I have to admit, I should’ve seen this coming. There is a new race card in play.

You might recall that a few days ago there was some katzenjammer from the very non-conservative city of Philadelphia about a group of kids getting booted from a private pool.

The whole story seemed fishy to me because other than the one quote from the president of the club, all other quotes were from the pointing fingers. The accused are conspicuously absent from the article. I’m sure that has nothing to do with liberal media bias, though.

If what happened in the story is indeed racism, then it still can’t hold a candle to what went down in one particular incident of a black-on-white hate crime in Ohio that led to a five night stay in ICU for one victim.

Which is worse? Getting kicked out of a pool or being beaten nearly to death? No matter because for some reason, I can’t imagine why, the Ohio story doesn’t receive nearly the amount of national attention as the “they won’t let us swim” story, so let’s get back to brass tacks, shall we?

Here’s the part that needs some analysis: The only quote included in the original story is from the club president who said, “There was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion … and the atmosphere of the club.” “Complexion.” What an unfortunate choice of words.

Now, I’m going to go out on a limb and say the president didn’t have black skin in mind when he made that statement. Here’s why:

Remember “niggardly”?

A decade ago a gay aide to the black Mayor of D.C. used the term “niggardly” in reference to a budget under discussion. If you look up “niggardly” in any dictionary you’ll find the definition: niggardly (adj) – To act in the manner of a black dude, which we all agree is abhorred. Well, given the national attention received for using the word that actually means, “Petty or reluctant in giving or spending; grudging, scrimy,” the mayor’s aide resigned his post, even though he used a word correctly, but due to PC saturation in our culture sounds a little too much like another word.

You just can’t be too careful walking on eggshells, and that’s where we are again, ten years later, with a private club in Philly.

Upon first reading of the club president’s statement, one might be inclined to think his use of the term “complexion” does in fact mean skin color. But if you’re smarter than a tree stump, you’ll quickly realize the statement wouldn’t make sense in that context and that there are other definitions of “complexion” that are more appropriate, such as:

• A complex of attitudes and inclinations
• overall aspect or character
• General character, aspect, or appearance
• A viewpoint
• a combination that results from coupling or interlinking

Also notice that he didn’t say, “. . . a lot of black kids . . .” He said, “a lot of kids“. In other words, the president was probably saying this: A bunch of kids in a pool is not a place private club members want to spend their time. They probably joined the club to avoid overcrowded public pools, so when a bunch of kids are swimming here the atmosphere isn’t what our members paid for.

But, nonetheless you’ll be sure to hear the phrase, “You just want to change the complexion of the pool,” as yet another colorful albeit inaccurate way of someone playing the race card.

Go fish.

I’ve long held the notion that TV sucks. The meager benefits of watching TV don’t come close to balancing the destruction it has on our minds and our culture.

It was around the time my wife and I started having kids that I started to decrease my screen time, so it’s been about five and a half years since I really vegged out on a consistent basis. Something weird has happened. I’ve started to become re-sensitized.

Minor language infractions, provocative scenes, and ads touting “feminine products” or “male enhancement” have started to make me feel uncomfortable again. Even when the kids aren’t in the room. What’s with that?! It’s taken some time, but I can’t have The Family Guy on unless the kids are playing out back, and even then my laughter is more driven by the absurdity than the comedy.

Yep, I’ve been re-sensitized. Like the lady discussed in this denverpost.com column, I’m often shocked, bewildered, and sometimes even intellectually offended by what I see on TV. But here is the trade-off: Freedom. Not just my freedom from the idiotbox, but the inherent freedom of this often maligned country we live in.

As idiotic and disgusting current programming and advertising is, you’ll never see me writing to my local paper’s entertainment editors, or sending letters to Congress demanding they do something. I can’t get behind censorship. Our Framers were enlightened enough to know you can’t legislate morality. What I’ll do instead is take my business elsewhere, like the dinner table to play a family board game; a hike through the woods; a trip to the library; a visit to see family … the options are more numerous than the number of channels on TV.

Turns out re-sensitizing isn’t so bad. I hear people obsess over whatever the popular show is and I just shake my head. Heh. And I’m the weird one. Who wants to be normal, anyway?

Over time, others like me will follow suit and the networks and ad agencies will scratch their heads wondering why viewership is down. My guess is they’ll never figure it out.

I’m a big fan of Mike Rowe. His show Dirty Jobs is one of the few on TV that I ever watch. He has a certain honesty about him. I’ve also read several interviews of him and I started to notice that he’s a rather insightful guy.

My wife sent to me this TED video of Rowe. After he describes castrating lambs, he goes into his theory on work, happiness, and following dreams. It’s a long video at 20 minutes, but it’s worth a listen if nothing else.

Check it out. The Apostle has moved!

If you received this post in your reader, there is nothing you need to do. Just sit back and enjoy.

Hugs – Shan

Which political party used this slogan?

Free love and free niggers will certainly elect [politician redacted].

Need a hint? Here it is without the redaction:

Free love and free niggers will certainly elect old Abe.

Still scratching your head? I’m sure it’s obvious by now. The Democratic Party. The same party that oppresses minorities and women today were pro-slavery and hated Lincoln. Confusing, I know. That’s exactly how progressives like it; confusing.

Dissect the slogan and you can see the seeds of progressive oppression of women (”free love”)  and minorities (”free niggers”) alike, as well as scare tactics they use to this day (let no crisis go to waste).

I’ve seen progressives try to decry the fact that they support the frighteningly racist American party by saying, “No no, those were southern democrats; and southern democrats were conservative. ” What they don’t tell you—either because of “moral relativity” or sheer ignorance—is that so-called southern democrats were fiscal conservatives.

That’s the only common thread shared by the slavelords of early America and the Republicans of today. The democratic descendants of white (and black) slave owners still practice a hateful form of oppression. Sure, they no longer own slaves, much to their disappointment I’m sure, but they still try to keep minorities under their thumb by leading them to believe they need gov’t intervention to be successful in this country.

How do they not only oppress select classes but get their support as well? In a word: Marketing. Marketing is a powerful tool. How do you get 45 million Americans to ingest known carcinogens that risk the life of themselves and likely those close to them? Marketing. That’s what the tobacco industry has learned.

Gee, why didn’t learn about this in your Gov’t-sponsored history class in your gov’t run school? There is much more you can find out, too. The democratic slogan above is discussed in April 1865: The Month That Saved America. Check it out.

Obama, Where’s My Check (at)?

Barbara Boxer meet Dr. Evil

This lady cracks me up. How does someone this tiny and insecure end up on the senate? Then again, how does someone like Obama end up … oh never mind.

Open Letter to President Obama

It’s better to listen than to watch, otherwise you’ll get overwhelmed by the dated garb and goofy acting. The content of the open letter is actually quite good.

Cities

I made a reference to a co-worker’s lunch today stating, “I smell home cooking! It’s only the river … it’s only the river.” I had to explain it’s from an old Talking Heads song. I prefer Phish’s rendition much better, though.

You know, I was all prepared to deliver a post in response to the back-and-forth of the left and right trying to push off ownership of this James Von Brunn, the nut-job who shot a security guard at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, because it’s quite silly. Right-wing, left-wing, at this point it’s moot because a man was murdered by a nut-job.

Then I made the mistake of visiting my favorite left-wing propaganda blog, the Huffington Post, where I read a post about Glenn Beck “spinning” the shooting. I don’t know much about Beck. I’ve heard him a couple of times and he seems like the kind of guy who uses controversy rather than truth to get attention. He’s not in the same league as Coulter or Ingraham, or even Limbaugh. But I digress.

Have you read it? It’s simply full of conjecture and supposition. I know. I should have come to expect this from our leftists. But with no context, warning, or reasoning, Joseph Palermo, the author, throws in this brilliant liberal standby quip:

It’s also clear that Beck and his fans just can’t get over the fact that a black man is now their president.

What?! Not only is that out of left field, pun intended, but it’s completely asinine. It’s as if Huff requires her hate filled blog to have certain liberal catch phrases included in her propaganda at predetermined intervals. Oops, I forgot to slip this one in. Man, Huff’ll be pissed! Oh, I can cram it between the paragraph about Beck interviewing Netanyahu and the paragraph about Beck’s producers. I’ll add a little flair at the end of that para to make it appear tied together.

So, I’m no longer feeling charitable, thanks to our blue dog morons we’re stuck sharing this great country with. So, Palermo, Huff fans, and noncommittal moderates, here’s an easy-to-digest breakdown of the major flaws in Palermo’s moth-eaten blog post:

Quote: Are any laws on the books against using the public airwaves to incite violence[?] Because that is clearly what Beck is doing.
Retort: Silly liberals. This is why we call it the “thought police”. I’m going to go out on a limb here and declare that Beck is not, in fact, telling people to commit violence. What Beck IS doing is inciting an emotional response. While getting on the air and telling people to commit crimes is a crime, telling people to be upset about something is NOT a crime. But I know, if left up to you and your anti-freedom cohorts, it would be crime to even insinuate disagreement with the left. Oh, forget the fact that the left burned effigies of Bush, called for his assassination and likened him to a terrorist. That was different, now, wasn’t it?

Quote: In Beck’s world President Obama brings “identity politics” and “political correctness” to the White House …
Retort: You don’t have to dig very deep to find Obama’s aptness in identity politics. Does the name Sotomayor mean anything to you? You know, the “wise Latina” with a “compelling life story”? And that whole political correctness? Come on. You’re making this too easy. I suppose my favorite recent PC crap is how terrorism is now called “man made disaster”.

Quote: In Beck’s world … it’s the “Left” that is “racist” because unlike conservatives, who judge people only on their individual merits and character (the three white men sitting at Beck’s table nodding in agreement), all liberals see is people of different races and classes and genders, which “divides” America.
Retort: Ooooo, now you’re getting into the meat of things! There are undoubtedly racists on the right, but only the left has made racism a tool used for political gain. You see, the leftist dogma thrives on the oppression of the lower class, minorities, and women. Without the harsh and often artificial dividing lines the left would have no purpose. That is why the left expends so much effort trying to demonstrate how much these groups of people need them to get ahead. The right flat out doesn’t care about race, gender, or class. You’re right about that. We recognize this is country made up of diversity, and no matter where you start out in life the opportunity to excel is there for all of us. So, while you’re pointing your finger at us calling us racist because we recognize that all classes, genders, and races are given the same opportunity in this country, it is actually you who are the racist for wanting to keep them from doing it on their own.

Quote: Beck and his guests at the opening of his show today all agreed that the Nazis were not rightwing but a bunch of leftwingers (like Obama and Nancy Pelosi) … AND … All those white guys who hail Hitler and the Nazis because they were so good at kicking the crap out of Socialists, labor unionists, Communists and Soviets, women who didn’t know their place, and even “degenerate” Dadaists and surrealists, and don’t forget the Jews.
Retort: Wow. I’m not sure if Palermo really believes this crap and is completely ignorant of history or if he just knows his liberal sheeple readers won’t question what he says. How can someone try to paint the Nazi party as a right-wing party? After all, the Nazi party in Germany was called National Socialism. Socialism, Marxism, Statism, Communism, and yes, Fascism: All of these are left-flavored socio-political ideologies. So if these are all the left-flavored ideologies, what is on the right? Capitalism, Libertarianism, and Conservativism. I know what you’re thinking. Everything on the left is thought of as evil and oppressive. Ah, yes. Now you’re catching on! The right believes in the freedom and liberty of the individual, and the left believes in the power and control of the government.

After spotlighting Palermo’s misdirected argument that the crazed racist, National Socialist luvin’ madman Von Brunn was somehow a right-winger, I found that the real fun happens when you get to the comments. As I wrote in a previous post, liberals have a short list of strategies they so eagerly revert to when confronted with solid arguments. I’m not kidding about this. It happens every time, and as demonstrated by Palermo’s post they don’t even need an excuse to whip out their ol’ standbys. Allow me to demonstrate. Check out the following comments to Palermo’s post and how well they line up to the liberal strategies I outlined in my earlier blog post:

LIBERAL STRATEGY 1: DEFLECTION (or the But-Bush argument)
Comment: would Beck have attributed such an event to the policies of Bush? – adoantarel

LIBERAL STRATEGY 2: DIVAGATION (or the What’s-That-Behind-You?! argument)
Comment: When was the last time you read of someone being gunned down by a progressive liberal with a Masters degree? – EspritDeVoltaire
Gee, ever hear of the Weather Underground? Crimethinc? Recreate 68? The Ruckus Society? And the latest version of the Black Panther Party sure had a swell time threatening voters with a club.

LIBERAL STRATEGY 3: DIVERSION (or the Look-At-Me-I-Am-Smart argument)
Comment: While Beck’s skills as a bigoted propagandist are considerable, in order to more effectively communicate his rants he really ought to educate himself on the difference between “incidents” and “incidence”. – WolfLady
Way to focus on what’s important there, liberal.

LIBERAL STRATEGY 4: DEPARTURE (or the Tolerance-Is-A-One-Way-Street argument)
Comment: why do all these pundits (idiots) look like mama’s boys (closet homo)? – wlaurencew

LIBERAL STRATEGY 5: DEVIATION (or the Race-and/or-Gay-Card argument)
Comment: In addition to all the groups you listed, the nazi’s also persecuted homosexuals, much like many self-titled conservatives do today. Many don’t know this, and it bears pointing out. Doesn’t sound particularly leftist to me. – adoantarel
Well, get used to being wrong, liberal.

The following types of comments are becoming commonplace enough among the liberals that we need to add a new strategy to the list:

LIBERAL STRATEGY 6: DIVINE INTERVENTION (or the oh-holy-and-righteous-government-please-save-us-from-ourselves argument)
Comment: You know, sometimes I think our first amendment is a curse rather than a boon. – Vanderkamp
Stoopid freedoms.

Comment: Why is the US unable or too fearful (land of the brave?) to introduce such a law, preventing a resurrection of the Third Reich? – Frederic
Laws are great! The more the better! Somebody control us PLEASE!

Comment: Why the FCC hasn’t stepped into this in a manner even remotely close to their hysteria over a ‘wardrobe malfunction’, is, frankly, beyond me. – CynAnne
Oh please.

Awesome.

Fireproof is the top grossing independent film of 2008. Are you as surprised as I am?

I saw Fireproof and it was every bit of hokey I expected it to be. What shocks me was unlike the tripe mass produced in Hollywood and eagerly consumed by the witless masses, Fireproof actually closed with a message deeper than the standard Do-what-feels-good-and-as-long-as-nobody-gets-hurt-you’re-a-hero concept popularized by our culture. It was enough that I ended up liking the movie. What?! I can’t believe I just said that.

I think that’s what has been missing for so long from our pop culture mired in Sean Penn-esque stupidity: The depth of unconditional truth.

But something doesn’t add up. If, as we learned from the all-powerful, all-knowing Chairman Zero, our country is one of the largest Muslim nations in a decidedly non-Christian culture, how can a low-budget, independent film like Fireproof do so well?

Huh. Must be a lot of closet Muslim fans of Kirk Cameron.

While Google was celebrating the ever-important creation of Tetris on June 6, the good people of the country were recognizing the 65th anniversary of D-Day.

This video is a speech given by the late, great President Ronald Reagan on the 40th anniversary of D-Day.

An interesting and little-known fact: After the event, President Reagan was completely embarrassed when some pimply-faced computer geek pointed out to him that his speech totally took the wind out of the sails of the new video game Tetris, which was released on the same day.

Especially worth noting in the speech, President Reagan states that on the day of the beach landings Americans were, “Filling the churches at 4:00 AM in Georgia … and … kneeling on their porches and praying in Kansas … and … ringing the liberty bell in Philadelphia.” He also said, “God was an ally in this great cause.”

Can you imagine that going on today?

In a striking momentary lapse of insanity, California attempts to use reasonable endeavors to claw their way out of a massive deficit.

H.D. Palmer of the Department of Finance said, “I dunno, I just kind of said it like a joke: ‘Let’s dump CalWORKS.’ Then we started looking at the numbers and we realized that would save the state $157 million.”

But then, as quickly as they entered the realm of common sense they left it behind. Said Nancy O’Hara, assistant director of the Yolo County Department of Employment and Social Services, “We remembered who we are. We’re California, dammit. We don’t have the attention span to mess with ‘absolute truths’ and ‘fiscal responsibility.’ Besides, we’re so far in debt, $157 million is just scraping the surface. It’s hopeless, we can’t do this on our own. We need someone to save us. You know, from ourselves.”

“What kind of message would we send the nation,” asked Bruce Wagstaff, director of the Department of Human Assistance in Sacramento, “if we didn’t follow our great president’s lead into unprecedented, careless spending? We need face East and send our penance vibes to Washington in the hopes we didn’t offend The Great Chairman.”

What kind of message, indeed.