Jeremiah Wright – is he right?

I’m reading with interest the controversy over Obama’s minister, Jeremiah Wright.  Much of the controversy seems to be whether he is “anti-American” or racist.  I think not.

First, let me say that I am neither black nor Christian.  I don’t come from either of those traditions, nor do I embrace any religious tradition (in fact, I am a non-believer).  But, I do think that we, as a nation, have deluded ourselves on several major issues – issues that Rev. Wright points out (with much criticism).

1) The US commits terrorism.  What is terrorism?  Why is it different from our acts?  Does anyone think that our mortal enemies would have crashed passenger jetliners into buildings if they had B-52’s?  Of course not.  They would have sat there at a comfortable 45,000 feet pushing buttons and dropping tons of bombs.  That’s what we do to them.  Why is our action justified and theirs not?  I simply don’t understand.

2) The US committed sins against blacks.  Yes.  This is obvious.  It still does.  Duh.

3) The government has conspired to keep the black community down.  Duh, again…  of course they have.

This stuff is obvious.  The problem is that no one wants to hear it.  That’s it.

EE

Shake that Booty in the Name of the Lord

OK… so I’m listening to Carribean Gospel Radio on iTunes and this song comes on with a chorus of “Shake that Booty in the Name of the Lord.”  This is the way that religion, if it has any value at all, should exist.  To free up the inner soul, the inner emotion – not to constrain.

Note that religion to me has little, if anything, to do with actual social mores.  I, for one, am a reasonably good person (with a few faults, but greed and avarace aren’t part of it).  My family are all good people, too.  We do it without religion (yes, my children are being brought up without religious structure).   My spouse is a believer, but I am not.

But then again, I don’t identify with biblical suffering.  My bush never burned.  I never hung on any cross. I didn’t have to slay my firstborn. This stuff has little relevance, in my mind, to the modern world.

What does have relevance is the possibility of waking up long-sleeping parts of me, the parts that do respond to group emotions, the parts that do want to feel a sense of community, the parts that want to “Shake My Booty” – maybe not in the name of the lord, but shake it anyhow.

That is, if my back goes back in

Health Care Crisis (or is that Health Care Circus)

At one point, I worked for a health insurer (actually, I’ve worked for several).  The most obnoxious among them has a political action committee for its employees dedicated to “preserving choice” in the health care system.

But who’s choice?  Certainly, not the individual’s choice, in the main.  No, it is the choice of the large employers, mostly.  

And then there is the retroactive disenrollment (recision for the uninitiated).  That’s where they sell someone a policy, wait for them to get sick, then cancel the policy retroactively to its issuance and seek to get the money back.  And yes, it is a programmatic effort.

Consumers claim that the applications are complex and misleading (they are).  Insurers claim that the policy holders lie (some do).  But this is a mess – and really goes to the heart of insurance “choice.”  Now we know who has the choice – the people who sell the policy and then, two years later, try to claim a mulligan.

And privatization is good, right?  I can’t wait for socialism to return!

Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

I started the election cycle a solid fan of Hillary Clinton.  After all, my life was better during the Clinton years than any years since, and since I have two kids, I would want the improvements in their lives to occur too.  Plus, I really think we need single-payer health care (more on that in another post) and believe that she’s the only one who could bring that home.

But Hillary couldn’t have done a better job of botching a campaign.  This will go down in history as one of the worst campaigns ever – and now I’m a solid fan of Mr. Obama.

What did she do wrong?  

1. Pandered to the “core” democratic base – people that most of the country feels a certain amount of contempt for – union bosses, entertainment execs, party hacks.
2. Blown every opportunity to benefit from an Obama gaffe.  The latest one – Bittergate – is a perfect example.  Whether or not the next-day quaffing of a beer in a bar was pre-planned, it looked ridiculously staged.
3. Tried to pull a Dubya – by pretending to sound like a stupid white lady.  Shit, I expect her to show her sagging back tatoo soon – maybe a heart with an arrow through it, maybe some “wings.” (time to ask LA Ink whether they can quickly “age” a tatt.  Bush, for all his faults, is exceptional at sounding like a dumb redneck.  (note that I believe that Bush is as dumb as a fox – and that the Dems have consistently made the mistake of thinking he’s stupid – he isn’t).
4. Forgot to elevate the debate.  What Obama does brilliantly is pull people up by their brains.  More than anything, this country needs to start using those silly little organs to solve our problems.  Being pulled up by the brain is a good thing.

Hopefully, the final stake will be driven through the heart of the Clinton campaign by the good people of Pennsylvania.  Then we will be able to see how absolutely devoid of ideas and a plan Mr. McCain is.

EE

Sitting on a Bench in Delray

Every time I see John McCain on television, I think about my time in Florida, surrounded by the geriatric crowd.  Sure, they make him up from the front – a little rouge to make the cheeks look healthy, a touch-up here and there, etc.

But when you catch a glimpse of him from behind, you see a guy who should be waiting for a bus in Delray Beach, Florida.  Someone who, if is “plumbing” still works, will get casseroles brought to him nightly, someone who drives a white Grand Marquis – and peers through the space between the dashboard and the top of the steering wheel.

I’m sure that Washington’s restaurants are bracing for the onslaught of 4pm diners – after all, even state dinners will be early-bird specials.  Certainly, McCain will win the “Wal-Mart Greeter” vote – but the rest of us?  No.

The other thing is that McCain spent a few years in Hanoi.  No doubt, he was a military hero – but have you seen the Manchurian Candidate?  Watch the first one… and ponder the possibilities.

Is this what we want for President?

Intelligent Design 42, Divinity 0

I have always found intelligent design to be a fascinating theory.  Of course, I recognize that it is a subterfuge for creationists and I am, by no means, a creationist.  That being said, what I love about the theory is where it begins – after the determination of who the “creator” is – allowing pretty much any intelligent being to be the originator of life as we know it.

In the Los Angeles Times, on April 18, there was a really interesting Op Ed piece by Richard Dawkins on intelligent design.  The link can be found here.  In the piece, Prof. Dawkins asserts that the proponents of intelligent design are intellectually dishonest – because they, and everyone else, knows that “god” is the creators.  Prof. Dawkins then goes on to say:

“Nevertheless, despite their notorious dishonesty, I sometimes hand an olive branch to these people by pretending to take their “space aliens” political ploy seriously. Unrealistic as the space alien theory is, it constitutes intelligent design’s best shot.” 

I have long said that intelligent design, when combined with Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” provides the closest thing to truth that we have seen on this planet so far.  Prof. Dawkins, in his excellent piece, gives academic credence to my position.

I would take the kind professor’s position a step farther, however, and point to the fact that intelligent design’s simple assertion, while not answering the question, “Is there a god,” renders the inquiry rather meaningless.  Whether there is or not, whether it was a complex intelligence or a simple set of coincidences, the quest, itself, becomes meaningless and a waste of human capital.

Think about it – a world where we would be forced to acknowledge that we kill and maim, not in gods name, but simply because we choose to.  A world where we recognize that “the future is now” and that we better start doing something about it.  A world where salvation comes solely from our own acts – not from a pope, a rabbi, a mullah or a priest.  

Maybe then we will stop wasting our Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays justifying our cruel, greedy and violent behavior of the prior week – instead, we’d simply have to live with it – and with ourselves.   Maybe then peace would have a chance.