10 Reasons Why We Should Bring Back the Word Negro!

Now that Senator Harry Reid has revived the word Negro, we here at 99problems.org have been thinking that we should maybe consider bringing the word back. You know, sort of like a word revival. We have been thinking about this pretty hard, and we think we  have 10 valid reasons why we should just go ahead and start talking as if we lived during the 1950s again.

10. The African American murder rate was a lot lower when people of color were called Negro.

9. It sorta sounds like the word Glenn Beck really wants to call black people

8. It sorta sounds like the word that Rush Limbaugh really wants to call black people.

7. If we use Negro, Sidney Pottier might become popular again.

6. Americans will become a little more bilingual.

5. Reminiscent of a time when they had their own league, Black people might start playing baseball again.

4. The use of the word Negro may encourage Bill Cosby to calm down and shut up.

3. The N-word might become much less popular amongst rappers.

2. It’s a lot less letters than African American.

1. Negro will be included on the 2010 United States Census, alongside “Black” and “African-American,” because some older Americans still self-identify with the term. (For Real!)

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The Editor

Jon Stewart Smashes Glenn Beck!

Last night, Jon Stewart managed to dedicate ten minutes to making fun of Glenn Beck… as Glenn Beck. Here’s the deal: Glenn Beck has appendicitis, but Jon Stewart thinks there’s something deeper there. There’s more than just his appendix pulling the strings… perhaps a conspiracy!

This is a MUST watch video: check it below.

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Steve Romain

Real (And Fake) Pundits on Health Care

When it comes to smart, funny television, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart run neck and neck in the race for the lead. In a brilliant piece of satire and biting television, last night’s Colbert Report took on Insurance Companies. Absolutely genius:

I’m gonna digress for a second. Instead of simply asking what you think and sending this piece out to pasture, I’ll present you with some commentary that a “for-serious” pundit actually spit onto the airwaves.

When you’re going to have to make a decision because we can’t afford good healthcare for everybody, somebody’s not going to get a kidney transplant. Somebody’s not going to get heart surgery. Somebody’s not going to get kidney dialysis. Somebody’s not going to get that surgery. Who’s it going to be? Is it going to be the Millennial that doesn’t give a flying crap about anybody else but themselves because they’re special, look at all the trophies they won?

That was an actual recent quote from your favorite pundit and mine: Glenn Beck.

I find it ironic that Beck can go spout this sort of nonsense when youth are so engaged in the health care debate, as activists for a hundred different youth driven organizations or in more passive roles, as a segment of the American citizenry facing some of the highest rates of unemployment and lack of healthcare coverage.

Think about it this way: many young people are voting their confidence in progressive health care reform by consistently watching programs, such as The Daily Show and Colbert Report, which are lately discussing health reform every other night. These young people keep coming back: Jon Stewart isn’t the most trusted man in news for nothin’.

Alas, I’m taking a long road to a short conclusion: as much as the ‘RAWR I’M LOUD’ pundits like to say young people aren’t engaged, you and I – the engaged young people – know we are. We’re living with the health care crisis some like to think only exists in “REAL America” – the America where everyone has two-and-a-half kids, a picket fence, a dog and a yard – which is insulting and degrading to the diverse ranks of our society. But hey, you knew that.

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Steve Romain

Glenn Beck’s Snake Oil: The Great American Swindle

A national political campaign is better than the best circus ever heard of, with a mass baptism and a couple of hangings thrown in.

-H. L. Mencken

If you’re wondering, that picture to the left is an old picture of Jerry Springer and yours truly (taken when I was about 15, mind you).

Why would I put that picture up, you ask? Simple. We’ve entered an era where even he – the king of trash television in the 21st century – has become dated. Jerry Springer – the ringmaster of a disgusting television circus – has given up his genius swindler throne to none other than Glenn Beck.

Rest assured, I doubt I’d be taking my picture with Mr. Beck anytime soon. He’s probably the kind of guy that thinks that cameras are the devil or something. And if he knew who I was, he’d have me burned at the stake on live television.

Rather than a whimsical culture of strange love affairs and “not-the-father-freakouts” that characterized the talking heads of the 90s, modern talkshow hosts have become dark doomsayers, content to deliver racist, hostile diatribes in this – the “culture of cruelty”.

And – to be candid – I have never been so nervous to be in the crowd, watching it happen.
… Continue Reading

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Steve Romain

When Did Glenn Beck Lose His Mind?

Let’s get some things off the table first.

I’m not writing this as Steve Romain, 99Problems editor. Nor am I writing this as Steve Romain, 99Problems columnist. I’m writing this as Steve Romain, concerned citizen, therefore none of the things I am about to say are the views of 99P or any of its affiliated organizations.

That being said:

I don’t hate Glenn Beck. *Cue the awkward silence.* Really. I don’t. He’s one hell of a showman and a great actor. Let’s face it – the ability to cry on command and speak without listening to yourself is an incredible skill. Plus, if you’ve got the drive, passion and motivation to successfully engage millions of Americans, you’re doing something right.

But this brings up a huge set of questions. When did Glenn Beck lose his mind and why are we still listening? Have things gotten so bad that the only way we can intake information is through the ramblings of an insane person? And how have the followers of these “newsertainment” anchors developed such an obsessively obedient cult-like following? Frankly, I know that certain members of my family will probably string me up after they read this piece.

Some friends of mine brought the following video to my attention: Glenn Beck “Uncovers” Conspiracy Involving Van Jones. While watching it, I was eerily reminded of the classic movie Network. If you’ve seen it, you probably see where I’m going, so let me open this up to the ‘uninitiated’.
… Continue Reading

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Steve Romain