Michael Jackson and the Death of News

Michael Jackson's death has put an end to American news reporting. Tried to watch Rachel Maddow last night but it was wall-to-wall Jackson lamentary, Rachel was gone, instead it was Keith Olberman sitting there in his shirt (like Cronkite/Kennedy?) looking confused and appearing to be on the verge of tears from time time explaining over and over again and again that he really knew nothing as the same clips of sheriff helicopters and ambulances were shown endlessly one after the other. This great commentator who always has an answer for everything is now no longer the night watchman calling out in the darkness but exposed as the village idiot crying "It's eleven o'clock and something is wrong, but I can't explain it, let me start over again. . ."

During the days of the Bush administration I would explain such happenings to myself as the work of Karl Rove. Why else in the days immediately prior to the American invasion of Iraq would the American TV new shows present a few moments of the great build- up of invasion forces and then spend the next twenty-five minutes exploring the Scott Peterson thing? Had to be the work of some "intelligent design", and who else but Karl Rove? Terrible, yes, but also darkly brilliant.

I don't think we can blame Rove for this now, but it is well to ask ourselves who benefits from this and who is hurt by it? The greatest benefactors to my thought are Gov. Sanford and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The great losers are those searching to expose the illegal activities of elected officials in Washington, and those who are protesting the "election" in Iran. More great winners? The TV news stations - CNN today is bewildered confusion (just returned from being a captive audience member in my doctor's waiting room) and hopelessly hanging on for one bit of news to be given them so they can breathlessly relate it to US. Elsewhere, the world is presented as a great vacuum. "Duh?"

You would think there would be a solution for this problem, but I am not sure there is any specific answer. It probably just boils down to the simple fact that Americans don't care about real news. So maybe that is why the "news" stations have become simply Distraction Centers.

Letter from a Fellow Veteran

This is the message I received from a fellow Vietnam veteran, Harry Flynn, this evening:

Why will the major TV networks carry a three hour memorial service without commercial interruptions and then many hours of other program and news coverage today for someone who never served his country or put his life on the line and gave his all. I AM OUTRAGED. Why can we not get the same coverage and respect for our service members and veterans who have given us the FREEDOM to be able to enjoy and do the things we do each day. I am a Vietnam Veteran that knows what it is like to put your life on the line and wonder if you will every live to see America or your family again, and when you do come home no Welcome Home or Thank You until many years later. Please take time to reflect on this and feel free to comment. I even saw where one of our congress person saluted him today. We need to be saluting our real HEROES today and every day. What has happen to us in this country. God help us.

While the focus today, tomorrow, and for the next God-knows-how-many-days will be the death of a pop culture icon; while many will mourn, wail, and quite literally make fools of themselves over it and while as many will speak endlessly about it, allow me, if only for a moment, to remind us all that others have died this month; others whose lives were cut short; others who leave behind loved ones and whose families will dearly miss them; families who'll suffer with much more dignity and honor than we'll be exposed to on the tube in the coming days.

Yes... it's true... we've suffered a great loss... but forgive me when I tell you that I'm not talking about the king of pop music.

These American military members died in Iraq this month:

Sergeant Justin J. Duffy
Specialist Christopher M. Kurth
Specialist Charles D. Parrish
Lance Corporal Robert D. Ulmer
Staff Sergeant Edmond L. Lo
Sergeant Joshua W. Soto
Captain Kafele H. Sims
Specialist Chancellor A. Keesling

And these members of our U.S. Armed Forces died in Afghanistan this month:

Sergeant Jones, Ricky D.
Specialist Munguia Rivas, Rodrigo A.
Command Master Chief Petty Officer Garber, Jeffrey J.
1st Sergeant Blair, John D.
Sergeant Smith, Paul G.
Staff Sergeant Melton, Joshua
Sergeant 1st Class Dupont, Kevin A.
Specialist O'Neill, Jonathan C.
Chief Warrant Officer Richardson Jr., Ricky L.
Specialist Silva, Eduardo S.
Lance Corporal Whittle, Joshua R.
Major Barnes, Rocco M.
Major Jenrette, Kevin M.
Staff Sergeant Beale, John C.
Specialist Jordan, Jeffrey W.
Specialist Griemel, Jarrett P.
Specialist Hernandez I, Roberto A.
Sergeant Obakrairur, Jasper K.
Staff Sergeant Hall, Jeffrey A.
Private 1st Class Ogden, Matthew D.
Private 1st Class Wilson, Matthew W.

Let's remember and honor this day those whose deaths are truly impacting.

In a Nutshell -

America's best moments have come when we supported the ideals of our constitution, and some of our worst moments have come when we have tried to "protect" that thing. Unfortunately, we have a problem. It is our government. It is a common type of organization, Canada has a similar one, so do countries in Europe. As a great hierarchy it is really a relic of the feudal system. Each country has a "Lord" who doesn't know his ass from his mouth, and he is supported by a coterie of conniving bastards who couldn't be elected to do anything other than to leave the room now.

Power is the missing commodity. America has solved that with the economic might of great corporations. The corporations pay the coterie who select and get elected people who will pass laws that help the corporations. There it is: Power>henchmen>nice guy. The American people? Oh yeah, the people - well, they pay the money to the corporations and vote for the "nice" guys. Welcome to America - you'all.

Iran - The Ultimatum

Now that the Supreme Leader in Iran has issued his ultimatum, what is next to come? I can't begin to guess. The protesters could back off but why should they? There is no point in pretending to wait for the next election, that charade is now over. The clerical gloves are off and the holy veil has been discarded. The "Islamic Republic" is revealed to be simply another dictatorship claiming to be a religious institution. Iranians are now shown to be servants of their self-appointed Supreme Leader rather than the free people they apparently thought they were.

The Islamic leaders have shown that they are just one more non-spiritual hierarchical organization whose most sacred ideal is not service to Allah, or to any other god, but the survival of their own organization at all costs including stealing, lying, cheating, imprisonment, murder and other means as they feel might be necessary. They have their own "Lord", the "Supreme Leader" who was appointed by the ruling coterie who largely remain in the shadows and who secretly tell him what to do. He then "orders" them to do what they have already told him in secret to order them to do. They will reluctantly carry out their own orders.

So the Iranian citizens now can now 1) meekly retire and pray they are not punished for actions already done, 2) continue the protest marches and force the hand of the Supreme Leader, or 3) do something else. But it seems clear that Iranians are today different people than they were at the beginning of this week which has just passed.

The word from Twitter has been amazing. I will stay eagerly tuned. The photo is from persiankiwi, via Twitter.

How To Rob a Guy. Easy.

Well, you can’t break into Joe Bang’s house and take his money, and you can’t stick him up at work and get it that way either. He’s too well armed. He’s got a lot of guns and he “carries” too. He’s always ready for anything. So how do you get Joe’s money? Besides, he really doesn't have that much money, he may be about to lose his job, and he is deeply in debt. But here's one way - and it's real easy. You make him come into your business - with or without one of his guns - and you make him GIVE you his money. Cool, huh? Here’s how it works:

First you get a secret deal (most business deals are more or less secret) with some major gun and ammunition companies. You call yourself some important name like the National Resistance to Aggression organization, or something like that. Then you send out magazine stories and web page items about how dangerous the world has become, especially since the first modern president of the United States has been elected, Point out how you can’t be sure of his allegiances, or what his religion REALLY is, or where he was even born, and so on. Mix in races issues, rural/urban problems, religious issues, liberal/conservative. Say that he is leading us toward socialism, even communism. Claim that he really is a Frenchman! Get some of your friends who have talk shows on radio and TV to echo what you are saying. Scare those people!

Then point out how ammunition and guns are becoming scarce and hard to get. Explain that you hope there will be enough to go around if “things go bad”. Sorrowfully point out that some people will not have “enough” ammo to fire their guns if “anything” "happens".

Then you raise the price of your stuff, curtail your hours of operation, put up billboards telling people to "get your guns while you still can!" and watch all the Joe Bangs come running with their money in their hand.

Cheney's Wishes

Cheney had been infuriated by Panetta's comments about how Cheney "needs" to have the U.S, attacked. No way any of us can tell who is right about this right now, but it sure would make Cheney look like a fool if we were never attacked again given the manner in which he keeps telling us that "his" way is the ONLY way to avoid such an attack. Meanwhile, if we were attacked, he would look like a real old-time patriot, and super smart guy who knows the only way to safety.

Of course, if we follow Cheney's instructions, we are only doing what George Bush did for eight years, thus things can only continue to get worse, never better. That is to ignore the lessons of history - especially those taught in the past eight years. That also would continue to cast a pall of secrecy over "what really took place" back then and there. Eventually, all that will surface and the sooner that happens the more likely that Cheney, Bush et. al. might actually be punished - at least, publicly shamed. Another attack though, would postpone those revelations for many more years. So you figure it out yourself, what does Cheney REALLY need?

I am not a fan of Cheney. I have only one good thing to say about him. This is it: Cheney was SO bad than not even a terrorist or a crazy fool, or even a misguided religious zealot would kill George Bush, which would result in making Bush a "great" president and redeeming his errors, and also promote Cheney to the presidency. For that I will always be grateful to Dick Cheney.

Lone Nuts? Not By a Long Shot

We have seen a physician gunned down for providing medical services to women, and now a killing in a Holocaust Memorial. The doctor was killed by someone who had been a frequent "visitor" to his clinic. The Holocaust shootings were done by a man who had tried to abduct an entire board of directors at gunpoint in the past.

Both of these men have been called "lone nuts", but both had a wide group of people who supported them and their intention to take the law into their own hands. They were not only supported by these groups but honored and exalted because of their "commitment" and their daring. Who know how great a role that support played in the subsequent and inevitable killings? What if their followers had urged restraint - and encouraged them to seek a different path? What if the strident public voices such as Limbaugh, Savage, Beck, and many others had backed off, and sought to find another way to deal with the problems?

After all, both the killers and their supporters are victims too. They are victims of their own ignorance and inability to understand the world as it really exists. Both groups are empowered by the religious concept that they know the ultimate truth to begin with, and all facts must be therefore be tailored to fit their own reality. To people like this, abortion is always evil, the holocaust never happened. Sure, they seem foolish when exposed to the facts of life. But they are not exposed, they are sheltered from true reality, and encouraged to act as if they are called by some god to kill the evil-doers of the world and scare others to "come around" and worship those same gods.

No, these people are not "lone nuts" who are acting on their own, they are members of viralent terrorist groups that are bent on bending the rest of us to their will through use of force.

Obama's Trip to Middle East and Europe

An important step. We're still defining Obama. He is still defining himself. Obama travels in a straight line, but always from side to side. He says something, then defines it as being a little different from what he said before. Later, when he clarifies that discrepancy, you will find something else has been left there - or maybe it is missing. He is either very, very, very good or very, very, very bad. Either way it will be amazing. Time will tell on him. Right now - I'm hoping.

ONE COMMENT - The most important job of the president is NOT the defense of America - that's important yes, but there is one thing even more important than that - and that is to protect the Constitution of the United States. And that sometimes gets lost in the rumble.

Fixing Republicans?

The Republican Party has problems.
A lot of them.
One is there is no leadership.
George W is in remission
Cheney is the mumbling bumbling Prince of Darkness, Lord of Torture, a certified human repellent.
Powell is the official Republican Jack O’Lantern who falsely and devastatingly testified in the UN about the soap powder he held in canisters, thus condemning thousands of innocent persons to death
Limbaugh is the obvious spokesperson for the party, and he says Republicans have to get nasty now, and those who won’t have to leave the party.
Rush now says they have to attack Democrats instead of Republicans
Steele says the “honeymoon” is over, now they will tear the Democrats up.
Rove, snapping like a Parana at democrats, is blossoming very turdly toward republicans.

So there is a problem in trying to find out what is wrong with the Republican Party and how to fix it.

But it’s worse than that. America is in terrible shape. Our nation is sick, our education system is disintegrating. Our criminal-”justice” system has more prisoners than any other country in the world. Our industrial system has basically quit producing - anything. Our medical care system has almost 20% of all Americans with no care at all, many others with poor care, while it is the most financially complicated system of any kind anywhere, and the costliest medical system in the world. Our highway system is crumbling and we have virtually no train or subway systems outside of the largest cities, We are fighting two wars, the only “advanced” civilization in the world fighting any wars at all. And there is even more.

And - oh yes - there is the Republican Party, too. Notice though, that it is trying to figure out how to get elected again, how to “fix” the Republican Party, and NOTHING about how to fix America.

Maybe if they could figure out what America needs, they could begin to get the attention of more Americans. But they never will as long as they are trying to “fix” their own party.

American Torture

We Americans didn't want to look at our torture crimes because we knew that was wrong AND we also knew nothing was going to be done about it. I had wondered for many years how the Germans could have gone along with Hitler's crimes and I used to feel smug about that. Not anymore. To the Germans there came a time when Hitler's actions became theirs, and now we Americans too have sailed under that same Arch de Acquiescence, whirling around and around in a whirlpool of profound and studied detachment. We can no longer say it was Bush who did it. Now it is America who did it.

All we can offer now in propitiation is that we were waiting for a saviour. And he is here - and we want him to cleanse us real quick. Problem is that the big boys are way out there beyond any retribution basking in glory and retirement benefits and we will never get any piece of bush, cheney, rumsfield, addington, yoo, gonzales, ashcroft, and many others including powell who sold his soul for a beaker of washing powder at the U. N. when he could have changed everything. So - all we can do - rationally - now - is to crucify all the poor bastards who carried out the orders of the Lords. If EVERYBODY refuses, because they know they will eventually be punished, then maybe someday nobody will carry out those damn orders.

President Obama versus The Law

Two stunning blows to America came out of President Obama’s White House on Thursday, April 16, 2009.

The first was the official recognition that the former president (Bush) had knowingly violated the American Constitution, and had not enforced the laws of the nation by directing American military and CIA personnel to torture captured war prisoners.

The second was that Obama, the current president, would also knowingly violate the American Constitution, which he had promised less than three months ago to protect and defend, and also that he would not enforce the laws of the nation as he had also sworn to do, since he will not punish those who carried out the torture orders or those who issued them.

There will have to be fallout from that.

First, in the United States military. Any military order MUST meet three criteria to be valid and enforceable: 1) it must be legal, 2) must be issued from competent authority, and 3) must be clearly conveyed. Obama has just wiped the first two of those requirements away. Now, instead of being required to follow only legal and authorized orders, military personnel must now obey ALL orders. The lessons learned from the Waffen-SS and Nazi Germany some of which involved the Jewish holocaust are vitiated and weakened to the point of uselessness.

Second, Obama says the nation can’t “waste time” seeing that this violation is enforced and that "error" is corrected. The protection and enforcement of the constitution and laws of the nation are not as important as the other things that Obama wants to do. This continues the process President Ford began when he provided a general amnesty to President Nixon for the crimes he committed while in office, and provides additional precedence to the concept that a president cannot be punished for illegal activities, or anything he does, while he is president.

Third is the inevitable implication that no law is to be considered valid or enforceable until the president has said it is one that he wants to have enforced.

Fourth is that America can no longer in good faith punish other nations that torturers captured American servicemen. Such actions will now be seen as selfish and vindictive.

Fifth, the fact remains and WILL remain that the laws of America have been broken and will HAVE to be enforced or ELSE the basic nature of the American government will have changed forever.

In short, by these two actions, President Obama has rewritten the United States Constitution. And nobody knows what it is now or what it means now. Perhaps president Obama will reveal this new law as time unfolds?

I have supported Barack Obama but I could also support impeachment. Let's see if we can find another way. BUT- action needs to follow this direlection of duty.

John Womack

The Pope or a Condom - Take Your Choice

Condoms CAUSE AIDS? Only in the mind of a snakeoil salesman. How bad can the pope make Catholicism (and Christianity) seem to be to the average person?

Out of touch with science, out of touch with reality, out of touch with problems, out of touch with people, out of touch with humanity.

By his words today, thousands - perhaps tens of thousands - of innocent people will suffer and die; perhaps hundreds of thousands of unwanted babies will be born in an overburdened land.

Your people were kneeling papa, hands outstretched in hope of receiving a fish from their papa, and their papa brings them a serpent.

Shame on you, pope. Shame! Shame! Put a condom on your own head, up over your bishop's miter. Put a condom on your head and pull it down. Pull it down. Pull it ALL the way down!

Help prevent the spread of disease.

AIG? Good Distraction!

Senator Grassly said he would appreciate it if these guys committed suicide. He was joking, he said later but ALMOST ALL of our congressmen and senators have got to LOVE the fact that AIG is a convenient target for our collective wrath.

That serves nicely to distract us from how badly they betrayed the public trust and sold their souls for the grateful coziness with AIG who in turn permitted them to gather up the crumbs underneath their great table. Like the Ibises who succulently pull ticks and other insects off of great beasts in the field, or the Egyptian Plovers that clean leftovers from the teeth of crocodiles, these annelidical things we call congressional representatives of the people have bled the American public again and again for the humble access to commercial power (i.e. political contribution potential).

Now they really appreciate AIG one more time - AIG is now serving as a great congressional heat shield as the Reaganomic Experiment re-enters the atmosphere of reality.

Welcome home - you make a pretty sight. And remember, whenever EVERYBODY is piling on, that's a sure sign that the real culprit has gotten away.

© John Womack, 2009. All rights reserved

The Pope Spoke - Again.

Pope Benedict XV brought into his position of power an admonition to the world, and especially to the citizens of Europe that now was the time for them to return to God, and especially to come back home to the church again. He castigated Europeans for becoming so secular that they were losing their spiritual bearings and their only hope was to come back and worship again and serve the church once more. Religion had made Europe great in the past and it's new Supreme Bishop was willing to forgive its wayward children - but they had to shape up!

Unfortunately the spotlight he turned upon religion has revealed some flaws not attributable to secularism. The 81 year old prelate apparently attributed the drifting masses to the wandering away of the church itself from some of its old traditional assertions. A return to the pre-ecumenistic services clearly pleased the pope even if it upset his Jewish "friends". He also shifted away from the distribution of the elements of mass to some who were not Roman Catholic, thus isolating that church even more. Then came the reinstatement of some ex-communicated priests who had made anti-Jewish comments. One of them had been tossed out of the church for denying the occurance of the hollocaust. Benedict pulled him back in. When cries arose that he should not have been ex-excommunicated, Benedict was dismissive.

Now finally comes the uproar across the internet. Apparently comments, even sermons, given by this ex-excommunicated bishop have become popular across Europe now show on YouTube. Benedict was blown-away. Last word we heard he was commenting to someone about having to start reading the internet.

Well, come on now. Popes have taken any sign of progress as indication of devilment. Birth control is seen as equivalent to murder and serious sin. It is even on a par with Darwin and his scientific theories. The Catholic Church has only recently - in the past couple of hundred years - accepted Gallileo and Copernicus as purveyers of truth. But Benedict was well on the way to banishing the telescope along with condoms and scientific thinking. Now comes the internet? No way.

Socialism Hooray? But. . . ?

So the republicans are screaming "Socalism! Socialism!"? And Obama is a undercover socialist? Well what IS socialism? Isn't that where the government controls all the major factors of production? Sure it is.

In a socialist government/economy the national government runs the railroads, press, airports, farms, food processing, factories, and all the other major enterprises. They set the objectives and plans, they organize the companies they put people in various positions and run the day-to-day operations. That's socialism.

What America has traditionally offered to the world is a different kind of government-economy operation. Under our form of Controlled Capitalism, that is, the way things USED to be, back before Reagan brought his "Voodo Economics" into our world, the large corporations ran their day-to-day operations the way they saw fit. They made their plans, they organized their operations, they hired and promoted their people, they ran their operations themselves. The national government played the role of referee and umpire to make sure the "economic game" was played according to the rules the American people decided it would be run. For example, there would be no child labor. Women and blacks would be paid equally for equal work. Taxes would be paid as determined. Food production would be uncontaminated by germs and mold, accounting would be audited and reported and conducted in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Corporations would stick to their chosen job and not take over unrelated work from other corporations.

These lessons came from a long history of boom and bust cycles, culminating with the Robber Barrons in the early part of the Twentieth Century, and creshendoing in the Great Depression of the 1930s. There would be laws. There would be rules to insure that our nation would never again be ripped apart by savage CEOs, and those rules and laws would be enforced by the might of the Federal Government.

Then Reagan said thing were SO good that we had reached Morning in America again, and that the corporations could be "trusted" and the market would take care of us all. And that was the beginning of the fall.

Republicans in Limbo?

Or is that Limbaugh? Doesn't really matter. They are thrashing about wildly now looking for blame. George Bush is easy to blame. He was a bad man. Brought up bad and empowered by demons. But it wasn't really his fault. There is almost as much blame as there is damage. The entire Republican Party is also easy to blame because they were so proud of their snorting, strutting stallion from Texas. And while we are at it, spreading blame, let's smear a lot all over the democrats too. There were some heros there, but most of them just stood silently around mumbling deprecatingly from time to time and shyly shaking their heads occasionally. They sighed when they should have screamed. So let's make sure they get credit for what they deserve too.

After blaming Bush for their decline, the Republican Party is now blaming Obama and the Democratic Party for taking over control of congress and the White House. That's like blaming the doctor for cancer after you smoked three-packs-a-day for 30 years. The bad news is only the beginning there too.

What can the republicans do? They can begin by talking with the American people. They need to understand that the Entire World has changed dramatically since the 1700's. America is no longer a group of states protected by a great wilderness and impassable oceans. And they need to listen first. Find out Americans don't ride horses anymore. We don't own slaves anymore. Some of us are WOMEN - bet they didn't know. America has changed. The Republican Party MUST change too or die.

Just remember this acronym republicans: "Where Has It Gone". Figure it out.

© John Womack, 2009. All rights reserved.

Speaking of Speaking.

A couple of interesting speeches last night. Obama, our new president and Jindal, governor of Louisiana seen as the GOP Obama, and the apparent heir of the GOP.

Obama was good. I was thinking back to the old ToastMasters critiques that we used to do so long ago. How would I have rated Obama? Really can't say because I got lost in the world he created in front of me. But in retrospect his message was strongly written, coherent, logical, forceful, direct. It sequed from point to point and carried emotion from anger to triumph to comedy to joy. I hate to say this, but it was probably the best public speech I have ever seen.

Jindal, first of all, had the extreme bad luck to have to follow this masterpiece by Obama. He failed miserably. He was not in control of his logic or his rambling points, much less in control of the entire world as Obama had just seemed to be. He looked worried in a couple of places and even, I thought, a little scared from time to time.

This is not enough to finish Jindal's career. Politics is a strange and illogical being. One week can heal all wounds and can also destroy that which is totally invulnerable. But his performance does open up the running for the GOP leader. Perhaps the greatest casualty in seeing this newcomer fall so badly is that it will tend to promote the "old heads". Not McCain, but other bad guys like Newt or Jeb!.

Meanwhile, Obama has now placed himself firmly in the position as President of the United States. If he can run swiftly and not fall and can lead the way clearly, many will thrillingly follow him all the way to glory.

Abstinence and Palin's Daughter

Just a couple of other things Palin got screwed up. The problem with abstinence is that it just doesn't work. It's nothing other than an easy way out for parents. This way they can put the blame on their kids and say it is all their fault.

Abstinence has never been easy for anybody. Parents get it wrong all the time. Preachers and even priests can't completely abstain as a group and these are people who have taken big-time, real serious vows placing their souls up to God as collateral for betraying a young one on sexual desire. But then they find a way to make it happen.

Easy to blame the Evil One for this. "The devil made me do it!" But I'm afraid that God is the guilty one here, because we are all clearly hard-wired to have sex, to have it repeatedly and with as many people as possible and as early in life as feasible. Darwin tried to get God off this hook by showing this natural selection process using random events would insure the continuation of life in a species and enable the most vigorous members to improve the product. But of course, like so many other "Christian Right" people, Palin believes that Darwin is the only human proven to have come from a monkey and all the rest of us were formed by an intelligent creator. So when I went to my parents for help and they said it was up me and God, and God made me, then God also made me do it.

Of course now there is a corollary to Darwin's theories. In this modern age, the really clever, ingenious, daring, capable, skillful, and resourceful young-uns who have the most sex with other students are the ones who DON'T have offspring. OK, so a clever blow to "Intelligent Design". But this is nothing new. This was widely known over the centuries. The great poet even wrote about how "Abstinence makes the hard grow longer", or something like that. But just ask ANY school kid.

Shoot the Chimp

As bad as it gets. That someone would “own” a “pet” chimpanzee is bad enough. That the animal would get sick, so sick that it would attack and seriously maul its owner’s friend is far, far worse. That police would have to come and shoot the poor thing dead compounds it into a grizzly cartoon of evil. And then there is the victim, a person who has had her life forever changed in a moment, and perhaps may not even live through this event.

THEN. Along comes Murdoch the Great, King of News, who contorts the issue, even trivalizes the issues involved, and compares it to the new president’s economic recovery plan. Of course Murdoch probably hadn’t noticed that the president is a black man, and he certainly could not have known that white racists for years have contemptuously compared black men with monkeys and chimpanzees. So we are to believe that Murdoch really didn’t know what he was doing? That it wasn’t his problem because he didn’t approve the cartoon? That he is now sorry that some people were so stupid that they were offended by the cartoon that he didn’t know he had published? Now - if ANYBODY believes that - then that’s news.

Some say Murdoch likes Obama. That’s too bad. Last thing Barrack needs right now is a 200 pound sick chimp that occasionally freaks out and is not responsible for what he does.

Sport? Oh yes, of course, ha ha.

After hearing about Alex ("A-Rod") Rodriguez, which comes after so many other "revelations" of other "sportsmen" who have cheated their competitors and their fans to the point where all serious people have decided that sport is simply a way to cheat people (fans and competitors) out of more money and make their various "games" much more expensive to attend, I looked up the word "sport" in a dictionary.

It said that "Sport" was an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess. Also it could be used to describe jest; fun; mirth; pleasantry: "What he said in sport was taken seriously". Also, mockery; ridicule; derision: "They made sport of him". It describes an object of derision; laughingstock or something treated lightly or tossed about like a plaything.

Oh, OK.