Unfiltered Opinion

Can Obama Or McCain Solve This Crisis?

Today, a school district in Dallas, TX fired 375 teachers because the district is facing a $84 million dollar shortfall in their budget. This move has put teachers on the unemployment line in a horrible economy and it has tossed the educational welfare for the students by the wayside.

These are the kinds of financial problems that many cities in this country are facing on a daily basis.  Now I want someone to tell me what - if anything - can Barack Obama or John McCain do about this?  Neither one of them have a proposal in their economic bag of lies that will solve these types of problems.  For once, I would like a candidate tell the public the truth.  I want a candidate to say that there is nothing the federal government can do about this mess.  We did not cause it nor should we be expected to fix it.  However, we will try to help assess the situation and see what really happened. 

I would vote for the candidate that told the Dallas school district that they need to look at themselves in the mirror and figure out what happened.  I guarantee the district wasted money somewhere down the line.  They need to start at the top of the budget and work their way down.  Let's start with the salaries of the administrators and the expenditures for extracurricular activities. 

Laying off teachers should be the last move any district has to make.  I'm sure that's one thing that Obama and McCain can agree on. 

This Is Why The Death Penalty Is Needed

This poor 12 year old girl is dead because she has consistently been betrayed by those people she should be able to trust. I'm not going to say much about this case because I find it so repulsive and it makes me so angry. However, it is cases like this that make me a proponent for the death penalty. I don't want to hear any opponents of the death penalty try to convince me otherwise.  Criminals like this girl's uncle, rapists, murderers, etc. cannot be rehabilitated.  They just sit in prison - eating, sleeping and god knows what else - at the tax payers expense.  These hateful convicts just bide their time waiting until they can get out of prison and prey upon other innocent victims. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see innocent people prosecuted and put on death row.  I believe in the justice system and I think it has its problems that need to be addressed and corrected. I would like to see DNA tests made available for those prisoners whom it may exonerate. At the same time, I believe in justice for the victims and their families.  For example, if a man rapes a woman, kills her husband and child, there is no way that person should be allowed to sit in a jail cell.  How is it fair that the convicted killer is allowed to live and ponder what he's going to do the next day, whereas the woman is left with only the portraits of her family on the fireplace mantle?

I would be more than willing to start the electric chair or inject the poisons into their bodies.  These hardened criminals do not deserve to live in this society because they have chosen to take a part in destroying this society.  I will admit the death penalty is a harsh and final punishment.  However, I will also argue that it is a just and needed tool for justice.

So Much For Party Unity

It's no secret that many moderate and conservative Democrats are not crazy about a possible Barack Obama presidency. Nevertheless, the fact is that the majority of them would rather have Obama as President than John McCain. However, Obama is too liberal for these people and they fear that if he is elected President then the Republicans will surely return to the White House in four years.

There are idiots in each party, but not too many of them have made ignorant comments in public like those made by Tennessee Democratic Party executive Fred Hobbs. This fool said, "he (Obama) may be terrorist connected for all I can tell." You can see more of the statement in the following video.



This is the kind of crap Obama is going to have to fight on a daily basis. I'm not an Obama supporter, but some of these anti-Obama people are not too intelligent. It's one thing for them to fear an Obama presidency because of his expected policies. However, it's another thing to fear the man to the extent that they are just making stuff up about him that have no basis in reality.

Just Because You Return It Does Not Mean That You Did Not Steal It

School districts across the country are financially strapped as they continue to try and educate the nation's children. Imagine the concern, Mesquite High School had when their cameras and computers started disappearing for no reason. The equipment was disappearing because the school's athletic coordinator and football coach was stealing it. Police say Steve Halpin would take the stolen items to a pawn shop and later buy them back to replace at the school. Halpin is lucky that the school district allowed him to slither into retirement instead of prosecuting him. However the district is now coming under intense scrutiny and pressure for their handling of the episode.

It's obvious that Halpin was obviously was having some financial issues that pushed him to do what he did. There are a lot of people in this country like Halpin who have made decisions that have put them and their families in tight financial situations. Nevertheless, there is no excuse to ever steal school equipment. I'm sure Halpin is a good man who found himself on the brink for some reason. He probably did not think he was stealing because he always intended to return the equipment. Financial stress has caused plenty of people to lie to themselves and commit irrational acts that they would not usually do. Unfortunately, Halpin is no different.

This Could Only Happen In California

Only in California would a federal judge maintain a sexually explicit website while he is still sitting on the bench. This is what Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has been doing in his private time. Kozinski said that he thought that his site was private and could not be viewed by the public. Kozinski is obviously an intelligent man in the legal world, but he has proved to be devoid of any common sense. Why would a man in his position even take a risk like this? Are you telling me that is craving for sexual perversity outweighed any brain wave telling him that it was a bad idea for a federal judge to own a site that depicted borderline pornographic pictures?

"Among the sexually explicit material on his site that he defended as humorous were two photos. In   one, a young man is bent over in a chair and performing fellatio on himself. In the other, two women aresitting in what appears to be a cafe with their skirts hiked up to reveal their pubic hair and genitalia.  Behind them is a sign reading "Bush for President." "That is a funny joke," Kozinski said.

The only reason Kozinski's site came to light is because he is presiding over an obscenity trial in L.A. that involves hours of hard-core fetish material. The judge has offered to remove himself from the trial, but the prosecutors and defense did not immediately object to him staying on the case. However, Kozinski needs to do the right thing and recuse himself from the trial. He should not wait to be asked to leave; he should leave because it's the right thing to do.

He Can't Do Any Worse Than Detroit's Mayor

This week a 19 year old college freshman was elected mayor of Muskogee, Oklahoma.  John Tyler Hammonds, is a "self-admitted gamer" who attends the University of Oklahoma. Since this article did not mention sports, I am guessing a "gamer" is someone who likes to play video games. When I was growing up, we used to say stuff like, "that kid is a gamer". That basically meant that the kid was an athlete who maximized his talent and left everything on the field or court.  I guess times have changed. Nevertheless, I think it is good that a young person, who could be doing a million other things, decided to be a public servant. Unfortunately, for Hammons, the position does not pay, so he will still have to get a student loan or scholarship to help pay for his tuition. 

He Finally Gets The Message

Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann finally resigned from his position.  Dann had been under pressure to resign from most members of the Ohio Democratic power structure since he admitted to having an extramarital affair with an employee.  There have also been charges of sexual harassment from other employees in his office. 

At least disgraced politicians like former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and Dann have the decency to resign their positions of power instead of hanging on like the petulant flop Mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick.  I will celebrate the day he is kicked out of the mayor's mansion and I don't even live in Detroit.

Don't Let Your Children Live In Dallas

A strip club in Dallas, Texas is losing its license for 30 days for allowing a 12 year old girl to perform in their club for two weeks.  I can't believe the club is only losing its license for 30 days - what's up with that?  The owner of the club is not even going to jail for one day.  I'm glad to see that Dallas knows how to prevent perverts from exploiting children in their adult businesses.

The Dallas City Council decided to change the ordinance that govern the strip clubs after they realized that the existing law was weak.

"Last month, the Dallas City Council voted to tighten its ordinance regulating the operation of sexually businesses after WFAA-TV and The Dallas Morning News reported that employing someone under the age of 18 wasn’t enough to shut down a strip club."

Dallas will now shut a strip club down for a whole year if they use an underage dancer.  What kind of law is that?  I've got an idea - how about shutting the club down forever. 

My problem with this situation is that Dallas is saying that if you have a under-aged girl stripping in your club your license will be revoked for a year - that's it.  Where's the jail time for the owner of the club?  I guarantee you that if a man filmed some 12 year old girl stripping in his house he would get some serious jail time - as he should.  The authorities would not care if she misled him about her age.  The adult needs to act like the adult.

It's the strip club owner's responsibility to know the ages of his dancers and other employees.  There should be no excuses for any lapse in judgment.  The club owner failed in his duties as an employer and the city of Dallas has failed in its duties to protect its youngest residents.

The North Carolina GOP Anti-Obama Ad Is Not Racist

I have finally viewed the controversial television ad sponsored by the North Carolina Republican Party.  What's the big deal?  I just don't get what the uproar is all about.  Why are so many people upset over the content of this weak 40 second ad?  The North Carolina GOP is using the incedinary clip of Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright spewing hateful words about America.  A clip of the ad is shown below.

The Republicans are trying to tie the Democratic candidates for governor to Obama and Wright saying that they are "too extreme" for North Carolina. The Republicans are also trying to raise some money too.  John McCain and the Republican National Committee have criticized the ad, but that has not stopped the North Carolina Republican Party from trying to air it.

I have viewed the ad several times and I still don't get the uproar.  I have finally come to the conclusion that this ad is about more than the inclusion of the clips of the Wright sermon.  Even if the clip of his sermon is taken out of context, it is still Wright's words coming out of his mouth.  I believe that more people are upset that the ad shows a picture of Obama with his arms around a white woman - Democratic candidate for governor, Bev Perdue. 

If this is what people are upset about than I think that says more about them than it says about the ad itself.  Now, I will admit that there are still a lot of people who still cringe at the sight of a black man any where near a white woman - so what.  What happened to the new mythical post-racial generation that was supposed to be taking over the United States?

If Obama believes this ad is racist then he needs to say so and explain why he feels this way.  However that is not what Obama and his campaign team likes to do.  They like to let their media supporters stir the racist accusations, so Obama never has to explain anything.  This is one of the things that has always annoyed me about Obama.  He could easily come out and say that the ad was stupid and the Wright clip was taken out of context again.  Obama could also do a lot of good by saying that he did not believe the ad was racist because he was pictured with his arm around a white woman.  He could continue to say that he has a lot of white supporters who he has given hugs to and there is nothing wrong with that.

I need someone to tell me - a black man - how this ad is racist.  I thought it was weak, but not racist. 

McCain better be careful about his criticism of this ad.  Before he starts apologizing for everything a Republican says that may or may not put Obama in a bad light.  McCain better go talk to his buddy Hillary Clinton about  what happens if you run a campaign that is overly sensitive towards Obama.  McCain and the GOP better wake before they find themselves in the same losing position Clinton finds herself in.

The campaign between Obama and Clinton and now Obama and McCain is funny too watch.  Clinton, McCain and their supporters are so afraid to say any thing about Obama out of fear of being called a racist.  Their actions remind me of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine had a biracial boyfriend and no one really was comfortable talking about him.  Once again, Obama has got another candidate on the defensive when he has no reason to be.

Thanks For The Apology, But.......

The Florida state legislature has apologized for its role in slavery.  The Miami Herald article included the following:

'The Legislature expresses its profound regret for Florida's role in sanctioning and perpetuating involuntary servitude upon generations of African slaves,'' said the resolution, sponsored by black lawmakers."

Before, I go on any further, why does the reporter have to write  "black lawmakers"?  Why can't the reporter just say "lawmaker"?  Are there articles that say "white lawmakers"?  Maybe the media should start saying "biracial lawmakers"?  Oops, I forgot the rule - if you have at least one parent that is black, than the child is automatically black, not biracial.  Sorry - I digress - back to the apology.

I know some blacks, especially older blacks, have always felt the need for states, companies, schools, etc. to apologize for the role they played in slavery.  I have never understood why the apology was needed. I could understand if it was the slave master apologizing to the slaves or children of the slaves.  I'm glad the apology makes some blacks feel better, but it doesn't do anything for me.

This is an example of some legislators apologizing for something that they had nothing to do with.  Is it the white person's fault if his family tree includes a relative who owned or profited from the slave trade? I don't think so.  I am definitely not apologizing if someone combed my family tree and found out that I am descended from one of the tribes in Africa who sold slaves to Europeans.  That's what's wrong with this country now. Everyone is apologizing for anything that is said or done that may upset or offend someone.  It's gotten to the point, I don't even know who is sincere when they do apologize.

Now, I hope these "black lawmakers" can pass some legislation that really will help the community - I mean the  "black community".  The last time I checked this resolution is not going to stop the flow of black males joining gangs and going to jail. 

By the way, what is wrong with Republican Governor Charlie Crist?  When asked about reparations, Crist did not shoot the idea down.  As a matter of fact, he seemed open to the idea, when he said, "if we can determine descendancy, certainly.''  Blacks will never receive reparations for the tragedy of slavery.  I would settle for the forty acres and a mule.  However, if Florida decides to get in the reparation business, I will definitely make a move to the Sunshine State.  I do have student loans to pay back.