Tuesday, December 19, 2006

In the news


For today, I thought I'd share a few assorted things from the news; some old, some not so old:

Oh Rosie:
Actress, comedian and daytime talk show Rosie O'Donnell is being blasted in the media for making racial slurs toward Chinese people. See it for yourself here. It's interesting that a person who represents a couple of discriminated groups (overweight people and lesbians) would make such a comment. Sometimes, it's just better to shut up.

Some people are comparing her comments to Michael Richards. But I think a couple of things have to be considered. (1) Michael Richards ranted about a time when blacks were lynched and oppressed. Rosie, in her defense, wasn't trying to be deliberately offensive. And (2) Richard's comments involved violence that he would've done to his 'victims'. I think that's what annoys me most about his comments. The 'nigger' reference didn't bother me as much as the references to hanging people and sticking forks up rectums. Interestingly, nobody seems to focus on that part.

Praisin' God while lockin' and loadin':

This story is too funny to pass up. Apparently, there is a new video game on the market that promotes Christianity and killing. In the game Left Behind (based on the famous Apocalyptic fiction series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins), fanatical Christians are dispatched into the world to convert as many people as possible. Those who they can't convert (Catholics, gays, Muslims, etc.) are to be killed.

I don't think I have to say any more.

Activist arrested:
According to this article, peace activist Cindy Sheehan has been arrested and is scheduled to be tried for trespassing. She, along with other members of their progressive anti-war group were detained for attempting to take a petition against the war to the United Nations Building which I guess is private property.

Don't get me wrong. Radicalism is usually welcomed the most if its done without violation (then again, that's debatable). But anybody with the nerve to arrest a grieving mother should be ashamed of themselves. Even if some grievers are OK with the war (incidentally, many people who have lost loved ones in Iraq still support Bush and his nonsense), opponents of the war should have an opportunity to protest without penalty.

This story bothers me on so many levels.

Chavez re-elected; dismisses U.S.
Venezuela has spoken. In an interesting turn of events, President Hugo Chavez has been re-elected. One of the first things on his agenda was to completely extinguish any possibility of talks with the United States. Calling the U.S. government "decadent", he dismissed it until they are ready to openly dialogue as equals.

I guess the next step for the U.S. is to launch a pre-emptive attack on Venezuela.

Another Canadian school bans, then supports pro-life student club
Although I've gone on the record stating that I'm against the agenda for pro-lifers, even I was disturbed to hear this story. As recently as last week, Carleton University in Ottawa banned the mobility of a student organization promoting pro-life. It was the second college in Canada to make such a move. Recently, however, it has finally dropped its ban and has now allowed tht group to meet.

Though not entirely related, the Hippie Conservative wrote a great piece about the hypocrisy of "free speech". Since this story involves Canadians; and I'm not too familiar with Canadian rules, I can't comment too much. All I know is that you can't allow a platform to one group and not the other...even if you disagree with them.

Another gay evangelical resigns
According to sources, another closeted homosexual minister has been discovered. I'm not the type to down somebody at a low point in their life; and I'm certainly not the type to gay-bash. But this story is really funny. I guess that I'm amused because of the sheer hypocrisy of it all. The ones who protest and make the most noise are apparently the ones with the most hidden in their closets.

William Jefferson re-elected
Filed under "WTF?", Representative William Jefferson, the crook involved in a series of bribes and corrupt activites that have been investigated by the FBI was re-elected to his ninth term. When I look at black Dems like him and Cynthia McKinney, I can't get mad at them. They're both nothing but products of the voters who put them there.

Sigh. Chalk up another one for ignorantly following Democrats; despite their record.

Out with a bang
After 'resigning' from his duties as Secretary of Defense, Donald Rums-failed (I mean, Rumsfeld) was giving a momumental ceremony to recognize his efforts. Only in America can a person complete f*** up a war, waste billions of dollars, and expend thousands of lives and still get a 19 gun salute.

Veep's daughter pregnant
After all the hoopla about gay marriage/adoption during the 2004 Presidential election, Vice President Cheney's daughter Mary is pregnant. OK. Everybody laugh with me now.

Presidential wacko not so loved after all
At first glance, you'd think I was talking about Bush. But not this time. Much to my suprise, many Iranians have voiced their displeasure with President Ahmadinejad in the partial elections held on Monday. As it appears, many Iranians prefer a moderate and less agressive government than the one under which they currently live. Is it possible that Armageddon will be put on hold?

HIV medics to be executed
This story really disturbs me. A Libyan court has found five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor guilty of infecting over 400 African children with HIV. While the people of Libya see this as justice for the victims, Bulgaria is seeing it as an injustice against the defendants and has cited the poor conditions of the hospitals in the area.

Truthfully, I don't know who to believe. I do think that AIDS is a man-made disease, but I'm not so sure that people in the medical field would deliberately infect others. But then again, there was also Tuskegee.

Fight night at the Garden
Suspensions and fines were passed out like Christmas gifts after another NBA brawl broke out during the closing moments of the game between the Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks. I don't know about you, but I'm sick of people catering to overpaid thugs who can't seem to recognize the responsibility that comes with being in their position. You've got families who paid good money to be at these games, and children who look up to these jerks. In response, they decide to act like n***gas.
Yeah, I said it.

Duke or Earl?
I just read that the alleged victim in the Duke University rape case is pregnant and is expecting in February. Though paternity tests indicate that none of the Duke players is the father, this story is still getting uglier by the moment. I don't know what to believe anymore.

Chinese Money Torture?
Despite the Federal Reserve ruling out the possibility, some anxiety is brewing with the rumors that China may get rid of its U.S. reserves. Being the alarmist that I am, I'm inclined to think that this story; albeit a suspected rumor; represents a larger problem we're facing. Even though I don't think China would dump their shares in the U.S. economy (since it's so closely tied to ours), I can see why they'd want to pull out. When the Feds stopped publishing M3 data, it's just become too hard to tell how much money is being printed and how much value the dollar has lost. Either way, this situation tells me that we've put too much of our debt in the hands of competing markets. Personally, I blame Bush and his war in Iraq.

Well I think that about does it for the news. It's the holidays for goodness sake (albeit, pagan. But that's another story for another day). Until next time, have a great week!

- ACL

12 "Insiders" spoke their mind. Join in...:

Anonymous said...

*Shakes my head at the video game*

Radicals are so scary! By the way, I saw protestors outside the abortion clinic on Flushing Rd. They were silent and simply holding "Pro-life" signs, but I can't help but worry that this turns into something more...I swear if a bomb goes off by my house!!!!!

Good News Picks, Andre :)

Anonymous said...

Personally, I think the whole cast of the View need to be censored and then shot.

I agree with Joslyn d about the video game. That's too scary for my liking.

They need to leave Cindy Sheehan alone and concentrate on the REAL issues, THE WAR.

Chavez is crazy. But not any crazier than Bush.

The whole Constitution is hypocritical. Why stop at the 1st Amendment?

Maybe if the church stopped hatin' on gay ministers, more of them would come out.

I couldn't believe that Jefferson was re-elected either. I guess they confused that money found in his freezer with frozen spinach. LOL!

LOL @ Rums-failed. Apparently some people dont think so.

I don't care as much about lesbian women raising children. Its the artificial insemination thing that has me disturbed.

Even if Ahmadinejad is removed, there's still Kim Jong Il

Sad story about those Libyan kids. Maybe this will finally turn attention to Africa.

Oooh! You said the n-word! LOL! But, I agree. They definitely had a n**ga moment.

I'm sick of the Duke case. This makes it even worse.

I'm not that familiar with the Chinese money story. But if its anything like you paint it, we're all in trouble.

Merry Christmas, Dre!

Anonymous said...

Man. Have you ever thought about trying out for Jeopardy? Who has more trivial knowledge that you do?!

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Thanks for catching me up on current events. I didn't know about a lot of the stuff you mentioned.

And, YES, it is my new computer that was sick, but I THINK I have it all cleaned up and recovering now. Hopefully, anyway....

And skeeters are MOSQUITOES, Andre, in the Southern vernacular. Sorry, didn't mean to confuse you with the slang term for our state bird, LOL. ;D

Arkansas and Tennessee are close neighbors, you know... :-)

Andre said...

@ Jos: I haven't been over on that side of town in a hot second so I missed it. But, that kind of stuff doesn't bother me. In fact, I applaud anybody who can share their viewpoints without getting violent, uncivilized, and mean. Basically the radical folks...on BOTH sides. Extreme liberals are no different.

@ Cyn: I hate the View also. I wouldn't be mad if it was censored. So much for what I just told Joslyn! :)

The game is creepy to me.

Amen about the war.

I wouldn't call Bush crazy. Just stubborn and misinformed.

Free speech needs to be afforded to all; not just those with whom we agree.

Good point about gays/the church/coming out...

LOL@ Frozen spinach. Whatever it was, it was enough to get re-elected.

Rumsfeld could go over to some people's houses and personally kill their children and they wouldn't care.

I'm curious, what's your issue with artificial insemination?

Kim Jong Il is bad news.

If this doesn't open people's eyes to Africa, nothing will.

A n**ga moment indeed. They'd get mad if you call them that, but don't seem to mind that that's how they're acting.

The Duke case is freaky in and of itself. It'll be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

People often call me an alarmist, but I think that there are problems when you rely on other nations to handle your financial affairs. Over 62% of our national debt is owed to other nations.

Merry Christmas to you as well, Cyn!

Andre said...

@ KC: I wouldn't say that I have "trivial knowledge". I read a lot; try to stay informed a bit. Lots of madness going on out there. It helps to know about it...

@ Di: Hey Granny. I know you don't like political pieces; but thanx for stopping by anyway.

Dag! I hope your computer's doing OK. I was gonna send flowers, but I'm not sure if it's allergic. I hope this won't affect your blogging. I'd hate to miss out on some of your recipes...

I looked up the word "skeeter" and found out what it was. Leave it up to a city boy to have to get a translation! If it were up to me, and I had to use a southern dialect, "Skeetahs" would've been a cooler term for mosquitos. But who am I to try and rewrite the entire Southern vernacular?

Talk to you soon.

Andre said...

Hey Rip. Welcome to my head.

I'm interested in checking out your the videos you have; but I can't access your profile. Have you opened up for public viewing?

Andre said...

@ rip: Nevermind. I've got it.

The H.C. said...

Hey Dre,
Nice post as always. If I had more time I would respond to each one but I'll summarize by just saying I mostly agree. I just wanted to wish you and yours a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. Enjoy the vacation. I'm looking forward to another year of peering into Andre's head. See ya in '07.

Anonymous said...

Radicals sure are scary. Especially those peaceful protesting types like the grieving mother! She probably was going to put a bomb by someone's house too, just like those radicals by the abortion clinic.

I definitely agree with Andre on that one. Free speech is for the people I disagree with too.

Being a gamer and having actually researched the game before NBC did an article on it (heck, before it came out even), I think this portrayal is more than a little skewed. It does look like a crappy game though.

So anyone is ok as long as there is someone of the opposing faction that is equally or more crazy?

Saying something isn't right and hatin' on people can be different. I'm not saying churches always do it differently, but it is possible.

Now, onto things that weren't really covered by others:

I don't think that basketball players (or any other celebrity) has an obligation to act like a role model because they are celebrity figures. They have this obligation because they are people, and when they fail to act appropriately, they should face the same punishment as anyone else. No more, no less. When we stop treating them like they have special and different rules than anyone else, they'll stop acting like it.

Andre said...

@ HC: Don't worry about not responding. Sometimes I talk so much that I don't want to respond to myself either.

That didn't make sense, but you get the point.

Just in case I don't see you before we jet, have a safe and wonderful holiday yourself, Hipster!

@ Will: Unless I'm reading too much into what you're saying, I wouldn't limit radical liberals to just silent protestors. I'm reminded of the dark comedy "The Last Supper", where a bunch of ultra-liberals invite conservatives over for dinner, talk to them about controversial issues, and kill them if they don't agree. While I can't think of examples of extreme liberalism right now, I know they exist.

You're right about the twists used against the video game. True, the main player is apart of a militia type army (the Tribulation force), but the player only uses violent force if they have to. It's not all about killing. But anything that causes Christians and secularists alike to protest says something.

As it relates the b-ball players (and other celebs): I agree. They shouldn't be required to be role models just because they're famous. But, the reality is: they are. Charles Barkley can make as many "I'm not a role model" commercials as he wants, but that won't do it. Celebs make an insane amount of money and become the attention of the world. Whether they like it or not, there's more to receiving that large paycheck than doing whatever it is you do professionally. It sucks for them; but that's how the world works...

Thanks for stopping by, Will. Have a happy and safe holiday, my friend.

Anonymous said...

HEY WILL!

It seems as though your last comment was directed towards me. The comment about the abortion clinic was because I've lived other places where I slowly saw these things progress from silent marches to terrorizing. You're absolutley right, though. Everyone should have free speech, regardless if I agree or not. It's just this case in particular that I'm a little more sensitive about. Cute sarcasim, though.