Halloween fun in Virginia

This "fun" poster was emailed to draw people  to a local fair in Virginia. That is a gun shot wound to President Obama's head.

Southern Republicans. What a bunch of yahoos. Their ideal day is labeling Democrats and blaming them for everything wrong in their lives; passing the lie onto their supporters. Needless to say this delusional tale makes them happier than ticks on a fat dog.

But be assured Republicans  are known to squeal louder than a pig heading to slaughter when the table turns on them. They hate being called racist hypocrites. They failed to realize their sense of decency and civility is bankrupt and corrupt. 

I have concluded–without the benefit of scientific proof–that a large population of Republicans are naturally violent, and will not hesitate to act on their sadistic urges to snuff out a human life. 
 
Their distaste for President Obama is too fierce and too consuming to conceal, as depicted in this so-called Halloween party invitation posted above. It was mass emailed to Loudoun County, Virginia to Republicans and their supporters.

There is nothing like sending a subliminal invitation to a ready-to-go-over-the edge follower, longing for national praise and attention, catapulting himself into the world spotlight. He would be a hero to Republicans if he committed an act of violence against President Barack Obama.

Virginia's Republican governor, Bob O’Donnell, did not make an in-person statement admonishing the action of the local GOP for the emailed invitation. Instead, he talked through a spokesperson. He said the graphic is "shameful and offensive". He asked Loudoun Republicans to apologize to the president. He asked that no more of these images be used again.

The most troubling for me in the graphics are the images of President Obama. He resembles a zombie with a large bullet hole to his forehead. His face is badly bruised. In fact, the whole graphic depicts a character in the The Walking Dead. 
 

Loudoun County GOP Chairman Mark Sell did not see what the brouhaha was about. The violent graphics on the invitation are fine with him. But, alas, pressure forced him to publicly abandon his sick sense of humor. He said in an interview with Associated Press’s Bob Lewis that the graphic was a "light hearted" attempt to inject satire and humor into Halloween.

“Apparently some individuals have interpreted an image of Barack Obama that appeared within the email, as intending to portray the President as a victim of a violent crime. 
Nothing could be further from the truth, and sincerely apologizes to the President 
and anyone who viewed the images if that was the impression that was left”. (Yahoo News)

I decided to read some of comments posted below the story on Yahoo News. I wish I could say I was shocked or mildly surprised  at what I read. Many of the commenters said the violent graphic is funny, and asked: What's the big deal? Someone posted that [s]he was disappointed the graphic was not a real photo of President Obama after getting shot in the head. 

Sir Donald attempts to exact “roasted” revenge via candidates Perry and Bachmann

Pretend candidate Sir Donald Trump

They're back! Not the Halloween Cookie Monster or Frankenstein costumes! I'm talking about the Barack Obama Birth Certificate wash and wear costume initially put on the market by a foreign born woman named Orly Taitz. This German-born woman with a heavy accent, had the unmitigated gall to accuse President Obama of stealing the Social Security numbers of four individuals, using them all in states where he was formerly employed. 

Just when we thought the costume was discontinued, abracadabra! It pops up again faster than beer turns into piss! Or faster than a happy dog can lick its balls. 

Did I mention the Tea Party's incessant rants about President Barack Hussein Obama being a Muslim? Yep! Muslim! Imagine that! Hawaii born Barack Obama successfully pulled off the biggest political hoax ever played on Americans! They say he was born in Kenya not America.

Hot damn! This young man with the "funny name" is some kind of magician.

It was not by accident that the Obama birth certificate mania was given new life by Texas governor Slick Rick Perry, with the help of Sir Donald Trump, a real estate mogul and multi-billionaire. It has come to light that Trump wants to get into politics. He does not want to begin at the bottom. He wants to shoot for the top office: the White House. He decided not to run against Barack Obama in 2008.

Sometimes desperate presidential candidates do desperate things to get attention and votes.  Slick Rick was granted an audience with Sir Donald to discuss President Barack Obama's birth certificate and to get his blessing. The meeting generated a few more minutes in the spotlight.
 

Birther Queen, Orly Taitz

Slick Rick Perry walked into the media sunlight, adding his two cents to the birther mania. Slick Rick proved that he is a good ol' Texas boy who just wanted to have a little Southern fun at the expense of the President of the United States! After all, ain't no White man and woman in Texas, or the United States got to show respect towards this colored boy in the White House. Hell, the color of the "White House" is white! That says it all! It's the White folk's house!

In 1868 a presidential candidate named Horatio Seymour had a campaign slogan that fit right in with the way White politicians and millions of White voters think today: "This is a White man's government!" That implies, suggests, and says loudly that no Black man has a right to think he can be president of the United States of America.

Slick Rick, a true Texan, would have thoroughly agreed with Seymour's slogan. Still in the presence of Sir Trump, Slick Rick said in his lazy drawl--that's the way we talk down here in Texas --“It’s a good issue to keep alive. It’s fun to poke fun at President Obama a little bit, and say, 'how about let’s see your grades, and your birth certificate'”.  

You see, at the scheduled meeting with Sir Trump, Slick Rick agreed that this would be a good subject to retackle. The more pressure on President Obama the better! Hot biscuits and gravy! Exposure is like a fresh blast of Texas sunlight set free by Almighty God himself!

Slick Rick Perry beamed with pride as he stood in the public spotlight, draped in his metaphorical Barack Obama Birther's wash and wear costume. He was ready to dazzle Americans, Texas style. He thought his spanking new birther platform was hotter than a couple of sex crazed rabbits in a pepper patch. 

Sir Trump was pretty proud, too. His name would be in the headlines. Again. The media would write about him like he's a legend. Pundits would talk about him. Oh, the glory! This traveling road show was going to be huge! Hell, they were even going to prove that Barack Obama is not all that intelligent! His grades, whatever they are, are as fake as his claim he is an American! 

Born in Hawaii? Get outta here! Ain't that a foreign country?

Speaking of grades, the Texas governor, preparing himself to be president of the U. S. A., said everybody had seen his college grades. I had to laugh out loud at this, because stacking his grades up against President Obama's grades is like using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. A careful examination of the President's academic achievements would have told Slick Rick that he is "poking" fun out the wrong side of his mouth. I do not recall anybody being interested in how well he fared in the classrooms at Texas A and M University.

 Barack Obama graduated from Columbia University at 20, earning a BA. He entered Harvard Law School in 1988. He was selected editor of the Harvard Law Review journal at the end of his first year, was and president his second year, a first in the university's 104-year-old history. Obama graduated from Harvard with a Juris Doctor ( J.D.), magna cum laude in 1991, the year he accepted a two-year position as Visiting Law and Government Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School. Obama taught constitutional law at the University for 12 years. From 1992 to 1996 he was a lecturer; from 1996 to 2004 he was a senior lecturer. He was a research assistant for scholar Laurence Tribe for two years while at Harvard.

Rick Perry attended Texas A and M University, where he was a member of the Corps of Cadets; the Alpha Gamma Rho and was elected social class secretary. He was a Aggie Yell Leader. He graduated a C student with a BA in animal science in 1972. Since first publishing this article in 2011 Perry has been confirmed to be the Secretary of Energy, the department he wanted to dismantle, but could not remember by name in a 2011 presidential debate. He was selected to head the department by Donald Trump, America's latest president, elected  November 8, 2016, beating out Hillary Clinton. Slick Rick became governor of Texas when Governor George Bush decided to run for president. Perry finished Bush's term and ran for office and won.

Photo from 1970 yearbook.  Rick Perry is sitting on the far right edge of the couch.

Harvard Law Review president Barack Obama (center) a year before graduation.

Donald Trump, during his wannabe candidacy for president, proudly wore his grades but not too often. College grades are not as colorful, or media grabbing as a "questionable" birther's certificate. However, Sir Trump's imagination and speculation did not fall asleep on the job. He said Obama was a terrible student in college. He said no one remembered attending college with him! He offered no proof. That means none of the people in the above photo remembers Barack Obama. Trump told America that he attended the best university in the world--Wharton School of Business, a university of Pennsylvania. 

"I went to an Ivy League school. I'm very highly educated. I know words. I have the best words," Sir Donald reminded America.  And unlike Barack Obama, all of the students and professors remembers him! However, Trump did not offer proof of his "hugeness" on campus or in the classroom. Slick Rick Perry did not flash his college transcripts or grades, and nobody demanded to see them.
 
It was not enough for Sir Trump to get drawn, quartered and dragged through the town square by President Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondence Dinner, May 1. With those in attendance and TV viewers laughing at the President poking Texas size fun of him, it was hallelujah hilarious!  Sir Donald Trump did not like the joking and poking. He half-assed smiled but he was steaming hot under his coat of thin skin. The nerve of Barack Obama, an illegitimate Black president, dressing him down on national TV!

And then along comes other Republican candidates requesting an audience with Sir Donald Trump. Michelle Bachmann, via a teleconference call at a town hall meeting, was instructed by Sir Trump to regurgitate the home buying “scandal” in Chicago that nipped at the heels of candidate Barack Obama during his campaign. In 2008 the media and pundits attempted to create a scandal out of a nonscandal issue surrounding the purchase of the Obama's Chicago home. The media and pundits can thank Sean Hannity at Fox for the blockbuster. The Hannity hatched "scandal" eventually blew over like a three-legged paper tiger.

The media and talking heads on TV said some funny business had taken between Obama and the owner of the property. The home purchase costume was worn thin by the media and Fox. If Michelle Bachmann sewed the bits and pieces back together, she has not worn the costume in public. But the circus is just getting started. There is still time.

When the birther's costume lost its unattractiveness and gloss, Slick Rick Perry did the Texas-Two-Step off the stage to shed the ill fitting outfit. He reappeared and said it was a distraction. He did not want to play anymore. Tsk. Tsk. Sir Trump played him like a dime store fiddle. As a friend of mine would say: "He made a fair ass out of him"!
 
Asked why he revived the birther's question, Slick Rick Perry said, “I’m really not worried about the president’s birth certificate”. Being a sport, he just wanted to let Sir Donald have some fun at Obama's expense.  Slick Rick's people did not tell him that "poking fun" may work in Texas but not on a national stage. 

And now Sir Donald Trump is left with his bitter bitchfest, birther's allegations, suggestion that the President may be a secret Muslim, and endless hours of bragging on Fox. The Obama roasting he got at the Correspondent Dinner is now in the presidential archives of hilarious history. It's a classic!

Cain says president making mistake telling the enemy when the withdrawl begins

Herman Cain

Frontrunner Herman Cain did not write a press release, but that may be a good thing. It might have been more confusing than his 9-9-9 tax plan. He misunderstood his own plan. He it changed to 9-0-9. I heard him explain it but I am still confused.

Watching Cain, I sense he thinks he is the smartest person in the room, and everyone has to defer to him. To get the votes and support of the Tea Party, Cain has shown that he will pander and say whatever is necessary to achieve his political goals.

 Cain is a nonstop critic of President Obama. He said he would run circles around him in a foreign policy debate. I would pay to see that!  In a debate with President Obama, Cain would get whipped so fast he wouldn't realize he's been hit by lightning speed intelligence.

Cain's cryptic statement on troop withdrawal from Iraq was made in the midst of his campaign. It reveals how short-sighted he is when it comes to a complex subject like foreign policy.

"Whether or not it's the right thing to do, I would consult with the commanders. The thing that I wouldn't do that the president is doing, is telling the enemy how many troops you gonna bring out and when you gonna bring 'em out. I believe that our time there was worth it, but I would not have announced this big drawdown, tell the enemy so now they're going to basically position themselves." 

That's it?           

President announces withdrawal of soldiers from Iraq at end of year

President Barack Obama

Today President Obama announced the withdrawal of soldiers deployed in Iraq. Conservatives like John McCain are not pleased. Republicans want troops to stay in Iraq indefinitely. The majority of Americans want the soldier home and an end to the conflict.

 “As a candidate for president, I pledged to bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end, for the sake of our national security and to strengthen American leadership around the world,” Obama began. “After taking office, I announced a new strategy that would end our combat mission in Iraq and remove all of our troops by 2011. As Commander-in-Chief, ensuring the success of this strategy one of my highest national security priorities.

“Last year, I announced the end to our combat mission in Iraq, and to date we’ve removed more than 100,000 troops. Iraqis have taken full responsibility for their country’s security.

A few hours ago I spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki. I reaffirmed that the United States keeps its commitments. He spoke of the determination of the Iraqi people to forge their own future. We are in full agreement about how to move forward.”

Some stats on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan:

• 8 years, 260 days since Secretary of State Colin Powell presented evidence of Saddam Hussein’s biological weapons program 
• 8 years, 215 days since the March 20, 2003 invasion of Iraq 
•  8 years, 175 days since President George W. Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln 
• 4,479 U.S. military fatalities 
• 30,182 U.S. military injuries 
• 468 contractor fatalities 
• 103,142 – 112,708 documented civilian deaths 
• 2.8 million internally displaced Iraqi
•  $806 billion in federal funding for the Iraq War through FY2011 
• $3 – $5 trillion in total economic cost to the United States of the Iraq war according to economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Blimes 
• $60 billion in U.S. expenditures lost to waste and fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2000
•  0 weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq

Stats from ThinkProgress, October 21

'My sons are serving the country when they campaign for me.'

Mitt Romney

 A few years ago, when Mitt Romney was running for president, he was asked about his sons enlisting in the Army, going to Iraq. I thought he would give an intelligent answer, given that thousands of young men and women were deployed in Iraq. Thousands of them volunteered because they wanted to serve their country after 9/11.

Romney said, flashing that silly grin, "My sons are serving the country when they campaign for me."

I was almost speechless at his arrogance. His five sons--healthy and sun kissed were standing next to him, that same silly grin plastered on their lips. The media showed pictures of his sons living the good life, enjoying their favorite foods and recreational activities, relishing freedom from a war in the Middle East.

Today, after President Obama announced he is withdrawing soldiers from Iraq at the end of the year, Romney had the gall to talk about spilled blood and sacrifices made by the men and women fighting in a foreign country. He said in a press release:

 “President Obama’s astonishing failure to secure an orderly transition in Iraq has unnecessarily put at risk the victories that were won through the blood and sacrifice of thousands of American men and women. 

"The unavoidable question is whether this decision is the result of a naked political calculation or simply sheer ineptitude in negotiations with the Iraqi government. The American people deserve to hear the recommendations that were made by our military commanders in Iraq.” 

Political expediency ahead of sound judgment?

Rick Perry

 Texas Governor Rick Perry thinks President Obama is employing bad judgment in his decision to bring home soldiers deployed in Iraq at the end of the year. Republicans are losing their minds, refusing to give the president credit for keeping his promise to wind down the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. American are demanding that the President "end the wars!"  Republicans are saying: "Wait a minute. Not yet!"

Perry said in a press release: "I'm deeply concerned that President Obama is putting political expediency ahead of sound military and security judgment by announcing an end to troop level negotiations and a withdrawal from Iraq by year's end. The President was slow to engage the Iraqis and there's little evidence today's decision is based on advice from military commanders.

"America's commitment to the future of Iraq is important to U.S. national security interests and should not be influenced by politics. Despite the great achievements of the U.S. military and the Iraqi people, there remain real threats to our shared interests, especially from Iran.

“The United States must remain a firm and steadfast ally for Iraq, maintaining an ongoing diplomatic, economic, and military to military partnership with this emerging democratic ally in the Middle East. As a veteran and commander-in-chief of national guard forces, I cannot express enough appreciation for our military service members who have protected and defended American interests in Iraq. Our Iraq war veterans made enormous sacrifices to make our nation and world safer, and I know all Americans will welcome them home with great pride and appreciation.”

A baffled Bachmann tells President Obama to go back to the negotiating table

Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann wasted no time responding to President Obama's announcement that soldiers will be coming from Iraq by the end of the year. She wholeheartedly disagrees with the President's actions. During the sideshows called debates, she never misses a chance to pull the ripcord of misinformation. For starters she says President Obama is weak. Her husband Marcus probably tells her what to say. After all she is a godly Christian woman who is obedient to her husband and God.

Regarding President Obama intentions to bring home soldiers deployed in Iraq, Bachmann stated this in a press release:

Michele Bachmann

"Today's announcement that we will remove all of our forces from Iraq is a political decision and not a military one; it represents the complete failure of President Obama to secure an agreement with Iraq for our troops to remain there to preserve the peace and demonstrates how far our foreign policy leadership has fallen. 

In every case where the United States has liberated a people from dictatorial rule, we have kept troops in that country to ensure a peaceful transition and to protect fragile growing democracies. We will now have fewer troops in Iraq than we have in Honduras – despite a costly and protracted war.

"President Obama's decision represents the end of the era of America's influence in Iraq and the strengthening of Iran's influence in Iraq with no plan to counter that influence. We have been ejected from a country by the people that we liberated and that the United States paid for with precious blood and treasure. The administration claims that we got exactly what we needed, but today's announcement demonstrates otherwise.

"The United States needed a working democratic partnership in Iraq and we should have demanded that Iraq repay the full cost of liberating them given their rich oil revenues. I call on the president to return to the negotiating table with Iraq and lead from the front and not from weakness in Iraq and in the world."

Religious hogwash, Republicans and when God comes calling on candidates

Republicans are hoping to make President Obama a one-term president. The two top contenders this week hoping to unseat him are Herman Cain and Mitt Romney. In contention are six other candidates striving to knock each other out of the ring.

Herman Cain

Mitt Romney

With this crop of Republican candidates, it is not surprising to hear that God contacted them, telling them to run for president. When Republican George Bush campaigned for his father, George W. H. Bush, the younger Bush zeroed in on the weaknesses of evangelical Christians. He realized that if he confessed to being born again, and his devoted love for God, he had a good chance of gaining their votes and support. Christianity was the key to his presidential victory whenever he decided to run for president.

By the time Bush was ready to advance from governor of Texas to president of the U. S., he and Karl Rove, his campaign manager, had the born-again-Christian rhetoric solidly packed in a suitcase and ready to travel.

Did God’s personal persuasion influence him? Yes, according to Bush, “I’ve heard the call. I believe God wants me to run for president.” 

His religious language of salvation and redemption worked like a lucky charm on God fearing Christians. They opened their arms and wallets, allowing Bush to bask in the glory of their “righteous godliness.”

However, God did not tell Republican Mitt Romney to run for president. The Mormon candidate said he already knows God’s purpose for America. Taking a swipe at President Obama, Romney said God did not create this country to be a nation of followers. America is destined to be one of several equally balanced global powers. 

Silly me. Here I am thinking America is a global power, unequal to any other country.

Every time I hear Romney talk I cannot help but think about the fast talking con artist Robert Preston in The Music Man.

With this crop of God chosen Christians vying for America’s top job, God’s ears must be on fire, they invoke his name so often. Thus far, Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich have not lingered on their religion, nor have they confessed to getting a notification from God. When novice Republican Herman Cain ran for president in 2000, and for the Georgia senate seat vacated by Democrat Zell Miller in 2004, he did not say God contacted him.

At a town hall meeting in 1994 Cain debated President Bill Clinton on the economic impact of government run health care. Cain informed the President that his facts were wrong, and he would be happy to debate him again when he (Clinton) checked his facts. Cain arrogantly assumed that he was important enough to warrant a second town hall debate with President Clinton.

In the meanwhile, as Cain pondered a second run for president in 2011, God popped up and told him to go for it. God even spoke to him through his granddaughter. In an October interview with Christian Broadcast News, he compared himself to Moses. Cain said, “God’s been in this from the beginning.” Like Moses, Cain thought God made a mistake, encouraging him to run for president.

Moses did not feel qualified for the task God was about to give him. He did not feel qualified to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt to freedom. McCain said to God, “You’ve got the wrong person. You can’t be talking about me.” He finally gave in to God’s order.

In 2000 McCain was one of the candidates running against George Bush. He explained the reason he lost “was more about making a point than winning. George W. Bush was the chosen one. He had the campaign DNA that followers looked for. I believe that I had a better message, and I believe that I was the better messenger. I did not start soon enough".

I think this is the reason I cringe and yell at my TV when pundits and John McCain say he is a political neophyte. A brief presidential run in 2000, a senate race in 2004, and a town hall debate with the president of the United States. A newcomer on the scene? I don’t think so!

In May the spouse of Republican Rick Santorum, Karen Santorum talked with David Brody on CBN. She told him that Santorum made up his mind to run for president because "it really boils down to God's will. What is it that God wants"?

The Santorums’ prayed and prayed and God finally revealed the answer they were waiting for. “We believe with all our hearts that this is what God wants".

Is God a staunch Republican? I ask that for a reason. Not only has God conversed with Republican candidates, but he also visited Tim Pawlenty’s campaign manager, Nick Ayers. He said working for Pawlenty was a calling. He had been pondering the God-sanctioned possibility for six months or so.

According to a Talking Points Memo (TPM) article, Ayers said, “. . . I have deeply thought about my purpose in life, and how to best utilize the talents God has given me. I wanted my decision to be wholly about how best to serve Him". Ayers, a Republican, said he can best serve God by acting as campaign manager for Pawlenty, who has since dropped out of the presidential race due to poor support and financial problems.

Here is my understanding about God: If he truly has his hands on an individual he has selected to perform a task, he will not leave that person stranded without a plan to achieve the assignment. Too many times politicians and preachers say God called them. I am going to step out of my naive mode, and say the voice they heard was not God. It was their own egos trying to mimic God.

Republican candidate Michele Bachmann caused many a female's mouths to fly open when she said she was obedient to her husband! Being a good Christian woman, she willingly follows the Bible’s teaching. It was her husband, Marcus, who decided that she should get an advanced degree in tax law, run for the senate, and then for president.

When she was contemplating a presidential run, she revealed it was a joint decision. “My husband and I took three days, and we fasted and we prayed. And we prayed, ‘Lord, is this what you want? Are you sure? Is this your will?", Bachmann said, speaking at the Minnesota’s World Christian Center.

Bachmann had told World Net Daily that she would run for president if God told her to do it. “I will not seek a higher office if God is not calling me to do it. If I am called to serve in that realm I would serve, but if I am not called, I wouldn’t do it".

So with her husband and God giving her a thumbs up, Bachmann is now fully engaged in the race. She started out like a grey hound, but she has slowed down to a turtle’s pace. Like Pawlenty, her donation (funds) well is drying up.

Gov. Slick Rick Perry

I saved the longest God touched candidate for last. I like to call him Gov. Slick Rick Perry of Texas. I am a Texan and I feel I know from whence I speak, like the time Slick Rick asked Texans to pray for rain after a couple of bone dry summers. Below is a rain proclamation signed by the governor:

WHEREAS, the state of Texas is in the midst of an exceptional drought, with some parts of the state receiving no significant rainfall for almost three months, matching rainfall deficit records dating back to the 1930s … NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICK PERRY, Governor of Texas, under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and Statutes of the State of Texas, do hereby proclaim the three-day period from Friday, April 22, 2011, to Sunday, April 24, 2011, as Days of Prayer for Rain in the State of Texas. I urge Texans of all faiths and traditions to offer prayers on that day for the healing of our land, the rebuilding of our communities and the restoration of our normal way of life.

Texas is still bone dry and thirsty for rain.  Texas was recently devastated by brush fires that destroyed homes, businesses and other properties.

And then Slick Rick announced that he is a prophet! This bag of used kitty litter was more than my nose was willing to smell. I had no idea our good governor was psychic! The media and pundits have praised Slick Rick like he is the time bomb waiting to blow up President Obama’s chances at a second term. We’ll see how potent he is if he wins the Republican nomination.

Actually, Slick Rick was not too sure about running for president until God whispered in his ear. He told an Iowa newspaper: “I’m not ready to tell you that I’m ready to announce that I’m in, but I’m getting more and more comfortable every day that this is what I’ve been called to do. This is what America needs".

After he made his grand announcement to run, supporters, pundits of all stripes and the media bet that Slick Rick would knock nothing but home runs when debating his opponents during the Republican primary. The anticipated home runs did not happen. Romney did not give him time to catch his breath. Slick Rick had to feel like a small rabbit caught in a trap.

You see, Gov. Slick Rick Perry is not a think-on-your-feet debater. He did not debate when he campaigned for re-election in Texas. Everybody in his entourage of advisers were comfortable with him not debating. He made excuses for himself, and made demands of his opponent. Too bad his camp did not learn that a Texas stage is much, much smaller than a national stage. Slick Rick proved that he is not ready for prime time.

Anita Perry feels her husband is being persecuted because of his faith. She talked about a “burning bush.”  I do believe she was stepping into Moses’ territory! He was the only one that God allowed to see the burning bush. In the movie, The Ten Commandments, Moses walked down from the mountain an aged man with white hair. Slick Rick's hair has not grayed.

Anita Perry said October 13, to supporters at North Greenville University, “We’ve been brutalized, eaten up and chewed up in the press . . . After Rick had won being elected for the governorship for the third time in Texas, there was a nagging, a pulling at my heart for him to run for president. You know what we have no leadership in Washington. We have nobody to guide our country.

“God was already speaking to him, but he didn’t want to hear it. He felt like he needed to see the burning bush. I said, ‘Look, let me tell you something. You may not see that burning bush but there are people who see that burning bush for you.’ So he truly felt like he was called to do this. We still feel called to do this. We are being brutalized by our opponents in our own party. So much of that is, I think they look at him because of his faith".

Slick Rick is not being attacked, Anita. The attack is his poor debate performances. He brags about a plan to put Americans back to work, and then reveals a scheme to fatten the pockets of the rich. Maybe Slick Rick Perry should have another talk with God, and ask for a plan of victory in 2012.

***UPDATE: As of Wednesday (Oct. 19) the media and pundits have concluded that Herman Cain is still ahead in the polls, with Mitt Romney and Rick Perry following behind him. However, the same media and pundits have begun to treat Cain like a joke, saying he does not have a chance to win the Republican nomination for president. One pundit, Ed Rollins, said Republicans would be fools to nominate Cain.

Condemned killer executed for horrendous dragging death of James Byrd, Jr. in Jasper, Texas

Update: New details have been added to the story below; some of which were not known until the full investigation of James Byrd's murder was completed.

John William King, 44, one of three White males who killed James Byrd, an African American, was executed in Texas, April 24, 2019. Lawrence Russell Brewer was executed for his role in Byrd's death in 2011. A third killer, Shawn Allen Berry, received life in prison.

A park has been named for Byrd, and a bench was constructed in his honor outside the Jasper courthouse. His family has created the Byrd Foundation for Racial Healing. They plan to build an educational and multicultural center in Byrd's name in the future.

The dragging murder of James Byrd, Jr.

The State of Texas conducted an execution September 21, 2011, the same night Troy Davis (see labels for story) was executed in Alabama for killing a White cop. Lawrence Russell Brewer, the condemned Texan, was an avowed White supremacist. His execution did not draw protests from people against the death penalty, or excessive media interest. Brewer was one of three White males who dragged James Byrd, Jr. behind a pickup truck on a secluded road. The victim, an African American, died a horrific death. 

James Byrd, Jr.

James Byrd, Jr. was born in Beaumont, Texas in 1949 to Stella and James Byrd, Sr. He was the third of eight sisters and brothers. Byrd's father was a deacon at the Greater New Bethel Baptist Church, where his mother taught Sunday School. Byrd liked singing hymns and playing piano. He graduated from Jasper High School that segregated in 1967. After high school Byrd got married, fathering three children.

On June 7, 1998, Byrd, age 49, was walking home from a party when he was offered a ride home by three White guy in a pickup truck. He was now living in Jasper, Texas. Byrd accepted a ride from Shawn Allen Berry (age 24), Lawrence Russell Brewer (age 31) and John William King (age 23). Berry was driving the gray Ford pickup. Instead of taking Byrd home, the trio decided to take him to a remote county road, where they reportedly beat him, spray painted his face and chained him to the back of the pickup by his ankles, dragging him for three miles. Later an autopsy revealed that Byrd was alive through much of the dragging. He was still conscious.

Brewer later claimed that Byrd's throat was cut by Berry before he was dragged to his death.  His body hit the edge of a culvert, resulting in his right arms getting torn from his body. He was eventually decapitated. 

Berry, Brewer and King dumped James Byrd's remains near a Black cemetery on Huff Creek Road.  In 1998 Jasper, Texas, a town of 7,600 people, still had "Black" and "White" cemeteries. Byrd's body was found the next morning. His head and arm were found a mile from his dumped body.  

After coldly killing Byrd the trio went to eat barbecue. Along the road where Byrd was dragged, authorities found a wrench with "Berry" written on it. They found a lighter inscribed with "Possum", King's prison nickname. The three of were quickly arrested. 

Brewer and King were White supremacists. King has several tattoos that included a Black man hanging from a tree, a robed KKKer, a Swastika, the word Aryan Pride, among others.  King and Brewer belonged to the a prison gang calling itself "The Confederate Knights of America." James Byrd was targeted because he was African American.

The media reported that police found 75 to 81 pieces of Byrd's flesh on the blood smeared road. Jasper's District Attorney Pat Hardy said of the three White males, "they came straight out of hell. Instead of a rope, they used a chain, and instead of horses, they had a pickup truck." 

Police determined that Brewer and King were well-known white supremacists, giving them reason to label the horrendous murder a hate crime. The FBI was called less than 24 hours after discovering Byrd's scattered remains.

For their brutal, murderous act, King and Brewer were sentenced to death. Berry rolled on his buddies, the reason he got life in prison. King was on death row for 12 years, appealing his sentence. 

Gov. George Bush of Texas, said after King was sentenced, "The brutal beating, dragging murder of James Byrd was a horrible, despicable crime and those responsible deserve the ultimate punishment. The jury sent a clear message that Texas will not tolerate hate and violence." (The Texas Observer) 

On May 11, 2001 Texas governor Rick Perry signed the "James Byrd Hate Crime Act" into law. The law strengthened penalties for any crime motivated by a victim's race, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual preference or national origin. In 2009 President Obama signed the Mathew Shepard/James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law.

 

Brewer’s last meal request was two chicken fried steaks, a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, fried okra, a pound of barbeque, three fajitas, a meat lover's pizza, a pint of ice cream and a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts. Brewer did not touch the meal. But had he decided to eat, he would have to consume the large meal in 30 minutes, the standard rule in Texas.

Lawrence Brewer

An estimated 30 states still have the death penalty, but Texas treats executions like a hobby. However, Texas politicians decided September 22 that death row inmates would no longer have the privilege of ordering lavish feasts before meeting their maker. Some inmates never eat the last meals. Perhaps standing shoulder to shoulder with death has a way of diminishing an inmate's appetite. 

The last meal request by Brewer did not go unnoticed by local politicians. It set one Texas politician’s hair on fire. The wasteful extravagance was too much for him to stomach. Senator John Whitmire (D-Tx), chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, fast forwarded a letter Thursday, Sept. 22, to Brad Livingston, executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, asking that the last meal custom be discontinued. He cited Brewer's request to water-proof his case.

Livingston responded right away, writing: “Effective immediately, this practice has been terminated. Prior to execution, death row offenders will now receive the same meal served to other offenders.” The last meal tradition lasted for 87 years in Texas.

According to the Houston Chronicle (Sept. 22):  “Brewer, 44, made no final statement before the lethal drugs were started at 6:11 p.m. He was declared dead 10 minutes later. Brewer, visibly pale, looked toward the witness room occupied by his parents and brother. 

"He did not make eye contact with Byrd's two sisters and niece, who occupied an adjoining witness room. Tears began to form in his eyes as he breathed heavily and died. Clara Taylor and Louvon Harris, the victim's sisters, stood silently as the execution took place,”wrote the Chronicle.

A day before execution in Texas, Brewer was interviewed by Houston's KHOU 11 News. He had no regret for his actions. "As far as any regrets, no, I have no regrets. I'd do it all over again, to tell the truth". He was executed September 21, 2011 in Huntsville, Texas.

Over 200 people crammed inside the small church to attend James Byrd's funeral, that included Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and NAACP president Kweisi Mfume. Another 600 people stood outside, unable get inside. Basketball star Dennis Rodman paid for Byrd's funeral, and boxing promoter Don King donated $100,000 to the family.