Precious

We saw the movie "Precious" this past weekend, and I think everyone should see it. It exposes a reality that too many people face - the horror of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. But it also shows what can happen when someone cares.



The movie has an outstanding cast including Gabourey Sidibe as Precious. Sidibe was raised in Harlem, and was pursuing a degree in psychology when she was cast for the role. Lenny Kravitz plays nurse John, and Mariah Carey plays the social worker Ms. Weiss. Mo'Nique plays Mary, the mother of Clareece Precious Jones. Paula Patton plays Ms. Rain, the teacher that cares.

Watch the trailer. See the movie.

Supporting the Pres re Afghanistan

Here's proof that I'm not in lock-step with the left wing of the Democrats. Of course, those who claim I blindly follow president Obama will use this as evidence. But that notion has been disproved on numerous occasions, they just aren't paying attention.

The picture above is of Marine One leaving the south lawn of the White House carrying the president to Andrews Air Force Base for the trip to West Point yesterday (official White House photo). The president can be seen reading in the 'copter.

I listened carefully to the President's speech last night. I was more attentive than many of the cadets in the audience, or maybe they just do their best listening with their eyes closed, I don't know. I missed an event that I really, really wanted to go to (World AIDS Day at WorkPlay) so I could hear the president.

Just in case you were in a cave, or at WorkPlay, the president announced he will send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. Quickly. They will do their job and leave, beginning deployment in July 2011.

Obama, purposely or not, is following Powell Doctrine, named after Colin Powell. The Powell Doctrine includes having a plausible exit strategy, something the Bush Doctrine and the person it was named after never thought of.

If you have followed me from before the time I started this blog you would have read letters in the Western Star and elsewhere and know that I supported the invasion of Afghanistan soon after 9-11 to rid that country of its Taliban leaders.

You would know that I was 100% opposed to the invasion of Iraq as that was an unjust war of choice.

It was a huge mistake to reduce our presence in Afghanistan and refocus on Iraq. President Bush did not finish the job he set out to do, that the American public supported him in, and that would have saved gobs of money and countless American and allied lives.

President Obama was handed a hornet's nest (one of many) when he took office.What would have been a relatively easy completion of the task in Afghanistan now is a much more complicated situation. But that does not mean we should just throw up our hands and leave to them to deal with.

There is still the problem of Al-Qaida, and the resurgent Taliban, and Pakistan, and India.

India? Yes, they will play a role and must be considered in the solution. What do you think the president was talking about with their leader while he was in Washington? Party crashers?

We cannot rid the world of Al-Qaida. But we can take away their ability to function effectively where they are (now). They will try to regroup somewhere, no doubt, but I believe that in many countries (including Afghanistan) that the people are beginning to realize that terrorist violence does not make their lives any better, and they will pressure their governments to resist the terrorists and that gradually Al-Qaida and their like will have a difficult time getting funding and finding places to hide.

That may sound simplistic, but I am an optimist (sometimes).

Now, about this "arbitrary deadline" that Richard Shelby and others have decried. The date set is not "arbitrary." It was chosen with careful consideration, not by throwing a dart at a calendar. Any task, from planting a rose garden to restoring a kitchen or building a highway to Memphis to fighting a war should have a timetable including an estimated time of completion. The timetable can be modified as conditions change (highway to Memphis).

"Oh, but now the Taliban knows our plans and they will see us focusing on one city and respond to that by going to another, and..." Like they wouldn't be doing that anyway?

"The Taliban will just wait until we leave and then resurge." Not if they are dead!

The president said last night that we were united in 2001 behind the decision to go into Afghanistan.

"It's easy to forget that when this war began, we were united -- bound together by the fresh memory of a horrific attack, and by the determination to defend our homeland and the values we hold dear. I refuse to accept the notion that we cannot summon that unity again."

The hall erupted in applause after this line. I agree. We should unite behind this president and his decision. (Photo - Reuters)

Fair and balanced

Well, fair, anyway. And balanced most of the time.

In a move that will surprise many, I plan to listen to the president tonight before fully deciding my views on the course our nation should take in Afghanistan. I am leaning toward supporting his decision to send in more troops, but I want to hear more about exit strategies and timetables.

Contrary to what some think, I listen to both sides of an issue before making my decision. In doing so, I can express my opinion in an educated manner.

Sometimes an issue is decided, and I no longer feel the need to listen to the viewpoints of those who disagree with my position. An example is the science of evolution. Intelligent design is not science, so I don't listen to those arguments. This is not to say that people cannot believe in intelligent design or even creationism, and that doesn't bother me, until they try to pass it off as science and incorporate it into our educational system. This wastes valuable teaching time, and does nothing to prepare our children for higher education and life in the real (scientific) world.

I feel the same way about the origins of homosexuality. It is not a choice, and I won't waste my time arguing with people about that. But on occasion, I have to address the issue when somebody says something really stupid.

As for Afghanistan, there are certainly national security issues, and the very real question as to whether success is actually possible or not. American lives are at stake. So I am very interested in hearing what the president says.




I hope this does not become a daily thing, but BC (Bessemer conservative) has made some more statements about me. It doesn't bother me that a conservative is expressing his views, but when he writes something that is wrong, I will correct it.

He wrote this:

He (referring to me) also points out that democrats did not remove prayer from schools or take the Ten Commandments from government buildings. He points out that the Supreme Court did this. Really, they just came up with this idea and ruled on it? No, democrats cried and whined that it offended them, got it to court and it was then ruled on by democratic judges and the like.

Technically, that may be correct, but it is misleading. The composition of the Supreme Court that ruled on Abingdon School District v. Schempp (which consolidated with Murray v. Curlett), the 1963 case which is associated with school prayer and Bible reading, included 5 justices appointed by a democratic president and 4 appointed by a republican president. Eight of the justices, including Chief Justice Earl Warren (an Eisenhower appointee) agreed or concurred with the majority, and only 1 justice , Potter Stewart (also an Eisenhower appointee), was in dissent.

So the decision was a pretty balanced one with 3 Republican appointees and 5 Democrat appointees in agreement.

He also says this about me:

He also finds it necessary to point out that Jefferson County and Bessemer were won by obama during the election. Maybe that is why Jefferson county almost went bankrupt... Since the democrats have taken office in the area, both city and county governments have taken a turn for the worse.

Actually, Jefferson County "almost went bankrupt" while Republicans held (and still hold) a majority on the Commission. You can't get much more republican than Jefferson County Commission president Bettye Fine Collins.

And he's one to talk about taking a turn for the worse, after his hero George W. Bush led the country into the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

About me, he says this:

His beliefs undermine "his equality for all" stance that he is always preaching. What he does not get(because he is lead by guilt, sin and the misgivings of those in power) is that the progress he is for will never come from taxing anything and everything we Americans buy, use, do and say.

Never mind what he is trying to say (?), I am concerned with this phrase - "he is lead (sp) by guilt, sin and the misgivings of those in power."

I am led by "guilt" and "sin"? I am really trying to understand what he means by this. I hope this is not going where it appears to be. Even though we disagree on the issues, this seems pretty judgmental to me, and I thought he at least believed in the common humanity of man. Maybe I was wrong.

Blog Battle

Just south of this post is my Western Tribune column from last week. I wrote it after reading the "Voice of the conservatives" in Bessemer's blog.

Now he has responded.

In my column I noted his frequent misspellings, and he now claims he did it on purpose. That makes me laugh, because he wrote this: (he calls me "Bob, Bobb and Boob in his post)

"Bob criticizes my spelling or lack there of. Really, you wrote about that? Bob, has it ever occurred to you that I might take the time to spell a persons name correctly if I respect them and maybe I just don't give a damn to spell it correctly if I have no respect for that person or what they stand for?"

Ok, that's his excuse, but then how does he explain this:

"Two Wars-obama has met with General Stanley McCrystal 1 time in 11 months and refuses to take action or even respond to the call for more troops."

So I guess he lacks respect for the general who spells his name "McChrystal." (Giggle).

He also responds to my "mocking" of his fear about religious holidays being done away with by "democrat constituents."

"They have already taken prayer from schools, the Ten Commandments from all Government Buildings and are pushing to use the term Holiday Tree or Holiday ornaments. instead of using the word Christmas."

I was a student during the 1960's when school prayer was "removed," yet all through grade school, junior high, senior high, college, vet school and grad school, whenever I felt like offering a prayer to God, I did so. Prayer has never been removed from schools. Furthermore, what he calls the removal was done not by the democratic party but by the Supreme Court.

Ten commandments? Courts, again. Not the dems.

As for the substitution of the word 'holiday" for "Christmas," again it is not the democrats doing this, it is corporate America who want to make a buck. They would like to sell their products to Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Wiccans, Atheists, Deists, Shintos, Agnostics, as well as Christians so they try to appeal to all.

He says I read his blog daily and get "pissed off."

No, I read it for comic relief. Then I think about how misinformed and misguided he is. Fortunately, we live in a community that voted heavily for Obama and still supports him. And our county (Jefferson) also voted for Obama in the presidential election, so the "Voice of the Conservatives" is in a minority.

In the meantime, the "progressive voice of Bessemer" continues to root for the success of our president, the success of our country, equality for all and for peace in the world.

Western Tribune column 11-25-09 Conservative blog

This column appeared in the Western Tribune on November 25, 2009.

There are no guarantees in politics but by a vote of 60-39 the Senate voted to move the health care bill forward. There are still hurdles to cross, but we are one step closer to controlling skyrocketing insurance costs and increasing access to health care for all Americans.

Shortly after the vote I visited the recently established blog of another Bessemer man who claims to be the voice of conservatives in Bessemer, and noticed there was more of the same old anti-Obama, anti-healthcare reform, anti-American rhetoric as before. With all the problems our country faces – two wars, economy, health care, environment – he has yet to offer any solutions.

This is the way of the current Republican Party. Oh, they may say they have a health reform bill but when one looks at it, one finds that it doesn’t address the problems facing the industry or the people who are served.

The Party of No spends more time in attack mode than problem solving mode.

There is the silly argument that President Obama embarrassed the nation by bowing to the Emperor of Japan, and that no American president has ever stooped so low. But the blog fails to mention Presidents Nixon and Eisenhower. Just because Nixon was a crook is no reason to forget his bow to Chairman Mao. And let’s not forget Eisenhower bowing to the Pope and (gasp) Charles De Gaul, the leader of that socialist European country France!

And the “voice of the conservatives” also lives in fear of the future. “All the religious holidays we celebrate and the freedom we have to speak up about what we believe in are being threatened by the democratic regime lead (sp) by Barak (sp) Hussien (sp) Obama and his czars at the White House,” he writes (without using spell-check).

Easter and Christmas, and to some extent Thanksgiving, are religious holidays. I don’t see them going anywhere, even if some of those around us are celebrating whatever they “wanakkuh,” as the Gap clothing store commercial rhymes.

And while in the Thanksgiving mode, besides being thankful for the leaders in congress who were able to move health care forward, let me say that I am thankful to live in a country where I am free to express my thoughts and opinions, and where those who have only thoughtless opinions can do the same.

Happy Thanksgiving.

When was 9-11?

I don't have time to write much today, but I have to share this video, of right wing Dana Perino stating "we did not have a terrorist attack during president Bush's term."

WTF? Sorry, but seriously, WT?



And nobody on the Faux network corrects her?

They are all nuts!

You all have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Mayoral stuff

Well Birmingham has another new mayor. Roderick Royal was elected City Council President so he is automatically the interim mayor until a new mayor is elected on December 8, or if there is a runoff, in January.

Birmingham is fortunate. They get several new mayors within a period of 3 months. Bessemer is stuck with the one we have. I have some thoughts, but I think they will be in my next Western Tribune column.

In the meantime, a video supporting Patrick Cooper for Birmingham mayor has surfaced, but its not the kind of video he necessarily wants, and definitely approved by the candidate. NSFW




But Cooper is right. He can't control what people post. Jody Trautwein called it "inexcusable," and that it (vulgar jokes) are "detrimental to the hearts and minds, and therefore to the future of this generation. You remember Trautwein...in "Bruno."





Anyway, Trautwein is a believer and supporter of ex-gay ministries, which are all a fraud and in themselves are "detrimental to the hearts and minds" of the vulnerable kids and adults who fall for it. I'm glad he doesn't have a snowball's chance of being elected.


Recently an Ex-Gay conference was debunked here in Birmingham. Read here here and here.