BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.

Subject: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: beardedbruce
Date: 01 May 13 - 09:27 AM

The Rev. Kevin Johnson, a Morehouse alumnus and the senior pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church in North Philadelphia, Pa., wrote an opinion column earlier this month in the Philadelphia Tribune accusing Obama of neglecting the black community in his cabinet picks–they're overwhelmingly white–and broader political agenda.

The day after the article ran, Johnson said, Morehouse President John Silvanus Wilson, Jr. phoned to express reservations about his "untimely" comments regarding President Obama. Johnson asked administrators to honor their invitation, but learned days later he had been replaced by three alternate speakers.


http://georgiatipsheet.com/2013/04/30/pastor-who-criticized-obama-disinvited-from-morehouse-graduation-ceremonies/


UPDATE: In open letter to university community, Morehouse's top administrator vigorously denied allegations of disinviting Johnson because he criticized the president.









From his opinion column:

Clinton appointed seven African-American cabinet members, the most of any president in history: Ron Brown as Secretary of Commerce; Mike Espy as Secretary of Agriculture; Hazel O'Leary as Secretary of Energy; Alexis Herman as Secretary of Labor; and Jesse Brown as Secretary of Veteran Affairs. President Clinton also appointed Togo West as Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Rodney Slater as Secretary of Transportation.
Compared to Obama, President George W. Bush also had more African-Americans in his cabinet, including the first African-American secretary of state and secretary of education, Colin Powell and Rod Paige, respectively. Bush also appointed Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state and Alphonso Jackson as secretary of housing and urban development.
For Obama, Eric Holder is the first African-American attorney general and the only African-American cabinet member of Obama's administration.
In sum, when one compares the first African-American president to his recent predecessors, the number of African-Americans in senior cabinet positions is very disappointing: Clinton (7); Bush (4); and Obama (1). Obama has not moved African-American leadership forward, but backwards.
Moreover, while having African-Americans in senior cabinet positions does not guarantee an economic agenda that will advance Black people, it at least is a starting point and puts us in the driver's seat. With President Obama, we are not in the driver's seat - or even in the car.
For me, the absence of African-Americans in a second term is not only disrespectful to the Black community—who voted 96 percent for President Obama in 2008 and 93 percent in 2012, but also underscores a larger problem of economic and job opportunities for the Black community.
Indeed, if we objectively look at Obama's presidency, African-Americans are in a worse position than they were before he became president. At the end of January 2009, unemployment for African-Americans was 12.7 percent. Four years later, the situation is worse, and unemployment is higher at 13.8 percent.
For those of you who have read my articles in The Philadelphia Tribune, you know I have been a very strong supporter of the president and worked hard to get him elected in 2008 and 2012.


http://www.phillytrib.com/newsarticles/item/8637-a-president-for-everyone,-except-black-people.html

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: Ebbie
Date: 01 May 13 - 11:35 AM

Ya know, he cain't win. There are those who say that President Obama "hates whites", there are those who say he has surrounded himself with (Black) Muslims in his administration, and there are those who say he is disrespecting his "own" race.

What's a man to do?

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: Greg F.
Date: 01 May 13 - 12:07 PM

And then, there's Beardie, who just loves stirrin' that shit up, because he just loves that smell.

And of course Morehouse doesn't have the right to invite or "dis-invite" (is that a real word"?) whoever they choose.

And, Beardie's claim is BS anyway:

Morehouse President John Silvanus Wilson, Jr. wrote in an open letter Tuesday "In this instance, I decided to ask [Johnson] to share the Baccalaureate stage with two other speakers so as to reflect a broader and more inclusive range of viewpoints...He was not disinvited, but rather declined to participate in the format".

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: beardedbruce
Date: 01 May 13 - 12:12 PM

GregF,

Go tell that to the "Black Democrat"s"...


*I* merely reported the facts of the matter- INCLUDING the denial by Morehouse President.

You are being a real asshole, but I know you will be supported by many here that can't bear to let others have an opinion that differs with them.

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: beardedbruce
Date: 01 May 13 - 12:19 PM

"Johnson, who wrote a column in a Philadelphia newspaper earlier this month in which he criticized the president's majority-white cabinet picks, said Wilson had expressed reservations about his comments and suggested he resign his role in the graduation ceremonies.

When Johson rebuffed administrators, Wilson moved to expand the baccalaureate program from one to three speakers, a break from tradition.

The reverend refused that offer as well, according to East Atlanta Patch, and asked by letter that Morehouse honor its original invitation that he deliver the sole baccalaureate address. Instead, the article said, Johnson soon learned he had been replaced altogether by a trio of new speakers.

But Wilson vigorously denied the implication Tuesday that his decision to alter the format of the baccalaureate service was motivated by Johnson's criticism of President Obama, who will deliver the school's commencement speech.

"He was not disinvited, but rather declined to participate in the format," he said. "Worse yet, this decision has led to allegations of censorship … These allegations are fundamentally deleterious and are undeserved."

The college's response came as two dozen prominent alumni publicly urged Wilson to reappoint Johnson as the sole baccalaureate speaker."

http://georgiatipsheet.com/2013/05/01/morehouse-president-denies-disinviting-obama-critic-from-graduation-ceremonies/

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: beardedbruce
Date: 01 May 13 - 12:23 PM

Morehouse College alumni are outraged by the college's decision to disinvite fellow alum, the Rev. Dr. Kevin R. Johnson , Senior Pastor of the Bright Hope Baptist Church in Philadelphia, as the baccalaureate speaker on May 18, 2013. After being announced to alumni and the college community as the baccalaureate speaker, Morehouse College President John Silvanus Wilson, Jr. contacted Johnson on April 15 via phone to inform him of the decision due to concerns about views Johnson expressed in an opinion editorial in The Philadelphia Tribune and stated that the article was "untimely" given that President Obama is the 2013 Commencement speaker, a day after Baccalaureate.

The article entitled, "A President for Everyone, Except Black People," was published on April 14th and respectfully criticized the lack of African-American appointees in President Barack Obama 's cabinet and challenged the lack of policies specifically designed to reduce poverty. On April 15 and April 16, coincidentally the 50th Anniversary of Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Wilson contacted Johnson and encouraged him to resign as the speaker, a suggestion Johnson refused. Wilson then proposed that Johnson agree to be one of three speakers for the event. Johnson refused this offer as well on the grounds that it was a departure from the college's tradition of having one baccalaureate speaker, and all initial representations made to him. Accentuating the principle of free speech, Johnson said, "I have always been and continue to be a supporter of President Obama. The issue is not about the article in question, but about Morehouse's longstanding history and pedagogy of free thought and free speech. Without free thought and free speech, Morehouse would not have produced our most admired alumnus, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr."


http://eastatlanta.patch.com/articles/morehouse-alumni-outraged-over-obama-baccalaureate-flap

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: Greg F.
Date: 01 May 13 - 08:55 PM

but I know you will be supported by many here that can't bear to let others have an opinion that differs with them.

You bet, Beardie! The whole woprld is out ta getcha getcha getcha!

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: Mrrzy
Date: 01 May 13 - 11:18 PM

Was it Louis Wu who talked about how having more facts to shout at other made it more fun?

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: Neil D
Date: 01 May 13 - 11:59 PM

Gotta love a Louis Wu reference.

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: beardedbruce
Date: 02 May 13 - 08:44 AM

In a choice between facts and insult, most Mudcatters seem to support insult.

And most Mudcatters are liberals.

Correlation???

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: Greg F.
Date: 02 May 13 - 08:50 AM

Therefore, Socrates is a fish. QED

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: beardedbruce
Date: 02 May 13 - 08:55 AM

Care to discuss facts instead of attacking me. GregF.???





I thought not.

You represent the Liberal viewpoint around here so well...

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: Greg F.
Date: 02 May 13 - 09:36 AM

Facts like these, Beardie?

In a choice between facts and insult, most Mudcatters seem to support insult.

Gonna Getcha, Getcha, GETCHA!

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: beardedbruce
Date: 02 May 13 - 09:40 AM

"In a choice between facts and insult, most Mudcatters seem to support insult."

THAT was a fact. I merely have to present the BS threads as proof.




You , GrgF., are the PERFECT LIBERAL-

A Racist lying scum who attacks people rather than discusses ideas, opinions, or facts.

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: Bill D
Date: 02 May 13 - 10:36 AM

∞

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: beardedbruce
Date: 02 May 13 - 02:41 PM

You have a problem with sarcasm. Bill D.?

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: Charmion
Date: 02 May 13 - 09:11 PM

I do, when expressed like that.

Be civil, the lot of you.

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: Don Firth
Date: 02 May 13 - 09:49 PM

The problem is, Beardy, that a Liberal Mudcatter comes out with a fact, and a Right Wing Mudcatter answers it with insults and putdowns, and accusations of being a "loony liberal." But no attempt to refute the fact presented.

Thus the slagging match begins.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: GUEST,Padre
Date: 02 May 13 - 10:18 PM

Or, a Conservative Mudcatter comes out with a fact, and a Left Wing Mudcatter answers it with insults and putdowns.... I does work both ways at Mudcat, Don, as it does everywhere else. Neither wing has a monopoly on truth, or on insult.

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: beardedbruce
Date: 03 May 13 - 07:43 AM

Don Firth,

"a Liberal Mudcatter comes out with a fact, and a Right Wing Mudcatter answers it with insults and putdowns"

Have you bothered to read this thread? You are defending GregF, which makes you as bad as him.

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: ollaimh
Date: 03 May 13 - 10:50 AM

right wing kooks in America have more freedom to state their absurd ideas and outright lies than anywhere in the world or anytime in history. they think that their free speech is threatened when people disagree, or don't want them and their poisonous ideas around.

for instance there are slmost no liberals in America, but they see any logic as "libersl" liberals" linerals" under the bed sheets!

you can say all kinds of destructive and ignorance things in the united states but the right want the right to make people listen and obey them.

luckily for the sensible , knowledgable, and educated, their time is wanning. almost all their crazy ideas have backfired. but we still must be vigilant to escape the grip of military industrial exploiters.

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: beardedbruce
Date: 03 May 13 - 10:58 AM

As can be seen from the posts here, there is a problem with those of a liberal tilt being unable, or unwilling, to read...

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 03 May 13 - 11:24 AM

Don the 'so-called liberal' Firth: "But no attempt to refute the fact presented.
Thus the slagging match begins."

THIS???? coming from YOU!!????!!!

Scratch a 'so-called liberal' and find a intolerant, nasty, retarded Nazi!

GfS

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: beardedbruce
Date: 03 May 13 - 11:33 AM

Don,

*I* stated facts, and sources.

NO liberal here has presented any facts, nor sources, just "insults and putdowns".


This says far more about the liberals who have posted here than about the subject of the OP, which has been ignored in order to make those "insults and putdowns" YOU seem happy to contribute.

I guess it IS pointless to try to have a reasonable conversation with a so-called "liberal", at least here.

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 03 May 13 - 11:48 AM

One comment, and that is, Bruce, whatever you may think of him, or his motivations, brought up a real situation, that has real implications, and has stirred up controversy in the real world. Obviously, you don't want to talk about this, but Bruce didn't make it up.

I guess Bruce just didn't say the right things....

Subject: RE: BS: Free Speech- Just say the right things.
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 May 13 - 12:10 AM

BB, you start a thread that you know people will fight about, then you express shock that people are fighting about it.

You're a real piece of work.