face as he turned to Roundtree. “Yeah, that Jew from CNN was such a pr***,” Wood said, smirking, “asking me about my voting record on civil rights.”

“You got it, brother,” Roundtree agreed heartily. “Like any cracker should have the nerve to ask you about that.”

Osgood and Stephanie nodded.

Then there were a few muffled words, but nothing audible…

…

“It won’t be necessary believe me,” Forte interrupted again, pointing at the screen. “Keep watching.”

There was more muffled chatter, then Wood held his hands up.

He said, “You know, I had to put up with so much crap from Whitey when I was playing tennis back in the day, it was ridiculous. Real b****** stuff, too. Tennis racquets busted while I was in the shower, no towels, the worst locker, called n***** all the time, even by the help.” He looked over at Osgood. “I’m telling you, Clarence, if I get elected president, I’m gonna act the way I’m supposed to act in front of the camera. Smile and dance like a good black man, do what I’m expected to do like a good boy. But behind the scenes, I’ll f*** Whitey, and I’ll f*** him good, I really will.”

The passage itself was found by Jim Geraghty of The Campaign Spot, who describes the book’s plot thusly (haven’t read it myself; I’m not big on political thrillers, since I have to read this crap every day for my job):

A major plot line of the novel is the presidential campaign of Democrat Jesse Wood, aiming to be the country’s first African American president — “Wood was handsome, smart, charismatic, and being mentioned increasingly often in the press as someone who could unite a twenty-first century America growing more, not less, racially and economically divided.” (p.35)

He’s a U.S. Senator from New York and former senior partner at a prestigious law firm. His backers include “some of the old Black Panthers.” He wants to make Puerto Rico a state, and a recurring figure in his campaign is a controversial minister from Philadelphia called “Jefferson Roundtree.”

Apparently, in the book, the Republican nominee gets ahold of the tape and decides to wait until Wood is the Democratic nominee before releasing it.

Oh, and guess what? Geraghty, too, is a self-described conservative.

And that’s all I’m going to say about the whole fake tape hoax. Don’t feel like feeding the fire anymore.

Michelle Obama video hoax follow-up

You know, I don’t particularly like Michelle Malkin, at all. I can count on six or seven fingers the number of times I’ve actually agreed with her on something — almost always on NCLB or Rosie O’Donnell’s asshattery.

But this time, she’s right. Listen to her, neo-cons, she is one of your own.

Many readers are wondering why I have not written a single word about the rumored Michelle Obama “whitey” video.

Simple: Larry Johnson, the main source of the rumors, is not, not, not to be trusted.

Moreover: The story keeps changing.

…

First, the rumor-mongers claimed, she said “whitey” on the tape. Now, the rumor is that she’s saying “why’d he” (referring to George Bush).

First, the rumor-mongers claimed, the “bombshell” would be released on Monday. Then it was yesterday. Now, it’s tomorrow.

So, where’s the stupid tape? [Full story]

I’m not going to claim that Michelle Obama is perfect. I think she’s pretty awesome, but I believe that people have the right to disagree. But for god’s sake, if you feel the absolute need to criticize Michelle Obama, have the decency to do so with something factual and legitimate.

Thank you, Michelle Malkin. May they listen to you instead of those other jackasses.

Are you outraged yet?

Directive details plans for checkpoint in [Washington, D.C.'s] Trinidad
“When D.C. police begin stopping cars at a ‘checkpoint’ this weekend in the Trinidad neighborhood, they will record all license plate numbers, verify residents’ addresses and ask others for phone numbers of those they are visiting, according to a directive issued by Chief Cathy L. Lanier. ‘Legitimate’ purposes to be in the area include going to a doctor, church or community event or visiting friends or relatives, officials said.”

Lesbian kiss at Mariners game sparks controversy
“As the Mariners played the Boston Red Sox on May 26, Sirbrina Guerrero and her date were approached in the third inning by an usher who told them their kissing was inappropriate, Guerrero said. The usher, Guerrero said, told them he had received a complaint from a woman nearby who said that there were kids in the crowd of nearly 36,000 and that parents would have to explain why two women were kissing.”

Valedictorian’s academic plans threatened by deportation
“A high school valedictorian’s plans to study medicine at a California state university have run headlong into the federal government’s attempts to return him and his family to Armenia. ‘I haven’t been in Armenia since I was 2, so I don’t really know anything about the place,’ said Arthur Mkoyan, 17. ‘All I’ve seen is just videos my mom has watched on the Internet.’”

Hispanic job death rate highest
Hispanic workers die at higher rates than other laborers, with 1 in 3 of these deaths occurring in the construction industry, a government study reported Thursday.

EDIT:

Via DRS.

Feminism and alienation

As usual, BlackAmazon and BFP have laid down truths and asked some very important questions.

From BA:

You want to talk about questioning allies?

Lets talk about reading that as a young woman and hearing that older women who have means will gleefully and happily fuck you over because their pride is hurt. That the very real spectre of a court that leans so hard right as to truly make a challenge to just about ever gain made since the sixties , is worth it to spite you.

Lets talk about women ” your generation” who through concession,omission,distraction, or even more scary agreement, stayed silent, obfuscated, hemed and hawed about the sheer disrespect heeped on your head cause you had the nerve to have a vagina and not think EVERYTHING MEAN SAID TO HILLARY IS SEXISM AND MUST BE WATCHED

or the sudden interest in both parties in the Green party also running a woman who the sexism,racism,classism , and cultural disrespect during her candidacy,career, hey life,just couldn’t seem to peak their interest enough.
( by the bye the comenter who suddenly has an interest in Green cause you know this is such a slap , Cynthia Mckinney is never EVER to be treated as you “standby” , you disgust me) [Full story]

And from BFP:

The answer to that question–the answer that far too many women of color understand in our bones–is why some women of color find the sadness, the outrage, the hurt feelings over Clinton to be alienating and even insulting.

Who opens whole threads so that ALL women can mourn (because isn’t that the way it *should* be?) when a 17 year old youth and her unborn baby dies from heat exhaustion? Who opens whole threads so that ALL women can mourn when families are ripped apart in the largest ICE raid in the history of the U.S.? Or when black women are forced to give fellatio to their sons and then leaders say–come out and support the rapists?

And that doesn’t even get into the double edge sword of pro-Clinton women angrily declaring that they will either vote green (because McKinney wasn’t good enough to support the first time around–she is the 2nd place prize) or pro-Clinton women angrily declaring they will vote for a white man who called his wife a cunt in front of reporters rather than vote for a black woman who, because of racialized misogyny, hasn’t got a chance in hell of winning. Supporting a man who calls a woman he “loves” a Cunt is somehow *the* way to stand up to misogyny–not channeling all that anger and hurt into standing in support of their “sisters”.

either way–both moves make an awful lot of women of color think it’s *white* women who are putting race before gender. Whiteness before “sisters”.

The thing that they then like to turn around and beat us up with. [Full story]

If you haven’t yet, please go read both entries now. And then read more of their stuff, because these women are brilliant.

Forwarded to Snopes

A co-worker asked me today, “Have you heard of the Michelle Obama tape?”

When I replied no, she told me that she’d heard that the head of the Republican party had a tape of Michelle Obama and Louis Farrakhan advocating racial warfare and calling white people “Whitey.” The McCain campaign, she said, planned to release it on Saturday.

Of course, this sounded ridiculously fake. If it were real, surely it would have come out before now, or at the very least would have been on Yahoo News or CNN today. So I hit up Google, and here’s what I found printed at the Houston Chronicle:

If anyone wants a perfect example of the depths to which some will descend, and the hatred and vitriol some will display in order to attempt to destroy a candidate they despise, look no further than the current hoax going around the blogosphere about the alleged tape of Michelle Obama screaming about “Whitey” while seated next to Louis Farrakhan.

This was all started by Larry Johnson on his site, No Quarter. I’m purposely not posting a link so as not to give him any more traffic. If you want to Google it go ahead, but I would suggest not wasting your time.

This is what he posted:

“I learned over the weekend why the Republicans who have seen the tape of Michelle Obama ranting about “whitey” describe it as “STUNNING.” I have not seen it but I have heard from five separate sources who have spoken directly with people who have seen the tape. It features Michelle Obama and Louis Farrakhan. They are sitting on a panel at Jeremiah Wright’s Church when Michelle makes her intemperate remarks. Whoops!!”

First of all, there is no tape. This rumor has been going around for weeks with no evidence yet. It is either the “October Surprise” that the Republicans plan to spring on Obama, or the reason Hillary Clinton is hanging around, depending on which version of the lie one believes.

Secondly, this screwball is ranting about something he hasn’t even seen. Personally, I think if such a tape existed, with the desperation of the Clinton camp, we would have seen it by now. [Full story]

To steal a page from Snopes.com (which has not yet debunked this rumor, although I sent in an e-mail just now), there are several reasons why this is probably fake:
1. No tape has surfaced, and reports of its existence are all based on hearsay. This is the big one. The originator of the tape rumor, Larry Johnson, has admitted that he has not seen the tape and gives no specific person who supposedly has it.

2. The story changes. A quick search on Google reveals that several different people, including Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton, are supposedly in possession of this tape. The tape’s possessor will supposedly be revealing it this weekend, in October, or, back on May 16, within the next few days. Guess that last one didn’t happen.

3. Barack Obama is a public figure, as is his wife. They have been for quite some time. Their public lives are under intense scrutiny, and have been for some time. If such a panel had occurred and the transcript had included Michelle Obama railing against “whitey,” surely it would have come out then, tape or no tape.

4. Racism has been a feature in this election. And this is the main reason this tape is almost certainly a hoax. Michelle Obama has been “teased” with lynching; several of Barack Obama’s political rivals, including Mike Huckabee and Hillary Clinton, and even news commentators have hinted about him being killed. He has been accused of being a secret Muslim, a secret militant, too black, not black enough. People have claimed that he will enslave white people if he becomes president, including a postcard on Post Secret (which, unfortunately, is not archived on their site or I would link it).

Sen. Obama became the first candidate to receive Secret Service protection almost immediately after announcing his candidacy because of racial threats, excluding candidates such as Sen. Clinton who had details remaining from their time as part of the president’s immediate family.

At every turn, his race and his loyalties have been questioned and attacked, and even more so have his wife’s. A quick look at the “What’s New” section on Snopes shows no less than seven rumors about Barack Obama, one of which takes passages from his books either horribly out of context or completely rewritten to make it seem as though he hates white people. [Source]

Another rumor is a mutation of this one: It was claimed that Michelle Obama’s thesis was restricted so that people would not be able to see anti-white statements she supposedly made in it. [Source] It was in fact restricted, but by Princeton, not the Obama campaign, and they made it available on his website when they got wind of the rumor. The offending passage?

As discussed earlier, most respondents were attending Princeton during the 70’s, at a time when the Black Power Movement was still influencing the attitudes of many Blacks.

It is possible that Black individuals either chose to or felt pressure to come together with other Blacks on campus because of the belief that Blacks must join in solidarity to combat a White oppressor. As the few blacks in a white environment it is understandable that respondents might have felt a need to look out for one another.

The portion taken out of context has been bolded by me. These words were attributed to Michelle Obama as though they were a sentiment she supported (and, in fact, are what my co-worker claimed she said on the mythical video).

Basically? This is an urban legend thought up by racists to scare white voters away from Sen. Obama, either to get them to support Sen. McCain or to not vote at all.

Please spread this around. Too many people are not addicted to Snopes.com, and might believe that such a video truly exists, despite the obviously outlandish nature of the story in the first place and the fact that it changes from telling to telling. There is no such video.