Collapses: literal and figurative

My apologies for not updating for a week. It’s been a busy one, with getting ready for a cookout with Ken’s family yesterday (more in a moment), as well as just taking time to read and enjoy some nice summer weather. I haven’t wanted to spend much time inside on the computer! I also got word this week from my Mom that my Uncle Randy passed away, and I want to thank everyone for the kind wishes for my family. It wasn’t unexpected, but it’s still sad news to hear, especially since his wife (my Aunt Emma) passed away not that long ago. She had Alzheimer’s, and she really didn’t know Uncle Randy anymore. So it’s just kind of a sad story all the way around. My main concern was how my Mom would react (Uncle Randy was her brother), but she’s doing okay. Anyway, thank you all very much on behalf of my family.

We had Ken’s mom, stepbrother and his wife over yesterday. I made cole slaw, deviled eggs, baked beans, and Ken cooked burgers and brats. Everything turned out really well, and we were fortunate to have good weather most of the day. We were able to play some lawn games, sit out on the deck and talk, get the food cooked on the grill, and sit outside and eat it! There was a threat of inclement weather, but it held off for us. As we were finished eating, some dark clouds started to move in, and the storm came in very fast. We got inside before the skies let loose, and we played a little ping pong, pool, and Rock Band before they had to leave.

I was stunned and saddened to wake up this morning to the news about the stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair. There are plenty of questions right now, and Indiana OSHA is investigating, but it mostly looks like a huge gust of wind that toppled the stage, with no negligence involved. I can tell you that the line of storms that we shared with Indianapolis moved in very quickly, so the winds had to be high; some of these straight line winds can cause terrible damage. The footage of the collapse is horrifying to watch, but I’m very proud of so many of my fellow Hoosiers who went up to the stage to help, rather than fleeing. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. A sad day for Hoosiers.

Another collapse this past week was the stock market, although it was more like a couple of days of tanking rather than a full-out collapse. Of course, the Republicans blamed it all on President Obama, despite the fact that it was the teabagger faction of Congress that drove our country to the brink of default. Which part of Standard & Poor’s report stating that political brinksmanship was to blame for our credit downgrade, with further clarification from them later that it was specifically certain Republican lawmakers that fueled the standoff, don’t they understand? Seems like S&P were pretty clear in their report.

Tim Pawlenty’s presidential campaign collapsed yesterday when he came in a distant third in the Ames Straw Poll. When I got up this morning, I read reports that he would be dropping out of the race, and he did indeed bow out. I’m sure he was a nice guy, but he didn’t seem to have much of a grasp on economic policy (I’m no expert, either, but even I could tell that a lot of his remarks just didn’t make sense), and MAN, he was boring! It’s one thing to be nice; I like to think that for the most part, I’m a nice person. But it’s something else entirely to have no passion, no edge, no intensity or zeal whatsoever. I can definitely get fired up, as you all know quite well. Pawlenty? Yawwwwwn.

Finally, I think we saw the collapse of good sense and rationality in America when Michele Bachmann won the Straw Poll. I have to laugh about it, because it just slays me that anyone could possibly think that she could and should hold the highest office in the land. She lies about her record; her biggest legislative achievement (as she mentioned at the recent debate) was introducing a bill to repeal the recent law passed about em-effin’ light bulbs (seriously?!); she hates gays, thinks they’re going to hell, and doesn’t think that a gay couple with children qualifies as a family...I’d like to see Elton John bitchslap her; she buys into the whole biblical “wive be submissive to your husbands” bullshit (and NO, Michele, respect is not a synonym for submission...you don’t read about a Dominance & Respect fetish); and apparently she has a direct line to God, who tells her to run for office. This silly bitch wants to make our country a theocracy, with her special brand of evangelical fervor the law of the land. It just astounds me that people actually support something like that. I sometimes get angry about it, to think that anyone can be that stupid, but mostly I choose to laugh. Which is easy to do when I look at this picture. Talk about a thousand words!

Having said all that, I would LOVE it if she becomes the Republican nominee. Seeing her debate President Obama would be delightful!

Leonard Pitts had an excellent column today about finding hope in the fact that the more Americans know about the teabaggers, the less they like them. I’m not sure why it’s taking some so long to come to that realization, but at least it finally does seem to be happening. It’s become increasingly obvious that the teabaggers’ main goal is to destroy President Obama (witness Bachmann’s main talking point of “We’re going to make Barack Obama a ONE TERM PRESIDENT!” which she repeats ad nauseam) rather than putting the good of our country first and foremost. Pitts goes on to say that a certain portion of our population wants fiery rhetoric and simplistic answers. Sadly, I think he’s right. It’s easier to just listen to the catchphrases and soundbites than to take the time to read, research, and learn. I share Pitt’s optimism that the teabaggers’ influence is waning, but I retain my own pessimism when it comes to the willingness of some Americans to pay attention and take the time to go beyond what they hear from their like-minded friends and their “fair and balanced” news networks (and I use the word ‘news’ loosely there). When you’ve got a portion of America that still believes that our President wasn’t even born in this country, it’s hard to be optimistic about their intelligence, you know what I’m saying?

Get. A. Freakin’. Grip.

Imagine, if you will, this scenario. (Thanks, Twilight Zone!)

Due to changing circumstances, you decide to relocate. You move out of your home state, and start anew elsewhere. Before you leave, you gather all documentation from your home town that you will need to make your transition easier. You know that even if you don't get everything you need, all documents are on record and can be easily accessed if you need them.

When you get to your new digs, you know that one of the first things you need to do is get a drivers' license. You love to read, so you know you want to get a library card. Since your new job involves a lot of travel, including overseas, you also need to apply for a passport. You do some research and find the requirements for all of these documents and licenses: proof of residence, proof of insurance, and in the case of your passport, you need your birth certificate. No worries, you've got your shit together and have everything at hand.

Your first stop is the the Post Office for your passport. You show them a couple of bills with your new address on them, and your driver's license from your previous state. You produce your birth certificate. The guy behind the desk looks everything over and says, "I'm sorry. This won't do."

You say, "What do you mean? I've got everything right here."

He says, "I need your birth certificate."

You give him a puzzled look, wondering if he's yanking your chain. "You've got it in your hand."

He says, "This says 'certificate of live birth.' I need your birth certificate."

By now, you're starting to get a little frustrated. "It's the same thing!"

He says, "No, it's not. One is a certificate of live birth. The other is a birth certificate. How is that the same? Besides, this doesn't look like my birth certificate."

Gritting your teeth, you say, "There is no national standardized birth certificate. Every state is different. This is what my state issued when I was born."

He says, "Whatever. I still need your birth certificate. Come back when you can show me that."

Stunned, you realize it's impossible to convince the man. You go home and think on it for a while, and come up with the brilliant idea of getting a copy of the newspaper that contained your birth announcement. You do a little online research, and for a small fee, you are able to access those archives and print out your announcement. Surely, you think, this in combination with my birth certificate, or certificate of live birth--whatever!--will do the trick, and maybe I'll get lucky and have a different guy tomorrow.

No such luck. Same guy, and as soon as you walk in, he's giving you the stink-eye. "You again. Do you have your birth certificate this time, or are you going to waste my time...again?"

"Well, sir," you say, "I still only have my certificate of live birth. There really isn't another--this is the real deal. See the official seal there at the bottom? I found a little more information, though, and I think this will convince you." You triumphantly produce the printout of your birth announcement, and lay it on the desk in front of him.

"What's this?" he asks.

"It's from the local newspaper where I was born. It's my birth announcement."

He laughs heartily. "Son, this doesn't prove diddly-squat. Anybody with half a brain can make a mockup of a birth announcement and print it out."

"But...but...you can go online and look it up in the archives yourself! It's not a fake printout--it came from the paper!"

He stops laughing. "You know what? You seem like a decent enough guy, and I'm going to give you a break. I'm going to send this application through, but let me tell you one thing: I still don't really believe these pieces of paper. I think you're making it up, or you paid somebody off to try to make it look real. You're not fooling me, but I'm not going to keep you from getting your passport, because you need it to do your job. But mark my words, son. Not everyone is going to be as forgiving as I am. There may come a time when you remember my words, and will wish that you could get your hands on your birth certificate. Don't come cryin' to me about it, because I'm trying to help you here." He stamps your application as Approved and places it in his outgoing box. "Now go on, get out of here."

You manage to close your open jaw and mutter "Thank you, sir," turn and walk out. As you look back on the surreal encounter, you realize that you have just made a narrow escape from...the Twilight Zone.

Such is the lunacy of the Birfer or Birther folks, those who believe that President Obama is not eligible to be President because he has not produced his birth certificate. He has. They just don't believe that it's valid. As Leonard Pitts put it in his excellent column on the matter, "Yours truly lacks the acumen to calculate how stupid you'd have to be to believe there is a shred of a shred of a piece of a fraction of validity to their claim."

I suppose that you can forgive the poor workin' joe (I wonder if Joe the Plumber is on board with the Birthers?) who doesn't have the capacity to comprehend the truth of the matter, but how to explain some GOP lawmakers who are still apparently unconvinced? Or a CNN talking head who although he says he believes Obama is a citizen, keeps asking for proof? As my fictional bureaucrat says, mark my words, GOP. Distance yourself from this lunatic fringe, or risk being known as the party of wingnuts. There is no logic to this strange story, and I can only speculate that for whatever reasons (racist? stubbornness? idiocy?) they simply cannot accept that Obama won the election and is now their President. It's time to straighten your tinfoil caps, put this baby to bed, and look to your future. The credibility of your party depends on it.

Trying to understand

[sigh]

I don't really want to write about this...but feel I need to.

This morning, I read a column that my pal Lisa had posted on Facebook. It was from the Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts, and I know he's one of Lisa's favorites. He's one of mine, too. I always find his columns thought-provoking, and I think he tries to get people to understand where others might be coming from. This particular column from Pitts was about the recent arrest of Professor Gates and the subsequent brouhaha, culminating tonight (at least for now) in what is being called the Beer Summit, when the President, Prof. Gates, and Officer Crowley sit down at the White House for a beer and some talk. My friend Milwaukee Dan #1 is calling it Beer Bong Thursday, and I kind of like that!

Anyhoo, Lisa's thread got a little out of control (partly my fault) when someone posted that they thought the police did nothing wrong, then someone else posted that they felt it was mishandled and Gates should never have spent four hours in jail, then I posted and said that it's naive to think that race did not play a part in this, even if it was a matter of assumptions on the part of the neighbor, or on the part of the police...then the original poster wrote that they always side with the police and that they think Gates was the racist here.

[sigh]

That made me a little sore. I wrote that I suspect my cousin might disagree with such blind faith in the police, since he was shot in the back of the head on his prom night by a police officer, who dumped his body in the woods. He would probably disagree with that...but he's dead. Lisa, I apologize if things got out of hand, and just say the word and I'll remove my comments. My cousin was indeed murdered by a police officer about 40 years ago, and it's something that my family rarely talks about because it was and still is so painful. Apparently there was a girl involved...my cousin was dating a girl that the cop had a thing for, and none of us will ever know exactly what happened that night. The cop did go to jail, though. For about a year. ONE YEAR.

Maybe that's why I tend to not have blind faith in any given profession. There are crummy accountants, crummy doctors, crummy microbiologists, and yeah...there are crummy policemen. I think the majority are not, and I have great respect for those who protect and serve. But I'm certainly not going to assume that they were in the right merely because they were wearing a badge and uniform. I'm not saying that the officer involved here was racist, or that he's a crummy officer, because I just don't know. It's also quite possible that Gates over-reacted, but I think Mr. Pitts was trying to make a point that so many people just don't seem to get. Those of us who are not black will never understand the fear that blacks carry with them because of racist behavior on the part of others. How can we know that? We can't. I would imagine that the frustration of trying to get into his own house (apparently after returning from an overseas trip and probably travel-fatigued) and having the cops called on him was maybe just the final straw.

Can we not put ourselves in his shoes? Maybe it was all finally too much, and he snapped and yelled at the cop. I just don't know, because I wasn't there. The police reports say that he was belligerent and shouting at them. The fact of the matter is that racist behavior has taken place in our past and is still taking place today. Wouldn't that make you have a bit of a chip on your shoulder? It sure would me.

Ken and I watched a movie the other night called "The Great Debaters" with Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker. It was excellent, and I highly recommend it. It tells the story (based on truth) of a black Southern college debate team in 1935. Part of the movie deals with the racism they sometimes faced, and in one scene, as the team is driving to another college for a debate, they come upon a lynching, a man hung from a tree and set on fire. The lynchers spot them in the car and go after them. This is part of our history, people. A shameful one, but it cannot be denied. Do we honestly think we can say, "Oh, that was in the past--get over it already" and people will say, "You know what? You're right." We may not see lynchings today, thank goodness, but there is still mistreatment and racism happening. The racism ingrained in those people who would string up a man and set him on fire does not disappear with a snap of the fingers.

The election of a black man to the Presidency seems to have stirred up many of those feelings again. I get the impression that President Obama welcomes the dialogue, and his speech on race was quite eloquent. I believe that we do need to talk about this and make it, as the President said, a teaching moment. Part of the process needs to be to understand that the experiences of white Americans are different than that of black Americans or Latino Americans or other ethnic groups. I cannot say that I know what it feels like to fear that I will be stopped by the police for the color of my skin. But I acknowledge that it does happen to others, and that is a fear that others carry around with them every second of every day. To ignore this is to lack empathy for what others have had to deal with in their lives, and are still dealing with.

To top it all off, we get this from Glenn Beck:

Hey, Beck? Fuck you. And the horse you rode in on. No, not the horse...I like horses. So fuck you two times. How dare he say such a thing? I've sent my email to Faux News saying that Beck owes the President an apology and every single American an apology. His remarks are incredibly offensive. They're also incredibly stupid and full of shit. In the space of a few seconds, he goes from saying "Obama hates white people" to "I'm not saying he dislikes white people" to "Obama is a racist." What the fuck? Pardon my language, but this is the kind of crap that needs to stop. Do I believe that being Caucasian is a requirement for being a racist? No. There are racists of all colors and stripes. But for some pasty-faced blow hard to start calling Barack Obama a racist is the height of ignorance and does our country no favors. If you would also like to voice your displeasure, you can write to Fox at yourcomments@foxnews.com. This insanity is inflammatory and needs to stop.

Okay, I think I'm done. I guess I'd reached my snapping point, too, and had to write about it. My plan is to return to lighter fare tomorrow...of course, at Nutwood, anything can happen!