Obama Needs to Man Up; Breitbart's Screwup

I sincerely hope the Obama administration has learned its lesson with the whole sorry-ass Shirley Sherrod affair: don't jump to fucking conclusions; do your research. And most importantly, stop being so afraid of the wing-nut smear machine. Scumbag emeritus Andrew Breitbart and his ilk will always take cheap shots like taking an edit from Sherrod's speech about racial reconciliation and pull a few sentences out of context to make it seem like a racist affirmation. That's what these assholes do. It's not that they have a different political ideology, it's that they are dishonest pieces of shit that don't care about the truth. Slime pays and they've got bills, you know?

But this time, hopefully, the smearmongers will have whatever little credibility they may enjoy questioned a bit more; their race-baiting pronouncements and slimy tactics less likely to be immediately regurgitated. After all, a misunderstood quote is one thing, but to purposely and shamelessly take a positive message and try to fashion it into one of division and hate is not only slanderous but indecent and immoral as well. But, hey, look who we're asking moral certitude from.

Shakespearean 'tweets' in Honor of Sister Sarah

I'm not a fan of Twitter but Sarah Palin comparing her mangling of the English language to William Shakespeare's linguistic flights of fancy has brought about many funny tweets. My faves:

“Cry havoc, and let slip the hockey moms of war!”

“Something is rotten in the state of Alaska. So I’m quitting.”

“Et tu, Bristol?!

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury America not to serve it in any way. At all.”

“Shall I compare ya to a summer’s day?”

Priceless.

Tea Partier Not Your Dad's Mr. Roper

Let's get to the gist of this: Tea Party leader Mark Williams has vehemently defended his organization from accusations of racism but when confronted by the NAACP on the subject he lashes out and claims the NAACP has made "more money off of race than any slave trader ever." Dumbfounding huh? Well, what about Billy Roper, a Tea Partier and write-in candidate for governor of Arkansas who had this to say to the Kansas City Star:

“I don’t want non-whites in my country in any form or fashion or any status,” he says. Roper also is a tea party member who says he has been gathering support for his cause by attending tea party rallies. “We go to these tea parties all over the country,” Roper said. “We’re looking for the younger, potentially more radical people.”

That's incriminating enough. But then I find out that, according to the Anti-Defamation League website...

Arkansas-based White Revolution is a relatively new neo-Nazi organization that seeks to promote unity and cooperation among white supremacist groups. Run by Billy Roper, a former official with National Alliance, White Revolution coordinates rallies and protests - often in conjunction with other groups - that attract a wide array of racist participants, ranging from young skinheads to Identity Christians to neo-Nazis and Klansmen...Roper, born in 1972, is a onetime skinhead and a former high school history instructor who claims that three generations of his family have belonged to the Klan.

Care to add something to this, Mr. Williams?

McCarver Steps In It Yet Again

Unlike many baseball fans I've never had much of a problem with Tim McCarver in the broadcast booth; I find him to be more like a necessary evil than anything else. (Joe Morgan is another matter altogether.) But a recent pronouncement from McCarver reminded me of the Mets' botched firing of manager Willie Randolph a few seasons ago. In other words, a widely supported conclusion was handled badly and ended up biting the protagonist in the ass.

During Fox Sports' broadcast of the Saturday, July 17th, Yankees vs Rays game at Yankee Stadium, McCarver decried the absence of any tribute to former Yankee manager Joe Torre at the Yankees home park. Now, regardless of how one may feel regarding the Yankees' handling of Torre's departure, the fact remains that he led the Bronx Bombers to 12 consecutive post-season appearances, including 4 World Series championships, 6 pennants, and 10 division titles. So, yes, it's a no-brainer to suggest that Torre be acknowledged in the palace that is the new Yankee Stadium, and shame on the Yankees for failing to do so.

But for McCarver to compare this Yankee faux pas to mid 20th century German and Soviet generals being airbrushed out of their respective histories for not achieving whatever victory was expected of them, is not only grounds for invoking Godwin's Law, but an incredibly inappropriate and ill-timed statement mere days after the death of Yankees owner, and acknowledged hard-ass George M. Steinbrenner. Jesus, man, do you not think before you spew such nonsense? Good grief.

Ted, Just Admit It

Right-wing nutjob and rock and roll has-been Ted Nugent recently appeared on Faux News' Hannity--one of the few non-music forums desperate enough to have him--to sing the praise of the Tea Party loons (complete with a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King), demand accountability from the government, and claim that President Obama is spitting on the US Constitution.

Now, let's put aside all facts and common sense and bring it down to this:

Ted, for the sake of argument we'll grant you the ridiculous notion that Obama is indeed metaphorically loogying on our supreme governing document. In turn, you admit that shitting one's pants to fake dementia that would preclude one from getting drafted to fight in Vietnam is no way to demonstrate accountability.

Cool?