Will The Senate Slavery Apology Lead To Reparations?

Should the United States of America apologize for slavery? The US Senate believes we should.

Recently the US Senate passed the Slavery Apology Act, which included a disclaimer that would seemly prevent the payment of reparations. But how can the Senate deny plaintiffs legal recourse if the Senate themselves validate an alleged wrong? They can’t, as numerous reparation supporters have publicly indicated:

Randall Robinson, author of "The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks," said he sees the Senate's apology as a "confession" that should lead to a next step of reparations. "Much is owed, and it is very quantifiable," he said. "It is owed as one would owe for any labor that one has not paid for, and until steps are taken in that direction we haven't accomplished anything."

On the floor of the Senate, Senator Roland Burris (D – Illinois), stated that the “disclaimer in no way would eliminate future actions that may be brought before this body that may deal with reparations.”

This act is a slap in the face of all those, of every races and religion, that fought to end slavery. To put this solely at the feet of all Americans, ignoring the truth that is the terrible history of the worldwide slave trade, is disingenuous and unjust.

Senate slavery apology

A Minority View: Walter Williams

Last month, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed Senate Resolution 26 "Apologizing for the enslavement and racial segregation of African-Americans." The resolution ends with: "Disclaimer – Nothing in this resolution (a) authorizes or supports any claim against the United States; or (b) serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States." That means Congress apologizes but is not going to pay reparations, as least for now.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have expressed concerns about the disclaimer, thinking that it's an attempt to stave off reparations claims from the descendants of slaves. Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said her organization is studying the language of the resolution, and Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said "putting in a disclaimer takes away from the meaning of an apology. A number of us are prepared to vote against it in its present form. There are several members of the Progressive Caucus who feel the same way."

It goes without saying that slavery was a gross violation of human rights. Justice would demand that all the perpetrators – that includes slave owners, and African and Arab slave sellers – make compensatory reparation payments to victims. Since slaves, slave owners and slave sellers are no longer with us, such compensation is beyond our reach and a matter to be settled in the world beyond.

Absent from the reparations debate is: Who pays? Don't say the government because the government doesn't have any money that it doesn't first take from some American. So which Americans owe black people what? Reparations advocates don't want that question asked but let's you and I.

Are the millions of Europeans, Asians and Latin Americans who immigrated to the U.S. in the 20th century responsible for slavery and should they be forced to cough up reparations money? What about descendants of Northern whites who fought and died in the name of freeing slaves? Should they cough up reparations money for black Americans? What about non-slave-owning Southern whites, a majority of whites; should they be made to pay reparations? And, by the way, would President Obama, whose father is Kenyan and mother white, be eligible for a reparations payment?

On black people's side of the ledger, thorny issues also arise. Some blacks purchased other blacks as a means to free family members. But other blacks owned slaves for the same reason whites owned slaves – to work farms or plantations. Are descendants of these blacks eligible and deserving of reparations? There is no way that Europeans could have captured millions of Africans. They had African and Arab help. Should Congress haul representatives of Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Muslim states before them and demand they compensate American blacks because of their ancestors' involvement in capturing and selling slaves?

Reparations advocates make the foolish unchallenged pronouncement that United States became rich on the backs of free black labor. That's utter nonsense. Slavery has never had a very good record of producing wealth. Think about it. Slavery was all over the South. Buying into the reparations nonsense, you'd have to conclude that the antebellum South was rich and the slave-starved North was poor. The truth of the matter is just the opposite. In fact, the poorest states and regions of our country were places where slavery flourished: Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. The richest states and regions were those where slavery was absent: Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts.

The Senate apology is nothing more than political theater, but it could be a slick way to get the camel's nose into the tent for future reparations. If the senators are motivated by white guilt, I have the cure. About 15 years ago I wrote a "Proclamation of Amnesty and Pardon Granted to All Persons of European Descent."

Walter E. Williams, Ph.D., is the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

Cap and Trade: Who Is Getting Rich From This Fallacy

Yesterday it was called Global Warming, today it is called Climate Change; but whatever you call it, it is a false emergency based on flawed science, questionable tactics, and devoid of integrity. And what would be the proper response to the pressure groups that are promoting this chimera? Why cap and trade, of course!

Cap and trade is a government run ponzi scheme that will cost Americans jobs, take money out of the pockets of all Americans (in effect, a tax in the form of higher energy cost), and line the pockets of the very “advocates” promoting this facade:

Cap-And-Trade: Al Gore's Cash Cow
10 Questions for Al Gore

The patron saint of the green movement, Al Gore, had an estimated wealth of 2 million dollars in 2000. Today he is worth 100’s of millions of dollars, and not one Democratic the House panel is concerned about a conflict of interest? Gore is green alright……….with money he has made from this “crisis.” But Gore is not alone. GE (the parent company of MSNBC and NBC), which has been heavily promoting both Obama and Cap and Trade, stands to make billions. yet the media is just skipping along to this madness.

The only thing that stands between this folly and common sense are the American people and a few conservative representatives.

House Begins 'Cap and Trade' Hearings
Cap and Trade a ‘Declaration of War,’ Say Republicans
Inhofe: Cap and Trade Will Cost U.S. 800,000 Jobs

The Conscience Clause: Doctors Will Not Have A “Choice!”

“If I am faced with the choice between losing my job or being forced to perform an abortion, I will leave the practice of medicine. And I have to wonder, if we are chased out of medicine, who will step into the gap? - Dr. Sandy Christiansen”

Let’s say you’re a very satisfied patient of Dr. Christiansen, and you have a relationship you want to maintain. Let also state that you are pro-abortion, but abortion was never part of your treatment plan with Dr. Christiansen.

You meet with Dr. Christiansen for your annual examine and at the conclusion of your appointment, you are informed that Dr. Christiansen has decided to leave the medical profession. Dr. Christiansen informs you that the reason for her departure is due to the repeal of conscience clause:

CBN Report: Where's The Choice

Now let us pretend you are the parent of a child applying to medical school, and the following happens:

"We're having report after report of medical students not being able to get into school," he explained. "Because they're asked the question: 'What if you had a 14-year-old come in and was pregnant, how would you handle that?' in their admission interview and if you don't offer abortion as an option, you don't get in." - Dr. David Stevens, head of the Christian Medical Association

I am confused, where does "choice" fit into all of this, and is it fair for the goverment to force medical professionals to perform a procedure they are oppose to?

Harry Knox: Intolerant Hetrophobe and Christian Basher To Join The Obama Administration

Taking a queue from some gay rights extremist , I thought the headline fit the warp sense of piety on displayed by Mr. Knox. I do not know what is more insulting, President Obama appointing a divisive individual such as Knox to the Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships; or that the very entity that once was so despised by those on the Left (when it was created by President Bush), somehow is deemed noble with the appointment of Knox. It must be calming to live in such a fantasy world.

"The Pope needs to start telling the truth about condom use," Knox said on Monday, Apr. 6. "We are eager to help him do that. Until he is willing to do that and able, he's doing a great deal more harm than good -- not just in Africa but around the world. It is endangering people's lives.”

On Mar. 19, Knox told the San Francisco-based gay newspaper The Bay Area Reporter, “The Knights of Columbus do a great deal of good in the name of Jesus Christ, but in this particular case [Proposition 8], they were foot soldiers of a discredited army of oppression.”

The reality is that President Obama just doesn’t care. He has no problem slapping the face of those of faith with this appointment. If President Obama did care, he would have made a more moderate selection, but instead he chose one of the most militant, gay activists he could found. Not sure how that fits in with “working with both sides?” Just keep saying to yourself, Change and Hope…..just words.

This is just another disastrous appointment on the part of President Obama. For any of you that were still clinging to any illusions that President Obama was going to be a uniter, and not a divider , you may now join the crowd still clinging to their “guns and Bibles,” because you have just been Obama’d.

Forget the fact that a very liberal professor, who has spent years studying AIDS in Africa, agreed with the Pope:

Harvard Professor: Pope Is Right

No that does not matter to Knox and other serving their own self interest….not at all. Or that Congressman Pence has called on President Obama to withdraw the Knox nomination:

Pence Calls on Obama to Withdraw Pope-Basher’s Appointment to Faith-Based Program

Or that 54% of self-described Catholics voted for Obama. None of these things matters. But if none of these matter, what does?

Representative Luis Gutierrez: Blame The Victim, Not The Criminal

Forget the fact that time and time again members of Congress have directed divisive language against conservative groups. Forget that more witnesses than I can count have appeared (with the full support from Left leaning legislators) and made wild accusations. Yes, for this one brief moment let’s forget the double-standard the Left lives by.

The father, Ray Tranchant, whose daughter was killed in a “traffic accident” because of a drunk illegal alien, appeared before a congressional committee to tell his story. After his testimony, Mr. Tranchant was lectured by Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois):

Congressman Reprimands Father of Teen Killed by Drunk-Driving Illegal Alien for Calling Criminal Aliens 'Banditos'

Just a word of advice to Representative Gutierrez, stay focused, show some empathy, and keep the priorities straight next time….if that is even possible.

It Is “The People” That Rule America

William Kristol, wrote an excellent OP-ED piece, which unfortunately appeared in the Gray Lady, which spells out how the intellect of the "common man," is much more often than not, right:

NY Times - Kristol: Here The People Rule

"In the 1930s, the American people didn't fall — unlike so many of their supposed intellectual betters — for either fascism or Communism. Since World War II, the American people have resisted the temptations of isolationism and protectionism, and have turned their backs on a history of bigotry."

Let's tally the score regarding whether the people or the "elites" have been more right:

Who was right about the true nature of the Soviet Union before its collapse? The People or The Elites. 1 Point Awarded to The People.

Who has been right a majority of the time that a distended government has been bad for the economic prosperity and the overall general welfare of this country? The People or The Elites. 1 Point Awarded to The People.

Who has been right on immigration? The people who believe in a balanced immigration policy or the elites who want to open up the floodgates of uncontrolled immigration? The People or The Elites. 1 Point Awarded to The People.

The list could go on, but the point that needs to be made is that the people want to take a pragmatic approach to solving issues as they arise, whether it is spending, addressing climate change, and taxes. But Elites want to "just jump in," and believe that the quick reaction, which usually equates to throwing a ton of money at every issue, is the best reaction.

In the end, we the voters must decide whose judgment can be trusted to lead this country…the everyday man or the elites, and which candidate represents those views best.

America The Weak: The Big O Is Not Ready To Lead

Ralph Peters provided an insight into the fate of the World under the Obama administration:

NY Post: America The Weak

Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Georgia, Cuba (with new oil wealth), Venezuela, and the list goes on. It is also not encouraging that Biden claims that he "has forgotten more about foreign policy" than his colleagues remember. Considering Biden has been wrong on almost every international crisis this country has faced dating back to 1973, do we really need two arrogant Liberals in the White House at the same time?

Mr. Peters wrote this article prior to Mighty Joe's (Biden) speech in Seattle on October 19, where he clearly reaffirmed Mr. Peters (as well as others) assessment of the troubles we would face if Obama were elected.

That ominous 3:00 a.m. call is looking more concerning if in fact Obama is on the other end.

The New Yorker Cover: What Exactly Is The Problem?

What the New Yorker Magazine did with their over the top Obama magazine cover (July 2008) was outrageous, but it achieved exactly what it was meant to do. A picture is worth a thousand words, or in this case millions of words (not to mention dollars), and man did this picture hit a hornets nest.

The Obama cartoon cover stirred up controversy, there-by providing oodles of free press, which in turn attracted readers (customers). Money is why the New Yorker exist, and with this issue they made a lot of it. But what about the content and message of the Obama article?

The New Yorker was trying to illustrate the “myths and rumors” that some on the Left feel “many Americans” have surrounding the Obama’s. Yet isn’t ironic that any expressed belief that these myths and rumors regarding Obama are held by a majority of non-Obama supporters (in particular Conservatives) are not only false, but really only reside in the imagination of liberals, as the New Yorker cover demonstrate so elegantly.

Now I am not saying that there aren’t people out there that don’t believe these rumors about Obama, but their numbers are so insignificant their not worth our attention. The New Yorker was trying to exaggerate a fallacy that perpetuates a real myth, that white America is really racist if you dig hard enough. But the controversies surrounding the New Yorker Magazine rest solely with Liberals.

Even funnier are the follow-up editorials and news reports (as collected by the LA Times…..consider the source):

Over at Top of the Ticket, Andrew Malcolm explains why the cover could be dangerous:

A lot of people won't get the joke. Or won't want to. And will use it for non-humorous purposes, which isn't the New Yorker's fault.

A problem is there's no caption on the cover to ensure that everyone gets the ha-ha-we've-collected-almost-every-cliched-rumor-about-Obama-in-one-place-in-order-to-make-fun-of-them punchline.

At Pandagon, Jesse Taylor agrees that the cover doesn't work as satire, particularly because it has to be explained:

It’s not actually satirizing the phenomenon of right-wing e-mail forwards, it’s just creating the ultimate version thereof. To put it in a different context, it’s like holding a satirized Klan rally by holding a Klan rally...with a laser show that makes a three-story image of a burning cross. A bigger, badder, better version of the thing you’re attempting to mock doesn’t constitute mockery, it just constitutes a gaudier version of the thing you’re addressing.

The Plank also thinks it doesn't work, because of the magazine's elitist posture:

And that, of course, is precisely what's wrong with the cover: the image is satirical only because it appears on the cover of the New Yorker, which, we all know, is a right-thinking magazine read by right-thinking people who couldn't possibly be among the 10 percent of Americans who believe Obama's a Muslim. The New Yorker"Stop Snitching"National Review, or that t-shirt on a black person in a crime-infested neighborhood, and the message takes on a very different meaning. assumes everyone knows it's being ironic with its cover, sort of the way the white hipster in a gentrifying neighborhood assumes everyone knows he's being ironic when he wears a t-shirt. But put that image on the cover of

Times columnist Jonah Goldberg chimes in at The Corner:

What I find interesting about the New Yorker cover is that it's almost exactly the sort of cover you could expect to find on the front of National Review. Roman Genn could do wonders with that concept. Of course, if we ran the exact same art, the consensus from the liberal establishment could be summarized in words like "Swiftboating!" and, duh, "racist."

Michelle Obama Watch too wonders about liberal racism:

Does anybody remember that loon from Daily Kos that thought it was a good idea to show Michelle Obama being lynched and tortured because he had a really good point to make?

Michelle Malkin is most concise in her take, and tells Obama to "grow a pair." Althouse, on that note, wonders why everyone is talking about nuts.

Salon's War Room blog, like Althouse, makes it past the cover:

In this case, though, there's a tangential relationship, as the magazine's Ryan Lizza has a really interesting profile of Obama, done by looking through the lens of his rise in Chicago. In fact, if I were Lizza, I'd be pretty upset at my editors today, as this controversy has ensured that his article is going ignored. Like so many articles in the magazine, it's long, complicated and detailed, and reporters and commentators who are discussing the cover are skipping over the article, presumably for reasons of time.... Lizza's article isn't a hit piece, but it paints a complicated and at times unflattering portrait of Obama, one that would have had some potential to be politically damaging to the presumptive Democratic nominee were it not for the attention the cover's getting instead.

See New Yorker editor David Remnick's defense here, the cartoonist's response here, and the article here.

The satire feel flat on its face (as an attempted “case in point” to a false problem), and only helped to create more insignificant banter amongst an already non-responsive media. The New Yorker article was not flattering of Obama, but the cover allows for the media to walk pass that little ditty, and create a dust storm about nothing. But I love how some Progressives have tried to lay the blame for this mess with non-Obama supporters. Hate to burst your bubble, but this one rest squarely with the New Yorker, the ADD media, and Progressive trying to divert attention away from the candidate.

Obama: Americans Should Be Embarrassed

Presidential Candidate Barrack Obama appeared before another enthusiastic crowd in Powder Springs, Georgia, where he could be heard complaining about English-only policies. Obama told the audience that Americans should be “embarrassed” that most of us don’t speak a second language, in particular Spanish.

Sounding more like a contestant on “The Last Comic Standing,” he even mocked some American’s inability to speak French by stating “all we’s can say is “Merci beaucoup (in a flat, sarcastic tone):”

Obama" " Your kids should be learning Spanish."

This speech received NO major media attention, but when Phil Gramm stated that America has become a nation of whiners, it is the lead story with every major, Left leaning media outlet. But what does it matter, because like Obama has done so many times before, he needed to come out later to “clarify,” his comments:

Obama: What I meant....

First off Mr. Obama, what language is “we’s?” Secondly, American’s have nothing to be embarrassed about. What was embarrassing was watching the crowd you were talking down to in Powder Springs laugh and clap as you insulted them. This whole speech reeked of elitism, and you came off as very arrogant.

The truth is that when business people from around the world gather for a meeting, lets say in France, they are speaking English; I know, because I am in those meetings. The reality is that English is the business language of the WORLD. And until America freely surrenders it leadership in the world, English will continue to be the universal language for prosperity. The exception to that rule, large cities in the United States, such as Miami:

In Miami, Spanish is the primary language

A major city in the United States is now divided because of language, and to quote President Lincoln, “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” Language is a dividing factor of a culture; if we cannot communicate, we cannot be united. Want ads after want ads in Miami insist that the applicant must speak Spanish. If immigrants are learning our language Mr. Obama, please explain to us what is happening in Miami, as well as other major cities in America.

It is important to remember that not all Europeans speak a second language, in particular English, I know because I lived in Europe for five-years. There are many immigrants, mostly Hispanic, that are not assimilating into the American culture. Don’t believe me? Then why do I see Spanish signs everywhere I go, and I live in New Hampshire, where there is less than a 1% minority population. Or why do States such as California and Massachusetts have to spend millions to print most of their State forms in Spanish? And tell me why the number one radio station in LA is a Spanish speaking station.

English only laws help take immigrants out of the shadows, breaking down the barrier that is stopping many of them from succeeding in the United States, the inability to speak English. The answer has never been, nor should it ever be, for “Americans” to learn another language, but for immigrants to embrace their new home, and unite through one common language, English. Many immigrants (especially illegal) are not interjecting themselves into the American culture because we have failed to stay true to the promise of the American dream. The lack of wiliness not to learn the English language is supported by a subculture within the borders of our own country that encourages them to remain separate, a “house divided.”

Ultimately Mr. Obama, the question of how important it is that American’s speak a second language is an easy one to answer. On June 6, 1944, thousands of Americans soldiers landed on the shores of Normandy to fight for the emancipation of an entire continent. Over six thousand of those soldiers lost their lives on D-Day, and thousands more died fighting in Belgium, France, and Germany. At no time did anyone feel “embarrassed” that they spoke only English. Nor did those being set free care that their liberators spoke only English. There is one thing I can guarantee you Mr. Obama. The French people who were liberated by American soldiers in 1944 said “Merci beaucoup” with far more compassion and far less contempt than you did on July 8, and for that you should feel embarrassed.

Obama: Talk Really Is Cheap!

There is no stronger advocate for the equal pay movement than Senator Obama. Senator Obama strongly supported the most recent attempt to pass the Equal Pay Act ( Ledbetter: Equal Pay Act Fails), and he has often been guilty of promoting the fallacy that woman make less money than men while performing the same job (The Myth of Equal Pay ). But how does Obama really feel about the issue?

With all of Obama's talk, he does not practice what he preaches:

Obama: Less pay for female staff members

Note that the female staffers at Senator John McCain's campaign make more than their male counterparts on average. Funny we didn't hear about this story from the mainstream media; I guess it must not be a big deal. It would only be a big deal if the candidate was a Republican.

I look forward to the excuses and "logical" reasons for this discrepancy; of course they will only be valid for Democratic applications. Go figure.

Muslim’s Outraged Over Puppy Power!

Rebel, an adorable six-week-old German Shepard, has a bright future ahead of him. Rebel is a “police dog in training,” and recently became a “spokes dog” for a local Scottish police detachment. But not all are happy with little Rebel.

Rebel was featured on a crime stopper post card sent Muslims in the Scottish district of Tayside are outraged by the appearance of a wide-eyed, pup on postcards distributed by the local police force, according to the Daily Mail.

The cute cards were meant to notify locals of a new non-emergency telephone number, but instead have become a flashpoint for a clash of cultures. Shopkeepers are refusing to display the offending ad and a Dundee city councilor is calling for an investigation:

I Am Just A Little Dog...Get Over It!

My favorite quote - "My concern was that it's not welcomed by all communities, with the dog on the cards," said Dundee councilor Mohammed Asif, according to the Daily Mail. Really, Rebel, the little puppy, who also will be serving these same people in the line of duty? Lunacy!

Who in the story is being intolerant? Rebel right now is a cute little dog, but will soon be a member of law enforcement, which will command respect from everyone in the neighborhood he will be serving. To consider Rebel to be “ritually unclean” takes a religious belief too far. Rebel is a symbol of the type of political correctness that can drive a wedge into a community, which should not be tolerated.

As for the Muslims offended by Rebel, don't worry. God forbid you are ever in need of police assistance, Rebel, the ritually unclean animal, will serve you without prejudice when he is called upon.