“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of ‘their level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.”
Those are the words of Sarah Palin, late of the Alaska governor’s office. So now we will have conservatives, good little parrots that they are, mimicking her words. You will be obliged to listen to the endless ‘death panel’ comments all over Fox News. Assuming you watch Fox News.
The Republicans have never let anything so mundane as facts stand in the way of their opposition. It's their great talent, obfuscating behind those sorts of euphemisms – remember the ‘death tax’?
It'll be easy for Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, et al to use and rile up the great, largely ignorant, masses of conservatives who listen to them like gospel and wholeheartedly believe their words come from God directly.
Calling them 'death panels' is catchy and easy to remember. Nowhere near anything truthful, but catchy.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
The REAL Date That Lives in Infamy...
Sixty-four years ago today, on the morning of August 6, 1945, a B29 named Enola Gay took off from an airfield on the island of Tinian in the Marianas Islands.
A few hours later, the world changed forever.
A lone bomb dropped from the bomb bay of the aircraft, and detonated over the city of Hiroshima, instantly killing ten of thousands and setting off the nuclear arms race. Since that day, human beings have had the ability to obliterate themselves from this planet, and on more than one occasion have come frighteningly close to doing so.
Some believe the act of dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were criminal acts. Some believe they were a warning to the Soviet Union. Secret talks had been ongoing with the Japanese for months seeking an end to the war. But the United States demanded on unconditional surrender, and the Emperor refused.
So was the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima a criminal act by President Truman? I don’t believe so. Yes, it's true the Japanese has been trying to surrender since 1944. But the US insisted the Emperor had to step down, an absolutely vital step for a post-war Japan, and the Japanese remained stubbornly unwilling. Even after the first bomb, there were still internal arguments among the government and military officers to continue fighting.
The only alternative to the bomb was an invasion of Japan. The casualty estimates were staggering – hundreds of thousands of American lives would be lost, along with many hundreds of thousands of Japanese, mostly civilians.
The government of Japan, all but bankrupt of resources but determined to fight nonetheless, was training young boys to crawl under tanks and blow themselves up, like the kamikazes which had stricken many of our ships. They were teaching young women, equipped only with bamboo spears, to hurl themselves at our soldiers, inviting mass slaughter. People at home were tired, sick of receiving letters from the War Department telling them their sons had died. Truman knew his generals were not enthusiastic about invading. Everyone involved knew the price which would be paid in blood.
And let's not forget Japanese atrocities either, against Koreans, Chinese, and the Filipinos, not to mention our POWs.
History requires a balanced view. History demands it.
We should not exult in this day. It should be a somber remembrance, not only for the lives lost but also those saved - on both sides. I personally believe that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are one of the reasons we're still living on this planet. Without that example, the Soviets and Americans might have been more willing to push that button and kill us all.
This day should be a reminder to us how fragile we really are, and how quickly we would still be able to destroy ourselves if - unthinkably - we chose to do so.
A few hours later, the world changed forever.
A lone bomb dropped from the bomb bay of the aircraft, and detonated over the city of Hiroshima, instantly killing ten of thousands and setting off the nuclear arms race. Since that day, human beings have had the ability to obliterate themselves from this planet, and on more than one occasion have come frighteningly close to doing so.
Some believe the act of dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were criminal acts. Some believe they were a warning to the Soviet Union. Secret talks had been ongoing with the Japanese for months seeking an end to the war. But the United States demanded on unconditional surrender, and the Emperor refused.
So was the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima a criminal act by President Truman? I don’t believe so. Yes, it's true the Japanese has been trying to surrender since 1944. But the US insisted the Emperor had to step down, an absolutely vital step for a post-war Japan, and the Japanese remained stubbornly unwilling. Even after the first bomb, there were still internal arguments among the government and military officers to continue fighting.
The only alternative to the bomb was an invasion of Japan. The casualty estimates were staggering – hundreds of thousands of American lives would be lost, along with many hundreds of thousands of Japanese, mostly civilians.
The government of Japan, all but bankrupt of resources but determined to fight nonetheless, was training young boys to crawl under tanks and blow themselves up, like the kamikazes which had stricken many of our ships. They were teaching young women, equipped only with bamboo spears, to hurl themselves at our soldiers, inviting mass slaughter. People at home were tired, sick of receiving letters from the War Department telling them their sons had died. Truman knew his generals were not enthusiastic about invading. Everyone involved knew the price which would be paid in blood.
And let's not forget Japanese atrocities either, against Koreans, Chinese, and the Filipinos, not to mention our POWs.
History requires a balanced view. History demands it.
We should not exult in this day. It should be a somber remembrance, not only for the lives lost but also those saved - on both sides. I personally believe that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are one of the reasons we're still living on this planet. Without that example, the Soviets and Americans might have been more willing to push that button and kill us all.
This day should be a reminder to us how fragile we really are, and how quickly we would still be able to destroy ourselves if - unthinkably - we chose to do so.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Malkin Thinks All You Unemployed Are Lazy Slobs
“If you put enough government cheese in front of people, they’re just going to keep eating it and you’re just kicking the can down the road.”
That’s the opinion of Michele Malkin, who obviously thinks if all of you lazy morons would just get out, find work, and stop relying on the government dole, our economy would be in great shape. Forget the real world where companies have laid off millions of workers. Forget the real world where the Wall St. big shots still manage to get millions of dollars in bonuses despite being responsible for the worst tanking the economy has seen since the Great Depression.
She thinks you're actually waiting until benefits almost run out before you seriously start searching for work. Really, Ms. Malkin? Have you ever had to pay a mortgage? Buy groceries? Pay for a kid's doctor visit?
I’d love to see your evidence of this. Assuming you actually have some and aren't just spouting--again.
One has to wonder what sort of reality Ms. Malkin inhabits. It certainly isn’t this one.
That’s the opinion of Michele Malkin, who obviously thinks if all of you lazy morons would just get out, find work, and stop relying on the government dole, our economy would be in great shape. Forget the real world where companies have laid off millions of workers. Forget the real world where the Wall St. big shots still manage to get millions of dollars in bonuses despite being responsible for the worst tanking the economy has seen since the Great Depression.
She thinks you're actually waiting until benefits almost run out before you seriously start searching for work. Really, Ms. Malkin? Have you ever had to pay a mortgage? Buy groceries? Pay for a kid's doctor visit?
I’d love to see your evidence of this. Assuming you actually have some and aren't just spouting--again.
One has to wonder what sort of reality Ms. Malkin inhabits. It certainly isn’t this one.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
The Extremes of Life and Death
Two deaths touched me this weekend. Two who couldn’t be further apart, in time or age.
The oldest and last British veteran of WWI, Harry Patch, succumbed to the ravage of time at the age of 111 on Saturday. The WWII generation is rightly referred to as ‘the greatest generation’, but the generation who fought “the war to end all wars” was pretty great too. If you're not familiar with the history of the Great War, read some. The horrors are, even when compared against later wars, astonishing. Most of an entire generation of British young men went away to war and perished in the mud of Belgium and France. "Anyone who tells you that in the trenches they weren't scared, he's a damned liar: you were scared all the time," Patch said. A reluctant warrior, but an honorable one nonetheless.
At the other end of the spectrum, his family buried junior firefighter Jacob Rosa on Saturday, dead at age nine from cancer. The Camden, NJ Fire Department honored him as one of their own, having made him an honorary firefighter just a few weeks ago and helping him realize part of his dream to grow up and become a firefighter. They stood rigid at attention and saluted as his coffin passed before them.
I ever knew either of these two before I read about them in the paper. I hope they know how many others were touched by their lives.
The both earned their angels’ wings…
The oldest and last British veteran of WWI, Harry Patch, succumbed to the ravage of time at the age of 111 on Saturday. The WWII generation is rightly referred to as ‘the greatest generation’, but the generation who fought “the war to end all wars” was pretty great too. If you're not familiar with the history of the Great War, read some. The horrors are, even when compared against later wars, astonishing. Most of an entire generation of British young men went away to war and perished in the mud of Belgium and France. "Anyone who tells you that in the trenches they weren't scared, he's a damned liar: you were scared all the time," Patch said. A reluctant warrior, but an honorable one nonetheless.
At the other end of the spectrum, his family buried junior firefighter Jacob Rosa on Saturday, dead at age nine from cancer. The Camden, NJ Fire Department honored him as one of their own, having made him an honorary firefighter just a few weeks ago and helping him realize part of his dream to grow up and become a firefighter. They stood rigid at attention and saluted as his coffin passed before them.
I ever knew either of these two before I read about them in the paper. I hope they know how many others were touched by their lives.
The both earned their angels’ wings…
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Obama is the One Acting ‘Stupidly’
Whether this case of Dr. Henry Gates is a matter of racism or not isn't the issue. The issue is why did the president comment on it? Perhaps it was because he personally knows Dr. Gates, who knows?
But what I do know is this. The President of the United States has no business commenting on a matter in which he does not know the whole story. And to use such a strong word, especially when he admits not knowing the whole story, is wrong.
But what I do know is this. The President of the United States has no business commenting on a matter in which he does not know the whole story. And to use such a strong word, especially when he admits not knowing the whole story, is wrong.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Ultra-Conservatives are Scaredy-Cats
I comment on several ultra-conservative blogs, and one thing I’ve noticed is they aren't very nice to people who disagree with them. In fact, their strategy seems to be if they can’t win an argument on logic, resort to name-calling of the most vile kind. Despite the fact I’ve never made a negative comment to any of them, I've been called troll, lowlife, termite, roach, ratbag, maggot, punk, idiot, scumbag, degenerate, etc., among various other insults.
Rather than responding by referring to them as wingnuts, morons, craven little jerks, knuckle-dragging pinheads, corporate shills, pond scum, fascist stooges, etc., I prefer to take the more noble approach.
Conservatives, you see, pine for a world which no longer exists, that 1950s “Leave It To Beaver” world where everyone was white and middle class, not to mention Protestant. Today, there are Catholics and Jews who aren't invisible, blacks and Hispanics who refuse to mind their place, Sikhs with turbans, Muslims and, worst of all, gays.
Mind you, they won’t come out and say that they're prejudiced. They’ll couch it in terms of objecting to affirmative action as ‘reverse discrimination’. They’ll couch it in terms of protecting morality, in terms of defending institutions and traditions. They’ll say we should no longer consider skin color or religion or sexuality, that we’re past all that. But you can see it peeping out from behind all those facades they’ve put up to hide it every time they say ‘but’ right afterwards, as in, “I have nothing against gays, but…” You hear and read it every day.
This big new world that is changing frightens them enough to make them soil their underwear. They react by withdrawing, by denigrating, by belittling, and most of all, by denying. Facts are not facts; they're results of conspiracies by liberals spinning things to suit their socialistic ends. Truth is only ‘TRUTH’ if it agrees with their limited world view. They are the anachronism of the 21st century. If it wasn’t for Rupert Murdoch and the internet, they’d already be extinct.
So don’t be upset with those far-right conservatives. They're just too afraid to adjust. Take pity on them. Do your best to gently bring them into the light.
After all, the knuckle-dragging pinheads can’t help themselves.
Rather than responding by referring to them as wingnuts, morons, craven little jerks, knuckle-dragging pinheads, corporate shills, pond scum, fascist stooges, etc., I prefer to take the more noble approach.
Conservatives, you see, pine for a world which no longer exists, that 1950s “Leave It To Beaver” world where everyone was white and middle class, not to mention Protestant. Today, there are Catholics and Jews who aren't invisible, blacks and Hispanics who refuse to mind their place, Sikhs with turbans, Muslims and, worst of all, gays.
Mind you, they won’t come out and say that they're prejudiced. They’ll couch it in terms of objecting to affirmative action as ‘reverse discrimination’. They’ll couch it in terms of protecting morality, in terms of defending institutions and traditions. They’ll say we should no longer consider skin color or religion or sexuality, that we’re past all that. But you can see it peeping out from behind all those facades they’ve put up to hide it every time they say ‘but’ right afterwards, as in, “I have nothing against gays, but…” You hear and read it every day.
This big new world that is changing frightens them enough to make them soil their underwear. They react by withdrawing, by denigrating, by belittling, and most of all, by denying. Facts are not facts; they're results of conspiracies by liberals spinning things to suit their socialistic ends. Truth is only ‘TRUTH’ if it agrees with their limited world view. They are the anachronism of the 21st century. If it wasn’t for Rupert Murdoch and the internet, they’d already be extinct.
So don’t be upset with those far-right conservatives. They're just too afraid to adjust. Take pity on them. Do your best to gently bring them into the light.
After all, the knuckle-dragging pinheads can’t help themselves.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Response to Rinku Sen of Talking Points Memo
In Sen’s article, “The White Supremacist in Us”, she asserts that institutional racism is still present, and accounts for the rise in hate crimes.
She’s wrong.
Hate crimes rise when economic times are bad. It’s quite a simple relationship actually, something which Ms. Sen seems to have difficulty grasping. She also fails to grasp that African-Americans are no longer the prime target of such crimes. Hispanics, primarily recent immigrants are, just as Arab-Americans and Sikhs were the primary targets after 9/11 and Japanese-Americans after Pearl Harbor.
She states: “Even a cursory look around most high end restaurants makes it clear that to these employers, only white people look good enough, that the only people willing to put up with dangerous conditions for low pay are Latinos and Bangladeshis and that black Americans don't belong in there at all.”
When is this meme from blacks going to die? Why do African-Americans keep coming back to this over and over? It’s past the expiration date for this excuse. And non-blacks are getting tired of hearing it after four decades of black advancement. Maybe, just maybe it’s the fault of the black community itself that they haven't advanced as far as they should have by this point. Just maybe you should be looking in the mirror rather than looking at us.
It’s easy to cite one example of anything. But where are the others? Where are the other, specific examples of institutional racism she claims? This is the best she can come up with?
It’s also fairly easy to blame an institution as 'racist'. But I see something else. You know what? I see Mexicans and Puerto Ricans and Central Americans and Asians and Bangladeshis and Pakistanis and Sikhs willing to work their butts off in lousy jobs with long hours that pay little, in the hope their kids will have a better life than they do – that’s my father, uncle’s, and cousins’ story after they all came to America from Nicaragua.
You know what I see, living in one of the poorest cities in the US? I see African-Americans who don’t care about their kids’education, who have this sense of entitlement that they are somehow ‘owed’ something. If you want to call that a stereotype, well that’s what I see. I see hard-working African-Americans, a lot of them. But I see the former too, and what I don’t see is a lot of blacks talking about it or criticizing it – Bill Cosby excepted.
And no, I’m not a racist. I don’t believe whites are better than anyone else. I don’t believe in ‘reverse discrimination’. I’m just reporting what I see. Is there some degree of racism in all of us? Undoubtedly, yes. But African-Americans need to do a little self-examination here.
In my opinion, blacks are allowing themselves to become the permanent underclass of America. And if that happens it’s truly a shame, because it means all those brave sacrifices made in the civil rights movement will have been made in vain.
She’s wrong.
Hate crimes rise when economic times are bad. It’s quite a simple relationship actually, something which Ms. Sen seems to have difficulty grasping. She also fails to grasp that African-Americans are no longer the prime target of such crimes. Hispanics, primarily recent immigrants are, just as Arab-Americans and Sikhs were the primary targets after 9/11 and Japanese-Americans after Pearl Harbor.
She states: “Even a cursory look around most high end restaurants makes it clear that to these employers, only white people look good enough, that the only people willing to put up with dangerous conditions for low pay are Latinos and Bangladeshis and that black Americans don't belong in there at all.”
When is this meme from blacks going to die? Why do African-Americans keep coming back to this over and over? It’s past the expiration date for this excuse. And non-blacks are getting tired of hearing it after four decades of black advancement. Maybe, just maybe it’s the fault of the black community itself that they haven't advanced as far as they should have by this point. Just maybe you should be looking in the mirror rather than looking at us.
It’s easy to cite one example of anything. But where are the others? Where are the other, specific examples of institutional racism she claims? This is the best she can come up with?
It’s also fairly easy to blame an institution as 'racist'. But I see something else. You know what? I see Mexicans and Puerto Ricans and Central Americans and Asians and Bangladeshis and Pakistanis and Sikhs willing to work their butts off in lousy jobs with long hours that pay little, in the hope their kids will have a better life than they do – that’s my father, uncle’s, and cousins’ story after they all came to America from Nicaragua.
You know what I see, living in one of the poorest cities in the US? I see African-Americans who don’t care about their kids’education, who have this sense of entitlement that they are somehow ‘owed’ something. If you want to call that a stereotype, well that’s what I see. I see hard-working African-Americans, a lot of them. But I see the former too, and what I don’t see is a lot of blacks talking about it or criticizing it – Bill Cosby excepted.
And no, I’m not a racist. I don’t believe whites are better than anyone else. I don’t believe in ‘reverse discrimination’. I’m just reporting what I see. Is there some degree of racism in all of us? Undoubtedly, yes. But African-Americans need to do a little self-examination here.
In my opinion, blacks are allowing themselves to become the permanent underclass of America. And if that happens it’s truly a shame, because it means all those brave sacrifices made in the civil rights movement will have been made in vain.
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