Friday, March 30, 2012

The Trayvon Insanity

I don't get it.

In any other jurisdiction, in any other state or city -- Zimmerman would've been arrested and formally charged.

Why?

 Because that's what our system has become. It seems like those that are rushing to Zimmerman's side are the same ones that wanted to throw the switch on Troy Davis. There's a blindness when it comes to certain artifacts on our society. A willful ignorance to a prejudice that a lot of people just outright deny.

So it's not surprising that the Trayvon matter has become a divisive racial issue - except for those that still maintain that race has nothing to do with it because both parties were minorities. Just because they're both minority - that means race can't become an issue?

It's a tragic event that continues to grow and fester with each day Zimmerman remains free. It's interesting hearing and reading the reaction to the story. It's equally troubling in some respects just how much a title like: "neighborhood watch security guard" somehow elevates that person to some sort of exalted status.

It's troubling because Zimmerman has documented incidents involving a domestic violence case against his wife and incidents involving altercations with law enforcement. All it appears Trayvon was guilty of was an empty bag with residue that got him kicked out of school. Drugs didn't play a part into Trayvon's behavior despite law enforcement's tactic of tainting the victim as some sort of drug addict to gain sympathy.

The Trayvon incident underscores the importance of impartiality. Society becomes skewed the moment a law enforcement officer states something - because there's an implied trust with that. Dredging out Trayvon's completely unrelated "drug case" is how the law enforcement side of things likes to taint the case. To paint Trayvon in a particular light. That public trust that goes into the likes of law enforcement becomes an instrument of manipulation and subsequent hand-picking of information that is being disseminated. It happens everyday and yet - there are those that are privately (or publicly) satisfied with blindly following that trust.

It's a convenient marker in a day where media scrambles to get better ratings, more hits and sell more papers. The more sensational and intriguing it becomes, the more they sell in kind. The Trayvon case underscores incredibly GLARING problems with the system - from the way law enforcement reacted, to the prosecution's bizarre rationale for not prosecuting the case, to the press that has covered the case, to the society that has reacted to it.

It is a classic fishbowl of what's wrong with the process ... and yet most Americans really don't care because I don't think they want to know how bad it is. It's better to dream than it is to live your life in reality.

Friday, March 23, 2012

It's about the defeat, not the plan

The GOP has one mission, one plan, one goal.

They don't have a roll out of policy and substance.

They are fixated by a single quest: beat Obama.

They admit it. They don't deny it. They won't even attempt to walk it back.

It's their bed.

So when November rolls around - and I really hope Americans are watching what's happening, there single most important thing to remember is: do you want someone who has a plan for America ... or do you want someone who is only interested in getting the current President outed.

Our founding fathers would be incredibly disappointed in how the GOP has bastardized the election process this time around. The nation is founded by those who want to lead ... LEAD ... not trying to turn this into a Gladiator event. The only platform this party of choice has is: "beat Obama." Beat the man, not the policy. Come up with a better plan? Put it out there, but if Republicans are going into the voting booth this fall to vote for "the other guy" ... then I would really hope that they could honestly say why they were voting in the first place.

Invasion of the GOP Body Snatchers....

I'm not sure what's the deal with the war on women the GOP insist on fighting.

For a political party that strongly advocates "less government, less government" and decries at all the ways the government is invading into our lives ...

...this ... takes .. the cake.

How much more invasive can one be by advocating doctors to vaginally rape a woman just so that they can guilt her about her unborn child? Gary Trudeau's comic strips were spot on - even if a little hard to swallow for the Republican Party.

It's what it is, R's....

You've created this barbaric invasion of a woman's body ... and give not one consideration to the plight of women or how some twisted sense of supreme morality trumps basic common decency.

It's another example of how Republicans espouse themselves to a fuzzy blind layers of "do as I say, not as I do or would want to have happen to me." Such hypocrisy needs to be met with action and I would imagine the women's groups are pretty much lining up against any Republican that is going to throw their support in this.

Reap what you sow R's ...

Thursday, March 08, 2012

The Poison of Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh is a disease.

There's a vile nature to the man and his self-anointed, self-importance, "woe is me, screw you" mentality that lacks any sense of compassion. To those who aspire a God-like path in life, should really evaluate whether or not Jesus would harbor such anger, such resentment and do so without compassion, empathy and love. Those that believe in the tenets of Rush Limbaugh - are un-Christ like.

Yes, he's built a successful money-making empire that's forged on the precepts of hate, sociologic-economic Darwinism that can be whittled down to: "Angry old man, get off my lawn." But he's just an entertainer. An orator with an endless running banter about how the system is failing and it's the liberals that are causing it.

He conveniently applies the history that matters only to him. He, along the likes of Drudge and HuffPo become running commentaries of our daily lives. Each part carrying a significant bias whose slant is dedicated on the base they serve. Our media outlets have become an entrenched version of the Sharks and the Jets ... West Side Story.

But it was Rush that started it.
It was Rush that inspired it.
And there was a fatality that happened along the way: the truth.

Journalism died and prevailing biased commentators prevailed.

History dictates that profound orators sway public opinion and can brainwash people into whatever you want them to think. That's why the likes of some rather notorious dictators have been successful in wooing the masses to follow them wherever, however, whatever.

How does this make it Rush poisonous?

There's a divisiveness.
There's a "you're with me or you're against me" mentality.
There's only one way - his way.
There's hate.
There's vitriol.
There's hypocrisy.
There's self-serving.
There's loathing.
There's self-absorption.
There's very un-Christian-like rhetoric.
There's very counter-intuitive, counter-productive, pro-business, pro-greed, anti-assistance, anti-government, anti-liberal, anti-Christ like behavior.
There's intolerance.

Truthfully ask yourself if this is something Jesus would approve of.

He keeps using the same tagline: "Talent on loan from God," - but there isn't a God out there that would loan out their talent to someone who preaches to be some sort of political deity. It's sad that Rush doesn't get it ... and how he continues to feign superiority when intelligence, morality and common sense trumps someone who gets rich off of instilling his poisonous beliefs on others.

Once you can clue into Rush's tactics ... you can see through the jaded glasses and see the man for who he really is. As the fervor from slut-gate lingers ... it has pulled back a few layers of what kind of man Rush Limbaugh is. As much as I deplore most of what this man says ... I feel sorry for the masses that continually absorb this man's vileness.

We see it in forums.
We see it in our editorials.
We see it in our protests.
We see it in the chain letters and other political discussions.

Rush overestimates that there are more conservatives than liberals. His numbers are artificially created thanks to his longevity on the air. He feeds the red meat base and when those people age and have children ... they indoctrinate them to the likes of Rush and the cycle grows and continues. That's why I say he's a disease.

Rush takes what angers you most ... and makes you more angry about it ... Drudge, Breibart and Fox do their part to shore it up on the media side ... with the slant, bias and lies leaning their way. I won't say that MSNBC and other media outlets don't do their fair share of leaning left ... but when I look at the goals of both sides - I look at the fate of mankind as being a higher priority than those on the right hold important.

The morality of what makes us good ... is being eroded away with the likes of Rush. Most addictions require that moment of epiphany when the clarity of the problem emerges. This recent issue helped jolt some into realizing the "real" man they've been adamantly defending all of these years.

...and they finally opened their eyes.

Saturday, March 03, 2012

Limbaugh v. Women

It's not the first time the windbag from Florida opened his mouth to say something disparaging. In fact, we expect it. We all just chalk it up to the windbag and know that he's just an asshole. A lot of the GOP adore and love this man - which is why I'm about to unearth one of the most shattering news pieces of all time:

Rush Limbaugh is a sexually frustrated lonely man.

There. I said it.

His war on women this week adds the last bit of proof that this man has more experience with sluts and prostitutes than anyone else in his listenership. Followers of Limbaugh will of course deny this. But if you are someone baring double X chromosomes - then I hate to break the news that you are have been classified a slut and a prostitute. While you may want to lament, sigh or otherwise delve into a depression, Limbaugh advocates that you are encouraged to make porn videos just so that you can make the XY chromosomes more attracted to you.

Yes - this is Limbaugh's new way to stoop to a new low. Oh - yes, he has given an apology (dare we even try to call it that) where he continues to banter about his political points ... while giving a "sincere [apology]" at the end of the 192 word statement.

"I'm sorry" is two words, maybe three if you insist on not using contractions.

"I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices." is 12 words.

So for the other 180 words, we're left with Rush's insistent banter and continued political jabs. It's not an apology when it has to be heavily prefaced and rolled into yet another distorted opinionated monologue that extends beyond the principles of the apology. No - Mr. Limbaugh, apologies can be reduced to a single sentence.

But instead of using the 180 words to complete the oratory of the apology, it became nothing more than a preface, a conditional, forced, coerced apology after the windbag realized that he was losing many of his sponsors as a result of his increased arrogance and myopic slant of the world.

The man has been married 4 times and it's not entirely surprising to figure out why women can't stay with him. He's a has been. He's out of touch and incredibly set in his ways where "he-can-do-no-wrong." His ego can't handle it and thus - the reason why he is a man destined to be on his own island. Therefore ... he's a lonely, angry, angry man.

It's only when his show was threatened - that he realized he went too far.

It's not that he apologized for his viewpoint - or that he took back the words he said. He merely apologized for his words directed at Ms. Fluke. He doesn't think he was wrong. Rush doesn't work that way.

The "apology" came a day after the President of the United States personally contacted Ms. Fluke to apologize for the atrocious behavior of the old windbag. Did Rush accept Obama's action? No. Instead - Limbaugh upped the ante:

"Limbaugh also reacted to President Obama's call to Fluke. Obama told Fluke that her parents should be "proud" of her. Limbaugh had a different message for them. "I'd be embarrassed," he said. "I'd disconnect the phone. I'd go into hiding.""

If Rush was genuinely giving a mea culpa apology - he would've issued a full retraction and left it at that. No other political bantering or trying to "explain away" the apology he was attempting to make. Additionally, he should've apologized to Ms. Fluke's parents as well. I'll even add that he didn't even need to apologize to the President .... but that shows what kind of class of human we're dealing with.

If Limbaugh managed to use half of his brain cells for 30 seconds, he would've realized that Ms. Fluke was attending Georgetown University as a law graduate student. The average cost to attend this prestigious university is $59 thousand year that comes with private health insurance. Read that again - private health insurance. Ms. Fluke merely made a reasonable case to the university that challenged the law about contraceptives being covered.

- It's a private university.
- It's private health insurance with the university.
- We aren't talking about medicare.
- We aren't talking about a public funded health care program
- We're talking about someone who forks out 2 1/2 times the average minimum wage earner makes in a single year.

Regardless of the rationale of WHY she wanted contraception in the first place ... the fact she's forking out $59k a year to attend a university should be AMPLE enough to throw in some birth control pills for her personal use if she so desires it.

If that makes her a slut or a prostitute in Limbaugh's estimation then the man speaks volumes about his own loneliness. Oh - and if Rush was offended, then "I sincerely apologize for the insulting word choices."

There Rush. Doesn't that make it all square between us?

Friday, March 02, 2012

Breibart

Normally I try to take the high road when it comes to the passing of someone on the republican side of things. We're all human beings, with very differing points of view, but in the end - we're all sailing on the same sea of life. Andrew Breibart was a die hard Republican who was very unapologetic about his views. He would say angry, hateful things because - he could. He felt he was right, justified and otherwise morally superior to attack any democrat or liberal that stood in front of his view.

When someone wants to project themselves in such a manner - it makes him look weaker, less informed and even dense. To be so dismissive while being incredibly antagonistic, hateful and blind to their actions and speech. I've always marveled at how these folks can live with themselves when harboring such ill-will towards anyone that presents a complete argument that is morally stronger than the one they hold. Breibart made his living capitalizing on the morally gray area of what is considered true. Between he, Murdoch and Limbaugh ... the lines of truth get skewed behind a plethora of money that backs corporate media propaganda.

So when I heard about his passing this week - I admit I was conflicted for the first few minutes. I was sad for his family and close friends ... and then I began to take the high road - pointing out differences of viewpoints. Unfortunately, I stopped feeling badly for him when I recalled all of the angry, hateful things he did in the name of politics. The vitriol, the condemnation, the lack of respect, the absence of responsibility - while focused on the stories he wanted to tell - vs. - being truthful.

I was prepared to let his abysmal behavior slide .... until ....

The Fox fake tears, the "warrior tributes," and the enormous outpouring for someone they defend as a champion to their cause.

Cause?

What cause would that be?

Republicans would say that it's the the cause of "taking back their country." As though having control for 8 years didn't do enough harm that got us into this mess to begin with. They of course don't see it that way because they consistently buy into the buffet line that Breibart, Murdoch and Drudge keep dishing out. What Republicans don't seem to understand is how isolated these outlets have kept them. Republican buy into the fact that they have a "fair and balanced" view because that's what the keepers keep telling them...

It all keeps coming back to the irrational perception folks have about their sources of information. That's why I laugh at the notion that Andrew was some sort of warrior for their cause.

That's not what journalism was ever meant to be about. I don't care if it's left, right, libertarian, socialism, or whatever -ism you choose to subscribe to. Journalism is controlled by the media overlords ... and if you want to keep your job - you have to write the stories in a way that's going to satisfy them.

That's why I felt that by trying to push off Breibart's death as some sort of national loss demonstrates the ineptness of the "crusade" he led. When hate, misinformation, deceit and propaganda replace truth, compassion, and unification ... then I hate to say this, but his death probably did more good for the nation than his did being alive.

I understand that there are those that will mourn his loss ... and it disappoints me that I won't be one of them. However, I won't be celebrating in the streets either. I won't be firing off guns as though I've been liberated. But feeling sorry for someone who would wish that a liberal like me die ... no ... I will feel sorry that he wasted his life in such pursuits and has such disdain about him. I will feel sorry for those that mourn the passing of someone consumed with such vile and hate. I will feel sorry for those that believed the stories crafted under the guise of journalism. I will continue to feel sorry for those that operate with a close mind when they think they are open to the world.

Those are things worthy of feeling sad for ... not the passing of some self-absorbed, corporately consumed egomaniac who relished in the downfall of someone if they happened to be ideologically different than he was.