An Historic Speech

No one can say that Barack Obama isn't a skilled and articulate speaker. That's part of the reason he is where he is right now. His speech did seem to be devoid of bullshit. He said he could not turn away from his rascist white grandmother, and described her in an interview as a typical old white woman, afraid of passing black men on the street. Obama also stated that he would never turn away from Reverend Wright. The pastor who excused 9/11 as America's "chickens coming home to roost". Let me ask you this question. Could any of you sit quietly in a church year after year for 20 years, and expose your two young daughters to the hateful harangue that was spewing forth from the Reverend Wright's mouth?

Obama's Uncle

In attempting to distance himself from the radical statements of his Pastor, Barack Obama compared the Rev. Jeremiah Wright to a beloved uncle.  An uncle who may not always say the correct thing, but is "part of the family" and will always be there for him.  One of the most notable comments Wright has made during his many sermons, includes this one explaining 9-11.  Wright said, "We have supported state terrorism against Palestinians and Black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is brought right back to our own front yards, America's chickens are coming home to roost."  Imagine the pain felt by the families of the 2,974 victims of the 9-11 attacks upon hearing what this demagogue has said publicly?  Wright's sermons are not without his attempt to be clever and funny.  During one sermon, the Rev. Wright said that the song "God bless America should be changed to Goddamn America". Wright also referred to the United States as the "U.S. of K.K.K. A."  Surely these  statements are Wright's and not Obama's, but Obama has been a member of Wright's flock for nearly 8 years.  That's 8 years of sitting quietly in a pew with his wife and daughters listening to this bullshit and never speaking up?  Never condemning him? Never turning to his wife Michelle and saying, "We're outta here!"?  Obama clearly has a close relationship with this demagogue. Wright married the Obamas, and baptised their daughters.  I think that this relationship with Wright speaks volumns about Obama.  I hope he can be defeated before the "Chickens come home to roost" in November.  The problem is, it may be too late.

Another Thought # 12

A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.

- Winston Churchill

The Prognastycators

Let me start out by saying, I don't know who'll be the Democratic Nominee this coming fall. I must admit that I favor Hillary Clinton. That's why I'm especially amused when the network spin doctors and paid political prognosticators get it all wrong. Last night after the "O Man" had won Vermont and with Hillary leading in Ohio by 9 percentage points, Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann gleefully pointed to an early Obama lead in Texas with only a scant 1% of the votes in. Chris Matthews could barely contain his glee. This surely was the end of  "The Clintons" as Matthews repeatedly called the Clinton Campaign. What ensued next was a discussion about why Hillary should drop out for "the sake of the party". No sense in bludgeoning each other into the Spring while McCain and the Republicans sit pretty with the nomination of their party in hand. History tells us that within the last 50 years NO president has EVER been elected having lost the Ohio Primary. This is a fact. Maybe Obama will be the nominee and be the exception to that rule. Not being a paid political pundit like Matthews and Olbermann, I think it's possible it could be done. The point I'm trying to make is that the networks were there to fill in about 3 hours of airtime for an event that takes only 5 seconds to announce who won and what the numbers were. They chose to deliver the Clinton obituary. They were wrong.  I found it startling that a senior Obama advisor would "soft pedal" his candidates hard view of NAFTA to Canadian officials by stating that Obama's protectionist stand was "more reflective of political maneuvering than policy". Political maneuvering?  It seems we've had enough of that the past 7 years. It seems like a little bit of "business as usual" instead of "Change" and "Hope".  Obama to his credit had an incredible winning streak. He won 11 states in a row. That is something. But more importantly, look at the states he won. They were small "red states" that haven't gone Democratic since Roosevelt was running. (I may be wrong about that historically , but you catch my drift.) Anyway, we'll see what happens. At this point it's safe to say that anything can happen. So the next time those prognastycators do their little spin thingee, do what I do and turn the channel to American Idol. 

Contemplative Thought # 11

"The superior man when he has found success in the world abandons it and moves to the country"

 -Lao Tzu

        

The Homecoming

I was eagerly looking forward to seeing the revival of Harold Pinter's play, The Homecoming at the Cort Theatre. We had excellent seats located in the fourth row and even though I was suffering from a bout of the flu, could not believe my good fortune when the smallest old lady in the world sat directly in front of my wife and I. The British actor, Ian McShane, plays the patriarch of this very disfunctional family that included McShane, his brother, and two grown sons who get a surprise visit from their professor brother and his very provocative wife. If any of you remember the HBO drama Deadwood, you'll remember McShane as the foul mouthed owner of a saloon/whorehouse. He really is an impressive actor in full command of his craft. The play was beautifully acted but the play itself is a dismal commentary on a bleak bunch of unhappy misfits and the strange happenings that occur in the second act of the play. Outside the theatre was a banner proclaiming Pinter's play as "an erotic masterpiece". It very well may have been one in 1964 when it first appeared on Broadway, but now it seemed drab and sad. The men hatch a plan to use their brother's wife for profit and their own lustful desires with the full blessing of the woman's husband.  It was a very weird play and I heard some older theatre goers describe the play as "brutal".  I usually like to identify with a sympathetic character when seeing a play. There was none on stage. I guess I should've stayed home and nurse myself back to health.

How I Define The Word Coward

Good Ole Webster defines the word coward as "a person who shows a shameful lack of courage or fortitude". Not a very good definition is it. I have a better one. David Shuster, the tight lipped,  soft looking, talking head  on NBC News. The other day Shuster was "temporarily suspended" from NBC due to a comment he made concerning of all people, Chelsea Clinton. Shuster "took on" the 27 year old daughter of Hillary and Bill by saying that she was being "Pimped Out" by her parents to drum up the support of Superdelegates for her mom. This soft looking, poor excuse of a man, has the audacity to attack a decent young woman by using a term that often describes the selling of a woman for unlawful sexual activities. I don't think the likes of Shuster would dare to describe Oprah's volunteer work for Obama as "Pimping Out" do you? Can you imagine the uproar that would create? I dare say that Shuster would receive a harsher treatment from his fellow cowards at NBC than a temporary suspension.