Donald Sterling, American Media, and The Racist Ravings of an Aging Douchebag



Donald Sterling meme from Heavy.com

In a world where African terrorists are kidnapping, raping and selling innocent schoolgirls into slavery, and entire countries are going up in flames with body counts that boggle the mind, it amazes me that American attention is riveted on pathetic billionaire narcissists  like Donald Sterling. 

It always amazes me that what is happening to real people in this world, is always trumped in the mainstream media (left, right and center equally) by what is going on with the Kardashians or Donald Trump, and their ilk.  There is something obscene about the superficiality of it all. 

But, there it is. I turned on CNN, CBS, NBC and Fox this morning-- channel surfing  as I drank my Saturday morning  mug of coffee and found that all the talking heads were talking about Donald Sterling's latest tape : anonymously recorded and sold for big bucks, no doubt, and now going viral .  I cannot believe that legitimate commentators are sitting around a table discussing whether or not racist remarks about people of color are acceptable as a pick up line.  I am also stunned by the narcissism of an aging douchebag like Donald Sterling thinking that explaining that his racist remarks were made only because he was jealous of the other men his girl was seeing and because he was horny and trying to get into her pants.... oh well, that makes it OK then, right?  Say what?  How can you imagine that insulting a woman's racial heritage would make her want to fall into bed with you? Does he really think that a girl like V. Stiviano, who has some pretty good gold-digger credentials in her background, is going to be attracted to an old goat like him as a lover?  Listen up Donnie boy-- it's all about the Benjamins. Got it?

It's an old and very sad story, but not a very interesting one in terms of world affairs. (to coin a phrase). As I write, the media feeding frenzy is still going on. Fortunately, it is waning, as these things don't have a long shelf life.  Now, they are all into discussing Monica Lewinsky's new article in Vanity Fair about her life since her affair with Bill Clinton.... yawn.  Monica who?  Monica wants to bury the blue dress and move on... Do it, Monica. Lord knows I already have. I am not about to pay $12 to scale Vanity Fair's online paywall to read yet another tell all piece.

Hey, maybe Monica and Donald Sterling should get together. Seems like they have a lot in common. Maybe Donald Sterling can sweet talk her into the sack.  I mean any port in a storm, right Donald?



Putin vs. Stalin: Memories of My Cold War Childhood

image via flickr.creative commons;DonkeyHotey

I know I said I was through with political blogging, but watching Russia's President, Vladimir Putin, zero in on Ukraine like a schoolyard bully going for the new kid, got me thinking about my Cold War childhood.  Somehow all the doublespeak and propaganda seem very ominous and very familiar to someone who learned to " duck and cover" in grade school. 

 

If Putin wants to bring back the USSR, he's doing a pretty good job of channeling Josef Stalin, and I am far from the only person to have noticed. First we got an updated version of  what Stalin did at Yalta, when Russia grabbed most of Eastern Europe and half of Germany while Churchill, and a dying Roosevelt believed, and just let it happen. In 1947, after Yalta, Churchill coined the phrase " Iron Curtain" and it was definitely appropriate until the fall of the Soviet Union.

 

Now, in the wake of Putin's Crimea annexation,a crackdown on the press and limitations on personal freedom in Russia have begun. It's all being sold to the public as a return to empire and glory.  Me? I'm not so sure.  I remember the bad old days of the Cold War all too well. I don't relish a return to the constant fear of Russian military aggression that marked those days in America. I remember having to swear that I had never been a member of the Communist Party in order to get a passport when I was 20. Though I was a child at the time,  I also remember McCarthyism and the anti-communist xenophobia of the '50's. I don't relish seeing history repeat itself.

 



 



 According to today's  Washington Post  in an article titled' In Russia, A Soviet Revival Grips Leadership:

"The State Duma gave a final reading Tuesday to a bill that, as part of an “anti-terrorism” package, would require any blogger who gets 3,000 or more visitors a day to register with the state and be subject to state regulation. Other legislation before the Duma would make it a crime punishable by five years in prison to take part in an unsanctioned protest or to publish information that puts the government or military in a negative light. Members also are considering a bill that would add a course in political instruction to the school curriculum"

 So much for freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. Oh, did I mention that the article also says that all members of Russia's police force, and possibly also their families, are now unable to travel abroad?  The ruling clique is dancing with joy and counting its money.   Now that the boy oligarchs have privatized everything and have all of what used to belong to the Russian State in their own pockets, they are ready to flex their egos and play bigtime war games with the west. You know how it is, boys will be boys and it's all about mine is bigger than yours.

 

The sabres are rattling as Putin plays schoolyard bully, first with Crimea, and now with Eastern Ukraine.  Will Russia invade Ukraine?  Not in the conventional sense, I am sure, but Russia will manage to destabilize it, doing its own little " death by a thousand cuts" number, while China watches in the background, and Europe and America sharpen their economic tools.  You can bet there will be some guys from Texas showing up in Western Ukraine real soon to show the homeboys just how fracking is done and plans for an Eastern European " Oil Lift" ( kind of like the Berlin Airlift) are no doubt on the drawing board.

 

As John McCain observed so trenchantly, " Russia is a gas station masquerading as a country" That is to say, the 2 trillion dollar Russian economy is based almost entirely on oil and natural gas reserves, and if Eastern Europe stops buying; well, you get the picture. Russia cannot hope to win economically or militarily over the West, and I don't see China getting involved(but you never know, especially with China).  If the egos get big enough, and the desperation is great enough, I can see Putin and company going for the nuclear option... and that scares the living, you-know-what out of me.  I grew up with that possibility and I don't want to go back to it. I'm too old to " duck and cover"

 

I leave you with a little ditty written in early 1960's, at the height of the Cold War which epitomizes how my generation felt about the whole thing.  Anybody else remember Tom Lehrer?

 







The Lies That Took Us Into the Iraq War

cartoon source:

The Iraq War was not a war of self defense no matter what anybody says.  It was an aggressive attack on the part of the United States(and a few allies who were taken along for the ride)  and it furthered the interests of a small group of people at the expense of millions of Iraqi civilians, the American public and the soldiers of every nation who lost their lives and souls in it.  It may have changed  the political landscape of the Middle East, but, it was definitely NOT about democracy, freedom  or even the attacks of September 11th.

 It was about a small but powerful elite, manipulating public fear after the terrorist attack.  It was, like all wars, about power and money, in this case, spelled "o-i-l." Fear and anger over the attacks of September 11th were skillfully diverted into the sideshow of attacking Iraq.  The excuse was that the attack was  to neutralize the threat of  weapons of mass destruction that even the UN weapons inspectors could not find.

Kudos to Mother Jones for exposing the truth in a detailed timeline showing how we the people were totally jerked around. You would think that after Viet Nam and the Gulf of  Tonkin Resolution, we would have learned our lesson, but no.  It seems we have not.  Here's a teaser.  Follow the link at the end of the quote for some eye opening week-end reading.

"The blame for Iraq does not end with Cheney, Bush, or Rumsfeld. Nor is it limited to the intelligence operatives who sat silent as the administration cherry-picked its case for war, or with those, like Colin Powell or Hans Blix, who, in the name of loyalty or statesmanship, did not give full throat to their misgivings. It is also shared by far too many in the Fourth Estate, most notably the New York Times' Judith Miller. But let us not forget that it lies, inescapably, with we the American people, who, in our fear and rage over the catastrophic events of September 11, 2001, allowed ourselves to be suckered into the most audacious bait and switch of all time."    To see the complete article and the timeline follow this link to MotherJones.com

The GOP Clown Car Is Back at CPAC 2013

photoviaDonkeyhotey, flickr

 CPAC2013 or for those of you who reside on planet earth and don't follow the GOP lunatic fringe very closely, the Conservative Political Action Conference, has drawn to a close and this year's event seems to have been a reprise by the crazy GOP clowncar we all remember from the 2012 Presidential primaries. CPAC2013 was run by folks who not only invited Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, and even Donald Trump to speak from their podium, but also snubbed  the most bi-partisan, most popular Republican of them all, New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie. It seems Christie spent too much time congratulating President Obama on his handling of Hurricane  Sandy instead of indulging in pointless name calling.  Yes sireee, the inmates are still running the asylum and losing the Presidential election didn't teach them a thing.

Speaker after speaker got up during the three days of CPAC and made stunningly clownish comments. Lets' see--Donald Trump basically called the Republican party a bunch of idiots  for losing the Presidency.( well I have to admit that wasn't so crazy) but then he went on to  tell the crowd what a clever boy he is, implying that he would have made a much better candidate (yawn).  Sunday keynoter, Sarah Palin, trashed President Obama while drinking a soda and making jokes about New York City Mayor Bloomberg's ban on sugared drinks-- classy Sarah at her best. These two are just highlights but there was much more, with jaw dropping comments by the likes of Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich. .  Comedian, Bill Maher, referred to the three day event as " the open mic from hell" -- a good description IMHO.

Sarah Palin's Complete  CPAC Speech

On the last day of CPAC they traditionally take a straw poll to find out who conservatives like as a Presidential candidate for the next election.  This year the honors went to Senator Rand Paul of filibuster fame with Florida's Senator, Marco Rubio,  coming in a close second.

 Interestingly enough, Chris Christie, even though not even in the room, came in number four.  Looks to me like the clown car just might be running into some engine trouble and we may see a swing in the Republican party back to sanity, especially if the economy continues to improve and unemployment goes down.

Meanwhile, bring in the clowns.

Waiting For The Other Sequestrated Shoe To Drop

The endless game of chicken just seems to go on and on. Sequestration Day has finally arrived and there is still no derth of predictions for the future.  Personally, I don't think the scenario of either party will come true.  It has been my experience in everything from stock market predictions to marriage and child rearing that what happens is almost never what you think is going to happen and the real bone crunchers in life are never the things you worry about.  They almost always come out of left field and smack you upside the head.

So hang on to your crystal balls my fellow Americans. We've all just been sequestered. Now lets see what happens next.  One thing is for sure. Congress has proven to be completely useless on BOTH sides of the aisle.

Vatican Gay Sex Ring? Why Am I Not Surprised

It seems by what I read online, that in addition to all the priest pedophile revelations, the ongoing scandal of theVatican Bank , the crimes of the pope's butler, and this pope's seemingly unending series of ineptitudes and out of touch gaffesl, there's yet another issue surfacing in the Vatican today.  

According to a number of sources this morning, including an article that caught my eye in The Guardian, the pope's retirement is not just about failing health ( I never believed that anyway), it is also linked to a network of gay prelates in the Vatican, some of whom are being blackmailed by outsiders. I guess that was the straw that broke the camel's back and left God's Rotweiler shaking in his little red Prada shoes.

  The allegation originally surfaced in a major Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica yesterday, and today, it is all over the internet.

According to the article, after the butler was arrested, the pope designated three Cardinals to look into the whole " Vatileaks" thing and report back.  Here's a quote from The Guardian :

"The paper( i.e.La Repubblica ) said the pope had taken the decision on 17 December that he was going to resign – the day he received a dossier compiled by three cardinals delegated to look into the so-called "Vatileaks" affair.....According to La Repubblica, the dossier comprising "two volumes of almost 300 pages – bound in red" had been consigned to a safe in the papal apartments and would be delivered to the pope's successor upon his election.

The newspaper said the cardinals described a number of factions, including one whose members were "united by sexual orientation". In an apparent quotation from the report, La Repubblica said some Vatican officials had been subject to "external influence" from laymen with whom they had links of a "worldly nature". The paper said this was a clear reference to blackmail."Personally, I don't know or care what the Pope's personal sexual orientation is.  It really doesn't matter.  What does matter is the obvious dysfunction, corruption, and organizational hubris that is now being spotlighted.  It is becoming more and more obvious to all with eyes to see, that the government of the Church is an edifice built on centuries of lies. Constantine told that whopper about seeing a cross in the sky, legitimized Christianity and an unholy bargain between church and state began.

 The Medievil Church is the one organization that contributed to keeping the Dark Ages dark as long as possible. More people were burned at the stake by the Inquisition than were martyred by Roman Emperors.  I'm not even going to mention the Renaissance with its parade of perverted popes.  It is no accident that the pope carries the ancient Roman title of  Pontifex Maximus. Is it any wonder that such an ancient and secretive organization would host a gay sex ring?  I find it sad, but not at all surprising.

Evangelical Protestants who have always considered the Roman Catholic church the great whore of Babylon referred to in the book of Revelations must be crowing as they get ready for the Rapture-- although they have nothing to brag about when it comes to sex, secrets and sin.

But back to the main event.  I'm not surprised at today's revelations( to coin a phrase) and as the days go on I'll be looking for more.  Looks to this sinner like Vatican Inc is in crisis and is going to do what it can to save itself.  I only hope it does not destroy the rest of us in the process.  Whoever the new pope is, I will be interested to see what he does with the information contained in that hot 300 page dossier of  Vatican sex and blackmail left for him by Benedict XVI.

 Pass the popcorn and let's get on with the show.

The Papal Retirement

He's the first Pope to actually retire in more than 600 years,   It's ironic that Pope Benedict XVI who was, in so many ways, an academic intellectual, more at home arguing fine points of doctrine in the safety of the Vatican, than dealing with political and social realities in the outside world, should actually be the person to make early retirement a possibility for future popes, thus significantly changing the very nature of the job.

The man who in his salad days was called " God's Rotweiller" by the liberal wing of his church,  for his traditional views, has with one stroke, brought the concept of " retirement" or dare I say even " corporate downsizing"to the Papacy, thus changing it from an absolute, lifelong calling to just another job. It's like the difference between the " divine right of kings" and  election to the presidency of a modern nation state.

 On February 28th, Pope Benedict XVI will,once again, be Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a prince of the church still, but no longer its supreme pontiff, whose mystical touch can heal the sick and who speaks with the authority of God when he says something "ex cathedra".  My suspicion is he will welcome the change. As for his billion plus flock all over the world, I'm not so sure.

 During his reign he's managed to make many mistakes, from angering American nuns to horrifying the Muslim world with his narrow ideological views, and I'm not even going to mention his breathtaking ignorance and denial of the priest pedophile debacle and  the sangfroid with which he sacrificed so many innocent children to sacerdotal lust before he became pope.  That's a whole story just in itself.

 I don't think he is a bad guy, just someone who was promoted beyond his level of competency. Actually, I feel a bit sorry for him. Here he is at the end of his life, trying to stave off the knowledge of what a mess he's made of things and not understanding the world as it is outside Vatican walls.

 I suspect that failing health really is a problem as well, but the real issue here, is that Joseph Ratzinger is an old man trying to navigate a modern world of which he has very limited knowledge. His denial of the reality of the priest pedophile situation is so total and so horrific, I don't think he will ever be able to grasp the evil that has been done in God's name.  Perhaps that is just as well.

 I bet he will be happy to lay down the burden that was clearly too much for him and finish out his days back in his monastic library, reading, writing,and praying, as we all must, for forgiveness.  Popes, after all, are people too.

America's Craziest Sheriff Joe Arpaio Is At It Again

Yes folks, according to an article in yesterday's Chicago Tribune, America's craziest sheriff, Joe Apaio, has hired a burly martial arts instructor turned actor to train his three thousand person plus " posse" to respond to possible school shootings  in his Maricopa County, Arizona district.  Don't you just feel safer already?  No?  Why not, I wonder.

According to the article the training takes place in actual schools with real  teachers and school children participating in the  mock up.  Most recently, according to the Tribune article, Arpaio enlisted actor Stephen Seagal to train his Maricopa County posse members at a school in Fountain Hills, a suburb northeast of Phoenix, with children used as stand-ins for scared students.

Now THAT should make the little tykes sleep better at night, don't you agree?

Really.  You just can't make this stuff up.  I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the antics of Joe Arpaio, his Hollywood sidekick and his crazy volunteer deputies.  Personally, I think they should all be arrested for child abuse and the kids should be given psychiatric counseling and milk and cookies.

Training a gun toting posse in a local elementary school may make Sheriff Arpaio feel like a big man, but  does it make children safer?  I don't think so. Do you?

The Elephant At The Obama Inauguration

The GOP Congress just can't seem to make up its mind, can it?  Seems like only yesterday the newly elected President Obama was trying the bi-partisan approach and getting stonewalled everywhere he went on Capitol Hill. 

Remember the summer of the healthcare debates,when gun toting tea partiers showed up at astro-turf rallies funded by big insurance and pharmaceutical interests? Remember the outrageous lies about death panels and such?  Remember Sarah Palin ( Sarah who?) and the shenanigans of the Republican candidates during the primaries? 

Make up your minds Pachyderms.  They say an elephant never forgets, but the Republican elephant seems to have a very selective memory these days.  Time to face the reality that the voice of the people has spoken and even if it is not the voice you want to hear, in a democracy, it is the voice that prevails.

Malala Yousafzai Honored With French Womens Rights Prize

 Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl, whose fight for women's education in Pakistan became an international cause after the Taliban pumped her full of bullets, was honored earlier this week with the prestigious Simone de Beauvoir Prize for Women's  Freedom.  Malala's father,Ziauddin Yousafzai,accepted the award on his daughter's behalf at the annual award ceremony in Paris.

Ziauddin Yousafzai's pride in his daughter was evident in his moving acceptance speech.

"She fell but Pakistan stood up. And the whole world — north, south, east and west — supported her,” he said. “God protected her and protected the cause of humanity and education " (read  complete article here)

Malala's father went on to observe:

“In my part of the world, fathers are known by their sons. Daughters are very much neglected. I am one of the few fortunate fathers who is known by his daughter.”

The world is,indeed,standing up with Malala-- especially the world's  women,.  She is an ornament to her gender, her nation and her faith The Taliban definitely overplayed its hand this time.

How ironic, that an organization of extremists that tries to impose its Nihilistic view of the world on others by creating " martyrs" in the form of suicide bombers, has managed to create a positive figure of hope for  human dignity and women's rights in Malala Yousafzai..

 God works in mysterious ways for sure.

Photo source: Daily Times, Pakistan

Sunday Thoughts on Gun Control and Armed Teachers

Source: liberalscienceguy.tumblr.com via Sandy on Pinterest

So, according to Wayne La Pierre, erstwhile head honcho over at the National Rifle Association, " the best defense against a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun"  That's what he really said at his December 21st press conference, in answer to the Sandy Hook massacre.  I couldn't believe it either.  The guy is nuts, because he also advocated armed guards in schools and arming teachers and staff as well.

 Oh yeah, sure--armed teachers are the answer-- that's REALLY going to make kids feel safe in school.

 It is against the law for a teacher to hit a child with a ruler and caning went out with Charles Dickens.  But now, LaPierre thinks we should arm teachers.What's wrong with this picture?

Twinkie Bankruptcy Followup: Sr. Execs Get $1.8 Million Bonus. Retirees Get Screwed

Yes, my friends. It is true.  Remember the sad story of the bankruptcy of Hostess Brands, makers of  iconic American goodies like Twinkies, and Ding Dongs?   Last week we heard how management was blaming greedy union workers for the shut down and sell off.  This week there is a bit of a twist to the story.

On  Thursday, Hostess reported to the bankruptcy judge that it was in talks with 110 companies about buying the bankrupt company's brands. Now, get this-- as part of the liquidation, the company is asking the bankruptcy court to approve 1.8 million in bonuses for 19 senior executives  to assure that they stay around to supervise the liquidation and transition of the company.  At the same time,according to Bloomberg.com , retired employees and executives are being asked to give up their pensions and retirement benefits.   Here's a quote:

 Also at today’s hearing, a company lawyer told the judge that Hostess won’t be able to provide retiree benefits to some former employees.

The lawyer, Heather Lennox, said the company would cut $1.1 million a month slated for the pensioners..........

 So, to sum up,   the senior execs get big bucks to supervise the liquidation of the company, while retirees with twenty and thirty years of service, to whom the promise of a fixed pension was given, get up to a 75% slash in their benefits. Oh those evil greedy union workers getting in the way of hardworking, corporate executives-- doesn't your heart just bleed?

 Welcome to the dark side of the American Dream.  Ayn Rand would be proud.

photocredit: 33News

The Politics of Food and the Tragedy of Twinkies

source

When I was a child, back in the day, nothing tasted better than PBand J on Wonder Bread in my school lunch box along with a Twinkie for dessert.  In fact, Twinkies, those little creme filled sponge cakes with a shelf life of a thousand years, were the gustatory icons of my youth. Every red blooded American kid and lots of adults too, loved them. Hostess Brands, Inc., the company that until just the other day made both Wonder Bread, Twinkies, and a whole line of  super refined, non organic, high sugar, low nutrition cupcakes, was a staple of the American cultural scene and a leader in the American business community.

The company has filed for bankruptcy for the second time since 2004 and now, in the face of a nationwide strike by the  Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union that has crippled the company's ability to produce and deliver product, has decided to shut down and liquidate.

The go-ahead for liquidation was given this morning at a hearing in bankruptcy court in White Plains, NY.  It is bye bye Twinkies and bye bye to thousands of jobs, pensions and more.  The Republican fringe, fresh from its shock at the defeat of Mittins, is  happy about the death of the Twinkie. SEE?, they say, See how evil  union workers stifle job creation and ruin noble capitalism?  Oh how they do go on-- mis-interpreting everything to make it agree with their skewed view of the world.

 The demise of  Hostess Brands has to do with changing American tastes, not the evil of unionized workers.  Twinkies are out of date.Organic cakes and cookies, made with honey and molasses are what Moms are feeding kids these days.  Twinkies may last forever, but the demand for them is dying out.  It isn't just a question of the Bakers Union or the Teamsters Union-- these guys have already made big concessions to accomodate management in response to the disappearing customer base.

 It's not a question of greedy unions.  It is  a question of management and shareholders and the ever present bean counters realizing that liquidating the assets and selling off the brands is the only solution that makes sense when consumers aren't buying. Workers don't have much clout in a situation where liquidation of assets is the goal.  that's how capitalism works.  It's all about the market.

Don't listen to the anti-union conservatives who want to tell you that the demise of Twinkies is all a Commie, Socialist plot engineered by the workers, the unions and the Obama Administration and that the country is going to the dogs. That is not the case.  In point of fact, while the company points to the Union demands as the problem, last January, while filing for bankruptcy for the second time, the CEO's take home package was tripled and other senior execs received increases of up to 80%.  Rather odd behavior for people who want to save a company, wouldn't you say?

 The truth is that Hostess makes products that younger consumers increasingly do not want. Business is business and liquidation is what makes  financial sense.  Management  will liquidate the company, sell the brands to other companies perhaps at a handsome profit and perhaps for pennies on the dollar. Whatever they get will be used to pay  off the shareholders and pay company debt ( including their salaries and bonuses no doubt).  The workers, as usual, will get screwed. What else is new?

But never fear. Life will go on.  And if you are a Twinkies junkie, hustle on down to the store right now and stock up on a lifetime supply.  They keep forever . You don't even have to refrigerate them.

Obama Wins and The People Are Happy

 

Congratulations All Around

Congratulations to us, the American people, for making the right choice and to our President, Barack Obama, for being who he is, where he is and what he is. The people have spoken loud and clear.

 The hoopla is over. The seemingly interminable political campaign is done. Now it is time to get back to work. It is time to pack up the social issues that the religious right loves so much and put them away.

Clearly, the right wing religious nut jobs were among those who mis-calculated.  Rank and file evangelicals and even dutiful Roman Catholics came out and voted overwhelmingly for Obama and what he stands for in spite of lots of ecclesiastical spin.  It's a victory for freedom and common sense. It's an interesting show of wisdom on the part of the people and gives this Obama mama hope for the future.

Barack Obama is back in the White House and I could not be happier.  Stock markets are rising as the world breathes a sigh of relief, and  even Hurricane Sandy survivors are thinking about the future.  Now is the time to stop all the mud-slinging and send the spin doctors home.  We have a President who has a chance for a legacy second term that will knock all our socks off.

Congratulations Mr. President.  We've got a lot of work ahead of us, but with you at the helm, I feel certain the ship of State will  have clear skies and a following sea.  Four more years and you can really reverse the damage done by your predecessor and get us going again.

God bless you, President Obama, and may God heal the government of The United States of America I am Political Packrat and I approved this message. We are and forever will be, thanks to you,  not red states and blue states but The United States of America

Why The Douchebag Vote is Leaning Republican

 

So please, please please don't forget to vote!

h/t D.C. Douglas

The Problem With Congress

Maybe if Congress had to live like ordinary Americans  they would represent us better.  We all know what one picture is worth and this one speaks volumes.

 h/t  Seniors for A Demoicratic Society   for the cartoon

From Benghazi to Washington It Is All About Politics

Fresh from his foreign policy gaffe during the London Olympics, Mitt Romney, yesterday, took on the Middle East, using the anti-American riots in Cairo and Benghazi as an opportunity to criticize the Obama Administration. Romney ended up looking like an  insensitive, ill informed  political opportunist.Obama ended up looking, well, er,  ' Presidential"

By now, with flag burnings and angry demonstrations having taken place in Cairo, Yemen, and Iran, it is starting to become clear that this was not just a spontaneous popular uprising, but is possibly a carefully orchestrated  political operation in which the Muslim masses were manipulated by a small militaristic group who planned to eliminate the Ambassador and American officials under cover of a popular demonstration at the Embassy.

It also looks like the anti-Muslim film which  supposedly started the whole thing, was not a legitimate film at all. The actors and crew hired for it were not told what it was about.  Nobody got to read an entire script or knew the whole story. In fact, the American actors and crew who were in the film (which was titled Desert Warrior) are very upset and were grossly mislead.  They have issued a statement. Here's a quote from the Sidney Morning Herald 

''The entire cast and crew are extremely upset and feel taken advantage of by the producer,'' the Los Angeles Times quoted them as saying. ''We are 100 per cent not behind this film and were grossly misled about its intent and purpose. We are shocked by the drastic rewrites of the script and lies that were told to all involved. We are deeply saddened by the tragedies that have occurred.''

Several of the principals and backers of the film seem to have melted away into thin air. Who actually funded and masterminded the making of the film and promoted it( translated into Arabic) online is unclear, however, somehow, the Arab street seems to have the impression that the American government somehow sanctioned the film..... wonder how they got that idea, don't you?

 And then there is the fact that it all happened on the eleventh anniversary of the September eleventh attacks and we all know how important " numbers" are to Al Quaida and their ilk.  This is all starting to smell like a politically motivated rat to me. What political movement could possibly benefit from this situation? Not the new democratic governments in Egypt and Libya, that's for sure.

I'm thinking there is a lot more here than meets the eye. Too bad Mitt Romney didn't realize that before he opened his mouth.

 I hope he stays home and keeps his mouth shut for awhile.

cartoon source

Day Two With the Democrats and Bill Clinton

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Clinton Hits A Home Run

Bill Clinton knocked the Republican Campaign into a cocked hat last night with a point by point refutation of its planks that was pure, vintage, brilliant Clinton.  He knocked it out of the park and it did my heart good to see him back.

 He was like a walking,talking  dynamic power point presentation.  Coming on top of  a bevy of dynamic Democratic women the likes of Elizabeth Warren and Sister Simone Campbell of Nuns on the Bus,the Clinton speech galvanized not only everybody in the convention hall, but millions watching online or on TV around the world.

Clinton's speech showed again the contrast between the two parties.  Bill spoke about the issues, like a teacher.  He talked about disagreeing with the Republicans but not hating them.  He reminded us all how far to the right the Republican party has moved since his Presidency just by standing there and being himself.  He didn't have to say a word about Citizens United and Super Pacs.  He never mentioned  the handful of angry old white men who are pouring money into the Romney campaign,  He didn't have to.  We all thought of them ourselves while he was speakding..... that's the genius of Bill Clinton.

"If you want a country of shared prosperity and shared responsibility - a we're-all-in-this-together society - you should vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden."

Yes indeed, as Bill Clinton mesmerized us with words, we all remembered that this is the President who took office in a Republican created recession and who not only balanced the budget, but created a multi billion dollar government surplus which George Bush proceeded to squander on two unfunded wars and tax breaks for the very rich.  And most of us remembered, that this is the President that the Republicans impeached over  Monica Lewinsky (Monica who???)

Yup, Bill Clinton knocked it out of the park last night and all that remains is for Obama to hit his own home run tonight.  I have no doubt that he will do it, but it remains to be seen how those who don't really remember the Clinton years and those who are just sick of the political shenanigans of both parties will react. It's going to be close and it isn't over till it's over, no matter how far out of the park Bill Clinton hit that home run last night.

 Just in case you missed it last night, you can watch the full speech here. Check out the video below. You won't be sorry. It's Clinton at this best.