Twenty-seven years ago, Trinity United Church of Christ adopted the Black Value System. This is the moral compass for Barack and Michelle Obama, who repeatedly praised this church as their source of comfort and guidance, and raised their children in its theology. What comes through loud and clear is that this congregation, including the Obamas, subscribes not to the American value system, but to this “black value system.”

Some of the goals, such as the pursuit of education and the pursuit of excellence, are laudable. But the underlying premise is an “us versus them” mentality. The entire motivation is to benefit what is perceived as a separate “Black Community” rather than the American society as a whole. Note in particular the egregious “victimhood” expressed in #8. This stridently apartheid attitude is entirely congruent with that articulated by Michelle in her senior thesis.

Does this express what should be the primary goal of the president of the United States?

To measure the worth and validity of all activity in terms of positive contributions to the general welfare of the Black Community and the Advancement of Black People towards freedom.

A president should be devoted FIRST to the general welfare of all Americans.

Every thinking American should read this carefully. To the extent that black individuals subscribe to these concepts, we do have a race problem. And over and over again, we have proof that this represents the world view of the Obamas, which would render them seriously unfit to be the president and first lady of our country. From Trinity United Church of Christ:

These Black Ethics must be taught and exemplified in homes, churches, nurseries and schools, wherever Blacks are gathered.  They consist of the following concepts:

1. Commitment to God.  “The God of our weary years” will give us the strength to give up prayerful passivism and become Black Christian Activists, soldiers for Black freedom and the dignity of all humankind.
2. Commitment to the Black Community.  The highest level of achievement for any Black person must be a contribution of strength and continuity of the Black Community.
3. Commitment to the Black Family.  The Black family circle must generate strength, stability and love, despite the uncertainty of externals, because these characteristics are required if the developing person is to withstand warping by our racist competitive society. 

   Those Blacks who are blessed with membership in a strong family unit must reach out and expand that blessing to the less fortunate.

4. Dedication to the Pursuit of Education.  We must forswear anti-intellectualism.  Continued survival demands that each Black person be developed to the utmost of his/her mental potential despite the inadequacies of the formal education process.  “Real education” fosters understanding of ourselves as well as every aspect of our environment.  Also, it develops within us the ability to fashion concepts and tools for better utilization of our resources, and more effective solutions to our problems.  Since the majority of Blacks have been denied such learning, Black Education must include elements that produce high school graduates with marketable skills, a trade or qualifications for apprenticeships, or proper preparation for college.

   Basic education for all Blacks should include Mathematics, Science, Logic, General Semantics, Participative Politics, Economics and Finance, and the Care and Nurture of Black minds.

5. Dedication to the Pursuit of Excellence.   To the extent that we individually reach for, even strain for excellence, we increase, geometrically, the value and resourcefulness of the Black Community.  We must recognize the relativity of one’s best; this year’s best can be bettered next year.  Such is the language of growth and development.  We must seek to excel in every endeavor.
6. Adherence to the Black Work Ethic.  “It is becoming harder to find qualified people to work in Chicago.”  Whether this is true or not, it represents one of the many reasons given by businesses and industries for deserting the Chicago area.  We must realize that a location with good facilities, adequate transportation and a reputation for producing skilled workers will attract industry.  We are in competition with other cities, states and nations for jobs.  High productivity must be a goal of the Black workforce.
7. Commitment to Self-Discipline and Self-Respect.  To accomplish anything worthwhile requires self-discipline.  We must be a community of self-disciplined persons if we are to actualize and utilize our own human resources, instead of perpetually submitting to exploitation by others.  Self-discipline, coupled with a respect for self, will enable each of us to be an instrument of Black Progress and a model for Black Youth.
8. Disavowal of the Pursuit of “Middleclassness.”  Classic methodology on control of captives teaches that captors must be able to identify the “talented tenth” of those subjugated, especially those who show promise of providing the kind of leadership that might threaten the captor’s control.

   Those so identified are separated from the rest of the people by:

   1. Killing them off directly, and/or fostering a social system that encourages them to kill off one another.
   2. Placing them in concentration camps, and/or structuring an economic environment that induces captive youth to fill the jails and prisons.
   3. Seducing them into a socioeconomic class system which, while training them to earn more dollars, hypnotizes them into believing they are better than others and teaches them to think in terms of “we” and “they” instead of “us.”
   4. So, while it is permissible to chase “middleclassness” with all our might, we must avoid the third separation method – the psychological entrapment of Black “middleclassness.”  If we avoid this snare, we will also diminish our “voluntary” contributions to methods A and B.  And more importantly, Black people no longer will be deprived of their birthright: the leadership, resourcefulness and example of their own talented persons.
       
9. Pledge to Make the Fruits of All Developing and Acquired Skills Available to the Black Community.
    
10. Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for Strengthening and Supporting Black Institutions.
     
11. Pledge Allegiance to All Black Leadership Who Espouse and Embrace the Black Value System.
     
12. Personal Commitment to Embracement of the Black Value System.  To measure the worth and validity of all activity in terms of positive contributions to the general welfare of the Black Community and the Advancement of Black People towards freedom.

The Chicago Tribune raised this concern in early February:

Obama … faces his own challenges in dealing with race as he seeks to frame himself as a candidate who can bridge historic divisions not only of race, but class and religion as well….

The product of a black Kenyan father, white American mother and a series of elite schools, Obama has prompted some African-Americans to question whether he is really in touch with their lives.

At the same time, conservative critics already have begun a buzz on the Internet about a far less known part of his biography: his adherence to the creed of the prominent South Side church he attends, Trinity United Church of Christ. The congregation posits what it terms a Black Value System….

The next day, Tucker Carlson weighed in:

….Tucker Carlson criticized Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), a presumptive candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, for being a member of a church that Carlson claimed “sounds separatist to me” and “contradicts the basic tenets of Christianity”… Carlson was referring to the “Black Value System” advocated by the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, of which Obama is a member….

“So Barack Obama is a member of a church called Trinity United Church of Christ. It’s a predominantly black church in Chicago, that espouses something called the “Black Value System,” which includes calls for congregants to be “soldiers for black freedom” and a, quote, “disavowal of the pursuit of middleclassness.” Now, it would seem to me … not to make a broad sweeping statement here, but a racially exclusive theology, a theology that ministers to one group of people, based on race, kind of contradicts the basic tenets of Christianity, and is worth talking about.”

Barack Obama has spent a little over three years in the United States Senate. Even without the other concerns, it is hard to see how this qualifies him to lead the country. It appears that he is using the color of his skin as a qualification for office. His party is so desperate to show how ecumenical they are that they are eager to promote an unqualified black man.

As we have pointed out repeatedly, we would not even be having this discussion if Colin Powell (R – Secretary of State) or Douglas Wilder (D – Governor of Virginia) were running. So this is not about racism on the part of white voters. This is about using reverse racism as a political tool to manipulate public perception. And that is truly RACIST.

The HillBuzz Blog was first to break these new details, as far as we can tell. And so it is their story. We are going to reproduce their material here, something that we normally do not do with someone else’s story. But we are hosted on five different servers, and other blogs carrying the story have been seriously hacked, so in this case, the more places that all of this text appears on the Internet, the better. From HillBuzz:

What’s on the Michelle Obama Rant Tape?

Here’s what’s known so far:

The Michelle Obama Rant Tape was filmed between June 26th – July 1st 2004 in Chicago, IL at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Conference at Trinity United Church: specifically the Women’s Event.

Michelle Obama appeared as a panelist alongside Mrs. Khadijah Farrakhan and Mrs. James Meeks.

Bill Clinton spoke during the Conference, as did Bill Cosby and other speakers, but not at the panel Michelle attended.

Michelle Obama spoke at the Women’s Event, but referenced Bill Clinton in her rant — his presence at the conference was the impetus for her raving, it seems.

For about 30 minutes, Michelle Obama launched into a rant about the evils of America, and how America is to blame for the problems of Africa. Michelle personally blamed President Clinton for the deaths of millions of Africans and said America is responsible for the genocide of the Tutsis and other ethnic groups. She then launched into an attack on “whitey”, and talked about solutions to black on black crime in the realm of diverting those actions onto white America. Her rant was fueled by the crowd: they reacted strongly to what she said, so she got more passionate and enraged, and that’s when she completely loses it and says things that have made the mouths drop of everyone who’s seen this.

The “tape” is a DVD that Trinity United sold on its website, and possibly offered free for download up until March 2008 when Trinity’s site was scrubbed and the DVDs were no longer offered for sale.

This outburst happened just one month before the 2004 Democratic Convention, when Barack Obama delivered the keynote address.

UPDATED: It seems really easy for Chicago local media, especially, to determine whether or not this is the right tape of Michelle Obama. All they need to do is pull the tape from this 2004 Conference (particularly the panel Michelle was on), which should be readily available (since this was a very large multi-day event). All a journalist needs to do is watch this tape: if this is not the right one, they’d know immediately and this issue would be debunked. But, logically, this seems to be the most likely source of the tape people have been talking about at NoQuarterUSA.net

We repeat — full credit for this material goes to HillBuzz Blog, which appears to be an advocacy for the Hillary Clinton candidacy.

Earlier, former CIA operative Larry Johnson (see note) had done a lot of digging and uncovered the photograph below of a panel that he suspected was the setting for the rumored rant. From No Quarter:

Michelle Obama and Louis Farrakhan’s Wife Together in Photo

Check out one facet of BARACK OBAMA’s “inner circle” — most of the women shown here represent a hidden inner circle that has played important roles in getting him elected. The Nation of Islam is not just another neighborhood group….

THE PHOTOGRAPH BELOW UNDERSCORES the virtually ignored role that Louis Farrakhan and his wife, Mother Khadijah Farrakhan, have played in the POLITICAL RISE of Barack and Michelle Obama.

From JET Magazine, a powerful Chicago-based publication, July 26, 2004

[Note: From 1985 through September 1989 Mr. Johnson worked for the Central
Intelligence Agency. From 1989 until October 1993, Larry Johnson served as a Deputy
Director in the U.S. State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism. Larry Johnson is currently CEO and co-founder of BERG Associates, LLC, an international business-consulting firm with expertise combating terrorism and investigating money laundering.]

As HillBuzz Blog so poignantly asked — Do We Still Have Journalists In This Country? This developing story is reminiscent of the investigative journalism done by bloggers back in September 2004 in debunking the TANG memos. In answer to the HillBuzz question, we will say once again what we said then:

In his posted article Blogs vs 60 Minutes at Tech Central Station, Jay Currie writes,

“The more basic question is how could a rabble of bloggers, in one day, provide hard core proof of forgery when major news organizations took those documents at face value?”

Well, of course, the answer is that we are not a rabble of bloggers. We are all the intelligent, articulate citizens of the world who recognize the power of the Internet…. Let us turn that question around. How can any news organization research department hope to compete with the largest pool of subject matter experts the world has ever seen? We are a

• totally networked
• dynamically interactive
• mutually vetting

congregation of legal experts, physicists and mathematicians, futurists, military experts, grammarians, historians, political analysts, linguists, geographers, economists, sociologists, doctors, philosophers, computer experts, communications and media specialists, and skilled practitioners of every discipline under the sun. We are a research department to die for.

Related:

From The Revolutionary Political Blog comes this reference to the 1988 Dukakian disaster:

The political ramifications: If Michelle Obama was caught saying a few racist words, the idiot Democratic party will probably let it slide. If this is a full maniacal rant that is so obviously crazy that even the Obama cultists cringe, then we are talking a possible super delegate mass defection. However Obama would have to slide in the polls before you see that defection. To most sane minds Obama is already unelectable, if this tape is as bad as the pros are saying it is, he won’t even get the chance to lose 40 states.

A comment by a mainstream Democrat at Huffington Post expresses the sentiment of many decent Democrats, and references the even greater loss by Mondale in 1984:

The Question That Cuts Both Ways –Why Let McCain Win?

There are times in one’s life that you have to rise above Party and think about the country. I am not putting this country in the hands of a left wing radical, with radical racist friends, who is only two years out of the Illiniois State Senate, whose inexperience shows every day, whose links to corruption are undisputed and whose wife hates the country in the White House. It’s as simple as that. Is McCain the best person for the job? Of those available, yes he is. That is the fault of the left wing of the Democratic Party controlled by Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Donna Brazille, etc., with the help of the media. This is their man. Let them have him. Take him, please. After 1972, I never thought the Democrats would make a mistake like this again. I was wrong. After Obama loses 49 states, after all the tapes and bad press about who Obama really is surfaces, and I think there is a lot more to come, then everyone will look around and wonder why. But, I won’t. I know why. He cannot win an election. Clinton’s strength is 2012 will come back. And then, we might have a chance at the White House.

Possibly there exists a videotape of a panel discussion at Trinity Church in which Michelle Obama and Louis Farrakhan discussed how to “take on Whitey” and if so, a copy of that tape may be in the possession of a TV news network.

Normally, we do not discuss such things here at American Daughter until we can directly source them ourselves, but this has such momentous implications for the presidential campaign that we felt we would not be serving our readers unless we brought this to their attention.

There is also the possibility that the Clinton campaign was aware that this tape existed, and that Hillary was staying in the race in hopes that this tape would be aired before all of the superdelegates committed to Obama.

Rumor also suggests that the tape was acquired by Republicans, who planned to allow Obama to become the nominee, and then air the tape in October. The story is that the opposition research team for one of the Republican candidates no longer in the race (?? Romney, Giuliani ??) painstakingly pored through all of the video tape material available from Trinity Church and found the record of, not a sermon, but an obscure panel discussion.

References:

Rumors of the Infamous Michelle Obama Tape

Roger Stone said on Fox News this weekend that he believes the tape exists, and “a network” has it, for whatever that’s worth. (Perhaps more interestingly, Stone says seven news organizations have contacted him asking if he has it.)

Did Michelle Obama use the word “Whitey”? — Video on YouTube

Michelle Obama and Louis Farrakhan Take On Whitey

I learned over the weekend why the Republicans who have seen the tape of Michelle Obama ranting about “whitey” describe it as “STUNNING.” …. It features Michelle Obama and Louis Farrakhan. They are sitting on a panel at Jeremiah Wright’s Church when Michelle makes her intemperate remarks….

…when it comes out, Barack will be permanently branded with the Nation of Islam. That’s not a winning platform in November. And Barack’s bundlers understand this threat. I also have learned some major financial backers are asking the Barack team about the tape and are being stonewalled. It is a wild card in the political campaign that has not yet played out.

Rumor: Michelle Obama tape of her ranting against “whitey” during mass at Jeremiah Wright’s church is being held by the Republicans to be dropped in an October Surprise

An explanation offered by Booman Tribune seems to confirm the existence of a videotape of interest, at least:

From what I understand, it is a tape of Michelle Obama criticizing the Bush administration.

How you’d write it:

Why did Bush cut folks off medicaid?
Why did Bush let New Orleans drown?
Why did Bush do nothing about Jena?
Why did Bush put us in Iraq for no reason?

How you’d say it:

Why’d he cut folks off medicaid?
Why’d he let New Orleans drown?
Why’d he do nothing about Jena?
Why’d he put us in Iraq for no reason?

How Larry Johnson wants you to hear it:

Whitie cut folks off medicaid?
Whitie let New Orleans drown?
Whitie do nothing about Jena?
Whitie put us in Iraq for no reason?

Is the Michelle Obama Tape a Matter of Enunciation?

….whether this is a question (“Why’d he”) or a statement (“whitey”) should be fairly clear from the intonation of the sentence, if we ever get to hear the audio of the tape. The pitch usually increases for a question, and decreases for a statement.

Stop The ACLU Blog has coverage.

My Town Talks has a more extensive version of the transcript:

Once again, the white man keeps us down, what’s up with Whitey, Why’d he attack Iraq, Why’d he let Katrina happen, Why’d he leave millions of children behind. This is the legacy the white man gives us.

TOPIX is running a poll on whether the tape exists.

UPDATE, June 3:

In the Wall Street Journal Political Diary John Fund mentions the possibility of a tape:

The problem … is that voters may begin to detect a pattern in Mr. Obama’s increasingly odd set of advisers and allies. Jeremiah Wright. William Ayers. Michael Pfleger. As the political blogger Jerry Fuhrman notes: “Traveling in this circle, is it any wonder that Obama’s wife Michelle never found a reason to be proud of her country?”

Indeed, rumors are swirling on the campaign trail that a new video will soon surface featuring Mrs. Obama appearing on a panel with radical speakers during which she makes more controversial statements.

HillBuzz Blog notes that the tape was mentioned on Fox & Friends this morning:

If any of you had the opportunity to watch Fox & FRiends this morning, you probably saw Bob Beckel being interviewed about todays political events.

Towards the end of the interview he announced to the Fox & FRiends hosts that he has been told by numerous people,(enough and in a way that convinced him) that a bombshell will be dropping tomorrow about Michele Obama.

The Friends turned white and asked what it might be…was it worse than a college thesis? Bob said—Oh yes, in a BIG way. He said that the Repubs were behind it and it was dumb because it meant that Mrs. Clinton would be the nominee….

Here is the link to the YouTube video of Bob Beckel on Fox & Friends — advanced Loading…
Bob Beckel Talks About a Cryptic Michelle Obama Bombshell!.

From No Quarter comes this:

My sources tell me the Republicans who have the tape are hanging on to it and do not … want it released now. They want to use it against Barky in the fall. They fear that releasing it now will kill Obama’s political support and open the door for Hillary. The tape, I am told, appears to have been made in June 2004. It was not part of a pulpit service at Trinity. It was a conference….

Just when you thought the reverse racism couldn’t get any uglier…

At WorldNetDaily, Aaron Klein reports:

Recognizing her inevitable loss, Sen. Hillary Clinton cried in public because she thought being white entitled her to the Democratic presidential nomination, declared a close associate and spiritual adviser of Sen. Barack Obama at the Illinois senator’s Chicago church.

Chicago Catholic pastor Michael Pfleger, speaking Sunday at Obama’s Trinity United Church of Christ, implied Clinton was a white supremacist who believed she would win the nomination because of “white entitlement.”

Pfleger, who practices black liberation theology, is a regular guest speaker at Trinity church. He was introduced at Sunday’s sermon by Obama’s new pastor, Rev. Otis Moss III, who called Pfleger a “brother beloved, he is a preacher par-excellence, he is a prophetic powerful pulpiteer.”

After Pfleger’s remarks about Clinton, Moss thanked Pfleger repeatedly.

Pfleger told the Trinity congregation, “We must be honest enough to expose white entitlement and supremacy wherever it raises its head.”….

Obama identified Pfleger in a 2004 interview with the Chicago Sun-Times as a key source of spiritual guidance.

Watch the video.

Don’t be fooled by this attempt at distraction, dear readers. The concerns about Obama AND Clinton have nothing to do with race or gender. Both candidates are monumentally inexperienced and unqualified for the executive job, especially with respect to being commander-in-chief during the terrorist threat. Neither one has ever managed anything, not even their own campaigns.

Race would not be an issue if Colin Powell (R) or Douglas Wilder (D) were running. Both are black and both are highly qualified. Gender would not be an issue if Christine Todd Whitman (R) or Madeleine Albright (D) were running. Both are female and both are highly qualified. In each of these considerations, we have a Secretary of State and a State Governor. Foreign policy experience, management experience.

The rock star charisma of Obama and the political machinery of the Clintons are poor substitutes for the leadership qualities that are desperately needed in the executive office. It is a sad commentary on our political process that fundraising ability and get-out-the-vote machinery are more electable attributes than character and experience.

Related: My view by Silvio Canto, Jr. has more.

Obama has conveniently distanced himself from Rev. Wright. However, his church has not distanced itself from insane remarks and politics from the pulpit….

Reference: Chicago Sun-Times: Obama: I have a deep faith

[Obama] — “I think I have an ongoing conversation with God…. I’m constantly asking myself questions about what I’m doing, why I am doing it. The biggest challenge, I think, is always maintaining your moral compass.”

Friends and advisers, such as the Rev. Michael Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina Roman Catholic Church in the Auburn- Gresham community on the South Side, who has known Obama for the better part of 20 years, help him keep that compass set, he says.