The shaky, tentative debut of Popademic

It's a new online academic-ish journal I'd like to start. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Should Oprah have gone hard on Palin?

Because--let's be real--she didn't.

And I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Based on Oprah's open support of Obama during the election, it's understood that she's still a fan of the President. Still--as one tweeter noted--Oprah's audience is more likely to fit Palin's demographic--middle-aged white mothers--than Oprah's. Does she invite attacks from right-wing media, or does she do what she can to slow the trickle of viewers she's losing?

It's not like Oprah is the same untouchable media queen she was ten, or even five years ago. She's responsible for Dr. Phil--that alone should have tarnished her talk show crown. At a time when right-wing media seems to have media snipers trained on every potential leftie target, going political could put a serious dent in her ratings.

Still, the questions were dull and simple. At times, Oprah seemed to be giving Palin an oral book report quiz on her own memoir--lucky for Palin, she got all the questions right. And there were things Palin said that Oprah could have easily shut her down on--an inference that Obama sent dirt diggers to Alaska to make trouble for her, for example. Wrong as hell, but Oprah let it slide.

I'm disappointed in Oprah. I wasn't expecting a James Frey-style beatdown (though I kinda hoped for one); but she didn't have to play along like the book is the honest-to-gosh truth. I at least expected her to challenge her on the things she said during the election. That never happened. Instead, she let Palin wag her finger at Levi Johnston for his "aspiring porn" career--after making it completely clear that Johnston has nothing to do with the raising of his son.

Oprah's interviewing Jenna Jameson tomorrow--and that seems like a rather odd follow-up. Maybe she's secretly going for a theme: actresses with sordid pasts.

Cognitive Facebook Therapy

I'm a Facebook and Twitter junkie. It allows me to stay connected with friends and family in a way that e-mail simply doesn't (and it gives me a place to escape when the workday is tap dancing on my nerves). But--as many people have discovered--Facebook allows people from your past to find you. Someone found me on Facebook yesterday, and it got me to thinking about the people and events that shaped my adulthood. Both good and not-so-good.

My years in middle and high school were like everyone's, I guess--we all felt like freaks at one point or another. I wasn't the only tall, skinny, gawky, thick-lensed, black nerdgirl in the world, but I was the only one in my large middle and high schools. So, of course, I got teased: I was trying to be white because of the way I talked and because I was in drama and choir. I was called ugly because I dressed like a weird black militant goth hybrid. I was mocked by the kids in my neighborhood for carrying books home. Nothing new--I was a weirdo of color from a very early age and learned to wear my weirdness with a certain amount of pride. My parents are responsible for building that pride, and I adore them for it.

But there was a clique of girls who did their best to make me feel pretty horrible about myself. My goofy attempts to be a part of a group--cheerleading for an inner-city kids' football league (yes, child, I was a cheerleader)--made things even worse. One girl in my squad--also a part of that Mean Girls clique--was merciless. She was tall, like me, but where I was bony and angular, she was already soft and curvy. She was loud and sure in the way that teenaged girls can be, aggressive in her judgments and confident enough to convince the other girls in her group that everything she said was the honest for-real truth. Every time she saw me, she made fun of me. My clothes, the way I talked, and later, when I rocked a blonde minifro, my hair. By the time I got to high school, I did my best to ignore her; she did not, however, ignore me.

When I left high school, I pretty much forgave and forgot. Kids can be cruel, but that cruelty doesn't usually come from a truly evil place, if that makes any sense--kids are mean to each other because it's how they learn to be adults, how they push themselves into independence. But when the girl who made it her hobby to taunt me sent me a friend request on Facebook, all that cruelty came back in a flash.

Especially when I saw her picture.

My grandmother, a fiercely wise woman, used to say, "People's inside ugly comes to the surface as they get older." I didn't recognize the girl--now a woman--at first. The dark circles under her eyes looked burned in. Her skin, once a smooth dark chocolate that I envied, looked grayed and tired. Her expression, more sneer than smile, was what reminded me of who she was. She looked like the same Mean Girl who laughed at my chicken legs and ant-burner glasses, only older and meaner. And she'd requested to be my friend on Facebook.

I am well aware of how lame this sounds: "OMG, this chick who used to laugh at me 15 years ago wants to be Facebook friends! How dare she!" But I thought about how Facebook allows us to contact people from our past. Ten years ago--hell, two years ago--I was content to see schoolmates every now and then and promptly forget about them. Now, people I don't even recognize e-mail me to reminisce about Biology class or the parties we attended together. Leaving my adolescence behind is harder to do now--because some folks don't want to let go. Some kids shed that cruelty like an old skin; others hold on to it and let it become part of their core. Some people take whatever made them their best in childhood and hold on to it, for better or worse. I don't know if that's sad or not. Maybe it's just how we're made.

I can't--and won't--say that the woman with the Droopy Dog eyes is the same girl she was when we were in our early teens. Chances are she doesn't remember tormenting me, just as I'm sure I did things to classmates that have long since sunk into rarely used memory cells. But seeing her face reminded me of how much of my gawky, weirdo teen self is still left in me, how much of it I still need to set down and leave behind. And a part of that is the pain that one girl caused me.

Maybe the small pleasure I took in seeing that picture is my own inside ugly. And I need to set that down, too.

I'm working on it.

American by degrees: NYC Marathon Winner

We saw an ugly breed of nationalism emerge (well, re-emerge) during the 2008 presidential election, with Republicans referring to "Real Americans" and questioning the patriotism of anyone who didn't agree with (or look like) them.

Recent issues like the health care debate have deepened that ugliness, with town hall meetings looking more like episodes of WWE than civil political discourse. It's starting to feel like being an American has less to do with a person's devotion to this country, and more to do with one's ideological (and religious, and cultural, and racial) purity.

The definition of "American" has become so contentious that not even naturalized citizens are American enough. In a column written by Darren Rovell, the winner of the Men's NYC Marathon, a man born in Eritrea and a citizen since the age of 12, is being dismissed as a "ringer":

"Nothing against Keflezighi, but he's like a ringer who you hire to work a couple hours at your office so that you can win the executive softball league."

Rovell goes on to say that Meb Keflezighi is a citizen only because he "took a test and liv[es] in this country." Apparently, other naturalized citizens have had to go through much more daunting tests to prove loyalty to their new country. Perhaps Meb skipped the "cage match" section of the naturalization process. Lazy foreigner.

So, if we agree with Rovell's definition of an American, then moving to this country, going through the process to become a legal citizen, growing up in its schools, paying its taxes, and running a race as its representative, doesn't mean as much as taking your first breath on American soil. Taking a test and living here for his entire adult life makes Keflezighi an American, sure--but not a legitimate one.

Sound familiar?

Extended hate crimes bill signed into law

Watching this video made me feel intense pride and shame. Pride, because the LGBT community is being supported by our president; shame because this first step took so long--and because this is only the first step.

My gay and trans friends finally have a law that recognizes and protects their humanity. All they need now is the rest of us to do the same.

Keith Bardwell must have a secret admirer.

This article on HuffPo shows our president eating fried chicken. The caption, "Miscegenation is a crime against American values. Repeal Loving vs. Virginia," appeared on the fan photos section of the RNC's Facebook page.

Couple things. One: fan photos? Who would readily admit to being a "fan" of the RNC? Does Michael Steele have groupies and shit? Is there going to be a videos section with conservative video hoes? I mean, really.

Two: Someone doesn't check the RNC Facebook page nearly enough if things like this are allowed to stay on for six days before someone makes a big stink. If the Republicans have any hope of becoming a big tent, this kind of racist rhetoric simply cannot be tolerated. Right now, the party is seen by many as a bunch of old bigoted white men who'd rather not cede money or power to the coloreds. That photo isn't helping. Not even a brown George Bush will win over people of color if the RNC is willing to turn a blind eye to things like this. (In fact, that guy's got his own blog post coming.)

Finally: can we come to some nationwide consensus on what values constitute "American values"? I'd like to think that rabid hatred of race-mixing isn't one of them, but that's just me. I do note, however, that the person who came up with that lovely photo and caption suggests a repeal of a law, but not an unlawful prohibition of mixed marriages. I guess that's progress.

There's been a lot of talk about how the Republican party is coming back in 2010. If this is how they plan on attracting voters...it's going to be an uphill climb for the GOP.

"I'm not a racist. I just fear for those poor mongrel children."

In 1967, the Supreme Court overturned the law against miscegenation. Since then--well before 1967, in fact--multiracial children have grown up to be normal and productive members of society. Our current president--born in 1961, before the Loving decision--is a product of interracial marriage.

But a judge in Louisiana believes that mixed couples allowed to marry will spawn children doomed to a life of suffering. Keith Bardwell has committed himself to breaking the law in order to spare future half-breed children the burden of ridicule from black and white communities. After all, he believes that such children actually should be ridiculed.

"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Bardwell said. "I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it."

This man believes that multiracial people are defective. Further, he believes that by refusing to marry interracial couples, he is keeping these people from procreating, thereby saving the country from the spawning of more genetic mistakes. This man's actions reflect his family values: he does not value mixed race families. He doesn't believe they should exist.

When Nixon suggested that pregnancies resulting from mixed relationships be aborted, he said it behind closed doors. But Bardwell is so confident in his convictions that he uses his position to impose them on others. He is not, however, a racist:

"I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."

So, my blue-eyed, blonde haired husband and I could go to Mr. Bardwell's house and hang out. We could even do something scandalous, like place our backsides on his commode. We just couldn't enter into holy, and legal, matrimony in his house. Because to him, would be wrong.

I know that my children will experience race in a way that my husband nor I ever had to when we were growing up. I also know that my children will be loved precisely because they are a mix of Rob and me, because they will become the family he and I have committed to nurturing. Men like Keith Bardwell are a threat to my family values--and if Bardwell is so concerned about families, then it would be best if he stepped down from the bench.

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize, Wingers Call It Affirmative Action

Seriously. Our president won the Nobel Peace Prize...because he's black.

Now, I'll be the first to say that I'm torn over the decision to award our president with the Nobel Peace Prize. It's like rewarding a brilliant, newly graduated brain surgeon for not killing his first patient. But it's hard to even discuss why the Nobel committee chose our president when folks automatically assume that the rest of the world is as bigoted as they are. Why is his race even relevant here?

My first thought was that it's a way for the international community to flip GW Bush the bird for the worldwide fuckery he created during his eight-year reign. There's also the fact that Obama's election signaled a major ideological shift in America's relations with the rest of the world: we are no longer seen as the world's bully. (Well, we are, but people don't hate us as much.)

But even if the Nobel committee's decision was influenced by the promise of an Obama presidency instead of actual accomplishment...what the hell does that have to do with him being black? If he gets he manages to broker peace in the middle east, will that be because he's a secret Muslim? At what point will the right wing stop using race and religion as weapons against our president?

Personally, I believe this is the world's way of forcing our president to move things along. Obama's done a phenomenal job of setting the stage for change. Now, he has to actually do it. The world is watching--regardless of what small-minded right-wingnuts believe, there IS a whole world outside of "Amurka"--and waiting for action.

Meshell Ndegeocello - Love You Down

Me'Shell's new album, "Devil's Halo," is a grower--she tries to work punk into R&B and jazz, which is a bit jarring at first. After a couple of days, though, I love it as much as her other work.

This remake is my new jam--the original was my jam back in the day. So good.

Meshell Ndegeocello - Love You Down

STK, M.A.

My thesis has been approved. All I have to do now is have it printed and bound, and I'm home free. It's over!

That means I'll be able to blog more. Stay tuned, folks.

David Banner on Derrion Albert

I don't know about the verse on gay men, but good on David Banner for bringing attention to this madness.

So, sedition is okay now?

Because I thought there was some sort of law against calling for a military coup against an established government. Turns out, there is.

So, who the hell let this be printed?

"There is a remote, although gaining, possibility America's military will intervene as a last resort to resolve the "Obama problem." Don't dismiss it as unrealistic."

Unfortunately, I have no doubt that while this is highly improbable, there are a few thousand service men and women who listen to Glenn Beck and think Michelle Bachmann is a completely rational woman. Writer John Perry even gives soldiers an out:

"Officers swear to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Unlike enlisted personnel, they do not swear to “obey the orders of the president of the United States.” "

This man is telling soldiers that they have a duty to protect the Constitution--not necessarily the interests of the country, as the current, legally elected president sees them. Nice.

I'm really sick of this shit.

I'm sick of the right wing not even pretending to play fair. Not to date myself, but the first president I was old enough to vote for was Bill Clinton; I remember the crazy conspiracies that surrounded his presidency. And, when everything the Republicans tried to pin on Clinton slid off him, they nailed him for nailing an intern. They essentially tarnished the president's legacy by impeaching him for the executive equivalent of jaywalking.*

But is just wrong. Calling for a resistance to government--a call that several elected officials have echoed--is more than dangerous. An uptick in racial and political violence has shown that the lone wolves Eugene Robinson wrote about are slowly becoming a pack. What could happen if one of these nuts is a military man? What if he could convince some of his brothers in arms to get rid of the "usurper" and "take our country back"? What exactly are they fighting to reclaim, and why is a "civilized military coup" even being talked about?

It's one thing to play dirty. It's something else entirely to clearly state that the men and women sworn to protect their country should see their leader as its enemy.

*Yes, Clinton lied under oath--and by lying, he broke the law. But if we're going to impeach presidents for lying, then we've got some catching up to do.

Listening to "Throw Down Your Heart" by Bela Fleck

Bought Bela Fleck's album "Throw Down Your Heart" today. I'd heard about the film when it was released last year, I just saw that Fleck is bringing his African collaborators with him to Indy in February, so I figured I'd give it a try.

I haven't seen the film, so I don't know if the album is a companion, rather than a soundtrack. But the songs tell a story: a master banjo player returns his instrument to its birthplace. The result is an audible immersion of Fleck into West African music.

With few exceptions (the title song is a bit too slickly produced, and "D'Gary Jam" abandons tradition for the album's funkiest track--more Fela than Bela), the banjoist allows himself to blend into various styles he encountered on his journey through Uganda, The Gambia, and Mali. Fleck honors the history of his instrument by bending his own voice toward the feel of the African musicians--and you hear the banjo echoing both its African and American roots. The album's first song, "Tulinesangala," shifts from an traditional call and response, to an energetic tune that sounds as much like Kentucky as Uganda.

The rest of "Throw Down Your Heart" is joyful, playful, organic--that could be because nearly all of it is played live. On improvisational tracks like "Angelina," you can hear the conversation Fleck is having with his fellow musicians--what they're learning from and about each other. And it's sort of amazing to listen to a master discover things about his instrument that he never knew.

The song below is a great example of how Fleck works himself into the fabric of the sound, rather than sitting on top of it.


Bela Fleck - Zawose

Showtime at the United Nations

If Qaddafi was at the Apollo, the Sandman would have hooked his ass off the stage by now. I'm having a little trouble accepting a pimp as a world leader...dude looks like he and Bishop Don Magic Juan have the same stylist.

Obama's speech was, as usual, wonderful. And, as usual, the America right will slam him for demanding that the world take responsibility for themselves and each other. I didn't catch it all, but his commitment to fighting global warming and working toward a stable global economy was encouraging. Expect wingnuts to accuse Obama of calling for a New World Order--which, in a way, he was. Just not in the "oh noes the coloreds are taking over!" kind of way.

His rhetoric on Israel and Palestine might not go over well with either entity, but it needed to be said.

I'll watch this again when I get a chance and write more (though I'm in the final stages of preparing my thesis for printing, and I might not get to anything past watching "Glee" tonight).

"Black people are forcing us to be racist!"

I am grateful to time and my parents for being born in 1978. Carter was president, "The Wiz" was a hit movie, and the civil turmoil of the 60's was almost a generation in the past. I don't know that I could have handled the virulent racism that helped define my parents' generation, that silenced the generations of my grandparents and my great-grandparents. But if some folks have their way, I might have to learn to adjust.

Teabaggers admit that some of their rhetoric is racist, but it's only because Obama is trying to destroy their country. Besides--it's all part of...um...the wide range of civil discourse on the right.

"And you're going to see a wide expanse of those people," Joe Wierzbicki continued. "Some are going to be more extreme. Most of them are going to be in the mainstream of American politics, as evidenced by Obama's falling poll numbers."


Not only is this poison rhetoric acceptable, but it's mainstream--because Obama's numbers are dropping. See? It's not racism if Obama's blackness makes him a bad president.

In fact, it's pretty clear that Obama's blackness more than just a political liability--it has spawned a social disaster. A black president gives black children everywhere the license to beat white children, as evidenced by the story Rush Limabugh "reported" this week. His take on the white kid being beaten by cheering black savages on a school bus:

"I think not only it was racism, it was justifiable racism. I mean, that's the lesson we're being taught here today. Kid shouldn't have been on the bus anyway. We need segregated buses -- it was invading space and stuff. This is Obama's America."

Limbaugh's theory of trickle-down bigotry makes sense--if the guy in charge is black, then black people are going to take advantage of the power we now have over every white person in the country. So whites must stay vigilant! In fact, the only logical action would be to nip this negro government takeover in the bud and go back to total segregation. Close the borders to keep the brown people out! Create exurban enclaves for whites all over the country, so that they'll be kept safe from the scary coloreds!**

The fact that this kind of rhetoric is being given mainstream attention makes me uneasy. It took our country hundreds of years to admit that blacks and other people of color are worthy of equal treatment by whites. If a black president can threaten that social evolution--just by virtue of existing--then our country's racial progress is revealed to be much more fragile than most people are willing to accept.

And that makes me a little afraid.

**Looks like that part's been done already.

When Keeping It Presidential Goes Wrong

For some reason, Obama's "jackass" comment about Kanye West is on the front page of the Huffington Post. Both Obama and Kanye rep the south side of Chicago, and we can't have the Chi looking messy. Personally, I don't see what the problem is--the man called a jackass rapper a jackass. And?

But the article below it is a little more interesting. Former speechwriter Matt Latimer is writing a book that includes some of GW Bush's "off the record" musings. Among them is a rebuke of Obama after a fiery speech against the administration:

"This is a dangerous world," he said for no apparent reason, "and this cat isn't remotely qualified to handle it. This guy has no clue, I promise you." He wound himself up even more. "You think I wasn't qualified?" he said to no one in particular. "I was qualified."

Poor guy. Even while he put someone down, he had to reassure himself that he wasn't a complete failure.

Other glimpses into his brain are what we'd expect from Bush II--they reveal his tendency to sound like...well, like a teabagger. Referring to Hillary Clinton's "fat keister" sitting in the Oval Office was especially tone-deaf, but his comments about Sarah Palin sound less like a president and more like my dad after watching Palin's first speech. Dad was right, and so--for once--was Bush.

"I'm trying to remember if I've met her before. I'm sure I must have." His eyes twinkled, then he asked, "What is she, the governor of Guam?...This woman is being put into a position she is not even remotely prepared for," he said.

Good times. I miss his dumb ass every now and then.

Quick Rundown of the MTV VMA's

Since I was chatting up a storm over at the Black Snob, I didn't do my own liveblogging. Which is just as well, since there were only a few big things that happened. Here's my quick summary:

• Janet Jackson KILLED it. The rest of the performance was slightly awesome, since they were dancing along with Michael, but when Janet came out, it was amazing. She didn't quite make one dance move, but I think it was incredible that she came out at all--dancing with her brother's image behind her must have been heartbreaking. Madonna's intro was...um...yeah.
• Kanye West is a douchebag. I know this isn't news, but he pretty much put himself in Chris Brown territory with his antics.
• That said, that little while girl did her thing. I still don't know who she is, but she sang live in a subway after being embarrassed by the world's biggest d-bag. Good on ya, Taylor.
• Lady Gaga has issues. From her performance to the coconut macaroon she wore on her head later in the show, I just looked at her in confusion. I've never understood her appeal--my gay friends have tried to explain it to me, but I still don't get it. She sang live, though, so props for that.
• So did Pink, who is awesome for this tweet: "Kanye west is the biggest piece of shit on earth. Quote me." And she put on a pretty good performance--nobody else sang while being swung around in the air by some dude.
• Either Beyonce is a genuinely sweet woman, or Mathew Knowles is an evil PR genius and this was some set-up shit. Either way, her gesture to Taylor Swift was gracious. Something tells me Beyonce agrees with Pink, too.
• I had no idea who most of the bands who performed were. I am too old to watch MTV, and that makes me sad.
• Russell Brand should learn to take baths and use his inside voice. I want Chris Matthews to interview him to see who outyells who.

That's all I got. Did I miss anything?

Liveblogging Obama's Health Care Speech

I've been anticipating and dreading this speech; the excerpts released a few hours ago didn't make me feel any better about Obama's support of the public option. Let's see what happens.

On his way to the podium, shaking hands. He just shook hands with Kucinich. I'm already nervous.

Nancy doesn't want to let go. What's up with that? And the envelopes?

Michelle's makeup is fabulous. And Hillary is gettin' it in red!

Obama just said, "Let's go." I'm getting a fighting spirit vibe. I hope I'm right.

Whoever gave the Ed McMahon "hey-OH!" is awesome.

Starting out with the economy. Good way to frame health care reform.

"I will not let up until those who seek jobs can find them." But the lazy folks can chill. (someone's going to say it.)

"We have pulled this economy back from the brink." Someone had to do it.

"We are the only advanced democracy on Earth that allows such hardship to happen to its people." I'm looking at you, Republicans.

People are dying because of this bullshit.

We spend more money on insurance but we're not healthy.

"Our health care problem IS our deficit problem." Tie it together, man.

Now it's talking about radical shifts...hmmm. Is he setting up for a letdown...?

Washington at its best and its worst: some of us have worked hard, and some of us have lied our asses off.

The best ideas of both parties...? Both?

Here are the details. FINALLY. Here we go:

Nothing will make you change what you have. What it will do is make insurance to work better. Against the law for companies to deny because of pre-existing conditions, to have lifetime caps, routine checkups at no charge. Okay--I'm liking what I hear so far.

Now for the folks who don't have health insurance: "quality affordable choices." Hmmm...how...? A "marketplace"...this sounds familiar, and I've never liked it. And he hasn't said anything about the public option. I don't like this.

Tax credits? Is this going to be to replace the public option?

Basic health insurance like auto insurance--good deal.

Now he's attacking the liars. Pointing at Sarah Palin. "It is a lie, plain and simple."

Someone just called Obama a liar! I guarantee he knows who he is.

PUBLIC OPTION. FINALLY. It's not a bad thing, assholes.

Compares public option to public vs. private colleges. WOW--that makes total sense.

I walked into the door with a deficit. I won't do that with healthcare.

Speaking to seniors. Sacred trust...echoes of Teddy. Right on.

And now he's talking about Teddy--a letter to be delivered upon his death. A little dirty, but damn effective.

"The character of our country." This is what this is all about. Our moral mettle as a country.

Olbermann just said the congressman who shouted is from South Carolina. Way to go, SC. This is totally your year.

All in all, this was one of Obama's best speeches. The republicans are going to have to spin like tops tomorrow to make this look good for them. Our president's pimp hand is strong as hell.

Michael Duvall: another asshole who doesn't know how to apologize

We've been through something like this before, right? Well, let me say it again: Playing sad because you got caught being an idiot is not the same as owning up to the fuckery you committed. Case in point: Michael Duvall.

This guy must be all kinds of slow, because not only did he brag about shagging two married lobbyists during a meeting, he did it in front of a microphone. That was on. Way to go, dude. And he didn't even have the decency to be delicate about it:

“She wears little eye-patch underwear,” said Duvall, who is married with two 
children. “So, the other day she came here with her underwear, Thursday. And
 so, we had made love Wednesday–a lot! And so she’ll, she’s all, ‘I am going 
up and down the stairs, and you’re dripping out of me!’ So messy!”

Things are messy as hell for Duvall now, since he resigned today. That was quick. But once again, he didn't address the actual problem:

"I am deeply saddened that my inappropriate comments have become a major distraction for my colleagues in the Assembly, who are working hard on the very serious problems facing our state."

So...he's apologizing for being caught on a hot mic being a filthy McNasty. Wait--I didn't even see an apology in there. Stay classy, Mike.

Heading them off at the pass: Obama's Socialist Education Manifesto

The White House Media Resources team has released the text of President Obama's education speech. And, as expected, it's full of the common-sense, simple, damn-near-innocuous phrases some of us expected. Which, of course, will be twisted into veiled calls for communism, socialism, and whatever else the right-wing media gang can shoehorn into the text.

Well, to get them started, I'd like to offer some paragraphs they can stretch into secret messages and subversive rhetoric. Obama's conversation with students about perserverence, awareness of community and duty to the country by being personally successful, will be read as dog whistles to minorities, introduction to socialist ideas, and a demand for total obedience.

Of course, all of it will be completely ridiculous, but people are going to write these things anyway--so why not head them off at the pass?

First, he refers to his own upbringing. In doing so, Barack Obama is pushing Muslim values onto American children.

"When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning."

Barack Obama, who may or may not have been born in the United States, most certainly did spend a few of his school-aged years abroad, and in a Muslim country. That Obama would reference those years when speaking to American children will give them the idea that foreign schools are better than ours--after all, he went to an Indonesian school and now he's the leader of the free world. Further, he was in a Muslim country, which means that his current belief system must have been shaped, at least in part, by his experiences there.

Not nutty enough for you? How about the fact that the president is welcoming illegals to this country?

"Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez."

And just why didn't little Jazmin Perez speak English when she started school? Roma, Texas, is a border town--how do we know Jazmin was born in the U.S.? How do we know the education she received--which, since she didn't know English, surely meant that more resources had to be used to get her up to speed--wasn't unfairly paid for by the government? Our president is glorifying the theft of your tax dollars by an illegal immigrant.

He tells another story about a girl named Shantell, who is graduating high school with honors despite being bounced from foster home to foster home in Chicago--another minority who has drained the system for years by forcing the government to take care of her.

And his suggestion that everyone do their part, that all students do what these two students have done and perservere, is appalling. By using these kids as examples, the president slips in his most insidious message: that students remain aware of their duty to their country. And that duty is to provide for those people who won't provide for themselves.

Obama says, "They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same." What he means is that it is the duty of real American students to work hard and pay taxes to take care of the kids who will, no doubt, end up on welfare. I won't point those kids out. You know who I mean.

Wednesday will prove to be Obama's undoing. In just a few paragraphs--why read the entire text?--the president's attempt at indoctrination is revealed.

If you're dumb enough to to believe this shit.

Dear President: Shit or get off the pot. Sincerely, everyone.

So, Obama might make a big speech about health care soon. Whooptie-damn-doo.

I know I'm not the only person becoming frustrated with Obama's reluctance to get gully with the Republicans. I keep hoping that, like a wise dad, he's letting the right run around like hyped-up preschoolers on a sugar rush, before he picks them up and puts them down for a nap. But Axelrod's language isn't exactly encouraging:

"We're entering a new season," Axelrod said. "It's time to synthesize and harmonize these strands and get this done."

First, five points off for mixing metaphors. Second: how is the president planning to harmonize with a group who has said, outright, they are only working to block healthcare reform? At this point, the GOP has made their stance clear: they're not going to budge, ever. Negotiating with the GOP is increasingly becoming like negotiating with terrorists--sometimes, you just can't do it.

And finally: get what done, exactly? Reform that includes a public option? The less-than-firm support of the public option has me worried. Of course, this could be another game--we know Obama is good at playing his opponents. But his reluctance to come out and say "this bill must have a public option" raises the stakes for whatever major speech he plans to make. After Ted Kennedy's death, it's hard to imagine that Obama would do anything but come out and carry Teddy's torch. But so far, there hasn't been a single unimpeachable example of support of the public option from the White House.

So, if Obama makes a major speech, the ONLY thing I want to hear is "We're now going to do this without you." Unless Obama tells the Republicans to kick rocks, I'm going to have serious reservations about the rest of his presidency. And that sucks.