Green jobs Czar: Van Jones

I understand your frustration so very much. I am so mad at these Czars and that there is nothing in the form of outrage over this. Did you read about the Nazi-Science Czar? He is so close to the type of mentality of the Nazi Scientist that it is terrifying! Nobody has read it and commented , yet it is the stuff of SCiFi novels!

Hey Bazooka, I was wondering. My ancestors came here as indentured servants from Ireland. They in all sense of the word were slaves. No one fought a war to free them. No one marched up and down the southern states to protest their treatment. So does this mean I'm owed something since to this very day no one has stepped up and apologized for the treatment my ancestors received from the rich, elite? Just curious when I could expect my check. I'm not a racist but the next time I hear someone say we owe them money for their great, great whatever being a slave, I say buy them a plane ticket back to the homeland and see if life would have been any better for them there.

Ohh wait..I guess the Irish do have their own holdiay, and how is it portrayed..by going out and getting drunk. Isn't THAT a stereotype?? Isn't that racist or bigoted?

But, alas, as I've been told whiskey is God's way of keeping the Irish from taking over the world.

The bi-lingual thing as beena gripe of mine for years. During my stint as a police officer we advertised for bi-ligual officers and were offering them 50 cents more an hour because they were rasied in a home where a foreign language was spoken. I asked if I became certified in sign language if I would qualify for the same pay raise. I had been learning to sign to communicate with my daughter. I was told NO. They didn't see sign language as being bi-lingual. Apparently if you speak spanish, french, swahili, I have to learn these laguages or call in an interpreter to speak for me so they don't have to learn ENGLISH. But an American who has a speech impediment as my daughter does or is DEAF, who CAN'T communicate any other way doesn't qualify to have the same respect as a foreigner. Someone explain THAT to me.

As far as controlling immigration, I guess Beck has it rigth in his new book. A country that can put men on the moon can't figure out how to build a fence along it's southern border. And as comedian Carlos Mencia has said, "All you need to do is go down to the local Home Depot and pick up a crew that would be willing to build it for you." Is that Irony?

But it has brought my own point of view into focus. I agree with him that we need to vote for the right PERSON NOT PARTY to represent us. A good case on point is our representative Walt Minnick. He has taken a stance for IDAHO more often that not since he got there in January. God forbid that a democrat from a republican state might have some blue dog tendancies.

Blacks represent 9% of the US population in the last 2000 census. Latino's both legal and non-legal represent 18%. the country is being hijacked by 9% of the people to the detriment of the balance. It is clear that the country has spent trillions since 1863 to help the black, and a small percentage have been helped, but the majority are still under educated, unemployed and still represent a disproportionate number of the criminals. I am for fairness, but not a the expense of everyone else. When will the 70% of the rest of the people stand up for their rights, their American dream. The work the rest do does not count i guess. We need to unite and have our voices heard.

Hello Igros. Thanks for reading and commenting. I grew up in the great (cough-cough) state of Louisiana. One thing I learned was that the minority rules. The minority gets every break in the book and the so-called majority have to fight tooth-n-nail to get anything. The main reason that most of our freedoms have been slowly taken away is because the majority are so busy trying to keep their heads above water that they don't see it happening until it's too late. Suddenly, the majority see laws and politically correct crap blocking them and it's too late to stop it. Every whim of the 5% is catered to in the spirit of fairness while the rest of us stand shell-shocked in disbelief. You are absolutely right! It is our time to stand up and be counted. It is our time to make our voices heard with a roar! (time 7:00am)

Kim, do you have any verifiable stories of the injustices you suffered as a member of a minority in Louisiana? The right to vote? The right to own a business? Perhaps you were beaten for improperly or disrespectfully presenting yourself when addressing those citizens who belonged to the minority ruling class? It appears you lost your battle for a decent education.

I'm sure those on this forum are aware of the Federal Hiring Laws that prohibit hiring discrimination. I'm not aware of any Federal requirements that may infringe on an employer's prerogative to hire bilingual employees. Just as a market determines the products and services that thrive in it, so goes the employee base.

Mr. Thompson, it seems that you have taken offense to my comment about minority rules. First off, I lived most of my childhood in La. My experiences are my experiences and how I feel about that life are my own. I never said the word "suffer". Though I have some stories that would amuse you. (OH my goodness, I can hear the southern accent coming out the moment I started writing, ya'll)

2ndly: You actually want to quote law to me as if to say that what I experienced was not valid? Because there is a discrimination law, no employer does it? Laws, Hah! Come on! Federal laws abound, yet many were enacted due to the wishes of a few (thus a minority). And businesses discrimanate constantly! For goodness sake, stores don't have "Merry Christmas" anymore due to a small amount of people who felt offended! That's what I'm talking about.

And thirdish: The word minority doesn't mean a particular race but in the context that I wrote it; minority in numbers. Racial minorities don't own the word! So smooth your feathers, give yourself a little shake and breath out slowly! Ok? Look at the wonderful tea parties and town meetings that are filled with a quilting of races that are all of one mind---give us our country back! There is no color that defines the grassroots majority that are coming together to bond in ways that I have never seen. God Bless America!

Oh, and finally...everyone has expereinces in their life that affect them in one way that another may not understand or experience in the same manner. Therefore, any memories that I have living in the south will always be unigue as your memories would be. I'm sure that you precieved a negative experience that is strongly valid for you and may not be as strongly felt by another.

Thank you for your comments. Join in more often.

I'm just following along with the thread of the conversation here; some of my comments refer to the inital post, some refer to comments posted by other users.

In the initial post you made Kim, you stated, " It also makes me mad because there is reverse racisim in play. He focuses on the black population and what we can do for them. There is no thought to the white minorities. Blacks in many cities are no longer the minority. Jones himself said that blacks were 60% of the population in San Francisco. And another thing that makes me angry is that these Black organizations can promote and focus on their race and receive accolades but if a group of White Activist get together to promote their race, it's called White Supremist. I am not a supporter of any organization that focuses on one race, excluding everyone else. Why are Blacks given this leeway to be exclusive and anyone else would be considered racist if they do the same? Furthermore, Jones was proudly wearing a Black Panther button and this organization has a very dark past."

It appears that you are addressing race, not numbers.

Racists may be under the impression that they are superior to other races merely by their skin color, which is completely dissimilar to a group of individuals of a particular race stepping forward to encourage belief in themselves and to maximize their potential by working within a legal framework based upon our Constitution. Blacks (and women) just had to fight a while longer before the United States extended equal Constitutional protections to them, and it is taking some time for them to gain equal footing.

What are your thoughts on organizations devoted to the resolution of issues that do not affect men?

I've re-read my comments regarding your post and I don't see where I quoted law. I mentioned Federal Hiring Laws, but didn't quote any. Let me pare it down for you; to my knowledge, Federal Law makes no provision that requires an employer to hire bilingual employees. It's up to a business owner to determine whether it will be in the best interest of his business to determine whether his business, his employees and his customers will best be served by employees with skill in more than one language. Now, in a state that benefits from the labor of so many non-English speaking migrant workers, it makes sense that the state would hire bi-lingual employees for the positions that may require contact with those migrant workers.

bazookaman, what is the difference between a reparation that may be paid to a descendant of a former slave that fought for the Union during the Civil War and the VA benefits you've revealed that you receive? Certainly neither the former slave turned soldier nor you hoped to be placed in the unenviable and perilous positions that each of you found yourselves in before or after the wars you served in.

Sooo when my German immigrant ancestors moved here there should have been a push for the local stores and government offices to learn German? Then why aren't more people in this area fluent in German, or Basque? You know why..because MY ancestors worked hard to become AMERICANS..not German Americans. They learned the language so they could assimilate seamlessly into this great country. MY ancestors required their children to speak english and to think of theselves as AMERICANS. Not Mexican Americans or African Americans. MY ancestors may have been a minority because of language and culture but they worked hard, opened businesses, built churches, tore sagebrush out and planted crops in it's place. They never asked for a handout from the government. Not one of them asked the government to GIVE them something for NOTHING. I also have Irish ancestors. They came over as indentured servants...SLAVES. Does the government OWE me something for that?

I agree that soldiers deserve alot more respect than they are getting from this administration. To be asked to look at their life and ask themselves if they are a burden on their family is atrocious. But to be given money JUST because you might have descended from slaves is crap. Your ancestors may have had it rough but it gave you a chance to becaome ANYTHING in this country you want to be....including PRESIDENT. Quit your whining and make something of yourself...don't expect someone else to make something for you!!!

I know professionals who provide services to non-English speaking clients everyday. In many of their interactions with these clients, their clients' English speaking children provide translation. There are people in this area fluent in Spanish, who work hard, open businesses, build churches and now tend the crops planted on the land that other generations of immigrants prepped for planting.

I do not believe that descendants of those previous generations of immigrants, who obviously could not have contributed to their ancestors efforts, are entitled to any exclusive claim to the hard work of their ancestors. The work of your ancestors was their own, and your work is yours.

There is a difference between an indentured servant and a slave. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indenture and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave. So, no, it appears the government doesn't owe you anything.

To say that slaves "had it rough" is a profoundly underdeveloped statement. If you can summon the courage, read http://cclce.org/files/ResourceCD/documents/USA/19th_century/1845_The_Autobiogra...

And following the Emancipation Proclamation, the governments that freed slaves and their descendants had no vote in electing, subjected those people to systemic discrimination. One hundred years following the Emancipation Proclamation, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

When we speak in terms of years, 1865 is a long time ago, no one born then is around. However when we speak in terms of generations, 1865 is roughly only four generations ago. There are people alive who have heard stories of how their ancestors worked hard to clear and cultivate the land and grow crops for no gain and no hope of freedom. Nearly one hundred years later in 1963, they saw a church they built in Birmingham, Alabama, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, blow up with their children inside. I'm sure Condoleeza Rice viewed this event as a strongly valid negative experience. See http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...

I suppose Japan hasn't paid any reparations to you for their attack, but one country attacking another, as Japan attacked the United States, is entirely different than the enslavement of people in a nation where the self evident truth is "all men are created equal". Any reparation that Japan was to make followed the ceremony on the Missouri, and was administered by MacArthur.

As a side note, MacArthur's son, Arthur, was treated by the same orthodontist my son was.

I have a relative that was a combat photographer. He was shot at and hit, mortared, rocketed, lived like an animal, and never killed anybody that wasn't trying to kill him first. He was awarded the Bronze Star for specific action he took in battle. He is proud of his service, and bears no malice toward those he served. He confronts the difficulties he now faces as a veteran in the same manner he did when he was a soldier, and views any disabilities he now suffers from as an extension of the difficulties he faced on the battlefield, except now he works with those at the VA to lessen the effects of his war related disabilities.

It appears that your post is directed at me, and I'm surprised at some of the assumptions you make in your post. I'm also a veteran, disabled, Lifetime Member of the DAV. I shall not honor you with any further details of my service. Although I will tell you that after taking into consideration the terrible disabilities facing recently disabled veterans, I have made the decision not to burden the VA with providing any further treatment for me. They'll have more room to care for those who are now making the sacrifices that we once made. I'm aware that the price of freedom is visible in VA Hospitals and have seen the sign you mentioned.

Unless we should meet in Boise some day, this is the last time I will address you.