Sharon Cullars Coffee Talk at 7/30/2011 02:21:00 PMPermanent Link |
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Thursday, August 20, 2009
My hero for the moment - Barney Frank
Frank doesn't mince words with this woman, which as he says, would have been a waste of time and breath. Sometimes you just have to label crazy "crazy" and keep stepping.
Sharon Cullars Coffee Talk at 8/20/2009 01:47:00 PMPermanent Link |
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Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Dropping in from my sabbatical
My self-imposed absence has been more a fallout from real life, which I'm taking care of so that I can be back in full throttle. Thank you for still checking on me, I appreciate it.
Given all of the news I wanted to comment on these last weeks, it's been hard not to do a column or two, especially in lieu of the passing of one of my favorite Golden Girls, Bea Arthur, an inimitable force I thought could never be silenced. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Since the vid below is making the blog rounds, I thought I would post it here as it is one of the funniest scenes from GG.
Still, what brings me to the keyboard is the hilarity of the pic below that I found over at Daily Kos in a column on Arlen Specter's defection from the GOP to the Democratic Party, giving Obama a filibuster-proof majority (depending on whether Minnesota's Al Franken is officially sworn in). I did a double take and broke out laughing, which is rare these days. So, I thought I'd share.
Sharon Cullars Coffee Talk at 4/28/2009 02:44:00 PMPermanent Link |
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Monday, January 26, 2009
Unbelievable
Note to Rush Limbaugh: When any American says he wants our administration to fail, he in essence is saying that he wants all Americans to fail, and we can't afford that. Even former czar William Bennett understands this. Personal lives are at stake here, not just your ideology.
Sharon Cullars Coffee Talk at 1/26/2009 08:54:00 AMPermanent Link |
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Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A New Beginning
A new administration, a new sense of unity, a renewed sense of hope... But know, he can't do it alone. It's up to all of us to transform America to its glorious potential.
Sharon Cullars Coffee Talk at 1/20/2009 09:13:00 AMPermanent Link |
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Monday, December 15, 2008
What we learn from the Dreyfus Affair
Recently, I came across an article about the Dreyfus Affair that occurred in late 19th century France and was pivotal in the eventual separation of France's church and state. As I read, I couldn't help noting the parallels surrounding the infamous case that resonate with what's been happening in the last decade of American politics - mainly, the abuse of power arising from clerical interference in secular and military politics, resulting in the overall good of society becoming subsumed at the behest and for the benefit of religious factions.
In brief, in 1894, Alfred Dreyfus, a French military officer from a Jewish family was wrongly accused of passing French military secrets to the Germans. Despite his protestations of innocence, Dreyfus was stripped of his rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island, a penal colony off a South American coast. Because of the overt anti-semitism of the era, Dreyfus had few defenders. But two years after Dreyfus was convicted, another officer, Lieutenant Colonel Georges Picquart, found exculpatory evidence showing that the actual German spy was an officer named Walsin Esterhazy. Even though Picquart was a man of his time and was as anti-semitic as most of his fellow officers, he believed that Dreyfus should be released and Esterhazy should be held for his crimes. But when Picquart turned over the evidence, his superiors, sensitive about their original error, sought to cover up the truth and drummed Picquart out of the military, even going so far as to counterfeit documents to bolster their original claim that Dreyfus was the spy. Eventually, when the public discovered the truth, the French military was forced to reopen the case, during which they still found a way to exonerate Esterhazy. Right-wing factions as well as the Catholic church backed the decision, joining the anti-Dreyfus campaign. However, the mainly pro-Dreyfus public refused to be quiet about the blatant injustice. Author Emile Zola became so incensed that he wrote his famous J'Accuse denouncing the cover-up and published it in one of the daily newspapers (Zola was subsequently convicted of libel and had to flee the country for years). Because of the public outcry, the French president ultimately pardoned Dreyfus and released him, where he was reinstated in the military with full rank and privileges.
Because of the egregious abuse by the military and the self-interested interference by the church in the Dreyfus case, a coalition of republicans, radicals and socialists began working together and eventually a liberal government was voted into power in 1899. In 1904, anticlerical legislation was passed, leading to the 1905 separation of France's church and state.
The Dreyfus Affair is a perfect illustration how governmental abuse can become legitimized when church and state become entangled. As the Dreyfus Affair and the past eight years of the Bush Administration has shown, the church in any form has no place in government. The two are contradictory - the church represents a faction and the government is supposed to represent the whole. The interests of the few should never override the good of the many. Even Jesus admonished that what is Caesar belongs to Caesar. This includes the government. Unfortunately, our government of the last decade has been held in a stranglehold by extremist religious factions who have overriden the good of all of society for the benefits and interests of a few. Purposely or not, church interference in secular affairs tends to exacerbate prejudices, whether the overt anti-semitism of 19th century Franch or the racism of 21st century America.
The irony of the political parallels are notable in that they show that the backdrops may change, but human reaction will remain the same. When extremism goes against the core of governmental independence and societal good, the public will rally. In late 19th century France, the public rose up against extreme right-wingers and church demagoguery that eventually led to a liberal government being elected; last month, the American public did likewise.
Which proves the truth of French writer Alphonse Karr's proverb: "The more things change, the more they stay the same."
Sharon Cullars Coffee Talk at 12/15/2008 10:25:00 AMPermanent Link |
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Sunday, December 14, 2008
Pair of leather men's shoes, slightly worn - $150...
...same shoes thrown at President Bush during a news conference in Iraq - priceless. Seems an Iraqi journalist took protest to a higher level...that is, the amazing trajectory arc of shoes hurled as projectiles. I have a feeling the journalist doesn't like Bush very much...nor the policies Bush and his cronies have implemented in Iraq during the last six or seven years.
As for the actual value of the shoes, I don't know what the equivalent dollar value is in Iraqi currency. But since Iraq has received more than a fair share of American dollars, I can bet the Iraqi currency has gotten quite a boost.
PS: Just to be clear, I'm being tongue-in-cheek here; I don't condone violence against anybody, including President Bush.
Sharon Cullars Coffee Talk at 12/14/2008 11:57:00 AMPermanent Link |
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Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The Obama effect on a personal level
Obama's presidency seems to have inspired some black men to "straighten up and fly right." On last weekend's edition of The Chris Matthews Show, NPR journalist Michelle Norris noted that young men in large cities are doffing their street personas, which sometimes entails changing hair styles.
Although some may chaff at the "mainstreaming," it's encouraging that at least some young men finally realize their career opportunities lie beyond mere entertainment and sports. A black man will soon reside in the White House with his lovely family, and for a lot of young people, this has allowed them to see past their cultural myopia, to get serious about their own futures.
Below is the relevant excerpt from the show:
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MATTHEWS: Welcome back.
Michele, tell me something I don't know.
Ms. NORRIS: You know we talk about change following this election on a big level...but, I've been traveling after the election in Chicago, Pennsylvania, here in Washington, D.C., and I've noticed something. It's change that a lot of men, black men, are talking about in their personal lives. Talking about joining the military, talking about going back to school. A barbershop (sic) where he said he's had a dozen people talk about coming in and cutting off their dreads, not that there's anything wrong with dreads but they want to go back to school or join the military, and they can't wear dreads in that case.
It's interesting when we talk about change, we don't necessarily get to that change on a personal level, and there are a number of people...who feel connected to the White House, who feel connected to the country in a different way....
Sharon Cullars Coffee Talk at 11/18/2008 04:06:00 PMPermanent Link |
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I'm not my butt...
...nor my hair. I am so much, much more... (to be hummed to the tune of Indie.Arie's song, "I'm Not My Hair"). Isn't it a shame that Ms. Arie has to remind us that it's not good to reduce people, specifically women, to superficial parts. So, like others in the blogosphere, I, too, take issue with Erin Aubry Kaplan's exploratory essay of Michelle Obama's posterior at Salon. Yes, the First Lady has nice curves, even I have noticed that. But I wouldn't write an in-depth article about it, especially when said article amounts to nothing more than an exercise in narcissism by the author. Kaplan obviously has some body image issues as her prior articles have critiqued her own bodacious anatomy. I sympathize, because I also have a bad body image. But it is quite presumptuous for Kaplan to pull someone else into her pique about how society doesn't fully appreciate her curves.
So we have a woman in the White House with curves, so what? As commenters of the Salon article point out, the whole self-serving article is particularly reductive. Yes, black women have been demeaned because of their bodies and shapes; most women of all cultures and races are similarly demeaned. How is further objectifying women going to help make you feel better about yourself?
As much as Kaplan believes Michelle's posterior in some ways validates her own ass, she has at least one pet peeve with the First Lady-Elect - her hair. Obviously, Ms. Obama isn't being "true" to her "blackness" by mainstreaming her hair. Or so Ms. Kaplan believes. Again, this is truly reductive. If we as black folk are nothing more than our discrete body parts and characteristics, where does that leave our character? Our intelligence? Our souls? "Soul" and "blackness" is a dynamic, ever-changing definition, more than skin color, more than hair texture, more than a particular style. More than the shape of an ass.
Yes, Ms. Kaplan, it's freeing to work out your own soul salvation, to come to terms with your self-reflection. But you don't have to reduce other folk while doing it. I don't know Ms. Obama personally, but I suspect that she would more appreciate being critiqued for her mind and not her ass.
Sharon Cullars Coffee Talk at 11/18/2008 11:48:00 AMPermanent Link |
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Sunday, November 02, 2008
Des boys are miscegenated...
For some reason, this scene from O Brother Where Art Thou (the only Cooney film I really like, BTW) reminds me of the current election with all its racial animus and spurious allegations.... "That negra sold his soul to the devil!" The funny part is that the race-baiting candidate finds himself perplexed that his allegations don't get the response he anticipated ("Is you is, or is you ain't my constituency?"). Actually, his race baiting flies right back to slap him in the face...in this case in the form of thrown tomatoes.
PS: Never thought I would like bluegrass, but that tune "Constant Sorrow" is kinda catchy.
Sharon Cullars Coffee Talk at 10/27/2008 01:45:00 PMPermanent Link |
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Friday, October 24, 2008
Just plain idiocy...or racism
You know how I warned you all that this race was going to get ugly, and with the likes of Hannity, Limbaugh, et al, that wasn't a farfetched conclusion. The covert racism is boiling to the surface, and folks aren't even trying to hide it anymore. Even given these instances, I naively believed there were lines that marginally sane folk wouldn't dare cross; unfortunately, I was wrong.
As soon as I heard about Obama's ailing grandmother, Toots, I half-heartedly joked to myself that the conservative pundits would find a way to somehow accuse Obama of "staging" his grandmother's illness for political points. Again, it was supposed to be a joke. But obviously Chicago's Don Wade of WLS 890's husband-and-wife radio duo, Mornings with Roma and Wade, has his own twisted since of humor. Trying to make a point about how "synchophantic" the press is toward Obama, Wade, an obviously frustrated conservative, proferred a scenario where Obama suffocates his grandmother, and a forgiving press backs off.
And folks, it's going to get even scarier out there as the days count down to November 4. A woman posting at a board I frequent recounted her frightening episode with an angry anti-Obama protestor who decided that trying to run her down with his truck was a valid form of protest. Luckily, her friends pulled her out of harm's way just in time. I'm hearing more and more accounts of voter and canvasser intimidation by anti-Obama freaks; I guess that's why the other side figured they needed a canvassing horror story of their own; just one thing though - the whole thing was bogus, with shades of Susan Smith thrown in.
Sharon Cullars Coffee Talk at 10/24/2008 08:13:00 PMPermanent Link |
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Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Aussies for Obama
Aussie Rebecca Wilson at Sydney Airport on her way to the US to join Obama's campaign.
In anticipation of tonight's debate, I've been perusing the latest news on Obama and McCain and came across this article. This is a new one on me. I tend to forget how invested the rest of the world is in what goes on here in America. We are definitely a global village with a global economy and culture. At various political - and even non-political blogs - I've seen commenters from other countries practically begging Americans to please vote for Obama. Well, the Aussies have taken their hopes a step further by creating a website, Australians for Obama as well as donating their monies and, in the case of Rebecca Wilson (pictured above), actual time and labor. Wilson flew to Ohio to volunteer at one of the Democratic campaign offices.
This is not just an American venture. The whole world is watching to see what we're going to do in three weeks. Hopefully, we Americans won't have to put up a website like we did four years ago apologizing to the rest of the world.
And hopefully, in three weeks, I won't have to contact the Canadian consulate asking for emigration information.
Sharon Cullars Coffee Talk at 10/08/2008 08:37:00 PMPermanent Link |
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Monday, October 06, 2008
The sounds of desperation
You could almost feel sorry for him if he weren't so venal. And wasn't such a liar. Expect the remainder of the campaign to get very ugly as the race-baiting becomes less tacit. In the vid, McCain facetiously asks, "Who is the real Obama." Well, we get a good look at McCain with this Rolling Stones article. It ain't pretty.
Sharon Cullars Coffee Talk at 10/06/2008 06:53:00 PMPermanent Link |
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Sunday, October 05, 2008
VP Debate Redux
Fey nails Palin again and Queen Latifah does Gwen Ifill. Best "Palin" line: "I believe marriage is a sacred institution between two unwilling teenagers." Best "Biden" line (regarding McCain): "As my mother would say, 'God love him, but he's a raging maniac'...and a dear, dear friend."
Sharon Cullars Coffee Talk at 10/04/2008 08:58:00 PMPermanent Link |
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And the Presidential race gets even uglier...
...and more stupid. I don't want to get simplistic, but it seems as though Republican has come to mean out-and-out racist, although I know that's not true, b/c I know some decent Republicans, some even in my family (yes, black Republicans). Still, when you hear accounts like this FL teacher, you have to wonder.
Understand, there were six black middle school students in his class. I cringe to think how they felt. And that disciplinary action is pathetic. The asshole should be fired.
Sharon Cullars Coffee Talk at 10/04/2008 06:41:00 PMPermanent Link |
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Sunday, September 28, 2008
How Obama actually won the debate
Justashotaway, a diarist over at Daily Kos, blogs that mainstream pundits are getting it wrong when assessing who won last Friday's debate. Many of the media heads lament that the debate didn't provide an "oomph" moment or some memorable snippet they can replay for the entertainment of their audiences. I agree that when considered by regular measures, the debate was a toss-up, neither party getting the better of the other. But as Justashotaway notes, we measure it wrong when we approach it as a horserace or fighting match. Basically, this was Obama's debate to win or lose simply by disproving the virulent lies that have been thrown out there and that have created this mythic boogeyman in many undecided voters' minds. In other words, Obama had to appear non-threatening as well as presidential. And on both these measures, Obama more than surpassed expectations.
Foreign relations is supposedly McCain's strongest suit and I'm sure he believed that he was going to pummel the neophyte upstart. But as the debate wore on, you could see that McCain was barely holding himself together, at times trying to pass off a grimace as a smile as Obama dismantled misconceptions and deliberate misdirections that McCain has used to color him as inexperienced. McCain obviously believed that by repeatedly calling Obama "inexperienced" or someone who "doesn't understand," he could refute what people were actually witnessing for themselves, and that is that on every facet of foreign relations, Obama was well-versed and knowledgeable. He also presented himself as cool and even-tempered even as McCain at times looked like he was going to blow a fuse.
So instead of the "empty suit," "radical Christian" and "elitist" many expected to see, America got to see someone who actually seemed to care about the middle-class, who actually engaged them with eye contact before the cameras, which was more than McCain ever did throughout the whole debate. In other words, Obama showed that he cared about struggling Americans, which includes some Republicans. And, according to Justashotaway, this is the true win of the debate.
Justashotaway grew up in Chambersburg, a provincial town in rural Pennsylvania where many of the residents are staunch Republicans and at least one man proudly displays a Confederate flag despite the fact that Chambersburg was one of the northern towns burned down by the Rebs during the Civil War. You wouldn't expect Obama to go over well there, and for most citizens, he hasn't. But last Friday gave them their first real opportunity to face the fears generated by a well-orchestrated GOP smear campaign and see them for what they were, nothing but a lot of lies.
Justashotaway is already seeing the change. Although he no longer lives in Chambersburg, he keeps in touch with many of his former neighbors and friends. One former neighbor, Jeff, 58-years-old and contemplating retirement, previously had doubts about Obama and whether he was fit to lead. After Friday's debate, much of Jeff's resistance had dissipated to the point where he is contemplating voting for Obama. Just don't ask him to advertise that fact to his neighbors, because he still has to live there.
Interestingly enough, quite a few of the diary commenters know people like Jeff, who are obstensibly McCain backers but who have furtively decided to vote for Obama. I say "furtively" because they are basically on the downlow, voting against the expectations of friends, families and even spouses. Some are labelling this the anti-Bradley effect. For those unfamiliar with the Bradley effect, the term stems from the 1982 California gubernatorial election where polls showed strong support among whites for Tom Bradley, an African-American. Ultimately Bradley lost that race despite poll showings. Analysts determined that polled had mislead the pollsters to avoid appearing to be racists. In the end, they opted for the white candidate. What appears to be happening in this presidential race is that some whites are voting "black" although polling "white" as a way of "going along to get along." They know too well that they have to appear to toe the party line in order to maintain peace. And that is a sad commentary that in over twenty years time, it is preferable to go along with reactionary racism than to try to appear progressive.
Only in November will we really know how Obama fared. But for some former gate straddlers, Obama has become the decisive candidate - at least for right now.
