Memorial Day is More than “the Unofficial Start of Summer”

Yesterday a friend of mine asked me where were the fireworks?  I said fireworks are for the Fourth of July a day of celebration. Memorial Day is a day of remembrance. It is supposed to be a somber day, but like all holidays it has lost its meaning to so many.  My mother used to visit my Father’s grave before she did anything on Memorial Day. She would put her flag out in front of the house. Yes, she would go to cookouts, but my father’s memory was front and center on her mind. Now when we hear Memorial Day it is followed by the words “the unofficial start of summer.” We are more likely to go to a Memorial Day sale than to a Memorial Day service.  We are simply to busy texting, twittering or posting to take a little time, and reflect on those who gave their lives so we could text, twitter and post. This is not meant as a chastisement because I am living in the glass house. So I am in no position to throw a stone. So today before you heat up the grill just take a little time to think of the 5461 lives lost in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Their sacrifice must not be forgotten.

If the President wants his Kids off Limits should he Talk About Them?

Glenn Beck is taking the heat for comments he made about the President’s daughters, and rightfully so. The question I would ask is if the kids are off limits should the president use them in illustrations? In this case the president said his 11 year old daughter asked him if they had filled the hole yet. She was talking about the gulf oil spill. When he brings up the children it helps humanize him, and it shows that the catastrophe is affecting his personal life, so the children do offer him political points. Tell me can he have it both ways? Should they be off limits no matter no what?

Glenn Beck Mocks the President’s Daughter and then Issues An Apology…What’s New

I once heard Glenn Beck tell a story that actually humanized him to me. He told a story of being at a play and seeing the star of the Sopranos, James Gandolfini. He was excited to meet the star. Beck had his daughter with him at the time. He said when he went to the star Gandolfini said “so the devil actually goes to plays”. Beck said he was hurt that the star would insult him in front of his child, but this week Beck took pleasure in insulting President Obama’s daughter Malia. In a press conference this week the president said his daughter asked him if “he filled the hole yet”, in reference to the oil spill. Beck said “Is that’s their — that’s the level of their education, that they’re coming to — they’re coming to daddy and saying ‘Daddy, did you plug the hole yet?’” Plug the hole!” Later in the 4-minute segment, Beck turned the routine toward Obama’s race. “Why do you hate black people so much?” he said, still imitating Malia in a baby voice. “I’m part white, honey,” Gray responded in the voice of the president.”* Keep in mind Beck is the same guy that has chastised how the media has covered the family of Sarah Palin, and he has said political families should be off limits, but he has attacked Obama’s daughters. Since his antics have been criticized he has issued the obligatory apology. Beck apologized on his website. He said “I broke my own rule about leaving kids out of political debates. The children of public figures should be left on the sidelines. It was a stupid mistake and I apologize — and as a dad I should have known better.” It was not only stupid it was mean, and now I think Gandolfini had it right.  

*aol

Gary Coleman dead at 42

I first saw Gary Coleman doing commercials for a local Chicago bank in the late 70s. I don’t remember any of the content of the commercial, but I do remember his delightful giggle. A few years later he hit the big time and was starring the show Different Strokes. It is sad when you hit your stride as a kid and the rest of your life seems to be like a rollercoaster descending down hill.  He seemed to grow up to become a bitter old man who was not old at all. The things that people found endearing and appealing when he was a child were the things that people poked fun about when he became an adult. He tried to hold on to fame as an adult, but he simply became infamous. He said he admired Sidney Poiter and he wanted to be taken seriously as an actor but that never happened. He will probably be remembered for his catch phrase “what you talking about Willis?” and that’s a memory that can still make me smile.

Finally, President Obama Speaks out on the Oil mess

Like the rest of the world I  have watched the oil leak into the gulf. I have wondered why would we allow a company to conduct a business with no real disaster plan. President Obama and his cabinet have repeated on numerous occasions that the spill was BP’s fault and they would pay for the clean up, but the spill is the current problem. Today, the president defiantly met with the press and said the buck stops with him. I like many Americans was disappointed that it took so long for him to make this kind of declarative statement. No one with any sense expects him to don a wet suit and jump in with a plug, but this is not a situation that can be delegated to a corporation or to a cabinet member. We  needed our leader to speak up, and speak loudly and finally he did just that.

Fox news Bill O’Reilly tells Black Guest he looks like a “cocaine dealer”

Dr. Marc Lamont Hill was appearing on the O’Reilly Factor to discuss the president’s plan to send 1200 troups to the Mexican border. In the course of the discussion Bill O’Reilly said to his guest that he looked like a “cocaine dealer”. Hill replied that o’Reilly looked like a “cocaine user.” Why did O’Reilly feel the need to make this remark? Who knows, but Hill should have learned to keep away from Fox News along time ago. After all he was once a Fox News contributor and they fired him, and he found out about his termination from the press. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me, appear on Fox News is just foolish.

American Idol is going to Miss what Simon Says

Last night Lee Dewyze won this cycle of American idol. This season featured a pageant of mediocrity. On a weekly basis they stepped up to the microphone and boldly delivered another amazing dose of average. So finally mercifully it has come to an end, but the bigger deal is that Simon Cowell signed off the show. Simon Cowell made the insufferable bearable. You could always depend on him to cut through the nonsense and say what you were thinking. Yes, sometimes he could be too brutal, but the bottomline is this show is about making a star and that is not an easy task. Cowell provided tough love and no one can replace his voice of truth. Now we are left with “Yo dog” Randy, Smiling Ellen and the other one whose name escapes me, and that is simply not enough to bring this viewer back. The truth is they lost me early in the season. This is a show that introduced us to Fantasisa, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson Ruben Studdard, Chris Daughtry, Clay Aiken, Adam Lambert and Jordan Sparks. We saw raw talent evolve into real stars, but this year we were encouraged to simply cheer for raw, and hope that one day it would reach fruition. So for me it is good bye to Simon and good bye to American Idol.

Former Chicago Police Lt. Jon Burge Goes On Trial

I grew up in Chicago and today I read an article on www.newsone.com about former Chicago top cop Jon Burge. Burge was and still is an imposing figure. For years he was allowed to run amok and torture prisoners without fear of reprisals. Prisoners complained, but their complaints fell on deaf ears. Burge seemed cloaked in Teflon, but finally Patrick Fitzgerald is bringing federal charges against him.  Now Burge is an old man, but that should not be an issue. We have seen in recent years men prosecuted for crimes committed during World War II and the civil rights era, and it is a good thing. It is never too late to right a wrong, and Burge led a corrupt department and finally he is being held accountable for his own criminal behavior.

Columbia Valedictorian Steals Comedian Patton Oswalt Speech

Columbia University is one of the nation’s premier institutions.  These students represent some of the brightest students in the nation, but this year’s valedictorian, Brian Corman,  did something really stupid. He stole passages of his speech from comedian Patton Oswalt.  Oswalt said that Corman has issued and apology. Oswalt went on to say “Brian Corman flat-out admitted his thievery, his stupidity. Owned it all. Good man. Still makes me wonder what he might have done to become valedictorian — I mean, if he’s willing to steal material for something as inconsequential as a speech, how rubbery did his boundaries become when his GPA and future career were on the line? Oh well.”*  Oswalt makes an interesting point. If Corman did this what else would he do and what else has he done? We are witnessing a troubling trend. We live in the Information Age and it is so easy to catch people who circumvent the rules. We see this so often in the political arena, but it starts early and this defines this student more than his GPA. He will forever be the valedictorian that stole his speech from a funny man. What a legacy. It would have been so easy to give attribution to the comedian, but Corman decided to deceive the crowd. He probably thought nothing of it and that is the real shame.  (Plagiarized portion starts at the 38:36 mark)

*Huffington Post

Miami Road signs read: No Latinos, No Tacos

May 25, 2010|By Michael Turnbell, Sun Sentinel It’s graffiti for the digital age and, apparently, a new phenomenon with pranksters who tamper with roadside electronic signs around the country and reprogram them with their own messages. South Florida was the latest target sometime overnight Monday when somebody hacked into a portable message sign on the northbound Palmetto Expressway in Miami-Dade County. The sign should’ve warned drivers that Northwest 25th Street was closed to traffic. Instead, the sign flashed “No Latinos. No Tacos.” The website actually provides the reader with a tutorial on how to hack into the system.