This has been a strange week. We've been treated to a longtime radio talk show host melting down on the air, not for the first time, and a President backtracking from one of the best speeches he's made regarding the Constitution. Very entertaining, and of course distracting the masses from the real problems that face us in these troubled times.
First, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the veteran radio "counselor" whose doctorate has nothing to do with psychology or psychiatry (basically, she's qualified to be a gym teacher), repeats the "N-word" several times over the air during an exchange with an African-American caller whose white husband seems to be insensitive to his friends' racial slurs in her presence. As usual, the good "doctor" responded with her trademark insensitivity, ranting about how the election of the first (half) black President should basically silence the debate about race in this country, conveniently forgetting the Obama-as-witch-doctor posters, the insane threats on his and his family's lives, and the general racist tone among his opponents. Never addressing the caller's problem, Dr. Laura proceeded with a rant about First Amendment rights and the acceptability of "nigger" among the black populace.
Dr. (and I use this title loosely) S, of course, after the expected outrage, had to apologize, much like after one of her frequent anti-homosexual rants of a few years ago. She then, on Larry King Live, that bastion of hard-hitting interviewing, announced that she was abandoning her radio career, as she felt that she needed to be able to exercise her First Amendment freedom of speech rights without the specter of all of her opponents' hovering over her. Even the senescent Larry King seemed dumbfounded by her stupid rationale, as hopefully were most viewers.
I first caught Dr. Laura many years ago on local radio. At the time, she seemed to be a "tough love" kind of gal, and I found myself agreeing with her on many of her responses to callers. Matter of fact, logical. But at some point, this woman slipped around the bend. Her rants against gay folks were not only philosophical, but apparently personal and introspective. Might have had something to do with her amateur nudie films from the 70s that surfaced a few years back. I don't know. I don't pretend to be a professional therapist, unlike her. But as time went on, I couldn't continue to listen. Especially after witnessing the rise of hate radio in the 80s--the Limbaughs, Hannitys, Levins, Ingrahams, et. al. The vehemence of her attitudes toward people who legitimately sought her advice was just too much.
I'm sure Ms. Laura will succeed. There are enough right wing nuts in this country, bred of an anti-government and anti-progressive (and definitely anti-critical thinking) groups who would love to have her speak. She'll do well, and maybe be more successful on the lecture circuit than she was before this. As P.T. Barnum said, there's a sucker born every minute.
On to President Obama. This administration seems to have an uncanny knack for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Witness Mr. Obama's recent proclamation of the majesty of the First Amendment regarding the "Ground Zero Mosque" (actually, a Muslim community center with a prayer room which is to be located three blocks from the Twin Towers site). The President stated simply that the freedom of religion allowed Americans of all faiths to worship freely; his support for this simple, yet basic, American concept was eloquent and simple.
Fast forward a couple of days, as the usual spew of vitriol from the hate media made its scheduled appearance. POTUS backed away from his earlier remarks in a particularly clumsy fashion, stating that he was not referring to the location of the "mosque", only of the overall concept of freedom of religion. So much for the "inspirational leader" for whom a majority of Americans voted two years ago.
The President, on the campaign trail in 2008, gave a wonderful speech regarding the state of race relations in America. He might want to give another one, particularly with one-fifth of his countrymen believing him to be a Muslim, which not only speaks to the "dumbing down" of America, but also to the climate of fear of that mysterious "other" so well cultivated by the Bush Administration. I think it's time for our first African-American President to revisit this issue and confront the hate being fomented by those who would divert us from the real issues confronting us.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Jet Blue Dude and the state of the American worker
By now, of course, everyone has experienced the fifteen minutes of fame of Steven Slater, Jet Blue's poster boy for customer service and "angry young flight attendant". While a bit of a seriocomic episode in these tough economic times, there are a few lessons to be learned.
A bit of examination into Mr. Slater's self-described life and career shows a somewhat eccentric guy who may have too much of a flair for the dramatic. But what we know from the media of the episode, we can glean a few things and maybe extrapolate a bit.
First, JBD reminds us once again of what modern air travel has become. I'm old enough to remember the days when flying was considered a luxury. Heck, when I was a kid, my parents dressed me up in preparation for an airline trip. The men wore coats and ties, the women wore dresses. Yes, this was the Mad Men era of the mid-Sixties, before the social upheavals later in the decade upset a lot of so-called "norms". But flying was a luxury in those days, and an air trip was considered something special.
With airline deregulation being the principal cause, something changed. You may know where I'm going with this, so will head you off right here. Yes, flying is now more affordable for more people. That's a big plus in convenience and has been of benefit to millions. (Of course, there was a price. With no requirement that airlines had to serve a certain number of cities, flying to the smaller burgs in this country can now cost about as much as a second mortgage. Ask your friends who live in, say, Omaha or Fargo.)
The trouble is, with air travel now available to the masses, a certain level of civility has been lost over the years. No, I don't rent a tux every time I go on a trip. But when I see some Goth kid boarding my flight to San Diego, I kind of wonder about things; ditto the aging Harley chick covered in tramp stamps. Things have changed, and not for the better. What was once the domain of Greyhound has expanded to our primary mode of travel.
Point Two: Where dia all these fees come from? One airline has actually started charging for carryons. Perfect. You pay to check a bag, or you pay to carry it on. Don't even start with all the other charges, a la peanuts, Coke or water. Out of control.
Solution, maybe, though an albeit unpopular one. Regulate the airlines again, requiring them to serve everyone, even in the non-New York cities. Reinstate the Civil Aeronautics Board (sorry, Gen-Xers, an old agency) but allowing the airlines to charge reasonably accurate fares to these outposts. And the airlines need to actually charge what a flight costs. Yes, this will cost some business in the short term, but can profit in the long term.
And one other thing: Build a high speed rail system. Time to institute a competition to the airlines. Every other developed country in the world has one, or at least a version of it. President Obama has proposed this, albeit in a too limited basis. But it will put people to work and give citizens an affordable alternative to the chaos in the skies. See some nice scenery, too.
And to Jet Blue Dude: Good on ya, bro. Lots of folks can't afford to just up and quit, and this little episode will probably give you your fifteen minutes as well as bit of scratch. But you might want to delete this job from your resume when you decide it's time to look for a job.
A bit of examination into Mr. Slater's self-described life and career shows a somewhat eccentric guy who may have too much of a flair for the dramatic. But what we know from the media of the episode, we can glean a few things and maybe extrapolate a bit.
First, JBD reminds us once again of what modern air travel has become. I'm old enough to remember the days when flying was considered a luxury. Heck, when I was a kid, my parents dressed me up in preparation for an airline trip. The men wore coats and ties, the women wore dresses. Yes, this was the Mad Men era of the mid-Sixties, before the social upheavals later in the decade upset a lot of so-called "norms". But flying was a luxury in those days, and an air trip was considered something special.
With airline deregulation being the principal cause, something changed. You may know where I'm going with this, so will head you off right here. Yes, flying is now more affordable for more people. That's a big plus in convenience and has been of benefit to millions. (Of course, there was a price. With no requirement that airlines had to serve a certain number of cities, flying to the smaller burgs in this country can now cost about as much as a second mortgage. Ask your friends who live in, say, Omaha or Fargo.)
The trouble is, with air travel now available to the masses, a certain level of civility has been lost over the years. No, I don't rent a tux every time I go on a trip. But when I see some Goth kid boarding my flight to San Diego, I kind of wonder about things; ditto the aging Harley chick covered in tramp stamps. Things have changed, and not for the better. What was once the domain of Greyhound has expanded to our primary mode of travel.
Point Two: Where dia all these fees come from? One airline has actually started charging for carryons. Perfect. You pay to check a bag, or you pay to carry it on. Don't even start with all the other charges, a la peanuts, Coke or water. Out of control.
Solution, maybe, though an albeit unpopular one. Regulate the airlines again, requiring them to serve everyone, even in the non-New York cities. Reinstate the Civil Aeronautics Board (sorry, Gen-Xers, an old agency) but allowing the airlines to charge reasonably accurate fares to these outposts. And the airlines need to actually charge what a flight costs. Yes, this will cost some business in the short term, but can profit in the long term.
And one other thing: Build a high speed rail system. Time to institute a competition to the airlines. Every other developed country in the world has one, or at least a version of it. President Obama has proposed this, albeit in a too limited basis. But it will put people to work and give citizens an affordable alternative to the chaos in the skies. See some nice scenery, too.
And to Jet Blue Dude: Good on ya, bro. Lots of folks can't afford to just up and quit, and this little episode will probably give you your fifteen minutes as well as bit of scratch. But you might want to delete this job from your resume when you decide it's time to look for a job.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
To Constitution or not to Constitution?
To hear our Republican "friends" in Congress, apparently every one of these esteemed Senators and Representatives are direct descendants of the Founding Fathers, dedicated to defending the sacred Constitution from every perceived threat, from gun control advocates to "activist" (i.e., "liberal") judges. These fine patriots consistently position themselves as advocates for strict interpretation of our country's founding document, fighting against the radical policies of our socialist/Fascist/Communist (take your pick) President and his allies in his quest for government takeover of America in the Congress--the Democratic Party.
Funny thing, though. Apparently there are some portions of the Constitution that don't pass muster with these great Americans and must either be ignored or changed. In the last few weeks, we've seen a few examples of this.
In my home state of Arizona, the legislature and unelected Governor enacted Senate Bill 1070, a measure that blatantly ignores the supremacy clause of the Constitution, which dictates that Federal law supersedes State and local laws; the enforcement of immigration is a Federal responsibility, but our "representatives" chose to take over this task, citing facetious threats of hordes of illegal aliens overwhelming the state and rampant crime erupting (conveniently ignoring official crime statistics showing that property and violent crimes in Arizona have decreased 40% from 1995 to 2008). The direct assault on the 14th amendment, protecting the individual against deprivation of life, liberty or property without due process of law was another facet of this piece of legislative garbage.
And the stupidity didn't stop with the local pols. Both our Senators, John McCain and Jon Kyl, defend this mess to the hilt, pandering to the loony right wing "base" which has sadly become what's left of a once-great political party. One can understand this behavior from the senescent McCain, who is locked in a primary battle with an even more ridiculous figure, former Representative J.D. Hayworth, who makes Attila the Hun look like Gandhi. But the Senate's Republican whip, Kyl, is in on the action as well. More on this below.
When a Federal district judge wisely enjoined the more onerous provisions of this law pending further judicial action, the howls from all these self-serving "patriots" naturally arose. Judge Susan Bolton was labeled as an "activist" (note that she was recommended by Kyl for appointment to the bench by President Clinton), and the knuckle-dragging loons, egged on by talk radio charlatans as well as the aforementioned public servants, began calling for her impeachment.
So, since the xenophobes have been (temporarily) thwarted in their efforts to violate the 14th, which was put into place after the Civil War to protect individual rights, what to do? Why, repeal it, of course!
None other than Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the few sane Republicans left in Congress, suggested that the 14th should be revisited; this from the guy who, along with our own McCain, was one of the few GOP proponents of real immigration reform. (Of course, this was before the Teabaggers and their corporate backers swallowed up the party. Things can change on a dime these days.) Of course, Kyl followed, following his tradition of lemming-like behavior in waiting for someone else to make a controversial point, then getting on the bandwagon. This isn't the state of Goldwater and Udall any more; real leadership is gone from the political landscape.
And back at home, state Sen. Russell Pearce, the author of SB 1070, is preparing to draft legislation which would deny citizenship to "anchor babies", those born in the United States of illegal alien parents. Again, completely ignoring the 14th Amendment and wasting taxpayer money on a clearly unconstitutional effort.
However, there's hope. SB 1070 will wind its way through the Federal court system over a long time, probably ending up in the Supreme Court; until then, and unless a higher court overturns Judge Bolton's injunction, the Hispanic citizens and legal residents of Arizona can hopefully breathe a little easier and not be concerned about being pulled over for DWB (Driving While Brown). Stay tuned.
Funny thing, though. Apparently there are some portions of the Constitution that don't pass muster with these great Americans and must either be ignored or changed. In the last few weeks, we've seen a few examples of this.
In my home state of Arizona, the legislature and unelected Governor enacted Senate Bill 1070, a measure that blatantly ignores the supremacy clause of the Constitution, which dictates that Federal law supersedes State and local laws; the enforcement of immigration is a Federal responsibility, but our "representatives" chose to take over this task, citing facetious threats of hordes of illegal aliens overwhelming the state and rampant crime erupting (conveniently ignoring official crime statistics showing that property and violent crimes in Arizona have decreased 40% from 1995 to 2008). The direct assault on the 14th amendment, protecting the individual against deprivation of life, liberty or property without due process of law was another facet of this piece of legislative garbage.
And the stupidity didn't stop with the local pols. Both our Senators, John McCain and Jon Kyl, defend this mess to the hilt, pandering to the loony right wing "base" which has sadly become what's left of a once-great political party. One can understand this behavior from the senescent McCain, who is locked in a primary battle with an even more ridiculous figure, former Representative J.D. Hayworth, who makes Attila the Hun look like Gandhi. But the Senate's Republican whip, Kyl, is in on the action as well. More on this below.
When a Federal district judge wisely enjoined the more onerous provisions of this law pending further judicial action, the howls from all these self-serving "patriots" naturally arose. Judge Susan Bolton was labeled as an "activist" (note that she was recommended by Kyl for appointment to the bench by President Clinton), and the knuckle-dragging loons, egged on by talk radio charlatans as well as the aforementioned public servants, began calling for her impeachment.
So, since the xenophobes have been (temporarily) thwarted in their efforts to violate the 14th, which was put into place after the Civil War to protect individual rights, what to do? Why, repeal it, of course!
None other than Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the few sane Republicans left in Congress, suggested that the 14th should be revisited; this from the guy who, along with our own McCain, was one of the few GOP proponents of real immigration reform. (Of course, this was before the Teabaggers and their corporate backers swallowed up the party. Things can change on a dime these days.) Of course, Kyl followed, following his tradition of lemming-like behavior in waiting for someone else to make a controversial point, then getting on the bandwagon. This isn't the state of Goldwater and Udall any more; real leadership is gone from the political landscape.
And back at home, state Sen. Russell Pearce, the author of SB 1070, is preparing to draft legislation which would deny citizenship to "anchor babies", those born in the United States of illegal alien parents. Again, completely ignoring the 14th Amendment and wasting taxpayer money on a clearly unconstitutional effort.
However, there's hope. SB 1070 will wind its way through the Federal court system over a long time, probably ending up in the Supreme Court; until then, and unless a higher court overturns Judge Bolton's injunction, the Hispanic citizens and legal residents of Arizona can hopefully breathe a little easier and not be concerned about being pulled over for DWB (Driving While Brown). Stay tuned.
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