Unfiltered Opinion

A Tax Break Is Not Going To Help These People

Every four years, the American public is treated to the spectacle of seeing politicians promising tax breaks for various groups of citizens.  These tax breaks are supposed to put money into the pockets of the people who really need it. Well, I have a better idea. Instead of giving these people tax breaks, how about offering them all a year of free mental heath counseling. This would go a long way into helping some people face reality about why they are in the position they are in.

Case in point - have you seen the people who participate on Maury and the Jerry Springer show?  What kind of woman goes onto national television to tell the world that she has 8 kids and she has no idea who the father is?  Do you think she needs counseling or a few extra hundred dollars?  How about the married man who declares his undying love for his wife only to admit that he has cheated on her over 10 times?  Does he need counseling?  I'm more in favor of putting him out of his misery. 

These people are idiots who are selfish and do not care about making a fool out of themselves in front of the whole world. And for what - a free trip to New York?  I've been to the "The Big Apple" and it's not worth it.

Give these people counseling so they can get their lives together. Maybe then Jerry Springer and Maury Povich can rediscover their real talents and stop selling out to make the big dollars.

My Opinion On This Past Political Season

I am so glad that this political campaign season is finally over. I can't speak for everyone else nor do I pretend to, but I have been very disappointed the events of the last 2 years.  The candidates (Obama, Clinton, McCain, Biden, Romney, etc.) consistently displayed the ability to lie to the American public.  For once, I would like a politician to say, "You know what - there is nothing the government can do about this problem."  I would vote for that candidate in a minute.  Unfortunately, that person would not have a chance to win because the majority of the citizens in this country are intellectually lazy. They only read snippets of questionable information and listen to 30 second sound bytes that play loose with the truth.  There are very few citizens who challenge the politicians and the mainstream media who print their words and actions.

Now that the presidential elections are over the lies and misleading statements can desist for a while. Maybe Obama will think of a way to be really honest with the American public about the "change" he will be able to implement.  On the other hand, McCain can be well - McCain again.  The man who really is a maverick and not afraid to take on the system.  He can be the man the conservative Republicans have never trusted or liked.  It's too bad that McCain was not allowed by the Republican establishment to run for President.

I only hope that the 2012 campaign is better.  Contrary to popular belief, the politicians do not determine the kind of campaign that is acceptable for that season.  It is the American public who decides.  The people of this country have always had the power to dictate and change the environment of this country.  They just don't do it.

Sports And Politics Will Never Mix

I am what the pundits call an independent voter, swing voter, undecided voter, or whatever the new term is for this election.  It's no secret that I think both of these candidates are guilty of lying to the public just to get elected.  When I think of John McCain, I think of a man who has served his country for a long time.  McCain sees the presidency as the crowning achievement of his political career.

When I think of Barack Obama, I think of an intelligent opportunist who knows when to run for President.  Obama reminds me of a guy I went to junior high school with.  He really wanted to be president of the Student Council, but he knew that there was no way he could garner enough support to win the election.  However, the perfect storm of events happened that allowed him to enter the election and win before any one realized what happened.  The next day when the principal read the election results over the intercom system, everyone was shocked that he won. 

I don't have anything against Obama and I respect his life journey as he tells it. However, I cannot help but to think of "The Omen" and its main character, Damien, when I see him and his supporters.  I'm not saying that he's the Anti-Christ, but the man has shown the ability to convince millions of people that he represents revolutionary "change" and can solve the country's economic and social woes.

Maybe he can. Fox and Major League Baseball have agreed to start Game 6 of the World Series a few minutes later to accommodate Obama's expensive infomercial.  That's good for Obama, but he better hopes the Series does not go to a Game 6 because there will be a lot of people who will take the delay in a negative way.  Trust me when I say that no politician wants to be seen as the one who made the game start at a later time so he could browbeat you one more time with the same tired message.

Obama's Stadium Acceptance Speech Is A Mistake

Barack Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Convention have decided that Obama will give his speechaccepting the Democratic nomination for president at Invesco Field instead of the Pepsi Center in Denver. Invesco is a football stadium that can hold over 75,000 whereas the Pepsi Center is an arena that can seat approximately 20,000. 

Even though I am an independent voter and not a die hard supporter of Obama's campaign, I understand and appreciate their efforts to give members of the general public a chance to attend this event.  It will be interesting to see how the DNC and Obama's campaign distribute tickets to the stadium.  Even though 75,000 people can attend events at Invesco, there is no way there will be 75,000 members of the general public in those seats. The tickets for Obama's speech are going to be hot like tickets for the Super Bowl.  Only the chosen few will not have to stand in line to get tickets and I would not want to be a part of that process.

Logistics aside - I think Obama is making a mistake by giving his speech in the stadium instead of the arena. I will admit that I am not one of the so-called network political experts who would like you to believethey are so savvy about the convention process. However, I do have an opinion as to what looks "right", "cheesy" or "over the top". 

Everybody knows that Obama is going to give a great speech that night. I'm worried that the DNC and Obama's campaign are going to put on a huge spectacle that is going to turn off and irritate a lot of people watching on television. If I were handling the conditions for Obama's acceptance speech, I would keep his stage and the surrounding area simple and patriotic. Let Obama's speech do all of the heavy work. Please keep the obligatory camera shots of the VIP's to a minimum. For example, it's almost a given that if the Clinton's are in attendance, the camera will zero in on their facial expressions every 3 minutes. The networks would be better off showing the "real" people in the crowd. 

One more thing, please do not overplay the "JFK - MLK - BHO" connection that is being forced upon the American public by some members of the media and the Democratic establishment. I know we will have to view montages of King and JFK giving speeches. However, I do not want to see any kind of production that would have images of the icons smiling over Obama as he and his family wave to the crowd.  It would kind of remind me of the celebration at the end of the Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedimovie when during the party Luke Skywalker looks over and sees the images of Yoda, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi smiling at him. That would be creepy if anything similar to that was included before or after the speech. 

When the speech is over, I'm sure there will some fireworks and music playing.  That's fine and expected. I just hope they do not go over the top with the celebration. Everyone needs to remember - it's just Obama accepting the Democratic nomination for President. It's not like Obama is announcing that everyone's student loan debt has been retired.  Don't laugh - if he can walk on water then he can erase student loan debt.

The Worst Show On Television

Last night I watched an episode of "Under One Roof" featuring the old rapper Flavor Flav.  The only reason I watched the show was because Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens made an appearance on the show.  However, I knew there was a problem when Owens was the best actor on the program and the jokes were not funny.

This show goes to great lengths to reinforce racial stereotypes that minority groups have worked years to remove from the Hollywood culture.

"The new comedy's characters include a sex-crazed black man, a drunken Latino gardener and a grumpy Asian housekeeper who speaks in heavily accented broken English. "It is difficult to do much except watch, wide-eyed with disbelief," writes Times television critic Mary McNamara, who was able to see an episode despite the network's withholding of screeners, "as terrible jokes are made at the expense of just about every racial and socioeconomic group in America."

"Under One Roof" is a very bad version of "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" with weak actors who are not funny.  These actors should not be allowed to act on anything but pizza commercials.  I wish I could have been in the meeting when the creators of the show were pitching it to network executives.  Where is the network executive who thought a show with Flavor Flav in the starring role would be funny?  Flavor Flav is a walking minstrel show who does not care how he is projected on television as long as he's getting paid for his dismal efforts.

Even though this show is still on the air, I take great comfort in the fact that it will soon be canceled because no one is watching it.  If you have not had the misfortune of viewing the show then you are in luck.  Click on the video below and judge for yourself.  Warning - you will not laugh.

Justice Scalia - Unplugged

The most controversial member of the Supreme Court, Justice Antonin Scalia gave a rare, insightful and entertaining  interview to 60 Minutes.  The interview is located below in two parts.

Part One

Part Two

In a surprisingly candid interview, Scalia commented on his judicial philosophy and his opinion on the still controversial Gore v. Bush decision that allowed George W. Bush to become president.  He also made some interesting comments regarding the issue of abortion that some people may find interesting.  I also found it interesting that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one the most liberal justices on the court is one of his best friends.  This revelation may disappoint people who like to think that the justices are throwing darts at each other in the hallways of the Supreme Court.

People either like Scalia or hate Scalia.  I do not agree with many of his court opinions, but I have always enjoyed reading them.  It could be argued that his written opinions have always been, by far, the best on the bench.  When he eventually leaves the Supreme Court, a lot of people will be dancing in the streets.  No matter what people think of Scalia, there is no doubt that he will have left an indelible mark on the Court.

Oprah Winfrey Is Starting To Really Annoy Me

When I saw the article title, "Pregnant Man Tells Oprah: It's A Miracle", I thought it was one of those supermarket tabloid stories.  Since I had made my transactions for my fantasy baseball team for the night, I clicked the link to see how Oprah's name got caught up in this story. To be honest, I do not watch Oprah because she annoys me. Don't get me wrong, I respect her and all that she has accomplished.  I'm just not an Oprah fan. 

Now I am really annoyed because she allowed this "miracle" to be legitimized on her television show.  This is not a pregnant man.  This is a woman who decided she wanted to be a man, but kept her reproductive system intact because he/she wanted to have a child some day.  Where's the miracle?  Someone is going to have to explain this one to me. Never mind - I'm sure my wife will try and make me understand the "miracle" after she reads this posting.

A woman was injected with semen and she got pregnant.  I don't find that miraculous at all. I call it a successful injection.  It's a miracle if he/she was living alone in a studio apartment and woke up one morning and discovered that he/she were pregnant without having a relationship of any kind with any person.  Now that's a miracle.

I am a firm believer in the miracle of child birth.  After watching my wife deal with three pregnancies, I have no choice but to be a true believer.  The whole nine month process and the growth of the fetus still blows me away.  Therefore, I understand the excitement of the father/mother to be, but there is no need to go on a national media tour calling it a miracle. 

"The couple said they decided to go public with the pregnancy because they wanted to control the way the news got out. "We're just going to have the baby now," Nancy said. "If we have to, we'll go hide."

Who goes on Oprah's show and decides to hide later?  Would this really have been a big deal to the rest of the country?  The couple lives in Bend, Oregon.  I would have respected them more if they just said they wanted some publicity on a popular talk show that would produce some positive buzz about their future business ventures.

"Beatie is working on a book about his childhood, his mother's suicide and his life growing in Hawaii where, as a girl, he was a teen beauty pageant contestant and earned a martial arts black belt."

See - this experience is not a miracle at all.  This is a planned pregnancy.  I guarantee that when this book is completed, it will be also be publicized on Oprah's show.  She probably is working on securing the movie rights to the story. Despite the circus nature of it all, I hope that the couple has a successful pregnancy that results in a healthy child.  I do know one thing - that kid is going to have some interesting stories to tell when he or she gets older.

Law Professors Can Be Crazy Too

When I first read about the latest accusation of racism leveled against the Clinton campaign, I started laughing. It's based on the controversial Clinton campaign commercial regarding the issue of who you would rather have answering the phone at the White House during a national emergency.  Some people seem to think that 11-12 seconds into the commercial, the lettering on the child's pajamas form some sort of subliminal racial slur. This is crazy, but you judge for yourself.

    

The accusation is so ridiculous that Black people are not even talking about it.  I will admit I was disappointed to see that this ignorant crap was posted on a blog maintained by law professor, Ann Althouse.  She is supposed to be an intelligent person, but it seems that this is not the first time she has accused the Clinton campaign of having subliminal racist messages in their commercials.  Check out what the Rightwing Nuthouse had to say about the other stupid accusation Althouse leveled against the Clinton campaign and their reaction to it.

The Media Examines Itself

This article in the New York Times, examines the issue of alleged favoritism by the media towards Barack Obama.   I found some of the quotes interesting, in particular that of NBC political correspondent,  Andrea Mitchell.  I believe the alleged "double standard" in media coverage of the campaign between Obama and Clinton will be examined in more detail when the election is over.  Naturally, this conservative blogger had a different and interesting view on the subject.

I have already detailed in an earlier posting that I feel that there has been a double standard by the media in their coverage of Clinton and Obama.

The Farrakhan Issue - This Is Just The Beginning

During the debate tonight, moderator Tim Russert, questioned Barack Obama about the issue of Louis Farrakhan supporting his candidacy.  Farrakhan is the leader of the controversial black separatist group, the Nation of Islam. To his credit, Obama deftly handled the line of questioning even though it was clear he was not comfortable doing so.

Obama said he rejected Farrakhan's anti-semitic views, but I wish he had gone further and said he rejected the rest of the views of the Nation of Islam leader.  Here is a clip of the exchange:

I also thought Obama did a good job talking about the role of Jewish people in the civil rights movement.  Obama scored points with me by bringing this issue up and talking about how strained the relationship has become.  The strained relationship has lot to do with the well documented remarks of Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson and others.  Obama says he wants to repair the relationship between Black and Jewish people.  I sincerely hope he can accomplish this.