I must confess that most of my blogs on current pop culture, I have do a lot of research or get an assist from my wife or little sister – however, American Idol is a show that I actually watch because my daughter and wife love it. With that said, I feel that I am more than qualified to chime in the contestants rumored to be vying to be part of the Idol’s judge’s panel. I have heard, via the Los Angeles Times, that the Idol producers are looking at Stephen Tyler, the raspy voice gifted front man of Aerosmith - that I could live with, but JLo? What?! That’s like having Paris Hilton visiting James Lipton at “Inside The Actor’s Studio” or OJ teaching anger management.
The fans should have the producers of American Idol insist that the new judges for American Idol be musicians: have JLo sing a song without the benefit of lip syncing. If indeed JLo is negotiating with the Idol’s producers for one of the opened judge’s vacancy, I say, nyet. “What makes “Jenny From The Block” qualify to be an Idol judge? Yes, she has “nough back,” but what about a voice? … what about being able to mentor the kids on pitch, range, cadence, etc,? I supposed that the water was muddied when they chose past judges like Paula Abdul and Ellen Generes, but at least Abdul knows the craft by theory and that she was the perfect foil for the less than charming Cowell. I would be remised not to convey that Simon Cowell is an accomplished music producer.
I know one of the members of Milli Vanilli is dead, but you might as well choose the surviving member to fill one of Idol’s vacancies. I mean he lip sync, but he does it better than JLo’s actual singing. Let’s be honest, JLo is only negotiating for this gig because her career trajectory is going south - it is rumored that Jessica Simpson wanted the position too and the Idol producers eighty-sixed that suggestion – For God’s sake, do the same to JLo’s inquiries, if indeed she is interested in one of the American Idol’s vacant judgeship. There are great seasoned artists out there to be added: Patti Labelle; Gladys Night; Smokey Robinson; Steven Tyler; Steve Perry; David Bowie: Diana Ross; Katy Lang; Sined O’Connor; Pat Benatar, Cyndi Lauper – I could go on and on – but please, not JLo!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Bring The Troops Home: Starting In Japan
Barely nine months into his new administration, the Japanese Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, was forced to resign. What is so telling about Mr. Hatoyama’s resignation was the fact that he was elected by nearly 70% of the votes. So what was the pressing issue that brought down the new Prime Minister - it was his support to extend the American troop presence in Japan. The Japanese public has been voicing its disapproval of America’s presence in Japan for some time now and didn’t help matters that a soldier the brutally raped one of its citizens… adding even more fodder for those who want the troops to go home. We are at the point where no amount of good will or the largess the United States dole out to these countries economies (Japan included) can change the peoples mind.
It is time to bring the troops home from these foreign shores; the younger generation doesn’t remember what America did for their grandparents. Our young Japanese brothers and sisters do not remember that General Douglas McArthur undertook what was tantamount to the Marshall Plan for the East… rebuilding Japan after America’s bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Revisionists and conspiracy theorists have also complicated matters by positing that FDR knew of the imminent attack on Pearl Harbor. I will not begrudge the young Japanese need for pride… but pride should be matched against the strategic reasons why the troops were stationed there in the first place.
I am afraid I will side with the Japanese in agreeing that the strategic reasons, which compelled the stationing of troops in Japan and elsewhere, are no longer valid. Maybe I am being blinded and biased because America’s fiscal house is in disarray and I see the monies saved by bringing the troops home as helping us out of said fiscal mess. The expenses alone to house our troops must be enormous; think of the billions that could be saved, if we were to bring the troops home. Why not bring the troops home and station them on our porous borders?
I know a little about the respective histories of all these countries that are clamoring for our exit from their shores. There is an element of ungratefulness on their part, but the truth is that they cannot be beholden to America forever. The younger generation will forget history and national pride will always trumped what grandma or grandpa has to say positively about the Americans. There are those who think that having a Presidential ambassador like Obama will foster more good will – this may be so now, but it is temporary and simply putting off the inevitable. Those familiar with the histories of Hegemonies should know what is happening to America: the Romans, the Brits... and the Saracens can testify.
It is time to bring the troops home from these foreign shores; the younger generation doesn’t remember what America did for their grandparents. Our young Japanese brothers and sisters do not remember that General Douglas McArthur undertook what was tantamount to the Marshall Plan for the East… rebuilding Japan after America’s bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Revisionists and conspiracy theorists have also complicated matters by positing that FDR knew of the imminent attack on Pearl Harbor. I will not begrudge the young Japanese need for pride… but pride should be matched against the strategic reasons why the troops were stationed there in the first place.
I am afraid I will side with the Japanese in agreeing that the strategic reasons, which compelled the stationing of troops in Japan and elsewhere, are no longer valid. Maybe I am being blinded and biased because America’s fiscal house is in disarray and I see the monies saved by bringing the troops home as helping us out of said fiscal mess. The expenses alone to house our troops must be enormous; think of the billions that could be saved, if we were to bring the troops home. Why not bring the troops home and station them on our porous borders?
I know a little about the respective histories of all these countries that are clamoring for our exit from their shores. There is an element of ungratefulness on their part, but the truth is that they cannot be beholden to America forever. The younger generation will forget history and national pride will always trumped what grandma or grandpa has to say positively about the Americans. There are those who think that having a Presidential ambassador like Obama will foster more good will – this may be so now, but it is temporary and simply putting off the inevitable. Those familiar with the histories of Hegemonies should know what is happening to America: the Romans, the Brits... and the Saracens can testify.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
There Is A Case Sometimes For Pre-emptive War
No policy undertaken by the past Bush Administration has caused more angst among the various pundits and public alike than “Preemptive War.” This concept is maligned because it is looked upon as the catalyst that got the United States involved in the unpopular Iraq war, and moreover, because it is a policy championed by the so called Neo-Cons, who are now out of favor in Washington.
Notwithstanding the advocates of pre-emption, there is merit sometimes in employing such a policy in our Geo-Policies, all in all to serve the greater and long time good. We all need not have walked the hollowed halls of Ivy League academia to have expertise in Geo-politics like Bismarck, Richelieu, Churchill, or Kissinger, to understand pre-emption. In our everyday lives, we practice pre-emption: we exercise to prevent obesity, which could lead to Heart problems and other ailments; we visit our doctors periodically to make sure that we are healthy; we take vitamins to help fight off maladies; and we save our monies for a so called rainy day - all this we do to pre-empt something bad happening in our future.
Countries are like human beings who practice pre-emption… only that they do so for the collective. With that said, there are many countries which are justified to employ the strategy of pre-emptive war. How many times have we heard the vitriol coming out of Iran on how it wants to bring about the utter destruction of Israel - should the Israelis wait until Iran developed Nuclear weapons and are nuked… before they protect themselves by carrying out a preemptive strike? During the morning of May 04 2009, General David Petraeus, thinking of the merits pre-emption, warned the Pakistani government that it has two weeks to confront the Taliban; the fear then was that the Taliban was going to soon have access to the fifty or so nuclear weapons because there were Taliban sympathizers in the Pakistani army - Again, should we have waited until this occurred?
What should India do if these weapons end up in the hands of the Taliban, knowing the bloody history of wars between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir? Tonight, before I go to bed, I too will engage in some pre-emption of my own by brushing my teeth - my goal is to prevent bad breath, tooth decay, and gingivitis… what of countries facing nuclear annihilation with enemies who think their rewards are in Paradise… rooted in perverse eschatological ideals?
Notwithstanding the advocates of pre-emption, there is merit sometimes in employing such a policy in our Geo-Policies, all in all to serve the greater and long time good. We all need not have walked the hollowed halls of Ivy League academia to have expertise in Geo-politics like Bismarck, Richelieu, Churchill, or Kissinger, to understand pre-emption. In our everyday lives, we practice pre-emption: we exercise to prevent obesity, which could lead to Heart problems and other ailments; we visit our doctors periodically to make sure that we are healthy; we take vitamins to help fight off maladies; and we save our monies for a so called rainy day - all this we do to pre-empt something bad happening in our future.
Countries are like human beings who practice pre-emption… only that they do so for the collective. With that said, there are many countries which are justified to employ the strategy of pre-emptive war. How many times have we heard the vitriol coming out of Iran on how it wants to bring about the utter destruction of Israel - should the Israelis wait until Iran developed Nuclear weapons and are nuked… before they protect themselves by carrying out a preemptive strike? During the morning of May 04 2009, General David Petraeus, thinking of the merits pre-emption, warned the Pakistani government that it has two weeks to confront the Taliban; the fear then was that the Taliban was going to soon have access to the fifty or so nuclear weapons because there were Taliban sympathizers in the Pakistani army - Again, should we have waited until this occurred?
What should India do if these weapons end up in the hands of the Taliban, knowing the bloody history of wars between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir? Tonight, before I go to bed, I too will engage in some pre-emption of my own by brushing my teeth - my goal is to prevent bad breath, tooth decay, and gingivitis… what of countries facing nuclear annihilation with enemies who think their rewards are in Paradise… rooted in perverse eschatological ideals?
The Food Police Are After McDonald’s And Parents
In law school, there are actual case law evidencing people suing God – I read those cases for a laugh because it proved how litigious we had become and that there were many people out there who were candidates for the “rubber” room. Dailey Finance is reporting that the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CPSI) is threatening to sue McDonald’s over its Happy Meals campaign. A few years ago, I would have chalked those who are threatening suit against McDonald’s, over its “Happy Meals” campaign, to those who have sued the Deity, but these people, who make up the “food police,” are educated… with, apparently, the time and money to engage in what I consider to be bogus litigation.
The CPSI must think that if you treat your children to McDonald’s Happy Meal, you must be a bad parent. CPSI’s beef – pun intended - with parents and McDonald’s is that the toy giveaway that comes with the purchase of a “Happy Meal” is the bait, which entices children to pressure their parents to go McDonald’s and purchase “Happy Meals.” The CPSI says that because these Happy Meals are full of fat and are unhealthy for the children, gives them the reason to litigate on children’s behalf; The CPSI further points to the rampant obesity in our society, which is responsible for many life threatening diseases - these people actually argue this point with a straight face. I supposed that parents that allowed their children to have Happy Meals are so dumb and abusive, that they need the CPSI to tell them how to take care of their children and to school us on the dangers of fatty foods and the like.
Let us supposed that the CPSI sued and some court, probably California’s Ninth Circuit, were to give this potential litigation credence – where does it stop? I now understand why those, like the CPSI, want to tell your children that they have the right to condoms and abortions without parental consent. Mind you, they are never around to provide food, shelter, and make other tough house hold decisions, which affect our children - my bad, they probably want to make those decisions too.
For all of you members of the CPSI, go make your own babies and raise them as vegans – incidentally, I have it on good authority, by someone who went forward in time, that in the near future, that the carrot, along with other vegetables - will be considered a sentient being. As a consequence, CPSI parents will be charge with murder and their children as accessories. The carnivorous group spearheading this litigation on behalf of the carrot and other veggies will be known as Meat Eaters Galore (MEG).
The CPSI must think that if you treat your children to McDonald’s Happy Meal, you must be a bad parent. CPSI’s beef – pun intended - with parents and McDonald’s is that the toy giveaway that comes with the purchase of a “Happy Meal” is the bait, which entices children to pressure their parents to go McDonald’s and purchase “Happy Meals.” The CPSI says that because these Happy Meals are full of fat and are unhealthy for the children, gives them the reason to litigate on children’s behalf; The CPSI further points to the rampant obesity in our society, which is responsible for many life threatening diseases - these people actually argue this point with a straight face. I supposed that parents that allowed their children to have Happy Meals are so dumb and abusive, that they need the CPSI to tell them how to take care of their children and to school us on the dangers of fatty foods and the like.
Let us supposed that the CPSI sued and some court, probably California’s Ninth Circuit, were to give this potential litigation credence – where does it stop? I now understand why those, like the CPSI, want to tell your children that they have the right to condoms and abortions without parental consent. Mind you, they are never around to provide food, shelter, and make other tough house hold decisions, which affect our children - my bad, they probably want to make those decisions too.
For all of you members of the CPSI, go make your own babies and raise them as vegans – incidentally, I have it on good authority, by someone who went forward in time, that in the near future, that the carrot, along with other vegetables - will be considered a sentient being. As a consequence, CPSI parents will be charge with murder and their children as accessories. The carnivorous group spearheading this litigation on behalf of the carrot and other veggies will be known as Meat Eaters Galore (MEG).
Cassandra Manifested In California And Washington, D.C.
In Greek mythology, Cassandra was a prophetess who would dream dreams, which were true, but was cursed by the Greek gods so that no one would believe her warnings she gleaned from her dreams. The state of California is like one of Cassandra’s recurring dreams/nightmares manifested, which warned us about the consequences of fiscal irresponsibility. The reason this is of import is because California is that negative template and the proverbial elephant in the room of what not do in dealing with our growing, alarming national crises we are facing vis-à-vis burdensome taxes, the advent of cap and trade, deficits, and the radical environmentalist agenda.
Late last year, we watched on the program “Sixty Minutes,” with mouths agape, while radical environmentalists engineered a scheme preventing thousands of farmers from farming their lands in California because, supposedly a Minot, a tiny fish, was supposedly endangered. As a consequence, the farms are now arid and literally thousands of farmers and their extended families are left in dire straits. I am not here to say that the choices that have to be made will be easy, but those same difficult choices will have to be made on the National level. If California who have so much - oil, gold, an exporter of Rice, vegetables, wine, apples, oranges, fish, and Hollywood movies - is struggling, then what of Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio, New York, and the National Government who are all in similar dire fiscal straits?
I pray that we open our eyes and realized that we are not like those denizens in mythological Greece who ignored Cassandra’s warnings, and, moreover, the empirical evidence, as seen in the template of California or ironically modern day Greece. Years ago, the author of this blog was watching the show “Jeopardy” and the answer to one of the questions was that California was so rich that if it were a country, it would be the seventh richest - I longed for California to regain that mantle… for it bodes well for the rest of these United States.
Late last year, we watched on the program “Sixty Minutes,” with mouths agape, while radical environmentalists engineered a scheme preventing thousands of farmers from farming their lands in California because, supposedly a Minot, a tiny fish, was supposedly endangered. As a consequence, the farms are now arid and literally thousands of farmers and their extended families are left in dire straits. I am not here to say that the choices that have to be made will be easy, but those same difficult choices will have to be made on the National level. If California who have so much - oil, gold, an exporter of Rice, vegetables, wine, apples, oranges, fish, and Hollywood movies - is struggling, then what of Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio, New York, and the National Government who are all in similar dire fiscal straits?
I pray that we open our eyes and realized that we are not like those denizens in mythological Greece who ignored Cassandra’s warnings, and, moreover, the empirical evidence, as seen in the template of California or ironically modern day Greece. Years ago, the author of this blog was watching the show “Jeopardy” and the answer to one of the questions was that California was so rich that if it were a country, it would be the seventh richest - I longed for California to regain that mantle… for it bodes well for the rest of these United States.
Friday, September 3, 2010
The Creeping Balkanization Of America
We have heard how the French get irate if, while visiting one of their country’s restaurants, you dare to order a meal in English – this is so, right or wrong, because the French is implying that visitors should respect their language/culture. In America, we are not so uptight, yet there is merit in respecting certain seasoned and ingrained institutions that are Americana. This respect for America is perversely deemed in many quarters as an affront against immigrants, which has resulted in a creeping, ominous Balkanization of America – and, I am afraid we are heading the way of the Balkans. The immigrant of yesteryears, included yours truly, tried his or her best to assimilate into the existing culture, but today, in most quarters, this is frown upon and some perverted belief in placing one’s ethnic group heritage above important aspects of the American way of life is growing and it is rather troubling.
We have seen some immigrants insisting in flying their respective flags above that of Old Glory… and gratingly so during the Fourth of July holidays. We have also seen some immigrants insist that they speak their native language in schools or insist that personnel who are employed at social infrastructures, which are in place to assist said immigrants, speak their languages. One dare not bring up the fact that this travesty of insisting that the immigrants dictate to the host country how to accommodate them to have access to our largesse… would not be tolerated in the countries whence many of these immigrants came from. Pick up your telephone or if you frequent a bank machine, you will see what I am speaking about – you might say that it makes good business sense to cater to all ethnic groups, but respect for the institutions immigrants met in place when they came here should take precedence.
The tail is wagging the proverbial dog and in major enclaves, immigrants are dictating and changing American established ways of life. I am not saying that we are close to the situation we had in the Balkans with the internecine blood letting among the various ethnic groups, but listen to our discourse… and you’ll realize that we are getting there. No one is saying that you must lose your ethnicity completely; as a matter of fact, America welcomes your keeping many aspects of ethnic heritages… provided that they cause no cancerous effects. It is why we have so many ethnic parades right here in New York.
Take a look at what is happening in England; see what is happening in Minnesota; and remember the images we saw during the heat of the debate on the Arizona immigration law. I must convey this apt story to underscore the theme discussed above. I once saw in New York City, during the Christmas season, in the public square supposedly, representations of the Christmas Season: there was a Crescent Moon and a Menorah… but the baby Jesus was excluded.
We have seen some immigrants insisting in flying their respective flags above that of Old Glory… and gratingly so during the Fourth of July holidays. We have also seen some immigrants insist that they speak their native language in schools or insist that personnel who are employed at social infrastructures, which are in place to assist said immigrants, speak their languages. One dare not bring up the fact that this travesty of insisting that the immigrants dictate to the host country how to accommodate them to have access to our largesse… would not be tolerated in the countries whence many of these immigrants came from. Pick up your telephone or if you frequent a bank machine, you will see what I am speaking about – you might say that it makes good business sense to cater to all ethnic groups, but respect for the institutions immigrants met in place when they came here should take precedence.
The tail is wagging the proverbial dog and in major enclaves, immigrants are dictating and changing American established ways of life. I am not saying that we are close to the situation we had in the Balkans with the internecine blood letting among the various ethnic groups, but listen to our discourse… and you’ll realize that we are getting there. No one is saying that you must lose your ethnicity completely; as a matter of fact, America welcomes your keeping many aspects of ethnic heritages… provided that they cause no cancerous effects. It is why we have so many ethnic parades right here in New York.
Take a look at what is happening in England; see what is happening in Minnesota; and remember the images we saw during the heat of the debate on the Arizona immigration law. I must convey this apt story to underscore the theme discussed above. I once saw in New York City, during the Christmas season, in the public square supposedly, representations of the Christmas Season: there was a Crescent Moon and a Menorah… but the baby Jesus was excluded.
Is Glenn Beck The Most Powerful Personality In The Media?
Let me be honest, every chance I get, I watch the Glenn Beck program on TV because if he says something, he tells you the source of his opinion and whence it came and where to find it. Moreover, Beck is an equal opportunity critic and anyone who creates such angst for the biased media for me is worth listening to – and indeed, Mr. Beck does. Who in the Liberal media you know could have amassed the amount of denizens that visited Washington, D.C. last Saturday? Could Keith Olbermann, Ed Schultz, Rachel Maddow, Chris Mathews, and Katie Couric do so… and have the juice to muster all those folks to come together peacefully?
We had the like of Al Sharpton and the current head of the NAACP… opining about taking back “the Dream.” This underscores the arrogance of these men… that the fact that Reverend Martin Luther King’s (MLK) niece, who was with Beck in D.C., espousing that same ‘dream,’ yet, Sharpton and the NAACP would have you believe that only they have a claim to and the correct interpretation of King’s ‘Dream and not MLK’s blood relative. When I look at many in the current Democratic Party, I often wonder if they would have embraced MLK, were he alive, because of his reverence for and penchant to have many references in his homilies to the Christ?
Back to Mr. Beck - I know what the critics say… that all of us who listen to him are rubes. This probably stems from the fact that he dares to be a critic of the secular messiah that currently occupies the White House or maybe it is his evoking of Jesus over the airwaves – oops! There are those who will tell you with straight faces that Mr. Beck preaches hate and instills in people the seeds to do violence. These same people forget the vitriol spewed at President Bush… but thanks to the Internet, said hatred can still be seen in splendid color. And guess what, had anyone tried to kill Bush or the current occupant of the White House, because of some pundit’s so called “hateful diatribe,” those people should be considered and would have been considered loons.
No one has the right to MLK’s ‘dream’ because he too spoke of all people coming together to foster goodwill to benefit the collective. Perhaps, Mr. Sharpton and the NAACP have forgotten the white brothers and sisters who died to secure the Franchise… and that President Abraham Lincoln was a Republican, and moreover, white. Mr. Beck’s display of his popularity by humbly convoking such a mass of peaceful people… invoking them to get back to God… are manifestations of what MLK stood and died for. And lest I be looked upon as being guilty of “secular blaspheme,” Becks convocation was not so much about MLK, but about the teachings of Jesus to enable us hopefully to piece back together the state of our tattered union. Props to you Mr. Beck…. indeed, no good deed goes unpunished.
We had the like of Al Sharpton and the current head of the NAACP… opining about taking back “the Dream.” This underscores the arrogance of these men… that the fact that Reverend Martin Luther King’s (MLK) niece, who was with Beck in D.C., espousing that same ‘dream,’ yet, Sharpton and the NAACP would have you believe that only they have a claim to and the correct interpretation of King’s ‘Dream and not MLK’s blood relative. When I look at many in the current Democratic Party, I often wonder if they would have embraced MLK, were he alive, because of his reverence for and penchant to have many references in his homilies to the Christ?
Back to Mr. Beck - I know what the critics say… that all of us who listen to him are rubes. This probably stems from the fact that he dares to be a critic of the secular messiah that currently occupies the White House or maybe it is his evoking of Jesus over the airwaves – oops! There are those who will tell you with straight faces that Mr. Beck preaches hate and instills in people the seeds to do violence. These same people forget the vitriol spewed at President Bush… but thanks to the Internet, said hatred can still be seen in splendid color. And guess what, had anyone tried to kill Bush or the current occupant of the White House, because of some pundit’s so called “hateful diatribe,” those people should be considered and would have been considered loons.
No one has the right to MLK’s ‘dream’ because he too spoke of all people coming together to foster goodwill to benefit the collective. Perhaps, Mr. Sharpton and the NAACP have forgotten the white brothers and sisters who died to secure the Franchise… and that President Abraham Lincoln was a Republican, and moreover, white. Mr. Beck’s display of his popularity by humbly convoking such a mass of peaceful people… invoking them to get back to God… are manifestations of what MLK stood and died for. And lest I be looked upon as being guilty of “secular blaspheme,” Becks convocation was not so much about MLK, but about the teachings of Jesus to enable us hopefully to piece back together the state of our tattered union. Props to you Mr. Beck…. indeed, no good deed goes unpunished.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)