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.

Another Democrat in the U.S. Senate

The Minnesota Supreme Court has declared Democratic candidate, Al Franken, the winner of the 2008 Senate race against Republican-incumbent Norm Coleman.

Billy Mays here...

Now, Billy Mays, the screaming salesman from television, will not be invading my favorite television shows' intermissions by trying to peddle me crap I don't want or need.

His wife found him dead this morning. So, here's to the man who made words like OxiClean, OrangeGlo, and Orange Clean, cool.

Michael Jackson dead at 50

Reports from Los Angeles indicate that pop star Michael Jackson has died from cardiac arrest this afternoon at UCLA. 

The TSA is not the Gestapo, sorry guys!

I am a big believer in civil rights and liberties, which is why this particular passenger has made my day.

It would seem that Steve Bierfeldt was given some unnecessary flack for having a metal box with a large sum of cash in it. Of course, it is not illegal to travel intra-continental with large sums of cash, but a group of TSA agents made it their business to get to the bottom of why this individual was carrying $4,700 in his luggage.

They used intimidation to coerce this information from the flier, by taking him into a windowless room and using profanity and threats. He simply asked if he was required by law to answer their question. He never said, "No!" Constitutionally, you must not submit yourself to illegal search and seizure. Nor, does the Constitution give law enforcement the right to intimidate and unlawfully detain individuals to get answers to questions, which subsequently had nothing to do with flight safety. (Isn't that the TSA's mission?)

Fortunately, for all fliers, Mr. Bierfeldt, with the help of the ACLU, has brought a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security. On a related point, isn't it time that the Department of Homeland Security was dismantled and abolished? After all, it is just another example of George W. Bush's attempts to force unnecessary government oversight into the lives of law-abiding American citizens. It is a tarnishing behemoth of bureaucracy.

Terror in the Streets of Tehran

The Iranian government seems to have made good on a threat to use force to disperse the crowds who are protesting the recent presidential election, which has all of the hallmarks of foul play.

Unfortunately, foreign media outlets are banned from reporting on activities in the streets, but we are seeing amateur reports sneak through social networking websites that are showing chaos and gore on the streets of Tehran. It has been reported that as many as 150 people may have been killed in recent days.

I believe that this incident has the propensity to become something more than simple civil disobedience. The government has much more at stake in this than it may be willing to publicly admit. It is obvious in its willingness to use armed force against its own citizens to save itself. Two things can happen: the people will accept that the government has the upper-hand and relent, or they will continue and their cause will spread like wildfire and take down the 30-year-old theocracy. Personally, I always vote for revolution where a government works feverishly to retain autocratic control.

During this precarious time in Iran, I am reminded of one of America's great revolutionaries, Thomas Jefferson, who said, "An enlightened people, and an energetic public opinion, will control and enchain the aristocratic spirit of the government." Perhaps, the people of Iran can finally envision true democratic reform and concrete their civil liberties and rights, which are inevitably ordained by the people and not the government, as a result.

How long will the silent majority of Iran sit by and watch their friends, family members, and neighbors be maimed and murdered by their own government before they decide to take direct, proactive action?

Hillary Clinton fractures her elbow

I want to wish Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton a speedy recovery after her recent accident resulting in the fracture of her elbow.

Yesterday, she fell at the State Department, while preparing for a visit to the White House. She was taken to George Washington University Hospital where she was treated and released. Clinton is expected to have surgery on her elbow at a later date to repair the damage.

PETA & The Fly

PETA has decried Barack Obama's swatting of a fly while doing an interview. Even I can't behind that. I think that is hardly cruelty. Come on PETA, who among you has not killed a fly? Let him or her cast the first stone.

(Wow! I sound all religious today.)

Can Iran Survive?

Can the Islamic Republic of Iran survive increasing civil unrest over last Friday's abortion of a presidential election?

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is the Supreme Leader of Iran, has embraced President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the winner of the election, even though there seems to be many irregularities in the voting process. Since mass protests have taken to the streets of the nation's capital, Tehran, Khamenei has promised that the government will look into the election results more closely. It may be too late for that to appease the masses.

I was reading a discussion on CNN about the future of Iran's theocracy. It may come down to one simple fact: will the Supreme Leader void the election results to save himself? Even though, Ahmadinejad is the president of the country, he is subordinate to Khamenei, who, for all intensive purposes, holds the real power in Iran.

Also, members of the foreign media have been forbidden to attend protests, which includes reporting on them. The government is working, too, to limit access to the Internet throughout the country.

Election in Iran

It would seem that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received more than a "victory" in the recent presidential election. He now has to deal with civil unrest throughout the country. I think it would be a bit poetic justice if his rigging of Iran's election led to revolution.

These demonstrations stand in stark contrast to the current theocratic government. You have people, in Tehran, taking to the streets calling their government crooks and thieves. Iranians are distraught with their current government. Iranians do not seem that different than those people in western countries. They want a government that is responsive to the people and a country where democratic, secular principles are maintained.

Phil Spector

Poor guy, he lost his hair!

CNN: Hitler was "chilling," because of pictures

Life magazine released a cache of color photographs that portray the daily life of Adolf Hitler.

Incorrectly, CNN describes these color pictures as "chilling." I'm not sure what makes them chilling. Is it Adolf Hitler, or the fact the photos show him in color? I guess it is simply his image that makes him evil, and in no way reflects on his actions or character as a human being.

I do not believe that pictures of him in black and white portray him as some lovable character, who was merely misunderstood by the rest of the world. Let's get a grip. CNN is making something out of nothing.

The actions of Hitler were what made him "chilling," not some photographer's lens. It's that simple. Also, thanks to Life for finally decided to let the rest of the world see its collection, which it has been sitting on for over forty years. It is a shame that these pieces of history were locked away in obscurity while some in the world worried about trivial minutia, such as color.