Muhammad Rasheed's Blog, page 208

The True Meaning of "Playing the Race Card"

Muhammad Rasheed - I don’t respect the charge of “playing the race card.” It’s childish. Just a tantrum basically, and on a similar level of foolishness as that phony “All Lives Matter” tripe.

In the Old South, whenever local Whites would come across a visiting Black person who did not act like the local Blacks who had been thoroughly trained in how Whites preferred (demanded) to be acknowledged by them, they would confront him:

“Where you from, boy? We do things different around here. We don’t need no uppity niggras stirring up trouble among our good niggras. Git on now. GIT! Or we’ll give YOU some trouble. Are you eyeballing me, boy?”

This is exactly what that “playing the race card” comment means.

It is no secret that the European, in a handful of centuries, has dominated the world using methods involving colonialism, mass chattel enslavement, and exploitation of the world’s non-white population. These methods allowed him to generate enormous wealth on an unheard of scale which he used to monopolize the global economy by enslaving and/or destroying the competing nations. Originally this was done under the European-interpreted Christian banner, but very quickly it turned into something else. Europe versus the world was no less than "white versus non-white" to him, and obviously he found the concept attractive.

Despite their fighting among themselves, the European nations were still able to come together under a ‘white supremacist’ philosophy which is the cornerstone of their global domination, conspicuously absent from all of their own philosophy literature. Among themselves they determined the nature and status of the world’s non-whites, and among themselves they decided what the rules were going to be in the relationship they forced upon them.

These rules are the racism-based social contract between the privileged White conqueror race and the subjugated, exploited non-white peoples, and involve the Whites being allowed to pretend “things are natural and just the way they are,” with the European ethnic groups living a fantasy that they are inherently superior, that they are the only real humans, and that the non-whites should just live the lives and social order the conqueror has given him without complaint or resistance of any kind. He wants to pretend there is no racism, and that he is the good guy of the human story, and everything that happened is best that it happened because he benefited. If the non-white complains about his behavior – violating the racial contract that the White conqueror dreamed up and imposed – then it forces Whites to look at the dirty part of history he’s trying not to look at, and in fact, is actively seeking to retcon out of recorded history (“Genocide? That word is too strong, don’t you think?” “Slavery wasn’t that bad. Africans had slaves, too, right? So what’s the problem?”).

He calls foul when you shine a spotlight on the racism foundation, beams, poles and studs that are propping up his whole system, because it violates the racial contract. "Hey! You’re not playing along!" Every time he says “Oh Ho! This one likes to play the race card!” it means “I thought we had an understanding?! Stop looking behind the curtain and play the game as I set it out. Your opinions about what is fair or not are not welcome. This is MY world, boy, not yours; you had your day!”

In playing along with the terms of the non-white side of the racial contract, all he wants for you to do is use your strengths for his benefit. He enslaved and conquered the world to keep you from competing with him for world power, so he certainly isn’t interested in you using your strengths to help yourself. No. Use your strengths and talents to help him figure out how to dominate the non-white peoples more effectively. Any complaining about the conqueror race’s violent treatment of you, about the unfairness of his exploitative system so he alone can reap the benefits of the privileged class, or especially any talk of you using your own talents and skills to pull yourself out from under his system, is “playing the race card” and in invoking this charge, he is telling you to stop it and know your place... the place he designated for you when he conquered you.

See Also: "All Lives Matter" - The Truth Behind the Contemptuous Retort

Islam’s Destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria

What happened to the Royal Library of Alexandria? We can be certain it was there once, founded by Ptolomy II Soter, and we can be equally certain it is not there now. It formed part of the Museum which was located in the Bruchion or palace quarter of the city of Alexandria. This great ancient city, occupying a spit of land on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, had been founded by Alexander the Great in his flying visit to Egypt and became the capital of the last dynasty of Pharaohs descended from Alexander's general Ptolemy. The Great or more properly Royal Library formed a part of the Museum but whether or not it was a separate building is unclear.

Stories about its demise have been circulating for centuries and date back to at least the first century AD. These stories continue to be told and embellished today by those who wish to make a moral attack against the alleged vandals. We find that three parties are blamed for the destruction and they correspond to the three occupying powers that ruled Alexandria after it had been lost by the Greeks. Let me first tell those stories as we hear them today - without references, largely inaccurate and used as polemic.

The suspects respectively are a Roman, a Christian and a Moslem - Julius Caesar, Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria and Caliph Omar of Damascus. It is clear that the Royal Library could not have been burnt down or otherwise destroyed by all three of these characters and so we find we have too many sources for the event of the destruction rather than a paucity. As scholars of the Gospels will vouch, this too can be an embarrassment. How we decide to reconcile the stories will depend almost entirely on how we criticise the sources and which of them we choose to consider most reliable.

One of the most famous myths about the Great Library is that of it being burnt down on the instructions of the Caliph Omar after Alexandria had been captured by the Arabs. The story was best known in Europe due to the translation of George Bar Hebraeus’s Chronology but was successfully debunked by Edward Gibbon.First the legendary account:

"The Moslems invaded Egypt during the seventh century as their fanaticism carried them on conquests that would take form an empire stretching from Spain to India. There was not much of a struggle in Egypt and the locals found the rule of the Caliph to be more tolerant than that of the Byzantines before them. However, when a Christian called John informed the local Arab general that there existed in Alexandria a great Library preserving all the knowledge in the world he was perturbed. Eventually he sent word to Mecca where Caliph Omar ordered that all the books in the library should be destroyed because, as he said "they will either contradict the Koran, in which case they are heresy, or they will agree with it, so they are superfluous." Therefore, the books and scrolls were taken out of the library and distributed as fuel to the many bathhouses of the city. So enormous was the volume of literature that it took six months for it all to be burnt to ashes heating the saunas of the conquerors."

The leader of the Moslem forces that took Egypt in 640AD was called 'Amr and it was he who was supposed to have asked Omar what to do about the fabled library that he found himself in control of.

There are only a few sources that we need to examine. They are very late. The first of the two late sources dates from the 12th century and is written by Abd al Latif (died 1231) who, in his Account of Egypt while describing Alexandria, mentions of the ruins of the Serapeum. The problems with this as historical evidence are enormous and insurmountable. He admits that the source of his information was rumour and the fantasy about Aristotle does not bode well for the veracity of the rest of the piece.

In the thirteenth century the great Jacobite Christian Bishop Gregory Bar Hebraeus (died 1286), called Abal Faraj in Arabic, fleshes the story out and includes the famous epigram about the Koran. Again there is no clue as to where he found the story but it seems to have been one doing the rounds among Christians living under the dominion of the Moslems. Gregory is happy to record plenty of far-fetched tales about omens and monstrosities so we must treat this story with the greatest suspicion. As it is not even included in the original version of his history but only in the Arabic version that he translated and abridged himself very late in life, he may not have known the story when he first put pen to parchment. In The Vanished Library, Canfora mentions a Syriac manuscript published in Paris at the end of the nineteenth century by François Nau. It was written by a Christian monk in the ninth century and details the conversation between John and Caliph Omar. After help from email correspondents, I have finally been able to find this elusive document in its French translation and ascertained that it makes no mention of any library and appears to be an example of a theological dialogue between two representative individuals. In other words it is not historical and has no pretensions to be.

The verdict on Omar

The errors in the sources are obvious and the story itself is almost wholly incredible. In the first place, Gregory Bar Hebraeus represents the Christian in his story as being one John of Byzantium and that John was certainly dead by the time of the Moslem invasion of Egypt. Also, the prospect of the library taking six months to burn is simply fantastic and just the sort of exaggeration one might expect to find in Arab legends such as the Arabian Nights. However Alfred Butler's famous observation that the books of the library were made of vellum which does not burn is not true. The very late dates of the source material are also suspect as there is no hint of this atrocity in any early literature - even in the Coptic Christian chronicle of John of Nikiou (died after 640AD) who detailed the Arab invasion. For the purposes of this essay, it has been satisfactorily shown that the Royal Library certainly did not exist by the time that the Arabs arrived and this, coupled with the silence on the subject of the near contemporary Christian chronicler John of Nikiou, should lead to a rejection of the Arab connection. It is perhaps possible that the story resulted from the loss of one of Alexandria’s other libraries during the Arab invasion as by no means all of them can be accounted for.

In the modern world, the Library of Alexandria has been used as a parable against tyranny and religion as Caesar, Islam or Christianity were blamed for its loss. It is portrayed as the repository of all ancient wisdom but for whose loss the Dark Ages might never have happened and science could have progressed much more smoothly and quickly. The truth is more satisfying for being more reasonable. The Royal Library was an important institution in the history of literature but its destruction in the first century BC did not spell the end of ancient scholarship and Alexandria remained the Mediterranean’s intellectual capital for seven centuries afterwards. One of the reasons it could do so was the foundation of other libraries like that in the Serapeum and the desire of the Roman Emperors to patronise the city. At last, the Arab invasion ended the story and our inheritance from the ancient world had to be preserved in Constantinople and Baghdad.

Finally, the story comes from the hand of a Christian intellectual who would have been more than happy to show the religion of his rulers in a bad light. Agreeing with Gibbon this time, we can dismiss it as a legend.

SOURCE
1.) The Mysterious Fate of the Great Library of Alexandria by James Hannam

2.) The Foundation and Loss of the Royal and Serapeum Libraries of Alexandria by James Hannam

Let's Meet the Smiths!

Riley Freeman – Jaden Smith & Willow Smith - "Do you deliberately try to break social boundaries?" 
Right now. At this very moment. In a remote cabin in Canada. After seeing this shit. Dr Martin Luther King has officially given up on black people. Smdh.

Anthony Kirton - I don't get it
Lolo Chivo - i dont get either
Valerie Knott Peebles - Watch twice to see if I could get it and still lost..
Anthony Kirton - 


Damion E Jiles Sr. - Is this the Smith kids?
Muhammad Rasheed - An excerpted 14 second clip from an extended interview. So you all are just going to invent a context out of magic to place it in so you cannot "get it" and continue the "Smith kids are weird" narrative?
Did you buy stock in Fox News then?
Riley Freeman - Then please, post the rest of the video for all to see. Otherwise, I have to go by what I see.
Muhammad Rasheed - lol @ Riley's official stance that the 14 sec clip was the beginning & end of the entire interview.


Riley Freeman - What stance? I asked you to please show me the clip. I just fucking shared a clip I saw on my feed. If you have a longer clip then post it. Otherwise, you're talking just to be talking. Educate, don't speculate.
Muhammad Rasheed - "What stance?"
Your decision to double-down on the idea that what this 14 sec clip shows is actually the entirety of the interview unless someone posts something longer. This is the stance you are taking in order to uphold the "let's make fun of these crazy children" opinion.
Riley Freeman - I doubled down how? Did I comment on the whole video, which I've never seen and am still asking you to post a link to, or am I commenting on the comment made? Question is, are you going to post the link to this clip or are you going to continue to make empty statements?
Muhammad Rasheed - I thought it was clear that I planned to contemptuously judge the people who are contemptuously judging the Smith kids from an excerpted 14 sec clip taken out of a context they "don't get." When one of them decided to actually take the unreasonable stance that the 14 sec clip wasn't part of a longer interview unless he physically saw the link to it, then there is no reason to go any further. 
"Empty statements" indeed. lol
Riley Freeman - So you're offended that it's the smith kids? Who are you, Dwayne Martin? Do you have a clip? Yes or no?
Muhammad Rasheed - I always get offended when I see that sheeple "Let's all gang up on the weird/different people because we don't get it" bs. Call it a weakness. #pleaseStopTheFoolishnessAndFuckery
Riley Freeman - Clip? Cuz the only fuckery in seeing is that you continue to dance around a simple request. Post a link to the clip. It's such a simple act but you refuse to even try to clear this up and show us that there was more to the interview so thar it can be looked at as a whole. #thetruefuckerycomefromdancinginsteadofproof
Muhammad Rasheed - Did I give the impression that I respected the "where's the clip" request?
I think the request is ignorant as fuck, to be clear. Get yourself together, Riley.
Riley Freeman - Yes, from what I see, the way they said what they said was indeed ignorant as fuck. I'm glad to see that we are in agreement.
Muhammad Rasheed - lol Obviously I needed to be MORE clear... *edit*
Riley Freeman - More clear with what sir? You said the clip was ignorant. Plain and simple. I'm glad we agree. Thank you for your support.
Muhammad Rasheed - (sometimes pronouns are NOT my friends)
Sharmiki Givinggodtheglory Hunter - So what was the question they were asked to prompt them to answer this way I am sure they weren't jut randomly speaking just because. I would surely like to know what they were asked dang it why did they only clip out this part. Well guess I will either search or not worry about the actual question asked.. Yea search will be it
Anthony Kirton - Ok, in response to Muhammad's response, when I say "I don't get it" I mean I don't see anything wrong here and to Riley Freeman I don't see how Dr Martin Luther king would have a problem with it
Riley Freeman - Have you ever seen the episode of the boondocks with Martin Luther King? That's where the reference comes from. I was not referring to the actual MLK.
Anthony Kirton - found the full interview 
Jaden and Willow Smith are the latest stars in Dubai for DSS
Riley Freeman - Thank you. I watched it. Those kids are on drugs.
Muhammad Rasheed  - 1.) Releasing albums
2.) Releasing clothing
3.) Inspired by what they see in the everyday environment, and what they are moved to create by what they think people need
4.) Their mission statement is that want their product to inspire others and to help them know that "anything is possible"
5.) Admit to recognizing that they are considered "misfits" (eccentric; nonconformists; odd) by the general public
6.) They very strongly believe and espouse something similar to Bruce Lee's philosophy of "Liberating Yourself From Classical Karate" and don't believe in following mostly arbitrary societal rules just because that's the way XYZ was followed blindly by everyone else. If you study the rules and decide to embrace them then do it. But if you are enslaved by rules and systems from outside of you, then you have a right to rebel against them. Be the creator of new paradigms and be happier for it.
7.) Subjective opinions of other young artist peers
8.) Enjoy their dad's old tv show
9.) Feel it is a blessing to work with their dad professionally
10.) Riley thinks they are on drugs for thinking this way.
Riley Freeman - This is the reference. Either you got the reference or you didn't. Anything else, your overreacting and fishing for something else. Do with it what you will. I'm moving to Canada. 
Riley Freeman - Oh and Muhammad Rasheed, I'm not saying they are on drugs for the way they think. I'm going by the figiting in the video sir.
Muhammad Rasheed - They can't fidget either???
DAMN!
Muhammad Rasheed - Your whole anti-Smith kid thing was based on how they think and expressed themselves. How would I know that you shifted to something else unless you said it?
Riley Freeman - I'm sorry, but will everybody who has experience working in drug rehab please raise their hands. (raises hand) I'm sorry Muhammad Rasheed, but why is your hand down. Look sir, you obviously have an agenda to push here. Fine, I get it. You're so Will SMith that you have Dwayne Martin on speed dial. But, if nearly 1000 posts that I made where I comment on something, why are you on here all of a sudden throwing Fox News accusations and all kinds of other bs? I make comment DAILY. Several times a day about several hundred different people and topics without so much as a peep from you. So what's you REAL angle, but it sure as hell aint this whole Anti-Smith bullshit that you're spewing right now.
Muhammad Rasheed - 1.) I don't even know where you live. Why do you assume I have no experience in drug rehabilitation counseling? Based on what?
2.) My agenda is calling out nonsense when I saw a pet peeve of mine pop up in my FB Newsfeed. 
3.) Your agenda is to despise creative, outside-the-box thinking as expressed by these kids. Is that supposed to be a more noble agenda? lol
4.) Jumping to wild and hateful conclusions about black people over a limited amount of info, with the gaps filled in with ideological prejudices is what Fox news built it's reputation on. If you mimic the behavior it will remind me of them. If you don't want your behavior to remind me of them, don't do that stuff. Easy.
5.) We've had the "1000 posts" discussion before. I don't see your posts that often. Usually it's your "WTF?" links that show and what I know you for.
Riley Freeman - 1. Hey you began by stating that I work for Fox news. Therefore, you can not fall back on the not knowing each other line. You began with the assumptions and went down that route.

2. I made a comment about a sound bite. A comment that was in reference to a fictitious characterization of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. If you are that dammed sensitive, then maybe you and Ralph Tresvant need to be collaborating on a love song together instead of being on Facebook.

3. My agenda was to make a comment about a sound bite. Shit. I didn't even know it was the Smith kids until someone pointed it out in a comment. And ask I know about them is that one wore a kilt once and the other had a song about whipping hair. Other than that I don't follow them in the least and couldn't pick them out if a crowd.

4. You really should watch the boondocks more to get the joke intended here sir. Anything else is your own sensitive nature. Need a kleenex sir?

5. Then perhaps you should read more of my posts. Otherwise, you're doing the same thing that you're accusing me of, are you not? Don't hate me for expressing myself differently sir. I don't sell clothes or make music but I still have a right to individual expression. Even though my last my last name isn't Smith.

Muhammad Rasheed - 1.) I began by calling out the foolishness of your hateful stance based on a 14 second clip. Just like they do on Fox News.

2.) It wasn't a very good comment.

3.) Okay, fine.

4.) No. I saw a few episodes and it isn't to my taste. You may enjoy my portion.

5.) lol You made an admittedly ignorant comment about a 14 second clip and I responded to it. You had the right to cap on the clip, and I had a right to comment on your comment. I don't hate you for expressing your opinion, I was merely moved to challenge you on it. You don't consider it 'sensitive' to interpret the challenging of an expressed opinion of a FB friend as 'hatred?' 'Cuz to me that's kind of soft-ish.

Riley Freeman - 1. No sir. You began by making hateful judgement of my creativity and indifference. Can't you just let me be the misfit that I am without judging me?

2. I admit, it wasn't one of my best. It was only for those who would get the boondocks reference.

3. Yup. Uh huh. I tell you what.
4. It has its moments. It's the hidden messages that you tend to appreciate more than the entertainment value.

5. Dude, I'm messing with you. You take me too seriously. I live my life in levity because stressing over things too much will kill you. You gotta admit that you did open the door for me to thusly take your defense and apply it to myself. lol

Muhammad Rasheed - 1.) Yes, sir. >:(

2.) Forgiven.

3.) I don't care for that show either. [stink face] 

4.) I actually disagree with the bulk of the socio-political opinions of the writers, so the hidden messages tend to be ham-fisted and irritating to me.

5.) Hm. Okay, then I'll start stalking your posts so I'll learn your humor style better (after I finish these comics).

Three Faces of the Socio-Political Landscape

Paul Daniel – Caitlyn Jenner Takes ESPYs By Storm: 'Trans People Deserve Something Vital. They Deserve Your Respect'
Paul Daniel – I didn't read the story, but I always like reading the comments about Jenner. It's funny how these sick white folks (and black liberals) trip over themselves to call him a "her" now, and if you read the comments, you'll see they even come around and CORRECT you if you say "him" or use a male pronoun. The Huffington Post has nothing but praise for him, but when you look at regular FB postings, they can't stand this shit.
Muhammad Rasheed - I'd love to see the data showing how many of the people insisting you call Jenner a 'her' also turn out to be the folk calling Serena Williams and Michelle Obama men.
Chris Ray - @Muhammad Rasheed, I actually wonder, how many folks that want us to love on Caitlyn were telling Rachel to get the hell out of here on her quest for blackness. Why is one a fraud and OK to ridicule, while the other should be celebrated?
Muhammad Rasheed - Personally, in comparing the two, I don't consider Jenner to be a fraud, but to be suffering from an untreated mental disorder. The Rachel case didn't represent someone on a "quest for blackness," but an infiltration agentuer/con artist looking to profit off of my people for her own gain by taking advantage of the weaknesses in American society concerning institutional racism and its colorism sidekick.
Chris Ray - Because you are a brotha, and a white woman posing as black can be nothing but a fraud. Negating the fact that she purposely did nothing ill, and from all appearances was an advocate. But we can't empathize with her, because if we accept it we might let more enemies behind the gate, and that's unacceptable. But what if she too were born in the wrong body? I'm just sayin.
Muhammad Rasheed - Chris Ray wrote: "Because you are a brotha, and a white woman posing as black can be nothing but a fraud."
It's because she:
1.) Tried to destroy a financially struggling HBCU over imagined slights that were found to be malicious and without cause by the courts. 
2.) Continuously lied about her ethnic background for personal gain alone. Her professional tract record as someone adding value to civil rights advocacy are dubious and shallow.
3.) The NAACP itself developed from a group whose stated purpose was to nullify the activities and successes of Booker T. Washington. Outside of riding the coattails of Thurgood Marshal's personal superstardom, the group itself also has a weak track record of actually adding value to the civil rights cause, which makes their eagerness to place this woman in the role of a leader and symbol of the organization particularly potent.
4.) Anyone "posing" as anything is by definition acting fraudulent. That, combined with the above three items, does not breed trust in me.
5.) I believe your advocacy for her, and willingness to cover her faults and give her a pass, is because you are a brotha, and you have a culturally programmed weak spot for white women.
Chris Ray - Well maybe Rachel wasn't alone doing things for personal gain. From Radar Online. Still need to check the source.------ESPN has come under fire for awarding Caitlyn Jenner the prestigious Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs Wednesday night. But RadarOnline.com has learned, it wasn’t initially their idea! According to an insider, Jenner’s reps approached the network suggesting she receive the award — and offering PR plugs on her upcoming docuseries in return.
According to an insider, negotiations started as Jenner’s publicist was finalizing the terms of her interview with Diane Sawyer.
Her agents approached ESPN, which is owned by Disney like Sawyer’s ABC, “and they suggested that she receive the Arthur Ashe award,” the source claimed. “It was a brilliant move because the executives at ESPN loved the idea, and immediately began making sure it got done. Caitlyn’s journey to accepting the award will also be featured on her upcoming reality show, I am Cait.”
“There was a hiccup during the talks about Caitlyn receiving the award, and her reps were prepared to pull her interview with Diane Sawyer if she didn’t get it,” the source said. “It was ironed out, and ABC owns one of the biggest stories of the year.”
Muhammad Rasheed - I'm 100% not surprised in anyway. For one, that's the kind of power move you can make when backed by a newly-powerful politic bloc anxious to flex its muscle in traditionally discriminatory industries. 
Two, the other top awards, such as the Oscars, are equally politically entrenched and are notorious for having little to do with merit of accomplishment.
Chris Ray - Agreed!

The Confessions of Esmerelda: An Account of the Slave Cat Revolt

Crystal Hubbard - There we go. Esmerelda just bit my left hand. Four perfect little red fang marks. She's fine...
Ava Roe - heathen

Richard Riozzi - For now....good people blood is poison to evil cats!  :P

Muhammad Rasheed - Stop antagonizing the cat, Crystal.

Crystal Hubbard - SHE'S antagonizing ME, Muhammad! I'm sitting here working, and she's trying to act like a regular cat! She keeps putting one paw on my leg and just holding it there! She's the one playing mind games...!

Crystal Hubbard - I have to go, she's looking at the monitor now, and I'm fairly certain she can read...

Muhammad Rasheed - Maybe if you weren't shaking your leg around or whatever else annoying thing you were doing with it?

You need to learn how to live with others better. For real.

Muhammad Rasheed - or you can look forward to more feline discipline. Up to you.

Crystal Hubbard - Ten pets, Muhammad, TEN. And this here one is the only one that tries to injure or murder me on a daily basis. I treat her just as well as I treat the others, all of whom love me! If anything, I treat Es better! Not once have I tried to put a costume on her, or teach her to lip sync, or put her in one of my plays. I leave this crazy heifer the hell alone because she is a bloodthirsty monster!

Muhammad Rasheed - So let me get this straight:

You admit to me that you humiliate the others right in front of her, that she has a stronger will than the others, and she's mad at you?

Muhammad Rasheed - smh

Muhammad Rasheed - I suggest that you set them all free before you end up getting Nat Turner'd.

Crystal Hubbard - Es just started a slow clap for you, Muhammad...

Sheila Morrow - Wash it out GOOD Crystal, cat bites are trouble

Francine Craft - Don't underestimate the bites!

Karen Weidert - Hate to suggest this, but.. urgent care? Anti-biotics? A friend of mine got bit in the face by a cat and ended up in the hospital on IV anti-biotics for several days.

Crystal Hubbard - I'm already on an antibiotic, Karen, from the last time Es bit me. I don't play around with cat bites. They have SO many different kinds of bacteria in their mouths...

Karen Weidert - That's good! I should have figured. My cat Dash bites me when he's affectionate, but not hard enough to break the skin.

Crystal Hubbard - Dash is a gentleman. Es is a demon...

Lee Hemmerlein - I am so glad that biting you didn't make your kitty sick.

Crystal Hubbard - Hardy, har, har, Lee Hemmerlein...!

Force versus Force: Probing into an Aspect of the Leftist Mindsets

Muhammad Rasheed - Chile’s Cabulco volcano April 23, 2015

Muhammad Rasheed - The most recent eruption happened on April 22, 2015, followed by two smaller eruptions on April 24 and April 30. This was Calbuco's first activity since 1972. ‪#‎climateChange‬ ‪#‎cough‬



Muhammad Rasheed - “[W]hile the Unzen eruptions have caused deaths and considerable local damage in the historic past, the impact of the June 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo was global. Slightly cooler-than-usual temperatures were recorded worldwide, and brilliant sunsets and sunrises were attributed to the particulates this eruption lofted high into the stratosphere. The aerosol that formed from the sulfur dioxide (SO2) and other gasses dispersed around the world. The SO2 mass in this cloud—about 22 million tons—combined with water (both of volcanic and stratospheric origin) formed droplets of sulfuric acid, blocking a portion of the sunlight from reaching the troposphere and ground. The cooling in some regions is thought to have been as much as 0.5°C. An eruption the size of Mount Pinatubo tends to affect the weather for a few years; the material injected into the stratosphere gradually drops into the troposphere, where it is washed away by rain and cloud precipitation.

“A similar, but extraordinarily more powerful phenomenon occurred in the cataclysmic April 1815 eruption of Mount Tamboraon Sumbawa Island in Indonesia. The Mount Tambora eruption is recognized as the most powerful eruption in recorded history. Its volcanic cloud lowered global temperatures by as much as 3.5 °C. In the year following the eruption, most of the Northern Hemisphere experienced sharply cooler temperatures during the summer. In parts of Europe and North America, 1816 was known as the ‘Year Without a Summer,’ which caused a brief but bitter famine.” #climateChange ‪#‎coughCoughAhem‬


Muhammad Rasheed - Mount Sinabung, in Indonesia, spewed tons of hot ash into the atmosphere during a series of eruptions in Aug 2010, Sep 2010, Sep 2013, Nov 2013, Dec 2013, Jan 2014, Feb 2014, and Oct 2014.#climateChange #coughCoughAhem



Muhammad Rasheed - Mount Kelud, in Indonesia, spewed tons of hot ash into the atmosphere over a long, slow eruption throughout 2007, and in one massive explosion in Feb 2014. #climateChange #coughCoughAhem



Muhammad Rasheed - Mount Ontake, in Japan, spewed tons of hot ash into the atmosphere during a surprise massive eruption in Sep 2014. #climateChange#coughCoughAhem



Jeremy Travis - What is the purpose of this post?

Muhammad Rasheed - Just an alternate theory as to why we've experienced dramatic climate changes in the recent months other than man-made causes.

"The aerosol that formed from the sulfur dioxide (SO2) and other gasses dispersed around the world. The SO2 mass in this cloud—about 22 million tons—combined with water (both of volcanic and stratospheric origin) formed droplets of sulfuric acid, blocking a portion of the sunlight from reaching the troposphere and ground."

Muhammad Rasheed - I just find it odd that just the suggestion that it could be something else other than man causing it gets people called out of their names and dismissed as if they are stupid. When has that ever been a trait of "science" or someone who is supposed to be a "scholarly intellectual" in the truest sense?

Political agendas, corporatists, easily bought scientistic administrators, and the sheep that blindly follow them while pretending they are into "science" tend to affect and influence public thought. I don't think that is a good thing.

Jeremy Travis - Do these discount the decades of human-caused factors?

Muhammad Rasheed - I don't understand why either has to discount the other, but it does seem to me that the decades of human caused factors don't trump the decades of volcanoes spewing hundreds of thousands of tons -- each -- of ash into the atmosphere…

Muhammad Rasheed - ...along with other things, like the increasingly dry climate, steadily getting dryer and dryer for the last 10,000 years. The deserts have been growing and expanding naturally. Sure it's possible that the pollution of our factories has contributed to making it happen faster, but it was already happening. Some of the dramatic climate changes we've experienced can certainly come from those effects, and even the beginning seeds of the inevitable reversal.

Muhammad Rasheed - The politically correct stance of "it's a man-made phenomenon and THAT'S IT!! End of discussion!!!" from the leftist "intellectuals" is unreasonable to me.

Jeremy Travis - I think the bottom line is that whether this climate change, as it were, is inevitable or not, whether humans are a primary factor or not, we should control what we can control so that we do not exacerbate the situation. We should also take steps to slow, if not completely hault, the process since the continuation of it can likely spell our doom.

Muhammad Rasheed - We SHOULD stop polluting. That's common sense. But there's no way the majority of us will survive a new ice age event. It won't be any different than the last time, with pockets of survivors scattered around the globe, some holding onto the old knowledge needed to kick start the civilization back up again. And again won't actually happen until thousands of years later.

Muhammad Rasheed - The only way we can really prepare is to make sure we all are learned in the tech and sciences and be diligent in passing it along through the generations. If we have to start all over from the stone age because the average human on earth doesn't know science stuff, it'll be pretty sad.

A Bleak & Dreary Future

Jeremy Travis - I think that's like saying 'there's no way we can survive a tornado, or a hurricane, or a blizzard' in that it's a defeatist attitude. I think that humanity knows enough about how the weather and climate works such that we can do things to maintain it at comfortable levels. If it looks like it's NATURALLY going too far toward one extreme, then we do what we must to drag it back. This is what we will need to do if we are to maintain our existence on this planet for the next few thousand years. Either that or we completely change ourselves and our way of living, which in and of itself isn't a terrible idea, but I think it would be far more difficult to accomplish.

Muhammad Rasheed - Tornados, hurricanes, and blizzards are small local extreme weather conditions that often claim some lives even when we know what to do. I'm talking about a global event that traditionally results in mass extinctions. I think we can realistically expect our populations as a species to be reduced to the millions again. We don't have the tech to reverse a massive tip of the planet's crust, and flash freezing temperatures capable of freezing an elephant in seconds.

Muhammad Rasheed - We couldn't save the hundreds of thousands of people killed during that tsunami in Indonesia. If the new Ice Age began tomorrow morning, billions would die before the national guard could be mobilized. This isn't "defeatist." This is actually real.

Jeremy Travis - MRasheed wrote: "Tornadoes, hurricanes, and blizzards are small local extreme weather conditions that often claim some lives even when we know what to do. I'm talking about a global event that traditionally results in mass extinctions."

Sure, the three aforementioned weather events are far smaller in comparison, but there was a time when they meant certain death. But we now know how to survive them relatively well, and I think we could do even better if we got serious about building structures and infrastructures and systems that were designed to defeat them every time. We CAN build homes that are 100% tornado-proof, but they will look somewhat different as compared to home in areas that don't need to worry about tornadoes. However, people, from developers to home-owners, prefer to live in something that looks 'normal' even if it is less safe.

MRasheed wrote: "I think we can realistically expect our populations as a species to be reduced to the millions again. We don't have the tech to reverse a massive tip of the planet's crust, and flash freezing temperatures capable of freezing an elephant in seconds."

Are flash freezing events something that the WORLD should worry about, or are they rare and sporadic and isolated events? Can we not predict and plan for most climatological events, big or small, if we as a global community got on task with prevention and preparation? Again, this is how our national weather service works, why not do the same thing globally?

MRasheed wrote: "We couldn't save the hundreds of thousands of people killed during that tsunami in Indonesia."

Correction, we COULD have had the proper preparation and resources been in place.

MRasheed wrote: "If the new Ice Age began tomorrow morning, billions would die before the national guard could be mobilized. This isn't "defeatist." This is actually real."

I don't think ice ages happen overnight. Despite the fact that they do happen relatively quickly, that 'quickly' is a matter of years or decades, nor hours or days.

Muhammad Rasheed - Billions of people will die before realize that the extreme, global-level catastrophe weather is really upon us.

Jeremy Travis wrote: "Are flash freezing events something that the WORLD should worry about, or are they rare and sporadic and isolated events?"

It would be the entire northern hemisphere.

Muhammad Rasheed - Jeremy Travis wrote: "Can we not predict and plan for most climatological events, big or small, if we as a global community got on task with prevention and preparation? Again, this is how our national weather service works, why not do the same thing globally?"

There was an earthquake in the middle of the ocean, and a few days later a record breaking tsunami killed hundreds of thousands of people and there was nothing we could do about it.

That was a small local event.

Muhammad Rasheed - Jeremy Travis wrote: "Correction, we COULD have had the proper preparation and resources been in place."

Then why didn't we?

Muhammad Rasheed - Jeremy Travis wrote: "I don't think ice ages happen overnight. Despite the fact that they do happen relatively quickly, that 'quickly' is a matter of years or decades, nor hours or days."

What happens is that the ice at the poles eventually gets so heavy it slides the earth's crust around like a loose-fitting orange peel. The poles are now in the temperate zones, and the normally habital regions are in the pole areas. This happens extremely quickly, causing the flash freezing phenomenon. The glaciers begin to melt, which takes centuries, and the resulting upheaval of the combined massive disruption to the environment causes insane weather phenomena we haven't seen in literally 10,000 years. Global destruction. In our cultural memories, we have various world-wide Deluge "myths" to remind us of it, but today, the people with the power to prepare for it, don't believe it's true. They think all we have to do is build a tornado proof house and we're straight.

Jeremy Travis - Hurricane Katrina.

It has been known for decades that New Orleans sat below sea level, was too close to the sea for flooding to NOT be a concern should the levees fall, and that the levees were just slightly good enough to hold back a mid-level oceanic threat, yet and still, the U.S. government chose not to re-build the levee system so as to protect the city and surrounding area from a larger event. I think it's the Netherlands that have a far superior levee system that had, it been replicated in Louisiana, could have prevented the large-scale damage that came after Katrina. But it is this type of neglect of infrastructure that leads to people dying in these types of events, and if we see that we are in a potentially dangerous situation, why would we NOT do something to better safeguard the population?

Muhammad Rasheed - Jeremy Travis wrote: "...and if we see that we are in a potentially dangerous situation, why would we NOT do something to better safeguard the population?"

Whatever it is, it is exactly what will keep us from doing anything about a global level catastrophe before it's far too late.

Jeremy Travis – MRasheed wrote: "What happens is that the ice at the poles eventually gets so heavy it slides the earth's crust around like a loose-fitting orange peel. The poles are now in the temperate zones, and the normally habital regions are in the pole areas. This happens extremely quickly, causing the flash freezing phenomenon. The glaciers begin to melt, which takes centuries, and the resulting upheaval of the combined massive disruption to the environment causes insane weather phenomena we haven't seen in literally 10,000 years."

Show me some proof of this, please.

MRasheed wrote: "Global destruction. In our cultural memories, we have various world-wide Deluge ‘myths’ to remind us of it, but today, the people with the power to prepare for it, don't believe it's true. They think all we have to do is build a tornado proof house and we're straight."

I think that the people with power want it to happen, because nothing makes ruling easier than a recently and greatly diminished populace rife with fear and despair after a life-altering event that has affected so many.

Muhammad Rasheed - Personally, I think it's because the leftist intellectual who is in power to actually affect such change, believes in the dangers of "overpopulation." They want those billions to get paired down significantly, and probably will only work to save a select group of elitists, just like they show in those films. That lines up perfectly with that ideology.

Jeremy Travis wrote: Show me some proof of this, please."

Here:  Piri Reis and the Hapgood Hypotheses

Jeremy Travis - MRasheed wrote: "Whatever it is, it is exactly what will keep us from doing anything about a global level catastrophe before it's far too late."

You mean like thinking that detrimental climate change is a largely natural think and that humans have little to no effect on it?

Jeremy Travis - MRasheed wrote: "Personally, I think it's because the leftist intellectual who is in power to actually affect such change"

Who is this mysterious leftist of which you so coyly speak?

Muhammad Rasheed - The opposite side of the aisle from the extreme right.

Jeremy Travis - ELIZABETH WARREN AND BERNIE SANDERS?!

Muhammad Rasheed - I mean the collective who uphold those ideologies.

Muhammad Rasheed - "The Left" are the folk that influence the college kids, and are of the intellectual class.

Jeremy Travis - So the leftists want to depopulate the Earth and are willing to curb climate-damaging practices to do it, while the right want to grow the human population and want to spread climate-damaging practices to do it?

Muhammad Rasheed - "The Right" are the ones in the role of the industrialists, adding to the pollution, etc.

Muhammad Rasheed - The Leftists are the ones symbolized by that old environmental commercial, with the Native American and the single falling tear.

Muhammad Rasheed - The right are symbolized by folk like JP Morgan.

Jeremy Travis - So it's the leftists who are at fault? Do the right not play any part in this matter?

Muhammad Rasheed - Everybody plays a part depending on their particular damage. But the scientists with the most influence traditionally are leftists, and I don't think they are particularly keen on spending resources on saving 7 billion people. In fact, the very idea of "7 billion people" offends them according to that ideology.

Jeremy Travis - I think that you may be too greatly generalizing all leftists and 'intellectuals'. There are a great many left-leaning people who do NOT espouse the depopulation goal, and a great many right-leaning people who DO.

Muhammad Rasheed - Does it matter? The leftist ideology is where those concepts come from. Who said anything about whether specific individuals only followed purely one side or another?

Jeremy Travis - It matters if you think it's solely, or even mostly, a leftist thing and therefore demonize all leftists because of it. When the leading left voices say 'let's protect our environment for the sake of all' while leading right voices say 'there's nothing we can do about it, so let's just make money', it hurts your argument.

Muhammad Rasheed - If a leftist leaning person happens not to believe in it, then there is no reason to be that way about that individual. Easy.

The Ultimate Strength

Marvyn Moose – [shared meme]


Muhammad Rasheed - Forgiveness is personal. I don't care whether they did or not.
Mel Williams - I think the point is black folks are so passive and forgiving. White folks mad at you they're going to be mad till their grave
Muhammad Rasheed - So?
Should we take on the ways of the evilest, craziest psychopath on earth? How will THAT profit us?
Mel Williams - Hey Bible say eye for a eye. Might have to be more evil some cases. It's proven turn the other cheek and non violent doesn't work. But to each is own
Mel Williams - I'm talking more of my past experiences. You have to nip shit in the bud to not be f**ked with. Only wish I'd thought like this earlier in my life.
Muhammad Rasheed - At 12% of the population, with the enemy in control of the combined Armed Forces of the United States, how are we going to "nip shit in the bud" again? 
We were defending ourselves during past massacres and we were still wiped out... black wall street, rosewood, etc.
What do you think would be any different? We can get mad and declare war and be in a perpetual state of busted up warfare for the rest of our lives just like the Palestinians. Is that what you want to live as a Black Man in America? I don't think that's the smart way to do it.
Muhammad Rasheed - The "eye for an eye" doctrine is strict justice, but it is not what the bible (nor the Qur'an) recommends. God said it is best to forgive and cover over faults, and only fight when they directly attack to defend your life. He allows eye for an eye justice, but no special blessings or favor come with it.
Mel Williams - Oh I agree. They'll wipe us out. I'm just saying we're always forgiving injustices. And it's frustrating as hell.
Muhammad Rasheed - I would also consider it frustrating if I insisted on separating the practice from its spiritual base. 'Forgiveness' is a Godly Principle, prescribed to us in sacred scripture to strengthen our souls for the afterlife. It's better to focus on that bigger picture than on narrower, societal issues that ultimately don't mean anything.
Mel Williams - Now that's personal preference. Not everybody believes in those scriptures.
Muhammad Rasheed - Agreed. But it's why I can never consider the decision to take the High Road as "frustrating."
Muhammad Rasheed - Throughout human history, there were occasions when small bands of desperately outnumbered people would overcome miraculous odds to defeat a physically superior force, but in almost all cases, the small bands were hopped up on the high-energy of holy-than-thou zealotry. Since the modern intellectual blacks seem to have a disdain for scripture, such as you are demonstrating, I cannot hope that we would be able to tap into such a force.
Muhammad Rasheed - Naturally I would consider those zealous performances to be no less than the promises of the One God in action, providing favor to His grateful servants. You may interpret them in whatever way science may allow.
Jody Collins-Veasey - I think that I am fed up with people making it about all one race or another. Are there racist white people....yes are there white people who are not racist....yes. Was this a horrible person that killed people yes but that was 1 white man not the whole white race. We are all human beings animals have more sense compassion and caring than we do. It is a damn shame that we cannot accept that there is bad and good in every race and judge people on their actions not their race. The rich one percent rule us all and love seeing this because if we all stood together then we might not let them keep control the real war is rich verses poor.
Marvyn Moose - The problem lies not in pointing fingers but taking responsibility for a reality that everyone wants to sweep under the rug. Racism is an systematic mechanism that is prevalent in many institutions. It is obviously present in the judicial institution, legislative, political, corporate, educational, etc etc. Which means that it is always about RACE. Jody Collins-Veasey you are correct that it is controlled and dictated by an elite population however that elite's was, is and always will be governed by White Supremacist. They care nothing about you, I, and any other race. White supremacy is about power and dictatorship. What this post represented and for the reason I posted it was to awaken and bring awareness to a people who constantly look to their oppressor for forgiveness and help... An evil oppressor or entity does not have an agenda to bring relief to those that it oppresses. The point is well made, not to make two wrongs a right or blame every single white person but to Stop believing the "religious" concepts that has been fed to us that forgiving those that kill and brutalize you will one day make them see the error of their ways. That has never happen in history. No religious figure of any religion used compassion to overcome their oppressor. In fact, and in regards to my friend Rasheed comment, history proves that the minority can destroy the majority dominant ruler...Hallie Sallaise. And even if not my outlook is that if I die fighting for my freedom and independence it is better than serving on my knees.... So the main theme of this post is for those who are oppressed and victims of a system that is governed by White Supremacy to stop thinking that the old religious concept of forgiving and praying will conquer their oppressor. We have to stop thinking that racism doesn't exist it lives just as much now than it did when black people were hanging from trees in the south and the north.
Muhammad Rasheed - Marvyn Moose wrote: "...and bring awareness to a people who constantly look to their oppressor for forgiveness and help..."
I've had several of these anti-forgiveness discussions over the last several days, and this is the first time I've seen the clue as to why the concept actually offends. It turns out it's based on a fallacy and an incorrect understanding as to the purpose of forgiveness.
Marvyn Moose wrote: "...but to Stop believing the 'religious' concepts that has been fed to us that forgiving those that kill and brutalize you will one day make them see the error of their ways."
That is 100% not why people are commanded to forgive by God. If such a thing happens it is only a side effect and a residual blessing. We forgive in hopes that our Lord will likewise forgive us our own sins and transgressions.
Marvyn Moose wrote: "..to stop thinking that the old religious concept of forgiving and praying will conquer their oppressor."
We forgive in order to strengthen our souls for the afterlife. It is a potent righteous deed as instructed in scripture. God does command us to fight an oppressor until he stops oppressing you. The believers are commanded to come together and establish a community of like minds, and to take care of each other, and compete with each other in righteousness. If an enemy attacks, they are commanded to defend themselves until the enemy stops fighting, and then the believers, too, must stop fighting and let there be Peace.  If a stronger foe does not stop fighting, and continues until you are completely wiped out, then it is absolutely imperative that you maintain the High Road of the Way of God during the entire conflict for the sake of your soul.  Do as you were commanded to do by your Lord and He promised to be with you, and you too may very well enter the exalted ranks of those of the past who overcame fantastic odds to smash a physically superior and arrogant enemy.  But you're not going to do it without coming together, and you're certainly not going to do it without God.

Marvyn Moose - Those are all based on beliefs and I'm sure that we all can agree that beliefs are just that and is not based on facts.. beliefs + believers = behavior. I can't debate beliefs because they have no merit to me as they are only have merit with those whobelieve the same as you. Beliefs are based on ideas, philosophies and thoughts of a long standing institution, many of which have never evolved in their existence while every thing of nature has. So I choose not to debate over someone's belief, I don't seek to ever want or try to change that for anyone. However, what governs my thoughts and ideas is not solely based on religious beliefs but on the reality I'm dealt with and that reality shows me that an oppressor on this earth that I have to overcome for the freedoms that I desire doesn't know the language of forgiveness or peace and for Me, not for the sake of being an antiforgiver or whatever you called me lol, I will stand and fight for those freedoms with my sins just like every prophet from every single religion that I have studied over the past twenty five years

Marvyn Moose - The bottom line in my book and this is just my perspective... Is through this example. You are married with children and an invader has broken into your home while you all sleep. QUESTION do you fall on your knees and start praying and asking God to forgive this intruder or do you protect your family by any means necessary and take this invaders head off?

Muhammad Rasheed - That's not a real question. It's a strawman. Nothing in scripture says that prayer functions as an instant wish/spell/charm.

Only atheists think that way about it (which goes a long way towards explaining why they don't believe).

Muhammad Rasheed - I just explained what God commanded regarding warfare. We are supposed to fight until the enemy stops, and then we stop, and let there be Peace.

Muhammad Rasheed - Marvyn, it does no one any good to simply invent how you believe a system functions, subscribe what you invented to the system in your mind divorced from what it actually says, and then argue against what you invented. In order to have a truly valuable critique about the subject, first you need to take the time to actually learn what the system teaches... which admittedly will take time and patience, digging through ancient texts that may not necessarily be the most exciting reading material for someone disinclined to take the stuff seriously. lol

But if you don't know what religion is really about, how can you truly be so passionately against it? To me, that attitude sounds like an indoctrination, and you are just dancing around on the strings of it without any certain knowledge.

Marvyn Moose - How is that not a real question? Based in what thought process makes that question invalid? Of course it was meant to be rhetorical because common sense and human nature will lead any man to fight and protect his own and his family. Does that not include his rights and liberties over an oppressor. Nothing about me is atheist, more of common sense. Nor is it a sham argument to set anyone up which is exactly why I don't debate beliefs.

Muhammad Rasheed - Marvyn Moose wrote: 'How is that not a real question?"

Because that's not how prayer works. ANYWHERE.

Muhammad Rasheed - Therefore the question is nonsense.

Marvyn Moose - That's exactly why I don't debate over religion. You know me that well huh?

Muhammad Rasheed - I know what you've TYPED. Your knowledge of the topic, and the quality of the same, is well-documented above.

Muhammad Rasheed - Go on now. That's enough.

Marvyn Moose - Lmao why are you so worked up? Not once have I even attempted to insert any knowledge about religion from what I've studied on here because I knew beforehand where it would lead, you concluded what you assume I know based on this post.. I will continue to respect you by not using terms like "go on now" as if you are dismissing me. I'LL TAKE THE HIGH ROAD LOL

Muhammad Rasheed - The High Road from you would've been actually supporting your position using logic & reason, as opposed to pulling out your obviously flimsy credentials. That was your window to save face and walk away then.

I'm worked up because I actually think you are cool, and it genuinely bothers me that you decided to go down this path. Bad form, sir.

Muhammad Rasheed - You do NOT know the religion. Stop it.

Marvyn Moose - The one thing I learned from my religious studies is to respect each person belief and opinions. Never do I engage in discrediting someone based off of what their perspectives are especially on social media. I stated very early on that I don't debate over religion or beliefs and have my reasons why. Actually the intent of the original post had nothing to do with religious debate. If I offended you then I certainly apologize. We are brothers who have families that I know for certain want the best in life for. Our beliefs at this point may indeed differ, however let's end this on a good note. There is nothing I want more than to see you, I and my dear friend Jody Collins-Veasey enjoying the freedoms that is our God given right. Can we shake hands over fb and agree on that?

Muhammad Rasheed - Peace, Marvyn. Have a good day.

Marvyn Moose - U to my friend

Obama's Game: Secrets of the Trans Pacific Partnership

Jerry Lee Brice – Pelosi Stands Down On TAA, Clearing Way For Obama's Trade Agenda

Jerry Lee Brice – WTF??? Why is the president supporting this Trans Pacific partnership deal?Didn't we all learn anything from the NAFTA agreement, which has diminished the lives of American workers in America?...Where is Ross Perot when we really need him..(seriously, where is Ross Perot?)I had to stop supporting all things Clinton (which was hard for a democrat,but this about business)because he pushed through the dropping of the Financial Interest and Syndication rules because it is why the animation industry as far as those of us that worked in the industry under these rules, to go to pot, simply because of a back room politically motivated quid pro quo deal that president made that essentially twisted the knife in the backs of those in the TV and film business that supported him..or more directly, everybody that is not considered "above the line" talent and staff, which generally are the people that only benefit from such backstabbing political largess...wake up people!..they are coming after our pockets, once again!...and I don't care what political party or agenda you support, this will transform America into a third world nation.

Muhammad Rasheed - I think the difference, Jerry, is that NAFTA was George H. W. Bush's baby, so of course it sliced America's throat, sending all of our manufacturing jobs down to Mexico to help their economy at the expense of ours. Bush was actually also trying to fast track it through before the end of his term, but failed, so he managed to convince Clinton to put it through for him. It’s impossible to know for sure, but I think that the newly-elected Clinton was scammed/tricked into doing it, and spent his remaining political career in regret, and feeling like a fool.

The Trans Pacific Partnership is Obama's baby, and I believe it is an attempt by him to actually create a counter-measure to the harm that NAFTA did to the middle class. I think it will ultimately help bring technology back to the American worker, and will grow our middle class strong once again. And unlike an Executive Order, it will be permanent, and new presidents won't be able to repeal it. I think this will be President Obama's ultimate legacy before he leaves, and why he was so passionate about it. I don't know for sure, of course, but this is my gut connecting the dots.

I predict it will mean prosperity is returning to America. Disposable income levels will once again rise dramatically, and where there is disposable income for the middle class, there will be big booms in business growth. The president was finally able to get everyone to see it (in addition to adding some compromise items to the package to make them happy, no doubt. Hopefully those won’t sting too much).

Jerry Lee Brice - I hope you are right, my reading of the tea leaves concerning this bill tells me the opposite...but I do hope you are right on this Muhammad...I just don't see it, possibly I am wrong?We shall see, but my business sense tells me to make moves to shore up my business to be able to thrive if all we get are the predictable negative outcomes and damage this can and may do.

Muhammad Rasheed - Well, Obama has proven a champion of the middle class from day one, that being his most consistent call to action. NAFTA was conspicuously the single biggest item that hurt the middle class in the last several administrations. I strongly feel that this is the president's biggest weapon to cinch in his legacy, and will definitively make him one of the greatest presidents to hold the office. Based on his track record thus far, as well as what these kind of international deals can actually do, I think this is 100% his attempt to fix the damage done from NAFTA as best he can.

Jerry Lee Brice - Folks like me in the animation TV and Film business have seen and heard such things before, to our demise...Clinton also was the one who dropped the Fin/Syn regulations because his rich Hollywood producer pals paid into his campaign so he would do them a favor and drop it...

had I been aware of that back room deal, and what it has done to our business and economy, i would have done everything in my power to campaign against him, that KILLED a large part of our business here, it was the WORST thing to happen to the TV and Movie business ever.The damage is still happening...so, I don't trust this at all-but I do respect you, and trust your opinion to be well thought out, so...lets hope you are right, and i am wrong.

Jeremy Toback - Muhammad, rhetorically the president talks a good game for the middle class, but actions say otherwise. Discrepancies in wealth have increased, while costs of living have increased. No prosecutions in the 19.2 billion dollar theft banks pulled via thefinancial crisis. Labor advocates universally condemn the TPP. I'm not saying O is worse than Bush or Clinton before him, but I am saying their policies are very similar in substance and effect.

Jerry Lee Brice - No matter how much i admire the president, this is about business, and it looks damaging to our business-unless i am missing something?It just smells foul to me.

Hate to be against the president, but if this is what he is pushing through, I have to push back from him.I hate this.

Muhammad Rasheed - Jeremy Toback wrote: “Muhammad, rhetorically the president talks a good game for the middle class, but actions say otherwise. Discrepancies in wealth have increased…”

I understand why you would feel that way, but trust me, the change that the president campaigned on was exactly what he’s been working on all this time, and make no mistake, the specific kind of changes we need to have a healthy middle class, and thus, a prosperous nation is a long-term game. We won’t see the true fruit of what he’s been putting in place until after he’s gone. What has he done thus far?

1.) The Common Core Initiative – It’s purpose is to get the children up to college-level mathematics, science, etc., skills by the time they graduate high school. The benefits should be obvious.

2.) The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act - He reformed the student loan processes getting the banks out of the way as notorious middle men to keep interest rates low. Both of these items combined make him the number one champion for education.

3.) The TechHire Initiative – “President Obama Announces Multi-Sector Effort and Call to Action to Give Americans Pathways to Well-Paying Technology Jobs; Makes Available $100 Million in Grants. The President and his Administration are focused on promoting middle class economics to ensure that all Americans can contribute to and benefit from our American resurgence. Part of that effort requires empowering every American with the education and training they need to earn higher wages. [Which includes] a new campaign to work with communities to get more Americans rapidly trained for well-paying technology jobs.” ~SOURCE

4.) The Trans Pacific Partnership – Although this is primarily theoretical from my point-of-view, it still represents the natural correlation to the president’s long-term plans as I see it, and clearly directly related to the above item #3. I predict at some point after the deal is finalized we may see a sudden surge in tech-savvy Asian immigrants flooding into the country. Naturally, as history lessons dictate, we can expect a lot of initial American bitchin’ about “These people are takin' over our 'Murica!” et cetera, but everything will work out once the competition with the 1-3 items listed catch up and we become tech-savvy ourselves. That’s when the true BOOM! will happen.  That first wave of Asian immigrants very well might build new manufacturing plants here, under some kind of tax-cut benefit built into the TPP just for that purpose.

Unfortunately, whoever is the sitting POTUS at the time is who will get all the glory & credit, because the average citizen lacks any kind of insight into stuff like that.

Jeremy Toback wrote: “…while costs of living have increased.”

That doesn’t have anything to do with Obama; that’s just part of the inevitable symptoms of being on the fiat system under the Federal Reserve. Inflation absolutely will continue to rise, causing the cost of living to rise proportionately, and there is nothing that will be done about it by anyone. Even if by some miracle one of the Libertarian Paul’s get into the White House, they will absolutely be shot before they can demolish the Fed.

Jeremy Toback wrote: “No prosecutions in the 19.2 billion dollar theft banks pulled via thefinancial crisis.”

That’s another item that will never be fixed. The banks were deregulated, remember? That combined with the nature of the Federal Reserve Act itself means that everything those guys did was 100% legal. Kiss that money goodbye. It is quite unrealistic to think Obama could have done anything about that. #tooBigToFailIndeed

Jeremy Toback wrote: “Labor advocates universally condemn the TPP.”

That can mean any number of things.

Jeremy Toback wrote: “I'm not saying O is worse than Bush or Clinton before him, but I am saying their policies are very similar in substance and effect.”

I disagree based on the items set above, and more that I’ve been tracking. Obama genuinely cares about America, wants the country to prosper, and feels that strengthening the middle class is the way to do it. The economy has recovered from the Recession, but the ultimate growth that we all wish to see as Obama’s rhetorical vision, is not an overnight thing that can be put in place in a couple of terms. True change on the higher level requires time, and some growing pains, but it is coming. Our job is to both be patient, and make sure we are prepared for the amazing opportunities sure to arrive.

Jeremy Toback - Muhammad. All respect, but nothing you've said convinces me that in concrete terms O's policy is anything but a continuation of the 30+ year neo-liberal / neo-con program that has decimated the American middle class. I can hope you are right or that 'trust' is merited, but words aside, O's handling of the financial crisis alone tells me otherwise.

Larry F. Houston - I absolutely hate this TPA/TPP and have no faith it will help the middle class. I will actively support primaries against all these Wall Street Democrats who supported this.

Vianey G. Leal - NAFTA fucked over a lot of Mexicans too. What do you think drove them to cross the border even more?

Jerry Lee Brice - yep V i agree!Did nothing for them...

Muhammad Rasheed - @Jeremy Toback... I understand, but you all's committed stance, that basically amounts to “NAFTA was bad so TPP must be bad, too,” doesn't provide anything concrete to convince me to join this anti-Obama campaign, specifically because of the items I've outlined above.

Jeremy Toback wrote: “I can hope you are right or that 'trust' is merited, but words aside, O's handling of the financial crisis alone tells me otherwise.”

His handling of that was as limited as it would be for any other president in that position. What he did do was make sure the unemployment funds were still strong for those struggling through Recessionary lay-offs, and eventually the economy crept back up. But his long term strategy is what will ultimately help the American people ride those kind of Wall Street inflicted financial waves better, by giving us higher wages and more means to save by rekindling our technological lead in the global markets.

The Mexicans don't have the same system we do, so a boom in manufacturing may not have affected workers the same. But remember, even at the height of our manufacturing middle class booms, we still had struggling poor people though. More than likely, it is that class of Mexican that is running across the borders.

Jerry Lee Brice - Because we have heard the same BS before...i'm not going for the okey doke this time around..i will support the candidate that promises and campaigns to destroy this bill in any and every way possible, no matter what political party they happen to be in.

This will hurt us all...

Muhammad Rasheed - Eventually you're going to get tired of rooting for the opposite opponent that I'm rooting for. lol #teamMoney

Jay Mac - Interesting debate.

Nathan Hshs Odu Harris - How is TPP different from NAFTA?

Muhammad Rasheed - NAFTA was between Canada, the USA, and Mexico, while TPP involves the USA and a group of Pacific Asian countries. What the details of the latter turn out to be, we'll find out when it is done. That's the nature of the "fast track."

Nathan Hshs Odu Harris - I know the areas each are a part of. I just want to know how it will be different from NAFTA.

Muhammad Rasheed - We'll see. That part hasn't been released to the public yet.

Paul Daniel - It won't be different, Nate. Jobs will be shipped off to Asian countries where folks get paid cents per hour for manufacturing! And I can't wait!!!! FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR KORE YEARS!! FOUR MORE YEARS!!! I hope these people see this is MY president who brought us the Trans-Pacific Partnership--oh, and Hillary, too; she DID work out the kinks as Secretary of State.

Paul Daniel - Nate, rememeber during the '92 Presidential Debates Ross Perot saying, "Do you hear that sound? It's American jobs heading to Mexico because of NAFTA"? (Or something like that) Well, replace "NAFTA" and "Mexico" with "TPP" and "Asia."

FOUR MORE YEARS! I think you guys were right about this Obama guy. I'm sorry it took me so long to catch on!!

Chris Ray - Ross Perot did try to tell us.

Nathan Hshs Odu Harris - Yeah. I remember. And that what I'm afraid of. I don't see why folk think there will be a difference. Bye bye middle class...

Paul Daniel - Well, Muhammad Rasheed is 100% correct in that we don't know what's inside yet. But from past history of these trade deals, yes, you can expect the American worker to get screwed. Also, and maybe Muhammad knows something mode about this, there was supposed to be a provision in this bill deal that would have extended financial help to workers who lose their jobs over this. it was NOT in the final bill voted on today. Now THAT is a huge spit in the face from Obama to the middle class worker who will lose a job. Did you hear about that part, Mr. Rasheed? I heard it this afternoon.

Muhammad Rasheed - Paul Daniel wrote: "Well, Muhammad Rasheed is 100% correct in that we don't know what's inside yet."

We'll call this "Chemical X."

Paul Daniel wrote: "But from past history of these trade deals, yes, you can expect the American worker to get screwed."

The president has to compromise, and give his opponents something in order for him to get something, the same for all the other acts and bills, etc. that he's signed. So you can count on some aspects of the thing stinging a bit, yes, that is realistic. But I think Obama's part of the deal will be very good for the middle class. Since this is Obama's baby, I can reasonably expect that.

Paul Daniel wrote: "Also, and maybe Muhammad knows something mode about this, there was supposed to be a provision in this bill deal that would have extended financial help to workers who lose their jobs over this. it was NOT in the final bill voted on today. Now THAT is a huge spit in the face from Obama to the middle class worker who will lose a job. Did you hear about that part, Mr. Rasheed? I heard it this afternoon."

Let me see the link to check it out.

Muhammad Rasheed - Nathan Hshs Odu Harris wrote: "Yeah. I remember. And that what I'm afraid of. I don't see why folk think there will be a difference. Bye bye middle class..."

Because George H. W. Bush didn't give a shit about the middle class, and Obama has been all about the middle class. The reasons I argued above make more sense to me than being super pessimistic just because a completely different person in the past, and the president's political rival, made an international agreement 30 years ago.

Muhammad Rasheed - Paul Daniel wrote: "It won't be different, Nate. Jobs will be shipped off to Asian countries where folks get paid cents per hour for manufacturing!"

Our manufacturing jobs are already overseas. lol If Obama did it too it would be out of character. I think the trend is about to reverse with these new Asian trade partners...

...it just occurred to me that you all may be this pessimistic about the TPP, not because of NAFTA, but because you've been brainwashed from watching The Phantom Menace too many times. Because of Bush's selfish shenanigans, the term "trade agreement" has entered popular culture as a villainous concept, and you seem to have an inability to see past the programming. Bush, Sr. and Obama are two different people, with two different agendas.


Paul Daniel - We'll have to revisit this some years down the road. My guess is Obama screwed the middle class, the very voters who put him in office, but I don't care. He's a politician, and by nature, some screwing is going to happen. I believe Ed Schultz on this one when he says Obama sod out his base. But see, I'm on the other side. So I'll sit back and watch the circular firing squad in action. It was Republicans who gave him this win, not Democrats. Must be a reason why.   :)

Muhammad Rasheed - Obama never sold out his base; he showed up on that stage as a moderate, one with a history of working well with both sides of the aisle. The super-greed at the top of those partisan mountains are what sold HIM out.

My points outlining my position as to why I think the Trans Pacific Partnership will ultimately be good for the middle class still stands above. I patiently look forward to the official counter-argument that is tellingly taking it's time to arrive.  ;)

Nathan Hshs Odu Harris - I like to think of my self as a student of history of sorts since I teach it. At this point the TPP looks like NAFTA which hasn't been good for workers.

Muhammad Rasheed - 1.) We don't know what's in it. Therefore what it "looks like" is just an international business deal template.

2.) The two trade agreements were comparing were each championed by presidents with completely different agendas and viewpoints as to what the country needs.

3.) The Obama Administration has put several items in place specifically to help the middle class prosper over the long-term.

4.) So far no criticism against the TPP lines up with any kind of reason or logic. “We don’t like the idea of this international business deal because a previous international business deal – put together by completely different people under a completely different ideology – was bad.”

Paul Daniel - I think you're a super Obama fan. But you're right: he ran as a moderate, but he had no choice; no way he gets elected as the uber leftist he is. But the best part of this is the fight is between the left and the left.

Muhammad Rasheed - He was a moderate throughout his entire political career, Paul.

Paul Daniel - Uh, yah...ok.

Muhammad Rasheed - lol

That's where my advantage of being a "super Obama fan" comes in at. I actually know his career, believe in his vision, and have been tracking his progress in attempting to accomplish the things he said he wanted to accomplish. So when people try to bluff me by saying off-the-cuff statements in the guise of some kind of truth, they tend to stand out.

Writing You Into His Tale

Muhammad Rasheed - [posted photo]

Muhammad Rasheed - Baron Mordo was the talented sorcerer that The Ancient One initially had Hope to groom to replace him as Sorcerer Supreme. But he quickly discovered that because of Mordo's secret schemes to take all of our guns, racially divide the country, socialize everything, and blame his problems on the previous Sorcerer Supremes, The Ancient One realized that Only One Man can save us all...
I understand the Black Nerd community's expressed desire for more iconic Black Villains in genre fiction, but depending on how it is done, it can do no more than add to that "Whites are the good guys of history" white supremacist indoctrination that is CONTINUOUSLY beaming down on us. In which case it becomes a classic case of "Be careful what you wish for..."
Stop asking that guy to do shit for you, please, and do it yourself. Support each other that you may prosper and counter his evil message. Please? Thank you.
Luther Johnson - Interesting......I've always thought that Baron Mordo was of Middle Eastern decent. Not white nor black.

Muhammad Rasheed - He probably was originally.

Muhammad Rasheed - This here is just a part of Hollywood's fake/shallow diversity program.

A real such effort would have been to support the Smith family's After Earth project, instead of condemning it before it even came out in theaters.

Knowledge of the Know

Muhammad Rasheed - epistemology (noun) - The theory of knowledge, esp. with regard to its methods, validity, and scope. Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion.
~The New Oxford American Dictionary
Bakkah Rasheed-Shabazz - How do you know what you think you know.
Clifton Hatchett - Belief and opinion,... yeah... a guaranteed ''circle jerk,''... I believe this is my opinion.
Debra Ann Collins - What is "justified belief?"
Muhammad Rasheed - Whether someone's belief is true is not a prerequisite for (its) belief. On the other hand, if something is actually known, then it categorically cannot be false. For example, if a person believes that a bridge is safe enough to support him, and attempts to cross it, but the bridge then collapses under his weight, it could be said that he believed that the bridge was safe but that his belief was mistaken. It would not be accurate to say that he knew that the bridge was safe, because plainly it was not. By contrast, if the bridge actually supported his weight, then he might say that he had believed that the bridge was safe, whereas now, after proving it to himself (by crossing it), he knows it was safe.
Epistemologists argue over whether belief is the proper truth-bearer. Some would rather describe knowledge as a system of justified true propositions, and others as a system of justified true sentences. Plato, in his Gorgias, argues that belief is the most commonly invoked truth-bearer.  ~SOURCE
Debra Ann Collins - The concept of "justified" seems subjective relative to beliefs that are themselves subjective relative to truth (which can be argued as subjective, as well.)
Muhammad Rasheed - Developing valid methods for definitively determining what is "truth" is part of the theory's discipline.
Clifton Hatchett - Does Pluto being a planet, The world being flat, and the Earth being the center of the universe count as ''justifiable belief,'' I know they used to be facts so, I am curious.
Debra Ann Collins - Clever.
Muhammad Rasheed - 1.) Pluto was categorized as a 'planet' and later as a 'planetoid' using an arbitrary process that, by its nature, couldn't realistically be considered a measure of hard truth. The closest thing to 'factual' that you could say was it had been officially categorized as a planet, but obviously it wouldn't be a fact to say it was a planet since the term itself was fluid and not chiseled in stone by the institutions that upheld it in the lexicon.
2.) The belief that the earth was flat was the exact same analogy used in the bridge example. Some people believed the earth was flat, but they were mistaken. It would not be accurate to say they knew the earth was flat because they obviously knew no such a thing; they only believed in an error.
3.) The 'earth being the center of the universe' concept is also the same. For that reason, believing that it was so was not a justifiable belief because the facts, as they became known, revealed otherwise.
Bakkah Rasheed-Shabazz - One can believe an head of cabbage is god, but belief does not constitute reality. Where's the logic and proofs?
Clifton Hatchett - Can either be quantified, is either belief or opinion verifiable?
Muhammad Rasheed - Once the belief is verified it becomes "justified belief." An opinion by definition is "judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty," which means the opinion is the belief before it becomes 'justified.'
Clifton Hatchett - Circular Reasoning. I get it.
Muhammad Rasheed - How is that circular? It's pinning down the definition terms. 
A 'belief' and an 'opinion' are roughly the same. The 'belief' upgrades to "justified belief" once the sources are verified, which then ranks it above 'opinion.'
What's circular about that?
Clifton Hatchett - Because nothing can actually be verified, thus eliminating the expectation of evidence, as stated by the phrase ''justifiable belief,''... Dogmatic, and problematic.
Muhammad Rasheed - Clifton Hatchett wrote: "Because nothing can actually be verified..."
I believe this ink bottle has only 1/4th of ink left in it. Let me verify...
Yup. I was correct. My belief was justified.
Clifton Hatchett - That is disingenuous, and you know that ''Nothing can be verified,'' was specific to this particular post. Do not start with the dime store tricks. Your audience deserves better my brother. Comedy? If you have chosen this trek....my apologies, and you've succeeded. btw, I'm drawing, and cooking, so no temper tantrums if my responses are not instantaneous.
Muhammad Rasheed - I just proved that your opinion "nothing can be verified" was an untruth, and you called it a dime store trick.
Clifton Hatchett - You're doing a you.
Muhammad Rasheed - Explain, Clifton.
Muhammad Rasheed - Because from here it looks like you lack the ability to support your argument, and you're trying to get out of it by pretending I'm just goofing around.
Clifton Hatchett - No. The emphasis can not be upon me, when it is you who presented a case that has no validity. This is a familiar tact in your strategic wording sir, so much so that it has become predictable. ''pretending I'm just goofing around.'' #bruh
Muhammad Rasheed - Clifton Hatchett wrote: "No. The emphasis can not be upon me, when it is you who presented a case that has no validity."
I just proved that your opinion "nothing can be verified" was an untruth, and you called it a dime store trick.
Clifton Hatchett - You are relentless,So are lemmings.
Muhammad Rasheed - You made a claim, I proved the claim wrong, and your counter is that I'm just goofing around.
Muhammad Rasheed - ...and you want to pretend to be some kind of intellectual.
Muhammad Rasheed - "My claim is valid because I said so! I don't have to support it!"
Clifton Hatchett - Ad Hominems point to the predictability I mentioned. Perhaps I expect too much of you.
Muhammad Rasheed - Ad Hominems
1. "dime store tricks"2. "temper tantrums"3. "predictable"
...against me instead of making the effort to support your position, yet you distract from the fact that you AREN'T supporting your position by claiming I'm making the Ad Hominems against you. 
I just proved that your opinion "nothing can be verified" was an untruth, and you called it a dime store trick.
Clifton Hatchett - No Muhammad. Just No.
Muhammad Rasheed - "Just No," what exactly? Just no you can't support your position?
Then just say that then and stop flopping around like a fish.
Muhammad Rasheed - The only true "justifiable belief" we can have, in the strict academic sense, would be on the negative side of the number line; to acknowledge what we do NOT know.