Obama’s Arrogance, Bill’s Stupidity

It hasn’t been a good week for either of the two Democratic presidential juggernauts.

Just Friday it was reported that Sen. Barack Obama basically called small-town Pennsylvanians uneducated rednecks because they don’t know how to express their frustrations with the government, so they hold religion and guns close while shunning away immigrants.

And later this week, former President Bill Clinton decided to “help” his wife by reopening the old Bosnia wound. If that wasn’t enough, he even got the facts wrong and he admitted to the public that Hillary told him to shut up about it. Talk about a henpecked husband, which only further portrays the female presidential candidate as an ice queen.

But getting back to the more important issue, what is really interesting is that earlier this month Obama was trying to woo over gun owners by waving the constitutional rights flag, but not telling them his misfiring voting record. But then he tells some rich donors in San Francisco that small-town Pennsylvanians are backwoods people and how they feel that the government has failed them.

“And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations,” Obama said, as reported by The Huffington Post.

Now, this is wrong on many levels. One, it’s hypocritical of him to even mention how people seek religion for guidance, considering the controversy between himself and his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. And Obama is still dusting himself off from that political debacle.

But two, Obama is stereotyping these Pennsylvanians, which is supposed to be a huge no-no for liberals and Democrats, unless that’s stereotyping too.

In addition, he’s basically describing these Pennsylvanians as single-minded people who don’t understand the issues that this country is facing.

The Times Observer has always provided support for Obama when he was unjustly attacked, but in this case, the Illinois senator has not only made a hole for himself with Pennsylvania voters that he is trying to win over, but has opened himself up for attacks by Hillary and the likely Republican presidential nominee, John McCain.

Courting the gun vote should be one of the huge priorities for any Democratic presidential candidate if he or she hopes to win any political race. After all, in recent years Democrats are viewed as being against the Second Amendment.

And respecting how one embraces religion should be a cake walk for even a first year politician. But insulting one’s way of life will reasonably make that voter get down on his knees and take aim at Obama.

Trying To Take The Reason Out Of The Season

From the folks who say we need more acceptance and diversity in our lives are trying to once again restrict the majority of Americans who celebrate Christmas.

Over in Dallas, Ga. the Washington, D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State want the mayor of the town to take down a neon light nativity scene that the town has put up for the second year in a row.

However, Mayor Boyd Austin said it best about the taking down of the reason why so many celebrate Christmas:

“I think without the birth of Christ, we wouldn’t have Christmas and I think this is the reason for the season and I think that the overwhelming silent majority of people will be heard on this and they’re going to say, ‘Leave it alone,’” Austin told Action News 2 in Atlanta.

The group is now considering legal action, which really boggles the mind. Just like it boggles the mind how many people want to call a Christmas tree a Holiday tree.

In Queen Creek, Az., the town’s Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony was rained out this year but the feud over the name of the festivity is still leaving a bad taste of fruitcake in many’s mouths.

One of the town’s councilmen feel that town sponsored events that involve taxpayer money should not have a religious theme. A wife of a former mayor of the town who donated the Christmas tree said she was sick and tired of the political correctness involved with the holly jolly holiday.

And who can blame her? We are supposed to be teaching our children about accepting other cultures and to support diversity, which is just fine but the people who seem to be the biggest supporters of all of this are usually the ones who want to restrict and takeaway Christmas.

And the usual reasons for all of this is because they don’t want people to feel left out who don’t celebrate Christmas or it somehow it crosses the line of the separation of church and state.

How about this? To the people who feel left out or don’t celebrate the day Jesus Christ was born, I say you can do one of two things: Either learn about the holiday and try to have some fun with it or just ignore it but don’t ruin it for the majority of people who do enjoy Christmas.

And to those who want to call it a holiday tree, go knock yourself out and call it that but don’t have a hissy fit when someone calls it by its proper name, a Christmas Tree. Because that’s what it is and you are not going to fool anyone into believing it’s something else.

I can shave off Santa’s beard and make him take Weight Watchers and call him Don Knotts but that doesn’t change the fact that the skinny guy in the red suit flying a team of reindeer is still good, old Saint Nick.

America is called the Great Melting Pot for a reason, because there are so many cultures that come together and create something very unique that you can’t find anywhere else in the world. Once you take away some important key ingredients in that melting pot, then you start to lose the taste that’s America.

The Times Observer wishes everyone a Happy Hanukkah, a Merry Christmas and a Happy Kwanzaa.

To read last year’s Christmas editorial, please click here.

Keeping The Holidays Religious

What can be said in a holiday opinion piece that hasn’t been said in other newspapers throughout the country during this time of year? Instead of reading the traditional “holiday good cheer” and “giving to those less fortunate than yourself,” how about this: Let’s keep the holiday season religious!

According to the Associated Press, the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport removed Christmas trees after a rabbi asked to have a menorah up along with them. When airport officials refused to add the menorah to their display, Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky was dismayed by the decision and threaten to sue. As a result, instead of dealing with different religious holidays and celebrating them, the airport decided to take down the Christmas trees.

Has it gotten this bad that an airport could not put up one menorah up? Or worse yet, it is when public schools remove the word “Christmas” from concerts so no one will be offended.

Back in 2001, Kensington Town Council banned Santa Claus from being at a tree lighting event because they agreed with a few citizens of the Maryland town that Old Kris Kringle does not have a place in a “secular celebration.” Luckily, a large group of Santas arrived during the event and protested the ban.

Sadly, these are just a few out of many similar incidents that have happened throughout our country in the past few years. It’s happening not only in the classrooms and small towns but in private businesses, and even in some extreme cases, on our own front lawns. For those who are not familiar, here are a few examples of the changes being made: It’s not a snowman anymore; it’s called a snowperson. A Christmas tree is now called a holiday tree. It’s as insulting as calling a menorah a “candlestick holder.”

Enough is enough. Not only is it ridiculous, it’s a restriction of our freedom of speech. How are we supposed to teach true diversity to our children if we are taking the word “Christmas” out of a Christmas carol, or we are not allowed to have a Mishumaa Saba or a menorah in the front windows of our homes or lawns for that matter?

In our politically correct society, while we are running around trying to change things so no one will be hurt or offended, we have caused one of the greatest crimes of the 21st century: we are sterilizing the holidays. That’s right; we are in the midst of wrapping Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa, and placing them in a plastic bag while wearing a bio-hazard suit, so no one will be contaminated with holiday cheer. In doing so, we are murdering the spirit of the season and making the three so bland and indifferent, they are lost in a blizzard of alleged “diversity.” Their life will be sucked out and left as lifeless and tasteless as stale fruitcake.

The holidays are who we are. It’s more than just Santa Claus or a dreidel, but the religious meanings behind them. It’s about the miracle of an oil lamp burning for eight nights, when it should have burnt for one. It’s about the miracle of celebrating a seven-day festival to rejoice in a proud heritage. And, it’s also about the miracle of a baby boy born in a manger to a virgin mother.

Therefore, this season sing “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” while decorating a 9-foot Christmas tree, or spin a dreidel so big you need three people to help you as you sing “The Dreidel Song.” Scream out the meaning of each of the seven values of Kwanzaa with a bullhorn. But whatever you do, do not let anyone stop you from celebrating the holidays because it may offend someone. (Of course, do it responsibly. No one wants to hear the “The Twelve Days of Christmas” at two in the morning by someone dressed as Frosty the Snowman in their backyard.)

And if someone is offended and complains about your celebration or displays of whatever holiday/religion you are celebrating, tell them to stick it up their stockings! It is their problem if they are not mature enough to handle the holiday seasons.

While political correctness has changed “mailman” into “letter carrier,” and “janitor” into “custodial engineer,” let’s not let it change the holidays or their meanings. Let’s celebrate them not in the politically correct way but the diverse way: not changing them at all and celebrating them the way they were meant to be. That way, maybe we can learn something about our neighbors and ourselves. Remember that our Constitution guarantees us the separation between government and religion, not citizen and religion.

And no matter which religion you practice or holiday you do or do not celebrate, The Times Observer wishes you Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and a joyful Kwanzaa and Seasons Greetings to all!

Originally posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Barbie's S&M Headline Misleading?

Do you know what burns my bacon? Media sensationalism just to sell a few newspapers and extreme Christian groups that try to suck the fun out of life; so yeah, there’s a double-bonus of bacon burning in this edition’s column.

First, the headline from the U.K.’s The Sun reads, “S&M Barbie lashed by public.” But once you read the story, you find out that Mattel is really releasing a Barbie doll that is dressed like the DC comics superhero Black Canary. They have previously released a Barbie version of fellow DC comics heroines Batgirl, Wonder Woman and Supergirl, just to name a few.

Granted, Black Canary does dress in leather and fishnet stockings, so it’s really not a real S&M look she has, but more of a biker-stripper look going on. This may not ease a lot of parents, but considering that Wonder Woman has been parading around in her star-spangled panties for more than 65 years, Black Canary’s outfit is an improvement and covers more.

Now considering that the U.K. is famous for its S&M outlet stores, clubs and such games as, Whip The Donkey’s Tail, it is understandable why The Sun thought a superhero might have been one of former New York Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s call girls. But with the Internet and Wikipedia around, it would be a simple search to find out if Black Canary was really into S&M or she just wears her leather outfit just to annoy PETA.

Sensationalism has no place in journalism, but sadly, shoddy publications do make room for it.

But now we come to the other half of the bacon burning: The Christian side.

“Barbie has always been on the tarty side and this is taking it too far. A children’s doll in sexually suggestive clothing is irresponsible – it’s filth,” stated the religious group Christian Voice, as reported by The Sun.

Yes, it can’t be denied that everyone’s favorite plastic, blonde doll does dress like a tart, maybe a bit slutty at times. Hell, she looks like a hooker in some of the outfits that I’ve put her in.

Besides, even if parents are going to buy the Black Canary for their daughter, I would like to think a young girl at that age doesn’t know about such things as S&M.

But these extreme Christian groups have to remember that most little girls usually take Barbie’s clothes off faster than G.I. Joe on shore leave anyway. So having her in fishnet stockings isn’t that much of a big deal.

Originally posted on Tuesday, May 06, 2008, at 2:08 a.m.

Dems Using Religion To Shift Focus

Today is the day Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama discover how much their mudslinging and negative ads will help them in the Indiana and North Carolina Democratic primaries.

And Obama supporters, particularly the elected kind, have been trying to help the Illinois senator by battling the Rev. Wright controversy by shifting the focus of Heavenly-prejudiced men of God to Republican (most likely) presidential nominee John McCain and his relationships with bigoted pastors.

There is John Hagee, who said that God brought Hurricane Katrina as a punishment to the residents of New Orleans for homosexual sins. And then there is Rod Parsley, who has called for a war on Islam. And that’s not all of the things these men of God have preached.

The Democrats are saying that McCain got a free pass of media attacks. However, the Arizona senator said that just because Hagee supports his candidacy, it doesn’t mean that he supports or believes in a lot of the things that the pastor says.

As far as Parsley, one of McCain’s campaign aides said that the senator never attended a service by the pastor, unlike Obama, who spent 20 years attending Rev. Wright’s.

As I wrote in my editorial about Obama’s association with Rev. Wright, I’ll say it again in this column: Candidates should not be criticized for their connection with spiritual leaders.

There is no evidence that McCain has ever agreed with the controversial and hateful things that either pastor has said, just like there is no evidence that Obama agreed with the rants of Rev. Wright.

It’s a shame that some religious leaders spew repulsive sermons and pass them along as if they are God’s word. It is even worse that politicians get slammed for their association of these pastors.

Politicians shouldn’t be criticized over who endorses them or the ramblings of pastors that have no direct relationship with them.

Trust me; these 2008 candidates will trip themselves up without the help of anyone else. Their policies and past voting records are fair game for attacks, as well as their relationships with unscrupulous donors and supporters that may have an impact once he or she is in the White House.

But putting them in the crosshairs because of their religious associations? Heaven forgive those for acting petty!