Beer at the White House

Tomorrow, President Barack Obama has invited the Harvard professor and policeman involved in last week's scandal in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to the White House.

Why?

Apparently to shoot the breeze and have a beer. I think the Office of President is an important job that doesn't involve this type of meeting. President Obama stated the Cambridge police officer in question behaved "stupidly" in his attempt to ascertain if Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was the property owner or not.

I believe it can be left there with that statement. There is no need to hold a special meeting over the incident.

Sarah Palin resigns as governor of Alaska

Governor Sarah Palin (R), of Alaska, will resign as governor today.

I believe fervently that it will be a great asset to Alaska to have an infamous someone, who has been in the limelight for too long, off of the national stage.

Even though Palin has future political ambition, within the Republican Party, she will never be able to deliver on any campaigns she may join or initiate on her own. There is way too much baggage there.

Barack Obama's Birth Certificate

The 2008 Presidential Election is history, so is the inauguration of our nation's first black president, but there are still many out there who question the legitimacy of Barack Obama's Hawaii birth certificate.

I'll be the first to say that every presidential candidate should provide proof of his/her citizenship, specifically through a certified birth certificate. (You can't even get a passport without one.) That is only fair, since it is a constitutional requirement to be a natural born citizen. And in accordance with the nay-sayers, President Obama did provide such documentation, even though some dispute its authenticity. These people are simply right-wing morons who will do anything to discredit someone they perceive as a threat to their agenda.

Let's get over it, and move on with the business of the country.

Harvard Professor Arrest Debacle

Recently, an African-American Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was arrested for allegedly breaking into his own home (yeah, I know the report says "disorderly conduct").

First, a neighbor calls and tells the police that someone may be breaking into the house (they must not have been close neighbors, if he wasn't recognized). The police arrive and interrogate the owner, who then gets "loud and tumultuous in a public space," according to the police report. How exactly does one's home constitute a public space? I'm pretty sure I can rant and rave all I want in the comfort of my home, including my front yard, which is private domain. It is a growing trend that many law enforcement entities believe they can invade our privacy without recourse. FYI, George W. Bush isn't president anymore guys.

I'd say that the Cambridge Police Department is going to be smacking some hands this week over this now nation-wide--and I dare say world-wide--event! But it's only right.

Capital Punishment

CNN recently posted a very disturbing story to its website about capital punishment.

Since 1984, a Texas reporter, Mike Graczyk, has allegedly been witness to over 315 executions in Texas. Since 1976, Texas has executed 439 individuals. That means Graczyk has witnessed 72% of them. According to state officials, he has witnessed more executions than anyone else. (In the article's photograph, he looks pretty jazzed up about the infamous honor.)

When I first began to read this article, I thought that the number of 439 was for the entire United States since 1976. I was stunned when I realized those statistics are simply for the state of Texas!

The United States is a developed nation that still uses third world techniques to punish its criminals. In the 21st century, the United States must work to abolish, forever, its torture of both the guilty and innocent, called capital punishment.

After vacationing in France, I find it hard to believe that the United States continues to willing lag behind its European contemporaries in many things, which includes its stubborn habit of using death as a punishment. In fact, it is embarrassing and appalling.

Paris

I'm leaving for Paris, France tonight!

I can't wait to see all the sights again. Who knows when I'll be back! :)

Sarah Palin to resign as governor of Alaska

Republican governor of Alaska, and unsuccessful former vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, has announced she will resign the governorship of her state later this month.

Accordingly, various elements of the media have started to speculate about her motivation for such an unorthodox move. Some have stated she is being investigated by federal investigators over a myriad of alleged abuses relating to her tenure as governor. This has caused Palin's lawyers, Clapp, Peterson, Van Flein, Tiemessen & Thorsness, LLC, a law firm in Alaska, to issue a "Media Release," which can be nothing more than a blatant intimidation tactic that the First Amendment has been repealed seemingly in honor of Palin's privacy as a public servant (that's an oxymoronic statement). Her lawyers allude to a provision in the Alaska state constitution that protects its citizens from those who are "responsible for the abuse" of the freedom of speech. I'm pretty sure that the Constitution of Alaska, which may be a fine document, does not apply to those who do not live or conduct business in the state of Alaska. Furthermore, this issue would fall under the purview of the United States Constitution, via Federal District Court, not Alaska state court, if any libelous or slanderous charges were brought forth.

We'll be very much aware, in the future, of the scope of Alaska's state constitution. (Yeah, right!)

Is Sarah Palin going to run for president in 2012? God, I hope not. It will be an embarrassment for our country and it will bring more shame on the already rusting Republican political machine. I believe her reputation, both in her private and public lives, has been irrevocably tarnished, as a result of the 2008 presidential election.

Flirty Girl Dance DVD

While watching one of my favorite shows, "The Young & the Restless," I witnessed a new era for television. During the commercial break, they showed a new weight loss video called "Flirty Girl Dance." 

Hmmmm...the only thing is this weight loss program commercial was borderline pornography. The dances were a little risque, to say the least. But the best part was you can try a stripper's pole in your own home for a $1. You just have to ask your operator how! Now, I'm not a prude, for crying out loud. I understand how the world works. I am just shocked to see this kind of commercial on American television before 10 o'clock.  (After all, that's when the kids are supposed to be in bed. Yeah, right!) 

Anyhow, this commercial is in the same category I place those male-enhancement cure-alls, MaxoDerm and Extenze. (Sure, you don't want a bigger penis. You just want more stamina. What a crock of shit.) These are among some of the most lascivious commercials I have seen on television in recent time. They put the commercials for Viagra and Cialis to shame!  

It would seem American television is becoming European in its ways.

The future of Iran's government

The tempest protests, in the streets of Tehran, may have been culled by the government, but there are still leading voices that are echoing their chant, "Can Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election as the country's president stand the test of legitimacy in the eyes of Iranians?"

In the end, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will win the so-called war and install Ahmadinejad as president, but the thousands of voices we've heard over the past weeks will not remain silent.

The ceremony will take place on July 26.