When did it become ok to have a gun near the Prez?

The nutters are out nearly on a rampage. They're frothing at the mouth over imaginary threats to their right to carry military-grade weapons. So just to "show" that they are supporters of American freedom they've been showing up in droves to rallies on the healthcare reform held by President Obama, with their "freedom guns" strapped to the hip. Let me just cut to the chase and say just how fucked up this all sounds. I've never dreamed that it was appropriate to carry a weapon around the President of the United States unless you were part of the Secret Service detail or at a military function. If this was happening during Bush's time and the perpetrators had been lefties, I bet these same freedom-loving uptight assholes would have their panties up in a bunch and screaming for the lot to be hung by their toes. I don't care if I agree or don't agree with the Commander-in-chief or the Vice President, it is never cool to be "carrying" around them, that is unless you're hunting with Dick Cheney and well let's face it that's just for your own protection.

T-shirt love for President Obama

Hey Laaaaaaadies!
Originally uploaded by Telstar Logistics

I feel a little guilty passing this on, as the traditional acronym makes me cringe, but when I spotted a guy wearing this shirt, I did a double-take. So a t-shirt designer wanted to show the new Prez some love, so a "PILF" shirt was born. Anyway I thought it was kinda cute and seemed so appropriate to see that here in San Francisco.

President Obama has his say on racial profiling

I was afraid that nothing would come out of the White House, specifically President Barack Obama on the racial profiling of Professor Henry Louis Gates resulting in his arrest. I almost was about to question his intellect and sincerity. He did stop short of calling it what it was: racism. But at least he did voice what damn near every Black and brown person in this country has experienced, harassment at the hands of "law" enforcement. I've got to put some quotes in there, because the law is definitely not what is being enforced, it's more like the old status quo of Jim Crow days. When a Black person speaks up for their rights, questions a police officer, cops get really indignant because they think themselves to be above the law. And that's when they become dangerous, lethal sometimes. And they have the nerve to wonder why there's such distrust of the police. Don't tow the Blue Line and speak out against police brutality and things will change.

Anyway, something had to be said and I am glad that President Obama finally said it. Now if he can only put some action to it. When cops are found guilty of harassment and they've got all kinds of lies to deflect the accusation, but when they are, the penalty needs to be good and harsh. A heinous act like that deserves a similar punishment. You want to trample over someone else's liberties, well wave goodbye to yours. We'll send billions of dollars to help someone else experience freedom, all the while we ignore those here at home who are having theirs stripped away simply because they're ancestry comes from Africa or Central America.

Screw that mess. Enough is enough.

Obama is officially the next POTUS

The Chronicle has reported that it is official: Barack Obama is the next president of the United States. Anyone else find this electoral process redundant for these times or is it just me?

Barack gets his 30 minutes

Tonight is Barack Obama's 30-minute campaign spot. Yep, that's right 30 minutes of campaigning. Pre-empting the World Series even. Am I mad? Nope. I think the future of the United States of America is far more important than the baseball championship. I want to know more details about the candidates. I want transparency into their proposed policies and plans and I want to hear some specifics now. I know, I know. The American motto is as American as Mom, apple pie and baseball. But with the way the economy and the Iraq war are going, soon all we'll be left with is Mom --- if she can get the health care that she needs.

Of course, the Republicans are using this as an excuse to accuse him of grand-standing and delaying the viewing of "the most important game of the most important American game" (as if this would be the last, unless they know something we don't). Now this is the same political party and group of people who bitched about being pressured to delay and cut short their political convention (only to officially name John McCain their candidate) due to the expectation of a New Orleans being once again turned into a complete disaster zone with the arrival of Hurricane Ike. This should sound like apples versus oranges, but in Republican-Land, logic doesn't exist. Instead of complaining, they should follow suit and tell us exactly what they plan to do. I'm tired of this "woulda, shoulda, coulda" crap everybody has been spewing. I don't want to hear about how bad a job the other guy did, that's just an evasion tactic that anyone can see a mile away. Shut up or put up.

Assassination plot against Obama is busted

On Monday, an assassination plot by two knuckle-headed neo-nazi morons in Tennessee to kill Blacks and eventually Barack Obama was busted up by the local police and the Feds (See story at NYTimes). So I guess this is the signal to say let the real hating begin.

It has been a certainty that the attacks on him would get more personal, bigger, frequent and outrageous. And the closer he gets to the White House, the more scared the racists get.

This plot makes me think back to a story from the beginning of the presidential campaigning where older Black voters in the Carolinas indicated that they didn't want to vote for Obama out of fear for his safety. My single hope is that people, particular Black people, do not get scared off and try to "protect" Obama from harm by not voting for him. Running for president is his mission. Just like a soldier's choice to join the military, he is choosing to serve the American public.

Happy "I Have a Dream" Speech Anniversary Day!

Today is the 45th anniversary of the delivery of the "I Have a Dream" speech by the late great Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. And whether it was planned or not (but probably so) Barack Obama delivered his presidential nomination acceptance speech in Denver. And Obama did not disappoint. At least _I_ wasn't disappointed. Here's his speech on NYTimes.com.

What I found satisfying with his speech was that he clarified with surprising details how he plans to run the country with regard to cutting taxes for the overtaxed and raising it for those who don't pay enough, cleaning up the environment, leveling the salary playing-field and reforming the health-care system. And I hope he is able to really do some serious forensics on our national budget and identify and kill those pet projects that do nothing but line the pockets of the elite rich with the money of us suckers. I know there's more to his plan, you'd be naive to believe otherwise, but it sounds more thought out and laser-focused on domestic issues than anything the Republicans have come up with. The best they can come up with is what's wrong with what Democrats propose. Stop telling me how much you disagree with the other guy and come to the table with solutions that have some real meat. Otherwise, shut it and let someone else do the job you seem so unwilling and incompetent to do.

It's Official! Barack's our man!

Fortunately for us the Democrats have been able to finally form a united front and have officially nominated Barack Obama as the first Black presidential nominee of a major political party. Thank goodness. The very thing that makes the party open is what makes it difficult to form a solid coalition. But it looks as though the in-fighting has been put on hold in order to present a union. Let's hope it holds.

Has Hillary Clinton Naderized this year's election?

I didn't like what I saw during the primaries with the negative attacks out of the Clinton camp and I'm not surprised by its outcome. So Hillary Clinton is out and Barack Obama is in as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate. I'd be overjoyed if it weren't for the impending doom that I feel coming on.

When it became all but 100% certain that Clinton could not keep up with Obama's delegate numbers, the grumbling from her camp started ramping up. She whined of sexism all the while launching a Karl Rove-worthy racist-tinged whisper-campaign against Obama. Her fanbase is so incensed by the media's supposed love-affair with Obama that they're ready to hand their vote over to the other party. Now I have to wonder how they can blame Obama for the media's behaviour. This I find mind-boggling. This is totally in line with their thinking that a white female should win over a black (male or female) candidate. Their sour grapes are nothing but racist and sexist bigotry.

Before this was apparent, I would have handed my vote to whomever as long as she or he appeared to be the most reliable, trust-worthy and competent to lead the country through the mess that Bush and cohorts are leaving.

Hillary has managed to poison the well to such the extent that her supporters don't care that she is now preaching the party unity message. They are outraged and blame Obama for the apparent media and political bashing of Clinton. From most news outlets, about half have announced their support of McCain, a.k.a. Bush version 2.0. McCain is wooing their vote. In past elections, Republicans wouldn't even consider trying to persuade staunch Democrats to come over to their side. With Hillary's help, they don't even have to try so hard this time.