Bad Cartoon. Bad Taste.

Over the course of the election, the full blown racists in this country have had a field day. Comparing our first black president to a monkey is just beyond the pale. The kind of crap that Sarah Palin stirred up with these idiots just enforces their inappropriate behavior.  These individuals who allegedly claim to be the party for values are not doing a very good job teaching these values by encouraging this kind of disgraceful crap.

Although the NY Post is a rag, it is a widely circulated rag. 

In the United States, differing views and public discourse are a part of our political system. Disagreeing is fine. Making monkey references about an African American is just plain inappropriate. It goes through some really antebellum references that were part of the rhetoric of a disgraceful chapter in American History. 

Now some may argue that W was referenced as a monkey and "Uncurious George", but speaking as a thoroughly white individual, I know that it is just different. It is the difference between the "N" Word and being called a cracker. Or a honky. Sure being called a cracker or a honky by a black person is not nice, but calling black people the "N" Word strikes a whole different chord. The rules are simply different for this sort of thing. 

One of the problems though is the way the media has handled it. They immediately went to Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton for commentary on this, knowing that Mr. Jackson and Mr. Sharpton would love to comment on the situation, and would definitley provide some decent material. Now, all kidding aside, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have done a lot of good work, and they are real leaders, but folks have quit taking them seriously (The NY Post has done a pretty good job of besmirching their collective character!)  As soon as Jackson and Sharpton arrive on the scene, a lot of people tune it out; mostly due to Sharpton and Jackson's reputation as racial agitators.

 Although I do not neccessarily agree with everything Sharpton and Jackson have to say, they are right. This is an inappropriate reference that hits a lot of hot buttons. It is not something one would expect in a major newspaper, more like a newsletter circulated by the Klan. 

The kicker is that the "management" of this paper are not issuing an apology of any sort. They are defending their cartoon. If they had half a brain, they would apologize for inadvertent racism and try to move on. Instead, they are pretending that they did not do a damn thing wrong. 

I almost believe the defense of inadvertent racism, because the fact is that they seem like a pretty thoughtless bunch. Even if they were not being bigoted jerks, they really showed their unforgiveable lack of class. 

KA-CHOW!

Thank you Jeebus! After several dry days of soft targets and other nonsense, I finally got something juicy. Bristol Palin has opened her mouth to ol' Skidmark Van Susteren and let everyone know that abstinence is "not realistic".  Its about time one of these nincompoops said something.  I bet her bat-shit crazy mother is a little miffed about the whole interview and the fact that it refutes a key part of her conservative christian worldview. 

Now, all kidding aside, what Bristol Palin might or might not have been forced to do needs some recognition, having a child is something scary and difficult, even with all the support and infrastructure she has. In addition, the media coverage is not something that an expecting teen mother needs.  On one hand I feel sorry for her having to deal with all the horse shit that has come her way, and on the other, she has a lot of advantages that most teen mothers could not dream of.

What took real courage was stepping away from her mother's abstinence only party line. She showed some actual moral courage that came from a hard lesson. This could possibly be a step in the right direction to preventing unwanted teen pregnancy. It is not just an after school special, it is a piece of reality when someone that young breaks from their crazy mom's paradigm and goes on the record with that information.

One potentially troubling piece of information is that this kid has absolutely no shot at a normal life. He was born to teen parents and there will definitely be some drama from the grandparents. On one side is the Palin Clan, who have a reputation for being insane, then there is his grandma Johnston, who allegedly sells Oxycontin to undercover cops in parking lots. In any event, the child will get plenty of support and attention from a lot of really crazy people, and who knows, the Palins may just help out the in laws and pull some strings for Mama Johnston, (she already got a real lawyer!) 

In summary, kudos to Bristol for speaking some truth about the silliness of abstinence only. It did not work out too well for you.

Soft Targets

How 'bout it? Two holidays within a week. Saturday we had a big fat valentine's day, which was a resounding success, and today which is President's Day.  Things seem to be in full swing today, except for the post office and a few other state and federal authorities. 

I am not 100% sure what one should do for president's day, seeing as though there has been quite a few of them, and I have only been alive for 5 so far. I am not exactly clear how some of the previous administrations went.  As a child of public school, I am a little foggy on most of them except for the old standbys. (Can someone fill me in on Chester "A." Arthur?)

In any event, unless they were on money or Mount Rushmore, most Americans lose track of a lot of presidential stuff. The filler presidents are not discussed with any real degree of detail.  I like to call them the beard guys. The ones between Lincoln and about 1910. The problem is, that a lot of these presidents were pretty uninspiring or bland, and if an administration did not have a real war or serious scandal, no one really gives a damp shit about it.  The beard guys really get lost in the shuffle.  

On another hand, I am all for bringing back presidential facial hair. The last president to have a beard, stache or goatee, or sideburns for that matter was William Howard Taft, who had a particularly opulent and luxurious handlebar moustache.  

Friday the 13th

Now, I actually dug something up that reflects positively on the Mayor's Office of Seattle. Greg Nickels has some construction projects in mind that he has a plan to pay for. You heard that right. Their is money to pay for them. It might be a little bit of the Nickels shell game, but there is some money floating around from some tax increases that passed.

Old Sweaty Nicks actually has a plan to repave about a half dozen streets that are currently 3rd world hazardous. That really makes me happy. In addition he plans to have a new park built with a large bronze statue of himself with Tim Eyman in a WWE-esque "Camel Clutch", made popular by former professional wrestler The Iron Sheik.  

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of jobs being created, especially in the sector of public infrastructure, but, what about getting some of the existing messes straightened out. Seattle is a rapidly growing city, and has been for the last 20 years, and in that time, has amassed some pretty serious growing pains.  The demand for infrastructure has outstripped the supply by a fairly wide margin, thus decreasing the live ability factor of the region. If something is not done soon, people in the other parts of the country might figure out that Seattle is not really the land of milk and honey.

health care

On a more serious note than the last few posts, I have a few things to say about the condition of the medical system in the United States. This is not a Michael Moore documentary, or a rant, but a statement of beliefs.

Once upon a time, there was an organization called the Public Health Service, which would provide treatment to the poor and indigent (originally formed to care for merchant seamen). During the Reagan administration, the scope and practice of said service was greatly reduced, and access to health services in general was restricted to those who could afford to pay or had insurance through their employment. Health care costs have risen to unprecedented levels, and the rate of uninsured or under insured individuals has correlated as well. 

When it comes to the issues that we face as a nation, the first reaction is blame. We want to find out who is responsible for the problem and punish them accordingly. Often this leads to a judgement call on another's standard of living. (ie blaming United Auto Workers for problems in detroit, because they make 27 bucks an hour). A lot of people blame doctors for exorbitant medical costs, but honestly, can we blame people for wanting to make a good living off of their skills, education and talents? (There are a few notable examples that lean towards greed, but the exception does not prove the rule). One of the issues that we really need to look at is that the Health Care Industry is in fact, a business. Businesses are in business to make money. The fundamental paradigm of buy low, sell high is at the core of business. They want to maximize profits and keep their shareholders happy. The organizations who practice business medicine lose sight of the fundamental tenet of the Hippocratic oath "To keep the good of the patient as the highest priority."

During this period of economic downturn, more and more people are losing the health care furnished by their employer, resulting in a higher demand for public health care. We as a nation need to respond accordingly and increase the supply of available medicine. Not only in the best interest of individual patients, but in the best interest of the nation. Healthy workers are productive workers, and everyone ought to have a basic standard for care that allows a productive, healthy life. 

Michael Phelps, You are off the Hook!

Well Mike Phelps, you are no longer a big news story. The media and I have latched onto a better story, the story of Yankees star, Alex Rodriguez, who when when you google Mr. April through September, his name is first on the list. Mr. Rodriguez is an immensely talented baseball player, you cannot take that away from him. However, unlike Michael Phelps (or known facts about Michael Phelps) A-Rod cheats. He used steroids to give him that competitive edge. 

Alex Rodriguez' much publicized mea culpa was just a cheap way to head it off at the pass. He expected forgiveness for his transgressions, but it pretty much blew up in his face. The element he did not take into consideration is the fact that he is a regular asshole. He has been called A-Fraud and A-roid, Stray Rod, and other such disrespectful handles that one ought to think there might be something to it. 

Even the ever-hopeful and classically serious President of the United States was pretty pissed off about it.

"And if you're a fan of Major League Baseball, I think it tarnishes an entire era, to some degree. And it's unfortunate, because I think there are a lot of ballplayers who played it straight."

One thing we have to take into consideration when we evaluate the contents of Mr. Rodriguez' soul is the fact that he had a lot of pressure on him to perform for his unprecedented contract. He had a lot to live up to, and depending on who you talk to, he failed. His post season performance is dismal, and he has really done something that we all have expected.

Now that he has had his little come to Jeebus meeting, I think we all can move on. He will have an asterisk next to his name.

Michael Phelps got ratted out for smoking the reefer. Not exactly a performance enhancing substance. People were all up in arms and Kellogg's took away his endorsement deals. Which is absolute bullshit. He did not tarnish the image of competitive swimming in the way that steroids have indelibly marked baseball. He smoked the weeds. The kids who look up to Mike Phelps are not going to make their pot decisions based on his actions for several reasons:

a. It does not help athletic performance.

b. It is illegal.

c. They have all heard the terrific "Above the Influence" commercials

Now, steroids have a few simple facts behind them including:

a. if used properly, reduce injuries and healing time

b. enhance performance

c. rapidly builds muscle mass

d. they are almost a prerequisite for superstardom in MLB

A-Rod used steroids and got away with it for 8 years. If it was not for the Canseco Effect, it never would have come to light. He is still rich, and still wearing pinstripes.

 Mike Phelps got caught with some reefer and lost his lucrative endorsement deals. He got railroaded for doing something millions of Americans do every day. It may be illegal, but it is not morally reprehensible on the level of shooting chemicals into your butt cheeks that make titanic home runs more and more pedestrian. 

Mike Phelps

Michael Phelps, is there any more room under the bus?  What a screwjob. Here we have a superstar athlete doing some bong rips. In my estimation it is probably not uncommon among professional athletes. The real issue here is an invasion of Mr. Phelps' privacy, and a savage bussing from someone on location. 

Now, Mr. Phelps is not without sin, he pleaded guilty to a DUI when he was 19 and got the standard treatment. 

There are two possible ways this went down. Either Mr. Phelps pissed someone off and they sold him down the river, or someone resented the fact that he is an Olympic athlete and has piles of money. 

The pissing off theory has legs, because as we all know, many people who transcend the level of mere mortal are unforgivable douche nozzles. 

The resentment theory has legs too, because us mere mortals really have a tendency to resent people who are a lot better than us.

In any event, it is a pretty low rent stunt to sell pictures of someone doing something illegal (but not altogether uncommon) to the media. (What would have been a better option is blackmail. I mean, the pics were probably a one time lump sum, but blackmail has a life expectancy of about 3.5 years. Mike Phelps would have probably paid your tuition and he could have written that off on his taxes, and that would have been a win-win situation (2012 Olympics, HIGH AS A KITE!))

Now, the real kicker on this whole strange mess is the fact that so many people care. People are throwing a fit about role model stuff and that whole song and dance. Kids are already inundated with the fact that many of these titans are, in fact, scumbags. You have guys like Pacman Jones and Rae Carruth committing serious crimes on a regular basis, and guys like Plaxico Burress damn near shooting his own pecker off. In addition to criminal activity, you have John Rocker, who is just a regular asshole, and Mark McGwire, who used steroids and lied about it. So, maybe kids ought to pick a different genre of human beings to use as role models. 

Cut Phelps some slack, he is 23 years old and smoked weed. Mind your own damn business. I honestly do not think Michael Phelps would give two hot shits if 99% of America got caught smoking weed. And this whole thing would not have been an issue if some self serving little buddy fucker had not sold the pictures to the media.

Michael Phelps, listen up. This is important. You learned your lesson about fraternizing with the peons. You can do all the drugs and illegal shit you want. Just do it with other professional athletes and celebrities who have something to lose. They will not dime you out, because they were doing it with you!