Nothing To See Here, Keep It Moving

So according to the Republican National Convention their aim for this presidential election is to target what they call disillusioned Obama supporters. Who are these people? Other than the previously discussed turncoat Artur Davis, I’m not so sure these people even exist. This sounds like a ploy to get voters into the mindset that President Obama hasn’t followed through on promises made. What‘s conveniently left out is all the push back the President has received from Republicans whenever he attempts to enact legislation. They act as though this is a regular presidency and President Obama hasn’t faced added pressure from being the first African-American president. When was the last time a president had to literally fight tooth and nail for almost four years just to get one piece of legislation enacted…the Affordable Healthcare Program. There were over 100 filibusters in the first year of his presidency alone over twice the number than ever before in the history of our government. How, exactly, is a president supposed to succeed in his promises when one party is blocking the way?

Last night at the convention, Clint Eastwood who has never identified himself as being from one party or the other but has more often than not exhibited republican leanings, sauntered out and spoke of how disappointed he was in the president and of broken promises made…as if he was ever an Obama supporter. But to be honest the old man looked confused and spent the entire time talking to an empty chair as if President Obama was sitting there so I’m not sure if the old coot even knew where he was. If the goal of the republicans was to use Eastwood as a distraction, I say mission accomplished. Not only was he distracting, he gave a bizarre incoherent all over the map speech and continually spoke to that empty chair, even implying that the chair (President Obama) told him to go f***k himself which was exactly what I was thinking. In the end he was just another rambling, less government libertarian conservative nut job who arrived at the convention on federally and state built roads, from federally run flight corridors and funded airports, to broadcast a ridiculous speech on the public airwaves…but I’m sure he did it all on his own.

Just a quick note, Wednesday night Mitt Romney’s VP running mate Paul Ryan came out and told so many lies and distortions regarding President Obama that several fact checking websites crashed and even FOX News called him out on it. So I have no comment on him other than to say I guess its desperation time for the Republicans.

Finally, last night we got to see ole Mittens himself for some personal Obama bashing. He came in all presidential like down the middle of the aisle instead of from behind the podium like all the other speakers and stood a full five minutes smiling and beaming looking every inch the arrogant entitled rich white man waiting to be crowned…I swear every time he smiles I just want to slap it off his stupid face. He kept throwing up his hands like he was trying to get the party started or something. The man managed to spend forty minutes talking and revealed absolutely nothing, the man avoids substance like the plague. He simply repeated the same old republican lies, misrepresentations and distortions about President Obama’s record emphasizing Medicare and welfare reforms. According to the republicans the number one issue in America is the economy. So where was his plan for improvement and what would he do differently than President Obama? If he in fact does have a plan, he’s kept it very well hidden being all secretive like he held the recipe to the Colonel’s 11 different herbs and spices or something. In an effort to appear more personable he told some boring story about his lifeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzz…sorry I just dozed off thinking about it. Honestly who would trust this lying, arrogant, impractical, vulture capitalist crook? Really, when it comes to likability the man scores a negative 1,000. We all know what he wants to do. Cut taxes for the rich, cut aid to the poor and continue the republican’s campaign of class warfare pitting the rich against the poor and whites against all other minorities…and still no mention of his tax returns.

So what did we learn from the Republican National Convention. Well nothing new, that’s for sure. Republicans continue to blame President Obama for an economic meltdown that occurred seven years into the Bush administration and if elected they would continue and even double down the same failed Bush policies. They refuse to acknowledge the ongoing GOP obstructionism and have the audacity to blame the President for a war started by Bush and previously encouraged by so-called patriotic conservatives. They plan to give tax breaks to those who don’t need them and squander more money on the military. In other words business as usual.

Three Blind Mice

This week at the RNC in an effort to show their diversity and in support of their theory that African-Americans need to get over it and act as though racism does not and has never existed and also to prove the NAACP got it wrong with Mitt Romney, the Republican Party trotted out the 2012 Model of self-loathing African-Americans to demonstrate their point. However, prior to that there was a required event taking place in the main hall where conventioneers were invited to throw peanuts at Black camera women working for CNN and call them animals. So who did they choose to represent them in their effort to attract African-American voters? Artur Davis, you know him former Obama supporter turned Republican ass licking token, Condoleezza Rice accompanied by her dated press and curl and Herman Coon (ok the man’s name is Cain but isn’t it more fun to call him what he is?) Anyway, this is what the Republican Party chose as their trifling representatives a backstabber, a war criminal and a nut job. Notably absent was Allen West of Florida. You know the modern day Harriet Tubman…his words not mine. Why wasn't he invited has he gotten too loony even for the Republican Party? Or maybe he’s just last year’s model. At any rate someone should check the basement of the convention hall.

Artur Davis spoke first, apparently growing up his parents couldn’t afford an “h” for his name. Seriously someone get this man an “h” for his birthday, come on folks everyone deserves a full first name. Anyway, fresh from getting his ass kicked in his democratic bid for the governor of Alabama…ok wait a minute, this Black man ran for governor in the land of George Wallace and his Dixiecrat contemporaries and he’s surprised he didn’t even get the nomination? Idiot! So he’s switched parties and now this man who was solidly behind President Obama in 2008 is now all my bad, Obama is the devil and he’s seen the light…hallelujah! One day he may realize the light is from thinly veiled KKK torch bearers. So this newly christened Republican, sore losing hater intent on bringing our President down showed up to subliminally remind his new party that during slavery the unemployment rate for African-Americans was zero. Apparently he was so busy dodging the devils pitchfork he missed the fact that his new party blatantly seeks to disenfranchise, diminish and dismiss black voters, consistently uses them as political bogeymen, calling African-Americans lazy, shiftless, unwilling to work and welfare cheats as these realities did nothing to dissuade him from his mission to kiss Republican ass. So how did his speech go? I’m not sure, as soon as he began speaking I became focused on that 90’s era Fresh Prince of Bel-Air flat top and I zoned out…but I’m guessing they didn’t throw peanuts at him.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke on her belief in the American dream but apparently her dreams are what make up my nightmares. She and her fellow republicans want to take America back to what they call simpler times. Ah the good ole days, when Jim Crow ruled and Black people stayed in their place. She spoke of her personal upbringing you know all boot strap pulling up and making it in spite of obstacles, blah, blah, blah. Fine except that she and her fellow Republicans act as though racism is no longer an obstacle to overcome and the fight for equality has been won, which is easy to do when you’ve made it. She also seems to forget what it took for her to make it and the sacrifices of those who made it possible. More importantly she attacked President Obama’s foreign policy calling it weak. She made no mention of the two wars begun under her former boss’ tenure and conveniently left out the fact the President Obama successfully ended the one in Iraq and is working on the other in Afghanistan and what about Osama Bin Laden being taken out. Or how about the fact that our President has restored worldwide respect for the United States which had been shamelessly lost by George Bush’s war mongering. I wouldn't call any of that weak and by the way lady no planes have flown into buildings on President Obama’s watch.

In an effort to play it safe or perhaps subscribing to the theory that you never know what the hell crazy rhetoric is gonna come out of Herman Cain’s mouth, only Davis and Rice were invited to speak. However, he was allowed to lead the pledge of allegiance (I’m guessing they figured even he couldn’t screw that up) and provided many loony interviews including one with Sean Hannity where he said “some Black people can think for themselves.” Apparently Herman’s not one of them. The fact that he a Black man and onetime leading GOP presidential candidate was not invited to speak at the convention was completely lost on him…idiot!

Originally I wanted to title this post the Three Stooges but I felt that might be an insult to the Stooges.

Able To Leap Tall Buildings in a Single Bound

You know President Obama truly is a real live super hero. I mean really, think about it. As a newborn he was able to slip out of a Kenyan hospital, fly to the other side of the world, plant his birth announcement in two separate Hawaiian newspapers for future use and then slip back into the maternity ward all unnoticed. Later he was able to master the teachings of communism, socialism and Nazism all while attending Ivy League schools that he wasn’t smart enough to get into. Finally he was able to outsmart every intelligence agency in the United States as well as millions of citizens and launch his Islamic terrorist agenda to bring down the American government. The man accomplished all of this and managed a pretty cool rendition of Let’s Stay Together as well. Of course none of this ever happened, well except the Let’s Stay Together interpretation (the man can sing) but this is what the Tea Party and conservative nut jobs would have you believe.

Last week Mitt Romney appeared at a rally in Michigan along with his wife old what’s her name…seriously for some reason her name doesn’t stick with me, the woman’s way too vanilla. Romney said, “No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place where both of us were born and raised.” Translated, “no one ever asked to see my birth certificate because I am white, male and rich.” He was literally saying that he is more American than the President of the United States because he is white and his first name is Mitt and not Barack. Romney called it a joke (wink, wink) but could he make it any clearer to his supporters that it’s all about race? Of course Rush Limbaugh weighed in immediately with “Right On, Right On, Right On”… what the hell, did Rush suddenly become a brother? If so, the man needs to pick up some millennium vernacular and leave the sixties speech with the hippies where he found it.

So President Obama's birth certificate is fair game. Ok. Let's examine the past racist beliefs of the Mormon Church. Prior to the mid 70's African-Americans could not become priests in the Mormon Church. In the early 70's, the IRS published regulations denying tax exempt status to organizations which discriminated based upon race. Based upon these regulations, the IRS began proceeding against Bob Jones University because they prohibited inter-racial marriage. Fearing they might be next, the Morman Church changed their policy in 1978. The Mormons claim the policy change was based upon a "divine" revelation…funny how divine revelation can be timed to be revealed just when you need it most.

Seriously, this is nothing more than an obvious attempt to polarize America and Romney is gonna rake in a ton of money from that one race baiting comment. The Republican propaganda machine has been successful in their anti-Obama campaign, the cheers that followed Romney’s statement are proof of that. In fact they have convinced these under-educated, partially successful and even unemployed idiots to vote against their own best interests and they will eagerly give up their weekly lotto and bingo tickets just to send him money. They have instilled fear that under President Obama, it’s payback time and people of color are coming to take what's yours. With the help of Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and other bigots they have incited racism and hatred by portraying President Obama as someone who is not one of us. They’ve succeeded in making people feel afraid of minorities, as if minorities are not real Americans.

Stone Castin'

Just one more thing about the chicken restaurant that shall not be named and I swear I’m done with it. Wednesday hundreds of people poured into these restaurants to show their support and I hope they’re proud of themselves. In the guise of free speech and religiosity these so called Christians showed up and celebrated hatred and bigotry. This had nothing to do with the home of the brave, or free speech, or any of the other absurdities people like this told themselves as they gave money to a million dollar plus company. This was about supporting a company who hates people based on their sexual preference and more importantly funds groups that promote hatred and intolerance of a specific group. Free speech according to these people is supporting the oppression of other people's "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness." These people claim they showed up for Jesus but guess what, Jesus Christ is on the side of tolerance and understanding, acceptance and peace. Jesus Christ never encouraged the stone casting of hatred towards your fellow man and in fact did the exact opposite. Jesus had nothing to say about homosexuality. He was too busy teaching more important things.

So I hope you’re proud of yourself Big-Boi from Outkast who tweeted “they eating chicken for the lord” and “freedom of speech motherfukka”…wow. I hope you’re proud to stand with Pat Boone, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin and the other right wing nut balls who showed up. I hope you’re proud anonymous Black woman who when asked by a reporter why she was there stated “cause the Bible say it ain’t right”. I hope you and your fellow hatred enthusiasts and false Christians are proud of the affect this promotion had on the thousands of young gay people who witnessed Wednesday’s parade of narrow-minded fanatics and are now filled with self-hate, guilt and shame. Fanatics that include their friends, family, neighbors, pastors, teachers, and so many other people they look up to. I hope you’re proud of those who will be driven to self-destructive behavior, withdrawal, isolation and perhaps suicide. I hope you’re proud of the countless bullies who now feel encouraged, validated and empowered by what they saw to continue their verbal and physical attacks on gay youth and make their lives a living hell. I hope you all enjoyed your “motherfukkin” chicken.