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September 11 terror and the ghost of things to come....
Obama's Africa agenda, our business and democracy
Nelson Mandela's political trinity: the man, the messiah and the mystique. 
On the Prof. Chinua Achebe project, log on to www.Achebebooks.com

President Obama, hate-mongers and mob cons
http://www.usafricaonline.com/chido.obamavshatemongers09.html

By Chido Nwangwu, Publisher of USAfricaonline.com, www.Achebebooks.com, CLASS magazine, The Black Business Journal, PhotoWorks.TV largest digital images domain for Africans abroad; USAfrica.TV.

Follow Chido at FaceBook.com/usafrica and at Twitter.com/chido247

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Houston September 9, 2009: The Republican zealot from South Carolina's 2nd congressional district Rep. Joe Wilson who heckled and interrupted President Barack Obama's speech to the joint assembly of the U.S Congress a few hours ago with the words "you lie" does not reflect bad manners as much as it reveals the much avoided racial prejudices in high and low places. One of the sociological and political fictions of contemporary American life is that the election of Barack Hussein Obama, an African-American, as President has since ushered in a post-racial America. In a twisted way, thanks to the uncouth Joe!

The usually avoided hard truth is this: Congressman Wilson is part of the mob squad of Republican degenerates who, frankly hate the thought and spit at the irrevocable reality of a Black man, this Black man, this son of an African scholar is the President and Commander in Chief of these United States of America! The same silliness by the same crew followed Obama's back-to-school positive, uplifting speech of September 8, 2009 at at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia to American students with the usual, flaky charges "Obama's turning America into a communist country!"

Since his disreputable, barnyard manners, Wilson has issued a false, misleading apology for his outburst and unparliamentary misconduct with these words:

"This evening, I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the president's remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill," the statement said. "While I disagree with the president's statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the president for this lack of civility."

But I went to his twitter page (CongJoeWilson) a few minutes after his yelling and saw the following pre-thought:

Happy Labor Day! Wonderful parade at Chapin, many people called out to oppose Obamacare which I assured them would be relayed tomorrow to DC." Posted at 8:29 AM Sep 7th 2009, from his TwitterBerry. Note he promised the opposition"would be relayed to (Washington) DC" - translation: Obama!

What will this man do next as "relaying" the evil, toxic messages of his ilk to Obama and the rest of America?

The likes of South Carolina's congressman Wilson demean the presidency and fuel vicious conflicts. Let Mr. Wilson know what you think about his crass rudeness to the office of the President of the United States of America by calling him at (202) 225-2452 or (803) 939-0041

There are four other issues we need to address:

1) Why are these zealots and people threatened by Obama's message of inclusive empowerment of the previously locked out and deprived? Why do these ideological extremists distort morally expanding options to healthcare to those who cannot afford existing costs and insurance restrictions as "socialism.. Afro-Communism..Nazism", etc?

2) When will Obama seriously awaken to the lethal words and coded relays of these people? I am still surprised Obama treats these kooks like the we-can-all-get -along-excited-campers! As a student of international politics, of state power and of media engagement that excessive we-can-all-get-along theology as the method of governance amidst mechanized hatreds and bigotry reflect a dangerous naivete and illusory pursuit of accommodation. It could have been fine for the election and garnering votes. I saw and heard first hand while covering Barack Obama's 2008 Yes We Can campaign, that he has an inclusive vision for all Americans and seeks harmony with the rest of the world. www.usafricaonline.com/chido.obama08houston.html

But now he has to govern, Lead and move the country forward with a coalition of the willing; thanks GW Bush!

3) Is the freedom of expression a license to fuel the flames of hate, bigotry and instigation of murder and possible assassination of the President? A Republican pastor said the other day on a pulpit in the U.S that he wants and prefers Obama dead! He wants Michelle widowed, and the daughters....

That preacher of hellfire and brimstone reflect, also, the dangers of the continuing misrepresentations and falsehoods engineered for and at the summer 2009 "healthcare town-hall meetings". Why has the Republican party given nods and winks to their tailored, predictable, toxic mobocracy of the "healthcare town-hall meetings" masquerading as democratic expressions. Why did they allow shouting down opponents to morph into Republican modus operandi? Joe Wilson had his soul mates in those yelling riot brigades, and beyond. Here's why? Only a few days ago, right-wing talk-radio bomb throwers and distortion artists Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage Wiener and Sean Hannity demanded as required and standard behavior for Republicans and extreme conservatives that for the remainder of the term of Obama's presidency: they must use raucous heckling, wild accusations, shrill partisan roars and physical disruption of public policy events against Obama's policies and moves as the tools of engagement….

Remarkably, the same man Obama continues to shower with respect and praise U.S Senator Charles Grassley, a senior Republican from Iowa, who falsely stated that Obama's healthcare agenda includes pulling the plug on grandma! There others like him who have said worse things; and these are no fringe elements.

If Rush, Glen, Savage, Sean and their allied troops of double-barrel bigots and sophisticated racists continue to demean U.S President Obama with vile, vicious contempt over the airwaves while others inside the wells of the U.S Congress like Congresspersons Jean Schmidt of Ohio and Joe Wilson continue to question the birthplace and patriotism of Obama so openly, pray, what do they say in their Blacks-and-women-not-allowed country clubs and demographically deed-restricted communities?

The greater relief is that America and Americans are fair-minded. But the congenital supremacist brigades and those I call the mob cons will continue to fail at the ballot boxes into 21st century America. Americans are, historically and irreversibly accommodating and provides unique opportunities to recent immigrant citizens such as myself, a young continental African in the U.S., like they did thirty years earlier for President Obama's father, Barack Hussein Obama, Snr.

4) We must ask the contextual question: What next will the zealots do? When will honest and decent men and women draw the line and say enough!?

Let us bear witness to history that the rabid partisans are only setting the dangerous stage for yet another hurtful, potentially violent twist in America's history. No! At least, I voiced my responsible and reasoned concern to these historic workers of iniquities and entrenched dispossessors of their poor, needy neighbors. When will you, and other good men and women stand up strong and halt these hate-mongers before....?

-- USAfrica and USAfricaonline.com (characterized by The New York Times as the largest and arguably the most influential African-owned, U.S-based multimedia networks) established May 1992, our first edition of USAfrica magazine was published August 1993; USAfrica The Newspaper on May 11, 1994; and CLASSmagazine on May 2, 2003.

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Impeachment process shows Nigerian democracy "is alive... being tested." Nigeria's president retired Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo has said that the impeachment process shows that "democracy is alive, is being tested, and being tried.... What they (the legislators) have tried to do in the democratic way, which is not easy, would probably have been done by taking arms or by -- with bullets. So, but with democracy, of course, some people feel that this is the way this should be, and then I have an opportunity to defend myself. There is discussion. There is dialogue. There is a decision. There is fairness." He made these comments when he appeared on Tuesday September 17, 2002 on CNN International to discuss the issues of impeachment facing him, the allegations of corruption, abuse of the constitution and deployment of soldiers ina civilian environment which led to the "massacre of civilians" in Odi (Bayelsa) and Zaki Biam (Benue). On the charges by international human rights organizations and Nigerian media that his government has been involved in actions which have led to the deaths of thousands of Nigerians, the retired General gave a surprising answer. He was asked that "as many as 10,000 people, it's being reported, have been killed in Nigeria (in) communal rivalries, and the number is believed to be increasing. And people are saying that although President Obasanjo has done a lot of good for Nigeria, you're accused of not -- accused of failing to halt that spiraling violence." Obasanjo: Let me say this to you, when you put the question of 10,000 -- 10,000 people dying in Nigeria, of course, for a population of over 120 million people...." But USAfricaonline.com Founder and recipient of the Journalism Excellence award (1997), Chido Nwangwu, who appeared on the same program as as a CNN International analyst (Africa) pointed out that "when (President Obasanjo) answered that in a country of 100 million that 10,000 people are said to have died, as if that was a small number, that in itself reflects a disconnect with the concerns of Nigerians. The second one is that when the risk is civil disagreement, the police are required to intervene in the country. And the deployment of the armed forces of Nigeria requires at least some consultation, however modest, with the parliament." Nwangwu, former member of the editorial board of Nigeria's Daily Times continued that "the third factor that is equally important to underscore is that the armed forces of Nigeria moved in for a punitive action rather than just containing a civil disagreement." 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