Wales2004

Mitt Romney has no choice but to get the far right groups the pro-life VP candidate that they find acceptable. There doesn't seem to be any real enthusiasm for him at all. He can benefit from the Republican's anti-Obama sentiment since they seem to care more about getting rid of Barack Obama than they do about Mitt Romney, and this is an understatement. He can also benefit from voter apathy and of course, the voter I.D. laws that they cooked up for him. His people do risk riling up the apathetic though. The whole C. Rice business is probably meant to distract the liberal media from their fixation on Bain. Since they're already viewing it as a ruse, it's unlikely to do him much good.

Some of the analysts on MSNBC suggested prior to and continue to suggest that his appearance is about his white voters. He supposedly showed them that he's not afraid to stand up to black people by referring to the AHCA as "Obamacare." I think they may be reading too much into it. He's just following today's political handbook in terms of showing up at certain events. He's not going to be any more at home there than he seems to be at most places since being around people in general seems to take him way out of his comfort zone. I'm still trying to figure out why he even wants to be President. He doesn't appear to be an idealist nor does he seem to be politically savvy. It's almost as if he has some list that says he should accomplish something his father didn't and he's going to just keep trying until he does. He's going to be a constant reminder of how terrible the Republican party is at finding Presidential candidates. They're pretty lucky that George and Barbara gave them two sons and the Democrats mess up as well. They're batting 1000 in the guys we don't really like category. John McCain and now the reject of that last bunch. The only fire they can generate is the "kill Obama" fire and it's laughable that Ann Romney was whining about "kill Mitt' considering her party only really cares about "kill Obama" and nothing about her precious Mitt.

The sad part about ESPN's monopoly on sports is how they overhype events and athletes. Andy Murray is not all that. The entire nation wasn't rooting for him.....the entire Wimbledon crowd wasn't even rooting for him. They can just be glad that a bloke from Liverpool won in doubles. Maybe one day they'll have a really great tennis star. I wouldn't pin my hopes on Andy Murray at all. Jo-Wilfred Tsonga should slap himself for "fearing" Murray and worst of all, publicly saying so. Some things should be kept to oneself. I watched Sunday without rooting for either. The sad story of Andy Murray's home town didn't make me want to root for him. I'm no fan of Roger Federer's but I can appreciate his achievements but greatest ever.....? That's not even like John McEnroe calling Serena Williams the greatest women's player ever. I don't know about that but there is no doubt about her serve when it's on. American tennis wouldn't even be a blip on the radar if it weren't for Serena and Venus, no matter who doesn't like them. They've kept America with champions. The men are still off by the wayside.

CNN has basically lost its way. MSNBC is similar to ESPN when it comes to their shows. They all beat you down with the same topics on just about every show. I'll watch MSNBC because it's way more tolerable than Fox News for me. I don't think I can watch an entire hour of any of their shows though because it's like rinse and repeat. Lawrence O'Donnell irritates me when he gets on his "I'm going to educate you about religion" kick but I find him over the top anyway. Between him and Martin Bashir's total adoration of Barack Obama,,,,, Anyway, the jet ski saga reminds me of the day Hilary Rosen dared to say that Ann Romney didn't know what it was like to work and raise kids. I knew that she meant leave the house and go to a job and that she wasn't putting down motherhood but to hear the idiotic media tell the tale was surreal. I was certain for that week to follow that I was in an alternative universe where all the dumb people had taken over. Sadly, that universe still exists to some degree. At least they're not still milking that. Ever since I saw the clip of Wolf Blitzer insisting that Hilary Rosen apologize, I find it difficult to listen to him say anything at all. I could barely take many of those "journalists" seriously in the first place so this sort of thing only makes it worse. I know we live in an age where everyone on television is a celebrity, but I honestly don't need to know the personal opinions or business of the people reading the news. And I don't need to hear all the quotes from twitter. I feel sorry for this social media generation because they will never know what real news is. That ship sailed.

The jet skiing isn't a bad thing. I don't think people should find that problematic but we live in a society where people can be "made" to resent just about anything whether they actually care about it or not. The offshore accounts are a problem. No matter how you cut and slice it, it seems very odd that someone who wants to preside over a nation would have his money in other countries.

Max, I am too lazy to go back and check on this so forgive me if I'm wrong but I believe I read that you took issue with the NAACP not saying anything about voter fraud regarding Charles Rangel. His opponent is Dominican. It might interest you to know that Charles Rangel's father was a Puerto Rican immigrant so I guess he can also claim to be a black and Hispanic. I know that doesn't change whatever your issue is though.

If we're absolutely honest then aren't we all a little racist or racialist in some way? Once the concept of race is introduced to us, it's hard to say that it does not shape our opiinions of each other in some fashion. Look how easily we lump people into categories as if they are all the same people simply because they have race or nationality in common. Latinos are people of various races and various nationalities. In politics they are referred to as one monoloithic group despite the fact they are not. Cuba, Mexico, and the Dominican, for example, do not have the same traditions and food associated with them but they're discussed as one united group of people despite the differences. Asians are lumped together as if Japan and China are the exact same country. People easily disregard the fact that a black man from Ethiopia is not the same person as a black man from America. Race discussions are very rarely logical. They tend to be emotional and people generally enter into those discussions with preconceived notions and in a defensive mode. People tend to react to what they think someone else is thinking (whether they've read the person right or not) and the other person in turn reacts defensively. Once you've set up the antagonism, there is no middle ground. When a person is accused of racism, if he doesn't defend himself then aha, that proves he is a racist. But if he defends himself or does it too much, then that proves he's a racist as well. Once you're labeled a racist then you might as well throw your hands up and let the label stick because there's no way around it. Race isn't complicated. People complicae it by trying to intellectualize an idiotic exclusionary classification. Once upon a time, the southern segregation laws put every black person who traveled to the south in the same boat in America. Thoughts cannot be legislated. Outside of race, black Americans don't all have any singular bond of which I am aware. Everyone isn't poor, undeducated and living in the ghetto. Everyone isn't running from the police and on crack. Everyone isn't aspiring to be in the NBA or a rapper. Pseudo-black leaders contribute just as much to perpetuating this false image of the entire black American population as white radical conservatives do. Two races of men on the opposite side of the fence achieving the same goal. When Bill Cosby stood up to try to encourage those who fit the shoes, so to speak, to use correct grammar and get educated, he was attacked by the pseudo-intellectuals who were more concerned about public image than addressing any real issues. Now they can make a career out of appearing on shows as analysts so the problems need never go away. My ranting means nothing to anyone but me. I would ask that when a person comes into what appears to be a loaded topic, that he/she considers what baggage he/she is bringing into that discussion. We should all try to be honest about our parts in inflaiming certain topics and that includes us dragging our baggage into other threads. And my intention is not to pick on anyone so please don't read anything other than my very simple statement. In the interest of full disclosure, there is one topic which gets me bent and that is when a GH soap character to which I have no particular affinity gets labeled in what I see as a derragotary manner. I contend that she's a victim of poor writing and blind hate. Other than that, I am all about harmony.

Considering that the special California voters brought back Jerry Brown, I cannot rule out AV but maybe Gavin Newsome wants to be next. He seems to be popping up on cable TV more and he's got a new show on Current. Antonio Villaraigosa first put me off when he manipulated the misguided students who ditched school to protest immigration laws and adversely affected downtown traffic. I should probably be more compassionate about traffic and I am working on that. Anyway, immigration is a federal issue so they should have been marching in front of the INS building which is blocks away from City Hall. He saw an opportunity to take advantage of the situation and invited some of them into City Hall for the cameras, knowing full well that he has nothing at all to do with immigration laws. I also do not like how his last name is a combination of his name Villa and his ex-wife's name Raigosa. That must sting her family a lot since he cheated on her and public adultery adds a layer of embarassment to an affair.

I know you've never pretended to like him. I'm no fan of his. I cannot even think of a politician off the top of my head that I actually find decent but I guess I'm jaded right now. What I try not to do though, is hate because it won't get me where I want to go. The politician who turns my stomach the most right now is the mayor of Los Angeles. Antonio Villaraigosa. He's all kinds of disgusting but he's not worthy of any of my emotions.

I want to comment on the names without quoting anyone. Willard is Mitt Romney's real name is it not? I can understand why he would go with Mitt instead of Willard because it sounds like the name of a pet. But then Mitt sounds like gloves but it works in a Biff kind of way and is preferable, imo, to Willard but he could definitely make Willard work for him. Barry, on the other hand, is not Barack Obama's real name. It's one of those things you let people call you before you stand up and take pride in your real name....like when people call Susan Susie and then one day Susan feels grown up and starts telling people to stop calling her Susie because she's not a little girl anymore. Unless a person is in Barack Obama's inner-circle or he's said that he prefers to be called Barry then I think it's disrespectful to call him Barry. I know people called George W. Bush, W.. I prefer to call Presidents by their first and last names or their last names, but I avoid first names only. Whenever I read or hear Barack Obama referred to as Barry, it indicates a special level of disdain. Mitt Romney's not the President so calling him Willard cannot even compare to Barry, but Barack would be a more applicable comparison.

You're welcome! And now this is totally unrelated but I feel like bidding farewell to The Dylan Ratigan Show. I hardly knew ye but I shall miss the rare occasion when I would turn on MSNBC and see someone not talking about the same things as everyone else. I cannot understand why that sycophant Toure is part of the replacement show.

Venus Williams went quickly. Somewhere on ESPN someone has to be asking if she's done. I don't know if she is but according to PTI, Roger Federer was done several years ago.

Reading something like this makes me sad because it's this way of thinking that makes race in America seem as if it's taken a great number of steps backwards. As long as every black person in America continues to be seen as nolthing but black then it doesn't matter how open minded, liberal, and charitable the people seeing them this way are. The message is still the same: "I'll like you, help you" or whatever else you may insert here "even if/though you are black because I'm a good/decent/liberal/open minded person but you're not a human like I am and the fact that I can look past your being black makes me a better person." This places the onus on black people to ignore the way they are perceived in society and that does not seem to be easy for some so it's a cycle. The more aware people become in terms of discussions and labels, etc., the more regressive society becomes. Now you may not mean all black people but because you go on to mention enslavement which I think is a term that the segment of the black American population mires themselves in to their detriment, it seems that way to me. Barack Obama does not have any slave history. Just like every white American isn't a descendant of the pilgrims, every black American is not the descendant of slaves. America has its share of non-enslaved black immigrants and even the black immigrants that may have slave ancestry have a different history than those black Americans with slave ancestry. All of this matters. It's more likely that some black people support Barack Obama out of racial solidarity. People that are inclined to do that don't necessarily have to feel anything for the black person behind whom they've chosen to stand. What they are really doing is trying to defeat the white enemy which right now seems to be the Republicans who are perceived as persecuting Barack Obama. Anyway, black voters in this country tend to be Democrats so it's still astonishing that anyone wants to make a big deal out of black people voting for Barack Obama. There's this need to ignore that there have been other black Presidential candidates running as Democrats who did not fare as well with black voters. It ignores the fact that a percentage of black voters supported Hilary Clinton before they jumped on the Barack Obama bandwagon. It ignores the fact that Barack Obama's team ran a good voter registration camplaign. And, it implies that if the Republicans ever have a Presidential candidate who happens to be black that the black voters would see themselves in him/her and cross party lines just to vote "black." Best of all, it makes the false assumption that white voters never vote on the basis of race. I believe that those individual black Americans who are preoccupied with white people and busy believing they know what white people are thinking and reacting to it, will be better off when they stop. This preoccupation is what really holds a lot of people back and the more that I listen to people discuss race in America, the more convinced I am. And just so I am clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having slave ancestry. The problem that I see is when people use it as justification for not trying. It can't be that people that were never born slaves whine and complain so much about their ancestors who had it so much worse. If they care so much about their ancestors then they should honor them by trying to make something of themselves. If Harriet Tubman sat around and complained about all the things that she couldn't do because she's black and how the white man is holding her back (and in her case it was physically true), there would have been no Underground Railroad. People are so mentally weak today that I feel sorry for the generations to come who are being spoon fed whining.

IA with you on Marco Rubio being overhyped. I don't think that you're being racist but the fact that anyone sees him as white is an example of how fluid race is in America. Now it's how a person looks but then some other time it's about a person's background. It's interesting that people who once were not accepted such as the Irish and Italians can now just blend right in with no problem. Things can change drastically between now and then but as of now, I don't believe Marco Rubio would make that much of a dent in terms of Hispanic voters. Right now America seems to be touting Latino as a race which would put Marco Rubio on the outside because his Cuban background serves him best in Florida. The people that see themselves as brown won't all embrace him simply because he's Hispanic. Plus the Democrats have enough time to develop their own Latino star. The two names that pop up on the potential V.P. list that I don't see as real options are Marco Rubio and Bobby Jindahl. I'm still waiting for the people who suggest Bobby Jindahl to provide at least one reason why they think that Mitt Romney would see him as a legitimate option.

Last week in politics Darrell Issa tried to get to the bottom of what happened to cause the death of a border patrol agent. Oh right he didn't. Wait, he tried to get to the bottom of why the AG's office sent a letter with "false" or "incorrect" information on the matter. Oops he didn't do that either. The sad part about politics is that the public is easily duped into believing that the Republicans and Democrats are really doing what they appear to be doing, while the facts get buried elsewhere. As far as I understand it, he wants Eric Holder to look responsible for a practice that fell under the previous AG's office or which the previous AG was aware and did not inform him. But because he can't directly pin it on Eric Holder, he's going after him for not providing emails and other correspondence which came well after the practice was halted and after documentation pertaining to the letter was provided. Californians definitely need to get rid of both him and Nancy Pelosi but considering that Jerry Brown managed to get re-elected as Governor, I am surely living in a state where I'm surrounded by a lot of "special" people. Maybe the whole nation is full of "special" voters.

The hypocrisy of politics seems to be on full display in this election season. If the Republicans succeed in having Eric Holder convicted of a misdemeanor, their plan still revolves around the idea that the American voting public should choose a basically non-descript individual since they aren't capable of coming up with a strong candidate. How hard can it be for them to produce a candidate that they like and feel strongly enough about to endorse enthusiastically. They weren't that happy about John McCain and instead of using their energy to build up a better candidate, they wasted so much time on the mission to break Barack Obama that they have this light weight with seemingly no backbone.

I don't believe that we're talking about the same thing or perhaps we are but are misunderstanding each other. I will try to be as brief as possible because it's not my intention to derail this thread with a non-political topic. I apologize in advance to everyone for doing this. I don't believe in race. It's one of those things on which this society seems to thrive but I have grown and continue to grow into one of those who think people are people. Just as a rose by another name would smell as sweet, a person with another skin tone is just another person. Race is clearly not about skin tone though because there are plenty of people who are "blacker" looking than some black people, but they are not labeled "black." Barack Obama with a white mother and black father and a light skin tone is black and Bobby Jindahl who is not black looks more black than he. Unless I am mistaken, Barack Obama went in search of his black identity. Why he thought he'd find it in Chicago is beyond me. His father was Kenyan not American and there is a huge difference between the two. He learned how to be a "black American," and if a person has to be taught how to be black then how can that be genuine? It operates from the false premise that all black Americans think, speak, believe and act the same. The premise is false. England and France are both in Europe. Yet we do not expect a white French man and a white English man to speak the same language or honor the same traditions. We don't expect a white American to be the same as a white English man. But we do expect that all the black people are the same person despite the differences in language, traditions, etc. And apparently all black people are destined to be labeled as "African-American" even if they never step foot in this country. The ignorance of race runs deep. America is a one nation and people should look at it as such. Anyone born in this country should not hyphenate his or her nationality. There is no "black America" or "black community." There are Americans who are black who don't all see eye to eye on anything and everything. I listened to Shirley Sherrod essentially say that Barack Obama did not know what it was like to be black because of the way he was raised which means that black people can only be black if they are raised a certain way. It's complete and utter nonsense.

There could have also been the fear of President Sarah Palin. If John McCain happened to be younger then she may not have been a liability. Barack Obama isn't even African-American by the definition that I've seen touted as true but people who incorrectly use that term interchangeably with black claim him. I find him to be extremely confused on the topic of race unless he's merely playing a political game. I tend to believe that all those politicians who use that coded language that is racial in nature, are merely maniplulating the ignorant people. Republicans, for instance, appeal to certain base individuals who have nothing at all in common with the leaders of their parent but are so blinded by their misguided belief that they are the "real Americans," that they support them no matter what. I think the race game is one of the ugliest parts of this political process and it's shameful that people who claim to love America and care about its future, would selfishly damage young people in that way.

I don't think it's right that people vote on the basis of group solidarity while overlooking significant factors. However, people do just that. There's a difference between acknowledging that it occurs and finding it an acceptable practice. It also doesn't negate the fact that black people are always depicted as doing things simply because they are black and for no other reason. No one is adamant that black voters voted for other Democrats who ran for office on the basis of race so it speaks volumes about racialism and this not being anywhere near a post-racial society that this is seen as the only reason a voter who happens to be black would vote for Barack Obama. I am not in any way suggesting that there may not have been voters who registered to vote just to vote for him because he's black but to place any voter who was a life long Democrat in that category simply because he or she is black, shows a high level of ignorance in those who do. The same can be said of other Presidents but I was not speaking of any general disrespect along usual party lines, I am talking about the kind of disrespect that leads to his being called a liar while he's speaking and having someone from Tucker Carlson's site interrupting him before he finishes speaking. George Bush probably had hecklers and I know he had a shoe thrown at him but I don't recall his being interrupted in front of Congress or on the White House Lawn, etc in that manner. I am no fan of politicians but Barack Obama cannot beat Bill Clinton in the sleaze department. Both he and Hilary Clinton vehemently denied that he had an affair with Genefer (sp?) Flowers and basically painted her as the worst kind of liar when they were the ones lying. Monica Lewinsky and the countless others make him it for me. Eliot Spitzer is running slightly behind and John Edwards is right up there too. We clearly have a different view on sleaze. I would imagine that people who expected more from him would be more disappointed in him as opposed to disliking him. Letdown I see but hatred on that basis, I don;t. The majority of the contempt for Barack Obama comes from a racial place. There are people who may not want to come to grips with the fact that they are angry that a "black" man is the POTUS and they can disguise that contempt however they want and attribute it to other factors that would be less politically incorrect. I found George W. Bush a disappointment but he still seems like a nice guy and he made me laugh at times. The problem was that he came across as a bumbling twit which does not look good on a President. Barack Obama is a big disappointment to me but for different reasons than George W. Bush. I probably expected more from Barack Obama than I did from good ole George W. Bush though and that's my problem and not either of theirs. I didn't for a minute believe in that clever Change slogan so that's not the problem. I recognized the politician in Barack Obama back then. Mitt Romney keeps me from being harder on Barack Obama, simply because Mitt Romney sells his soul on a regular basis. Right now I cannot justify voting for either and I am not in the mood to play the lesser of two evil games. I want both parties to start running better candidates but I am guessing that the Republicans will contiune to regress and the Democrats will look more sane as a result.

I don't know why I feel like diving it today (maybe it's because I've got iPod blues), but I won't categorize it as racist. Where I disagree with the OP (and I'm not limiting myself to this one topic), is that skin color is the only qualification Barack Obama has/had. Obviously, Bobby Jindahl is a lot darker than Barack Obama and he's not President. It's flat out stupid to suggest that every person who voted for Barack Obama had his father in mind (since that is the person that makes him black yes? In the land of the free, a biracial person with a black parent has to be black unless that person's skin tone makes him/her ambiguous enough to be mistaken for white and then the person does not have to be black unless he/she wants to be because that's how idiotic race in America happens to be) Racism and racialism in America constantly shackles the minds of the people who buy into it so that they are emotional, reactionary, and speculate at a high rate about the results of given situations f the party had been black or white. Thus, we have the speculation that a white man with as limited a D.C. politcal background as Barack Obama would not have been considered to run for President. Just because the Republicans are prone to running a bunch of old geezers for President does not mean they might not go for an otherwise inexperienced fresh face. Ricky Rubio isn't exactly rolling in experience but he's being touted for VP and I know that it's not the same thing as running for President but it's a heart beat away from that office. Unfortunately black people in America (whether American or not) tend to be trapped by the small minded people's belief that black people are monolithic and constantly basking in racial solidarity. The media does a good job of painting that picture and finding the type of people like Al Sharpton, etc who gladly perpetuate it because it's to their benefit to pretend that the millions of black people in America share the same brain. It also goes a long way to making black people appear to be stupid. Racialists tend to bypass the fact that black American voters tend to vote Democrat so that they can make it seem like some racial thing that those same black voters who voted for all the white Democrats for President chose to vote for Barack Obama. Anyway, so what if there are people who voted for Barack Obama because of race? Is anyone equally concerned that others voted against him because of race meaning they voted for McCain because of his race? I am certain that there are going to be people who essentially sell their souls to vote for Mitt Romney when they don't believe in his integrity, simply because he's white and that does not seem to be a problem either. Barack Obama is no more contemptible than some of those other politicians so the level of animosity directed towards him is disturbing as well as the level of disrespect towards his office. Bill Clinton may have created a problem for Hilary Clinton in her 2008 bid but she didn't do herself any favors when she made that hardworking Americans comment.

According to LAT, Cissy Houston is planning on writing Nippy's memoir for the fans. So that's a reality show and a book.

I keep listening to Chrissy DePauw and the Honey Escape "Perfectly Human" http://followchrissy...ly-human#lyrics

I saw a little of this show last year and knew it wasn't my cup of tea. I don't know why people are insisting that these women are a bad representation of anybody but themselves. People really need to get a grip. I read the LA Times article in which Shaunie O'Neal tries to distance herself from the monster she created but running to the pastor won't do the trick. He may stand up and say this isn't what Sister Shaunie wanted when she pitched this idea but she did want some form of fireworks. She knew she had kids when she was thinking about the money and all the things she could buy so she cannot exactly wash her hands of the whole thing and claim innocence. So Roland Martin and his cronies won't have her over to complain about why her show is higher rated then some popularity contest that he thinks sends a better message. Why do adults need to watch shows to get messages anyway? Shouldn't that come with parenting? If parents are afraid that these women are going to teach young girls how to curse, fight, and gold dig then block the channel or don't get satellite or cable and restrict the sites they visit on the internet and limit their cell phone coverage. Or even try talking to the girls and setting good examples for them. Don't let Royce and Tami raise your children. It's that simple.

Ain't No Stopping Us Now - McFadden and Whitehead We Are the Champions - Queen Celebration - Kool and the Gang We Are Family - Sister Sledge 1999 - Prince Flesh for Fantasy - Billy Idol I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down - Paul Young The Edge of Heaven - Wham I Think I Love You - The Partridge Family This is How a Heart Breaks - Rob Thomas Lovestoned - Justin Timberlake

Double Vision by Foreigner and 17 Days by Prince