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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Tavis Smiley, Cornel West Launch Fake "Poverty Tour" To Deter Obama's Black Supporters (Personal Vendettas)






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What Do I Think Of Dr. Cornel West & Tavis Smiley's Fake "Poverty Tour"? Can Someone Please Tell Me Why Dr. West & Tavis Aren't Giving Out Food & School Supplies On Their Tour? If You Really Care About The Poor Than Show It Versus Just Talking About It!

Steve Harvey Recently Called Out Both Tavis Smiley & Dr. Cornel West On His Radio Program, By Exposing Their "Poverty Tour" Is Nothing More Than A Scheme To Make THEM Money & To Deter Pres. Obama's Black Supporters. Why? They're Angry Because He Did NOT Personally Invite Them To The White House. Grow Up! No Wonder Today's Black Youth Are So Misguided.

Its Because Of Fake "Black Leaders" Like These Two Clowns. I Used To Admire Them, Especially West But Now I Don't!

Can You Say "Personal Vendettas?"

Can You Say A "Plan To Deter Obama's Black Supporters?"

These Two So-Called "Black Leaders" Need To Grow Up!

Become A Part Of The Solution NOT Part Of The Problem!

VOTE OBAMA IN 2012 & REHIRE PELOSI!














Cornel West, Tavis Smiley playing poverty games


The funny thing about the much ballyhooed and ridiculed Tavis Smiley/Cornel West joint production poverty tour is how the tables are turned. In the tag team summer wrestling rift between Smiley/West and Sharpton/Joyner - which seemed more like salty long-nailed high school girls scratching it up over the basketball team captain that is President Obama - there were some very distinct class conflicts playing itself out.

Smiley and West were characterized as part of the "Ivory Tower" elite, that Black "Bougie" Jack-and-Jill-like crowd of pretentious and highly educated "middle-class" African Americans that had much to say about the struggle but had never really struggled; in the case of these two, they were bohemian intelligentsia accused of fighting the fight from the comfort of marbled institutions and never really being "on the street."

Sharpton - with Joyner and then others like Steve Harvey now joining in for fun and ad revenue - represented that "street cred" that Smiley and West never had, highly stylized, sophisticated and very loud "ghetto" activism that spoke to the everyday worries and hardships of the "working class." If something goes down or pops off "in the community" in any location that is Black USA, you'd find Sharpton replete with entourage, banner signs, megaphone and trademark perm.

For the most part, the distinctions are stylistic (and somewhat demeaning) more than philosophical. Lecture halls versus talk show radio, essentially. Soft versus hard. One "N.I.C." versus the other "N.I.C." Mainstream versus fringe. You see where this is headed.

Now, with the Smiley/West co-produced poverty tour, we find an unusual and somewhat silly reversal of roles. The reasons for both men embarking on this multi-city tour are varied and complex. Both need a way to reconnect and remain relevant as they are sensing a loss of audience share; a quarter of the professional, middle-class black population has evaporated with recession, therefore cutting into their earnings of everything from book sales to speaking engagements.

Hence, it's time to find new audience and, possibly, reach out to the old now relegated to poverty and unemployment benefits (or just ran out). Hit the streets, so to speak. In the process, both might discover the "street cred" they either lost or just didn't know.




Tavis Smiley And Cornel West Spar With CNN's Carol Costello About Obama, Poverty


CNN's Carol Costello had a rather testy exchange with PBS host Tavis Smiley and Prof. Cornel West about their fierce criticism of President Obama.

Smiley and West have been two of President Obama's most high-profile African American critics. They are currently on a nationwide "Poverty Tour" to highlight what they say is the lack of attention given to poor people in America. Smiley and West appeared on "American Morning" Monday to discuss the tour. Smiley was blunt about what he saw as the damage done by Obama in the recent debt deal.

"I think this debt ceiling deal, Carol, was really a declaration of war on the poor," he said. "The Congress, the president, respectfully, have declared war on the poor...no unemployment extensions for poor people. No closing of a single corporate loophole, not one new tax, not one cent of new tax on the rich and the lucky."

Costello didn't seem to be buying this line of thinking. In response, she cited a Heritage Foundation study which, she said, claimed that poor Americans lived relatively comfortably.

"What are they complaining about?" she asked, and, citing the study again, continued, "[rich] people pay the taxes in America and the poor don't pay any." West called this a "lie," saying that "most of the taxes are paid by middle class. One out of four corporations don't pay a penny of taxes."

After Smiley ran through some of the things he would like President Obama to do to tackle poverty--including discussing the issue more and having a national conference on poverty--Costello asked another skeptical question.

"The president represents everybody in America," she said. "[He's] dealing with a lot of stuff right now so why concentrate on one segment of the population?"

"When the banks had a national emergency, they bailed out and found $700 billion," West shot back. "When we go to war, we find $1.3 trillion."



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Sources: Atlanta Post, CNN, Democracy Now, Huffington Post, MSNBC, PBS News, The Grio, Youtube, Google Maps

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