Episode 038: History Examination

Are you ready for your “history examination”? This episode of The Axiom Amnesia Theory with Heit & Cheri is packed full of history and critical examination of events of political and social significance. Cheri kicks off the show by asking Heit if he’s ever cheated in school, and whether or not he used a cheat sheet. Have you ever cheated in school? This podcast can serve as your own personal cheat sheet, packed full of audio and commentary on some of the most prominent social and political issues of the past hundred plus years.

Other topics include a student who got caught with a 35-foot cheat sheet, Father’s Day, an update on the Trayvon Martin / George Zimmerman case (Zimmerman jail calls), the disgusting Trayvon Martin-related acts of Global Grind, George Zimmerman Witness #9 testimony, Obama’s new immigration policy, Malcolm X tells people why they’re chumps, Ronald Reagan’s Harry Truman ad, 1994 Obama interview, Joe the Plumber, Rodney King’s death and his civil rights significance, and a discussion of Willie D’s song, “Rodney K.”

Call or text us at 202-446-1886 and let us know what you think about the show!

Segment 1

• A student got caught with a 35-foot long cheat sheet. It included 25,000 answers and was wrapped around his body.
• Heit doesn’t believe that he should be punished. He thinks the guy should be viewed as a valued researcher.
• Cheri thinks that it’s sad that people feel such desperation to go to such extremes to pass a test. The idea that these entrance exams are in a position to make or break a student’s academic career. There is something wrong with the culture.
• The society is such that everything is presented as being do or die, make or break.
• Someone actually Googled the search term “Heit and Chéri are Black,” and they found Axiom Amnesia.
• Discussion about Father’s Day and the issues surrounding single parenthood. Heit wrote an article “Happy Father’s Day Deadbeats!“, which is an excellent piece with a different take on deadbeat dads.
• This week George and Shellie Zimmerman’s jailhouse calls were released. Listen to them yourself, and let us know if you hear some interesting things on the tapes that we picked up.
• Thanks to everyone who has donated to help support this and other projects.
• If you are one of the almost quarter of a million people who are associated with the “Justice For Trayvon Martin” Facebook page, this is a MUST READ. The page is basically a profit front for Global Grind to usher people who really care about what’s happening with the Trayvon Martin / George Zimmerman case to their site for ad revenue. Shameful and disgusting. => “Justice For Trayvon Martin” (aka Global Grind) Facebook Page Opposes Justice And Truth
• Discussion about Witness #9 in the George Zimmerman case and that Zimmerman’s attorney is trying to block the release of this witness’s second statement.
• Discussion of President Barack Obama’s announcement of a big change to U.S. immigration policy.
• Obama was interrupted during his speech by a reported from the Daily Caller, and people have complained that no other president has been disrespected the way Obama has–not true.
• Other presidents, as well as politicians, have been disrespected. Remember George W. Bush got two shoes thrown at him?
• A man once told Dick Cheney to “go fuck himself.”
• The immigration policy changes were surely done for political gain. The guidelines are as follows:

Under this directive, individuals who demonstrate that they meet the following criteria will be eligible for an exercise of discretion, specifically deferred action, on a case by case basis:

1) Came to the United States under the age of sixteen;
2) Have continuously resided in the United States for a least five years preceding the date of this memorandum and are present in the United States on the date of this memorandum;
3) Are currently in school, have graduated from high school, have obtained a general education development certificate, or are honorably discharged veterans of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States;
4) Have not been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, multiple misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety;
5) Are not above the age of thirty.
Source: Department of Homeland Security

• Rick Santorum also made comments about Obama’s immigration announcement. He says that Obama broke his oath of office with these changes.
• People who are raised in the U.S. should be able to stay, regardless of being brought to the U.S. at a young age. They are American in all ways except for their documentation.
• Some opposers say that “these people” should be kicked out so that “real Americans” can have the jobs. They act as if undocumented people are going to make the economy worse, when in reality they are already part of the economy.
• This was the right thing to do, besides being political. These young people should also have a path to citizenship.
• Obama has deported more people than the previous administration, yet he’s making this decision not to deport the young people who are undocumented and otherwise meet the above criteria.
• One thing that occurs to us with this immigration policy change is that it, in effect, starts to create a list of young, undocumented immigrants. People will have to come forward to apply to benefit under this plan. If at any point in the future the policy should change, they will know exactly where to go to find and deport these undocumented immigrants.
• Discussion about Joe the Plumber and how he is working his 15 minutes of fame and running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Ohio. He wasn’t even a licensed plumber nor a small business owner. He was just a shill for the GOP.
• Many African Americans responded to the immigration announcement negatively, with some even calling it a “slap in the face.” They were complaining that LGBT and Latinos are having their issues addressed, while Black issues remain unaddressed.
• For the past four years, many Blacks have discouraged other Blacks from putting pressure on Obama to address Black issues, and this is the result.
• Other communities spoke up for themselves, while Blacks didn’t put enough political pressure on Obama. What if he is not reelected? There are those who are holding out hope that he will do for them during his second term. What if that doesn’t happen?
• Obama’s former professor at Harvard, Roberto Unger, says that he needs to be defeated because people are just on his side while his policies don’t fit the values of his supporters. This is what Heit meant in previous podcasts when he said that he hopes the GOP wins the next election.
• Why are people willing to make demands when the opposition party is in power, but not when their candidate is in power? Obama should give his supporters something in return for their votes.
• Malcolm X spoke about the issue of Black voters not utilizing their political voting bloc for their own gain because of their seemingly unequivocal support of the Democratic Party.
• The voting bloc doesn’t have to outnumber all of the other voter blocs to tip the scale and use that as leverage.
• Discussion about Obama and the Latino voting bloc.
• Barack Obama’s 1994 interview in which he talks about how it is up to the political leadership in the Black community to bear some responsibility for the state of the people.
• Obama also said that when America is sick, Black people have pneumonia. Yet, when he became the “doctor”, he gave the “uninsured” Black folks with pneumonia a Tylenol and told them to “take off their bed slippers” and stop complaining! When Black leaders tried to bring the community issues to him, he sent them away–told them to shut up.
• Discussion about how Obama knew that he wanted to be president even back then, and all of his actions were geared toward building his track record and resume. He chose to write his book over community organizing because he wanted to document his accomplishments and tell his story.
• You can look at people who are in activism and community politics and tell the difference between someone who is aspiring to be a high-level Black politician and someone who is about the business of really helping the community.
• The formula for a Black politician is to have the civil rights groups behind him and join the Black church. Marrying Michelle gave him some street credibility that he needed to get in good with the community. The church gave him access to the Black movers and shakers who could give him access to the right people who could help his political career. He played his cards brilliantly. In politics, and other areas of life, it’s all about telling a good story, and Obama has a good story.
• The odds of becoming president are very slim–you’re more likely to be an NBA player.
• Discussion about Hubert Humphrey’s speech about civil rights at the Democratic National Convention in 1948, and how people actually walked out.
• He was speaking for civil rights because it was the right thing to do. We had someone saying that in 1948, yet politicians are afraid to say these same things today. They won’t say it in the general public, and that’s a little sad.
• He was talking about the idea of state’s rights. The reason people wanted and still want state rights is because they want to deny people their civil rights under that guise. These Dixicrats eventually left and joined the Republican Party. And, some later became part of the Libertarian Movement.
• Mention of people like Joe Arpaio arresting a 6-year-old in response to Obama’s immigration policy change.
• Discussion about Ronald Reagan and how everything he said was scripted.
• Discussion about Ronald Reagan’s commercial for Democrats before he was a Republican. And, what was more shocking was that he made mention of things like equal pay and out of control corporate profits–things that got worse when he was president.
• How can Reagan be the Republican hero? Have they listened to what he said before he became president?
• Discussion about how George H. W. Bush was in charge of Reagan’s White House, and how he has a long history in politics and government affairs.
• Ronald Reagan also narrated a scary commercial about HMOs in Michael Moore’s documentary “Sicko”.
• Rodney King was found dead, and Heit thinks his fiancee had something to do with it. He was butt naked, beating on his sliding glass door. The fiancee went to get the phone, heard a splash, then went outside to the pool, and saw him at the bottom of the pool. According to reports, she’s been telling different stories to her friends about the events that occurred that night.
• Discussion about the Rodney King beatings and riots in 1992. We encourage you to look at the coverage yourself. People look at King as a hero, but he was just a victim of a system that allows for peoples’ civil rights to be violated–and then allows the perpetrators to get away.
• Discussion about King’s drug and alcohol use, and that regardless of his substance abuse issue, he didn’t deserve to be beaten like that.
• Discussion of Willie D’s song, “Rodney K.” What happened to Rodney King showed all of the flaws of the system, and people got angry to the point of an uprising. And, in the face of the uprising, Rodney King came forth and uttered those famous words, “Can’t we all just get along?” Some people were angry about his response when they were angry for him.
• King probably always felt responsible for his own beating and the riots that followed after those dirty cops got off.
• Discussion of the parallels in the Oscar Grant case, where Cephus Johnson aka Uncle Bobby didn’t tell people not to react in the way they saw fit.
• The system is supposed to address injustice, and when it doesn’t, you have to move beyond that system for redress. The stage is set for an explosion when the oppressed (who are already under pressure) become frustrated and angry because of the way they are treated. This is how those uprisings start.
• Heit & Cheri share their favorite lines from the song.
• Discussion about how rallies and marches are the default action when there is an injustice in the Black community. What is the point of a silent march?
• Should Heit & Cheri do more than one show a week. Contact us and let us know what you think!
• Please remember to donate, because we really need your support to continue all of our projects.

Audio Credits:

“President Obama Loosens Deportation Law for Young Immigrants, Heckler Interrupts Speech” – ABC via YouTube
“MALCOLM X Youre A Political Chump!” – Malcolm X via YouTube
“1994 interview with young Barack Obama” – Historic Films
“Hubert Humphrey” – via YouTube
“Reagan Campaigns for Truman in 1948” – via YouTube
“Rodney K” – Willie D

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