Giant Crabs Good For America

Not real news from The Onion.

Maybe.

Stupid News: MSM Still Thinks It's 1965

There are so many things I've wanted to write about, but either a) haven't had the time, or b) started to post, but never finished because my ADD kicked in, and something else caught my attention.

So much has been happening in the news, but this little gem from ABC News really bugged me:

Obama's Safety: Fear Grows for President as Hate Groups Thrive on Racial Backlash

Here's a snippet or two:

"Experts who track hate groups across the U.S. are growing increasingly concerned over violent rhetoric targeted at President Obama, especially as the debate over health care intensifies and a pattern of threats emerges.

Contentious health care debate heightens concerns for Obama's safety.The Secret Service is investigating a Maryland man who held a sign reading "Death to Obama" and 'Death to Michelle and her two stupid kids' outside a town hall meeting this week."

Ummmm. Doesn't anyone remember that for the last EIGHT YEARS we've been seeing protest signs that said "Death to Bush" and "BushHitler". There was even a movie called “Death of a President” where Bush is assassinated during an anti-war protest. This is not a movie about "an ambiguous American President" but the current, sitting President.

We saw plenty of this during Bush's 8 years, but nobody called it racism.

Even the title of the article above, "Obama's Safety: Fear Grows for President as Hate Groups Thrive on Racial Backlash" incites continued hatred between black and white, as well as Democrat and Republican. For example, the article goes on to quote Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center:

"I think the president has, in effect, triggered fears amongst fairly large numbers of white people in this country that they are somehow losing their country, that the battle is lost," Potok told ABC News. "The nation that their Christian white forefathers created has somehow been taken from them."

You've got to be kidding me. I admit there's some wackos out there, but large numbers of white people? That's just insulting.

I'm really tired of hearing how racist we are in America. If we were so racist, we wouldn't have elected our first African American President. I think everyone in this country should be proud of that accomplishment, seeing how far we've come in the last 30 years. Instead, all I ever hear from the Liberal Democrats is that we're SOOOO racist here, and anyone disagreeing with the President's policies is a racist.

I don't doubt there are racist nutjobs out there that pose a threat. And, I am equally sure there are plenty of non-racist nutjobs that are just as much of a threat. ANY threat to our President should be taken VERY seriously.

Being President, no matter what your ethnicity, religion, or sex is, will attract threats. This is the nature of any public office, especially the President. This is why we have the Secret Service.

But let's make sure that it's actually "racism" before putting out an article that incites more hatred. You can't point to this article and say this is a good sampling of what the American people are like. Most Americans don't care about the color of one's skin.

Stating The Obvious: Us Against Them Mentality Just Not Helpful

Apparently I'm a glutton for punishment, since I'm still reading the news and political blogs.

I linked from one blog to another and ran across this post, berating Keith Olbemann for reading the saucy emails from Governor Mark Sanford to his mistress, and taking such delight in them. Along with Olbermann's schadenfreude, the article also points out how he showed no concern for the wife and children in doing so.

I'd like to applaud the article, and say that maybe we're not so different after all, that American citizens of both political parties are tired of this crap. Then there was the snark that ruined it: “Attacking women and children is the vanguard of the Republicans”. This instantly turned what could've been a compassionate article showing what's wrong on both sides (left and right), into another swipe at the Republicans.

Personally, I don't care about politician's extra-marital affairs. I don't care if they're Democrats or Republicans. It's wrong, regardless of party affiliation. However, if they're able to do their job (I realize this is highly relative, given we're talking about politicians), I don't care what they do in their private lives.

That's not to say I condone it. It's wrong, and horrible for the other family members involved. The media is unethical in gloating the way Olbermann did (as many others have done before him), but let's face it, the person responsible for the family's pain and humiliation is the one who committed the deed.

Some point out that if they're willing to lie about an extra-marital affair, then what else are they lying about? What else indeed. We're talking about politicians here, and regardless of political affiliation, their default position is generally dishonest. Besides, how many people out there are going to tell the truth about an affair? Do you really expect them to?

As a side note: I love how it's assumed by the media that if you're conservative, you're also a Holy Roller. And don't they just love catching someone who has “conservative” values or “religious” values in the act of something sordid. So much spicier, if it's a hypocrite.

Fact is, human beings are going to screw up. Knowing this doesn't make it acceptable, and obviously being a hypocrite isn't good either, but there's nothing wrong with having these values to guide you, or to strive for. It's better than saying, “No point in having any morals or values since we're just going to booger it up anyway. Only human, you know!”

Anyway, getting back to the article above. The comments section, as usual, was venomous. All the usual toxic spittle about conservatives being hateful, sadistic, hypocritical, etc. It was a dogpile inciting every crazy out there. Which seems to be the case whether it's a liberal or conservative news outlet, blog, or pundit.

There's no unbiased media anymore. Maybe I'm being optimistic, but I want to believe there's more middle of the road Americans than the media portrays. We're just overshadowed by the screamers on each polarized side.

Surreal Life Imitates Art?

Oh no they di'aaaahhhnnnnt!

Oh yes. They did.

MSNBC.com reported this today:

PETA wishes Obama hadn't swatted that fly

I was just kidding yesterday, when I asked why there's no outcry from PETA over Obama's fly swatting.

I think I'm going to stop reading the news entirely, and become a hermit. The world is officially insane.

President Kills Fly, MSM Thinks It's News

CNN Headline:

Fly bugs Obama, so he coolly smacks it

Why is this news, and why is it on the front page of cnn.com, no less?

Where's the outcry from PETA about fly abuse, and why aren't they proposing humane ways to euthanize insects?

I think CNN could've spiced up the story. It would've been better if they reported he gave the smack down to some bad guys. Like maybe he was out getting a Slurpee, interrupted a holdup at the local 711, then used his mad karate skillz and laser-vision to apprehend the thieves.

It's not like the media's interested in ethical reporting anyway.

So what's the verdict here? Was it intended as a human interest story, a goofy "hey look how tuff he is on flies" story, or just more MSM sycophantic infatuation?

Stupid News Part 3

Yay. ABC is resurrecting the 80's sci-fi TV show, “V” for the 2009-2010 season.

This, along with the original Battlestar Galactica are fond memories from my childhood. These are excellent examples of 80's TV cheese that my generation loved so much.

Can't wait to see if the new “V” will equal the travesty that the new Battlestar became.

And also -

Random observation: It's really icky the way the press is hovering over Farrah Fawcett like a bunch of vultures, waiting for her to kick the bucket. Just my opinion though.

Stupid News Part 2

Marriage of Reality TV Couple Jon and Kate Gosselin on the Rocks

These people weren't even on my radar until they showed up in the news recently.

According to IMDB, this is a reality show on TLC, about a family raising 8 children. Twins and sextuplets. I think we can safely say this is a stressful household.

As a parent, the first thing that popped into my mind was, why subject your kids to that kind of exposure?

Honestly, why would you even put yourself in that position? For the money?

And if you ARE going to put yourself on display for all the world to see, why not behave yourself until your free ride is over?

Not sure I understand why this show is interesting, except to see if Jon and Kate make it through another day without losing their minds. I suppose that's the point of reality TV – to see how others react, given certain conditions. However, if TLC really wants a nerve-wracking reality soap opera, just wait til the sextuplets become teenagers.

Fossil

Whale Fossil Found in Kitchen Counter

I read this headline on National Geographic and thought, “Cool.....how do I get one?”.

I imagined someone doing a little kitchen DIY; the local Home Depot shows up to install a stone counter top, then: WOOHOO.....fossils! In my kitchen!

But the title is misleading. It was actually the factory cutting the kitchen counter tops that found the fossils in the stone, then called in some archaeologists.

Oh well. I'll have to settle for the shells and trilobites in my stone row.

Stupid News

Tri-marriages. Heard about this on the news this morning. People who want to marry in threes.

Apparently, this isn't just a polygamy matter, where a man marries more than one woman, but three chuckleheads that want to marry each other as a unit.

Then there's talk of the “slippery slope”. Opponents ask where it will end. How about a “marital collective” of 4, 5 or 6? Or farm animals?

As funny as that sounds... think about it. I'm sure there's more than a few activists willing to marry a cow in order to gain “equal human rights” for it.