Liz: Had you taken the time to think and actually research the topic instead of reacting emotionally to any discussion of race, you would have found that studies indicate that black people have a belief system that dooms them to poorer performance in intellectual testing JUST BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE THEMSELVES TO BE INFERIOR. Check out http://sitemaker.umich.edu/356.pitts/stereotype_threat_ for 5 tests done that prove this. (And try and put your hatred for me and logical thought aside long enough to realize these studies were done on black people by black people to understand why they regularly tested lower than other races on standardized tests. Here's a hint...it isn't genetic.)

Now, let's take a moment to address your allegations about me, shall we?

You said "...you are clearly stating that black people are inferior in communicative and comprehensive skills and therefore less intelligent in this respect."

You are partially right. I am stating that black people in general are inferior in communicative and comprehensive skills. But (and this is where all liberals go), then you attach a lie to my statement so as to lead people down a path that I did not go and do not believe. You infer that I think that black people are less intelligent. I never said that and I do not believe that.

In fact, I said exactly the opposite. I said "Nobody here has said that black people are genetically programmed to be stupid." and I went on to note why black people in America (in general) exhibit inferior skills in communications and comprehension (like those studies that you should have boned up on before bearing your ignorance here).

You did what many left and right wing bigots commonly do. You start with the truth, but then you distort it by adding your own thoughts or prejudices or outright lies to twist the original statement to lead those not inclined to think for themselves to see something that never was.

You correctly stated "You took an (assumed) characteristic about a few people of a race and then applied it to the millions of other people of that race, and in so doing made a statement that implied that blacks were inferior in their comprehensive abilities." I do claim that black people in general are lacking in comprehensive abilities. But, I do not claim that it is because they are black or that it is some genetic flaw.

Black people in general are behind other races in comprehensive abilities because of the choices that they make. Now, I know that you will see that as a racist statement too. But, I will not sidestep the truth because some people are too ignorant to distinguish between observable facts and emotional rhetoric and reuse to look at studies done about a subject before speaking about those subjects.

You see, you can't fix what is broken if you can't even point it out. We have free speech in the US just for that reason. Silencing people keeps people in bondage.

It is people like you that not only hold black people back, but hold entire societies and the world back in doing so. You are so blinded by your ignorance of logic that you cannot fathom that any discussion that entails race that is not an unabated, gushing fountain of praise is racism.

Looking at your statements here, I would assume that you would also think that this statement made about black people is racist..."$500 sneakers for what? And they won't spend $200 for "Hooked on Phonics." with no regard for the truth it contains.

That quote is from Bill Cosby. But, in your tiny mind, that is OK because Bill is black.

That begs another question...how do you know I am not black? I am of mixed heritage. Does that make my statements OK? How black do I have to be to point out the shortcomings of black people in America without being called a racist? Would you call Bill Cosby a racist because of his comments? Some black people have.

You are the worst of all liberals. You would rather sit by and watch an entire race of people wallow in ignorance and the pain it brings them than to risk ruffling a few feathers to save them. Shame on you!

I will not sit idly by, while an entire generation throws its life away, and say nothing when I see a problem with an entire segment of our population just because ignorant people will call me a racist.

gryt: While there is enough blame to go around, to say that the Republicans and Wall Street alone created this is either a deliberate lie or the height of human ignorance.

The largest influence on our monetary system in the last 10-15 years was the misguided belief that home ownership was a "right". This was started by Bill Clinton and his administration. They chose to place the taxpayers on the hook by guaranteeing loans that should have never been made to people that could not afford them with not enough oversight to make sure the program was not abused.

Bush Jr. continued with this fairy tale economic scenario because of the short term economic advantages of the home building bubble.

Now the bubble has burst, home values are in the trash and people lost as much as 50% of their home values in some cases with no reduction of their loans. Then you had the 2 readjustments when interest rates on those loans (you remember, the ones made to people that could not afford them simply because the taxpayers were on the hook for the loans via Fannie and Freddie and our government officials pandering to feel good politics) and the people with the loans stopped making payments because they could not afford them.

Then, you had banks and corporations and Wall Street buying and selling debts that were getting worse by the moment. Each company that bought the debts thought they were getting a bargain. All the while, home prices continued to fall as more and more people defaulted on their home loans.

The home market became bloated with more houses than anyone was looking to buy and prices continued to fall. And, they continue falling even as I write this..

And, yes...it should be a crime for an elected official to be so stupid.

It's not racist to state the differences among different people.

Racism is "a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others."

Saying that black people have higher butt muscles, darker skin, larger lips, curly hair, stronger bones or are generally better at physical sports than other races is not racist, it is stating the obvious. It is also a generalization and only idiots take such a statement as pertaining to every single black person on the planet.

Nobody here has said that their race is superior to black people. Nobody here has said that black people are genetically programmed to be stupid.

The majority of black people in America are stupid for 2 reasons. (1) They are indoctrinated with the whole "people will mistreat you because you are black" crap from birth. They expect to be mistreated and (whether they actually are or not) they believe it, so it must be so. And, (2) the handouts form the government create a culture of dependency by making people believe that it is their "right" to get those handouts. They will usually riot to keep the handouts coming, while they will rarely lift a finger to stand on their own (this happens to all people on handout programs regardless of race).

People like Shadir don't even understand the definition of racism and contribute to strife among the races by calling any reference to a person's race as "racism".

Get a clue Shadir...better yet, get a dictionary.

I really hate to state the obvious...but it seems that if you want the majority of black people in America to understand/agree with something you have to put it in a rhyme.

Remember the farce that was the OJ Simpson trial - "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit." Nevermind that wet leather gloves dry and shrink, for that logic may make you think.

Today in black America, Dr. Seuss would be worshiped as a god.

Just goes to show how void of logic the left actually is.

And, as stupid as this woman is, even more idiotic is thinking that talking with someone of this ilk will accomplish anything productive.

The left are poets, artists, people that make decisions with their hearts. This doesn't make them bad people, just bad spenders of taxpayers' money.

Dana Vachon is an idiot. (And, no, there are no hidden deeper meanings hidden in that statement.)

Now...if it raised the KITCHEN to hide the island...THAT'D be impressive!

I had the same crappy experience when trying to return a book. Then, I tried signing up for their business book club TWICE only to never receive anything. I even got the store manager to fill out the forms and take them the third time and still got nothing.

They made it hard to do business with them, so I stopped doing business with them.

That's the real reason that businesses fail.

Perhaps another "artist" will come along and improve the landscape by cutting down these eyesores.

I'm gonna speculate that this is actually the set of the teletubies....