The Hoi Polloi

Deepak Chopra on Michael Jackson's Abuse and Enabling Doctors

Quite honestly, I have been avoiding writing about the passing of Michael Jackson.  Despite not having any relation to him or even listening to his music actively in the last few years, I find his death painful.  Thus, I had chosen to focus on other things, not even watching the endless news coverage.  However, this interview with Deepak Chopra was so inciteful, I had to post.  Mr. Chopra speaks honestly and with great emotion about Michael Jackson's addiction to prescription drugs and to plastic surgery, the origins of those addictions and the doctors who enabled Mr. Jackson's drug abuse, which may have led to his death.

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WATCHING THE GOP GO RED GIANT

Watching the red giant that is the Republican party is painful, even for Democrats and progessives who should be chuckling with glee at what looks like the imminent implosion of a political movement.  If the GOP's ailments were notable solely for events such as the ridiculous "racist-racialist" verbiage of Newt Gingrich in reference to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor or, perhaps, for the continuing stream of gaffes made by RNC Chair Michael Steele, being a spectator would be a lot more entertaining.  However, witnessing the demise of the party based on sexual scandals and marital infidelities as is the case with Senator David Vitter (R-LA), Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), Senator John Ensign (R-NV) and, now, Governor Mark Sanford (R-SC) is excruciating because we must also witness the suffering of innocent victims - the wives and children of these philandering politicos.

Nothing could have been so bizarre as listening to Governor Sanford's televised confession yesterday upon his return from a less-than-clandestine rendezvous with his Argentine mistress.

Now, a salient question remains to be answered.  We are, of course, focused like a laser on the effect to Sanford's political career.  Obviously, a run for president in 2012 is out, and we're wondering when - that's right, when - he will resign from his governorship. But, more importantly, who is she?  Who is the "dear friend" of whom Sanford spoke?  We'll be monitoring the U.S. and Argentine press for more details.

Not So Proud to be an American

CNN reports that a Muslim-American family was removed from an AirTran Airway flight on Wednesday after passengers became alarmed hearing members of that family discuss the 'safest' seating locations on the airplane.  Even after having been cleared by the FBI, AirTran refused to rebook the family on another flight and has prohibited them from traveling with the airline again. 

These are the moments when, as an American, one feels shame.  This is not the way to treat our fellow citizens or, for that matter, visitors to our country.  According to a statement by one of the eight traveling family members, "[They] were (discussing whether it was safest to sit near) the wing, or the engine or the back or the front, ..."  This is not such an unusual conversation among literate people, even while traveling aboard an airplane.  Popular Mechanics cites a statistic showing that people sitting at the back of a plane have a forty percent greater survival rate in an airplane crash as compared to their fellow passengers.  I've had similar discussions with friends and family members regarding airplane seating locations.

This family - and a Muslim friend incidentally traveling on that same flight and who had been seen speaking with family members - had their travel plans interrupted, were questioned by the FBI and barred from flying AirTran for ... having a discussion about statistics?  These were sane, rational people having a possibly warranted conversation.  However, the paranoid, non-Muslim people surrounding them saw terrorists.

This is a sad and shameful day.

 

Memorable Political Moments of 2008: BUSTED IN ALASKA: Senator Ted Stevens Found Guilty

Almost immediately prior to the November 4 elections, news on the CNN Political Ticker - Stevens verdict likely to inch Dems closer to 'magic 60' - brought to mind that great classic blues tune "What a Difference a Day Makes".  I could clearly hear Dinah Washington's smooth, dulcet sounds - "Twenty-four little hours, Brought the sun and the flowers".  We all had a sense of where the presidential election might be going since the economic crisis and Governor Sarah Palin's woeful ignorance made evident that Senator John McCain didn't know much about finance or economics and wasn't great at making decisions under pressure.  However, no one could be sure of the electorate making the correct decision, especially with all the 'Joe the plumber'-'spread the wealth'-'marxist' sturmundrang. 

The conviction of the senior senator from Alaska - and former political ally of Governor Palin - put another nail in the McCain/Palin coffin.  For so long during the presidential campaign, the GOP had been playing a nasty game of guilty by association - see Bill Ayers.  And, karma came right back and bit Governor Palin in the tukhas when Senator Stevens was convicted of concealing more than a quarter of a million dollars in house renovations and gifts from an oil services and construction company.  Granted, Democrats didn't make it to the 'magic 60', but at the time this news was beautiful music indeed.

Note: What's particularly great about the following clip is the little known actor-turned-president introducing Ms. Washington.

 

Caroline Is Not Just as Good; She's Better

One has to wonder about all the controversy surrounding Caroline Kennedy's announcement of her interest in Hillary Clinton's senate seat. Pundits and politicians have come out of the woodwork to express doubt regarding Caroline Kennedy's qualifications to hold the office.  And, there seems to be not a small amount of bitterness over the fact that a Kennedy has expressed interest.  This has been a fun soap opera to watch, especially when you throw in the Clinton factor.  However, when you get down to brass tacks, these people will have to admit that Caroline Kennedy has the goods . . . and more.

First of all, as a friend recently reminded me, the Constitutional requirements for being a United States senator are actually very few.  Each senator must: 1) be at least 30 years old, 2) have been a citizen of the United States for at least the past nine years, and 3)be (at the time of the election) an inhabitant of the state they seek to represent.  Needless to say, Caroline Kennedy fulfills all these requirements.  And, when we look at that last requirement, Ms. Kennedy comes off with flying colors.  If memory serves, many in the media expressed some 'wariness' as to 'why a native of Chicago, who has lived most of her adult life in Little Rock and Washington, would want to take up residence in the Empire State.' Caroline Kennedy has been a resident of the state shortly after the assassination of her father, President John F. Kennedy, so she doesn't bring any of that baggage.

Additionally, the media and others have also focused on what I'm calling 'The Palin Factor': almost every female candidate for office will now have to prove that she isn't woefully ignorant and unwilling to be educated in order to be deemed worthy of political office. Leaving for another day the arguments that this may be unfair to Governor Sarah Palin, this is terribly unfair to female candidates. Governor Palin's performance before the national press seems to have set us all back a few decades. Women, once again, have to work for the legitimacy that male candidates are automatically accorded.

Hey Sarah! Americans Want Answers to ALL Their Questions

I woke up Friday morning to the voice of a BBC radio announcer saying that Governor Sarah Palin had actually come out ahead of Senator Joe Biden in Thursday's vice presidential debate.  Rolling over, I couldn't help but wonder what the MSM had come up with now.  Granted, for someone who had seemed like a chronic sufferer of hoof-and-mouth disease, Governor Palin acquitted herself remarkably well in the debate, but, win?!

How could Governor Palin possibly have "won" the debate if she refused - just flat out REFUSED - to provide answers on two of the most salient issues currently facing American voters - the Iraq War and the credit crisis?  No one wants folksiness and charm when a loved one is being shipped to Iraq for a third tour in a senseless war or when they're about to lose their house.  American voters, most especially Joe Six-pack, need a concrete plan to overcome these crises.  Platitudes just won't cut it, donchyaknow?

Sarah Palin's refusal to answer these important questions and her open admission of her inexperience were significant errors in Thursday's debate.  No one who was actually paying attention could say that Governor Palin in anyway matched Senator Biden in the debate.

Poll Trends in Florida not Reflective of National Latino Electorate

 A Miami Herald article published September 23 indicates that Hispanic voters in Florida are maintaining their traditional allegiance to the Republican Party.  The Miami Herald reports that, according to a Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times/Bay News 9 polled released September 21, Senator John McCain leads Senator Barak Obama by 10 percentage points among Hispanics in Florida.  A Mason-Dixon poll released on September 23 gave McCain a 6 percentage point lead among Hispanics.  The reporters use these poll results to state that Hispanics continue to vote for the G.O.P. and are, therefore, more likely to vote for Senator McCain in November.  The poll results are also shown here.

These polling results, while important for Florida, should not be extrapolated to Latino communities in other states.  It should be noted that the Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times/Bay News 9 poll had a margin of error of 10.6 points, a number greater than the McCain-Obama spread.  Therefore, that poll is somewhat unreliable.  The other poll results are within the margin of error.  More important than the polls, Latinos represent are very diverse community, especially in Florida where Latinos account for nearly 17% of the population.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data taken as of 2000, Hispanics accounted for 16.8% of the population of Florida.  As is well known, the majority of Hispanics in Florida are of Cuban origin, constituting 31% of Latinos in Florida.  Immigrants from Mexico are the next largest Latino demographic at 13.6%, followed by Puerto Ricans who comprise 18% of Florida's Latino populace.  As of the 2000 Census, Central and South American immigrants made up approximately 18% of Latinos in Florida. 

Each of these nationalities has disparate needs and interests.  Latino political interest groups typically point to immigration as the issue that is motivating Latino voters in the 2008 election cycle.  According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Latino voters for whom immigration is the primary motivating factor tend to lean Democratic.

McCain Threw Palin Under the Bus

Ta-Nehisi Coates makes a spot-on analyis of Senator John McCain's sexism in having chosen Governor Sarah Palin for his running mate.  Women are fungible to Senator McCain, and that is why a Sarah Palin, in Senator McCain's narrow world view, could equate to a Hillary Rodham Clinton.  Ever since the "lipstick on a pig" debacle in which conservative Republicans accused Senator Barak Obama of having called Governor Palin a pig, I've been thinking about the disparate views these two men might have of women.

Senator Obama was raised in a household of strong, independent women.  His mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, had an idiosyncratic nature, first marrying a Kenyan man and then an Indonesian man in a still socially conservative America. The Senator's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, was one of the first women to rise through the ranks of Hawaii banking and attain the position of vice president in 1970.  Senator Obama chose as his wife and life partner, Michelle Obama, a highly intelligent woman with a commanding presence.  Finally, he is the father of two young daughters.  Given this track record, that Senator Obama would insult a woman by calling her "a pig" seemed highly unlikely.  For those reasons, I never bought the story of the "lipstick-pig" accusation.  My judgment is confirmed by the video and transcript of Senator's Obama speech in which he used the folksy aphorism.  Here's the video clip.  Judge for yourself.

However, I can easily see how Senator McCain would not distinguish between a woman with little intellect or experience like Sarah Palin and a highly accomplished woman like Senator Clinton. 

I blame the U.S. Navy and its misogynist culture.

The Myth of Meritocracy

Ever since Senator John McCain introduced his running mate to the United States, indeed to the world, there's been this little thought rolling around the back of my head.  A thought that has been irritating me like a grain of sand stuck in my eye.  Wonder of wonders!  Today I received of an email with a YouTube video showing Pastor Jamal Bryant giving a sermon in what I assume is a predominantly African American church.

The Myth of Meritocracy

RNC & Sarah Palin

Pastor Jamal Bryant Speaks on Palin's Qualifications

I received this YouTube video by email today from the International Black Women's Collaborative.  I don't agree with everything that Pastor Bryant says, but the point he makes about the comparison between the achievements Senator Barack Obama and those of Governor Sarah Palin is something that I have been contemplating.  And, this will the topic of my next post.