Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
Posted by keithosaunders on December 20, 2011
I played at a Sunday church service in Oakland. It was a jazz-loving church and we interspersed a few songs amidst the Sunday sermon.
I am a non-observant Jew, and someon who disdains most religions. I have to admit, however, that sitting in that church listening to the reverend’s sermon, I found some facets of religion that are positive. The sermon largely dealt with the virgin Mary, but the main crux of it was that Jesus is most interested in the downtrodden — the underdogs, so to speak. That part of religion appeals to me — that there should be empathy for the less fortunate, and a spirit of brotherhood among all people.
But this is Oakland, where most folks empathize with the poor. Where is this empathy in the mega churches of the South? Where is it in the Catholic Church? Where is it in Hasidic community, and in Israel where atrocities are committed against Palestinians? And where is it in the Islamic community?
The problem, as usual, stems from ignorance. A population whose mind is numbed by adherence to superstition and myth, is a pliant population. You can do anything in the name of religion.
You would think, given my feelings of antipathy towards religion, that I would have found a kindred spirit in the late Christopher Hitchens, who began as a left-wing columnist, and became an outspoken critic of organized religion.
Hitchens championed the Iraq war, long after it had proven to be a debacle of the highest order. He was an avid supporter of murder, as long as the victim was Moslem. Here he is celebrating American’s use of cluster bombs:
…those steel pellets will go straight through somebody and out the other side and through somebody else. So they won’t be able to say, ‘Ah, I was bearing a Koran over my heart and guess what, the missile stopped halfway through.’ No way, ’cause it’ll go straight through that as well. They’ll be dead, in other words.
He wrote that his reaction to the 9/11 attack was exhilaration because it would unleash an exciting, sustained war against what he came to call “Islamofascism”
With those words he has my utmost contempt. What is the difference between him and the Moslem radicals that he rails against — or Pope Innocent III instituting the Inquisition?
Hitchens was another in a long line of right-wing hacks — the only difference between him and garbage like Ann Coulter or Glenn Beck is that he possessed more intelligence. He was a good writer and a glib speaker, but that does not diffuse the fact that he was as morally bankrupt as the Islamic radicals he wrote about.
It comes down to this: Are you willing to condone or commit murder to further your own gains? You can be a pope, an Ayatollah, or a writer – ultimately you’re an abomination.
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Posted in Politics | Tagged: Ann Coulter, Christopher Hitchens, Glenn Beck, Hassidic Jews, High Street church, oakland, Pope Innocent III | 1 Comment »
Posted by keithosaunders on December 14, 2011
Few will be surprised that I am not a fan of the Denver Bronco’s second year quarterback, and pain-in-the-ass evangelist, Tim Tebow, but I must admit to a certain how does he do it fascination. He’s a terrible quarterback. Sure he’s a good runner, and that’s a handy tool to have, but everybody knows that the successful NFL QBs thrive in the pocket. Don’t they?
Tebow ranks 27th in yards per pass and 14th in total yards, but somehow, due to a combination of his legs, a brilliant Bronco defense, and good old-fashioned luck, Tebow finds himself poised to take the Broncos to the playoffs. Last Sunday, rather than the thanking the lord, Tebow should have thanked Marion Barber for not running out-of-bounds, thereby giving the Broncos time to march down the field for a game tying field goal against the Bears.
Tebow is all the rage. I wonder if he would be so beloved were his name Tim Tebowitz and his post game pressers consisted of long lectures on Talmud. I take that back — I’m not wondering.
A Denver defensive lineman had the right idea: After a pre-season game in which Tebow, then a rookie, suggested the team pray, the defensive lineman responded, “why don’t you shut the fuck up?!”
Yeah! Who care’s what God thinks about football? I’m sure he’s got more important things on his mind. Anyway we all know he’s a Giants fan.
Then there’s the faltering campaign of Mitt Romney, who belong to the religion of which he dare not speak its name. Much to my amusement the Republican electorate cannot bring themselves to get behind their only viable candidate, thus giving Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul their turn at relevancy.
Newt, who to his credit is trying to run a smear-free campaign, was forced to fire an aide who had suggested that evangelicals were ”poised to expose the cult of Mormon.” While I’m happy to see turmoil in the Gingrich campaign, this puts me in the uncomfortable position of being aligned with evangelicals.
Of course Mormonism is a cult. Let me get this straight: Christ appeard in upstate New York after the resurrection?! What, was he appearing in the Catskills at Kutsher’s opening for Shecky Greene?
Then there’s the proselytizing, the multiple wives, the prohibition of caffeine and alchoh…wait a minute, back up…multiple wives?
Sign me up!
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Posted in football, Politics | Tagged: Catskills, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Kutsher's, Marion Barber, Mitt Romney, Mormonism, Newt Gingrich, Shecky Greene, Tim Tebow | 6 Comments »
Posted by keithosaunders on November 17, 2011
Last night I watched a very good documentary on Daniel Ellsberg called The Most Dangerous Man in America. Ellsberg is the former Pentagon worker who, in 1971, leaked a top-secret document showing how five U.S. presidents lied to the nation in order to facilitate and continue the war in Vietnam. I was eleven when this happened; old enough to remember it, but not quite old enough to grasp its enormity.
The thing that struck me the most while watching the film was the courage and integrity, not only of Ellsberg, who risked a long jail sentence, but of the newspapers that printed the documents. The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and many others printed this story in the face of threats from the imperial Nixon administration. They did it because they realized that regardless of how bad these documents made the country look, without a free press the U.S. may as well be a banana republic.
Contrast this idealism and integrity with the New York Times (and the rest of the media) of 2002 and 2003, which enabled, even championed a war with Iraq. You had reporters such as Judith Miller who wrote a series of articles as far back as 2001 detailing Saddam Hussein’s capacity to build and deploy nuclear weapons. Her main source was Ahmad Chalabi, a former Iraqi politician who had close business ties to many Bush administration officials. Much of his information, though proven false, seemingly evaded fact checking from Miller or the Times.
My point is that in 1971 you had people within the Nixon administration willing to risk their career in order to stop an illegal war. Fast forward to 2002 where you had reporters and Bush administration officials willing to lie in order to facilitate a war, as well as further their careers.
This is why the occupy Wall Street movement is important. In these bleak times it is important and necessary that there be truth spoken to power. These banks are rotten as the day is long — we all know that. Yet what price did they pay for ruining our economy and costing tens of thousands of people their homes and jobs?
Where is the Daniel Ellsburg of 2011?
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Posted in media, Politics | Tagged: Ahmad Chalabi, Daniel Ellsberg, George Bush, Iraq war, Judith Miller, New York Times, Pentagon papers, Richard Nixon, Saddam Hussein, The Most Dangerous Man in America, Vietnam war | 2 Comments »
Posted by keithosaunders on September 12, 2011
What a relief to have all the September 11th sensationalism behind us. I found the media’s coverage, be it sports, or “news” related, to be utterly repugnant. It was another excuse to show the burning buildings — a celebration of death. That old rallying cry, never forget, always sounded like a threat to me, but never so much as this past week. We may not be able to fund schools or health care, but thanks to the deeds of a few dirtbags with box cutters, we have an open-ended excuse to go to war.
Our reaction to the attacks of September 11th incited a killing spree, the likes of which has not been seen since the invasion of Japan. Its result, besides the hundreds of thousands of murdered civilians, is that the U.S. is practically bankrupt and will soon be cutting medicare and social security. This reaction played into Al Qaeda’s hands. They knew they couldn’t win a war against the U.S. What they could do, however, was play havoc with our economy. The eroding of our constitutional rights was a bonus.
It makes perfect sense that the sports worlds plays up the tragedy of September eleventh with endless tributes and military fly-overs. What better showcase for our militaristic policies than the black and white, statistics laden world of sports? The reaction to the attack was childlike, so perhaps it’s fitting that it should be featured in a kids game.
I saw a little of the Mets/Cubs game at the bar I was working at last night. I don’t know who was announcing, (Buck?) but when he gave a “shoutout” to Homeland Security for keeping us safe I nearly threw up in my mouth. HOmeland Security has done a tremendous job keeping us in a constant state of anxiety. From the asinine color coded security threats, so expertly exploited by the Bush administration during election season, to the security theatre run by the TSA, they have succeeded in breaking our spirit while draining the federal budget.
Who came up with the name Homeland Security? It sounds like the work of Cheney or Ashcroft. Am I the only one that thinks this name sounds fascist? Substitute “Fatherland” or “Rhineland” and you’d have a more apt title.
I only hope now that we have passed the ten-year mark we can begin to put it behind us. It was a horrible, horrible day — the worst day ever in New York City. Even now it’s difficult to recall it without choking up. But if we’re never to forget, I believe we should look at the entire picture. Rather than play the victim, or the bully, we must look at our own house and see what can be done to improve it.
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Posted in media, Politics | Tagged: 9/11, Ashcroft, Bush, Cheney, homeland security, Jack Buck, New York Mets, september 11th, sports and 9/11, TSA | 4 Comments »
Posted by keithosaunders on September 9, 2011
I thought that Obama made a great speech last night. Then again, that’s what he does — he’s a great orator. We have yet to see him back up his rhetoric with bold ideas. I was glad that he called out the Republicans in Congress, when he made his gentle gibe about simple math.
Should we keep tax loopholes for oil companies? Or should we use that money to give small business owners a tax credit when they hire new workers? Because we can’t afford to do both. Should we keep tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires? Or should we put teachers back to work so our kids can graduate ready for college and good jobs? Right now, we can’t afford to do both.
This isn’t political grandstanding. This isn’t class warfare. This is simple math. This is simple math. These are real choices. These are real choices that we’ve got to make. And I’m pretty sure I know what most Americans would choose. It’s not even close.
It’s interesting to note that the bulk of the cost of Obama’s jobs program will be incurred in the form of tax breaks which will be given to companies as incentives for hiring. Even though Obama paid lip service to the idea that the rich should pay more taxes, (why should Warren Buffet pay less taxes than his secretary?) I will be surprised if such taxes are enacted. I cannot believe that the obscenely wealthy should be entitled to such an advantage when the economy is hanging by a thread. Then again, big money is a formidable force to be reckoned with.
Certain issues in politics confound me, until I remember that there are forces unseen that are guiding the issues. Behind such forces is big money.
Health care is something we can seemingly all agree on. Why shouldn’t there be a public option — polls show that the public favors it. Yet it was a nonstarter during the health care reform debate of 18 months ago. The answer is that the health insurance lobby is an exceptionally strong and wealthy force. They don’t want it, ergo we can’t have it.
Gun control is another such issue. Who in the general populace is in favor of automatic weapons? I would guess the answer is well less than one percent. Yet efforts to try to ban such weapons are quixotic to the point that members of either party would be risking political suicide to even attempt reform. Again…follow the money.
The same could be said of the Iraq war. It was obvious that the Bush and Blair administrations had no concrete evidence that Saddam had been harboring terrorists. Yet we went in. Why would we kill tens of thousands of innocent people, and spend trillions of dollars on an invasion that was, at best, a distraction from the ongoing war in Afghanistan? Of course it was about money. Either that, or stupidity. Take your pick.
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Posted in Politics | Tagged: Barack Obama, Congress, debt ceiling, George, health care reform, Obama Care, Obama's speech, Republican congress, Republicans, taxing the rich, terrorists, Tony Blair, War in Afghanistan, War in Iraq | Leave a Comment »
Posted by keithosaunders on August 14, 2011
I managed to avoid the radio for the majority of my cross-country drive, but there were a few times where I succumbed to the lure of talk radio. I guess the left-wing media has yet to permeate the talk radio business — 100% of the shows I encountered were hosted by rabid right wingers. A particular low light was when I stumbled across Sean Hannity interviewing Ann Coulter. Hannity was flirting with Coulter throughout the interview, which lent it a creepy air. I would rather imagine my parents having sex than have to picture a Hannity/Coulter tryst. My god, I just threw up in my mouth.
Most, if not all of the shows, bemoaned the liberal compulsion to spend the country’s money. Apparently the deficit is the number one problem we have, and should we balance the budget, all of our troubles will be solved. Forget about unemployment — they do not so much as pay lip service to job creation, except for it being a direct by-product of tax breaks for the wealthy. (read, deserving)
All of this talk of cutting spending got me to thinking…we’ve got an election coming up next year and there is a tangible chance that Obama will be defeated, opening the door for fiscal responsibility Republican style. I began to wonder what would happen if the Republicans got everything they wanted.
First, let’s assume funding for schools will be slashed by fifty percent. After all, they are run by the corrupt teachers union and their funding is squandered on things like paid holidays. (and luxuries such as text books)
All programs related to job training, college loans, and food stamps would be cut by at least 80 percent. NPR and funding for the arts? Eliminated.
This brings us to cutting defense spending, but we all know this is a non-starter. This leaves Social Security and Medicare, which I assume would be drastically scaled back. The health care bill would be repealed, but heck, that may even happen under the Obama administration.
So what is the upshot? I envision mass poverty. With no jobs and rising expenses the middle class would be surviving on a wing and a prayer. The lower middle class would become homeless, but since funding for shelters would have been all but eliminated, there would be an epidemic of homelessness on the streets of our cities and suburbs.
Crime would skyrocket and prisons would be overflowing. Disease would be rampant and emergency rooms would become triage units. Eventually there would be rioting in the streets and martial law would be declared.
Now, I admit that this is a worst case scenario, but I am assuming that every possible spending cut would be achieved. Is it so much of a stretch to envision chaos in a society virtually devoid of government?
My point is that by listening to radio and TV pundits you would think that all of our problems would disappear if only we would cut spending. I believe that our problems would be exponentially worse.
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Posted in Politics | Tagged: Ann Coulter, Barack Obama, deficit, federal spending, fiscal responsibility, health care, Medicare, Obama Care, Republican, Sean Hannity, social security, spending cuts | 16 Comments »
Posted by keithosaunders on August 6, 2011
How interesting that we never once heard the phrase, ‘debt ceiling’ uttered while Bush co. was bankrupting the country giving tax breaks to the obscenely wealthy, and starting wars with five trillion-dollar price tags. We know now that the fix is in and the deck is stacked. The middle class is screwed and the poor may as well be serfs.
It is a simple case of misdirection. Our most dire need is job creation, yet stunningly the deficit has become the battle cry for an obstructionist Congress, and president Obama, for reasons unknown to me, has been all too happy to accommodate.
To hear the media report on the debt ceiling deal — a deal that will gut social programs, and decimate Medicare — you would think that there was a sound argument for balancing the budget at the expense of the needy. Though there is no basis, Tea Party Congressmen are not portrayed as incompetent hacks, but capable, altruistic politicians.
Yet somehow Obama is considered a liberal. I’m hoping he will be challenged from his left flank next year. He needs a wake up call, as does the country.
I shouldn’t sell my countrymen short, however. People can recognize a bum steer when they see one. The trouble stems from a complacent media — a media that all too willing to give credence, in the interest of fairness to arguments that are, at best, skewed, and at worst, a clear and present danger to the working class.
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Posted in Politics | Tagged: Barack Obama, Bush co, debt ceiling, George W Bush, Republicans, Tea Party | Leave a Comment »
Posted by keithosaunders on June 12, 2011
If people think that Congressman Anthony Weiner should resign because he sent lewd photos over Twitter, they should have their head examined. What does that have to do with his ability to do his job? While it’s not the smartest thing for a politician to do, it is naive to think that they don’t have foibles. Heck, foible-schmoible, he didn’t even cheat.
What’s worse? He could be an alcoholic, a drug abuser, or a wife beater. He could have started an illegal war. Why is the fact that Bush invaded Iraq with no evidence not a scandal?
It so happens that often times Republican politicians are implicated in these sex scandals. Who can forget the wide-stance guy, or the Appalachian trail guy. And there’s always Arnold “cup the balls” Schwarzenegger. The only difference I see is that at least the Democrats aren’t preaching bullshit politics, such as family values and abstinence. When one of your boiler plate hypocrite Republicans gets caught canoodling around, he really looks silly.
To sum up: We’re all sexual creatures. Those of us not “doing it” are thinking about “doing it.” For me, the bigger story is the arrogance of the politician that thinks, in this instantaneous digital age, he can get away with it. I suppose it takes that same arrogance to consider running for office.
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Posted in Politics | Tagged: Andrew Breitbart, Anthoney Weiner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Democrats, George Bush, Iraq war, Republicans, sex scandal, weinergate | 6 Comments »
Posted by keithosaunders on May 2, 2011
The idea that there were people in the street celebrating Bin Laden’s death, and behaving as if it was time to party is disgusting to me. It was reported that after hearing of his death, people spontaneously gathered at Ground Zero and began singing the Na Na Na, Hey Hey Goodbye song. Is this what things have devolved to – celebrating a man’s death in the same way you would a Yankees victory?
I don’t care how many deaths bin Laden is responsible for - using it as an excuse for a party is like a tacit admission that murder is a moral act, as long as you have the high ground. I am grateful that he can no longer take lives, but I am not going to party and sing about it.
The American response to the September 11th attacks, especially the Iraq war, seemed destined to escalate terrorism and to put our country at greater risk. I felt uncomfortable with the Bush administration’s knee jerk reaction to wage war against a country that had little to do with the catastrophe. It was as if the only way we were capable of reacting was to begin killing people, regardless of whether they were guilty or not.
All the celebrating in the world will not bring back the thousands of Americans that died on September 11th. Nor will it bring back the hundreds of thousands of people who have died since then. Do you think we can call it even now?
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Posted in Politics | Tagged: 9/11, Barack Obama, George Bush, ground zero, ground zero celebration, New York Yankees, Osama Bin Laden, september 11th, terrorism, War in Afghanistan, War in Iraq | 2 Comments »
Posted by keithosaunders on May 2, 2011
Tonight the news broke that Osama Bin Laden had been killed by American special forces. I spent an hour watching network news, as well as viewing president Obama’s address to the nation. The news anchors could not overstate the importance of the event, calling it an end of an era that defined a generation. On screen a series of stock footage of Obama, as well as troops wearing black ski masks holding automatic weapons, endlessly looped.
Obama’s speech was understated and humble, if not a little short on details. Listening to the speech I could not help but recall Bush’s 2003 Mission Accomplished speech aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, announcing the end of major combat operations in Iraq. That speech was arrogant and smug, and ultimately untrue, as the war continues to drag on to this day.
By the same token, despite what the talking heads say, I have a hard time believing that we have turned a corner in this so-called war on terror. Yes, the man who is responsible for one of the great American tragedies is gone, but look at all that remains in the aftermath. Still in place are the Patriot Act, warrantless wire-tapping, unlawful detainment, and the continuing abuse of civil liberties at our airports. Furthermore, I have a hard time getting excited about Osama’s death in 2011, when he could have, and should have been captured at Tora Bora back in 2001.
It is way too early to know what effect Bin Laden’s death will have on the nation, but one thing is certain — politically, this is a boon to Obama’s 2012 campaign. The Republican party is chock full of fringe candidates, and whoever wins the nomination will be unable to attack Obama on being weak on defense. Even if the economy only marginally improves he will be a lock.
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Posted in Obama, Politics | Tagged: 9/11, Barack Obama, George Bush, mission accomplished, Osama Bin Laden, Republican party, september 11th, Tora Bora, US politics, USS Abraham Lincoln, war on terror | 5 Comments »
