Schmoozing the News

This is why I don't watch the news. And this is why I watch the news.

When I woke up this morning, something was telling me to turn on the tv. It rained last night and there were clouds out, not as light as usual, and so turning on the tv seemed like the logical thing to do. And if I'm going to have the tv on at 7:30 in the morning, it might as well be the news. Let's get the day started out right!

I saw that with all the sarcasm I can muster.

(The last time watched the news upon waking...not so great. I don't remember the newsflash, but I remember being very agitated.) Back to regularly scheduled programming-

There are so many things that need to be covered and so little time to cover.

Do you know who Bill Ayers is? I didn't until this morning. He has been labeled a domestic terrorist, radical, fugitive and I'm sure many other things.  You can google him, or read a short briefing from Wikipedia.  He appears to be one of those people who is too smart for their own good.  He's one of those people who instills fear to produce results and to get a reaction out of people.  There are so many observations I want to add to the first paragraph of the Wikipedia info, but that would take a whole 'nother blog.  After doing some brief research on him, I want to believe that somewhere deep deep down, this guy means the best in all that he does.  He appears to be involved in education (he is a professor), but I don't know that it's the most effective approach. 

Why am I blogging about Bill Ayers?  Because Barack Obama has ties with him.  The Obama campaign is saying there are no ties, that Obama doesn't believe in the radical ways of Ayers, and that even though they served on boards/committees together Obama had NO idea of the person's background?  Are they serious??  What did I miss here?  

Yes, I think it possible to share the same space with someone who has different beliefs than you.  Yes, I think we can all learn something from people who share different beliefs.  Just take a look at your family at Thanksgiving.  And this quote from a book by Mr. Ayers:

"You could not be a moral person with the means to act, and stand still. [...] To stand still was to choose indifference. Indifference was the opposite of moral"

I think that is a very nice quote.  However, I'm not going to invite this person to my house for dinner so we can talk politics or last night's Monday Night Football game, let alone run a marathon with him while raising money for educational purposes.  Unless it was in high heels.  Neither would I invite Osama bin Laden to get tips on camping, even though I'm sure he has the most valuable tips in the world.  I'm rambling on and on, but my point is coming.  The people you hang around really do influence you as a person.  No matter how strong you are, or how much good you think you may be doing, the people you are around will make or break you.  

[The Following Deals with Sensitive Issues]

Barack Hussein Obama is hailed as being the first black person to run for President of the United States.   I think that's great, I really do.  

I had a boy in my kindergarten glass named Dino and when the teacher would ask what we wanted to be when we grew up, he would always say that he was going to be President of the US.  Not that he wanted to be, but that he would be.  I'm still looking for you out there, Dino!  Good luck!  :)

But here's the thing:  Obama is the child of a black father and a white mother.  I don't know him personally, but from what I've read he seems to denounce his mother.  And from what I've read his father wasn't too much of a father.  How does this make him black?  How does this make him white?  I'm not sure where I'm going with that one, if anywhere.  I do have a couple of more thoughts though.

The whole thing with Rev. Wright?  Obama said again that he doesn't believe any of what the Rev. teaches and preaches.  If he does believe it, let him go ahead and believe it.  But at least stand up and say, "I believe it.  If you don't believe it along with me fine, but this is what I believe."  That's not what he did.  He turned his back on the Rev and the church.  Supposedly he doesn't have any contact with them but I'll believe that when I see pigs fly.  

Now the whole Bill Ayers controversy.  Again, I'm not saying that just because you hang around someone that you agree with their values or the way they lead or have led their life.  I'm not saying you will become that person.  But if you are going to hang around them and then be questioned about it a few years down the road, why can't you just man up and say, "Yes. I did serve on a board with him.  Yes, I was aware of his background and all he had accomplished and blown up.  However, we were serving on a board to feed the needy and I felt it was the right thing to do."  What is absolutely infuriating me is that Obama is denying that he knew anything about the guy.  Nobody is saying that Obama is going to bomb federal buildings and government buildings and police headquarters and statues.  All we (I) want to hear is that he did have interaction with Ayers, that he did know of his past, and that when he's questioned about it by the American people that he can answer yes to those questions, not deflect it.  

Do you see a trend here?  If something is not "politically correct" or popular, or seen in a negative light, Obama washes his hands clean and tried to act that it never happened.  Or that he had no clue about the person's ideals or beliefs.  He's too wishy-washy.  He believes something until it's unkewl, or unpopular, or until he gets too much heat about it.  

What makes you think he won't turn his back on the American people?