Obama: "The forces of globalization are inexorable", continues series of Sister Souljah moments

[draft_mario_cuomo]

The article is mainly about him, in another of a series of Sister Souljah moments intended for him to calm the fears of some whites, with language that could come straight from the lips of Newt Gingrich. The problems he describes are very real, but unlike the myth promoted by conservatives and Barack Obama, the problem is evident in all racial groups, not just one. He should not be singling out any racial group for special castigation on this issue. We would go ballistic of a Republican, even a black Republican, did the same.

Also, a telling comment was buried in the article in which Obama, once again, reiterated his pro-corporate globalization view.

=="Many black men simply cannot afford to raise a family -- and too many have made the sad choice not to," Obama said Friday in what aides touted as a major speech.

You might have heard that Obama is running for president, which makes it impossible to ignore the politics involved. The men-acting-like-boys speech was given in a black church in South Carolina, an early-primary state where half of Democratic voters are African-American. The political significance is for the scolding to be given in such a way that white America can't help but overhear what's being said.==

==Is Obama speaking to African-Americans, or is he really trying to reach those whites who believe that most of black America's problems are self-inflicted? I'm paid to be skeptical, but I think something much deeper than political calculation is involved here.==

==There's nothing startling about Obama's analysis of the macroeconomic forces that contribute to the problem of absent black fathers. "In the last six years, over 300,000 black males have lost jobs in the manufacturing sector," Obama said. The forces of globalization are inexorable. Inner-city schools don't prepare students to compete in today's economy.==

Read the rest at http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070619/OPINION/706190328/1002/OPINION

Here is some more background on his views on this issues:

==“like Bob Rubin, I am optimistic about the long-term prospects for the U.S. economy and the ability of U.S. workers to compete in a free trade environment – but only if we distribute the costs and benefits of globalization more fairly across the population.” (p. 176)==

Bob Rubin! The Clinton DLC economic wizard himself. Obama has the shame view of globalization as Clinton, Rubin, and the DLC...

==“Such wisdom might help us move beyond ideological bickering and serve as the basis of a renewed effort to tackle the problem of inner-city poverty. We could begin by acknowledging that perhaps the single biggest thing we could do to reduce such poverty is to encourage teenage girls to finish high school and avoid having children out of wedlock. . .” – Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope, pps. 255-256==

He is echoing a conservative frame that primarily blames the poor for their poverty.

http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24

[Captain Hilts]

1. Hillary haters call this 'triangulation'. What's it called when he does it? nt

[Larkspur]

7. It's called "being Liebermanesque"

That's what I call it.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

9. Great question. Obama seems to be a better "triangulator" than even HRC

It is funny how people don't realize this because Obama is clever enough to mask his triangulation under the rubric of "unity."

[TwilightGardener]

I guess "triangulation" has come to mean "not 100% pure liberal position"--that's fine by me.

Why is any moderation viewed as triangulation? That word is so fucking abused and overused.

[Ethelk2044]

63. He is not triangulating he is talking about African American family

[draft_mario_cuomo]

64. With Republican talking points. nt

[rocktivity]

33. I call it political crybaby-ism

because Obama's command of black AND white voters has sidelined the black political punditry.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Jim Sagle]

86. Hillary SSSSUXXXX!!!!!!! So does Obama. Edwards RRRRRAWWWXXXXX!!!!!

[Deep13]

2. "...too many have made the sad choice not to"

Referencing the the apparent decision by poor Black people not to have children. Actually, I have never heard that anywhere else, so I am not going to accept that it is true. Still, if someone is poor or even if he or she is not, why is it sad not to reproduce? I realize that the Earth is down to its last 6.5 billion people and that the USA is down to a paltry 300 million, but if someone does not have financial assets, why add to the burden with children who will grow up in poverty? The first step in upward mobility is to reduce the birth rate. That is true of individuals and whole societies.

I think Sen. O's religious bias is being shown in this remark in that he is implicitly buying into the idea that the purpose of life is to make more of it.

[jefferson_dem]

13. I believe he's talking about black men not "raising" a family, meaning that they are absent

from their family structure. This is not a reference to reproduction but to the responsiblities of "fatherhood" which only starts with childbirth. That's my take.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

18. He is singling out black men--a classic repuke talking point regarding poverty nt

[jefferson_dem]

30. Where have you been? Are you claiming that there are not social conditions that afflict

minority communities more than others? One such problem is absent fathers. Perhaps that's not a problem, in your view? Perhaps you think Obama's a racist? :shrug:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

39. It's a bullshit talking point used to attack black people.

Black men abandon their children because they're racially inferior, according the meme, and it's got nothing to do with the loss of working class jobs in the black community.

:eyes:

[draft_mario_cuomo]

44. Exactly. If Cosby or Michael Steele said this we would be killing them for it nt

[draft_mario_cuomo]

43. See post 39 nt

[Ethelk2044]

67. Being that I am African American I feel free to tell you that you do not know what

you are talking about. Obama is correct in saying African American men are absent from the household. He also stated being a father is more than being a sperm donor. Evidentially, I see you are trying to smear with out and out lies. You want African American families to stay in poverty then to have men absent from homes. Also, you want men not taking on their responsibilities as father figures in the home with your logic.

[Deep13]

31. Well that makes sense then.

:-)

[Capn Sunshine]

61. It's sad because the decision to have kids was removed from the parents

due to deteriorating economic conditions. That's sad, no matter what color you are. But maybe you think that's ok, what with your desire to prevent children who are poor from being born. After all, if you're poor, you could never be happy, and your parents must really suck.

Right?

[jefferson_dem]

3. Another day. More wild-eyed smears on Obama at DU.

But your screed misses the mark. Eugene Robinson's portrait of Obama is hardly critical.

HERE's some in context --

There's nothing startling about Obama's analysis of the macroeconomic forces that contribute to the problem of absent black fathers. "In the last six years, over 300,000 black males have lost jobs in the manufacturing sector," Obama said. The forces of globalization are inexorable. Inner-city schools don't prepare students to compete in today's economy.

While young black fathers love their children and don't set out to be bad parents, Obama told me, they have a dearth of role models and a surfeit of distractions. Their lives are often disorganized, and even if they want a job, their prospects are dim.

His prescriptions include job training and tax credits for young noncustodial fathers. But they also include what he called a "crackdown" on child-support enforcement, which he says is intended to collect $13 billion in outstanding payments.

A crucial issue, Obama said, is "how we support women who are carrying a disproportionate burden, both financially and emotionally."

Obama gets a good response when he talks about paternal responsibility in front of black audiences. "We have to talk in the public square, not only about the obligations of fatherhood but the joys of fatherhood," he said.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070619/OPINION/706190328/1002/OPINION

[draft_mario_cuomo]

5. Robinson is clearly pro-Obama. People can look at what BO said and reach their own conclusion nt

[TrogL]

15. Inner city schooling is not just a black issue

Inner-city schools don't prepare students to compete in today's economy.

My son goes to an inner city school, because I moved to an area that's in the process of gentrifying. Unfortunately, the new tax base hasn't made it to the school's coffers yet.

Inner city schools tend to be older and have to spend a lot of their cash on fixing up decrepit infrastructure and heating poorly insulated rooms.

[jefferson_dem]

4. Lord. So now he's not allowed to talk about the plight of minority communities?

...After the outcry over the fact that his campaign had the *audacity* to question Hillary's relationship with outsourcers to India

...anything else off limits? :eyes:

[draft_mario_cuomo]

8. Nice try. He should not single out minorities for castigation like a repuke would

Let's face it. These words could have come straight from freerepublic, Sean Hannity, or Newt Gingrich. It is sad he is resorting to this in order to have a series of Sister Souljah moments.

[NYCGirl]

12. Or Bill Cosby. NT

[draft_mario_cuomo]

19. Exactly. The Obama hero worship blinds some people nt

[NYCGirl]

25. Bill Cosby is bad, why? NT

[goodhue]

38. Read Michael Eric Dyson's "Is Bill Cosby Right?"

Michael Eric Dyson, author, Is Bill Cosby Right? Professor of Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania

Read an Excerpt from the Book

"Do you view Bill Cosby as a race traitor?" journalist Paula Zahn bluntly asked me on her nighttime television show.

Zahn was referring to the broadside the entertainer had launched against irresponsible black parents who are poor and their delinquent children. Cosby's rebuke came in a May 2004 speech on the fiftieth anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education. Not content with a one-off tirade, Cosby since then has bitterly and visibly crusaded against the declining morality and bad behavior of poor blacks. Six months into his battle, Zahn snagged the comic legend turned cultural warrior for his first in-depth interview. Cosby clarified his comments and reinforced his position. No, he wasn't wrong to air the black community's dirty laundry. Yes, he would ratchet up the noise and pace of his racial offensive. And he surely didn't give a damn about what white folk thought about his campaign or what nefarious uses they might make of his public diatribe. One could see it on Cosby's face: This is war, the stakes are high and being polite or politically correct simply won't do.

Since I was one of the few blacks to publicly disagree with Cosby, I ended up in numerous media outlets arguing in snippets, sound bites, or ripostes to contrary points of view. In The New York Times a few days after his remarks, I offered that Cosby's comments "betray classist, elitist viewpoints rooted in generational warfare," that he was "ill-informed on the critical and complex issues that shape people's lives," and that his words only "reinforce suspicions about black humanity."

* * *

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4628960

[NYCGirl]

42. Maybe Dyson is wrong. NT

[goodhue]

50. Maybe

Maybe not

[eweaver155]

34. It is not hero worship They see that he has a real vision for this country

He wants to up lift the middle class. He wants to make sure everyone can afford college for their children. I am sorry to see an Edwards supporter does not agree with this.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

45. Has he offered a college affordability plan like Edwards and Biden have?

I have never heard an Obama supporter mention such a plan...

Obama supporters don't even agree with themselves. They criticize HRC for having the same platform as Obama! If it is wrong when HRC does it, why is it less harmful to people, less pro-corporate when Obama does exactly the same thing? :shrug:

[NYCGirl]

52. Here:

http://tinyurl.com/3e4vly

[draft_mario_cuomo]

54. That is a positive, but small Third Way step

However, Edwards and Biden go much further. Edwards' plan would provide universal access to at least one year of college while Biden's plan would cover all the tuition for a community college and more than half of tuition at a public 4 year college.

The difference between Edwards/Biden and Obama? As usual, the difference is that Third Way Democrats don't want to invest significant amounts of money in people because that would be "big government." The Edwards plan would cost $8 billion annually and the Biden plan just under $5 billion a year. This is yet another example of Obama being a DLCer without a membership card...

[NYCGirl]

56. Edwards' healthcare plan may not work — maybe his college plan will:

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/06/15/john-edwards-fuzzy-insurance-math.aspx

[jefferson_dem]

16. Sister Souljah whatever. Your the one ascribing political motivations.

Don't assume all candidates are alike -- at least like others who have served as president and are currently running for the office ...

I would argue that this is an issue he feels deeply about and feels an obligation to assume leadership. And you have absolutely no evidence to the contrary.

So now Obama is akin to Hannity, Gingrich and the freepers? You guys have totally lost it...blinded by your own insecurities. Take a break. The obsession is not healthy.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

22. He is akin to Hannity, Gingrich and co. in this respect

No one is disputing that what he said promoting what right-wingers have been saying for years. He is like them in that he agrees with them on this right-wing frame. No one is saying he is a conservative but the fact is on this issue he echoes conservatives.

==Sister Souljah whatever. Your the one ascribing political motivations.==

Despite the Madison Avenue marketing, he is, after all, a politician. ;)

[Ethelk2044]

68. That is not what he is saying, however since you are trying to smear that must be your

point of view.

[eweaver155]

71. At least the African American Community is backing him up

that is one of the very reason why he is in the lead in the polls in SC. He gave a speech about African American men while he was down there. He informed them they need to act as father figures. Bill Cosby take on responsiblity. I guess you are against Bill Cosby too with your Logic.

[mckeown1128]

91. You have made me see the light.

Why does Barack Obama hate black people? :sarcasm:

[Deep13]

11. "...anything else off limits?"

dental history?

[ripple]

29. No shit.

d_m_c should take a good hard look at some poverty, education, and prison statistics for different racial demographics. It's a real eye-opener.

I saw him speak to a largely white audience here in Kansas and he said a lot of the same stuff- that society has a collective responsibility, but that doesn't mean we don't also have individual responsibility. This message isn't exclusive to the black community, but the shameful truth of our society is that many of these issues impact racial minorities far more than other demographic groups.

I applaud Obama for tackling these issues head on.

[durrrty libby]

40. "collective responsibility" I get it, he thinks it takes a village

[ripple]

47. Not so much, he's talking about much more than education

And it goes beyond our collective responsibility as citizens. Hence, the personal responsibility component. He describes it much more effectively than I'm paraphrasing it.

Nice jab, though. :hi:

[draft_mario_cuomo]

46. Poverty? What is Obama's plan to deal with poverty?

Castigation, castigation, and castigation? In other words, the repuke plan?

[NYCGirl]

53. Here:

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/family/

[draft_mario_cuomo]

55. Those are DLC baby steps

He is not a New Deal Democrat, that's for sure!

One of my objections to Obama is that he is posing as a progressive change candidate. In reality he is as much a status quo DLC candidate as HRC...

[NYCGirl]

57. And who is? NT

[draft_mario_cuomo]

66. Universal health care, ending poverty, etc. is real progressive change

Edwards, Kucinich are the change candidates.

[NYCGirl]

69. Well, I like Kucinich, he seems like a nice guy, but I tend to be realistic. NT

[draft_mario_cuomo]

76. Edwards can win nt

[eweaver155]

72. The African American Ministers and Leaders Agree with him.

[geek tragedy]

41. Swiftboating is a game unprincipled leftwingers play too. eom

[rinsd]

6. Blackagenda report is anti-Obama to the point they can be disregarded.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

10. Sure, but can the quotes from Obama's own book be disregarded?

Moreover, the two quotes I cited were backed up by his statements today and in numerous other statements he has given. I don't think any BO supporters is going to claim he never said those things in his book.

[NYCGirl]

14. I could pull some doozy out of context quotes from Edwards or Clinton, too. NT

[jefferson_dem]

20. Ok. Answer this: What exactly are you offended by in those direct quotes?

n/t

[draft_mario_cuomo]

26. His singling out of one racial group for castigation

That was my main objection. I put the globalization quote in there to inform those who somehow believe Obama is different than HRC on outsourcing, as that myth is common one...

[jefferson_dem]

35. How is he castigating anyone? He's singling out a problem and calling for us to find solutions.

This problem disproportionately afflicts poorer and minority communities.

It's unbelievable that someone, especially a Democrat, would have a problem with his message.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

48. The same way repukes single out blacks when they say exactly--exactly--the same thing nt

[rinsd]

21. It would depend on their context wouldn't?

But my point about blackagendareport still stands. Glick and Dixon hate Obama's gut and it drips thru in their writing.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

27. The quotes reference a page. BO fans can check the pages to verify if they are fabrications

;)

[eweaver155]

36. I see you do not like Obama, You have issues with him looking out for the middle class

[draft_mario_cuomo]

49. Do you believe HRC looks out for the middle class?

Let me guess: you consider her to be a pro-corporate DLC shill?

[TwilightGardener]

17. LOL! Acknowledging that out-of-wedlock births and high school dropouts

lead to poverty is BLAMING poor people? Fucking get real! He advocates personal responsiblity--so do I! Good man! And yes, the forces of globalization ARE inexorable. We have to find ways to adapt. WTF does he say that is untrue, or offensive?

[draft_mario_cuomo]

24. How did we respond to Bill Cosby and Newt Gingrich saying the same things nt?

[TwilightGardener]

28. Who's this "we"? I have no problem with ANYBODY addressing issues in

a truthful, forthright and constructive manner--black OR white.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

51. Democrats, the people who fought these repuke talking points for years nt

[TwilightGardener]

73. There is NOTHING Republican in what he says. Advocating responsible

fatherhood, as a black father to a black audience, is not Republican. Personal responsibility, good parenting, and staying in school to improve one's lot in life are NOT Republican talking points or Republican values. They're MY values, and I'm a Democrat. You do a disservice to the Democratic party by characterizing these as Republican in nature. No wonder we keep losing the White House.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

77. Republicans have been saying this for years

They blame poverty on the behavior of the poor. These are the castigations they use to make the case. Obama is partly right but he should not single out one race and he should offer real solutions, not just castigation to solve such problems. He, like conservatives, only offers rhetoric and castigation.

[eweaver155]

74. I guess your Candidate is against Fathers being in African American households

and taking responsibilities.

[ProgressiveAmPatriot]

89. Obama has a completely different message than conservatives like Gingrich and you know it!

Conservatives point solely to personal responsibility and marriage and see them as the end all be all to getting out of poverty. To the same degree, many old school liberals refuse to acknowledge racism and inadequate government assistance aren't the only causes of poverty in the African-American community. Now like most arguments over the past 30 years, liberals have lost this one. Why? Because the argument goes something like this:

Classic Conservative: The American dream is a reality who all who work for it. I don't know why the government wastes all this money on welfare, if those people (and we all know who our friend the conservative is talking about), those men were taught personal responsibility, if they placed greater importance in work and the sanctity of marriage, we wouldn't have these problems. Now I have a get tough approach. Make these men get jobs, cut the welfare queen off from the troff. Now, I am a compassionate conservative, but a line has to be drawn. I support the working family which is why I think we should give stay at home moms tax credits.

Moderator: Hey, what do you think classic liberal? Is this an issue of personal responsibility?

Classic Liberal: No this absolutely isn't an issue of personal responsibility, its an issue of the government failing to provide for its most vulnerable citizens. 68% of inner-city...

This is where I am going to stop the argument. It doesn't really matter what the classic liberal has to say after this point. He has lost the argument in the eyes of the undecideds watching the debate. Now most liberals at this point have been yelling at the TV for the past 30 seconds at the conservative and are now nodding their heads at what the liberal is saying. Because they are liberal they understand what a piece of crap classic conservative is and when classic liberal says "no he's absolutely wrong" they of course agree. However, the undecideds are all thinking about the question the moderator asked. Is this a question of personal responsibility? That is what is being debated to them. So, here is what it simplifies to for an undecided.

Classic Conservative: This is an issue of personal responsibility.

Moderator: Classic Liberal, is this an issue of personal responsibility?

Classic Liberal: No this is not an issue of personal responsibility.

Classic liberal has made two mistakes which make him lose the undecideds. 1) he accepted the conservative frame of the issue as an issue of personal responsibility and 2) he negated the frame. Now what George Lakoff (brilliant cognitive linguist behind the Rockridge Institute, he wrote Don't Think of an Elephant among other things, impeccable progressive credentials, but I'll be interested to see how you smear him) will tell you is that by 1) accepting the conservative frame you have allowed classic conservative to define the issue and 2) by negating his frame you only reinforce it. The example Lakoff uses to make this point glaringly obvious is that of Nixon declaring "I am not a crook." This line, which negates the crook frame, does nothing but reinforce it. After he said that all anyone thought was, "Yes you are a crook."

So, moving back to our example. Classic liberal has accepted the idea that the debate is over whether the issue is personal responsibility and has done nothing, but reinforce this notion in the minds of the undecideds. Because, let's face it, being there for a child from when it comes into this world on is the essence of being a mother or father. There is no higher personal responsibility. So, if classic liberal 1) accepts the framing as an issue of personal responsibility and 2) reinforces it through simple negation he is screwed. Most of the undecideds are going to go for classic conservative, not because he is right, not because he has the facts straight, but because he spoke to their values and classic liberal didn't. A large part of parenting is about personal responsibility for the child. Classic conservative spoke to this value.

Now, we arrive at a critical juncture. What should the Democratic party do? Should we move to the right, forget social programs, and say it is all an issue of personal responsibility? Hell no! This is what the DLC does and it doesn't work. It means compromising principle and getting your ass kicked while selling your soul. Not for me thank you. Assuming you're all with me and not with the DLC we have a couple of choices. We can stick to negating (and thus reinforcing) conservative framing or we can reframe the debate.

Which brings us back to Obama's comments, well quotes really, you just pulled quotes/the article you quote pulls quotes to use for your/its own purposes, but I digress. You quoted him as saying: "Many black men simply cannot afford to raise a family -- and too many have made the sad choice not to." and "In the last six years, over 300,000 black males have lost jobs in the manufacturing sector,"

Now as far as I can tell from the limited text, Obama simultaneously says that personal responsibility is important, but that the resources and jobs simply are not available for many fathers, blacks in particular, to find jobs to support their families. He is reframing the issue. He stresses the importance of being there for your family (a real progressive family value, not the bullshit legislative gay bashing conservatives do), but points out that the jobs simply are not there. Therefore, as a society, we need to take a collective responsibility to make sure poor students have the tools to succeed in the new economy and help currently low-income workers climb the job market. In the meantime, we have a collective responsibility, as a society and as a government, to help single women who are not getting the help they deserve. We need to make sure that they receive the child support which there children need. This is a reframed answer, it is progressive, it sticks to liberal/progressive values and programs.

So now try the classic conservative bullshit argument: Deadbeat dads need to get jobs and provide for their families. The government has no role to play here. This is an issue of personal responsibility.

Hypothetical Obama response: I support programs which ensure that fathers make good on their child support payments, but I think you are missing the point. African-Americans share the same fundamental values as all Americans (btw this is implicit in the actual quote from Obama). As an African-American father, I know. However, many black men simply cannot afford to raise a family, which has led too many to make the sad choice not to. Fathers have a responsibility to be in their children's lives and help support them. We as a society have a collective responsibility to help make this possible, to help make it an economic reality for all Americans. What you are proposing is not a solution, but inaction. It is time to take real action and support real family values by lending a helping hand to struggling families who need our help to make the American Dream a reality. If we want responsible fathers, who have jobs, we need to make sure that there are jobs available that pay a living wage. We need to make sure that they have the necessary skills. This requires an investment in education for all our students, an investment conservatives are unwilling to make.

Alrighty, what was the difference between classic liberal and Obama? Obama framed the debate on his own terms and won. He is essentially proposing the same thing, government programs to help the poor. Except he did a hell of a lot better job of selling it and actually turned the issue of personal responsibility, something which conservatives love to appeal to, into a weakness for the conservative. The conservative has troubles getting traction because Obama is calling for responsibility on all sides. He has not shifted his progressive position, he has just shown how strong families are a progressive value, but that they require support from a society which takes collective responsibility. This is essentially what William Julius Wilson, another brilliant liberal who has been shouted down in a similar fashion to the way you are going after Obama, has shown through extensive research. The issue is joblessness. If there are no jobs there can be no strong families.

http://www.motherjones.com/news/qa/1996/09/early.html?welcome=true

Perhaps Obama's point is a little too nuanced for your taste. In a different post you claimed that his singling out black men was a classic "repuke" thing to do. No, it isn't. Republicans don't ever say black men: they talk aboud deadbeat dads and welfare queens. They trust everyone to pick up on the code. If you are going to attack Obama for statistical fact, that black children are raised at a highly disproportional rate by single mothers, compared to whites and Hispanics, well then shoot me too.

[Forkboy]

23. "You're grasping at straws Reiger!"

[eweaver155]

32. Obama is right on on this

Black men should not be absent from families. They are not taking on their responsiblities in parenting and paying child support. He was talking about not being a part of the family. IT is not enough just to be a sperm donor you need to be there for a child.


Paul Zahn had three analyst on about this very issue last night. They all agreed that he is correct about black men being absent from the family. Anyone with common sense knows this. That is why there are poor families because men are not stepping up to the plate to pay child support and take care of their families.

[jefferson_dem]

37. You are correct.

...and a big Welcome to DU! :hi:

[eweaver155]

58. Thanks

[ProgressiveAmPatriot]

90. Not everyone shares your common sense

:)

[Morgana LaFey]

59. WTF???????

What on earth does this mean:

"Many black men simply cannot afford to raise a family -- and too many have made the sad choice not to," Obama said Friday in what aides touted as a major speech.

Is he saying that many black men have chosen not to father children? Or that many black men have chosen not to hang around and BE fathers to the children they've fathered, leaving the entire job of parenting to the mothers? Is he taking into consideration that thanks to racism throughout our justice system the high percentage of black males in prison and if so where do they fall on his scale of "chosen" or "not chosen to raise a family"?

What they hell is he saying?

[jefferson_dem]

60. He's talking about "raising" children. I explain my understanding above - post #13.

n/t

[Ethelk2044]

62. He is talking about American American Men being absent from the Households

It is affecting the Families. He is correct. They should step up to the plate and assist with parenting. The African American children have a higher drop out rate. A greater number are in single parent households. With that being said he suggested African American men taking on responsibility as a parent. It would help the children, improve the drop out rate and their living standards would improve.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

65. He is saying exactly what conservatives have been saying for years

It is wrong when they say it but right when someone with a "D-" next to their name says the same thing?

[Bullet1987]

70. I agree with both Cosby and Obama...

Mario...the fact that you post from Black Agenda Report KNOWING that it's a Black militant site that's ALWAYS been anti-Obama shows what you're all about.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

78. The Indy Star is where the article is from

I wasn't aware of the Black Agenda Report prior to this. It is not exactly a newsmaker.

[Morgana LaFey]

88. Yeah, and I didn't think it shed much (any) light on the subject.

I mean, wasn't that obvious? Care to tackle my questions?

[Kingstree]

75. He Talking About White And Hispanic Men Too

Read his statements and consider what he's saying. A large percentage of white men and hispanics also can't afford to raise a family and many choose not to. This just doesn't "sit" in the african-american community alone. This situation is spread all across the nation and is an epidemic. That speech referenced everyone. Just think of something you may know in that situation. Poverty, prison and being a deadbeat dad covers all races, not just one.

[GeorgeGist]

79. It's been a great day on DU...

I have discovered compelling reasons NOT to vote in the primary for any of the top 3 Democratic contenders for President. They're all misguided followers ... all in their own mundane way.

[LoZoccolo]

80. I wonder if you convinced even one person not to vote for Obama with this one. n/t

[Superman Returns]

81. is this all you ever do?

I believe draft_mario_cuomo's tactics of anti-Obama posts every day, on the hour, are backfiring.

[StudentsMustUniteNow]

82. Obama should get lost

He's not fooling me.

[eweaver155]

83. Obama is correct Men need to step up and take responsibility

If they have a child they need to help take care of the child. Children can not parent themselves. That is why we have children dropping out of schools, we have a growing number of families in prover ty. It they had a two parent household. It would make it better for the children.

[StudentsMustUniteNow]

84. Don't care. He supports globalization

Enough said.

[jefferson_dem]

85. Oh. "Globalization" huh?

Ok. Oooga booga.

[illinoisprogressive]

87. you are so tiring. must I start posting anti Edwards stuff for you to read?

[draft_mario_cuomo]

92. NYC mayor offers incentives, not just castigation to change behavior

If Obama offered some concrete steps to achieve his stated goals in this regard he would have a lot more credibility. Castigation, while a political winner, does nothing to improve things as the repukes have shown for decades.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070619/ap_on_re_us/poverty_plan

==By SARA KUGLER, Associated Press Writer Tue Jun 19, 12:39 AM ET

NEW YORK - Poor residents will be rewarded for good behavior — like $300 for doing well on school tests, $150 for holding a job and $200 for visiting the doctor — under an experimental anti-poverty program that city officials detailed Monday.

The rewards have been used in other countries, including Brazil and Mexico, and have drawn widespread praise for changing behavior among the poor. Mayor Michael Bloomberg traveled to Mexico this spring to study the healthy lifestyle payments, also known as conditional cash transfers. ==

==Among the possible rewards in New York's program are $25 for attending parent-teacher conferences, $25 per month for a child who maintains a 95 percent school attendance record, $400 for graduating high school, $100 for each family member who sees the dentist every six months and $150 a month for adults who work full time.

The World Bank model for cash reward programs in other countries is that the value of the incentive should equal about a third of a household's income to have any lasting influence on changing behavior. The average amount that a family or adult can earn through the rewards each year is about $3,000 to $6,000; a family of three living in poverty earns about $17,000 a year.==