The Wanda Sykes White House Correspondence Dinner: We All Miss the Point
So now people are up in arms over Wanda Sykes “performance” at the White House Correspondence dinner. In case you missed it, she said some stupid things in the guise of humor directed at Rush Limbaugh. Personally, I didn’t think it was funny, but she’s generally not my cup of tea. But a lot of people are ticked off at her, and there are just as many people defending her. Here’s the odd thing. The same people who are defending Sykes are calling for the firing of CBS Golf commentator David Feherty for publishing a joke about about Nancy Pelosi.
Oddly enough, I read about the Sykes story on Fox News yesterday and read the comments afterwords. “Typical Fox” was a regular comment. Yeah, it is, suck it up. And this is the real point that most of us are missing. The media doesn’t want to tell us the story. While Fox has a definite conservative spin, the rest of the media is to the left. Here’s another example. Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Daily News wrote a piece calling for the dismissal of Philly Inquirer columninst John Yoo. For those who don’t know, Yoo is the former Department of Justice attorney that wrote the memo that made water boarding ok. While Bunch stated the Inquier should get rid of him because of his views on torture, I think his real motive comes in the following paragraph:
“. . . Yoo was now a regular columnist, joining an increasingly rightward-tilting lineup that also includes the likes ex-Sen. Rick Santorum (at $1,750 a pop), Michael Smerconish, a moderate Republican who is also a forceful advocate for torture, Kevin Ferris and others.”
And this is the point we’re all missing. Sykes and Feherty both told stupid jokes, but now it’s a chance for the powers that be to use them to tell the people what they want and score cheap political points. There is a real double standard out their that we are all missing, and it’s affecting true discourse and dialogue. The only one in the media that I found actually gets this is Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News, who wrote a column basically stating what I am.
The real problem is that we can no longer trust the media. They are no longer governments watchdogs, but are the propaganda entities of the our political parties, and this Sykes/Feherty dust up is really all the proof we need.
American News “Coverage”, Yeah, right!
Ok, so I need to vent. I was driving home from work, listening to the radio and they played a clip of a CNN “reporter” covering today’s Tea Party’s. The “reporter” asked on of the participants a question. When she didn’t like the answer, the “reporter” cut the person off, wouldn’t let him finished, then started going on about the event being Anti-American, Anti-CNN! and a ploy by the right wing? What a crock. This just proves how bad the so called media is and how they are truly the ones with an agenda. I just hope American’s see this for what is.
Who are the Watchdogs?
I’m not the only one who thinks the media has betrayed the media even more than our politicians have. Watch this great video from Glenn Beck:
An Open Letter To A Citizen Of Gaza: I Am the Soldier Who Slept In Your Home
Reprinted with permission from Maariv, originally published Jan. 25, 2009
By: Yishai G (reserve soldier)
Hello,
While the world watches the ruins in Gaza, you return to your home which remains standing. However, I am sure that it is clear to you that someone was in your home while you were away.
I am that someone.
I spent long hours imagining how you would react when you walked into your home. How you would feel when you understood that IDF soldiers had slept on your mattresses and used your blankets to keep warm.
I knew that it would make you angry and sad and that you would feel this violation of the most intimate areas of your life by those defined as your enemies, with stinging humiliation. I am convinced that you hate me with unbridled hatred, and you do not have even the tiniest desire to hear what I have to say. At the same time, it is important for me to say the following in the hope that there is even the minutest chance that you will hear me.
I spent many days in your home. You and your family’s presence was felt in every corner. I saw your family portraits on the wall, and I thought of my family. I saw your wife’s perfume bottles on the bureau, and I thought of my wife. I saw your children’s toys and their English language schoolbooks. I saw your personal computer and how you set up the modem and wireless phone next to the screen, just as I do.
I wanted you to know that despite the immense disorder you found in your house that was created during a search for explosives and tunnels (which were indeed found in other homes), we did our best to treat your possessions with respect. When I moved the computer table, I disconnected the cables and lay them down neatly on the floor, as I would do with my own computer. I even covered the computer from dust with a piece of cloth. I tried to put back the clothes that fell when we moved the closet although not the same as you would have done, but at least in such a way that nothing would get lost.
I know that the devastation, the bullet holes in your walls and the destruction of those homes near you place my descriptions in a ridiculous light. Still, I need you to understand me, us, and hope that you will channel your anger and criticism to the right places.
I decided to write you this letter specifically because I stayed in your home.
I can surmise that you are intelligent and educated and there are those in your household that are university students. Your children learn English, and you are connected to the Internet. You are not ignorant; you know what is going on around you.
Therefore, I am sure you know that Quassam rockets were launched from your neighborhood into Israeli towns and cities.
How could you see these weekly launches and not think that one day we would say “enough”?! Did you ever consider that it is perhaps wrong to launch rockets at innocent civilians trying to lead a normal life, much like you? How long did you think we would sit back without reacting?
I can hear you saying “it’s not me, it’s Hamas”. My intuition tells me you are not their most avid supporter. If you look closely at the sad reality in which your people live, and you do not try to deceive yourself or make excuses about “occupation”, you must certainly reach the conclusion that the Hamas is your real enemy.
The reality is so simple, even a seven year old can understand: Israel withdrew from the Gaza strip, removing military bases and its citizens from Gush Katif. Nonetheless, we continued to provide you with electricity, water, and goods (and this I know very well as during my reserve duty I guarded the border crossings more than once, and witnessed hundreds of trucks full of goods entering a blockade-free Gaza every day).
Despite all this, for reasons that cannot be understood and with a lack of any rational logic, Hamas launched missiles on Israeli towns. For three years we clenched our teeth and restrained ourselves. In the end, we could not take it anymore and entered the Gaza strip, into your neighborhood, in order to remove those who want to kill us. A reality that is painful but very easy to explain.
As soon as you agree with me that Hamas is your enemy and because of them, your people are miserable, you will also understand that the change must come from within. I am acutely aware of the fact that what I say is easier to write than to do, but I do not see any other way. You, who are connected to the world and concerned about your children’s education, must lead, together with your friends, a civil uprising against Hamas.
I swear to you, that if the citizens of Gaza were busy paving roads, building schools, opening factories and cultural institutions instead of dwelling in self pity, arms smuggling and nurturing a hatred to your Israeli neighbors, your homes would not be in ruins right now. If your leaders were not corrupt and motivated by hatred, your home would not have been harmed. If someone would have stood up and shouted that there is no point in launching missiles on innocent civilians, I would not have to stand in your kitchen as a soldier.
You don’t have money, you tell me? You have more than you can imagine.
Even before Hamas took control of Gaza, during the time of Yasser Arafat, millions if not billions of dollars donated by the world community to the Palestinians was used for purchasing arms or taken directly to your leaders bank accounts. Gulf States, the emirates – your brothers, your flesh and blood, are some of the richest nations in the world. If there was even a small feeling of solidarity between Arab nations, if these nations had but the smallest interest in reconstructing the Palestinian people – your situation would be very different.
You must be familiar with Singapore. The land mass there is not much larger than the Gaza strip, it is considered the second most populated country in the world. Yet, Singapore is a successful, prospering, and well managed country. Why not the same for you?
My friend, I would like to call you by name, but I will not do so publicly. I want you to know that I am 100% at peace with what my country did, what my army did, and what I did. However, I feel your pain. I am sorry for the destruction you are finding in your neighborhood at this moment. On a personal level, I did what I could to minimize the damage to your home as much as possible.
In my opinion, we have a lot more in common than you might imagine. I am a civilian, not a soldier, and in my private life I have nothing to do with the military. However, I have an obligation to leave my home, put on a uniform, and protect my family every time we are attacked. I have no desire to be in your home wearing a uniform again and I would be more than happy to sit with you as a guest on your beautiful balcony, drinking sweet tea seasoned with the sage growing in your garden.
The only person who could make that dream a reality is you. Take responsibility for yourself, your family, your people, and start to take control of your destiny. How? I do not know. Maybe there is something to be learned from the Jewish people who rose up from the most destructive human tragedy of the 20th century, and instead of sinking into self-pity, built a flourishing and prospering country. It is possible, and it is in your hands. I am ready to be there to provide a shoulder of support and help to you.
But only you can move the wheels of history.
Regards,
Yishai (Reserve Soldier)
Hi!
My cat Rogue napping on the couch.
Ok, so this is basically just a place for me to rant and rave about whatever’s on my mind, being Temple sports, video games, politics, life the universe and everything.
So here’s my current rant. Last night I watched a rerun of CSI. CSI’s my favorite tv show and I’m bummed that Will Peterson is leaving. Watch “To Live and Die in LA” if you want to know how good an actor he is. But that’s not what I’m writing about. Last night was the first night I had to turn the channel during the show. All the blood and gore over the years, never had to turn away once, until last night. What was the show about: Dog Fighting, and they actually showed a fight. I know it was all staged but it really upset and angered me because I know that there really are people who put those animals through that, and I really don’t think any punishment his harsh enought. Look at Michael Vick. A few years in jail and then some desperate NFL team will probably give him millions of dollars to play again. I have a better solution, let the dog fighters fight. That’s right, let them fight each other, bighting aloud, just like the dogs they force to fight.
And when they are done fighting each other, they can fight someone like Mike Tyson. I think this would be a fair punishment. Just as a side thought, it’s amazing how I’m not the only one who has no problem putting a person who deserves it, but screw with a pet and I’m your worse enemy. No, I’m not a vegan or anything, I just like my dogs and cats and horses and . . .
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