http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/200...-claim-yet.html

I just love the American lunatic fringe because they are so damned funny but they must now be scraping the bottom of the barrel for things to rave about

While Santeria has African roots its origins are traced back to the Caribbean, & in reality it's a mishmash of Yoruba, L. American Catholicism, & a lil of Native American spirituality. I studied Minority Religions in the U.S. & that was one of the often misunderstood ideas about Santeria. 2nd, altho not exclusively, a large majority of people who practice it are of Hispanic origin in the US or L. America. 3rd, most Santeros practice what Westerners often call "White Magic (meaning no harm to anyone)" & reject the "Black Magic" form of Santeria (which is a small minority of them). Finally, this latest accusation just reeks of institutionalized racism. This (meaning "Black Witch") was often used during slavery times to ingrain "mistrust" of Americans of African descent &, therefore, were viewed as sub-humans, undeveloped, uncultured, & heathens, for ie. So yeah, the right-wing wackos are certainly scraping the bottom of the barrel, are QUITE misinformed about the religion (including who practices it & how it's practiced), & are the scum of the earth themselves!

Edit:

& what can be worse than offending one's mama? Plus, Nancy, the beloved 1st Lady of the Repubs, often consulted a psychic, no?!...So I guess that would make Nancy a "White Witch".

Naw, Nancy wasn't a witch, she was something else that rhymed with the word...starting with a "B"?

Maybe we could come up with some choice names for all the ideological male prostitutes on the far right: fight fire with fire.

It would be hilarious if all the politicians who cheat on their wives were called "Sanky Panky" after they sell their political ideological souls for few nights of illicit physical pleasure.

Why didn't I ever hear that word in the DR? I must have been too busy eyeing the cute "male" PCVs.

The right wing make me sick. They will make up anything to cause trouble. The first mother inlaw is a devout Christian woman. Not a Santeria priestess, Voudoun or any other African derived faith. And the first Christian nation in the world was African for the right wing's information. Ethiopia became a Christian nation before any white European land.

This is all a pattern of neo-con smears aimed at bashing Obama while they think he's down IMO. It ranks with the assumption that medal of honor recipient, another Robinson coincidentally, former Irish president Mary Robinson, is an anti-semite for not putting down criticism of Israel forcefully enough. Her views and actions are considered moderate in much of the world.

They no doubt hope that any stench will rub off on Obama enough to encourage him to modify his middle east policy of a more balanced approach between the two competing interests in Palestine and Israel.

My guess is that most of these indirect efforts will backfire as long as Obama is open about what he wants to achieve: light tends to kill vermin.

The most important issue facing the country now is the economy...stupid.

Recent efforts to loosen the secrecy rules of Swiss banks will have to work quickly to help eliminate the corruption of a system that effectively launders money from legally earned but illegally hidden profits of wealthy individuals and their corporations, and is a driving force for our current economic mess.

These scurrilous distractions are "words" used as "sticks and stones" but can to be fought with truthful words.