Where’s the Outrage?

There are times when Keith Olbermann’s Special Comments are over the top. Fortunately, those times are few and far between. Most of the time, like tonight, they are exactly right. He underscores the idea that there are places that we should never go in public, and mentioning assassination is one of those places. I have no idea why Senator Hillary Clinton would go down this road and lie about Bosnia.

From the Special Comment:

We cannot forgive you this — not because it is crass and low and unfeeling and brutal.

This is unforgivable, because this nation’s deepest shame, its most enduring horror, its most terrifying legacy, is political assassination.

Lincoln. Garfield. McKinley. Kennedy. Martin Luther King. Malcolm X. Robert Kennedy.

And, but for the grace of the universe or the luck of the draw, Reagan, Ford, Truman, Nixon, Andrew Jackson, both Roosevelts, even George Wallace.

The politics of this nation is steeped enough in blood, Senator Clinton, you cannot and must not invoke that imagery! Anywhere! At any time!

And to not appreciate, immediately - to still not appreciate tonight - just what you have done… is to reveal an incomprehension of the America you seek to lead.

On top of this is there is a report that TPM has posted that former President Bill Clinton is working to secure his wife a spot on the Obama ticket. Come on, can we get back to reality? Can we, please? Senator Clinton has had her shot. She simply isn’t the best person for the Vice Presidential position. Also, if you were president would you want former President Clinton staring over your shoulder? No. I don’t think so. After the assassination reference, why would you put her on the ticket? It is time for the silly season to end. It is time for us, progressives, to pull together to crush Senator John McCain in the general election. (Bill at Liberal Oasis has more on this Nightmare ticket.)

Tags: Election 2008 by ecthompson
11 Comments »

This painting, done by Charles Sheeler in 1931, is called Classic Landscape. It portrays the massive Ford River Rouge plant in Michigan.

Here is how the painting is discussed in American Art And Architecture by Michael Lewis:

“….at the end of 1927…Ford unveiled the new Model A…to riotous crowds. Ford carefully planned its advertising campaign, engaging Charles Sheeler to photograph the complex at River Rouge where it was manufactured. His role was purely that of a commerical artist but the immensity of the site and factory overwhelmed him. Sprawling over 1,100 acres, it had a sense of colossal scale like that of the Egyptian pyramids or the cathedrals of medieval Europe. And like those monuments, the factories seemed to embody physically the great social forces of the age….He soon began to make paintings based on his photographs, imitating not only their compositions but their photographic character: their crispness…and..abstract geometric forms in almost airless space….adopted the values of the machine—clarity, precision, razor edges, and clean form. (This) became known as Precisionism, the leading school of American realism in the art of the 1920’s and 1930’s. ”

I like Classic Landscape, though I find it a bit dry. It does indeed have the “values of the machine.” While I would enjoy seeing this painting in a museum, I think it would depress me if I owned it and saw it all the time.

I think we do best when we are only as precise as we must be, not only in terms of honesty, but in terms of conveying the right facts within the larger context to best explain the issue at hand. A measure of symbolism in this painting, such as some hint of movement, might have suggested this was an auto plant. The railroad track is a suggestion of movement, yet the tracks seem abandoned. Nothing is moving. The clouds and shadows also imply movement. But the clouds are gray and motionless. And the shadows are reflecting off the landscape created by the factory.

The idea could be that the factory is the mover of things and not part of an interconnected world. Since there are no people or animals in the painting, it’s almost as if the factory created itself and now directs the world according to it’s own plan. Yet the natural world, people, and, in modern times, machines, all help make the world. At least they do for the brief time human beings will be on the Earth.

If I had artistic talent, I would paint a picture suggesting harmony. I’m not thinking of harmony in the sense of everything moving towards the same end or goal, but rather the measure of harmony I feel that we can discern in the controlled disorder of our world, universe, and all existence.

These things said, Classic Landscape is a helluva painting by a talented guy.

Tags: Books, General by Texas Liberal
Comments Off

While Senator Hillary Clinton was in South Dakota giving an interview to the local Sioux Falls newspaper, she talked about people who were trying to push her out. She said, “My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California.”

Before the North Carolina primary, a Clinton operative called me about being on my radio show. I was very happy that I was sought out. Soon, I was involved in a conversation about my blog and the things that I have written about Clinton. This Clinton operative saying that I was very harsh toward the Senator. I don’t think that I have written anything that was personal or demeaning, but I have been very critical of the way that she has run this race. Heck, to be honest, I didn’t think that she should have entered the race. I thought that she was a divisive person. I didn’t think that the country or the Democratic Party needed divisiveness. Needless to say, I didn’t get the interview.

In retrospect, I was sort of correct. Clinton did strengthen the democratic party by being in the race. I didn’t foresee that. She did prove that the American people will vote for a woman. I think that we are ready for female president. This is a great thing for America and the democratic party. However, from about mid-February until today, she has been the divisive character that I originally thought that she was. She has actually been more divisive that I would have ever imagined.

Today, Hillary Clinton has gone a comment too far. Hillary needs to drop out of the race, NOW!

Tags: Election 2008 by ecthompson
1 Comment »

There seems to be a trend in Hip-Hop for rappers to have a Caribbean accent. Kardinal Offshall has some kind of island accent. This is a nice tune.

Kardinal Offishall feat. Akon - Dangerous
Free Music Videos at Www.blastro.com

Tags: Music by ecthompson
Comments Off

Hiya Doctor.

Just a heads up that we’ve got two big local issues happening.

For all the bloggy good information on the trial and conviction of former Sheriff Bobby Medford, check out Cecil Bothwell’s Blog:

http://bothwellsblog.wordpress.com/

For the skinny on the suspicious land deal resulting in selling part of our marquis public commons to a legacy developer for condos, you can read Scrutiny Hooligans:

http://www.scrutinyhooligans.us

Or just check out my Letter to the editor in today’s Citizen-Times:

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880522078

Tags: State and Local Politics by ecthompson
2 Comments »

I know that this story is already a week old, but I have been focused on national stuff.

From Cecil Bothwell (local free-lance writer):

Lest we forget, the just completed federal trial of former Buncombe County Sheriff Bobby Medford is only one part of the corruption evident in his administration. In fact, the trial opened new questions about Buncombe County government. Here are the questions I will continue to ask.

1. Payroll fraud

I told county commissioners about verifiable allegations of payroll fraud in Medford’s department in late 2004. I have sources on and off the record who say they were ordered by Medford to falsify records. Now, evidence introduced in the trial has documented outright fraud by Medford concerning his own work hours. After spending 162 work days at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino during his last year in office he claimed and received $20,000 in back pay for vacation time he “never used.” Uh huh. He took fellow employees, notably his secretary Sharon Stewart, with him on many occasions. How much vacation time did she claim?

2. Guns and drugs and money

We still have no accounting for the stuff missing from the department evidence locker in the interim between Medford’s exit and Sheriff Van Duncan’s entry to the building. Over 300 guns missing, with my sources indicating that Medford sold at least some of those guns to Jackie Shepherd and gave away others. Drugs from over 1,000 evidence bags vanished. About $200,000 in cash, nowhere to be found. Most grievous of all were the unlabeled rape kits. Have any prosecutions been diverted due to that missing evidence?

And why didn’t the District Attorney’s office know that the evidence from so many cases was missing? [Read more →]

Tags: State and Local Politics by ecthompson
Comments Off

The right-wing talking heads have been whispering to American Jews that they can’t trust Senator Barack Obama. “Barack Obama doesn’t really support Israel,” they say. They have taken Obama’s statement on speaking with our enemies to mean that Obama would speak with Hamas, although he has never said that. Well, today Obama was in Boca Raton, Florida where tried to put all of these fears to rest. Obama promised an “unshakable commitment” to Israel. He was also hoping that his presidency can repair some of the damage in African-American and Jewish-American relationship. These problems date back to Jesse Jackson’s ill thought out statements over 25 years ago.

Finally, although it has been rumored for months, tomorrow is the day that Senator John McCain is suppose to release his medical records. Back in 2000, McCain was diagnosed with Malignant Melanoma of the face and arm. Were these two separate lesions? Was one lesion a primary and the other a secondary or metastatic lesion? The implications are significant. In 1993, McCain had a melanoma removed from his shoulder.

Now, I’m not a cancer surgeon, but I am a surgeon. In 2000, McCain had a return or recurrence of his cancer. If I’m not mistaken, metastatic melanoma can not be cured only treated. In my book, this would make him an extreme risk as a president.

Tags: Election 2008, Healthcare, Medical Ethics/Issues by ecthompson
Comments Off