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"allow_anon_post": false, "reactions_enabled": true, "reply_position": 1, "show_avatar": true, "allow_anon_votes": false, "disqus_auth_disabled": false}, "realtime_enabled": false, "request": {"username": "", "is_global_moderator": false, "sharing": {}, "sort": 4, "forum": "jackandjillpolitics", "is_initial_load": true, "is_authenticated": false, "timestamp": "2009-12-09_18:39:00", "remote_domain": "", "page": 1, "is_moderator": false, "display_username": "", "points": null, "subscribe_on_post": 2, "moderator_can_edit": false, "is_remote": false, "is_verified": false, "missing_perm": "login"}, "realtime_paused": false, "posts": {"4228612": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "I remember getting the 'O' magazine and being surprised myself that Michelle was included in the picture at Promised Land. I do remember thinking, ' but she's only the Senator's Wife'. <br><br>Oprah had the vision - indeed.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_18:25:20", "killed": false, "user_key": "rikyrah", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": true, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228562, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4233734": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Having grown up among Chicago  OKOP crowd, I sort of know who's there; moreover, I've fully understood the practical necessity for the Obamas to be part of the African-American well connected.  But l can't help but hope that those same folks would have befriended Barack and Michelle when the Obamas and Robinsons were working-class apartment dwellers.  And I know for a fact that some of them would not. have given them the time of day.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_04:23:28", "killed": false, "user_key": "dfcb6874227eaf8bfc2f34d16d1629bf", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4232077, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228105": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "I knew soMe light blacks in Atlanta (broke) that still felt superior To darker skinned blacks", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:37:48", "killed": false, "user_key": "msmartin", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4225846, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4236302": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Luxury Shame<br><br>Why even the very rich are cutting back on conspicuous consumption.<br>Johnnie L. Roberts<br>NEWSWEEK<br><a href=\"http://www.newsweek.com/id/171246/output/print\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.newsweek.com/id/171246/output/print</a><br><br>Multimillionaire Michael Hirtenstein used to flaunt his acquisitions of opulent real estate. \"I collect homes because I enjoy it,\" he once told <a href=\"http://DansHamptons.com\" rel=\"nofollow\">DansHamptons.com</a> about his eight properties\u2014which included a $27 million apartment on the 76th floor of Manhattan's Time Warner Center. In August 2007, the 45-year-old Hirtenstein, who made his fortune in telecommunications, regaled the New York Post with his plans for a $35 million, glass-enclosed duplex in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood, replete with suede-covered walls, three living rooms and a heated pool with built-in underwater video screen. Alas, the economy ground to a halt, and so did Hirtenstein's conspicuous consumption of real estate. He quietly reneged on the Tribeca duplex, forfeiting a hefty deposit. That isn't to say Hirtenstein is now selling pencils from a tin cup. \"I could walk downstairs now and buy a Ferrari,\" he says from a suite at Wynn Las Vegas, which boasts a dealership. \"But all of my friends are hurting. I don't feel like buying random toys.\"<br><br>Across America's upper strata, rich folk like Hirtenstein are experiencing an unfamiliar emotion: luxury shame. The late Coco Chanel, doyenne of 20th century fashion, long ago said that luxury is \"the opposite of vulgarity,\" not of poverty. But in these recessionary times, it seems vulgar to flaunt one's luxurious lifestyle. And so the wealthy are going blingless and eschewing the spending sprees of the recent Gilded Age, giving new meaning to the phrase \"embarrassment of riches.\"  The trend is horrible news for the $175-billion global luxury market, which is already absorbing the blows of plummeting personal wealth. Just in time for Christmas, this new \"embarrassment of riches\" is cutting into sales of high-end retailers and brands like Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, Bentley and BMW, Christie's and Sotheby's.<br>THERE IS MORE", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_12:14:56", "killed": false, "user_key": "Trumystique", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4284431": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Interesting response. I dont think the point of this discussion was to denigrate upper class black people, middle class black people or poor black people. Rather the point was to critique class privilege and the ways in which people from the more dominant group describe, separate themselves and talk about people from the more subordinate group. And how the process happens in reverse.<br><br>Anywhere where were you this whole discussion??? It would have been nice to hear you chime in earlier.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-09_01:50:49", "killed": false, "user_key": "Trumystique", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4280151, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4226583": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "You are right. It is of a certain generation and shockingly it includes those from Michelle and Barack's generation.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_15:08:20", "killed": false, "user_key": "blueberry", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4226524, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4238872": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Last time I checked fake pearls are costume jewelry. And I'm pretty sure the children of a billionaire would be introduced to society and to others with access. I didn't say it a good or bad thing. There are royals and normals in every society. Some people have greater opportunities for certain successes and that's not going to change anytime soon. There will always be certain individuals who will operate outside of that sphere and be successful. But I look at situations like the Wall Street execs and see the disparities that still exist. We need some comments from those that are part of that world to balance out this conversation because a lot of the responses are emotional reactions from those that have been excluded or who are attaching self worth to this conversation. I'm also aware of the black on black racism that exists amongst our people and I'm not here to dispute it. We also must not forget the privilege of living in the US where we have many more options.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_15:59:15", "killed": false, "user_key": "heartsandflowers", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4238137, "depth": 4, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4284955": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Leonard Pitts shut the book on these (even historically correct) apologies with a quote in an article where he described white people were crying croc tears about Shaq mocking Yao while Yao would get jacked for saying nigger:  \"You can have power or pity.  But you can't have both.\"   shaq ain't right in doing his \"chong ching\" and got an undeserved pass from the masses, but even big aristotle fits in the structurally weaker position of black man.  if you are \"our kind of people\" you gotta expect some petty flak.  it's easier than watching that bologna make a little Astrodome in a skillet or trying to make rent.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-09_02:50:28", "killed": false, "user_key": "hustleandfloe", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4280151, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4314149": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "I was gonna stay out of the fray on this because it's really personal, but I have to respond to this:<br><br>Fair enough about the painting with the broad brush and I certainly don't begrudge the success of you and your family, but the respect goes both ways.  I am well educated and part of the upwardly mobile, but I grew up in housing project raised by a single mother.  I make that point because my mother raised me and my sisters not to be limited by our circumstances; and to that end our house was filled with books, she made a great financial sacrifice to send us to private school, and when finances would allow she would take us to the theatre/classical concerts.  And there were lots of other kids \"on the block\" who were blessed with familes raising them to succeed.  But to the well-off black families in my community, we were seen simply as \"The Village\" kids who needed to be avoided at all costs because we were bad news and wouldn't amount to anything.  In high school, most of the courses I took were AP and there were maybe 3-4 black kids in a class of 20.  Without fail I got along great with the white students whereas the other black students, who all were from well-off families, wouldn't give me the time of day.  I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions of why that was.  So please don't minimize the disrespect and misunderstanding that goes on because it does go on--I lived it.  Honestly, people getting over themselves on both sides will go a long way in fixing this.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-10_14:43:26", "killed": false, "user_key": "MsKitty", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "12 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4280151, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4281383": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "I would like to respond to RWKM.  I understand where you are coming from.  I come from a family who values higher education and the desire to live a comfortable life and socialize with others who share similar interests(regardless of class).  What bothers me about the people in OKOP, and some of the comments in the article was the idea of social exclusion based on economic status, lineage or other factors.  I personally do not like elitism or haughtiness and despise that character trait within any individual.  Yes, there are those of us who value education, who will insist on private schooling for our children and who enjoy vacationing abroad; and we / they should definitely not be shunned for it.  But where I draw the line, is when individuals or organizations purposely exclude or look down upon those who do not have these opportunities or do not come from a certain sector of society.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-08_23:57:44", "killed": false, "user_key": "48f778c4f433fb0ef8a262c15bcef33e", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4241961": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "hustleandfloe, yo! you gonna trip to the White House for some poetry slam?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_22:26:56", "killed": false, "user_key": "spirit_55z", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4239568, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4232234": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Thanks for sharing. That sounds about right. I think people are confusing putting one's identity and worth into status instead of looking at it as an opportunity for growth. There are social mores to learn that are invaluable. Connections do help. Nasty people are going to be that way whether they are rich or poor. We just need to be solid in who we are with a moral compass. Everything else is semantics.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_00:43:40", "killed": false, "user_key": "heartsandflowers", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4226290, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4230700": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Blksista you are correct on point.Ive always known that money does not give one class.Especially in our community.Ignorant Black people carry their ignorance into the suburbs just like the Chinese carry their culture when they move up.The good Black people carry themselves a certain way no matter how much money they have or do not have.The Bible says a fool and his money soon part ways.Look at how the rappers from the hood blow money on cars,cloths,women ect.I am constantly told money will bring us up and it can solve all our problems.As long as we have a culture of ignorance and self hate we will always be the joke of America.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_22:24:24", "killed": false, "user_key": "kalagenesis", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4230241, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4245043": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Well said.  I so relate to all of it.", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-08_01:59:38", "killed": false, "user_key": "9cfd1eaed75bd87b75c8b79b33d5761d", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4241820, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4243000": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "The way I have read this whole thread is that people are saying<br><br>The difference between upper class blacks and middle class blacks? Nothing. But pretension and outmoded ways of thinking.<br><br>The difference between middle class blacks and working class/poor blacks? Behavior <br><br>I still think there is something wrong with this picture.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-08_00:04:36", "killed": false, "user_key": "Trumystique", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 4, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4317758": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "THANK YOU RKWM !!! For speaking truth to power. And you are right about the projection that goes on here in these comments. This is my favorite blog but people get defensive here alot. We are not a monolithic hive-mind. Period.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-10_17:51:05", "killed": false, "user_key": "065f1fee47165ead6a124139d082da1c", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "12 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4229700": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "\"class, caste, orientation to more global cultural norms\".....................................<br><br>Now that's funny.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_20:18:04", "killed": false, "user_key": "c22bbad359677d681692848d5775fd8b", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228587, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4313164": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "\"then I for ONE of a long line of the \"Our Kind of People\" would surely appreciate it if you would stop bad mouthing me and mine\"<br><br>no surprise there...<br><br>you did a great job in your rant of describing exactly the elitism and snobbiness that are often attached to your kind of people....", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-10_14:02:13", "killed": false, "user_key": "cc6569f8cbd4abd6bef53a2f883f8ca5", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "12 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4280151, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4242514": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Got it.  IF IT'S ON OUR ASS, IT'S NOT AN ASSET", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_23:20:20", "killed": false, "user_key": "spirit_55z", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4236285, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4225632": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "<i>But, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s as black/white as it seems. The Obamas have been embraced by some of the Our Kind of People crowd....I think that this is a generational shift, too</i>  Definitely.<br><br>I was disappointed to hear Malcom Glawell, attempt to impose the \"Caribbean paper bag\"- <i>I'm not <b>all</b> black, and therefore know that I'm programmed/entitled for  success</i> meme on Barack, when we know his Kansas/Kenyan roots really have nothing to do with Jamaica.  This was the tale end of his interview  on <a href=\"http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2008/11/malcolm-gladwells-outliers/\" rel=\"nofollow\">NPR's Onpoint</a>--on his Gladwell's]latest book on Success.  Prehaps relevant for Colin Powell, also speaks to the generational shift, but Barack is \"fully American\" culturally.<br><br><i>Middle class black folk like to look down on poor black folk</i>  That bias is stronger, in my view, than top to middle.  I'd like to think that more educated blacks have benefited from the 'black is beautiful' change of mindset. Would <i>Desiree Rogers</i> have passed the paper bag test anymore than Michelle?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_13:36:07", "killed": false, "user_key": "dilettante", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4230241": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "This is as much about behavior as attitude.<br><br>I've seen plenty of poor people behave better than the most upper crust of black or white society.  Unfortunately, it's with older poor people (45 and above) than with this new generation.<br><br>People were told, back in the day, how to act.  Some of this new generation--not all, though--may not know <i>shyt</i>.  And they are passing this lack of home training down to their kids.<br><br>Class will tell <i>regardless</i> of who has money.  Those who observe the nasty-acting are more aghast that they who have more have the very devil in them.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_21:27:23", "killed": false, "user_key": "blksista", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4229778, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228194": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I believe that much of the 'Our Kind of People' crowd will fade to white. (Harold Ford, Jr's future children)  Otherwise they will have no place with us regular blacks<br><br>Over the years, professional sports and entertainment has raised so many darker skinned blacks into the upper class that this is not an issue any more. Michelle Obama is now the archetype for the classy black woman and not what we have seen throughout the years", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:46:31", "killed": false, "user_key": "TariqNelson", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 5, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4239718": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Spirit...beautifully written.  Black people owe it to themselves to embrace the various aspects of their identities/lives and then keep moving forward to achieve the lives that they want.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_18:43:41", "killed": false, "user_key": "15f99840cacc01015fcf18648270f515", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4232579, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4233834": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Well it's how the black community was when Obama announced his run. We had to see how he handled himself to determine whether we'd give him the time of day. I get your point though. I'm not thinking of this on such a personal level but more as another step to a goal. I mean who's going to waste their time on people operating at a remedial level when they could be with people who are focused and getting things done? I want to be challenged to step up my game and be engaged. The Obamas will have no problem sifting thru the phonies of the bunch.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_03:43:04", "killed": false, "user_key": "heartsandflowers", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4233734, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4244591": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Osiris, it is true.  And I will say this because there are some who will never honestly admit it, I think this is one of the reasons for the split between AKA and DST.<br><br>If you need further truth, look at the AKA Barbie, designed for the centennial.  She's wasn't brown.  You would think one person on that committee who have said \"wait a minute\".<br><br>Michelle was made a honorary AKA at the Boule and like Maya Angelou and Eleanor Roosvelt, she has all the rights of membership (even though she said she wanted to work with all groups).<br><br>I've always been curious why Michelle (who was civically active) hadn't been invited or decided not to to join AKA or Delta or Links?", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-08_00:59:59", "killed": false, "user_key": "ca7674498191f49a8a6c3ef33b81ea51", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4241208, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4337776": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Lawrence Graham IS penning another book - A Black Social Register.", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-11_19:30:08", "killed": false, "user_key": "rikyrah", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": true, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "12 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4284878, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4229237": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Ok, for real....did you actually hold your nose up when you typed that?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_19:24:30", "killed": false, "user_key": "c22bbad359677d681692848d5775fd8b", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228551, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4230262": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Why shouldn't they network with Those Kind of People?  They've had to network with all different kinds of people of various races and classes to get where they are, so why should Those Kind of People be excluded?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_21:29:07", "killed": false, "user_key": "c14dc645708e1f6b7caba8da416ef4b7", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228514, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4294796": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Well if having a conversation is what drives the action of millions then people are easily motivated by circumstances. So why are so many worse off than before Civil Rights? My concern is for the lives of black women and children not sehinh semantics. If they continue to remain in cesspools they will die. I don't know how to state it any more plainly. I look at Jennifer Hudson's situation as the perfect example. Bad choices combined with allowing criminality as something normal because it comes in the form of someone who kinda looks like, you thinking a snake is a bunny and not taking the chance to remove yourself physically and mentally may end up doing you in! White racism is not the sole cause of Black people killing each other. It is ridiculous to expect someone who wants to survive and thrive to stay in a bad situation 'for the race'. This has nothing to do with the so called Black elite except to look at it as an example of how some people refuse to live for the most part. I had a brother in college murdered by some 2bit wanna be gangsta just minding his own business. But he didn't vet the people he hung out with thinking ' we're all Black ' so it's cool.  So if you want to continue rallying against that good luck to ya. You probably don't live in such an environment.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-09_14:37:17", "killed": false, "user_key": "heartsandflowers", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4294114, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4226193": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Me too girl. Me too. I despise Harold Ford Jr.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_14:27:40", "killed": false, "user_key": "blueberry", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4225932, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4229778": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "//Middle class black folk like to look down on poor black folk That bias is stronger, in my view, than top to middle. //<br><br>Okay I will bring this up again. Its easy to be snide about upper crusty folks with their elitist ways. But how about how black middle class people and their disdain for poor black people? We have all these code words from ghettofab, ghetto, country or what have you. Think about the sucess of shows like Housewives of Atlanta or Flavor of Love Thats talking about race but just as much about class.<br><br>Here's Chris Rock who is NOT talking about race:<br>\"I hate niggers,\" he announces fearlessly. \"You can't have anything valuable in your house. Niggers will break in and take it all! Everything white people don't like about black people, black people don't like about black people. It's like our own personal civil war. On one side, there's black people. On the other, you've got niggers. The niggers have got to go. I love black people, but I hate niggers. I am tired of niggers. Tired, tired, tired.\"<br><br>Or Bill Cosby:<br> \"Ladies and gentlemen, the lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal. These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids -- $500 sneakers for what? And won't spend $200 for 'Hooked on Phonics.\"<br><br>\"They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English. I can't even talk the way these people talk: 'Why you ain't,' 'Where you is' ... And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk. ... Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. ... You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth!\" <br><br>Many people do it with their equations that ghettofab= poor as if all that is pathological about \"black culture\"  that both black and white people hate emanates from poor black people.<br><br>And while its very easy to say this is all personal and attitudinal it isnt. In the same way that race is interpersonal and institutional-its the same with class. We can pretend that classism will die out in a generation. But I hear alot of \"That is so ghetto!\" from the tween crowd.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_20:29:05", "killed": false, "user_key": "Trumystique", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 6, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4236439": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Bill Cosby's Not Funny<br>Interview by DEBORAH SOLOMON<br><br><a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/magazine/27QUESTIONS.html?_r=1&ex=1114833600&en=f467e227a23c34c9&ei=5070\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/magazine/27QU...</a><br><br>Q Your new book is a rhetorical screed against Bill Cosby, and the title alone is not exactly subtle: ''Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?''<br><br>When a comedian throws a pie in the face of a powerful person, it's funny. When he throws a pie in the face of a homeless mother with three kids, that's not very funny.<br><br>You're referring to Cosby's recent harangue about lower-income black people, whom he faults for neglecting their children, wasting money on expensive sneakers and glamorizing ghetto culture.<br><br>It's his Blame-the-Poor Tour. He should pick on someone in his own class. If he had come out swinging at Condi Rice or Colin Powell, they could defend themselves. But he's beating up on poor black people, the most vulnerable people in this nation. And why jump on them?<br>\t<br><br>On the other hand, many of us feel that his comments represent an admirable attempt at self-criticism and apply not only to blacks but also to whites in a consumer culture that has run amok.<br><br>Here's the irony: Mr. Cosby has been a supreme pitchman for American corporate capitalism for nearly 40 years. Had he come along now, he himself might have been promoting some gym shoes.<br><br>I actually found your book alarmingly unbalanced. How can you write 200-plus pages on Bill Cosby without detailing the millions of dollars he has donated to colleges and other good causes?<br><br>I think I mention his $20 million gift to Spelman College. It's a well-known fact. There's no need to repeat it.<br><br>But he has given to so many other black causes.<br><br>There's a dark underside to philanthropy. People who give a bunch of money are deferred to, even when they are wrong. The emperor cannot be shown to have no clothes.<br><br>You, yourself, as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, know that Cosby's following is hardly based on his wealth. Why do you think the black middle class has been so moved by his call for individual responsibility?<br><br>Of course, taken in one sense, a lot of what he said we can agree with. None of us want our children to be murderers or thieves. But Cosby never acknowledges that most poor blacks don't have a choice about these things.<br><br>So, then, how much do you think individual will counts for our success or failure in life?<br><br>I don't believe in that kind of American John Wayne individualism where people pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Someone changed your diapers. And if that's the case, you ain't self-made.<br><br>You seem to be of the Hillary Clinton ''it takes a village'' school of thinking.<br><br>Yes. But Hillary borrowed that from black people! In fact, it's an African proverb. And my ambition didn't grow out of nowhere. It was planted in me by a community that nurtured me. <br>THERE IS MORE", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_12:32:04", "killed": false, "user_key": "Trumystique", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 4, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228270": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Actually I heard somewhere that AKA recently made Michelle an honorary member.  Don't know if it's true though.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:52:47", "killed": false, "user_key": "c14dc645708e1f6b7caba8da416ef4b7", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4226347, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4233903": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "\"The Obamas will have no problem sifting thru the phonies of the bunch.\"<br><br>No doubt.", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_04:58:54", "killed": false, "user_key": "dfcb6874227eaf8bfc2f34d16d1629bf", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4233834, "depth": 4, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4336840": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Osiris,<br>I am an AKA.", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-11_18:37:34", "killed": false, "user_key": "ca7674498191f49a8a6c3ef33b81ea51", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "12 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4318203, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4229304": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Good let them fade to white and become the minorty of the future. Any hoo, I for just love Mrs Obama as I can relate to her \"blackness\" far more than her husband,  and am looking forward to this country and world seeing  REAL black woman who is happy in her own skin without the paper bag test and size 2 dress and long weave and the ones from the big house and others need to deal with it.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_19:32:48", "killed": false, "user_key": "9616d47a67058ea05e579ba00cd3793d", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228194, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4337337": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "I suppose you are entitled to your opinion.  I come from a background of abject poverty .  I went to college and received an undergraduate degree and a doctorate.  I joined the sorority I was supposed to join.  I socialized in the right circles, volunteered for the right causes, dated the right men.<br><br>I'm a little older now and I know what's important to me.<br><br>What's important to me?Substance, grace, kindness, and humility.<br><br>I've met more people with those characteristics on the \"lower rungs\".<br><br>I have thrown aside the trappings of the Black Bourgie Mafia (and it looks like I'm not the only one) and I just live and deal with Black folk just like I deal with anyone-on the basis of their character, not by the letters behind their name, the square footage of their home, the type of car they drive, or if they say axe or ask.", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-11_19:01:30", "killed": false, "user_key": "ca7674498191f49a8a6c3ef33b81ea51", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "12 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4284685, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228296": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "But thats the thing! Old money will always say money doesnt give you class especially in the case of entertainment and sports. Thats why these folk werent friendly with the Obamas in Chicago but will suddenly try to cozy up to the PE Obamas. Those folk still want to know \"Who are your people?\". So its only now that they want their daughters and son associating with Malia and Sasha ( even if they do have nappy hair).", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:54:12", "killed": false, "user_key": "Trumystique", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228194, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4227790": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Hell, Michelle Obama wasn't even desired by snobby black people when she was the Senator's wife.  Now that she's the First Lady in Waiting, some of them will be all up in her grill while the die hard ones will be saying she's not ladylike for not wearing pantyhose or she has \"southside pearls\" (I guess Barbara Bush was Southside with her pearls, too).", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:09:52", "killed": false, "user_key": "Town", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 21, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4225743": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Cant believe my little offhand comment is a thread...<br><br>Anyway. My parents werent from this country but they were the elites or \"Our Kind Of People\" in their nations of origin. So we were rigidly schooled on etiquette and social graces so that  we \"never forget who you are\". So I never felt \"in it\" so to speak and in many respects felt above the fray.  And most of the time tried to forget my home schooling on this issue. This was largely because I grew up in a place where there werent that many black people.  But I remember my mother's stories about segregated Chicago and St Louis where there was that debutante crowd. My mother was able to freely move between those groups (upper crusty and middle class folk) because she was a novelty of sorts. Of course I didnt really pay attention to these stories because it was removed from me. <br><br>When I reached college though I began to hear about and pay attention to groups ( Links, J&Js, greeks) and pay attention to how people talked about belonging to a special church and such. And I realized in a way that I would never belong to that world and its history. And of course my contrarian nature was \"Eff them all anyway\". <br><br>And then I began to talk to my friends with working class upbringings. And despite going to some of the best schools they were made keenly aware by Our Kind Of People black folk that they didnt belong. It wasnt rich white folk who said \"You dont belong here\". It was the black folk who would snidely say \"You have never been to Europe, really?\" or \" Of course you have never tried sushi!\". So it was in all those little slights that they would try to \"remind\" my friends of their place.<br><br>And its not that white people dont have this - because they do. But I was reminded of how black folk do it on the quiet tip and use code words so that white people never know about it. They reinforce the pecking order  viciously and smile while doing it. And to white folk we all present the united front of black solidarity in our oppression by The Man.<br><br>But thats why Chris Rock is so on point about his discussion of class with his \"Black folk dont like niggers either\" riff. And Bill Cosby is clearly reinforcing the pecking order by his talk about poor black people though he tries to use code. Its all a fascinating but hot mess to me.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_13:45:33", "killed": false, "user_key": "Trumystique", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4239568": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I do imagine that our floss:boss ratio is way outta whack, bet around 1000:1. that would put us at around 36,000 bosses amongst total US black pop.  now, just for fun, overlay  \"our kind of people\" to see what the venn looks like.  i bet, as tmp has made implicit, the shade would be surprising. <br><br>i think the age of the distributed hustle is not guaranteed but still growing.  old guard ain't goin nowhere, but I hope this new time might reorient us on the value of keepin it honestly  'greezy' not wur'n bout what the Jeffersons will think.  it is usually in the down circumstances that we flourish.  let's not let this time be an exception.  <br><br>i believe the caddy, jetta, and hoopty can share a drink without frontin on either end (keeping it faux-real or turning noses) as we all think on how silly it is to divide by class and fight inside an ant farm about crumbs somebody's droppin' in the top.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_18:22:49", "killed": false, "user_key": "hustleandfloe", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 4, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4236285, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4252925": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "\"...both blacks and whites...\" wtf does anyone else have to do with OUR problems? The excuse is always made that so & so does this too. I can't count how many times I've heard about how Fortune 500 company CEO are \"criminals too\"; the difference being THEY ARE FORTUNE 500 COMPANY CEOs. They, their families, their communities benefit from their misdeeds. I have yet to see the same effect with the average street pharmacist. It is time to stop making excuses. The entire article likens poor blacks to children, not to be held accountable.", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-08_12:59:08", "killed": false, "user_key": "a43f021c11b2e6b394c6c3002f6cece0", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4236439, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228309": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I'm still trying to understand how Michelle was \"Southside\" aka \"ghetto\" for wearing tri-tone PEARLS.  She wasn't rocking a Jacob the Jeweler ensemble.  She wasn't wearing gold fronts.  She wasn't Bedazzled like Beyonce.  She had on PEARLS.  Like I said, I guess Barbara Bush was \"ghetto\" for rocking those Wilma Flintstone pearls, too.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:55:05", "killed": false, "user_key": "Town", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 7, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228000, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4226774": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "how much time did she get?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_15:26:41", "killed": false, "user_key": "rorysmomma", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 9, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4226509, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4230361": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Oh HELL yes Momma Shirley had to use her \"mayor\" connections....Kai was straight up guilty of money laundering!! There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it, everybody knew it. Her ex-husband was a freaking drug kingpin. Kai's wild azz was Keisha in New Jack City....and for a while she had that trifling negro living in her momma's house! Shirley Franklin had to call the BIG BOYS....not the black \"elite\"...the BIG BOYS - and it is SO evident by what's been happening that she had to sale the office of the Mayor to help her nitwit thug-lovin daughter.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_21:39:27", "killed": false, "user_key": "c22bbad359677d681692848d5775fd8b", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4229990, "depth": 8, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4232925": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I visited the \"Black Socialite\" blog and read the list of so-called super socialites.  Lo and behold I see the mother of one of my former co-workers.  All that I can say about the individual I worked with is that I never met a bigger fraud in all my life.  It irritates me to no end to see or meet people of any color who have all of the advantages one could possibly want in terms of education and access then squander those opportunities.  This person's lack of ethics cost our small nonprofit hundreds of thousands.  This individual, who hardly put in a day of work, after two years, got close to being terminated I suppose but then conveniently got injured at work and proceeded to bleed the agency for another six months with a bogus workers comp claim.  To add insult to injury, this individual walked away with a severance deal.  I blame my \"guilty' and incompetent white supervisor.<br><br>I come from a family who runs the gamut in terms of African-American color, class and connections. What I took away from my situation was that I should work hard, always do my best work, be on time.  I never once felt entitled, and people who do feel entitled, wealthy or not annoy the shyt out of me.<br><br>The Obamas are inspiring because of their intelligence, work ethic, personal ethics and savvy.  That is why they enjoy my support.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_02:08:31", "killed": false, "user_key": "9cfd1eaed75bd87b75c8b79b33d5761d", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4234464": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "I appreciate the post but I have to wonder. Why should we care about what such a tiny relatively insignificant group thinks of the Obama's? Yes there are the Vernon Jordan's and Valerie Jarrett's who have some power. But so do a lot more people from much larger groups. While these Black elites can move careers forward they are not essential. In the big scheme of things there are lots of paths that a politician can take and currying favor with the relatively tiny insignificant group is not the most fruitful path.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_07:29:40", "killed": false, "user_key": "6537839b95896d940401d429e1949a8e", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4227810": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "WHY WASN'T IT MEEEEEEEEEEE?<br><br><br>WHY????????????????????????? [/harold ford jr / tavis smiley]", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:12:06", "killed": false, "user_key": "Town", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4226347, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4226793": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I would actually classify Mrs. Obama as a <i> striver  </i> - educated, accomplished, and upwardly mobile.  However, because I believe she is comfortable with who SHE is, she can successfully navigate in different worlds.<br><br>That's the critical difference -- for me -- between educated black folk caught up in the shallow bullshit of the  &lt;Our Kind of People </i> world ( shallow materialism, 'tude, skin color, last name, etc.) and educated black folk who are not.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_15:29:07", "killed": false, "user_key": "bb90730b238bd2c1f318bc1437a3fc1e", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228562": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Exactly.<br><br>I was just looking at the footage on youtube from Oprah's Legends Ball thrown in 2005(?)--  and even though i recall Michelle  and Barack O. being on the red carpet at the ball---I didn't realize Michelle was also a part of the \"youngins\" at that emotional luncheon where everyone got those lavish diamond earrings......Oprah was truly on to something then.  Michelle was the newly elected  junior Senator's wife at the time, probably relatively unknown to most there and yet Oprah saw fit to have her in the midst of all the more well-known entertainers, artists, actors, etc.<br><br>And lo and behold Michell O is now the next First Lady, who we all know has influence on her husband.<br><br>Michelle is the Oprah of \"politics\"----No one could have expected her prominence, appeal, and now world-wide recognition, since she did not come from a long line of \"who's who\"  And just like Oprah, Michelle will change the world in a way no one expected.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_18:20:19", "killed": false, "user_key": "Monie", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 6, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4227790, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4232433": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "He's supposed to be BFFs with the Clintons - who by the way are just middle-class people with a lot of money and political currency. Perhaps Hillary's side is a bit more higher on the social ladder, but Bill's family had barely left the 'trailer park'. Jordan classed up the joint! I'm not sure how much he assisted but at least he stood out of the fray.", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_00:46:42", "killed": false, "user_key": "heartsandflowers", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4225936, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4226290": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "rikyrah:  I'm glad you'e going there!  My parents had an 8th grade education,  and 11 children.  My dad was a tobacco sharecropper and butcher. My mother and older sibings helped raised us.  It was my paternal grandmother who schooled us on social graces, class and race.  <br><br>I think I have some clue about what  Michelle and Barack face.<br><br>She had the 2 story white farm house with fine china and rich mahoney furniture.  I remember when we'd go for a visit, she'd always say don't you dare come though the back door, and then she'd explain why.  <br><br>She'd lways greet us athe front door with the warmest of miles.  Grandma Rena was pettite, and refiend with honey brown skin.  She and grandpa Joe were decendents of slaves.  She told us she worked for white folk a great portion of her life, and so knew the workings of class an race.<br><br>She told us that some blacks will try to seperate themselves from you when they make more money, the'll try to make you thnk they're better than you because they're lighter than you, and that's probably a carry over from slavery. <br><br>\"You know, field and house slaves were treated differently.  Darker skinned folk worked the fields and got darker, lighte -skinned worked in the house and aoided the sun.\"  Grandma Rena knew what we'd b up against, and she schooled us well.<br><br>We were taught not to begrude anyone based on how they looked or how educated and rich they are;  there's a richness is in the heart.  Judge folk on what's in their heart, then you'll know what's in their mind.  We were encouraged to work hard, get educated, and know thyself and where we came from.<br><br>It wasn't until I met my future mother-in-law did I encounter the experience of the so-called paper bag test..  I was 17, and the first time I met this woman she went ape shit over my long wavy hair.  She's light-skinned, and had straight hair.  When she left the room, I heard her tell her daughter, \"Indeed Lucy, she got pretty hair, but she's sooooo dark.\"  Might I add, Lucy was light-skinned as well and had attended the cotillions and debutante balls.  This woman was still cleaning white folks homes.  She collected antiques and put on all kinds of airs, but I saw through it all.<br><br>Initially, I was mortified and stung by those words but soon drew on the strength and wisdom of Grandma's words.  I did marry her son and learned to move and have my being in that family.  Michelle and Barack now from wence they come and where they come from.  They'll do just fine  More later, I 'm sure.  All for now.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_14:37:10", "killed": false, "user_key": "spirit_55z", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228852": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Wow, that's so true. I'm glad you had the guts to say that. That's painful but so very true.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_18:45:09", "killed": false, "user_key": "dc27af4aad724b38a2a91fc3dfb1df07", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4226538, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4252918": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "I've always been curious why there seems to be such an antipathy for class distinctions in our community, considering that historically, West African cultures often have distinct class strata/differences. Many years ago, I remember reading a fascinating chapter in WIlliam Pierson's book, Black Legacy. Pierson recounts oral history regarding enslaved Africans on board slaveships who were the object of deference (from other enslaved Africans) because of their aristocratic status. He also analyzed the recurrent oral histories, passed down through generations, regarding \"African royalty\" on plantations and the attempt on the part of other enslaved Africans to protect them, pay homage to them, even involving doing the work that they were supposed to do or suffering punishment on their behalf, in deference to their status. Pierson also makes the claim that it was our African forebears who constituted the only aristocratic class that came to these shores. Unlike European settlers, who were often the dregs of society, a significant portion of enslaved Africans were from the aristocratic and privileged classes of their respective African societies. Fascinating information which calls for further research and analysis.", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-08_12:59:06", "killed": false, "user_key": "9fea6d7dd575d826f15c611519273816", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4236705, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4227837": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Don't forget the \"S\" word or the \"I\" word for that matter.  Segregation and Integration.  It was segregation that help propegate the Black Elite.  They had their own business, their own insurance company, funeral company, etc.  And like many high societies in the Western world they were very exclusive.  White folk created the \"Howards, Morehouses, and Spelmans so their Black descendants have a school to attend.  Integration destroyed that socio-economic world.  Thus they had to compete with regular Black folks and became they became much less descriminating.  <br><br>My ex-husband  family traced their family to the one white great great grandfather.  Everything was about my husband (more than) half-white great grand father.  The sun rose and settled around him.  His family and others in like them in Mississippi talk about the good old days.  Most those his generation are doing  worst than their parents and grand parents.  <br><br>I am working class Northerner.  What I personally found most disturbing was way that women were perceived and treated by men treatment from these circle.  Brown Skin women (non-elites) were treat with less regard than Lighter Skin Women.  Brown skin women were mules of the earth while light skin women were delicates flowers needed to be preserved.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:14:35", "killed": false, "user_key": "ecb8e53ad4dc175b15ab69340dd091f1", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4232447": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Yeah and his Blog Star 'contest' was just the latest in educated but ignorant Negro cluelessness", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_00:49:05", "killed": false, "user_key": "heartsandflowers", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228041, "depth": 4, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4229898": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Hmph....I bet Tavis never thought his new BFF would be Harold.......The Obamas have influenced some strange bedfellows! LOL", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_20:46:49", "killed": false, "user_key": "c22bbad359677d681692848d5775fd8b", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4229546, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4284685": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I think that what I took many people to say on this thread was  the following. <br>The difference between upper class blacks and middle class blacks? Nothing. All that separates these groups is pretension and outmoded ways of thinking on the part of upper class blacks. <br><br>Whats the difference between middle class blacks and working class/poor blacks? According to many on this thread: Behavior. That is that middle class blacks are different in terms of behavior ie work ethic, language, manners, spending patterns etc etc.  As if poor black folk are at the bottom of the class ladder cause they dont work hard enough.<br><br>Most people reading this thread would have rejected this notion if I had suggested that upper crust black people work harder, speak better, are more cultured and better financial stewards than middle class people. So why accept this logic when talking about  lower SES ( socioeconmic status) or poor black people?<br><br>Thats whats wrong with this picture.<br><br>I reject this picture because it bolsters the myth that this society is a meritocracy. This is country is not a meritocracy. Many studies show that there is limited class mobility and most people are in the same class that there parents were born into  <a href=\"http://www.economicmobility.org/assets/pdfs/EMP%2520American%2520Dream%2520Report.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.economicmobility.org/assets/pdfs/EMP...</a>. Sure there are exceptions of  folk moving up but its the happy EXCEPTION and not the rule.<br><br>Everyone in this country wants to be middle class and  does everything to distance themselves from the lower rungs. The try to be middle class  while trying to become upper class. They lull themselves into thinking that it is possible while at the same time blaming people who dont \"make it\" as having some moral defect ( uneducated, lack manners, spend too much).<br><br>So I thought this would be an interesting discussion to talk about how we separate ourselves based on class and the many ways we guard our respective positions jealously. At the same time we need to be mindful of whats happening and not accept class distinctions uncritically.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-09_02:18:06", "killed": false, "user_key": "Trumystique", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4244453, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4232463": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I seriously don't think Barbara Bush's Flintstone pearls were \"real,\" either.  All of this \"Michelle doesn't know those kinds of beads are reserved for thus and so time\" is just code for Michelle is ghetto and don't have no home training.  <br><br>Michelle Obama is NOT \"those kind of people\" and will NEVER BE \"those kind of people\" no matter how hard she tries, so instead of her trying to fit in with the black elite maybe the black elite needs to be trying to fit in with her.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_00:51:31", "killed": false, "user_key": "Town", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4232174, "depth": 4, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228369": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I don't think many people will care to be part of their elite anymore. Like I said, I expect them to just go ahead and 'fade to white'<br><br>I want to clarify on the sports and entertainment issue above. I mean that dark skinned blacks had become the archetype via their high profiles rather than these 'Our Kind of People' whose group got smaller and more insignificant.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_18:01:36", "killed": false, "user_key": "TariqNelson", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228296, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4238610": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Yeah but all those dark skinned brothers end up marrying light black, Hispanic or White.  They'll end up fading to White too.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_16:28:12", "killed": false, "user_key": "956579a33991c52045a69aff632ca4e1", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228369, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4232579": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Exactly, heartsand flowers.  Barack and Michelle Obama did it by being BLACK, NOT IN SPITE OF BEING BLACK.  They know themselves and got to  know others. <br><br>They never stooped to anyone's level,  just kept moving ahead., and invited us to come with them.   If anyone wanted to come along, great, if not, they didn't look back and do a head count, always inviting us to move forward.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_01:10:31", "killed": false, "user_key": "spirit_55z", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4232030, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4252948": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "This preoccupation with shades of color is not restricted to African Americans.<br>Hispanics do it too.  Look at the commercials in Spanish, the actors all have light colored hair, eyes and have white skin.    I suppose people of color basically have one standard of beauty- get as close to white as possible?  Sad, don't you think?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-08_13:00:25", "killed": false, "user_key": "b465f4f12f205996e75e75aa8461ecc6", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4226327": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Yes Carolina Ive known for years that the rich Black people and the very poor seem to have the same value system on material things,skin color,Whites.White the lower to upper middle class tend to be Nationalistic,community oriented,and progressive.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_14:40:27", "killed": false, "user_key": "kalagenesis", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4284696": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "trick the white house.  we can meet in bed stuy. I been savin' this next one, but come to find out some dude, donne somebody stole it from me.  (dang, gripped my ascap.)<br><br>We then, who are this new soul, know,<br>    Of what we are composed, and made,<br>For th' atomies of which we grow<br>    Are souls, whom no change can invade.<br><br>But, O alas ! so long, so far,<br>    Our bodies why do we forbear?<br>They are ours, though not we ; we are<br>    Th' intelligences, they the spheres. <br><br>It's ok.  I'll see him again on the block.  have fun at the noggeration.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-09_02:19:13", "killed": false, "user_key": "hustleandfloe", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4241961, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4227877": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Or how Kemba Smith's family was all like \"She was a good middle class girl\" and \"she was a debutante\" and she went to Hampton blah blah.  Lucky for her EMERGE magazine took up her case and Bill Clinton pardoned her, because if she was Kemba Jefferson from the hood she'd still be in lock up.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:18:22", "killed": false, "user_key": "Town", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4226509, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4245288": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "In my opinion, this debate is sad and pathetic.  I read the book, Our Kind of People,  and was thoroughly disgusted by it.  I attended a prestigious west coast college with other students who came from these families and was horrified by their need to brag about their debut balls and Jack and Jill membership, etc. etc.  What was even more special was the elitism espoused by the sororities and the color of membership required to join, i.e.,  your skin tone and hair length determined your membership, not your commitment to philanthropy or social activism.  Class is measured by dignity and humility; how we treat ourselves and other human beings and the good work that we do on earth.  This is what defines the essence of the human character.   <br>The true heroes of our society are the ones who are quiet and dignified and do their work behind the scenes, without any need for obscene recognition.  Barack and Michelle Obama are my heroes as well as the thousands of inner city youth I have taught in my career as an urban public school teacher.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-08_02:39:43", "killed": false, "user_key": "48f778c4f433fb0ef8a262c15bcef33e", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4226524": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "<i>The only black folks that I have met who weren't all that excited about Barack and Michelle have been the very light and upper class ones because it wasn't supposed to turn out this way. THEY were supposed to have one of their own reach the WH (see Harold).</i><br><br>Add in, of a certain generation, and I hear you. I won't disagree with you in the least.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_15:01:23", "killed": false, "user_key": "rikyrah", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": true, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4226347, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4226347": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I would also add that the reason why Harold seems to hate Obama so much is because Obama went out and married a dark beautiful black woman and STILL made it without kissing up to white folks like Harold and his family does.  The only black folks that I have met who weren't all that excited about Barack and Michelle have been the very light and upper class ones because it wasn't supposed to turn out this way. THEY were supposed to have one of their own reach the WH (see Harold).  Michelle isn't a link, an AKA or a J&J and you know that makes them cringe.<br><br>It's wonderful.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_14:42:42", "killed": false, "user_key": "blueberry", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 6, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4225932, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4227886": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I'll bet Michelle's thinking like me - fuck em!", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:19:32", "killed": false, "user_key": "msmartin", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4227790, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4239669": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "\"But Cosby never acknowledges that most poor blacks don't have a choice about these things.\" <br><br>What kind of BS is this? Being poor does not remove accountability or the knowledge between right and wrong. To suggest otherwise is implying people with less money are deviants.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_18:35:57", "killed": false, "user_key": "heartsandflowers", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4236439, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4225846": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I have always been intrigued by the whole notion of the black \"social register\" and the mind-boggling antics of it all. Its funny but Jasmine Guy once remarked that the whole concept of \"Whitley Gilbert\" was ridiculous to her because she'd never heard of a black southern belle....and the irony is, I've known some \"Whitley\" types - better yet, I've known their mothers. However, it was really after I started working at Atlanta Life Ins Company that I really got into the whole history of the black upper-class. The archives of Atlanta Life is some truly interesting reading...fascinating really. The whole Spelman/Morehouse connections (or other private HBCUs, but you land-grant college negroes were not  welcome), vacationing at Martha's Vineyard, Debutante balls, the paper bag tests....fascinating.<br><br>Many of the downtown streets around Atlanta are named after a prominent patriarch of these families and someone from that family always sat (or sits) on the board for Atlanta Life, so I met them all...the Dobbs (Maynard Jackson's family), Russells, Hills, Scotts, of course a King...and the Herndons which founded and own Atlanta Life. Its the most bizarre thing...these families provided so much support (financially) for the civil rights movement - but they weren't gonna get their hands dirty. (Same way wealthy white Southerners were not gonna get caught at the lynchings...let the po white trash do it.) <br><br>I have a few friends now that grew up when that same sort of \"separation\" of the upper and lower took place - and their stories should be put to a script. Its like \"The Wedding\" and \"The Inkwell\" plus some...but like CPL said, its starting to fade because the younger generations simply don't have the mindset - which is wonderful - to keep this bizarre divide going.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_13:55:41", "killed": false, "user_key": "c22bbad359677d681692848d5775fd8b", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4241208": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Webb said: \"This meme about Michelle's skin tone and how so many of \"us\" are superimposing our own experiences (and psychoses) on her is...interesting. I feel like i'm listening to a bunch of preachers paralleling their own lives to Jesus.\".<br><br>I have to agree. I'm an Alpha and a first generation College Graduate. Some people are using Michelle as a therapeutic figure much like Hillary's followers did during the election. One thing about this whole \"paper bag test\" thing. I really don't think it ever truly existed. I've done extensive research into BGLO's and they all have every hue of Black Person from their founders to today's current members. By the way, did you know that Michelle was offered membership into Alpha Kappa Alpha ?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_21:43:05", "killed": false, "user_key": "065f1fee47165ead6a124139d082da1c", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4238137": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Oprah's children would have \"ascended\". That is pure lunacy. Do you really think that a daughter of Oprah would participate in a pretentious debutante ball. I don't think so!  Michelle O did not wear \"fake\" pearls; she wore costume jewelry and I doubt if she gives a damn who didn't think it was appropriate! It couldn't have been too relevant of a faux pas, her husband was elected. Where do you all get this ish from. The \"Our kind of People\" folk are just one of many cliques. Not being a part of that clique will not have any bearing on the success of any individual. Get in where you fit in, have goals, be focused, work hard, make connections (black or white).and PRAY.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_15:34:01", "killed": false, "user_key": "talentedtenth", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 3, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4232148, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4231997": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "That is a damn shame.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_23:10:14", "killed": false, "user_key": "rorysmomma", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4227940, "depth": 4, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4284743": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "dang.  a mighty interesting take.  upper to middle comp to middle to lower.  thanks.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-09_02:24:36", "killed": false, "user_key": "hustleandfloe", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4284685, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4290378": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "hustleand floe, thanks for Donne's slice of \"ECSTACY\"<br><br>I'm Ecstatic about attending the inuaguration! :-))<br><br>Rumi:  <br><br>Your True Life<br><br>AS YOU START TO WALK OUT ON THE WAY,<br>THE WAY APPEARS.<br><br>AS YOU CEASE TO BE,<br>TRUE LIFE BEGINS.<br><br>AS YOU GROW SMALLER,<br>THIS WORLD CANNOT CONTAIN YOU.<br><br>YOU WILL BE SHOWN A BEING<br>THAT HAS NO YOU IN IT.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-09_11:38:36", "killed": false, "user_key": "spirit_55z", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4284696, "depth": 4, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4225358": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Upper class black folks are just as screwed up as lower class black folks, they just have the money to hide it better. Actually, this goes for all races. That is all I have to say for now. I will wait for further discussion from everybody else to see how this topic goes over.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_13:08:45", "killed": false, "user_key": "CarolinagirlinGA", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 15, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4361633": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "What is OKOP?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-12_03:10:05", "killed": false, "user_key": "5d21591faf025836dc203d183e0df702", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "12 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228948": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "I've read about her family background and I've met her parents once.  IMO her father is a pretty nice, down to earth kind of guy.  Her mother, however...<br><br>I think her mother is emotionally invested in Kemba being this naive, innocent little Kemba doll who was \"caught up\" rather than acknowledging the truth, that Kemba went buck wild in college and was spreading them legs and getting down with the drug dealer instead of staying her ass in class.<br><br>Her mother struck me as one of those \"our kind of people\" type folks.  It was just a vibe I got from meeting her.", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_18:55:26", "killed": false, "user_key": "Town", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228441, "depth": 4, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4280151": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I can't help but feel frustrated by the ongoing notions of the black elite  \"looking down on\" all other african americans.<br><br>Could someone please tell me a society that exists or has existed or this earth that has not had some sort of recognized class structure when large differences in wealth and/or education have existed?  For that matter can anyone tell me of a society from antiquity to the present that did not use a variety of means of stratifying their social positions?<br><br>What has lead african americans to believe they should be somehow excluded from such facts of life?<br><br>There seems to be an awful lot of projection involved here.  In ALL societies those less advantaged seem to believe that those in an alternative position in life have a slew of negative feelings about them.  Interestingly this complaint is alternated with complaints of disregard or being treated as \"invisible\" to the upper classes.  Which is it?  Seen, contemplated, and disliked or unseen, unconsidered and non-existent in the minds of the elite?  Can it really be both?<br><br>Has anyone ever considered the flip side?<br><br>Should those with long standing family lines of college educated, financially successful ancestors feel ashamed of that fact?  Should they hide their ancestors accomplishments in shame?  Should they leave their children scrambling for heroes to emulate hoping that they will find some rap artist to  pattern themselves after?<br><br>Moreover, should the african americans in america cease to seek to extinquish the greatest lichpin of racism---- the defining of the entire race by the \"least of these\" instead of defining the race by the best and brightest?<br><br>Isn't that what drives the institutionalized racist policies?  A degreed and competent african american applies for a position and because of their skin color it is presumed that they are poor and undereducated and incompetent.  Isn't  racism at it's core about defining our people by all the negatives that do in fact exist among us without ever being willing to acknowledge the positives?  Aren't we forever arguing that our successes are not credited but or failures are latched onto by whites and  become ALL they know about our communities and our existence?<br><br>Could that be, in any part, because of the lack of focus (by african american activists and intelligencia) on the FACT that there is not AN African American Community--- there are African American COMMUNITIES often with different focuses and values systems and political tendencies.  Could it be because the African American upper class (which has existed longer than this nation has existed) has been invisible to white america and the lion's share of black america has done little else than deride the existence of these African American communities.<br><br>It seems outrageous and counterproductive to me that so many african americans would rather deify those whites who have championed their causes and denigrate and demean those blacks....... those \"our kind of people\"......... whose dedication and efforts  to fight to end racism AND to aid those less fortunate when their were no social service programs, or scholarships or access to schools and teachers etc.<br><br>The next time anyone thinking like this opens their mouths to wonder at our children being scared to achieve, feeling that they have to chose between being \"black\" or being good students, thinking that they must  conflate those things that define poverty wiht those things that define blackness--- I sincerely hope that before they bemoan this lethal epidemic among our children they ask themselves if that is the message that they have been sending those children.<br><br>Think back on the comments soooo prevalent here.  Think back on the notion that all those at any radio station -- just because they are black -- should share the same social circles or personal preferences for their lives.  Blacks who can afford an upscale restaurant should hesitate to gather a groupo for an afterword bite in order to avoid making those who cannot feel what.........not as well off?   Those who like to share a drink and share memories of college and graduate school should instead bury those memories so and not to what........offend those who may not have been able to go to college --- OR may not have been willing to miss the parties and may have chosen to hang with the girls or get hair and nails down while others studied for SAT's!  Either may be the case!  But nonetheless, those who missed prom to finish a project and get that A that would get them into ivy league should squash that!  Forget it!  Don't mention it!  WHY?????  <br><br>THERE IS NOT JUST ONE BLACK EXPERIENCE!  There is not just ONE black community!  ALL blacks in poverty are not there because of absense of opportunity and all those with ivy league degrees don't have them SOLELY because Daddy or Mommy had one!  <br><br>Some who find sharing observations about a novel a relaxing proposition for an evening with friends may not like to do so at caberet's and some who find a caberet a desireable way to share time with friends may not care to discuss a novel.  Why try to dictate that there should be some sacrifice of self in an effort to pretend that we are all the same because we share racial heritage???<br><br>The issues of the rural african americas are NOT being addressed.  The issues of the suburban african americans (ESPECIALLY in UPPER CLASS largely white suburbs) will not be discussed at Smiley's State of the Black Union this year.  <br><br>While many our kids from all walks of life go to college we will not hear our black intelligensia focus on the myriad of problems and dangers and pitfalls that face those children this year but we will certainly hear them talk passionately about those kids who don't get to go to college.  We MAKE those children who do get into college in a very real way invisible!  We make those who enter the work force in management or with advanced degrees invisible!<br><br>What amazes me about the conversation here is that everyone writing seems so well informed and likely well educated.  Have you asked yourself what relationship will await your grandchildren and your greatgrands with the less fortunate african american communites?   Will you want them to feel shame when they recount YOUR struggles and successes?  Will you want them to cling to the hood with all of the overwelmingly difficult challenges that would face them there just to be able to claim some sort of kinship to those unfortunate enough to be fighting the battles that you have fought IN LARGE PART so that they would not have to fight them (or die trying)?<br><br>If not--- then I for ONE of a long line of the \"Our Kind of People\" would surely appreciate it if you would stop bad mouthing me and mine just because my great great grandfather fought the battles a few decades (or even a century) ahead of you!!  I would request that you cease and desist disregarding my great grandfather who was killed by whites because he was a wealthy and successful man who trafficked black men out of Alabama in coffins when lynch mobs were looking for them.<br><br>I would like you to STOP discrediting my grandfather who had to leave Alabama with his wife and six children in a heartbeat because he was too wealthy and too educated and owned too much of the silly town that housed the white men who came looking for him one night!<br><br>I would hope you would think twice before bad mouthing my mother who read that book to see how often  her name and the names of her friends appeared there but who EVERY DAY OF HER LIFE worked to further the history of african americans and dedicated her life (and a hell of a lot of my fathers money) to trying to make it possible for more african americans to have a choice to go to college and join those sororities and fraternities that you poo poo so readily!<br><br>These people who are being diminished  WERE welfare before Roosevelt!  They were Medicaid and Legal Aid!  They WERE meals on wheels and the Salvation Army!<br><br>So give it a little more thought --- both retrospectively and prospectively -- the next time you want to put your noses up in the air and complain about their existence,  PLEASE!", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-08_22:13:01", "killed": false, "user_key": "32af65684e5b84a788e047f653d21d60", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 4, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228441": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "you know, when I was younger, I was like, 'oh Poor Kemba'. But, as I got older, I began to look sideways at her case. I found it hard to believe that she was some innocent naif. More than likely, she thought she could 'play grown' in that world, and then was shocked when it wasn't like the movies. Yes, I know the drug laws that I loathe were a huge part of it, but as Mama told me, ' be careful who you associate with'. As I got older, it just got harder to me to believe that a woman lies down and has a baby by someone that just so 'completely fools her'. <br><br>know what I mean?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_18:08:02", "killed": false, "user_key": "rikyrah", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": true, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4227877, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4229467": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I think is another symptom of the pathological classism in Black America.  If you were born in a working class area, it does not matter how educated you are, what you have accomplished, where you have traveled...you'll still from the \"southside\".  <br><br>Some people are very small-minded.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_19:51:11", "killed": false, "user_key": "ca7674498191f49a8a6c3ef33b81ea51", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228309, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4225884": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I think that Michelle as First lady will certainly end a lot of the tired practices embraced by upper class black people for generations.  <br><br>Gone is the standard of the properly yellow or taupe colored trophy bride needed for a black man to be successful.   The term \"good hair\" shall be retired.  <br><br>Organizations like the Links and Boule may hold on their exclusivity but their membership will dwindle.  Who would want to be a member of such a group when there are so many other opportunities open to them.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_13:58:37", "killed": false, "user_key": "ca7674498191f49a8a6c3ef33b81ea51", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 5, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4232030": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Well Bill Cosby has a point about how poor(er) people look to acquiring material goods instead of taking steps to build wealth. Placing value on outside trappings but having nothing to show for it. That's a big problem with many in the US (and around the world as well), but we know that certain people are going to pay the consequences more steadily. And yes it is an issue amongst certain Blacks.<br><br>I'll distinguish it amongst the home-grown vs. those that have more recently immigrated here or who's cultural influences lie elsewhere (Caribs & Continental Africans). <br><br>Some of the same people who focus on having the expensive gear don't know how to properly conjugate a verb. It's one thing to change up your vocab in different settings. It's another thing to not be able to distinguish the difference of when it's necessary to do so. <br><br>It's also why those tv/movie executives who still discriminate in practice by having almost no behind the camera representation from PoC with equal clout will seek to find the worst representations of them to present to the public. Of course if nobody agreed to do this and if people didn't support the companies that presented it we could in fact go far. <br><br>There's a difference between being poor and acting a fool. But yes there are people who like to set themselves apart as well. I think at one point in time it was a matter of survival but there was always a certain malice involved - that's where Black racism comes in.<br><br>The thing with the Obamas is that they dismantled everything: white racists, self-hating Blacks, the Black elite (who for all their money and connections would never do the grunt work to meet the people where they're at to have one of their own running for office - I mean look at someone like Harold Ford - what a joke!), the naysayers and the Clintons. I mean who's left?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_00:14:34", "killed": false, "user_key": "heartsandflowers", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 3, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4229778, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4227940": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "NOT ONE FRIGGING DAY IN JAIL", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:23:40", "killed": false, "user_key": "rikyrah", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": true, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 6, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4226774, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4229990": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Heard Sista Shirley is on Barack's short list for the Cabinet position of Labor Secretary.<br><br>Kai's baggage might put a stop to that, especially if momma used her \"mayor' connections to get Kai pled down to probation instead of the serious jail time she should have got.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_20:57:49", "killed": false, "user_key": "CPL", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": true, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4229503, "depth": 7, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228455": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "rorysmomma,<br><br>go over to Skeptical Brotha and put Kai Franklin into the search engine. what you will read will piss you off.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_18:09:08", "killed": false, "user_key": "rikyrah", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": true, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4226774, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228460": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "I don't know much about Those Kind of People firsthand but I know a lot about ego.  I don't see exclusivity going anywhere, really.  Whether it's the old moneyed families or the nouveaux riche, somebody's going to find a way to be stank to people without their social connections and money.  I also don't think the Obamas are the kind to ignore Those People if they know they can benefit from the friendships.  If O can put Hill in his cabinet, he can use some formerly indifferent beige fundraiser to scratch his back in exchange for bragging rights that they spent time hobnobbing in DC.  Even so, I'm really glad the Obamas aren't Those People.  I can relate to Michelle much more because of it.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_18:09:24", "killed": false, "user_key": "c14dc645708e1f6b7caba8da416ef4b7", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4229487": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I know I'm risking Round II of post-off between this site and another, but I have to ask.<br><br>Are you referring to The Black Socialite??", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_19:53:46", "killed": false, "user_key": "ca7674498191f49a8a6c3ef33b81ea51", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228590, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4227954": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Hooray!", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:25:11", "killed": false, "user_key": "msmartin", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4226538, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4227957": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Kai didn't get a darn day...she got probation.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:25:12", "killed": false, "user_key": "c22bbad359677d681692848d5775fd8b", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4226774, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4230007": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "EVENING THREAD IS UP", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_20:59:20", "killed": false, "user_key": "rikyrah", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": true, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4229503": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Yeah, he was a personal trainer....and I believe his Mama is still trying to raise money to care for him after all this time. I tell you what.....right around the time this all went down and as it came time for Kai to plead, the way Mayor Franklin governed took a swift and I do mean SWI-IFT turn. It wasn't the black \"elite\" that got Kai outta that. oh noez.....we aint got that kinda pull......that was dem white boyz...dem white boyz in Buckhead - and they have called in ALL their favors which is why Atlanta's next mayor shall be a white man.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_19:55:50", "killed": false, "user_key": "c22bbad359677d681692848d5775fd8b", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228024, "depth": 6, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4229504": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "<i> looking forward to this country and world seeing REAL black woman who is happy in her own skin without the paper bag test and size 2 dress and long weave</i><br><br>Your comment about \"long weave\" reminded me of something I heard about weaved hair:<br><br>If you can't grow it...sew it<br>If you can't achieve it.....weave it!  lol", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_19:55:53", "killed": false, "user_key": "Justice58", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4229304, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228587": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "In other words, skin color isn't the issue or key. It's class, caste, orientation to more global cultural norms.  <br><br>PS I went to Princeton w/Larry. Yes, before he was Lawrence, he was Larry. Little squeaky Larry.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_18:22:55", "killed": false, "user_key": "dcf2c9ce3819616f8ba0ca48c54519c4", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228551, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4227973": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "LOL..we were probably typing at the same time...I couldn't believe they managed to get probation only for Kai....she did some SERIOUS bullyshyt.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:26:39", "killed": false, "user_key": "c22bbad359677d681692848d5775fd8b", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 4, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4227940, "depth": 4, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4229512": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Your first post demonstrates that skin color <i>is</i> the \"issue or key\". In your second sentence, you used white folks as a barometer for how we (black people) should conduct ourselves, and determine who is worthy. It was the equivalent of a six year old saying of his/her friends, \"But all the other kids do it! Why can't I!\".", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_19:56:31", "killed": false, "user_key": "Sepia", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228587, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4227977": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Denise,<br><br>you are correct. The Obamas are STRIVERS", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:27:10", "killed": false, "user_key": "rikyrah", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": true, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4226793, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4225932": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I forget add that I get a personal bit of satisfaction in seeing the likes of Harold Ford, Jr in the cold.<br><br>And I'll leave it at that.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_14:02:34", "killed": false, "user_key": "ca7674498191f49a8a6c3ef33b81ea51", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 11, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4232077": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Who do you think lives in Chicago? There aren't many areas left with large Black populations who have some political and financial clout. There's plenty of areas with violent, crumbling neighborhoods full of apathy. If you had decided to run for President and knew you've be spending 20 years of your life preparing for it what would you do achieve that goal? Who would you surround yourself with? If you were in a jam and needed bail money and a lawyer would you only want to have other broke friends or would you want people with access?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_00:21:40", "killed": false, "user_key": "heartsandflowers", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 4, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228514, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4225936": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "\"Of all the Black folk in Camp Hillpatine, it was very interesting that Vernon never clowned for Hillpatine, a la Andy Young, Bob Johnson, and others.\"<br><br>  I knew that Obama would be okay because Vernon Jordan said that Obama was a movement and that Hillary would find it hard to beat a movement.  I bet he lent his services to team O.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_14:03:01", "killed": false, "user_key": "rorysmomma", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4232596": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Preach!", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_01:13:01", "killed": false, "user_key": "spirit_55z", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4232077, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4232174": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "They weren't 'real' pearls. Dress has always been used to determine class. There are earrings and attire that are After 5 for example. There are expectations but these things are usually taught to the children so they grow up accustomed to these things, like use of table ware and such. Michelle didn't have that training but I'm sure her daughters have now.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_00:36:46", "killed": false, "user_key": "heartsandflowers", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 3, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228309, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228504": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "This meme about Michelle's skin tone and how so many of \"us\" are superimposing our own experiences (and psychoses) on her is...interesting.  I feel like i'm listening to a bunch of preachers paralleling their own lives to Jesus.<br><br>Michelle's gonna write a book one day...and I wonder if this subject will even come up?  Will she even be able to broach such subject matter once she ascends to the throne?<br><br>BTW, is that Valerie Jarrett's mama in the upper-left hand corner of the Our Kind cover?  And I sure do wonder what they are sipping on in that photo.  That doesn't look like Frahm-Pay to me.  Those look like cocktails...heathens.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_18:15:07", "killed": false, "user_key": "Webb", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4232089": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Co-signing, Town, Yaba daba doo!", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_00:24:26", "killed": false, "user_key": "spirit_55z", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228309, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4225434": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "I will confess that I thought with Obama's victory, that the issues of \"Our Kind of People\" was going to be strongly embraced.<br><br>I always wondered why upper class Black Folk believe those of us from working class backgrounds think we can't behave with the same social graces, have proper etiquette and table manners as THEY DO.<br><br>I am like the Obamas.  I move in both worlds, but embrace my working class roots because that's how I was raised.  We had snooty relatives, too, and I remember how hard my mother worked over my brother and me on our table manners and whatnot when we were little because these snooty relatives could make life hell come the holidays.<br><br>But I agree with CarolinaGirl's comments as well.  Upper Class Black People ARE just as screwed up as middle class and working class Black folk because they can use their money to hide the screwed-upness.<br><br>Let these so-called \"upper class\" denizens fume at the fact that because they either supported Hillary or McCain;  it didn't work, and this brotha and his wife won't be including them on their invitation lists, preventing them from bragging rights about how they get invited to the White House to dine with the POTUS on the regular.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_13:17:03", "killed": false, "user_key": "CPL", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": true, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4241820": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Maaaan, I can relate to this subject so well. I'm a medium-brown (light to the dark skinned, dark to the high-yellas) woman who worked at a major black media company. A cultural anthropologist could have had had a ground-breaking study there. I used to joke that the rank and file staff was treated like filed niggas, and that the management was like the house niggas...except it wasn't a joke. Education and complexion definitely played a role in the company, as did family background and social class, or the social class you were percieved to be. Despite the product this company put off, it was amazingly the largest group of educated black people from all kinds of backgrounds that I've probably ever been around. You had sorority girls and ex-Jack and Jills mingling with reformed hustlers, quirky artsy types, city kids who'd done to exclusive East Coast prep schools and those from regular middle class and working class backgrounds all together. Yes, there were differences made by educational background,family wealth, class, color and more. It was fascinating as much as it was sickening. And yes, some of the so-called \"elite\" black people at this company, who were making money off the exploitation of the ghetto class they despised, were absolutely disdainful of same, particularly if they were working for the company. I have seen this type of division in my own family where complexion and hair type runs the gamut as does educational background and lifestyle. Yet if you meet my mother today, who is high-yella, despite the fact that she has been working class most of her life and has worked in the hood for almost 30 years, you would swear she was one of the \"the people like us.\" That's more due to the old-fashioned notion of upbringing and hometraining than any class snobbishness, though. As someone with this background who now lives in a predominantly black neighborhood, I can say this - I have always felt torn between the two worlds. My education and ability to express myself intelligently has given me entree into a slice of the upper crust world, but my working class background means only to a point. But to ghetto folks, even some in my family I'm \"bourgie.\" And mind you, I can count my family back four generations. Class consciousness has definitely impacted my life in many, many ways. It's crazy, but it's real. I see a lot of those upper crust black folks, even in my business which is a creative industry, getting top positions in black companies becuase of their percieved corporate appeal. And yes, some are high acheivers and have been trained to be so, so you can't knock their work ethic or educational/class background if it helped them get somewhere. As someone who is in daily proximity to \"hood\" black folks, I will say it's not poverty that is responsible for some of the behavior and dysfunction. It's ignorance, which in the Catch-22 we know so well, is often created by poverty.<br>As far as Barack and Michelle, I credit both of them for vaulting up the class board and working with the talented tenth types like Valerie Jarrett. They leapfrogged over the usual channels with education, ambition and parents who wanted them to do more than they themselves could. I can appreciate that. I am sure that in the privacy of their own thoughts, PEBO and Michelle are acutely aware of how far they've come. I just hope that they appreciate and recognize that some of the black folks that the talented tenth is so disdainful of are the ones that were loyal to PEBO from the start and helped get him elected.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_22:14:28", "killed": false, "user_key": "cc6569f8cbd4abd6bef53a2f883f8ca5", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228000": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "You know Town, I am feeling you. oh, to be a fly on some of those walls", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:28:43", "killed": false, "user_key": "rikyrah", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": true, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 8, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4227790, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4236705": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I want to thank the folks here. I knew we'd have a great discussion on this topic.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_13:00:39", "killed": false, "user_key": "rikyrah", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": true, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228514": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "\"But, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s as black/white as it seems. The Obamas have been embraced by some of the Our Kind of People crowd. What do you think Valerie Jarrett is? or Desiree Rogers? She, and more importantly, her former husband, is pure Our Kind of People. \"<br><br>To tell the truth, that the Obamas seemed to have embraced the Our Kind of People crowd As BFF's has slightly taken the blush off of the rose for me.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_18:16:02", "killed": false, "user_key": "dfcb6874227eaf8bfc2f34d16d1629bf", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 6, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4233123": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I don't think Michelle is trying to fit in.  She is just being her beautiful self.  I must say that she does her perfectly and comfortably well.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_02:36:33", "killed": false, "user_key": "antennaness", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4232463, "depth": 5, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4229542": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "I wanna know too Sepia! LOL.....Please let me know so I can go have some fun on whatever site it is.", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_19:59:52", "killed": false, "user_key": "c22bbad359677d681692848d5775fd8b", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4229487, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4229546": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Well, at least Tavis ain't lonely.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_20:00:25", "killed": false, "user_key": "Admiral_Komack", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4225932, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4240812": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Yeah. I agree.  It would be great to have another perspective. But I think there is a certain hypocrisy decrying what the debutante crowd thinks of \"Us\" or middle class folk but absolutely no critique about how the middle class reacts to poor and working class blacks.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_21:01:58", "killed": false, "user_key": "Trumystique", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4238872, "depth": 5, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4240114": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Thank you, Allison.  The reality is only we have the true power to define ourselves, even though others will try to define us, put us into boxes and clamp down the lids.<br><br>Soul cannot be contained; it is Eternal!", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_19:36:50", "killed": false, "user_key": "spirit_55z", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4239718, "depth": 4, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228024": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "tell me about it. I read about her exploits over at Skeptical Brotha. could not believe the shyt she was into. you also recall that a friend wound up in a coma just for being with her...she's like a Black Daisy Buchanan.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:31:12", "killed": false, "user_key": "rikyrah", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": true, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 3, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4227973, "depth": 5, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4229561": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "god, i hope so. the stupidity in allowing such trivial and superficial aspects of who we are to determine value and worth as a human being is an outrage. <br><br>when i see working class folks spending $1,000 on a handbag because \"it's quality\" i want to smack them over the head with said bag. <br><br>can we just quit judging people on what they wear / dress / carry / drive / live in? jiminy fucking christmas, we have so many serious, major, important issues facing us in this country and in the world. to try to divide / diminish / exclude folks based on trivia is a shame.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_20:01:37", "killed": false, "user_key": "bigassbelle", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4227886, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4229566": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "LMBAO!", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_20:02:19", "killed": false, "user_key": "Sepia", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4229237, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4227008": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "They should have put her ass in jail for a long time.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_15:50:37", "killed": false, "user_key": "rorysmomma", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4226509, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4240326": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "WELL SAID!!", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_20:02:37", "killed": false, "user_key": "bb90730b238bd2c1f318bc1437a3fc1e", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4239568, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228551": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I think we're the only ethnic group who consciously allows our least common denominator ghettofab and bamma folk define and control us. White people defer to redneck bumpkinism as a joke. And besides, as much as rednecks joke about or despise more educated whitefolks in return, they actually idolize them.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_18:19:25", "killed": false, "user_key": "dcf2c9ce3819616f8ba0ca48c54519c4", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 6, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 1, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228041": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "OH Town....<br><br>you crack me up. <br><br>but, I know it's the truth. serious haterade from the Dark Sith towards our PE.<br><br>and Tavis, well....I can't believe he's STILL TRIPPIN'", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_17:33:21", "killed": false, "user_key": "rikyrah", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": true, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4227810, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4233163": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Why do I have a feeling that we know the same \"black socialite?\" and we don't even know each other?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_02:41:41", "killed": false, "user_key": "blueberry", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4232925, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4226509": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "this is true. How else to explain how Kai Franklin walks around free today. If she was Shaniqua from the neighborhood, and had been involved with what Franklin was, she'd be doing a stint at a max.security facility, and her family wouldn't see her for at least a decade.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_14:59:44", "killed": false, "user_key": "rikyrah", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": true, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 14, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4225358, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4284878": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Read our kind of people... very interesting that you would mention it now.   <br><br>Given what was mentioned ,the likes of Oprah and Michelle would not meet the qualifications even to stop by at Sag Harbour or Oldsbluff. for that matter.But there is cold 'revenge' taking place among these very class conscious folks... Those they have walked passed only based on the darkness of skin..regardless of their educational staus is now leaving them in the dust. Michelle doesn't need an invitation to get her girls to a Jack and Jill... I think its great how all of this is turning out.<br><br>A movie on this would be great!  Where is Otis? Penning another book I guess!", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-09_02:41:02", "killed": false, "user_key": "2b880df65723b90bc9f04e23fcdf0dba", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4226513": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "LOL<br><br>I'm feeling you about the Dark Sith. I'm so feeling you.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_15:00:42", "killed": false, "user_key": "rikyrah", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": true, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4225932, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4242386": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "and that fact that BHO was drawn to her, always made him a very compelling figure in my eyes.  I never questioned whether he was black enough - all I had to do was to look at who he chose to be his life partner and build his family with.", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_23:05:39", "killed": false, "user_key": "0e3e0d3198d7ff5b1a31cf8276147724", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4226538, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4232148": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "And Lady O is not part of the Black elite though she probably has more money than a lot of them. And that's ok. Now had she had children and grandchildren they would've \"ascended\".", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_00:32:59", "killed": false, "user_key": "heartsandflowers", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 4, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228562, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4239324": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "sooo true!!!", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_17:52:02", "killed": false, "user_key": "345ef9d99445ccc4f0f184209b915195", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4226538, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4233182": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "antennaness,<br><br>I love your comment", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_02:42:29", "killed": false, "user_key": "Texas_Girl_in_LA", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4233123, "depth": 6, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4294114": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Conversations about responsibility tend to be unilateral.  If poverty is pushed by the system, than those hoodwinked by the system are off the hook.  If poverty is caused/perpetuated by the impoverished own cultural beliefs(or other code words such as ignorant, violent, deviant, lazy, BLACK) then its one's responsibility to put that \"childishness\" aside and raise themselves out of that condition.  The challenge comes in when you say its both.   That Bill speaks for 1 side of the coin, Eric the other - but really, its the same coin.  And now what? <br><br>From my seat, this conversation - and having the jump off being My Kind of People - illustrates how nothing really moves (for the larger race/society) as long as we participate in divisive conversations.<br><br>Where is the value and conviction in our fundamental struggle: a better life FOR ALL.  Where is the commitment to meeting head on all those structures, cultural beliefs, historical and personal traumas that stands in the way of that, diminishing our lives and the lives of others who we are connected to and responsible for.   And lets be clear, it doesn't matter honestly if the challenges come from inside THE community or outside THE community; inside the individual or outside of the individual - they must be met and met with conviction and love.  Somehow we have become convinced that burden is synonymous to responsibility, that criticism is the same as insight, that demand is the same as invitation, that frustration is the same as incentive, etc.  Its time for us to be honest about what we value.  Casue if we value our degress, houses, cars, social networks of prestige, then we need to be honest about that and stop saying we are about the work of human reconciliation, reclaimation, empowerment and transcendence.  The larger moment is begging us to move beyond this illusion of progress and dream bolder, to hold each other accountable (and lets be clear we the edumacated often abdicate our responsibility to our brothers and sisters - and i don't mean the responsibility to turn them into little clones of ourselves) - and collectively, in cooperation with each other, work towards a model of being (black) that isn't ok with the idea that some of us are ok cause we have access and the rest are bankrupt because they do not.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-09_15:03:49", "killed": false, "user_key": "4e8d96e53de91862a113d328bfd544f5", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4239669, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4244453": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Would you care to explain what you think is wrong with the picture?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-08_00:45:56", "killed": false, "user_key": "ca7674498191f49a8a6c3ef33b81ea51", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 3, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4243000, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4226538": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I think Michelle as First Lady upsets some Black folks almost as much as it upsets some White folks. She truly is the challenger to all of those preconceived notions of what a Black man had to have on his arm in order to ' make it'.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_15:02:32", "killed": false, "user_key": "rikyrah", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": true, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 4, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4225884, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4232683": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "You're welcome h&fs.  For me, it's all about spiritual growth, about higher consciousness. It's imperative for survival here and now.  Social constructs and labels can place staggering limitations on us.", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_01:26:50", "killed": false, "user_key": "spirit_55z", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4232234, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4242412": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Ok well then I think we've got that covered. Though some constructive criticism and evaluation is needed. I can agree that middle class and upper middle class tend to try to separate themselves from poorer folks but sometimes it's because of behavior and outlook on life. But I do know about those that write you off for not having a certain car or other superficial things. But a lot of super rich people are nicer than the most. If one is content it goes far.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_22:08:09", "killed": false, "user_key": "heartsandflowers", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4240812, "depth": 6, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4228590": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "This is so true even in the \"black elite\" blogosphere. And I'll just leave it at that.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_18:23:15", "killed": false, "user_key": "Sepia", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4227790, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4229373": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "I guess one way of looking at things is the black upper class treated (treat) black people with less money so shabbily, that they are interested in infiltrated their ranks.<br><br>I guess no one dreams of being an elite a*hole.", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_19:39:50", "killed": false, "user_key": "ca7674498191f49a8a6c3ef33b81ea51", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4228551, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4234226": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "This \"big\" city is really a small town.  So word will get out, and this individual's momma and daddy won't be able to clean up after their hot mess after a while. <br><br>One really should, given the advantages, have their act together by the time they reach their forties, but this one....", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_06:18:21", "killed": false, "user_key": "9cfd1eaed75bd87b75c8b79b33d5761d", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4233163, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4229621": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "It's the same mentality in how some whites view blacks. No matter how educated you are, what you have accomplished, where you've traveled. If you have black skin, some view you as still being a n*gg**. <br><br>Hillary played that dog whistle game with the hard working white people \"quote\"! And  Gasp.....Maggie Williams helped.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-06_20:09:00", "killed": false, "user_key": "Justice58", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 4229467, "depth": 4, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4318203": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "@ monica - Check out early pictures of AKAs. They are range from light to dark. Ethel Hedgemon Lyle is a dark skinned woman and a key founder of AKA. The whole idea that the Delta split from AKA is a case of the dark girls separating from the light is false. I was at Boule and AKA is NOT a light skinned and  long haired girl sorority.  Also, The AKA Barbie is a brown skinned doll. Her features are clearly African American. <br><br>I read OKOP.  But I am not one of them. They are a valid part of our history here in this country. Why does one experience outweigh or invalidate the other ?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-10_18:16:54", "killed": false, "user_key": "065f1fee47165ead6a124139d082da1c", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "12 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "4236285": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "A new theory of the leisure class<br><br>Inconspicuous Consumption<br>by Virginia Postrel<br><a href=\"http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/consumption\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/consumption</a><br><br>About seven years ago, University of Chicago economists Kerwin Kofi Charles and Erik Hurst were researching the \u201cwealth gap\u201d between black and white Americans when they noticed something striking. African Americans not only had less wealth than whites with similar incomes, they also had significantly more of their assets tied up in cars. The statistic fit a stereotype reinforced by countless bling-filled hip-hop videos: that African Americans spend a lot on cars, clothes, and jewelry\u2014highly visible goods that tell the world the owner has money.<br><br>But do they really? And, if so, why?<br><br>The two economists, along with Nikolai Roussanov of the University of Pennsylvania, have now attacked those questions. What they found not only provides insight into the economic differences between racial groups, it challenges common assumptions about luxury. Conspicuous consumption, this research suggests, is not an unambiguous signal of personal affluence. It\u2019s a sign of belonging to a relatively poor group. Visible luxury thus serves less to establish the owner\u2019s positive status as affluent than to fend off the negative perception that the owner is poor. The richer a society or peer group, the less important visible spending becomes.<br><br>On race, the folk wisdom turns out to be true. An African American family with the same income, family size, and other demographics as a white family will spend about 25 percent more of its income on jewelry, cars, personal care, and apparel. For the average black family, making about $40,000 a year, that amounts to $1,900 more a year than for a comparable white family. To make up the difference, African Americans spend much less on education, health care, entertainment, and home furnishings. (The same is true of Latinos.) ... THERE IS MORE", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2008-12-07_12:12:08", "killed": false, "user_key": "Trumystique", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "1 year ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 6, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}}, "integration": {"receiver_url": "", "theme": 4, "reply_position": true, "disqus_logo": false}, "timer": {"timer_url": "http://localhost:8005", "thread_id": "8019133", "user_id": "anonymous", "forum_id": "21630", "hash": 3596395040670299784}, "thread": {"days_alive": 0, "slug": "let8217s_get_in_some_trouble_today_black_people_and_8216class8217", "paginate": false, "num_pages": 1, "num_posts": 142, "per_page": 0, "total_posts": 0, "realtime_paused": true, "id": 8019133, "queued": false}, "reactions_limit": 10, "context": {"show_reply": true, "use_fb_connect": true, "forum_facebook_key": "bd6a8bc56f8eb204984f34b6fefe228d", "use_yahoo": false, "subscribed": false, "use_twitter_signin": true, "use_openid": false, "realtime_speed": 5000}, "reactions_start": 0, "settings": {"debug": false, "disqus_url": "http://disqus.com", "media_url": "http://media.disqus.com"}, "media_url": "http://media.disqus.com"};
	/* */ this.jsonData.cookie_messages = {"user_created": null, "post_has_profile": null, "post_twitter": null, "post_not_approved": null}; this.jsonData.session = {"url": null, "name": null, "email": null}; /* */

	
	this.curPageId = 'dsq-comments';

	this.frames = {};
};

var disqus_popup_reference = null;

if(typeof DsqLocal == 'undefined') {
	DsqLocal = {};
}



/**
 * Dsq.Strings: UI strings
 */
Dsq.Strings = new function() {
	this.ADD_NEW_COMMENT = "Add New Comment";
	this.LOG_INTO_DISQUS = "Log into DISQUS";
	this.USE_MEDIA = "Use Media";
	this.LOGOUT = "Logout";
	this.SHARING_OPTIONS = "Sharing options";
	this.SHARE_ON = "Share on";
	this.TWEET_THIS_COMMENT = "Tweet this comment";
	this.SHARE_ON_NEWSFEED = "Share on news feed";
	this.SEND_UPDATE_TO_YAHOO = "Send update to Yahoo!";
	this.REBLOG_ON = "Reblog on";
	this.CONFIGURE_OPTIONS = "Configure options";
	this.POST_AS = "Post as";
	this.SORT_BY = "Sort by";
	this.SUBSCRIBE_BY_EMAIL = "Subscribe by email";
	this.SUBSCRIBE_BY_RSS = "Subscribe by RSS";
	this.POPULAR_NOW = "Popular now";
	this.BEST_RATING = "Best Rating";
	this.NEWEST_FIRST = "Newest first";
	this.OLDEST_FIRST = "Oldest first";
	this.HIGHLIGHTED = "Highlighted";
	this.UNSUBSCRIBE = "Unsubscribe";
	this.REQUIRED = "Required";
	this.OPTIONAL = "Optional";
	this.YOU_ARE_COMMENTING_AS_A = "You are commenting as a";
	this.LOGIN_BELOW = "Login below";
	this.PLEASE_LOGIN_BELOW_TO_COMMENT = "Please login below to comment.";
	this.SUBSCRIBE_TO_ALL_COMMENTS_BY_EMAIL = "Subscribe to all comments by email";
	this.DO_NOT_SUBSCRIBE_TO_COMMENTS = "Do not subscribe to comments";
	this.REALTIME_UPDATING_IS = "Real-time updating is";
	this.ENABLED = "enabled";
	this.PAUSED = "paused";
	this.PAUSE = "Pause";
	this.RESUME = "Resume";
	this.SHOW = "Show";
	this.JUST_NOW = "Just now";
	this.REPLY = "Reply";
	this.EDIT = "Edit";
	this.FLAG = "Flag";
	this.MODERATE = "Moderate";
	this.CANCEL = "Cancel";
	this.REPLYING_TO = "Replying to";
	this.REPORT_MISSING_REACTIONS = "Report missing reactions";
	this.POST_A_COMMENT = "Post a comment";
	this.FLAG_INAPPROPRIATE_COMMENT = "Flag inappropriate comment";
	this.FLAGGED = "Flagged";
	this.NO = "No";
	this.YES = "Yes";
	this.NEVER_MIND = "Never mind";
	this.ARE_YOU_SURE_YOU_WOULD_LIKE_TO_REPORT_THIS_COMMENT_TO_A_MODERATOR = "Are you sure you would like to report this comment to a moderator";
	this.THIS_WILL_FLAG_COMMENTS_FOR_MODERATORS_TO_TAKE_ACTION = "This will flag comments for moderators to take action";
	this.TO_RATE_PLEASE_LOG_IN = "To rate, please log in";
	this.JUST_A_MOMENT = "Just a moment...";
	this.GUEST = "Guest";
	this.NAME = "Name";
	this.EMAIL = "Email";
  this.WEBSITE = "Website";
  this.SETTINGS = "Settings";
  this.MODERATOR_OPTIONS = "Moderator options: ";
};
// Dsq.Strings

/**
 * Dsq.FmtStrings: functions that return interpolated UI strings
 */
Dsq.FmtStrings = new function() {
	// Seems we have to use named interpolation for Django to translate. Investigate more.
	this.LOGGED_IN_AS = function(username) {
		return Dsq.Utils.interpolate('Logged in as %(username)s', {username:username});
	};

	this.LOGOUT_FROM = function(disqus) {
		return Dsq.Utils.interpolate('Logout from %(disqus)s', {disqus:disqus});
	};

	this.SHOWING_COMMENTS_FULL = function(total, num) {
		if (num === 1) {
			return Dsq.Utils.interpolate("Showing <span id='dsq-num-posts'>%(num)s</span> of <span id='dsq-total-posts'>%(total)s</span> comment", {num:num, total:total});
		} else {
			return Dsq.Utils.interpolate("Showing <span id='dsq-num-posts'>%(num)s</span> of <span id='dsq-total-posts'>%(total)s</span> comments", {num:num, total:total});
		}
	};

	this.SHOWING_COMMENTS_WITHOUT_PAGINATION = function(num) {
		if (num === 1) {
			return Dsq.Utils.interpolate("Showing <span id='dsq-num-posts'>%(num)s</span> comment", {num:num});
		} else {
			return Dsq.Utils.interpolate("Showing <span id='dsq-num-posts'>%(num)s</span> comments", {num:num});
		}
	};

	this.NUMBER_OF_COMMENTS = function(num) {
		return Dsq.Utils.interpolate(
			(num == 1
				? '%(num)s comment'
				: '%(num)s comments'
			), {num:num});
	};

	this.NUMBER_OF_LIKES = function(num) {
		return Dsq.Utils.interpolate(
			(num == 1
				? '%(num)s like'
				: '%(num)s likes'
			), {num:num});
	};

	this.NUMBER_OF_POINTS = function(num) {
		return Dsq.Utils.interpolate(
			(num == 1
				? '%(num)s point'
				: '%(num)s points'
			), {num:num});
	};
};
// Dsq.FmtStrings





Dsq.CSRF_TOKEN = '3a1994e3330279e78957da82fb64f754';
Dsq.COMMENTS_RE = /(<li.*?id="?dsq-comment-(\d+)"?.*?>)((?:.|\s)*?)(<\/li>)/gim;
Dsq.POST_RE = /(<div.*?id="?dsq-comment-header-(\d+)"?.*?>)((?:.|\s)*?)(<\/div>)\s*(<div.*?class="?dsq-comment-body"?.*?>)((?:.|\s)*)(<\/div>)/gim;
Dsq.POST_BODY_RE = /\s*(<div.*?id="?dsq-comment-message-(\d+)"?.*?>)((?:.|\s)*)(<\/div>)/gim;
// HACK: Safari ends with "-->" while other browsers end with "--&gt;" as expected.
Dsq.MEDIA_POST_RE = /&lt;!--\[(.*?)\]--(?:>|&gt;)/gim;



var FragmentPacket = function(reader, writer, writer_url, is_child, receiveCallback) {
	var that = this;
	this.reader = reader;
	this.writer = writer;
	this.writer_url = writer_url;

	this.is_child = is_child || false;
	this.receiveCallback = receiveCallback;

	this._lastHash = null;

	this._accumMsg = '';

	this._lastSeqno = 0;

	this.MAX_DATA_LEN	= 1024;

	this.WAIT_TIME		= 10;

	this.READY		= 0x1;
	this.WRITING	= 0x2;
	this.FIN		= 0x4;
	this.ACK		= 0x8;

};

FragmentPacket.prototype.createListener = function() {
	var that = this;
	var listener = function() {
		that.recv();
	};
	return window.setInterval(listener, 10);
};

FragmentPacket.prototype.log = function(msg) {



};

FragmentPacket.prototype.recv = function() {
	var hash;
	if (/MSIE/.test(navigator.userAgent)) {

		hash = this.reader.name;
	} else {

		var hashIndex = this.reader.location.href.indexOf('#');
		if (hashIndex == -1) {
			return;
		}
		hash = this.reader.location.href.substring(hashIndex+1);
	}
	var flags = parseInt(hash.substring(0, 4), 10);
	var seqno = parseInt(hash.substring(4, 24), 10);
	var data  = hash.substring(24);

	if (this._lastHash !== hash) {
		this._lastHash = hash;
		this.log('recv: ' + hash);

		this.log(' flags: ' + flags);
		this.log(' seqno: ' + seqno + ' len: ' + hash.substring(4, 24).length + ' (' + hash.substring(4, 24) + ')');
		this.log(' data: ' + data + ' len: ' + data.length);

		this._lastSeqno = seqno;

		if (flags & this.WRITING) {
			this._accumMsg += data;
			this.sendFlag(this.ACK, seqno);
			if (flags & this.FIN) {
				this.log('recv finished: ' + decodeURIComponent(this._accumMsg));
				this.receiveCallback(decodeURIComponent(this._accumMsg));

				this._accumMsg = '';

				this.sendFlag(this.READY | this.ACK, this._lastSeqno);
			}
		}
	}

	return {
		flags: flags,
		seqno: seqno,
		data: data
	};
};

FragmentPacket.prototype.sendRawPacket = function(packet) {
	if (/MSIE/.test(navigator.userAgent)) {
		this.writer.name = packet;
	} else {

		this.writer.location.href = this.writer_url + '#' + packet;
	}

};

FragmentPacket.prototype.sendFlag = function(flag, seqno) {
	this.sendRawPacket(this._zerofill(flag, 4) + this._zerofill(seqno, 20));
};

FragmentPacket.prototype.send = function(msg) {
	this._send(0, encodeURIComponent(msg));
};

FragmentPacket.prototype._send = function(packetNum, msg) {
	var that = this;
	var recvBuf = this.recv();

	if (packetNum === 0) {

		if (!(recvBuf.flags & this.READY)) {
			this.log('client is not ready, waiting...');
			window.setTimeout(function() { that._send(packetNum, msg); }, this.WAIT_TIME);
			return;
		}
	} else {

		if (!( (recvBuf.flags & this.ACK) && (recvBuf.seqno === this._lastSeqno) )) {
			this.log('waiting for ack from client...');
			window.setTimeout(function() { that._send(packetNum, msg); }, this.WAIT_TIME);
			return;
		} else {
			this.log('received ack: ' + this._lastSeqno + ' ' + recvBuf.seqno);
		}
	}

	var flags = this.WRITING;
	var num_packets = Math.ceil(msg.length / this.MAX_DATA_LEN);
	this.log('num_packets: ' + num_packets);

	if (num_packets === packetNum) {

		this.log('message successfully sent!');
		this.sendFlag(this.READY | this.ACK, this._lastSeqno);
		return true;
	}

	this._lastSeqno++;

	if (packetNum == num_packets-1) {
		flags |= this.FIN;
	}

	var data = msg.substring(packetNum * this.MAX_DATA_LEN, (packetNum+1) * this.MAX_DATA_LEN);
	var packet = this._zerofill(flags, 4) + this._zerofill(this._lastSeqno, 20) + data;

	this.log('sending raw packet: ' + packet);
	this.sendRawPacket(packet);

	return this._send(packetNum + 1, msg);
};

FragmentPacket.prototype._zerofill = function(num, width) {
	var retval = num.toString();
	var retval_len = retval.length;
	for (var i = 0; i < width - retval_len; i++) {
		retval = '0' + retval;
	}
	return retval;
};

var PostMessagePacket = function(receiver, receiveCallback, id, receiverId) {
	var that = this;
	this.receiver = receiver;
	this.receiveCallback = receiveCallback;
	this.id = id;


	this.receiverId = receiverId;
};

PostMessagePacket.prototype.createListener = function() {
	var that = this;

	var listener = function(e) {

		if (!that.id) {
			that.id = e.data;
			return;
		}


		var id = e.data.split(';')[0];
		if (id !== that.id) {
			return;
		}
		var data = e.data.substring(e.data.indexOf(';') + 1);

		that.receiveCallback(data);
	};

	if (typeof window.attachEvent == 'function') {
		window.attachEvent('onmessage', listener);
	} else if (typeof window.addEventListener == 'function') {
		window.addEventListener('message', listener, false);
	} else {
		throw new Error('No method found to create event listener for PostMessagePacket.');
	}
};

PostMessagePacket.prototype.send = function(msg) {



	var needs_reget = false;
	try {
		if (typeof this.receiver.id == 'undefined' || typeof this.receiver.postMessage == 'undefined') {
			needs_reget = true;
		}
	} catch(e) {


	}
	if (needs_reget && typeof this.receiverId != 'undefined') {
		this.receiver = document.getElementById(this.receiverId).contentWindow;
	}

	var packet;
	if (!msg) {

		packet = this.id;
	} else {
		packet = this.id + ';' + msg;
	}
	this.receiver.postMessage(packet, '*');
};

PostMessagePacket._last_unique_id = null;
PostMessagePacket._get_unique_id = function() {
	var id = (new Date()).getTime();
	if (id == PostMessagePacket._last_unique_id) {
		id++;
	}
	PostMessagePacket._last_unique_id = id;
	return id.toString();
};

var JsonRpc = function() {

	this.ids = {};

	this.objectToJSON = function(obj) {
		var json = '';
		var results = [];

		if (obj === undefined || obj === null) {
			return 'null';
		}

		switch (obj.constructor) {
			case Object:
				for (var property in obj) {
					if (obj.hasOwnProperty(property)) {
						results.push(this.objectToJSON(property) + ': ' + this.objectToJSON(obj[property]));
					}
				}
				json = '{' + results.join(', ') + '}';
				break;
			case Array:
				for (var i = 0; i < obj.length; i++) {
					results.push(this.objectToJSON(obj[i]));
				}
				json = '[' + results.join(', ') + ']';
				break;
			case Number:
			case Boolean:
				json = obj.toString();
				break;
			case String:

				var specialChars = {'\b': '\\b', '\t': '\\t', '\n': '\\n', '\f': '\\f', '\r': '\\r', '\\': '\\\\'};

				json = obj.replace(/[\x00-\x1f\\]/g, function(match) {
					var ch = specialChars[match];
					return ch ? ch : '\\u00' + match.charCodeAt().toPaddedString(2, 16);
				});

				json = '"' + json.replace(/"/g, '\\"') + '"';
				break;
			default:

				json = 'null';
				break;
		}

		return json;
	};

	this.createHandler = function(send_func, registered_funcs) {
		var that = this;
		var handler = function(message) {

			try {
				var rpc = eval('(' + message + ')');
			} catch(e) {
				alert('bad JSON: ' + message);
				return;
			}
			if (rpc.method) {

				if (!registered_funcs[rpc.method]) {
					return;
				}

				var retval = registered_funcs[rpc.method].apply(null, rpc.params);
				if (rpc.id) {
					var response = {
						result: retval,
						error: null,	// TODO
						id: rpc.id
					};
					send_func(that.objectToJSON(response));
				}
			} else if(rpc.result) {

				if (!that.ids[rpc.id]) {
					return;
				}

				that.ids[rpc.id](rpc.result);
				delete that.ids[rpc.id];
			}
		};
		return handler;
	};

	this.execute = function(send_func, method, params, response_callback) {
		response_callback = response_callback || null;
		var id = (response_callback) ? (new Date()).getTime() : null;

		var request = {
			method: method,
			params: params,
			id: id
		};

		send_func(this.objectToJSON(request));

		if (id) {
			this.ids[id] = response_callback;
		}
	};
};
JsonRpc = new JsonRpc();

var ParentMessenger = function(childUrl, receiverUrl, container, receiveCallback) {


	if (navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Safari') >= 0 && parseInt(navigator.userAgent.substring(navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Version/') + 8), 10) == 3) {
		throw new Error("unsupported.");
	} else if (window.opera) {
		throw new Error("unsupported.");
	}



	if (!receiverUrl &&
		navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Gecko') >= 0 &&
		parseFloat(navigator.userAgent.slice(navigator.userAgent.indexOf('rv:') + 3, navigator.userAgent.indexOf('rv:') + 6)) < 1.9) {
		throw new Error("unsupported.");
	}


	if (/msie/i.test(navigator.userAgent) && !/opera/i.test(navigator.userAgent)) {


		if (document.domain == window.location.hostname) {
			receiverUrl = '';
		}
	}

	var that = this;
	this.childUrl = childUrl;
	this.receiverUrl = receiverUrl;
	this.container = container || document.body;

	this.packetHandler = null;


	this._ready = false;
	this._error = false;


	var _createReceiverForFragmentPacket = function() {

		that.receiver = document.createElement('iframe');
		that.receiver.src = receiverUrl;
		that.receiver.id = 'receiver_' + (new Date()).getTime();
		that.receiver.name = that.receiver.id;

		that.receiver.frameBorder = '0';
		that.receiver.frameSpacing = '0';
		that.receiver.style.borderStyle = 'none';

		var receiver_onload = function() {
			var receiver = document.getElementById(that.receiver.id).contentWindow;

			try {
				receiver.document.body.innerHTML = '';
			} catch(e) {

				that._error = true;
			}
			receiver.document.body.style.padding = '0px';
			receiver.document.body.style.margin = '0px';

			var child = receiver.document.createElement('iframe');
			child.id = 'child';
			child.name = 'child';
			child.src = that.childUrl;

			child.frameBorder = '0';
			child.frameSpacing = '0';
			child.style.borderStyle = 'none';
			child.style.width = '100%';
			child.style.height = '100%';
			receiver.document.body.appendChild(child);

			that.child = receiver.document.getElementById('child').contentWindow;
			that.receiver = receiver;

			that.packetHandler = new FragmentPacket(that.receiver, that.child, that.childUrl, false, receiveCallback);

			that._listener = that.packetHandler.createListener();

			that.packetHandler.sendFlag(that.packetHandler.READY, 0);

			that._ready = true;
		};

		that.receiver.onreadystatechange = function() {
			if (this.readyState == 'complete') {
				receiver_onload();
			}
		};

		that.receiver.onload = receiver_onload;







		if (Dsq.Utils.ie) {
			if (that.container.clientWidth === 0) {

				var _waitForWidth = function() {
					if (that.container.clientWidth > 0) {
						Dsq.Utils.fixIframesIE(that.container.id);
					} else {
						window.setTimeout(_waitForWidth, 100);
					}
				};
				_waitForWidth();

				that._once = false;
				that.receiver.onresize = function() {
					if (!that._once) {
						Dsq.Utils.fixIframesIE(that.container.id);
					}
					that._once = true;
				};
			}
		}

		that.container.appendChild(that.receiver);
	};


	var _createReceiverForPostMessage = function() {

		var receiver_onload = function() {

			that.packetHandler.send();
			that._ready = true;
		};

		var id = PostMessagePacket._get_unique_id();
		var receiverId = 'child_' + id;


		ParentMessenger['_receiver_onload_' + receiverId] = receiver_onload;

		that.container.innerHTML += '<iframe ' +
			'src="' + childUrl + '" ' +
			'id="' + receiverId + '" ' +
			'name="' + receiverId + '" ' +
			'onload="ParentMessenger._receiver_onload_' + receiverId +'();" ' +
			'></iframe>';

		that.receiver = document.getElementById(receiverId).contentWindow;
		that.packetHandler = new PostMessagePacket(that.receiver, receiveCallback, id, receiverId);
		that._listener = that.packetHandler.createListener();
	};

	if (typeof window.postMessage == 'function') {
		_createReceiverForPostMessage();
	} else {
		_createReceiverForFragmentPacket();
	}

};

ParentMessenger.prototype.sendMessage = function(message) {
	var that = this;
	if (!this._ready) {

		window.setTimeout(function() { that.sendMessage(message); }, 10);
		return;
	}
	this.packetHandler.send(message);
	return true;
};

Dsq.NewFrames = function(url) {
	this.url = url;
};

Dsq.NewFrames.prototype.init = function(onFailure) {
	var that = this;

	try {
		this.messenger = new ParentMessenger(this.url, Dsq.jsonData.integration.receiver_url, this.container, this.receive_callback);
	} catch(e) {
		if (typeof onFailure == 'function') {
			onFailure();
		}
	}

	if (typeof onFailure == 'function') {
		var iId = window.setInterval(function() {
			if (typeof that.messenger == 'undefined') {
				window.clearInterval(iId);
				return;
			}
			if (that.messenger._ready) {
				window.clearInterval(iId);
			} else if (that.messenger._error) {
				window.clearInterval(iId);
				onFailure();
			}
		}, 10);
	}
};

Dsq.NewFrames.prototype._execute = function(method, args, callback) {
	var that = this;
	if (typeof that.messenger == 'undefined') {
		return false;
	}
	JsonRpc.execute(
		function(msg) { that.messenger.sendMessage(msg); },
		method,
		args || [],
		callback);
	return true;
};

Dsq.ReplyFrame = function(container, parent_post_id) {
	var that = this;
	this.container = container;
	this.parent_post_id = parent_post_id;

	var sendFunc = function(msg) {

		Dsq.Debug.log('Dsq.ReplyFrame.sendFunc');
		that.messenger.sendMessage(msg);
	};


	var postComment_onSuccess = function(response) {
		Dsq.jsonData.posts[response.message.id] = response.message.post_meta;
		if (!Dsq.jsonData.users[response.message.post_meta.user_key]) {
			Dsq.jsonData.users[response.message.post_meta.user_key] = response.message.user_meta;
		}


		var reply_position = (typeof(disqus_insert_wrt_sort) == 'undefined' 
			? (Dsq.jsonData.forum.reply_position ? -1 : null) 
			: (Dsq.jsonData.request.sort == 2 ? null : -1));
		
		if (response.message.post_meta.approved) {
			Dsq.Post.insert(response.message.post_meta.parent_post_id || reply_position, response.message.id, response.message.post_meta.message);
		}

		Dsq.Templates.postComment_onSuccess(response, parent_post_id, response.message.id);
	};

	var postComment_onFailure = function(response) {
		Dsq.Popup.popModal(response.message, 'Error');
		Dsq.Templates.postComment_onFailure(response, parent_post_id, response.message.id);
	};

	var editComment_onSuccess = function(response) {
		var post_id = parent_post_id;
		var message = Dsq.$('dsq-comment-message-' + post_id);
		
		message.innerHTML = response.message;
		Dsq.Templates.toggleEdit(post_id);
		Dsq.Templates.setLoadingButton(false);
	};
	
	var editComment_onFailure = function(response) {
		var post_id = parent_post_id;
		
		Dsq.Popup.popModal('Sorry, there was an error editing this comment.', 'Edit Error');
		Dsq.Templates.toggleEdit(post_id);
		Dsq.Templates.setLoadingButton(false);
	};

	var getUserByEmail_onSuccess = function(response) {
		var msg = response.message;
		var fields = Dsq.Templates.getFormFields(parent_post_id);

		if (msg.username) {

			Dsq.Templates.lightboxAuthenticate(parent_post_id, 'login', {
				'username': msg.username,
				'display_name': msg.display_name,
				'avatar_url': msg.avatar_url,
				'verified': msg.verified,
				'email': fields.email.value
			});
		} else {

			Dsq.Templates.lightboxAuthenticate(parent_post_id, 'register');
		}
	};

	var validateAuth_onSuccess = function(response, auth_choice) {
		Dsq.Templates.postComment(parent_post_id, null, true, auth_choice);
	};

	var validateAuth_onFailure = function(response, auth_choice) {
		var pid = parent_post_id ? '-' + parent_post_id : '';
		var msg = response.message;

		if (auth_choice == 'register') {
			var fields = ['email', 'username', 'password'];

			for (var i = 0; i < fields.length; i++) {
				var field = fields[i];
				var errorDiv = Dsq.$('dsq-' + field + '-errors' + pid);

				if (msg[field]) {
					errorDiv.innerHTML = msg[field];
				} else {
					errorDiv.innerHTML = '';
				}
			}
		} else if (auth_choice == 'login') {
			Dsq.$('dsq-lightbox-errors' + pid).innerHTML = '<p>We couldn\'t log you in. Please verify your login.</p>';
		}
		
		Dsq.Templates.setLoadingButton(false);
	};

	this.receive_callback = JsonRpc.createHandler(sendFunc, {
		'postComment.onSuccess': postComment_onSuccess,
		'postComment.onFailure': postComment_onFailure,
		'editComment.onSuccess': editComment_onSuccess,
		'editComment.onFailure': editComment_onFailure,		
		'getUserByEmail.onSuccess': getUserByEmail_onSuccess,
		'validateAuth.onSuccess': validateAuth_onSuccess,
		'validateAuth.onFailure': validateAuth_onFailure,
		'reload': function() { window.location.reload(); }
	});

	this.url = Dsq.Urls.REPLY +
		'?' + (new Date()).getTime() +
		'&f=jackandjillpolitics' +
		'&t=let8217s_get_in_some_trouble_today_black_people_and_8216class8217' +
		'&ff=' + Dsq.Thread.ff +
		'&default_text=' + disqus_default_text +
		'&ifrs=' + encodeURIComponent(disqus_iframe_css);
	if (this.parent_post_id) {
		this.url += '&parent_post=' + this.parent_post_id;
	}
};

Dsq.ReplyFrame.prototype = new Dsq.NewFrames(Dsq.ReplyFrame.url);

Dsq.ReplyFrame.prototype.post = function(author_name, author_email, author_url, authenticate, sharing_services, subscribe) {
	this._execute('postComment', [author_name, author_email, author_url, authenticate, sharing_services, subscribe]);
};

Dsq.ReplyFrame.prototype.edit = function(post_id, message) {
	this._execute('editComment', [post_id, message]);
};

Dsq.ReplyFrame.prototype.setState = function(parent_post_id, depth) {
	this._execute('setState', [parent_post_id, depth]);
};

Dsq.ReplyFrame.prototype.getUserByEmail = function(email) {
	this._execute('getUserByEmail', [email]);
};

Dsq.ReplyFrame.prototype.validateAuth = function(auth_choice, email, username, password) {
	this._execute('validateAuth', [auth_choice, email, username, password]);
};

Dsq.ReplyFrame.prototype.authenticateFacebook = function(session, forum_url) {
	this._execute('authenticateFacebook', [session, forum_url]);
};

	Dsq.Facebook = function() {
	var that = this;

	var handleSessionData = function(session) {

		var forum_url = Dsq.jsonData.forum.url;




		if (typeof disqus_facebook_forum != 'undefined') {
			forum_url = disqus_facebook_forum;
		}
		Dsq.frames.reply_0.authenticateFacebook(session, forum_url);
	};

	var onLogin = function() {
		FB.Connect.getSignedPublicSessionData(handleSessionData);
	};

	this.login = function() {
		FB.Connect.requireSession(onLogin, true);
	};
};
Dsq.Facebook = new Dsq.Facebook();


	






Dsq.Themes = {};

Dsq.Themes.narcissus = new function() {
	this.addPostContainer = 'dsq-form-area';
	this.textareaContainer = 'dsq-textarea-wrapper';



	
	this.header = function() {
		var comments_count, total_posts, num_posts;
		var html = '';
		var missing_perm_tmpl;

		if (Dsq.jsonData.request.missing_perm) {
			missing_perm_tmpl = Dsq.Templates.missingPermissions();
			if (missing_perm_tmpl) {
				html += '<div class="dsq-missing-permissions">' + missing_perm_tmpl + '</div>';
			}
		}

		total_posts = Dsq.jsonData.thread.total_posts;
		num_posts = Dsq.jsonData.thread.num_posts;

		if (total_posts) {
			comments_count = Dsq.FmtStrings.SHOWING_COMMENTS_FULL(total_posts, num_posts);
		} else {
			comments_count = Dsq.FmtStrings.SHOWING_COMMENTS_WITHOUT_PAGINATION(num_posts);
		}

		html += ' \
		<div id="dsq-comments-title"> \
			<h3>' + comments_count + '</h3> \
		</div> \
		';

		html += ' \
		<div class="dsq-options"> \
			<span class="dsq-item-sort">'
				+ Dsq.Strings.SORT_BY + ' \
				<select id="dsq-sort-select" onchange="Dsq.Thread.sortBy(this.value);"> \
					<option value="hot" ' + (Dsq.jsonData.request.sort == 4 ? 'selected="selected"' : '') + '>' + Dsq.Strings.POPULAR_NOW + '</option> \
					<option value="best" ' + (Dsq.jsonData.request.sort == 3 ? 'selected="selected"' : '') + '>' + Dsq.Strings.BEST_RATING + '</option> \
					<option value="newest" ' + (Dsq.jsonData.request.sort == 2 ? 'selected="selected"' : '') + '>' + Dsq.Strings.NEWEST_FIRST + '</option> \
					<option value="oldest" ' + (Dsq.jsonData.request.sort == 1 ? 'selected="selected"' : '') + '>' + Dsq.Strings.OLDEST_FIRST + '</option> \
				</select> \
				&nbsp; \
			</span> \
			<span class="dsq-subscribe-email"> \
				<img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/embed/email.png" style="width:12px;height:12px;vertical-align:middle"> \
				<span id="dsq-subscribe">'
					+ (Dsq.jsonData.context.subscribed
						? '<a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Thread.subscribe(0); return false">' + Dsq.Strings.UNSUBSCRIBE + '</a>'
						: '<a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Thread.subscribe(1); return false">' + Dsq.Strings.SUBSCRIBE_BY_EMAIL + '</a>')
				+ '</span> \
			</span> \
			<span class="dsq-subscribe-rss" style="width:12px;height:12px;vertical-align:middle"> \
				<img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/embed/bullet-feed.png" alt="" /> \
				<a href="http://jackandjillpolitics.disqus.com/let8217s_get_in_some_trouble_today_black_people_and_8216class8217/latest.rss">' + Dsq.Strings.SUBSCRIBE_BY_RSS + '</a> \
			</span> \
		</div> \
		';

		
		

		return html;

	};
	
	this.footer = function() {
		var html = '';

		html += Dsq.Templates.pagination();

		
		
			html += Dsq.Templates.realtime();
			html += Dsq.Templates.showThreadSettings();
			html += Dsq.Templates.postBox();

		html += Dsq.Templates.reactions();

		
			html += Dsq.Templates.trackbacks();
		


		if (Dsq.jsonData.request.is_global_moderator) {
 			html += ' \
				<div class="dsq-global-moderator-extras">'
					+ '<strong>shortname:</strong> ' + Dsq.jsonData.forum.url
					+ '<strong>thread id:</strong> ' + Dsq.jsonData.thread.id
					+ '<strong>thread slug:</strong> ' + Dsq.jsonData.thread.slug
				+ '</div> \
			';
		}

		return html;
	};
	
	this.realtime = function() {
		var html = '';
		
		if (Dsq.jsonData.realtime_enabled) {
			html += '<div id="dsq-realtime-options" class="dsq-options">'
					 + Dsq.Strings.REALTIME_UPDATING_IS + ' <strong id="dsq-realtime-status" style="text-transform: lowercase">' + Dsq.Strings.ENABLED + '</strong>. \
					 <a href="#" id="dsq-realtime-toggle" style="text-transform: capitalize"></a> \
					</div>';
		}

		if (!Dsq.jsonData.forum.streaming_realtime) {
			html += ' \
				<div style="display: none" id="dsq-realtime-alert" class="dsq-realtime-alert"><span id="dsq-realtime-queued"></span> <a href="#" id="dsq-realtime-show"></a></div> \
			';
		}
		
		return html;
	};

	this.showThreadSettings = function() {
		if (!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_moderator) {
			return '';
		}

		html = '<div id="dsq-thread-settings" class="dsq-thread-settings">' + Dsq.Strings.MODERATOR_OPTIONS;
		html += '<a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Thread.showSettings(); return false;">' + Dsq.Strings.SETTINGS + '</a>';
		if (Dsq.jsonData.forum.reactions_enabled && Dsq.jsonData.reactions.length === 0) {
			html += '<a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Reaction.reportMissingReactions(); return false;">'
						+ Dsq.Strings.REPORT_MISSING_REACTIONS
						+ '</a>';
		}
		html +='</div>';

		return html;
	};

	this.postBox = function(post_id, use_fallback_iframe) {


		var html;
		var display_sharing_options = Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated;

		if (!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated && Dsq.jsonData.forum.disqus_auth_disabled && !Dsq.jsonData.forum.allow_anon_post) {
			return '';
		}
		
		if (Dsq.jsonData.request.is_remote) {


			if (!Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.hasOwnProperty(Dsq.jsonData.request.remote_domain)) {
				display_sharing_options = false;
			}
		}
		
		if (post_id) {
			var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
			var userData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][_meta.user_key];				
		}
		
		var pid = post_id ? '-' + post_id : '';

		var _requestUserInfo = function() {
			var html;



			var user_has_email = false;

			html = '<div class="dsq-request-user-info"> <!-- // If authenticated --> \
				<a href="' + Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + Dsq.Urls.LOGOUT + '?ctkn=' + Dsq.CSRF_TOKEN + '" class="dsq-request-user-logout">' + Dsq.Strings.LOGOUT + '</a> \
				<table> \
					<tr> \
						<td rowspan="2">'
							+ (!Dsq.jsonData.forum.disqus_auth_disabled ? '<a href="' + Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + Dsq.Urls.REQUEST_USER_PROFILE + '">' : '')
								+ '<img src="' + Dsq.Urls.REQUEST_USER_AVATAR + '" width="48" height="48" class="dsq-request-user-avatar">'
							+ (!Dsq.jsonData.forum.disqus_auth_disabled ? '</a>' : '')
						+ '</td> \
						<td class="dsq-request-user-name">'
								+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.is_remote
									 ? '<span class="dsq-badge-small dsq-badge-' + Dsq.jsonData.request.remote_domain + '">' + Dsq.jsonData.request.remote_domain + '</span>'
									 : (Dsq.jsonData.request.is_verified
											? '<span class="dsq-badge-small dsq-badge-verified">Verified</span>'
											: '<span class="dsq-badge-small dsq-badge-registered">Registered</span>'))
							+ (!Dsq.jsonData.forum.disqus_auth_disabled ? ' <a href="' + Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + Dsq.Urls.REQUEST_USER_PROFILE + '">' : '') 
								+ Dsq.jsonData.request.display_username 
							+ (!Dsq.jsonData.forum.disqus_auth_disabled ? '</a>' : '')
							+  (Dsq.jsonData.request.is_remote && user_has_email ? ' <small>(<a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Popup.remoteAccountSettings(); return false;">change settings</a>)</small>' : '')
							+  (!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_remote && !Dsq.jsonData.forum.disqus_auth_disabled ? ' <small>(<a href="' + Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + '/profile/info/" target="_blank">change name</a> or <a href="' + Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + '/profile/avatar/" target="_blank">picture</a>)</small>' : '')
						+ '</td> \
					</tr> \
					<tr> \
						<td class="dsq-request-user-stats"> \
							<span><big>' + Dsq.jsonData.request.comments_count + '</big> ' + (Dsq.jsonData.request.comments_count == 1 ? 'comment' : 'comments') + '</span> \
							<span><big>' + Dsq.jsonData.request.likes_count + '</big> ' + (Dsq.jsonData.request.likes_count == 1 ? 'like' : 'likes') + '</span> \
							<span><big>' + Dsq.jsonData.request.points + '</big> ' + (Dsq.jsonData.request.points == 1 ? 'point' : 'points') + '</span> \
						</td> \
					</tr> \
				</table> \
			</div> \
			';
			return html;
		};

		var _loginOptions = function() {
			var html;
			html = ' \
			<div class="dsq-authenticate"> \
				<p class="dsq-autheneticate-copy">'
				+ (Dsq.jsonData.forum.allow_anon_post
					? Dsq.Strings.YOU_ARE_COMMENTING_AS_A + ' <a class="dsq-help" title="Click for more information" href="#" onclick="Dsq.Popup.helpBadges(); return false">Guest</a>. ' + Dsq.Strings.OPTIONAL + ': ' + Dsq.Strings.LOGIN_BELOW + '.'
					: Dsq.Strings.REQUIRED + ': ' + Dsq.Strings.PLEASE_LOGIN_BELOW_TO_COMMENT + '.')
				+ '</p> \
				<ul class="dsq-login-buttons">'
					+ (!Dsq.jsonData.forum.disqus_auth_disabled ? '<li class="dsq-login-button"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Popup.login(); return false"><img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/themes/narcissus/login-disqus.gif" /></a></li>' : '')
					+ (Dsq.jsonData.context.use_fb_connect ? '<li class="dsq-login-button"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Facebook.login(); return false;"><img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/themes/narcissus/login-facebook.gif" /></a></li>' : '')
					+ (Dsq.jsonData.context.use_twitter_signin ? '<li class="dsq-login-button"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Twitter.startTwitterConnect(); return false"><img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/themes/narcissus/login-twitter.gif" /></a></li>' : '')
					+ (Dsq.jsonData.context.use_openid ? '<li class="dsq-login-button"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.OpenID.requestURL(); return false" ><img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/themes/narcissus/login-openid.gif" /></a></li>' : '')
					+ (Dsq.jsonData.context.use_yahoo ? '<li class="dsq-login-button"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Yahoo.startYahooConnect(); return false"><img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/themes/narcissus/login-yahoo.gif" /></a></li>' : '')
				+ '</ul> \
			</div> \
			';
			return html;
		};

		if (!Dsq.jsonData.context.show_reply) {


			if (!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated) {



				return '<div id="dsq-form-area" style="display:none"><div id="dsq-textarea-wrapper"></div></div>' + _loginOptions();
			} else {
				return '';
			}
		}

		html = ' \
		<div id="' + (post_id 
			? 'dsq-reply-post-' + post_id
			: 'dsq-new-post')
		 	+ '" class="dsq-post-area"> \
			<div class="dsq-dc-logo"> \
				<a href="http://disqus.com/comments" target="_blank"><img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/themes/narcissus/disqus-logo.png"></a> \
			</div>'
			+ (post_id 
				? '<h3>' + Dsq.Strings.REPLYING_TO + ' ' + userData.display_name + '</h3>'
				: '<h3>' + Dsq.Strings.ADD_NEW_COMMENT + '</h3>')
			+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated 
				? _requestUserInfo()
				: _loginOptions() )
			+ '<div id="dsq-form-area' + pid + '">'
			+ '<div class="dsq-textarea"> \
				<div class="dsq-textarea-wrapper" id="dsq-textarea-wrapper' + pid + '"></div> \
			</div>'
			+ (!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated
			? ' \
			<div class="dsq-post-fields"> \
				<form action="." method="GET" onsubmit="Dsq.Templates.postComment(' + post_id + ', this, false); return false;"> \
				<table> \
					<tr> \
						<td class="dsq-post-fields-left"><div class="dsq-input-wrapper"><input id="dsq-field-name' + pid + '" type="text" value="' + (disqus_def_name ? disqus_def_name : (Dsq.jsonData.session.name ? Dsq.jsonData.session.name : Dsq.Strings.NAME + '" class="dsq-placeholder')) + '" onfocus="Dsq.Templates.handlePlaceholder(event, this, \'name\')" onblur="Dsq.Templates.handlePlaceholder(event, this, \'name\')" /></div></td> \
						<td class="dsq-post-fields-right"><div class="dsq-input-wrapper"><input id="dsq-field-website' + pid + '" type="text" value="' + (Dsq.jsonData.session.url ? Dsq.jsonData.session.url : Dsq.Strings.WEBSITE + ' (' + Dsq.Strings.OPTIONAL.toLowerCase() + ')" class="dsq-placeholder') + '" onfocus="Dsq.Templates.handlePlaceholder(event, this, \'website\')" onblur="Dsq.Templates.handlePlaceholder(event, this, \'website\')" /></div></td> \
					</tr> \
					<tr> \
						<td class="dsq-post-fields-left"><div class="dsq-input-wrapper"><input id="dsq-field-email' + pid + '" type="text" value="' + (disqus_def_email ? disqus_def_email : (Dsq.jsonData.session.email ? Dsq.jsonData.session.email : Dsq.Strings.EMAIL + '" class="dsq-placeholder')) + '" onfocus="Dsq.Templates.handlePlaceholder(event, this, \'email\')" onblur="Dsq.Templates.handlePlaceholder(event, this, \'email\')" /></div></td> \
						<td class="dsq-post-fields-right"> \
							<div class="dsq-subscribe"> \
								<a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Templates.chooseSubscribe(' + post_id + '); return false" class="dsq-subscribe-menu"><span id="dsq-subscribe-select' + pid + '">' + (Dsq.jsonData.request.subscribe_on_post ? Dsq.Strings.SUBSCRIBE_TO_ALL_COMMENTS_BY_EMAIL : Dsq.Strings.DO_NOT_SUBSCRIBE_TO_COMMENTS) + '</span> <small>&#9660;</small></a> \
								<ul class="dsq-panel" id="dsq-subscribe-menu' + pid + '"> \
									<li><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Templates.setSubscribe(2, this, ' + post_id + '); return false">Subscribe to all comments by email</a></li> \
									<li><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Templates.setSubscribe(0, this, ' + post_id + '); return false">Do not subscribe to comments</a></li> \
								</ul> \
								<input id="dsq-subscribe-on-post' + pid + '" type="hidden" value="' + Dsq.jsonData.request.subscribe_on_post + '" /> \
							</div> \
						</td> \
					</tr> \
				</table> \
				</form> \
			</div>'
			: '')
			+ '<div class="dsq-post-footer"> \
				<div class="dsq-sharing-options" ' + (!display_sharing_options ? 'style="display:none;"' : '') + '> \
					<button class="dsq-button-small" onfocus="document.getElementById(\'dsq-post-button' + pid + '\').focus();"><span>' + Dsq.Strings.SHARING_OPTIONS + ' <small>&#9660;</small></span></button> \
					<div class="dsq-panel"> '
						+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.twitter !== undefined
								&& Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.twitter.enabled === true
							? '<div><input type="checkbox" id="dsq-sharing-twitter' + pid + '"'
								  + (Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.twitter.auto === true ? 'checked=true' : '') + '/> \
									<label for="dsq-sharing-twitter' + pid + '">' + Dsq.Strings.SHARE_ON + ' Twitter</label> \
								 </div>'
							: '')
						+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.facebook
								&& (Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.facebook.enabled === true ||
										(Dsq.jsonData.request.is_remote && Dsq.jsonData.request.remote_domain == 'facebook'))
							? '<div><input type="checkbox" id="dsq-sharing-facebook' + pid + '"'
									+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.facebook.auto === true ? 'checked=true' : '') + '/> \
									<label for="dsq-sharing-facebook' + pid + '">' + Dsq.Strings.SHARE_ON + ' Facebook</label> \
								 </div>'
							: '')
						+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.yahoo !== undefined
								&& Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.yahoo.enabled === true
							? '<div><input type="checkbox" id="dsq-sharing-yahoo' + pid + '"'
									+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.yahoo.auto === true ? 'checked=true' : '') + '/> \
									<label for="dsq-sharing-yahoo' + pid + '">' + Dsq.Strings.SHARE_ON + ' Yahoo!</label> \
								</div>'
							: '')
						+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.tumblr !== undefined
								&& Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.tumblr.enabled === true
							? '<div><input type="checkbox" id="dsq-sharing-tumblr' + pid + '"'
									+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.tumblr.auto === true ? 'checked=true' : '') + '/> \
									<label for="dsq-sharing-tumblr' + pid + '">' + Dsq.Strings.SHARE_ON + ' Tumblr</label> \
								 </div>'
							: '')
						+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.wordpress !== undefined
								&& Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.wordpress.enabled === true
							? '<div><input type="checkbox" id="dsq-sharing-wordpress' + pid + '"'
									+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.wordpress.auto === true ? 'checked=true' : '') + '/> \
									<label for="dsq-sharing-wordpress' + pid + '">' + Dsq.Strings.SHARE_ON + ' Wordpress</label> \
								 </div>'
							: '')
						+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.movabletype !== undefined
							  && Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.movabletype.enabled === true
							? '<div><input type="checkbox" id="dsq-sharing-movabletype' + pid + '"'
									+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.movabletype.auto === true ? 'checked=true' : '') + '/> \
									<label for="dsq-sharing-movabletype' + pid + '">' + Dsq.Strings.SHARE_ON + ' Movable Type</label> \
							   </div>'
							: '')
						+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.typepad !== undefined
							  && Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.typepad.enabled === true
							? '<div><input type="checkbox" id="dsq-sharing-typepad' + pid + '"'
									+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.sharing.typepad.auto === true ? 'checked=true' : '') + '/> \
								  <label for="dsq-sharing-typepad' + pid + '">' + Dsq.Strings.SHARE_ON + ' TypePad</label> \
							   </div>'
							: '')
						+ '<div><a href="' + Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + '/profile/connections/" target="_blank" class="dsq-configure-options">' + Dsq.Strings.CONFIGURE_OPTIONS + '</a></div>'
					+ '</div> \
				</div>'
				+ '<button class="dsq-button" id="dsq-post-button' + pid + '" onclick="Dsq.Templates.postComment(' + post_id + ', this, false)"><span>' + Dsq.Strings.POST_AS + ' '
				+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.display_username
					? Dsq.jsonData.request.display_username
					: Dsq.Strings.GUEST)
				+ '</span></button>'
				+ (post_id
					? '<button class="dsq-button" id="dsq-cancel-button' + pid + '" onclick="Dsq.Post.toggleReply(' + post_id +', this)"><span>' + Dsq.Strings.CANCEL + '</span></button>'
					: '')
			+ '</div>'
			+ '</div>' // end dsq-form-area
		+ '</div> \
		';
		
		return html;
	};




	this.appendPost = function(post_id) {
		var html = '<div id="dsq-append-post-' + post_id + '"></div>';
		return html;
	};

	this.postPrependHeader = function(post_id) {
		var html;
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
		var userData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][_meta.user_key];
		
		html = ' \
		<table> \
			<tr> \
				<td id="dsq-header-avatar-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-header-avatar" onmouseover="Dsq.Post.dropProfile(' + post_id + ')"> \
					<a id="dsq-avatar-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-avatar" href="' + userData.url + '" onclick="Dsq.Popup.popProfile(' + post_id + '); return false;">'
					+ (Dsq.jsonData.forum.show_avatar
					? '<img src="' + Dsq.jsonData.users[_meta.user_key].avatar + '" alt="" />'
					: '')
				+ '</a> \
				</td> \
				<td class="dsq-comment-header-meta"> \
		';

		
		return html;
	};
	
	this.postAppendHeader = function(post_id) {
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
		var html;
		var parent_display_name = '';
		
		if(_meta.parent_post_id) {

			var _parent_meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[_meta.parent_post_id];

			if (_parent_meta) {
				var parentUserData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][_parent_meta.user_key];
				parent_display_name = parentUserData.display_name;
			}
		}

		html = ' \
		<img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/themes/narcissus/moderator.png" class="dsq-moderator-star" title="Moderator" /> \
		<span class="dsq-comment-header-time"><a href="#comment-' + post_id + '" onclick="Dsq.Popup.permalink(' + post_id + ')" title="Permalink">' + (_meta.is_realtime ? Dsq.Strings.JUST_NOW : _meta.date) + '</a></span> '
		+ (_meta.parent_post_id && parent_display_name
			? '<a href="#comment-' + _meta.parent_post_id + '" title="Jump to comment">in reply to ' + parent_display_name + '</a>'
			: '')
		+ '</td> \
		<td id="dsq-like-pts-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-comment-header-likes">'
		+ (_meta.points
			? _meta.points + Dsq.Utils.pluralize(_meta.points, ' person', ' people') + ' liked this.'
			: '')
		+ '</td> \
		</tr> \
		</table> \
		';
		return html;
	};

	this.preBody = function(post_id) {
		var html = '';
		return html;
	};

	this.postFooter = function(post_id) {
		var html;
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
		if(_meta.killed || !_meta.approved) { return ''; }
		
		html = ' \
		<div class="dsq-comment-footer" id="dsq-comment-footer-' + post_id + '"> \
			<div class="dsq-comment-footer-left">'
				+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.is_moderator || Dsq.jsonData.request.is_global_moderator
					? '<a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Templates.moderateOptions(' + post_id+ '); return false">' + Dsq.Strings.MODERATE + '</a>'
					: '')
				+ '<a href="#" id="dsq-post-report-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-post-report" onclick="Dsq.Post.report(' + post_id + ', false); return false;">' + Dsq.Strings.FLAG + '</a> \
			</div> \
			<div class="dsq-comment-footer-right">'
				+ (_meta.votable 
					? '<span id="dsq-like-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-like">'
					+ (!_meta.up_voted
						? '<button class="dsq-button-small" onclick="Dsq.Post.rate(this, ' + post_id + ', 1)" >Like</button>'
						: 'You liked this.&nbsp;&nbsp;')
					+ '</span>'
					: '')
				+ (_meta.can_reply && !_meta.has_replies && _meta.from_request_user
					? '<button class="dsq-button-small dsq-post-edit" onclick="Dsq.Post.edit(this, ' + post_id + ')" >' + Dsq.Strings.EDIT + '</button>'
					: '')
				+ (_meta.can_reply
					? '<span class="dsq-comment-footer-reply" id="dsq-comment-footer-reply-' + post_id + '" onclick="Dsq.Post.toggleReply(' + post_id +', this)"> \
						<button class="dsq-button-small">' + Dsq.Strings.REPLY + '</button> \
						<button class="dsq-comment-footer-reply-tab">' + Dsq.Strings.REPLY + '</button><span></span> \
					</span>'
					: '')
			+ '</div> \
		</div> \
		';
		
		return html;
	};



	
	this.showRetweets = function(id, limit, element_id /* Optional */) {
		var source, html = '';

		for (var i = 0, reaction; reaction = Dsq.jsonData.reactions[i]; i++) {
			if (reaction.id === id) {
				source = reaction.retweets;
			}
		}

		if (source) {
			if (limit === 0) {
				limit = source.length;
			}

			for (var j = 0; j < limit; j++) {
				var rt = source[j];
				html += '<a href="' + rt.url + '">' + rt.author_name + '</a>'	+ ((j === (limit - 1)) ? '.' : ', ');
			}
		}

		if (element_id === undefined) {
			return html;
		}

		var element = document.getElementById(element_id);
		element.innerHTML = html;
		return element;
	};

	this.showMoreReactions = function(reactions, has_more, start, limit) {
		var link = document.getElementById('dsq-show-more-reactions');
		var container = link.parentNode;
		container.removeChild(link);

		for (var i = 0, reaction; reaction = reactions[i]; i++) {
			var el = Dsq.Templates.generateReactionHTML(reaction);
			if (el) {
				container.innerHTML += el;
			}
		}

		if (has_more) {
			var d = Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url;
			var f = Dsq.jsonData.forum.url;
			var t = Dsq.jsonData.thread.id;
			var s = start;
			var l = limit;

			var handler = 'Dsq.Utils.execScript(\'' + d + '/forums/' + f + '/more_reactions.js?t=' + t + '&s=' + s + '&l=' + l + '\', true); return false;';
			container.innerHTML += '<li id="dsq-show-more-reactions" class="dsq-show-more-reactions"><button class="dsq-button-small" onclick="' + handler + '">Show more reactions</button></li>';
		}
	};

	this.generateReactionHTML = function(reaction) {
		if (reaction.body === null || reaction.body == '') {
			return;
		}

		if (reaction.author_name === '') {
			reaction.author_name = '&nbsp;';
		}

		if (reaction.url === '') {
			reaction.url = reaction.get_service_url;
		}

		var item = '<li class="dsq-comment dsq-reaction" id="dsq-reaction-' + reaction.id + '">'
			+ '<div class="dsq-comment-header"> \
			<table> \
			<tr> \
			<td class="dsq-header-avatar"> \
			';

		if (reaction.author_url && reaction.author_url !== '') {
			item += '<a target="_blank" href="' + reaction.author_url +'" class="dsq-avatar">';
		}

		if (reaction.avatar_url && reaction.avatar_url !== '') {
			item += '<img src="' + reaction.avatar_url + '"/>';
		} else {

			item += '<img src="' + Dsq.jsonData.media_url + '/images/noavatar92.png"/>';
		}

		var service_icon = (reaction.get_service_name == 'trackback' || reaction.get_service_name == 'pingback' ? 'rss' : reaction.get_service_name.replace(' ', ''));
		item += (reaction.author_url && reaction.author_url !== ''
				? '</a>'
				: '')
			+ '</td>'
			+ '<td><cite class="dsq-comment-cite">' + reaction.author_name + '</cite> <span class="dsq-comment-header-time">' + reaction.date_created + '</span></td>'
			+ '<td class="dsq-comment-header-likes"></td>'
			+ '</tr></table></div>' // end dsq-comment-header
			+ '<div class="dsq-reaction-header" \
				<table> \
					<tr> \
						<td class="dsq-reaction-header-left">'
							+ '<img class="dsq-service-icon" src="' + Dsq.jsonData.media_url + '/images/reactions/services/' + service_icon + '.png" />'
							+ ' From <a class="dsq-service-name" target="_blank" href="' + reaction.url + '">' + reaction.get_service_name + '</a> '
							+ 'via ' + (reaction.source == 'backtype' ? '<a href="http://backtype.com/">BackType</a>' : '<a href="' + reaction.source_url + '">UberVU</a>')
						+ '</td>'
						+ '<td class="dsq-reaction-header-right">';
			
			if(reaction.retweets) {
				var num_retweets = reaction.retweets.length;
				if (num_retweets > 0) {
					if (num_retweets == 1) {
						item += 'One more retweet from <a href="' + reaction.retweets[0].url + '">'  + reaction.retweets[0].author_name + '</a>';
					} else {
						item += (num_retweets + ' more retweets from ');
						item += '<span id="dsq-reaction-retweets-' + reaction.id + '">';
						var n_tweets = (num_retweets > 3) ? 3 : num_retweets;
						item += Dsq.Templates.showRetweets(reaction.id, n_tweets);
						if (n_tweets != num_retweets) {
							item += '</span> <a onclick="Dsq.Templates.showRetweets(' + reaction.id + ', 0, \'dsq-reaction-retweets-' + reaction.id + '\');'
								+ 'this.parentNode.removeChild(this); return false;" href="#">Show all</a>';
						}
					}
				}
			}	
			item += '</td></tr> \
			</table> \
			</div>' // end dsq-reaction-header
			+ '<div class="dsq-comment-body"> \
				<div class="dsq-comment-message">' + reaction.body + '</div>'
			+ '</div> \
			<div class="dsq-comment-footer"> \
				<div class="dsq-comment-footer-left"> \
				</div>'
				+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.is_moderator || Dsq.jsonData.request.is_global_moderator 
					? ' \
					<div class="dsq-comment-footer-right"> \
						<button class="dsq-button-small dsq-hide-reaction" onclick="Dsq.Reaction.hide(' + reaction.id + ')">Hide</button> \
					</div>'
					: '')
			+ '</div>'
		item += '</li>'; /* Reaction HTML ends */
		return item;
	};

	this.reactions = function() {
		var html, reaction;

		if (Dsq.jsonData.reactions === undefined || Dsq.jsonData.reactions.length === 0) {
			return '';
		}

		html = '';
		for (var i = 0; reaction = Dsq.jsonData.reactions[i]; i++) {
			var item = Dsq.Templates.generateReactionHTML(reaction);
			if (item) {
				html += item;
			}
		}

		if (Dsq.jsonData.has_more_reactions) {
			var d = Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url;
			var f = Dsq.jsonData.forum.url;
			var t = Dsq.jsonData.thread.id;
			var s = Dsq.jsonData.reactions_start;
			var l = Dsq.jsonData.reactions_limit;

			var handler = 'Dsq.Utils.execScript(\'' + d + '/forums/' + f + '/more_reactions.js?t=' + t + '&s=' + s + '&l=' + l + '\', true); return false;';
			html += '<li id="dsq-show-more-reactions" class="dsq-show-more-reactions"><button class="dsq-button-small" onclick="' + handler + '">Show more reactions</button></li>';
		}

		return '<h3 id="dsq-reactions-title" class="dsq-h3-reactions">Reactions</h3><ul id="dsq-reactions" class="dsq-reactions">' + html + '</ul>';
	};
	
	this._popupGeneric = function(content) {
		return ' \
		<div class="dsq-popup-container"> \
			<table> \
				<tbody> \
					<tr> \
						<td class="dsq-popup-tl"></td><td class="dsq-popup-b"></td><td class="dsq-popup-tr"></td> \
					</tr> \
					<tr> \
						<td class="dsq-popup-b"></td> \
						<td class="dsq-popup-body"> \
							<div class="dsq-popup-content"> \
								<div class="dsq-popup-title"> \
									<button class="dsq-button-small" style="float:right" onclick="Dsq.Popup._closePopup(null, true)">Close</button>' 
									+ content['header'] 
								+ '</div>'
								+ content['body']
							+ '</div> \
							<div class="powered-by"><a href="http://disqus.com/comments/">Powered by <img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/embed/disqus-logo.png" alt="Disqus Comments" style="margin-bottom:-5px" /></a></div> \
						</td> \
						<td class="dsq-popup-b"></td> \
					</tr> \
					<tr> \
						<td class="dsq-popup-bl"></td><td class="dsq-popup-b"></td><td class="dsq-popup-br"></td> \
					</tr> \
				</tbody> \
			</table> \
		</div> \
		';
	};



	
	this.chooseSubscribe = function(post_id) {

		var pid = post_id ? '-' + post_id : '';
		var menu = Dsq.$('dsq-subscribe-menu' + pid);
		
		menu.style.display = menu.style.display == 'block' ? 'none' : 'block';
		
	};
	
	this.setSubscribe = function(value, el, post_id) {

		var pid = post_id ? '-' + post_id : '';
		var input = Dsq.$('dsq-subscribe-on-post' + pid);
		var select = Dsq.$('dsq-subscribe-select' + pid);
		var menu = Dsq.$('dsq-subscribe-menu' + pid);
		
		select.innerHTML = el.innerHTML;
		input.value = value;
		this.chooseSubscribe(post_id);
	};
	
	this.getFormFields = function(post_id) {

		var fields = {};
		var pid = post_id ? '-' + post_id : '';
		var name = Dsq.$('dsq-field-name' + pid);
		var email = Dsq.$('dsq-field-email' + pid);
		var website = Dsq.$('dsq-field-website' + pid);
		var username = Dsq.$('dsq-field-username' + pid);
		var password = Dsq.$('dsq-field-password' + pid);

		fields = {
			'name': name,
			'email': email,
			'website': website,
			'username': username,
			'password': password
		}
		
		return fields;
	}
	
	this.validateFields = function(post_id) {
		
		if(Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated) { return true; }
		
		var fields = Dsq.Templates.getFormFields(post_id);
		
		var nameField = fields.name;
		var websiteField = fields.website;
		var emailField = fields.email;
		
		websiteField.value = (websiteField.value == Dsq.Templates.placeholder['website']) ? '' : websiteField.value;
		
		var v = [{

			validator: Dsq.Validators.name,
			value: nameField.value
		}, {

			validator: Dsq.Validators.email,
			value: emailField.value
		}, {

			validator: Dsq.Validators.url,
			value: websiteField.value
		}];
		
		return Dsq.Validators.validate(v, function(e) { Dsq.Popup.popModal(e, 'Oops...') } );
	};
	
	this.checkExistingUser = function(post_id) {
		var fields = Dsq.Templates.getFormFields(post_id);		
		Dsq.Popup.loading(post_id);
		
		if (post_id) {
			Dsq.frames['reply_' + post_id].getUserByEmail(fields.email.value);
		} else {
			Dsq.frames['reply_0'].getUserByEmail(fields.email.value);
		}
	};

	this.validateAuth = function(el_clicked, post_id, auth_choice) {
		var fields = Dsq.Templates.getFormFields(post_id);
		var email = fields.email ? fields.email.value : '';
		var username = fields.username ? fields.username.value : '';
		var password = fields.password ? fields.password.value : '';
		
		Dsq.Templates.setLoadingButton(el_clicked, post_id);
		
		if (post_id) {
			Dsq.frames['reply_' + post_id].validateAuth(auth_choice, email, username, password);
		} else {
			Dsq.frames['reply_0'].validateAuth(auth_choice, email, username, password);
		}
	};

	this.lightboxUpdateEmail = function(post_id, new_email) {
		var fields = Dsq.Templates.getFormFields(post_id);
		fields.email.value = new_email;
	};

	this.lightboxAuthenticate = function(post_id, auth_choice, auth_data) {
		var title, body;
		var pid = post_id ? '-' + post_id : '';

		if(typeof(auth_data) == 'undefined') {
			var auth_data = Dsq.Templates.getFormFields(post_id);
		}

		d = auth_data;

		switch(auth_choice) {
			case 'register':
				var suggestedUsername = d.name.value.replace(/[^a-zA-Z0-9-]/g,'').toLowerCase();
			
				title = Dsq.jsonData.forum.allow_anon_post ? 'Optional:' : 'Required:';
				title += ' Register a <img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/embed/disqus-profile.png" alt=Disqus Profile" />';

				body = ' \
				<ul class="dsq-lightbox-register-reasons"> \
				<li>Verify your comments</li> \
				<li>Edit and delete comments</li> \
				<li>Manage comments and replies</li> \
				</ul> \
				';

				body += ' \
				<div class="dsq-lightbox-auth-fields"> \
					<table> \
						<tr> \
							<td>Email</td> \
							<td><input type="text" value="' + d.email.value + '" onchange="Dsq.Templates.lightboxUpdateEmail(' + post_id + ', this.value)" /><div id="dsq-email-errors' + pid + '"></div></td> \
						</tr> \
						<tr> \
							<td>Username</td> \
							<td><input id="dsq-field-username' + pid + '" type="text" value="' + suggestedUsername + '"/><div id="dsq-username-errors' + pid + '"></div></td> \
						</tr> \
						<tr> \
							<td>Password</td> \
							<td><input id="dsq-field-password' + pid + '" type="password" /><div id="dsq-password-errors' + pid + '"></div></td> \
						</tr> \
					</table> \
					<div class="dsq-lightbox-switch-auth"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Templates.lightboxAuthenticate(' + post_id + ',\'login\'); return false">Login instead</a></div> \
				</div> \
				<div id="dsq-lightbox-errors' + pid + '" class="dsq-lightbox-errors"></div> \
				<div class="dsq-lightbox-submit"> \
					<div class="dsq-lightbox-auth-post"><button class="dsq-button" onclick="Dsq.Templates.validateAuth(this, ' + post_id + ',\'' + auth_choice + '\')">Register and Post comment</button></div>'
					+ (Dsq.jsonData.forum.allow_anon_post
						? '<div class="dsq-lightbox-auth-skip"><button class="dsq-button-small" onclick="Dsq.Templates.postComment(' + post_id + ', this, true)">Just post as a Guest</button></div>'
						: '')
				+ '</div> \
				';
				break;
			case 'login':
				title = Dsq.jsonData.forum.allow_anon_post ? 'Optional:' : 'Required:';
				title += ' Login to your <img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/embed/disqus-profile.png" alt=Disqus Profile" />';
				body = '';
				
				if(d.avatar_url) {
					body += '<div class="dsq-lightbox-recognized"><table><tr>';
					body += '<td><img src="' + d.avatar_url + '" alt="" /></td>';
					body += '<td><span class="dsq-badge ' + (d.verified ? 'dsq-badge-verified' : 'dsq-badge-registered') + '">' + (d.verified ? 'Verified' : 'Registered') + '</span></td>';
					body += '<td>Hey <strong>' + d.display_name + '</strong>, is that you? Login below to claim this comment.';
					body += '</tr></table></div>';
				}

				body += ' \
				<div class="dsq-lightbox-auth-fields"> \
					<table> \
						<tr> \
							<td>Username or Email</td> \
							<td><input id="dsq-field-username' + pid + '" type="text" value="' + (d.avatar_url ? d.username : '') + '" /></td> \
						</tr> \
						<tr> \
							<td>Password <a href="http://disqus.com/forgot" target="_blank">(cannot log in?)</a></td> \
							<td><input id="dsq-field-password' + pid + '" type="password" /></td> \
						</tr> \
					</table> \
					<div class="dsq-lightbox-switch-auth"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Templates.lightboxAuthenticate(' + post_id + ',\'register\'); return false">Register instead</a></div> \
				</div> \
				<div id="dsq-lightbox-errors' + pid + '" class="dsq-lightbox-errors"></div> \
				<div class="dsq-lightbox-submit"> \
					<div class="dsq-lightbox-auth-post"><button class="dsq-button" onclick="Dsq.Templates.validateAuth(this, ' + post_id + ',\'' + auth_choice + '\')">Login and Post comment</button></div>'
					+ (Dsq.jsonData.forum.allow_anon_post
						? '<div class="dsq-lightbox-auth-skip"><button class="dsq-button-small" onclick="Dsq.Templates.postComment(' + post_id + ', this, true)">Just post as a Guest</button></div>'
						: '')
				+ '</div> \
				';
				break;
			default:
				break;
		}
		Dsq.Popup.lightbox(body, title, post_id);
		Dsq.$('dsq-field-username' + pid).focus();
	};
	
	this.buttonsToRestore = [];
	this.setLoadingButton = function(btn, post_id) {
		var pid = post_id ? '-' + post_id : '';
		if (btn) {

			var loadingBtn = document.createElement('button');
			loadingBtn.id = btn.id + '-loading';
			loadingBtn.innerHTML = '<img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/loading-lite.gif" alt="" /> Just a moment...';
			loadingBtn.className = btn.className + ' dsq-post-loading';
			btn.parentNode.appendChild(loadingBtn);
			btn.style.display = 'none';
			var cancelBtn = Dsq.$('dsq-cancel-button' + pid);
			if(cancelBtn) { cancelBtn.style.display = 'none'; this.buttonsToRestore.push(cancelBtn); }
			this.buttonsToRestore.push(btn);
		} else {

			var buttons = this.buttonsToRestore;
			for(var i = 0; i < buttons.length; i++) {
				buttons[i].style.display = 'inline';
				Dsq.Utils.deleteNode(Dsq.$(buttons[i].id + '-loading'));
			}
		}
		
	};

	this.postComment = function(post_id, el_clicked, force, auth_choice) {
		var append_id = post_id ? '-' + post_id : '';
		var fields = Dsq.Templates.getFormFields(post_id);

		if (Dsq.Templates.validateFields(post_id)) {

			if (!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated && !force &&
				((!Dsq.Utils.readCookie('skipped_auth') && !disqus_skip_auth && !Dsq.jsonData.forum.disqus_auth_disabled) || !Dsq.jsonData.forum.allow_anon_post)) {
				Dsq.Templates.checkExistingUser(post_id);
				return false;
			}
			var params = [];
			if (!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated) {
				params.push(fields.name.value,
					fields.email.value,
					fields.website.value);

				if (auth_choice == 'login' || auth_choice == 'register') {
					params.push({
						auth_choice: auth_choice,
						username: fields.username.value,
						password: fields.password.value,
						email: fields.email.value
					});
				} else {
					params.push(null);
				}

				params.push(null /* sharing options */, Dsq.$('dsq-subscribe-on-post' + append_id).value);
			} else {
				var service_checked = function(name) {
					var el = Dsq.$('dsq-sharing-' + name + append_id);
					return (el !== null && el.checked === true) ? '1' : '0';
				};
				params.push(null, null, null, null, {
					tw: service_checked('twitter'),
					fb: service_checked('facebook'),
					tr: service_checked('tumblr'),
					wp: service_checked('wordpress'),
					mt: service_checked('movabletype'),
					tp: service_checked('typepad'),
					yh: service_checked('yahoo')
				});
			}

			var frame = Dsq.frames['reply_' + (post_id ? post_id : 0)];
			frame.post.apply(frame, params);

			if (el_clicked) {
				Dsq.Templates.setLoadingButton(el_clicked, post_id);
			}
			
			if (force) {
				Dsq.Utils.createCookie('skipped_auth', true);	
			}
			
		} else {
			return false;
		}
	};

	this.editComment = function(el_clicked, post_id) {
		var edited_message = Dsq.$('dsq-edit-textarea-' + post_id).value;

		Dsq.Templates.setLoadingButton(el_clicked, post_id);
		Dsq.frames['edit_' + post_id].edit(post_id, edited_message);
	};

	this.toggleEdit = function(post_id) {
		var body = Dsq.$('dsq-comment-body-' + post_id);
		var message = Dsq.$('dsq-comment-message-' + post_id);

		if (!Dsq.Post.stateEditToggled[post_id]) {


			message.style.display = 'none';
			if (Dsq.$('dsq-edit-' + post_id)) {
				Dsq.$('dsq-edit-' + post_id).style.display = 'block';
			} else {

				var edit_area = document.createElement('div');
				edit_area.id = 'dsq-edit-' + post_id;
				edit_area.className = 'dsq-edit dsq-textarea';
				edit_area.innerHTML = ' \
				<div class="dsq-textarea-wrapper"> \
					<textarea class="dsq-edit-textarea" id="dsq-edit-textarea-' + post_id + '">' + message.innerHTML + '</textarea> \
				</div> \
				<div class="dsq-save-edit"> \
					<button onclick="Dsq.Templates.editComment(this, ' + post_id + ')" class="dsq-button-small">Save Edit</button> \
				</div> \
				<div id="dsq-edit-iframe-' + post_id + '" style="display: none"></div> \
				';

				body.appendChild(edit_area);

				if (!Dsq.frames['edit_' + post_id]) {
					var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
					Dsq.frames['edit_' + post_id] = new Dsq.ReplyFrame(Dsq.$('dsq-edit-iframe-' + post_id), post_id);
					Dsq.frames['edit_' + post_id].init();
					Dsq.frames['edit_' + post_id].setState(post_id, _meta.depth);
				}
			}
		} else {

			message.style.display = 'block';
			Dsq.$('dsq-edit-' + post_id).style.display = 'none';
		}
		
		Dsq.Post.stateEditToggled[post_id] = !Dsq.Post.stateEditToggled[post_id];
	};
	
	this.edit = function(el, post_id) {

		Dsq.Templates.toggleEdit(post_id);
	};

	this.toggleReply = function(post_id, button) {
		
		if(!this.stateReplyToggled[post_id]) {

			if (Dsq.$('dsq-reply-post-' + post_id)) {
				Dsq.$('dsq-append-post-' + post_id).style.display = 'block';
			} else {
				Dsq.$('dsq-append-post-' + post_id).innerHTML = Dsq.Templates.postBox(post_id);
				var container = Dsq.$('dsq-textarea-wrapper-' + post_id);
				if (!Dsq.frames['reply_' + post_id] && container) {
					var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
					Dsq.frames['reply_' + post_id] = new Dsq.ReplyFrame(container, post_id);
					Dsq.frames['reply_' + post_id].init(function() {

						Dsq.$('dsq-append-post-' + post_id).innerHTML = Dsq.Templates.postBox(post_id, true);
						Dsq.$('dsq-form-area-' + post_id).innerHTML = '';

						var theme = (typeof disqus_frame_theme == 'undefined') ? 'default' : disqus_frame_theme;
						Dsq.Iframes.showReplyIframeInContainer(Dsq.$('dsq-form-area-' + post_id), post_id, {theme: theme});

					});
					Dsq.frames['reply_' + post_id].setState(post_id, _meta.depth);
				}
			}
			Dsq.$('dsq-append-post-' + post_id).className = 'dsq-append-post';
			Dsq.$('dsq-comment-footer-reply-' + post_id).className = 'dsq-comment-footer-reply-active';
			
		} else {

			Dsq.$('dsq-append-post-' + post_id).style.display = 'none';
			Dsq.$('dsq-append-post-' + post_id).className = '';
			Dsq.$('dsq-comment-footer-reply-' + post_id).className = 'dsq-comment-footer-reply';
		}
		
		this.stateReplyToggled[post_id] = !this.stateReplyToggled[post_id];

		if(Dsq.Utils.ie && this.stateReplyToggled[post_id]) {

		}

		Dsq.Events.fire(Dsq.Events.REPLY_IFRAME_TOGGLED, {
			postId: post_id,
			opened: this.stateReplyToggled[post_id]
		});
	};
	
	this.moderateOptions = function(post_id) {
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
		var userData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][_meta.user_key];
		
		if(!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_moderator && !Dsq.jsonData.request.is_global_moderator) { return false; }

		var html;
		
		html = ' \
		<div class="dsq-moderate-options"> \
		<table>'
		+ (_meta.email ? '<tr><td>Email</td><td>' + _meta.email + '</td></tr>' : '')
		+ (_meta.ip ? '<tr><td>IP address</td><td>' + _meta.ip + '</td></tr>' : '')
		+ '<tr> \
			<td>Actions</td> \
			<td><ul>'
			+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.moderator_can_edit
				? '<li><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.edit(this, ' + post_id + '); Dsq.Popup._closePopup(null, true); return false;">Edit Comment</a></li>'
				: '')
			+ '<li><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.removePost(' + post_id + ', 1); Dsq.Popup._closePopup(null, true); return false;">Delete Comment</a></li> \
			<li><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.reportSpam(' + post_id + '); Dsq.Popup._closePopup(null, true); return false;">Mark Spam</a></li> \
			<li><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Popup.blacklist(' + post_id + '); return false">Block User</a></li> \
			</ul></td> \
			</table> \
		</div> \
		';
		
		html += '<p>Go to the full <a href="http://disqus.com/comments/moderate/" target="_blank">moderate panel</a> for more options.</p>';
		
		return Dsq.Popup.popModal(html, 'Moderate Options', post_id);
	};
	
	this.placeholder = {
		'class': 'dsq-placeholder',
		'name': Dsq.Strings.NAME,
		'email': Dsq.Strings.EMAIL,
		'website': Dsq.Strings.WEBSITE + ' (' + Dsq.Strings.OPTIONAL.toLowerCase() + ')'
	};
	
	this.handlePlaceholder = function(evt, el, key) {
		var placeholder = Dsq.Templates.placeholder[key];
		var className = Dsq.Templates.placeholder['class'];
		
		switch(evt.type) {
			case 'focus':
				if(el.value == placeholder) {
					el.value = '';
					el.className = '';
				}
				break;

			case 'blur':
				if(el.value == '') {
					el.value = placeholder;
					el.className = className;
				}
				break;
			default:
				break;
		}
	};
	
	this.paginate = function(page, el_clicked) {

		var extra_params = '';

		if(typeof disqus_per_page != 'undefined') {
			extra_params += '&per_page=' + disqus_per_page;
		}
		if(typeof disqus_sort != 'undefined') {
			extra_params += '&sort=' + disqus_sort;
		}

		Dsq.$('dsq-pagination').innerHTML += '<img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/loading-small.gif">';
		
		if(el_clicked) {
			Dsq.Templates.setLoadingButton(el_clicked);
		}
		
		Dsq.Utils.execScript('http://disqus.com/forums/jackandjillpolitics/thread.js'
			+ '?slug='	+ 'let8217s_get_in_some_trouble_today_black_people_and_8216class8217'
			+ '&p='		+ page
			+ extra_params);
	};
	
	
	this.rate = function(el, id, vote) {


		if(Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated || Dsq.jsonData.forum.allow_anon_votes) {
			if(vote == 1) {
				Dsq.$('dsq-like-' + id).innerHTML = '<img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/loading-small.gif">';
			}
			Dsq.Utils.execScript('http://disqus.com/forums/jackandjillpolitics/vote.js'
				+ '?post_id='    + id
				+ '&vote='        + vote);
		} else {
			Dsq.Popup.login('To rate, please log in');
		}
	};

	this.voted = function(post_id, points, vote) {

		Dsq.$('dsq-like-pts-' + post_id).innerHTML = points + Dsq.Utils.pluralize(points, ' person', ' people') + ' liked this.';

		if(vote) {
			Dsq.$('dsq-like-' + post_id).innerHTML = 'You liked this.&nbsp;&nbsp;';
		}
	};




	this.postComment_onSuccess = function(response, parent_post_id, post_id) {
		var approved = response.message.post_meta.approved;

		if (parent_post_id) {
			Dsq.Post.toggleReply(parent_post_id);
		}

		Dsq.Popup._closePopup(null, true);
		
		if (approved) {
			Dsq.Post.incrementPostCount();
			Dsq.Post.outlineComment(post_id);
		} else {			
			var unapproved_msg = 'Thanks for posting!\
	 Your comment must be approved by a moderator before appearing here.\
			';
			Dsq.Popup.popModal(unapproved_msg, 'Comment awaiting approval', post_id);
		}

		var sharing_results = response.message.sharing_results;
		var sharing_errors = '';
		for (var service in sharing_results) {
			if (sharing_results.hasOwnProperty(service) === true) {
				if (sharing_results[service].error === true) {
					sharing_errors += service + ', ';
				}
			}
		}

		if (sharing_results.facebook && sharing_results.facebook.callback) {
			FB.ensureInit(function() {
				FB.Connect.streamPublish('', sharing_results.facebook.attachment);
			});
		}

		if (sharing_errors !== '') {
			var message = 'Your comment was posted, but there were errors sharing with the following connections: ';
			message += sharing_errors.replace(/,\s$/, '');
			message += '<p><a href="' + Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + '/profile/connections" target="_blank">Configure your connections here</a></p>'
			Dsq.Popup.popModal(message, 'Sharing options');
		}

		Dsq.Templates.setLoadingButton(false);
	};

	this.postComment_onFailure = function(response, parent_post_id, post_id) {

		Dsq.Templates.setLoadingButton(false);
	};
};




// TODO: It might be faster to use string methods to find all <li (...) </li> blocks and pass to Dsq.PostHandler manually.
Dsq.CommentsHandler = function(str, head, post_id, content, tail, offset, s) {
	var prepend_post = Dsq.Templates.prependPost(post_id);
	var append_post = Dsq.Templates.appendPost(post_id);

	content = content.replace(Dsq.POST_RE, Dsq.PostHandler);
	Dsq.Templates.postLoopCounter++;
	head = Dsq.Templates.Filters.commentContainer(post_id, head);
	return prepend_post + head + content + tail + append_post;
};

Dsq.PostHandler = function(str, h_head, post_id, h_content, h_tail, b_head, b_content, b_tail, offset, s) {
	var prepend_header = Dsq.Templates.postPrependHeader(post_id);
	var append_header = Dsq.Templates.postAppendHeader(post_id);
	var prepend_body = Dsq.Templates.preBody(post_id);
	var append_body = Dsq.Templates.postBody(post_id);
	var append_footer = Dsq.Templates.postFooter(post_id);

	b_content = b_content.replace(Dsq.POST_BODY_RE, Dsq.PostBodyHandler);
	return h_head + prepend_header + h_content + append_header + h_tail + b_head + prepend_body + b_content + append_body + b_tail + append_footer;
};

Dsq.PostBodyHandler = function(str, head, post_id, content, tail, offset, s) {
	content = Dsq.Templates.Filters.commentContent(post_id, content);
	return head + content + tail;
};

Dsq.MediaPostHandler = function(str, args, offset, s) {
	args = args.split(' ');
	if(args[0] == 'seesmic') {
		return '<br />' + Dsq.Templates.mediaSeesmic(args[1], args[2]);
	}
	return '';
};


/**
 * Shorcuts
 */
Dsq.$ = function(element) { return document.getElementById(element); };
Dsq.$b = document.body || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0];


/**
 * Dsq.Debug: Logging functions.
 */

Dsq.Debug = new function() {this.log=function(s){};this.profile=function(f){if(typeof f == 'function')return f();else return eval(f);};};


/**
 * Dsq.Urls: URL paths
 */
Dsq.Urls = new function() {
	this.LOGIN = '/profile/login/';
	this.LOGOUT = '/logout/';
	this.REPLY = 'http://jackandjillpolitics.disqus.com/let8217s_get_in_some_trouble_today_black_people_and_8216class8217/reply.html';
	this.REQUEST_USER_PROFILE = '/AnonymousUser/';
	this.REQUEST_USER_AVATAR = 'http://media.disqus.com/images/noavatar92.png';
};
// Dsq.Urls

/**
 * Dsq.Validators: Validation for form fields
 */
Dsq.Validators = new function() {
	this.VALID_EMAIL_RE = /^[a-z0-9\-\_\+]+(\.[a-z0-9\-\_\+]+)*\@(([a-z0-9\-\_\+]+(\.[a-z0-9\-\_\+]+)*)+\.[a-z]{2,}|([0-9]+\.){3}[0-9]+)$/i;
	this.name = function(name) {
		var error = false;

		if(typeof Dsq.Templates.placeholder !== 'undefined' &&
		   name == Dsq.Templates.placeholder.name) {
			error = true;
		}
		if(name.length <= 1) {
			error = true;
		}

		if(error) {
			return "Please enter a name to comment.";
		} else {
			return true;
		}
	};
	this.email = function(addr) {
		if(Dsq.Validators.VALID_EMAIL_RE.test(addr)) {
			return true;
		} else {
			return "Please enter a valid email to comment.";
		}
	};
	this.url = function(addr) {
		if(!addr || addr.indexOf('.') != -1) {
			return true;
		} else {
			return "Please check your website URL (this field is optional).";
		}
	};

	this.validate = function(bulk_validation, failure_callback) {
		failure_callback = failure_callback || function(e){ alert(e); };

		for(var i = 0; i < bulk_validation.length; i++) {
			v = bulk_validation[i];
			ret = v.validator(v.value);
			if(ret !== true) {
				failure_callback(ret);
				return false;
			}
		}
		return true;
	};
};

/**
 * Dsq.Utils: Generic utility functions.
 */
Dsq.Utils = new function() {
	this.ie = /msie/i.test(navigator.userAgent) && !/opera/i.test(navigator.userAgent);
	this.ie7 = (document.all && !window.opera && window.XMLHttpRequest) ? true : false;
	this.ie6 = (!window.XMLHttpRequest) ? true: false;
	this.webkit = navigator.userAgent.indexOf('AppleWebKit/') >= 0;
	this.gebiFromElementCollectionCache = {};
	this._styleSheet = null;

	this.gebiFromElement = function(el, id, tag) {
		// This only method only helps IE.
		if(!this.ie) {
			return Dsq.$(id);
		} else {
			var cacheKey = el.id + '-' + tag;
			tag = tag || 'div';
			if(typeof this.gebiFromElementCollectionCache[cacheKey] != 'undefined') {
				collection = this.gebiFromElementCollectionCache[cacheKey];
			} else {
				collection = el.getElementsByTagName(tag);
				this.gebiFromElementCollectionCache[cacheKey] = collection;
			}

			for(var i = 0; i < collection.length; i++) {
				if(collection[i].id == id) {
					return collection[i];
				}
			}
			return null;
		}
	};

	this.execOnReady = function(func) {
		var node = document.createElement('document:ready');
		try {
			node.doScroll('left');
			func();
			node = null;
		} catch(err) {
			setTimeout(function() { Dsq.Utils.execOnReady(func); }, 10);
		}
	};


	// Courtesy of http://www.quirksmode.org/js/cookies.html
	this.createCookie = function(name,value,days) {
		if (days) {
			var date = new Date();
			date.setTime(date.getTime()+(days*24*60*60*1000));
			var expires = "; expires="+date.toGMTString();
		}
		else var expires = "";
		document.cookie = name+"="+value+expires+"; path=/";
	};

	this.readCookie = function(name) {
		var nameEQ = name + "=";
		var ca = document.cookie.split(';');
		for(var i=0;i < ca.length;i++) {
			var c = ca[i];
			while (c.charAt(0)==' ') c = c.substring(1,c.length);
			if (c.indexOf(nameEQ) == 0) return c.substring(nameEQ.length,c.length);
		}
		return null;
	};

	this.eraseCookie = function(name) {
		Dsq.Utils.createCookie(name,"",-1);
	};

	this.deleteNode = function(node) {
		if(node) {
			this.deleteChildren(node);
			if(typeof node.outerHTML != 'undefined') { node.outerHTML = ''; }
			else if(node.parentNode) { node.parentNode.removeChild(node); }
			delete node;
		}
	};

	this.deleteChildren = function(node) {
		if(node) {
			for(var x = node.childNodes.length-1; x >= 0; x--) {
				var childNode = node.childNodes[x];
				if(childNode.hasChildNodes()) { this.deleteChildren(childNode); }
				if(typeof childNode.outerHTML != 'undefined') { childNode.outerHTML = ''; }
				else node.removeChild(childNode);
				delete childNode;
			}
		}
	};

	this.findPos = function(obj) {
		var curleft = 0;
		var curtop = 0;
		if (obj.offsetParent) {
			do {
				curleft += obj.offsetLeft;
				curtop += obj.offsetTop;
			} while (obj = obj.offsetParent);
		}
		return [curleft,curtop];
	};

	this.getWindowSize = function() {
		var windowWidth = -1;
		var windowHeight = -1;

		if(typeof(window.innerWidth) == 'number') { //Non-IE
			windowWidth = window.innerWidth;
			windowHeight = window.innerHeight;
		} else if(document.documentElement) { // IE 6+ in 'standards compliant mode'
			windowWidth = document.documentElement.clientWidth || document.body.clientWidth;
			windowHeight = document.documentElement.clientHeight || document.body.clientHeight;
		}

		return [windowWidth, windowHeight];
	}

	this.getScrollPos = function() {
		var scrollWidth, scrollTop;

		if(document.documentElement && (document.documentElement.scrollTop || document.documentElement.scrollWidth)) {
			scrollWidth = document.documentElement.scrollWidth;
			// IE is weird here.  If no doctype is provided, document.body.scrollTop is 0,
			// otherwise document.documentElement.scrollTop is 0.
			scrollTop = document.documentElement.scrollTop || document.body.scrollTop;
		} else if(document.body.scrollTop && document.body.scrollWidth) {
			scrollWidth = document.body.scrollWidth;
			scrollTop = document.body.scrollTop;
		}

		return [scrollWidth, scrollTop];
	}

	this.addEventListener = function(instance, eventName, listener) {
		var listenerFn = listener;
		if (instance.addEventListener) {
			instance.addEventListener(eventName, listenerFn, false);
		} else if (instance.attachEvent) {
			listenerFn = function() {
				listener(window.event);
			};
			instance.attachEvent("on" + eventName, listenerFn);
		} else {
			throw new Error("Event registration not supported");
		}
		return {
			instance: instance,
			name: eventName,
			listener: listenerFn
		};
	};

	this.removeEventListener = function(event) {
		var instance = event.instance;
		if (instance.removeEventListener) {
			instance.removeEventListener(event.name, event.listener, false);
		} else if (instance.detachEvent) {
			instance.detachEvent("on" + event.name, event.listener);
		}
	};

	this.fixIframesIE = function(id) {
		var disqusThread = Dsq.$(disqus_container_id);
		var iframes = disqusThread.getElementsByTagName('iframe');

		if(id) {
			var container = Dsq.$(id);
		} else {
			var container = Dsq.$('dsq-content');
		}

		for(i = 0; i < iframes.length; i++) {
			if (container) {
				iframes[i].style.width = container.offsetWidth;
			}
		}
	};

	this.getElementsByClassName = function(oElm, strTagName, strClassName) {
	/* Credit: Jonathan Snook [http://www.snook.ca/jonathan], Robert Nyman [http://www.robertnyman.com] */
		var arrElements = (strTagName == "*" && oElm.all)? oElm.all : oElm.getElementsByTagName(strTagName);
		var arrReturnElements = new Array();
		strClassName = strClassName.replace(/\-/g, "\\-");
		var oRegExp = new RegExp("(^|\\s)" + strClassName + "(\\s|$)");
		var oElement;
		for(var i = 0; i < arrElements.length; i++) {
			oElement = arrElements[i];
			if(oRegExp.test(oElement.className)) {
				arrReturnElements.push(oElement);
			}
		}
		return (arrReturnElements);
	};

	this.postToUrl = function(url, post_data, opt_redirect) {
		var form = document.createElement('form');
		var iframe_container = document.createElement('div');
		var id = 'dsq-temp-iframe-' + (new Date()).getTime();

		form.method = 'POST';
		form.action = url;
		if (!opt_redirect) {
			form.target = id;
		}
		iframe_container.innerHTML = '<iframe style="display:none" name="' + id + '" id="' + id + '"></iframe>';

		for(var key in post_data) {
			if(post_data.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
				var input = document.createElement('input');
				input.name = key;
				input.type = 'hidden';
				input.value = post_data[key];

				form.appendChild(input);
			}
		}

		Dsq.$b.appendChild(iframe_container);
		Dsq.$b.appendChild(form);
		form.submit();
	};

	// Strips integer id from id of element in the form ('some-id-###')
	this.extractId = function(e) {
		var chunks = e.id.split('-');
		if(chunks.length <= 1) {
			return 0;
		} else {
			return parseInt(chunks[chunks.length-1]);
		}
	};

	this.getStyle = function(el, styleProp) {
		if(el.currentStyle) {
			var y = el.currentStyle[styleProp];
		} else if(window.getComputedStyle) {
			var y = document.defaultView.getComputedStyle(el, null).getPropertyValue(styleProp);
		}

		if(y == 'transparent' || y == '') {
			this.getStyle(el.parentNode, styleProp);
		} else {
			return y;
		}
	};

	this.execScript = function(url, append_qs, container) {
		var script = document.createElement('script');
		append_qs = typeof append_qs == 'undefined' ? true : append_qs;
		container = container || Dsq.container;

		if(append_qs) {
			var j = (url.indexOf('?') >= 0) ? '&' : '?';
			url += j + (new Date()).getTime();
		}
		script.type = 'text/javascript';
		script.charset = 'UTF-8';
		script.src = url;
		container.appendChild(script);
		return script;
	};

	this.pluralize = function(num, singular, plural) {
		return (num != 1) ? plural || 's' : singular || '';
	};

	this.getRequestParams = function(queryString /* optional */) {
		var pairs, tuple;
		var params = {};

		queryString = queryString || window.location.search.substring(1);
		pairs = queryString.split('&');

		for (var i = 0, pair; pair = pairs[i]; i++) {
			tuple = pair.split('=');
			params[tuple[0]] = (tuple[1] || true);
		}

		return params;
	};

	this.addCssRule = function(selector, styleText, index) {
		var stylesheet;
		index = index || 0;

		if(!this._styleSheet) {
			var styleEl = document.createElement('style');
			document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(styleEl);
			this._styleSheet = styleEl.sheet;
			if(!this._styleSheet) {
				// IE does not like our newly created stylesheet.
				this._styleSheet = document.styleSheets[document.styleSheets.length-1];
			}
		}
		stylesheet = this._styleSheet;

		if(stylesheet.insertRule) {
			var ruleText = selector + ' { ' + styleText + ' }';
			if(index == -1) {
				index = stylesheet.cssRules.length;
			}
			stylesheet.insertRule(ruleText, index);
		} else if(stylesheet.addRule) {
			stylesheet.addRule(selector, styleText, index);
		}
	};

	this.forEachIn = function(obj, callback) {
		for(var key in obj) {
			if(obj.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
				callback(key, obj[key]);
			}
		}
	};

	this._interpolateGlobalContext = {
		// values that get used a lot and are global to the request
		'profile_url': Dsq.Urls.REQUEST_USER_PROFILE,

		'disqus_url': Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url,
		'media_url': Dsq.jsonData.settings.media_url,
		'request_username': Dsq.jsonData.request.username,
		'request_display_username': Dsq.jsonData.request.display_username,
		'forum_name': Dsq.jsonData.forum.name
	};

	this.renderFromContextStack = function(key, contexts) {
		// Returns the first instance of `key` in the array of objects `contexts` or else ''
		for (var i=0; i<contexts.length; i++) {
			if (contexts[i][key] !== undefined) {
				return String(contexts[i][key]);
			}
		}
		throw new Error('key ' + key + ' not found in context');
	};

	var that = this;
	this.interpolate = function(fmt, opt_localContext) {
		// Interpolate `fmt` named-format string with an assumed global context.
		// Based on `interpolate` in django.views.i18n
		var contextStack = [opt_localContext || {}, that._interpolateGlobalContext];
		return fmt.replace(/%\(\w+\)s/g, function(match){
			return that.renderFromContextStack(match.slice(2,-2), contextStack);
		});
	};

	this.stripTags = function(s) {
		// Removes HTML tags from `s`
		return s.replace(/(<([^>]+)>)/g,"");

	};

	this.assert = function(b) {
		if (!b) {
			throw new Error('Assertion error.');
		}
	};

};
// Dsq.Utils

/**
 * Dsq.Popup: Popup helper functions.
 */
Dsq.Popup = new function() {
	this.timeHide = new Array();
	this.timeShow = new Array();
	this.activePopup = {};
	this.profileCache = {};
	this.statusCache = {};

	this.showTimer = function(post_id) {
		// clear the hide timer
		clearTimeout(this.timeHide[post_id]);

		// start the timer
		if(!Dsq.Popup.profileIsOn && !Dsq.Thread.adminIsOn) {
			this.timeShow[post_id] = setTimeout("Dsq.Popup.popProfile(\"" + post_id + "\")", 400);
		}
	};

	this.hideTimer = function(post_id) {
		// clear the show timer
		clearTimeout(this.timeShow[post_id]);
	};

	this.updateProfile = function(username) {
		// Callback from /embed/profile.js
		if (this.statusCache[username]) {
			var statusEl = Dsq.$('dsq-profile-status-' + username);
			statusEl.innerHTML = this.statusCache[username];
			statusEl.style.display = 'block';
		}

		if (this.profileCache[username]) {
			var _cache = this.profileCache[username];

			var _genhtml = function(text) { return '<span><big>' + text + '</big></span>'; };
			var _no_comments = _genhtml(Dsq.FmtStrings.NUMBER_OF_COMMENTS(_cache.comments_count));
			var _no_likes = _genhtml(Dsq.FmtStrings.NUMBER_OF_LIKES(_cache.likes_count));
			var _no_points = _genhtml(Dsq.FmtStrings.NUMBER_OF_POINTS(_cache.points));

			var statsEl = Dsq.$('dsq-popup-profile-user-stats-' + username);
			statsEl.innerHTML = '';

			if (Dsq.jsonData.users[username].registered) {
				statsEl.innerHTML = _no_comments + _no_likes;
			}
			statsEl.innerHTML += _no_points;

			var activeSites = '';
			for (var i = 0; i < _cache.active_sites.length; i++) {
				var site = _cache.active_sites[i];
				activeSites += '<li><a href="' + site.url + '"> \
					<img src="' + site.favicon + '"/ width="16" height="16"/></a>\
					<a href="' + site.url + '">' + site.name + '</a></li>';
			}
			if (activeSites !== '') {
				Dsq.$('dsq-popup-profile-active-sites-' + username).innerHTML = activeSites;
			} else {
				Dsq.$('dsq-popup-profile-active-sites-' + username).innerHTML = 'This site.';
			}

			var moderatedSites = '';
			for (var i = 0; i < _cache.moderated_sites.length; i++) {
				var site = _cache.moderated_sites[i];
				moderatedSites += '<li><a href="' + site.url + '"> \
					<img src="' + site.favicon + '"/ width="16" height="16"/></a>\
					<a href="' + site.url + '">' + site.name + '</a></li>';
			}
			if (moderatedSites !== '') {
				Dsq.$('dsq-popup-profile-moderated-' + username).innerHTML = moderatedSites;
			} else {
				Dsq.$('dsq-popup-profile-moderated-wrapper-' + username).innerHTML = '';
			}
		}

		// Reposition popup after full HTML is rendered
		if(Dsq.Popup.activePopup && Dsq.Popup.activePopup.el) {
			Dsq.Popup.initPopup(Dsq.Popup.activePopup.el, Dsq.Popup.activePopup.id, Dsq.Popup.activePopup.type);
		}

	};

	this.showCookieMsgs = function() {
		var title = '';
		var message = '';
		var numAlerts = 0;

		Dsq.Utils.forEachIn(Dsq.jsonData.cookie_messages, function(k, v) {
			if (!v) return;

			switch(k) {
				// Cookie: Twitter
				case 'post_twitter':
					if (v === 'error') {
						title = 'Twitter Error!';
						message += '<li id="dsq-msg-twitter-error">Oops, we couldn\'t tweet this comment. Please check your <a href="http://disqus.com/account/services">account settings</a>.</li>';
					} else {
						var _msg = v.split(':');
						title = 'Tweeted!';
						message += '<li id="dsq-msg-twitter-success">Your comment was successfully tweeted. <a href="http://twitter.com/' + _msg[0] + '/status/' + _msg[1] + '">Click here to view the tweet</a>.</li>';
					}
					break;
				// Cookie: Unapproved Post
				case 'post_not_approved':
					title = 'Comment awaiting approval by a moderator';
					message += '<li id="dsq-msg-post-not-approved">Your comment must be approved by a moderator before appearing here.</li>';
					break;
				// Cookie: Profile Found
				case 'post_has_profile':
					title = 'Use your existing commenter profile';
					message += '<li id="dsq-msg-post-has-profile">You have just posted your commment as a <span class="dsq-badge-guest">Guest</span>, but you may already have a <span class="logo-disqus">Disqus</span> Profile.<br /><br /><a href="http://disqus.com/claim">Log in and claim this comment!</a></li>';
					break;
				case 'user_created':
					var _data = v.split(':');
					title = 'Profile created!';
					message += '<li id="dsq-msg-user-created">You have just created a <span class="logo-disqus">Disqus</span> Profile, the best way to claim, manage, and track your comments all over the web. \
					<br /><br />A confirmation is being sent to <strong>' + _data[1] + '</strong>. Please check for this email in order to verify your profile. \
					<ul class="dsq-list-tick"> \
						<li>Your username is <strong>' + _data[0] +'</strong>. <a href="http://disqus.com/people/' + _data[0] + '/" target="_blank">Click here to view your public profile</a>.</li> \
						<li>Be sure to set your profile picture, as well as connect your <span class="dsq-badge-facebook">Facebook</span> and <span class="dsq-badge-twitter">Twitter</span> accounts. <a href="http://disqus.com/account/" target="_blank">Click here for account settings</a>.</li> \
					</ul> \
					</li>'
					break;
				default:
					break;
			}
			numAlerts++;
		});

		if(numAlerts > 1) {
			message = '<ul class="dsq-list-bluebullet">' + message;
			message += '</ul>';
			title = 'Thanks for posting!';
		}
		if(numAlerts > 0) {
			if(typeof(disqus_cookie_msgs) == 'function') {
				disqus_cookie_msgs(message, title);
			} else {
				Dsq.Popup.popModal(message, title);
			}
		}
	};

	this.helpBadges = function(post_id) {
		var html = ' \
			<ul class="dsq-popup-help"> \
				<li><span class="dsq-badge dsq-badge-verified">Verified</span> has a <span class="logo-disqus">Disqus</span> Profile with a confirmed email address.</li> \
				<li><span class="dsq-badge dsq-badge-registered">Registered</span> has a <span class="logo-disqus">Disqus</span> Profile, but has not yet confirmed his or her email address.</li> \
				<li><span class="dsq-badge dsq-badge-guest">Guest</span> is not logged in with any account and has not claimed his or her comments.</li> \
				<li class="dsq-help-otheraccts">Other accounts</li> \
				<li><span class="dsq-badge dsq-badge-facebook">Facebook</span> is using his or her Facebook profile via Facebook Connect.</li> \
				<li><span class="dsq-badge dsq-badge-twitter">Twitter</span> is using his or her Twitter profile via Twitter Sign-in.</li> \
				<li><span class="dsq-badge dsq-badge-openid">OpenID</span> is using his or her OpenID.</li> \
			</ul> \
		';

		this.popModal(html, 'Help: Types of Commenters', post_id);
		return;
	};

	this.permalink = function(post_id) {
		var header = 'Link to this comment';
		var body = '<strong>You are anchored to</strong>:<br />' + document.location.protocol + '//' + document.location.host + document.location.pathname + document.location.search + '#comment-' + post_id;

		this.popModal(body, header, post_id);
	};

	this.login = function(header, body) {
		var h = header || 'Login or Register';
		var b = body || '';
		b += Dsq.Templates.frameLogin({id: 'dsq-popup-login'});
		b += '</iframe>'; // HACK: Sometimes there is something funky with the IFRAME SRC that causes no end tag
		this.popModal(b, h, null, true, 'dsq-popup-login');
	};

	this.blacklist = function(id) {
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[id];
		var userData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][_meta.user_key];
		var title = 'Add to Blacklist';
		var message = ' \
		Adding this person to the blacklist will block him or her from commenting on this site. Check the following types that you would like to add to the blacklist:'
		+ (userData['registered'] ?
			'<div class="dsq-blacklist-option"> \
				<input id="dsq-blacklist-username" type="checkbox" checked> \
				<label for="dsq-blacklist-username"><strong>Username</strong>: ' + userData['username'] + '</label> \
			</div>'
			: '')
		+ (_meta.email ?
			'<div class="dsq-blacklist-option"> \
				<input id="dsq-blacklist-email" type="checkbox" checked> \
				<label for="dsq-blacklist-email"><strong>Email address</strong>: ' + _meta.email + '</label> \
			</div>'
			: '')
		+ '<div class="dsq-blacklist-option"> \
			<input id="dsq-blacklist-ip" type="checkbox" onclick="Dsq.$(\'dsq-blacklist-ip-warning\').style.display=\'block\'"> \
			<label for="dsq-blacklist-ip"><strong>IP address</strong>: ' + _meta.ip + '</label> \
		</div> \
		';

		message += ' \
			<p id="dsq-blacklist-ip-warning" style="display:none">	\
				Note: Blocking this person\'s IP address may also unintentionally prevent others, who share his/her IP address, from commenting on this site. \
				This may include people who are sharing the same computer, living in the same house, or using the same Internet provider. Only block an IP address as a last resort. \
			</p> \
		';

		message += ' \
			<p style="text-align:center"><button onclick="Dsq.Post.blockUser(' + id + '); this.disabled=true; this.innerHTML=\'Just one moment...\'">Add to Blacklist</button></p> \
		';

		Dsq.Popup.popModal(message, title);
	};

	this.remoteAccountSettings = function() {
		var body = '';
		// Set up IFrame.
		var params = {};
		var base_url = 'http://disqus.com/forums/jackandjillpolitics/_auth/embed/remote_settings/';
		var attributes = {id: 'dsq-popup-account-settings'};
		if (typeof disqus_frame_theme != 'undefined') {
			params['theme'] = disqus_frame_theme;
		}

		body = Dsq.Templates._frameGeneric(base_url, params, attributes);
		this.popModal(body, 'Account Settings', null, true, 'dsq-popup-account-settings');
	};

	this.popModal = function(message, title, post_id, use_listener, extra_classes) {
		var container = document.createElement('div');
		var header, body;

		Dsq.Popup._closePopup(null, true);

		if(typeof(title) == 'undefined') { title = ''; }
		if(typeof(use_listener) == 'undefined') { use_listener = true; }

		if(post_id) {
			container.id = 'dsq-popup-message-' + post_id;
		} else {
			container.id = 'dsq-popup-message';
		}

		header = title;
		body = message;

		container.innerHTML = Dsq.Templates.popupModal(header, body);
		Dsq.Popup.initPopup(container, post_id, 'message', extra_classes);
		if(use_listener) {
			Dsq.Popup.popupListener = Dsq.Utils.addEventListener(document, 'mouseup', Dsq.Popup._closePopup);
		}
	};

	this.popAlert = this.popModal;

	this.loading = function(post_id) {
		var title = Dsq.Strings.JUST_A_MOMENT;
		var body = '<div style="text-align:center; padding: 5px 0 10px 0"><img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/loading.gif" alt="" /></div>'
		Dsq.Popup.lightbox(body, title, post_id);
	};

	this.lightbox = function(message, title, post_id) {
		// Wraps Dsq.Popup.popModal

		var overlay = document.createElement('div');
		overlay.id = 'dsq-overlay';
		overlay.className = 'dsq-overlay';
		Dsq.$b.appendChild(overlay);
		
		Dsq.Popup.popModal(message, title, post_id, false, 'dsq-lightbox');
	};

	this.popProfile = function(post_id, userKey) {
		var post = Dsq.jsonData['posts'][post_id];
		if (post && post.has_been_anonymized) {
			Dsq.Popup.popModal('This message was anonymized by its previous owner.', 'Anonymized', post_id);
			return;
		}

		if(post_id) {
			userKey = Dsq.jsonData['posts'][post_id].user_key;	
		}
		var userData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][userKey];
		var elId = 'dsq-popup-profile-' + userKey;
		var container = document.createElement('div');

		if(this.activePopup.el) {
			this._closePopup(null, true);
			if(this.activePopup.linkClicked) {
				this.activePopup.linkClicked = false;
				return;
			}
		}

		container.id = elId;
		container.innerHTML = Dsq.Templates.popupProfile(userKey);

		this.initPopup(container, post_id, 'profile');
		this.popupListener = Dsq.Utils.addEventListener(document, 'mouseup', this._closePopup);

		if(!this.profileCache[userKey]) {
			Dsq.Utils.execScript('http://disqus.com/embed/profile.js'
				+ '?username=' + userKey
				+ '&anon=' + (userData['registered'] ? 0 : 1)
				+ '&f=' + Dsq.jsonData['request'].forum);
		} else {
			this.updateProfile(userKey);
		}
	};

	this._closePopup = function(e, force) {
		var activePopup = Dsq.Popup.activePopup.el;
		var id = Dsq.Popup.activePopup.id;
		var link = 'dsq-avatar-' + id; // HACK: Specific to profile toggle target

		// HACK: This event should be gone if there is no active popup.
		if(!activePopup) {
			return;
		}
		if(force || !Dsq.Popup.isClicked(e, activePopup.id)) {
			// TODO: This is breaking iE?
			if(Dsq.Popup.popupListener) {
				Dsq.Utils.removeEventListener(Dsq.Popup.popupListener);
			}
			
			// Kill overlay
			var overlay = Dsq.$('dsq-overlay');
			if(overlay) { Dsq.Utils.deleteNode(overlay); }
			
			try {
				Dsq.Utils.deleteNode(activePopup);
			} catch(e) {
				// HACK: IE6 throws an error when using deleteNode() with a node containing a <table> in the html.
				activePopup.parentNode.removeChild(activePopup);
			}
			Dsq.Popup.activePopup = {};
		}

		if(!force && Dsq.Popup.isClicked(e, link)) {
 			Dsq.Popup.activePopup.linkClicked = true;
		}

	};

	this.initPopup = function(popup, post_id, type, extra_classes) {
		popup.className = 'dsq-popup dsq-popup-' + type + ' ' + (extra_classes ? extra_classes : '');
		if(Dsq.Utils.ie6 || Dsq.Utils.ie7) {
			// HACK: We can't modify the body before it's ready, so we need
			//       to use an IE-safe "DOMReady" workaround before loading
			//       our popup.
			Dsq.Utils.execOnReady(function() {Dsq.$b.appendChild(popup); });
		} else {
			Dsq.$b.appendChild(popup);
		}

		popup.style.display = 'block';

		var xPos = (Dsq.Utils.getWindowSize()[0] - popup.offsetWidth) / 2;
		var yPos = (Dsq.Utils.getWindowSize()[1] - popup.offsetHeight) / 2;

		if(Dsq.Utils.ie6) {
			yPos += Dsq.Utils.getScrollPos()[1];
		}

		popup.style.left = xPos + 'px';
		popup.style.top = yPos + 'px';

		Dsq.Popup.activePopup = {
			'el' : popup,
			'id' : post_id,
			'type': type,
			'linkClicked' : false
		};
	};

	this.isClicked = function(e, id) {
		var t = e.target || e.srcElement;
		while(t && t.parentNode) {
			if(t.id == id) {
				return true;
			}

			t = t.parentNode;
		}
		return false;
	};
};
// Dsq.Popup

/**
 * Dsq.Templates
 */
Dsq.Templates = new function() {
	/*
	 * Counter keeping track of the number of posts iterated over.
	 */
	this.postLoopCounter = 0;
	this.filters = {};
	this.addPostContainer = 'dsq-post-add';
	this.textareaContainer = 'dsq-post-add';

	this.registerTemplate = function(name, func) {
		this['$$_' + name] = func;

		if(typeof DsqLocal.Filters != 'undefined'
		&& typeof DsqLocal.Filters[name] == 'function') {
			// Push filters to this.filters to unify code.
			this.filters[name] = this.filters[name] || [];
			this.filters[name].push(DsqLocal.Filters[name]);
		}

		this[name] = function() {
			var ret;

			if(typeof DsqLocal.Templates != 'undefined'
			&& typeof DsqLocal.Templates[name] == 'function') {
				ret = DsqLocal.Templates[name].apply(this, arguments);
			}

			if(ret === undefined) {
				ret = this['$$_' + name].apply(this, arguments);
			}

			if(this.filters[name]) {
				var args = [ret];

				args.push.apply(args, arguments);
				for(var i = 0; i < this.filters[name].length; i++) {
					ret = this.filters[name][i].apply(this, args);
				}
			}

			return ret;
		};
	};

	this.registerFilter = function(name, func) {
		this.filters[name] = this.filters[name] || [];
		this.filters[name].push(func);
	};

	/**
	 * Dsq.Templates.Filters
	 */
	this.Filters = new function() {
		this.commentContainer = function(post_id, s) {
			var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
			var classes = [];
			if(Dsq.jsonData.request.page > 1) {
				classes.push('dsq-append');
			}

			//
			// Extra classes used for custom themes
			//

			if(_meta.depth) {
				classes.push('dsq-comment-child', 'dsq-depth-' + _meta.depth, 'dsq-parent-is-' + _meta.parent_post_id);
			}


			//

			if(_meta.author_is_creator) {
				// TODO: We need to deprecate the "special" class since it is not properly prefixed.
				classes.push('special', 'dsq-special');
			}
			if(_meta.author_is_moderator) {
				classes.push('dsq-moderator');
			}
			classes.push(['dsq-odd', 'dsq-even'][Dsq.Templates.postLoopCounter % 2]);

			s = s.substring(0, s.lastIndexOf('>'));
			return s + ' class="dsq-comment ' + classes.join(' ') + '" style="margin-left:' + _meta.depth*30 + 'px">';
		};

		this.commentContent = function(post_id, s) {
			var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
			if (_meta.killed) {
				return '<em>Comment removed.</em>';
			} else if (!_meta.approved) {
				return '<em>This comment was flagged for review.</em>';
			}

			s = s.replace(Dsq.MEDIA_POST_RE, Dsq.MediaPostHandler);
			return s;
		};
	};

	//
	// Thread
	//
	// TODO: These need to be stripped of all Django template tags.

	this.authPost = function() {
		if (!Dsq.jsonData.context.show_reply) {
			return '';
		}
		var result = [];
		result = result.concat([
				'<div id="dsq-auth"',
						Dsq.jsonData.integration.reply_position ? 'class="dsq-auth-bottom"' : '',
						'>',
					'<div class="dsq-by">',
						'<a href="http://disqus.com" target="_blank">',
							(Dsq.jsonData.integration.disqus_logo ?
								Dsq.Utils.interpolate('<img src="%(media_url)s/images/embed/by-disqus.png" alt="discussion by DISQUS">') :
								Dsq.Utils.interpolate('<img src="%(media_url)s/images/embed/dsq-button-120x19.png" alt="discussion by DISQUS">')
							),
						'</a>',
					'</div>',
					'<div class="dsq-auth-header">',
						'<h3 id="dsq-add-new-comment" class="dsq-h3-addcomment">',
								Dsq.Strings.ADD_NEW_COMMENT,
						'</h3>',
						'<div id="dsq-login">',
						(!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated && Dsq.jsonData.forum.allow_anon_post
								? '<p class="dsq-login-message" id="dsq-login-message">You are commenting as a <a class="dsq-help" title="Click for more information" href="#" onclick="Dsq.Popup.helpBadges(); return false">Guest</a>. You may select one to log into:</p>'
								: '')
		]);
		if (!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated) {
			result = result.concat([
							Dsq.Utils.interpolate(
								'<a id="dsq-login-toggle" href="%(disqus_url)s%(login_url)s?next=article:%(thread_id)s" onclick="Dsq.Popup.login(); return false"><img class="dsq-login-icon" src="%(media_url)s/images/dsq-profile-btn.png" title="%(log_into)s" alt="%(log_into)s"/></a>',
								{login_url: Dsq.Urls.LOGIN, thread_id: Dsq.jsonData.thread.id, log_into: Dsq.Strings.LOG_INTO_DISQUS}
								),
							'&nbsp; ',
							(Dsq.jsonData.context.use_fb_connect ?
								'<div id="dsq-fbc-login" onlogin="DisqusFbcParentController.onLogin()" size="medium" background="light" length="short" style="display:inline; margin-right:7px"></div>' :
								''
							),
							(Dsq.jsonData.context.use_twitter_signin ?
								Dsq.Utils.interpolate(
									'<div id="dsq-twitter-login" class="dsq-twitter-login" onclick="Dsq.Twitter.startTwitterConnect();" style="display:inline; cursor: pointer"><img src="%(media_url)s/images/twitter-signin-short.png" style="margin-right:7px" /></div>', {}) : ''),
							(Dsq.jsonData.context.use_openid ?
								Dsq.Utils.interpolate(
									'<div id="dsq-openid-login" class="dsq-openid-login" onclick="Dsq.OpenID.requestURL();" style="display:inline; cursor:pointer;"><img src="%(media_url)s/images/openid-login-button.png"/></div>', {}
								) : '')
			]);
		}
		result = result.concat([
						'</div>', // dsq-login
					'</div>', // dsq-auth-header
					'<div id="dsq-authenticated" class="dsq-authenticated" ',
						Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated ? 'style="display:block"' : '',
						'>',
						'<div class="dsq-authenticated-pic">',
								Dsq.Utils.interpolate('<a href="%(url)s" title="%(request_display_username)s">' +
																			'<img class="dsq-post-avatar" src="%(avatar_url)s" alt="" /></a>',
																			{avatar_url: Dsq.Urls.REQUEST_USER_AVATAR,
																			url: (Dsq.jsonData.request.is_remote
																					 ? Dsq.jsonData.request.url
																					 : Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + Dsq.Urls.REQUEST_USER_PROFILE) }),
						'</div>',
						'<div class="dsq-authenticated-info">',
							'<ul>',
								'<li>',
									(Dsq.jsonData.request.is_remote
										? Dsq.FmtStrings.LOGGED_IN_AS(
												Dsq.Utils.interpolate('<a href="%(url)s" title="%(request_display_username)s">%(request_display_username)s</a>', {url:Dsq.jsonData.request.url})
										  )
										: Dsq.FmtStrings.LOGGED_IN_AS(
												Dsq.Utils.interpolate('<a href="%(disqus_url)s%(profile_url)s" title="%(request_display_username)s">%(request_display_username)s</a>')
											)
									),
								'</li>',
								'<li class="logout">',
									(!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_remote
										? Dsq.Utils.interpolate('<img class="dsq-login-icon" src="%(media_url)s/images/dsqicon12.png" alt="%(logged_in_as)s"/>&nbsp',
											{logged_in_as: Dsq.FmtStrings.LOGGED_IN_AS(Dsq.jsonData.request.display_username)})
										: ''),

									(!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_remote
										? Dsq.Utils.interpolate('<a href="%(disqus_url)s%(logout_url)s?ctkn=%(csrf_token)s" title="%(logout_from_disqus)s">',
											{logout_url: Dsq.Urls.LOGOUT, csrf_token: Dsq.CSRF_TOKEN, logout_from_disqus: Dsq.FmtStrings.LOGOUT_FROM('DISQUS')})
										: ((Dsq.jsonData.request.remote_domain == 'twitter')
												? Dsq.Utils.interpolate('using Twitter (<a href="%(disqus_url)s%(logout_url)s?ctkn=%(csrf_token)s" title="Logout">Logout</a>)',
												 {logout_url: Dsq.Urls.LOGOUT, csrf_token: Dsq.CSRF_TOKEN})
												: ((Dsq.jsonData.request.remote_domain == 'openid')
													 ? Dsq.Utils.interpolate('using OpenID (<a href="%(disqus_url)s%(logout_url)s?ctkn=%(csrf_token)s" title="Logout">Logout</a>)',
													 {logout_url: Dsq.Urls.LOGOUT, csrf_token: Dsq.CSRF_TOKEN})
													 : ''
													)
											)
									),

									(!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_remote ? Dsq.FmtStrings.LOGOUT_FROM('<span class="logo-disqus">DISQUS</span>') : ''),
									'</a>',
								'</li>',
							'</ul>',
						'</div>',
					'</div>'
		]);
		if (Dsq.jsonData.context.use_fb_connect) {
			result = result.concat([
					'<div id="dsq-fbc-authenticated" class="dsq-authenticated">',
						'<div id="dsq-fbc-profilepic" class="dsq-authenticated-pic" uid="loggedinuser" type="FB.XFBML.ProfilePic" size="square" facebook-logo="true"></div>',
						'<div class="dsq-authenticated-info">',
							'<ul>',
								'<li>',
									'Logged in as <span id="dsq-fbc-name" uid="loggedinuser" type="FB.XFBML.Name" linked="true" useyou="false"></span>',
								'</li>',
								'<li class="logout">using Facebook Connect <a href="#" onclick="javascript:DisqusFbcParentController.logout();return false;">(Logout)</a></li>',
							'</ul>',
						'</div>',
					'</div>'
			]);
		}
		result = result.concat([
				'</div>', // dsq-auth
				'<div id="dsq-toolbar-items">',
				'</div>'
		]);
		result = result.concat([
					//
					//
					//
				((!Dsq.jsonData.forum.allow_anon_post && !Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated) ?
					// Needs to be translated:
					('<p id="dsq-no-anon-msg">Required: Please log into <span class="logo-disqus">Disqus</span> ' +
					(Dsq.jsonData.context.use_fb_connect ? 'or connect with Facebook ' : '') +
					(Dsq.jsonData.context.use_twitter_signin ? 'or sign in with Twitter ' : '') +
					(Dsq.jsonData.context.use_openid ? 'or sign in using OpenID ' : '') +
					Dsq.Utils.interpolate('to comment on <strong>%(forum_name)s</strong>.</p>')) :
					''
				),
				'<div id="dsq-post-add"></div>',
				'<div style="margin:10px 0">',
				((Dsq.jsonData.forum.use_media) ?
						'<a href="#" id="dsq-media-link" onclick="Dsq.Post.showMenu(this, false, \'media\'); return false">' + Dsq.Strings.USE_MEDIA + ' <small>&#9660;</small></a>' :
						''),
				'</div>'
		]);
		return result.join('');
	};


	this.header = function() {

		var html = '\<h3 id="dsq-comments-count" class="dsq-h3-commentcount">\
	 <span id="dsq-num-posts">142</span> Comments\
	 &nbsp;\
	 <span class="dsq-item-feed">\
	 <a href="http://jackandjillpolitics.disqus.com/let8217s_get_in_some_trouble_today_black_people_and_8216class8217/latest.rss"><img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/embed/bullet-feed.png"></a>\
	 </span>\
	 </h3>\
	 <div id="dsq-options" style="margin:15px 0">\
	 <span class="dsq-item-sort">\
	 Sort by\
	 <select id="dsq-sort-select" onchange="Dsq.Thread.sortBy(this.value);">\
	 <option value="hot" selected="selected">Popular now</option>\
	 <option value="best" >Best Rating</option>\
	 <option value="newest" >Newest first</option>\
	 <option value="oldest" >Oldest first</option>\
	 </select>\
	 &nbsp;\
	 </span>\
	 <span class="dsq-item-cp"><a href="http://jackandjillpolitics.disqus.com/let8217s_get_in_some_trouble_today_black_people_and_8216class8217/">Community Page</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>\
	 <span class="dsq-item-subscribe">\
	 <img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/embed/email.png" style="width:12px;height:12px;vertical-align:middle">\
	 <span id="dsq-subscribe">\
	 <a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Thread.subscribe(1); return false">Subscribe by email</a>\
	 </span>\
	 </span>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-alerts">\
	 <p><a href="http://disqus.com/profile/login/?next=article:8019133" onclick="Dsq.Popup.login(); return false">You must log into your Disqus Profile in order to post comments.</a></p>\
	 </div>\
		';

		

		
		if (Dsq.jsonData.request.is_moderator) { 
			html = ' \
			<div class="dsq-alert-message dsq-upgrade-message"> \
				<strong>Disqus upgrade available.</strong> Hi ' + Dsq.jsonData.request.display_username + ', this message is being displayed to you because you are a moderator of this site. <a href="#" onclick="Dsq.$(\'dsq-upgrade-message\').style.display=\'block\';this.style.display=\'none\';return false">Click here for details.</a> \
				<div style="display:none; margin-top:10px;" id="dsq-upgrade-message"> \
					A new theme is available with added features. <a href="http://disqus.com/comments/settings/' + Dsq.jsonData.forum.url + '/?p=customize">To change your theme, click here</a> and choose the theme Narcissus. \
					If you do not upgrade, you are missing out on features such as: real-time commenting, new sign-in integrations, and an upgrade interface. \
					<strong>This message will automatically go away in one week.</strong> \
				</div> \
			</div> \
			' + html; 
		}
		return html;
	};

	this.footer = function() {
		var html = Dsq.Templates.pagination();

		
			html += Dsq.Templates.authPost();
		

		html += Dsq.Templates.reactions();

		
			html += Dsq.Templates.trackbacks();
		

		return html;
	};

	this.pagination = function() {
		var html = '';
		
		if (Dsq.$('dsq-pagination')) { Dsq.$('dsq-pagination').innerHTML = ''; }
		if (!Dsq.jsonData.thread.paginate) { return ''; }

		//
		// TODO: num_paginator still uses the template tag for pagination, 
		// 		while append_paginator does it all in JavaScript.
		//		This should all be in JavaScript.
		//

		if (Dsq.jsonData.thread.num_pages > 1 && Dsq.jsonData.request.page < Dsq.jsonData.thread.num_pages) {
			html = ' \<a class="dsq-paginate-append-text" href="#" onclick="Dsq.Thread.paginate(Dsq.jsonData.request.page + 1, this); return false">Show more comments...</a>\
	 <button class="dsq-button-small dsq-paginate-append-button" onclick="Dsq.Thread.paginate(Dsq.jsonData.request.page + 1, this);">Load more comments</button>\
			';
		}
		
		if (Dsq.$('dsq-pagination')) {
			Dsq.$('dsq-pagination').innerHTML = html;
			return '';
		} else {
			return '<div id="dsq-pagination" class="dsq-pagination">' + html + '</div>';
		}
	};

	this.trackbacks = function() {
		var html = '';

		if(typeof DsqLocal != 'undefined' && DsqLocal.trackback_url && DsqLocal.trackbacks) {
			var trackbacks = DsqLocal.trackbacks;
			var trackback_url = DsqLocal.trackback_url;
		} else {
			var trackbacks = [
			
			
			];
			var trackback_url = 'http://jackandjillpolitics.disqus.com/let8217s_get_in_some_trouble_today_black_people_and_8216class8217/trackback/';
		}

		html += '<div class="dsq-item-trackback">Trackback URL&nbsp;&nbsp;<input class="dsq-trackback-url" onclick="this.select()" readonly="true" value="' + trackback_url + '"></div>';

		if(trackbacks.length) {
			html += '<ul id="dsq-references">'
			for(var i = 0; i < trackbacks.length; i++) {
				var trackback = trackbacks[i];
				html += '<li><cite><a href="' + trackback.author_url + '" rel="nofollow">' + trackback.author_name + '</a></cite> \
						<p class="dsq-meta">' + trackback.date + '</p> \
						<p class="dsq-content">' + trackback.excerpt + '</p></li>';
			}
			html += '</ul>';
			html = '<h3 class="dsq-h3-trackbacks">Trackbacks</h3>' + html;
		}

		return html;
	}

	this.showRetweets = function(id, limit, element_id /* Optional */) {
		var source, html = '';

		for (var i = 0, reaction; reaction = Dsq.jsonData.reactions[i]; i++) {
			if (reaction.id === id) {
				source = reaction.retweets;
			}
		}

		if (source) {
			if (limit === 0) {
				limit = source.length;
			}

			for (var j = 0; j < limit; j++) {
				var rt = source[j];
				html += '<a href="' + rt.url + '">' + rt.author_name + '</a>'	+ ((j === (limit - 1)) ? '.' : ', ');
			}
		}

		if (element_id === undefined) {
			return html;
		}

		var element = document.getElementById(element_id);
		element.innerHTML = html;
		return element;
	};

	this.showMoreReactions = function(reactions, has_more, start, limit) {
		var link = document.getElementById('dsq-show-more-reactions');
		var container = link.parentNode;
		container.removeChild(link);

		for (var i = 0, reaction; reaction = reactions[i]; i++) {
			var el = Dsq.Templates.generateReactionHTML(reaction);
			if (el) {
				container.innerHTML += el;
			}
		}

		if (has_more) {
			var d = Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url;
			var f = Dsq.jsonData.forum.url;
			var t = Dsq.jsonData.thread.id;
			var s = start;
			var l = limit;

			var handler = 'Dsq.Utils.execScript(\'' + d + '/forums/' + f + '/more_reactions.js?t=' + t + '&s=' + s + '&l=' + l + '\', true); return false;';
			container.innerHTML += '<li id="dsq-show-more-reactions"><a href="#" onclick="' + handler + '">Show more reactions</a></li>';
		}
	};

	this.generateReactionHTML = function(reaction) {
		if (reaction.body === null || reaction.body == '') {
			return;
		}

		if (reaction.author_name === '') {
			reaction.author_name = '&nbsp;';
		}

		if (reaction.url === '') {
			reaction.url = reaction.get_service_url;
		}

		/* Reaction HTML begins */
		var item = '<li class="dsq-reaction" id="dsq-reaction-' + reaction.id + '">'
			+ '<div class="dsq-reaction-header">'
			+ '<div class="dsq-header-avatar">';

		if (reaction.author_url && reaction.author_url !== '') {
			item += '<a target="_blank" href="' + reaction.author_url +'">';
		} else {
			item += '<a target="_blank" href="#" onclick="return false;">';
		}

		if (reaction.avatar_url && reaction.avatar_url !== '') {
			item += '<img src="' + reaction.avatar_url + '"/>';
		} else {
			item += '<img src="' + Dsq.jsonData.media_url + '/images/noavatar32.png"/>';
		}

		var service_icon = (reaction.get_service_name == 'trackback' || reaction.get_service_name == 'pingback' ? 'rss' : reaction.get_service_name.replace(' ', ''));
		item += '<img class="dsq-service-icon" src="' + Dsq.jsonData.media_url + '/images/reactions/services/' + service_icon + '.png"/>'
			+ '</a></div>'
			+ '<cite><span>' + reaction.author_name + '</span></cite>'
			+ '<span class="dsq-header-meta"><a class="dsq-header-time">' + reaction.date_created + '</a></span>'
			+ '</div><div class="dsq-reaction-body">'
			+ '<div class="dsq-reaction-message">' + reaction.body + '</div>'
			+ '<div class="dsq-reaction-footer">From <a class="dsq-service-name" target="_blank" href="' + reaction.url + '">' + reaction.get_service_name + '</a> '
			+ 'via ' + (reaction.source == 'backtype' ? '<a href="http://backtype.com/">BackType</a>' : '<a href="' + reaction.source_url + '">UberVU</a>')
			+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.is_moderator || Dsq.jsonData.request.is_global_moderator ? '&nbsp;&bull;&nbsp;<a class="dsq-hide-reaction" href="#" onclick="Dsq.Reaction.hide(' + reaction.id + '); return false;">Hide</a>' : '') + '</div></div>';

		if(reaction.retweets) {
			var num_retweets = reaction.retweets.length;
			if (num_retweets > 0) {
				item += '<div class="dsq-reaction-retweets">';
				if (num_retweets == 1) {
					item += 'One more retweet from <a href="' + reaction.retweets[0].url + '">'  + reaction.retweets[0].author_name + '</a>';
				} else {
					item += (num_retweets + ' more retweets from ');

					item += '<span id="dsq-reaction-retweets-' + reaction.id + '">';
					var n_tweets = (num_retweets > 15) ? 15 : num_retweets;
					item += Dsq.Templates.showRetweets(reaction.id, n_tweets);

					if (n_tweets != num_retweets) {
						item += '</span> <a onclick="Dsq.Templates.showRetweets(' + reaction.id + ', 0, \'dsq-reaction-retweets-' + reaction.id + '\');'
							+ 'this.parentNode.removeChild(this); return false;" href="#">Show all</a>';
					}
				}
				item += '</div>';
			}
		}

		item += '</li>'; /* Reaction HTML ends */
		return item;
	};

	this.reactions = function() {
		var html, reaction;

		if (Dsq.jsonData.reactions === undefined || Dsq.jsonData.reactions.length === 0) {
			return '';
		}

		html = '';
		for (var i = 0; reaction = Dsq.jsonData.reactions[i]; i++) {
			var item = Dsq.Templates.generateReactionHTML(reaction);
			if (item) {
				html += item;
			}
		}

		if (Dsq.jsonData.has_more_reactions) {
			var d = Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url;
			var f = Dsq.jsonData.forum.url;
			var t = Dsq.jsonData.thread.id;
			var s = Dsq.jsonData.reactions_start;
			var l = Dsq.jsonData.reactions_limit;

			var handler = 'Dsq.Utils.execScript(\'' + d + '/forums/' + f + '/more_reactions.js?t=' + t + '&s=' + s + '&l=' + l + '\', true); return false;';
			html += '<li id="dsq-show-more-reactions"><a href="#" onclick="' + handler + '">Show more reactions</a></li>';
		}

		return '<h3 class="dsq-h3-reactions">Reactions</h3><ul id="dsq-reactions" class="dsq-reactions">' + html + '</ul>';
	};
	
	this.missingPermissions = function() {
		return '	<p><a href="http://disqus.com/profile/login/?next=article:8019133" onclick="Dsq.Popup.login(); return false">You must log into your Disqus Profile in order to post comments.</a></p> \n';
	};

	//
	// Post
	//

	this.prependPost = function(post_id) {
		var html = '<div id="comment-' + post_id + '"></div>';
		return html;
	};

	this.appendPost = function(post_id) {
		var html = '<div id="dsq-comment-reply-' + post_id + '"></div>';
		return html;
	};

	this.postPrependHeader = function(post_id) {
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
		var userData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][_meta.user_key];

		var _includeServices = function() {
			var userServices = Dsq.Post.getUserServices(null, post_id);
			var html = '';
			var hiddenThreshold = 3; // Define # of services to show before stuffing them in hidden div

			for(var i = 0; i < userServices.length; i++) {
				html +=
				(i == hiddenThreshold
					? '<li id="dsq-drop-hidden-' + post_id +'" class="dsq-drop-hidden"><ul>'
					: '')
				+ '<li class="dsq-drop-services"> \
					<a class="dsq-service-' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '" href="' + userServices[i].url + '" target="_blank"> \
						<img src="' + Dsq.jsonData.media_url + '/images/embed/services/' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '.png" alt="' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '">'
					+ userServices[i].name
					+ '</a> \
				</li>';
			}

			if(i >= hiddenThreshold) {
				html += '</ul></li> \
				<li id="dsq-drop-more-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-drop-more"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.dropProfileMore(this, '+ post_id + '); return false"><small>&#9660;</small></a></li> \
				';
			}
			return html;
		};

		return ' \
			<div class="dsq-header-avatar" id="dsq-header-avatar-' + post_id + '" onmouseover="Dsq.Post.dropProfile(' + post_id + ')"> \
				<a id="dsq-avatar-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-avatar" href="' + userData.url + '" onclick="Dsq.Popup.popProfile(' + post_id + '); return false;">'
			+ (Dsq.jsonData.forum.show_avatar
				? '<img src="' + Dsq.jsonData.users[_meta.user_key].avatar + '" alt="" />'
				: '')
			+ '</a>'
			+ '</div> \
		';
	};

	this.postAppendHeader = function(post_id) {
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];

		return ''
			+ (_meta.author_is_moderator
				? '<img class="dsq-mod-star" src="http://media.disqus.com/images/bullet-star.png" title="Moderator" alt="" />'
				: '')
			+ '<span class="dsq-header-meta"> \
				<a id="dsq-time-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-header-time" href="#comment-' + post_id + '" title="Permalink">' + _meta.date + '</a> \
			</span>';
	};

	this.preBody = function(post_id) {
		return '';
	}

	this.postBody = function(post_id) {
		// TODO: Deprecate flagging conditional
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
		return ''
			+ (_meta.edited
				? '<p class="dsq-editedtxt">(Edited by a moderator)</p>'
				: '')
			;
	};

	this.postFooter = function(post_id) {
		// TODO: Use media should be conditional
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
		if(_meta.killed) { return ''; }

		return ' \
			<div class="dsq-comment-footer" id="dsq-comment-footer-' + post_id + '"> \
				<div id="dsq-points-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-likedtxt">'
				+ (_meta.points
					? _meta.points + Dsq.Utils.pluralize(_meta.points, ' person', ' people') + ' liked this comment.'
					: '')
				+ '</div>'
				+ '<ul class="dsq-comment-options dsq-list-style">'
				+ (_meta.votable
					? '<li class="dsq-list-first dsq-rate" id="dsq-rate-cont-' + post_id + '">'
					+ (!_meta.up_voted
						? '<a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.rate(this, ' + post_id + ', 1); return false;">Like</a>'
						: 'You liked this.') + '</li>'
					: '')
				+ '<li class="dsq-report' + (!_meta.votable ? ' dsq-list-first' : '') + '" id="dsq-post-report-' + post_id + '"><a href="#" class="dsq-post-report" onclick="Dsq.Post.report(' + post_id + ', false); return false;">Report</a></li> \
				</ul> \
				<ul class="dsq-list-style">'
				+ (_meta.can_reply
					? '<li class="dsq-list-first"><a href="#" id="dsq-reply-link-' + post_id +'" onclick="Dsq.Post.toggleReply(this, ' + post_id +'); return false;">Reply</a></li>'
					: '')
				+ (_meta.can_reply && !_meta.has_replies && _meta.from_request_user
					? '<li id="dsq-edit-el-' + post_id + '"><a id="dsq-edit-link-' + post_id + '" href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.edit(this, ' + post_id + '); return false;">Edit</a></li>'
					: '')
				+ '<li class="' + (!_meta.can_reply ? 'dsq-list-first' : '') + '" id="dsq-more-el-' + post_id + '"><a id="dsq-more-link-' + post_id + '" href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.showMenu(this, ' + post_id + ', \'more\'); return false">More <small>&#9660;</small></a></li>'
				+ (Dsq.jsonData.forum.use_media
					? '<li id="dsq-media-el-' + post_id +'" style="display:none"><a id="dsq-media-link-' + post_id + '" href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.showMenu(this, ' + post_id + ', \'media\'); return false">Use Media <small>&#9660;</small></a></li>'
					: '')
				+ '</ul>'
				+ '<div id="dsq-reply-bar-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-reply-bar" style="display:none"> \
						<div id="dsq-reply-bar-items-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-reply-bar-items"> \
						</div> \
						<div id="dsq-reply-bar-auth-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-reply-bar-auth"> \
							 \
								 \
									<a href="#" class="dsq-help dsq-reply-req-opt" title="You must log into an account in order to comment on Jack and Jill Politics" onclick="Dsq.Popup.helpBadges(); return false">Required:</a> \
								 \
								<img class="dsq-login-icon" src="http://media.disqus.com/images/dsq-favicon-16x16.png" alt="" /> \
								<a id="dsq-reply-login-' + post_id + '" href="http://disqus.com/profile/login/?next=article:8019133" onclick="Dsq.Popup.login(); return false">Login</a> \
								 \
									&nbsp;or&nbsp; \
									<img class="fb_login_image" src="http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/images/fbconnect/login-buttons/connect_light_small_short.gif" alt="Facebook Connect"/> \
									<a href="#" onclick="FB.Connect.requireSession(DisqusFbcParentController.onLogin); return false;">Connect</a> \
								 \
								&nbsp;or&nbsp; \
									<img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/twitter-signin-icon.png" alt="" /> \
									<a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Twitter.startTwitterConnect(); return false">Sign-in</a> \
								 \
								 \
							 \
						</div> \
					</div> \
					<div id="dsq-reply-' + post_id + '"></div> \
			</div> \
		';
	};

	//
	// Iframes
	//

	this._makeAttributes = function(attributes) {
		// Makes a tag attributes string out of an object.
		// Caller is responsible for making sure nothing needs to be escaped.
		var result = [];
		for (key in attributes) {
			result.push(' ' + key + '="' + attributes[key] + '"');
		}
		result = result.join('');
		return result;
	};

	this._frameGeneric = function(base_url, params, attributes) {
		if(typeof(disqus_callback_params) == 'undefined') {
			disqus_callback_params = '';
		}

		var default_params = {
			// TODO: These should be moved to Dsq.jsonData.
			'f'				: 'jackandjillpolitics',
			't'				: 'let8217s_get_in_some_trouble_today_black_people_and_8216class8217',
			// Do we need encodeURIComponent here?
			'ifrs'			: encodeURIComponent(disqus_iframe_css),
			'to_redirect'	: encodeURIComponent(window.location),
			'cbp'			: disqus_callback_params,
			'ff'			: Dsq.Thread.ff,
			'fc'			: Dsq.Thread.fc,
			'ac'			: Dsq.Thread.ac,
			'default_text'	: disqus_default_text
		};

		base_url += '?' + (new Date()).getTime();
		// Add params to default_params.
		if(params) {
			for(var key in params) {
				if(params.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
					default_params[key] = encodeURIComponent(params[key]);
				}
			}
		}
		// Build querystring.
		for(var key in default_params) {
			if(default_params[key] && default_params.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
				base_url += '&' + key + '=' + default_params[key];
			}
		}

		return [
			'<iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" hspace="0" vspace="0" frameborder="0"',
			(' allowtransparency="true" src="' + base_url + '"'),
			this._makeAttributes(attributes),
			'</iframe>'].join('');
	};

	this.frameLogin = function(opt_attributes) {
		var params = {};
		var base_url = 'http://disqus.com/embed/login.html';
		var attributes = opt_attributes || {};
		attributes['class'] = 'dsq-post-login';

		if(typeof disqus_frame_theme != 'undefined') {
			params['theme'] = disqus_frame_theme;
		}
		return this._frameGeneric(base_url, params, attributes);
	};

	this.frameReply = function(post_id, extra_params, attributes) {
		// Returns the HTML for a reply iframe. Called by Dsq.Iframes.setReplyIframeToContainer
		var _meta = (typeof post_id != 'undefined') ? Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id] : false;
		var base_url = Dsq.Urls.REPLY;
		var params = {
			'def_email'		: disqus_def_email,
			'def_name'		: disqus_def_name
		};
		if(extra_params) {
			for(var key in extra_params) {
				if(extra_params.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
					params[key] = extra_params[key];
				}
			}
		}
		if(_meta) {
			params['parent_post'] = post_id;
		}
		if(typeof disqus_per_page != 'undefined') {
			params['per_page'] = disqus_per_page;
		}
		if(typeof disqus_frame_theme != 'undefined') {
			params['theme'] = disqus_frame_theme;
		}
		if(Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated) {
			attributes['class'] += '-authenticated';
		}
		return this._frameGeneric(base_url, params, attributes);
	};

	this.frameEdit = function(post_id) {
		var _meta = (typeof post_id != 'undefined') ? Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id] : false;
		var base_url = 'http://disqus.com/embed/edit.html';
		var params = {
			'p' : post_id
		};
		return this._frameGeneric(base_url, params, {'class': 'dsq-post-edit', 'name': 'dsq-edit_' + post_id + '-frame'});
	};

	//
	// Menus
	//

	this.menuMore = function(post_id) {
		// TODO: "Remove post" button should hide menu.
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
		var userData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][_meta.user_key];
		return ' \
			<li><a href="#comment-' + post_id + '" onclick="Dsq.Popup.permalink(' + post_id + ')">Link</a></li> \
			<li><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Popup.popProfile(' + post_id + '); return false;">Profile</a></li>'
	+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.is_moderator || Dsq.jsonData.request.is_global_moderator
		? '	<li class="dsq-menu-sep"></li>' + (_meta.email ? '<li class="dsq-admin-email">' + _meta.email + '</li>' : '')
		+ '	<li class="dsq-admin-ip">' + _meta.ip + '</li> \
			<li class="dsq-menu-sep"></li>'
		+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.moderator_can_edit
			? ' <li class="dsq-admin-edit"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.edit(this, ' + post_id + '); return false;">Edit Comment</a></li>'
			: '')
		+ ' <li class="dsq-remove"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.removePost(' + post_id + ', 1); return false;">Remove Comment</a></li> \
			<li class="dsq-report-spam"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.reportSpam(' + post_id + '); return false;">Mark Spam</a></li> \
			<li class="dsq-block-user"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Popup.blacklist(' + post_id + '); return false">Block User</a></li>'
		: '');
	};

	this.menuMedia = function(post_id) {
		return ' \
			<li><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.toggleMediaReply(this, ' + post_id + ', \'seesmic\'); return false;">Record video</a></li> \
		';
	};

	this.dropProfile = function(post_id) {
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
		var userData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][_meta.user_key];

		var _includeServices = function() {
			var userServices = Dsq.Post.getUserServices(null, post_id);
			var html = '';
			var hiddenThreshold = 3; // Define # of services to show before stuffing them in hidden div

			for(var i = 0; i < userServices.length; i++) {
				html +=
				(i == hiddenThreshold
					? '<li id="dsq-drop-hidden-' + post_id +'" class="dsq-drop-hidden"><ul>'
					: '')
				+ '<li class="dsq-drop-services"> \
					<a class="dsq-service-' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '" href="' + userServices[i].url + '" target="_blank"> \
						<img src="' + Dsq.jsonData.media_url + '/images/embed/services/' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '.png" alt="' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '">'
					+ userServices[i].name
					+ '</a> \
				</li>';
			}

			if(i >= hiddenThreshold) {
				html += '</ul></li> \
				<li id="dsq-drop-more-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-drop-more"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.dropProfileMore(this, '+ post_id + '); return false"><small>&#9660;</small></a></li> \
				';
			}
			return html;
		};


		var menu = '<li class="dsq-drop-showlnk"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Popup.popProfile(' + post_id + '); return false;">Expand &#8663;</a></li>';
		var pointsMessage = '';
		if (userData['registered']) {
			pointsMessage = 'with ' + userData['points'] + ' points (more points are better).';
		}

		if (userData['is_remote']) {
			var domain = userData['remote_domain_name'];
			menu += '<li class="dsq-drop-badge" title="' + userData['display_name'] + ' is a ' + domain + ' user ' + pointsMessage + '" onclick="Dsq.Popup.helpBadges()">';
			menu += '<span class="dsq-badge-' + domain.toLowerCase() + '">' + domain + '</span></li>';
		} else if (userData['registered']) {
			if (userData['verified']) {
				menu += '<li class="dsq-drop-badge" title="' + userData['display_name'] + ' has a verified commenter profile ' + pointsMessage + '" onclick="Dsq.Popup.helpBadges()">';
				menu += '<span class="dsq-badge-verified">Verified</span></li>';
			} else {
				menu += '<li class="dsq-drop-badge" title="' + userData['display_name'] + ' has a registered, but unverified, commenter profile ' + pointsMessage + '" onclick="Dsq.Popup.helpBadges()">';
				menu += '<span class="dsq-badge-registered">Registered</span></li>';
			}
		} else {
			menu += '<li class="dsq-drop-badge" title="' + userData['display_name'] + ' has not claimed this commenter profile." onclick="Dsq.Popup.helpBadges()"><span class="dsq-badge-guest">Guest</span></li>';
		}

		menu += _includeServices();
		return menu;
	};

	//
	// Popups
	//

	this._popupGeneric = function(content) {
		return ' \
		<div class="dsq-popup-content"> \
			<div class="dsq-popup-top"></div> \
			<div class="dsq-popup-body" class="clearfix"> \
				<div class="dsq-popup-body-padding"> \
					<div class="dsq-popup-header"> \
						<a class="dsq-close-link" href="#" onclick="Dsq.Popup._closePopup(null, true); return false"><img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/modal-close.png" alt="" /></a>'
						+ content['header']
					+ '</div>'
					+ content['body']
					+ '<div class="powered-by"><a href="http://disqus.com/comments/">Powered by <img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/embed/disqus-logo.png" alt="Disqus Comments" style="margin-bottom:-5px" /></a></div> \
				</div> <!-- padding --> \
			</div> <!-- body --> \
			<div class="dsq-popup-bottom"></div> \
		</div> \
		';
	};

	this.popupProfile = function(user_key) {
		var userServices = Dsq.Post.getUserServices(user_key, null);
		var userData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][user_key];
		var headerHtml = '';
		var bodyHtml = '';
		var content = {};

		var _includeServices = function() {
			var html = '';
			for(var i = 0; i < userServices.length; i++) {
				html +=
				(i == 0
					? '<h4>Connections</h4><ul>'
					: '')
				+ '<li> \
					<img src="' + Dsq.jsonData.media_url + '/images/embed/services/' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '.png" alt="' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '" title="' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '" /> \
					<a class="dsq-service-' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '" href="' + userServices[i].url + '" target="_blank">'
					+ userServices[i].name
					+ '</a> \
				</li>'
				+ (i+1 == userServices.length ? '</ul>' : '');
			}
			return html;
		};

		headerHtml = ' \
			<table> \
				<tr> \
					<td> \
						<a class="dsq-profile-userurl" href="' + userData.url + '"><img class="dsq-popup-profile-avatar" src="' + userData['avatar'] + '" alt="" /></a> \
					</td> \
					<td> \
						<div class="dsq-popup-profile-user"> \
							<h3>' + userData['display_name'] + '</h3> \
							<div class="dsq-popup-profile-user-stats" id="dsq-popup-profile-user-stats-' + user_key + '">Loading...</div> \
						</div> \
					</td> \
				</tr> \
			</table> \
		';

		bodyHtml = ' \
			<div class="dsq-popup-profile-state"> \
				This is a&nbsp;<span class="'
					+ (userData['registered']
						? (userData['verified']
							? ' dsq-badge-verified'
							: (userData['is_remote']
								? ' dsq-badge-' + userData['remote_domain_name'].toLowerCase()
								: ' dsq-badge-registered')
							)
							: ' dsq-badge-guest') + '">'
			+ (userData['registered']
				? (userData['verified']
					? 'Verified'
					: (userData['is_remote']
						 ? userData['remote_domain_name']
						 : 'Registered')
					)
				: 'Guest')
			+ '</span>&nbsp;commenter profile.'
			+ '&nbsp;<a class="dsq-profile-userurl" href="' + userData.url + '"><strong>View more comments </strong></a>'
			+ (!userData['points']
				? '<p class="dsq-popup-notice">If this is you, <a href="http://disqus.com/profile" target="_blank">claim it now</a> to manage your comments.</p>'
				: '')
			+ ((userData['registered'] && !userData['verified'] && (Dsq.jsonData.request.username && (Dsq.jsonData.request.username == userData['username'])) && !userData['is_remote'])
				? '<p class="dsq-popup-notice"><strong>Alert</strong>: You have not verified this account. <a href="http://disqus.com/verify">Verify it now.</a></p>'
				: '')
			+ '</div> \
			<div id="dsq-profile-status-' + user_key + '" class="dsq-popup-profile-status" style="display:none"></div> \
			<div class="dsq-popup-profile-snapshot"> \
				<table> \
					<tr> \
						<td> \
							<div id="dsq-popup-profile-active-sites-wrapper-' + user_key + '"> \
								<h4>Most active sites</h4> \
								<ul id="dsq-popup-profile-active-sites-' + user_key + '"> \
									<li>Loading...</li> \
								</ul> \
							</div> \
						</td> \
						<td>'
							+ _includeServices()
							+ '<div id="dsq-popup-profile-moderated-wrapper-' + user_key + '"> \
								<h4>Moderator of</h4> \
								<ul id="dsq-popup-profile-moderated-' + user_key + '"> \
									<li>Loading...</li> \
								</ul> \
							</div> \
						</td> \
					</tr> \
				</table> \
			</div> \
			';

		content = {
			'header': headerHtml,
			'body': bodyHtml
		};

		return this._popupGeneric(content);
	};

	this.popupReblog = function() {
		var headerHtml = '';
		var bodyHtml = '';
		var content = {};

		headerHtml = ' \
			<cite><span>Reblog this comment</span></cite> \
		';

		bodyHtml = ' \
			<div id="dsq-reblog-form" class="dsq-reblog-form"> \
			</div> \
		';

		content = {
			'header': headerHtml,
			'body': bodyHtml
		};

		return this._popupGeneric(content);
	};

	this.popupModal = function(title, message) {
		var headerHtml = '';
		var bodyHtml = '';
		var content = {};

		headerHtml = ' \
			<h3>' + title + '</h3> \
		';

		bodyHtml = message;

		content = {
			'header': headerHtml,
			'body': bodyHtml
		};

		return this._popupGeneric(content);
	};

	this.alertContent = function(name, post_id) {
		var alert = {
			'post_not_approved': {
				'title': 'Comment awaiting approval by a moderator',
				'message': 'Thanks for posting. Your comment must be approved by a moderator before appearing here.'
			},
			'post_has_profile': {
				'title': 'Use your existing commenter profile',
				'message': 'You have just posted your commment as a <span class="dsq-badge dsq-badge-guest">Guest</span>, but you may already have a <span class="dsq-badge dsq-badge-registered">Registered</span> commenter profile.<br /><br /><a href="http://disqus.com/claim">Log in and claim this comment!</a>'
			}
		};
		return alert[name] || false;
	};

	//
	// Actions
	//

	this.voted = function(post_id, points, vote) {
		// Update number of points
		Dsq.$('dsq-points-' + post_id).innerHTML = points + Dsq.Utils.pluralize(points, ' person', ' people') + ' liked this comment.';

		// Update link text
		if(vote) {
			Dsq.$('dsq-rate-cont-' + post_id).innerHTML = 'You liked this.';
		}
	};

	this.subscribed = function(status) {
		var title, message;

		if(status) {
			title = 'Subscribed!';
			message = 'You have subscribed to this comment thread. New comments will be sent directly to your email inbox, where you may read and respond by email.';
			Dsq.$('dsq-subscribe').innerHTML = ' \
				<a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Thread.subscribe(0); return false">Unsubscribe</a> \
			';
		} else {
			title = 'Unsubscribed';
			message = 'You have unsubscribed to this comment thread. New comments will no longer be sent to your email inbox.';
			Dsq.$('dsq-subscribe').innerHTML = ' \
				<a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Thread.subscribe(1); return false">Subscribe by email</a> \
			';
		}

		Dsq.Popup.popModal(message, title);

	};
	
	this.highlighted = function() {
		Dsq.Popup.popModal('This comment has been highlighted.', 'Highlighted comment');
	};

	//
	// Media
	//

	this.mediaSeesmic = function(id, thumb) {
		return ' \
			<div id="dsq-seesmic-' + id + '_preview" class="dsq-seesmic-preview"><a href="http://www.seesmic.com/video/' + id + '" target="_blank" class="see_link">&nbsp;</a> \
				<div style="display:block;width:160px; height:120px; border:none; background-image:url(http://t.seesmic.com/thumbnail/' + thumb + ')"> \
					<div id="dsq-seesmic-' + id + '_hide" class="seePlayOverlay" style="display:none;"><img onclick="see_play_video(\'' + id + '\',false)" src="http://media.disqus.com/images/seesmic/stopOverlay.png" width="50" height="50" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; padding-top: 30px; padding-left: 50px" alt="" /></div> \
					<div id="dsq-seesmic-' + id + '_show" class="seePlayOverlay"><img onclick="see_play_video(\'' + id + '\',true)" src="http://media.disqus.com/images/seesmic/playOverlay.png" width="50" height="50" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border:none; padding-top: 30px; padding-left: 50px" alt="" /></div> \
				</div> \
			</div> \
			<div id="' + id + '_content" style="display:block; width:100%; padding-top:5px"></div> \
		';
	};

	//
	// Callbacks
	//

	this.postComment_onSuccess = function(parent_post_id) {
		// Increment post count
		var num_posts = Dsq.$('dsq-num-posts');
		var total_posts = Dsq.$('dsq-total-posts');
		
		if (num_posts) { 
			num_posts.innerHTML = parseInt(num_posts.innerHTML) + 1;
		}
		if (total_posts) { 
			total_posts.innerHTML = parseInt(total_posts.innerHTML) + 1;
		}
	};
};
// Dsq.Templates


/**
 * Dsq.Post
 */
Dsq.Post = new function() {
	this.openedMenu = {};
	this.menuEventListener = null;
	this.stateReplyToggled = {};
	this.stateEditToggled = {};
	this.stateRecordLink = {};

	/**
	 * Inserts a new post into the document.
	 *
	 * @param after_id {Number}	Insert a post before specified id.  If after_id
	 *							evaluates to false, then post in the front.  If
	 *							after_id is -1, post at the end.
	 */
	this.insert = function(after_id, id, message, author) {
		// Skeleton template from thread_posts.html.
		var skeleton = ' \
			<li id="dsq-comment-%(id)s"> \
				<div id="dsq-comment-header-%(id)s" class="dsq-comment-header"> \
					<cite id="dsq-cite-%(id)s" class="dsq-comment-cite"> \
						<a id="dsq-author-user-%(id)s" href="%(author_url)s" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">%(author_name)s</a> \
					</cite> \
				</div> \
				<div id="dsq-comment-body-%(id)s" class="dsq-comment-body"> \
					<div id="dsq-comment-message-%(id)s" class="dsq-comment-message">%(message)s</div> \
				</div> \
			</li> \
		';
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[id];
		var _user_meta = Dsq.jsonData.users[_meta.user_key];
		var markup = Dsq.Utils.interpolate(skeleton, {
			id: id,
			message: message,
			author_url: _user_meta.blog,
			author_name: _user_meta.display_name
		});
		var div = document.createElement('div');
		markup = markup.replace(Dsq.COMMENTS_RE, Dsq.CommentsHandler);
		div.innerHTML = markup;

		if (after_id === -1) {
			Dsq.$('dsq-comments').appendChild(div);
		} else if (!after_id) {
			Dsq.$('dsq-comments').insertBefore(div, Dsq.$('dsq-comments').firstChild);
		} else if (Dsq.$('dsq-comment-' + after_id)) {
			// Get next node after "after_id", so we can insert before it.
			// If "after_id" is the last comment, the target node is the
			// last node.
			
			// var append_post_id = Dsq.Templates.appendPost(after_id).replace('<div id="','').replace('"></div>', '');
			var append_post_id = 'dsq-append-post-' + after_id;
			var node = Dsq.$(append_post_id);
			while (node = node.nextSibling) {
				if (!node || node.nodeType == 1) { // 1 == Node.ELEMENT_NODE
					break;
				}
			}
			if (!node) {
				node = Dsq.$(append_post_id);
			}
			node.parentNode.insertBefore(div, node);
		}
	};

	this.incrementPostCount = function() {
		
		var num_posts = Dsq.$('dsq-num-posts');
		var total_posts = Dsq.$('dsq-total-posts');

		if (num_posts) {
			num_posts.innerHTML = parseInt(num_posts.innerHTML, 10) + 1;
		}
		if (total_posts) {
			total_posts.innerHTML = parseInt(total_posts.innerHTML, 10) + 1;
		}
	}
	
	this.outlineComment = function(post_id) {
		Dsq.$('dsq-comment-' + post_id).className += ' dsq-comment-outline';
		setTimeout("(function () { Dsq.Post.clearOutlineComment(" + post_id + ") })()", 3000);
	};
	
	this.clearOutlineComment = function(post_id) {
		Dsq.$('dsq-comment-' + post_id).className = Dsq.$('dsq-comment-' + post_id).className.replace('dsq-comment-outline', '');
	};

	this.showMenu = function(el, id, name) {
		var anchorPos = Dsq.Utils.findPos(el);
		var menu = document.createElement('ul');

		if(this.openedMenu) {
			if(this.openedMenu.linkClicked) {
				this.openedMenu.linkClicked = false;
				return;
			}
		}

		switch(name) {
			case 'more':
				menu.innerHTML = Dsq.Templates.menuMore(id);
				break;
			case 'media':
				menu.innerHTML = Dsq.Templates.menuMedia(id);
				break;
			default:
				break;
		}

		// Add menu to document body
		menu.id = 'dsq-menu-' + id;
		menu.className = 'dsq-menu';
		Dsq.$b.appendChild(menu);

		// Position and show
		anchorPos[1] += 15;
		menu.style.left = anchorPos[0] + 'px';
		menu.style.top = anchorPos[1] + 'px';
		menu.style.display = 'block';

		// Set global reference
		this.openedMenu = {
			'el' : menu,
			'id' : id,
			'name' : name,
			'linkClicked' : false
		};

		// Set listener
		this.menuEventListener = Dsq.Utils.addEventListener(document, 'mouseup', this._hideMenu);
	};

	this._hideMenu = function(e) {
		var el = e.target || e.srcElement;
		var openedMenu = Dsq.Post.openedMenu.el;
		var id = Dsq.Post.openedMenu.id;

		if(!id) {
			var link = 'dsq-' + Dsq.Post.openedMenu.name + '-link';
		} else {
			var link = 'dsq-' + Dsq.Post.openedMenu.name + '-link-' + id;
		}

		if(!openedMenu) {
			return;
		}

		if(!Dsq.Popup.isClicked(e, openedMenu.id)) {
			openedMenu.style.display = 'none';
			Dsq.Utils.removeEventListener(Dsq.Post.menuEventListener);
			Dsq.Utils.deleteNode(openedMenu);

		} else {
			// Hide the menu if a link was clicked inside the menu.  We can't
			// completely remove the menu until the onclick event on the link
			// fires, but the menuEventListener will prevent multiple menus
			// from polluting the DOM.
			if(el && typeof el.href != 'undefined') {
				openedMenu.style.display = 'none';
				Dsq.Post.openedMenu.el = null;
			}
		}

		if(Dsq.Popup.isClicked(e, link)) {
 			Dsq.Post.openedMenu.linkClicked = true;
		}
	};


	this.getUserServices = function(user_key, id) {
		if(!user_key && id) {
			var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[id];
			user_key = _meta.user_key;
		}
		var userData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][user_key];
		var userServices = [];

		// Keep a full list of supported services. This is the order they will display in the drop-profile.
		// Each service must have a corresponding case in _buildServiceUrl()
		var supportedServices = ['blog', 'twitter', 'facebook', 'tumblr'];

		function _buildServiceUrl(serviceName) {
			var data = userData[serviceName];
			var services = {
				blog:		function(d) { return d; },
				twitter:	function(d) { return d; },
				facebook:	function(d) { return d; },
				tumblr:		function(d) { return 'http://' + d + '.tumblr.com'; }
			};
			return services[serviceName](data);
		}

		for(var i = 0; i < supportedServices.length; i++) {
			if(userData[supportedServices[i]]) {
				var serviceUrl = _buildServiceUrl(supportedServices[i]);
				userServices.push({'name' : supportedServices[i], 'url' : serviceUrl});
			}
		}
		return userServices;
	}

	this.dropProfile = function(id) {
		var dp = Dsq.$('dsq-drop-profile-' + id);

		// IE6 needs JS to display/hide. All other browsers use CSS.
		if(dp) {
			if(Dsq.Utils.ie6) dp.style.display = (dp.style.display == 'inline') ? 'none' : 'inline';
			return false;
		} else {
			dp = document.createElement('ul');
		}

		dp.id = 'dsq-drop-profile-' + id;
		dp.className = 'dsq-drop-profile';

		if(Dsq.Utils.ie6) { dp.style.display = 'inline'; }

		var container = Dsq.$('dsq-header-avatar-' + id);
		dp.innerHTML = Dsq.Templates.dropProfile(id);
		container.appendChild(dp);
	};

	this.dropProfileMore = function(el, id) {
		var hiddenItems = Dsq.$('dsq-drop-hidden-' + id);

		hiddenItems.style.display = 'inline';
		el.parentNode.style.display = 'none';
	};

	this._updateReplyLinks = function(el, id) {
		// Update "reply / cancel" links based on state.
		var displayDict = {};

		if(id) {
			if(this.stateReplyToggled[id]) {
				el.innerHTML = 'Cancel';
				displayDict['media'] = 'inline';
				displayDict['edit'] = 'none';
			} else {
				el.innerHTML = 'Reply';
				displayDict['media'] = 'none';
				displayDict['edit'] = 'inline';
			}
		}

		for(var key in displayDict) {
			if(displayDict.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
				var	linkEl = Dsq.$('dsq-' + key + '-el-' + id),
					spacer = Dsq.$('dsq-' + key + '-spacer-' + id);

				if(linkEl) {
					linkEl.style.display = displayDict[key];
					if(spacer) spacer.style.display = displayDict[key];
				}
			}
		}
	};

	this._updateMediaLinks = function(el, id) {
		// Update "use media / cancel" links based on state.
		var appendId = (id) ? ('-' + id) : '';
		var link = Dsq.$('dsq-media-link' + appendId);

		if(this.stateRecordLink[id]) {
			link.innerHTML = 'Cancel Media';
			link.onclick = function() { Dsq.Post.toggleMediaReply(link, id); return false; };
		} else {
			link.innerHTML = 'Use Media <small>&#9660;</small>';
			link.onclick = function() { Dsq.Post.showMenu(link, id, 'media'); return false; };
		}
	};

	this.toggleReply = function(el, id) {
		// Create reply IFrame
		if (window.disqus_use_postmessage) {
			if (!this.stateReplyToggled[id]) {
				Dsq.$('dsq-reply-' + id).style.display = 'block';
				Dsq.$('dsq-reply-bar-' + id).style.display = 'block';
				// Create IFrame if it doesn't exist.
				if (!Dsq.frames['reply_' + id]) {
					var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[id];
					Dsq.frames['reply_' + id] = new Dsq.ReplyFrame(Dsq.$('dsq-reply-frame-' + id), id);
					Dsq.frames['reply_' + id].init();
					Dsq.frames['reply_' + id].setState(id, _meta.depth);
				}
			} else {
				Dsq.$('dsq-reply-' + id).style.display = 'none';
				Dsq.$('dsq-reply-bar-' + id).style.display = 'none';
			}
		} else {
			// DEPRECATED
			if(!this.stateReplyToggled[id]) {
				// Reply toolbar
				Dsq.$('dsq-reply-bar-' + id).style.display = 'block';
				Dsq.Iframes.showReplyIframeInContainerIfAllowed(Dsq.$('dsq-reply-' + id), id);
			} else {
				Dsq.$('dsq-reply-bar-' + id).style.display = 'none';
				Dsq.Iframes.hideAllInContainer(Dsq.$('dsq-reply-' + id));
				if(this.stateRecordLink[id]) {
					// HACK: Cancel media before canceling self.
					this.toggleMediaReply(Dsq.$('dsq-media-link-' + id), id);
				}
			}
		}

		this.stateReplyToggled[id] = !this.stateReplyToggled[id];
		this._updateReplyLinks(el, id);

		if(Dsq.Utils.ie) { Dsq.Utils.fixIframesIE('dsq-reply-' + id); }

		Dsq.Events.fire(Dsq.Events.REPLY_IFRAME_TOGGLED, {
			postId: id,
			opened: this.stateReplyToggled[id]
		});
	};

	this.toggleMediaReply = function(el, id, xtype) {
		id = id || 0;
		if(id) {
			var container = Dsq.$('dsq-reply-' + id);
		} else {
			var container = Dsq.$('dsq-post-add');
		}

		if(!this.stateRecordLink[id]) {
			Dsq.Iframes.showReplyIframeInContainer(container, id, {xtype:xtype}, 'dsq-post-video');
		} else {
			Dsq.Iframes.showReplyIframeInContainer(container, id);
		}
		this.stateRecordLink[id] = !this.stateRecordLink[id];
		this._updateMediaLinks(el, id);

		if(Dsq.Utils.ie) { Dsq.Utils.fixIframesIE(); }
	};

	this.edit = function(el, id) {
		Dsq.$('dsq-comment-message-' + id).innerHTML = Dsq.Templates.frameEdit(id);
		el.parentNode.style.display = 'none';
		if(Dsq.Utils.ie) { Dsq.Utils.fixIframesIE('dsq-comment-message-' + id); }
	};

    this.rate = function(el, id, vote) {
		if(Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated || Dsq.jsonData.forum.allow_anon_votes) {
			if(vote == 1) {
                Dsq.$('dsq-rate-cont-' + id).innerHTML = '<img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/loading-small.gif">';
            }

            Dsq.Utils.execScript('http://disqus.com/forums/jackandjillpolitics/vote.js'
                + '?post_id='    + id
                + '&vote='        + vote);

		} else {
			Dsq.Popup.login(Dsq.Strings.TO_RATE_PLEASE_LOG_IN);
		}
    };

	this.report = function(id, confirmed) {
		if(confirmed) {
			Dsq.Utils.postToUrl('http://disqus.com/forums/jackandjillpolitics/let8217s_get_in_some_trouble_today_black_people_and_8216class8217/post_report/', {'post_id': id});
			Dsq.Popup.popModal('Thank you. This comment has been flagged for moderator attention.', 'Successfully flagged');
			Dsq.Utils.deleteNode(Dsq.$('dsq-post-report-' + id));
		} else {
			var title = Dsq.Strings.FLAG_INAPPROPRIATE_COMMENT;
			var message = Dsq.Strings.ARE_YOU_SURE_YOU_WOULD_LIKE_TO_REPORT_THIS_COMMENT_TO_A_MODERATOR + '? \
			<br /><br /> \
			<button onclick="Dsq.Popup._closePopup(null, true)"><strong>' + Dsq.Strings.NO + '</strong>, ' + Dsq.Strings.NEVER_MIND + '</button>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<button onclick="Dsq.Post.report(' + id + ', true);"><strong>' + Dsq.Strings.YES + '</strong>, ' + Dsq.Strings.FLAG_INAPPROPRIATE_COMMENT + '</button><br /><br />'
			+ Dsq.Strings.THIS_WILL_FLAG_COMMENTS_FOR_MODERATORS_TO_TAKE_ACTION + '. \
			';

			Dsq.Popup.popModal(message, title, id);
		}
	};



	this.showAlert = function(id, msg) {
		var msgEl = Dsq.$('dsq-comment-message-' + id);
		var alert = '<div class="dsq-comment-alert">' + msg + '</div>';

		msgEl.innerHTML = alert + msgEl.innerHTML;
	};

};
// Dsq.Post


/**
 * Dsq.Thread
 */
Dsq.Thread = new function() {
	this.fc = null;
	this.ff = null;
	this.ac = null;

	
	this.adminIsOn = false;

	
	
	

	this.hlComment = null;
	this.hlCommentClass = null;

	this.getNextComment = function(el) {
		var start_id = el.id;
		while(el = el.nextSibling) {
			if(el.id && el.id.indexOf('dsq-comment-') != -1 && el.id != start_id) {
				return el;
			}
		}
		return null;
	};

	this.getActiveCommentId = function() {
		if (document.URL.indexOf('#comment-') >= 0) {
			var anchor = document.URL.slice(document.URL.indexOf('#') + 1);
			return anchor.replace('comment-', '');
		}
		return null;
	};

	this.highlightAnchor = function() {
		var i = this.getActiveCommentId();
		if (i == null) return false;
		var id = 'dsq-comment-' + i;
		var hash = window.location.hash;

		// Toggle the hash incase the comment isn't available when the page loads
		// for WebKit-based browsers.
		if (Dsq.Utils.webkit) {
			window.location.hash = '';
			window.location.hash = hash;
		}

		this.hlComment = Dsq.$(id);
		// Adding this conditional guard pending #289
		if (!this.hlComment) {
			return;
		}
		this.hlCommentClass = this.hlComment.className;
		this.hlComment.className += ' dsq-hl-anchor';

		setTimeout("Dsq.Thread.highlightClear()", 3000);
	};

	this.highlightClear = function() {
		if (!this.hlComment) {
			return;
		}
		this.hlComment.className = this.hlCommentClass;
	};

	this.login = function(toggle) {
		// toggle id is #dsq-reply-login-[id]
		var postId;
		if(toggle.id.indexOf('dsq-reply-login') != -1) {
			postId = toggle.id.slice(16);
			var container = Dsq.$('dsq-reply-' + postId);
		} else {
			var container = Dsq.$('dsq-post-add');
		}

		if(toggle) {
			if(toggle.className == 'dsq-login-active') {
				Dsq.Iframes.showReplyIframeInContainerIfAllowed(container, postId);
				toggle.className = '';
			} else {
				Dsq.Iframes.showLoginIframeInContainer(container, postId);
				toggle.className = 'dsq-login-active';
			}
		} else {
			Dsq.Iframes.showLoginIframeInContainer(container, postId);
		}

		if(Dsq.Utils.ie) { Dsq.Utils.fixIframesIE(); }
	};


	this.paginate = function(page, el_clicked, per_page) {
		// Use extra_params to pass any override parameters that we need to persist.
		var extra_params = '';

		// "Per page" can either be overriden by providing it as an argument
		// (per-call) or setting the disqus_per_page override variable (global).
		if(typeof per_page == 'undefined') {
			per_page = null;
		}
		if(typeof disqus_per_page != 'undefined' && per_page === null) {
			per_page = disqus_per_page;
		}

		if(typeof disqus_sort != 'undefined') {
			extra_params += '&sort=' + disqus_sort;
		}
		if(per_page !== null) {
			extra_params += '&per_page=' + per_page;
		}

		Dsq.$('dsq-pagination').innerHTML += '<img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/loading-small.gif">';
		
		if(el_clicked) {
			el_clicked.style.display = 'none';
		}
		
		Dsq.Utils.execScript('http://disqus.com/forums/jackandjillpolitics/thread.js'
			+ '?slug='	+ 'let8217s_get_in_some_trouble_today_black_people_and_8216class8217'
			+ '&p='		+ page
			+ extra_params);
	};

	this.sortBy = function(sort) {
		var disqus_script = document.createElement('script');
		var disqus_date = new Date();

		if (location.hash != '') {
			location.hash = '#disqus_thread';
		}

		if(typeof(disqus_url) == 'undefined') {
			disqus_url = disqus_href;
		}
		disqus_script.type = 'text/javascript';
		disqus_script.src = 'http://disqus.com/forums/jackandjillpolitics/thread.js'
			+ '?slug='	+ 'let8217s_get_in_some_trouble_today_black_people_and_8216class8217'
			+ '&sort='	+ sort
			+ '&title='
			+ '&'		+ disqus_date.getTime();

		Dsq.$('dsq-comments').innerHTML = '<img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/loading.gif">';
		Dsq.container.appendChild(disqus_script);
	};

	this.subscribe = function(status, email) {
		// `status` is an int -- 1 to subscribe, 0 to unsubscribe
		if(Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated || email) {
			// If authenticated user OR anonymous email provided

			if(email) {
				Dsq.Popup._closePopup(null, true);
			}

			Dsq.Utils.execScript('http://disqus.com/forums/jackandjillpolitics/subscribe.js'
				+'?status=' 	+ status
				+ '&slug='		+ 'let8217s_get_in_some_trouble_today_black_people_and_8216class8217'
				+ '&email=' 	+ encodeURIComponent(email));

		} else if(!email) {
			// If anonymous user and no email has been provided yet, prompt for email

			var title = 'Subscribe to this comment thread';
			var message = ' \
				New comments will be sent directly to your email inbox! \
				<div class="dsq-subscribe-submit"> \
					<p><strong>Enter your email address below.</strong></p> \
					<input type="text" id="dsq-subscribe-email"> \
					<button onclick="Dsq.Thread.subscribe(1, Dsq.$(\'dsq-subscribe-email\').value)">Subscribe</button> \
				</div> \
			';

			Dsq.Popup.popModal(message, title);
		}
	};

	this.showSettings = function() {
		if (!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_moderator) {
			return;
		}

		/* The form has to be re-designed when more options will come out. */
		var html = 'Automatically close comments after <input size="3" id="dsq-thread-days-alive" value="' + Dsq.jsonData.thread.days_alive + '" type="text" /> days. Existing comments will still be displayed.<br /><br />(Using 0 days will disable this feature)<br /><br />'
								 + '<button onclick="Dsq.Thread.updateDaysAlive();" class="dsq-button-small"><span>Save</span></button>'
								 + '<span id="dsq-thread-settings-status" class="dsq-options-status"></span>';
		Dsq.Popup.popModal(html, 'Settings');
	};

	this.updateDaysAlive = function() {
		var days = Dsq.$('dsq-thread-days-alive').value;
		var status = Dsq.$('dsq-thread-settings-status');
		Dsq.Utils.postToUrl('http://disqus.com/forums/jackandjillpolitics/update_days_alive.js', {days:days,thread:Dsq.jsonData.thread.id});
		status.innerHTML = 'Saved!';
		window.setTimeout(function() { status.innerHTML = ''; }, 1000);
	};
};
// Dsq.Thread

Dsq.Events = function() {
	var obj = {};

	// Private
	var handlers = {};
	var getHandlers = function(event) {
		if (handlers[event] === undefined) {
			handlers[event] = [];
		}
		return handlers[event];
	};

	// Public
	// Value keys : postId, node, xtype
	obj.REPLY_IFRAME_CREATED = 1;
	// Value keys : postId, opened
	obj.REPLY_IFRAME_TOGGLED = 2;
	obj.fire = function(event, opt_value) {
		if (!event) {
			throw new Error('Unknown event');
		}
		var value = opt_value || {};
		for (var i=0; i<getHandlers(event).length; i++) {
			getHandlers(event)[i](value);
		}
	};
	obj.addHandler = function(event, callback) {
		getHandlers(event).push(callback);
	};

	return obj;
}();

/**
 * Dsq.Realtime
 */
Dsq.Realtime = new function() {
	var initialized = false;
	var interval = null;
	var last_checked = Dsq.jsonData.request.timestamp;
	var new_posts = [];
	var ongoing_request = false;
	var prev_script = null;

	function updateNewPostCount() {
		Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-alert').style.display = new_posts.length ? 'block' : 'none';

		Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-queued').innerHTML = new_posts.length
		+ ' new '
		+ Dsq.Utils.pluralize(new_posts.length, 'comment', 'comments')
		+ Dsq.Utils.pluralize(new_posts.length, ' was', ' were')
		+ ' just posted.';

		Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-show').innerHTML = '(' + Dsq.Strings.SHOW + ')';
	}

	function insertNewPosts() {
		var post_id = null;
		var after_id = Dsq.$('dsq-sort-select').value === 'oldest' ? -1 : null;

		for (var i=0; i<new_posts.length; i++) {
			post_id = new_posts[i];
			Dsq.Post.insert(after_id, post_id, Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id].message);
			Dsq.Post.incrementPostCount();
			Dsq.Post.outlineComment(post_id);
		}
		new_posts = [];
	}

	this.enableInterval = function() {
		interval = setInterval(Dsq.Realtime.check, Dsq.jsonData.context.realtime_speed);
		Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-status').innerHTML = Dsq.Strings.ENABLED;
		Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-toggle').innerHTML = '(' + Dsq.Strings.PAUSE + ')';
	}

	this.disableInterval = function() {
		if (interval) {
			clearInterval(interval);
			interval = null;
		}
		Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-status').innerHTML = Dsq.Strings.PAUSED;
		Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-toggle').innerHTML = '(' + Dsq.Strings.RESUME + ')';
	}

	this.toggleInterval = function() {
		if (!interval) {
			Dsq.Realtime.enableInterval();
		} else {
			Dsq.Realtime.disableInterval();
		}
		return false;
	}

	this.initialize = function() {
		if (!initialized) {
			initialized = true;
			Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-toggle').onclick = this.toggleInterval;
			if (!Dsq.jsonData.forum.streaming_realtime) {
				Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-show').onclick = this.show;
				updateNewPostCount();
			}
			if (Dsq.jsonData.thread.realtime_paused) {
				Dsq.Realtime.disableInterval();
			} else {
				Dsq.Realtime.enableInterval();
			}
		}
	}

	this.show = function() {
		insertNewPosts();
		updateNewPostCount();
		return false;
	}

	this.check = function() {
		if (!ongoing_request && Dsq.jsonData.realtime_enabled) {
			if (prev_script) {
				prev_script.parentNode.removeChild(prev_script);
			}
			ongoing_request = true;
			prev_script = Dsq.Utils.execScript('http://disqus.com/forums/8019133/realtime.js?timestamp=' + last_checked);
		}
	};

	this.update = function(timestamp, posts, users) {
		ongoing_request = false;
		last_checked = timestamp;

		if (users) {
			for (var user_id in users) {
				if (users.hasOwnProperty(user_id)) {
					if (!Dsq.jsonData.users[user_id]) {
						Dsq.jsonData.users[user_id] = users[user_id];
					}
				}
			}
		}

		if (posts) {
			for (var post_id in posts) {
				if (posts.hasOwnProperty(post_id)) {
					if (!Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id]) {
						Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id] = posts[post_id];
						new_posts.push(post_id);
					}
				}
			}

			if (Dsq.jsonData.forum.streaming_realtime) {
				insertNewPosts();
			} else {
				updateNewPostCount();
			}
		}
	};

}();

// DEPRECATED
Dsq.Iframes = function() {
	// Different style of object from the above. Hoping to switch to this for some reason.
	var obj = {};

	// Private
	var showIframeInContainer = function(container, id, markup) {
		// Look through container for iframes, hiding them, except show one that matches id
		// If none of them matched id, create a new iframe using markup and insert it.
		// Returns the iframe node if and only if it was newly created.
		var found = false;
		for (var i=0; i<container.childNodes.length; i++) {
			var child = container.childNodes[i];
			if (child.nodeName == 'IFRAME') {
				if (child.id == id) {
					child.style.display = 'block';
					found = true;
				} else {
					child.style.display = 'none';
				}
			}
		}
		if (found) {
			return;
		}
		// The iframe wasn't found, so construct it and add it to the container.
		// Don't use innerHTML because it might reload iframes
		var div = document.createElement('div');
		div.innerHTML = markup;
		var iframe = div.childNodes[0];
		div.removeChild(iframe);
		container.appendChild(iframe);
		return iframe;
	};

	// Public
	obj.makeReplyIframeId = function(opt_postId, opt_xtype) {
		var id = 'dsq-post-add-iframe';
		if (opt_xtype) {
			id += '-' + opt_xtype;
		}
		if (opt_postId) {
			id += '-' + opt_postId;
		}
		return id;
	};
	obj.makeLoginIframeId = function(opt_postId) {
		if (!opt_postId) {
			return 'dsq-login-iframe';
		}
		return 'dsq-login-iframe-' + opt_postId;
	};
	obj.makeReplyIframeName = function(opt_postId, opt_xtype) {
		var name = 'dsq-reply-frame';
		if (opt_xtype) {
			name += '-' + opt_xtype;
		}
		if (opt_postId) {
			name += '-' + opt_postId;
		}
		return name;
	};
	obj.showReplyIframeInContainer = function(container, opt_postId, opt_extraParams, opt_className) {
		// Construct the id so we can check if it's already present.
		// Hide any other iframes we find, and show this one if it's found.
		var params = opt_extraParams || {};
		// use xtype in the id and name so we can distinguish media replies from text replies:
		var id = Dsq.Iframes.makeReplyIframeId(opt_postId, params.xtype);
		var name = Dsq.Iframes.makeReplyIframeName(opt_postId, params.xtype);
		var attributes = {
			'id': id,
			'name': name,
			'class': opt_className || 'dsq-post-reply'
			};
		var markup = Dsq.Templates.frameReply(opt_postId, opt_extraParams, attributes);
		var iframe = showIframeInContainer(container, id, markup);
		// It was newly created
		if (iframe) {
			Dsq.Events.fire(Dsq.Events.REPLY_IFRAME_CREATED, {
				postId: opt_postId,
				node: iframe,
				xtype: params.xtype
			});
		}
	};
	obj.showLoginIframeInContainer = function(container, opt_postId) {
		var id = Dsq.Iframes.makeLoginIframeId(opt_postId);
		var markup = Dsq.Templates.frameLogin({id: id});
		showIframeInContainer(container, id, markup);
	};
	obj.showReplyIframeInContainerIfAllowed = function(container, opt_postId) {
		if (Dsq.jsonData.context.show_reply) {
			obj.showReplyIframeInContainer(container, opt_postId);
		} else {
			obj.hideAllInContainer(container);
		}
	};
	obj.hideAllInContainer = function(container) {
		for (var i=0; i<container.childNodes.length; i++) {
			var child = container.childNodes[i];
			if (child.nodeName == 'IFRAME') {
				child.style.display = 'none';
			}
		}
	};

	return obj;
}();

Dsq.Twitter = new function() {
	var that = this;

	this.startTwitterConnect = function() {
		var popupParams = 'location=0,status=0,width=800,height=400';
		that._twitterWindow = window.open(Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + '/_ax/twitter/begin/', 'twitterWindow', popupParams);
		that._twitterInterval = window.setInterval(that.completeTwitterConnect, 1000);
	};

	this.completeTwitterConnect = function() {
		if (that._twitterWindow.closed) {
			window.clearInterval(that._twitterInterval);
			window.location.reload();
		}
	};
};

Dsq.Yahoo = new function() {
	var that = this;

	this.startYahooConnect = function() {
		var popupParams = 'location=0,status=0,width=800,height=400';
		that._yahooWindow = window.open(Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + '/_ax/yahoo/begin/', 'yahooWindow', popupParams);
		that._yahooInterval = window.setInterval(that.completeYahooConnect, 1000);
	};

	this.completeYahooConnect = function() {
		if (that._yahooWindow.closed) {
			window.clearInterval(that._yahooInterval);
			window.location.reload();
		}
	};
};

Dsq.OpenID = new function() {
	var that = this;

	this.requestURL = function() {
		var message = '<table class="dsq-openid-form"><tr><td style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="2"><img src="' + Dsq.jsonData.settings.media_url + '/images/openid-icon-100x100.png" /></td>';
		message += '<td><label for="dsq-openid-url">OpenID URL:</label></td><td><input type="text" id="dsq-openid-url" /></td></tr>';
		message += '<tr><td><label for="dsq-openid-username">Display name:</label></td><td><input type="text" id="dsq-openid-username" /></td></tr>';
		message += '<tr><td class="dsq-openid-submit" colspan="3"><input type="button" value="Sign in" onclick="Dsq.OpenID.startConnect();" /></td></tr>';
		message += "</table>";

		Dsq.Popup.popModal(message, 'Sign in using OpenID');
	};

	this.startConnect = function() {
		var isblank = function(str) {
			return /^\s*$/.test(str);
		};

		var openid_url = Dsq.$('dsq-openid-url').value;
		var username = Dsq.$('dsq-openid-username').value;

		if (isblank(openid_url)) {
			return;
		}

		var popupParams = 'location=0,status=0,width=800,height=500';
		var url = Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + '/_ax/openid/begin/' + '?url=' + encodeURIComponent(openid_url) + '&username=' + encodeURIComponent(username);
		that._openidWindow = window.open(url, 'openidWindow', popupParams);
		that._openidInterval = window.setInterval(that.completeConnect, 1000);
	};

	this.completeConnect = function() {
		if (that._openidWindow.closed) {
			window.clearInterval(that._openidInterval);
			window.location.reload();
		}
	};
};

Dsq.Reaction = new function() {
	var that = this;

	this.hide = function(id) {
		Dsq.Utils.execScript('http://disqus.com/forums/jackandjillpolitics/hidereaction.js?' + 'reaction_id=' + id);
	};

	this.reportMissingReactions = function() {
		if (!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_moderator || !Dsq.jsonData.forum.reactions_enabled) {
			return;
		}

		if (Dsq.jsonData.thread.queued) {
			Dsq.Popup.popModal('Your report has been received. The system will automatically search for new reactions; if any are found, they will be displayed on this comment thread.<br/><br/>Thank&nbsp;you.',
												 'Reported missing reactions');
			return;
		}

		Dsq.Utils.execScript(Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + '/forums/jackandjillpolitics/queueurl.js');
	};
};

Dsq.CNN = function() {
	var obj = {};

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Dsq.container.className = "clearfix";
Dsq.container.innerHTML = ' \
<ul id="dsq-comments">\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228551">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228551" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228551" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4228551" href="http://www.natturnersrevenge.blogspot.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Chris Chambers</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228551" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228551" class="dsq-comment-message">I think we\'re the only ethnic group who consciously allows our least common denominator ghettofab and bamma folk define and control us. White people defer to redneck bumpkinism as a joke. And besides, as much as rednecks joke about or despise more educated whitefolks in return, they actually idolize them.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228587">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228587" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228587" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4228587" href="http://www.natturnersrevenge.blogspot.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Chris Chambers</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228587" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228587" class="dsq-comment-message">In other words, skin color isn\'t the issue or key. It\'s class, caste, orientation to more global cultural norms.  <br><br>PS I went to Princeton w/Larry. Yes, before he was Lawrence, he was Larry. Little squeaky Larry.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4229512">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4229512" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4229512" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4229512">Sepia</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4229512" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4229512" class="dsq-comment-message">Your first post demonstrates that skin color <i>is</i> the "issue or key". In your second sentence, you used white folks as a barometer for how we (black people) should conduct ourselves, and determine who is worthy. It was the equivalent of a six year old saying of his/her friends, "But all the other kids do it! Why can\'t I!".</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4229700">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4229700" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4229700" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4229700">Miranda</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4229700" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4229700" class="dsq-comment-message">"class, caste, orientation to more global cultural norms".....................................<br><br>Now that\'s funny.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4229237">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4229237" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4229237" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4229237">Miranda</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4229237" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4229237" class="dsq-comment-message">Ok, for real....did you actually hold your nose up when you typed that?</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4229566">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4229566" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4229566" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4229566">Sepia</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4229566" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4229566" class="dsq-comment-message">LMBAO!</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4229373">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4229373" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4229373" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4229373">Monica</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4229373" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4229373" class="dsq-comment-message">I guess one way of looking at things is the black upper class treated (treat) black people with less money so shabbily, that they are interested in infiltrated their ranks.<br><br>I guess no one dreams of being an elite a*hole.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4225358">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4225358" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4225358" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4225358">carolinagirl</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4225358" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4225358" class="dsq-comment-message">Upper class black folks are just as screwed up as lower class black folks, they just have the money to hide it better. Actually, this goes for all races. That is all I have to say for now. I will wait for further discussion from everybody else to see how this topic goes over.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4226509">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4226509" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4226509" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4226509">rikyrah</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4226509" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4226509" class="dsq-comment-message">this is true. How else to explain how Kai Franklin walks around free today. If she was Shaniqua from the neighborhood, and had been involved with what Franklin was, she\'d be doing a stint at a max.security facility, and her family wouldn\'t see her for at least a decade.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4226774">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4226774" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4226774" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4226774">rorysmomma</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4226774" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4226774" class="dsq-comment-message">how much time did she get?</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4227940">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4227940" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4227940" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4227940">rikyrah</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4227940" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4227940" class="dsq-comment-message">NOT ONE FRIGGING DAY IN JAIL</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4227973">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4227973" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4227973" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4227973">Miranda</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4227973" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4227973" class="dsq-comment-message">LOL..we were probably typing at the same time...I couldn\'t believe they managed to get probation only for Kai....she did some SERIOUS bullyshyt.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228024">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228024" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228024" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4228024">rikyrah</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228024" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228024" class="dsq-comment-message">tell me about it. I read about her exploits over at Skeptical Brotha. could not believe the shyt she was into. you also recall that a friend wound up in a coma just for being with her...she\'s like a Black Daisy Buchanan.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4229503">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4229503" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4229503" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4229503">Miranda</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4229503" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4229503" class="dsq-comment-message">Yeah, he was a personal trainer....and I believe his Mama is still trying to raise money to care for him after all this time. I tell you what.....right around the time this all went down and as it came time for Kai to plead, the way Mayor Franklin governed took a swift and I do mean SWI-IFT turn. It wasn\'t the black "elite" that got Kai outta that. oh noez.....we aint got that kinda pull......that was dem white boyz...dem white boyz in Buckhead - and they have called in ALL their favors which is why Atlanta\'s next mayor shall be a white man.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4229990">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4229990" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4229990" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4229990" href="http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">CPL</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4229990" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4229990" class="dsq-comment-message">Heard Sista Shirley is on Barack\'s short list for the Cabinet position of Labor Secretary.<br><br>Kai\'s baggage might put a stop to that, especially if momma used her "mayor\' connections to get Kai pled down to probation instead of the serious jail time she should have got.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4230361">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4230361" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4230361" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4230361">Miranda</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4230361" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4230361" class="dsq-comment-message">Oh HELL yes Momma Shirley had to use her "mayor" connections....Kai was straight up guilty of money laundering!! There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it, everybody knew it. Her ex-husband was a freaking drug kingpin. Kai\'s wild azz was Keisha in New Jack City....and for a while she had that trifling negro living in her momma\'s house! Shirley Franklin had to call the BIG BOYS....not the black "elite"...the BIG BOYS - and it is SO evident by what\'s been happening that she had to sale the office of the Mayor to help her nitwit thug-lovin daughter.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4231997">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4231997" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4231997" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4231997">rorysmomma</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4231997" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4231997" class="dsq-comment-message">That is a damn shame.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4227957">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4227957" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4227957" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4227957">Miranda</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4227957" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4227957" class="dsq-comment-message">Kai didn\'t get a darn day...she got probation.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228455">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228455" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228455" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4228455">rikyrah</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228455" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228455" class="dsq-comment-message">rorysmomma,<br><br>go over to Skeptical Brotha and put Kai Franklin into the search engine. what you will read will piss you off.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4227008">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4227008" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4227008" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4227008">rorysmomma</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4227008" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4227008" class="dsq-comment-message">They should have put her ass in jail for a long time.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4227877">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4227877" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4227877" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4227877">Town</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4227877" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4227877" class="dsq-comment-message">Or how Kemba Smith\'s family was all like "She was a good middle class girl" and "she was a debutante" and she went to Hampton blah blah.  Lucky for her EMERGE magazine took up her case and Bill Clinton pardoned her, because if she was Kemba Jefferson from the hood she\'d still be in lock up.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228441">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228441" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228441" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4228441">rikyrah</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228441" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228441" class="dsq-comment-message">you know, when I was younger, I was like, \'oh Poor Kemba\'. But, as I got older, I began to look sideways at her case. I found it hard to believe that she was some innocent naif. More than likely, she thought she could \'play grown\' in that world, and then was shocked when it wasn\'t like the movies. Yes, I know the drug laws that I loathe were a huge part of it, but as Mama told me, \' be careful who you associate with\'. As I got older, it just got harder to me to believe that a woman lies down and has a baby by someone that just so \'completely fools her\'. <br><br>know what I mean?</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228948">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228948" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228948" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4228948">Town</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228948" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228948" class="dsq-comment-message">I\'ve read about her family background and I\'ve met her parents once.  IMO her father is a pretty nice, down to earth kind of guy.  Her mother, however...<br><br>I think her mother is emotionally invested in Kemba being this naive, innocent little Kemba doll who was "caught up" rather than acknowledging the truth, that Kemba went buck wild in college and was spreading them legs and getting down with the drug dealer instead of staying her ass in class.<br><br>Her mother struck me as one of those "our kind of people" type folks.  It was just a vibe I got from meeting her.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4225434">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4225434" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4225434" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4225434" href="http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">CPL</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4225434" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4225434" class="dsq-comment-message">I will confess that I thought with Obama\'s victory, that the issues of "Our Kind of People" was going to be strongly embraced.<br><br>I always wondered why upper class Black Folk believe those of us from working class backgrounds think we can\'t behave with the same social graces, have proper etiquette and table manners as THEY DO.<br><br>I am like the Obamas.  I move in both worlds, but embrace my working class roots because that\'s how I was raised.  We had snooty relatives, too, and I remember how hard my mother worked over my brother and me on our table manners and whatnot when we were little because these snooty relatives could make life hell come the holidays.<br><br>But I agree with CarolinaGirl\'s comments as well.  Upper Class Black People ARE just as screwed up as middle class and working class Black folk because they can use their money to hide the screwed-upness.<br><br>Let these so-called "upper class" denizens fume at the fact that because they either supported Hillary or McCain;  it didn\'t work, and this brotha and his wife won\'t be including them on their invitation lists, preventing them from bragging rights about how they get invited to the White House to dine with the POTUS on the regular.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4225632">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4225632" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4225632" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4225632">dilettante</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4225632" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4225632" class="dsq-comment-message"><i>But, I don’t think it’s as black/white as it seems. The Obamas have been embraced by some of the Our Kind of People crowd....I think that this is a generational shift, too</i>  Definitely.<br><br>I was disappointed to hear Malcom Glawell, attempt to impose the "Caribbean paper bag"- <i>I\'m not <b>all</b> black, and therefore know that I\'m programmed/entitled for  success</i> meme on Barack, when we know his Kansas/Kenyan roots really have nothing to do with Jamaica.  This was the tale end of his interview  on <a href="http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2008/11/malcolm-gladwells-outliers/" rel="nofollow">NPR\'s Onpoint</a>--on his Gladwell\'s]latest book on Success.  Prehaps relevant for Colin Powell, also speaks to the generational shift, but Barack is "fully American" culturally.<br><br><i>Middle class black folk like to look down on poor black folk</i>  That bias is stronger, in my view, than top to middle.  I\'d like to think that more educated blacks have benefited from the \'black is beautiful\' change of mindset. Would <i>Desiree Rogers</i> have passed the paper bag test anymore than Michelle?</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4225743">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4225743" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4225743" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4225743">Trumystique</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4225743" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4225743" class="dsq-comment-message">Cant believe my little offhand comment is a thread...<br><br>Anyway. My parents werent from this country but they were the elites or "Our Kind Of People" in their nations of origin. So we were rigidly schooled on etiquette and social graces so that  we "never forget who you are". So I never felt "in it" so to speak and in many respects felt above the fray.  And most of the time tried to forget my home schooling on this issue. This was largely because I grew up in a place where there werent that many black people.  But I remember my mother\'s stories about segregated Chicago and St Louis where there was that debutante crowd. My mother was able to freely move between those groups (upper crusty and middle class folk) because she was a novelty of sorts. Of course I didnt really pay attention to these stories because it was removed from me. <br><br>When I reached college though I began to hear about and pay attention to groups ( Links, J&Js, greeks) and pay attention to how people talked about belonging to a special church and such. And I realized in a way that I would never belong to that world and its history. And of course my contrarian nature was "Eff them all anyway". <br><br>And then I began to talk to my friends with working class upbringings. And despite going to some of the best schools they were made keenly aware by Our Kind Of People black folk that they didnt belong. It wasnt rich white folk who said "You dont belong here". It was the black folk who would snidely say "You have never been to Europe, really?" or " Of course you have never tried sushi!". So it was in all those little slights that they would try to "remind" my friends of their place.<br><br>And its not that white people dont have this - because they do. But I was reminded of how black folk do it on the quiet tip and use code words so that white people never know about it. They reinforce the pecking order  viciously and smile while doing it. And to white folk we all present the united front of black solidarity in our oppression by The Man.<br><br>But thats why Chris Rock is so on point about his discussion of class with his "Black folk dont like niggers either" riff. And Bill Cosby is clearly reinforcing the pecking order by his talk about poor black people though he tries to use code. Its all a fascinating but hot mess to me.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4225846">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4225846" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4225846" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4225846">Miranda</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4225846" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4225846" class="dsq-comment-message">I have always been intrigued by the whole notion of the black "social register" and the mind-boggling antics of it all. Its funny but Jasmine Guy once remarked that the whole concept of "Whitley Gilbert" was ridiculous to her because she\'d never heard of a black southern belle....and the irony is, I\'ve known some "Whitley" types - better yet, I\'ve known their mothers. However, it was really after I started working at Atlanta Life Ins Company that I really got into the whole history of the black upper-class. The archives of Atlanta Life is some truly interesting reading...fascinating really. The whole Spelman/Morehouse connections (or other private HBCUs, but you land-grant college negroes were not  welcome), vacationing at Martha\'s Vineyard, Debutante balls, the paper bag tests....fascinating.<br><br>Many of the downtown streets around Atlanta are named after a prominent patriarch of these families and someone from that family always sat (or sits) on the board for Atlanta Life, so I met them all...the Dobbs (Maynard Jackson\'s family), Russells, Hills, Scotts, of course a King...and the Herndons which founded and own Atlanta Life. Its the most bizarre thing...these families provided so much support (financially) for the civil rights movement - but they weren\'t gonna get their hands dirty. (Same way wealthy white Southerners were not gonna get caught at the lynchings...let the po white trash do it.) <br><br>I have a few friends now that grew up when that same sort of "separation" of the upper and lower took place - and their stories should be put to a script. Its like "The Wedding" and "The Inkwell" plus some...but like CPL said, its starting to fade because the younger generations simply don\'t have the mindset - which is wonderful - to keep this bizarre divide going.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228105">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228105" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228105" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4228105">msmartin</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228105" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228105" class="dsq-comment-message">I knew soMe light blacks in Atlanta (broke) that still felt superior To darker skinned blacks</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4225884">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4225884" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4225884" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4225884">Monica</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4225884" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4225884" class="dsq-comment-message">I think that Michelle as First lady will certainly end a lot of the tired practices embraced by upper class black people for generations.  <br><br>Gone is the standard of the properly yellow or taupe colored trophy bride needed for a black man to be successful.   The term "good hair" shall be retired.  <br><br>Organizations like the Links and Boule may hold on their exclusivity but their membership will dwindle.  Who would want to be a member of such a group when there are so many other opportunities open to them.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4226538">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4226538" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4226538" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4226538">rikyrah</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4226538" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4226538" class="dsq-comment-message">I think Michelle as First Lady upsets some Black folks almost as much as it upsets some White folks. She truly is the challenger to all of those preconceived notions of what a Black man had to have on his arm in order to \' make it\'.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4227954">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4227954" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4227954" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4227954">msmartin</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4227954" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4227954" class="dsq-comment-message">Hooray!</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228852">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228852" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228852" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4228852">Sharon</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228852" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228852" class="dsq-comment-message">Wow, that\'s so true. I\'m glad you had the guts to say that. That\'s painful but so very true.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4239324">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4239324" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4239324" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4239324">sclaude</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4239324" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4239324" class="dsq-comment-message">sooo true!!!</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4242386">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4242386" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4242386" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4242386">CrissieP</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4242386" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4242386" class="dsq-comment-message">and that fact that BHO was drawn to her, always made him a very compelling figure in my eyes.  I never questioned whether he was black enough - all I had to do was to look at who he chose to be his life partner and build his family with.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4225932">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4225932" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4225932" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4225932">Monica</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4225932" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4225932" class="dsq-comment-message">I forget add that I get a personal bit of satisfaction in seeing the likes of Harold Ford, Jr in the cold.<br><br>And I\'ll leave it at that.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4226193">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4226193" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4226193" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4226193">Liza</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4226193" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4226193" class="dsq-comment-message">Me too girl. Me too. I despise Harold Ford Jr.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4226347">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4226347" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4226347" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4226347">Liza</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4226347" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4226347" class="dsq-comment-message">I would also add that the reason why Harold seems to hate Obama so much is because Obama went out and married a dark beautiful black woman and STILL made it without kissing up to white folks like Harold and his family does.  The only black folks that I have met who weren\'t all that excited about Barack and Michelle have been the very light and upper class ones because it wasn\'t supposed to turn out this way. THEY were supposed to have one of their own reach the WH (see Harold).  Michelle isn\'t a link, an AKA or a J&J and you know that makes them cringe.<br><br>It\'s wonderful.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4226524">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4226524" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4226524" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4226524">rikyrah</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4226524" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4226524" class="dsq-comment-message"><i>The only black folks that I have met who weren\'t all that excited about Barack and Michelle have been the very light and upper class ones because it wasn\'t supposed to turn out this way. THEY were supposed to have one of their own reach the WH (see Harold).</i><br><br>Add in, of a certain generation, and I hear you. I won\'t disagree with you in the least.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4226583">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4226583" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4226583" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4226583">Liza</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4226583" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4226583" class="dsq-comment-message">You are right. It is of a certain generation and shockingly it includes those from Michelle and Barack\'s generation.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4227810">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4227810" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4227810" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4227810">Town</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4227810" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4227810" class="dsq-comment-message">WHY WASN\'T IT MEEEEEEEEEEE?<br><br><br>WHY????????????????????????? [/harold ford jr / tavis smiley]</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228041">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228041" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228041" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4228041">rikyrah</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228041" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228041" class="dsq-comment-message">OH Town....<br><br>you crack me up. <br><br>but, I know it\'s the truth. serious haterade from the Dark Sith towards our PE.<br><br>and Tavis, well....I can\'t believe he\'s STILL TRIPPIN\'</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4232447">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4232447" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4232447" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4232447" href="http://www.actsoffaithblog.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Acts Of Faith Blog</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4232447" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4232447" class="dsq-comment-message">Yeah and his Blog Star \'contest\' was just the latest in educated but ignorant Negro cluelessness</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228270">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228270" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228270" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4228270" href="http://glory-i-am.blogspot.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">glory</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228270" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228270" class="dsq-comment-message">Actually I heard somewhere that AKA recently made Michelle an honorary member.  Don\'t know if it\'s true though.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4226513">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4226513" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4226513" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4226513">rikyrah</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4226513" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4226513" class="dsq-comment-message">LOL<br><br>I\'m feeling you about the Dark Sith. I\'m so feeling you.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4229546">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4229546" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4229546" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4229546">Admiral_Komack</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4229546" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4229546" class="dsq-comment-message">Well, at least Tavis ain\'t lonely.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4229898">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4229898" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4229898" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4229898">Miranda</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4229898" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4229898" class="dsq-comment-message">Hmph....I bet Tavis never thought his new BFF would be Harold.......The Obamas have influenced some strange bedfellows! LOL</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4225936">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4225936" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4225936" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4225936">rorysmomma</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4225936" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4225936" class="dsq-comment-message">"Of all the Black folk in Camp Hillpatine, it was very interesting that Vernon never clowned for Hillpatine, a la Andy Young, Bob Johnson, and others."<br><br>  I knew that Obama would be okay because Vernon Jordan said that Obama was a movement and that Hillary would find it hard to beat a movement.  I bet he lent his services to team O.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4232433">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4232433" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4232433" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4232433" href="http://www.actsoffaithblog.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Acts Of Faith Blog</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4232433" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4232433" class="dsq-comment-message">He\'s supposed to be BFFs with the Clintons - who by the way are just middle-class people with a lot of money and political currency. Perhaps Hillary\'s side is a bit more higher on the social ladder, but Bill\'s family had barely left the \'trailer park\'. Jordan classed up the joint! I\'m not sure how much he assisted but at least he stood out of the fray.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4226290">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4226290" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4226290" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4226290">spirit_55z</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4226290" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4226290" class="dsq-comment-message">rikyrah:  I\'m glad you\'e going there!  My parents had an 8th grade education,  and 11 children.  My dad was a tobacco sharecropper and butcher. My mother and older sibings helped raised us.  It was my paternal grandmother who schooled us on social graces, class and race.  <br><br>I think I have some clue about what  Michelle and Barack face.<br><br>She had the 2 story white farm house with fine china and rich mahoney furniture.  I remember when we\'d go for a visit, she\'d always say don\'t you dare come though the back door, and then she\'d explain why.  <br><br>She\'d lways greet us athe front door with the warmest of miles.  Grandma Rena was pettite, and refiend with honey brown skin.  She and grandpa Joe were decendents of slaves.  She told us she worked for white folk a great portion of her life, and so knew the workings of class an race.<br><br>She told us that some blacks will try to seperate themselves from you when they make more money, the\'ll try to make you thnk they\'re better than you because they\'re lighter than you, and that\'s probably a carry over from slavery. <br><br>"You know, field and house slaves were treated differently.  Darker skinned folk worked the fields and got darker, lighte -skinned worked in the house and aoided the sun."  Grandma Rena knew what we\'d b up against, and she schooled us well.<br><br>We were taught not to begrude anyone based on how they looked or how educated and rich they are;  there\'s a richness is in the heart.  Judge folk on what\'s in their heart, then you\'ll know what\'s in their mind.  We were encouraged to work hard, get educated, and know thyself and where we came from.<br><br>It wasn\'t until I met my future mother-in-law did I encounter the experience of the so-called paper bag test..  I was 17, and the first time I met this woman she went ape shit over my long wavy hair.  She\'s light-skinned, and had straight hair.  When she left the room, I heard her tell her daughter, "Indeed Lucy, she got pretty hair, but she\'s sooooo dark."  Might I add, Lucy was light-skinned as well and had attended the cotillions and debutante balls.  This woman was still cleaning white folks homes.  She collected antiques and put on all kinds of airs, but I saw through it all.<br><br>Initially, I was mortified and stung by those words but soon drew on the strength and wisdom of Grandma\'s words.  I did marry her son and learned to move and have my being in that family.  Michelle and Barack now from wence they come and where they come from.  They\'ll do just fine  More later, I \'m sure.  All for now.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4232234">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4232234" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4232234" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4232234" href="http://www.actsoffaithblog.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Acts Of Faith Blog</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4232234" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4232234" class="dsq-comment-message">Thanks for sharing. That sounds about right. I think people are confusing putting one\'s identity and worth into status instead of looking at it as an opportunity for growth. There are social mores to learn that are invaluable. Connections do help. Nasty people are going to be that way whether they are rich or poor. We just need to be solid in who we are with a moral compass. Everything else is semantics.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4232683">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4232683" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4232683" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4232683">spirit_55z</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4232683" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4232683" class="dsq-comment-message">You\'re welcome h&fs.  For me, it\'s all about spiritual growth, about higher consciousness. It\'s imperative for survival here and now.  Social constructs and labels can place staggering limitations on us.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4226327">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4226327" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4226327" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4226327">kalagenesis</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4226327" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4226327" class="dsq-comment-message">Yes Carolina Ive known for years that the rich Black people and the very poor seem to have the same value system on material things,skin color,Whites.White the lower to upper middle class tend to be Nationalistic,community oriented,and progressive.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4226793">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4226793" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4226793" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4226793">Denise</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4226793" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4226793" class="dsq-comment-message">I would actually classify Mrs. Obama as a <i> striver  </i> - educated, accomplished, and upwardly mobile.  However, because I believe she is comfortable with who SHE is, she can successfully navigate in different worlds.<br><br>That\'s the critical difference -- for me -- between educated black folk caught up in the shallow bullshit of the  &lt;Our Kind of People </i> world ( shallow materialism, \'tude, skin color, last name, etc.) and educated black folk who are not.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4227977">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4227977" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4227977" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4227977">rikyrah</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4227977" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4227977" class="dsq-comment-message">Denise,<br><br>you are correct. The Obamas are STRIVERS</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4227790">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4227790" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4227790" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4227790">Town</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4227790" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4227790" class="dsq-comment-message">Hell, Michelle Obama wasn\'t even desired by snobby black people when she was the Senator\'s wife.  Now that she\'s the First Lady in Waiting, some of them will be all up in her grill while the die hard ones will be saying she\'s not ladylike for not wearing pantyhose or she has "southside pearls" (I guess Barbara Bush was Southside with her pearls, too).</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4227886">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4227886" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4227886" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4227886">msmartin</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4227886" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4227886" class="dsq-comment-message">I\'ll bet Michelle\'s thinking like me - fuck em!</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4229561">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4229561" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4229561" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4229561" href="http://www.bigassbelle.blogspot.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">bigassbelle</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4229561" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4229561" class="dsq-comment-message">god, i hope so. the stupidity in allowing such trivial and superficial aspects of who we are to determine value and worth as a human being is an outrage. <br><br>when i see working class folks spending $1,000 on a handbag because "it\'s quality" i want to smack them over the head with said bag. <br><br>can we just quit judging people on what they wear / dress / carry / drive / live in? jiminy fucking christmas, we have so many serious, major, important issues facing us in this country and in the world. to try to divide / diminish / exclude folks based on trivia is a shame.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228000">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228000" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228000" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4228000">rikyrah</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228000" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228000" class="dsq-comment-message">You know Town, I am feeling you. oh, to be a fly on some of those walls</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228309">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228309" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228309" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4228309">Town</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228309" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228309" class="dsq-comment-message">I\'m still trying to understand how Michelle was "Southside" aka "ghetto" for wearing tri-tone PEARLS.  She wasn\'t rocking a Jacob the Jeweler ensemble.  She wasn\'t wearing gold fronts.  She wasn\'t Bedazzled like Beyonce.  She had on PEARLS.  Like I said, I guess Barbara Bush was "ghetto" for rocking those Wilma Flintstone pearls, too.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4229467">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4229467" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4229467" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4229467">Monica</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4229467" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4229467" class="dsq-comment-message">I think is another symptom of the pathological classism in Black America.  If you were born in a working class area, it does not matter how educated you are, what you have accomplished, where you have traveled...you\'ll still from the "southside".  <br><br>Some people are very small-minded.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4229621">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4229621" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4229621" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4229621">Justice58</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4229621" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4229621" class="dsq-comment-message">It\'s the same mentality in how some whites view blacks. No matter how educated you are, what you have accomplished, where you\'ve traveled. If you have black skin, some view you as still being a n*gg**. <br><br>Hillary played that dog whistle game with the hard working white people "quote"! And  Gasp.....Maggie Williams helped.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4232089">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4232089" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4232089" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4232089">spirit_55z</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4232089" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4232089" class="dsq-comment-message">Co-signing, Town, Yaba daba doo!</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4232174">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4232174" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4232174" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4232174" href="http://www.actsoffaithblog.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Acts Of Faith Blog</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4232174" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4232174" class="dsq-comment-message">They weren\'t \'real\' pearls. Dress has always been used to determine class. There are earrings and attire that are After 5 for example. There are expectations but these things are usually taught to the children so they grow up accustomed to these things, like use of table ware and such. Michelle didn\'t have that training but I\'m sure her daughters have now.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4232463">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4232463" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4232463" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4232463">Town</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4232463" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4232463" class="dsq-comment-message">I seriously don\'t think Barbara Bush\'s Flintstone pearls were "real," either.  All of this "Michelle doesn\'t know those kinds of beads are reserved for thus and so time" is just code for Michelle is ghetto and don\'t have no home training.  <br><br>Michelle Obama is NOT "those kind of people" and will NEVER BE "those kind of people" no matter how hard she tries, so instead of her trying to fit in with the black elite maybe the black elite needs to be trying to fit in with her.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4233123">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4233123" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4233123" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4233123">antennaness</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4233123" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4233123" class="dsq-comment-message">I don\'t think Michelle is trying to fit in.  She is just being her beautiful self.  I must say that she does her perfectly and comfortably well.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4233182">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4233182" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4233182" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4233182">Texas_Girl_in_LA</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4233182" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4233182" class="dsq-comment-message">antennaness,<br><br>I love your comment</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228562">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228562" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228562" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4228562">Monie</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228562" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228562" class="dsq-comment-message">Exactly.<br><br>I was just looking at the footage on youtube from Oprah\'s Legends Ball thrown in 2005(?)--  and even though i recall Michelle  and Barack O. being on the red carpet at the ball---I didn\'t realize Michelle was also a part of the "youngins" at that emotional luncheon where everyone got those lavish diamond earrings......Oprah was truly on to something then.  Michelle was the newly elected  junior Senator\'s wife at the time, probably relatively unknown to most there and yet Oprah saw fit to have her in the midst of all the more well-known entertainers, artists, actors, etc.<br><br>And lo and behold Michell O is now the next First Lady, who we all know has influence on her husband.<br><br>Michelle is the Oprah of "politics"----No one could have expected her prominence, appeal, and now world-wide recognition, since she did not come from a long line of "who\'s who"  And just like Oprah, Michelle will change the world in a way no one expected.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228612">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228612" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228612" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4228612">rikyrah</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228612" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228612" class="dsq-comment-message">I remember getting the \'O\' magazine and being surprised myself that Michelle was included in the picture at Promised Land. I do remember thinking, \' but she\'s only the Senator\'s Wife\'. <br><br>Oprah had the vision - indeed.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4232148">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4232148" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4232148" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4232148" href="http://www.actsoffaithblog.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Acts Of Faith Blog</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4232148" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4232148" class="dsq-comment-message">And Lady O is not part of the Black elite though she probably has more money than a lot of them. And that\'s ok. Now had she had children and grandchildren they would\'ve "ascended".</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4238137">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4238137" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4238137" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4238137">talentedtenth</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4238137" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4238137" class="dsq-comment-message">Oprah\'s children would have "ascended". That is pure lunacy. Do you really think that a daughter of Oprah would participate in a pretentious debutante ball. I don\'t think so!  Michelle O did not wear "fake" pearls; she wore costume jewelry and I doubt if she gives a damn who didn\'t think it was appropriate! It couldn\'t have been too relevant of a faux pas, her husband was elected. Where do you all get this ish from. The "Our kind of People" folk are just one of many cliques. Not being a part of that clique will not have any bearing on the success of any individual. Get in where you fit in, have goals, be focused, work hard, make connections (black or white).and PRAY.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4238872">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4238872" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4238872" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4238872" href="http://www.actsoffaithblog.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Acts Of Faith Blog</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4238872" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4238872" class="dsq-comment-message">Last time I checked fake pearls are costume jewelry. And I\'m pretty sure the children of a billionaire would be introduced to society and to others with access. I didn\'t say it a good or bad thing. There are royals and normals in every society. Some people have greater opportunities for certain successes and that\'s not going to change anytime soon. There will always be certain individuals who will operate outside of that sphere and be successful. But I look at situations like the Wall Street execs and see the disparities that still exist. We need some comments from those that are part of that world to balance out this conversation because a lot of the responses are emotional reactions from those that have been excluded or who are attaching self worth to this conversation. I\'m also aware of the black on black racism that exists amongst our people and I\'m not here to dispute it. We also must not forget the privilege of living in the US where we have many more options.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4240812">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4240812" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4240812" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4240812">Trumystique</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4240812" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4240812" class="dsq-comment-message">Yeah. I agree.  It would be great to have another perspective. But I think there is a certain hypocrisy decrying what the debutante crowd thinks of "Us" or middle class folk but absolutely no critique about how the middle class reacts to poor and working class blacks.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4242412">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4242412" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4242412" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4242412" href="http://www.actsoffaithblog.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Acts Of Faith Blog</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4242412" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4242412" class="dsq-comment-message">Ok well then I think we\'ve got that covered. Though some constructive criticism and evaluation is needed. I can agree that middle class and upper middle class tend to try to separate themselves from poorer folks but sometimes it\'s because of behavior and outlook on life. But I do know about those that write you off for not having a certain car or other superficial things. But a lot of super rich people are nicer than the most. If one is content it goes far.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228590">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228590" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228590" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4228590">Sepia</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228590" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228590" class="dsq-comment-message">This is so true even in the "black elite" blogosphere. And I\'ll just leave it at that.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4229487">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4229487" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4229487" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4229487">Monica</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4229487" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4229487" class="dsq-comment-message">I know I\'m risking Round II of post-off between this site and another, but I have to ask.<br><br>Are you referring to The Black Socialite??</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4229542">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4229542" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4229542" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4229542">Miranda</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4229542" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4229542" class="dsq-comment-message">I wanna know too Sepia! LOL.....Please let me know so I can go have some fun on whatever site it is.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4227837">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4227837" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4227837" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4227837">ljf</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4227837" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4227837" class="dsq-comment-message">Don\'t forget the "S" word or the "I" word for that matter.  Segregation and Integration.  It was segregation that help propegate the Black Elite.  They had their own business, their own insurance company, funeral company, etc.  And like many high societies in the Western world they were very exclusive.  White folk created the "Howards, Morehouses, and Spelmans so their Black descendants have a school to attend.  Integration destroyed that socio-economic world.  Thus they had to compete with regular Black folks and became they became much less descriminating.  <br><br>My ex-husband  family traced their family to the one white great great grandfather.  Everything was about my husband (more than) half-white great grand father.  The sun rose and settled around him.  His family and others in like them in Mississippi talk about the good old days.  Most those his generation are doing  worst than their parents and grand parents.  <br><br>I am working class Northerner.  What I personally found most disturbing was way that women were perceived and treated by men treatment from these circle.  Brown Skin women (non-elites) were treat with less regard than Lighter Skin Women.  Brown skin women were mules of the earth while light skin women were delicates flowers needed to be preserved.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228194">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228194" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228194" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4228194" href="http://www.tariqnelson.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">TariqNelson</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228194" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228194" class="dsq-comment-message">I believe that much of the \'Our Kind of People\' crowd will fade to white. (Harold Ford, Jr\'s future children)  Otherwise they will have no place with us regular blacks<br><br>Over the years, professional sports and entertainment has raised so many darker skinned blacks into the upper class that this is not an issue any more. Michelle Obama is now the archetype for the classy black woman and not what we have seen throughout the years</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228296">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228296" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228296" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4228296">Trumystique</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228296" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228296" class="dsq-comment-message">But thats the thing! Old money will always say money doesnt give you class especially in the case of entertainment and sports. Thats why these folk werent friendly with the Obamas in Chicago but will suddenly try to cozy up to the PE Obamas. Those folk still want to know "Who are your people?". So its only now that they want their daughters and son associating with Malia and Sasha ( even if they do have nappy hair).</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228369">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228369" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228369" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4228369" href="http://www.tariqnelson.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">TariqNelson</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228369" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228369" class="dsq-comment-message">I don\'t think many people will care to be part of their elite anymore. Like I said, I expect them to just go ahead and \'fade to white\'<br><br>I want to clarify on the sports and entertainment issue above. I mean that dark skinned blacks had become the archetype via their high profiles rather than these \'Our Kind of People\' whose group got smaller and more insignificant.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4238610">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4238610" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4238610" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4238610">sherprin</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4238610" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4238610" class="dsq-comment-message">Yeah but all those dark skinned brothers end up marrying light black, Hispanic or White.  They\'ll end up fading to White too.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4229304">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4229304" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4229304" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4229304">Ginger</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4229304" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4229304" class="dsq-comment-message">Good let them fade to white and become the minorty of the future. Any hoo, I for just love Mrs Obama as I can relate to her "blackness" far more than her husband,  and am looking forward to this country and world seeing  REAL black woman who is happy in her own skin without the paper bag test and size 2 dress and long weave and the ones from the big house and others need to deal with it.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4229504">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4229504" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4229504" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4229504">Justice58</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4229504" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4229504" class="dsq-comment-message"><i> looking forward to this country and world seeing REAL black woman who is happy in her own skin without the paper bag test and size 2 dress and long weave</i><br><br>Your comment about "long weave" reminded me of something I heard about weaved hair:<br><br>If you can\'t grow it...sew it<br>If you can\'t achieve it.....weave it!  lol</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228460">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228460" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228460" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4228460" href="http://glory-i-am.blogspot.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">glory</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228460" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228460" class="dsq-comment-message">I don\'t know much about Those Kind of People firsthand but I know a lot about ego.  I don\'t see exclusivity going anywhere, really.  Whether it\'s the old moneyed families or the nouveaux riche, somebody\'s going to find a way to be stank to people without their social connections and money.  I also don\'t think the Obamas are the kind to ignore Those People if they know they can benefit from the friendships.  If O can put Hill in his cabinet, he can use some formerly indifferent beige fundraiser to scratch his back in exchange for bragging rights that they spent time hobnobbing in DC.  Even so, I\'m really glad the Obamas aren\'t Those People.  I can relate to Michelle much more because of it.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228504">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228504" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228504" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4228504" href="http://www.WEESeeYou.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Webb</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228504" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228504" class="dsq-comment-message">This meme about Michelle\'s skin tone and how so many of "us" are superimposing our own experiences (and psychoses) on her is...interesting.  I feel like i\'m listening to a bunch of preachers paralleling their own lives to Jesus.<br><br>Michelle\'s gonna write a book one day...and I wonder if this subject will even come up?  Will she even be able to broach such subject matter once she ascends to the throne?<br><br>BTW, is that Valerie Jarrett\'s mama in the upper-left hand corner of the Our Kind cover?  And I sure do wonder what they are sipping on in that photo.  That doesn\'t look like Frahm-Pay to me.  Those look like cocktails...heathens.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4228514">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4228514" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4228514" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4228514">Southsider</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4228514" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4228514" class="dsq-comment-message">"But, I don’t think it’s as black/white as it seems. The Obamas have been embraced by some of the Our Kind of People crowd. What do you think Valerie Jarrett is? or Desiree Rogers? She, and more importantly, her former husband, is pure Our Kind of People. "<br><br>To tell the truth, that the Obamas seemed to have embraced the Our Kind of People crowd As BFF\'s has slightly taken the blush off of the rose for me.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4230262">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4230262" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4230262" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4230262" href="http://glory-i-am.blogspot.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">glory</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4230262" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4230262" class="dsq-comment-message">Why shouldn\'t they network with Those Kind of People?  They\'ve had to network with all different kinds of people of various races and classes to get where they are, so why should Those Kind of People be excluded?</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4232077">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4232077" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4232077" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4232077" href="http://www.actsoffaithblog.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Acts Of Faith Blog</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4232077" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4232077" class="dsq-comment-message">Who do you think lives in Chicago? There aren\'t many areas left with large Black populations who have some political and financial clout. There\'s plenty of areas with violent, crumbling neighborhoods full of apathy. If you had decided to run for President and knew you\'ve be spending 20 years of your life preparing for it what would you do achieve that goal? Who would you surround yourself with? If you were in a jam and needed bail money and a lawyer would you only want to have other broke friends or would you want people with access?</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4232596">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4232596" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4232596" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4232596">spirit_55z</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4232596" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4232596" class="dsq-comment-message">Preach!</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4233734">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4233734" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4233734" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4233734">Southsider</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4233734" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4233734" class="dsq-comment-message">Having grown up among Chicago  OKOP crowd, I sort of know who\'s there; moreover, I\'ve fully understood the practical necessity for the Obamas to be part of the African-American well connected.  But l can\'t help but hope that those same folks would have befriended Barack and Michelle when the Obamas and Robinsons were working-class apartment dwellers.  And I know for a fact that some of them would not. have given them the time of day.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4233834">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4233834" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4233834" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4233834" href="http://www.actsoffaithblog.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Acts Of Faith Blog</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4233834" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4233834" class="dsq-comment-message">Well it\'s how the black community was when Obama announced his run. We had to see how he handled himself to determine whether we\'d give him the time of day. I get your point though. I\'m not thinking of this on such a personal level but more as another step to a goal. I mean who\'s going to waste their time on people operating at a remedial level when they could be with people who are focused and getting things done? I want to be challenged to step up my game and be engaged. The Obamas will have no problem sifting thru the phonies of the bunch.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4233903">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4233903" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4233903" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4233903">Southsider</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4233903" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4233903" class="dsq-comment-message">"The Obamas will have no problem sifting thru the phonies of the bunch."<br><br>No doubt.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4229778">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4229778" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4229778" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4229778">Trumystique</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4229778" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4229778" class="dsq-comment-message">//Middle class black folk like to look down on poor black folk That bias is stronger, in my view, than top to middle. //<br><br>Okay I will bring this up again. Its easy to be snide about upper crusty folks with their elitist ways. But how about how black middle class people and their disdain for poor black people? We have all these code words from ghettofab, ghetto, country or what have you. Think about the sucess of shows like Housewives of Atlanta or Flavor of Love Thats talking about race but just as much about class.<br><br>Here\'s Chris Rock who is NOT talking about race:<br>"I hate niggers," he announces fearlessly. "You can\'t have anything valuable in your house. Niggers will break in and take it all! Everything white people don\'t like about black people, black people don\'t like about black people. It\'s like our own personal civil war. On one side, there\'s black people. On the other, you\'ve got niggers. The niggers have got to go. I love black people, but I hate niggers. I am tired of niggers. Tired, tired, tired."<br><br>Or Bill Cosby:<br> "Ladies and gentlemen, the lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal. These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids -- $500 sneakers for what? And won\'t spend $200 for \'Hooked on Phonics."<br><br>"They\'re standing on the corner and they can\'t speak English. I can\'t even talk the way these people talk: \'Why you ain\'t,\' \'Where you is\' ... And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk. ... Everybody knows it\'s important to speak English except these knuckleheads. ... You can\'t be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth!" <br><br>Many people do it with their equations that ghettofab= poor as if all that is pathological about "black culture"  that both black and white people hate emanates from poor black people.<br><br>And while its very easy to say this is all personal and attitudinal it isnt. In the same way that race is interpersonal and institutional-its the same with class. We can pretend that classism will die out in a generation. But I hear alot of "That is so ghetto!" from the tween crowd.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4230241">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4230241" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4230241" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4230241" href="http://thisblksistaspage.wordpress.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">blksista</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4230241" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4230241" class="dsq-comment-message">This is as much about behavior as attitude.<br><br>I\'ve seen plenty of poor people behave better than the most upper crust of black or white society.  Unfortunately, it\'s with older poor people (45 and above) than with this new generation.<br><br>People were told, back in the day, how to act.  Some of this new generation--not all, though--may not know <i>shyt</i>.  And they are passing this lack of home training down to their kids.<br><br>Class will tell <i>regardless</i> of who has money.  Those who observe the nasty-acting are more aghast that they who have more have the very devil in them.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4230700">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4230700" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4230700" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4230700">kalagenesis</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4230700" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4230700" class="dsq-comment-message">Blksista you are correct on point.Ive always known that money does not give one class.Especially in our community.Ignorant Black people carry their ignorance into the suburbs just like the Chinese carry their culture when they move up.The good Black people carry themselves a certain way no matter how much money they have or do not have.The Bible says a fool and his money soon part ways.Look at how the rappers from the hood blow money on cars,cloths,women ect.I am constantly told money will bring us up and it can solve all our problems.As long as we have a culture of ignorance and self hate we will always be the joke of America.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4232030">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4232030" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4232030" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4232030" href="http://www.actsoffaithblog.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Acts Of Faith Blog</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4232030" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4232030" class="dsq-comment-message">Well Bill Cosby has a point about how poor(er) people look to acquiring material goods instead of taking steps to build wealth. Placing value on outside trappings but having nothing to show for it. That\'s a big problem with many in the US (and around the world as well), but we know that certain people are going to pay the consequences more steadily. And yes it is an issue amongst certain Blacks.<br><br>I\'ll distinguish it amongst the home-grown vs. those that have more recently immigrated here or who\'s cultural influences lie elsewhere (Caribs & Continental Africans). <br><br>Some of the same people who focus on having the expensive gear don\'t know how to properly conjugate a verb. It\'s one thing to change up your vocab in different settings. It\'s another thing to not be able to distinguish the difference of when it\'s necessary to do so. <br><br>It\'s also why those tv/movie executives who still discriminate in practice by having almost no behind the camera representation from PoC with equal clout will seek to find the worst representations of them to present to the public. Of course if nobody agreed to do this and if people didn\'t support the companies that presented it we could in fact go far. <br><br>There\'s a difference between being poor and acting a fool. But yes there are people who like to set themselves apart as well. I think at one point in time it was a matter of survival but there was always a certain malice involved - that\'s where Black racism comes in.<br><br>The thing with the Obamas is that they dismantled everything: white racists, self-hating Blacks, the Black elite (who for all their money and connections would never do the grunt work to meet the people where they\'re at to have one of their own running for office - I mean look at someone like Harold Ford - what a joke!), the naysayers and the Clintons. I mean who\'s left?</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4232579">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4232579" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4232579" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4232579">spirit_55z</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4232579" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4232579" class="dsq-comment-message">Exactly, heartsand flowers.  Barack and Michelle Obama did it by being BLACK, NOT IN SPITE OF BEING BLACK.  They know themselves and got to  know others. <br><br>They never stooped to anyone\'s level,  just kept moving ahead., and invited us to come with them.   If anyone wanted to come along, great, if not, they didn\'t look back and do a head count, always inviting us to move forward.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4239718">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4239718" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4239718" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4239718" href="http://entrylevelliving.wordpress.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Allison @ Entry Level Living</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4239718" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4239718" class="dsq-comment-message">Spirit...beautifully written.  Black people owe it to themselves to embrace the various aspects of their identities/lives and then keep moving forward to achieve the lives that they want.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4240114">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4240114" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4240114" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4240114">spirit_55z</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4240114" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4240114" class="dsq-comment-message">Thank you, Allison.  The reality is only we have the true power to define ourselves, even though others will try to define us, put us into boxes and clamp down the lids.<br><br>Soul cannot be contained; it is Eternal!</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4230007">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4230007" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4230007" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4230007">rikyrah</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4230007" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4230007" class="dsq-comment-message">EVENING THREAD IS UP</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4232925">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4232925" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4232925" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4232925">Tranelover</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4232925" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4232925" class="dsq-comment-message">I visited the "Black Socialite" blog and read the list of so-called super socialites.  Lo and behold I see the mother of one of my former co-workers.  All that I can say about the individual I worked with is that I never met a bigger fraud in all my life.  It irritates me to no end to see or meet people of any color who have all of the advantages one could possibly want in terms of education and access then squander those opportunities.  This person\'s lack of ethics cost our small nonprofit hundreds of thousands.  This individual, who hardly put in a day of work, after two years, got close to being terminated I suppose but then conveniently got injured at work and proceeded to bleed the agency for another six months with a bogus workers comp claim.  To add insult to injury, this individual walked away with a severance deal.  I blame my "guilty\' and incompetent white supervisor.<br><br>I come from a family who runs the gamut in terms of African-American color, class and connections. What I took away from my situation was that I should work hard, always do my best work, be on time.  I never once felt entitled, and people who do feel entitled, wealthy or not annoy the shyt out of me.<br><br>The Obamas are inspiring because of their intelligence, work ethic, personal ethics and savvy.  That is why they enjoy my support.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4233163">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4233163" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4233163" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4233163">Liza</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4233163" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4233163" class="dsq-comment-message">Why do I have a feeling that we know the same "black socialite?" and we don\'t even know each other?</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4234226">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4234226" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4234226" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4234226">Tranelover</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4234226" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4234226" class="dsq-comment-message">This "big" city is really a small town.  So word will get out, and this individual\'s momma and daddy won\'t be able to clean up after their hot mess after a while. <br><br>One really should, given the advantages, have their act together by the time they reach their forties, but this one....</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4234464">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4234464" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4234464" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4234464">tmp</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4234464" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4234464" class="dsq-comment-message">I appreciate the post but I have to wonder. Why should we care about what such a tiny relatively insignificant group thinks of the Obama\'s? Yes there are the Vernon Jordan\'s and Valerie Jarrett\'s who have some power. But so do a lot more people from much larger groups. While these Black elites can move careers forward they are not essential. In the big scheme of things there are lots of paths that a politician can take and currying favor with the relatively tiny insignificant group is not the most fruitful path.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4236285">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4236285" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4236285" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4236285">Trumystique</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4236285" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4236285" class="dsq-comment-message">A new theory of the leisure class<br><br>Inconspicuous Consumption<br>by Virginia Postrel<br><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/consumption" rel="nofollow">http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/consumption</a><br><br>About seven years ago, University of Chicago economists Kerwin Kofi Charles and Erik Hurst were researching the “wealth gap” between black and white Americans when they noticed something striking. African Americans not only had less wealth than whites with similar incomes, they also had significantly more of their assets tied up in cars. The statistic fit a stereotype reinforced by countless bling-filled hip-hop videos: that African Americans spend a lot on cars, clothes, and jewelry—highly visible goods that tell the world the owner has money.<br><br>But do they really? And, if so, why?<br><br>The two economists, along with Nikolai Roussanov of the University of Pennsylvania, have now attacked those questions. What they found not only provides insight into the economic differences between racial groups, it challenges common assumptions about luxury. Conspicuous consumption, this research suggests, is not an unambiguous signal of personal affluence. It’s a sign of belonging to a relatively poor group. Visible luxury thus serves less to establish the owner’s positive status as affluent than to fend off the negative perception that the owner is poor. The richer a society or peer group, the less important visible spending becomes.<br><br>On race, the folk wisdom turns out to be true. An African American family with the same income, family size, and other demographics as a white family will spend about 25 percent more of its income on jewelry, cars, personal care, and apparel. For the average black family, making about $40,000 a year, that amounts to $1,900 more a year than for a comparable white family. To make up the difference, African Americans spend much less on education, health care, entertainment, and home furnishings. (The same is true of Latinos.) ... THERE IS MORE</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4239568">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4239568" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4239568" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4239568" href="http://www.hustleandfloe.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">hustleandfloe</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4239568" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4239568" class="dsq-comment-message">I do imagine that our floss:boss ratio is way outta whack, bet around 1000:1. that would put us at around 36,000 bosses amongst total US black pop.  now, just for fun, overlay  "our kind of people" to see what the venn looks like.  i bet, as tmp has made implicit, the shade would be surprising. <br><br>i think the age of the distributed hustle is not guaranteed but still growing.  old guard ain\'t goin nowhere, but I hope this new time might reorient us on the value of keepin it honestly  \'greezy\' not wur\'n bout what the Jeffersons will think.  it is usually in the down circumstances that we flourish.  let\'s not let this time be an exception.  <br><br>i believe the caddy, jetta, and hoopty can share a drink without frontin on either end (keeping it faux-real or turning noses) as we all think on how silly it is to divide by class and fight inside an ant farm about crumbs somebody\'s droppin\' in the top.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4240326">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4240326" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4240326" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4240326">Denise</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4240326" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4240326" class="dsq-comment-message">WELL SAID!!</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4241961">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4241961" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4241961" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4241961">spirit_55z</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4241961" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4241961" class="dsq-comment-message">hustleandfloe, yo! you gonna trip to the White House for some poetry slam?</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4284696">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4284696" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4284696" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4284696" href="http://www.hustleandfloe.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">hustleandfloe</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4284696" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4284696" class="dsq-comment-message">trick the white house.  we can meet in bed stuy. I been savin\' this next one, but come to find out some dude, donne somebody stole it from me.  (dang, gripped my ascap.)<br><br>We then, who are this new soul, know,<br>    Of what we are composed, and made,<br>For th\' atomies of which we grow<br>    Are souls, whom no change can invade.<br><br>But, O alas ! so long, so far,<br>    Our bodies why do we forbear?<br>They are ours, though not we ; we are<br>    Th\' intelligences, they the spheres. <br><br>It\'s ok.  I\'ll see him again on the block.  have fun at the noggeration.</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4290378">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4290378" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4290378" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4290378">spirit_55z</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4290378" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4290378" class="dsq-comment-message">hustleand floe, thanks for Donne\'s slice of "ECSTACY"<br><br>I\'m Ecstatic about attending the inuaguration! :-))<br><br>Rumi:  <br><br>Your True Life<br><br>AS YOU START TO WALK OUT ON THE WAY,<br>THE WAY APPEARS.<br><br>AS YOU CEASE TO BE,<br>TRUE LIFE BEGINS.<br><br>AS YOU GROW SMALLER,<br>THIS WORLD CANNOT CONTAIN YOU.<br><br>YOU WILL BE SHOWN A BEING<br>THAT HAS NO YOU IN IT.</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4242514">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4242514" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4242514" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4242514">spirit_55z</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4242514" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4242514" class="dsq-comment-message">Got it.  IF IT\'S ON OUR ASS, IT\'S NOT AN ASSET</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4236302">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4236302" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4236302" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4236302">Trumystique</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4236302" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4236302" class="dsq-comment-message">Luxury Shame<br><br>Why even the very rich are cutting back on conspicuous consumption.<br>Johnnie L. Roberts<br>NEWSWEEK<br><a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/171246/output/print" rel="nofollow">http://www.newsweek.com/id/171246/output/print</a><br><br>Multimillionaire Michael Hirtenstein used to flaunt his acquisitions of opulent real estate. "I collect homes because I enjoy it," he once told <a href="http://DansHamptons.com" rel="nofollow">DansHamptons.com</a> about his eight properties—which included a $27 million apartment on the 76th floor of Manhattan\'s Time Warner Center. In August 2007, the 45-year-old Hirtenstein, who made his fortune in telecommunications, regaled the New York Post with his plans for a $35 million, glass-enclosed duplex in Manhattan\'s Tribeca neighborhood, replete with suede-covered walls, three living rooms and a heated pool with built-in underwater video screen. Alas, the economy ground to a halt, and so did Hirtenstein\'s conspicuous consumption of real estate. He quietly reneged on the Tribeca duplex, forfeiting a hefty deposit. That isn\'t to say Hirtenstein is now selling pencils from a tin cup. "I could walk downstairs now and buy a Ferrari," he says from a suite at Wynn Las Vegas, which boasts a dealership. "But all of my friends are hurting. I don\'t feel like buying random toys."<br><br>Across America\'s upper strata, rich folk like Hirtenstein are experiencing an unfamiliar emotion: luxury shame. The late Coco Chanel, doyenne of 20th century fashion, long ago said that luxury is "the opposite of vulgarity," not of poverty. But in these recessionary times, it seems vulgar to flaunt one\'s luxurious lifestyle. And so the wealthy are going blingless and eschewing the spending sprees of the recent Gilded Age, giving new meaning to the phrase "embarrassment of riches."  The trend is horrible news for the $175-billion global luxury market, which is already absorbing the blows of plummeting personal wealth. Just in time for Christmas, this new "embarrassment of riches" is cutting into sales of high-end retailers and brands like Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, Bentley and BMW, Christie\'s and Sotheby\'s.<br>THERE IS MORE</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4236439">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4236439" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4236439" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4236439">Trumystique</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4236439" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4236439" class="dsq-comment-message">Bill Cosby\'s Not Funny<br>Interview by DEBORAH SOLOMON<br><br><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/magazine/27QUESTIONS.html?_r=1&ex=1114833600&en=f467e227a23c34c9&ei=5070" rel="nofollow">http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/magazine/27QU...</a><br><br>Q Your new book is a rhetorical screed against Bill Cosby, and the title alone is not exactly subtle: \'\'Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?\'\'<br><br>When a comedian throws a pie in the face of a powerful person, it\'s funny. When he throws a pie in the face of a homeless mother with three kids, that\'s not very funny.<br><br>You\'re referring to Cosby\'s recent harangue about lower-income black people, whom he faults for neglecting their children, wasting money on expensive sneakers and glamorizing ghetto culture.<br><br>It\'s his Blame-the-Poor Tour. He should pick on someone in his own class. If he had come out swinging at Condi Rice or Colin Powell, they could defend themselves. But he\'s beating up on poor black people, the most vulnerable people in this nation. And why jump on them?<br>	<br><br>On the other hand, many of us feel that his comments represent an admirable attempt at self-criticism and apply not only to blacks but also to whites in a consumer culture that has run amok.<br><br>Here\'s the irony: Mr. Cosby has been a supreme pitchman for American corporate capitalism for nearly 40 years. Had he come along now, he himself might have been promoting some gym shoes.<br><br>I actually found your book alarmingly unbalanced. How can you write 200-plus pages on Bill Cosby without detailing the millions of dollars he has donated to colleges and other good causes?<br><br>I think I mention his $20 million gift to Spelman College. It\'s a well-known fact. There\'s no need to repeat it.<br><br>But he has given to so many other black causes.<br><br>There\'s a dark underside to philanthropy. People who give a bunch of money are deferred to, even when they are wrong. The emperor cannot be shown to have no clothes.<br><br>You, yourself, as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, know that Cosby\'s following is hardly based on his wealth. Why do you think the black middle class has been so moved by his call for individual responsibility?<br><br>Of course, taken in one sense, a lot of what he said we can agree with. None of us want our children to be murderers or thieves. But Cosby never acknowledges that most poor blacks don\'t have a choice about these things.<br><br>So, then, how much do you think individual will counts for our success or failure in life?<br><br>I don\'t believe in that kind of American John Wayne individualism where people pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Someone changed your diapers. And if that\'s the case, you ain\'t self-made.<br><br>You seem to be of the Hillary Clinton \'\'it takes a village\'\' school of thinking.<br><br>Yes. But Hillary borrowed that from black people! In fact, it\'s an African proverb. And my ambition didn\'t grow out of nowhere. It was planted in me by a community that nurtured me. <br>THERE IS MORE</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4239669">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4239669" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4239669" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4239669" href="http://www.actsoffaithblog.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Acts Of Faith Blog</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4239669" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4239669" class="dsq-comment-message">"But Cosby never acknowledges that most poor blacks don\'t have a choice about these things." <br><br>What kind of BS is this? Being poor does not remove accountability or the knowledge between right and wrong. To suggest otherwise is implying people with less money are deviants.</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4294114">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4294114" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4294114" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4294114">leon a. james</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4294114" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4294114" class="dsq-comment-message">Conversations about responsibility tend to be unilateral.  If poverty is pushed by the system, than those hoodwinked by the system are off the hook.  If poverty is caused/perpetuated by the impoverished own cultural beliefs(or other code words such as ignorant, violent, deviant, lazy, BLACK) then its one\'s responsibility to put that "childishness" aside and raise themselves out of that condition.  The challenge comes in when you say its both.   That Bill speaks for 1 side of the coin, Eric the other - but really, its the same coin.  And now what? <br><br>From my seat, this conversation - and having the jump off being My Kind of People - illustrates how nothing really moves (for the larger race/society) as long as we participate in divisive conversations.<br><br>Where is the value and conviction in our fundamental struggle: a better life FOR ALL.  Where is the commitment to meeting head on all those structures, cultural beliefs, historical and personal traumas that stands in the way of that, diminishing our lives and the lives of others who we are connected to and responsible for.   And lets be clear, it doesn\'t matter honestly if the challenges come from inside THE community or outside THE community; inside the individual or outside of the individual - they must be met and met with conviction and love.  Somehow we have become convinced that burden is synonymous to responsibility, that criticism is the same as insight, that demand is the same as invitation, that frustration is the same as incentive, etc.  Its time for us to be honest about what we value.  Casue if we value our degress, houses, cars, social networks of prestige, then we need to be honest about that and stop saying we are about the work of human reconciliation, reclaimation, empowerment and transcendence.  The larger moment is begging us to move beyond this illusion of progress and dream bolder, to hold each other accountable (and lets be clear we the edumacated often abdicate our responsibility to our brothers and sisters - and i don\'t mean the responsibility to turn them into little clones of ourselves) - and collectively, in cooperation with each other, work towards a model of being (black) that isn\'t ok with the idea that some of us are ok cause we have access and the rest are bankrupt because they do not.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4294796">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4294796" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4294796" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4294796" href="http://www.actsoffaithblog.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Acts Of Faith Blog</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4294796" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4294796" class="dsq-comment-message">Well if having a conversation is what drives the action of millions then people are easily motivated by circumstances. So why are so many worse off than before Civil Rights? My concern is for the lives of black women and children not sehinh semantics. If they continue to remain in cesspools they will die. I don\'t know how to state it any more plainly. I look at Jennifer Hudson\'s situation as the perfect example. Bad choices combined with allowing criminality as something normal because it comes in the form of someone who kinda looks like, you thinking a snake is a bunny and not taking the chance to remove yourself physically and mentally may end up doing you in! White racism is not the sole cause of Black people killing each other. It is ridiculous to expect someone who wants to survive and thrive to stay in a bad situation \'for the race\'. This has nothing to do with the so called Black elite except to look at it as an example of how some people refuse to live for the most part. I had a brother in college murdered by some 2bit wanna be gangsta just minding his own business. But he didn\'t vet the people he hung out with thinking \' we\'re all Black \' so it\'s cool.  So if you want to continue rallying against that good luck to ya. You probably don\'t live in such an environment.</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4252925">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4252925" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4252925" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4252925">Quanli</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4252925" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4252925" class="dsq-comment-message">"...both blacks and whites..." wtf does anyone else have to do with OUR problems? The excuse is always made that so & so does this too. I can\'t count how many times I\'ve heard about how Fortune 500 company CEO are "criminals too"; the difference being THEY ARE FORTUNE 500 COMPANY CEOs. They, their families, their communities benefit from their misdeeds. I have yet to see the same effect with the average street pharmacist. It is time to stop making excuses. The entire article likens poor blacks to children, not to be held accountable.</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4236705">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4236705" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4236705" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4236705">rikyrah</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4236705" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4236705" class="dsq-comment-message">I want to thank the folks here. I knew we\'d have a great discussion on this topic.</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4252918">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4252918" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4252918" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4252918">lyric</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4252918" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4252918" class="dsq-comment-message">I\'ve always been curious why there seems to be such an antipathy for class distinctions in our community, considering that historically, West African cultures often have distinct class strata/differences. Many years ago, I remember reading a fascinating chapter in WIlliam Pierson\'s book, Black Legacy. Pierson recounts oral history regarding enslaved Africans on board slaveships who were the object of deference (from other enslaved Africans) because of their aristocratic status. He also analyzed the recurrent oral histories, passed down through generations, regarding "African royalty" on plantations and the attempt on the part of other enslaved Africans to protect them, pay homage to them, even involving doing the work that they were supposed to do or suffering punishment on their behalf, in deference to their status. Pierson also makes the claim that it was our African forebears who constituted the only aristocratic class that came to these shores. Unlike European settlers, who were often the dregs of society, a significant portion of enslaved Africans were from the aristocratic and privileged classes of their respective African societies. Fascinating information which calls for further research and analysis.</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4241208">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4241208" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4241208" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4241208">osiris1906</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4241208" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4241208" class="dsq-comment-message">Webb said: "This meme about Michelle\'s skin tone and how so many of "us" are superimposing our own experiences (and psychoses) on her is...interesting. I feel like i\'m listening to a bunch of preachers paralleling their own lives to Jesus.".<br><br>I have to agree. I\'m an Alpha and a first generation College Graduate. Some people are using Michelle as a therapeutic figure much like Hillary\'s followers did during the election. One thing about this whole "paper bag test" thing. I really don\'t think it ever truly existed. I\'ve done extensive research into BGLO\'s and they all have every hue of Black Person from their founders to today\'s current members. By the way, did you know that Michelle was offered membership into Alpha Kappa Alpha ?</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4244591">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4244591" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4244591" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4244591">Monica</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4244591" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4244591" class="dsq-comment-message">Osiris, it is true.  And I will say this because there are some who will never honestly admit it, I think this is one of the reasons for the split between AKA and DST.<br><br>If you need further truth, look at the AKA Barbie, designed for the centennial.  She\'s wasn\'t brown.  You would think one person on that committee who have said "wait a minute".<br><br>Michelle was made a honorary AKA at the Boule and like Maya Angelou and Eleanor Roosvelt, she has all the rights of membership (even though she said she wanted to work with all groups).<br><br>I\'ve always been curious why Michelle (who was civically active) hadn\'t been invited or decided not to to join AKA or Delta or Links?</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4241820">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4241820" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4241820" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4241820">NO ID</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4241820" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4241820" class="dsq-comment-message">Maaaan, I can relate to this subject so well. I\'m a medium-brown (light to the dark skinned, dark to the high-yellas) woman who worked at a major black media company. A cultural anthropologist could have had had a ground-breaking study there. I used to joke that the rank and file staff was treated like filed niggas, and that the management was like the house niggas...except it wasn\'t a joke. Education and complexion definitely played a role in the company, as did family background and social class, or the social class you were percieved to be. Despite the product this company put off, it was amazingly the largest group of educated black people from all kinds of backgrounds that I\'ve probably ever been around. You had sorority girls and ex-Jack and Jills mingling with reformed hustlers, quirky artsy types, city kids who\'d done to exclusive East Coast prep schools and those from regular middle class and working class backgrounds all together. Yes, there were differences made by educational background,family wealth, class, color and more. It was fascinating as much as it was sickening. And yes, some of the so-called "elite" black people at this company, who were making money off the exploitation of the ghetto class they despised, were absolutely disdainful of same, particularly if they were working for the company. I have seen this type of division in my own family where complexion and hair type runs the gamut as does educational background and lifestyle. Yet if you meet my mother today, who is high-yella, despite the fact that she has been working class most of her life and has worked in the hood for almost 30 years, you would swear she was one of the "the people like us." That\'s more due to the old-fashioned notion of upbringing and hometraining than any class snobbishness, though. As someone with this background who now lives in a predominantly black neighborhood, I can say this - I have always felt torn between the two worlds. My education and ability to express myself intelligently has given me entree into a slice of the upper crust world, but my working class background means only to a point. But to ghetto folks, even some in my family I\'m "bourgie." And mind you, I can count my family back four generations. Class consciousness has definitely impacted my life in many, many ways. It\'s crazy, but it\'s real. I see a lot of those upper crust black folks, even in my business which is a creative industry, getting top positions in black companies becuase of their percieved corporate appeal. And yes, some are high acheivers and have been trained to be so, so you can\'t knock their work ethic or educational/class background if it helped them get somewhere. As someone who is in daily proximity to "hood" black folks, I will say it\'s not poverty that is responsible for some of the behavior and dysfunction. It\'s ignorance, which in the Catch-22 we know so well, is often created by poverty.<br>As far as Barack and Michelle, I credit both of them for vaulting up the class board and working with the talented tenth types like Valerie Jarrett. They leapfrogged over the usual channels with education, ambition and parents who wanted them to do more than they themselves could. I can appreciate that. I am sure that in the privacy of their own thoughts, PEBO and Michelle are acutely aware of how far they\'ve come. I just hope that they appreciate and recognize that some of the black folks that the talented tenth is so disdainful of are the ones that were loyal to PEBO from the start and helped get him elected.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4245043">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4245043" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4245043" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4245043">Tranelover</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4245043" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4245043" class="dsq-comment-message">Well said.  I so relate to all of it.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4243000">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4243000" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4243000" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4243000">Trumystique</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4243000" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4243000" class="dsq-comment-message">The way I have read this whole thread is that people are saying<br><br>The difference between upper class blacks and middle class blacks? Nothing. But pretension and outmoded ways of thinking.<br><br>The difference between middle class blacks and working class/poor blacks? Behavior <br><br>I still think there is something wrong with this picture.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4244453">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4244453" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4244453" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4244453">Monica</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4244453" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4244453" class="dsq-comment-message">Would you care to explain what you think is wrong with the picture?</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4284685">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4284685" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4284685" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4284685">Trumystique</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4284685" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4284685" class="dsq-comment-message">I think that what I took many people to say on this thread was  the following. <br>The difference between upper class blacks and middle class blacks? Nothing. All that separates these groups is pretension and outmoded ways of thinking on the part of upper class blacks. <br><br>Whats the difference between middle class blacks and working class/poor blacks? According to many on this thread: Behavior. That is that middle class blacks are different in terms of behavior ie work ethic, language, manners, spending patterns etc etc.  As if poor black folk are at the bottom of the class ladder cause they dont work hard enough.<br><br>Most people reading this thread would have rejected this notion if I had suggested that upper crust black people work harder, speak better, are more cultured and better financial stewards than middle class people. So why accept this logic when talking about  lower SES ( socioeconmic status) or poor black people?<br><br>Thats whats wrong with this picture.<br><br>I reject this picture because it bolsters the myth that this society is a meritocracy. This is country is not a meritocracy. Many studies show that there is limited class mobility and most people are in the same class that there parents were born into  <a href="http://www.economicmobility.org/assets/pdfs/EMP%2520American%2520Dream%2520Report.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.economicmobility.org/assets/pdfs/EMP...</a>. Sure there are exceptions of  folk moving up but its the happy EXCEPTION and not the rule.<br><br>Everyone in this country wants to be middle class and  does everything to distance themselves from the lower rungs. The try to be middle class  while trying to become upper class. They lull themselves into thinking that it is possible while at the same time blaming people who dont "make it" as having some moral defect ( uneducated, lack manners, spend too much).<br><br>So I thought this would be an interesting discussion to talk about how we separate ourselves based on class and the many ways we guard our respective positions jealously. At the same time we need to be mindful of whats happening and not accept class distinctions uncritically.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4284743">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4284743" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4284743" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4284743" href="http://www.hustleandfloe.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">hustleandfloe</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4284743" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4284743" class="dsq-comment-message">dang.  a mighty interesting take.  upper to middle comp to middle to lower.  thanks.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4337337">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4337337" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4337337" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4337337">Monica</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4337337" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4337337" class="dsq-comment-message">I suppose you are entitled to your opinion.  I come from a background of abject poverty .  I went to college and received an undergraduate degree and a doctorate.  I joined the sorority I was supposed to join.  I socialized in the right circles, volunteered for the right causes, dated the right men.<br><br>I\'m a little older now and I know what\'s important to me.<br><br>What\'s important to me?Substance, grace, kindness, and humility.<br><br>I\'ve met more people with those characteristics on the "lower rungs".<br><br>I have thrown aside the trappings of the Black Bourgie Mafia (and it looks like I\'m not the only one) and I just live and deal with Black folk just like I deal with anyone-on the basis of their character, not by the letters behind their name, the square footage of their home, the type of car they drive, or if they say axe or ask.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4245288">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4245288" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4245288" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4245288">Jude</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4245288" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4245288" class="dsq-comment-message">In my opinion, this debate is sad and pathetic.  I read the book, Our Kind of People,  and was thoroughly disgusted by it.  I attended a prestigious west coast college with other students who came from these families and was horrified by their need to brag about their debut balls and Jack and Jill membership, etc. etc.  What was even more special was the elitism espoused by the sororities and the color of membership required to join, i.e.,  your skin tone and hair length determined your membership, not your commitment to philanthropy or social activism.  Class is measured by dignity and humility; how we treat ourselves and other human beings and the good work that we do on earth.  This is what defines the essence of the human character.   <br>The true heroes of our society are the ones who are quiet and dignified and do their work behind the scenes, without any need for obscene recognition.  Barack and Michelle Obama are my heroes as well as the thousands of inner city youth I have taught in my career as an urban public school teacher.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4252948">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4252948" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4252948" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4252948">Juana</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4252948" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4252948" class="dsq-comment-message">This preoccupation with shades of color is not restricted to African Americans.<br>Hispanics do it too.  Look at the commercials in Spanish, the actors all have light colored hair, eyes and have white skin.    I suppose people of color basically have one standard of beauty- get as close to white as possible?  Sad, don\'t you think?</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4280151">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4280151" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4280151" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4280151">RKWM</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4280151" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4280151" class="dsq-comment-message">I can\'t help but feel frustrated by the ongoing notions of the black elite  "looking down on" all other african americans.<br><br>Could someone please tell me a society that exists or has existed or this earth that has not had some sort of recognized class structure when large differences in wealth and/or education have existed?  For that matter can anyone tell me of a society from antiquity to the present that did not use a variety of means of stratifying their social positions?<br><br>What has lead african americans to believe they should be somehow excluded from such facts of life?<br><br>There seems to be an awful lot of projection involved here.  In ALL societies those less advantaged seem to believe that those in an alternative position in life have a slew of negative feelings about them.  Interestingly this complaint is alternated with complaints of disregard or being treated as "invisible" to the upper classes.  Which is it?  Seen, contemplated, and disliked or unseen, unconsidered and non-existent in the minds of the elite?  Can it really be both?<br><br>Has anyone ever considered the flip side?<br><br>Should those with long standing family lines of college educated, financially successful ancestors feel ashamed of that fact?  Should they hide their ancestors accomplishments in shame?  Should they leave their children scrambling for heroes to emulate hoping that they will find some rap artist to  pattern themselves after?<br><br>Moreover, should the african americans in america cease to seek to extinquish the greatest lichpin of racism---- the defining of the entire race by the "least of these" instead of defining the race by the best and brightest?<br><br>Isn\'t that what drives the institutionalized racist policies?  A degreed and competent african american applies for a position and because of their skin color it is presumed that they are poor and undereducated and incompetent.  Isn\'t  racism at it\'s core about defining our people by all the negatives that do in fact exist among us without ever being willing to acknowledge the positives?  Aren\'t we forever arguing that our successes are not credited but or failures are latched onto by whites and  become ALL they know about our communities and our existence?<br><br>Could that be, in any part, because of the lack of focus (by african american activists and intelligencia) on the FACT that there is not AN African American Community--- there are African American COMMUNITIES often with different focuses and values systems and political tendencies.  Could it be because the African American upper class (which has existed longer than this nation has existed) has been invisible to white america and the lion\'s share of black america has done little else than deride the existence of these African American communities.<br><br>It seems outrageous and counterproductive to me that so many african americans would rather deify those whites who have championed their causes and denigrate and demean those blacks....... those "our kind of people"......... whose dedication and efforts  to fight to end racism AND to aid those less fortunate when their were no social service programs, or scholarships or access to schools and teachers etc.<br><br>The next time anyone thinking like this opens their mouths to wonder at our children being scared to achieve, feeling that they have to chose between being "black" or being good students, thinking that they must  conflate those things that define poverty wiht those things that define blackness--- I sincerely hope that before they bemoan this lethal epidemic among our children they ask themselves if that is the message that they have been sending those children.<br><br>Think back on the comments soooo prevalent here.  Think back on the notion that all those at any radio station -- just because they are black -- should share the same social circles or personal preferences for their lives.  Blacks who can afford an upscale restaurant should hesitate to gather a groupo for an afterword bite in order to avoid making those who cannot feel what.........not as well off?   Those who like to share a drink and share memories of college and graduate school should instead bury those memories so and not to what........offend those who may not have been able to go to college --- OR may not have been willing to miss the parties and may have chosen to hang with the girls or get hair and nails down while others studied for SAT\'s!  Either may be the case!  But nonetheless, those who missed prom to finish a project and get that A that would get them into ivy league should squash that!  Forget it!  Don\'t mention it!  WHY?????  <br><br>THERE IS NOT JUST ONE BLACK EXPERIENCE!  There is not just ONE black community!  ALL blacks in poverty are not there because of absense of opportunity and all those with ivy league degrees don\'t have them SOLELY because Daddy or Mommy had one!  <br><br>Some who find sharing observations about a novel a relaxing proposition for an evening with friends may not like to do so at caberet\'s and some who find a caberet a desireable way to share time with friends may not care to discuss a novel.  Why try to dictate that there should be some sacrifice of self in an effort to pretend that we are all the same because we share racial heritage???<br><br>The issues of the rural african americas are NOT being addressed.  The issues of the suburban african americans (ESPECIALLY in UPPER CLASS largely white suburbs) will not be discussed at Smiley\'s State of the Black Union this year.  <br><br>While many our kids from all walks of life go to college we will not hear our black intelligensia focus on the myriad of problems and dangers and pitfalls that face those children this year but we will certainly hear them talk passionately about those kids who don\'t get to go to college.  We MAKE those children who do get into college in a very real way invisible!  We make those who enter the work force in management or with advanced degrees invisible!<br><br>What amazes me about the conversation here is that everyone writing seems so well informed and likely well educated.  Have you asked yourself what relationship will await your grandchildren and your greatgrands with the less fortunate african american communites?   Will you want them to feel shame when they recount YOUR struggles and successes?  Will you want them to cling to the hood with all of the overwelmingly difficult challenges that would face them there just to be able to claim some sort of kinship to those unfortunate enough to be fighting the battles that you have fought IN LARGE PART so that they would not have to fight them (or die trying)?<br><br>If not--- then I for ONE of a long line of the "Our Kind of People" would surely appreciate it if you would stop bad mouthing me and mine just because my great great grandfather fought the battles a few decades (or even a century) ahead of you!!  I would request that you cease and desist disregarding my great grandfather who was killed by whites because he was a wealthy and successful man who trafficked black men out of Alabama in coffins when lynch mobs were looking for them.<br><br>I would like you to STOP discrediting my grandfather who had to leave Alabama with his wife and six children in a heartbeat because he was too wealthy and too educated and owned too much of the silly town that housed the white men who came looking for him one night!<br><br>I would hope you would think twice before bad mouthing my mother who read that book to see how often  her name and the names of her friends appeared there but who EVERY DAY OF HER LIFE worked to further the history of african americans and dedicated her life (and a hell of a lot of my fathers money) to trying to make it possible for more african americans to have a choice to go to college and join those sororities and fraternities that you poo poo so readily!<br><br>These people who are being diminished  WERE welfare before Roosevelt!  They were Medicaid and Legal Aid!  They WERE meals on wheels and the Salvation Army!<br><br>So give it a little more thought --- both retrospectively and prospectively -- the next time you want to put your noses up in the air and complain about their existence,  PLEASE!</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4284431">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4284431" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4284431" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4284431">Trumystique</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4284431" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4284431" class="dsq-comment-message">Interesting response. I dont think the point of this discussion was to denigrate upper class black people, middle class black people or poor black people. Rather the point was to critique class privilege and the ways in which people from the more dominant group describe, separate themselves and talk about people from the more subordinate group. And how the process happens in reverse.<br><br>Anywhere where were you this whole discussion??? It would have been nice to hear you chime in earlier.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4284955">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4284955" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4284955" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-4284955" href="http://www.hustleandfloe.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">hustleandfloe</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4284955" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4284955" class="dsq-comment-message">Leonard Pitts shut the book on these (even historically correct) apologies with a quote in an article where he described white people were crying croc tears about Shaq mocking Yao while Yao would get jacked for saying nigger:  "You can have power or pity.  But you can\'t have both."   shaq ain\'t right in doing his "chong ching" and got an undeserved pass from the masses, but even big aristotle fits in the structurally weaker position of black man.  if you are "our kind of people" you gotta expect some petty flak.  it\'s easier than watching that bologna make a little Astrodome in a skillet or trying to make rent.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4314149">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4314149" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4314149" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4314149">MsKitty</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4314149" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4314149" class="dsq-comment-message">I was gonna stay out of the fray on this because it\'s really personal, but I have to respond to this:<br><br>Fair enough about the painting with the broad brush and I certainly don\'t begrudge the success of you and your family, but the respect goes both ways.  I am well educated and part of the upwardly mobile, but I grew up in housing project raised by a single mother.  I make that point because my mother raised me and my sisters not to be limited by our circumstances; and to that end our house was filled with books, she made a great financial sacrifice to send us to private school, and when finances would allow she would take us to the theatre/classical concerts.  And there were lots of other kids "on the block" who were blessed with familes raising them to succeed.  But to the well-off black families in my community, we were seen simply as "The Village" kids who needed to be avoided at all costs because we were bad news and wouldn\'t amount to anything.  In high school, most of the courses I took were AP and there were maybe 3-4 black kids in a class of 20.  Without fail I got along great with the white students whereas the other black students, who all were from well-off families, wouldn\'t give me the time of day.  I\'ll leave you to draw your own conclusions of why that was.  So please don\'t minimize the disrespect and misunderstanding that goes on because it does go on--I lived it.  Honestly, people getting over themselves on both sides will go a long way in fixing this.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4313164">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4313164" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4313164" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4313164">NO ID</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4313164" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4313164" class="dsq-comment-message">"then I for ONE of a long line of the "Our Kind of People" would surely appreciate it if you would stop bad mouthing me and mine"<br><br>no surprise there...<br><br>you did a great job in your rant of describing exactly the elitism and snobbiness that are often attached to your kind of people....</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4281383">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4281383" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4281383" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4281383">Jude</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4281383" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4281383" class="dsq-comment-message">I would like to respond to RWKM.  I understand where you are coming from.  I come from a family who values higher education and the desire to live a comfortable life and socialize with others who share similar interests(regardless of class).  What bothers me about the people in OKOP, and some of the comments in the article was the idea of social exclusion based on economic status, lineage or other factors.  I personally do not like elitism or haughtiness and despise that character trait within any individual.  Yes, there are those of us who value education, who will insist on private schooling for our children and who enjoy vacationing abroad; and we / they should definitely not be shunned for it.  But where I draw the line, is when individuals or organizations purposely exclude or look down upon those who do not have these opportunities or do not come from a certain sector of society.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4284878">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4284878" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4284878" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4284878">Travis</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4284878" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4284878" class="dsq-comment-message">Read our kind of people... very interesting that you would mention it now.   <br><br>Given what was mentioned ,the likes of Oprah and Michelle would not meet the qualifications even to stop by at Sag Harbour or Oldsbluff. for that matter.But there is cold \'revenge\' taking place among these very class conscious folks... Those they have walked passed only based on the darkness of skin..regardless of their educational staus is now leaving them in the dust. Michelle doesn\'t need an invitation to get her girls to a Jack and Jill... I think its great how all of this is turning out.<br><br>A movie on this would be great!  Where is Otis? Penning another book I guess!</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4337776">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4337776" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4337776" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4337776">rikyrah</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4337776" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4337776" class="dsq-comment-message">Lawrence Graham IS penning another book - A Black Social Register.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4317758">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4317758" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4317758" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4317758">osiris1906</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4317758" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4317758" class="dsq-comment-message">THANK YOU RKWM !!! For speaking truth to power. And you are right about the projection that goes on here in these comments. This is my favorite blog but people get defensive here alot. We are not a monolithic hive-mind. Period.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4318203">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4318203" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4318203" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4318203">osiris1906</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4318203" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4318203" class="dsq-comment-message">@ monica - Check out early pictures of AKAs. They are range from light to dark. Ethel Hedgemon Lyle is a dark skinned woman and a key founder of AKA. The whole idea that the Delta split from AKA is a case of the dark girls separating from the light is false. I was at Boule and AKA is NOT a light skinned and  long haired girl sorority.  Also, The AKA Barbie is a brown skinned doll. Her features are clearly African American. <br><br>I read OKOP.  But I am not one of them. They are a valid part of our history here in this country. Why does one experience outweigh or invalidate the other ?</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4336840">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4336840" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4336840" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4336840">Monica</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4336840" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4336840" class="dsq-comment-message">Osiris,<br>I am an AKA.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-4361633">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-4361633" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-4361633" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-4361633">sean</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-4361633" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-4361633" class="dsq-comment-message">What is OKOP?</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 </ul>\
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	}
	var fbJS = document.createElement('script');
	fbJS.type = "text/javascript";
	fbJS.src = "http://static.ak.connect.facebook.com/js/api_lib/v0.4/FeatureLoader.js.php";
	document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(fbJS);

	ExecuteWhen.add(window.fbIsReady,
		function () {
			// HACK: This is a workaround FBC's single domain limitation by
			//		 allowing sites to create multiple forums with different
			//		 Facebook API keys.  This must be used in conjunction with
			//		 disqus_facebook_forum (see authenticateFacebook).
			var facebook_api_key = 'bd6a8bc56f8eb204984f34b6fefe228d';
			if (typeof disqus_facebook_api_key != 'undefined') {
				facebook_api_key = disqus_facebook_api_key;
			}

			FB.init(facebook_api_key, window.facebookXdReceiverPath || null,
				{fetchSignedPublicSessionData: true});
		});
}


	


if(typeof(disqus_callback) == 'function') {
	var callback_params = Dsq.Utils.getRequestParams()['dsq_cbp'] || null;

	// We don't care about any errors in third-party code
	try {
		disqus_callback(callback_params);
	} catch (x) {
		if (typeof(console) != 'undefined' && typeof(console.log) == 'function') {
			// But it would be nice to let developers know about them
			console.log(x);
		}
		// pass
	}

	// HACK: We don't know if the callback wraps our container, which may
	// possibly result in a new DOM element.
	Dsq.container = document.getElementById('dsq-content');
}

})();




