If only it were an SNL skit and she were Tina Fey

Posted on August 5, 2010 by 40andover

Sarah Palin thinks President Obama is in over his head and cannot handle running this country (see article excerpts below).

Is it because:

the President can’t see Russia from his home either? [but he’s been there, at least]
the President knows “refudiate” is not a word?
the President isn’t all maverick-y and changin’ his views on immigration reform like John McCain?
the President prefers golf to huntin’ wolves from helicopters with automatic rifles?
the President doesn’t quit his job when the goin’ gets tough (umm, ex-Governor Sarah)?
the President knows more about any topic of national importance than you know on all such topics COMBINED?
the President pronounces the “g” at the end of a gerund?

If only this were a joke and after her comment, she said:

“LIVE . . . from New York . . . it’s Saturday Niiiiiiight!!!”

But she didn’t. All the more to pity.

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The DNC's response to former Gov. Palin Thurssday was reminiscent of questions about her background that were raised immediately after she debuted as Sen. McCain's running mate in 2008.

Washington (CNN) – From CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart
[EXCERPTS ONLY]

In an appearance on Fox News Wednesday night, Palin essentially said Obama is not up to the task of holding the nation’s highest office.

“I think he’s quite complacent,” the former Republican vice presidential hopeful said. “And I think he’s in over his head. And I think he has poor advisers around him. And I think he’s really in flux kind of when it comes to what his governing philosophy actually is. Some of this though is a result of he not having much experience and then a complicit media and maybe some voters who chose to not to allow him to be vetted very closely.”

Crazy is as crazy thinks

Posted on August 4, 2010 by 40andover

According to CNN, 1 in 4 polled STILL believe that President Obama was not born in this country and therefore not the legitimate head of state. Here is the published birth certificate, certified by the Republican governor of Hawaii.

Even Lou Dobbs conceded the point.

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From CNN

“Washington (CNN) – It’s surely not what the leader of the free world wants for his birthday. But, for a stubborn group of Americans, conspiracy theories about President Obama’s birthplace are the gifts that keep on giving.

The president celebrates his 49th birthday Wednesday. On the same day, a new national poll indicates some Americans continue to doubt the president was born in the United States. According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, more than a quarter of the public have doubts about Obama’s citizenship, with 11 percent saying Obama was definitely not born in the United States and another 16 percent saying the president was probably not born in the country.”

What, REALLY?

Posted on August 3, 2010 by 40andover

Mitch McConnell,

the most recent face of resident evil since Dick Cheney left office, wants to have hearings on the meaning of “born” in the 14th amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.

(See article http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gqnOBf_QRibbHZe0ieJDDRnvWxRgD9HC9ESG2).

Ok, my head is spinning. Here’s a guy who says he thinks that the Constitution is sacrosanct. Now he thinks we ought to INTERPRET this document? Ahhh, it is sacrosanct . . . . until it’s not.

WAIT, I get it. The Constitution is crystal clear about an individual’s right to bear arms (see the muddy Second Amendment)

“Amendment II — A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Um, wait, doesn’t the Second Amendment mean that you can bear arms as part of a well regulated militia (i.e., sanctioned by a governmental entity)?

BUT Resident Evil finds it very confusing when it comes to the meaning of “born“:

“Amendment 14 Section 1: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

Hmmm. What is the plain meaning of this? If you are born here, you are a citizen whose rights of citizenship may not be infringed upon.

Ok, this Amendment was not written by our Founding Fathers. It was written in the aftermath of Civil War as a nation needed to heal and learn to be citizens of one nation for the common good and to protect the children of newly emancipated slaves.

So, we have to have hearings on what “born in the United States” means. If McConnell and his ilk weren’t talking about people’s lives and the very meaning of a free and open society, it would almost be a humorous riff on Bill Clinton’s “depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is”.

But it is not funny at all.

Uproar over a mosque? Really?

Posted on August 1, 2010 by 40andover

Why not a mosque near Ground Zero?

If we cannot separate out bad actors from an entire religion, then we are the evil bigots in the propaganda.

AND, we have to look in our collective mirror and see that we are not the people or nation of freedom and “ill-will-toward-none” that we would like to believe (and have others believe) we are.

Ok, so no mosque at Ground Zero. Then what logically flows from that statement are:

All Oklahomans should be barred from national monuments because Timothy McVeigh, our HOMEGROWN terrorist, was from Oklahoma. In fact, Oklahoma is so close to those other states (help me out here) that they may harbor terrorists or may have recruitment camps. So, let’s ban them (once I look at a map and figure out who they are). Also, are they practicing Methodists, Baptists, Unitarians or some other Protestant sect? If so, then none of those churches can be erected near national monuments. No, sirreeee. [It would be kind of funny if only ashrams, synagogues, Sikh temples, Hindu temples and Buddhist temples could be built on Ground Zero.]

The good ol’ USA is a rogue nation. We are the only country that has used nuclear weapons. We have not renounced them (like New Zealand — ok, not a newsmaker, but a start). And bombing Nagasaki after we obliterated Hiroshima makes Kim Jong Il seem like just another weird guy with a bad haircut, wearing woman’s sunglasses.

Lady Liberty, the welcoming beacon in our Harbor, has to be renovated so she can raise one hand with a sign or she can fling people back out to sea (see video, too crazy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BE6GyHcASE&feature=related) because we forget that EXCEPT for the Native Americans, whom we decimated under the theory of “Manifest Destiny” (oh, yeah, add GENOCIDE to our nuclear bad acts), we all descend from immigrants.

I am glad my grandparents and my mother never lived to see this day. Their America was the beacon of hope and the fulfillment of their dreams. To them, this was a great country where whoever you are and from wherever you came, you could make a life for your family. Maybe people didn’t like them because they were Jews but people left them alone.

That was America. This, this, this is a place I don’t know or understand.

Bill’s and Hillary’s redemptive moment

Posted on August 1, 2010 by 40andover

From what I read — how can one avoid it — the details of Chelsea’s wedding were better kept secrets than, say, our troop deployments in Afghanistan (thanks, WikiLeaks).

Good for them. It was Chelsea’s wedding and not a media event. The Clintons, who have a love-hate obsession with media, kept it real.

Chelsea was the star of the show (and NOT Bill or Hillary).

I, for one, am glad not to know all the details. I am neither family nor friend AND I don’t care what the bride wore or who was/was not invited.

I do wish Chelsea and her husband much happiness and joy in their lives together, as I would wish any newlyweds (whether or not the union is recognized by the laws of the several states).

But, Bill, really, don’t you feel a tinch bad about the Defense of Marriage Act?

So, canyoubelieveit, someone asked my opinion

Posted on July 17, 2010 by 40andover

No sooner did I write about not being polled, than I answered a phone poll. About my local Congressman. What I answered surprised me.

Charlie Rangel has been great to NY and the country. He also has some alleged ethical lapses. Serious (alleged) ones. He is 80 years old and probably should make way for the younger generation (who are nearly eligible for AARP benefits).

But, Charlie Rangel remained a steadfast liberal even when it was a dirty word. He spoke up against the tyranny of fear-mongering during the Bush years, even when others (whom we thought were strong) cowered. He has worked hard for over forty years to move America forward.

Assume what is alleged is true. He failed to pay taxes on investments and improperly owns too many apartments in a subsidized building. I am ok with it. (Not HAPPY, but ok if I hold my nose.) I guess I have mellowed or my righteous indignation has been spent on other, more deserving targets. Or, I guess I put it into perspective of what other politicians did — sold their votes to big oil, took us into a war that was a mistake, vilified a group of Americans or immigrants for political gain, stoked the birther movement for political gain. I could go on and on.

Yes, he should retire soon (and wear an orange jumpsuit if he is guilty) and let the younger politicians carry the torch, but right now we need people who are experienced in the trenches and are squarely on the side of the President to help the President get us out of the mess created by 8 years of George and Dick.

So, guilty or not, Charlie is my man.

Nobody asks me

Posted on July 16, 2010 by 40andover

I don’t know how the pollsters pick the representative sample of Americans, voters, Mets fans, whatever, to poll on a particular issue. No one asks me. My demographic is highly educated, reliable voter.

I think President Obama is the leader we need. He is the one pushing us to take the bad-tasting medicine that will make us healthier, making the financial industry face consequences of its ruinous reign and trying to end two wars with dignity. (Contrary to Michael Steele, Afghanistan was not a war of President Obama’s choosing; it was a war started by President Bush even before he chose to go to war with Iraq.)

Everyone wants our problems to be fixed, just like in the movies, and preferably within two hours and with limited commercial interruption.

President Obama took over a country on the verge of collapse and the problems just keep coming. He handles them in an understated, calm manner and people think that is a sign of weakness. But then again, “we” thought that GWB’s strutting around and baling hay were signs of strength even as we knew our nation was going to hell (think Nero playing his fiddle while Rome burned).

I believe in President Obama and in his leadership.

Never has been so much asked of one man and so little been done to support him.

Mr. President, you have my vote in 2012.

Argentina, Mi Amor

Posted on July 15, 2010 by 40andover

[end of excerpt] from article by MICHAEL WARREN, Associated Press Writer Michael Warren, Associated Press Writer – [July 15, 2010]

Argentina legalized same-sex marriage Thursday, becoming the first country in Latin America to declare that gays and lesbians have all the legal rights, responsibilities and protections that marriage brings to heterosexual couples.

Argentina?

Graft, dirty wars, Peronistas?

THAT Argentina?

My immediate emotional response was to change the Stars and Stripes to show unequal justice under the laws. Is Argentina outpacing the United States of America on a human rights issue?

G-d bless Michael Steele

Posted on June 16, 2010 by 40andover

You gotta love that Michael Steele:

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EXCERPT FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS:

Tues, June 15

“WASHINGTON – Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele is accusing President Barack Obama of exploiting for his own political gain the crisis created by the Gulf oil spill.

Responding to Obama’s Oval Office address to the nation Tuesday night, Steele said in a statement that the president’s actions demonstrate his inability to lead the nation out of a disaster and show an “appallingly arrogant political calculus.” “

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Explain how the President, our nation’s CEO at the time of this disaster, can exploit the disaster for political gain? This crisis threatens to sully his political future.

And what did the President say that is so problematic? He said we need to fix this and we need to decrease our dependence on oil.

Michael Steele: Do you disagree with those sentiments?

I hope the GOP keeps loose-lips around for a loooooong time.

President Obama’s Speech

Posted on June 16, 2010 by 40andover

Am I the only one in the country who thought that the speech showed a strong and resolute President?

Don’t look for passion — that is not his character. Look for determination and a view toward the future.

I thought he did a fine job. Did anyone think that he could speak away the problems? Did you think the oil was going to go back into the hole in the earth whence it came?

Let’s be real.

Please, please, please, let’s all stop expecting miracles or easy answers. Let’s be as easy on the President as we are on ourselves. Because we are soooo good at blaming others and limiting our own culpability in anything and we are so good at complaining but so unwilling to do our part — either through tax dollars or consumption reduction.

We are in the fight of and for our lives and livelihoods.

PRESIDENT OBAMA IS CLEANING UP DISASTER UPON DISASTER THAT STARTED PERCOLATING SINCE NIXON — HEALTH CARE, OIL DEPENDENCE, AMERICAN COWBOY-ISM AS FOREIGN POLICY.

Anyone else willing to stand up and say that the speech was fine, that speeches won’t fix the Gulf problems and that we are lucky to have a clearheaded and intelligent leader?

40 — oh wait, yikes!! 50 — andoverblog

Aging and living in urban US

Category Archives: Politics