RE:think

Race TRUMP Card

This political season has stirred up so much stuff that I am beginning to think maybe there is no hope for racial reconciliation on a large scale. Between Bill Clinton, Geraldine Ferraro, Jeremiah Wright and now Father Phelger, it's gotten pretty ugly. The media has helped fan the flames, and the candidates themselves have not handled things as quickly and as well as they could have.

The thing that has me most down is that as a white male, I can't speak about race or try to be a part of the solution without being trumped by something or someone from the other side. If I have a thought or opinion it is almost automatically shot down because as a white man I am discounting something I don't understand. It's been happening to me on blog after blog I visit. I see people talking about an open and honest discourse, then join in and find out it's actually a lecture. Discourse, ha!

Case in point: Wright and Phleger (speaking of discourse, do we really think these guys want a discourse?). I think many of the things they say are true. Some are not. White privilege is a huge problem. I have no qualms with that issue being called out. However, I do not like their tone and find it very harmful. So when I voice that, I am told I am wrong to think that way because it discounts the prophetic nature of the black church. I do not understand how words that are obviously said in a way meant to hurt and mock are prophetic. Righteous anger is one thing. Mockery and hate are something else altogether. I don't know how those types of utterances can be compared to Jesus chastising the religious types of his day. But alas, that is how I am trumped. Cause I am white. Even worse, I am a white male.

A true discourse happens when we move beyond rhetoric, lectures, hateful words, and denial. That requires much from all of us. Some of us (whites) more than others. But it does require ALL of us to come to the table ready to discuss and understand and stop using our trump cards to silence others. Reconciliation can never happen if only one side gets to own it.

Anyway, all of this has me really down now. I worry about my kids growing up and dealing with the real problem of being black in a very white world. They will be hurt by white privilege and discriminated against because of their race.  Almost as much, I fear for them growing up in a world where none of us can talk to each other in a way that gets to solutions because we have a trump card up our sleeves for every statement the other person makes.

It's very sad and very depressing...

Friday 80's Video!

Absolute classic. No introduction needed...

More Preacher trouble for Obama

Link: Priest apologizes for mocking Clinton while at Obama church - CNN.com.

First let me say this. Everything this Pflegler character said was most likely true. I am sure that Hillary felt owed this office. I am sure she thought this primary season would be her coronation...

But come on, is the way this guy talked befitting a priest? Go to youtube and watch it. The guy is a pompous jerk, much like Rev. Wright. Like Wright, Obama calls him a great spritiual guide in his life.

Why does the great uniting messiah keep these hateful people around him. There is a pattern forming in Obama's company and it's going to be his downfall. We could excuse one of these characters, but the numbers are now showing us that he obviously surrounds himself with these wackos.

Twitter Help

Ok fellow tweeters, I need some help. How did you get yours set to broadcast that you have new blog post. I thought I had it figured out, but it still isn't working...

UPDATE

Is it twitterfeed I am wanting? I have it setup now. So we'll see...

UPDATE 2

Yep, that seems to have done it.

Slavery alive and well in U.S.?

I love it when someone makes sense. Throw out all the talk about amnesty, border fences, and pathways to citizenship. This is about exploitation.

You can also throw out the line that "there are some jobs Americans just dont want to do." I actually used to use that one as a defense for illegal undocumented workers. We are doing these folks a disservice by the defending them with thinking. It's not about the jobs. See Beck's words below to see what it is really about and why it is very close to modern day slavery.

I know this will come as a huge shock to those who only like to hurl insults, but I think we should be issuing more work visas, more student visas, and more green cards. And I think we should cut the red tape and bureaucracy that's constantly blocking the front door.

But until that happens people are left looking for loopholes and excuses, and "jobs Americans won't do" is the gold standard.

The Journal article offered an example of a couple that sells food at fairs around California each summer. They say that because of the H-2B visa shortage most of their seasonal employees aren't able to enter the country.

So why don't they just hire Americans instead? Good question. Her answer? "This is a hard job."

I find it pretty hard to believe that there aren't a few college students who wouldn't want to drive around California and work outdoors all summer, but let's assume that's true. Let's even assume that none of the other 1.1 million Californians who were unemployed as of April are interested in the job either. Isn't anyone wondering why?

Well I'm not a labor consultant, but I am a thinker. Maybe the problem isn't that the job they're offering is "too hard," maybe it's that the wages they're offering are "too low."

Link: Commentary: Slavery alive and well in U.S. - CNN.com.

I'm Telling You, Obama is a Hypocrite...

Obama is not, and has never been, what he claims to be. That is my biggest knock on the guy. If you tell people you are professional poker player and have never played the game, why should anyone let you sit at a poker table with other pros? He is not a uniting figure. He is not one to reach across to the other side for the good of the country. He is as partisan and cutthroat as anyone before. I wish he'd just be who he is and stop telling us he is someone else.

See the clip below. He played as nasty as anyone in the game known as "Chicago Politics". Eliminate the competition before anyone even has a chance to vote. Nice.

As a community organizer, he had helped register thousands of new voters. But when it came time to run for office, he employed Chicago rules to invalidate the voting petition signatures of three of his challengers.

Obama's past battles See how Barack Obama has used election rules to his advantage during his political career on AC 360. Tonight, 10 p.m ET see full schedule ? The move denied each of them, including incumbent Alice Palmer, a longtime Chicago activist, a place on the ballot. It cleared the way for Obama to run unopposed on the Democratic ticket in a heavily Democrat district.

"That was Chicago politics," said John Kass, a veteran Chicago Tribune columnist. "Knock out your opposition, challenge their petitions, destroy your enemy, right?" Kass said. "It is how Barack Obama destroyed his enemies back in 1996 that conflicts with his message today. He may have gotten his start registering thousands of voters. But in that first race he made sure voters had just one choice."

I thought the left was willing to do anything not hurt voters? I think in his case that only applies if it helps him.

Do you want to know why I am so down on him? Want to know why he frustrates me so? Because I really, really wanted to vote for him. I wanted to believe the things he was saying. Now that it is all a shame, I am extremely disappointed.

I really wish there was a spot for "none of the above" on the ballot.

Link: Obama played hardball in first Chicago campaign - CNN.com.

My Dad Tracks My Twitter!

Too funny... Dad calls the other day and asks how my nap was. I asked how he knew, did he call while I was sleeping. He said no, he saw it on my website in the "What Am I Doing" section.

Another cool reason to use twitter I guess. And here I thought it was completely useless. Wait, I still think it is, I think...

One More Weekend Pic....

Here is one more. Of the vain sort. Me and my Bro at our show Saturday...

Our Weekend in Pictures...

Here are some pics from this weekend's outing...

  

I Don't Get It

I am no Bush fan, but there is something I don't get.

Obama, Clinton, and their surrogates go on and on about Bush tax policies and how they are skewed to the rich. They say he did nothing for those that really needed the relief. They want to repeal every tax cut he enacted. But here is the thing...

I'm not rich and benefited greatly from his tax policies. Plain and simple.

I have done my research on Obama and Clinton, and if one of them got into the White House, my taxes would, without a doubt, go up. Again, I am not rich, not even close. So how is it they will be looking out for families like mine? How will raising my taxes help me in an economy where gas and food see price increases weekly if not daily?