Vijay Prashad Asseses The Occupy Movement and the Presidential Election

NewsClickin 

In conversation with Newsclick, Vijay Prashad analyzes the American Occupy Wall Street movement and the Tea Party movement.

Jay Smooth: "Phony" (A Song for Mitt Romney)

from ill-Doctrine:

After Jay-Z recorded "Glory" to welcome his new daughter into the world, I wondered what it would sound like if Republican voters made a song to welcome Mitt Romney as their now-inevitable nominee.

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"Phony" featuring W.M.R.
LYRICS:

Can't explain how uninspired i feel
Looking at this primary field
Mitt romney, I freaking hate you
I can't believe the nomination is you
You're phony.

False promises, false starts
Six different frontrunners falling apart
Now look who we're stuck with
The million dollar Tin Man with no heart.
One percenters, you dance for them
Then you switch up your stance for them
You're phony...

You are amazing, you're unbelievable
I mean literally, Icannot believe in you
Just an empty suit, who's really in control?
There's nothing in your soul except opinion polls
The fakest in a room full of fake actors
You've never paid dues, you barely pay taxes
And every time you speak it makes me hate you more and
It's not cuz your faith is Mormon it's cuz your so fake and boring.
You're boring. And Phony. So phony.
boring boring bo

You're phony it's never been disputable
You look phony in every interview you do
You look phony at weddings and at funerals
You even look phony singing America the Beautiful

You're the child of a party's legacy
Now you're the child that made that party dead to me.
You're a smarmy dog-torturing fake moderate turned fake conservative
What a terrible recipe.

What’s the Deal with Russell Simmons? Deconstructing the Black 1%

The Def Jam icon is part-activist, part-capitalist...so who is he really?

What’s the Deal with Russell Simmons? 

Deconstructing the Black 1%

by Mark Anthony Neal | Ebony.com

For far too many Americans, there is little distinction to be made among those who comprise the so-called 1%; this was made apprent recently in the dismissive reaction to the travails of locked-out NBA ballers, where the conflict was reduced to a battle between millionaires and billionaires (as if the NBA owners were not in position to set labor relations precedents—worker mobility, depressed wages, the value of labor unions—that could impact everyday American workers). The general lack of nuance with which many in this country engage the issue of wealth is symptomatic of a general inability to make broader distinctions between power and wealth. Thus it’s not surprising that many lump all of the so-called 1% into one group, as if they shared common values, traveled the same routes to their wealth, or deployed their wealth to the same ends—ends that are thought to be inherently antithetical to progressive movement.

The criticism faced by #Occupy Movement supporter Russell Simmons is emblematic of a trend among critics of Black elites about their seeming contradictory support of the movement. In one critique, “The Black Millionaires of Occupy Wall Street,” writer Cord Jefferson takes Simmons to task for his own business practices—like predatory pre-paid debit cards—noting that the Hip-Hop mogul’s support of #Occupy is “convenient” in that it “doesn't call into question the foundation on which he’s amassed a 35,000-square-foot home.” Simmons’ business practices are, of course, fair game—yet to think that Simmons, or any of the Black celebrities who have empathized with the movement are some how complicit in the world that the 99% are symbolically dismantling, is to not really understand how power really functions.

Simmons’ depiction as a celebrity endorser of a pre-paid debit card—as figures such as Suze Orman and Lil Wayne have recently launched such cards—has recently drawn his ire. In an open letter to the “Financial Press,” where Simmons compares himself to Richard Branson and Mark Zuckerburg, he writes, “With the issuance of the first RushCard, I created the first Prepaid Debit Card Account, requiring no linkages whatsoever to a consumer checking account. Today, millions of Americans manage their financial lives with the assistance of prepaid debit cards issued by UniRush and our competitors.”

Yet underlying Simmons’ complaint and response to the reduction of his business acumen to his celebrity is largely motivated by a dismissal of hip-hop culture and its constituents (or consumers, depending on your vantage) as anything of value. It is a well-worn accusation, that is more often on-point than not, but also highlights the classic spin of a cultural gatekeeper, who resists having to address real issues of accountability by continually highlighting his (now tenuous) relationship to hip-hop culture. Simmons may not be of a 1% that actually impacts policy in this country, like say the Koch Brothers or the substantial number of elected officials who are amongst the nation's most wealthy. Yet, his role in contemporary Black life is deserving of some level of scrutiny.

Read Full Essay @ Ebony.com

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Mark Anthony Neal is the author of five books including the forthcoming Looking for Leroy: (Il)Legible Black Masculinities (New York University Press) and Professor of African & African-American Studies at Duke University. He is founder and managing editor of NewBlackMan and host of the weekly webcast Left of Black. Follow him on Twitter @NewBlackMan.

Deconstructing the 1%: Are the Koch Brothers Denying Your Vote?

from Brave New Foundation

Through their web of political influence, billionaire political operatives Charles and David Koch have bought access to democracy's lifeblood: free and fair elections. The Kochs have funded efforts to thwart 21 million Americans from voting and Koch dollars helped write and propose voting suppression bills in 38 states.