Bob Costas, Half Time Preaching Segments, and the Narrative

Not too long ago, Kansas City Chiefs Player, Javon Belcher, shot his girlfriend, and then drove to the Chiefs practice facility and shot himself.  It was a breathtaking tragedy.  A 22 year-old woman was shot.  An amazing athlete is dead.  Everyone expected this would be discussed, at length during football Sunday and even Monday.  

What I didn't expect is that Bob Costas would use half time to expound upon the evils of guns, and use a pretty lame anti-gun column by Jason Whitlock to do it.

First, Mr. Whitlock is a sports writer.  He should stick to that.  Am I being unfair?  Maybe.  But one look at Keith Olbermann explains to you why sports guys should stick to sports.  Mr. Whitlock's column was hilarious, except it was also sad.  He believes that Kasandra Perkins and Javon Belcher would still be alive if we didn't have a gun culture.  He's welcome to believe what he wants, but his assertion fails the smell test when we simply look at O.J. Simpson.  No gun involved there.  Mr. Simpson's lack of a gun didn't stop him from brutally murdering two people.  Yet Mr. Whitlock proceeded to rail on the Chiefs organization, because he expected they wouldn't immediately start pushing for new gun control measures.  Not once in his column does he mention that Belcher had a history of an explosive temper and violence.  Not once does he mention the rash of head injuries, which  most recently contributed to the suicide of Junior Seau.  Not once does he bring up the culture of celebrity, which lifts up these normal human beings to some special status because they can throw a football, catch a football, and tackle other guys.  No, Mr. Whitlock's first impulse is to attack an inanimate object - the gun.  Mr. Whitlock will later go on to call the NRA the newest version of the KKK.   He had an agenda, and that's what he wrote about.

Then the rest of us were treated to Bob Costas preaching about it during halftime of a prime time football game.  He quoted Mr. Whitlock, while once again, never mentioning Belcher's aggressive history, history of head injuries (if there was one), or that celebrity culture.

Fast Forward to this past weekend.  A Dallas Cowboys player, Jerry Brown, is killed in one car accident, caused by his friend and teammate, Josh Brent.  Brent was legally intoxicated and is now facing manslaughter charges.  Mr. Whitlock and Mr. Costas are both notably absent from the discussion.

Where is the lecture on the evils of drinking in excess, to the point where you get in a car and kill another human being?  Where is the cry that alcohol, fast cars, and reckless driving are the newest versions of the KKK?  Where is the much needed lecture on the culture of celebrity that exposes these young men to alcohol and drugs with no thought before hand?  Heck, the NFL has a number players can call to get a cab to come pick them up if they get drunk, or high, or just don't feel well.  Nothing like looking the other way.

There was nothing.  Not a single thing, from these two popular sports commentators.  Two more people lost in the prime of their lives.  No Brent isn't dead, but he's likely going to end up in jail, and likely never going to see a football field as part of his chosen profession again.  All of it caused by one of the number one advertisers during televised football games - alcohol.

This is not to say that I am blaming alcohol.  Just like guns, alcohol is an inanimate object. So are cars that go fast.  It's the people, the ones making the choices, that cause these inanimate objects, to become dangerous killers.  

But there is one big difference.  I can't say whether Miss Perkins would be still be alive if Belcher hadn't had a gun.  If he was angry enough, if he was aggressive enough, I'm sure he could have found a kitchen knife, just like O.J. Simpson.  Or, i suppose he could have just beat her up.  Or  maybe nothing.  We will never know.  But I do know, if there had been no alcohol and no fast car, Jerry Brown would still be alive, and Josh Brent would still be playing football.  Even with knowing that, it doesn't give me the right to take those things away from Mr. Brent before hand, on the simple fact that he "might" drink and he "might" get in a car, and he "might" drive too fast, and he "might" kill someone.  Nor does anyone have the right to infringe on our second amendment rights, because someone might be crazy enough or evil enough to shoot someone else.  

I would venture to say, it is more likely that someone will get in a car drunk, and cause an accident, then it is likely that someone who lawfully owns a gun will shoot another human being out of anger or just plain crazy.

Yet, the voices who were crying for gun control, are practicing a telling silence on this latest tragedy.  Because bemoaning the evils of alcohol and fast cars, well, it just doesn't fit the narrative.

Too Late

Today, I've become pretty good at pissing off people who would normally agree with me.  Maybe I should explain.

I've seen a lot of people, in the last 2 weeks, post things across social media starting with this phrase, "I kept my mouth shut during the election, but....", and then they proceed to speak out about some thing they suddenly realize is bad.

Unemployment?  Bad before the election
Food Stamp and Welfare increased participation? Bad before the election
Benghazi?  Bad before the election.
The current healthcare bill requiring religious people to do things against their belief?  That was bad and happening before the election.

Truth?  Speaking about it now is too little too late.  Now?  You are much less likely to change it.  Maybe 3 weeks ago, you could have helped change someone's mind. Now?  You are complaining and protesting, but for the next 2 years there is precious little anyone can really do.

So many people think there is something wrong with being involved politically.    They are afraid of offending people, or having people get angry with them, or whatever.  But if you are unwilling to stand up for something when there is a chance you could make a difference, why bother standing up after the fact?  I guess it's easier then, when our friends from the other side have what they want, and it's not likely they are going to unfriend you now.  

I don't know.  I just know that I get very upset when people say "I didn't before...but now", when what they are complaining or protesting was happening 3 weeks ago.  And then...well... maybe it would have made a difference.

Now I Get to Make Everyone Mad

Really, this is where I excel.  I generally don't made just one side mad, I get to both.

I've come to the conclusion in the last few weeks, that I'm a libertarian.  I really am of the mindset that the government should get out of my life and stay out of my life.  I believe our country was founded on strong state power and limited federal government power.  That philosophy got me thinking.

Are Republicans, in general, any different from Democrats?  Yes, they are.  In some respects they are.  However, most Republicans pay lip service to we the people.  Let's face it.  Nothing in the last twelve years proves that, if given true power, the Republicans wouldn't spend money just like Democrats.  They'd just spend it on different things.  They might not legislate healthcare or carbon taxes, but they darn well would try to legislate abortion and marriage.  I began to wonder if it's really just that some Americans don't want smaller government, but government to be powerful in the aspects that are important to them.  I used to be one of those people.  Not so much anymore.

I am not pro gay marriage.  However, I do believe it's a state issue.  I'm very pro-life, but I also believe that's a state issue.  See, states=powerful, federal government=not so powerful. 

There isn't a single thing the federal government has done well, outside of national defense.  Social Security lockbox?  Unlocked and spent.  Medicare/Medicaid?  Won't survive if we don't do something about it.  Amrtrak?  Still failing to make any money.  Taxpayers subsidize it.  Post Office?  Runs huge deficits every year.  Education?  Has failed to improve at all despite more and more money being thrown at it.  I could go on and on.  

So I'm a libertarian.  And really, I think most people, deep down are.  We've been suckered into a two party system where our choices are "ugly" and "really ugly", and we are dumb enough to continue to vote for the "lesser of two evils".  We continue to play the game, and we never get what we thought we were buying.

It's time we the people took back our country.  We the people need to stop settling for "whatever candidate will do less damage".  We need to stop deciding whether we are okay with double digit debt and single digit debt.  We need to start voting for the real small government people.

We can do this...

Get Over It

So this is what we've come to.  If I post anything marginally political, I'm going to be told "he won, get over it".

My candidate of choice lost the election.  It crossed my mind to post all kinds of things to my facebook page.  For instance "Please don't come complain to me when your taxes go up, you can't pay back your student loans, and you can't find a job".  Considering a full 50% of recent college graduates can't find a good paying job, or even a job at all, that's a distinct possibility.  But I didn't say it, because it would have been sour grapes.

I was treated to a multitude of posts from my President Obama supporting friends.  Some of them were just rejoicing.  Some of them were downright rude.  The posts have continued.  They just can't get enough of rubbing the other sides faces it in.  I let them have their moment.   Pointing out that they sound like our local high school teenage girls after this year's Powder Puff game wasn't going to do any good.

So last night, I had the audacity to mention that people in New York City are walking 6 miles to find food.  They can't buy gas.  Some of them don't have homes to live in.  Some have homes with no heat or electricity.  In that post I mentioned if they had voted Republican this would be a scandal.  I was told "he won, get over it."  

Ok.  That's fine.  But  let us all think back to Katrina.  We are still hearing how it was all Bush's fault.  I'm pretty sure we'll be hearing that for 50 years. So, to me, my comment rings true.  If a Republican was President right now, not only would we be hearing about how he caused the hurricane by not fighting global warming, we'd also be hearing about how people having to walk 6 miles for food was also his fault.

My point was, we aren't hearing much about it.  it's not a scandal.  It's not even a problem for most people.  It's old news.  Except for those living in New York City.  It's a problem for them.  It's not news, it's their reality.  

We the people had every right to hold the  Bush Administration partially responsible for the failures of Katrina.  (We must remember that Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin should also bear part of that load.)  We the people have every right to hold this President partially responsible for what is still going on in New York City.  We should also be pointing a finger at Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg.  

So, no, I won't be getting over this. Not this, not Benghazi, not Fast & Furious.  I have the right to continue speaking up, as I've been doing my entire adult life.  No  matter who wins the election.

Maybe if more Americans paid attention more than every four years...but then, that's just a pipe dream.

So really, stop telling me to shut up.  It won't happen.  Ever.  And you should be thankful for that.  It means we still have the freedom to speak out.

Questions

I have a few questions.  I realize that some people will read this blog and freak out on me, but honestly, I just want to know what the thought process is.

Yesterday the country re-elected Barack Obama to the Presidency.  

To all Black Americans:
Why do you consistently vote for a party that has spent more than 30 years telling you that you aren't smart enough, ambitious enough, or good enough to accomplish anything on your own?  They constantly tell you that without their help, you can't achieve your dreams.   In essence the Democrats have told Black Americans that you need them and their promises and their legislation in order to have any chance in this society.  Do you not find that demeaning? It's been said, that upon signing the Civil Rights Act, President Lyndon B. Johnson said "we'll have them n****** voting democrat for 40 years." He was right.  But by God, just that sentence leaves me shaking my head.  In my world, the color of your skin doesn't matter one iota.  You can achieve your dreams, because it's within your power.  Why do you allow Democrats to convince you that you are too poor or stupid to obtain an id to vote?  Voter ID isn't about disenfranchising anyone.  Do you really want your vote cancelled out by someone who isn't a citizen, or by someone who is voting twice?  Seriously, these people make it sound like minorities are too inferior to obtain a free state identification card.  Where is that okay?  I'm honestly asking the question because I do not understand.

To Women:
Why do you vote for a party that objectified you into the sum of your sex organs?  Your brain didn't matter.  Your ambition didn't matter.  Your abilities didn't matter.  You were reduced to birth control and abortions, as if outside of sex, women don't need anything or mean anything.  I thought true feminism was to fight objectification.  I look around and I wonder where that went.    I heard that the Republicans didn't want equal pay, but where did that come from?  The Lily Ledbetter act did not guarantee equal pay for equal work.  It guaranteed trial lawyers some nice fees because you can sue a company IF you manage to find out that you weren't paid the same as your male counterpart.  But while President Obama showed off Lily Ledbetter, he failed to mention that women in his administration make 18% less than their male counterparts.  If Lily Ledbetter guaranteed equal pay, he wasn't following the law.   As a matter of fact, most Democrats in D.C., pay their female staffers less than men.  In the end, for women, the Democrats made this election about sex, and a bill that really had nothing to do with what they were claiming it did.  And according to the polls, my gender accepted that.  My question isn't full of bitterness, it's befuddlement.  I need to understand.

To Latino/Hispanic Voters:
Why do you vote for a party that consistently votes in opposition of your value system?  I understand that maybe Republicans do a lousy job of explaining it, but most conservatives are not anti immigration.  Heck, everyone in this country is the result of some form of immigration.  Conservatives are anti illegal immigration.  There are so many wonderful Latino and Hispanic immigrants, who waded through red tape and mess to be here legally.  So many who fell in love with America and became citizens.  I was honored to see two young men from the Dominican Republic become US Citizens on completion of Army Basic Training.  It was a moving ceremony.  We welcome immigrants who go through the proper channels to get here.  We'd like to cut down on illegal immigration, because it drains our resources and frankly, it takes away from legal immigrants and those who wish to immigrate to our wonderful country.  So why vote for those who turn their back on the social and religious beliefs you hold dear?  I don't understand.

See, here is my confusion.  I believe in America, in it's exceptional status, in it's exceptional citizenry of all shapes, sizes and colors.  And I just don't understand why so many of us sell ourselves short, sell our values out, and are okay with less than what we ourselves can achieve through hard work.  These are honest questions.  So many people will call me names just for asking them.  But truly, I'm only trying to understand.

It's time to get a new media....

A few weeks ago, something terrible happened to our country.  It didn't happen here, and maybe that's why there aren't as many outraged people as there should be.  On September 11, 2012, a group of people stormed the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.  They are killed our ambassador, Chris Stevens, and 3 others.  They paraded his body through the streets and took pictures.  Some people have alleged he was raped.  

The day after the attacks, White House Spokesman, Jay Carney, told reporters it was a spontaneous attack, related to a 14 minute movie clip on youtube.  It was not organized.  It had nothing to do with our current middle east policy.  (Please forget if you somehow managed to see the videos of Egyptians, who stormed our embassy there, shouting "Obama, Obama we are all Osama".  Move along.)

5 days after the attack, US Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, appeared on all 5 major Sunday news shows to reiterate this fact.  Totally spontaneous, no planning, yes, Libyans bring RPGs and heavy machine guns to a protest all the time!  (Please forget that you might have heard the Libyan President say this was an organized attack, most likely perpetrated by Al Qiada. Move along.)

The media spent days on Mitt Romney's statement, and mere minutes, if that,  on the head scratching going on by the US Citizenry.  The attack occurred on 9/11.  If the White House truly believed it was spontaneous, there must be proof, because any normal person would question the timing.  (Especially considering that youtube video had been in place for months...)

Even when little pieces of information, like our Al-Q buddies being angry about the latest drone strike, came out, the White House stuck to their story.  And then one day, they didn't.  Without explanation, it became a terrorist attack.

Thank you Kirsten Powers, of the Daily Beast, for being willing to say what no major media people are saying.  This administration is either incompetent or lying.  Either they rushed to judgment, for whatever reason,  and were dead wrong, or they knew, and they didn't want us to know.

They got quite tetchy when CNN did something CNN is not known for doing.  CNN made them look like idiots or liars.  They published a portion of Chris Stevens diary, where he says he thinks he's on Al Qiada's hit list.  Something he probably expressed to people higher up.  Something they did nothing about.  There was weeping and wailing over how wrong it was, but the damage was done.  The Ambassador was worried, and according to reports, he wasn't even afforded the basic security necessary to protect him.  The safe house was known (by a bunch of spontaneous protestors!). 

And the media.... mostly still focused on Mitt Romney.

So, here are a few questions they should be asking our Leader.

1) When did the intelligence community know this was a planned terrorist attack?  When did they tell you?  Is anyone getting fired for allowing your administration representatives to go on national TV and make a statement that was nowhere near the truth?

2) How did reporters from CNN manage to access personal information  within the Benghazi Consulate?  Considering a crime was committed there, isn't there any security making sure the crime scene isn't destroyed?

3) Is there any truth to the information that within 24 hours of the attack at least someone in the government was aware, not only that it was a terrorist attack, but that the address of one of the attackers was known?

4) Why is the FBI still 400 miles away from the investigation they are supposed to be doing?

5) Why was Ambassador Stevens not afforded the basic protection necessary to protect his life?

I could keep going.  None of these questions are even being  asked.

For the second time since September 11th, 2001, a terrorist or group of terrorists have attacked us again, and it's not headline news.  It's not even second page news.  I can blame the White House for totally screwing up, but if the American people are unaware of how bad it was screwed up, there's only  one place to lay the blame.  The news media.  They simply aren't doing their jobs.  Time to replace them.  It's time for a new set of real journalist, if there are any left.

One more thing.  Do you remember when the 2,000th Soldier killed in Iraq was front page news?  Can you tell me when the 2,000th Soldier was killed in Afghanistan, without looking it up?  I rest my case.

Dear Mr. President:

Why do I feel like I was just treated to a rerun of 2008?  Why do I feel like I've heard this all before?  Why do I feel like I just heard 38 minutes of empty promises?  Dear Mr. President, why do I have such a problem with you?

I'm no policy wonk, but I do pay attention.

You did say "you didn't build that", and if you were referring to roads and bridges, I ask, where exactly did government get the money to pay for those things?  I think it might have been from the same people you accused of not building that....

You did say, "The private sector is doing fine".  You did say that it was the public sector...state and local government workers were the issue.  The thing is Mr. President, public sector employment is the same as it was 6 years ago.  Private sector employment is negative 3 million jobs.

You told reporters that the reason you couldn't forge relationships with the other party is because you wanted to spend time with your family.  Mr. President, I understand that.  Right now, we live week to week, because I'm staying home to spend more time with my kids.  But Mr President, you wanted this job, and part of this job is finding a way to work with the other side.  Part of it is reaching out to the other side.  After having played 104 games of golf, am I really to believe you couldn't make time one night a week to reach out to the other side and make them feel like they had a voice at your table?

Mr. President, I come from a world where not every student went to an ivy league university.  Entrance was difficult, tuition was high, and you either got scholarships or didn't go if you couldn't afford it.  I'm sure everyone would like an ivy league education, but that just isn't going to happen. State schools are good, and tuition is generally cheaper if you reside in the school's home state.  How about, instead of encouraging students to go into  debt by hundreds of thousands of dollars, we encourage them to shop for a college that won't put that burden on them.  Obviously, not every family can even afford a state school.  So we  have Pell Grants and other forms of aid, both pubic and private.  But as long as the government continues to throw money for schools out there, schools won't lower their rates.  They'll lower them when students start shopping around to get the most bang for their buck.

Mr, President, you keep saying you saved GM, but I'm reading in a lot of places GM could be filing bankruptcy again soon.  This while we, the taxpayer, own stock that's only worth 10 million of the 50 million we are owed.  They just shut down production of the Chevy Volt due to non-interest.  In that deal you made, stockholders and debtholders got screwed, and the auto workers union kept their pensions and salaries, and now  they even got exemptions from Obamacare.  Mr. President, if GM has to file bankruptcy again, did you really save it, or just delay the inevitable while making sure your campaign contributors were taken care of?

Mr. President, I'm glad Osama Bin Laden is dead.  I wish we hadn't been so kind and given him some Muslim burial.  A whole lot of people in the World Trade Center didn't get traditional burials.  But I'm glad he's dead.  However, it would be nice if you admitted that his capture was at least in some part due to your continuation of the policies of former President Bush.  Policies you promised to end, but didn't.  It's okay.  I'm sure national security looked a lot different when it became your responsibility.  I'm glad you didn't keep all those promises.  But all the same, don't you owe credit to the people who came up with this whole plan?

Mr.President, why do you insist on telling our enemies when we will no longer continue fighting them, so they can just sit back and wait for us to leave?  Why is your administration leaking national security secrets to the press and Hollywood filmmakers?  Why did we outsource our base security in Afghanistan to Afghanis who are killing our soldiers?  Why did we insist on taking the ammunition away from our soldiers while letting the Afghanis keep theirs?  Why do we seem okay with so many of our men and women dying at the hands of our supposed allies?  

I understand why you view this country so differently than I do.  I was raised in a family that was just so darn proud to be Americans.  I was raised by parents who didn't have college degrees, but worked hard to do better than they really had any right to.  I understand that you have a connection with the father you barely knew, and how his world views shaped yours.  But Mr. President, America is not the French, or the British Empire.  We promote freedom, but we also encourage countries to form their own governments and build their own freedom.   This is not Kenya, we were once ruled by colonials, and all America ever does is pay, both in money and blood, to help the rest of the world.  This country and it's rich history and amazing formula made you President, and Sir, you should want to continue that tradition.

But you don't.  No matter what you say, your policies reflect someone who wishes to downgrade our country further, and I'm sorry Sir, but it's time for us to move on.  It's time for America to elect someone more like John F. Kennedy, who knew our rights came not from the generosity of government but the hand of God.  Who asked what we could do for our country, not what the country could do for us.  It's time for someone who recognizes that America IS exceptional.  We are a city on a hill.  We are the last best hope.

It's time for someone other than you.