Chiefs of Staff’s Fathers Say the Darndest Things

The transition is proving to be a lot more fun than the election.   

“Obviously, he will influence the president to be pro-Israel.  Why wouldn’t he?  What is he, an Arab?  He’s not going to clean the floors of the White House.”

         —Benjamin Emmanuel (father of Rahm Emmanuel) in an interview with the Ma’ariv Newspaper on November 6.

“These are not the values upon which I was raised or those of my family.”

         —Rahm Emmanuel in a press release on November 13.

     I’m pretty sure I’ve already expressed my opinions to some on Rahm having some shady dealings in the past.  I want to officially forgive him for those because he and his dad just provided me with one of the best laughs of the month.  I don’t know what’s funnier:  the “What is he, an Arab?” comment or the half-assed way in which Rahm brushed it off and categorically denied any ill-will that his family might ever have had against Arabs.  

     Better yet, I think the funniest part is how the followers of The One True Obama will act like this was no big deal and that the people bringing it up are just anti-Obama-the-Messiah hatemongers.  The biological earth-parents of His Most High Obama’s chosen children are immune from criticism, but, let a nutjob at a McCain rally say that she is scared of His Obamaness because He’s an Arab, and McCain will be held to the fire for it (even if he corrected her).  I don’t fault President-Elect Obama for this.  He’s just a brilliant politician.  He, like McCain, can’t help that a large part of His followers are sheep.  He can, however, keep picking people like Rahm Emmanuel for top positions, as they should keep me properly entertained (much like Dick and Georgie have) for at least the next four years.  I will very much enjoy His presidency if He does.

     Oh, and here’s a fun little game.  It’s called “Discrimination is Sometimes Not a Big Deal”.  Take Benjamin Emmanuel’s statement above and make the substitutions given below:

1)  Substitute “pro-Catholic” for “pro-Israel”, “a Jew” for “an Arab”, “control the White House gold stash” for “clean the floors of the White House”, and Mel Gibson for Benjamin Emmanuel. 

2)  Substitute “pro-Chinese” for ”pro-Israel”, “a Jap” for “an Arab”, “take thousands of pictures of people holding up peace signs in front of tourist sights using a highly-sophisticated camera hanging from his neck” for “clean the floors of the White House”, and Jackie Chan for Benjamin Emmanuel.

3)  Substitute “pro-White” for “pro-Israel”, “Black” for “an Arab”, “show everyone how to do cornrows” for “clean the floors of the White House”, and Don Imus for Benjamin Emmanuel.

Thanks for playing.

          —-Jeff

Don’t Bail Out the Big 3

There has been a lot of talk lately regarding a government intervention in the auto industry. This move could represent itself in some form of check, or perhaps just an approval of the GM/Chrysler merger. Regardless of what the aid may be, I don’t like it one bit. 

The federal government has far too long propped up the auto industry as if it is the godson of George Washington. I only suggest agreeing on the aid package on one set of terms: the Big 3 must retool its entire line of cars and reach CAFE standards of no less than 60MPG, with the ultimate goal of phasing out fossil fuel-powered vehicles completely within a brief time frame. This is the government’s chance to actually get something right. We really need this here at home, this could provide a competitive position for the Big 3 (something they haven’t had in eons), and if this goes the wrong way we will be stuck with the same business as usual. 

I feel very strongly about this because it has such a strong down-the-line effect on consumer habits and the environment. The US auto industry does just enough to get by. Whether that be raising bottom-line MPG to 30MPG for the entire sedan line, or coming out with flex fuel vehicles, they only do “just enough.” Ladies and gentlemen, “just enough” just doesn’t cut it anymore. I wrote a eulogy to the Big 3 a few weeks ago and I stand by it. The auto industry does not deserve any help until it can guarantee major improvements.

Saludos,

Brian

You Are All Racist

Let me start by apologizing for my inexcusable absence.  I know you’ve felt an emptiness in your lives for the last month or so.  

Now, I must point out that I am a states’ rights libertarian.  I don’t see many big differences between our two major parties.  The Republicans will tout small government, but they spend every chance they get.  The Democrats rave about looking out for the common man, but they, like most politicians, are really looking out for the people who will be funding their next campaigns.  If I seem cynical, that’s because I am.  It’s great to be young in this country.  You can be cynical and few people question you because you’re supposed to be that way.  

Having said that, I don’t really have a dog in this presidential race.  I am sick of all of the campaign “news”, and both candidates have successfully irritated the hell out of me.  McCain has probably irritated me the most by becoming such a complete softy.  (Please don’t try to lecture me on the necessity of being utterly ambiguous and innocuous in your positions in order to get elected.  That’s what a lot of people say, but we don’t really know that to be true do we.  No respectable candidate has told us how he/she really feels since I’ve been old enough to readily point out bullshit.)

I would, however, like to pose a question that I think will cause most of you to stop and think much longer than you would like to.  

If Barack Obama did not have a funny name and did not look different, being a mixed race (NOT BLACK) person, would we really care that much about him?  That’s to say, if he was just a relatively young and inexperienced white guy from Kansas, would he be hailed as the Messiah that is going to deliver us sinners (silly Americans) from our past transgressions (foreign policy decisions that might have been in our long-term national interest, of all things) and into a utopian wonderland flowing with organic milk and no sugar-added chocolate syrup?  

Ponder on that a minute.  Are his policy proposals really revolutionary (or, for that matter, that much different than John McCain’s)?  Or, is the country getting really excited about a candidate in large part because of the color of his skin?  (I have a whole rant on how the media is perpetuating old racist ideas by simply calling Obama the “black” candidate when, in fact, he is a mixed-race candidate, but I’ll spare you the mind-melting common sense of that post for now.)

So that you don’t think that I’m just picking on the American sheeple, I have a little observation about our European friends.  Obama, at this point, is as close to a god as most Europeans have right now.  The sheer mention of his name causes people to spontaneously orgasm.  When I’ve pressed certain Obamaniacs here, though, I’ve been left wanting for valid reasons why they worship him so.  The two most common answers I get are that he is young and he gives convincing speeches.  In other words, they would be just as likely to throw their support behind Zack Morris.  Senator A.C. Slater will be chomping at the bit for that VP spot.

 

—Jeff

Tough times for McCain

McCain has dug his own grave, and it’s getting deeper and deeper. He has stirred up Bush-esque comments about Barack Obama in associating Obama with Bill Ayers and doing everything possible to throw mud upon Obama. Welcome to last-ditch effort politics.

Now, however, McCain is paying the price for dirty politics. As you can see from the video posted, McCain has aided and abetted in leading the ultra-conservative right to believe that Obama is an actual threat to our national security. When pandering to these ultra-conservatives he forgot that these are the same vocal group who believe that having any relation to the Muslim faith makes you a terrorist in some way.  Now McCain is having to double back on his efforts to keep from fanning the fire too much. McCain is getting a taste of his own medicine.

Personally, I feel that this election has opened up some very critical issues within the US. The biggest and most obvious question is, are Americans ready for Barack Obama? I often think we as a country have made significant strides, only to be brought back by the comments made by people in the above video. My biggest hope is that this sentiment is only shared in a small minority of Americans. I can only imagine the black eye America will receive if somebody or some group manages to taint the critical importance this election is going to play now and in the future. If that extremely vocal minority manages to tarnish this election, the rest of the world is going to be looking down on us in utter disappointment. I’m not trying to say that people are not entitled to their own political beliefs, but when those beliefs lead to this bigoted/uneducated outcry that is rising, how will we as Americans be able to hold our heads high?

So much is riding on this election and we owe it to ourselves to take the time to analyze the issues, critically debate the benefits of each candidate, and come to an INFORMED and RATIONAL vote, as both individuals and as a society, on who will lead this great country over the next four years.

A eulogy to the big guys.

Rest In Peace:

The big 3 auto makers…

Delta, Northwest, American Airlines, US Air, etc…

All recording industries.

May you enjoy eternal peace and falling profits due to your reliance on the petroleum industry. You have insisted on maintaining “dealer pricing” in your sales efforts, only attempting to put a bandaid on an industry that is falling apart. You have refused to innovate, refused to create a new paradigm for the American/global citizen to get from point A to point B, and your refusal will cost you dearly. We can already see your profits dwindling, your reliance on the US Government increasing, and your consumers scrambling to find a better deal. 

Instead of reinventing your industry, you felt the need to be lazy. After all, what auto maker needs more than one line of fully hybrid vehicle? Even the hybrids are just a bandaid on a bleeding artery. Yet you refuse to create a vehicle that can achieve at the minimum 50 to 60 MPG. If you really wanted to survive, you would keep just enough product on hand to satisfy a very lackluster market temporarily, while investing millions in the development of cheap, clean, and efficient transportation. Time to go back to the basics and remember that this is all about getting from point A to point B using as little as possible, if not actually creating energy. 

In reference to the recording industry, your music is great, but who really wants to pay for it? Your life support is a 3rd party vendor (iTunes) that with every increase in sales, their willpower over you increases as well. For some reason you still try and push these crazy “disk” things on us. The last time I used one was to install Windows XP five years ago. As far as an answer to your problems goes, I am lacking. Your consumers want your creativity for pennies, or mostly for free.  I believe in a few years you will relearn the meaning of “starving artist.” Unless you too, can create a paradigm-changing way of delivering your product to market, you face a dire situation.

The game is changing. 

Auto makers, you should start by just writing off gasoline. Start trying to design your car without even thinking of the “g” word. 

The economic slowdown is making its way through the system. I believe we are still in somewhat of a “dream” stage where we as the consumer haven’t really felt the full effect of what is going on. Right now the credit markets are falling by the wayside, and obviously it affects the big institutions first. But it will reach us soon. The IMF is making the prediction right now, US growth in 2009 slows to 0.1%! I will be trying to scour the internet to find some interesting articles tying together how the slowdown has reached you and I.

Saludos!

Brian

Mail Goggles

Upon reading this post from Ars Technica, I have come to the conclusion that Google is one of, if not the most creative company in the world. I never thought I would actually have the option to make it more difficult for me to send out an email during a certain time of day when I am more prone to send “drunken emails.” Needless to say, the math test that serves as the hurdle will definitely keep even the most piss drunk of emailers from sending their hopeless high school sweetheart an email re-professing ones love. I know a lot of people that should turn the Mail Goggles on at all hours of the day, but mostly due to terrible emailing habits.  

More to come soon,

Brian