How nice: Rapid City appears to have a racist birther representing Ward 1 on the City Council. Mr. Powers notes this disturbing RCJ report about Ward 1 alderman Bill Clayton apparently claiming President Barack Obama is not an American:
The complaints about racist comments were independently confirmed to the Journal in off-the-record interviews with four city council members. All four confirmed the complaint focused on whether Clayton told or implied to KOTA TV reporter Taisha Walker, who is black, that she should go back to Kenya with President Barack Obama. Clayton also reportedly questioned whether Walker was an American; neither Walker not Obama are from Kenya, a mostly black African nation [Aaron Orlowski, "Journal exclusive: Alderman Bill Clayton probed over possible racist comments and verbal attacks on a colleague," Rapid City Journal, 2013.01.13].
Clayton has also been investigated for alleged threats against fellow council member Charity Doyle while speaking to the local Wingnuts group (no, really, that's what they call themselves). The vile racism and false questioning of the President's nationality in Clayton's alleged comments may win smiles and winks before the Wingnut crowd, but they are unacceptable from a public figure elected to represent an entire community.
The City Council held a hearing on these allegations and voted last month not to take any action against Clayton. Clayton himself is playing rather coy on the racism charges, saying he and the reporter have "put this to rest." But the comments imputed to Alderman Clayton require more than that. Alderman Clayton has an obligation to explain to the public whether he believes a thoroughly refuted racist lie.
bill clay?
Holy—nooo.... I don't think so. "Bill Clay" seemed to talk like a Sioux Falls-area guy.
FYI: The title "wingnuts" was originally coined by Stan Adelstein and is the unofficial name of a South Dakota Conservatives group in Rapid City that is led by Senator Bill Napoli.
BTW: The only vile things I read are right here in Madville.
right, ed. arrow: meet broken.
Of course this is none of my business, but that has never stopped me before so Ill just come right out with it.
If this sorry excuse for a man works for the government shouldn't he be held to the same standards as someone working in the military that he represents in his job? This kind of conduct wouldn't be tolerated there and it shouldn't be in an elected position. I say report it and let the US government sort it out.
But then again I'm just a crazy old blind SOB that doesn't like bigots or those that defend them. Ed that means you. How in the hell did either one of you survive a back round check?
Now what words should I use to describe Bill Clayton?
Wingnut, no over used and lost its zip.
Right wing wacko, that's not it either, there are lots of wackos out there maybe even me.
Gun toting racists hiding behind a bible. That's the one.
"I will tell you, and I will say this with my hand on a Bible, I never made a gesture of a gun to my head," Clayton said.
And what would that prove? If you use that phrase enough it kind a looses its meaning after a while. Its like me swearing on a stack of Hightimes that I never smoked pot. Everyone would know it was a lie but it would be so damn funny that they just wouldn't care.
Hightimes meet the Bible. Its all about truth in advertising.
The Blindman
Here's Colin Powell's statement this morning on Meet the Press:
POWELL: There’s also a dark — a dark vein of intolerance in some parts of the party. What do I mean by that? I mean by that that they still sort of look down on minorities. How can I evidence that?
When I see a former governor say that the President is “shuckin’ and jivin’,” that’s racial era slave term. When I see another former governor after the president’s first debate where he didn’t do very well, says that the president was lazy. He didn’t say he was slow. He was tired. He didn’t do well. He said he was lazy. Now, it may not mean anything to most Americans, but to those of us who are African Americans, the second word is shiftless and then there’s a third word that goes along with that. The birther, the whole birther movement. Why do senior Republican leaders tolerate this kind of discussion within the party?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-eldzPGlEU
Are you truly blind physically, Bill? You are obviously blind to the truth of God. BTW, thanks for proving my point about the depravity of your ilk. You are the bigot. You hurl the racist label around like a weapon to spread your hate, then accuse others of being hateful and intolerant. Face it now, or face Him with your depravity.
Ed I don't see any relationship between whether I'm blind or not and the discussion at hand, and I don't think you want to go there. But. If you continue to bring your religion up and use it like a club you can bet that I will call you on it.
You haven't read anything that I have written or you would know that just because I don't choose to believe the same thing as you doesn't mean that I hate a religion. Not hardly. I in fact respect those that let their religions define them. I find intolerable those that want us to think that they are their gods disciples.
The one thing that has always stuck in my mind about the times that I used to read your bible was this. "Beware of false prophets. I wont apologies for calling you out on that, after all its in the bible. If there is a god I think he would disown you for what you have said.
As for me and religion, who knows there might be something out there. But there again who are we supposed to believe when it comes to something like that? I think the right thing to do here would be to just treat everyone like you would want to be treated. But that doesn't mean that if I see and or step in some dog crap I'm going to call it chocolate candy. I've see a lot of dog crap in my life.
Here's a little something for you Ed. I wrote this song a couple of weeks ago and its about religion the way I see it. There is even an explanation to go with it.
THE INSANE PREACHER BLUES
I admit that I put this off for a while because I respect those that follow religion, not just Christianity but all of them. In the next couple of words I'm going to try to explained why organized religion isn't for me, anymore.
It wasn't always this way. Early in life we didn't go to church but church came to us in the form of a traveling preacher. Every week he would show up at one of several ranches in this part of the country and preach.
I don't remember much about the man while he was here except for one thing, he never told us how we should live our lives, he just gave us the word and let us figure it out for ourselves if we were right or wrong. He never got in anyone's face and told them they were going to hell because they weren't living the way he thought god thought they should live. His name was Reverend Bushnell and he was the last preacher that I ever respected. I knew him for almost my whole life and he never strayed from his path with god.
From then on our church consisted of working cattle on Sunday mornings in the summer time and watching church on TV in the winter time. My Uncle Cars would say lets go to church when we were getting ready to ride on those Sundays. I guess in a way that's what we were doing. There is nothing like nature to make you feel close to whoever or whatever is out there.
Now I would like to talk to you about the reason that I don't go to church anymore. TV preachers. From the beginning of TV history there have been preachers trying to separate you from your money. There I said it. They all had their little spiels that didn't really have anything to do with religion but had everything to do with their pocket books. Lets talk about a couple of these that I have know through our TV set.
Kenneth Copeland, Told amusing stories about the bible and tried to bring it up to todays standards. He's still around and still asking for money.Self proclaimed Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Teacher, TV evangelist
Jerry Falwell, a true pain in the ass until the day he died. He thought everything hinged on the problems that the gay people were causing in his world. Earthquakes, blame the gays, bad storms, blame the gays, economic collapse yup blame the gays. This mans only redeeming quality was his ability to raise money from those that loved him and his bullshit. He built a collage from that money. More on him in a little bit.
Kathryn Kuhlman, This old girl was actually fun to watch. She knew how to get your attention with the fire she spat from the pulpit. She used to have these two bubbas that stood around until she wanted to heal someone. She would get in front of the sick or crippled and yell and scream and talk to god. Then she would reach out and touch um on the head. They would go down like a sack of rocks only to be caught by the two bubbas before they reach the ground. Then she would have them stand up and walk across the stage. To a person they all said thank you Jesus right along with Kate. Of course then she would ask for money to keep the good times rolling.
Rex Humbard was another one of the miracle workers on TV. He was the first preacher on our TV that had first class entertainment. The place where he worked the most magic was taking money form people and depositing it in his bank account.
Oral & Richard Roberts, the founder of Oral Roberts University, faith healer, shyster, and taker of money. Roberts claimed that Jesus told him God had chosen him to find an effective treatment for cancer. He was also the first preacher to play the "if you don't send me a million dollars by such and such date god will take me" crap. He knew how to make money the old fashioned way he begged for it, and got it by the millions.
Jimmy Swaggart, Robert Tilton, were two more of the first class faith healers. Tilton preached from somewhere down in Texas and wasn't scared to ask for money. His main tactic was shaming you into sending him money because you were basically a sinner and well he was not.
Then there was Jimmy Swaggart. Jimmy loved the whores, not once, not twice, but he was caught three times as he would say "counseling the ladies." I might be wrong but I believe he had two famous cousins, Mickey Gilley and Jerry Lee Lewis. He would have been a great entertainer but chose to be a preacher. It was the worlds loss along with the worlds money.
Pat Robertson, well what cant be said about old Pat that hasn't been said before. He was for a short time in his own mind a Colonel in the armed forces until we found out that the closest he ever got to battle was pinching a Korean girls ass in the officers club. He still offers his advise on the 700 club if you care to stop and drop of some money. He had some interesting relationships with world leaders. He was into blood diamonds and gold bought with other peoples money dug out of the ground by slaves.What a piece of shit he still is.
And last but not least are Jim and Tammy Fae Bakker. Now I loved these two. They were true showmen that knew how to work a crowd. Jim would preach, Tammy would croak out a tune, and they could both cry on cue. Sometimes you could see six or seven coats of war paint running down Tammys face while they were asking for more money. Back when I partied a lot late at night when there wasn't anything else on TV you could count of the PTL to give great values for your buck, Of course it went down a lot better if you were a little drunk or stoned.
JB also like the whores. He got into some trouble for his dalliances but until the government put him in jail for taking money that they though he got in an unlawful way he kept right on preaching. The two of them made a ministry of the PTL Club and turned it into a one hundred and fifty million dollar business, tax dodge, slush fund, and from the looks of things whore magnet. Then Jimmy went to jail, Tammy found another man, and our old friend Jerry Falwell took over the PTL Club so it wouldn't go broke. Jerry knew a good thing when he saw it.
These people all had a couple of things in common. They knew how to work a 501c to make money, and they were healing SOBs. In every show you would see the stage, then down in one corner there would be a pile of wheel chairs, crutches, canes, and oxygen tanks. I saw everything from brain cancer to hemorrhoids healed on these shows.
Well there you have it. That's why I don't go to church anymore, or at least one of the reasons. It is also the reason I wrote the song below. If there is a god I think he would like my stuff as much as those people I talked about. One more thing here I'm not asking for any of your money.
THE INSANE PREACHER BLUES
Aint been to church since I don't know when
Don't think I'll be going back again
I've heard the rumors and I've seen the news
These preachers are all insane
I like the sound of a good blues band
A glass of whiskey or a pipe in my hand
If there's a god and I'm not saying it's true
I think he'd like me when I'm high
Don't play me, betray me
Don't push me down unless you wanna go to
We're only different in your head
Stop lying denying, don't need the crap that your putting us through
Wont make no difference if we're dead
Its the end of the old way
Its the start of a new day
Lets just forget where we came from
We've all had some rough luck
Some hard times and tough luck
Lets hope for better things to come
I sang the hymns and went to Sunday school
But that's not where I learned the golden rule
I've seem people do some real bad things
I'll remember till I die
We all do things, think no ones around
But someone sees and tries to push us down
The same people think they have not sinned
But they all have things to hide
Don't play me, betray me
Don't push me down unless you wanna go to
We're only different in your head
Stop lying denying, don't need the crap that your putting us through
Wont make no difference if we're dead
Its the end of the old way
Its the start of a new day
Lets just forget where we came from
We've all had some rough luck
Some hard times and tough luck
Lets hope for better things to come
Aint it enough to love your fellow man
Treat those around you as good as you can
We make mistakes and you know its true
But that's as perfect as we'll ever be
As perfect as we'll ever be
Its the end of the old way
Its the start of a new day
Lets just forget where we came from
We've all had some rough luck
Some hard times and tough luck
Lets hope for better things to come
Aint been to church since I don't know when
Aint never going back again
I've heard the rumors and I've seen the news
These preachers are all insane
From THE CHURCH OF BILL and the pulpit of
The Blindman
I'm crying with laughter. I probably need a good healing. Rock on, Blindman.
Dang—Mr. Dithmer is one bear you should not tease with irrelevancies!
I'll simply add that the pedigree of the name of the Rapid City group has little to do with its embrace of ultra-right-wing nuttery like birtherism... the main topic here which Mr. Randazzo fails to mention.
Bill, I'm not a prophet, false or otherwise and I don't use my religion as a club. My relationship with God is my life. Your litany of men who have preached but then fell is disturbing only in that they fell into sin as we all do. You use the actions and behaviors of men to justify your separation from the Sovereign God. Your idyllic Reverend Bushnell was a book reader who didn't even heed the Word of God in the Holy Bible. If a pastor doesn't challenge you to follow the Word of God in your life, he is also falling short, but also is just a man. Man is sinful by nature and will interpret anything, including the Holy Bible, according to his own self-centered view. Your blasphemous "song" is funny to some but offensive to the disciples you hate. I sincerely hope that God will open your heart to Him before you pass from this life or you will stand before the Lord of Hosts to answer to Him, not nature. Bill, you don't need to go to church, just humble yourself before God and He will hear your prayer.
Cory, I attend Wingnut lunches and don't believe there are any more "birthers" there than you will find at Wal-Mart or a Crackerbarrel. It's probably good advice to not comment on things you know nothing about. Why don't you come to a Wingnuts lunch.......I will guarantee your safety and maybe, just maybe, you may enjoy it. The Pennington Co. Chair of the Democrat Party attended recently and spoke to us. He now better understands Wingnuts, and we him.
Your rock, Dithmer! Lee Atwater lives through the new conservative movement: just think of Ed as another researcher of dark energy.
For those of you not knowing what Rapid City has become should be very frightened for South Dakota's future: it's an armed camp just waiting for excuses to prey on the weak.
I am truly frightened as these skinheads dehumanize persons of color.
Boycott the Black Hills, East River.
Ed, you should be careful about projecting your group's fringe beliefs onto the general population. Of course, Wal-Mart and crackerbarrels may not be representative samples, either....
I'm not worried about my safety (physical or moral) at a Wingnuts meeting. I suspect I might find a Wingnuts meeting highly entertaining... though would I understand you guys any better than I already do from your pulic rhetoric? Make it supper, not lunch, and I can come on a school day (some of us work through our lunch hour). Otherwise, think June, and I'll come down and poll the assembled dozens firsthand on birtherism and other harmful foolishness.
The secessionist movement in red states is just another astroturfed birther bash designed to divide. Here is a sample of what Rapid City can expect in the coming year:
"It turns out that writing a column about Idle No More and the ongoing battle by Indians in Canada for fair treatment attracts racists the way a wet lawn calls out to worms."
Ed and the Blindman need to hug it out. What does religion have to do with a Rapid City politician being racist?
Clayton did not specifically comment on whether he made those statements. "Reporters do their best to get quotes as accurate as possible. Generally, they're not complete and not always accurate," Clayton said.
Not sure how you can mis-quote "go back to Kenya with Obama". Maybe he said "go back to Ken, would ya, with this old balm, ahhhh..."
Just a couple of thoughts and then I'm done with this thread.
First , yes Ed you do swing your religion like a club. You bring it up when you talk about everything from abortion to gay people. What's with that, no original thoughts of your own?
You are also hiding behind your religion. Ya that's right you heard it here. You think God will protect you as long as you say a prayer. If that's indeed the case why do you need a concealed carry permit? Are you scared that your god is going to let you down? Is your faith that shaky or do you just want a chance to kill someone? Either way I doubt God would approve.
If there is a god I bet that at this minute "he she or it" and Reverend Bushnell are having a good laugh at our expense.
"Your idyllic Reverend Bushnell was a book reader who didn't even heed the Word of God in the Holy Bible."
All I can say to that is WOW what a yutz.
"If a pastor doesn't challenge you to follow the Word of God in your life, he is also falling short," According to who, you? Isn't that subjective?
" Man is sinful by nature and will interpret anything, including the Holy Bible, according to his own self-centered view." Look in the freaking mirror Ed then get back to me.
"Your blasphemous song" And here I always heard that "The truth will set you free" I'm guessing here that your definition of blasphemy and mine are two completely different things. So your saying that the words in the song aren't the truth?
I have spread my little ray of sunshine this morning so its time to go. But first here is the hymn for the day. http://grooveshark.com/s/Daydream/3wqIMc?src=5 The great Robin Trower and Jimmy Dewar