A little perspective in the matter

real or imagined.

I tell my kids there are two kinds of people in the world. I change the criteria around from time to time. Sometimes it's: kind people and unkind people. And don't confuse unkind with "not afraid to tell the truth". Sometimes it's: assholes and not assholes. Butt often they have the same agenda.
And watch out for "nice" people. Their rage is usually seething approximately 3mm beneath the skin. "Nice" is over-rated and often used by the worst assholes imaginable. Have a nice day.

I think Chris said it best when he sent me a link this morning. Although I don't think he was specifically referring to the Jena Six, he could have been. Adjustable black law enforcement indeed.

A history of Lynching.

Also, don't miss the BGB on the flurry of US-based racial stupidity lately in his Has Anything Changed post.

And while you're reading, listen to Aaron.
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Disaster Preparedness - No 40 Acres and No Mule

we're still under a tornado watch.

In November 1992, Melvin Bishop's farm in Georgia suffered severe damage from a tornado. After the storm, Bishop went to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to apply for disaster relief, an emergency loan, and an operating loan. For the next seven months, the local USDA office gave him the runaround. Finally, in May 1993, Bishop not only was denied the disaster relief he qualified for, he was also denied both loans. No reasons were given. Bishop, who is African-American, called his experience with the USDA "even more devastating than the tornado."

..........

In 1865, the US Congress approved the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery and, soon thereafter, passed the Freedmen's Bureau Act, which leased 40 acres of abandoned or confiscated Southern land to "every male citizen, whether refugee or freedman."

Unfortunately, these plans for the redistribution of Southern lands were never carried out. After the war, President Andrew Johnson returned the land to white aristocrats, ensuring the persistence of the South's semi-feudal economic order.

In 1920, nearly one million African-American farmers owned 14 percent of all US farms. By 1950, Black land ownership had declined to 12 million acres, and in 1969 it was down to 5.5 million acres -- a drop of 54 percent in just 20 years. Between 1982 and 1992, the number of black farmers in the US fell 43 percent -- from 33,250 to 18,816.

In 1990, African Americans made up roughly one percent of the nation's farmers and were disappearing at a rate almost five times greater than whites. In 1999, fewer than 18,000 out of 1.9 million US farmers were African Americans, and these farmers owned less than 1 million acres. A 1990 Congressional report warned that black farms were on the verge of extinction. It is now feared that, by the end of 2000, there may be no black-owned land in America.

.....

time for a checkup.

They Called the Wind Maria

We're under tornado watch.

"During the evening of April 5, 1936, Tupelo, Mississippi took a glancing blow from an F5 tornado. Although the storm missed the downtown area it still took more than 216 lives and left over 700 people injured. Property loss from the strike is estimated at 3 million dollars. Since African-Americans were not included in either dead or injured totals, the toll in human lives was probably significantly higher. Still, by itself, this tornado ranks as the fourth most destructive storm based on the number of dead."

my money, my mouth.

Over the next week or so I'm going to be updating my blogroll, which has been a living organism (with some decaying parts) for five years. I have to fix links -- i mean the very first one is out of date--ray's on wordpress now. I have to add new and remove folks who've gone away.

We should have to do this. To not do it is like dying Italian without food at the wake.

There are reasons we cull and refresh. There are reasons my house needs tending - and there is a reason for you to watch and help me do it. We are more than bold lines in an aggregator. I will never stop saying that.

CALL FOR NEW VOICES - please leave me links in comments to folks you've started reading recently who make it worth turning on the computer.

Thank you for your assistance.