Archives for March 2011

The politics of rape

Politicians say stupid things all the time. There's a reason why the political arena is often called "Hollywood for ugly people." Some think Barack Obama is a President "rock star."  These same people probably told Charlie Sheen he has Adonis DNA. The intelligence bar has been set rather low by actors, reported to say stupid things all the time.  What do you expect when someone makes a living by saying words written by others? Not much. The real question is, what did Congress expect when they asked Jane Fonda or Sissy Spacek to testify before Congress about the plight of farmers because they played a farmer in a movie?  Perhaps Steven Colbert put an end to that celebrity "expert" testimony nonsense once and for all by properly mocking it. For the record, it really doesn't bother me all that much when an actor says something stupid.  They aren't paid to be smart.  They are paid to look good and sound convincing as they follow the script. When politicians say stupid things, it really bothers me.  These people have great power to adversely affect my life.  I want politicians who are smarter than me, not richer and prettier. When Republican Christine O'Donnell bought a television ad to announce "I am not a witch" or Democrat Nancy Pelosi stood before the national media and declared, "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what's in it," my head wanted to explode. Don't forget my most favorite stupid quote from Harry Reid, The mean-spirited bill, H.R. 1 … eliminates the National Endowment of the Humanities, National Endowment of the Arts,” … [Read more...]

Party affiliation

Friends who engage me in a discussion that turns political often fall prey to the misconception that I am some sort of right wing Republican. Perhaps I made some reference to a remark by Rush Limbaugh or mentioned a story seen on Fox News. I do listen to Rush periodically and I do prefer Fox News. Does this make me some sort of ideologue? What about when I'm reading Camille Paglia, the Huffington Post, the U.K. Daily Mail, or some information source decidedly more liberal ?  If you really want "fair and balanced" and you don't trust the media, do it yourself. It has bothered me that ever since achieving a qualified age, in Georgia I must declare a party affiliation in order to vote in the primary.  I can vote either way in the general election, but for primaries I must choose sides. I am not a Republican.  I am not a Democrat.  I am an American.  My symbol is not "D" or "R", but "USA." I am not strictly a conservative, but fiscally conservative and socially a libertarian -- kind of like a liberal who hates Big Government. There are reasons I'm not a Democrat. Obamacare might even be the point of no return where I never support a "D" no matter how conservative the candidate. It isn't that we, the general public, want to "screw" the public sector unions of what they were promised in the past or deprive people of health care. The simple truth is that we don't have the money.  We must elect politicians with enough backbone to admit that entitlement spending has destroyed our economy and the only way to fix it is to reduce spending.  It's … [Read more...]

Birthers versus truthers

In my rarely humble opinion, birthers are a kind of conspiracy nut. They believe that Barack Obama became POTUS without actually being a natural-born citizen, a requirement for holding the office as stipulated by the U.S. Constitution. Surely Hillary Clinton would have discovered the truth and exposed Obama, assuming the slightest shred of evidence existed showing proof he's not a natural-born citizen.  Even if she was only pretty sure. Democrats haven't been known to be sticklers for details before making reckless accusations. And Hillary really wanted to be president.  Therefore, I disagree with Donald Trump. I think it's a waste of time and possibly a diversion to question Obama's citizenship.  Let's concentrate on the damage he's doing as President.  That ought to be plenty to keep the second coming of Jimmy Carter from re-election. If Republicans are worried they will be called racist, allow me to attempt to set the collective minds at ease. You're going to be called racists, bigots, homophobes, and any other vile term of character assassination by people who have none.  Get over it. Championing the birther claim is a non starter, in my opinion. If Republicans really want to counter the racism claim in the next general election, they could draft a ticket of two excellent black conservative such as Allen West and Herman Cain. I don't care which has the top job: both are black, conservative, smart, and no B.S. kind of people.  Either would make a better President than Obama. The Democrats have friends in the media helping them as much as … [Read more...]

The new racism

For too long, I've been cowed into submission.  I've been afraid to speak my mind for fear of being called a racist. As a "white" male who's basically spent my entire life in the Deep South, it's more or less assumed I'm racist if I say anything that can possibly be construed as negative about a black person. If I oppose Barack Obama for re-election, I'll be called a racist.  Will it matter if I support Lt. Colonel Allen West or Herman Cain instead? For the record, I would vote for either of them in a heartbeat.  How can you not love West's straight talk?  And Cain looks serious about running for president. If both men run, I'm really going to have a tough time making a decision. Over the years, it's been my experience to meet some of the nicest people I've known, and their skin color is considerably darker than mine.  I used to go so far to refer to these friends as "black", but soon discovered that to many people, the term is politically incorrect.  Too lazy and stubborn to say "African American", I often find myself in a quandary on how to describe my friends who naturally exhibit a darker hue. I've sort of gotten away from using any sort of descriptor. I've come to decide there is no "us" and "them".   Black and white differentiation is largely irrelevant.  We are the same species, no different physiologically. Our blood is interchangeable. During a transfusion, one doesn't get blood sorted by skin color but blood type.  It really is time to move past this hangup about skin color. That's why several recent events involving public officials and … [Read more...]