Having blown the dust off the old keyboard...
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Senator Barak Obama is still living under the cloud of his pastor. It's no secret that isitjustme is in the tank for Obama but, on any level, this non-controversy baffles me.
Sen. Obama went to church every Sunday. That's a good thing. He attended services at the Trinity United Church of Christ where an entertaining, well regarded minister gave hundreds of sermons. Some of those sermons contained objectionable references.
What do we imagine the young state representative should have done during those sermons? Should he have jumped up and run for the door holding his ears? Should he have publicly chastised Rev. Wright? Should he have called a press conference and demonized the good pastor? Senator Obama did what you probably would have done; he put those offending remarks in the context of the time, place, audience and the point being made. In other words, he ignored them.
Do we imagine that George W. Bush, who claims to have attended church regularly in Texas, never heard a preacher step over the line regarding race? Anyway, who cares?
This is the stuff that gives Karl Rove an erection. You just drop a small pebble in the pond and watch the ripples. We have allowed inane issues to influence our political judgement to the point where an empty hat like George W. Bush can be elected by default. The issue of Reverend Wright needs to go away, soon.
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And speaking of empty hats...
George W. Bush (yes, he's still President) held a press conference Wednesday. He still refuses to use the word "recession". It's possible he can't pronounce it.
Our great leader blamed Congress for the current economic situation, including the skyrocketing cost of gasoline. Now isitjustme has always maintained that presidents get too much credit and too much blame for the state of the economy. After all, no one ever confused Bill Clinton with John Maynard Keynes and he presided over eight years of spectacular growth.
Nevertheless the current administration has stood around with their hands in their pockets while the dollar approaches the value of the peso, the debt (thanks to the war) increases exponentially and, the cost of groceries is producing sticker shock. I'm not sure what George could do about all of this but acknowledging the problem would be a start. Hell, he can't be worried about his approval rating; after all, you can't fall off the floor!
This President was so desperate for a scapegoat, he blamed Congress for not permitting oil drilling in the ANWR. Did anyone mention to our "Texas toughguy" that Alaska isn't a giant gas station? You have to find it, transport it, refine it, transport it again and then pump it. That would take more than a few weeks.Next I suspect the President will be blaming Henry Ford for mass producing the automobile or Osama Bin Laden just for being Osama Bin Laden.
Sorry America, you voted for the president "that you'd like to have a beer with". How's that beer tasting now?
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Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain...
The Rev. Adelir Antonio de Carli of Brazil received a standing ovation from his parishioners as he strapped himself into a chair attached to a huge cluster of helium filled balloons and ascended skyward. As to why Father de Carli would attempt this stunt will remain a mystery. Searches over the Atlantic have yet to recover any trace of the priest or his "craft". Maybe that should look in Kansas.
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Two issues remain to be discussed regarding the polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
First, where are the men? Throughout the entire ordeal I have not seen a single (or married) adult male. In that most of the accusations involve old men forcing teenage girls into marriages, where are they? Don't they want to step up and tell the world how God wanted them to rape a harem of teenagers? Where's the religious zeal? Be proud of your perversions. God is with you.
Second, have you noticed how beautifully made those "Little House on the Prairie" dresses are? I'm considering writing to one of those women and ordering a few shirts. No hair shirts, please.
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and lastly...
The White House is celebrating May Day today. The reason for joy at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is that April is finally over. April saw the death toll in Iraq climb to 49; back to the level of Sept., 07.
Since May, '03, "Mission Accomplished", 3924 American soldiers have been sacrificed to George W. Bush's War. America's invasion of Iraq is a national disgrace for which no one is held to account. Is their any American who wouldn't like to see the masterminds of the Bush administration hauled before Congress to explain the rosy predictions, misinformation and outright lies that got us to where are?
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
...or do we all need a few months off from our electoral process?
There are no slow news days, just bloggers who went to a ballgame and a Catholic Mass broke out.
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Hillary Clinton has finally had her "Dukakis in the Tank" moment. In an effort to contrast herself with the "elitist" remarks of her opponent, the Senator from New York downed a shot and a beer in an Indiana joint called Bronko's. (And you thought Cal Coolidge looked stupid in a headdress!) All that was missing was for the Democtatic hopeful to spit on the floor and bum a Lucky from the barfly on the next stool.
Mrs. Clinton has clearly renewed her citizendship to Fantasy Island. Since the Ohio primary she has:
-famously recounted her harrowing landing in Bosnia in 1996 (foolishly endangering a national treasure like Sinbad).
-claimed credit for helping broker the Good Friday peace accords in Northern Ireland. (No report of any snipers in Belfast).
-professed opposition to NAFTA "all along". (That's all along the Rust Belt.)
-voted for the President's right to declare war in Iraq but opposes the war itself.
-spoken lovingly of the second amendment in spite of a long Clinton history of support for anti gun laws.
This is the kind of campaigning that gets Democrats in trouble every time. Trying to make yourself look like every man, Joe six-pack when you made $109 million since 2000 just makes you appear foolish and insincere. You can campaign as a champion of the working American without trying to convince them that you carry a lunch pail. You wouldn't attempt to court the female vote by wearing a dress. Why lie and exaggerate your experiences? You only come off looking condescending. Wasn't that the charge you leveled at your opponent?
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The Pope is in town. Presumably he'll have more success filling Nationals Park than the home team. Why not? He has a better record.
It's fascinating that American Catholics treat the Pope with such respect and admiration. These are the same faithful who regard religious instructions from the Vatican with a gravity reserved for their mothers' warnings regarding swimming after eating...easily ignored with no apparent consequence. Clearly there is some disconnect between the Pope (a man) and the Papacy (an institution).
Interestingly, this cuts both ways. American Catholics find it convenient to ignore Church doctrine on birth control and divorce but the Vatican has been just as dismissive of the Faithful on the subjects of clerical celibacy and the role of women. The result is a Mexican standoff (with Mexicans taking an increasingly significant role).
Rome produces a steady stream of treatises (titled "bulls" by someone with a sense of humor) decrying "Catholic Relativism". The net message is that Catholic doctrine does not and will not change and Catholics must accept all of the Church's teachings. To ignore one tenant of the Faith is to abdicate your Catholicism. American Catholics yawn and go right back to practicing their own personal brand of worship. I love this country.
Anyway, the fact that American Catholics have reduced the Pope to the same degree of gravitas as Queen Elizabeth II doesn't diminish the splendor of the Papal visit. The level of civility at Yankee Stadium will be elevated to such a degree that you will hardly see any vendors outside the park hawking, "Presbyterians Suck" tee shirts. I only hope that some construction worker didn't bury a Star of David under home plate.
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The American Embassy in Baghdad is nearly ready for occupancy. If America were attempting to present a low key presence in the Middle East, building a structure roughly eight times the size of the Mall of America might not have been the way to go. Nothing says "We're here, to create fear, so get used to it" like an edifice grander that any of Saddam's palaces. On the positive side, the roof is large and flat enough to accommodate several helicopters simultaneously...perfect for the evacuation.
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Hillary Clinton has finally had her "Dukakis in the Tank" moment. In an effort to contrast herself with the "elitist" remarks of her opponent, the Senator from New York downed a shot and a beer in an Indiana joint called Bronko's. (And you thought Cal Coolidge looked stupid in a headdress!) All that was missing was for the Democtatic hopeful to spit on the floor and bum a Lucky from the barfly on the next stool.
Mrs. Clinton has clearly renewed her citizendship to Fantasy Island. Since the Ohio primary she has:
-famously recounted her harrowing landing in Bosnia in 1996 (foolishly endangering a national treasure like Sinbad).
-claimed credit for helping broker the Good Friday peace accords in Northern Ireland. (No report of any snipers in Belfast).
-professed opposition to NAFTA "all along". (That's all along the Rust Belt.)
-voted for the President's right to declare war in Iraq but opposes the war itself.
-spoken lovingly of the second amendment in spite of a long Clinton history of support for anti gun laws.
This is the kind of campaigning that gets Democrats in trouble every time. Trying to make yourself look like every man, Joe six-pack when you made $109 million since 2000 just makes you appear foolish and insincere. You can campaign as a champion of the working American without trying to convince them that you carry a lunch pail. You wouldn't attempt to court the female vote by wearing a dress. Why lie and exaggerate your experiences? You only come off looking condescending. Wasn't that the charge you leveled at your opponent?
___________________________________________________________________
Item
The Pope is in town. Presumably he'll have more success filling Nationals Park than the home team. Why not? He has a better record.
It's fascinating that American Catholics treat the Pope with such respect and admiration. These are the same faithful who regard religious instructions from the Vatican with a gravity reserved for their mothers' warnings regarding swimming after eating...easily ignored with no apparent consequence. Clearly there is some disconnect between the Pope (a man) and the Papacy (an institution).
Interestingly, this cuts both ways. American Catholics find it convenient to ignore Church doctrine on birth control and divorce but the Vatican has been just as dismissive of the Faithful on the subjects of clerical celibacy and the role of women. The result is a Mexican standoff (with Mexicans taking an increasingly significant role).
Rome produces a steady stream of treatises (titled "bulls" by someone with a sense of humor) decrying "Catholic Relativism". The net message is that Catholic doctrine does not and will not change and Catholics must accept all of the Church's teachings. To ignore one tenant of the Faith is to abdicate your Catholicism. American Catholics yawn and go right back to practicing their own personal brand of worship. I love this country.
Anyway, the fact that American Catholics have reduced the Pope to the same degree of gravitas as Queen Elizabeth II doesn't diminish the splendor of the Papal visit. The level of civility at Yankee Stadium will be elevated to such a degree that you will hardly see any vendors outside the park hawking, "Presbyterians Suck" tee shirts. I only hope that some construction worker didn't bury a Star of David under home plate.
____________________________________________________________________
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The American Embassy in Baghdad is nearly ready for occupancy. If America were attempting to present a low key presence in the Middle East, building a structure roughly eight times the size of the Mall of America might not have been the way to go. Nothing says "We're here, to create fear, so get used to it" like an edifice grander that any of Saddam's palaces. On the positive side, the roof is large and flat enough to accommodate several helicopters simultaneously...perfect for the evacuation.
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Friday, April 04, 2008
...or is every day April Fools Day?
Stop the world. I'm getting nauseous over here!
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We should all acknowledge the debt we owe to Pat Buchanan. Without him we might forget what stupid, insensitive old white guys really sound like. Were it not for Pat and his access to the media, the reason for black anger in America might be less crystallized.
Mr. Buchanan published a column on March 21 called A Brief for Whitey. The entire piece is available on his web site.
Among his thoughts, he wonders why black people in America aren't more grateful than angry. After all "no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans." (Presumably that includes lifting them up on the auction block.) Mr. Buchanan lists food stamps, rent supplements, student loans and several other programs apparently unavailable to poor or needy white people. (The vast majority of food stamp recipients in the U.S. are white.) Well thank you massa. We sure do thank you fo dat.
I could go on for a week but the point is that 145 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, blacks still require laws and sometimes bayonets to secure the rights and privileges that whites take for granted. Blacks have done all that was required: fought in wars, paid taxes, attempted to better themselves. When the playing field is finally level, none of the give-backs and set-asides will be needed. What we need now is a lot less of Pat Buchanan.
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Robert Klein was a guest on Bill Maher's show last week and allowed that the one good thing about the Eliot Spitzer story is that is dispels the notion that Jews never pay retail.
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Zach Dunlap awoke in a Wichita Falls hospital to discover that a surgeon was about to harvest his organs for transplant. Zach suffered a head injury in an atv accident in Davidson, OK. He was pronounced brain dead and was being prepped for the harvest when he grabbed the nurse's arm.
Isitjustme advises everyone to check their organ donor cards to make sure that they require that you are dead first, a seemingly small but vital technicality. (Pat Buchanan is donating his heart to the Smithsonian miniature museum.)
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Try to follow this item.
An Oregon "man" who used to be a woman, is pregnant. It seems that, although she/he went through the preliminary sex change procedures (including tailoring all his shirts to button to the left), she/he neglected to trade in her plumbing for something more external. Anyway, this oversight proved helpful after he/she got married to a women who was infertile. Adding new meaning to the term selfless, our hero stopped taking his/ her hormones and got pregnant. No mention was made of the sperm donor. Possibly a psychiatrist looking to sow the seeds for future patients.
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Prisoners in Vermont have filed a class action suit charging that a food called Nutraloaf (made with cubed bread, vegetables and powdered milk) be declared cruel and unusual. The head of the prison dept. in the state declared "Well hell. We don't have capital punishment and we're constitutionally prohibited from serving Spam (see Constitution of the State of Vermont, Article XXV, sec 4, sub-paragraph j, titled "Dog food as substitute for chicken"). Nutraloaf is the next best thing to waterboarding." The case is pending.
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We should all acknowledge the debt we owe to Pat Buchanan. Without him we might forget what stupid, insensitive old white guys really sound like. Were it not for Pat and his access to the media, the reason for black anger in America might be less crystallized.
Mr. Buchanan published a column on March 21 called A Brief for Whitey. The entire piece is available on his web site.
Among his thoughts, he wonders why black people in America aren't more grateful than angry. After all "no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans." (Presumably that includes lifting them up on the auction block.) Mr. Buchanan lists food stamps, rent supplements, student loans and several other programs apparently unavailable to poor or needy white people. (The vast majority of food stamp recipients in the U.S. are white.) Well thank you massa. We sure do thank you fo dat.
I could go on for a week but the point is that 145 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, blacks still require laws and sometimes bayonets to secure the rights and privileges that whites take for granted. Blacks have done all that was required: fought in wars, paid taxes, attempted to better themselves. When the playing field is finally level, none of the give-backs and set-asides will be needed. What we need now is a lot less of Pat Buchanan.
___________________________________________________________________
Item
Robert Klein was a guest on Bill Maher's show last week and allowed that the one good thing about the Eliot Spitzer story is that is dispels the notion that Jews never pay retail.
___________________________________________________________________
Item
Zach Dunlap awoke in a Wichita Falls hospital to discover that a surgeon was about to harvest his organs for transplant. Zach suffered a head injury in an atv accident in Davidson, OK. He was pronounced brain dead and was being prepped for the harvest when he grabbed the nurse's arm.
Isitjustme advises everyone to check their organ donor cards to make sure that they require that you are dead first, a seemingly small but vital technicality. (Pat Buchanan is donating his heart to the Smithsonian miniature museum.)
___________________________________________________________________
Item
Try to follow this item.
An Oregon "man" who used to be a woman, is pregnant. It seems that, although she/he went through the preliminary sex change procedures (including tailoring all his shirts to button to the left), she/he neglected to trade in her plumbing for something more external. Anyway, this oversight proved helpful after he/she got married to a women who was infertile. Adding new meaning to the term selfless, our hero stopped taking his/ her hormones and got pregnant. No mention was made of the sperm donor. Possibly a psychiatrist looking to sow the seeds for future patients.
___________________________________________________________________
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Prisoners in Vermont have filed a class action suit charging that a food called Nutraloaf (made with cubed bread, vegetables and powdered milk) be declared cruel and unusual. The head of the prison dept. in the state declared "Well hell. We don't have capital punishment and we're constitutionally prohibited from serving Spam (see Constitution of the State of Vermont, Article XXV, sec 4, sub-paragraph j, titled "Dog food as substitute for chicken"). Nutraloaf is the next best thing to waterboarding." The case is pending.
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