I've been thinking about this post for awhile, but every time I write, it comes out wrong. Now that revoking the 14th Amendment's birthright provision is apparently a mainstream Republican policy (ironic, considering that the Republican Party was responsible for its creation and ratification), I had to write something.
The birthright provision of the 14th Amendment is one of the hallmarks of America's post-Civil War policy. It says that no matter your race, your color, your creed, or your gender, if you are born in the United States, you are an American and are entitled to the full rights are privileges therein. This provision separates America from all other countries in the world, and carries with it the promise that the American Dream is open to all people. It was a clean break from our racist and slave-owning past, and a statement for the future.
Many of those who attack the 14th Amendment hate the fact that its definition of American opens the door to everyone. Contrary to the hysterical statements of Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, and others, America is not a Christian country. It is not a White country. It is a country that is made stronger by the polyglot of peoples and religions and cultures that are within its borders. That is the promise of the 14th Amendment, and that's why it must stay unscathed.
It is this promise that gives us an opportunity in the Middle East - a promise left unfulfilled by our own bigotry. We can and should remind the Muslim World that an American can be Christian, or Jewish, or Muslim, or Hindu. An American can follow his or her beliefs, guided only by his or her conscience. We should remind the Muslim World that in America, what is or is not proper Islam is not defined by sheikhs and imans, but only by the internal belief of its practitioners. Where bin Laden offers intolerance, we must offer freedom.
Instead, we fight amongst ourselves over what constitutes a "Real American." But guess what, San Francisco is a real part of America, as is Northern Virginia. There is no real America or fake America, there is simply America. And yes, there are differences between Americans over pretty much everything. But those differences are our greatest strength.
Showing posts with label Glenn Beck. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Glenn Beck. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Quick Thoughts Blogging. . .
Top Chef - I'm a big fan of this show, but like any fan, the whole thing annoys me as well. Last week the chefs had to cook French food, and this week they had to cook in the desert. I can understand how a restauranteur would have a love of France because the French perfected how to run a restaurant, including how a restaurant should be run. But it should also be noted that, as any good foodie knows, most of the mother French sauces actually come from Italy, not France. And French cuisine isn't necessarily better than any other country's cuisine. In fact, the best chef in the world, Adria, is Spanish, not French.
The Western focus really does hurt chefs from other cuisines. The Season 3 winner, Hung Huyuh, was criticized all season long for not cooking from the heart (not cooking Asian cuisine), but was given a Western kitchen and only had access to Western ingredients. It was only in the final, when he could use ingredients of his own choosing that his "heart" showed through. Duh.
The desert thing was interesting - but where was the refrigeration? Do the producers want their judges to die? I am impressed by the high level of competition this year, and it is clear that chefs at the bottom probably would've been mid-level contestants in previous years. There are at least chefs who regularly produce high quality food (the Voltaggios, Kevin, Jen) and a couple others capable of doing the same (Mike I., Eli, Ashley, Ash) when motivated. The brother thing is probably driving this show a lot further than in past seasons because the Voltaggios are really pushing each other (to the point where both are keeping track of who wins what), and that, in turn, pushes the other chefs to step up their game.
Baucus Health Care Plan - The Finance Chairman released his proposal for health care reform - which he had been working on with the more conservative members of the Democratic Party and with the Republicans for the past several months - and it stinks. If anything, its going to make health care more expensive for middle-class families. This happened, in large part, because he was more interested in Republican support than writing a good bill. Anyway, with luck, this plan will get redone in committee.
My Health Care Reform Plan - So you know, my plan would essentially be a catastrophic insurance plan. Everyone pays in via an increase in the income tax, and then would be covered for any expenses over 1/3 of their income. So, if you make $60k a year, you pay the first $20k of expenses, and the Govt. pays the rest. If you can't afford $20k, get insurance - which will be cheaper because the insurance company knows its only on the hook for $20k, max. Oh, and the cost of said insurance would count as part of the first 1/3.
Beck and 9/12ers - In response to Joe Wilson's claim that Obama lied about illegal immigrants not getting benefits under health care reform (which is, itself, a lie), the fearful Baucus put in stringent proof of citizenship requirements into his crappy bill. Way to stand up for your President, Max. In the past few months, the Democrats have shown a willingness to be overly courteous to Republicans. As a result, we can't get anything done. So, here's an idea - tell the GOP to go Cheney themselves. Or rather, stop trying to make the opposition happy - they're trying to prevent the Democrats from doing anything. This is their stated goal. Educate the public, but don't be afraid to steamroll the opposition.
The Western focus really does hurt chefs from other cuisines. The Season 3 winner, Hung Huyuh, was criticized all season long for not cooking from the heart (not cooking Asian cuisine), but was given a Western kitchen and only had access to Western ingredients. It was only in the final, when he could use ingredients of his own choosing that his "heart" showed through. Duh.
The desert thing was interesting - but where was the refrigeration? Do the producers want their judges to die? I am impressed by the high level of competition this year, and it is clear that chefs at the bottom probably would've been mid-level contestants in previous years. There are at least chefs who regularly produce high quality food (the Voltaggios, Kevin, Jen) and a couple others capable of doing the same (Mike I., Eli, Ashley, Ash) when motivated. The brother thing is probably driving this show a lot further than in past seasons because the Voltaggios are really pushing each other (to the point where both are keeping track of who wins what), and that, in turn, pushes the other chefs to step up their game.
Baucus Health Care Plan - The Finance Chairman released his proposal for health care reform - which he had been working on with the more conservative members of the Democratic Party and with the Republicans for the past several months - and it stinks. If anything, its going to make health care more expensive for middle-class families. This happened, in large part, because he was more interested in Republican support than writing a good bill. Anyway, with luck, this plan will get redone in committee.
My Health Care Reform Plan - So you know, my plan would essentially be a catastrophic insurance plan. Everyone pays in via an increase in the income tax, and then would be covered for any expenses over 1/3 of their income. So, if you make $60k a year, you pay the first $20k of expenses, and the Govt. pays the rest. If you can't afford $20k, get insurance - which will be cheaper because the insurance company knows its only on the hook for $20k, max. Oh, and the cost of said insurance would count as part of the first 1/3.
Beck and 9/12ers - In response to Joe Wilson's claim that Obama lied about illegal immigrants not getting benefits under health care reform (which is, itself, a lie), the fearful Baucus put in stringent proof of citizenship requirements into his crappy bill. Way to stand up for your President, Max. In the past few months, the Democrats have shown a willingness to be overly courteous to Republicans. As a result, we can't get anything done. So, here's an idea - tell the GOP to go Cheney themselves. Or rather, stop trying to make the opposition happy - they're trying to prevent the Democrats from doing anything. This is their stated goal. Educate the public, but don't be afraid to steamroll the opposition.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Obama and Racism
So it appears that 60,000 to 70,000 people protested yesterday in a somewhat impressive showing of frustration with Obama's policies from conservatives. Now, the reason this is somewhat impressive is because conservatives aren't generally the protesting type. So, its kinda like seeing San Diego State play okay against UCLA - sure, they didn't win, but they didn't lose as badly as you thought they would. Or, in this case, sure 60,000 isn't huge, but its a lot higher than you'd intially expect. On the other hand, lying about the number of people there is pretty pathetic. You had a decent turnout teabaggers, but you didn't match the Inauguration.
Anyway, in the various blogs today (Andrew Sullivan, TPM, etc) a discussion is ongoing about how much of the protests against Obama are race inspired. And if that wasn't enough, "Mad Men" had a scene in which some executives chose not to advertise in Black media because they didn't want to be associated with African Americans. Couple those two things with my past experience as a civil rights attorney, and you got yourself a blog post in waiting.
First off, I loved the whole storyline in "Mad Men" regarding the African American market. The awkwardness of the ad exec when he's questioning the only African American he knows, followed by the executives openly deriding the idea of advertising in African American media (despite being told that it was both cheaper and would increase sales more effectively) was a great example of the dichotomy of racism in the U.S. Pete's questioning of the elevator operator about why the guy bought an RCA television was classic and awkward and there's no doubt that the operator will now think that Pete is a racist. But, Pete isn't a racist, he's just awkward in general, and his pitch to the Admiral TV guys shows that where there's an opportunity, he'll take it. Money trumps race.
The Admiral TV guys, meanwhile, are out and out racists. Even told that they could both increase their sales and lower their advertising costs by reaching out to the African American market, they not only pass at the opportunity, but they look disgusted by the very idea of it. In their eyes, race trumps profit.
And therein lies the dichotomy. Racism can be perceived when actors are, in fact, completely awkward around people of a different race because they don't know anyone outside their race. In that instance, integration can help alleviate the problem. As people get to know one another, the awkwardness ends. I would say that most Americans fall into this area - they're not racist, but racially awkward. Race for these individuals is easily trumped by other considerations.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are the true racists. A study undertaken in 2000 indicated that approximately 20% of the time, minority groups (African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans and Native Americans) received negative treatment when attempting to buy or rent a home. The study was based upon testing - where two people (one white person and one person of a minority group) apply for the same housing around the same time. The person in the minority group has slightly better qualifications than the white person. Yet, in 20% of the housing opportunities tested, the housing provider gave the white person better treatment, and race trumped profit. For individuals such as the Admiral TV guys, there's nothing that can be done to change their minds.
So back to the original issue, are the teabaggers racist? Mostly no. For instance, the socialism charge is dumb, but its the same charge made against every Democratic President since FDR. If anything, I think most of the protesters are racially awkward, abet moreso then most. But I think that people like Glenn Beck are purposely stoking racial fears. The whole thing about Obama seizing guns comes right out of the "Turner Diaries," the racist tome that inspired Timothy McVeigh. Birtherism is a direct result of the fears that Obama is a secret Muslim who wants to destroy America. This fear is stoked by the fact that Obama is African American and has a Muslim sounding name.
One poll done on the birthers, shows that of Republicans, 42% believe that Obama is a U.S. Citizen, 30% are unsure, and 28% believe that he isn't. I would state to you that the 28% are racist, the 30% are uninformed, and the 42% are normal people. Anyway, here's my point to the whole blog post - you can work with the racially awkward and people who have honest disagreements about policy. That's 72% of Republican voters. But that 28% will never, ever, relent or compromise. Race trumps all other considerations in their eyes.
Anyway, in the various blogs today (Andrew Sullivan, TPM, etc) a discussion is ongoing about how much of the protests against Obama are race inspired. And if that wasn't enough, "Mad Men" had a scene in which some executives chose not to advertise in Black media because they didn't want to be associated with African Americans. Couple those two things with my past experience as a civil rights attorney, and you got yourself a blog post in waiting.
First off, I loved the whole storyline in "Mad Men" regarding the African American market. The awkwardness of the ad exec when he's questioning the only African American he knows, followed by the executives openly deriding the idea of advertising in African American media (despite being told that it was both cheaper and would increase sales more effectively) was a great example of the dichotomy of racism in the U.S. Pete's questioning of the elevator operator about why the guy bought an RCA television was classic and awkward and there's no doubt that the operator will now think that Pete is a racist. But, Pete isn't a racist, he's just awkward in general, and his pitch to the Admiral TV guys shows that where there's an opportunity, he'll take it. Money trumps race.
The Admiral TV guys, meanwhile, are out and out racists. Even told that they could both increase their sales and lower their advertising costs by reaching out to the African American market, they not only pass at the opportunity, but they look disgusted by the very idea of it. In their eyes, race trumps profit.
And therein lies the dichotomy. Racism can be perceived when actors are, in fact, completely awkward around people of a different race because they don't know anyone outside their race. In that instance, integration can help alleviate the problem. As people get to know one another, the awkwardness ends. I would say that most Americans fall into this area - they're not racist, but racially awkward. Race for these individuals is easily trumped by other considerations.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are the true racists. A study undertaken in 2000 indicated that approximately 20% of the time, minority groups (African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans and Native Americans) received negative treatment when attempting to buy or rent a home. The study was based upon testing - where two people (one white person and one person of a minority group) apply for the same housing around the same time. The person in the minority group has slightly better qualifications than the white person. Yet, in 20% of the housing opportunities tested, the housing provider gave the white person better treatment, and race trumped profit. For individuals such as the Admiral TV guys, there's nothing that can be done to change their minds.
So back to the original issue, are the teabaggers racist? Mostly no. For instance, the socialism charge is dumb, but its the same charge made against every Democratic President since FDR. If anything, I think most of the protesters are racially awkward, abet moreso then most. But I think that people like Glenn Beck are purposely stoking racial fears. The whole thing about Obama seizing guns comes right out of the "Turner Diaries," the racist tome that inspired Timothy McVeigh. Birtherism is a direct result of the fears that Obama is a secret Muslim who wants to destroy America. This fear is stoked by the fact that Obama is African American and has a Muslim sounding name.
One poll done on the birthers, shows that of Republicans, 42% believe that Obama is a U.S. Citizen, 30% are unsure, and 28% believe that he isn't. I would state to you that the 28% are racist, the 30% are uninformed, and the 42% are normal people. Anyway, here's my point to the whole blog post - you can work with the racially awkward and people who have honest disagreements about policy. That's 72% of Republican voters. But that 28% will never, ever, relent or compromise. Race trumps all other considerations in their eyes.
Monday, August 31, 2009
The Importance of Real Debate
One of the saddest things that have happened over the past several years is the total and utter lack of a real debate over issues in Washington, D.C. There was a time when the leaders of both parties could sit down, have a bourbon (or two) and hash out a solution to a problem Did that solution always work? Hell, no. But both parties were on the same page, and the debate was open and honest. For me, the last time this happened was during the debate on education which lead to the "Leave No Child Behind" bill. Ultimately, the bill was flawed and has been a disaster, but the debate was honest.
In the wake of Ted Kennedy's death, its appropriate to note the lack of a true debate in Washington over health care, torture, or the economic stimulus package. And apparently, the climate change bill is also going to be a rough one. The problem is, essentially as I see it, that the two parties live in two completely alternate universes. So instead of arguing the how - as in how do we fix this problem - the Parties argue whether or not a problem even exists. Health care, for instance, is tremendously overpriced in this country (we spend more per capita than any other country in the world, by far), and that has lead to bankruptcies and poor health. But instead of arguing how health care reform should be structured, Republicans argue that there is no problem, or worse, make up things about health care reform.
Where are the arguments about streamlining the health insurance market? Where are the arguments against burdensome regulation, or tort reform? In short, where is the honest conservative argument about health care? Or torture? Or climate change? The Republican argument seems to be to deny the existence of any problem. And ultimately, these made up facts have become an identity and not a philosophy. And that's a shame because conservatives have good points to make. For instance, the deregulation of the trucking industry was, all in all, a good thing. Welfare reform has been largely successful (I think). In other words, the conservative voice, or the good government voice, has been an important part of the Republic.
What's more, I deeply fear the insanity of identity politics in this country. Every day I see more and more harbingers of political violence in this country. Listen to this:
Now, Glenn Beck is a total nutcase, but he's alleging a coup by election - in other words, Obama has taken over the government by winning an election - something that has been done by both parties since 1801. Beck is practically encouraging the violent overthrow of the United States! We have pastors praying to God for Obama's death, and their parishioners are carrying assault weapons to Obama's events. Only 42% of Republicans are certain that Obama is a citizen of the United States!
True, the Democrats have, in the past, demonized the right. As the years rolled on during Bush's tenure as President, we became more and more strident against him. Though, to be honest, he did a lot to encourage our ire. But that outrage and anger took years to develop, and the anger was over policy - Iraq, torture, climate change, Katrina, etc. And it took even longer for our leadership to even acknowledge the anger we felt - this, by the way, is a continuing theme: Republicans fear their base, and are responsive to them (no matter how crazy the base gets), Democratic Leadership thinks the base voters are a bunch of dirty fucking hippies and ignore them. *bangs head against wall*
Ultimately, the change occurred because the Republicans realized that they could win more debates by being ruthlessly partisan, no matter what the facts were. And politically, that's the right move. What drives me nuts here is that the Democrats having faced this exact problem for the past thirty years have yet to realize that they need to be partisan in return. But despite what the Democrats do, something has to break with the Republicans - they can't keep doing this.
In the wake of Ted Kennedy's death, its appropriate to note the lack of a true debate in Washington over health care, torture, or the economic stimulus package. And apparently, the climate change bill is also going to be a rough one. The problem is, essentially as I see it, that the two parties live in two completely alternate universes. So instead of arguing the how - as in how do we fix this problem - the Parties argue whether or not a problem even exists. Health care, for instance, is tremendously overpriced in this country (we spend more per capita than any other country in the world, by far), and that has lead to bankruptcies and poor health. But instead of arguing how health care reform should be structured, Republicans argue that there is no problem, or worse, make up things about health care reform.
Where are the arguments about streamlining the health insurance market? Where are the arguments against burdensome regulation, or tort reform? In short, where is the honest conservative argument about health care? Or torture? Or climate change? The Republican argument seems to be to deny the existence of any problem. And ultimately, these made up facts have become an identity and not a philosophy. And that's a shame because conservatives have good points to make. For instance, the deregulation of the trucking industry was, all in all, a good thing. Welfare reform has been largely successful (I think). In other words, the conservative voice, or the good government voice, has been an important part of the Republic.
What's more, I deeply fear the insanity of identity politics in this country. Every day I see more and more harbingers of political violence in this country. Listen to this:
Now, Glenn Beck is a total nutcase, but he's alleging a coup by election - in other words, Obama has taken over the government by winning an election - something that has been done by both parties since 1801. Beck is practically encouraging the violent overthrow of the United States! We have pastors praying to God for Obama's death, and their parishioners are carrying assault weapons to Obama's events. Only 42% of Republicans are certain that Obama is a citizen of the United States!
True, the Democrats have, in the past, demonized the right. As the years rolled on during Bush's tenure as President, we became more and more strident against him. Though, to be honest, he did a lot to encourage our ire. But that outrage and anger took years to develop, and the anger was over policy - Iraq, torture, climate change, Katrina, etc. And it took even longer for our leadership to even acknowledge the anger we felt - this, by the way, is a continuing theme: Republicans fear their base, and are responsive to them (no matter how crazy the base gets), Democratic Leadership thinks the base voters are a bunch of dirty fucking hippies and ignore them. *bangs head against wall*
Ultimately, the change occurred because the Republicans realized that they could win more debates by being ruthlessly partisan, no matter what the facts were. And politically, that's the right move. What drives me nuts here is that the Democrats having faced this exact problem for the past thirty years have yet to realize that they need to be partisan in return. But despite what the Democrats do, something has to break with the Republicans - they can't keep doing this.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Shit is Getting Scary. . .
Whenever I read shit like this (and I suggest you read it), I become very, very worried about this country. If one reads the accounts of the political discourse prior to the Civil War, its filled with Senators fighting each other, and prior to the War itself, people were literally killing each other in Kansas. And to be honest, I see the country going this way again.
For a variety of reasons, political discourse in this country stopped being about which policy is the best to follow, but rather about which reality to live in. For more than a few right-wingers, reality is that Obama was born in Kenya, that he's a Socialist, that he wants to kill old people and children, that global warming does not exist, and Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9-11 and had weapons of mass destruction. None of these things are true, but are taken as gospel by too many people.
Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh are, of course, somewhat responsible. Glenn Beck, in particular, has done a lot to stoke the fires of hatred against Obama. And Limbaugh calling Obama a Nazi is not helping either. But let's face it, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh are opportunists - if they didn't chase the lunatic fringe, someone else would. That's capitalism. As a moral matter, if anyone gets hurt, because of the hatred these douche nozzles spew, I hope they burn in hell.
Before someone says something about Move-On, and the Hitler ad, allow me to point out that the ad was submitted to Move-On, and they ultimately scrubbed the ad from their site. Oh, and Bush did invade a country for the purpose of spreading his ideology across the world (and was torturing people, and spied on Americans. . .but that's another post). There is a big, big difference between Rush Limbaugh and some random guy. Don't get me wrong, the left has its loonies (goddamn hippies), but our nutjobs don't have institutional support.
So, how do we walk back from this precipice? From this Democrat's perspective, walking back can't mean giving up the store. No, Democrats need to fight harder for what they believe in. And Republicans shouldn't stop fighting for what they believe in either. But we have to start reading from the same page.
For a variety of reasons, political discourse in this country stopped being about which policy is the best to follow, but rather about which reality to live in. For more than a few right-wingers, reality is that Obama was born in Kenya, that he's a Socialist, that he wants to kill old people and children, that global warming does not exist, and Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9-11 and had weapons of mass destruction. None of these things are true, but are taken as gospel by too many people.
Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh are, of course, somewhat responsible. Glenn Beck, in particular, has done a lot to stoke the fires of hatred against Obama. And Limbaugh calling Obama a Nazi is not helping either. But let's face it, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh are opportunists - if they didn't chase the lunatic fringe, someone else would. That's capitalism. As a moral matter, if anyone gets hurt, because of the hatred these douche nozzles spew, I hope they burn in hell.
Before someone says something about Move-On, and the Hitler ad, allow me to point out that the ad was submitted to Move-On, and they ultimately scrubbed the ad from their site. Oh, and Bush did invade a country for the purpose of spreading his ideology across the world (and was torturing people, and spied on Americans. . .but that's another post). There is a big, big difference between Rush Limbaugh and some random guy. Don't get me wrong, the left has its loonies (goddamn hippies), but our nutjobs don't have institutional support.
So, how do we walk back from this precipice? From this Democrat's perspective, walking back can't mean giving up the store. No, Democrats need to fight harder for what they believe in. And Republicans shouldn't stop fighting for what they believe in either. But we have to start reading from the same page.
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