News-Record.com

There's an awful lot of hysteria going around regarding the US's first black president. It's hardly surprising, but it is rather disappointing. I rather doubt that Mr. Obama will do anything to excite the fears that racists have of him, like give his inauguration speech in Swahili or raise a Muslim flag over the white house. He'll most certainly take the oath of office and add the extra "so help me God" to the Constitution's text.

As an added bonus, the reader is encouraged to study the history of the presidency to find the names of the two presidents who never swore their oaths of office. :)

And the point of this post would be...?

Will you be making a comment or providing opinion about the EEOC lawsuit filed by the Greensboro Police officers listed in the Rhino yesterday? I was wondering why the N&R has not reported or commented on the public records request made by the Rhino. I understand that such information may not have been public record - will the N&R report on the legality in which the Rhino received this information.

Thank you!

The news department is not my bailiwick. You'd need to address that question to John Robinson. He runs news. I'm the opinion guy.

Okay, thanks. I'll do that.

I enjoy your comments and was just interested in your opinion of the matter.

The point of MY post? That people are expressing their fears about this guy who is different... but there have been MANY presidents in the past who would be considered too weird by these same people. The two who refused to swear their oaths of office when they were inaugurated, for instance. Or the fellow that had a pet alligator. Or that guy with the weird name "Millard Filmore."

The point is that everyone who is waxing hysterical should chill and give Obama a chance to see what he can do. And if he screws something up, go ahead and give him a hard time. But at least have the decency to wait.

There's an awful lot of hysteria going around about G-Boro's first black mayor also, Namtac. Kind of like she'll throw open the town coffers and let people march off with hundreds of thousands of dollars just because of skin pigmentation. Just hysteria though....Oh, my God. Wha...?

Surprising? And disappointing.

Namtac, I was asking the point of Allen's post

I will be waiting to see how soon after he affirms that he will protect and defend the Constitution that he begins to nibble away at it.

He has already stated that he is smarter than the near-sited bigots that created such a flawed instrument, and has intentions to re-craft the parts he doesn't like.

I don't find the letter unusual. In a contest between information and belief structures, the latter will win much of the time--all of the time, for some people. End of the world narratives are especially powerful in this regard. I can recall growing up hearing detailed proofs that the book of Revelation described the USSR and China, and a few years ago I ran across equally detailed proofs showing that it was about the UN and one-world government. And I suspect the same people who believed the one now believe the other, just as many who thought a few years ago that higher temps and more hurricanes proved global warming now believe that fewer hurricanes and lower temps do the same thing.

I thank you from refraining from publishing this letter that only encourages more hatred in our country towards our president and muslims. Perhaps you can also discourage the publishing of letters that refer to our new President Elect as "aka Muslim" or anything else that may encourage hate crimes against Muslims in our countrying . After-all, the President Elect has said he is a Christian, so why publish anything stating otherwise? Innocent until proven guilty..and then the next question would be guilty of what? I believe we are supposed to have freedom of religion in our country. I am Catholic. That does not make me a child molester. Lastly,I am still not convinced (and I am not the only one) that the co-owner of Red Mikes was killed for the money since it was not all taken...somewhat unusual if the true intent was robbery, don't you think?

I wish I could say that I'm surprised by this letter you received, but sadly, I'm not. Believe it or not, this is the same line (muslim, anti-christ, etc) that my cousin in Miami is getting AT HIS CHURCH. Worse yet, he seems to believe it. Ugh.

Sorry, that wasn't supposed to be anonymous!
Dawn in NC

Oh, with a headline like "This just in" I was hoping that you and J.R. took the buyout.

Just wondering, if the letter was not published, why bring it up? Much like all those sore loser McCain letters?

I hate to break the news to some of you folk out there; but Barak Obama's version of "christianity" may be much more detrimental to our nation than any law abiding muslim.

just a thought.

Tony

President Roosevelt (32nd) stated.."There is nothing to fear, but fear itself." President Elect Obama is a Christian and will use The Bible to be sworn..he also has a birth certificate. CIAFBIHomeland Security Secret Service recognize US Constitution Article II section 1 (5) and sends National Security briefs with clearance. TV Pat Robertson , Oxycontin Radio-Head Limbaugh and others are fear mongers and untruthful and spin useless mess. Christine

Doug:
I guess I brought it up because it still surprises me how stubbornly ill-informed some people still are. It bothers me, too.

Tony Watts:
Can you explain why you feel that way?

Gatecity Keeper:
Thanks, as always, for your support.

Mr. Liles:
To which of President-Elect Obama's statements about the Constitution do you refer?

Allen- This is a transcription of the 2001 interview, which is widely available on the interweb.

"If you look at the victories and failures of the civil rights movement and its litigation strategy in the court, I think where it succeeded was to invest formal rights in previously dispossessed people, so that now I would have the right to vote. I would now be able to sit at the lunch counter and order and as long as I could pay for it I’d be OK

But, the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in society. To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn't that radical. It didn't break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution, at least as it's been interpreted, and the Warren Court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. Says what the states can't do to you. Says what the federal government can't do to you, but doesn't say what the federal government or state government must do on your behalf.

And that hasn't shifted and one of the, I think, tragedies of the civil rights movement was because the civil rights movement became so court-focused I think there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalition of powers through which you bring about redistributive change. In some ways we still suffer from that."

Interesting that he precedes the most telling statements with an allusion to his ability to vote, sit at a lunch counter, etc.
The Framers had no intention of the government confiscating the money earned by the sweat of a man's brow and distributing it to promote the "general welfare". It is a factual point that the militia referred to in the Bill of Rights was civilian in nature, not controlled by any government, and intended to protect Americans from foreign invasion and encroachment by the then infant federal government.

Obama will try to use the Constitution to encroach on our rights- beginning with the first Amendment and moving down the line.

I pray to God Almighty that I am 100% wrong.

It never fells me how uneducated and blind people display their true academic skills. Corrections to this statement should be fixing the spelling of Koran it is actually Quran, and President Obama is Christian with a Muslim father therefore explaning his name. Individuals who call themselves "educated" should actually think twice and proofread before writing down false information.