AP: BRANDENBURG, Ky. - A Kentucky-based Ku Klux Klan group was ordered on Friday to pay $2.5 million in damages in a judgment that civil rights attorneys hope will bankrupt the chapter.

The Southern Poverty Law Center sued the nation’s second-largest Klan outfit on behalf of a Latino teen severely beaten in 2006 by two Klan members. The Klansmen were convicted and served two years in prison.

A jury on Friday ordered Imperial Klans of America grand wizard Ron Edwards and two former lieutenants to pay 19-year-old Jordan Gruver $1.5 million for lost wages and medical expenses and Edwards to pay $1 million in punitive damages.

“I’m overwhelmed. I’m victorious,” Gruver said. “And, I’m also sad. I’m sad because those guys are still going to be the same way that they were. That will never change.”

Morris Dees, the lead attorney for the center, said after the verdict he plans to seize Edwards’ property in Dawson Springs that serves as Klan headquarters along with any other assets that can be found. It wasn’t clear what the property is worth.

Click PICS To Enlarge THE VICTIM Jordan Gruver KKK Criminal Andrew Watkins KKK Criminal Jarred Hensley Imperial Klans T-Shirt The GRAND WIZARD — KKK Criminal Ron Edwards

Earlier, in his closing statement, Dees told jurors that a substantial financial award would stop the Kentucky-based group in its tracks.

“It’s all about the money. It’s all about the money,” said Morris Dees. “If you stop the money, you’ll cut the organization off.”

The heavily tattooed Edwards plans to appeal the verdict. Despite the judgment, Edwards said the KKK will remain active.

“We’re not going away,” Edwards said.

Dees had argued during the civil trial that Edwards’ group incited violence against minorities with racist speeches and “hate metal,” leading to the attack on Gruver. Edwards, who represented himself during the trial, denied the charge and said his group’s not generally violent.

The case was similar to nearly a dozen others brought by the center against hate groups. A similar lawsuit bankrupted the white supremacist group Aryan Nations in Idaho in 1999.

The trial centered on a beating Gruver suffered at the hands of former Klan lieutenants Jarred Hensley and Andrew Watkins. Gruver suffered a broken jaw, bruised ribs and permanent nerve damage to his left arm.

The jury ordered Edwards to pay 20 percent of the compensatory damages, while splitting the remaining 80 percent evenly between Hensley and Watkins. The jury laid the $1 million in punitive damages solely on Edwards. Hensley, who had also represented himself, left the courthouse without commenting.

Watkins reached a confidential settlement with Gruver before the trial that will account for his share of Friday’s judgment.

Jurors deliberated for nearly six-and-a-half hours after a three-day trial at the Meade County Courthouse. As Meade Circuit Judge Bruce Butler read the verdicts, several skinheads in the courtroom shook their heads and looked down.

The judgment against Edwards and Hensley is active for 15 years, giving Gruver and the center time to pursue assets, Dees said.

“No matter what he gets, we’ll get a piece of it,” Dees said.

Gruver, who testified earlier Friday about having nightmares and the extent of his injuries, celebrated the verdict by hugging his mother, Cindy. He then joined his family and left the courthouse under heavy security into a cold rain.

References:

1. CNN: Jury awards $2.5 million to teen beaten by Klan members

Popularity: 2% [?]

Hoping to win-over economically anxious voters, McCain, a few days ago, launched “Joe the Plumber” tour — with a “Low-Road Express” bus tour through one of the Florida’s most battered and hotly contested regions.

“We shouldn’t be taxing our small businesses more, as Sen. Obama wants to do. We need to be helping them expand their businesses and create jobs,” said McCain, as he launched his latest in a series of failed Gimmicks this campaign season.

“His name is Richard, but he’s Joe the Plumber,” McCain said of Richard Rivers, the owner of a floral shop, whom he met at the Starlite Diner in Daytona Beach.

Playing the POW/NAVY card, McCain proclaimed: “I’m glad to be back in Florida, where I spent part of my Navy career and loved every minute of it,” said McCain. “Obama will say anything to get elected.”

‘Joe The Plumber’ — A Failed Campaign Gimmick

Confused Hypocrites

A Sad Sinking Ship

Throughout this campaign, John McCain has been offering the same old gimmicks and tired “Republican Sound Bites,” geared to distract voters away from the real issues.

There was the “Gas Holiday,” then came “Ebay as the cure for unemployment,” “Offshore Drilling,” …..and the stupid “Suspension of his Campaign,” that almost jeopardized the second of three presidential debates, and perhaps the worst gimmick of them all was the his selection of the totally inept shrieking cow — Sarah Palin, as his running mate.

Palin has been thoroughly disparaged by her fellow conservatives:

Palin is a “symptom and expression of a new vulgarization of American politics,” said former Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan. She is a “fatal cancer to the Republican Party,” said New York Times columnist David Brooks.

Country First?

Nope, for John McCain it is erratic and MUD politics first! McCain is a washed up cold-war relic, who has been totally outclassed and outsmarted by THE ONE — yes, Barack “Hussein” Obama.

Go home, you wrinkled pest!

Obama on McCain’s Gimmicks

…and now he is trying to bamboozle his way into the white house with perhaps the most stupid of all — The ‘Joe The Plumber‘ gimmick, sprung from a sneaky and lying tax-cheat, Ohio native, Joe Wurzelbacher.

In between McCain’s oscillating phalanx of gimmicks, a female supporter cum “racist sexual hoaxter,” going by the name of Ashley Todd, a 20-year-old college student from Texas, made up a story of being robbed, pinned to the ground and having the letter “B” scratched on her face in what she said was a politically inspired attack by a “BIG STRONG” black man.

CNN Reports on McCain Supporter Attack Hoax

Ashley admitted Friday that the story was false, including the claim that the “B” stood for “Barack.” She was charged with making a false report to police, and is now facing a misdemeanor false-report charge, which is punishable by up to two years in prison.

The McCain excuse for this woman’s actions — “she has mental health issues,” knowing very well that this woman’s actions are a direct result of his and Palin’s recent “Town Hall Hate Meetings.”

Where have we heard this before?

America has a racist history of white women blaming innocent black men of sexual assaults. From the time the black male landed on American soil at the onset of slavery, the white male has always felt threatened — white men don’t like the idea of black men cavorting with their females, and have always played the white female against the “savage” black male.

“The white male created the black male savage stereotype to maintain the race/gender hierarchy. Painting black men as a legitimate threat to white women forestalls partnerships that could potential lead to the emancipation of both parties from white male hegemony.” “From Susan Smith (of South Carolina who drove her two kids into the lake and then accused a black man of abducting them), to Carroll Donham, white women have been either complicit in false accusations against black men, or else have been used as props in justifying murdering black men.” — GlobalComment.com | Read More Here: A Tale of a Scary Black Man |

Rachel Maddow’s Take on This “Race Baiting Hoax”

The racist right-wing Republicans(DixieCrats) have a vicious history of Rope and Lynching.

Not to be left behind in the “Hoaxter-Terrorism Theater,” McCain’s brother Joe McCain, made a 911(emergency) call to the Alexandria, VA Police, after he got stuck in traffic, in the same northern Virginia area he had previously characterized as “Communist Country,” on behalf of McCain’s campaign.

Excerpts from calls made by Joe McCain, younger brother of GOP presidential candidate John McCain, made to 911 and the Alexandria Police after he got stuck in traffic.

McCain called 911 to figure out why he was stuck in traffic near I-495’s Wilson Bridge.

Operator: 911, state your emergency.

Joe McCain: Well, it’s not an emergency, but do you know why on one side at the damn drawbridge of 95 traffic is stopped for 15 minutes and yet traffic’s coming the other way?

Operator: Sir, are you calling 911 to complain about traffic?

McCain uttered an expletive and hung up the phone.
___

THE OLD FOOL THEN CALLED 911 AGAIN

Alexandria police: Did you just call 911 in reference to this? 911 is used for emergencies only, not because you’re just sitting in traffic.

Joe McCain: This isn’t traffic. This is a pretty serious malfunction. … Do we just sit here indefinitely while this bridge malfunctions?

Alexandria police: Honestly, sir, we have no control over the bridge. … Maybe you can contact VDOT (Virginia Department of Transportation) or the Maryland Department of Transportation.

As you can see — the famous McCain ANGER is in the bloodline.

John McCain said this on February 3, 2008, when talking about his run for the White House: “We will run an honorable campaign.” McCain made that statement in response to a question about whether his campaign would resemble George Bush’s run for the White House in 2000, one of the nastier campaigns on record.

He has not kept his word.

McCain has become downright nasty, ugly and racist, assisted by the “gutter shrieking cow” — Sarah Palin

Anyone who doesn’t call McCain’s campaign for what it is — A RACIST INCOMPETENT CESSPOOL — is a racist scumbag himself!

Twelve days removed from election day, John Sidney McCain’s Low-Road Express is a sinking ship, a big FAT Hoax. A dead, hopeless and clueless political quagmire, infested with racist snakes and scared bigots.

References:

SYPHILIS interviews SHRIEKING COW

1. Fox News’ Sean Hannity Suffers From ‘Tertiary Syphilis’
2. The New York Times Endorses Barack Obama — Barack Obama for President — After nearly two years of a grueling and ugly campaign, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois has proved that he is the right choice to be the 44th president of the United States.

Popularity: 5% [?]

By — Derek Kravitz

From head to toe, every piece of clothing worn by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, has been picked at and prodded, from her rim-less $375 Kawasaki glasses to her red open-toed Naughty Monkey-brand shoes.

But scrutiny of her fashion sense reached to a new level after Politico reported yesterday that the Republican National Committee spent some $150,000 on high-end clothes and accessories for Palin and her family.

The expenditures, listed in a monthly financial disclosure filing with the Federal Elections Commission, included bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for $49,425.74 and a $75,062.63 tab at a Neiman Marcus store in Minneapolis.

(The pricey clothes didn’t impress The Post’s Robin Givhan, who wrote in her “On Culture” column last month that Palin’s style was “exceptionally ordinary…Her clothes are unpretentious, but they are also unremarkable.” Givhan now calls the spending “plain stupid.“) — [MORE]

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Sarah Palin spent more on clothes in one day than Joe the Plumber earns in 3+ years — does this make her a simple small town girl,…a middle class hockey mom? NOPE! Far from it. She his just another wicked Republican hypocrite…..a GOON!

Republican politicians — the custodians of sexual morality, friends of GOD, protectors of peasants and plumbers of “small-town” America.

….Hilarious!!!!

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   ….. And here is the “Exotic Celebrity Elitist“

   [Enlarge]

So, who’s more in touch with the average Joe?

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Olbermann’s Take — McCain’s Clumsy Hypocrisy

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Jon Stewart’s Take on Republican Hypocrisy

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Special Read: 41 Things You Have To Believe To Be A Republican Today
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Popularity: 5% [?]

By: MICHAEL ERIC DYSON
Professor, Georgetown University

Race Has Affected the 2008 Presidential Election

There is little question that race has affected the 2008 presidential election, though often through inference and innuendo.

Initially, Barack Obama’s historic quest for the highest political office in the land was rife with suspicion from white and black quarters.

Eventually, millions of black voters signed on to his campaign after relinquishing skepticism about his being black enough and after he proved in Iowa that he could win over white voters.

Educated white voters followed suit, though Obama has had a far more difficult time effectively wooing working class white voters.

That has to do in large part with the effective, if cynical, effort of conservative activists to falsely paint Obama as an unpatriotic figure who pals around with terrorists because he is secretly a Muslim.

The manipulation of the public image of Obama as a subversive presence who hates the nation rests on racially coded inferences about unreliable blackness as it tinges the face of American politics.

Few quarters in American life have been tolerant of the complex black identities that constitute African American communities.

Republicans — Backward, Bigoted, Racist and Nativist FILTH of America

As a result, a punishing and narrow range of stereotypes have obscured the fact that black struggle for social equality and racial justice was never antithetical to the best interests of the nation.

Because black people loved the nation so much, they fought hard to make sure that it lived up to the true meaning of its creed, as Martin Luther King said.

Barack Obama represents both the maturing of black American politics, and the increased willingness of significant portions of the white population to embrace a worthy black presidential candidate.

Whether that is sufficient to propel Obama to the presidency remains to be seen. Still I am cautiously hopeful that it is.

[Enlarge] About The Author: Michael Eric Dyson (born October 23, 1958, in Detroit, Michigan) is an American writer, radio host, and professor at Georgetown University. Dyson has a Ph.D. in religion from Princeton University. He is an ordained Baptist minister. Dyson taught at DePaul University, Chicago Theological Seminary, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Columbia University and Brown University, before going to the University of Pennsylvania in 2003. There he was the Avalon Professor of Humanities. Since 2007, Dyson has been University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University, teaching courses in theology, English, and African American studies. A University Professorship is said to be the highest position that a faculty member can have at Georgetown. From January 2006 to February 2007 Dyson was the host of a daily syndicated talk radio program, The Michael Eric Dyson Show, which aired on weekdays from 10AM to 1PM (EST) on the Syndication One Radio Network (owned and operated by Radio One). He is also a regular commentator on National Public Radio, CNN, and the HBO TV program Real Time with Bill Maher. Dyson is best known for his commentary on American culture, particularly as it pertains to African Americans. Dyson uses the terms “Afristocracy” and “Ghettocracy” to describe a bifurcation in American black society. He is also a leading scholar on hip-hop music and the culture that surrounds it, as well as its roots in African and African-American cultures and influence on American popular culture. Dyson is well known to repeat his famous line, “Go Ahead. Axe me a question.”

Popularity: 5% [?]

 Columnist - John Sammon
You’ve heard of a Freudian slip. This is where you accidentally reveal some hidden thing in which you believe. Time and again, Republicans have revealed, sometimes outright, while at the same time attempting to pander to the American people as working class heroes, that they consider Americans to be superior to other peoples. Especially white Americans.

Do you? Because you’re American, do you feel you’re better? One of the chosen people?

During the first debate, McCain wouldn’t look at Obama. This is because McCain thinks of Obama as an upstart nigger.

McCain’s handlers told him about this gaff, and in their last debate, McCain literally hugged Obama (a theatrical ploy to gain votes by trying to show he’s friendly to blacks).

The reason for the original snub is also the reason McCain is against any dialog (communication) with countries we’ve decided we don’t like, like Syria. Syria might use its influence in the region to help control terrorism.

I’m only saying it’s a possibility.

Instead, turn your back. Because hostility and non-communication are better, despite the fact that in the past we’ve befriended some ruthless dictatorships, while selectively condemning others. We originally befriended Saddam Hussein, and only turned on him when he wouldn’t act like the good puppet we thought we had in our pocket.

Why do Republicans constantly talk about God and America as though we’re the only country in the world whom God favors? As though we’re the only country that matters?

Here’s the way they (Republicans) word it.

• “I’m fearful his America is not my America” (implies ownership of America).

• “Our troops are on a mission from God” (implies God is a four-star American general).

“Bomb bomb bomb…bomb bomb Iran” (sung to the tune of the Beach Boys’ Barbara Ann). Meant as a joke by McCain, it trivializes, dismisses as nothing, the violent deaths of thousands of innocent people, including women and children.

There are three main dysfunctional reasons to think we’re better.

1. We’re more powerful militarily.

2. We’re richer.

3. We know God. Others don’t.

To Republicans, there are niggers here in this country, that we (whites) are better than. But there are others. Many others.

Here is a partial list of countries, who, according to the right wing, could also be considered niggers:

Canada – A bunch of displaced French frogs and faggots in Mountie suits up in the north woods. Even though they’re socialistic and soft on terror, at least, they stay where they are.

Unlike –

Mexico – Cactus niggers. Ruining the United States by coming here, illegally populating huge tracts of land of which they used to own that we illegally but patriotically stole from them. I don’t like ‘em, but I’ll let ‘em landscape my yard.

Arabs – Sand niggers. A worthless bunch of stinking, sheep-stealing, turban-wearing Sabu-fetch-my-slippers assbites…..except the Saudis (the springboard for Al-Qaeda), whom, even though they’re inferior…we can tolerate because of their oil. Their royal family act a lot like we do.

The British – They support every war we engage in. They’re faggy and weak looking but at least they’re white, and they gave us the Beatles.

Japan – They’re still just Japs. We’ve watched too many old World War Two movies to change that.

The Russians – Godless, communistic-inclined Bolsheviks who attacked Georgia. Only the United States has the right to attack other countries (Palin said we might attack Russia).

China – A bunch of modernizing Chinks whom we as yet have no problem with.

South America – All those countries down there, a bunch of stupid looking, weak-coffee-colored Indians walking around like they don’t have a clue. Sandals on their feet. No shopping malls. They’re lucky we tolerate them.

All of Africa – If God didn’t intend them to be unlucky, he wouldn’t have put them in huts as ignorant, disease-ridden savages. If you want the true story of Africa, watch Tarzan movies.

Pakistan – More turban heads. We’re going to violate their sovereignty without their permission to go after terrorists. We can fight a war with them since we have two other wars we haven’t won. We’ll have ourselves in a war with those ignorant bastards and we’ll make it look like they started it.

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Popularity: 6% [?]