Getting Over Race

Interview with Debra Dickerson, author of The End of Blackness , at The Atlantic. She is so correct about new ways of thinking about problems that I'm sure she'll be ignored:

Dickerson: After I finished my memoir I had all these thoughts sort of roiling around. I'd been thrust into this discourse and was trying to figure things out: I had thought I was a liberal and a Democrat. I had thought this and I had thought that. I became more sophisticated intellectually—better-read and better-educated, but I was also sort of lost, thinking such-and-such doesn't sit well with me but then again that doesn't either. So I went to that neglected shelf of books and read. I read The Souls of Black Folk in its entirety instead of those excerpts that you get in college. I read The Miseducation of the Negro and I read a lot of Frederick Douglass. I read the collected speeches of Martin Luther King Jr., and I read Malcolm X.

Before, I had assumed all of those books were very eloquent denunciations of white racism. But when you actually read those books you find that they spend very little time talking about white people. (James Baldwin, I think focuses on white people more than the others. He was an amazing writer and is very key, but I think he got too caught up in this woe-is-me stuff). But you read Ellison, and Frederick Douglass, and Albert Murray—they were so far ahead of their time. Especially Frederick Douglass; this man was a fugitive slave but he's transracial—he's beyond all this black-white stuff. Their thinking was so much more elevated than what our leaders are putting out there today. I felt so robbed, so lied to, so bamboozled—and not by the people I thought had been bamboozling me. I'd been lied to about my moral and intellectual traditions. I had been led to think that The Miseducation of the Negro was about how white people had miseducated us. But that's not what it's about. Those books are really about communal critique. DuBois and Carter G. Woodson—these guys faced lynchings just for being who they were at the time, but here they were talking not about white people, but about what the standards of our community should be!

Globe Sportswriter Whacked

Nicely delivered take-down of self-important Globe sports reporter Ron Borges at BostonSportsMedia. Borges is a flip-flopper who chooses the facts of his arguement based solely on how much it hurts the Patriots. After providing the evidence of Borges' hypocrisy, BSM delivers a final blow:

I hesitate to even bring all this up, because it is so glaringly obvious to most that Borges is a hate-filled, agenda-driven man who is blinded by his dislike of Patriots organization. Some just tell me that I'm validating him just by bringing more attention to him. Somehow though, I don't think he's going to go away by us ignoring him. So it goes.

Well said.

Iraqi Blogger Responds to a Charge that He is "Anti-Bush"

Iraqi blogger Alaa is concerned that some folks think he is trending against President Bush, but in today's entry he makes his view clear:

Regardless of any election campaign, this man has already established himself in our hearts and minds, and forever. And it is one of my cherished dreams that one day his statue will stand in the middle of Baghdad and that all the people realize finally and unequivocally the friendship that this president of America had for them and the great favor that he has done them.

We sure wish that he be re-elected to complete the great work that he started. The job does not need any new experimenting and trial and error. But of course this is not for us to decide and we have to wait for the decision of the American people.

Amen and Salamm!

The Globe is Anti-Semitic

The Globe Ombudsman mails it in with another weak performance today. Apparently she received quite a few complaining phone calls last week when the paper ran a cartoon that poked fun of Steven Spielberg on the 10th anniversary of his motion picture Schindler's List.

The cartoon in question shows a young Steven Spielberg on his newspaper route being set-upon by his hook-nosed local rabbi who grabs at the boys pants pockets in an attempt to get at the boy's earnings. The caption reads, "In his early years little Steven Spielberg gets Jewed-down by Rabbi Bankem Goldman of the Zion Temple of the Sacred Money Grubbers."

The Globe's Renee Loth answered the criticism by saying "We are concerned that a fair number of readers were disturbed or offended by the cartoon...We never intended to insult Jews or rabbis or even Steven Spielberg by running what we saw as a comic take on a cultural subject prominently in the news...We underestimated people's sensitivities to what appeared to us a broadly satiric commentary. I regret that."

In case you missed that last line, I'll repeat it for you. Loth said, "We underestimated people's sensitivities to what appeared to us a broadly satiric commentary. I regret that." You see, the problem was not with a blatantly anti-semtic cartoon, the problem was with "people's sensitivities". And what is more "broadly satiric" than money grubbing Jews, eh?

The most Chindlund can bring herself to say about this hate-filled cartoon is, "Defenders of the cartoon might argue that some readers are always going to read a cartoon literally and that cartoonists and newspapers shouldn't limit their scope because of that. True enough. But when the literal interpretation is both too easy and offensive, it should serve as a red alert."

The editors get off way too easy here, don't you think. Doesn't picking this cartoon to run say something about how the editors feel about Jews? Doesn't their lack of judgment expose a deeper hatred for Jews that we the readers should know about? Why doesn't Chinlund suggest someone resign?....fat chance.

(By the way, I took some poetic license in the above post. For a more accurate reading of what actually happened at the Boston Globe, please replace the words Jew with Catholic, Spielberg with Gibson, Rabbi with Nun, and Rabbi Bankem Goldman of the Zion Temple of the Sacred Money Grubbers with Sister Dolorosa Excruciata of the Little Sisters of the Holy Agony)

Rumor Central: UPDATE

Boston Dirt Dogs (the Matt Drudge of Boston baseball) is reporting a rumor that John Henry Williams, controversial son of the the great Ted Williams, is near death as a result of leukemia. I have no idea if it is true, but I'm passing it along as a rumor only...

The Passion of the Suburban Catholic

The Pharisees and Sadducees at the Boston Globe are already building the crosses they will need to hang high Boston's suburban Catholics. It seems that many healthy and vibrant parishes located in the suburbs are balking at committing suicide in the name of political correctness and, well, if they don't take the poison, it looks like the Globe will stick the lance into the parishes' sides to finish the job themselves.

As most Boston Catholics know, decades long shifts in demographics have left more empty pews in Boston proper and many crowded churches in the 'burbs. At a time of tight finances, fewer priests, and an aging infrastructure, it would seem reasonable to close those parishes with the fewest parishoners, the most hopeless budgets, and the worst physical plants. But the Globe is here to police the process to make sure the big, bad suburbanites don't make any common-sense decsions.

The Globe writes: "In several areas, including Brockton, Charlestown, Milton, Winchester, and the Canton-Sharon-Stoughton area, clusters are recommending that the archdiocese consider closing the parishes with concentrations of poor people, ethnic minorities, or foreign-born residents, again posing a challenge to O'Malley's pledge to protect those populations. In most cases, these parishes also are the weakest or smallest. For example, in Newton, the cluster is expected to recommend the closure of St. Philip Neri, one of the smallest parishes in that city but also the headquarters of the archdiocese's Korean community."

Somehow I doubt that any of these clusters have written O'Malley to say that he should close "parishes with concentrations of poor people, ethnic minorities, or foreign-born residents". More likely, these clusters of parishes have determined that based on the facts and figures provided by reality, poorly attended and bankrupt parishes should be the ones to close, not the well-attended, fiscally sound parishes.

But let's not allow common sense to get in the way of the Boston Globe's political agenda. When the closings come, the Boston Globe will DEMAND some wealthy suburban blood be spilled. No matter how successful these parishes might be, the Globe's obsessive need for quota-based "fairness" will force O'Malley, Pilate-like, to destroy suburban parishes in exchange for a few inches of good ink.

I Just Gave $20 to Re-Elect Bush

Why am I donating to re-elect George Bush? Well, I agree with him on the issues and I think Kerry is a phony:

Bush believes that unyielding strength is the best way to deal with our enemies. Kerry flip flops depending on the day.

Bush has a plan to improve the immigration chaos, Kerry does not.

Bush opposes partial birth abortion, Kerry favors this horrific procedure.

Bush has an opinion on gay marriage similar to mine, Kerry changes his mind depending on the audience.

Bush puts more trust in free trade than Kerry does.

Bush is more likely to take the side of the taxpayer against those who want my tax money.

Bush supports our military, Kerry has tried to cancel many important defense programs.

I could go on, but these tend to get to the heart of the matter. I support the candidates who generally match my believes and priorities...then I give them money Not the most interesting Blog posting ever, but it is twenty dollars well spent.

Some Passion reveiws from "Real People"

Internet movie site Ain't It Cool News is posting reviews for The Passion of the Christ from ordinary folks that have seen it in sneak previews. Pretty powerful stuff and much more interesting than the negative clacking from the NY Times.

The version I saw was not the final cut. It had a shot with the timecode still on it and there was a lot of music used from Last Temptation of Christ (no comment). The story is all too familiar, I’ve read and studied the Gospels hundreds of times and I was blown away at how new this all was to me. -- Douglas Tennapel

This will easily be the most important film released in 2004. It is the most graphic and accurate Jesus film ever made, and every person ought to see this movie when it's released. It doesn't matter if you consider yourself a follower of Jesus or not -- you owe it to yourself to witness this amazing piece of art. Mel Gibson has given us a masterpiece that must be seen to be believed. Really, no joke. I LOVE the Lord of the Rings movies, Spider-Man, the Last Samurai, and all the other great films in recent memory, but "The Passion" is on a whole different level altogether in terms of importance, achievement and raw artistic, cultural and spiritual value. -- Music Prof.

The visual look to this film was one part silent movie, one part mystic awakening and one part nightmare. It places you where you need to be, immediately uncomfortable yet familiar enough to go on. Visually this movie stimulates emotionally like nothing out there right now. It creeps…it doesn’t flash in your eyes, it engulfs. The camera doesn’t just film Caviezel, its star. It embraces and caresses him. Even in his darkest hour he expresses such a sense of knowing. Not the typical righteous stoicism we see in the usual film portrayals of Jesus, but a deep sense of spiritual knowing. So that even if you don’t believe in “the Jesus Story,” you can believe that Jesus was someone who possessed an inner quality of peace and forgiveness. -- Saffy

The Passion of the Christ

I don't know anything about this movie reviewer, but he seems to do a remarkable job in cutting through the storm of puffed-up criticism levelled at Mel Gibson to focus on the movie itself:

"There have been some that have refused to see the forest for the trees, and some will probably never stop viewing it through a fearful paradigm. That stance is as unfortunate as it is baffling. Take, for example, The Mona Lisa. While having a chin in the painting, it is not a painting about a chin. Neither is The Passion Of The Christ about Jews calling for Christ’s death. While those moments are present, the classic Passion story (and this film) is about the willful decision of The Son Of God to die sacrificially. It’s a story of choice, not victimization or murder. There is a guilty party, however, but it is humanity itself.

As the Scriptures made clear and THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST explicitly re-enacts, no man—Jew or otherwise—had the power to kill Christ. But even to the extent of some peoples’ involvement, Christ’s response to his persecutors remains not only one of the story’s most powerful themes, it is also the clearest moral response to assuage any concerns of violent anti-Semitic uprisings. For anyone who uses THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST as vindication for hatred and bigotry (anti-Semitic or otherwise) is as inexplicably—or willfully—obtuse to the film’s message as its critics seem to be.

A Christian who spews hate as a result of this film is an illegitimate, and stupid, one. Salvation is impossible without Christ’s death and resurrection, of which Christians are thankful for, not angry about. Most importantly, Christ’s response to those who enacted the crucifixion is not only contrary to bigotry and violence, it specifically forbids it.

THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST is no more anti-Jewish than World War II films are anti-German. Just as corrupt Nazis didn’t represent every German, neither do corrupt Jewish leaders represent an entire Jewish race. Rather than a “Jews vs. Jesus” framework, director Mel Gibson frames his story in the reality of the day, that Jesus—rather than being hated by all Jews—was a polarizing figure within the Jewish world. Some feared Him, even hated Him, but many others loved Him.

Gibson responsibly depicts this reality as we see Jews defending Christ before the Pharisees themselves, as well as other expressions of love for Christ by many other Jews. One of the film’s (and Gospels’) more fascinating perspectives is that corrupt Jewish leaders aren’t the only ones who deny Christ but some of His disciples do as well. There’s plenty of guilt to go around. A corrupt Jewish leadership may have called for an innocent Man’s death, but the Christian perspective is that they were simply doing our dirty work. And ultimately, it was Christ’s decision—not theirs, and not ours—that put Him there. It was His choice, but our guilt."

Okay, That's It!

Hey, I don't mind having my intelligence questioned by the vultures of Madison Avenue each hour of my waking day. But when they put some corn oil slop in a SPRAY BOTTLE and STILL call it "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter", well, then they've gone too far. Oh, yeah? You can't believe its not butter, eh? Have you ever SEEN real butter it's a stick, dammit... A stick!...

Kerry Campaign Headquarters

I Hate Stupid People in Positions of Power

Has any NFL or CBS executive ever even watched MTV? Every video on MTV features a girl who is a slut and a boy who is a gangster/rapist. Now the executives "in charge" claim ignorance that an "MTV produced halftime extravaganza" delivers on its specialty of whores and scum? Whoever approved MTV's participation in the halftime show should be fired for gross incompetence.

NH Independents for Bush...For Dean

If I were a New Hampshire independent who supported George Bush, I would take a Democrat primary ballot and vote for Howard Dean.

Iowa Causcuses Winners and Losers

Winners:

- Democrat party: avoids certain defeat with Dean
- Kerry: Instant frontrunner
- Edwards: From VP candidate to candidate for President
- Des Moines Register: Endorsed Edwards

Losers:

- Internet: So much for Internet candidates
- Republicans: Bush sure winner vs. Dean
- Wes Clark: Could have beat Dean in NH, won't beat Kerry
- Gore, Harkin, Bradley, Mosley-Braun etc.: Picked the wrong horse
- Bush-haters: Hate is not a family value
- Dean: Ouch
- Gephardt: Double ouch and goodbye...
- Unions: See Dean and Gephardt

Dean - Now Totally Unelectable

The Boston Herald joins other news outlets in covering the revelation that Howard Dean suffered panic attacks in the past and suffered one when faced with the prospect of becoming Governor of Vermont.

I ask any Democrat to lay out for me a scenario in which a man with such a psychological background wins a national election at a time of crisis when possession of a steely nerve is demanded by the electorarte as an absolute requirement.

...and as Dr. Dean's receptionist might say, "Next!"

Kennedy Screws Kerry:

It is less than a week to the Iowa caucuses and Senator John Kerry is running for his life. So, what does his good friend Senator Ted Kennedy do? He blasts President Bush on the Iraq War in a major speech - a war voted for by John Kerry.

How can Kerry hope to maintain momentum in Iowa when the Senior Senator from the Commonwealth keeps putting one of "the worst blunders in more than two centuries of American foreign policy" on the front page?

Hey, what are friends for? Ouch.

Lies Ted Turner Told Me:

My fingers weary at that thought of writing about CNN's liberal slant, but again it must be done. Located in their political ads archive CNN links to an advertisment described thusly:

"George Bush used this well-known ad to depict Dukakis as soft on crime. Bush asserted that when Dukakis was governor of Massachussetts, convicted criminal Willie Horton was paroled and went on to commit more crimes. Do we want the same for the entire country?"

This must be the famed "Revolving Prisoner Door" ad, no? Of course not.

Instead, CNN shows the racially provocative "Willie Horton" spot that was NOT one of George Bush's advertisements.

Let's be honest, would anyone at CNN ever say that the NAACP ad against George W. was "an Al Gore" advertisment? So, then, why is it okay for CNN to say a third party ad is George H.W. Bush's?

CNN...lies, lies, lies.....

James Lileks

You MUST read Lileks today.

He takes on smarmy character over in Baghdad and rips him a new one. Scroll down to where it says FINALLY and enjoy James taking out the trash.

Infotel Phone Book Scam

from xlrq.com

"The time to act is now. Let us all, as bloggers, unite to ensure that Infotel does not profit from its bully tactics. Don't make anything up, stretch the truth, or do anything else that could be construed as stooping to their level. Just say what needs to be said to ensure that everyone who reads your blog knows what unmitigated bastards these guys are. That way, Infotel will come to regret their sleazy tactics. This will send the message to other shady businesses loud and clear: fuck with the blogosphere, and the blogosphere will turn right back around and fuck with you. "

Bush Meetup

If you are a Bush supporter, sign up at Bush Meetup to find out what like-minded supporters are doing in your area. Even if you aren't interested in meeting anyone else, sign up anyway just to show support.