Proud To Be An American

Just ten years ago, in June 1998, James Byrd Jr., an African American, was dragged to his death by three white men in Texas. Worse, the three assholes who perpetrated this heinous crime dumped Byrd’s mutilated remains in a black cemetery and then went to a barbecue.

I remember hearing about this when it happened and thinking “Man, is our country that shitty where someone can get dragged to his death merely because of the color of his skin?”

Hey, it was not the white Jewish liberal guilt that my mom always instilled in me – I have voted republican more times than my mom would like (not for Dubya, though) – but it was that I think that I have a semblance of decency in me so that I can look beyond the color of someone’s skin in judging them. I mean, let’s face it, there are assholes and idiots of all colors around not only this country but in this world.

The results of last night’s election doesn’t make me forget James Byrd but it makes me proud to be an American.

When Barack Obama made the keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention, I said to myself that this was a young man to watch (an aside – I am only two years older than him but he just seems younger).

It was expected when he declared his candidacy. I had hope back then but low expectations. Even before the economy went into the shitter the country wanted change; however, I did not think that the country would embrace Barack Obama.

What was unexpected was in January 2008 when “the black guy” trounced “the white lady” in the overwhelmingly white state of Iowa. Even cynics like me, who believe that all politics are the same, had to sit up and take notice.

As the divisive battle for the democratic nomination waged I remained amazed at Obama’s resiliency and his fortitude. His speech on race in March of this year won me over. His initial reluctance to give up his friend Jeremiah Wright gave way to a realization that his friend was wrong and he did not embrace what the man said. He even gave the man a chance to heal the wounds but the man became divisive.

In politics, I thought friends stay with friends by “spinning the truth”. Obama did not.

As Obama and Clinton fought on, my ceiling was set at the expectation of “how great would it be if we had our first African American presidential candidate.”

Never in my wildest dreams did I think he would be elected President. That was just too much to ask.

Now, I should point out that my choice for president was not made until after Labor Day.

I think John McCain is a decent and honorable man (and I hope Barack Obama asks him to be Secretary of State – I think his views ought to be listened to by an Obama administration).

But I could not vote for John McCain because of Sarah Palin. People are going to pick over the bones of McCain’s campaign to see what caused him to lose – for me, that was the reason. And I think that her presence on the ticket created the month of negative campaigning that John McCain engaged in.

So I dug in and supported Obama – never expecting last night’s outcome.

I spoke to a friend of mine, an ardent McCain supporter (because of issues like homeland security and taxes, not race) who called me at 10 o’clock last night. And while he was ready to throw in the towel after the devastating loss in Ohio, he did say that this win was “a good one” for America.

Last night our President – elect, echoing my friend, said “This victory belongs to you.”

How right both Obama and my friend are.

I find this shit funny

Hey, I'm voting for Obama but this stuff is still great.


I have no doubt it was a Typo but it makes me laugh

From the Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. - John McCain’s campaign on Wednesday angrily called for an end to questions about its review of Sarah Palin’s background, deriding a “faux media scandal designed to destroy the first female Republican nominee” for vice president.

“This nonsense is over,” declared senior campaign adviser Steve Schmidt in a written statement.

The statement stood out for its admission that Palin is under siege — it condemns “this vetting controversy” — and for its attempt to blunt questions about how rigorously McCain and his campaign explored the background of a candidate who may get the nation’s second most powerful job. It also suggested that Palin is a victim of gender bias in the media.

Yet the McCain campaign doesn't mention it's own faux media scandal designed to destroy the first African American presidential candidate from any party.

It would be funny if it weren't obvious that McCain has played the race card by not denouncing Jerome Corsi's vile book "Obama Nation."

Th old white guy lost my vote.

With Friends Like These????

"All of these articles about his boyhood in Indonesia and his life in
Hawaii are geared towards showing his background is diverse, multicultural and
putting that in a new light. Save it for 2050," Mark Penn, then Clinton's chief
strategist, wrote in a March 2007 memo, according to an article to be published
in the September edition of The Atlantic magazine.

"It also exposes a very strong weakness for him -- his roots to basic
American values and culture are at best limited. I cannot imagine America
electing a president during a time of war who is not at his center fundamentally
American in his thinking and in his values," Penn wrote, according to the
article by Joshua Green.

These are the words from a memo authored by Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's chief campaign strategist until April 2008 according to an article on CNN that werites about an article that is due to be published on Tuesday in The Atlantic Magazine.

Now, it is not so much Penn writing what he is writing. Politics is a disgusting business and only the lowest of the low go into it.

No, what is most disturbing about it is the fact that Hillary Clinton could not determine whether or not to use this. Shouldn't a "No" have come to mind immediately??

Of course, this is the same woman who once said of Mahatma Gandhi:

"He ran a gas station down in St. Louis."

'nuff said.