I haven't lost sight of the irony behind the plethora of right-wing, hate-laced editorial columns attacking Barack Obama that appeared in the media during Easter week. Most of the editorials were poignant reminders of how little we’ve actually learned from Christ and just how low people will stoop to destroy a message of hope.
Take Michelle Malkin, for example. Her syndicated right-wing column entitled "Say Goodbye to the Glowbama Mystique", had a field day calling Barack Obama every political name in the book and chastising the candidate for his association with a fiery pastor whose views on a number of subjects, including the immorality of war’s violence, aren’t in line with Ms. Malkin’s extreme right-wing ideology.
The visceral nature of Ms. Malkin’s attack against Obama reminded me of similar attacks on Christ by the religious establishment of His day, who objected greatly to Christ’s association with tax collectors, prostitutes and the poor - people who were generally regarded as the sinners of society. Christ brought His message of hope to the marginalized, and those in power felt angry and threatened and saw to it that He was nailed to a tree.
Barack Obama is not Jesus Christ, nor is he America’s religious savior. But he does carry a message of hope for a better America, and there are many, like Ms. Malkins, who feel threatened by that message and will stop at nothing to nail Obama to a tree.
Hope can bring out the best in people. It can also bring out the worst
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Eliot Spitzer Should Resign
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's career as a corruption fighting prosecutor was worthy of admiration and acclaim, as he relentlessly championed the rights of society against institutions attempting to subjugate the interests of the common man. Given that track record, it was heartening to see the citizens of New York elevate Mr. Spitzer to the State's highest office where he could also use his vast influence and experience to continue that legacy.
Now that Governor Spitzer's effectiveness as a champion for the common man has been destroyed through his own personal failing, it's time for the Governor to step aside. Yes, it's grating that the sanctimonious crooks that inhabit New York's legislative majority are demanding an immediate resignation or they will commence impeachment proceedings, but the fact is that resignation is the only honorable thing left for Governor Spitzer to do.
An immediate resignation may not repair his reputation in the court of public opinion, but it is the one thing he can do to maintain his own self-respect. At this point in his life, it may be the only thing he has left!
It behooves the rest of us to remember that none of us are without personal failings...and regardless of the personal failings of Eliot Spitzer, he was no worse than the rest of us.
Now that Governor Spitzer's effectiveness as a champion for the common man has been destroyed through his own personal failing, it's time for the Governor to step aside. Yes, it's grating that the sanctimonious crooks that inhabit New York's legislative majority are demanding an immediate resignation or they will commence impeachment proceedings, but the fact is that resignation is the only honorable thing left for Governor Spitzer to do.
An immediate resignation may not repair his reputation in the court of public opinion, but it is the one thing he can do to maintain his own self-respect. At this point in his life, it may be the only thing he has left!
It behooves the rest of us to remember that none of us are without personal failings...and regardless of the personal failings of Eliot Spitzer, he was no worse than the rest of us.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Recession - A Political Dirty Word
Last week, Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Banks, in testimony before Congress, and President Bush, at a press conference, both remarked that the U.S. economy was not heading for a recession. Even if they’re right, which many economists find highly doubtful, such claims are largely meaningless in light of the fact that tens of millions of individual U.S. economies – the economies of individual American households – are already experiencing recessions and there is little hope of changing the landscape anytime soon
2.83 million Americans collected unemployment benefits last week, the largest level since September of 2005.
Employers slashed 63,000 jobs from the economy last month, the largest decrease in five years.
Home foreclosure rates have skyrocketed to their highest point in 23 years.
Because of the tanking housing market, 10% of American homeowners have no equity or negative equity (mortgage higher than a home is worth) in their home.
The average price of a gallon of gas has surpassed $3.27 and is expected to hit $4.00.
The value of the U.S. dollar is in a free-fall in money markets around the world.
The stock market has lost over 600 points spanning the last 5 trading sessions.
Consumer confidence is at its lowest point since 2002.
Health care and College education expenses have soared through the roof.
Inflation could top 7% in 2008 if the current rate-climb continues.
Against this backdrop, millions of Americans are eagerly awaiting the ‘stimulus’ checks the government is planning to send out, starting in May. Unfortunately, most of that money will not be spent on stimulating the U.S. economy, or individual household economies for that matter, it will be spent by ordinary Americans in a vain attempt to keep from drowning. That is to say, it will be spent trying to stay current on the bills.
America needs a stimulus package that does more than simply mail out checks. It needs a package that creates millions of real jobs, shores up America’s infrastructure and stimulates long-term growth that individual economies can then experience. And it’s going to take leaders willing to admit that for many, recession is already here. If you can’t admit there’s a problem, you’re not going to be working towards a solution.
2.83 million Americans collected unemployment benefits last week, the largest level since September of 2005.
Employers slashed 63,000 jobs from the economy last month, the largest decrease in five years.
Home foreclosure rates have skyrocketed to their highest point in 23 years.
Because of the tanking housing market, 10% of American homeowners have no equity or negative equity (mortgage higher than a home is worth) in their home.
The average price of a gallon of gas has surpassed $3.27 and is expected to hit $4.00.
The value of the U.S. dollar is in a free-fall in money markets around the world.
The stock market has lost over 600 points spanning the last 5 trading sessions.
Consumer confidence is at its lowest point since 2002.
Health care and College education expenses have soared through the roof.
Inflation could top 7% in 2008 if the current rate-climb continues.
Against this backdrop, millions of Americans are eagerly awaiting the ‘stimulus’ checks the government is planning to send out, starting in May. Unfortunately, most of that money will not be spent on stimulating the U.S. economy, or individual household economies for that matter, it will be spent by ordinary Americans in a vain attempt to keep from drowning. That is to say, it will be spent trying to stay current on the bills.
America needs a stimulus package that does more than simply mail out checks. It needs a package that creates millions of real jobs, shores up America’s infrastructure and stimulates long-term growth that individual economies can then experience. And it’s going to take leaders willing to admit that for many, recession is already here. If you can’t admit there’s a problem, you’re not going to be working towards a solution.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
...and the Anti-O'Bama Hate E-mails Keep Coming
Nobody is as prolific at creating and spreading "hate" e-mails as the right-wing ideologues in this country are, and now that Barack O'Bama is leading the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination, right-wing hate-mongers have focused their high-powered machinery on him. I've received a slew of anti-O'Bama hate e-mails in my mailbox this week, and I'm sad to report that many have stooped to a new low in hateful content.
Hatred sickens me. It pollutes the human experience. When I see e-mail cartoons that represent nothing more than hatred wrapped in caricatured form, I have the same reaction.
When hatred infects politics, it becomes even more dangerous because it provides whole societies with excuses for attacking or eradicating others. Arab cartoons, for example, often advocate the killing of Jews and the extermination of Israel...and the "overt" quality of their cartoons openly telegraphs the message that Jewish people are worthless and eradicating them from the world would be a good thing. U.S. cartoons, on the other hand, are way more subtle in their conveyance of hatred, which in some respects, can do far more damage because the reader does not immediately recognize the hate message, but takes it in, and ever so slowly has their normal defenses to hatred eaten away. Unfortunately, however a message is spread, whether subtly or overtly, the damage it causes is widely felt.
The term, "political correctness" has acquired a negative connotation in this country, but the underlying aim of the term, to encourage people to consider how their acts and what they say will affect those who hear and see them, is a goal worth pursuing since the practice fosters a harmonious existence for everybody.
When "PC" meets resistance, very often it's because folks don't want to recognize, or deal with the discomfort of recognizing their own personal stereotypes...or simply don't want to change their viewpoint because they like the way it makes them feel.
The point I am trying to make here is that, far too often in our lives, hate seems to be acceptable as long as it's not directed towards us, and we're willing to turn a blind eye towards hate so long as we're not in its ugly cross-hairs. I personally find that condition unacceptable, as I recognize that hate, in all its ugly forms, is nothing short of a cancerous growth on the soul of humankind.
Hatred sickens me. It pollutes the human experience. When I see e-mail cartoons that represent nothing more than hatred wrapped in caricatured form, I have the same reaction.
When hatred infects politics, it becomes even more dangerous because it provides whole societies with excuses for attacking or eradicating others. Arab cartoons, for example, often advocate the killing of Jews and the extermination of Israel...and the "overt" quality of their cartoons openly telegraphs the message that Jewish people are worthless and eradicating them from the world would be a good thing. U.S. cartoons, on the other hand, are way more subtle in their conveyance of hatred, which in some respects, can do far more damage because the reader does not immediately recognize the hate message, but takes it in, and ever so slowly has their normal defenses to hatred eaten away. Unfortunately, however a message is spread, whether subtly or overtly, the damage it causes is widely felt.
The term, "political correctness" has acquired a negative connotation in this country, but the underlying aim of the term, to encourage people to consider how their acts and what they say will affect those who hear and see them, is a goal worth pursuing since the practice fosters a harmonious existence for everybody.
When "PC" meets resistance, very often it's because folks don't want to recognize, or deal with the discomfort of recognizing their own personal stereotypes...or simply don't want to change their viewpoint because they like the way it makes them feel.
The point I am trying to make here is that, far too often in our lives, hate seems to be acceptable as long as it's not directed towards us, and we're willing to turn a blind eye towards hate so long as we're not in its ugly cross-hairs. I personally find that condition unacceptable, as I recognize that hate, in all its ugly forms, is nothing short of a cancerous growth on the soul of humankind.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Terrorsim No Cause to Celebrate
On a day filled with the unspeakable horror of a Palestinian gunman massacring 8 Jewish seminary students and wounding numerous others at a rabbinical seminary in Jerusalem, it is unconscionable to witness the sight of throngs of Palestinians pouring into the streets in Gaza to cheer in celebration of the murder and mayhem. It brings to mind a similar display of Palestinian callousness following the bloody Al Qaida attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001.
Peace will never come to the Middle East as long as terrorism, in any form, is celebrated in the hearts and minds of ordinary citizens.
Peace will never come to the Middle East as long as terrorism, in any form, is celebrated in the hearts and minds of ordinary citizens.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Bush/Cheney Rap Sheets Get Another Entry
Wth three DUI's between them, and offices in the White House on their resume, one might have figured that the criminal rap sheets of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were as long as they were going to get, but apparently not! The Vermont towns of Brattleboro and Marlboro voted yesterday to press criminal charges against Bush and Cheney for "violation of the U.S. Constitution".
No doubt, the media today will focus heavily on Hillary Clinton's big primary wins in Texas and Ohio, but the Vermont towns' symbolic gesture deserves top-billing as a step, albeit one of questionable Constitutional legality, towards holding both the President and the Vice-President accountable for their systematic dismantling of the rights, privileges and protections guaranteed to all citizens by the U.S. Constitution.
While the charge of "crimes against humanity" would have been more apt, considering this Administration's immoral invasion in Iraq, the charge of crimes against the U.S. Constitution will suffice to put historians on notice that, far from being protectors of the pillars of our national foundation, Bush and Cheney were leaders in the campaign to tear it down.
For those efforts, both deserve to have their rap sheets lengthened.
No doubt, the media today will focus heavily on Hillary Clinton's big primary wins in Texas and Ohio, but the Vermont towns' symbolic gesture deserves top-billing as a step, albeit one of questionable Constitutional legality, towards holding both the President and the Vice-President accountable for their systematic dismantling of the rights, privileges and protections guaranteed to all citizens by the U.S. Constitution.
While the charge of "crimes against humanity" would have been more apt, considering this Administration's immoral invasion in Iraq, the charge of crimes against the U.S. Constitution will suffice to put historians on notice that, far from being protectors of the pillars of our national foundation, Bush and Cheney were leaders in the campaign to tear it down.
For those efforts, both deserve to have their rap sheets lengthened.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Go Vote Folks!
This is a short message to the folks in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont: Go out and Vote! (Especially all you Democrats) The Democratic race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama offers a historic choice that any registered Democrat should relish making. Both are well-qualified candidates worthy of this Nation's highest office. Let your voices be heard! Go Vote
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