by John Burl Smith

Reflecting Republican hypocrisy, George W. Bush, Jr. is recasting compassion as a conservative trait. Republican hand wringing cannot hide their racism and deplorable treatment of the poor. Perched on the precipice of a new millennium, Bush views poverty as a "moral" issue. Simultaneously, ominous nuclear clouds dim prospects for world peace. George W.'s "Cold War" revivalism reinstates war and military power at the center of American policy.

Failing to recognize wars' devastation on the glowing prospects of this century, G. W. proposes rearmament for the new millennium. Against this backdrop, massive armies facing each other across some line prepared for annihilation is no longer sufficient justification for a doomsday psychology. Talking globalism, while building walls, obfuscates the strategic advantage of a national missile defense system. America's superior weaponry, destructive capability and technology render the world defenseless. It allows generals sitting in Washington, D. C. to put missiles through bathroom windows in Belgrade without fear of retaliation. George W. Bush, Jr.'s cold war psychology will never protect America from crazed individuals, globetrotting warlords or rogue states.

Redirecting federal revenue into tax cuts and defense, Jr.'s brand of globalism puts the military-industrial-complex back in control of national policy. Like Reagan/Bush, George Jr. is recasting revenue policy regarding poverty, education and urban improvement. "If you have met the father, you know the son." George W. is Reagan/Bush to the core. Reagan/Bush destroyed America's social safety net, blew up the national debt and used the "War on Drugs" to fill America's prisons. Bush is a stealth candidate. His candidacy for President begs the question, "Do Americans want a return to Reaganonomics, double-digit interest and an itchy finger on the nuclear trigger?" Proving he is tough is what makes the specter of GW's on-the-job-training recast of the presidency so alarming. Other Essays by Mr. Smith

Born in 1809, the year of the Snake, Abraham Lincoln came from "common stock." Not a religious man, according to World Book, Abe never joined a church. Originally a member of the Whig Party, Lincoln switched when the Whigs and Democratic parties splintered over slavery. Those opposed to it formed the Republican Party.

Lincoln's congressional record bears out his commitment to the Constitution, as written by the founding fathers, which legalized slavery in Article 1 Section 2. He opposed its spread to other states, so voted for measures, which confined the "peculiar" institution to existing slave states. Though morally opposed to slavery, he only wanted to tweak it with emancipation to allow northern businessmen to take advantage of the "free" labor.

Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862 to save the Union. Constitutionally speaking, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation is just like Lyndon B. Johnson's Affirmative Action Executive Order, neither changed the Constitution. And, even though it has been amended some 27 times, none of those amendments specifically repeals Article 1 Section 2. So, in terms of the Constitution - the law of the land- "honest" Abe did not free the slaves, because Abe left the 3/5ths Compromise intact. Other Bits of Black History

An Atlanta Journal Constitution editorial (12-6-99) highlights three common media fallacies about America and the status of African Americans. First, blacks are no longer relegated to a second class status. Second, blacks overcame slavery and segregation without bloodshed, when millions bled and died! And, finally, on the basis of its race relations, America is a "moral" authority on human rights issues. From the scourges of slavery and manifest destiny to global champion of human rights is a phenomenal transformation; historic evidence does not support this radical metamorphosis. Hence, America's "moral authority" is rife with contradictions.

One involves hormone-treated meat, which the U.S. is trying to convince the world to eat. It lies about consumer choice. Americans have no choice; no labels identify hormone-treated meat in our food markets; it is all hormone-treated. Foreigners should know better than to expect greater choice than what Americans get from corporations maximizing profits.

Basically, the WTO protest exposed America's contradictions and showed the world Americans are no more happy with the U.S.' "moral leadership" than the rest of the world. For mainstream media pundits, the WTO protest remains a mystery, precisely because the media perpetuate the global hypocrisy about America and its record on human rights and other "bread and butter issues." The WTO protest exposed some of the half-truths and outright lies about America and what it represents. Many of those in the streets just do not believe the U.S. is the "moral" compass by which to engineer an "inclusive" new millennium. Other Phantom Scribblers

Atlanta Vibe

"Success speaks louder than words." Soul Vegetarian's Righteous Vibes, hosted by ATL Vibe's and Creative Loafing's Best Spoken Word Artist Yohannes Sharriff, projects such a positive image that it will now be presented twice monthly. Offering opportunities for established poets and beginners to elevate their art, the list fills up quickly. This Saturday November 4,1999 @ 8 PM, 879 Ralph D. Abernathy Blvd., house rockers and truth droppers will gather early to get on Yohannes' list of banging poets. The Atlanta Vibe Home

Seattle researchers Drs. Henry Lai and Baoming Wang of Washington University found evidence in a study, which suggests prolonged microwave exposure "may cause damage to long term learning and memory." Similar microwaves are emitted by cell phones, which give rise to concern over long periods of human cell phone usage.

In the Lai-Baoming study, rats were exposed to an hour of pulsed waves. These animals were slower than those not exposed in locating an object. Scientists think an animal's "stored spatial mapping memory" may be affected by prolonged exposure to microwaves. In other words, exposed rats got lost a lot!

The Lai-Baoming study replicates others, which suggest microwave exposure interfere with the brain chemical 'cholinesterase,' which is involved in place learning. According to Dr. Lai in a Reuters News Report by E. L. Mundell, "this is the first study to link radiowave exposure to long term memory problems." Researchers do not have enough data to issue public health warnings about possible side effects of cell phone usage. Be advised; proceed with caution. Worth more than money, limiting cell phone calls to a few minutes may save some brain cells!

Email: frgmoses@sunlink.net. "CNN reported that within the next two weeks Congress is going to vote on allowing telephone companies to charge a toll fee for Internet access. Translation: Every time we send a long distance e-mail we will receive a long distance charge. This will get costly. Please visit the following web site and file a complaint to your Congressperson at http://www.house.gov/writerep. We cannot allow this to pass! Act now to save the Internet!

More News You Use

Disgruntled says: To all those folks, such as yours truly who are not Y2K ready, forget it! You need more than twenty days to get a legit contractor out to build and then stock a decent bomb shelter!

Disgruntled wants to know: With a variety of news channels committed to collecting news from around the world 24-7, it is uncanny how they manage to come up with the exact same sound bites for broadcasting. Is the media dominated or otherwise monopolized by a single narrow perspective?

Disgruntled feels: like a Y2K party animal! More Disgruntled Moments

The DISH is proud to offer another morsel on the Politics 2000 web page. Political Animals 2000 gives you a new look at the presidential frontrunners. Get a feel for the personality of your favorite candidates and those who share their characteristics. Based on the Chinese calendar, check out Political Animals 2000 for a different perspective on Presidential personalities at http://home.att.net/~yicim/Politics2000/Animals.html.

When white men exercised absolute power over blacks in the South, Albert Gore, Sr. was a voice for voiceless people. Recent news articles have portrayed Al, Jr. as "emulating his father." From a slave state, the birthplace of the KKK, Al Gore, Jr. is proud of his Tennessee roots. Although, his father fought segregation and worked to lift blacks out of poverty, Jr. played it safe. Consequently, Al, Jr. is a throwback to his grandfather's attitude toward southern traditions.

As a youngster, Al let his father fight humanity's battles, while he benefited from white privilege. After eight years as Vice President, Gore has not used his political office to address racial injustice. Attacking Bill Bradley's proposals, Al claims Bill Clinton's legacy as his own. Sheepishly ducking Clinton's healthcare, but supporting welfare reform, Al sidestepped the Dialogue on Race entirely to appease southerners.

Al Gore has enjoyed a privileged existence. Like George W. Bush, Jr., Gore lives on his father's reputation. On the single most important issue affecting our nation, i.e., race relations, both are silent. Neither proposes advancing African American access to the mainstream American economy. Gore and Bush currently possess the ability to act to reduce racism, yet both only offer platitudes and business tax credits. Contrary to Bob Zelnick's book "Gore: A political Life," the lesson Al Gore, Jr. did not learn from his father was to see the big picture or take a principled stand, rather, he learned to "play it safe and think small."

Email: Scottied@mindspring.com The DISH is on point in assessing G.W.'s verbal skills versus his Republican rivals, which includes Alan Keyes, the lone African American Presidential contender among the frontrunners. According to Drudge Report http://www.drudgereport.com/matt.htm, FOX NEWS' repeated reference to the results of a Dick Morris poll at http://www.vote.com created "an instant public relations disaster for Bush 2000.http://www.drudgereport.com/matt.htm" Among the 8,000 voting by 11 PM, Morris' poll showed Keyes "the winner with 47%, Bush 25% and McCain 18%." Bauer, Forbes and Hatch shared the remaining 10%. According to Drudge, a Bush campaign official characterized the poll as "bullshit!" Those who watched know Keyes is intelligent and articulate. He can espouse traditional Republican ideology with the best of them. At the end of the New Hampshire forum, G.W. must have known he was not the best man; Keyes made him look bad.

The Bush 2000 campaign's dilemma is much like "Flick's," a character in the motion picture, A Christmas Story. Flick is tricked into accepting the coup de grace of dares, i.e., "the triple dog dare." In A Christmas Story, a 1984 movie based on Jean Shepherd's best seller "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash," Flick sticks his tongue to a cold flagpole during a northeast winter. Showing he has the right stuff, Bush took the "triple dog dare" and debated his challengers. Calling all bluffs, the pup jumped into the political debates against the 'big dogs.' Now, with his tongue stuck to the proverbial flagpole, G.W. flaps in the wind like Flick in A Christmas Story. Ignorance is not bliss, but Bush is oblivious, and therefore bound to stick out negatively in some situations, which show he can run with the pack, but he is not ready to lead it; he cannot separate fiction from fact. It takes intelligence and certain life experiences to do that. And, according to some savvy political insiders, "Bush don't got it!" He's a lightweight; he's Flick! Back to Politics2000

"Strict adherence to the rule of law," "strict Constitutional interpretation" and "pledges to appoint judges willing to enforce the Constitution" are sound bites bandied about by some politicians. There is code imbedded in these pledges to "strictly adhere to the Constitution." The key to this code is found in those "traditional family values" discussed last week.

This particular code is best understood when looking at "honest" Abe's or rather the founding fathers' linear perspective. Lincoln tried to preserve their intent in Article 1 Section 2 of the Constitution, because he too "morally" opposed slavery. Historically, like most Americans, Lincoln did not see blacks as equal to white men; though "all men are created equal." This is the pragmatic perspective, which elevates hypocrisy to an art form so adroitly practiced by the founding fathers; they espoused individual freedom, liberty and democracy, while embracing slavery as the legal economic foundation of this great country. It is this hypocrisy which makes possible holocausts like slavery, the American Indian genocide under the guise of manifest destiny and ongoing institutionalized racism.

The DISH believes "strictly adhering to the Constitution" is one way certain candidates telegraph to their constituents a commitment to preserving white privilege by putting "conservative" judges on the bench who will enforce Article 1 Section 2 of the Constitution! By unlocking the code, we can better understand our current dilemma. Moreover, we have a legal basis for repealing this article. Again, The DISH proposes an African American Equal Rights Amendment (AAERA) to repeal the "traditional values." As long as it is the law of the land, mainstream politicians will continue to hide who and what they are talking about when pledging to strictly adhere to the Constitution - the law of the land! More Hot DISHes

The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro is nocturnal. Batman/Ninja/Zorro complained about a recent wake-up call moaning, "My eyes got too much sleep in them!" Back to the Cave

The DISH Focus Group!

In the early stages of Campaign 2000, a core group of DISH subscribers identified the best candidate from each of the major two political parties. So far, their selections have been on point. Our man Bradley took the first debate in the contest for the Democratic Party nomination, while McCain won the recent Republican debate in New Hampshire, at least in our estimation, although, Keyes performed well, and must be commended for otherwise beating the pants off G.W.!

From the outset, it has been Bradley vs. McCain. We examined their records and stacked them up against their competitors, and we believe they have clearer visions of whence this nation has come and where it should head in the new millennium than any of their parties' other potential nominees. If Americans are paying attention, and we believe they are, then we will see McCain and Bradley vie for the oval office in 2000. Other Kudos and Blahs

Hood Notes

Black codes were laws passed by Southern state legislatures during Reconstruction to control "free" black labor. Some criminalized vagrancy and unemployment; newly freed slaves, impoverished and homeless, were jailed and assessed fines. To satisfy the fines, they were forced to work for free! Sometimes, ex-slaves worked for former masters. New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's effort to criminalize homelessness is a neo-black code.

Racial profiling is another. It exerts an economic burden, which includes fines, fees, court costs, time, inconvenience and even incarceration, if you are unable to satisfy fines imposed by the court. Police brutality goes hand in hand with racial profiling. African Americans are more likely to be killed by cops without cause, like Tyisha Miller and Amadou Diallo.

The "War on Drugs" is more code; it criminalizes non-violent behaviors like those G.W. engaged in when he was a pup. Even though most of those using drugs and getting arrested are white, blacks are more likely to go to prison, receive longer sentences and stiffer fines; the statistics support the conclusion that this is a "race war." These are the codes we live and die by daily; they keep blacks stuck in the chasm of inequality. More from the Hood

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