Anderson@Large

American Tea Party

Andy Warhol famously said, “In the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.”

Today, a TV rant can become a YouTube sensation and give birth to a “new revolution.”

A new Rasmussen poll found that 54 percent of Americans “say no bailouts period.”

Republicans are tapping into that anger and brewing up trouble. They're throwing a nationwide tea party today:

America is on the brink of another revolution. In a new American Tea Party, citizens across the USA are beginning to protest giant government programs that reach deep into their pockets. These programs create huge economic burdens on American families and threaten their livelihood now and into the future.

While I understand that some distressed homeowners deserve to be helped, 51 percent of Americans say that help is “unfair.”

I’m on my way to DC, where there's a Washington Tea Party.  I may stop by because I think it's unfair and unAmerican to use my hard-earned money to bail out bunglers whose greed got us into this mess.

For more info, go here.

NAACP Protests NY Post’s Monkey Business

Media baron Rupert Murdoch is in a fight that he had hoped to avoid. In a statement, Murdoch apologized:

We ran a cartoon that offended many people. Today I want to personally apologize to any reader who felt offended, and even insulted. Over the past couple of days, I have spoken to a number of people and I now better understand the hurt this cartoon has caused. At the same time, I have had conversations with Post editors about the situation and I can assure you - without a doubt - that the only intent of that cartoon was to mock a badly written piece of legislation. It was not meant to be racist, but unfortunately, it was interpreted by many as such.

NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous interpreted the cartoon as an “invitation to assassination”:

It is hard not to interpret the cartoon, which was juxtaposed to a photo of President Obama, as an encouraging sign to those who would assassinate our 44th president because of the color of his skin. The depiction of two police officers shooting down the primate is deeply troubling to communities who struggle daily with suspicious police killings.

The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) has also condemned the cartoon calling it “despicable, insensitive and easily interpreted as racist.” Good police officers all around the country should be dismayed by this slur on their character. African Americans have historically been compared to primates as a way to dehumanize the entire group. We were called monkeys while we were being brutally lynched and denied equal civil and human rights. In fact, a 2008 study published by the American Psychological Association found that an association between primates and African Americans still exists among many white Americans.

In a conference call with reporters, Jealous said:

We have never been here before. We have never had a major newspaper seem to encourage the assassination of the first black president of the United States… Inasmuch as monkeys don’t write legislation, it can only be assumed that it was meant to depict a human.

Jealous added:

It's a reminder that when we get through with Fox and the New York Post, we need to focus on the newsrooms in the country, just like we focused on the movie studios.

Today, the NAACP will hold protests outside Fox affiliates in more than 50 cities, including New York City, Baltimore and Boston.  Protesters want the general manager to denounce the cartoon and support their demand for increased diversity in the newsroom.

Outraged by the cartoon but can’t make it to a local protest? You can send a message to Murdoch and tell him to make good on his promise “to be more attuned to the sensitivities of our community.”

Obama to Americans: This Too Shall Pass

In his address to a joint session of Congress, President Barack Obama sought to reassure an anxious nation:

But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.

Obama addressed Americans’ concern about the state of the economy:

It’s an agenda that begins with jobs.

But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this:

We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.

I cheered when Obama talked about ending no-bid contracts and “tax breaks for corporations that ship our jobs overseas.” It always struck me as stupid and short-sighted to outsource jobs. Hell, we can’t all work at Wal-Mart or McDonald’s.

While Obama outlined an ambitious agenda, his presidency will be judged by the effectiveness of his economic recovery plan in creating jobs:

To ensure the help goes where the need is, it can’t be business as usual I know there are some in this chamber and watching at home who are skeptical of whether this plan will work. I understand that skepticism. Here in Washington, we’ve all seen how quickly good intentions can turn into broken promises and wasteful spending. And with a plan of this scale comes enormous responsibility to get it right.

Let's hope Obama's plan works for all Americans. After all, it’s still the economy, stupid.

Obama tapped Vice President Joe Biden to keep track of the money. Biden told ABC's “Good Morning America”:

We gotta make sure this is done by the numbers. We gotta make sure we know where the money is going... This cannot be squandered.  We have an opportunity to get the nation back to work, back on its feet... We have to do it right.

If states don't do it right, Biden said:

We'll just use the television, the radio and the media to embarrass them for their not doing what they're supposed to do.

And Biden will have lots of help.

Moving On Up

Tonight, President Barack Obama will give his first address to a joint session of Congress. Given the givens, it’s likely to be more about the economy and the growing deficit.

Politico has some talking points:

-- Tonight, the President will lay out his comprehensive approach to addressing both the economic and fiscal crises facing the nation. He will explain to the American people that these challenges are interrelated, and that we cannot put our nation on a sustainable path without tackling them all. He will stress the need to end this era of profound irresponsibility that has brought us to where we are today.

-- To grow the economy for the long-term and make the investments that will enable America to lead for generations to come, we must make the transformative investments that all Americans know are necessary. The American people know that we are dangerously reliant on foreign oil; that our health care system needs to cut costs for families and businesses; and that our education system needs to be reformed so that all of our students can compete in the 21st century.

-- Tonight the President will call on Congress and the American people to confront these challenges, take the steps required to bring fiscal stability and grow our economy over the long term.

It’s Mardi Gras so the good times will roll in New Orleans as Obama speaks before Congress.

But it's not doom and gloom for everyone. In the midst of the economic downturn, a lot of folks are rocking and rolling, including the six black multimillionaires and one billionaire featured in a CNBC special, “Newbos: The Rise of the Black Overclass.”

The show is hosted by my colleague Lee Hawkins, who acknowledges that “over-wealth” is a “sensitive topic” in these difficult economic times.

The show premieres on CNBC on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 9 p.m. ET.

To share your thoughts about the black overclass, go here.

Against All Odds

On Feb. 12, the NAACP celebrated its 100th anniversary.

I attended the NAACP’s 100th annual meeting, which was held in New York City on Saturday. The hotel ballroom was SRO with an intergenerational mix of NAACP members from the Big Apple to the City by the Bay.

NAACP Chairman Julian Bond reminded us the struggle continues:

One man climbing to the mountaintop does not mean the struggle for black people is over. It’s the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, not the national association for the advancement of one person.

Bond said the economic stimulus package is “the first down payment in making America work again. The NAACP will monitor how the recovery plan is implemented, noting:

No minority business participated in the recovery plan for Wall Street. This must not stand.

The highlight of the meeting was the unveiling of the civil rights pioneers stamps. The six 42-cent stamps honor:

• Ella Baker;
• Daisy Gatson Bates;
• J.R. Clifford;
• Medgar Evers;
• Fannie Lou Hamer;
• Charles Hamilton Houston;
• Ruby Hurley;
• Mary White Ovington;
• Joel Elias Spingarn;
• Mary Church Terrell;
• Oswald Garrison Villard; and
• Walter White.

Harvard Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr., a member of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, said the block of stamps was two years in the making.

Gates has devoted his life to telling African Americans’ story. The stamps are a “visible, tactile” way to “remember those who eschewed the profit motive.”

Gates observed these 12 freedom fighters were the epitome of a race person, that is, “a person dedicated to the proposition that none of us are free until all of us are free… They fought for rights and freedoms in an America that they knew they would never see.”

He hopes the stamps will help black folks “recapture some of the ground that our people have lost through instant gratification”:

Take our people back to the future but also black to the future.

NAACP Vice Chairman Roslyn Brock captured the spirit of the occasion:

Against all odds we found a way to make it. And the NAACP is 100. We are 100.

GOP's Recovery Strategy

Folks, there’s stupid and then there’s GOP stupid. Four Two Republican governors are threatening to turn down some federal money under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, head of the Republican Governors Association, is leading the charge.

Never mind. Sanford looked at his state’s 9.5 percent unemployment rate, insolvent unemployment fund and decided to take the money -- and perhaps run for president.

Sanford told CBS’ “The Early Show”:

Again, being against it doesn't preclude taking the money.

Brit Hume told Fox News Bret Bair:

The classic dilemma that politicians face: the choice between their policy preferences and their political needs… But they also represent people and interests which will undoubtedly benefit from the money or at least some of it.

In the end, it is likely these governors will hold their noses and take the money or most of it.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn observed that a lot of those people are black folks:

It’s kind of interesting, because there’s a colored thread that ran through that. The governor of Louisiana expressed opposition. Louisiana has the highest African-American population in the country. The governor of Mississippi expressed opposition. The governor of Texas and the governor of South Carolina – these four governors represent states that are in the proverbial Black Belt. I was particularly insulted by that.

Meanwhile, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele wants to put a black face on policies that have been rejected by voters in two consecutive national elections. He hopes to persuade younger voters, blacks and Hispanics to hold their noses and vote for Republican candidates.

Steele told the Washington Times:

We need messengers to really capture that region -- young, Hispanic, black, a cross section ... We want to convey that the modern-day GOP looks like the conservative party that stands on principles. But we want to apply them to urban-suburban hip-hop settings.

Steele continued:

It will be avant-garde, technically. It will come to table with things that will surprise everyone -- off the hook.

Fo shizzle, it will be off the hook and off the wall.

State of the Black Union

Tavis Smiley’s 10th annual State of the Black Union will be held next weekend in Los Angeles. In these difficult economic times, the attendees can save money by reading a new report from the Center for American Progress.

The report, “Minorities and the Labor Market in the Recession by the Numbers,” concludes:

Even before the recession struck, minorities faced a more precarious economic situation than whites, especially in the labor market. Now, 13 months into the downturn, it is clear that they have been hit hard.

The numbers include:

• 12.6 percent: The unemployment rate for African Americans in January 2009, an increase of 3.7 percentage points since December 2007 and the highest level since 1994.
• 43.8 percent: The increase in the number of unemployed African Americans from December 2007 to January 2009. In January 2009, 2.2 million African Americans were unemployed.
• 55.4 percent: The share of the African-American population that had a job in January 2009, 2.4 percentage points lower than in December 2007 and the lowest level since 1994.
• $593: The usual median weekly earnings of African American workers in the fourth quarter of 2008 (in 2008 dollars)—$148.57 less than white workers’ usual median weekly earnings during the same period.

The state of the black union: black folks got it bad and that ain’t good.

BTW, Wells Fargo is the “title sponsor” of  Tavis’ talkfest. I may tune in to see whether he acknowledges their role in creating the home foreclosure crisis. After all, Tavis is big on holding folks accountable.

Will Tavis ask Wells Fargo to give an accounting of what it did with the $25 billion in TARP funds it received? American taxpayers and curious minds at the Congressional Oversight Committee and the Government Accountability Office want to know.

Tavis could also ask the $700 billion question: Should the Federal government nationalize troubled banks like Wells Fargo.

Just asking.