Tag: News

Trader Joe’s drops plan to build store in Portland, Oregon because of black racism

No, this isn’t a joke.

This story comes via TopConservativeNews.com, who notes the following:

Notice that it is perfectly acceptable for black people to oppose the demographic change of their neighborhood. If the races had been reversed, the national media would be screaming “RACISM!”

Consider this statement from the Portland African American Leadership Forum. They “remain opposed to any development in N/NE Portland that does not primarily benefit the Black community.” This would be a national controversy if the races were reversed. They would be denounced as the Ku Klux Klan.

The story via AP:

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Trader Joe’s grocery-store chain has dropped a plan to open a new store in the heart of the city’s historically African-American neighborhood after activists said the development would price black residents out of the area.

 

The grocer, whose stores are found in urban neighborhoods across the nation, said Monday it wouldn’t press its plan, given community resistance, The Oregonian (http://bit.ly/1n7Jyqb ) reported.

“We open a limited number of stores each year, in communities across the country,” it said in a statement. “We run neighborhood stores, and our approach is simple: If a neighborhood does not want a Trader Joe’s, we understand, and we won’t open the store in question.”

The Portland Development Commission had offered a steep discount to the grocer on a parcel of nearly two acres that was appraised at up to $2.9 million: a purchase price of slightly more than $500,000. The lot is at Northeast Alberta Street and Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and has been vacant for years.

So, why did Trader Joe’s decide not to build there, well for two reasons:

Critics said the development would displace residents and perpetuate income inequality in one of the most rapidly gentrifying ZIP codes in the nation.

…and the biggest reason? This:

The Portland African American Leadership Forum said the development commission had in the past made promises about preventing projects from displacing community members but hadn’t fulfilled them.

It sent the city a letter saying it would “remain opposed to any development in N/NE Portland that does not primarily benefit the Black community.” It said the grocery-store development would “increase the desirability of the neighborhood,” for “non-oppressed populations.”

Mayor Charlie Hales and the urban renewal agency’s executive director, Patrick Quinton, signed a letter in January that described what they said was the commission’s contributions “to the destructive impact of gentrification and displacement on the African American community.“

Translation:

We don’t want no honkeys in our neighborhood! If you ain’t black, we don’t want your business here!

Now, could you imagine, if a business, who was owned by a black man, wanted to open a store, say in like Troy, Michigan or Rochester Hills, Michigan; which are, for what it is worth, predominantly upper middle class/wealthy class, white neighborhoods and a group of white people starting complaining about it and starting saying that it would cause the neighborhood to go into decline? Man, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson would be all over it!

There would huge protests and it would be all over the media. However, because this is a black thing, and the company is white owned; it is no big deal, nothing to see here, move along. 🙄

This is why I continue to run this blog; regardless of the fact that I make little or nothing on this blog at all, despite the fact that I make little or nothing on this blog, since Google Adsense dropped me. Because this sort of stuff is NOT reported by the national media; least of all by MSNBC and CNN. Fox News most likely will not touch it either, because of the taboo subject.

Furthermore, I believe that the Conservative right just will not touch this one; because they are afraid of being called racists. I do not have such issues. I simply do not care what blacks really think of me; least of all black liberals. Considering what happened to my cousin and myself; I think I’ve earned the right to point this stuff out.

By the way; these are Obama’s people and don’t you ever forget it. 😡

 

It is official: Chris Christie is done

This is not really shocking, but sad to see. (Via the Corner)

The former Port Authority official who personally oversaw the lane closings on the George Washington Bridge in the scandal now swirling around Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said on Friday that the governor knew about the lane closings when they were happening, and that he had the evidence to prove it.

In a letter released by his lawyer, the official, David Wildstein, a high school friend of Mr. Christie’s who was appointed with the governor’s blessing at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls the bridge, described the order to close the lanes as “the Christie administration’s order” and said “evidence exists as well tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference” three weeks ago.

“Mr. Wildstein contests the accuracy of various statements that the governor made about him and he can prove the inaccuracy of some,” the letter added.

The letter marked the first signal that Mr. Christie may have been aware of the closings, something he repeatedly denied during the news conference.

via Christie Knew About Lane Closings, Ex-Port Authority Official Says – NYTimes.com.

I agree with the guy at the corner; Christie is done in politics. Sad thing too. 🙁 Anything that I wrote about him in the past, and there has been a few things, is now null and void.

 

On Trey Radel’s resignation

Some interesting news to wake up to today:

Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.) will resign from Congress on Monday, according to multiple sources.

Radel, 37, was caught buying cocaine last year from an undercover federal agent in Washington and spent nearly a month in a rehabilitation facility. He returned to Congress after the winter recess.

Radel sent a letter to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announcing his resignation, saying it “is my belief that professionally I cannot fully and effectively serve as a United States Representative to the place I love and call home, Southwest Florida.” He said that 2014 has already “been tremendously positive as I focus on my health, family and faith.”

via Trey Radel to resign House seat – POLITICO.com.

Of course, some bloggers are griping about it. Gateway Pundit:

Democrats may be found guilty of perjury, statutory rape or running a prostitution ring from their home – yet they never resign.

Republicans, on the other hand, are expected to resign for their sins.

HotAir’s Ed Morrissey has the answer to that:

Most Republicans wanted him gone after the arrest. Instead, Radel insisted that he would hold his seat after going through rehab. Unless I missed a memo, there hasn’t been any unusual events surrounding his return this month. Perhaps Radel found his welcome back to the caucus chillier than Polar Vortex I or II.

[….]

I’m still not sure what changed Radel’s mind. His return was about as uneventful as he might have hoped. Unless more revelations are on their way, he had a pretty smooth glide path to obscurity in 2014 already.

Furthermore, let me add to that to answer Hoft’s complaint; who is Anthony Weiner, chopped liver?!?!? He resigned his office, after the revelations about him. This is why I am not a regular reader of Gateway Pundit or Breitbart; because:

  1. Both are confirmed neoconservative blogs that are not above propaganda
  2. Both sensationalize their headlines to the point of fudging the truth

This is why you do not see them in my blogroll or in my rss feeds in the sidebar. Some people believe that there is no difference between paleoconservatism and neoconservatism; I disagree and the above is a perfect example why.

Now back to the matter of Radel; he most likely went back to Florida and was greeted with the icy reception from hell; and quickly decided that his future in politics was basically over. There is a reason for this, it is because Conservatives, especially social conservatives, do not want some coke headed buffoon representing them in Congress. Unlike the Democrats who could honestly care less about such things. It is called morality; and some Republicans and Conservatives, at least some of them anyhow; still care about such things.

So, to the bloggers on the right; no there is no conspiracy here. Nor is there any sort of double standard. It is simple the Republican base wanting a true, moral, Conservative in D.C. and not some two-bit coke head living a lie.

…and that, is all.

Others:  CNN, Real Clear Politics, Hot Air, New York Times, BizPac Review, Scared Monkeys, National Review, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Roll Call, Taylor Marsh, Business Insider,  Talking Points Memo, NBCNews, Tampa Bay Times, NPR, The Gateway Pundit, National Review

Traitorous Republican Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La introduces Bill that Threatens to Dump Christian TV Programming

If there was any indication that the Republican Party is no longer the Party of Christian morals —- this is one of them.

The Story:

Rep. Steve Scalise – Republican Traitor

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La introduced the Next Generation Television Marketplace Act which seeks to get rid of “must-carry” rules honoring free, local television.

 The National Religious Broadcasters organization is urging Congress not to pass the bill.

Dr. Jerry Johnson, president and CEO of NRB, said the bill “would be a significant detriment to Christian TV stations and the viewers who rely on them for spiritual guidance.”

The “must-carry” rules require cable companies to pick up many local television broadcast stations, including religious stations. These rules were enacted by Congress in 1992 and upheld by the Supreme Court in 1997.

via New Bill Threatens to Dump Christian TV Programming – Politics – CBN News – Christian News 24-7 – CBN.com.

This is nothing more than an outright betrayal of the Christian right by the Republican Party. As I wrote before; the Republican Party is moving away from Christian values, in favor of a secularist, libertarian type of Republican Party. This is a mistake, the Republican Party cannot and will not win elections without the social conservatives.

I believe that Christian Conservatives need to contact this man, and voice their opposition to this horrible bill. Here are the offices of this traitor:

Washington, DC Office

2338 Rayburn HOB

Washington, DC 20515

Phone: (202) 225-3015

1514 Martens Drive, Suite 10

Hammond, LA 70401

Phone: 985-340-2185

8026 Main Street, Suite 700

Houma, LA 70360

Phone: (985) 879-2300

21454 Koop Drive Suite 1E

Mandeville, LA 70471

Phone: (985) 893-9064

110 Veterans Boulevard Suite 500

Metairie, LA 70005

Phone: (504) 837-1259

We have to stop this bill in its tracks. Click here to contact your representative and click here to contact your Senator.

Must be nice

Must be nice to be able to legally extort that kind of cash out of someone like that.

The story:

Roger Ailes’ secrets command a heavy price. Last week, the New York Times reported that Fox News had reached an out-of-court settlement with Brian Lewis, the former Roger Ailes aide who was abruptly fired in late July. A Fox News executive with knowledge of the negotiations told Gawker that Lewis was paid approximately $8 million in hush money.

“The big talk at work, especially today, is the settlement number,” the executive said on Friday, explaining that the exact figure had been filtering through the channel’s rank-and-file since early November.

The settlement came after an extraordinary, months-long confrontation during which Fox News accused Ailes’ former right-hand man of vague “financial irregularities,” and Lewis’ attorney angrily responded that Ailes had a lot to lose if Lewis ever spilled the beans on their 17-year-long partnership at the right-wing network.

via Fox News Paid Fired Executive $8 Million to Keep Quiet.

Sometimes I think John Edwards was right; there are two Americas. The one America, where honest people like myself, could not get a break in the writing world, if I tried. Then, there is the America where shlubs like this guy here, who after being in an position of being trusted by a network; decides to tell what he knows and then makes out like a bandit.

I am not complaining, I could be in a much worse way than I am now. But, it sure does strike me as being asinine. Liberty and Justice for all? it’s more like bribery and extortion for those who decide to take money from the right people.

Others:  CANNONFIRE and Politico, more at Mediagazer » (Via Memeorandum)