1. Obama and race. We've been hearing for a while now that Obama's campaign represents something new...as in change...that amorphous thing that crops up every 4 years...except when the Dems are the incumbents. Specifically, the idea here is that he is the first "post-racial" candidate. I've touched on race-relations before, so I'm not going to re-hash that whole thought....but there are a few things that need to be said:
A. Obama is anything but a "post-racial" candidate. 90% of African-American voters vote for him, 75% of Hispanic voters vote against him....the only folks split are the Caucasian voters. So...one of two things is true: 1. White voters determine what is and is not "post-racial", and are held to a different standard...or 2. He is very much a racial candidate, by statistical definition.
B. In this whole Rev. Wright fiasco there is one thing that struck me....mainly, that he rolled his grandma under the bus as a racist. Now....she might have said some derogatory things with a racially prejudiced charge...and I would never defend such things. However, in doing so, he equated a statement made 40 years ago to something said in a pulpit some 3 years ago...accusing the U.S. government of creating AIDS for genocidal purposes in the Black Community. Unbelievable....
C. I Think I would like Obama as a person, and he is better than this. As I've written here before, we are in this American experiment together, but to have an honest discussion, we need honest participants.
2. March Madness. Not much to say other than this annual phenomenon always surprises...and it shouldn't. This year Davidson and Western Kentucky are the 'Cinderellas'... and madness has ensued.
3. Theatre. No...I'm not going to write anything about the proper theatre...though I am due to attend the opera soon, and am viscerally excited. No, this is about celluloid theatre. Namely movies that I have seen recently and had forgotten for a time. First, The Sound of Music was on last night...and wow...what a great movie....they truly do not make'em like that anymore. Then today...I saw Bull Durham ... say what you want about Kevin Costner... and most of it would be accurate...but that movie is darn good. One thing about that guy...he can make a good baseball movie.
4. Illegal immigration and Crime. On March 3 of this year Jamiel Shaw, 17, was shot and killed by an illegal Mexican immigrant in L.A. This Mexican citizen was one day removed from getting out of jail for a felony weapons charge. Shaw was, by most accounts, a decent student...and was college bound, as Rutgers and Stanford were offering football scholarships. So...think about this....a Mexican citizen enters this country illegally, joins a gang, is arrested on a felony weapons charge(we pay the taxes for his stay, by the way), is released...but not to ICE...but on the streets...then murders an American citizen....all because the Mayor of L.A. designated the city as an "sanctuary city". So...they protect Mexican citizens...but not American citizens? Does anyone in L.A. not see the disconnect here? Oh...I forgot to mention that Shaw's mom is in Iraq serving our country.
5. Tiger Woods and "greatness". Woods just lost for the first time in 7 tournaments. He played...by his standards...abysmally...yet, finished on the leader board. Make no mistake....Tiger is poised to do something amazing...historical...unprecedented, these next few years. Folks, when greatness appears, stop...take notice...watch...appreciate.
6. Democrats as "the party of the people"? I have a few pithy thoughts here:
a. Is it not poetic that the supposed "party of the people" is about to possibly nullify all of the cast primary votes...in favor of unelected "superdelegates"...aka party officials? Almost a Homeric tragedy...
b. Why can't Florida Dems hold a freaking election? Seriously....
7. Finally, Music. I see that Dr. Z had a very nice post below...which I will get to in due time. But...I have to say something about the new Allison Krauss and Robert Plant production. To say I was skeptical...would seriously underestimate my feelings at the time. To say that I now am a fan...would egregiously underestimate my feelings. Folks, it is that damn good.
Also, Happy Belated Easter. Christ be with you...that is my prayer.
3 comments:
Sounds great!
Haven't been here in awhile. Good to see things are still up and running. A few thoughts (not in any particular order):
1) March Madness: The Cinderellas are done. Davidson is toast, so is WKU. Its time for a dose of reality for all the higher-seeded haters.
2) Speaking of basketball: The Vols will not make it to the Final Four. Also, there are credible rumors that Indiana will be contacting Bruce Pearl shortly after Tennessee is done.
3) Obama: A month ago I was encouraged by the direction in which race and politics were moving within the Democratic Party. It was misguided. Obama's failures still reflect the unfortunate lack of progress within the black community. Even though I would not have voted for him, I wanted to believe that African Americans were unloading the ideology of "victimization" and moving forward.
4) Baseball: I love the Japanese. They believe in a game where pitchers take pride in completing games and ringing up K's. Take Dice K, for example. The guy threw 95 pitches in six innings (59 in the first two innings) and gave up 2 runs. After the game, he apologized to the fans for not "going deep" into the game. Name the last American pitcher (or coach) that thought going six-deep was an embarrassment.
1. March Madness - I agree it's midnight in Western Kentucky, but I'm beginning to think Stephen Curry is tone deaf and someone forgot to tell him that he's too small to carry Davidson to the final four...Not saying I think that will happen...I'm just saying they play smart, rotate well on defense, and have an absolutely dead-eye shooter...You never know
2.As for the Vols...I wouldn't count anybody out that's left at this point because no one is unbeatable...Not even UNC..In fact many a team has proven that if you just let Hansborough get his (cause he's going to anyway) and shut everybody else down, they're quite beatable.
3. Obama - All I'll say is this...I work with a woman who is deeply infatuated with Obama. She talks about him all day...literally. I stay away from these conversations because I know better than to inject my very different opinion without it being clearly asked for...Well, yesterday she was talking about the Obama aide that compared Bill Clinton to McCarthy. She and anotherlady said they both didn't understand why someone would call that innacurate.Then the other said "Who is McCarthy?"...I couldn't help myself...So I explained to her who McCarthy was and that he is known for working to expose the socialist infiltration in the State Dept. to which she,a middle-aged highly motivated Obama voter, looked me dead in the eye and said "What's a socialist?"...I kid you not.
4. Imported Baseball - I love the Japanese players to, particularly Ichiro cause I'm not much of a power buff...I love the guys that hit for average and steal bases...
5. Krauss and Plant' album is very good...I've been saying that. No one has been listening.
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