This page contains the following articles:

 (until Yahoo allows linking bookmarks in these, you must use your own computer's search feature. For PC people, unless it's been changed, - it should be hitting to "F" key at the same time you hit "control".)

Hillary's Bobby Kennedy Assasination Remark

Obama's Uncle

Another Weird Priest? Oh Good..

On Senator Kennedy

                         May 23, 2008

 Hillary's Bobby Kennedy Assassination Remark

          Some of the media are jumping all over Senator Clinton because of a reference she made to Bobby Kennedy. (New York Times, Newsweek, CNN and etc.) 

 First of all, Hillary's remark:

        Responding to those who had called on her to withdraw from the Democratic Party's presidential race,

       Senator Clinton said: "My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June... We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it."

     Senator Clinton said she had been attempting to point out that previous campaigns had also continued into June. Democrat Robert Kennedy was running for his party's presidential nomination when he was shot dead in June 1968.  

end

            I'll admit that I didn't get it when I heard it out of context, but once I did, it didn't seem inappropriate to me. In fact, you really have to twist around a normal thought process to hear anything untoward in it.

             If you look at the news sources that carried this nonsensical, troublemaker's train of non-thought, that's the real story. I remember when these publications were serious about news. Back then, the mere mention of a starlet's name would have them sniffing haughtily and sending you to the movie magazines.             

Oh well. The right to Free speech gives all of us the right to make complete asses of ourselves.

"My mother would have punished them for acting that way. "

The Political Stray

  May 28, 2008

Obama's Uncle

         (sigh)  Okay. Here's what Senator Obama said:

          "I had an uncle who was part of the first American troops to go into Auschwitz and liberate the concentration camps. The story in our family was that when he came home, he just went up into the attic and he didn't leave the house for six months. 

Now, obviously something had really affected him, but at that time there just weren't the kinds of facilities to help somebody work through that kind of pain."

       Now- according to the history folks, this isn't possible.

        Auschwitz was liberated in January 1945 by the Russians, not by the Americans.

        Plus, the Senator doesn't have an uncle. (this one did raise my brows for a moment)

        He does, however, have a great uncle (his grandmother's brother) that was in the 89^th Infantry which liberated a sub-camp of Buchenwald in April 1945.        

        Alright. The Senator needs to pay more attention to detail.  

        You can decide for yourself how important this is. As someone that tries to see through the eyes of a hard-working American with very little free time, I'll put it over there with the Bobby Kennedy remark of Senator Clinton's.

        Who covered it and how is more of a story than the remark itself. A quick search through the reports reveal a gentle, understanding tone from the media that sharply contrasts with their treatment of Hillary's comment.

      As an example, I recommend an essay written by Libby Copeland of the Washington Post called "Hillary Clinton Raises the Specter of the Unspeakable"

          Personally,  I sincerely wish the media, the party committees and the candidate's camps would study the differences between the candidates and tell us about those.

Grrr...

The Political Stray

5/30/2008

Another Weird Priest. Oh Good.

Have you seen Father Michael Pfleger giving his political "sermon" yet? Holy you-know-what. Where did this man beam down from?

            Are you sure this man is a priest? I've never been tempted to join Phi Beta Catholic, but come on guys --- could you eccentrics and child-seekers stop making it hard for REAL priests. They have an important job to do.

            By the way gang, I was researching child molesting for a school paper some years ago and I found an article clipped from some child-molester rag that suggests seeking a career that allows them to be next to kids. Priest was at the top of the list! My point is, that it's not that some priests are becoming child molesters, it's that some child molesters are becoming priests. The Catholic religion has been taking a beating and it may be for being infiltrated more than debilitated.

            Getting back to this particular priest…

            Gee, is there anything more charming than a white person acting black? It makes me squirm with discomfort every time I see a someone doing this. I'm not talking about someone who has grown up in a black neighborhood and naturally picked up the slang and rhythms of the speech. I'm talking about you're average suburban brat putting on an act. It's embarrassing to have to watch.

            Now add to that the stinging nastiness in this man's "sermon" –  This guy must get up, brush his teeth and sharpen his tongue every morning. What's his trip? Until recently, most men of God I knew were kindly, not vicious.

Add to that, the fact that he's attempting to promote his own particular political viewpoint and it's nothing less than some repulsive kind of promotion. Why churches that allow this kind of thing are permitted to claim tax exempt status is puzzling. They tax social security and this is allowed to fly?

This guy's political gig is so poor that in spite of the fact that we all know, I won't mention who his favorite presidential candidate is .

It's not fair to the one he doesn't like.

It's even less fair to the one he likes.

            I see no evidence of this kind of  talk being wide spread among priests, so I guess we'll assume it's just this man's mean nature.

Considering what this religion has been through, I can't imagine why this man is allowed to speak, let alone share his poisoned thoughts wearing a collar that still generates some respect for many of us.

My judgment, and it is only mine…I'd get him out of there before he could do any more damage. Isn't there some place in Rome they can put him?

On Senator Kennedy

                          The Senator has been around a looonnnnggggg time. I'll be the first to admit that there were times I wanted to throw a brick through the TV at him. Of course, it was nothing personal. Like most people, my opinion is right. His, therefore, had to be wrong-end of story.

(tongue in cheek)

                        I remember Ted's wilder days. I haven't forgiven him. It's not my place to. His personal life is his own. I have a life and don't need our political reps to open their entire lives for inspection. I just want them to be honest about what they're doing that affects us. Of course, there are limits to tolerance and he found them. However, if he who is without sin is to throw the first stone…then we're done with that.  There comes a time when it's time to let it go.

            At some point, Senator Kennedy trundled back to the Kennedy compound. A fun place where there were many, many children..Our hearts quickened in fear for him. That's a big job for even the straightest and strongest. Was he actually going to try and pull off "Patriarch"?

            Don't do it Ted…run…run!

          Ignoring us all, Ted fluffed up his considerable girth and feathers – and gingerly sat down on the nest marked "The Kennedy Clan". That was the last we saw of him for awhile.

            Then there's the Senate. He took and takes his job seriously.

            How often it looked like our legislators were all standing atop a stack of bricks that was already swaying and leaning. Just when it felt as though they might get a good bill through, Teddy would bend down and pluck out a brick from somewhere near the bottom – look up and say,

            "What about the poor?"  ** crash **

            Senatorial mutterings *ggrrr….rich….famous family…..what the hell do you care…..grrr…..*

           That trademark Kennedy tooth-e-smile would slowly spread over his face. Senator Kennedy would unceremoniously shove his fellow senators to one side until he found a tile…he would hold  it up so they could read it…

            "SQUARE ONE"

            "Would this be what you're looking for?"

            Senator Kennedy had a tougher lot than some think. It wasn't just the obvious; the death of John and Bobby. It was the lives of John and Bobby. I know. I have an older brother that could charm the paint off the walls. I was the "other one". Fortunately, I was his biggest fan and it never occurred to me to be jealous. Nonetheless, following him in school was tough. Everyone kept waiting for me to be more like him. I couldn't. I wasn't like him. I'm still not.

            I can only imagine what it was like being John and Bobby's brother.  I'd give you ten-to-one that John and Bobby couldn't have lived up to those images either.

            A nod of acknowledgement to a fellow "other one". Not so much anymore, eh, Senator?

            To the Senator:

                  Well…are you going to just sit there or are you going to get to work? However this all works out, no doubt you have stuff you want to get done, right?

                If you're worried about checking out, you have a lot of knowledge – are there big things you need to pass along? Politician things? Patriarch things? Best get to it. There's no point to sitting there and dwelling on the unknown. All the dwelling in the world won't make an iota of difference this time.

            Don't sweat that metaphysical bit too much. You have lots of people you know that went before you. Seems it doesn’t take any special talent. You might as well act as if you know what you're doing. (chuckle) It's not like you haven't faked it before.

            I know you're Catholic. That's kind of industrial strength God stuff, right? Yeah. Well, maybe some comfort there. If it's any comfort…if what my grandmother said about someone on the other side keeping score is true, well, I don't know anyone who wouldn't be a little nervous. Then again, if God only wanted angels here, he wouldn't have put man  here. It's not like He could've gotten us mixed up.

            Recently, I've done a lot of searching through old votes. I'll admit to a certain amount of surprise. You weren't just a pain in the neck. You really did care about those less fortunate than you. I misjudged you.

            The best we can do in this life when we're less than perfect, is to try and make up for our shortcomings. It seems as though you've given it a damn good shot. There's got to be a lot of shiny pebbles on the good side of your scales out there somewhere.

            Hold on….(digging through pockets – pulling out something and dropping it into your hand – when you open it, you see a few shiny pebbles)

            (shrug) Put those on your good side. Tell them they are from me. It's my penance for not noticing how hard you worked for others. (shrugging again) Never know. Might help.

            Gotta go. You take care. Whether you hang out or split, you take care.

            To the Senator's Family:

                        The victims and beneficiaries of "Camelot". Lots of drama-good and bad, but you made it. That was then. This is now.

                    It hurts to have anyone you love ill. It hurt to lose them even more - as you know.

                When my grandmother – our family matriarch – was preparing to move on to her next phase…people would nod at me and say,

            "Oh, it's natural…the way of things…the older ones move aside for the young ones…"

            And they were right, of course.

            But that didn't stop me from wanting to choke them for writing off the event that was bleeding so much pain into me. I didn't give a damn how "natural" it was, my floor was slipping out from under me - and I hated them for their casual indifference about it. 

            I wish I had some magic words to make you all better. If such words exist, I never found them. Contrary to what the invasives and jealous types think, all the bucks in the world won't protect you from all of this either. You already know that.

            There are a couple of things that may help a little…

            Have a quiet little party or a big noisy one. Make it a "Say It" party. Stop and tell the Senator those things you should have said a long time ago. Share your favorite memories. Then let him do the same. It takes as long as it takes. Then everyone do the same to everyone else there. Make it all in his honor. Take pictures. Write stuff down if you want. Tape it if you want. Skip recording altogether if you want.

            There's probably one of you or maybe two? that are closer to him. To those: Cry if you need to. Then, get a tape recorder. Turn it on and ask him about things. Then let him tell you about things. This too, takes as long as it takes.

            Cut his hair for him. Get his favorite foods. Enjoy each other. Some things we weren't meant to understand.

            All we ever have is today. You share that with all of us.  I hope that comforts you a little.

            If each prayer brings you an angel, then already Americans are giving you a fabulous party and you walk surrounded.

God be with you.

The Political Stray