First Lady of Everything

Here’s the official White House Portrait of the First Lady Michelle Obama. I just have three words: Beautiful. Elegant. Classy.

 

It makes this seem utterly ridiculous:

They compared you to the former First Lady Jackie Onassis—that really says something.
Well, it says something that they compared me, but it’s very true. I wore only designer clothes at that time and I think that was true of Jackie.  I never had a Michelle Obama desire; it was not a part of our culture to aspire to Wal-Mart.  We were different people then, we were very much about luxury and glamour.  I understand completely how the culture has changed to produce this incredible young woman and her husband, the President of the United States and his wife.  But, that was not what the culture was when “Claudine” was being fashioned into a film.—Diahann Carroll

those that have swagger and those that don’t

President Obama just gave his first speech to Congress tonight and I must say I was impressed. Hitting on his major campaign themes, the President laid out his plan for America using a three pronged approach: To improve education, establish a national health care system, and develop a clean and sustainable energy policy. He talked of renewal, rebuilding, and re-establishing; all of the themes necessary to assure a nervous electorate that he knows what he’s doing, and that someday the storm shall pass. It worked with the Representatives and Senators in the room. There was more standing and clapping going on in that chamber than at church on Sunday. There were whoops and shouts and smiles. I almost expected to see Aretha and her excellent hat make an appearance. Even John McCain managed to stand and put his hands together and make noise once or twice. Wow.

That’s swagger. The President was confident and cool. He made the right jokes as well outlining the seriousness of the situation facing this country in simple and direct terms . Plus, he looked pretty natty in his red (power color) striped tie. He took swagger in the palm of his skinny hand and threw it right out of the park.

And then there was the Republican response given by Louisiana Governor, Bobby Jindal. If there was a such a term as “non-swagger” in the dictionary, Jindal’s picture would be placed right beside it, and his speech would be highlighted in bold AND italics as a glaring example of “non-swaggerdom”.
Starting with odd entrance, he began to drone on about his dad finding a job from the yellow pages, some old guy yelling something, government is bad, taxes are bad, and Hurricane Katrina. Rather typical Republican response-tone deaf and out of touch. I couldn’t help but focus on the visuals, though. Jindal looked stiff and completely unfamiliar with the teleprompter. There were times when you could actually see his eyes move back and forth. His awe shucks cadence was more like Barney Fife than future Republican Nominee. Even if Opie and and Andy came down the staircase and waved goodnight, it wouldn’t have helped.
I knew they had to do it. I mean with all the whining and winging that the Republicans have engaged in for the past two weeks, but honestly (and Lord forgive me for saying so), I’d rather have had Bible Spice on the screen giving a wink and a smile.

BTW, did you hear Chris Matthews exclaim, “Oh God” when Jindal walked out? He obviously knew the train wreck was a-coming.

Jindal: Swagger Fail.

hey pot, kettle called and he wants you to stop calling him black.

This is just pure craziness right here…

What Crazy McStupid fails to mention is:

• Obama did indeed provide a copy of his birth certificate and the Secretary of Health of the state of Hawaii confirmed it’s authenticity
• This “Kenyan relative” is a myth. And it’s nothing more than an Internet rumor from a fringe website. For a man who values logic, quoting unsubstantiated internet rumors seems a bit crazy. But then again, that’s the theme here.
• Obama has stated that he supports a woman’s choice. Just because you are pro-life, it doesn’t mean that you advocate infanticide. By repealing Bush’s measures, he is indeed supporting a woman’s fundamental right to choose as granted by the Supreme Court.
• Where’s the video of Keyes’ attacking the previous administration’s stimulus bills? Where was his anger when Bush and his homeboys were borrowing from China and spending money like water? I’m searching?………still looking…….
• This video must be his submission for the “looniest wignut contest for 2008″ and you know what, he may just win. Michelle Bachman, you’ve got some real competition now!

aint no running from karma, aint no running..

Remember a couple of posts ago when I wrote that whatever you put in the universe, you’ll get back?  Well the organizers of the Dubai tennis tournament have found that karma is indeed a bitch  after a week of basically trying to show their asses.  All they got for their efforts was the highest fine ever levied by the WTA against a tournament in the amount of $300,000. They also got a talking to from new champion, Venus Williams during her trophy ceremony.

The biggest and probably the most painful blow of all is the withdrawals of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, and Andy Roddick (the defending men’s champion) from the men’s tourney which starts next week. When the three most popular players on the men’s tour aren’t going to show up for your tournament, then you’ve got some problems for sure.

Call it poetic justice, a comeuppance, or whatever. Maybe the Dubai organizers will think long and hard about throwing politics where they don’t belong the next year (if they actually get to host a tournament next year). Shahar Pe’er and Andy Ram are athletes and nothing more. They spent millions of dollars trying to get athletes like them to play but because of their bigotry, they may have succeeded in turning many of them away.

What goes around indeed, dumb asses.

hands open, minds closed

A little less than a week after the big stimulus bill passed, Republican members of Congress are mulling over  whether  to accept the funds available or hold on to the mantle of obstructionism. Senator Lindsey “Bette Davis” Graham has already indicated that he has no objection to his district getting federal money, even though he was an outspoken critic of the bill. He said there’s no need to, “get crazy”, which is interesting phrase from a guy who hopped on the crazy train eons ago. Then there’s Missouri Senator Kit Bond who also voted against the stimulus bill, but is touting the affordable housing measure in the bill that he was mostly responsible for.

So is this how those on the Right reconciles their partisanship? They’ll vote against a bill in the interest of conservative principles, but they will accept the benefits of said bill in the interest of their constituents. Don’t worry, I don’t get it either. In fact, I have more respect for the Republican governors like Jindal from Louisiana and Sanford of South Carolina who are refusing stimulus funds. At least they are sticking to their principles regardless of what the people of their perspective states may need. And due to a clever clause authored by Rep. James Clyburn, state legislators can accept the funds regardless of their governor’s refusal. So, those Conservative stalwarts can look like the standard bearers of the “less tax, less spend” world of fantasy without getting their hands dirty by having to pass out any of that awful stimulus money.

Yep, it works just fine for those governors who are aiming for higher office. They can polish those egos and the voters don’t get too screwed in the process. Obviously the clowns in Congress haven’t quite figured that out yet. They’ll continue to yap in front of the cameras but behind the scenes they’ll have their hands out.

so lemme get this straight

We are supposed to assume that a cartoon in the New York Post about a crazy chimp getting shot by police who say, “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.” isn’t a racist knock against the current president? We’re to think that it was just a humorous view of politics tied to a tragic event? Well then, dammit, we’re just too sensitive for our own good. I mean, people can’t take a joke anymore?

No we can’t.  We can’t see the humor of the association between a mad chimpanzee that nearly  mauled a woman to death and the President of the United States. And we are making that association because the New York Post saw fit to print a picture of President Obama signing the stimulus bill on the very next page. What are rational thinking adults supposed to conclude other than that two random events inextricably linked together by some buffoon isn’t racist, stupid, and mean?

And please don’t give me that tired excuse that this cartoon is meant to be provocative and humorous.  It’s neither. Don’t rail at me about free speech because everyone knows that free speech isn’t free. Just as anything that’s put out in the universe, you get what you give. If one is prepared to engage in this type of hateful communication, then one should be prepared to get called to the carpet for it. Wrapping racism in humor is still racism. If that’s the real intent-then have the cajones to say so. Don’t brush it off and attack those who bring that intent to light.

Just in case there are some readers out there who aren’t clear: Associating black people with monkeys and apes is dehumanizing. I post all over the net under different names. One particular place I frequent is a tennis fan board. Recently, the player with whom the message board was dedicated to played someone of African descent. I was shocked to see several posters refer to the player of color as a “gorilla”. When confronted, these posters begged off saying that they didn’t mean any harm. They weren’t racist. It was just that the player had, “gorilla-like tendencies” because he would hit his fist against his chest after winning a point. Even after me giving a mini history lesson, they still didn’t get it. Instead, I got an apology and a high five because Obama was elected. Strangely enough, a few days after that incident, the OTHER player was described as an “ape” in a British newspaper and a damn riot broke out on the board. So yeah, it’s okay to refer to a one player with dark skin as a gorilla but it’s not okay for another player with white skin to be called an ape.

See how uneven the playing field is? And it never will be even. I wasn’t one of those progressives who likened the former President to a chimp, because for one-it was stupid, and two-I knew that by doing it would give those on the other side an excuse to say whatever they wanted to about opponents. All they had to do is say, “Hey, you called Bush ’Chimp In Chief’, why can’t we say that about Obama or anyone else?”.  A white person calling another white person  a chimp simply doesn’t carry the same weight as when a white person calls a black person one, because calling a white guy a chimp connotes bad manners. Calling a black guy a chimp connotes Jim Crow, lynchings, Eugenics, police brutality, fire hoses, vicious dogs, gerrymandering, redlining, and minstrel shows.

Obviously the cartoonist and the editors of the New York Post just didn’t understand that fact of life in 21st century America. Or worse yet, they just didn’t give a damn.  And no one’s smiling.

news around the court

Whoa, things are heating up in the tennis world. It’s only Tuesday and already:

• Roger Federer has withdrawn from Dubai and the Davis Cup competition against the U.S.A.
• Israeli tennis stars Shahar Pe’er and Andy Ram have been denied a visas to compete in Dubai from the UAE government.
• In response to the UAE’s visa denials, the Wall Street Journal has pulled its sponsorship and the Tennis Channel has pulled its coverage of the tournament. However, title sponsor Barclays has decided to continue its support. Oi vey!
• Dinara Safina, who had a chance to take over the number #1 ranking if she won in Dubai was dumped in the second round today.
• The number of people are growing on the “I hate Radek Stepanek list”. After his loss to Stepanek in San Jose Sunday, Mardy Fish refused to acknowledge his victor in his post match speech and stated later that he felt that Stepanek’s medical timeout in the 2nd set wasn’t on the up and up.
• 37 year old Pete Sampras barely scraped a win over 50 year old John McEnroe in a senior’s tour match.
• Amelie Mauresmo-remember her? Well, she won her first title in 2 years in Paris Sunday.
• Rafa is still questionable for Dubai but says he will play Davis Cup with Spain and against Serbia next month.

see what had happened was..

Senator Roland Burris is having a bit of problem with the truth. An affidavit released last week shows that Burris was contacted by impeached Governor Rod Blagojevich’ s brother about contributing the the governor’s campaign coffers. This information runs a bit contrary to the testimony Burris provided in January when he claimed he had no contact with any Blagojevich associates.

Burris naturally denies any wrongdoing. He says this information is supplemental to the ongoing criminal investigation and that he has nothing to hide. Sure Senator, keep telling yourself that. But the GOP wants you out, the Democrats are once again in a sticky situation. They need that 60th vote and Al Franken is still hemmed up in Minnesota because Norm Coleman hasn’t heard the phrase, “Bitch, LET IT GO!”.

Roland got some ‘splanin to do. Whether he loses his seat over this depends on how well he worms his way out of this and how pissed off Harry & Company will be. But know this, no matter what Bobby Rush and the old guard have to say, Roland’s been riding dirty and there’s no way he’s going to be up on Capitol Hill beyond 2010.

And some more breaking news: Rod Blagojevich is still in Chicago sniggering like Muttley.

kneecapped

Andy Murray defeated Rafa Nadal today in the finals of the AMB AMRO tournament in Rotterdam 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 .  During the match, Rafa received treatment on his right knee and now his participation in the Dubai Championships could be in doubt.  Murray wasn’t in the best shape himself as he was nursing an ankle injury. I hope both of them get well soon. This is the rivalry everyone should be talking about.

Serena Williams withdrew from her semifinal match against Elena Dementieva due to knee issues in Paris. Her condition at this time is day to day but she says she hopes to be able to compete in Dubai. Let’s hope so.

Oh, but one thing before I delve into the real subject of this blog…There are some in the blogosphere who are suggesting that this is some kind of ruse by Serena because she didn’t want to play Dementieva. Other than this notion being completely without merit, it simply doesn’t make any sense considering she just waxed Elena during the Australian Open two weeks ago. 

I know Serena has some hard core haters out there, but this kind of nonsense is out of line. You can think whatever you like about her off court antics, but Serena has shown nothing but the highest degree of professionalism on the court. She’s been a pro since 1997. She’s won 10 major titles. She’s not afraid of anybody. I mean, if you don’t care for the woman why even bother to write about her? I for one don’t like  a certain blonde Russian player who is suffering from a shoulder injury right now. Thus, I don’t ever write about her. See how easy that is?

Now on to the subject at hand.

The tournament schedules  for both the ATP and the WTA are completely outrageous. The seasons are too long, the players are required to participate in too many tournaments, and the hard court surfaces used are too damaging to the player’s bodies. Something is seriously wrong when players are pulling out of matches left and right and retiring from the tour in their mid-20′s. The number of players nursing lower body injuries such as back problems, tendinitis, ankle sprains, ACL tears, and groin injuries is alarming, but little or nothing is being done. What will it take for the PTB on both tours to see reason? A damaged and depleted top 10? It’s been happening. It’s happening now. The number #1 ranked man and woman are both hobbling.

I asked a question on the TennisWorld message board a couple of years ago. I wanted to know what would the readers and fans of tennis do if they were the heads of the respective tours. Here’s what I would do:

-End the tennis season in October.

-Move the Australian Open to early February.

-Get rid of the Indian Wells and Miami Tournaments.

-Make either Halle or Queens a grass masters tournament.

-Move the U.S Open to the 2nd week in September.

-Have a standardized hard court surface. Eliminate the indoor hard court season.

-Unionize the players and provide them with health insurance.

-Make Davis Cup and Federation Cup tourneys a biannual affair.

babymama drama

So after Nadya Suleman pled her case to Anne Curry after a storm of criticism was thrown her away after giving birth to octopulets, she has now expanded her money seeking venture by creating a web site. I’m not going to link to this site because I’m all for self promotion and she has enough shine already. Besides, I’m not up on mothers exploiting their children for money. I know that she probably needs money more than anyone else, but no one told her to pop out 14 kids either.

And boy, did she have an explanation for everything. As if there was a defense for allowing 8 embryos to be implanted inside of her even though she had 6  other children (3 with disabilities). Or, claiming that she didn’t receive welfare all the while collecting food stamps and SSI. And the most indefensible act; financially and physically burdening her poor parents with her selfishness.

It just makes me wonder, what will those who love to trot out the single welfare receiving mother with a butt load of kids as the poster child for everything wrong with America, say about Ms. Suleman? She’s not married-she doesn’t even have a boyfriend. All of her children were born as a result of  In vitro fertilization and she hasn’t worked since the 1990′s. Will it be her face plastered in political ads? Will her name be thrown out during a debate, or from a pundit trying to score points? We all know what the traditional image has been and we’ve all heard the narrative, so now what? Is Nadya any less deserving of scorn?

It’s not the way it should be, but it’s just the way it is. The care of these innocent babies will cost millions in the long run, and unless some mysterious billionaire decides to pay the tab, taxpayers like you and me will have to pony up.  Sorry, but I’m angry about that. I’m angry that this woman is even being offered money to let us in on a secret we already knew: Something’s seriously wrong with her. I’m angry that women who had children for the RIGHT reasons have been maligned for decades.

Just too much damn drama if you ask me.