Acting Stupidly

By now, most people have heard about the controversial arrest of Professor Henry Gates by a Cambridge, Massachusetts police sergeant. Although the charges were dropped, the story has continued to snowball.

This whole thing could have been avoided if Gates would have just cooperated with the police. But, no. He wanted to push the issue. He knew exactly what he was doing and took advantage of an opportunity. He knew how it would look for a white cop to arrest a prominent black professor. He played the race card and it worked.

Gates claimed he was a victim of racial profiling. Kind of ridiculous when you look at the facts of the case. Basically, the police are called to investigate the report of someone trying to break into Gates' house (by the way, there had been recent break-ins in the community, but let's not facts get in the way). The police arrive and find the door jimmied open with Gates inside. They ask him for ID and he starts making accusations of racism. After the police ask him the settle down, Gates continues to run his mouth. Ultimately, he is arrested for disorderly conduct. He cries racism all the way to the police station.

The bottom line is, Gates should have been grateful that his neighbors thought enough of him to call the police when the thought his home was being burglarized. He should have been grateful that the police quickly arrived to check out the situation. But no. He choose to be belligerent and forced the police to arrest him. Being a professor, he's obviously a very smart man and knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted to paint the image of a white police officer putting a handcuffed, middle aged black processor into the back of the squad car.

The story got new legs when President Obama answered a question at his health reform press conference. Without knowing the facts, Obama quickly criticized the police for the arrest. He said they acted "stupidly". Not surprising, since I believe Obama is a racist himself. After all, didn't he spend twenty years listening to the hate speech of Reverend Jeremiah Wright? So, it didn't surprise me that Obama would back his brother.

Let's look at the arresting officer. Yes, he's white. And to race hustlers, this is all that's required to make him a racist. However, they might have a hard time proving that he's a racist in this particular case. After all, Sergeant James Crowley has taught courses on how to not racially profile. He also volunteers his free time to coach youth sports. I'd be willing to bet there are at least a few black kids on his teams. And when Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis (who happens to be black) collapsed during a practice session in 1993, Crowley was the one who attempted to revive him by giving him mouth to mouth resuscitation. This sure doesn't sound like a racist to me.

So, here we are. The latest I heard was that Obama is going to have Gates and Crowley over to the White House for a beer. I think this is purely a political move on Obama's part. He knows that he put his foot in his mouth with his comments. He has pissed off police unions across the country and he knows he's got to do something to save his ass. Kind of ironic.....Obama appears to be the one that acted the most "stupidly".

KW

Press 1 For English

About fifteen years ago, I was in a McDonald’s in Orlando, Florida. When I went to place my order, I noticed that they had two menus: one in English and one in Spanish. I found this a bit odd but it didn’t really seem to bother me too much. Not being that familiar with the Florida lifestyle, I just figured the Cubans liked Quarter Pounders as much as I did. Plus, this dual language thing could never fly in other parts of the country. Or could it??

Fast forward to the present…………..

Not only has Spanish set up shop across the whole country, it’s being forced down our throats! The last time I checked, English was the still official language of the United States. But I’m starting to wonder about it.

I stopped by an ATM last year. After I insert my card, it asks me if I want to conduct my transaction in English or Spanish. Like I fool, I start yelling at the damned thing, “What the f*ck do you think? What country is this, you electronic asshole?” Yeah, people were looking, but I didn’t care. I had reason to be pissed. This is America, dammit! And we’re supposed to speak English here!

Well, with all of the commotion, I accidently hit the Spanish button. Now, I’m screwed. About the only two Spanish words that I know are Corona and Margarita. Lucky for me, the bank was having some landscaping done. So, I motion for one of the guys to come over to the ATM and bail me out of this mess. He comes over and gets me back to the English screen. He thinks it’s funny. But I think its bullshit. I should have never had been put in that situation in the first place.

I had some concrete work done around my pool several years ago. The guy who came out and gave me the estimate was an all-American guy. And communication wasn’t an issue. However, when the work crew showed up, they couldn’t speak a word of English between them. There was some confusion at one point and I had to go out and try to explain things. It was ridiculous. We were like a bunch of caveman trying to communicate with pictures and hand gestures. Then I started to speak real slow, thinking that it might make it easier for them to understand me. Eventually, my patience ran out, and I called the boss man and told him that he needed to send a translator over.

When the job was over, I sat around and popped a couple of Coronas with them. Hey, beer speaks the universal language as far as I’m concerned!

Another McDonald’s story…….

I recently stopped at a local restaurant for one of their Southern Style Chicken Sandwiches. I place my order at the drive-thru speaker. Well, the guy hands me my food, he says “Gracious, senior!” What kind of bullshit is that? Now, we’re being greeted in Spanish at an all-American place like Mickey-Dee’s??? If this is going to continue, I want to see burritos and chimichangas on the dollar menu the next time I visit!

And maybe I’m paranoid, but every time I walk past the long line of Spanish speaking folks at the DMV, I get a feeling they’re talking about me. There’s no way I can be sure because I CAN’T UNDERSTAND THEM!!

I’m sorry, but if you want to live in this country, the least you can do is learn English. This is America and I’ll be dammed if you’ll force me to speak your language!

KW

The Passing Of Michael Jackson

The death of Michael Jackson is finally becoming yesterday’s news. For the weeks following his passing, you couldn’t escape massive media coverage. Jackson was a pop icon and I do believe that the story deserved a fair amount of coverage.

Everyone seems to have their own opinion of the King of Pop. He was certainly a gifted entertainer but I don’t think the average person realized how talented he really was. Aside from being a brilliant performer, he had a large part in the actual production of his music. In this respect, the guy was truly a genius.

Of course, his music was sometimes overshadowed by his bizarre lifestyle. From wearing surgeon’s masks in public to sleeping with Bubbles the chimp, his life was far from normal. He altered his physical appearance so much over the past twenty-five years; he started to take on the look of a sideshow circus freak. It almost made it hard to take him seriously anymore.

Although Jackson had millions of female fans, he wasn’t known to spend much time with the opposite sex. Of course, he was close friends with Brooke Shields and Diana Ross, but those relationships seemed to be strictly platonic. Jackson seemed to be more comfortable in the company of youngsters like Macaulay Caulken (the Home Alone kid) and the little guy who played Webster.

Then, Jackson threw the world a curve ball. He got married! And he didn’t marry just any girl. The King of Pop married the daughter of The King himself! He married Elvis Presley’s daughter. This was likely done as some type of publicity stunt and the marriage ending shortly after it began. Nonetheless, it turned the world on his head and it left The King turning it his grave.

But the most troubling part of Jackson’s strange life was the accusations of child molestation. Of course he was found not guilty, but it still left doubt in most people’s mind. After all, why would a grown man make it habit of having young boys over for sleepovers? It was beyond strange and I can’t understand why any parent would allow it to happen. With that being said, I do believe that some parents were looking for a payday from Jackson. I find it sick that they would jeopardize the well-being of their child in order to extort money from MJ. Whether or not, he actually committed any of these accusations may never be known to the public.

Shifting gears a bit……..

I personally thought the media coverage was overblown. Yes, Jackson was a huge star but I don’t think he deserved all the attention. There are far more important people that have died and haven’t received a fraction of the coverage he got. Over 4000 American soldiers have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Do they get ANY coverage at all? I personally think that they are FAR more deserving than Michael Jackson.

Also, during Jackson’s memorial services, I was appalled by some the comments. As soon as I saw Al Sharpton, I knew that he would somehow inject racism into the situation. He always does. Sharpton is a race hustling moron, so I expect him to do these types of things. But what irritated me the most was when actor/musician Jamie Foxx stepped up to the microphone. He basically said that Michael Jackson belonged to the black community and they only “lent” him to the whites. What kind of bullshit is that? Isn’t that in itself a racist comment? And is it appropriate for an memorial service when millions of white fans are mourning Jackson’s death. I lost all respect for Foxx after this.

Now, that Michael Jackson has been laid to rest, I think it’s time for the circus to leave town…..

KW

Bashing Sarah

When John McCain introduced Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate in 2008 Presidential campaign, it should have been viewed as a breath of fresh air. Palin was young, vibrant and articulate (Not to mention VERY attractive). She had an opportunity to achieve the highest position in this country’s history for a woman. You would have thought that the country, as a whole, would have respected this fact. After all, we were reminded everyday about the historical significance of Barrack Obama’s presidential campaign. The media showed their love for him every day (and still do!).

But instead of showing respect, the Democrats took every opportunity to bash Palin. Even women’s organizations opposed her! Why? Probably because she doesn’t believe in killing unborn babies (aka abortion). The libs like to embrace Pro-Choice. If they really feel that it’s a woman’s right to “choose”, why did they have a problem with Palin “choosing” to not to kill her unborn baby??

While the typical liberal talking heads kissed Obama’s ass every night, they slammed Sarah Palin every chance they could. The ironic part was that Palin was only running for Vice-President. You would have thought the silly libs would have been more concerned with John McCain. I never fully understood this.

As if the verbal attacks weren’t bad enough, many of the liberal talk shows invited the father of Palin’s grandchild into their studios. There, they used the teenage boy to bad-mouth Palin. I didn’t even think the loony left was low enough to do something like this. Obviously, I was wrong.

The criticism and ridicule of Palin continued throughout the campaign. In fact, it still continues today! Here are just a few examples of the vicious, low class attacks on the former Vice-Presidential candidate and her family:

• Saturday Night Live did a skit where they portrayed Palin’s husband as the father of Palin’s granddaughter. Calling this classless is an understatement.

• David Letterman recently made a lame joke about Palin’s teenage daughter being “knocked up” by Alex Rodriguez at a New York Yankees game during the seventh inning stretch. Real brave to pick on a kid, you gap-toothed prick!

• Intellectual heavyweight Pamela Anderson simply said of Palin, “I can’t stand her. She can suck it.” Well, I guess Pam does know a thing or two about sucking.

• "Us" magazine plastered the front cover with a photo of Palin holding her infant son, Trig. The name of the cover story? Babies, Lies & Scandals. I personally wouldn’t wipe my ass with this magazine.

• Oprah refused to have Palin on her show. She pledged her allegiance to Obama and wasn’t going to compromise her support for her “brother”. I guess race trumps everything?

• A group calling themselves “Anonymous” hacked into Palin’s private email account. Then they posted her emails and password online.

• The National Enquirer ran a story about Palin having an extramarital affair when she was mayor of Wasilla. The story was bullshit and the NE’s smear tactic quickly fizzled out.

• A writer (her worthless name escapes me) for the liberal rag, Baltimore Sun, actually criticized Palin for NOT aborting her Down’s Syndrome baby.

With Sarah Palin’s recent resignation as Governor of Alaska, the liberal media now has a new reason the step up the bashing again. The sad part is that I believe that it was this very thing that caused her to step down. I wish she would have stuck it out. I’m afraid her political career might well be over as a result of her resignation.

Hey, I know politics is a dirty game. If you want to attack a politician on the issues, that’s one thing. But I was truly amazed at the personal attacks that Sarah Palin had to endure throughout the campaign. It was probably the lowest form of political mudslinging that I’ve ever seen. All those responsible should be ashamed of themselves.

KW

The Wal-Mart Zone

“There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone……”

Ok, so maybe I’m exaggerating a little. After all, I do indeed shop at Wal-Mart occasionally. How else would I be able to tell you the following story? For what it’s worth, Wal-Mart has decent merchandise at fair prices. I’ll give them that. However, I have experienced some pretty strange people (shoppers and employees) throughout the place. This will be the beef in the double cheeseburger I’m about to serve you.

(For better readability, I’ve condensed all of my experiences into one eventful day)

I roll into the crowded parking lot behind a line of pick-up trucks, mini-vans and at least one El Camino. As I pull into a parking space, some nit-wit has his car stereo thumping so loud that I’m thinking that my heart might get knocked out of rhythm. I can’t make out all of the words to the “song”, but the word “motherf*cker” seems to come up quite a bit.

I walk through the store entrance and am instantly met by the “greeter”. I feel bad for this guy. I mean how bored can this guy be to spend his golden years saying “Hello” to rednecks all day? Did the Dunkin’ Donut seniors kick him out of the all-day coffee drinking club?

One this particular day, it’s rather early and it appears that the first shift has recently come on board. The manager is having a rah-rah session with the employees near the front service desk. He says something, and then they respond similar to the way a group of Marines might respond to their drill sergeant. This continues for about 10-15 minutes. I can hear them as I move throughout the store. It almost seems cult-like to me and I begin to get scared.

The chanting eventually stops and I continue to shop. I hear a couple of intellectuals in the next aisle having a spirited conversation on their plans for the night. They drop more F-bombs than a gansta rap CD. To my delight, I discover that these two fine individuals are Wal-Mart employees. Nice!

As I go through the store, I decide to start playing an impromptu game of “Count The Mullets”. I’m not kidding you, I haven’t seen this many mullets since the rock concerts of the 80’s. I stop counting at a dozen when a high ranking female member of the Wal-Mart staff rolls by with gray bi-level. I fight the urge to giggle because this woman looks like she’s been in a scrap or two. And she could probably kick my ass.

A couple of kids are running through the store knocking things off the shelves. Their overweight mother threatens to “whoop their little asses” in between bites of a powered donut. The kids know that there’s no way the mother could ever catch them. So, the kids continue to wreak havoc and the mother grabs another donut.

As I enter the lawn and garden section, I hear two customers debating which gawdy lawn ornament would look better in front of their trailer. A grumpy employee (I can’t tell if it’s a man or a woman) comes over to help them with their decision. It appears that they will eventually go with a large ceramic pineapple.

As I gather my up my goods, I enter the checkout line. There I’m greeted with a nice enough cashier. She smiles at me with her summer teeth (som ‘er here, som ‘er there). One of my items needs a price check, so instead of the cashier picking up the phone, she yells across the store to another employee. It startles several people. As I’m waiting, a man wearing a cowboy hat in a handicapped scooter wants to tell me about his daily trips to Wal-Mart. He tells me that he knows all of the cashiers and that he comes in to annoy them every day. He seems very proud of this.

Then, he holds up a pack of razor blades and asks, “Guess what I’m gonna do when I get home?” I’m almost afraid to answer him. Before I can get anything out, he smiles and starts to rub his face as if he’s giving me a hint. Now, I can definitely hear the familiar music from the Twilight Zone coming from somewhere in the store. At this point, I’m officially frightened!

I tell the cashier to forget about the price check and just ring me out because I have places to go and people to see. She looks a bit confused but proceeds with the checkout. Meanwhile, the man in the scooter says, “You be sure to come back now. Ya’ hear?” I drop a couple things as I hurry to get out of the store. While I'm picking up my items, another employee comes running up to me and wants to give me a sticker to put on my shirt. I tell him "No, Thanks" and bolt out to the parking lot.

As crazy as it sounds, I will go back. Aside from getting good buys, I almost always have a memorable experience!

KW

Reality Shows

Reality Shows

At what point did we get so bored with our own lives that we had to tune into other people’s lives for entertainment? I don’t know when they started, but reality shows seem to occupy about half of the modern day TV slots. Although they offer no productive value, they still manage to attract hoards of clueless viewers.

Hey maybe, I’m being a little unfair here. After all, I watched Survivor when it first came to the networks. It seemed like an original enough idea. And I thought it might be interesting to see how the contestants survived the trials and tribulations of being in a remote spot with fifteen other people. Kind of a “Lord Of The Flies” type setting. But it didn’t take long for the typical drama bullshit to unfold and I soon lost interest. I always thought that it would be interesting to see how sixteen yuppies might survive if you dropped them off in West Baltimore in the middle of the night. I pitched it to the producers, but never heard back them.

Lately, all you hear about is this “Jon & Kate Plus Eight”. OK, they have eight young children (six are sextuplets). Seems challenging, but why would anyone want to peer into their lives every day? Is it really more interesting (or important!) than your own life? If it is, I really feel sorry for you. And now that Jon & Kate are getting divorced, the show is being hyped more than ever. It’s all over the morning news shows, tabloids, late night shows, etc. It’s totally ridiculous if you ask me. I personally couldn’t care less.

And don’t even get me started on MTV. Anyone with an IQ over 10 shouldn’t be allowed to watch this channel anymore. I can remember when MTV (by the way, MTV is an acronym for Music Television) actually played music videos and concerts. Back in the 80’s, it was catalyst for the careers of many huge stars such as Madonna and Michael Jackson (who can forget the premier of the Thriller video?). Today, MTV is a nothing but a series of dumbass reality shows that couldn’t send a worse message to today’s youngsters. I don’t think they even show anything remotely related to music anymore. They’re a total joke!

I guess what pisses me off the most about reality shows is that they’re not real! It seems pretty obvious to me that most of them are scripted. It’s kind of like watching WWF wresting. I know there are tons of fans, but I don’t understand it. If you’re calling it a reality show, shouldn’t it be real??

I guess Cops would be considered a reality show. This is one that I don’t think is scripted. Mainly, because the white trash “contestants” are generally too stupid to even read a script! However, I have to admit that there’s something somewhat compelling watching the cops manhandle a loser in a wife beater!

There are too many dumbass reality shows to list here. I just can’t understand why someone would waste time in their own life to tune into this useless bullshit. It really bothers me the way today’s kids follow this crap. It reinforces all the wrong messages (especially MTV!).

I guess it’s the new American way of taking the easy way out. With reality shows, no need for any imagination, high quality actors or intelligent writers. Just gather up some boneheads and let the cameras roll!



KW

Happy Birthday, America!

It’s the morning of July 4th. I’m priming my system with caffeine before I start to prepare for the annual family cook-out . I like to refer to this time as “the calm before the storm”. Things will likely get busy and loud come mid-afternoon. But that’s fine by me. I’m sure that millions of other backyards across America will be mirroring what's going on in mine today.

As we get caught up in the festivities today, it’s easy to overlook the reason for the holiday. We are so fortunate to live in the greatest country in the world. Anything is possible in this country if you want it bad enough. This truly is the land of opportunity. In a nutshell, we’re free.

Certain things always trigger my patriotic nerve. Just the sight of the American flag instantly fills me with pride. Yes, I do pledge allegiance to the stars and stripes! And to this day, I still get goose bumps every time I hear the Star Spangled Banner. It always makes me think about the sacrifices that were made for our freedoms.

Shortly after the attacks of September 11, I recall flipping through the news channels. I instantly stopped when I saw a live shot of the US Senate on the steps of the Capital. They were all singing God Bless America. It was one of the most powerful images that I ever saw. There were no liberals or conservatives that night. Everyone was a proud American. Thinking about it still strikes an emotionally chord in me.

Today, while celebrating this day with your family and friends, please take a moment to reflect on those that have fought and still fight for our freedom and independence. This country owes a debt of gratitude to our troops. I’d like to thank each and every one of them. Quite simply, they are the best!

Happy Birthday America!

KW

PS….I must also mention that we’ll also be celebrating Tina’s parent’s 50th wedding anniversary today. Congratulations to two of my favorite people!