NYMetro

by Gloria Dulan-Wilson

It should come as no surprise, given their other attempts at undermining President Barack Obama and the 99% American citizens, that the sitting Rep-ugh-blicans would find some bogus reason for finding Attorney General Eric Holder in "contempt" of Congress. But, since this is probably the most "contemptible" Congress since the overturning of the Jim Crow laws under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Holder may well wear it as a badge of honor, as opposed to one of disgrace.

We who overunderstand the situation salute Eric Holder for maintaining his cool and professionalism under what has to have been the most ludicrous and thinly veiled mockery ever perpetrated in modern political history.

Can you spell RACISM boys and girls? And it is no accident that racism starts with the letter "r" Republicans Acting Crazy In the Same Manner - could well be the true acronym for the travesty that played out in congress - wasting thousands of our tax dollars; obviously pockets lined by NRA dollars, to try to undermine Holder's authority and detract from the good job he is doing under an equally competent President.

I wanted to find out just what this whole thing is about, so I looked up the "operation fast and furious" info, and found out that it was generated quite some time prior to Holder coming on board as Attorney General, and generated out of Arizona - notably a cowboy state - hence the monicker "fast and furious" to indicate that it centered around guns. Now, being from Oklahoma myself, and having had a dad who routinely kept his own stash of guns, I have nothing against guns, per se. In the hands of intelligent people, guns really can't hurt you. However, we in America have to admit that we to have a lunatic fringe - in both the urban and rural areas - who should never come within sniffing distance of guns or gunpowder - it renders them crazy - and woe betide the person who gets in their way.

That said, Operation Fast and furious was anything but. There was nothing fast about the botched sting operation, that was obstensibly set up to track a cache of guns from a seller in Arizona to a buyer somewhere in Mexico. It really was kind of a slow, watch the paint dry kind of affair, during which our guys (much like they do on TV) pretended to go along with the gun runners so they could get to the real perpetrators with the deep pockets, who were looking to purchase the guns across the border.

According to the debate before the contempt "vote", Republicans claimed they were seeking answers for the Michigan family of Brian Terry, a Border Patrol agent killed in December 2010 in a shootout with Mexican bandits (??? they still have bandits in Mexico? Wow!). Two guns from "Fast and Furious" were found at the scene. Like I said, how convenient that those banditos, who were so interested in getting guns, just happened to have left two of them at the scene of the crime. Democrats wanted the Terry family to have all the facts, and argued that it merited a more thorough, bipartisan investigation to accomplish that. (of course, when a grieving widow is being manipulated by nefarious elements, and there is possibly some major money involved, she is going to side on those who appear to be doing her the most good - capice?)

Apparently, something went horribly wrong during the "Fast and Furious" sting. Maybe one of our guys "jumped the gun" and blew the cover of the other agents. Whatever happened, one of the border patrol officers, Terry, was killed in the process. And "ironically" two of the guns from the sting operation were found at the site. Hmmmmm "how convenient!" That was in 2010 (I think). Now the officer's widow, who obviously and understandably is totally destroyed at the death of her husband, is looking for answers and possibly who to "blame" is being manipulated by the NRA and the Rep-ugh-blicans, into accusing Attorney General Eric Holder of wrong doing( I know I just said it, but I really want the rest of you to get the bigger picture - what we have here is a SET UP folks!! Pure and simple.

The alleged five (5) email memos alluded to in the testimonies,that were supposedly sent to Holder's attention, most of which came prior to the officer's demise, were appropriately filtered by Holder's staff according to their priority. Unfortunately, given that he is the Attorney General of the United States, the "fast and furious" sting at that time was not a priority, given other more pressing issues.

Additionally, at the risk of sounding a wee bit callous, officer Terry died in the line of duty, which I am sure he was well aware was a possibility, given the nature of his job - that of border patrol, where you have to have a gun to patrol the border; and where you are expected to fire it, because you as a guard may be fired upon by someone desperately trying enter our country illegally. I.e., he knew the job was dangerous when he took it (a la` Super Chicken). My condolences to his widow and family. The loss of a loved one is horrible and painful, no matter what the circumstances. The big concern here, however, is whether she realizes that she is being emotionally manipulated by the repughblicans in a massive ploy to overthrow the President. If she doesn't know this, would somebody please go over to her house, knock on her door, and tell her and her family what's really going on? She lives in Michigan, I think. I'm sure there is some FOIA info. She should definitely be aware of wolves in sheeps clothing pretending to be working in behalf of her family, when there are bigger, more ulterior motives afoot.

Just out of curiosity, I would really like to know who really generated the guns in Arizona? (which recently had their heads handed to them on a plate by the Supreme Court via the striking down of their immigration laws. It seems to me that if the guns were generated in Arizona, and were being sent south to be sold in Mexico, we have more to worry about than just a few Mexicans sneaking across the border. It appears that Arizona needs to be scrutinized for gun running activities within the borders of the US. And, by the way, that's just what the NRA is afraid of. If it can be proved that there are illegal gun smugglers in the US, the Attorney General can ask for, and get, a tightening up of the gun laws, including licensing and regulations, throughout the country. And the NRA absolutely does NOT want that to happen. With one of the most powerful lobbies in the world, it's no wonder they are pandering to the Terry family, the red-neck (blue-dog) Democrats, the Rep-ughblicans, and every one else they can get to. No wonder they want Holder out of the way.

Moving foward, the rep-ugh-blicans and their cohorts, the NRA, pounce on this so called "fast and furious" issue, because they really have nothing else no other way of stopping the President, or of slowing Eric Holder down; and because they need to detract us -WE THE PEOPLE - from their other racist shenaninagans - like voter nullification, the re-establishment of poll taxes in Florida and other southern states; the corporations under Koch brothers trying to buy the election. You know the stuff they and the meanstream press do everyday, day in and day out; 24/7 - 365 - all racism all the time, ad infinitum.

So we now have Congressman Issa out of California, heading up a hearing committee where the fine art of evidence suppression is being practiced in a not-so-veiled attempt to slow Holder down, if not stop him completely. Even Boehner ("bone head") put in his two cents worth. He almost choked on the words, because he knew they were bogus.

And when Eric Holder, fine Black man and exemplary Attorney General that he is, was neither intimidated, nor off put by their allegations, these bozos come up with a threat of holding him in "contempt."

Now I guess they didn't check their popularity ratings in America, or they might have held off on that very stupid ploy, because by and large, most Americans have been holding this Rep-ugh-blican-lead congress in "contempt" for quite some time. It's apparent that they have nothing but contempt for Americans due to the fact that they have not implemented the "jobs now" initiative President Obama requested during his State of the Union Address; the fact that they are trying to double the interest rate on Student Loans; the fact that they actually had the audacity to try to have the Health Care Plan rendered unconstitutional - as though Americans did not deserve to have decent, affordable and comprehensive health care - the same that the Congress receives and provides for their families; the fact that they can pocket all the money they want from public/private interest groups under the guise of campaign funds, while at the same time making it illegal for locally based non-profit organizations to do the same. This is the same contemptible Congress who are trying to hold Eric Holder in contempt!!

Get real. We, the voters, see through that cellophane effort very clearly - as did the Congressional Black Caucus, who walked out of the hearings in protest of the bogus measure; and made it very plain that their political posturings did not fool them at all.

Now, however, it's time for Black Americans - Americans in general, and other individuals who are concerned about the future of this country, to act and act decisively. Not all of us recognize racism when it's couched in legaleze, and hidden behind law books. In fact, as a result we are getting increased requests for voter registration forms - I guess people realize that it will take their active participation in November to STOP THE MADNESS.

But, since not all of us get it, especially when the people who are being escoriated are "higher ups". We sometimes don't recognize what that means for the rest of us - i.e. regardless of the job title and the locale, at the end of the day, ERIC HOLDER IS A BLACK MAN, facing a white redneck "lynch" mob, that goes under the guise of the Rep-ugh-blican branch of the U.S. Congress. So in the interest of making sure we don't miss the lesson, let me spell it out for you. Hopefully, once you understand, I won't have to be riding on a bus somewhere in Brooklyn and hear some misinformed miscreant say something stupid about Attorney General Eric Holder.

President Barack Obama is the first Black President of the United States of America. He is doing a fantastic job, despite the obstacles thrown in his way and the very real attempts to undermine him. There are people who are so racist - elected officials included - that they would rather see this country go down in the dust than to see this Black man succeed. And they will literally stop at nothing to destroy the good he does.

Eric Holder is the first Black Attorney general of the United States of America. He is doing a fantastic job, despite the obstacles thrown in his way, and the very real attempts to undermine him. There are people so racist - elected officials included - that they would rather see this country go down in the dust than to see this Black man succeed. And they will literally stop at nothing to destroy the good he does.

These two men - the President and the Attorney General -  are at the top of the "food chain" and the carnivorous Rep-ughblicans want them gone. They want to go back to bad business as usual, where the top 1% of the white racists rule over the 99% - who are Black, white, Latino, Asian - i.e. the rainbow that really make up this country. They got caught with their hands in the til. They are behind the economic down turn that Obama has been turning around, despite their efforts to block him. They are very much afraid of the investigations that Holder has launched to get to who really is to blame for the millions of homes that underwent massive foreclosure; who is to blame for the drugs being flooded into the communities; who is to blame for business practices that are now coming to light that have literally left us bankrupt, while their banking cronies and other perpetrators go free.

The so called "fast and furious" hearings are a tip of the iceberg for the most egregious racist congress of modern times.

Make no mistake about it, though - it's up to us to stop this crap in its tracks. We in New York have already heard the call, and this past June 26 we made absolutely sure we did not lose one seat to the Republicans, but we now have to do the same across this nation.

That said, I am not being naive when I also state that during the so call contempt hearing there were 17 Democrats who crossed the line and voted with the repughblicans, including one from Oklahoma. They were Jason Altmire (Pa.), John Barrow (Ga.), Dan Boren (Okla.), Leonard Boswell (Iowa), Ben Chandler (Ky.), Mark Critz (Pa.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.), *Kathy Hochul (N.Y.), Ron Kind (Wis.), Larry Kissell (N.C.), Jim Matheson (Utah), Mike McIntyre (N.C.), *Bill Owens (N.Y.), Collin Peterson (Minn.), Nick Rahall (W.Va.), Mike Ross (Ark.) and Tim Walz (Minn.)
NOTE: Rarely has any pro-gun-rights Democrat representing a rural and Southern district broken with the NRA’s position on key votes, especially in an election year. However, there are two New York Dems who voted for censureship - you might want to be wary of them for future reference.

On the other hand at least two Repughblicans voted against contempt measures, they were: Steve LaTourette (Ohio) and Scott Rigell (Va.). Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) was the only "present" vote from either party.

Note, however that there were 108 Democrats who didn't cast votes in this debacle, primarily a combination of members from the Congressional Black Caucus and those who sided with them. They actually walked out of the proceedings, protesting the fact that the House GOP was even holding the vote, which was racist and pretentious in nature.

According to the Associated Press, "The contempt vote was met with outrage from Democrats. The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), joined by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and many other Democrats, staged a walkout during the vote as Democrats charged the GOP with staging a witch hunt against Holder that demeans the lower chamber."

Pelosi said during the debate that she would join the walkout, and told Democrats it's up to them whether to stay and vote against the resolution, or leave: "So now I say to those who have a doubt about how they want to proceed, that instead of doing what I said before -- which was just to come and to treat this as a bill before the Congress and express my 'no' -- listening to the unconscionable presentation, I want to join my CBC colleagues in boycotting the vote when we have the walkout after we have the debate," she said. Democrats charged Republicans with using the hearings as a veiled political ploy against the Obama administration to help them in the upcoming November elections.

"When the history of this despicable proceeding is recorded, it will be said that your actions were politically motivated to discredit and defeat a president who has worked so hard over the past three years," Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) declared on the House floor during debate on the rule.

Guess what, folks, we don't have to wait for history, we can see it now. It's not only obvious, it's interesting that they are so oblivious to the potential Black lash, that they really think they can make this madness stick.

Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi stated Republicans were targeting Holder because he is fighting their efforts to suppress voter turnout in November. Rep. John Larson, D-Connecticut, chastised Republicans for pushing ahead on the contempt vote as part of a strategy to prevent economic progress and harm Obama’s re-election chances in November. He stated, and rightly so: “This is just all part of a continuing plan, and whether it’s suppressing the vote or suppressing the economy — this obstructionist regime that we see that continues to block because they think they would rather see President Obama fail than the nation succeed.”

To illustrate how far the rep-ugh-blicans would go to discredit and undermine both the President and the Attorney General, according to the Associated Press, a video was released Tuesday by Democrats on Issa’s panel showing the chairman making past allegations of White House links to Fast and Furious, juxtaposed with Issa saying as recently as Sunday, June 24, that there was no evidence of a White House cover-up whatsoever. What happened? Was there an about-face? No. Issa, though towing the party line, even had to admit the speciousness of the so-called hearings. Must be difficult to live in a duplicitous system where your membership relies on lies and deceit.

Circling back to my original statement, the Rep-ugh-blicans are trying to lynch Attorney General Holder. Our job is to make sure that each and every person, if they voted for his contempt of Congress, and if they are running for anything this fall or in the coming years, that they are not only not re-elected, but are defeated and replaced by someone who supports us, who are the 99%, President Obama, and Eric Holder as he moves to bring justice and fairness to the country's judicial system. The congressional record has the names of all those who voted against Holder. It's easy to access via: www.congressonrecord.com - it not only tells you who said what about the "Contempt motion", but who voted, how they voted, and where they're from. So if you have relatives in any of those states where they voted to hold Holder in "contempt", you can make it your business to reach out to them and let them know who in their state voted "yes" or "no".

While under ordinary circumstances, most of us would shrug our collective shoulders, suck our teeth and say it's just how racists are; we cannot afford to do that in this case. THIS IS AN ALL OUT WAR PERPETRATED AGAINST US. We are the targets via President Obama and Attorney General Holder. They are taking the hits for us. We have to fight back. There can be no one on neutral ground - no matter where you live. Battleground or Blue State. We have to realize that all of this is to make sure that Mitt (the s--t head) Romney is selected President, and the rest of us go to poverty, marginalism, and defeat.

I think I've given you enough fuel for action. However, I am also enclosing a copy of Attorney General Holder's response to the Congress's Hearing, below:

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Statement of Attorney General Eric Holder on the U.S. House of Representatives Vote
Attorney General Eric Holder issued the following statement today:

“Today’s vote is the regrettable culmination of what became a misguided – and politically motivated – investigation during an election year.   By advancing it over the past year and a half, Congressman Issa and others have focused on politics over public safety.   Instead of trying to correct the problems that led to a series of flawed law enforcement operations, and instead of helping us find ways to better protect the brave law enforcement officers, like Agent Brian Terry, who keep us safe – they have led us to this unnecessary and unwarranted outcome.

“During this time, the men and women of the Department of Justice – and I – have remained focused on what should and must be our government’s top priority: protecting the American people.

“When concerns about Operation Fast and Furious first came to light, I took action – and ordered an independent investigation into what happened.   We learned that the flawed tactics used in this operation began in the previous administration – but I made sure that they ended under this one.   I also made sure that agents and prosecutors around the country knew that such tactics must never be used again.   I put in place new policies, new safeguards, and new leadership to make certain of this – and took extraordinary steps to facilitate robust congressional oversight.   Let me be very clear – that was my response to Operation Fast and Furious.   Any suggestion to the contrary simply ignores the facts.

“I had hoped that Congressional leaders would be good-faith partners in this work.   Some have.   Others, however, have devoted their time and attention to making reckless charges – unsupported by fact – and to advancing truly absurd conspiracy theories.   Unfortunately, these same members of Congress were nowhere to be found when the Justice Department and others invited them to help look for real solutions to the terrible problem of violence on both sides of our Southwest Border.   That’s tragic, and it’s irresponsible.  The problem of drugs and weapons trafficking across this border is a real and significant public safety threat – and it deserves the attention of every leader in Washington.

“In the face of these and other challenges, the Justice Department has continued to move forward in fulfilling its critical law enforcement responsibilities. Whether it is with regard to prosecuting financial and health care fraud, achieving a record mortgage settlement, taking aggressive action in protecting the most vulnerable among us, or challenging proposed voting changes and redistricting maps that could disenfranchise millions of voters – this Department of Justice has not been afraid to act.

“Some of these enforcement decisions were not politically popular and help to explain the action taken today by the House.   As Attorney General, I do not look to do that which is politically expedient – on behalf of the American people whom I am privileged to serve, I seek justice.

“In recent weeks, the Justice Department secured its seventh conviction in the most serious terrorist plot our nation has faced since 9/11.   And just two days ago, the Department awarded more than $100 million in grants to save or create law enforcement jobs, including more than 600 jobs for recent veterans.

“This is the kind of work that leaders in Washington should be striving together to advance.   At a time when so many Americans are in need of our help, I refuse to be deterred from it.   And I will not let election-year politics and gamesmanship stand in the way of continued progress.

“Today’s vote may make for good political theater in the minds of some, but it is – at base – both a crass effort and a grave disservice to the American people.   They expect – and deserve – far better.

“As a result of the action taken today by the House, an unnecessary court conflict will ensue.   My efforts to resolve this matter short of such a battle were rebuffed by Congressman Issa and his supporters.  It’s clear that they were not interested in bringing an end to this dispute or obtaining the information they claimed to seek.  Ultimately, their goal was the vote that – with the help of special interests – they now have engineered.

“Whatever the path that this matter will now follow, it will not distract me or the men and women of the Department of Justice from the important tasks that are our responsibility.   A great deal of work for the American people remains to be done – I’m getting back to it.   I suggest that those who orchestrated today’s vote do the same." Attorney General Eric Holder (gdw)


Of course, make no mistake about it, we New Yorkers could not be prouder or more supportive of Brother Eric Holder, and realize that these are the kinds of challenges that make us stronger in the long run. We stand solidly with Eric Holder and President Obama, and will continue to take care of the business of making sure they have four more years.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
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