Did you ever see men looking that uncomfortable when there was beer around?
President Obama invited Cambridge, MA police sergeant James Crowley and Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr to the White House to talk over their differences over a couple of beers, and Joe Biden got to tag along.
First of all, who drinks beer in a rose garden? I suppose the argument could be made that beer is good no matter where it's served...ok, I'll go with that.
Still, these fellas looked at the very least a little uncomfortable, particularly Sgt Crowley. Of course, he and Gates were in suits and ties. Hard to let loose and have a heart to heart when you're all gussied up in yer Sunday finest. Obama and Biden choose to forgo the jackets, and the president even rolled up his sleeves. Probably to show he meant business.
I must say though I enjoyed the sight of the White House lackey trotting across the garden and delivering the brews.
And what brews did they choose? President Obama went with Bud Light. Really? Bud Light? Do you really think the president drinks that stuff on a regular basis? I don't think so either. I'm thinking chardonnay in the summer, perhaps a pinot grigio, and pinot noir in the winter, but Bud Light? Only when the cameras are rolling and he wants to look like a common man. Maybe Obama was trying to make nice with Jesse Jackson, whose sons are Anheuser-Busch distributors in the Chicago area. (That's a topic for another day.) I will give the president props for not light up a ciggie, no matter how desperately he may have wanted to. After all, smoking and drinking do go together for some, and it isn't exactly a stress-free time for Obama, so he may have some cravings he couldn't act on. At least not with photographers present.
Professor Gates, being a good temporary New Englander, choose a Sam Adams Light. Sgt Crowley went with a Blue Moon, served with a twist of orange, as is the custom (and a fine custom it is). Vice President Biden was the only one there who looked like he was having a good time, and he was drinking a non-alcoholic beer! Go figure.
Seriously though, shouldn't the president, a Chicagoan by choice, have served a Chicago brewed beer? Would Goose Island have been so bad? A 312 Golden Wheat Ale or a Summertime would have been delightful for an evening in the Rose Garden.
So what did we learn from this learning experience, as the president called it?
Ummmm, nothing much really, other than the media is good at creating distractions from serious issues, like health care and why cable TV costs so much when you get so little.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Happy Birthday (sort of), Bugs Bunny!
Today is the birthday of one of my childhood heroes, Bugs Bunny. Well, it's sort of his birthday. Mr Bunny had appeared in earlier cartoons. However, "A Wild Hare," released on this day in 1940, was the first Bugs Bunny cartoon (or "animated short" for those of you too grown up to watch a mere cartoon) to feature the speaking voice we've come to know and love, and the first in which Bugs asks Elmer Fudd, "What's up, Doc?"
I'll tell you, just hearing that theme music over the opening credits of the cartoon made me feel good.
I'll tell you, just hearing that theme music over the opening credits of the cartoon made me feel good.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Calibrate This!
Regarding his Wednesday night comments about Cambridge, MA police acting "stupidly," President Obama this afternoon said he could have "calibrated those words differently." I think there's a lot of cops in Cambridge grabbing their crotches and saying, "Hey, Obama! Calibrate this!"
One must admit that what Obama said Wednesday was a remarkably stupid thing from a political standpoint, especially since he's a guy who's been nearly perfect in terms of playing the political game. It was particularly stupid since the press conference was supposed to get the media and the American people focused on health care, and the media and the American people have instead pretty much focused on the Gates arrest and the President's remark.
One must admit that what Obama said Wednesday was a remarkably stupid thing from a political standpoint, especially since he's a guy who's been nearly perfect in terms of playing the political game. It was particularly stupid since the press conference was supposed to get the media and the American people focused on health care, and the media and the American people have instead pretty much focused on the Gates arrest and the President's remark.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Beyond Race but Not Beyond Contempt
Here's what we know, or what we think we know. Well known Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr, ("Skip" to his friend, the President) was arrested in his Cambridge, MA home the other day. The lock was broken, so he had to break into his own home. Sucks, but sometimes that happens. Down the street, a woman working in the offices of a Harvard University magazine, sees Gates (not realizing who it is) breaking into a house and calls the cops. Cops show up, ask Gates for an ID. At some point there is unhappiness all around and Gates is arrested. This much we know, or think we know.
We can only speculate that Gates was in a bad mood, not only because he had to break into his own house, but now the police are here. We can only speculate that maybe the arresting officer didn't handle things as well as he could have. Both Gates and the arresting officer are, we can assume, human, and therefore not always perfect.
Cambridge police say that Gates did not produce an ID when requested and put up quite a stink before he finally did show some identification.
We have the word of Gates, who feels he was treated improperly, and the word of the arresting officer, who says he will not apologize as Gates as requested because he has done nothing wrong.
And now we have the words of President Obama, who said last night in a press conference that "the police acted stupidly." President Obama felt this way, even though he first admitted that "I don't have all the facts." I think that's an unfortunately perfect example of the contempt or the anger or something that Obama has for a large swath of the American population. It fits in with his comments during the presidential campaign about rural Americans "clinging to their guns and religion." There's just a lot of contempt emanating from this Obama guy and I'm not sure why. He seems to have had a pretty good life, so I'm not sure where all the anger is coming from.
Listen, here's the thing. I'm no friend of the police. They lurk around, hiding in the shadows, waiting for me to speed by in my car so the local community can make some money off of my lead foot. But I'm no enemy of the police, either, nor do I feel contempt for them. I understand they have a job to do.
In the case of Professor Skip, the Cambridge police were responding to a possible break-in. Now, I might recognize Professor Gates because I've seen his Lincoln documentary on PBS and his appearances on various talk programs, but I suspect the average cop doesn't watch a lot of PBS. And like I said before, Gates probably was not in the best of moods when the cops got there, having had to break into his house and all, and maybe the cops weren't using their Harvard voices when they were talking to Prof. Gates, but the bottom line is this: Cop asks for ID, Gates shows ID without an attitude, cops leave. That's how it should have happened and my hunch is the responsibility for it not happening like this lies with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
As for the charges against Gates being dropped, when you're a famous Harvard professor and a friend of the President of the United States, chances are good your disorderly conduct charges get dropped.
And as for President Obama, he should be ashamed of himself for saying the police acted stupidly when he himself admitted he didn't know all the facts.
We can only speculate that Gates was in a bad mood, not only because he had to break into his own house, but now the police are here. We can only speculate that maybe the arresting officer didn't handle things as well as he could have. Both Gates and the arresting officer are, we can assume, human, and therefore not always perfect.
Cambridge police say that Gates did not produce an ID when requested and put up quite a stink before he finally did show some identification.
We have the word of Gates, who feels he was treated improperly, and the word of the arresting officer, who says he will not apologize as Gates as requested because he has done nothing wrong.
And now we have the words of President Obama, who said last night in a press conference that "the police acted stupidly." President Obama felt this way, even though he first admitted that "I don't have all the facts." I think that's an unfortunately perfect example of the contempt or the anger or something that Obama has for a large swath of the American population. It fits in with his comments during the presidential campaign about rural Americans "clinging to their guns and religion." There's just a lot of contempt emanating from this Obama guy and I'm not sure why. He seems to have had a pretty good life, so I'm not sure where all the anger is coming from.
Listen, here's the thing. I'm no friend of the police. They lurk around, hiding in the shadows, waiting for me to speed by in my car so the local community can make some money off of my lead foot. But I'm no enemy of the police, either, nor do I feel contempt for them. I understand they have a job to do.
In the case of Professor Skip, the Cambridge police were responding to a possible break-in. Now, I might recognize Professor Gates because I've seen his Lincoln documentary on PBS and his appearances on various talk programs, but I suspect the average cop doesn't watch a lot of PBS. And like I said before, Gates probably was not in the best of moods when the cops got there, having had to break into his house and all, and maybe the cops weren't using their Harvard voices when they were talking to Prof. Gates, but the bottom line is this: Cop asks for ID, Gates shows ID without an attitude, cops leave. That's how it should have happened and my hunch is the responsibility for it not happening like this lies with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
As for the charges against Gates being dropped, when you're a famous Harvard professor and a friend of the President of the United States, chances are good your disorderly conduct charges get dropped.
And as for President Obama, he should be ashamed of himself for saying the police acted stupidly when he himself admitted he didn't know all the facts.
His Cheatin' Heart and His Poorly Functioning Brain
You remember Mark Sanford, don't you? Governor of South Carolina, told people he was going for a walk, went to Argentina instead. Yeah, that guy.
I may be a bit late to chime in on this, but here's why I think he should either resign or be impeached.
It's not the adultery thing. In general, people don't feel shame anymore, so the public doesn't hold shameful acts against anyone, not even politicians like Sanford who used to stand on soap boxes and rail against the decline of "family values," whatever those are. No, adultery and it's consequences in this case are between Sanford and his wife, who seemingly has forgiven him, since she and the kids are going with the governor on a European vacation.
No, Sanford should resign because the fact that he ran off for almost a week without anyone knowing where he was or how to contact him shows a complete lack of sound judgment, to the extent that he shouldn't be in control of everything, much less one of the 50 states in the Union.
Think of it this way. South Carolina, just like all the other states, is essentially a large corporation, with many thousands of employees, a huge budget and a need for clear thinking on the part of upper management. If Sanford were the head of a Fortune 500 company and pulled that stunt, he would either be forced to resign or would be removed by the board of directors. And that's what should happen in this instance. Sanford should either resign or be impeached.
I may be a bit late to chime in on this, but here's why I think he should either resign or be impeached.
It's not the adultery thing. In general, people don't feel shame anymore, so the public doesn't hold shameful acts against anyone, not even politicians like Sanford who used to stand on soap boxes and rail against the decline of "family values," whatever those are. No, adultery and it's consequences in this case are between Sanford and his wife, who seemingly has forgiven him, since she and the kids are going with the governor on a European vacation.
No, Sanford should resign because the fact that he ran off for almost a week without anyone knowing where he was or how to contact him shows a complete lack of sound judgment, to the extent that he shouldn't be in control of everything, much less one of the 50 states in the Union.
Think of it this way. South Carolina, just like all the other states, is essentially a large corporation, with many thousands of employees, a huge budget and a need for clear thinking on the part of upper management. If Sanford were the head of a Fortune 500 company and pulled that stunt, he would either be forced to resign or would be removed by the board of directors. And that's what should happen in this instance. Sanford should either resign or be impeached.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Giant Steps
Today is the 40th anniversary of the first men, Americans I might add, to walk on the moon. It is also the 40th anniversary of the incorporation of a store, an American store I might add, called Wal-Mart.
There was an article yesterday in the Chicago Tribune that compared the two events, wondering which had more of an impact on the lives of people. Wal-Mart came out the winner.
There may be some unfortunate truth to that. Wal-Mart, for better or worse, eventually changed the way all Americans shop. (I will say this though: I know people who shop at Wal-Mart, but I don't know anybody who actually likes shopping there.)
Sam Walton did indeed give America a new way to shop. The space program gave us Tang. For a while there in the 1970s there was also a food product product I remember as being called Space Sticks; they came in a chocolate flavor, individually wrapped and I ate at least one every day with my lunch at school. (They were actually called Space Food Sticks; you can find out more here. I knew I wasn't making these up.)
It's sad that those are the memories I have of the space program, because let's face it, no matter how great a deal you can get on groceries and what-not at Wal-Mart, that deal doesn't match the greatness or the grandeur of the fact that the United States was able to fly men to the moon and return them safely. Yes, Americans were able to set foot on another planet. The falling prices of products at a giant box store simply don't compare with that amazing feat.
The United States has squandered what it earned by going to the moon. How could we let people become disinterested and blase inter-planetary travel? Nothing should be more exciting or interesting to us. And yet...a space shuttle takes off every now and again and we don't care unless there's a crash or explosion. We do pay a little bit of attention when the toilet backs up at the space station, but there's not a lot of grandeur involved with outer space plumbing problems.
What America needs to do with space travel is what it used to do pretty well once upon a time. Set lofty goals and meet or exceed them. Let's strive to put men on Mars and do it quickly. Let's promote the everyday uses of items invented for the space missions. Let's start educating children early about the worlds beyond ours and make sure they stay interested in science. Heck, let's try to make science education interesting in the first place rather than a dull and daunting task of a class to be tolerated and then forgotten.
Calvin Coolidge (he was president of the United States a long time ago) said, "The business of America is business." He was right. Americans have always been good at making a buck. That's why people want to come here. We used to make stuff, and we've always been good at selling stuff.
More importantly though, Americans were once really great at being pioneers. Let us be pioneers once more. To be ourselves, to be truly American, we need to take Giant Steps again.
There was an article yesterday in the Chicago Tribune that compared the two events, wondering which had more of an impact on the lives of people. Wal-Mart came out the winner.
There may be some unfortunate truth to that. Wal-Mart, for better or worse, eventually changed the way all Americans shop. (I will say this though: I know people who shop at Wal-Mart, but I don't know anybody who actually likes shopping there.)
Sam Walton did indeed give America a new way to shop. The space program gave us Tang. For a while there in the 1970s there was also a food product product I remember as being called Space Sticks; they came in a chocolate flavor, individually wrapped and I ate at least one every day with my lunch at school. (They were actually called Space Food Sticks; you can find out more here. I knew I wasn't making these up.)
It's sad that those are the memories I have of the space program, because let's face it, no matter how great a deal you can get on groceries and what-not at Wal-Mart, that deal doesn't match the greatness or the grandeur of the fact that the United States was able to fly men to the moon and return them safely. Yes, Americans were able to set foot on another planet. The falling prices of products at a giant box store simply don't compare with that amazing feat.
The United States has squandered what it earned by going to the moon. How could we let people become disinterested and blase inter-planetary travel? Nothing should be more exciting or interesting to us. And yet...a space shuttle takes off every now and again and we don't care unless there's a crash or explosion. We do pay a little bit of attention when the toilet backs up at the space station, but there's not a lot of grandeur involved with outer space plumbing problems.
What America needs to do with space travel is what it used to do pretty well once upon a time. Set lofty goals and meet or exceed them. Let's strive to put men on Mars and do it quickly. Let's promote the everyday uses of items invented for the space missions. Let's start educating children early about the worlds beyond ours and make sure they stay interested in science. Heck, let's try to make science education interesting in the first place rather than a dull and daunting task of a class to be tolerated and then forgotten.
Calvin Coolidge (he was president of the United States a long time ago) said, "The business of America is business." He was right. Americans have always been good at making a buck. That's why people want to come here. We used to make stuff, and we've always been good at selling stuff.
More importantly though, Americans were once really great at being pioneers. Let us be pioneers once more. To be ourselves, to be truly American, we need to take Giant Steps again.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Some Thoughts on Walter Cronkite
I’m not too sad that Walter Cronkite is dead. He was 92 years old, a “ripe old age” as my mother used to say, and he had led a pretty incredible life: he was a journalist covering World War II, he joined CBS in 1950 during the birth of television news, and he was the news anchorman for two generations, covering stories from the assassination of JFK to the election of Ronald Reagan. Walter Cronkite was a preeminent American in a preeminently American century.
If I do feel some sadness, it’s more for myself and a bygone time from my life. I watched Cronkite on “The CBS Evening News” (yes, I was a slightly odd, and in some ways, slightly precocious child) and I suppose it can be said that the 1970s were a simpler time. They didn’t seem simple then, but in retrospect, well, there were only three television networks to choose from, so that right there made things a little simpler by comparison to today's overload of TV choices, which in some ways don’t offer us a choice at all. What we get now is the same thing multiplied, a lot of noise, shouting, and twittering and crawls to be read while someone speaks about who knows what. So, yeah, I guess I’m a little sad. But life proceeds.
****************************************************************************************************
Television news changed immediately when Cronkite left and was replaced by Dan “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth” Rather. (Can you imagine Walter Cronkite being mugged by two guys asking the same question over and over, "What is the frequency, Kenneth"? I thought not.) I think what no one at CBS realized was that Rather was just a Strange Ranger. Great journalist, but did anyone really want this guy staring into the camera, and into our homes, with that seriously spaced out look he got sometimes?
By the way, I think Dan Rather has Ronald Reagan to blame for the whole mugging thing. If I remember correctly, and quite frankly some of the 1980s are a bit hazy for me, Reagan cut a lot of federal funding to the states for mental health care, whereupon the states simply emptied the nuthouses, setting free many lively characters to roam the streets at will. No funding cuts, no street crazies kicking the crap out of the new CBS news anchor while demanding to know the frequency.
****************************************************************************************************
Does the Mike Wallace Death Watch now begin? I mean, the man is 120 years old, he’s got to die sometime, right? And what about Andy Rooney? Not exactly a spring chicken either.
****************************************************************************************************
And that’s the way it is, until I can think up some more thoughts on old Cronkite.
If I do feel some sadness, it’s more for myself and a bygone time from my life. I watched Cronkite on “The CBS Evening News” (yes, I was a slightly odd, and in some ways, slightly precocious child) and I suppose it can be said that the 1970s were a simpler time. They didn’t seem simple then, but in retrospect, well, there were only three television networks to choose from, so that right there made things a little simpler by comparison to today's overload of TV choices, which in some ways don’t offer us a choice at all. What we get now is the same thing multiplied, a lot of noise, shouting, and twittering and crawls to be read while someone speaks about who knows what. So, yeah, I guess I’m a little sad. But life proceeds.
****************************************************************************************************
Television news changed immediately when Cronkite left and was replaced by Dan “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth” Rather. (Can you imagine Walter Cronkite being mugged by two guys asking the same question over and over, "What is the frequency, Kenneth"? I thought not.) I think what no one at CBS realized was that Rather was just a Strange Ranger. Great journalist, but did anyone really want this guy staring into the camera, and into our homes, with that seriously spaced out look he got sometimes?
By the way, I think Dan Rather has Ronald Reagan to blame for the whole mugging thing. If I remember correctly, and quite frankly some of the 1980s are a bit hazy for me, Reagan cut a lot of federal funding to the states for mental health care, whereupon the states simply emptied the nuthouses, setting free many lively characters to roam the streets at will. No funding cuts, no street crazies kicking the crap out of the new CBS news anchor while demanding to know the frequency.
****************************************************************************************************
Does the Mike Wallace Death Watch now begin? I mean, the man is 120 years old, he’s got to die sometime, right? And what about Andy Rooney? Not exactly a spring chicken either.
****************************************************************************************************
And that’s the way it is, until I can think up some more thoughts on old Cronkite.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Angela Lansbury Plays Rooftop Concert! No, wait...
How cool is this? An almost half-hour concert by Sir Paul McCartney, on the rooftop (well, marquee top, really) of the Ed Sullivan Theater in NYC. We live in a capitalist society, so shut-up and sit through the commercial that precedes the video. I hope you enjoy the show. I think Paul has passed the audition.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em, While You Still Can
The Pentagon wants to ban smoking in the military. The reason given is that tobacco use is harmful and it's health effects cost the Department of Veterans Affairs hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
Seems to me the Pentagon could save money by properly outfitting soldiers they put into harms way, such as making sure every GI in the field has the body armor they need and the vehicles they ride in are armor plated in ways that will survive roadside bombs. Like cigarettes, those bombs have a deleterious effect on soldiers health too. Surgeries and prosthetics for those who survive the bombings aren't cheap either.
Until the Pentagon does all that and more, I say let 'em smoke.
Seems to me the Pentagon could save money by properly outfitting soldiers they put into harms way, such as making sure every GI in the field has the body armor they need and the vehicles they ride in are armor plated in ways that will survive roadside bombs. Like cigarettes, those bombs have a deleterious effect on soldiers health too. Surgeries and prosthetics for those who survive the bombings aren't cheap either.
Until the Pentagon does all that and more, I say let 'em smoke.
Who?
Ryan Seacrest signed a new contract worth $45 million. Who is he again? What is it that he does?
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy Independence Day
The National Anthem sung as a make out song. Enjoy your freedom this 4th of July today with the understanding that only in a country like America would Marvin Gaye have the right to make the National Anthem sexy.
It's July and that means it's time for my boot heels to be wanderin'. I'm going to exercise my all-American right to hit the road, Jack. The "Gone Fishing" sign is up and won't come down until after July 12th.
Take care, don't lose an appendage to illegal fireworks, and God Bless America.
It's July and that means it's time for my boot heels to be wanderin'. I'm going to exercise my all-American right to hit the road, Jack. The "Gone Fishing" sign is up and won't come down until after July 12th.
Take care, don't lose an appendage to illegal fireworks, and God Bless America.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
really random video: Sugarland "All I Want to Do"
I'm not the biggest country music fan in the world. For the most part, my country tastes run to Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Dwight Yoakam. You know, country music that sounds like country music. Unapologetic country. The country pop of recent decades does not move me.
But there are some acts now that seem to be getting it right, mixing good ol' boy music with a little bit of rock and a little slick pop and coming up with something listenable, catchy but not cloying. Lady Antebellum is one band doing that, Sugarland seems to be another. They've got a good sound and they look good in this video. And singer Jennifer Nettles looks like she would be an awfully fun date, if only I were 20 years younger, far better looking and, most importantly, not happily married for 20 years as of today.
But there are some acts now that seem to be getting it right, mixing good ol' boy music with a little bit of rock and a little slick pop and coming up with something listenable, catchy but not cloying. Lady Antebellum is one band doing that, Sugarland seems to be another. They've got a good sound and they look good in this video. And singer Jennifer Nettles looks like she would be an awfully fun date, if only I were 20 years younger, far better looking and, most importantly, not happily married for 20 years as of today.
They Got It Right This Time
How about that? The Supreme Court ruled that racism is wrong. Duh.
In the case of the white New Haven firefighters , they were denied promotions based on the color of their skin, even though they passed exams to be promoted. This is wrong. The Supreme Court ruled as such. They seemed to understand that racism, even if it's meant to diversify the workplace, is wrong.
Hopefully, with this ruling, society will begin to reverse a trend towards lower standards in the workplace and education, all in the name of correcting past racial injustices. If you really want to have a truly diverse and equal society, a quality education for all is the answer. Fighting racism with more racism just demeans us all.
In the case of the white New Haven firefighters , they were denied promotions based on the color of their skin, even though they passed exams to be promoted. This is wrong. The Supreme Court ruled as such. They seemed to understand that racism, even if it's meant to diversify the workplace, is wrong.
Hopefully, with this ruling, society will begin to reverse a trend towards lower standards in the workplace and education, all in the name of correcting past racial injustices. If you really want to have a truly diverse and equal society, a quality education for all is the answer. Fighting racism with more racism just demeans us all.
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