Posted on 07/30/2008 6:18:48 AM PDT by CharlesThe Hammer
Obama notes ‘tragic’ US past American history's "sad" aspects require action, the senator tells cheering journalists
CHICAGO » Sen. Barack Obama, speaking to a gathering of minority journalists yesterday, stopped short of endorsing an official U.S. apology to American Indians but said the country should acknowledge its history of poor treatment of certain ethnic groups.
"There's no doubt that when it comes to our treatment of Native Americans as well as other persons of color in this country, we've got some very sad and difficult things to account for," Obama told hundreds of attendees of UNITY '08, a convention of four minority journalism associations.
The Hawaii-born senator, who has told local reporters that he supports the federal recognition bill for native Hawaiians drafted by U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, noted other ethnic groups but did not mention native Hawaiians when answering a question about his thoughts on a formal U.S. apology to American Indians.
"I personally would want to see our tragic history, or the tragic elements of our history, acknowledged," the Democratic presidential hopeful said.
"I consistently believe that when it comes to whether it's Native Americans or African-American issues or reparations, the most important thing for the U.S. government to do is not just offer words, but offer deeds."...
(Excerpt) Read more at starbulletin.com ...
Megyn on FOX is interviewing Obama’s economic guy on this very subject at the moment. She asks if this isn’t a “socialist approach”...Obama’s guy gets VERY defensive at the use of the word..
360,000 Union soldiers were killed in the Civil War to set the slaves free. It seems to me that the blood of those soldiers was reparations enough. In fact, I think that the descendants of former slaves should be asked to reimburse the U.S. government for the cost of the Civil War. After all, they were the primary beneficiaries.
The hell you don’t owe anything! Expect to pay reparations if this fool gets elected.
Thank you liberals! You have done a fine job tearing this nation down! You have separated those who want to live in peace, to advance your socialist agenda.
The 60’s children, shallow and self absorbed, who did not grow up, are now in power.
Do you really think that people here are going to vote for Obama?
White undecided voter: "Gee, I couldn't figure out who I was going to vote for, but now that Obama is talking about reparations slavery, which I had nothing to do with, I'm definitely voting for Obama now!"
Even if he wants to push for reparations after he's elected, he should know it's not a winning campaign issue with undecided voters. Sheesh! It's about as smart as saying he doesn't want to drill for oil in the United States as gas hovers between 4 and 5 dollars a gallon. What a dummy. I'm already hearing snippets about his "reparations" comment on morning radio programs. WTH is he thinking? Is he simply more of an imbecile than anyone has ever imagined?
Why not run Obama’s speach on TV here on the main land. The MSM will NOT cover this.
there are working people in the democrat party that don’t feel they owe anyone, anything.
if done properly, the pubies could address this issue and pick up some democrats this year.
Go Fox and Meg.
Everyone in America has part Indian in them. But guess what? It don’t mean squat. Got a treaty card? No? Then pay up pal. Pay for that EVIL you did.
Praying for the gop to act sensibly is like praying for the sky to fall. I keep hoping the the energy issue is an issue that they can unite around. But to this point I don’t see the passion they need if they’re going to win. I hope it takes place at the convention.
History cannot be changed. Let’s move on and live in the real world. However, if Obama is elected, I may be demanding reparations for what he and a Dem Congress do to the economy.
;-)
I have been paying reparations my entire adult life. They are called “taxes.”
Every state I have lived in takes money from productive people and redistributes it to non-productive people in the form of endless government programs dreamed up by pols like Bambi.
Right on.
I hate revisionist American history as well. There was no “great Indian civilization”. Just small bands of cutthroats, many who froze out during the winter all on their own, or were slaughtered by a rival band of cutthroats.
There were plenty of atrocities committed by Indians on settlers, which resulted in retaliation and their demise.
I want reparations from Russia for what they did to Poland and the Ukraine, and reparations from the Germans for what they did to Poland and the Ukraine.
In fact, lets go back a little further in history. I want reparations from the Arabs for what they did to the holy lands when those hords of Muhammadans began slaughtering their way across it.
Since reparations are based on the costs incurred by the recipients,
let’s tally the costs of the culture in question:
welfare, transfer payments, opportunity costs because of that lost capital, increased costs due to crime, drag on the economy due to crime, illegitimacy, drug use, drug dealing, corruption of others’ values (rap/thug culture), loss of productivity due to that corruption, loss of life and loss of productivity along with it...
well, we could go on all day.
But, the net, I believe, puts the “recipients” clearly in the red, not in the black... er, so to speak.
Of course, it will only be the beginning. There are all kinds of people waiting in line for an apology and reparations. After all, America just plain sucked until the 1960s. What an evil, evil land it was!
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