Nas Calls Out O'Reilly's Racism

You don't have to be in politics to know that Bill O'Reilly is a racist bastard. It isn't so much one particular moment on the Falafel Factor, but a continuous assault on those that look different from Bill O. Case in point, O'Reilly slammed the rapper Nas for performing at a benefit concert to memorialize the victims at Virginia Tech. Nas was one of many performers, yet he was the only rap artist.

Why pick him out of a line up that includes Dave Matthews, Phil Vassar and John Mayer? Probably because rap scares Bill in his secluded Long Island home that is far from the ghettos that Nas talks about. We wouldn't want to shatter O'Reilly's image of his 1950's Americana delusions. Well Nas had something to say to the loofah master, something called 'the truth.'

From Yahoo News:

In an interview with MTV, he said: "Everybody has a marketing plan; his marketing plan is racism.

"It just shows you what bloodsuckers do: they abuse something like the Virginia Tech [tragedy] for show ratings. You can't talk to a person like that."

The rapper defended his lyrics as a reflection of the reality of America's streets and ghettos.

He added: "I had a best friend killed, plenty other friends killed. I been through it. I seen it.

"I think that's what makes it important that I come through and show love to those people [at Virginia Tech]."

Nas hits it right on the head. O'Reilly appeals to an older conservative crowd where many of his fans want to hear that tired old theme that America was better in the 1950s. Before black people had power, when whites could do whatever they please to whomever, before the youth began to fight for the civil rights of everyone in this country.

The only thing is that a lot has not changed. There are still many institutional problems in America. The ghettos are still poor, still dominated by minorities and still ridden with crime. Nas is one of many rap and hip-hop artists that tell it like it is (not the bling-bling artists of course) and speak up for those that are not heard from. Hearing about the realities of those on the other end of the socio-economic scale is frightening to Bill and his followers. They do not want their bubbles burst......to that I say, too bad you &*%^ #*^&*%.

VA Tech To Media: Get Out Of Here!

Three cheers for the Student Government at Virginia Tech. They demanded that the news media leave the campus by this morning. In order to get back to school and try to put the tragedy behind them, they told the reporters to get out and give students the respect they deserve. Although the story is extremely newsworthy, the time has come for the cameras to disappear and for the media to move on as well. The tragedy last week was horrific to say the least but to dwell on it and obsess over every little thing that Seung-Hui Cho did is getting ridiculous.

Of course the authorities in Virginia need to finish their investigations. The legislators need to fix gun laws that allowed Cho to commit his crimes. The students need to grieve. The parents need to mourn. The traditional media needs to move on. There is too much news out there that goes unreported. It is typically the big stuff that concerns Congress, the President and of course the war in Iraq. Hundreds of people were killed in the Middle East last week and Bush's latest failed policy needs to be examined by people outside the blogosphere.

Heroics At Virginia Tech, Will The Wingnuts Apologize?

Quite a few brave souls of the 101st Fighting Keyboardist brigade lashed out at the victims at Virginia Tech for not being manly enough to fight back against Cho Seung-Hui. As he came into the class and killed dozens of students before ending his own life, the arrogant wingnuts claimed that they would have done more to try to save themselves and their fellow classmates. Well it turns out that there were victims who tried to stop Seung-Hui from his murderous rampage. One of those was a holocaust survivor, who ended up dying for his brave actions.

From The Roanoke Times:

In the flurry of students dialing 911 on cell phones, taking cover on the floor and twisting open second story windows to escape, Merrey, 22, glanced over her shoulder before jumping.

“I just remember looking back and seeing him at the door,” the Virginia Tech senior recalled of her professor. “I don’t think I would be here if it wasn’t for him.”

By Tuesday morning, newspapers from Washington, D.C., to Jerusalem shared the story of how Librescu — a 76 year-old Holocaust survivor — blocked his classroom doorway from a gunman while his students leapt to freedom.

More than being 'manly,' this incredible professor with an equally amazing past was a hero to many that survived this week's tragic incident in Virginia. There were also other students that tried jamming the door, yet in the right-wingers blaze of furious typing, they callously disregarded the emotional damage wrought by the event and displayed fake machismo on their computer screens.

So now that the facts are out, will John Derbyshire, Nathaniel Blake and Mark Steyn be courageous enough to apologize to the victims and their families for the egregious mistakes they made? I'm willing to guess that is a no.

Guns Ablazin At The White House Today

With Virginia Tech's tragedy in the news coupled with the new push by the right for easing restrictions on guns, there's an interesting twist that developed inside the White House gate today. A Secret Service officer's gun went off accidentally on the grounds and injured two fellow members. Thankfully this firearm incident was non-life threatening to both of them, one being hit in the leg and the other receiving shrapnel to the face.

I'm not advocating that the guardians of the President lay down their weapons and fight potential assassins with sticks and stones. Yet the incident shows that guns are indeed dangerous weapons, even if not meant to intentionally harm someone. Many Republicans are in favor of lighter gun laws and they think that by somehow arming everyone that wants to shoot, the horrible event down at Virginia Tech could have been avoided.

These gun nuts really are clueless when it comes to firearms. People such as those in the military, the police force and other weapons experts are well trained to deal with intense situations such as a shoot out. Regular citizens that like to go shooting down at the range on nights and weekends have no experience and no idea what to expect in such an adrenaline-packed situation. Wearing ear muffs and controlling a paper target on a string is one thing, real life is another. Memo to gun nuts, stop trying to live up to Rambo, this isn't a movie.

Politicizing Yesterday's Tragedy At Virginia Tech

I was completely shocked to hear the news about yesterday's tragic episode on the campus of Virginia Tech. That tremendous amount of life, so many of them just starting out their lives at college, is beyond words. My heart goes out their families and friends, not to mention the students that will live with a slight edge of terror at was once their safe school. Politics has no reason to pop it's ugly head up here but somehow a few Republican pundits and bloggers managed to do just that.

From Media Matters:

In the wake of a deadly shooting rampage that killed over 30 people on the campus of Virginia Tech University, host John Gibson asked on the April 16 edition of Fox News' The Big Story: "So, theoretically, in this lecture hall where all 31 were killed, there could have been someone with a carry permit carrying their gun to shoot the shooter?" Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano replied: "No," adding, "Virginia lets you carry a gun at a gas station or a bank or a stadium, but not on a college campus, where you may protect kids."

Napolitano and Gibson's comments echo those of right-wing pundit Michelle Malkin, who, citing an op-ed written by a Virginia Tech spokesperson, noted on her weblog that the university prohibits handguns. She then quoted a weblog post from "Andrew's Dad," who wrote: "Just imagine if students were armed. We no longer need to imag[in]e what will happen when they are not armed." Malkin also quoted an email from "[r]eader Kevin" who claimed: "Imagine if sensible CCW [Concealed Carry Weapon] laws allowed people to defend themselves, this tragedy could have been avoided."

To bring up handgun laws and attack those who fight to keep guns out of the hands of criminals in this matter is atrocious. They don't seem to get the fact that Virginia's lenient laws helped aid this mass murderer. Of course it is true that people kill people and the guns are merely the tool, but making it easier for nut jobs like yesterday's murderer to access them and use them is just plain crazy. Besides that, it is just insane to think that a college student would carry a concealed weapon to class even if they were allowed to. College is for learning (and partying too), not for protecting yourself against mass murderers.

No matter how you feel about guns (though this story might stir your emotions on it) it is undeniably wrong to bring politics into this terrible tale that was shown on the news yesterday.