The Age of Disrespect

One political party in the US has been on a slow train to a dark and sad location for many years. The journey has been long and deliberate and the final destination is a place called "Disrespect". In my lifetime, I can't remember another President or even a Government official that has been attacked and hated in any way similar to President Obama. I know, I can already hear the republican wanna be victims crying about the way Bush was treated but let's be clear, the next image that someone shows me with elected officials yelling, shouting down or getting in the face of Bush, will be the very first one ever. It simply never happened. Conservatives were the first ones to demand that everyone respect the office of the President, even if he did commit war crimes or send our sons and daughters to die for a false cause. Sure there were some Americans who took issue and tried to protest the Bush administration but they were kept far away from view, not allowed at functions and never showed up with guns at protest rallies. Zero Democratic officials ever offered any public disrespect to Bush or even Cheney. Obama has endured a greatest hits collection of racism and violent rhetoric. Let's look at the following links as further proof. In case you forgot, the President was openly heckled during a speech to congress. This particular video shows the famous "You Lie" comment by a South Carolina redneck politician who went on to raise money from his lack of manners. The things that were lost in this video clip were the other republican members who were talking back during the whole speech and waving papers and signs and the President as well. Some of their papers were supposed to be bills but turned out to be blank just like their souls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aE_nEoE5kE&feature=fvst

We won't also get into the tea party idiots who took up arms and spit on Democratic leaders who were going to Capital Hill to vote on the health care law. Let's next take up the Birth Certificate fiasco. There have been too many republican politicians to even mention here that have questioned or refused to admit that President Obama is a legitimate President or even a US citizen. Any reasonable person knows that if there were any proof, in the slightest that Obama wasn't a legitimate citizen, his enemies would have stopped him in his tracks long before he was ever able to run for President. The following clip shows Obama taking the high road as always. Here, he roasts his most vocal critic at the time, Donald Trump. As we discuss this, there are still States trying to block him from being included on their ballots for the next Presidential race. Let me go ahead and break this down for them. Even if a racist state decided to block Obama in their state, it would quickly be over ruled on the Federal level and there would probably be fines imposed for bringing such a stupid theory to the courts. I'm not even going to justify the other birth certificate talkers with a clip. Tom Delay may have the most goofy quote on the matter when he actually asked for the President to show his "gift certificate". I'm going to assume that he was drunk at the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8TwRmX6zs4

We now have republicans who are running for President and using racial overtones to appeal to the racist South voters. Newt has staked his claim to tapping into racism and hatred of Obama. The following clip discusses him calling President Obama a "food stamp" President. Newt and Mr. Google search, Santorum  have bought into the whole idea of making white people afraid that Obama is secretly working to help Black people and to take from White people. There's only one party that finds a home for racist politicians and hate speech and it certainly isn't the Democratic Party. Liberals are talking in terms of making America strong and building a better tomorrow while republicans are trying to set back race relations 100 years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcwgUWje0LE

We've also had professional athletes who have refused to go to the White House because they don't want to meet President Obama. The following article shows a goalkeeper for the Boston Bruins who declined an invitation to the White House as a protest. Whatever happened to respect and civility and common decency?
Hockey Player Disrespects The President

There are many others but I want to end with the latest example of blatant disrespect given to President Obama. Governor Jan Brewer tried to make news and sell books by confronting the President and ultimately pointing her grim reaper looking finger in his face for all to see. John Boehner and Eric Cantor have also shown little to no respect for the President by refusing his invitations to meetings.
Brewer Disrespects The President

In the end, this is not a both party issue but it is simply the republicans reaping what they have sown. For years, they have allowed Rush and fox to attack Liberals on a daily basis and have mixed Christianity and Sports with right wing politics to the point of believing that Democrats and Liberals are going to hell and should be assaulted verbally and physically. What use to be said in private is now out in the open and it has reached the point where their elected officials on the republican side agree with the racist and wrong headed audience of conservative voters. President Obama and his beautiful family have been gracious in the face of open racism and have chosen to take the high road in every situation. I can only hope and pray that the republicans come to their collective senses at some point before they are forced to face their demons after their disrespect and hatred come to fruition in a most unfortunate way.

01/27/2012 1:50 TSD

The Strong and Wrong

After studying republican behavior for the past few years, it's become painfully obvious that they care much more about appearing strong than they do about actually being correct. Never has this been more evident than during the course of the seemingly unending debates for their Presidential candidates. First it was Herman Cain who stood up to the "evil" media empire who dared to ask him about the mounting (pun intended) sexual misconduct allegations. The crowd booed the moderator for asking the obvious questions. Now, it's Newt who is trying to come across as strong in the face of media members who dare to even hint about his moral failings and the outright hypocrisies that are so prevalent in his being. He knows how to stoke the crowd into a frenzy because they've been told how Liberal and biased the media is and why would fox or Rush lie about that? I think we've reached a point that Newt and Cain could literally have a group orgy on stage during a debate and the republican audience would boo if the moderator were to interrupt it with a question.

In case you are unaware, the republicans and conservatives are attempting to change some terminology...again. The term "flat tax" has been around for years and historically is offered up by the richest among us as a perfect balance of making everyone pay the same tax rate on their incomes. The term is being changed to "fair tax" now. I would assume that the conservatives had a focus group and decided that flat did not have the same appeal as fair. There's nothing fair about a flat tax and there's nothing fair and balanced about fox news. Flat tax is an attempt by the wealthy to force people who make poverty wages to pay taxes even though they can't afford to live on their incomes. They know that if the tax burden is spread out over every single person, they can decrease their own tax rates. Anyone who thinks it's a fair idea to ask a college kid to pay the same tax rate on their $4,000 income as a person who makes $500,000 per year does should have their head examined. Progressive rates are fair and balanced and they do not hinder job creation or reinvestment.

Just a couple of random thought processes at 2:30am on 01/20/2012

The Perfect Republican Candidate

Introducing the perfect republican Presidential candidate.
Name- Not Romney
Birth Date- 07-07-77 (God's Perfect #7)
Birthplace- Bethlehem, PA (Just like Jesus)
Extreme Conservative Credentials- Anti abortion in all cases without exception. Life begins at dinner and consideration. Birth control is the same as abortion and should be outlawed. Corporations are people and can run for office but are protected from prosecution under the law. Government should only be big enough for a few conservatives to make unlimited money by selling favors and influence. Unlimited money in the political process is good for democracy. 99% of the people are just jealous of the people who have made it and should be for protecting the wealthy because if they just work long enough and hard enough, they can be filthy rich some day. Marijuana and hemp are the devil's medicine and should always be illegal but prescription drugs produced by big pharma are a heavenly delight even if they kill or addict you. He's for appealing any health care policy that makes it easier or cheaper to have coverage and for God's sake, a public option or universal healthcare is European socialism, even if it makes us healthier and cost us less than the current system. What would the poor pitiful giant private insurance companies do if they couldn't pillage their customers and deny coverage to make a profit? Gambling and the lottery are always wrong but allowing Wall Street to gamble with Grandma's social security money is acceptable. He's a Mormon Christian and wants to make us a Mormon Christian Nation making all other religious beliefs and atheism a federal offense. His immigration policy is deporting all illegals even if it means tearing families apart and sending children into social services. Of course social services would be unfunded and churches would have to adopt the kids left behind. He supports a constitutional ban on same sex marriage but wants a signing statement that would excuse all of the future republican lawmakers and pastors who are caught in same sex relationships or abuses. Believes that being Liberal, just like being gay, can be cured by intense therapy by "approved" clinics, most would be run my Marcus Bachmann. People who make less than $250,000 per year are just lazy and should pay 50% tax rates but anyone making more than $250,000 per year should pay a decreasing tax rate that eventually goes to 0%. These are the job creators for heaven's sake and we can't expect them to hire invisible people and pay taxes too. He once met an African American person and didn't feel disgusted so that means he's not a racist and he feels their pain and besides "the blacks" just love him. He feels that Guantanamo should hold anyone that we feel threatened by and from time to time we should blow it up, rebuild it and do it again. The event would be televised and proceeds would be given to the republican party. He believes that there should be no minimum wage. How else are we going to compete with third world countries for low wage jobs? For campaign contributions, it would be acceptable to allow Chic Fil A to  put a giant logo on the White House. he would allow Rush Limbaugh to broadcast live from the White House everyday and would give the MLK Jr. holiday to someone who really deserves it...like Ronald Reagan. He supports a law that gives voting power based on net worth. As you can see, this guy has it all. Too bad the republican pipe dream is so totally out of touch with reality and the desires of reasonable Americans. If they have a perfect candidate and if he ever came forward and ran on that platform, it would be the end of their party so my advice to them? Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it and so much more.

Putting the F in Unfriend

Just call me unfriendly. A former school mate just posted that she wanted to see how many she could make mad with her next post. The post was a garbage post about how she thanked God for the States that require drug testing prior to social assistance. I posted, mission accomplished and you will be unfriended. This tells me that either she has never been down on her luck or she is a hypocrite. When I was 10 years old, my family found hard times and we ended up on food stamps in order to eat. We were not proud of receiving assistance, we didn't get fat from the food we were able to buy and we didn't stop looking for work. My father finally found a job and we were able to make our way forward. My parents don't drink and have never even tried drugs and yet in modern times, the conservatives would have them tested. I find it highly offensive for people that I went to school with and who loved to party, to now find it easy to require others to be tested for these very things.

Facebook is also inundated with people crowing about Tim Tebow. People are front runners and will go out of their way to be associated with winning. The Tebow crush has gone to a whole new level. People are saying that the media wouldn't cover him because of his Christian stance and in your face religion. Unless you're blind or living as a hermit, this couldn't be further from the truth. Every news outlet and talk show have become Tebow cheerleaders. If you're a Broncos fan, you have every right to be excited and pull for your team but if you think that God is concerned about your ball team or intervening on behalf of your team, you're just sad and deceived. Just consider that during each game, there are Christians praying on both sides. Why would God pick sides? Also, if you're a Tebow fan because of his faith, then you have to not be offended when an athlete gives praise to Allah or any other deity or a tree for that matter. Religion doesn't belong in sports any more than it belongs in politics. I'm much more interested in emphasizing the things that unite, such as the common love for a certain sports team rather than the things that divide such as politics and spiritual issues.

Speaking of sporting events, the BCS is a complete joke and a farce. Money has destroyed college football and the bowl system. Being in the South, I love college football and I pull for a team in the SEC but how can we have the current title game? Would people be happy if any other 2 teams, from the same side of any conference were to play for the title? How can a win today be worth a title but a loss a few weeks earlier to the same team mean nothing? It would be better to require all teams to be in an official conference and then send each champion to the playoffs. There could also be some wild cards available. We could then play it down and we wouldn't even need a ranking system during the year or especially in the preseason. There will never be a major change toward a playoff system unless either some Universities bring a lawsuit or corruption is exposed within the current system.

I'm hoping to plan a monthly meeting for some local Donkey folks soon. It's just refreshing to be around people who have similar beliefs and don't mind freely sharing thoughts and ideas. You should make every effort to locate others who you can meet with a be encouraged by.

Beware of anyone who wants to restrict or limit your access to birth control. You have a right to your own opinions and beliefs but you don't have the right to impose your will on others.

Random Thoughts on 01/10/2012 at 1:05am.

Preaching to the Choir

I had an opportunity to work with a friend today. In the 90's, I attended the same church as this kid and had been the youth pastor for him. I won't go into full details but the youth group was eventually torn apart by an over reaching and micro managing preacher. The Pastor who caused all the grief was full of ambition and was using every stepping stone that he could in order to get ahead and move up the ladder. The preacher's best weapon was his deception or skill in lying. We didn't discuss the past too much today but this guy made a great observation about the pastor in question. "He should have been a politician" was the exact quote. There's just so much truth in that one simple statement. It use to be that everyone understood that politicians were not the most honest people on the planet and church folks never put their trust and hope in political leaders but instead, in their faith. Preacher's who run for and achieve political office can never hold the moral high ground because the two things are basically polar opposites and a conflict of eternal and earthly interest.

This is basketball season and I am blessed to be able to coach my youngest daughter who plays on a team of 3rd-5th graders. We've had roughly the same team for 3 years in a row and these girls are awesome. They not only play well together, having only lost 1 game in the past 2 years but they get along off the court as well. One thing that I've learned in coaching is that there are 2 types of coaches. The best coaches are the ones who are able to coach their own children and not push them above the team by allowing them to start or play every minute when there are others who might be better on the team. The others are doomed for failure because they prefer playing time and vicarious living over team success.

Some people never know what to focus on or how to appreciate the small things in life. Don't look at the negatives in every situation but always find any glimmer of hope and goodness. Don't be a "but" person. If your first instinct after someone speaks to you is to say yea but, you have some work to do.

It's amazing that some folks are incapable or unwilling to ever see themselves at fault. They blow up every relationship or situation and then always find a way to blame others. Sometimes it's a short ride to the true fault.

There was another G.O.P debate tonight and once again, it was a collection of clones and clone lights (Ron Paul). There is hardly any diversity within the ranks of those running for the republican side of the ticket. They know the trigger words to use...abortion, jobs, Obamacare, spending, cuts, and state's rights but where is the substance? The entire party is great at slogans but they don't have any valuable solutions to our daily problems. You'll never hear them talk about giving everyone access to health care or income disparity or real job creation. Deregulation and tax cuts have been proven wrong and yet that's the only ideas that they have. Given the choice, as they have proven in the ranks of the House of Representatives, they would rather vote to restrict reproductive rights than to create jobs. They also have proven that they have no interest in bringing jobs back to the USA when they voted down the Democrats plan to give employers tax breaks for hiring US workers and for creating new jobs at home.

The current blogging of the Southern Donkey Blog are brought to you by insomnia. I am attempting to provide some random thoughts and highlights from the day. I will also try to end them with the date and time of the writing just as a reference.

01/08/2012 12:49 am

Lost in Translation

Why do I love the movie "Lost in Translation"? Got a chance to share it with my wife and 18 year old tonight. I'm a fan of great camera angles and that movie is about as good as it gets. I think I also love the fact that there are so many interpretations of the true meaning and moral of the movie.

Everyone deserves to be happy. When you find your life is filled with problems and sadness, make every effort to locate the source of the conflict and remedy as best as you can. Money can make life easier but isn't always the key to being happy. I was eating lunch the other day at Zaxby's and a small child walked around my table and watched me while he was eating an ice cream. The look in his eyes was happiness and because I knew he was enjoying life, it made my day better. Never envy people when they are happy and never try to dictate the path to happiness for others. I've noticed that in the South, the majority of conflict can be traced to a religious influence. When your child comes home with a tattoo, even after they know you would not approve, the answer isn't to make them feel your wrath or a guilt complex. Most kids are searching for a shock factor and if you give them the fuel, the fire will burn brightly.

I don't dislike the military. I think it serves a purpose but mostly for the defense of this Country and as a place for the youth who have struggles at home or have nowhere else to turn for hope of a job or career. The conservatives like to think that they have a stronghold on the military and patriotism but I think their reasoning is flawed. Although the military has a strong influence from right wing radio and Christian culture, there are many minorities in service and typically, they lean Liberal. We often heard from Bush and Cheney that we need to listen to the generals on the ground about when to end the wars but this is foolishness. If past administrations would have listened to the generals instead of giving them orders, we would have tried our hand at world domination and conquest of the middle east. Thank goodness Obama has used common sense and leadership to fight smarter and to bring troops home and out of harms way.

Why does everything have to be political? I interviewed for a real estate job today and during our brief meeting, the Owner of the company told me that last year was their best year in history. She then turned around and said that if we could just get a different President in office at the next election that the market would turn around. This comes on the heels of 2 interviews with accountants to handle my office books. Even after I instructed one of them that I was not interested in political conversation with them, he insisted on lecturing me about how I didn't need to bother with paying into social security because it wouldn't be there for me anyway. Has it ever dawned on them that if enough people subscribe to this theory that they are conducting a self fulfilling prophecy?

Watching Dead Files somehow reminds me of the republican party because I think that one day, we will look back historically and wonder what ever became of the 2nd major political party?

When you shine the light of truth on the blatant hypocrisy and lies that are passed around in conservative circles, it amazing how they fold and people see themselves as silly and over reaching. The most dangerous people are the ones who don't know when they should be ashamed.

Even though I've been scolded and ridiculed for my wishes and beliefs, I can't help but believe that they are the proper way for me to live. One of my most controversial stances is wanting to give my children something that I never really had and that's a choice. A choice of how to think politically and a choice of how to approach spiritual things. A journey of self discovery is the most satisfying.

Random Thoughts and Daily Reflections

Drove by a dozens of churches today. Why would we be so cocky as to think that certain locations or building could ever capture and hold a God?

Ron Paul got screwed in Iowa and although he will stay in the race a while, he will never be the republican representative. He's racist enough for them but not willing to be a war monger or invade sovereign Nations.

Republicans are not for small Government. Elect Romney or Newt or Santorum and they'll show you a debt and deficit that dwarfs any all all comers before them.

If you really believe that Obama wants to harm the Country or your Grand Parents, you're just a complete idiot and shouldn't be allowed to vote. Rush and the other right wing show blowhards will say whatever it takes in order to get the compliance of the gullible and to make millions at their expense.

I have come to consider myself a deist. This is based on research about the founding fathers of America, the writings of Thomas Paine and just common sense. I can not divorce myself from the concept of a God because reason would hold that if there is evil in the world, there must also be an equal force of good. I think that the theory of God and access to him have been so distorted by the religions of the world that there is no hope of any of them being legitimate. I judge men based solely on their actions and attitudes and not on their personal belief system or lack thereof.

Rich doesn't equal wrong but it's terribly difficult for the wealthy to do good for others. Greed becomes the motivational force in their lives. There are many people who have plenty and yet pretend to be poor or struggling. The word is mockery.

Love your children and don't take chances with their well being. When others call you over protective, take it as a compliment because you only get one shot to be a good parent to each kid in your life.

Just because your parents spanked you as a child, that doesn't make it an honorable or necessary practice. I changed my mind about this issue when I overheard a couple of ladies speaking about how their parents spanked and beat them daily and that they turned out great and they were going to make sure they repeated the process with their kids. Why would you put your kids through a process that sucked for you as a child? Proving a point is no excuse for cruelty in my book.

It's funny how many people seem to think they know whats best for everyone else. Personal preferences should not be the standard by which we view others. Tattoos and piercings are signs of expression in the same way that fashion is.

This is just a set of random thoughts and reflections from the day. Insomnia dictates that the mind find some relief. Look for more in the future.