Smarts (Financial and Social)*

*All images courtesy of AP Images.

It's been said before. I'll say it again--Ben Stein is a genius. Whether or not you agree, his take on the latest "stimulus package" is right on the, er, money. And it's a giant heap of newly printed green--$820 Billion formerly belonging to The People, to be exact. In any case, I'm glad at least one critic (and it looks like many Republicans now) can see this for what it is. A loser of an idea.

And Sam Jackson's smarts? Social. Or at least more so than Tom Hanks with the whole "Mormons are un-American" comment. According to Mr. Jackson of "Snakes On A Plane" fame--a family classic, to be sure--members of this church are just "misinformed." Hmmm. To my overly sensitive self, this sounds like they are not able to think out all sides of an issue. Or compare data. And maybe that these otherwise well-meaning people might have been lied to. . .if only the truth was as available to these poor folks as it is in Hollywood, CA, where it dangles from trees like ripe oranges. Whatever. I could be reading too much into this, but at least Mr. Jackson played his prejudicial hand with a little more tact than Mr. Hanks.

Keepin' It Real, Yo (Or Not)*

*Image courtesy of AP Images.

It was recently reported that Joaquin Phoenix had, well, gone a little crazy. As in, he was retiring from a fine acting career to pursue, uh, rapping, or hip hop, or whatever the kids call it these days (not sure if that explains the Cindy Sheehan lookalike contest or not. . .). Happy to say, Phoenix was just poking fun at ridiculous Hollywood types and their apparently self-absorbed lives. Coincidentally, my estimation for him has just gone way up for keepin' it real, fo' sho'.

In other news, Tom Hanks does get some credit for, well, at least trying to appear to keep it real. He backtracked on calling members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "un-American" for supporting Prop-8. Unfortunately, the proposition itself is still un-Constitutional according to Hanks. Perhaps a reasonable observer might note here that it was legally registered Californians themselves who voted on this proposition, not necessarily members of this church, the Catholic church, or so many Jewish synagogues outside of the state that offered support and financial contributions. . .

Also keeping it real but in a very nasty, decidedly evil sort of way are those losers recently let out of Gitmo. And those who will be let out in the future. This includes Abdallah Ali al-Ajmi--he killed himself and twelve others in a suicide bombing--and some clown working as Al-Qaeda's deputy commander in the fine country of Yemen (and yes, even MSNBC has conceded that this may not be such a great idea). I guess nobody told President Obama and his crack team of political professionals that Gitmo is not a reform center for those with extreme ideologies and an insatiable love for bloodshed. What I do know is that this scant year to clean out Gitmo is going to roll around quicker than anyone would care to think. No wonder Obama is staring down reporters.

SAD NEWS: As reported on Foxnews.com, John Updike--astute chronicler of American suburban living, dysfunctional American relationships (are there any other kind?), and that unconquerable American libido--has died of lung cancer. Though my own reading of his prose has been limited, he was an incredibly prolific writer who had an unquestionable impact on modern American literature. He will be missed, if only for the fact that Norman Mailer didn't like him.

SADDER NEWS: Survivors of Auschwitz remember after 64 years while Europe and much of the rest of the world continues down the so-called enlightened path with gross acts of hatred and intolerance. Every time I think the phrase "Never again" has become a bit worn for wear, things like this seem to lead to a reluctant reevaluation.

How to Deal with Dangerous and Absurd Liberal Policies*

*Image courtesy of AP Images.

Hilarious. Bill Young and John Boehner would definitely get my vote.

Time to Put Away Childish Things*

*All images courtesy of AP Images.

As I overheard recently, the Inauguration and Presidential Oath are not partisan, political events--rather, they are American events that we all should watch and take great joy in. I could not agree more. And so with what follows I hope that I am at the very least fair, if not reverential for the meaning of the event. Power for the greatest nation in the earth seems to have passed mostly without a hitch (more on the Twice Taken Oath below), and this is a very good thing in my mind.

The Address: Overall, I have to say that the Inaugural Address was very impressive--President Obama certainly deserves his accolades for being a stirring speaker. And I think this is because he speaks with such conviction. Coverage by the major networks was also good, though as O'Reilly has noted, MSNBC's coverage complete with "Bush-haters" was just low class.

President Obama also did much to realistically portray our current difficulties as a nation and to directly tell our terrorist enemies that "our spirit is stronger [than theirs] and [that] we will defeat" them. That was right on. I am also pleased that he made a point to mention our soldiers currently serving and for his nod to our common history of freedom. Sheesh, he even mentioned the Founders and our Founding Documents--not something the liberal establishment generally likes to mention without some sort of veiled disdain.

Some troubling points in the address: the suggestion that the last eight years under President Bush's unflinching leadership have somehow squandered our moral authority to lead. According to President Obama, we now are "remaking America" and are "ready to lead once more." This was inaccurate, if not petty. Clearly, we are paying the price to fight this war on terror when much of the world cannot or will not act to win this war of ideas and arms. I hope we don't lose the guts to carry on as this is going to be a very brutal, extended experience for us as a nation.

During the address, President Obama also noted that "we can no longer endure indifference to the suffering outside our borders." One can only hope he did not mean that this really entails actions such as reversing American funding of abortions abroad, shutting down so-called CIA "black sites" for the detention and processing of terrorists, or adhering to the patently asinine argument that we ought use the Army Field Manual as the standard for the interrogation of terrorists and shut down any place that they might find uncomfortable. This seems to be blatant appeasement of his extreme left supporters or a true sampling of his political philosophy--in either case, I honestly fear for our future safety.

The Oath: This kind of made me laugh. Chief Justice Roberts did misplace the word "faithfully" in the oath, and this in turn led President Obama to recite the oath improperly. Understandable, considering the overwhelming historical nature of the day. And I must say, it was telling of President Obama's personal dignity to not jump in immediately and correct him. Well done.

Unfortunately, not as much can be said of Vice-President Biden's dignity, as he later made a dig at Chief Justice Roberts for the event. In either case, the oath was taken again, so the conspiracy theorists will have little reason to predict his ouster from office by some vast, right-wing cabal. Importantly, President Obama successfully received the oath, and I'm gratefully there were no major glitches during this momentous occasion.

A Disturbing Fact*

Before getting back to all things presidential, here is a disturbing fact about genuine victims of hate crime related to an earlier post on bigotry--and yes, it does say 69.2% under the "Religious Bias" section.

Strangely enough, other minority groups have similar statistics for violence perpetrated against them, though the victimized group of interest here gets little sympathy or acknowledgment in the mainstream media. Go figure.

*Photo courtesy of AP Images.

Significantly, the photo above depicts pro-Palestinian supporters outside the McNamara Federal Building in Detroit earlier this month. One can only hope that the dismal statistic presented from 2007 drops dramatically, that this kind of pattern of bigotry doesn't continue, and that there is some shot at normalcy here and abroad.

But this sort of activity is quickly becoming business as usual as Israel stands up for its right to exist. Again, this is in America, not Europe or even the Middle East. Sad times for sure.

Inauguration Day*

*Image courtesy of AP Images.

Here it is--the Inauguration Address and Oath of Office. Thoughts to follow soon.

Hate In America (For Israel)

Wow. Here's a very disturbing video clip (WARNING: clip contains very coarse language and hate speech that is definitely not appropriate for children) that probably should be watched by anyone following the Israeli-Hamas conflict right now, if only to see just how much hatred there is for Israel. And unfortunately, this is in America.

I debated posting this because I think sometimes people will do crazy and even nasty things when protesting with someone videotaping. But this also seems to be genuinely felt racial and religious hatred. It's really quite disgusting.

Why aren't there more voices in the media condemning this as we would for any low class Neo-Nazi rally?

Bigots & Brave Souls*

*All photos courtesy of AP Images.

FoxNews.com is reporting some rather interesting words from Tom Hanks, Executive Producer for HBO's snickering, self-satisfied poke at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called "Big Love" (albeit by hitting them with a stick fashioned from a polygamist group unassociated with the Church itself, sometimes called the LDS Church or Mormon faith). Granted, the subject matter of the show is fascinating--all those love triangles. . .or is it pentagons? One can never be sure as this is entertainment in its highest form. But really?

In either case, Hanks apparently has branded Mormons "un-American" for supporting Prop-8 in California. Now, far be it from me to be overly critical here--I generally love his work, and I do mean real work as he has tirelessly promoted reverence and gratitude for our WWII veterans--but I do initially doubt most viewpoints centered around the overly privileged, social-remedy-seeking, Hollywood lifestyle. I guess I'm just funny like that.

Bigotry? I think Hanks is getting dangerously close. I can appreciate that there is another viewpoint involved here, but this just seems over the top and unnecessary. As has been noted recently, even tax-paying, voting, responsible citizens of this faith do have a right to participate fully in the political process.

Other big losers today as far as bigotry is concerned? Hamas. And the Palestinian people for not giving them the boot long ago. Moderate voices such as Abbas's still exist, and they should take what he has to offer. Would we tolerate several months of rocket attacks on American citizens? I would give that sort of abuse about five minutes tops.

The real issue here is that Israel has a right to exist. They are a good ally, especially with our increasingly complex role in the Middle East. We ought to be voicing our support for this overdue action, especially as Hamas leaders have themselves described the organization as a terrorist group unwilling to negotiate with Israel. These are bloody cowards hiding behind the gossamer-thin veil of illegitimate victimhood (or just as likely schoolhouses, hospitals, and other civic centers), and they should be treated as such.

Importantly, it should also be stressed that Palestinian civilian casualties are regrettable and even horrific. They should be minimized and completely reduced at every opportunity. But we should not assume that Israel is simply brutalizing the Gaza Strip.

Case in point, while dramatic pictures of bloodied or dead children and women will always grab headlines and front page photos, Mona Charen on National Review Online is reporting that Israeli military forces in at least a few instances have actually called targets on their cell phones to give their families time to escape an impending strike.

Horrible of them, I know.

Livin' Offa Pork 'n' Beans

Not kosher? Okay, neither was Francis Bacon. However, it seems even Mr. Kevin Bacon--"A-lister" that he is (hey, he was awesome in Footloose)--is feeling the effects of our down-turned economy, courtesy of a twisted Ponzi scheme. Whatever that is. All I want to know is who will bring home the bacon now?

The faltering economy. The largely won war in Iraq. The reinvigorated war in Afghanistan. And Britney riding her comeback. It will be very interesting to witness the ups-and-downs of the next four years.

With that in mind, our new Mr. President will take the stand in a few days and elaborate on our challenges and potential. I bet it will be stirring. I bet it will be long on purple prose. Man, it's gonna be long on purple prose.

But I hope he gives a little credit where credit is due. W. hasn't been our best, but not our worst by a long shot--I'd say nearly two full terms without another attack on American soil and the proven guts to stick out two very difficult wars abroad without flinching is ADMIRABLE. He gets my gratitude. And God bless him.

Not that I wish Obama to fail--that's bad for the country, bad for the office of the President, bad for those with simple, common decency. And it would be good for our enemies. So whatever that Thaumaturge of Talk pours into our eager ears in four days, here's some memorable inaugural addresses to get us ready. Enjoy.