President Obama Visits the Big Apple Last Night as GOP Spews Sour Grapes

Being President of this country has to be one of the hardest jobs on earth. Everything you do is subject to scrutiny. Last night the President and his wife went to New York for dinner and a play. This should have been a true non issue since this is not an unusual act, but some on the right are criticizing the expense at this time when so many in the country are suffering. Fox News jumped on this story as if the president hijacked the plane for the trip. Let’s get real everybody needs a break. All the Presidents have always taken trips for pure relaxation. The last President Bush spent 487 days at Camp David and 490 days at his ranch in Crawford and nobody complained about the cost of fuel. So this is just disingenuous to criticize the president’s night in the Big Apple.

When Did We Start Campaigning for the Supreme Court?

Over the past couple of days I have seen Supreme Court commercials. You see a picture of the nominee Sonia Sotomayor and the voice over is of the president touting her virtues. I know this is in response to the vigorous campaign being waged against her, but it just seems a little inappropriate. The Supreme Court still refuses to allow their hearings to be televised so to use televsion to bolster the nominee just seems a little off.

I Never Thought I Would Say This…I Agree With Newt Gingrich

 ”I would hope that a wise Latina woman, with the richness of her experiences, would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life,” Sonia Sotomayor October 26, 2001.

This statement was made by the Supreme Court nominee. I have a problem with this statement. The implication is a white man could not reach a fair conclusion because his experience as a white man disqualifies him from understanding. If a white man made this statement in reference to a black man and that white man was being considered for the Supreme Court Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would be leading a rally to derail that nomination. We can not have it both ways. Minorities do not have an innate right to say anything they want without any consequences. Trent Lott lost his Senate leadership position when he said, “I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn’t have had all these problems over all these years, either.” This statement led to his removal as Senate leader because his critics said this statement indicated he was a racist. He was held responsible for his words even if he had no racist motive. So Sotomayor has to be held accountable for her words. Is this enough to pull the nomination? No, but as Ricky Ricardo used to say about Lucy—she’s got some explaining to do.

Black Kidnappers Strike Again or Another White Woman Lies About An Abduction

It happens at least once a decade. Bonnie Sweeten led Philadelphia police and the FBI on a wild goose chase. She called 911 and falsely claimed that she and her daughter had been abducted by two black men. Not just two men but let’s stress black man because that makes it a lot more scary. An Amber alert was issued and the search began for the abductors. The story started unraveling when the SUV she was supposedly driving was found in downtown Philadelphia and a parking ticket had been issued an hour prior to her frantic phone call. She was subsequently found in Florida at Disney World with her daughter. Fortunately no black men were brought in for questioning. This case is reminiscent of Susan Smith who said two black men kidnapped her children and the truth was she had murdered her own children. In the past all a white woman had to do was point at a black man and accuse him of anything and law enforcement would act on their word, but fortunately now they look a little deeper before they do a round up through the hood. The other distrubing thing about this case is Bonnie Sweeten will will not be charged with a felony. She will only be charged with a misdemeanor.

Desmond Hatchett Has So Many Children He Does Not Know What to Do

Desmond Hatchett is a 29 year old man with 21 children by 11 different women. Why do we know this man’s story? Because these children are being taken care of by the state.  He works a minimum wage job so he can not afford to support all of these children.  He says he is done having kids and it was never his intent to have all of these children. This is a pathetic story. What will happen to these children who are being supported by the state?  The problem with this picture is Hatchett is an unintentional dad. He never wanted to be a parent he just wanted to have sex and unprotected sex produces children. He says the women knew what they were getting into when they became involved with him. This is the height of irresponsibility and the victims of his passion filled nights are the children. Whose fault is this? There is no one to blame but Hatchett and the women he loved for at least one night.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0JkG1mZ05g&feature=player_embedded

The Morning After the Sotomayor Nomination Does President Obama Have Buyer’s Remorse?

The pundits started yesterday defining Sonia Sotomayor. Rush Limbaugh called her a racist. Mitt Romney said her nomination was troubling, John McCain said he did not vote for her when she was nominated for the Court of Appeals but he would give her a fair hearing. So what is so wrong with this nominee? There is a case that the Supreme Court is currently reviewing regarding firefighters who say they were wrongfully denied promotions. Sotomayor detractors say her dismissal of the case failed to deal with the complexities of the case. The firefighters contend they were denied their promotion because the results of their promotion test did not yield the right racial mix. Is this reverse discrimination? No. There is no such thing as reverse discrimination. This is discrimination if this is proven to be true. If the test was flawed or racially tilted then that is a point for discussion, but if that was not the case then this is a valid issue that warrants exploration. It is not the kind of issue that should not brand Sotomayor as some kind of fire-breathing liberal, but it warrants further investigation and that is the purpose of the confirmation hearings.

The Healthcare Industry or the Profit of Pain

A few years ago I was watching a Chris Rock special. He asked the question,”when was the last time doctors found a cure for anything?” He said in the past doctors had found a cure for polio, whooping cough and other diseases, but now there did not seem to be any cures being found. He said they are not finding cures because they have found “profit in pain.” That is so true and lately I have seen more and more ads that exemplify this truth. As the baby boomers age more and more drug companies are trying to pick their pockets. As a viewer of the nightly news I have seen the cures for erectile dysfunction almost every evening, but lately the disease that is getting more airtime is Alzheimer’s disease. The first one was the confused woman wondering through the bowling alley, and then came the anguished daughter and the fragile mom, but last night broke the mold. This one showed a woman looking for her keys and her husband was in the kitchen. She is looking all around asking what did I do with my keys. Her husband opens the refrigerator and finds her keys. He retrieves the keys and shows them to her. He looks at her and she looks at him and they both know she must have early onset Alzheimer’s. What? This is fear run amok. When did losing your keys qualify you for prescription drugs? Couldn’t it be plain ole forgetfulness? No it has got to be something that requires a prescription. There is real profit in the pain.  We are being manipulated by the drug companies. Every twitch should not send us to the doctor asking for the latest drug that we have seen on a commercial. It was marketing genius years ago when prescription drug makers started advertising to the masses. They are laughing all the way to the bank, but we have to stop allowing the incredible power of suggestion  make us believe that when they say a symptom we have got the illness. We have to remember healthcare is not about healing it is about profit and as Rock said there is “profit in pain.”

Sonia Sotomayor’s Unlikely Journey from the South Bronx to the Supreme Court

Today President Obama nominated the first Hispanic to the Supreme Court. Sonia Sotomayer’s story is an American story. She was raised in a housing project in the South Bronx. Her dad died when she was nine so she was raised by a single mother. “Sotomayor later graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University and went on to attend Yale law school. If confirmed, she would become the first Hispanic to serve on the high court. She would also be the third female named to the Supreme Court, and the second on the current court. Sotomayor is touted by supporters as a justice with bipartisan favor and historic appeal.”  Over the next few days we will read every opinion she ever wrote. We will have her defined by both the right and the left, but today can’t we just enjoy witnessing history? We are seeing a woman of Hispanic descent that grew up watching Perry Mason, she dreamed of one day being a judge get an opportunity to live out her own American dream. This is the kind of thing that happens only in America.

Memorial Day: In Honor of those Who Died for Us

Some things we can debate, but some things we can’t. We honor the ultimate sacrifice that so many made so that we might live freely. Today we salute all of the men and women who sacrificed their lives for this country.

(Photo from the Chicago Tribune)

Tom Ridge Gives some Straight Talk to CNN John King

Every since former Vice-President Dick Cheney left office and came out in to the light of day he has criticized the new president. While appearing on Face the Nation he drew a line in the sand dividing the true believers from the others. He said if he had to choose between Gen. Colin Powell or talk show host Rush Limbaugh his choice would be Limbaugh. He even quipped that he did not even know if Powell was still a Republican. Today on CNN State of the Union  John King posed a version of the question to former head of Homeland Security Tom Ridge and his answer reflected a depth and insight not often seen in this debate. Ridge said “Well, I think Rush articulates his point of view in ways that offend very many. It’s a matter of language and a matter of how you use words. It does get the base all fired up and he’s got a strong following. But personally, if he would listen to me and I doubt if he would, the notion is express yourselves but let’s respect others opinions and let’s not be divisive. Let’s lead our party based on some principles that have been very much a part of who we are for decades. And let’s be less shrill in terms of — and particularly, let’s not attack other individuals. Let’s attack their ideas. Let’s explain in a rational, thoughtful, responsible and reasonable way why our ideas and our approach are more acceptable and why they should be more acceptable to the average citizen.” This is some straight talk and if Ridge’s opinion was shared by more in the Republican Party they would not be a party looking for an identity.