Barbara Boxer, Racism and the Black Chamber of Commerce
Is Barbara Boxer, the Democatic Senator from California, a RACIST?
Thanks to Glenn Beck of Fox News for bringing this video to my attention today (link below). Barbara Boxer, a Democratic Senator from California, got accused of being a racist by Black Chamber of Commerce, President and CEO Harry Alford. He accused the Senator playing race politics during a Senate EPW Committee hearing on “green jobs” after Sen. Boxer tried to introduce documents contradictory to Mr. Alford from other African-American organizations, including the NAACP.
This is one of the most amusing things I have seen in a loooong time! You MUST watch it to believe it. It’s PRICELESS! And it’s no surprise that a large majority of the media have basically ignored this story. A Democrat couldn’t possibly be racist, right??
The New York Post Cartoon, Obama, the Chimpanzee, Nancy Pelosi and the Lizard
I am not buying the complaints about the New York Post cartoon by Sean Delonas being racist towards Barack Obama in any way. Did you see the latest from the AP? Stay Strong Rupert Murdock and Col Allan! Don’t listen to Al Sharpton and his cronies!
If I recall, the Democrats in Congress wrote the Stimulus Bill — not Barack Obama. In fact, there were complaints that Obama did not roll up his sleeves enough and write the Bill with Congress to his liking. So how could shooting a chimpanzee who wrote the bill be compared to Barack Obama? I don’t get it.
However Nancy Pelosi, who was involved in writing the bill, does look like a bug-eyed lizard. So if the Post cartoonist had say shot a gecko (like the one from the Geico commercial) in cold blood, then I think a case could be made that that the cartoon was sexist towards women or at the very least demeaning to lizards.
See the Olympics Ad for the Lenovo ThinkPad with the Sumo Wrestlers? Remind Anyone of 9/11?
While most of this blog revolves around liberal media double standards, once in while I see a television commercial I have to write about.
I have watched probably a combined three minutes of the Olympics so far — it’s just not my thing. But I did watch long enough to see the Olympics TV ad for the Lenovo ThinkPad with the Sumo wrestlers. Its a compelling ad in the beginning as you see the army of Sumo wrestlers appear. It does a good job of cutting through the clutter, or as I like to say, the “Media Mucus.” Then the Sumo guys take the shape of an airplane and take off into the sky.
Thats where the ad starting to go horribly wrong for me. This “Sumo wrestler” airplane takes flight and looks very close to a number of high rise buildings. I immediately began to feel uncomfortable and filled with anxiety. And then I realized that almost 7 years after two planes crashing into the Twin Towers on 9/11, this TV ad succeeded in bringing back a wave of memories…and unfortunately reminded me of the TV footage of the planes’ impact into the WTC…images that will be seared into my brain forever.
Check out the ad on YouTube for yourself to see what I am talking about.
Am I hyper-sensitive to those events because I lived in Manhattan at the time? Maybe.
Or do we have the case of a Chinese company, Lenovo, that is not in touch with the culture, history, sensitivities and shared experiences of the American people?
I would side with the latter. It was poor judgement on the part of Lenovo and the ad agency they hired. While I will remember the ad, it will be for all the wrong reasons. I will not be buying a Lenovo computer any time soon.
Who writes AP Headlines? The Obama Campaign? It’s Ludacris!
Obama and Ludacris
So I was reading the AP article on Yahoo! today called Ludacris’ Obama song unlikely to alienate voters.
With that headline you would think there was a Gallup poll or something that led Errin Haines, the author of the article (or the editors) to make this bold proclamation, right?
Or you would think at least Ms. Haines spoke to a broad spectrum of voters, ones who might be scared off by his comments — such as I don’t know….maybe some actual white people.
No. Not in this piece of “journalism.”
Instead, Ms. Haines spoke to the following people to come up with the headline “Ludacris’ Obama Song Unlikely to Alienate Voters”.
- John McWhorter, author of “All About the Beat: Why Hip-Hop Can’t Save Black America.”
- Jeff Johnson, an activist and host of an upcoming show on Black Entertainment Television
- Bakari Kitwana, co-editor of “Let’s Get Free: Strategies for Organizing the Hip-Hop Voting Bloc”
Yet, all over Google and Yahoo today was the AP Headline “Ludacris’ Obama Song Unlikely to Alienate Voters.” Says who? Well according to Ms. Haines, all you need to do is speak to a couple of Black/Hip-Hop activists and you can basically assert that white folks don’t care about the content of the Ludacris song. And the MSM on the internet plasters their “it’s no big deal” headline all over the place today.
Surprising? No. Typical of the Main Stream Media (MSM) being in the tank for Obama? Yes, indeed.
But let the MSM continue to minimize and disregard the legitimate concerns of voters who have serious reservations about Barack Obama. There is only so much people can take. And they may make their presence known in November when they pull the lever for John McCain. And then the highly offensive Ludacris lyrics “McCain don’t belong in any chair unless he’s paralyzed” will have played a part in derailing the MSM’s Obama Express.
Don Imus or Bill Delahunt…Whose Comment was Worse?
So this is where we are in 2008. The Main Stream Media pounces on the following comments of Don Imus about Adam “Pacman” Jones, a lowlife thug NFL player :
WOLF: He’s been arrested six times since being drafted by Tennessee in 2005.
IMUS: What color is he?
WOLF: He’s African-American.
IMUS: Well, there you go. Ok. Now we know.
At the same time the Main Stream Media all but ignores the comments from Bill Delahunt, Democratic Congressman from MA about a member of the Executive branch of our government:
At the end of the hearing, Delahunt asked David Addington about waterboarding, a torture technique. Addington said he couldn’t talk about particular techniques or their legal status because “Al Qaeda may watch C-SPAN.”
According to a transcript, Delahunt replied: “Right. Well, I’m sure they are watching and I’m glad they finally have a chance to see you, Mr. Addington.”
“I’m sure you’re pleased,” said Addington.
So let me ask: What is worse…asking the color of someone’s skin…or an official of the United States government showing pleasure that Al Qaeda now knows what another official of the United States government looks like?
Apparently the Main Stream Media thinks the Imus comment was A LOT worse, based on the huge amount of coverage it received.
Sheer Lunacy.
But that’s where we are in 2008.
G-d help us!
Mourning the Loss of Tim Russert and Respectfully Questioning His Objectivity
The loss of Tim Russert on the weekend before Father’s Day is almost too much of a coincidence. As Chuck Todd said something to this effect the other day: ‘If we had to lose Tim, then I guess there is no more appropriate time than right before Father’s Day.’
If you believe in G-d as I do, then there is no way that this was not part of G-d’s plan for Tim. Perhaps no one in public life better represented the value of family, the magic of fatherhood, love of country and the importance of faith in everday life. It’s a chance for all of us to reflect on an inspirational American tale of working class achievement through hard work and perseverance. I truly believe that if more people in this world were as decent as Tim, then the world would be a much better place.
That being said, Tim wasn’t 100% objective. But then no journalist is — it’s simply not possible. A lot of the coverage from this week focused on how he called it straight down the middle between Republicans and Democrats. That’s not entirely true in my estimation.
From what I’ve gathered over the last few days, Tim came from a family that idolized the Kennedys, he worked for Democrats on the hill (Moynihan, Cuomo etc.) and was a big fan of Bruce Springsteen, a huge liberal is his own right. He also caught Washington Nationals games with Democratic spinmeister James Carville, and perhaps most egregious of all, on Tim’s watch we saw the rise of Keith Olbermann — with his elevation to the status of “go-to” MSNBC newsman for primary coverage.
Let’s not forget about Tim’s excitement over this Presidential campaign. I guarantee you that he wasn’t hugely inspired by the McCain vs. Romney vs. Huckabee race, but rather the improbable rise of Barack Obama and the downfall of the inevitable candidate, HIllary Clinton. Obama was annointed by the remaining Kennedys as the heir to the Kennedy throne and their beliefs. So while Tim never said it, I think he had a soft spot for Obama.
Why do I bring this up now? Well, during the heart of the primary season, I tuned in one Sunday morning to ‘Meet the Press’ and watched Tim interview Mike Huckabee and Obama. It struck a nerve with me because of the way Tim handled each candidate differently on their religious beliefs. I wrote a blog posting soon after but never published it anywhere. After Tim’s passing, I came across it once again on my hard drive. I thought I would share it — in some way to help mourn the loss of Tim’s passing, while at the same time, pointing out the difficulty in anyone journalist being truly objective — even though Tim came pretty darn close.
So I turned on Tim Russert on “Meet the Press” to see him interviewing Republican candidate Mike Huckabee. Russert pressed him repeatedly about his stances on gay marriage, homosexuality and abortion. Huckabee handled the questions deftly and as best he could, but this much was clear to me: Russert had potentially succeeded on scaring off any Democrats and many independents for voting for Huckabee. Russert’s line of questioning in itself was not biased, unitl you contrasted it with his next guest Barrack Obama.
Russert asked him a few tough questions on his experience but mainly just tossed him a bunch of softball questions. And in contrast to Huckabee, Russert steered clear of any questions of religion, gay marriage, homosexuality or abortion when speaking with Obama. These are some of the tough morality issues that help voters make decisions, not detainees and interrogation. Instead, Obama was given the opportunity to talk in sweeping generalities of how he would change Washington and its culture.
Obama, unlike Huckabee, was not put on the spot by Russert about abortion, gay marriage and views on homosexuality. These are stances on issues that could impact Obama — or Clinton — in a general election. Why doesn’t Russert think it’s important to explore Obama’s religious background and current church affiliation? Why is only Huckabee’s past as a Baptist minister relevant to voters?
This is just an example of the MSM scare tactics when dealing with Republican candidates and religion. And what’s clear to me is that the MSM – knowing that religion can be a weakness for Democrats – is steering clear of this discussion.
RIP TIM RUSSERT – Like Tim, I only am seeking to ask the tough questions, while at the same time showing the utmost respect and affection for him. G-d Bless.
Hey Keith Olbermann! Rachel Sklar is “My BEST Person in the World”
Rachel Sklar is “My Best Person in the World” for taking on Keith Olbermann with her Huffington Post column Katie Couric is Rubber and Keith Olbermann is Glue.
Finally someone from the liberal left has taken on Keith Olbermann (KO). Me being a guy who is slightly right of center, I find it so maddening that Sir Keith NEVER has anyone on his show that has an opposing opinion about ANYTHING! Whenever I watch Olbermann (or Obama Girl, as I like to call him), its just an endless parade of guests where he either cheerleads them or they cheerlead him as he gushes about and fawns over every Kennedy, the Obamas and the liberal left kookocracy — while demonizing every Republican, centrist and moderate Democrat.
Say what you want about O’Reilly, Dobbs and Hannity, but at least they have on guests with opposing viewpoints. KO? He only will book journalists and politicos who are in LOCKSTEP with him on EVERYTHING!
And then today I read about Ms. Sklar taking him to task for his Hillary Clinton comments. Bless her heart. I really don’t have a strong opinion on the whole “Sexism as the cause in Hillary losing” debate, but I absolutely take delight in someone from the HUFFPO taking on KO. Finally, some diversity of thought coming from the left wing of the Democratic party.
So will KO have Sklar on his show to debate this issue? Of course not. Then he might actually have to verbally spar with a guest and be forced to articulately represent his point of view. No, what we’ll get is some douche bag reporter from NewsWeek or some second-rate Obama operative who will nod their head attentively as KO spews anti-Hillary anti-Sklar venom, and then agree completely with KO’s petty ranting.
Like I said, just completely insufferable.
MEMO to MSNBC: Don’t even think for a second about even considering Keith Olbermann to replace Tim Russert on Meet the Press. KO is a partisan hack of the worst kind and makes no attempt to even feign objectivity. As it is, he is already featured way too much in so-called “objective” MSNBC election special reporting.
OK, enough of the KO rants. My original intent for this blog was to offer up KUDOS to Rachel Sklar for having the courage to stand up to the mouthpiece for Obama nation. Rachel Sklar, you indeed are “My BEST Person in the World” for June 15, 2008. But don’t expect an invite to KO’s show on June 16, 2008 or any day after that…
