They say bad things always happen in 3's, so I guess the turn of events over the past week shouldn't be so shocking! First, we had the protest of President Obama's Back to School speech to America's students. That brouhaha was followed by Joe Wilson calling the President a liar during the President's nationally televised address about healthcare reform. And for the coup de grace, Serena Williams had an extinction-level meltdown at the US Open that cost her match-point, $10,000 in fines (which could go higher), and a level of scrutiny that she doesn't need in her life. Oh, and I think Kanye West deserves to be on the list (even though he makes it 4 bad things, but it's my blog and I can do what I want!) for interrupting Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards and asserting that Beyonce's video was better.
Admittedly, I already tackled the Obama Back to School speech, so I will say nothing more about that at this juncture. Except that I was right. The speech was benign, insightful and timely. Any parent, teacher or politician who objected to the speech should be ashamed of themselves. Any school system administrator that caved to the pressure of phone calls from any of the aforementioned people and opted not to show the video doesn't deserve the trust parents put in them to put the needs of students first. Yes, I am saying they should lose their jobs. So worried were these school officials about the empty threats made by narrow-minded parents, teachers and politicians that they chose not to show the twenty minute pep talk and issued lame excuses like:
Admittedly, I already tackled the Obama Back to School speech, so I will say nothing more about that at this juncture. Except that I was right. The speech was benign, insightful and timely. Any parent, teacher or politician who objected to the speech should be ashamed of themselves. Any school system administrator that caved to the pressure of phone calls from any of the aforementioned people and opted not to show the video doesn't deserve the trust parents put in them to put the needs of students first. Yes, I am saying they should lose their jobs. So worried were these school officials about the empty threats made by narrow-minded parents, teachers and politicians that they chose not to show the twenty minute pep talk and issued lame excuses like:
"I have elected to delay the reviewing of this noble message in an effort to protect our very valued instructional time. This decision embodies my belief that the mission, vision, and actionable ideals must always inform our daily decisions and direct our actions."
What does that even mean? It means he/she is a coward and afraid to take a stand what he/she knows to be the right thing to do. Is this a person you want in charge of your children?
Enough already.
Joe Wilson. Wow. What a piece of work. I will submit that entirely too much time has been wasted on this individual over the past week, so I will just take a few moments to highlight an amalgam of the justifications for his actions that I have encountered.
Enough already.
Joe Wilson. Wow. What a piece of work. I will submit that entirely too much time has been wasted on this individual over the past week, so I will just take a few moments to highlight an amalgam of the justifications for his actions that I have encountered.
"I don't see what the problem is. The congressional sessions are always rowdy, and Democrats have called Bush ten times worse. Get over it."
First of all, has anyone ever heard the phrase two wrongs don't make a right? IF, I felt that there was a precedent for this type of behavior---which I don't---that would not make the actions of Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) acceptable. Interrupting the President of the United States during a formal address is never acceptable. As I have stated many times over the past week, there is a way to disagree with someone without being uncivilized and disrespectful. Joe Wilson, clearly, was never taught that.
Oh, and by the way, factcheck.org has, in fact, verified that the statement Obama made that incited this gutter reaction from Wilson is TRUE. So, Joe Wilson has shown himself to be an overly-emotional hot head who simply retweets what his party tells him to.
I find it laughable that the only two examples put forth to justify Crazy Joe's actions are the the guy who threw shoes at W (which did not happen on US soil, by the way)---the man who went to JAIL for those actions, and the following clip in which you hear booing and jeering, but no one waits until it's quiet and screams, "YOU LIE!"
First of all, has anyone ever heard the phrase two wrongs don't make a right? IF, I felt that there was a precedent for this type of behavior---which I don't---that would not make the actions of Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) acceptable. Interrupting the President of the United States during a formal address is never acceptable. As I have stated many times over the past week, there is a way to disagree with someone without being uncivilized and disrespectful. Joe Wilson, clearly, was never taught that.
Joe Wilson's outburst: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgce06Yw2ro
Oh, and by the way, factcheck.org has, in fact, verified that the statement Obama made that incited this gutter reaction from Wilson is TRUE. So, Joe Wilson has shown himself to be an overly-emotional hot head who simply retweets what his party tells him to.
I find it laughable that the only two examples put forth to justify Crazy Joe's actions are the the guy who threw shoes at W (which did not happen on US soil, by the way)---the man who went to JAIL for those actions, and the following clip in which you hear booing and jeering, but no one waits until it's quiet and screams, "YOU LIE!"
Bush heckling video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBxmEGG71PM
It's bad enough that Republicans barely stand when the Hail to the Chief plays or that they behave like insolent teenagers at a Drug Safety assembly in high school, updating Facebook and Twitter during the speeches. But to call out during the address is taking it a step further, and it simply makes a party who is struggling to find a viable platform/identity in the 21st century look like two-faced, petty, spoiled brats. Seriously, how can they still assert that they are the "right" of anything? Conservative? Moral? Puh-leeeeze!
Don't get me wrong. As I've stated before, I belong to the party of common sense. There are platforms and people in both parties that have merit. I do not agree with everything that President Obama says and does, but I do believe that because he is the leader of our nation he commands and deserves the utmost respect. I felt the same way about W. If Joe Wilson had appeared on Meet the Press or This Week or even 60 Minutes and called the President a liar, we would not still be talking about this today. Those are shows whose ratings skyrocket when there is such contentious language used. There is a time and place and manner in which to express a difference of opinion, and Joe Wilson exposed himself for not knowing that. He should have been escorted out of the session immediately, but Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden extended Joe Wilson more civility than he deserved. Turn the other cheek, I guess.
Finally, Serena Williams and Kanye West. Tsk-tsk! Let's face it. Serena Williams was on her way to losing that match anyway. I believe that her display of the poorest sportsmanship I've seen in a while was a smokescreen for the fact that she was getting handled by Kim Clijsters! Her behavior was deplorable, and for all the bad behavior on display over the past week, she was the only one who got what she deserved. She was disqualified and fined a stiff (but not stiff enough, in my opinion) sum. What was bothersome to me, is how she didn't own it afterwards. When John McEnroe used to behave this way on the regular, he was just as raw in the press conference afterward. Not Serena. She wanted to chalk it up to (in Joe Wilson fashion) being in the heat of the moment, caught up in emotion. Let's call it what it is! It's bad behavior, poor sportsmanship, and completely inexcusable. Newsflash, Serena: threatening to shove a f-ing ball down the judge's f-ing throat is threatening to kill her! You were an embarrassment to women, to Americans, and to the sport of tennis!
Serena Williams meltdown: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oA792DGT2E
Kanye West...I just have to shake my head. Why? He should be mandated to wearing one of those collars people use to train dogs not to bark incessantly. Every time he opens his mouth outside of a studio it should shock the shit out of him! His actions at the VMAs were so out of order that Beyonce had to use her own speech to give Taylor Swift a second chance at the speech Kanye took from her.
Kanye's craziness: http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/435995/taylor-swift-wins-best-female-video.jhtml#id=1620605
There is nothing that anyone can say to justify his behavior toward the seventeen year old country music star, so please don't try. (Thank you, Beyonce for trying to make it right.) Ever since Kanye used the Katrina special to throw W under the bus, he has felt the need to insert his opinions on every national stage availed to him. I think he should be frozen out of any future live award shows until he learns how to act. His actions are the reason that African-Americans are not taken seriously on the world stage and are less able to call attention to real issues. His actions will be mimicked by other performers who will pretend not to know any better and trotted out by those who absolutely know better to justify their bad behavior.
Folks, this isn't reality tv. It's just reality, and it bites right now. What are you prepared to do about it? Will you stand up for what's right regardless of political affiliation or skin color? Or are you just going to make some popcorn, find your snuggy and enjoy the show?
It's bad enough that Republicans barely stand when the Hail to the Chief plays or that they behave like insolent teenagers at a Drug Safety assembly in high school, updating Facebook and Twitter during the speeches. But to call out during the address is taking it a step further, and it simply makes a party who is struggling to find a viable platform/identity in the 21st century look like two-faced, petty, spoiled brats. Seriously, how can they still assert that they are the "right" of anything? Conservative? Moral? Puh-leeeeze!
Don't get me wrong. As I've stated before, I belong to the party of common sense. There are platforms and people in both parties that have merit. I do not agree with everything that President Obama says and does, but I do believe that because he is the leader of our nation he commands and deserves the utmost respect. I felt the same way about W. If Joe Wilson had appeared on Meet the Press or This Week or even 60 Minutes and called the President a liar, we would not still be talking about this today. Those are shows whose ratings skyrocket when there is such contentious language used. There is a time and place and manner in which to express a difference of opinion, and Joe Wilson exposed himself for not knowing that. He should have been escorted out of the session immediately, but Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden extended Joe Wilson more civility than he deserved. Turn the other cheek, I guess.
Finally, Serena Williams and Kanye West. Tsk-tsk! Let's face it. Serena Williams was on her way to losing that match anyway. I believe that her display of the poorest sportsmanship I've seen in a while was a smokescreen for the fact that she was getting handled by Kim Clijsters! Her behavior was deplorable, and for all the bad behavior on display over the past week, she was the only one who got what she deserved. She was disqualified and fined a stiff (but not stiff enough, in my opinion) sum. What was bothersome to me, is how she didn't own it afterwards. When John McEnroe used to behave this way on the regular, he was just as raw in the press conference afterward. Not Serena. She wanted to chalk it up to (in Joe Wilson fashion) being in the heat of the moment, caught up in emotion. Let's call it what it is! It's bad behavior, poor sportsmanship, and completely inexcusable. Newsflash, Serena: threatening to shove a f-ing ball down the judge's f-ing throat is threatening to kill her! You were an embarrassment to women, to Americans, and to the sport of tennis!
Serena Williams meltdown: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oA792DGT2E
Kanye West...I just have to shake my head. Why? He should be mandated to wearing one of those collars people use to train dogs not to bark incessantly. Every time he opens his mouth outside of a studio it should shock the shit out of him! His actions at the VMAs were so out of order that Beyonce had to use her own speech to give Taylor Swift a second chance at the speech Kanye took from her.
Kanye's craziness: http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/435995/taylor-swift-wins-best-female-video.jhtml#id=1620605
There is nothing that anyone can say to justify his behavior toward the seventeen year old country music star, so please don't try. (Thank you, Beyonce for trying to make it right.) Ever since Kanye used the Katrina special to throw W under the bus, he has felt the need to insert his opinions on every national stage availed to him. I think he should be frozen out of any future live award shows until he learns how to act. His actions are the reason that African-Americans are not taken seriously on the world stage and are less able to call attention to real issues. His actions will be mimicked by other performers who will pretend not to know any better and trotted out by those who absolutely know better to justify their bad behavior.
Folks, this isn't reality tv. It's just reality, and it bites right now. What are you prepared to do about it? Will you stand up for what's right regardless of political affiliation or skin color? Or are you just going to make some popcorn, find your snuggy and enjoy the show?
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This just in! I stand corrected. Kanye got some of what he deserved at the VMAs...he was escorted from the building.