The Next Walter Cronkite

At the recent Anchorage Lincoln Day Dinner sponsored by the Alaska Republican Party, Gov. Sarah Palin discussed the "unprecedented level of media slant" which, according to her, was the primary reason for the Republican loss in the presidential election in November. During her speech, Palin stated that "Some in the media actually participated in not so much the 'who-what-where-when-why' objective reporting on candidates and positions, those five Ws that I learned when I had a journalism degree so many years ago in college, when the world of journalism was quite different than it is today".

Along with the above statement being a complete and absolute mess grammatically (not surprisingly), I love the fact that Palin attempts to provide the American public with her journalistic insight. And Lord knows that she is certainly an expert in this area:

1. Palin started her education at Hawai'i Pacific University but only attended as a freshman during the fall of 1982. During that time, she was enrolled in the business administration program.
2. Palin then transferred to North Idaho College, a two-year institution in Coeur d'Alene. She attended the school as a general studies major for two semesters, in the spring and fall of 1983.
3. From North Idaho College, Palin transferred to the University of Idaho, majoring in Journalism with an emphasis in Broadcast News. However, she only attended the school from the fall of 1984 to the spring of 1985.
4. Palin then returned to Alaska to attend Matanuska-Susitna College, another two-year institution, in the fall of 1985.
5. In the spring of 1986, Palin transferred again to the University of Idaho and eventually graduated in the spring of 1987. However, despite her journalism degree, she did not work for the college newspaper or campus television station.

I am just utterly amazed that the right wing still continues to complain about the so-called "biased mainstream liberal media". However, during the presidential campaign, that same media never once reported on (1) Sen. John McCain's massive immaturity, (2) his sham of a military career, (3) his exaggerated mistreatment as a POW, (4) his numerous extramarital affairs during his first marriage, (5) his current wife's previous drug addiction or (6) his distorted and dishonorable congressional career.

Everyone's Moral Compass

During his appearance last week on the "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", President Obama delivered this unfortunate comment regarding his recent bowling score of 129 at the White House: "It's like -- it was like Special Olympics or something." Now I wholeheartedly agree that President Obama's statement was extremely insensitive and inappropriate. And as the son of parents who work or have worked (my father retired recently) at a school for the mentally challenged and handicapped, I am completely fine with President Obama being publicly criticized by all sides. One of those individuals with criticism for President Obama was Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, whose son was born with Down Syndrome last year.

However, what I am not fine with are some of the things that came out of Palin's mouth. One of those comments was a statement released the day following President Obama's interview on "The Tonight Show": "This was a degrading remark about our world’s most precious and unique people." Actually, Sarah, considering the numerous groups of individuals which exist in the world, I don't really think that you can designate one as more precious and unique than another. I also won't put a great deal of stock in someone's supposed outrage if, in a video promoting this year's Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise, ID, Palin riffed on her shtick from the Republican National Convention. During that video, Palin asks if "You know what the difference is between a hockey mom and a Special Olympics hockey mom?". The answer: "Nothing."

As I mentioned in a previous posting that, although Special Olympics Alaska requested a budget of only $550,000 for the current fiscal year, Palin exercised her line item veto power to reduce that amount by fifty percent, to just $275,000. And while the state's Republican controlled legislature had already approved the $550,000 budget, Palin still implemented the budget cut.

Omission of the Week

The George W. Bush Presidential Center is currently being constructed on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX and will house the George W. Bush Presidential Library (who knew?) and Museum, the George W. Bush Policy Institute and the offices of the George W. Bush Foundation. On the web site for the center, a synopsis (http://www.georgewbushlibrary.com/administration) of Mr. Bush mentions his various "accomplishments" as President, including the wonderful No Child Left Behind Act. However, that same synopsis does not make one reference to the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Quote of the Day

"Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well housed, well warmed and well fed." -- Herman Melville

Hope and Change Is Finally Here!

Over the last couple of days, Chuck Norris (yes, that Chuck Norris) has been providing his opinion on the state of the nation and, in turn, truly been displaying his intelligence. Take a look for yourself:

• On "The Glenn Beck Program", Beck conducted a radio interview with Norris to promote Norris's new book, "Black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America". During that conversation, Norris uttered that "You know, Texas is a republic, you know...Yeah, we could break off from the union if we wanted to." NOTE: First of all, Texas is no longer a republic; in fact, Texas has not been a republic since 1846 when it gained statehood. With that being said, it is widely agreed upon amongst legal scholars that the U.S. Constitution does not permit unilateral secession but instead only a mutually agreed upon withdrawal. Nice try, Chuck.
• Later in that same interview, Norris stated that "I may run for president of Texas".
• Following the presidential theme, Norris remarked: "That need may be a reality sooner than we think. If not me, someone someday may again be running for president of the Lone Star state, if the state of the union continues to turn into the enemy of the state."

Wait a minute! Isn't the fact that Norris starred in "Walker, Texas Ranger" for eight years automatically make him an "enemy of the state"? With that being said, we probably shouldn't expect too much from Norris, considering the fact that he has delivered the following comment in the past: "[Evolution is] not real. It is not the way we got here. In fact, the life you see on this planet is really just a list of creatures God has allowed to live."

Exaggerated Complaint of the Week

During his recent visit to the United States, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown customarily exchanged gifts with President Obama. Brown presented President Obama with:

• An ornamental pen holder constructed from timber from the HMS Gannet, a Victorian anti-slavery boat and a sister ship to the HMS Resolute. (Timber from the HMS Resolute was used to craft multiple "resolute desks", with one of those desks currently sitting in the Oval Office of the White House.)
• A framed commission for the HMS Resolute.
• A first edition of the seven-volume biography of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill by Sir Martin Gilbert.
• Brown and his wife Sarah also presented President Obama's two daughters with an outfit and matching necklaces, as well as six children's books by British authors.

In return, Brown received a set of twenty-five DVDs of classic American films from President Obama. President Obama also presented Brown's two sons with models of the presidential helicopter, Marine One.

Now I am the first individual to wholeheartedly agree that Brown's gifts are pitifully much more thoughtful than the ones from President Obama. With that being said, there are definitely a few aspects of this story that I should point out:

1. I think that the right wing is so bent out of shape about this situation is because they are not used to gifts being exchanged legally between two members of government.
2. President Obama is also being criticized for returning a bronze bust of Churchill to Brown during his visit; this bust worth hundreds of thousands of pounds was loaned to the White House by the British government following the September 11th attacks. Let me say that again: The bust was loaned to the U.S. In fact, a British Embassy spokesperson remarked that the bust "was lent for the first term of office of President Bush. When the President was elected for his second and final term, the loan was extended until January 2009." NOTE: It is important to emphasize that President Obama may not be the greatest fan of Churchill considering his father was originally from Kenya. The former Prime Minister led the suppression of the 1950s Mau Mau Rebellion against the British colonialist rule, which left thousands of Kenyans dead.
3. The special DVD collector's set, which includes "Casablanca", "Citizen Kane", "The Godfather", "Lawrence of Arabia", "Psycho" and "Raging Bull", was produced by the American Film Institute as a special request for the White House last month.
4. Many conservatives are making a false claim about the DVDs themselves, declaring that the movies will not properly play in European DVD players. Certain DVDs are modified to play anywhere in the world and, since the American Film Institute fulfilled this special request from the White House, I would imagine that the same goes for the ones presented to Brown.
5. While conservatives are bashing President Obama for his gifts to Brown, it is obvious that they have completely forgotten about the fact that Mr. Bush presented Brown with a classy fur trimmed, brown leather aviator jacket during his first trip to the U.S. in the summer of 2007. (This was also the same gift that Brown's predecessor, Tony Blair, received from Mr. Bush six years earlier). Aside from the fact that the jacket was completely contradictory to Brown's usual attire of a business suit and tie, numerous political commentators (both within the U.S. and United Kingdom) criticized the gift because Brown was attempting to break with his predecessor Tony Blair and distance himself between him and Mr. Bush due to the Iraq War. By the way, that fantastic aviator jacket was above a specific monetary limit so Brown was required to purchase the gift from the British government but he declined to do so.
6. Guess what? President Obama didn't give the gifts to you so get over it! This is not the same as every year on your birthday when your grandmother gives an awful present to you and you then have to return it to the store in order to get something worthwhile.

The truth is that, while they are currently wrestling with the economic crisis, President Obama and his administration are not going to fully embrace a foreign government which conspired with Mr. Bush to promote the false premise that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. At the same time, Obama probably just treated Brown like the lame duck Prime Minister that he is.

Now This McCain Is Worth Listening To

Aside from her supporting the war against global warming, Meghan McCain, the daughter of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), recently commented on "The Daily Beast" regarding her support of gay marriage and stem cell research. She also labeled President Obama as "the hippest politician around" and described being a Republican "as edgy as Donny Osmond". However, what is fabulous about McCain's statements are her remarks concerning Ann Coulter:

• "I find her offensive, radical, insulting and confusing all at the same time."
• "She was one of the headliners at the recent [Conservative Political Action Conference] (but when your competition is a teenager who has a dream about the Republican Party and Stephen Baldwin, it’s not really saying that much)."
• "Coulter could be the poster woman for the most extreme side of the Republican Party."
• "Are some of her statements just gimmicks to gain publicity for her books or does she actually believe the things she says? Does she really believe all Jewish people should be 'perfected' and become Christians? And what was she thinking when she said Hillary Clinton was more conservative than my father during the last election?"
• "More so than my ideological differences with Ann Coulter, I don’t like her demeanor. I have never been a person who was attracted to hate or negativity. I don’t believe in scare tactics and would never condone or encourage anyone calling President Obama a Muslim. But controversy sells and Coulter is nothing if not controversial. Everything about her is extreme: her voice, her interview tactics and especially the public statements she makes about liberals. Maybe her popularity stems from the fact that watching her is sometimes like watching a train wreck."
• "I hope viewers understand Ann Coulter is not the woman we Republicans need representing us right now."

By the way, McCain asked Coulter to comment on her column but Coulter did not reply to McCain's request.

Blowhard of the Week

During this weekend at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Rush Limbaugh delivered a speech which was televised nationally on both C-SPAN and FOX News. In typical Limbaugh fashion, he truly proved how arrogant and ignorant he actually is, all at the same time. The following list is only a small handful of inconceivable excerpts from his speech, as well as some of my comments:

Limbaugh: "Let me tell you who we conservatives are: We love people. When we look out over the United States of America, when we are anywhere, when we see a group of people, such as this or anywhere, we see Americans. We see human beings. We don't see groups. We don't see victims. We don't see people we want to exploit."
The Harrowdown Hill: Of course, this doesn't apply to the members of our military, victims of Hurricane Katrina, ailing individuals who could benefit from stem cell research, etc.

Limbaugh: "We don't want to tell anybody how to live. That's up to you."
The Harrowdown Hill: Unless you are, for example, a pregnant woman facing a tough decision regarding her unborn child.

Limbaugh: "[President Obama and the Democratic Party] don't have the right to take money that's not theirs, from the back pockets of producers, and give it to groups like ACORN."
The Harrowdown Hill: Yes, it's not like ACORN is an upstanding organization like Halliburton.

However, there is another quote from Limbaugh's speech which is definitely my favorite. And since numerous Republican politicians, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), have been whining non-stop about the lack of bipartisanship from President Obama and the Democratic Party, Limbaugh's comments are priceless: "Bipartisanship occurs only after one other result and that is victory. In other words, let's say, as conservatives, liberals demand that we be bipartisan with them in Congress. What they mean is: We check our core principles at the door, come in, let them run the show and agree with them. That's bipartisanship to them. To us, bipartisanship is them being forced to agree with us after we politically have cleaned their clocks and beaten them." It's too bad that those clocks won't need cleaning for at least another four years.