[Vision2020] Obama to Return Manhattan to Native Americans?

[Tom Hansen]

The latest right-wing freakout . . .

Courtesy of Talking Points Memo at:

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12/latest_right-wing_freak-out_obama_wants_to_give_ma.php

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Latest Right-Wing Freak-Out: Obama Wants To Give Manhattan Back To Native
Americans

The good news is that the right-wing isn't talking about President Obama
being a secret Muslim right now. The bad news is that they're now
concerned that he's going to use his honorary status as a Crow Tribe
Indian to return the United States to Native Americans.

The outrage began after the President announced on December 16 that the
U.S. would reverse course and support the United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous People. The Declaration was adopted by the U.N.
General Assembly in 2007, but the U.S., under President Bush, opposed it.

"The aspirations it affirms -- including the respect for the institutions
and rich cultures of Native peoples -- are ones we must always seek to
fulfill," the President said of the Declaration at White House Tribal
Nations Conference where he announced the reversal. He went on to describe
efforts to improve health care, education, and unemployment rates in
tribal areas.

"While the declaration is not legally binding, it carries considerable
moral and political force," the State Department wrote of the Declaration,
"and complements the President's ongoing efforts to address historical
inequities faced by indigenous communities in the United States."

Despite this, the right has seized onto some of the language to attack the
President -- including Article 26, which says:

"1. Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories and
resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used
or acquired.

2. Indigenous peoples have the right to own, use, develop and control the
lands, territories and resources that they possess by reason of
traditional ownership or other traditional occupation or use, as well as
those which they have otherwise acquired.

3. States shall give legal recognition and protection to these lands,
territories and resources. Such recognition shall be conducted with due
respect to the customs, traditions and land tenure systems of the
indigenous peoples concerned.Obama was adopted as an honorary member of
the Crow tribe during the 2008 campaign, and was even given the name "One
who helps people throughout the land." Most of the outrage lobbed at the
President in the wake of the announcement, naturally, references that
fact."

Last week, the "Director of Issues Analysis" for the Christian
conservative American Family Association, Brian Fischer, wrote a blog post
claiming that "President Obama wants to give the entire land mass of the
United States of America back to the Indians. He wants Indian tribes to be
our new overlords."

"Perhaps he figures that, as an adopted Crow Indian, he will be the new
chief over this revived Indian empire," Fischer wrote. "But for the other
312 million of us, I think we'll settle for our constitutional 'We the
people' form of government, thank you very much."

Yesterday, the right-wing blog World Net Daily took it a step further in a
post called "Obama to give Manhattan back to Native Americans? President
believes nation can spare some sovereignty." The article describes how
"President Obama is voicing support for a U.N. resolution that could
accomplish something as radical as relinquishing some U.S. sovereignty and
opening a path for the return of ancient tribal lands to American Indians,
including even parts of Manhattan."

The article continues: "Obama's interest is personal. He noted during the
2008 presidential campaign he was officially adopted by the Crow Nation,
an Indian tribe in Montana, and he was given an Indian name."

Joseph Farah, the founder and editor of WND, followed up on the article
today with a facetious column called "I'll Take Manhattan." He writes:
"Truth be told, I have a fair amount of Indian heritage on my mother's
side. So this proposed redistribution of wealth is welcome news for me.
Where do I apply? I want to return wampum for Manhattan."

"Anyway, what do we have to lose?" he writes. "The U.S. economy is in
shambles. What harm could it do to redistribute lands based on nothing
more than the racial and ethnic heritage of Americans?"

"I suspect Obama himself plans to cash in on this action," he wrote.

Former Ambassador John Bolton was more concerned that the resolution would
result in new legal claims. "It's a kind of feel-good document that has so
many unclear phrases in it that nobody's really sure what it means when
you agree to it," he told FoxNews.com. "It's wrong and potentially
dangerous to sign onto a document that you don't fully understand the
implications of."

"Hopefully most judges will say it's not binding," Bolton added. "But
there are enough judges who couldn't care less about strictly applying the
law."

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown