A Rock? Should We Send More Troops To A Rock?

Oh, You Mean IRAQ!?

From the PEW Research Center For the People and the Press:

Public awareness of the number of American military fatalities in Iraq has declined sharply since last August. Today, just 28% of adults are able to say that approximately 4,000 Americans have died in the Iraq war. As of March 10, the Department of Defense had confirmed the deaths of 3,974 U.S. military personnel in Iraq.

Of course, that was 6 months ago. The problem with facts and figures is that unless they are kept in front of the public eye - and hammered into the public consciousness constantly in big bold letters - the importance or enormity of any situation will always wane.

Iraq has taken a poor second place (some say third or fourth) in the presidential and vice presidential debates. In a previous post, I created "Wordles" out of both sides of the vice presidential debate. Iraq was mentioned only 4 times. The war in Iraq has cost us over 4,000 lives, $12 billion per month and it's barely on our national scope. Why? Is it the media's fault?

Not necessarily. A great many journalists have been trying to hammer a great deal into our heads, but America clings to old images and ideas whether or not they are factual. In other words, there is tendency for the American public to hear or read about something and run with it whether or not that something turns out to be false. Think "weapons of mass destruction" and "Obama's middle name is Hussein so he must be a Muslim." Americans hate changing their first perspective because they don't like being wrong.

And Americans hate to research. They like to believe the first person with a title like "Ph.D." "Rev." "Dr." They like to be fed the first spoonful of spinach, then reject what consists of the rest of the meal (even if they like spinach!). Another thing they hate: the subject of history.

Remember what Sen. Joe Biden said: "The past is prologue". History is obligatory in parsing whole cultures as well as individuals. It's obligatory for everyone to know history simply because their lives depend on knowing what happened, where and when. Gov. Sarah Palin chided Senator Biden for bringing up the past: it's possible that the candidate's picture of the future was too vague, too definitive to compare to the past. If no plans exist for the future, many politicians depend on negating any memories of the past. It makes the future easier to sell. "Don't dwell in the past, think of the future...whatever it might be." This is foolish. History is doomed to repeat itself but only if we don't know our history. And our neighbor's history.

Christians don't know their own history. One of the founding "Fathers" of Christianity and its first theologian was Tertullian. Ever heard of him? No? Why not? The promoter (or inventor) of the concept of Original Sin was Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo. It's because of him that babies are baptized early (so that if they should die early, they won't go to hell), it's because of him that Christians believe every man is born in sin. Such an important person in the history of your theology and you haven't heard of him - or you remember him with some vague memory of Bible school? Come on, this is your SPIRITUAL LIFE we're talking about and you don't know its history?

You say you've memorized the Bible inside out and that's enough? No, it's not enough. The Bible was related by word of mouth and stories passed on, interpreted, analyzed, edited, whole books included and whole books yanked out. If you don't know how the Bible came to be, how do you read it? If you just take it at face value, you short-change yourself by not knowing the full story of the Bible. You're not smart enough? Or you don't have the time? Which is it?

O.K., I got carried away. Sorry.

How'd I get from knowing about Iraq to the history of Christianity? I dunno.

Maybe someone didn't keep me on track. I need to be kept on track. Just like everyone else.

Just a thought.

With Some Christians - "Screw Social Problems, SHOW US THE MONEY!

...And Obama's A Goddam Muslim!!
(well, that's what Ann Coulter says!)

Bigotry is always attached to greed. Why? Because, in some ways, bigotry is profitable: televangelists can attest to that. Just ask one. (He/she will, of course, suddenly and vehemently subscribe it to "prosperity theology." God is making them rich!). Just look at the two campaigns we have at hand: each one is going for the middle road because they would lose more votes if, say, Obama talked too much about the poor while McCain focused on the rich. Neither of them wants to seem at all bigoted.

A new study published by the PEW Research Forum has concluded that, while voters have generally remained loyal to political parties, this year, the ISSUES have changed from social to economic. Yes, there are a great deal of Evangelicals vehemently (or violently) campaigning against same-sex marriage and abortion, but more of them are concerned with the economy and their stake in it.

A recently published national survey finds remarkable stability in the candidate preferences of major religious groups when compared with those at a similar stage in the 2004 campaign. The survey was conducted in the summer of 2008 by the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron and headed by John Green, a Pew Forum senior fellow and director of the Bliss Institute. The survey also shows, however, that issue priorities among these same groups have changed since 2004 with the economy taking on greater importance relative to social issues such as abortion and gay marriage.

Evangelicals and Christofascists can take heart, however, that old bigotries are hard to dispel, so while they are trying to protect their interests, most of the earlier political views have remained in the minds of the dullard faithful. Take the false position about Barack Obama being Muslim:

Nearly half of Americans (46%) are unable to correctly identify Barack Obama as a Christian including 13% who still maintain that he is a Muslim and another 16% who say they have heard different things about his religion. In addition, 11% say they don't know because they have not heard enough about Obama's religion. The percentage of voters continuing to say that Obama is a Muslim is largely unchanged from June (12%) and March (10%), when the controversy over Obama's former pastor at Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ was fresh in many people's minds. In the current survey, nearly one-in-five McCain supporters (19%) say that Obama is a Muslim, up from 14% in March. Fewer than one-in-ten Obama supporters (7%) identify him as a Muslim. More than three times as many white voters than African Americans see Obama as a Muslim (14% vs. 4%). Among white voters, 17% of those who have not completed college say Obama is a Muslim and 45% say he is a Christian. Among white college graduates, 7% say Obama is a Muslim while 69% say he is a Christian.

Sarah Palin said to Charles Gibson in her interview: "Jefferson said, never underestimate the wisdom of the people." Never mind the fact that Jefferson never said it, but think about the opposite: never underestimate the stupidity of the people. We've given other countries all over the world enough fodder for laughter for at least the next fifty years.

Please, America, read more, study more, analyze more. Look to facts and not to tabloid gossip and rumor. This campaign is a circus for the world and we're being far too entertaining at our own expense. Don't be selfish when you look for facts. Selfishness will always lead to someone getting hurt.

Just a thought.

Fox News: The Bigger The Pin ....

The Bigger The Pinhead!

Even Sarah Palin doesn't deserve such an attempt at a lame comparison:

FoxNews' Steve Doocy really made an ass out of himself when he critiqued the debate by the size of flag pins Biden and Palin were wearing: Palin’s was “about three times the size of his.” “So I would say flag-pin wise, she is a hands-down winner,” said Doocy. [Gretchen] Carlson noted that her pin had “a few more jewels” too.

Look at the clip and you decide whether or not this was done is jest. Sorry, I noticed that all of them sitting around their "folksy" cocktail table look dead serious. Brian Kilmeade said nothing. Just as well.

I'm sorry I don't watch FoxNews or Fox and Friends because I usually need a good jolt of rationality to start my day.

With Palin, Good Coaching Can Only Go So Far -

But It Can't Overshadow Reality

I'm going out on a limb here, because I'm going to let my personal impressions override the debate material.

1st impression: Palin was coached very well. She faltered several times on ideas and kept trying to change back to the talking points she was coached on. That will be pointed out ad nauseum by bloggers everywhere. She was more confident because she had been coached. Whoever coached her knew which points to cover. She was drilled time and again on these points and told never to waiver from them. Every time that she did, she went into "my-family-hockey-mom" mode.

Unfortunately, that didn't hit middle America ("heartland") as much as it should have. Whatever she says about the middle class, she somehow falls short of describing herself as such.

As I noted in a previous post: neither candidate were given the chance to talk about inner city problems. It was fortuitous for Palin, because she knows absolutely nothing about inner city strife. The inner city votes should go heavily for Obama.

2nd impression: as one journalist put it in the CNN post debate discussion: Joe Biden gave the debate of his life. He was up on facts and figures and kept hammering away at the possibility of no change with a McCain/Palin ticket. The impression that the analysts caught most was that Biden had restraint. I take that to mean that he could have hammered at issues in a more strident way than he did.

Standout points:

Biden: Vice President Cheney has been the most dangerous vice president we've had probably in American history. The idea he doesn't realize that Article I of the Constitution defines the role of the vice president of the United States, that's the Executive Branch.

Brave Sarah:. And I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people and let them know my track record also. First of all, Sarah, your answer was ungrammatical: are the questions or the answers the things we don't want to hear? And it's very brave for you to state that you wouldn't be answering some questions or avoiding others. I salute your bravery here. But it makes you look a bit silly. You could have phrased it differently.

Biden: "So you're going to have to place -- replace a $12,000 plan with a $5,000 check you just give to the insurance company. I call that the "Ultimate Bridge to Nowhere." Wow! What a punch! Biden covered several pieces of ground with that one and it's sure to be quoted often.

Palin: John McCain has been the consummate maverick in the Senate over all these years. The maverick thing has been floated way too much lately, and it's too easy to disprove. BTW: did Palin say the name "Republican Party" at all? This is called "uberdistancing"

Palin: Your plan is a white flag of surrender in Iraq.This is sure to go big with the "Kill 'em all!" die-hard single-wide trailer residents out there. She probably clinch the NRA on it (if it was ever in doubt).

PALIN: No and Dr. Henry Kissinger especially. I had a good conversation with him recently. And he shared with me his passion for diplomacy. And that's what John McCain and I would engage in also. But again, with some of these dictators who hate America and hate what we stand for, with our freedoms, our democracy, our tolerance, our respect for women's rights, those who would try to destroy what we stand for...aaaA "good conversation with him"? Huh? "passion for diplomacy"?? Is she trying to sound like she's a BETTER Barack Obama? And the flag-waving seemed to go on and on. She really did sound a lot like "The President Who Shall Remain Nameless."(PWSRN)

Biden: Look, past is prologue, Gwen. The issue is, how different is John McCain's policy going to be than George Bush's? I haven't heard anything yet. (Shock! He mentioned the PWSRN!)

In a sense, the above comment of Biden's is the soul of the Democrat's campaign. Unfrotunately for Republicans, it fits. So much so that even Republicans don't say the words "Bush" or "Republican."

PAST IS PROLOGUE.

Just a thought.

What WASN'T Said By Palin: "Bush" or "Republican" As Well As A Host Of Other Things

What Wasn't Said Is Just As Important!

As I've posted before, the subject of RACE never came up in last night's debate. The subject of POVERTY didn't come up, either. Neither did the candidates embrace CRIME nor even ABORTION. The only domestic issues considered were: energy, "gay marriage", and the economy. Reading between Palin's lines was a daunting task, but one that was necessary. You had to get past the "hockey mom/tolerantly diverse family" stuff to REALLY hear what she was prepared to say. And two words that were absent from Palin: "Bush" and "Republican". Palin is being backed by THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. She could have at least mentioned it once!


Not Mentioned
but certainly understood

She didn't.

She took Biden to task for looking to past mistakes, but Biden said it best in response: "Past is Prologue."

Oddly, if you look at the hard word count (I have), "change" is mentioned by Palin only several times. It's mentioned more by Biden. And her phraseology was definitely tutored (as well as tortured).

On Gay Marriage:

"But in that tolerance also, no one would ever propose, not in a McCain-Palin administration, to do anything to prohibit, say, visitations in a hospital or contracts being signed, negotiated between parties."

Huh? "Visitations" are not the same thing as automatic power of attorney. "Contracts" are not the same thing as valid commitments that ensure couples of all the benefits of "marriage." They are certainly not the same thing as a legal document being recognized by all states. There are definitely cracks in Palin's "tolerance."

And then we have: "Passion for diplomacy" followed by a big BUT! that wound up to be "If they hate us, we hate them! Naa na na naa naa (make rude face, put tumbs in ears and wiggle fingers). Maybe Kissinger gave her that last part as a diplomacy tip.

Words, words, words. They matter. They matter when they ARE NOT stated or stated enough. I've gone to the site Wordle.com to help me consider what words were said and which ones weren't. I made two "wordles" or graphics depending on how many times a word is said. Both "wordles" have 160 of the most mentioned words. See for yourself. Look to see what/who was mentioned and how many times. BUT: make your own list of important words and see if they were ever mentioned significantly in either Palin's or Biden's responses.

You'll be surprised.

Click on each icon to see the entire "wordle".

Here's the Wordle about Palin's side of the debate.



Here's a Wordle about Biden's side:

The Race and THE RACE

And In The End, The Race For President Will Be About
WHAT RACE the Voters Are For!

Today I was tutoring my good friend April, who is minoring in African American Studies at Berkeley. I love doing it, because she helps give me a different perspective on the subject.

Tonight is, of course, the vice presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Senator Joe Biden. No doubt, foreign relations will be discussed - that being the main issue, since both sides have tauted their V.P. picks as having experience.

However, it would be great if there were a question concerning race, or one concerning immigration. We already know that Biden, as the head of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, has experience, while Palin crows about the proximity of Alaska to Russia. But since Dick Cheney has seen to it that vice presidential powers have been expanded, the position will be held accountable on domestic issues as well. So how do Palin and Biden see race as a factor of domestic policy? Do both of them admit that race will be a factor in voting? How much "experience" do Biden and Palin have in dealing with race?

The Native American factor and the African American factor cannot be reconciled: they are incredibly different in size and scope. Joe Biden's state of Delaware has a larger population than Alaska by about 150,000 people. Over 20% are African American, most of whom reside in Wilmington. By contrast, Alaska's African American population is below 2%, while the Native American population makes up about 15%.

As a social demographic, Alaska has the highest incidents of rape in the United States per capita, of which Native American women are at high risk. The two most serious problems facing Alaska are alcoholism and domestic violence. Wilmington, Delaware has a crime rate higher than the national rate, but it is the only city in the country to have its entire downtown put under video surveillance (enacted just last year).

Can Palin answer questions on race sufficiently to satisfy city Republicans? I doubt it. And since she will never be given the chance to speak spontaneously about the subject of race, we can be sure that all answers will coincide with McCain's formal statements.

W.E.B. DuBois

Parrot more than puppet.

Parrots talk and have brains -bird brains to be sure, but brains none the less. Thank you, April, for giving me a new perspective on the campaign. And as far as perspectives go, The Talented Tenth article by W.E.B. du Bois is worth looking at today: it represents one African American man's expression of success. Click below to see the Wordle I created so you can see for yourself which themes were stressed.

It isn't difficult to see that education stood out in the mind of duBois. How many African American citizens have been saying the same thing since then? Just a thought.

The Wall of Separation Between Sarah Palin and Reason

The way Palin makes up quotes
makes her more gaff-prone than Joe Biden!

There should be a wall of separation between Sarah Palin and Political Ambition. When the two come together, the results are disastrous. She makes up quotes and then tries to tie them to what she means and comes up with nothing:

Katie Couric: Thomas Jefferson wrote about the First Amendment, building a wall of separation between church and state. Why do you think that's so important?
Sarah Palin: His intention in expressing that was so that government did not mandate a religion on people. And Thomas Jefferson also said never underestimate the wisdom of the people. And the wisdom of the people, I think in this issue is that people have the right and the ability and the desire to express their own religious views, be it a very personal level, which is why I choose to express my faith, or in a more public forum. And the wisdom of the people, thankfully, engrained in the foundation of our country, is so extremely important. And Thomas Jefferson wanted to protect that.

So, the wisdom of the people equals rights, abilities and desires to express their religion? She's missing several pieces there. Wisdom of the people. That's very debatable. "Never underestimate the stupidity of people" comes to mind, but "wisdom"? No. Many people have tried to find that quote, BTW, but have come up empty handed. I don't think Jefferson ever said. it. Jefferson and the Founding Fathers were thinking of a plutocracy when founding this "democratic" nation. Only men with property could vote. That left out about 85% of the country's population (women and slaves could not vote) And only the U.S. Senate could vote for President (Lincoln was one of the first Presidents to be elected by popular vote).

Have you noticed that Palin's reasoning (if you can call it that), seems to zigzag all over the place and leaves you stranded somewhere trying to figure out what she actually meant? I will say it again: Gracie Allen was more logical and a great deal funnier.

Joe Biden is easier to follow him than Palin. Please note that his first statement was NOT included in most of the "transcriptions" in print. Was this censorship of a sort?


Biden:The best way to look at it is look at every state where that wall is not built. Look at every country in the world where religion is able to impact on the governanc. In almost every one of those countries there's real turmoil.

Look, the founders were pretty smart. They had gone through, you know, several hundred years of wars - religious wars. And they were in the midst of religious wars in Europe. And they figured it out: The best way to do this is to keep the government out of religion. They took religion out of government. But they didn't mean religion couldn't be in a public place, in the public square.

Keeping government out of religion is easy. However, these days, keeping religion out of government is difficult: the pulpits want more power and the best way to do that is to legislate their forms of morality.

I posted an article about the 33 churches that agreed to "go political" last Sunday and tell people to vote Republican:

All told, 33 pastors in 22 states were to make pointed recommendations about political candidates Sunday, an effort orchestrated by the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund.

Wayne Besen's astute comment on this event:

In America, there should be no special privileges given to elitist clergy who think they are better than the rest of us. If they can’t play by the rules, they should be taken out of the game. The IRS should move swiftly to ax the tax exemption from these political action committees posing as churches.

At left is a thoughtful take on the whole situation. Many "Christians" believe in the "freedom" to torture. They voted-in the death penalty. And they want to be free to discriminate against all other ideologies and religions.

So this may be the way it will come about:

Republicans want the votes of the Christian Right. They pander to them by giving them Palin on the ticket. The Christian Right will call in their debts after the election. McCain and Palin will have to pay those debts. Palin, of course, will become an obedient servant. She will endorse laws against abortion, laws for censorship, laws against same-sex marriage, even laws that smack of theocracy. She will do these things because "It is God's will."

I know it all sounds outlandish. But it's possible. It's possible.

Just a thought.