Unfiltered Opinion

Don't Let Your Children Live In Dallas

A strip club in Dallas, Texas is losing its license for 30 days for allowing a 12 year old girl to perform in their club for two weeks.  I can't believe the club is only losing its license for 30 days - what's up with that?  The owner of the club is not even going to jail for one day.  I'm glad to see that Dallas knows how to prevent perverts from exploiting children in their adult businesses.

The Dallas City Council decided to change the ordinance that govern the strip clubs after they realized that the existing law was weak.

"Last month, the Dallas City Council voted to tighten its ordinance regulating the operation of sexually businesses after WFAA-TV and The Dallas Morning News reported that employing someone under the age of 18 wasn’t enough to shut down a strip club."

Dallas will now shut a strip club down for a whole year if they use an underage dancer.  What kind of law is that?  I've got an idea - how about shutting the club down forever. 

My problem with this situation is that Dallas is saying that if you have a under-aged girl stripping in your club your license will be revoked for a year - that's it.  Where's the jail time for the owner of the club?  I guarantee you that if a man filmed some 12 year old girl stripping in his house he would get some serious jail time - as he should.  The authorities would not care if she misled him about her age.  The adult needs to act like the adult.

It's the strip club owner's responsibility to know the ages of his dancers and other employees.  There should be no excuses for any lapse in judgment.  The club owner failed in his duties as an employer and the city of Dallas has failed in its duties to protect its youngest residents.

Divorce - American Style

If you think anybody can get a divorce anytime they want to then you need to read this article.  You may want to think twice about living in certain states who make it hard to obtain a divorce.

Welcome To The America I Know - Part Two

There are idiots who will do anything to make a buck.  For example, check out this fool in Georgia who is selling shirts that depict the image of the monkey Curious George.  The monkey is supposed  to represent Barack Obama.  The owner of the shirt claims it is not intended to be racist.  Anyone with a brain knows that racist whites have always compared blacks to monkeys. 

I'm so glad I'm living in a new post-racial America.  The video below has more information on the controversy.

Welcome To The America I Know

The Washington Post ran an article yesterday that profiled some of the racist incidents that many supporters of Barack Obama's candidacy have encountered in some cities. I am sure that his supporters have had to deal with racist incidents since the beginning of his campaign, but Obama's campaign has made a conscious decision not to publicize it. 

Unfortunately, these racist acts of ignorance will allow Obama's white supporters to realize that racism is alive and well in America.  Hopefully, they will share their experiences with their friends and family members who believe that blacks are overstating the volume of racism in this country.  Sometimes you have to venture outside of your comfort zone to see what's really happening on the other side of town.

Black Support For Obama - It's A Matter Of Pride

While reading Political Punch, I was led to an interesting, entertaining and thought provoking blog written by Ta-Nehisi Coates. While I don't agree with some of the content of his postings, I appreciate and respect the fact that he makes intelligent arguments.  For example, I liked his post regarding the myth of the black racist voter.

There are some whites who believe that the overwhelming support of blacks for Obama is a racist act.  I strongly disagree with that.  Coates writes:

"Whereas we have several anecdotal reports of folks categorically voting against Obama because he's black, I've yet to hear a black voter say she couldn't vote for Hillary--under any circumstance--because she's white."

I agree with Coates on this issue.  I have never during my lifetime heard a black person say they would never vote for a candidate because they are white.  Now I am sure there are blacks out there who do harbor racist feelings and do feel that way regarding white candidates.  I'm just saying that I have never encountered any.  That's probably because I have an aversion to being around racists of any color. 

However, as a result of being born and raised in St. Louis, I have had a front row seat to the hardcore racist sentiments some whites have towards black candidates.  I remember when Freeman Bosley Jr. ran for mayor of St. Louis.  You would have been hard pressed to find a white person who would have admitted that they voted for him.  I think it's a fear that some whites have that if a black person is elected to a position of power that they will invoke some form of apartheid that will in turn have whites living as second class citizens. 

Obama is getting approximately ninety percent of the black vote for a couple of reasons.  There are many blacks who are voting for Obama because of his political platform.  However, in my opinion, the majority of blacks are supporting Obama for reasons of pride and wanting to see history made by seeing a man of color as President of the United States.  For example, I have been called an "Uncle Tom", traitor, and other names by blacks because I am a registered independent voter who has not jumped on the Obama bandwagon.  Some of these people are my family members who do not like to hear that I believe Obama and Clinton are both flawed candidates who are promising a lot of things that they will not be able to deliver if they were to become president. 

As I have said before, I am torn by the Obama candidacy.  I would love to see a member of a minority group elected to the highest office in the land.  I am just not convinced yet that Obama is the right person to break that glass ceiling.  Unlike Clinton, he still has time to convince me otherwise - I am listening.

Clinton Has Only Herself To Blame

When the presidential inauguration is held in January, I am sure that Hillary Clinton will have another episode of "what if" on her mind.

- What if Clinton had been aggressive in attacking Barack Obama from the beginning of the campaign?

- What would have happened if the Clinton campaign team had not acted as clinching the nomination was just a formality?

- What would have happened if the Clinton campaign had given the caucus states the same respect they had given to primary states?

- What would have happened if the Clinton campaign team had not completely mismanaged their campaign contributions to the point that Clinton has had to loan her campaign approximately 11 million dollars?

I cannot wait for the day when Clinton will sit down and answer questions like those mentioned above.  It has to drive her crazy to think that the Democratic nomination was hers to lose and that is exactly what she proceeded to do.  Don't get me wrong, Obama and his campaign team deserve much of the credit for Clinton losing the nomination.  Obama's game plan was organized, strategically better and well executed.  Obama campaigned to win while Clinton campaigned not to lose.  Obama has soundly beaten Clinton in every phase of the game.  I know everyone wants to blame her loss on statements made by Bill Clinton.  Some of the pundits are also saying that the country is tired of a Bush or Clinton being in the White House.  I will admit there are some people who hold those sentiments, but the fact is that Clinton just got her butt kicked.

Does that make Obama the best candidate for the Democratic Party? Not exactly.  However, Obama's performance for the past year says that he competed well enough to win the nomination and that is all that counts in politics.

Obama Is Eventually Going To Have To Tell The Truth About Wright

Once again, Obama is asking the American public to take a leap of faith and believe him when he says that he never heard Jeremiah Wright say anything that the general public would find offensive. Now that Obama has finally denounced Wright and some of his views, some people want to know why it took so long for him to make the right decision.

I have said it before and I will say it again. I do not have a problem with Wright saying the stuff that he does. If he wants to act crazy and say hateful things then that is his right to do so.  Just as it is my right to question the sanity and judgment of the members of Trinity United Church of Christ who continue to sit and listen to Wright.  I still have a problem that Obama was a member of this church for twenty years.

Obama continues to say he was unaware that Wright was delusional and controversial, but there is evident that says otherwise.  Tom Bevan does a great job of documenting Obama's awareness of how problematic his relationship with Wright could be to the day he announced his candidacy for the presidency on February 10, 2007.  According to Wright, Obama called him the night before the announcement to tell him that he no longer could do the invocation.

"Mr. Wright said that in the phone conversation in which Mr. Obama disinvited him from a role in the announcement, Mr. Obama cited an article in Rolling Stone, "The Radical Roots of Barack Obama." According to the pastor, Mr. Obama then told him, "You can get kind of rough in the sermons, so what we've decided is that it's best for you not to be out there in public."

I have questioned Hillary Clinton's sanity and inability to tell the truth after her "sniper" fantasy played out on national television.  Therefore, I also believe it is fair to question Obama's judgment and decision making in regards to Wright.  I have come to the conclusion that Obama is either lying about what he knew about Wright's controversial beliefs and sermons or he is a member of a church that he rarely attended.  Time will tell what the real truth is, but by then it may be too late for Obama.

Justice Scalia - Unplugged

The most controversial member of the Supreme Court, Justice Antonin Scalia gave a rare, insightful and entertaining  interview to 60 Minutes.  The interview is located below in two parts.

Part One

Part Two

In a surprisingly candid interview, Scalia commented on his judicial philosophy and his opinion on the still controversial Gore v. Bush decision that allowed George W. Bush to become president.  He also made some interesting comments regarding the issue of abortion that some people may find interesting.  I also found it interesting that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one the most liberal justices on the court is one of his best friends.  This revelation may disappoint people who like to think that the justices are throwing darts at each other in the hallways of the Supreme Court.

People either like Scalia or hate Scalia.  I do not agree with many of his court opinions, but I have always enjoyed reading them.  It could be argued that his written opinions have always been, by far, the best on the bench.  When he eventually leaves the Supreme Court, a lot of people will be dancing in the streets.  No matter what people think of Scalia, there is no doubt that he will have left an indelible mark on the Court.

If This Is True - Maybe Blacks Should Be Wary Of Obama

Marc Ambinder, an associate editor for The Atlantic has a blog that I enjoy reading on a daily basis.  I don't agree with everything that he writes, but I respect his opinion.  Yesterday, he posted a short entry on his blog entitled "The Edifice Crumbles?" and he the proceeded to post the following thoughts of an Obama supporter,

"It may be cynical, but I've started to think that Wright sees Obama as, in a way, a threat to his ministry. It would be difficult for him to preach that the government systematically destroys the lives of black people if a black man is sitting in the White House."

Ambinder then writes, "I know that many people inside Obama's campaign share this belief."

If what Ambinder says is true then many blacks will be offended and disappointed that members of Obama's campaign have subscribed to this tired theory on race in this country.  First of all, it does not surprise me that there are people in Obama's campaign that believe Wright views Obama's success as a threat to his ministry.  I would like to know the identification of those people.  I would be disappointed, but not surprised if the Obama campaign members who believe this were black. 

This unproven belief of some people in Obama's campaign is based on nothing.  These are the same people who will argue that racism is not that prevalent in today's society because a biracial male is on the brink of becoming the Democratic nominee for president.

There are many whites and some blacks who harbor similar thoughts about the media appointed black "leaders" like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakhan.  They believe that Jackson, Sharpton, Farrakhan and others do not want racism to go away because its demise would make them irrelevant.  I am not a fan of some of their methods and commentaries, but a person would have to be a fool to believe these men want people of color to continue to be discriminated against so they can continue to be relevant in the publics eye.  Now if there is a way to make them irrelevant, please let me know.

I do not believe Wright or any other black "leader" is threatened by Obama's success.  I am sure there are some people who are jealous of the attention Obama gets and the "easy road" he has traveled to get to this point. I do not believe that Obama has traveled an easier road to his success.  I believe Obama has traveled on a road that many members of the "black leadership" are not familiar with.  Nevertheless, there does seem to be a disconnect between the civil rights leaders who cut their teeth on the politics of 30-40 years ago and the new vanguard of black "leaders". 

The bottom line is this - Wright was revered on the South Side of Chicago before Obama came along and he will be revered when Obama is long gone.  Are there people who wish Wright had kept his mouth shut until Obama was elected president?  Yes.  However, the South Side community in which Trinity United Church of Christ resides is not going to turn their back on Wright.  I know they want Obama to sit in the Oval Office, but I guarantee you that they will never trust Obama over Wright.  Trust me when I say that Wright's ministry and his legacy is secure with the people that he represents and that is all that matters to Wright.

Obama Is Walking A Fine Line With Some Black People

I remember it wasn't that long ago when most black people wondered aloud if Obama was black enough.  Some blacks did not trust him because of his biracial background.  He did not have the similar life experience that the majority of blacks have as a result of living in the United States.  Blacks who doubted Obama pointed to the fact that he was the son of a Kenyan father and a white mother.  He also attended and graduated from some of the best schools in the country.  Therefore, some blacks questioned his authenticity on his knowledge of being black in America.

Now approximately 90 percent of the voting black community supports Obama and his quest for the presidency.  Even though he is biracial, Obama has allowed everyone (black, white, media, etc.) to say that he could be the first African-American president of the United States.  For the record, I respect Obama's decision to identify with his African heritage, but I am of the opinion that Obama would be the first biracial President who happens to identify as a black male.  I only say this because I believe when people say Obama is African-American, they totally disregard his white mother and her family.  Obama is the man he is because of his white mother and her parents who basically raised him as a young man in a white household.

When Obama won the Iowa Primary, most black people were stunned that a predominantly white state would vote for someone of color.  The Iowa victory and his strong showing in New Hampshire gave some blacks the courage they needed to support Obama.  For example, Jesse Jackson won 77 percent of the black vote in 1984 and 92 percent of the black vote in 1988.  Currently, Obama is getting numbers close to what Jackson got in 1988.

Despite the support he gets from the majority of black voters, Obama has to be careful of his perception in all segments of the black community.  There are already rumblings from some members of Indiana's black communities that Obama and Hillary Clinton are basically ignoring them while concentrating on courting the blue collar white voters.

Obama is also being watched to see how he handles the Jeremiah Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ controversies.  When Obama denounced Wright yesterday, most people knew he did it for more political reasons than for personal ones.  For Obama to have any chance of making inroads into the white blue-collar vote that Clinton has consistently beat him in he knew he had to strongly denounce Wright.  However, Obama has to be careful how he denounces Wright so as not lose many members of his black voting bloc.  Obama knows that there is a risk that some blacks will think he's just criticizing Wright to appease some white voters.  I believe young black voters are more likely then older black voters to understand why Obama had to give the speech he gave yesterday.   I think older black voters will understand, but will be less likely to forgive him for it.

Obama has to continue to find the balance that allows him to criticize Wright's views while not making it look like he's selling Wright out to white America because he needs their votes. For example, Obama was allegedly criticized by Al Sharpton for trying to "grandstand for white people" by appealing for calm after the controversial verdict in the Sean Bell shooting trial.

Obama is in a delicate situation but he can overcome it by just being himself.  The trouble is I don't know if Obama really knows who he is because I sure don't.  The man is being pulled in all directions by all people on a daily basis.  This is one reason why most people do not run for President of the United States.  I wish him well even though I will not be voting for him in the fall because he's too liberal for my blood.  However, I am willing to overlook the flaws or political leanings of any candidate who would be willing to forgive student loan debts over $50,000.