Today, there will be no ranting on this blog. No social criticism. No political analysis. Just a simple word of thanks. Thank you to all the men and women of the past and present who wear/have worn the uniform. From the troops planted in foxholes to the dude peeling potatoes on ship, thank you all for your service.
We tend to use the term “hero” so much that’s been watered down immensely. But if there ever was a such thing as a hero, you’re it.
- ACL
The House of Representatives made a partial fool out of me when they were able to pass a health care reform bill this weekend. With a vote of 220 yea v. 215 nay, the bill passed by the narrowest of margins. But it’s on to the Senate, nonetheless. After watching health-care reform fall flat on its face during the first part of the Clinton era, seeing something like this represents history of a certain kind. I highly doubt this legislation is viable enough to get the 60 votes its needs in the Senate, but I think it still spells at least a modicum of success in a highly unpopular and ineffecient Congress.
I have to admit: Nancy Pelosi – though a failure by most standards - showed she can be a pretty smark cookie when it comes to getting things passed. Allowing the Stupak Ammendment to weave its way into the bill, Speaker Pelosi gave pro-lifers the ultimate in a quip pro quo; enough, at least, to satisfy the moderate Democrats in the House. But evidenced by the single yea vote coming from the Republican side, it’s going to take a lot more to appease the Senate.
For this reason, I’m not particularly excited right now. Harry Reid is not as popular as Nancy Pelosi (which isn’t saying much for Pelosi, who as Speaker is about as unpopular as any of her predecessors), and he isn’t nearly as crafty when it comes to appealing to his opposition. So getting a two-thirds majority when Pelosi was only able to get a smidge over half of her folks is a stretch.
Winning a battle is one thing. Winning the war is another story altogether.
- ACL
So I was watching football on campus the other day (I still don’t have cable, so I get my TV entertainment on a college campus of all places. Pray for me, y’all), when I heard about Kansas City Chief running back Larry Johnson hurling gay slurs about his coach, and then posting them on his Twitter. Things got worse for Johnson when he – while engaging in a verbal spat with a fan - retorted “think bout a clever diss then that wit ur fag pic. Christopher street boy. Is what us east coast cats call u.” [My translation: Think about a (more) clever diss than that (whatever "that" is), with that fag picture of yours. Folks like us on the East Coast call people like you "Christopher Street boys."]. I later learned that the Christopher Street boy line is slur to homosexual men who frequent bars and clubs on the famous Christopher Street in Manhattan.
The league subsequently fined Johnson $213 g’s for his comment. Regardless to how you feel about the gay agenda in this country, I think this was a little excessive; especially considering all the other mess which happens in the world in and out of the sports. But one thing is certain: I’m not shedding any tears for Larry Johnson. Maybe this will be a learning experience for him.
Lesson one: Contray to beliefs, cheap shots at socially marginalized groups are not so cheap after all. Lesson learned, dawg.
Lesson Two: Users of Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, blogs, and the hoards of other social networking out there, get it through your heads that what you post can (and, in many circumstances, will) come back to bite you. Even if you have profiles set for privacy, people who subscribe to your site(s) can still disseminate your stuff and carry your message with or without your knowledge. To this day, I still can’t understand how so many people – celebs or regular joes alike - are unable to come to terms with that. Ben Franklin once said the only way for three people to keep a secret is if two of them are dead. Same rule applies to social networking. If a person can see your stuff on their screen, you’re setting yourself up for disaster. Is it REALLY so hard to understand?!
Lesson Three: Interestingly, the Stonewall Inn riot on Christopher Street was one of the pivitol moments propeling the gay rights movement. It was only when a bunch of gay people sick of being harassed made a conscious decision to stand up for themselves and fight an oppressive system. Meanwhile, the only time you see most athletes and entertainers collectively standing up for anything is when it involves their already inflated salaries or when it comes to rallying behind known rapists. I admit I’m not completely down the homosexual agenda (with gay marriage in particular. But then again, I’m generally anti-relationship all across the board, so consider the source), but it takes far more courage and nobility to be an anti-oppression activist on Christopher Street than it does to organize a strike because the NFL is only paying you a $5 million salary when you think you deserve $5.5 million. Simply put, being gay and being a weak punk are not interchangable. So, sorry Larry: that was a bad analogy dude.
J Smooth, as always, puts it best:
- ACL
- ACL
