Things that happened while you were watching your 401(K) sink slowly in the west:
Item
AirTran Airlines has apologized to nine Muslim passengers who were unceremoniously removed from a flight out of Reagan National Airport. It seems that one of the Muslims was overheard by another passenger discussing the safest seat on a plane should there be an "accident". Possibly not the best conversation for two Middle Eastern types but, hey, the World Trade Center was seven years ago and people of Arab extraction forget who they are and where they are. The air marshalls on the flight removed not just the two people having the conversation but an entire party of nine. Fortunately Mohammad Ali wasn't on the flight or he might have gotten the heave- ho also.
This is a sad situation. Americans pride themselves on fairness. We tend to be welcoming, even curious about people and cultures different from ours. We understand that we are a country of immigrants and that, for as much as we fight it, diversity is part of who we are...just ask Barak Hussein Obama.
That said, we were attacked in 2001 by eighteen men who shared a discernible ethnic origin and religion.They all looked similar. Our enemies in Iraq and any potential terrorist from Saudi Arabia or Yemen will most likely be dark-complected, black haired, and bearded. Middle Eastern peoples evoke in us more fear than hate. To see them on a plane calls to mind the horror of September 11 and even the visage of Osama bin Ladin. Once the doors close on an airplane your safety is in the hands of everyone on the flight. Potential threats become magnified. Almost all of us have been on flights with "scary-looking" Middle Eastern types and we all secretly wished that someone would encourage them to take another plane. To think otherwise would be unnatural.
Allow me to add my apology to the apology of AirTrans. I'm sorry about this situation. I'm sorry that a group of harmless travelers has been singled out for harassment and humiliation. I'm sorry that one off-handed comment, made by an otherwise innocent woman could cause such a fear-filled and outsized reaction. I'm sorry that just being identified as a Muslim or Arab can subject a person to scrutiny and persecution. But most of all, I'm sorry because it's going to happen again and again and there's no cure for it. We need to protect ourselves and, while it's unfortunate that profiling is necessary, it is all we have. People expect air safety and if a person poses a threat, however remote, there must be a response. Nobody likes it but there it is. Until science and engineering can reliably purge air travel of every potential threat, Middle Eastern people can expect the harassment to continue. Sorry.
____________________________________________________________________
Item
The Republican National Committee, fresh from the most humiliating defeat since, well 2006, is in search of a new chairman. Recent history would suggest that this job would be only slightly more popular than hunting for land mines with a cricket bat. There are, however, several candidates vying for the job. One such leader-to-be is Chip Saltsman of Tennessee. Also in contention are J. Kenneth Blackwell of Ohio and and Michael Steele of Maryland. Both Blackwell and Steele are African-American. Coincidentally, they correspond to the exact number of votes that John McCain received in the black community.
Most Republicans understand that, among their myriad problems, is the perception that the GOP is just a giant country club with a big "whites only" sign on the front door. The only minorities of any kind welcome at Republican headquarters better be swinging a mop.
Not so, says Mr. Saltsmen and to drive home the point, he has provided several party members a CD including a song called, "Barak, the Magic Negro". Funny, eh? Played to the tune of "Puff The Magic Dragon" the song (which isn't particularly funny) is intended to... well, frankly I don't know what the point is, aside from making Chip Saltsman look like a bigot and a fool.
Setting aside the bad taste for a minute, did Mr. Saltsman miss the meeting where the party discussed Republican isolation? Did he skip the class on class? Today's Republican party isn't your father's party it's your grandfather's party. There were fewer black faces at the RNC in Minneapolis in Sept. than there are members of the Mills Brothers. The only young people supporting the GOP these days are cultural warriors who are mostly opposed to stuff: stem cell research, abortion, sex; nothing a few days in Vegas wouldn't cure. The faces of the Republican party in 2008 are Pat Buchanan, Newt Gingrich and Dick Chenney...sort of the No-Pep Boys.
The Republicans are on the wrong side of virtually every issue. They deny global warming, ridicule green technology, encourage domestic drilling and scoff at any form of environmental or animal protection. When your best hope for the future is Sarah Palin, you have no future. When you are so bereft of talent that you need help from Alaska, you got trouble right here in River City.
Anyway, as a member of the other team, I applaud Mr. Saltsman's approach to campaigning for the chairmanship. We can't have too many racially insensitive songs in circulation. As a follow-up the GOP could distribute "The Films of Stepin Fetchit" or "Amos n' Andy, Klan Favorites". As an encore, Mr. Saltsman can appear at the next GOP Convention in blackface.
Showing posts with label RNC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RNC. Show all posts
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Friday, August 29, 2008
...or is Barak Obama the political answer to Frank Sinatra?
Item
Yeah, he's that good.
I admit it. I'd rather be dazzled than informed. I can get information from the NY Times or The Wall Street Journal. I want my President to excite the country; to get people on their feet and cheering their heads off. I want the crowd to act like they do at their college football homecoming game (minus the exposed beer bellies). The President of the United States should make the populace feel good about themselves. Barak Obama can do it all. (OK, so could Adolph Hitler but you get my point.)
I have an abiding faith that politicians, even corrupt ones, have the country's best interest at heart. Even George W. Bush, misguided mope that he is, doesn't wish the country harm. We all know that, regardless of who wins, America will survive. What's missing in the Republicans is a spark. Will you vote for John McCain because you want to or because you feel you have to? Watergate aside, Nixon might have been a better President than Kennedy but which one would you rather follow?
It doesn't take a genius to be President; Ronald Reagan proved that. What it does take is the ability to inspire. Reagan proved that also. In an age when media personae is so vital, a President has to look like he knows where he's going. After 9/11 Bush's ratings soared. Why? Because he gave a speech that made him look Presidential (Who knew?). It was only after stumbling through the last seven years, when his public appearances were more reminiscent of Alfred E. Newman than FDR, that his numbers tumbled. Talking tough is not leadership. Trying to frighten America into voting for you isn't inspiring. By the way, how terrified must we have been to give GWB a second term?
So how about it America? Let's vote for someone we can be proud of. Let's prove to the world that we are more than belligerent, gay-hating, gun-slingers. In Beijing, we showed that we don't have to be ugly Americans. How about we make that a trend?
____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
In what can only be interpreted as a sign from God, the Republicans are considering delaying the start of their convention in Minneapolis due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Gustav on the Gulf Coast. It seems that the GOP would rather not kick off their big party when the top story on the web might very well be "New Orleans braces for Katrina Deux". Imagine that!
The Republicans are already stuck with Bush and Cheney as speakers. (Sort of like inviting your unpleasant ex-wife to your daughter's wedding. You may have to do it but you'd rather not.) They are concerned that a new hurricane in the Gulf will serve to remind voters about the Bush administration's nonexistent response to the last storm. Replayed film of the Superdome circa Aug, 2005 would do little to enhance the GOP's reputation as champions of the common man.
How come no one asked Harry Wittington to speak at the GOP convention? You remember Harry? He's the lawyer that Cheney shot in the face in Feb, 2006.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
John McCain has just named Sarah Palin, current governor of Alaska, to be his running mate. Brilliant! In an inspired stroke of genius, McCain has managed to find a ticket mate who is: a) younger than Obama, b) even less experienced than Obama, c) less educated than Obama and d) is from a state with fewer citizens than attended Obama's acceptance speech on Thursday. To be fair, Obama never finished second in the Miss Illinois Beauty Pageant.
note: Laura Bush was elected to inform her husband of McCain's choice. She was also required to inform him that Alaska is, in fact, a state.
Yeah, he's that good.
I admit it. I'd rather be dazzled than informed. I can get information from the NY Times or The Wall Street Journal. I want my President to excite the country; to get people on their feet and cheering their heads off. I want the crowd to act like they do at their college football homecoming game (minus the exposed beer bellies). The President of the United States should make the populace feel good about themselves. Barak Obama can do it all. (OK, so could Adolph Hitler but you get my point.)
I have an abiding faith that politicians, even corrupt ones, have the country's best interest at heart. Even George W. Bush, misguided mope that he is, doesn't wish the country harm. We all know that, regardless of who wins, America will survive. What's missing in the Republicans is a spark. Will you vote for John McCain because you want to or because you feel you have to? Watergate aside, Nixon might have been a better President than Kennedy but which one would you rather follow?
It doesn't take a genius to be President; Ronald Reagan proved that. What it does take is the ability to inspire. Reagan proved that also. In an age when media personae is so vital, a President has to look like he knows where he's going. After 9/11 Bush's ratings soared. Why? Because he gave a speech that made him look Presidential (Who knew?). It was only after stumbling through the last seven years, when his public appearances were more reminiscent of Alfred E. Newman than FDR, that his numbers tumbled. Talking tough is not leadership. Trying to frighten America into voting for you isn't inspiring. By the way, how terrified must we have been to give GWB a second term?
So how about it America? Let's vote for someone we can be proud of. Let's prove to the world that we are more than belligerent, gay-hating, gun-slingers. In Beijing, we showed that we don't have to be ugly Americans. How about we make that a trend?
____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
In what can only be interpreted as a sign from God, the Republicans are considering delaying the start of their convention in Minneapolis due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Gustav on the Gulf Coast. It seems that the GOP would rather not kick off their big party when the top story on the web might very well be "New Orleans braces for Katrina Deux". Imagine that!
The Republicans are already stuck with Bush and Cheney as speakers. (Sort of like inviting your unpleasant ex-wife to your daughter's wedding. You may have to do it but you'd rather not.) They are concerned that a new hurricane in the Gulf will serve to remind voters about the Bush administration's nonexistent response to the last storm. Replayed film of the Superdome circa Aug, 2005 would do little to enhance the GOP's reputation as champions of the common man.
How come no one asked Harry Wittington to speak at the GOP convention? You remember Harry? He's the lawyer that Cheney shot in the face in Feb, 2006.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
John McCain has just named Sarah Palin, current governor of Alaska, to be his running mate. Brilliant! In an inspired stroke of genius, McCain has managed to find a ticket mate who is: a) younger than Obama, b) even less experienced than Obama, c) less educated than Obama and d) is from a state with fewer citizens than attended Obama's acceptance speech on Thursday. To be fair, Obama never finished second in the Miss Illinois Beauty Pageant.
note: Laura Bush was elected to inform her husband of McCain's choice. She was also required to inform him that Alaska is, in fact, a state.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)