Osama, we hardly knew ya.
or
There once was a fiend named Osama
Who for years had caused nothing but trauma
He eluded George Bush
In the wild Hindu Kusch
'Til encountering the Balls of Obama.
But I digress.
The new definition of a nanosecond is the time between a significant news event and the time that the hand-wringers, self-serving asshats and nullifiers attempt to spin the facts to suit their agenda. To wit: the highly trained and deeply motivated men of the Navy Seals terminated the disagreeable life of Osama "are those helicopters outside" Bin Laden last weekend. No loss there. As the facts of their mission are released, one thing appears clear. The President of The United States sent the Seals to Pakistan for one reason and it wasn't to score some good weed. The President's instructions were very clear, don't bring back any tee shirts, STD's or bearded terrorists. There isn't much sad singing over the loss a man considered the very face of evil. (That title now passes to Dick Cheney.)
However, now that the cheering has died down, America has returned to focusing on the issues of the day like: Snookie's weight loss, the Capitals folding in another Stanley Cup bid and whether Donald Trump will ever recover from the pounding he received at the White House Correspondence Dinner. (Seriously, if you haven't watched Seth Meyers and President Obama crush Trump, watch it on YouTube. It's the best!) Predictably, like stink follows a garbage truck, a stream of scolds have emerged to fill the news void and urinate on our campfire.
First out of the gate is a steaming pile of Bushies who immediately began crowing that torturing prisoners at Gitmo was the direct cause of Bin Laden's death. Really? Most notable among these failed armchair warriors was John Yoo who took to the Wall Street Journal today to pontificate about how his policies put a bullet in Bin Laden's eye. The actual quote was " Sunday's success also vindicates the Bush Administration whose intelligence architecture marked a path to Bin Laden's door." That must have been some circuitous trail considering that, in seven years, the Bush team produced squadouch. For the record: since Gitmo opened in 2001, no intelligence officer, no torturer, no administration official of any rank has ever testified that waterboarding ever produced one scrap of actionable intelligence. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded so many times he grew gills and we never got a thing. We stopped waterboarding in 2005. All enhanced interrogation techniques stopped by 2007. It has been four years since then. How much useful information could these guys have? Face it! The Bush Administration had six years to torture the bejeezes out of the prisoners at Gitmo and other rendition sites and still couldn't find their ass with both hands. By the way...the closest John Yoo ever got to a weapon was playing World of Warcraft on his x-Box.
Mr. Yoo then has the temerity to suggest that the Obama administration took the easy way out by killing Bin Laden rather than "wade through the difficult questions raised by (his) detention". He also suggests that capturing Bin Laden would have been an intelligence bonanza. I imagine that Mr. Yoo would have encouraged the President to broadcast the waterboarding of Bin Laden on C-SPAN. John Yoo is a reprehensible turd whose advice to the White House was wrong both legally and morally. The less we hear from him, the better.
But John Yoo wasn't the only precinct heard from. There are reports of "Muslim leaders and scholars" who have concerns about the handling of the body of Osama Bin Laden. These would be the same "Muslim leaders and scholars" who were silent after 9-11 and who lost their voices as Americans were burned in Mogadishu. No offense boys but TFB. I suspect that the officers aboard the aircraft carrier transporting Bin Laden to his fish food reward had their hands full ensuring that the sailors didn't piss all over the body. Let's hear the "leaders and scholars" remind their flocks that Bin Laden was a murderer and, in death, got a lot better than he deserved.
Then we have Rashard Mendenhall whose tweets on the death of Osama Bin Laden have reinforced the idea that some technology should be left in the hands of adults. Mr. Mendenhall makes his living in the intellectually stimulating world of professional football. His thoughts (we'll call them that) remind all of us that we rarely seek the wisdom of the universe in Pittsburgh's Heinz Field on Sunday afternoons in the fall. Rashard's musings on death and skyscraper demolition bespeak one too many encounters with opponents' helmets. If Barack Obama agrees not to try out for running back for the Steelers perhaps Mr. Mendenhall will agree not to make Amercian war policy.
But our final shout-out goes to The Morning Star Institute, a Native American advocacy group. Apparently the group is taking exception to the use of "Geronimo" as the code word for the successful killing of Osama Bin Laden. This sentiment was echoed by Loretta Tuell of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Loretta went so far at to opine that the use of Native American icons like Geronimo can be "devastating" to young Indians. No doubt "banzai" would have produced an equally pained reaction from the Japanese community. Political correctness has a place and no one group can decide what offends another, nevertheless, it appears unlikely that the Navy Seals who stormed the Bin Laden compound intended to equate Geronimo with Bin Laden. Considering the current colloquial nature of our language, yelling "O'Mally" or "Corleone" would not have conveyed the same message. They might have considered "dude" but again, no pazzaz.
Our apology to any and all Native Americans who might have been offended. The Pentagon has promised to be more sensitive when next we kill an interenational terrorist. Perhaps "Hitler" will work. Advanced apologies to the German American Bund.
This just in...the US will not release the photos of the perforated OBL. Hear! Hear! The American government doesn't need to be providing bulletin board material for every crazy-ass jihaddist in the world. If people want to see a bearded body shot in the eye, rent Season VI of CSI.
Showing posts with label Barak Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barak Obama. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Friday, August 21, 2009
...or are the dog days of summer producing more hot air than usual?
Well, even Al Gore can't blame climate change for this August. Congress is out of session. The President is on vacation on "the Vineyard". Football hasn't really started yet and the only signs of life in America should be the rush to Target to buy back-to-school-supplies.
Nevertheless, we are being bombarded with an unrelenting, screeching torrent of opinions on how to address the horrific cost of health care in America. Everyone from your mechanic to your mother-in-law to the parent next to you at the Little League field has an opinion. Many of those opinions are deeply held. Many are based on facts not in evidence (OK, so I watch too much court room TV!). One thing is clear: however the Congress finally decides, a substantial group of Americans are not going to be happy.
As always, it is the stated purpose of isitjustme to bring clarity to an otherwise cloudy debate. To wit: let's review the history:
1) Barack Obama ran for President as a change agent. One of those changes was the way we dispense and pay for health care in America.
2) Mr. Obama won the election, bringing with him a truckload of Democratic Senators and Congressmen.
3) Almost none of those Senators and Congresspersons were elected on a platform involving single-payer insurance plans or public options. (Prior to the current conflagration, most Americans imagined that public options had something to do with restroom choices.)
4) The President is determined to use his substantial majorities in both houses of Congress as well as his honeymoon popularity to changes health care in America.
It turns out that the White House has severely miscalculated. For one thing, honeymoons are now defined as the time between your inauguration and the moment you make your first decision. Also, a Democratic majority isn't actually a majority. With Democrats, loyalty to the Party and the President appears not to be a requirement...or even a suggestion. Bill Clinton discovered this lesson when he attempted to introduce acceptance of gays in the military. His party turned on him like a cheering Giants fan at an Eagles home game.
What President Obama has discovered is Americans may vote for change but they really don't want anything to actually change. Social Security, Civil Rights, Medicare, mandatory seatbelts all came into being without popular support. Makes you wonder how Prohibition ever got ratified. The reason that our little democratic republic has survived all these years is, somehow the combined efforts of the 535 self serving, power crazy, egomaniacs in Congress manage to be right more often than they are wrong. Amazing!
Anyway, we have learned a few things as a result of this little dust-up on healthcare:
1) Many Americans now know the name of the Senator from Iowa without benefit of a sordid sex scandal. The only one of his body parts that isn't where it should be is his brain.
2) We have learned that bipartisanship means, "you won the election but you still have to do things our way".
3) We have, at least, discovered a way to get old, fat, white Americans off the couch and away from reruns on the History Channel. Now if we could only get them to stop listening to Rush on the way to the town halls.
4) We've learned what P.T. Barnum, Joseph Goebbels, Joe Stalin and Karl Rove always knew: if the lies are outrageous enough and you shout them loud enough, and they play to your worst fears, you can get a lot of gullible people to believe and repeat them.
5) Sarah Palin is even more of a dillweed than was originally believed.
Sadly, we have also learned that the America of the Greatest Generation has become a timid country. Everything frightens us. Immigrants frighten us. Prisoners from Guantanamo frighten us. Muslims frighten us. Hell, our own government frightens us.(OK, maybe there's merit there.) And, change frightens us to death.
But take heart America. After all, we are still fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Patriot Act is still in full vigor. Karl Rove and Dick Cheney are still not in jail, and the Attorney General is still invoking executive privilege. Gays are still not permitted to marry in most states and they are still being booted from vital jobs in the military. Rush is still drawing killer ratings and no one has blackened one of Bill O'Reilly's eyes. So, aside from the departure of Paula Abdul from Idol, where's all the change?
Nevertheless, we are being bombarded with an unrelenting, screeching torrent of opinions on how to address the horrific cost of health care in America. Everyone from your mechanic to your mother-in-law to the parent next to you at the Little League field has an opinion. Many of those opinions are deeply held. Many are based on facts not in evidence (OK, so I watch too much court room TV!). One thing is clear: however the Congress finally decides, a substantial group of Americans are not going to be happy.
As always, it is the stated purpose of isitjustme to bring clarity to an otherwise cloudy debate. To wit: let's review the history:
1) Barack Obama ran for President as a change agent. One of those changes was the way we dispense and pay for health care in America.
2) Mr. Obama won the election, bringing with him a truckload of Democratic Senators and Congressmen.
3) Almost none of those Senators and Congresspersons were elected on a platform involving single-payer insurance plans or public options. (Prior to the current conflagration, most Americans imagined that public options had something to do with restroom choices.)
4) The President is determined to use his substantial majorities in both houses of Congress as well as his honeymoon popularity to changes health care in America.
It turns out that the White House has severely miscalculated. For one thing, honeymoons are now defined as the time between your inauguration and the moment you make your first decision. Also, a Democratic majority isn't actually a majority. With Democrats, loyalty to the Party and the President appears not to be a requirement...or even a suggestion. Bill Clinton discovered this lesson when he attempted to introduce acceptance of gays in the military. His party turned on him like a cheering Giants fan at an Eagles home game.
What President Obama has discovered is Americans may vote for change but they really don't want anything to actually change. Social Security, Civil Rights, Medicare, mandatory seatbelts all came into being without popular support. Makes you wonder how Prohibition ever got ratified. The reason that our little democratic republic has survived all these years is, somehow the combined efforts of the 535 self serving, power crazy, egomaniacs in Congress manage to be right more often than they are wrong. Amazing!
Anyway, we have learned a few things as a result of this little dust-up on healthcare:
1) Many Americans now know the name of the Senator from Iowa without benefit of a sordid sex scandal. The only one of his body parts that isn't where it should be is his brain.
2) We have learned that bipartisanship means, "you won the election but you still have to do things our way".
3) We have, at least, discovered a way to get old, fat, white Americans off the couch and away from reruns on the History Channel. Now if we could only get them to stop listening to Rush on the way to the town halls.
4) We've learned what P.T. Barnum, Joseph Goebbels, Joe Stalin and Karl Rove always knew: if the lies are outrageous enough and you shout them loud enough, and they play to your worst fears, you can get a lot of gullible people to believe and repeat them.
5) Sarah Palin is even more of a dillweed than was originally believed.
Sadly, we have also learned that the America of the Greatest Generation has become a timid country. Everything frightens us. Immigrants frighten us. Prisoners from Guantanamo frighten us. Muslims frighten us. Hell, our own government frightens us.(OK, maybe there's merit there.) And, change frightens us to death.
But take heart America. After all, we are still fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Patriot Act is still in full vigor. Karl Rove and Dick Cheney are still not in jail, and the Attorney General is still invoking executive privilege. Gays are still not permitted to marry in most states and they are still being booted from vital jobs in the military. Rush is still drawing killer ratings and no one has blackened one of Bill O'Reilly's eyes. So, aside from the departure of Paula Abdul from Idol, where's all the change?
Friday, June 26, 2009
...or is one man's lemon another man's lemonade?
Item
Amid the weeping and wailing across America and the world over the death of Michael Jackson, there was a noticeable shout of joy emanating from the State Capital of South Carolina. It seems that the sudden demise of the King of Pop has knocked Governor Mark Sanford clear off the front page of the country's newspapers. Headlines like "Buenos Airhead" and "Latin Lover Emails" were erased in favor of a gushing river of praise for the man most recently famous as the most notorious pedophile not wearing a cassock. Jackson went immediately from the bizarre owner of Neverland Ranch to America's most revered performer. Death is a better detergent than Tide.
So congratulations to Governor Sanford! With any luck he will be able to continue his environmentally laudatory interest in extending the Appalachian Trail to the suburbs of Buenos Aries.
Quiet congratulations also to the family of Farrah Fawcett. The Jackson story has also allowed her loved ones to mourn with more dignity than they would normally have been accorded.
___________________________________________________________________
Item
And speaking of people getting kicked off the front page, how would you like to be Kim Jong Il?
This guy has done everything short of short-sheeting the Lincoln bedroom to get the attention of the world. Threatening to "wipe America off the map" got him more notice on Jon Stewart's show than in the New York Times. Even his nukes aren't being taken seriously. Experts agree that, short of mailing one to Hawaii, Kim's ability to deliver a bomb is limited at best. Understandably, the South Koreans and the 30,000 American military personnel stationed south of the 38th parallel are somewhat more concerned. They are relying on China to keep Kim quiet. A steady supply of Ben & Jerry's Chuncky Monkey and Bay Watch DVD's in HD have worked so far. Fingers-crossed, soon Kim will be joining his ancestors in that great rubber room in the sky and leave us all to deal with Kim Jong-un (who is actually Kim Jong-trois) the designated successor.
Recent history notwithstanding, President Obama does not feel it necessary to swat every fly. Unlike his predecessor, Obama (may the Lord guide his free-throws) has adopted an attitude that sticks and stones may break my bones but your weak-ass nuclear threat will never hurt me. Obama has bigger moles to whack.
___________________________________________________________________
Item
Which brings us to the Land of the Ayatollahs. Iran should be a cautionary tale about democracy. Not every election turns out the way you want. As Bush/Gore 2000 illustrated, elections are messy and occasionally contentious. The Iranians will have to figure it out for themselves like we did. Hopefully they will make a better choice.
The only thing we know for sure is that cheerleaders from the conservative right are as unproductive as they are unhelpful. America has no horse in this race. As Viet Nam and Iraq have so tragically illustrated, we are ill-equipped and ultimately disinclined to be the world's policeman. If Iranians want change, they know how to accomplish it. They elected Mahammed Mosaddeq in 1951, deposed the Shah in 1979 and even voted for the moderate (by Iranian standards) for president in 2001. American support for any candidate would be as toxic as a campaign appearance by GWB in 2008. We cannot control the world's elections. Hell, based on 2000 we can barely control our own.
Amid the weeping and wailing across America and the world over the death of Michael Jackson, there was a noticeable shout of joy emanating from the State Capital of South Carolina. It seems that the sudden demise of the King of Pop has knocked Governor Mark Sanford clear off the front page of the country's newspapers. Headlines like "Buenos Airhead" and "Latin Lover Emails" were erased in favor of a gushing river of praise for the man most recently famous as the most notorious pedophile not wearing a cassock. Jackson went immediately from the bizarre owner of Neverland Ranch to America's most revered performer. Death is a better detergent than Tide.
So congratulations to Governor Sanford! With any luck he will be able to continue his environmentally laudatory interest in extending the Appalachian Trail to the suburbs of Buenos Aries.
Quiet congratulations also to the family of Farrah Fawcett. The Jackson story has also allowed her loved ones to mourn with more dignity than they would normally have been accorded.
___________________________________________________________________
Item
And speaking of people getting kicked off the front page, how would you like to be Kim Jong Il?
This guy has done everything short of short-sheeting the Lincoln bedroom to get the attention of the world. Threatening to "wipe America off the map" got him more notice on Jon Stewart's show than in the New York Times. Even his nukes aren't being taken seriously. Experts agree that, short of mailing one to Hawaii, Kim's ability to deliver a bomb is limited at best. Understandably, the South Koreans and the 30,000 American military personnel stationed south of the 38th parallel are somewhat more concerned. They are relying on China to keep Kim quiet. A steady supply of Ben & Jerry's Chuncky Monkey and Bay Watch DVD's in HD have worked so far. Fingers-crossed, soon Kim will be joining his ancestors in that great rubber room in the sky and leave us all to deal with Kim Jong-un (who is actually Kim Jong-trois) the designated successor.
Recent history notwithstanding, President Obama does not feel it necessary to swat every fly. Unlike his predecessor, Obama (may the Lord guide his free-throws) has adopted an attitude that sticks and stones may break my bones but your weak-ass nuclear threat will never hurt me. Obama has bigger moles to whack.
___________________________________________________________________
Item
Which brings us to the Land of the Ayatollahs. Iran should be a cautionary tale about democracy. Not every election turns out the way you want. As Bush/Gore 2000 illustrated, elections are messy and occasionally contentious. The Iranians will have to figure it out for themselves like we did. Hopefully they will make a better choice.
The only thing we know for sure is that cheerleaders from the conservative right are as unproductive as they are unhelpful. America has no horse in this race. As Viet Nam and Iraq have so tragically illustrated, we are ill-equipped and ultimately disinclined to be the world's policeman. If Iranians want change, they know how to accomplish it. They elected Mahammed Mosaddeq in 1951, deposed the Shah in 1979 and even voted for the moderate (by Iranian standards) for president in 2001. American support for any candidate would be as toxic as a campaign appearance by GWB in 2008. We cannot control the world's elections. Hell, based on 2000 we can barely control our own.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
...or are TV debates just as boring as hell?
I'm stumped! I couldn't tell you who won the debate last night and I have a dog in the fight. It would be swell to write multiple paragraphs that proudly proclaimed Barak Obama the winner, having trounced the geezer McCain. Alas, it is not to be! Both men acquitted themselves admirably. Like the first round of a heavyweight fight, the contestants danced around for ninety minutes looking for openings. Nothing developed. The overriding objective appeared to be not to make a mistake. Given McCain's record as a public speaker, it was nothing short of amazing that he didn't fall over the ropes at least once. There were no watch-checking, rape-baiting moments. McCain is no Ronald Reagan but Obama is no Fritz Mondale.
Senator McCain did learn at least one lesson from the stylings of the Great Communicator. Much as Mr. Reagan loved to repeat phrases such as "Well..." and "there you go again",McCain continued to extol, "what Senator Obama fails to understand is..." I guess that's effective although what Senator McCain fails to understand is the phrase needs to be followed by some fact or even a coherent thought. Continually regurgitating your stump speech talking points doesn't make you look like a leader. It looks like you are phoning it in. That stuff is OK for Sarah, because she is an empty dress, but McCain needs to be more expansive. After all, the race is close but he's still behind. If the debates against Obama result in a draw, McCain loses. At least no bones were broken.
I'm not exactly sure what the American people expect to see at these debates. NASCAR fans are looking for a car wreck. People with medical bills and no healthcare are looking for some indication that their issues will be addressed (point to Obama). The rest of us are just rooting for our guy and hoping that the opposition gets a pie in the kisser. If we feel the need to take something away from the debate (aside from the sadness of missing the usual smorgasbord of network reality shows), consider that Barak Obama has acquitted himself as polished, professional, sincere, knowledgeable and he has a way better smile. Face it, McCain really is more of the same. Maybe there was a winner after all.
Senator McCain did learn at least one lesson from the stylings of the Great Communicator. Much as Mr. Reagan loved to repeat phrases such as "Well..." and "there you go again",McCain continued to extol, "what Senator Obama fails to understand is..." I guess that's effective although what Senator McCain fails to understand is the phrase needs to be followed by some fact or even a coherent thought. Continually regurgitating your stump speech talking points doesn't make you look like a leader. It looks like you are phoning it in. That stuff is OK for Sarah, because she is an empty dress, but McCain needs to be more expansive. After all, the race is close but he's still behind. If the debates against Obama result in a draw, McCain loses. At least no bones were broken.
I'm not exactly sure what the American people expect to see at these debates. NASCAR fans are looking for a car wreck. People with medical bills and no healthcare are looking for some indication that their issues will be addressed (point to Obama). The rest of us are just rooting for our guy and hoping that the opposition gets a pie in the kisser. If we feel the need to take something away from the debate (aside from the sadness of missing the usual smorgasbord of network reality shows), consider that Barak Obama has acquitted himself as polished, professional, sincere, knowledgeable and he has a way better smile. Face it, McCain really is more of the same. Maybe there was a winner after all.
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.
Monday, August 25, 2008
...or is Joe Biden the last piece of the puzzle?
Unless you have been living under water with Michael Phelps for the last three days, you know that Barak Obama has chosen Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his Vice Presidential running mate. By all accounts, Biden represents an intelligent, thoughtful choice. Although Senator Biden will not bring a vital swing state into the blue column (think Kaine of Virginia or Sebelius in Kansas), the fact is, not since Lyndon Johnson has a VP delivered a state that the ticket could not otherwise expect to carry. However, to suggest that Senator Obama is merely following in the footsteps of the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is a comparison without foundation.
Dick Cheney was a cantankerous, mean-spirited, agenda-driven, single-minded political hatchetman...and those are a few of his more endearing qualities. He was installed on GWB's ticket to add gravitas to a candidate who couldn't identify the location of most of the states that voted for him. The country was being assured that it was OK to vote for someone you wanted to have a beer with because Old Dick Cheney would be available to take the conn if anything terrible happened. Well it did and he wasn't.
It's true that, like Biden, Cheney wanted to run for the top job. It is also true that Cheney has such a poisonous public personae he wouldn't even vote for himself. Cheney brought more baggage to the White House than Paris Hilton brings to Vegas. As Secretary of Defense for Bush 41, he gutted the Defense budget and cultivated a reputation as an unpleasant autocrat. As VP he was determined to wage war with all of the countries he saw as a threat. He was not about to let the fact that he wasn't Commander-in-Chief stand in his way.
Biden, on the other hand, is considered the nicest guy in the Senate. Even the gang across the aisle likes him. As a long-serving member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden brings knowledge and experience to the ticket without all of the bile of the present VP. Think of him as the anti-Cheney. He has a style that encourages compromise. People want to work with him. This will be a welcome change from the "do it my way or I'll kill you...really, I'll kill you" method currently employed by the man who's only a heartbeat away from being President.
When all the foreign policy bluster is cleared away, the real problems in America are domestic. The Bush polarization policy virtually ensured that legislative gridlock would prevail, even when the Republicans controlled both houses. Joe Biden will be the perfect person to forge consensus and foster a sense of shared responsibility. He could hardly do any worse than his predecessor.
Obama needed a running mate with a little more ink on his resume and Joe Biden is the best man for the job. Who knows? He may even be able to keep the Clintons in line; and without a whip and a chair. That feat alone should win him a place in the hearts of Democrats.
Dick Cheney was a cantankerous, mean-spirited, agenda-driven, single-minded political hatchetman...and those are a few of his more endearing qualities. He was installed on GWB's ticket to add gravitas to a candidate who couldn't identify the location of most of the states that voted for him. The country was being assured that it was OK to vote for someone you wanted to have a beer with because Old Dick Cheney would be available to take the conn if anything terrible happened. Well it did and he wasn't.
It's true that, like Biden, Cheney wanted to run for the top job. It is also true that Cheney has such a poisonous public personae he wouldn't even vote for himself. Cheney brought more baggage to the White House than Paris Hilton brings to Vegas. As Secretary of Defense for Bush 41, he gutted the Defense budget and cultivated a reputation as an unpleasant autocrat. As VP he was determined to wage war with all of the countries he saw as a threat. He was not about to let the fact that he wasn't Commander-in-Chief stand in his way.
Biden, on the other hand, is considered the nicest guy in the Senate. Even the gang across the aisle likes him. As a long-serving member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden brings knowledge and experience to the ticket without all of the bile of the present VP. Think of him as the anti-Cheney. He has a style that encourages compromise. People want to work with him. This will be a welcome change from the "do it my way or I'll kill you...really, I'll kill you" method currently employed by the man who's only a heartbeat away from being President.
When all the foreign policy bluster is cleared away, the real problems in America are domestic. The Bush polarization policy virtually ensured that legislative gridlock would prevail, even when the Republicans controlled both houses. Joe Biden will be the perfect person to forge consensus and foster a sense of shared responsibility. He could hardly do any worse than his predecessor.
Obama needed a running mate with a little more ink on his resume and Joe Biden is the best man for the job. Who knows? He may even be able to keep the Clintons in line; and without a whip and a chair. That feat alone should win him a place in the hearts of Democrats.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
...or am I so short that the fast ones go right over my head?
Item
In the world of chutzpa there are amateurs and professionals. Larry Craig, the wide-stance senator from Idaho, is a amateur. His decision to keep his seat (that would be his Senate seat, not the one in the Minneapolis men's room) was nervy but hardly noteworthy.
Congressman William Jefferson of Louisiana, on the other hand, is pure professional. You may remember the honorable representative from New Orleans as the legislator who owned a $70,000 Fridge, all in cash. Congressman Jefferson isn't about to let a trifling item like a sixteen count federal corruption indictment interrupt his glittering career as a legislator. Dollar Bill has announced that he will be running for his tenth term as the representative of Louisiana's second district. Considering the likes of Huey Long, David Dukes, David Vetter and Edwin "Fast Eddie" Edwards, it's nice to see that tradition still matters even if it's a tradition of corruption. And you thought all the backed-up sewage in New Orleans had been cleared.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Item
Ashcroft redux.
A Romanian village re-elected Mayor Neculai Ivascu to a new term in spite of the fact that he died shortly before the election. Villagers expressed a reluctance to change. It is now possible to speculate that Kansas is secretly populated with Romanians.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
Our friends at the Vatican have decided to forbid any filming for the prequel to the Di Vinci Code on any Church property in Rome. Apparently the mere mention of Dan Brown is enough to send the Holy See running for their rosary beads. The RCC clearly doesn't appreciate Brown's rather novel interpretation of Church doctrine. I'll bet those spoil-sports would have blocked "The Bells of Saint Mary" and don't even get them started about "Angels in the Outfield".
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
And on the subject of religion, Hindus are concerned that Mike Meyers' new movie "The Love Guru" demeans their culture. They must hate Apu on the Simpsons. Fear not, gentle people. This film is so bad even the detainees at Guantanamo won't watch it and they like to laugh at Hindus.
Thankfully, unlike Muslims, Hindus do not feel the need to execute everyone associated with the production of films that offend them. There has, however, been a fatwa posted against Mike Meyers by the producers of Pluto Nash who are upset at losing their bragging rights to the title "worst movie ever made".
____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
The Republican Party is so desperate to find some flaw in the character of Barak Obama they are trying to make an issue of campaign financing. The details of this canard would put Fred Thompson to sleep but then, so does everything else. The McCain people continue to hammer away with phrases like, "broke his promise", "went back on his word" and the dreaded "flip-flop". (Is there any chance we could get a moratorium on flip-flop for Campaign 2008?)
McCain is frosted because Obama is killing him in the money-raising dept. America has already started voting with their checkbooks. Sadly for McCain, usual fat-cat Republican industrialists, having created sow's ear politicians like George W. Bush, are a bit chilled by McCain's cantankerous views. So the McCain people are screaming because Sen. Obama is paying for his campaign without taxpayer money. Good luck gaining any traction with that.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
The Inspector General' s office of the Justice Department has issued a report which confirms what everyone in Washington already knows. During the time that Alberto Gonzales was Attorney General and while Karl Rove and Harriet Meyers were still a Rasputin-like force in the White House, the hiring process at Justice was co-opted by conservative ideologues. There sole charge was to recommend only "vetted" candidates whose political and social beliefs were in lock step with the Bush Administration.
Although Rove has his pudgy fingerprints all over this bit of cynicism, the practitioners were the minions on the steering committee. Singled out for special scorn was one Esther Slater McDonald. As a graduate of Pensacola Christian College and Notre Dame Law (I guess Liberty College was full up) her role was to identify and tag any candidate who showed signs of "wrong thinking" . That included a Stanford grad who had written a law review article on discrimination in the military and a Harvard alum who had worked as a paralegal at Planned Parenthood.
In case you're thinking that this is just a perk of the incumbent party and that "everybody does it", forget that.
Prior to 2002 jobs at Justice for the honors and intern programs were awarded based on merit. The process only became truly perverted during the Bush years, particularly in 2006 under Gonzales. The situation became so polluted that even senior Bush appointees were holding their noses.
George the Lesser has a lot to answer for but, allowing entire departments of government like Interior, Environmental Protection and, Justice to be corrupted by scum like Rove, Meyers, Gail Norton, and Gonzales is neglect bordering on the criminal. Nixon may have been a crook but he was never guilty of this level of incompetence.
In the world of chutzpa there are amateurs and professionals. Larry Craig, the wide-stance senator from Idaho, is a amateur. His decision to keep his seat (that would be his Senate seat, not the one in the Minneapolis men's room) was nervy but hardly noteworthy.
Congressman William Jefferson of Louisiana, on the other hand, is pure professional. You may remember the honorable representative from New Orleans as the legislator who owned a $70,000 Fridge, all in cash. Congressman Jefferson isn't about to let a trifling item like a sixteen count federal corruption indictment interrupt his glittering career as a legislator. Dollar Bill has announced that he will be running for his tenth term as the representative of Louisiana's second district. Considering the likes of Huey Long, David Dukes, David Vetter and Edwin "Fast Eddie" Edwards, it's nice to see that tradition still matters even if it's a tradition of corruption. And you thought all the backed-up sewage in New Orleans had been cleared.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Item
Ashcroft redux.
A Romanian village re-elected Mayor Neculai Ivascu to a new term in spite of the fact that he died shortly before the election. Villagers expressed a reluctance to change. It is now possible to speculate that Kansas is secretly populated with Romanians.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
Our friends at the Vatican have decided to forbid any filming for the prequel to the Di Vinci Code on any Church property in Rome. Apparently the mere mention of Dan Brown is enough to send the Holy See running for their rosary beads. The RCC clearly doesn't appreciate Brown's rather novel interpretation of Church doctrine. I'll bet those spoil-sports would have blocked "The Bells of Saint Mary" and don't even get them started about "Angels in the Outfield".
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
And on the subject of religion, Hindus are concerned that Mike Meyers' new movie "The Love Guru" demeans their culture. They must hate Apu on the Simpsons. Fear not, gentle people. This film is so bad even the detainees at Guantanamo won't watch it and they like to laugh at Hindus.
Thankfully, unlike Muslims, Hindus do not feel the need to execute everyone associated with the production of films that offend them. There has, however, been a fatwa posted against Mike Meyers by the producers of Pluto Nash who are upset at losing their bragging rights to the title "worst movie ever made".
____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
The Republican Party is so desperate to find some flaw in the character of Barak Obama they are trying to make an issue of campaign financing. The details of this canard would put Fred Thompson to sleep but then, so does everything else. The McCain people continue to hammer away with phrases like, "broke his promise", "went back on his word" and the dreaded "flip-flop". (Is there any chance we could get a moratorium on flip-flop for Campaign 2008?)
McCain is frosted because Obama is killing him in the money-raising dept. America has already started voting with their checkbooks. Sadly for McCain, usual fat-cat Republican industrialists, having created sow's ear politicians like George W. Bush, are a bit chilled by McCain's cantankerous views. So the McCain people are screaming because Sen. Obama is paying for his campaign without taxpayer money. Good luck gaining any traction with that.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
The Inspector General' s office of the Justice Department has issued a report which confirms what everyone in Washington already knows. During the time that Alberto Gonzales was Attorney General and while Karl Rove and Harriet Meyers were still a Rasputin-like force in the White House, the hiring process at Justice was co-opted by conservative ideologues. There sole charge was to recommend only "vetted" candidates whose political and social beliefs were in lock step with the Bush Administration.
Although Rove has his pudgy fingerprints all over this bit of cynicism, the practitioners were the minions on the steering committee. Singled out for special scorn was one Esther Slater McDonald. As a graduate of Pensacola Christian College and Notre Dame Law (I guess Liberty College was full up) her role was to identify and tag any candidate who showed signs of "wrong thinking" . That included a Stanford grad who had written a law review article on discrimination in the military and a Harvard alum who had worked as a paralegal at Planned Parenthood.
In case you're thinking that this is just a perk of the incumbent party and that "everybody does it", forget that.
Prior to 2002 jobs at Justice for the honors and intern programs were awarded based on merit. The process only became truly perverted during the Bush years, particularly in 2006 under Gonzales. The situation became so polluted that even senior Bush appointees were holding their noses.
George the Lesser has a lot to answer for but, allowing entire departments of government like Interior, Environmental Protection and, Justice to be corrupted by scum like Rove, Meyers, Gail Norton, and Gonzales is neglect bordering on the criminal. Nixon may have been a crook but he was never guilty of this level of incompetence.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
...or is Senator Obama sorry that he has Wright on his side?
Having blown the dust off the old keyboard...
Item
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.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
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?
____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
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.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
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.
____________________________________________________________________________________
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?
Item
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.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
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?
____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
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.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Item
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.
____________________________________________________________________________________
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?
Sunday, March 30, 2008
...or was Karl Rove seen at the Trinity United Church of Christ?
A message to white, conservative America...get over yourselves.
Our friends on the right are having a gay, old time (not like "Larry Craig" gay) clucking their tongues and shaking their heads over the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and the sermons he preached while Barak Obama was within earshot. It seems that Rev. Wright made a few inflammatory statements that would not have gotten him invited to a communion breakfast at the local VFW hall. Heaven forfend!
Forget that George Bush traveled to South Carolina on his knees (not like "Larry Craig" on his knees) in 2000 to kiss Jerry Falwell's ass. That would be the same Jerry Falwell who blamed the 9-11 attacks on gays and lesbians. I guess all outrageous rhetoric is not created equal. However, tempting thou it is, this rant is not about George the Lessor.
The Obama/Wright issue is a red herring on so many levels that it's hard to know where to begin. Let's start with Rev. Wright.
The Reverend is a Navy and Marine Corps veteran. (Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh had better things to do.) Before his recent retirement he had been the pastor of the Trinity United Church of Christ since 1972. His list of achievements and honors would fill a book including praise from Presidents Johnson and Clinton. But he is also a 67 year old black man in America. His experiences with racism are typical of his generation.
His denunciation of the treatment of black Americans at the hands of the white establishment is entirely understandable and entirely justified. Blacks in this country have endured 400 years of slavery followed by another 100 years of Jim Crow segregation. People can get pretty angry in 500 years. Just because things have finally begun to improve somewhat since the 60's, is no reason to think that African Americans have forgiven and forgotten. Being less of a second-class citizen is still to be a second-class citizen. If, as a white person in this country, you believe that Black people have gained full equality, that you probably also believed "Mission Accomplished".
As a white person living in the United States I have at no time, or for any reason, been discriminated against. I have never been stopped by the police for being in a wealthy neighborhood. I have never been watched in a jewelry store or asked by mistake to park some one's car in front of a restaurant. No one has ever called me a racially-based name. (All slurs against me have been intelligence-based)
White America has no idea what it means to be black and therefore no idea how they might react to the systemic degradation of their race. You simply have no frame of reference.
Yes, Barak Obama attended Sunday services at Rev. Wright's church in Chicago and he heard many of the pastor's over-the-top sermons. To suggest that the Senator took every word to heart is nonsense. None of us agree with all of the opinions of our friends and mentors. Even John McCain has had to distance himself from the opinions of some of the people that have endorsed him. Besides, I thought all you conservatives liked church-goers.
Barak Obama is black. Sooner or later that fact had to come up. Rather than sidestep the issue the Senator from Illinois addressed it directly. That sort of candor was missing from the discussion of George W. Bush's drug use, or the Clinton's recent tax returns. Obama's treatment of his friendship with Rev. Wright stands in stark contrast to how Hillary Clinton tap-danced around the Bosnia-sniper statement. (not like Larry Craig tap dancing.)
Obama supporters can remain secure in the knowledge that most of the electorate who have been offended by the sermons of Reverend Wright, weren't wearing Obama '08 buttons anyway.
They wear buttons that say "Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms Should be an Advertising Slogan".
Our friends on the right are having a gay, old time (not like "Larry Craig" gay) clucking their tongues and shaking their heads over the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and the sermons he preached while Barak Obama was within earshot. It seems that Rev. Wright made a few inflammatory statements that would not have gotten him invited to a communion breakfast at the local VFW hall. Heaven forfend!
Forget that George Bush traveled to South Carolina on his knees (not like "Larry Craig" on his knees) in 2000 to kiss Jerry Falwell's ass. That would be the same Jerry Falwell who blamed the 9-11 attacks on gays and lesbians. I guess all outrageous rhetoric is not created equal. However, tempting thou it is, this rant is not about George the Lessor.
The Obama/Wright issue is a red herring on so many levels that it's hard to know where to begin. Let's start with Rev. Wright.
The Reverend is a Navy and Marine Corps veteran. (Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh had better things to do.) Before his recent retirement he had been the pastor of the Trinity United Church of Christ since 1972. His list of achievements and honors would fill a book including praise from Presidents Johnson and Clinton. But he is also a 67 year old black man in America. His experiences with racism are typical of his generation.
His denunciation of the treatment of black Americans at the hands of the white establishment is entirely understandable and entirely justified. Blacks in this country have endured 400 years of slavery followed by another 100 years of Jim Crow segregation. People can get pretty angry in 500 years. Just because things have finally begun to improve somewhat since the 60's, is no reason to think that African Americans have forgiven and forgotten. Being less of a second-class citizen is still to be a second-class citizen. If, as a white person in this country, you believe that Black people have gained full equality, that you probably also believed "Mission Accomplished".
As a white person living in the United States I have at no time, or for any reason, been discriminated against. I have never been stopped by the police for being in a wealthy neighborhood. I have never been watched in a jewelry store or asked by mistake to park some one's car in front of a restaurant. No one has ever called me a racially-based name. (All slurs against me have been intelligence-based)
White America has no idea what it means to be black and therefore no idea how they might react to the systemic degradation of their race. You simply have no frame of reference.
Yes, Barak Obama attended Sunday services at Rev. Wright's church in Chicago and he heard many of the pastor's over-the-top sermons. To suggest that the Senator took every word to heart is nonsense. None of us agree with all of the opinions of our friends and mentors. Even John McCain has had to distance himself from the opinions of some of the people that have endorsed him. Besides, I thought all you conservatives liked church-goers.
Barak Obama is black. Sooner or later that fact had to come up. Rather than sidestep the issue the Senator from Illinois addressed it directly. That sort of candor was missing from the discussion of George W. Bush's drug use, or the Clinton's recent tax returns. Obama's treatment of his friendship with Rev. Wright stands in stark contrast to how Hillary Clinton tap-danced around the Bosnia-sniper statement. (not like Larry Craig tap dancing.)
Obama supporters can remain secure in the knowledge that most of the electorate who have been offended by the sermons of Reverend Wright, weren't wearing Obama '08 buttons anyway.
They wear buttons that say "Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms Should be an Advertising Slogan".
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