Even though I'm not a monarchist (far from it), it's been impossible to escape the royal wedding. Well, in the past couple of weeks American politics has descended into a circus, without the bread...
At least the Brits put on a jolly good show. It's good old bread and circus, with all the bells and whistles, but very dignified and well rehearsed.
I've been trying to imagine what the Palins would look like if they had been invited to the wedding.
**Shudder**
Treat this as an open thread, I'll try to resume normal business tomorrow.
I found a livestream embed of the Sarah/Ronnie lovefest on a very right wing website. Here it is. I hope it works because I'm going to be fast asleep when this thing starts. If it doesn't work, forget about it, go back to the proper (nice) open thread or follow the proceedings somewhere else... Ennealogic will be live blogging it on Politicalgates.
If it's not live when you come to the post, keep checking. I put the post up one hour before the official start, just in case...
(H/T to Trigmund Freud for suggesting it, so people would have a place to vent in real time!)
Would anybody mind terribly if I deleted the post and the thread after the event? Do we really want our collective spleen to be archived forever? Let me know, yes?
Update
I read the comments on this thread and they seemed fairly ok. It's very tempting to dump it, but I susbtituted the live feed and now we have a video of the actual speech. I'll let the thread stay, it will soon fade into oblivion. Perhaps Sarah Palin will be forgotten even faster, fingers crossed!
Ronald Reagan Jr, who may know a thing or two about his own father, doesn't hold Sarah Palin in very high esteem. I expect Ronnie Jr has his fingers crossed as well and can't wait for Sarah Palin to walk into the sunset and stop exploiting his father's image for her own ends.
Rarely do we write about President Barack Obama. My feeling is that his presidency will be one of the most under-appreciated ever, during the time of its course - but that later he will become a highly respected "elder statesman", and that the people in retrospect will see his presidency in a much more favorable light. Right now, in this deep economic crisis and rough political climate, it's certainly hard for many people to really appreciate this first-class President.
Today, President Obama sent a letter to his supporters. We thought that it would be a good idea to publish the letter as well, so that as many people as possible can receive it. Many thanks to mrsgunka for forwarding the letter to us!
President Obama wrote:
"K --
I come into this election with clear eyes.
I am proud of all we have achieved together, but I am mindful of all that remains to be done.
I know some out there are frustrated by the pace of our progress. I want you to know I'm frustrated, too.
But with so much riding on the outcome of this election, I need everyone to get in this game.
Neither one of us is here because we thought it would be easy. Making change is hard. It's what we've said from the beginning. And we've got the lumps to show for it.
The fight this fall is as critical as any this movement has taken on together. And if we are serious about change, we need to fight as hard as we ever have.
The very special interests who have stood in the way of change at every turn want to put their conservative allies in control of Congress. And they're doing it with the help of billionaires and corporate special interests underwriting shadowy campaign ads.
If they succeed, they will not stop at making our work more difficult -- they will do their best to undo what you and I fought so hard to achieve.
There is no better time for you to start fighting back -- a fellow grassroots supporter has promised to match, dollar for dollar, whatever you can chip in today.
I know that sometimes it feels like we've come a long way from the hope and excitement of the inauguration, with its "Hope" posters and historic crowds on the National Mall.
I will never forget it. But it was never why we picked up this fight.
I didn't run for president because I wanted to do what would make me popular. And you didn't help elect me so I could read the polls and calculate how to keep myself in office.
You and I are in this because we believe in a simple idea -- that each and every one of us, working together, has the power to move this country forward. We believed that this was the moment to solve the challenges that the country had ignored for far too long.
That change happens only from the bottom up. That change happens only because of you.
So I need you to fight for it over the next 26 days. I need your time. I need your commitment. And I need your help to get your friends and neighbors involved.
If you bring in a new donor today, your $3 donation will become $6. And our Vote 2010 campaign will have twice the resources to make important investments like putting staff on the ground, providing materials for volunteers, and turning out millions of voters come Election Day.
Please donate $3 -- and renew your commitment today:
If we meet this test -- if you, like me, believe that change is not a spectator sport -- we will not just win this election. In the years that come, we can realize the change we are seeking -- and reclaim the American dream for this generation.
Thank you for being a part of it,
President Barack Obama"
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Here is a new video, explaining why everyone should vote - please pass it around:
Therefore we thought that it would be a good idea to continue to post important documentaries on a regular basis - especially documentaries you won't see on mainstream TV.
Today I would like to present two essential documentaries about the US media.
Some of you have certainly seen these documentaries before. But even so - maybe it's a good time to revisit them.
"Could a media system, controlled by a few global corporations with the ability to overwhelm all competing voices, be able to turn lies into truth?..."
Director Robert Kane Pappas’ "Orwell Rolls In His Grave" is the consummate critical examination of the Fourth Estate, once the bastion of American democracy. Asking whether America has entered an Orwellian world of doublespeak where outright lies can pass for the truth, Pappas explores what the media doesn’t like to talk about: itself.
Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism is a 2004 documentary film by filmmaker Robert Greenwald that criticises the Fox News Channel, and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, claiming that the channel is used to promote and advocate right-wing views. The film says this pervasive bias contradicts the channel's claim of being "Fair and Balanced", and argues that Fox News has been engaging in what amounts to consumer fraud.
Yes, please, Governor, show the birth certificate and medical documents and "kill this rumor", dear Governor Your Highness Palin, I really, really, want my old life back, and I promise that I will never ever "meddle in AK affairs" again! PLEASE, I beg you! Show that I am a liar, that I am an evil anklebiter, a liberal scumbag, a conspiracy theorist, please!
Birth certificate and medical documentation would be enough proof for me personally, thank you very much!
Please, Queen Esther....err...Governor Palin, deliver us from evil!
Rich, my friend, from your headline I can feel that you want it too, you want them all exposed as liars, Andrew Sullivan and the other "Trig Doubters", you want to see them humiliated, I just know it!
Please talk to your Queen, I am sure she will have an open ear for your request, after all you write so remarkably well, she surely will have noticed that by now. Tell her to expose us! Now is the time! Proudly raise your head under the banner of the Paliban and destroy the enemy! Go forth, Barbarians!
As we are having a really nice fun thread here, I would like to post three fun items I have collected over time for your enjoyment (click the links to download the PDF-documents):
1) One of the very few existing articles which were definitely written by Queen Sarah herself, without a ghostwriter: Her magna opus "Who's your Daddy", which was penned by her for her gubernational campaign 2006.
After dealing with many serious topics recently, we thought that it's time for a light-heartened open thread. Fortunately, a new TV clip with Kathy Griffin and Levi Johnston was just published yesterday. It was shot during Kathy Griffin's visit in Alaska last winter, and it's simply hilarious - comedy at it's best. We also see for the first time the entrance of Sarah Palin's house, where Kathy Griffin rang the doorbell and then left a note. Seems like a pure miracle now that she wasn't shot on the spot. ;-)
In addition, because we have so much fun right now, here is the clip of Kathy Griffin's incredibly funny appearance on the David Letterman show from June 10, 2009 - it's a classic:
If you would like to see the Letterman video in a larger format, please CLICK HERE.
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BONUS:
I would put this also under comedy. Well, you see, there are two conservative bloggers from Virginia, J.R. Hoeft and Brian K, who write for the right-wing website "www.bearingdrift.com".
Last Sunday, June 27, Sarah Palin appeared at the "Freedom Fest" in Norfolk, VA, together with a bunch of other right-wingers, most of whom the world has never heard of. So the conservative bloggers thought, why not live-blog the speeches?
"Freedom 1650AM in Hampton Roads is sponsoring tonight “Freedom Fest” with Keynote Speaker Sarah Palin!
Bearing Drift is pleased to provide you floor-level coverage and behind-the-scenes access all night as Palin, Former Gov. George Allen, ACLJ’s Jay Sekulow, Lt. Col. Oliver North, Exodus Faith Ministry’s Bishop E.W. Jackson, Lee Greenwood, and 2nd Congressional District GOP nominee Scott Rigell talk about the importance of the conservative movement and how to advance the cause!
Check out the live-blog:"
The event started quite well for the enthusiastic conservative bloggers. From the link above, you can go to their website and can still see the live-blog (click on the large box). They started live-blogging at 6.23 pm and covered several of the speeches.
Then came Sarah Palin. Excitement rose! They shot out three messages at the beginning of the speech:
And then...well...the two bloggers experienced the brave new Sarah Palin world:
"J.R. Hoeft:
We're being kicked out. So much for transparency"
Haha! We always like a good laugh!
Read the recap of these events on a Democratic website HERE.
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Addition to the events in Virginia:
Conservative blogger JR Hoeft was then accused of misrepresenting the real facts after he was kicked-out in Norfolk. On C4P it was posted that the claim that it was the "Palin-people" who kicked him out was wrong. I cannot find the comment right now on C4P, maybe it was deleted in the end, but it had seen it before, and it was also repeated in the comments on JR Hoeft's conservative website "www.bearingdrift.com":
JR Hoeft had a stinging response to these allegations:
He also makes no secret of his thoughts towards Sarah Palin:
"AMERICANS, DO YOU LOVE YOUR FREEDOMS?"
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JK Hoeft reported his bad experience in Norfolk in the conservative "Washington Times" (page 2 of the article). He asks Sarah Palin at the end of his article to allow coverage by "anyone". Great idea! Problem is that it won't happen, as Sarah Palin is afraid of nothing more than "real" coverage.
He wrote:
And then it happened.
"Sir, you have five minutes to shut down and clean up," said a voice in the pitch-dark arena.
"Excuse me?" I said. I was dumbfounded. "I have permission to be here from the event coordinator and an 'all access' pass - what do you mean I have to shut down?"
"The governor's ground rules state you can only be here for the first five minutes - you have to leave."
What in the world was this guy talking about? We ignored him.
A few moments later, he returned and reiterated his point. Then he came back a third time.
Not wanting to create a scene in the middle of this exciting moment, and knowing Steve was extremely busy, I capitulated.
I typed my last entry into the live blog: "So much for transparency. We're being kicked out."
We shut down our computers, stowed the digital camera and stopped my hand-held voice recorder. We were done.
I thought about staying and listening, but the speech was boilerplate, and I was ticked. Brian stuck around.
Mrs. Palin, please change your rules. Let conservatives cover you. Let anyone cover you. You have a lot to offer.
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UPDATE:
A Palinbot live-twittered Sarah Palin speech which she gave yesterday in Georgia, at an event in support of the ministry "Zachariah's Way" (here is a press report, another one here). I haven't seen a transcript or a recording of the speech so far. Please let me know if you find anything.
These twitter messages are very interesting in several respects. First, Sarah Palin made fun of the allegation that the "Palin-people told the conservative bloggers to leave":
The other twitter messages are also very revealing. Sarah Palin made "fun" of the Trig Truthers, and she "calls the 'triggers"'? What the heck does that mean? Please don't tell me that she meant what I think she meant.
Another of the legions of "real life stories" by Sarah Palin which she loves to tell in her speeches which don't pass the sniff test: A four-year-old girl uses the word "awkward":
According to the new post on Sarah Palin's facebook, conservative bloggers are not trustworthy sources! The "Palin people kicking bloggers out" story never happened, according to Palin! Welcome to the distorted reality of Sarah Palin, conservative bloggers! Hope you enjoy the ride!
Earlier this week, I spoke at the Freedom Fest in Norfolk, Virginia; and, evidently, the media was asked to leave – not by me, that’s for sure. I want my message out, so despite reporters making up a story about “Palin people kicking us out” (uh, the “Palin people” entourage would consist of one person – my 15-year-old daughter, Willow – and I have no doubt she could take on any reporter, but I know for certain she didn’t “kick ‘em out” of the event). Anyway, here are some of the key issues I spoke about.
I haven't read the complete post yet, but if you want to make a fact-check: Palin's complete speech in Norfolk was actually recorded and can be found HERE.
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UPDATE 3:
A physician in Ohio wrote a blog post about "babygate". Very brave! He doesn't know yet that Palinbots are not interested in medical facts, but only in praising her infallible queen.
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UPDATE 4:
JR Hoeft from "www.bearingdrift.com" left on his website a response to Sarah Palin's facebook allegations - as stinging as some of his previous comments:
Seems like Sarah Palin lost a supporter - forever.
Today it is Regina's birthday. Patrick and I would like to thank Regina for allowing us the honour of dancing with her these last nine months.
So here's to this birthday and the many, many more that we look forward to sharing with you.
Cheers Regina!
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In order to give you an impression of the wonderful area of France where Regina lives, here is a picture taken by Patrick during our visit with Regina and her husband last September:
Here is a little treat for you all. Tina Fey's most recent Sarah Palin parody at Saturday Night Live, which aired in April 2010 - "The Sarah Palin Network":
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UPDATE 2:
Our brilliant reader nickyinny knows what Regina's "Pirate" is really after:
Please continue the present discussions on this new, shiny open thread. Patrick and Kathleen had guests today, while I worked on a big post that's not ready to be published just yet. We didn't want to post something on a serious subject without giving it all our attention and the usual in-depth research and analysis.
Thankfully, Twitter never fails to provide some comic relief...
Fiorina criticized her friend Meg Whitman, the GOP gubernatorial candidate in California, for agreeing to go on Sean Hannity’s show the day after the primary elections. .
The Election's long since over GOP sits flaccid, dressin' right Tea baggin' only excites a few No vision to carry gently thru the night
Mike Steele holds court in strip clubs And the Base, the great wide open for all to see All hate that fascist socialist commie Prez 'Though they don't know what that means
But they always vote their conscience Race and gender always take a pass The libs, some voted Hilary But they sure weren't votin' for her ass
Then one that shoulda gone away But stayed, so bright was her flame Men's spines and such, they stiffen At the mere mention of her name
Chorus Oh Sarah! High-heels and that tight black skirt Oh Sarah! Whatchu hidin' 'neath that shirt Oh Sarah! I wanna roll you in some Yukon dirt Elected? Hell Erected! You naughty little flirt
She's a wild northern nutball A real Klondike Clam She's very nicely packaged But dumb as twice baked ham She wears them sexy glasses And the men folk listen when she talks But mostly what wanna be Is behind her when she walks
Chorus
I see her on the TV Makes me do some serious wishin' I can damn near smell the salmon And little ol' me ain't even fishin' She then gave away her title As Alaska's virgin queen Now every trailer park princess Wants to live the salmon dream ..and swim upstream.. d'ya know what I mean
Chorus
Her hair just flows so softly Or gets piled atop her head She's now been bought and paid for I suppose her candidacy is dead She's pretty good to look at But just a whore without a bed I bet her final indignation Will be a nekked Playboy spread
Chorus
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Many thanks to Neal Paisley who sent a message of support to Palingates together with these clever lyrics!
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UPDATE (by Patrick):
Our open thread today was "right on target"! The "naughty little flirt" Sarah Palin appeared today at the horse race in Belmont Park, Elmond, New York (click to enlarge):
It also didn't look very impressive last December in Hawaii:
It was a flat affair when Sarah appeared on Oprah, also, too:
The Lamestream media, for example the New York Times (God bless them), was happy to receive from the Palins the usual made-up "Palin-drama" which looks so good in these little gossip columns:
Sarah Palin's childhood home was furnished in early Death Panel.
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UPDATE 2 (by Patrick):
Sarah Palin's "limo driver got lost" story, which has duly been repeated by the media, for example in the NYDailyNews (very good pic there of her "refurbished" chest, by the way)...
"The couple's limo driver got lost during the ride from Kennedy Airport, leaving them with no time to stop off at their hotel to change."
...can safely be classified as another attention-seeking "odd lie" - Andrew Sullivan, please take note!
The distance between JFK airport and Belmont Park is: 10 miles = 13 minute drive (up to 30 minutes in traffic).
Google maps is your friend:
Sarah, I am disappointed! This lie was just a bag of hot air. ;-)
UPDATE 3 (by Patrick):
I would like to quote an observation by one of our brilliant readers:
"Don't know if anyone brought this up regarding the Belmont pictures but Sarah's lie is just that, a lie. Look over her right shoulder.. see that man in the dark glasses? She has three bodyguards that shield her whenever she's away from Wasilla. There is NO way in hell she was late to NY or the limo got lost. She has a pre-appearance meeting to discuss her routes and where she will go at the location. The body guards ride in separate vehicles. Lost my arse! Secondly, Sarah uses the same body guard service and Hannity and Beck. The guards are Secret Service trained and some are former Secret Service agents that left because of the money and perks."
"Sarah Palin visits Belmont as the guest of Saratoga Springs socialite Marylou Whitney and her husband John Hendrickson, who used to be in politics in Alaska, where Palin used to be governor."
Our reader Kasha Knish also found a very good picture of the 84-year-old heiress Marylou Whitney and her 45-year-old husband John Hendrickson HERE (they married when she was 72 and he was 32):
"She announced their engagement several months before he got around to formally asking her to marry him. But when it finally came, the proposal scene -- Buckingham Palace, no less -- was worthy of one of Marylou's own theme parties. They were attending a reception hosted by Prince Philip. John feigned an etiquette problem to get Marylou away from the crowd and alone with him in the Blue Drawing Room, where the royals assemble before going onto the balcony to wave to the crowds. "I said, 'Marylou, you are the queen of my heart, and I want you to be my bride.' "
Her reply? "Yes! Yes! Yes!" Before returning to the reception to receive the congratulations of Prince Philip, John slipped a 13-karat diamond-and-sapphire ring of his own design on her finger. They were married on a mountaintop in Alaska in October 1997, with Wally Hickel officiating. Christmas that year was notable for Marylou's now-famous cards that showed the couple -- with toothy white smiles -- on a dogsled in Alaska and bore the caption MARYLOU WHITNEY HAS A NEW DRIVER!"
Isn't Marylou Whitney an elitist? Sarah and Todd, palin' around with elitists? Say it ain't so, Sarah!
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Here are more details regarding Marylou's husband John Hendrickson, and his political connection to Alaska. John was an aide to Wally Hickel:
In October 1997, when she was 72 years old Marylou (b. Marie Louise Schroeder 1925) married John Hendrickson, a (then) 32-year-old tennis champ and former aide to Governor Walter Joseph Hickel of Alaska. She met the very-junior John Hendrickson when she was in Alaska helping to ready her dog team for the Iditarod at a dinner party held by Governor Hickel. According to accounts there was an immediate attraction and she began spending a lot more time in Alaska. Hendrickson is no lightweight and had been managing land holdings in Alaska, so it is not surprising that later, as a vice president, he joined Whitney Industries, a lumber and logging business with 51,000 acres of critical Adirondack real estate.
Seems the limo driver picked the Palins up at JFK And then got lost going to their hotel in Garden City. No time to change so it was off to the track.
"Typical Alaskans," she said with a laugh. "We were a couple hours late but everyone has been so hospitable and accepting of the garb."
I am convinced that the Palins stay in the "Garden City Hotel", which is located in Garden City - just next to the race track, which makes Palin's story absolutely unbelievable. One of the reasons for my belief is that this is one of the few hotels which is featured on the Belmont Stakes website (thanks, mxm!). The interior would just fit Sarah Palin's needs for a "deluxe" hotel:
But there is more.
In the description on the Belmont Stakes website, it says:
"Since 1874, The Garden City Hotel has offered spacious guest rooms and luxurious suites to discriminating travelers. This inviting Garden City hotel has been a favorite of the rich and famous, including the Vanderbilts, Astors, Kennedys, and Clintons. From our post-Civil War beginnings to the Roaring Twenties, the dawn of suburbia to the new millennium, we've provided the highest-quality services and accommodations. In the early 1980s, current owner Myron Nelkin built the existing Garden City Hotel. Since then, this world-class Garden City, New York hotel has been guided by the Nelkin family - who continue to uphold the tradition of elegance and service first established 125 years ago."
"After her divorce she married Cornelius Vanderbilt "Sonny" Whitney in 1958 and they had one child, Cornelia. CV "Sonny" Whitney died in 1992, leaving Marylou with an estate estimated at the time of $100 million."
Case closed.
So, would the Garden City Hotel as one of the premier hotels in New York City be difficult to find for a high-society limo driver? ;-)
Not really. As I mentioned before, it's just next to the Belmont Stakes race track.
Google maps is your friend, as always:
Sarah Palin is the eternal, compulsive liar. One thing that will never change - ever.
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UPDATE 6:
Another update - rather unexpected, but Kathleen and I suddenly remembered something!
Remember when Danielle Crittenden, David Frum's wife, live-twittered Sarah Palin's speech in Canada on April 15, 2010? This was one of the most hilarious "live-twittering actions" ever, and we featured this in a post.
We have a new flying pig! As we didn't have the copyright to the old piggie, it seemed a good idea to design our very own.
There are some ideas being considered by the Palingates team regarding t-shirts, mugs and other bits and pieces. We'll keep you posted. Our Palingates store is up and running!
Patrick posted a shorter version of the video of Sarah Palin in Arizona spouting her usual drivel, this time about the "Show me your papers" new law, which she thinks it's a good idea for solving the problem of border control.
We thank Patrick for sparing us the ordeal of watching the whole thing. The video concentrates on the bits where our friend abandoned her poor man's teleprompter and moved on to the elite version. You can even see the text moving on the teleprompter.
Enjoy!
On a different note, the following article is going viral, arriving by e-mail and appearing on blogs and forums. It's too good, so we're sharing it with you. (H/T to Fawn218)
IMAGINE IF THE TEA PARTY WAS BLACK by Tim Wise
Let’s play a game, shall we? The name of the game is called “Imagine.” The way it’s played is simple: we’ll envision recent happenings in the news, but then change them up a bit. Instead of envisioning white people as the main actors in the scenes we’ll conjure - the ones who are driving the action - we’ll envision black folks or other people of color instead. The object of the game is to imagine the public reaction to the events or incidents, if the main actors were of color, rather than white. Whoever gains the most insight into the workings of race in America, at the end of the game, wins. So let’s begin.
Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protester — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that’s what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation’s capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country’s political leaders if the need arose.
Imagine that white members of Congress, while walking to work, were surrounded by thousands of angry black people, one of whom proceeded to spit on one of those congressmen for not voting the way the black demonstrators desired. Would the protesters be seen as merely patriotic Americans voicing their opinions, or as an angry, potentially violent, and even insurrectionary mob? After all, this is what white Tea Party protesters did recently in Washington.
Imagine that a rap artist were to say, in reference to a white president: “He’s a piece of shit and I told him to suck on my machine gun.” Because that’s what rocker Ted Nugent said recently about President Obama.
Imagine that a prominent mainstream black political commentator had long employed an overt bigot as Executive Director of his organization, and that this bigot regularly participated in black separatist conferences, and once assaulted a white person while calling them by a racial slur. When that prominent black commentator and his sister — who also works for the organization — defended the bigot as a good guy who was misunderstood and “going through a tough time in his life” would anyone accept their excuse-making? Would that commentator still have a place on a mainstream network? Because that’s what happened in the real world, when Pat Buchanan employed as Executive Director of his group, America’s Cause, a blatant racist who did all these things, or at least their white equivalents: attending white separatist conferences and attacking a black woman while calling her the n-word.
Imagine that a black radio host were to suggest that the only way to get promoted in the administration of a white president is by “hating black people,” or that a prominent white person had only endorsed a white presidential candidate as an act of racial bonding, or blamed a white president for a fight on a school bus in which a black kid was jumped by two white kids, or said that he wouldn’t want to kill all conservatives, but rather, would like to leave just enough—“living fossils” as he called them—“so we will never forget what these people stood for.” After all, these are things that Rush Limbaugh has said, about Barack Obama’s administration, Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama, a fight on a school bus in Belleville, Illinois in which two black kids beat up a white kid, and about liberals, generally.
Imagine that a black pastor, formerly a member of the U.S. military, were to declare, as part of his opposition to a white president’s policies, that he was ready to “suit up, get my gun, go to Washington, and do what they trained me to do.” This is, after all, what Pastor Stan Craig said recently at a Tea Party rally in Greenville, South Carolina. Imagine a black radio talk show host gleefully predicting a revolution by people of color if the government continues to be dominated by the rich white men who have been “destroying” the country, or if said radio personality were to call Christians or Jews non-humans, or say that when it came to conservatives, the best solution would be to “hang ‘em high.” And what would happen to any congressional representative who praised that commentator for “speaking common sense” and likened his hate talk to “American values?” After all, those are among the things said by radio host and best-selling author Michael Savage, predicting white revolution in the face of multiculturalism, or said by Savage about Muslims and liberals, respectively. And it was Congressman Culbertson, from Texas, who praised Savage in that way, despite his hateful rhetoric.
Imagine a black political commentator suggesting that the only thing the guy who flew his plane into the Austin, Texas IRS building did wrong was not blowing up Fox News instead. This is, after all, what Anne Coulter said about Tim McVeigh, when she noted that his only mistake was not blowing up the New York Times.
Imagine that a popular black liberal website posted comments about the daughter of a white president, calling her “typical redneck trash,” or a “whore” whose mother entertains her by “making monkey sounds.” After all that’s comparable to what conservatives posted about Malia Obama on freerepublic.com last year, when they referred to her as “ghetto trash.” Imagine that black protesters at a large political rally were walking around with signs calling for the lynching of their congressional enemies. Because that’s what white conservatives did last year, in reference to Democratic party leaders in Congress. In other words, imagine that even one-third of the anger and vitriol currently being hurled at President Obama, by folks who are almost exclusively white, were being aimed, instead, at a white president, by people of color. How many whites viewing the anger, the hatred, the contempt for that white president would then wax eloquent about free speech, and the glories of democracy? And how many would be calling for further crackdowns on thuggish behavior, and investigations into the radical agendas of those same people of color?
To ask any of these questions is to answer them. Protest is only seen as fundamentally American when those who have long had the luxury of seeing themselves as prototypically American engage in it. When the dangerous and dark “other” does so, however, it isn’t viewed as normal or natural, let alone patriotic. Which is why Rush Limbaugh could say, this past week, that the Tea Parties are the first time since the Civil War that ordinary, common Americans stood up for their rights: a statement that erases the normalcy and “American-ness” of blacks in the civil rights struggle, not to mention women in the fight for suffrage and equality, working people in the fight for better working conditions, and LGBT folks as they struggle to be treated as full and equal human beings. And this, my friends, is what white privilege is all about. The ability to threaten others, to engage in violent and incendiary rhetoric without consequence, to be viewed as patriotic and normal no matter what you do, and never to be feared and despised as people of color would be, if they tried to get away with half the shit we do, on a daily basis. Game Over.
Tim Wise is among the most prominent anti-racist writers and activists in the U.S. Wise has spoken in 48 states, on over 400 college campuses, and to community groups around the nation. Wise has provided anti-racism training to teachers nationwide, and has trained physicians and medical industry professionals on how to combat racial inequities in health care. His latest book is called Between Barack and a Hard Place.
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Chuck Heath caused some unrest in the Valley. He was a speaker at the Colony High School graduation in Wasilla last week, and his speech caused some very negative responses. Two critical letters to the editor have been published in the "Frontiersman". The first one is quite short, but the second letter goes more into detail:
"Speaker was out of line
Tuesday night I attended the Colony High School graduation ceremony in Wasilla. I was thrilled that Chuck Heath (father of Sarah Palin) would be the keynote speaker. Both my children had him as a substitute teacher and their days with him were insightful, educational and fun.
Chuck explained how he taught all his children to hunt, track and field dress game. Then, trying to be humorous, he said he was going to teach his daughter how to field dress a donkey this fall.
I was dismayed at the suggestion of evisceration of Democrats — a partisan statement that was supposed to be a nonpartisan night of celebration. Did Chuck hope that by giving a stump speech that mirrored his daughter Sarah’s views that it would increase support for her? What message was he trying to convey to the graduates?
The “speech,” reminiscent of a Christian revival, ended with Chuck demanding the “G-word” be integrated back into public schools and government. A celebration for the senior class turned into a political diatribe and was both disappointing and inappropriate.
Not all mothers are wonderful. Some of us were fortunate and can think of our mothers as friends, as the woman who would protect us at all costs. Some mothers are too serious, others are funny. They're all human, with flaws and qualities.
We have many examples of famous fantastic mothers and of the not so fantastic. We are wired to love our mothers, but not all mothers are wired to love their children.
Let's have some humour to celebrate Mother's Day. It will raise a smile even for those of us who don't have reasons to celebrate.
A teacher gave her class of second graders a lesson on the magnet and what it does. The next day in a written test, she included this question: "My full name has six letters. The first one is M. I pick up things. What am I?" When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was astonished to find that almost 50 percent of the students answered the question with the word Mother-
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Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. Getting back together, they discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly mother.
The first said, "I built a big house for our mother."
The second said," I sent her a Mercedes with a driver."
The third smiled and said, "I've got you, both beat. You know how Mom enjoys the Bible, and you know she can't see very well. I sent her a brown parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took 20 monks in a monastery 12 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $100,000.00 a year for 10 years, but it was worth it. Mom just has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot will recite it."
Soon thereafter, Mom sent out her letters of thanks: "Milton," she wrote the first son, "The house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house."
"Marvin," she wrote to another, "I am too old to travel. I stay home all the time, so I never use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!"
"Dearest Melvin," she wrote to her third son, "You were the only son to have the good sense to know what your mother likes. That chicken was delicious."
Good mothers?
The discussion will inevitably revolve around a certain person, whose mothering skills are very debatable...
