Today Atlanta mayor Kasim Reid just made it official. Everybody and their brother is taking shots at Paula Deen. Reed went on Meet the Press and declared that her past use of the "N" word was "very unfortunate" and "totally unacceptable." The Food Network already fired her. Even my least favorite political cartoonist jumped on the bandwagon, this time associating celebrity cook Paula Deen with the Ku Klux Klan. And yes, the cowardly Mike Luckovich once again left the comment section closed. I don't own any of Ms. Deen's cookbooks, but I might have to buy one on general principle, even though I have no plans to use it. The politically correct have spoken unanimously to condemn Paula Deen for an apparently unforgivable sin. I loathe political correctness. I only care about fairness and justice. Now when I was a kid, growing up in Savannah, I'm sure that I heard the "N" word a quite a few times. I'm also sure that I've used it in the distant past myself when I was very young and foolish, before I understood the insult it represented. Since I can't remember when and I'm not sworn under oath, I won't be apologizing for any specific incident, or for being stupid when I was younger. I will say that I'm sorry that I've ever used the word. Mea culpa. Now, I'll politely ask you to get over it. It's not like the "N" word has been scrubbed from our culture. In fact, the last time I heard the "N" word used with alarming frequency was when I watched a Quentin Tarantino movie called Pulp Fiction. The "N" word is also very popular with rap artists. In … [Read more...]
Separation of church and state
This video is profoundly disturbing on a couple of levels. While an unglued, obviously deranged woman was busy assaulting innocent people, she was also claiming to teach children about a subject she clearly knows very little, if anything about -- the U.S. Constitution. It never ceases to amaze me, how many people can believe they know things with certainty, yet are absolutely, and often provably wrong. Take, for example, my atheist friends enamored with the phrase "separation of church and state," often citing it as their favorite part of the Constitution. The problem is that the phrase "separation of church and state" cannot be found in the U.S. Constitution, or in any of its amendments. Here's my most cynical offer -- I'll pay one thousand dollars reward to anyone who can show me where the exact words "separation of church and state" appear in the Constitution. No, I'm not being generous. I'm very confident I'll keep my money because I know where the phrase originated, verbatim; it came from a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to assure the Danbury Baptists in Connecticut that freedom of religion in our new nation would never be limited to one official church. And don't try to tell me they are in there somewhere, in spirit. If you're an atheist, you don't believe in spirits, do you? The words specifically in our Constitution guarantee freedom of, and certainly not from, religion. "Separation of church and state" only meant there will never be a state-sponsored church, like the Anglican Church was in England. That meant Catholics, Baptists, … [Read more...]
Father’s Day
I've got a couple of things to get off my chest this weekend. I probably could have combined two blogs into one titled "Things that make me want to vomit" , but I'd rather stay on point. Say what needs to be said, and then get back to work. I've got to finish Premonition. And I'm working on it. So here's a quick thought... I won't be celebrating Father's Day this year. This has nothing to do with my children, or that my father is dead. It has everything to do with Father's Day becoming a joke this year. When I read that the National Father's Day Committee chose to honor Bill Clinton as 2013 Father of the Year, I forced down the bile that reached the back of my throat. Seriously? Bill Clinton? Forget politics for a minute. Forget the fact that this is a man that we know committed adultery in the White House and lied about it under oath. Forget that Clinton's license to practice law was suspended for five years for committing perjury. I'm not saying Clinton is the absolute worst father in the world, but really -- Father of the Year? Remember Bill didn't just cheat on Hillary while Chelsea still lived at home, he humiliated his wife on national television. Bill committed adultery, lied about it, and got caught. Hillary defended Bill as the persecuted victim of a "vast, right-wing conspiracy", making her look very foolish after DNA evidence was produced. Exactly what sort of example did this "Father of the Year" set? Chelsea learned that men who are rich enough or powerful enough can get away with anything. They can disrespect their … [Read more...]
Spam attacks with strange consistency
This is really weird. My inbox is under some bizarre form of a spam attack. I'm currently being inundated with emails that are marketing two vastly different style products. The only conceivable common denominator is that both provide some form of transportation, albeit two vastly different ones. The first set of emails come from Hoveround wheelchairs. Because I'm still ambulatory, I don't quite understand how I got on their prospective customer list. Perhaps some internet widget has somehow monitored my habits, identified my addiction to writing, and determined that I will soon follow in the wheelchair tracks of George R. R. Martin and become too unhealthy to even walk to the mailbox under my own power. The other barrage of advertising is offering to help me "find great rates on luxurious private jets." Since I can't even afford to buy a new luxury car at the moment, I can't imagine where this marketing spam attack is coming from, either. Now if I could afford my own private jet, I would have to support a local Savannah business and buy a Gulfstream G650. Hey, I can dream, can't I? But, this begs the question: what does the internet know about my future personal needs that I don't? … [Read more...]
