BBMing about BP

I have a friend from England and recently we were debating the issues surrounding the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He was making the argument that President Obama had completely and utterly dropped the ball on this crisis and all the blame Obama was crediting the Brits with was unwarranted and was severing relationships with Americas strongest ally, the United Kingdom. My friend offered that the British Petroleum oil rig was operated and managed by American employees and therefore Agamas charge on the executives of BP was all for naught. “Obama had lost its last remaining ally in Europe, now the whole world hates him.” Considering this debate occurred over BBM across two continents and a vast ocean I kept my rebuttals short. What’s most disturbing is all the finger pointing and the lack of solutions presented while oil keeps leaking into the Gulf. Whether it’s the right wing, the media or drunken Brits over BBM it seems people are most concerned with blaming one another instead of fixing the problem. The failure of BP executives to except blame for this man made crisis is startling and another reminder of the large multinational corporations lack of accountability. In an era that has seen large corporations such as AIG, Fanny May and other financial institutions threaten the livelihood of every working class citizen worldwide, this is just another reminder of the need for aggressive reform… on all levels. The need to move from fossil fuel based energy is now more apparent then ever.
Furthermore my mate’s argument sounds similar to an adulterous husband blaming his wife for not putting out enough for his philandering. Should we punish the messenger who alerts the wife of her husbands cheating or the husband who actually performed the act? All too often it seems the messengers are found at fault.
Either way I could not blame my friend for his anger… I figured his resentment was less about Obama’s 20 billion charge for BP. He was just upset that the United States men soccer team had won Group C in the World Cup, one spot ahead of the second place Brits

He Screwed Up

"I screwed up."

Today, after much scrutiny and national media attention Tom Daschle stepped down as appointee to the Health and Human Services Secretary. According to records Daschle had not paid $128,000 in back taxes (specifically for a chaffeur, apparently he needs a driver to hit mcdonalds). Daschle had decided to stepped down after much scrutiny and to save himself and President Obama continued embarassement.

What followed was a frank and earnest admittal from President Obama as he opened "I screwed up." Simple and to the point. There was no "staying the course", there was no adding onto and already bad situation. Obama took a step back and admitted he was wrong.

How refreshing it is to have a leader who can admit such things. If only Bush (who should have never taken us to Iraq in the first place) said "i screwed up" in Iraq (or any numerous blunders he committed.

President Obama has received from flack from various conservatives and their accompanying media outlets but although its true his administration should be more seasoned at vetting perhaps its also true that there might not be that many in Washington who are in tune with what Obama is truly attempting to do, which is change the energy and direction of the world we live in.

Hopefully he can find more on par with his own energy sooner then later.

Never in a Million Years

You mean to tell me Democracy works!
My vote counts! It makes a difference?!
Since when does this happen?
Since when does my voice get heard?!
I remember laughing at the idea...
I could never imagine...
Even just a week ago when we were way ahead...
Even just yesterday when it was for real...
Never in a million years!
Never in a million years!

Enjoy the moment Tahira

The Klan Rally - RNC

I know its a bit far north from the usual Klan meetings but something about 20.000 white people gathering together to preach their beliefs seems eerily familiar to a klan rally.  It looks like the most homogenous crowd ever assembled for national television.  Theres more whities there then at a free Creed concert.  I realize i am from the north east but every other person has a cowboy hat and every other woman has shoulder pads.  They also all probably have automatic weapons tucked into their waste bands.  Once in a while you will see a black person in the crowd and i have to believe that they have been voted off the island.  They definitely cant go back home. 

Moving on... Right now Rudy is preaching his agenda and the crowd has busted out saying "Drill Baby Drill!"  I think im about to vomit.  I think i just vomitted a lil bit in my mouth.  No i dont think, i just did, literally.  Every other point the republicans argue revolves around liberals being to PC and calling out the DNC as being to easy on radical muslim terrorists.  Whats funny is that the Republicans have control of the white house, theyve had control for the last 8 years.  Which means the Dems havent really had the opportunity to do anything about the so called "war on terrorism."   It seems eerily similar to the same fear mongering that the Bush administration has used to trick the dumbass fundamentalist conservatives over the last 8 years.  

Palin just stepped on the stage.  I have to admit that shes kind of got that hot librarian thing going on.  I kind of feel like im in the video for "Hot For Teacher."  If she wasnt so crazy i might sleep with her.  But then id be afraid that she would pull a Praying Mantis on me and take off my head with an AK-47.  

After five minutes all she has done is introduced her family.  I think she is gearing up to play the "fued".  With her hockey sticks and weapons she would probably dominate Family Fued.  I am waiting for her to say something of substance because those far she has just taken pot shots at Obama and has said nothing about what she stands for.  I dont think she has blinked the whole time up there either.  I think she might be a robot.  She just promised to use the "power of veto."  So instead of actually getting stuff done she is promising to make sure that nothing gets done.   

Ugh, honestly i feel physically ill so im just gonna end this ... 

for the love of god america, step the fuck up and knock these bitches out 

Scare Tactics

On the last day before the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama bombarded PA air waves with ads promoting their respective messages.  While Obama has continually focused on his message of hope, Hillary has gone through the gambit.  At one point she portrayed herself as the most capable leader.  When that didnt work she showed a softer side by pleading with America.  When that fell on deaf ears she went on the offensive with the now notorious "3am" ad.  She desperately criticized Obama for his personal relationships, no matter how fleeting they were.  And now on the day before the primary, Clinton has reached further into her Karl Rove campaign handbook and in one commercial has attempted to scare the shit out of Pennsylvanian Democrats and fool them into voting for her.  

WWII, Pearl Harbor, Berlin Wall and of course Bin Laden.  Does that not sound eerily similar to the Bush agenda?  Hasn't our current Leader in Chief used the same tactics to manipulate the masses into following his strategy for personal gain?  Hmmm.... On top of that Hillary quotes Harry Truman "If you cant stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."  The same Truman who was a notorious racist (often in his personal love letters to his wife Bess) and dropped two bombs that killed more people with one act in the history of humanity.  

Perhaps Mrs. Clinton thinks less of the American people.  Perhaps she underestimates our intelligence.  Unfortunately there will be some folks who fall for it but in the long run, if we are going to evolve as a society, this type of climate must change.  We need leaders who inspire hope and cohesive evolution, not ones who use fear tactics to scare the public. 

A Society of Judgement

We live under a microscope.  A microscope where anything that we say or do will be dissected and criticized by society total.  A microscope that will take a raucous war cry from Howard Dean and bring down a campaign or an "i cant believe America is falling for this idiot" sigh from Al Gore and bring down another.  

Obama used the term "bitter" to describe a certain demographic of Americana.  Obama was linked to a preacher whose political views are too controversial for the mainstream.  Now with our 24/7 media coverage an individual in and out of the spotlight cant take a shit without Wolf Blitzer flushing the toilet and Perez Hilton scrubbing the floor.  The Pandemic is much larger then the political sphere but i want to keep it focused on this.  

America has always found it necessary to break down our political representatives (as well as other public figures).  Perhaps that's part of the job.  Perhaps if our trust in public figures was not so threatened we would be a kinder and gentler society.  Yet we are not at that point.  Mistrust and resentment resound throughout and with that bloggers blog, people text information back and forth and snap pictures with their latest iphones.   

We are all news outlets now and as a result have all become social commentators.  But instead of promoting change and bringing us together it seems that in many instances it has made us more scornful and tears at the very fabric of our society.  We have gotten to the point where we criticize our representatives for having the brass to talk frankly and bluntly with us.  To speak to us like adults instead of children.  

Our politicos will never be perfect.  Infact they will be far from it (and i certainly do not excuse Spitzer for getting down with hookers all over the eastern seaboard).  But if anything they are a representation of ourselves.  We created them, we created the world within they live.  Lobbyists, corporate donors, seedy dealings all exist because we allowed it to happen.  All of us are responsible but yet none of us want to take the responsibility.  

And now we have a candidate with enough intelligence, empathy, compassion and hope and all we want to do is dissect him, break him down and bring him down to our level.  The level of imperfection.  Well let me tell you something, hes already there and that's what makes him so valuable.  What makes him different is that he can take those experiences and rise about his mistakes.  The question is though, can we do the same?