Quick Hits « Blog Entry « Daniel J. Summers

Quick Hits

I know, I still owe you folks the 2008 YIR “The Good”, the MLK/Sanctity of Life column, and Bush Administration epitaph posts. All in good time – this is Pinewood Derby week in our Cub Scout pack!

But, to tide you over, here’s a teaser of the latest Ann Coulter column…

It will not be easy for President B. Hussein Obama. More than half the country voted for him, and yet our newspapers are brimming with snippy remarks at every little aspect of his inauguration.

Here’s a small sampling of the churlishness in just The New York Times:

— The American public is bemused by the tasteless show-biz extravaganza surrounding Barack Obama’s inauguration today.

— There is something to be said for some showiness in an inauguration. But one felt discomfited all the same.

— This is an inauguration, not a coronation.

— Is there a parallel between Mrs. Obama’s jewel-toned outfit and somebody else’s glass slippers? Why limousines and not shank’s mare?

— It is still unclear whether we are supposed to shout “Whoopee!” or “Shame!” about the new elegance the Obamas are bringing to Washington.

Boy, talk about raining on somebody’s parade! These were not, of course, comments about the inauguration of the angel Obama; they are (slightly edited) comments about the inauguration of another historic president, Ronald Reagan, in January 1981.

You can read the whole thing here.

In other news, I’m very disappointed with the tone on the “Additional Issues” page of the White House website. Here’s the quote, in case the text is changed – it appears (as of this writing) as the first paragraph under the “Katrina” heading…

President Obama will keep the broken promises made by President Bush to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. He and Vice President Biden will take steps to ensure that the federal government will never again allow such catastrophic failures in emergency planning and response to occur.

That’s just wrong. First off, I and probably over half this nation don’t think any promises were broken in the first place. But, even if they feel this way, they could phrase it in a more neutral way. “President Obama will make good on the promise America made to rebuild New Orleans…” is the way an administrative agenda should read. This looks like campaign retreads.

Of course, change is here – as Cassy Fiano points out, Obama is the first president since Eisenhower, who started it, to not attend the Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball.

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Comment by Rev TJ Conwell

Posted on the 29th of January, 2009 at 8:48 pm using

Hmmmm. When one who gets press time across the nation has to attempt to sensationalize by abbreviating a first name and utilizing a middle name (like it means something), you have to pause and consider credibility … doncha?

Comment by Daniel

Posted on the 29th of January, 2009 at 9:56 pm using

It makes her appear partisan, but doesn’t make me question her credibility at all. She’s used that term for him for over a year. And, if you’ve ever read an Ann Coulter book and seen the multitudinous footnotes for each chapter (that check out to actual sources), you’ll find that you can call her a lot of things, but “not credible” isn’t one of them.

And, I do think it’s interesting that we got rid of a Hussein in one country, then a few years later voted one in as our President. I’m not saying Obama = Saddam, I just find it interesting.

Comment by Rev TJ Conwell

Posted on the 30th of January, 2009 at 8:56 pm using

I guess if we had voted in someone with the last name of “Tree” the Dems would have eventually blamed everything on him too …. since it is so closely related to “Bush”.

See the connection?

Comment by Daniel

Posted on the 31st of January, 2009 at 9:34 am using

Oh believe me – our current President’s name isn’t even on the list of reasons why I was disappointed with the election last November. I really am not using “interesting” euphemistically – I’m using it in the dictionary sense. I would find it just as interesting if his name were Putin, Chirac, or Netanyahu.

Besides, they already called Bush “shrub”. I don’t think you’ll see nearly the disrespectful nicknames for this President that you saw for the previous one. “B. Hussein Obama” is a form of his actual name, though not the one he uses day-to-day. After hearing “Commander in Thief,” “President Chimpy McChimp,” “Shrub,” “Bushitler,” and others over the past eight years, it’s going to take a lot more than “B. Hussein Obama” to get me worked up.

This name thing is simply another illustration of symbolism over substance. I enjoy John Legend’s music, but I saw him on Real Time with Bill Maher the weekend after the election, and his comment was “We finally have a cool President.” Now, as an American, he’s free to vote and speak out for people on whatever values he holds, but “coolness” just isn’t something I think is important in a leader. Coolness isn’t going to keep us safe, fix our economy, or improve education. Whether you call them “nucular” or “nuclear” weapons, it’s how you use them that’s important – and every person in America knows what you’re talking about if you say “nucular” weapons.

I’ve lost the “optimistic” in my “skeptically optimistic” outlook for President Obama’s administration. Symbolism and socialism, here we come.

p.s. My own comment on my own blog got put into moderation – must’ve been the Hitler reference…

Comment by Rev TJ Conwell

Posted on the 1st of February, 2009 at 8:51 am using

Now THAT was funny!! Yeah, my optimism is weening as well.

However, even with the economy and unemployment rates 9 out of 10 people still have their jobs; but of course we would never see that on the news; only shots of the “job fairs” across the nation and the 20-somethings who really believed that hard-work was another way of saying “give me what I am owed”.

Truly, we have some real uphill struggles in this nation but I dont think it is all going to rest on the President’s shoulders. As a nation, we have to endeavor to take back what we have freely given away. How do we do so? Well, its not the popular answer but returning to the Lord (as in Joel, Chapter 2) would be a nice start. Second to that would be to elect a Congress who is going to fiscally responsible and stop giving themselves a pay raise tagged onto Child Support bills. Although, I am sure that whole “wage freeze” initiative that the President initiated will somehow not apply to them.

Third? I don’t know … but I’ve said it before and I will say it again: Once the lower-class American people stop waving the banner that they are “owed something” and take responsibility for their situations change might occur. Oh … to see the same spirit rise up in America that brought us OUT of the Great Depression. Rather, we now have, “give me what is mine cause you kept me down, blah, blah, blah.” (I think you know where I am going.)

IMO, we have a constant uphill struggle … but to change is really going to take asking oneself, “What am I willing to give up to have a better tomorrow?”