Race is not THE issue.

On July 11th, 2008 I wrote a post about how race is not an issue for me, and I inferred that it probably isn't an issue for most people. 

However, Obama surrogates and sympathizers have been constantly playing the race card without provocation. CNN correspondent Jack Cafferty is trying to make race out to be the biggest issue explaining closeness in the polls between Obama and McCain, negating the other more obvious reasons like: 1. the republican convention, 2. Sarah Palin, 3. McCain's appeal to moderates, 4. his 'maverick' image (and actual distance from Bush and his own party), as well as 5. his appeal to blue collar workers. The reason Obama has not surged ahead has nothing to do with his race, and A LOT to do with his skimpy record and lack of legislative accomplishments. People are just unsure if he has the experience to do the job. So let me show you what Mr. Cafferty said:

"Race is arguably the biggest issue in this election, and it's one that nobody's talking about. The differences between Barack Obama and John McCain couldn't be more well-defined. Obama wants to change Washington. McCain is part of the Washington and a part of the Bush legacy. Yet the polls remain close. Doesn't make sense...unless it's race."

First off, Cafferty makes no effort to show impartiality saying, "Obama wants to change Washington. McCain is part of Washington and a part of the Bush legacy." It may be true that Obama wants to change Washington, but so far, in his 3 years in the senate he has had zero impact. No new transformative legislation to put his name to. Not even a co-authored bill. Furthermore, Obama has only worked with republicans 17% of the time in the senate, whereas McCain has worked with democrats 55% of the time. So while Obama claims bipartisanship in theory, he has never done it in practice. McCain is a testament to bipartisanship, and that is a big part of his appeal, not because he's white. And then Cafferty says McCain is "part of Washington and a part of the Bush legacy." First off, he has been Washington for 26 years, but that is more of a boon for him than something to discredit him with, given his record that is far from the usual partisan gridlock type politics. Secondly, McCain has almost always been at odds with Bush in the places that it matters most. McCain has always been a supporter of global warming legislation, and has fought against corporate interests and large pharmaceuticals (I don't agree with his approach, but I will defend the fact that he is very UNLIKE Bush in those, and other areas like government spending - Obama is actually more like Bush in that regard, wanting to spend more)

So, with all of that, somehow race is supposedly rearing its ugly head. The fact is, it is not, but the democrats so desperately want it to be, they make comments like Cafferty's and Time Magazine's Michael Grunwald who says race is the elephant in the room, even suggesting Barack Obama needs to tread lightly as he fights back against the McCain-Palin attacks. Of course he makes little mention of Obama's attacks, which have not been any better, and in fact, are terribly misleading like his recent Spanish language ad attempting to link McCain with his long time nemesis Rush Limbaugh (and misquoting Limbaugh in the process). Not only that, but Obama once again is using the race card to scare voters, just as when he claimed earlier in his campaign as he had secured the nomination, McCain would use the race card against him. So far Obama has used the race card twice (and many more times if you count all the media correspondents who back him) and McCain hasn't used it once. So is Obama really being hurt by his race, or is he using it as a fear tactic to gain voters worried about being labeled as bigots and racists?

Oh, and another one who wants to make this election a race war is Gov. Sebelius of Kansas (D). Read here for her comments.

My opinion? Let's clean this up folks. Get back to the issues, like Obama said (oh, and Senator Obama, you might want try it yourself).

Obama is right.

I hope most of you who read this blog know that some of it is satire, a lot of it is exaggeration, and I try to generate responses both negative and positive. I am over the top at times to make a point. At no point is my aim to offend or misrepresent important issues.  With that disclaimer let me talk about something that pleases me.

Obama recently said he thinks reparations are not the solution to the repercussions of slavery. I am in complete agreement with that.  

Slavery is over. I am not, nor was I ever, responsible for it. The current African American community is not enslaved. Giving them money only encourages a mentality of entitlement and dependency. There have been numerous programs created by the government to 'help' the black community. These programs treat blacks like second-class citizens. The government favors them with welfare policies and school tuition subsidies, because it believes they can't make it without its help. This is America. We believe in the American dream. Anyone can make it big. Just go out and get it. We cannot create balance and equality by reversing the scale. We need to make it even. We all are capable people.

Reparations are not a solution, but would create more problems than they aim to solve. There is no way to quantify the suffering, death, torture, oppression, years of discrimination, or even continuing discrimination by a dollar figure. Furthermore, why should Asian Americans, Indian Americans, Muslims, Hispanics, and Caucasians dole out money to fill the pockets of African Americans who have not experienced slavery, and who are more than capable of making their own way in this country without a handout? There are many peoples who have been discriminated against in America. The Irish, the Italians, the Chinese, and the Jews to name a few, have all been discriminated against. We cannot play favorites, and we cannot expect that money will take away the years of pain and inequality. The apology congress came up with is meaningless.  People  cannot meaningfully apologize for something they themselves have not done, nor can they apologize to people who have not been victims of atrocities. We need not create more victims through apologies and reparations. 

Of course the government was wrong with the Jim Crow laws. People suffered needlessly. But no amount of money, pats on the back, or apologies will fix the hurt. We need to get on with out lives, let the African community live theirs, and give them the expectation that they can do it on their own, like the rest of this country.

Llamafest!

They say you can't always get what you want. But you can get it, just not always when you want it. Well, yesterday we all wanted it, and we got it right when we needed it. Llamafest. Once a year, at the Hare Krishna temple in Spanish Fork, Utah, the llamas come out to play. People come out from as far as the central valley in California to show off, race, and pet their llamas. And we were not disappointed.

There was a little obstacle course for the llamas that had a pool of water they had to cross. I want to say right now, that llamas are not aquatic animals. And, they proved that water was certainly not their favorite by stubbornly refusing to cross the pool. This happened time and time again. I only saw two successful crossings, after watching at least a dozen llama attempts. So that was of course quite amusing.

After the obstacle course there was a race. And, our group submitted a contender. Mike. He grabbed his llama by the reins and was off like a lightning bolt on the first half of the race. However, as he rounded the turn, his llama just stopped. The llama (a disobedient and quite obstinate female) would not go any further. So Mike dragged her to the finish line, placing 2nd to last as opposed to taking his spot on the medal podium. Later he found out why it was so difficult. A local llamaneer (llama raiser) told him that females usually don't do races and things, they're just for breeding. And, when they don't want to do something, they don't (typical of the female sex).

So having watched a llama obstacle course, and race, my friend Eric and I thought we saw from the corner of our eyes, a bunch of midget donkeys. Upon closer inspection, we saw that they were not donkeys, but in fact were midget cows. And they were hungry. So we fed the midget cows from hay that was on the ground right in their own pen. Now, they could have just as easily picked it up themselves and eaten it, but being hand fed is a nice way to go. I mean, think about it. Eating grapes yourself is good, but being fed grapes by someone else is great - even a sensual experience.

If that were all, it would have been a great time, but of course there was a band of opiate stoned crazies playing random mixes of classic rock and Hindu chants. The members of the band were interesting to say the least. There was the lead guitar player, who used what looked like a guitar hero guitar, there was the transvestite drummer, another guitar player, and of course a didgeridoo player to cap it off. And they did a terrific job for as stoned as they must have been.

After checking out the pond behind the band, seeing an albino peacock, and talking to a cockatoo and African Grey parrot, I went inside to eat. And, even though the whole meal was vegetarian, I enjoyed it. Our crew went upstairs as I was eating and after I finished I joined them to be enlightened by a temple devotee who teaches martial arts and yoga. He talked about Krishna, his conversion, how he lives, and mentioned that he was no longer a 'graveyard for dead animal carcasses;' ie: he went vegetarian. Now I respect that, but I am a graveyard for dead animal carcasses, and I see it differently. As the American Indians believe, I take on the soul of the animal I eat. When I eat a gazelle, I am one with the gazelle. When I eat a cow, I am one with the cow, and, considering the fact that Hindu worshippers believe the cow to be sacred, in a way, I am sacred for having eaten it and for becoming one with it. That's my take. I'm still going to eat meat. What are canine teeth for anyway?

So that was more or less our amazing llamafest experience. After that we enjoyed a little ice cream and holky polky in downtown Spanish Fork, and a good time at Sonics. However, some of us enjoyed Sonic more than others. Naomi for instance was walking into Sonic and thought the door was wide open. So she charged right into a giant window. Flustered but laughing, she walked away, trying to avoid any more attention. But then we found out about it. We turned it into a documentary, and Eric did interviews with witnesses to get different perspectives on the event. With a cup full of ice, she did fine, and it was pretty funny.

And so it was, a llamalicious day.

It's not a race issue.

It's not. For me it never was. I don't care what race, sex, or religion you are - that does not influence my vote. What does influence me are your ideas, your platform, your plan.

When Obama made the comment a couple months ago that his grandmother was a 'typical white person,' no one flinched. Why? Because it's okay to be racist against the majority, not the minority. And, if you share some blood of the minority, you are allowed to say non-PC things. Imagine if McCain had said, 'typical black person?' His campaign and political career would be over. And, that is stupid. There need not be a double standard.

Then, if that weren't enough, to pre-empt future racist commentaries from McCain's campaign, Obama made a statement more recently saying that racism would be used to defeat him. He said that before a single race-charged comment had been made by the other camp! He thinks he cleverly brought racism to the forefront while denouncing it. He made it an issue when it was not one. Why? Because if he can paint McCain as intolerant before he makes any intolerant remarks he is setting McCain on a pedestal - and everyone will watch for even the slightest non-PC falter. And, that's cheap politics. Why has no one pointed out Obama's racist comments, demeaning blacks, and even his own white grandmother? Oh, that's right, it's okay because he's part black. Justice never was a part of politics, just a bothersome nuisance.

Wake up to the chant of CHANGE (with no direction)!

Wake up people! Seriously. Now that we've had a couple months of a prolonged democratic nominating contest, you can see the candidates so much more clearly. The contrasts are telling. I will refer to Obama right now.

In the beginning, I'm sure you well remember his constant mantra of CHANGE! CHANGE! CHANGE! My question, is I think very relevant. Remember that quote that "The only constant in this world is change"? Well at least that hasn't changed. So then I ask, what's the big deal? From the looks of things, Obama talks out of one side of the mouth, while mumbling something unappealing an unintelligible on the other side. By that I mean he calls for us to rise above partisan politics all the while toting the most liberal voting record in the senate for 2007.

Then there's the fact that his preacher, Jeremiah Wright, whom he never really distanced himself from, thinks black people are the only people who are worthwhile. You should listen to his sermons on youtube.com, it's all about how the white man has it out for the black man, and how the black community must rise up against the evil white wave. Please. How is this a new kind of non-divisive politics? It's that whole concept of unity through disunity that I guess I never got. Sure. Lets favor one group over another to compensate for years of inequality the other way. Bring equality through inequality! Fight fire with fire! Genius. But I digress.

Obama is eloquent. Obama is charismatic. Obama has a decent image. Why? Because eight months ago, no one knew he he was. Now they do. How fortunate for the voters. Not so fortunate for him. Turns out he's got a closet loaded full of skeletons. And, on top of it, he has no real leadership experience. Two years in the Illinois senate and two more as a junior senator does not make you qualified to be leader of the free world. He might as well do one of those Holiday Inn Express commercials. I can see it now, the President of the EU comes to the White House to shake his hand and he starts talking about his new golfing buddy Raul Castro and how he will solve all our problems with universal health care...and then on top of that balance the budget with more taxes...then the President of the EU says, "Who are you again?" And Obama says, "Well I'm just a junior senator from Illinois that bribes people to vote for me with Dave Matthews Band tickets, but I also stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night." Classic.