The First Black President

Referring to Barack Obama as the first Black President or the first African-American President is being overdone. Indeed his election was a historic event and one which African- Americans and for that matter all Americans should celebrate but it is time to relegate the racial part of Obama's election to the history books. It is time to become color blind in acknowledging his accomplishments and failures as President of The United States. ( Was George W. Bush the last WASP President?)

Breaking news- the Republican National Committee has elected the first Black Chairman of a political party. Here we go again. Again its great, ( probably too little to late), but I hope the pundits will lighten up on the race part of it or is that why the Republicans elected him.

Living The American Dream

Wall Street rewarding itself with exorbitant bonuses in the midst of an economic crisis has rightfully been called appalling. That this money was taxpayer’s money makes it almost criminal. Still these financial executives are living the American Dream. Yes, the American Dream! Traditionally the American Dream has stressed monetary gain. Of course the pursuit of monetary gain is laden with pitfalls. The poor Mafioso discovered that his pursuit of the American Dream ended in a Federal Prison. Ex- Governor Blagojevich’s pursuit of the American Dream ended in a disgraceful removal from office. Bernard Madoff achieved the American Dream at the expense of his greedy investors but may find himself buried in the pyramid he created. Wall Street need not worry. They will have to weather the public’s indignation and a wag of the finger from the White House and Congress but their billions in bonuses will be intact. Why do they act so greedily and irresponsibly - their motto is “never look a gift horse in the mouth”. Better that they should heed President Clinton’s words about the American Dream, "We need a new spirit of community, a sense that we are all in this together, or the American Dream will continue to wither. Our destiny is bound up with the destiny of every other American."

Baseball Salaries

This time of year I usually start warming up to the coming baseball season. This year however there is a bit of chill in the air. Apparently there is no abatement in the astronomical salaries being commanded by baseball's "stars" which includes almost everyone but the bat boy. It is a little difficult to stomach in the face of soaring unemployment figures , a crumbling stock market and increasing home foreclosures. Does a call by the President for more responsibility and less greed apply to the sports world? Baseball would like us to believe that it is an essential part of our daily life and that it provides a needed diversion in bad times. One of these days there will be a wake up call (would they have the gall to ask for a bailout), in the meantime I must confess that I'm looking forward to Spring training.

( Is reality beginning to set in? Abreu, others, might soon swallow pride -Buster Olney's SI blog)

The Wind At Your Back

As Barack Obama becomes our 44th President it might be appropiate to bestow upon him this Irish blessing:

May the road rise up to meet you,

may the wind be ever at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face

and the rain fall softly on your fields.

Kamikaze Geese

Did a bird strike bring down US Airways Flight 1549? Why were the birds on strike? Is Al Qaeda training Canadian Geese to be suicide bombers? Can Guantanamo hold birds? Don't birds have more rights to the sky ? Questions, questions, questions!

Coupon Nazis

Aside from rising prices at the supermarket I have noticed an increased surveillance of manufacturer’s coupons ( see previous post ) . Now one is subjected to a scrutiny of coupons at checkout which rivals that of the Florida election workers looking for chards during the Bush - Gore recount in 2000. The checkout clerks have morphed into Coupon Nazis. Apparently coupons have fine print, lots of fine print! If one has not read all the fine print with a magnifying glass they risk being brought up short by the Gestapo. A public lecture follows with the implication that the coupon passer is engaged in some sort of scam.

It is commonly assumed that a coupon applies to a single item. Bad assumption. Read the fine print and you will find that some coupons will require the purchase of two products. Gotcha! Save fifty cents and get two packages when you only need one. By far what irks the Coupon Nazi the most is a coupon that has expired. Most of the time an expiration date is prominently displayed but the trend is toward burying it in the fine print. Other than to annoy the customer I’m not sure what this accomplishes. Then there are the pictures on the coupon of the product the coupon applies to. Of course in some cases it is difficult to make out and a guess results. The most conscientious Coupon Nazis will go through your items that have been already checked out in order to assure herself or himself that you bought the right product. I said herself or himself only to be politically correct but I must admit the himself’s rarely question coupons. They are too lazy to make good Coupon Nazis.

Remember this, if your coupon backfires be sure you are Mirandized before submitting to any questioning by the Gestapo. Better yet it is best to get in a line that includes a lawyer willing to represent you pro bono in case you are accosted during checkout.

Raised in the Great Depression
Retired before the crash of eighty seven
Lived to see the Great Recession
Whoever said this would be heaven

The Stupidity Of War

The following excerpt from a NY Times article illustrates the stupidity of war:

"Amid the fighting in Gaza, Israel said the three-hour lull would be repeated every other day between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to allow Gaza’s population to seek medical help, buy food and receive humanitarian supplies."

A timetable to ease the ravages of war! It doesn't add up. The odds are overwhelming in favor of destruction. Twenty-one hours for destruction and three hours for humanitarian aid every other day. Why not prohibit casualties and hunger every twelve hours every other day! Will someone publish a schedule? Will there be a referee with a whistle to signal time out? Will Hamas issue a timetable for the delivery of rockets, say between 7:35 a.m and 3:45 p.m. every third day? Why not stop the fighting all together!