Tuesday, January 20, 2009

DID YOU HEAR THAT?

When I woke up this morning, I wasn't really sure how I was going to react to President Obama's inauguration speech. I had every intent on taking the high road by not letting my fears of his upcoming term cloud my impression of this historic event. If for no other reason than respect for the office. I wanted nothing more than for this day to go by without an "incident" and to maybe even see or hear something that might assuage my fears a little. As it turns out, that was not meant to be. If anything, I'm more scared for the future of this country than ever before.

Keep in mind that I experienced the inauguration via radio, inside the cab of an eighteen wheeler, as opposed to on the TV, but I don't think it would have helped if I were standing at the podium myself.

After purposely tuning out the "pre-game" shenanigans, I started listening just as Aretha Franklin started to sing "My Country Tis of The". I've been an fan of Aretha's singing since I was old enough to understand music at all. By far, this was not her best performance. I did my best to not take that as a bad omen, but to no avail.

Then President-elect Barak Hussein Obama took the stage, and it was all down hill from there. Really, is it too much to ask of a party that has spent eight years pillorying a man for his improper pronunciation of words to nominate someone who won't verbally rape the Oath of Office of the President of the United States? Would that really be asking too much? Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the MSM will be questioning Obama's intellect just as they did Bush for his less than stellar mastery of the English language. I can't wait to see the parade of stand-up comedy routines and impersonations centered around Obama's gaffes. No double standard there.

After the oath came..."the speech". There were many carefully veiled themes in "the speech" that I picked up on immediately. The first part of "the speech" seemed to be an effort to remind us all how awful it is to be living in America, and how the only ones we should blame is the Bush administration. Because as we all know, the liberal Democrat Congress and past liberal policies couldn't possibly have anything to do with our current predicament.

Following that cheery and uplifting note, he went on to tell us how WE are going to have to sacrifice and hard choices to fix this country. Oh really? I thought that's why the people elected you Barak. According to what I read on my paycheck stub every two weeks and property tax assessments, I seem to be "sacrificing" quite a bit already thank you very much. And to pay for Democrat legislated taxation and liberal government spending across the board, I've had to make plenty of "hard choices" as well.

Another theme I spotted was the "we can't fix it without the government's intervention" concept. Oh really? The last time I checked, It government intervention that got us into this mess to begin with by telling banks who they could and couldn't lend to and telling auto manufacturers what kind of cars to build. Then by throwing endless stacks of the people's cash at problems that have nothing to do with lack of funds to begin with. Topping that off with the government perpetrating the man-made global warming scam on us.

In reality, the last thing we need is for the government to have yet more tentacles reach into places where they can be of no logical use.

One of my personal favorite themes was the "I'm the Messiah, so if you don't agree with me, I'm not going to listen to you" theme. In flowery Presidential language, Obama more less told us that there's no point in resisting his power, if you are going try to explain to him why his plans will not work, he will consider you a partisan obstacle to his agenda and ignore you.

I knew long ago that when this day came I could expect a platitude-a-palooza and few if any details or specifics about how to fix the problems we allegedly face. What I did not expect was to be the victim of a racial slur on behalf of my President...during his inauguration ceremony.

After what I can only describe as incoherent rambling mistakenly referred to as "a poem" by some woman whom I've never heard of...came the closing "prayer". I want my readers to think back to everything I've ever written about Pastor Jeremiah Wright. Remember back to when when I tried to tell you that when you sit in that church for that long, something is probably going to rub off.

LOWERY: "Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their neighbors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask You to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around; when yellow will be mellow; when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white would embrace what is right. Let all those who do justice and love mercy, say amen."

Just what "right" are whites as a whole not embracing? How is this not "judging by the color of one's skin". You know...what Dr. King fought and died to end? This is "change"? Does this statement even make sense as a black man is walking unchallenged into the highest office in the entire world?

What should we think about this "prayer"? Did Obama learn anything from the Wright/Fleager scandal? Does he have anyone checking out what is going to be said on his behalf at the most publicized event in the history of the world? Does he have any friends or associates that aren't involved in some sort of controversy?

The inauguration as a whole was an embarrassment. The wretched excess and expense of the event in such troubled financial times, the blatant media bias, the gawdy commercialism of a Presidential inauguration as if it were a Super Bowl game, the total over-exposure of Obama himself as if he were some sort of messianic figure, the dis-respect shown to the Bush administration by the masses as they graciously departed the White House, all gave me an urge to find a bottle of Southern Comfort and hide in the basement.











8 comments:

Dan O. said...

Right on, as usual.

That poem was the absolute worst and the reading of it, like it was some great profound insight into humanity, was even worse. And that "poet" supposedly has a PhD and has written a near-Pulitzer winning book? Dr. Seuss makes her look like kindergartner.

Then the prayer. That preacherman still thinks he's in the 1950's.

Bring a bottle of Seagram's 7 to go with the SoCo and I'll bring the cigars. It's gonna be a loooong (hopefully ONLY)4 years.

ZACK said...

Roadhouse,

You're making me late to go see after my grandpa. But I just had to write back to you on this one.

I think that you are being a little too skeptical about our new President. He is already doing some courageous stuff in his first 48 hours as president and there is more to come.

The best is yet to come. But he needs you to let go of the past. In fact, WE NEED YOU to let go of the past.

This country will be fine.
When YOU start worrying about the welfare of underprivileged males, that's the day that I will be worried because HELL will truly have frozen over by then.

Roadhouse said...

Zack,
It's friday Jan 23. Obama has been President less than a week and he has already thrown the terrorists a big fat juicy bone by closing Gitmo. He has already appointed a small army of clueless idiots and crooks with conflicted interests falling out of their collective asses to his administration. His "stimulus package" is laced with $600,000,000 slated to usher in universal health care...a beurocratic boondoggle that will actually DESTROY the quality and availability of health care. Just today he lifted the ban on federally funded abortions. That means that you and I are now paying to have women kill their babies.

"Let go of the past"? I'm sorry Zack, but history matters, as does a President's voting record. What you see as "courageous", I see as evidence that he has no idea what he's doing to this country...in his first week no less.

I don't limit myself to worrying only about the welfare of underprivileged MALES. I worry about the welfare of FEMALES as well. The most underprivileged, underprotected, and under-represented people I can think of are the unborn children that Obama sees as a burden worthy of destruction.

Beyond that, I'm about as underprivileged as a full-grown male can be, and I would just as soon have the government NOT worry about me.

The only thing Obama "needs" is for people like me to buy into the marketing and hype like the rest of you have. I think I'll pass.

Seane-Anna said...

"...find a bottle of Southern Comfort and hide in the basement." That's what we'll all be doing for the next four years.

Kofi Bofah said...

Embarrassment?

Be easy.

You speak of commercialism and revelry - but i would interpret BaraCk Obama's tone as managing expectations in this party atmosphere.

And why do you keep leaving out the C in this man's name?

Roadhouse said...

If he wants to "manage expectations" he can start by not talking down the economy further, and finish by leading on his plan for Americans to sacrifice by sacrificing his own inauguration party.

The "C" thing is just a simple "oversite"...like Geithner's tax evasion.

Anonymous said...

... just so know... Obama did not mess up the oath, whoever was saying it messed it up... now stop saying how bad obama is and just stand behind your president. Because it is your president and you bashing him is unpatriotic, something you seem to be against in your book .. hypocrite

JMK said...

"When YOU start worrying about the welfare of underprivileged males, that's the day that I will be worried because HELL will truly have frozen over by then." (Zack)
<
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I like you Zack and I like your blog, but this posting, even if it were mostly tongue-in-cheek highlights what a nation of whiners we've become.

"Underprivileged?"

OK, the people in Appalachia may qualify - the poverty is deep and there's not much of a delivery system for social services there.

Amazingly enough, and I've been there a few times, the people there rarely whine and complain and compared to those folks our "urban poor" are living mighty large - lots of programs and a well developped delivery system for aid.

Until very recently, we haven't suffered from a "jobs shortage" in America, we've suffered from STRUCTURAL UNEMPLOYMENT.

There are lots of accounting jobs, teacher positions, teaching math and the hard-sciences, research and lab positions, but too few Americans educated in those fields to do them.

We have truck-driver and mining positions all over the West and too few Americans willing or able to fill them.

What we have, in effect, are too many Americans wthout the skills needed to do the jobs we have and many more unwilling to make the moves to the places where those jobs are...that's STRUCTURAL UNEMPLOYMENT.

There's a cure for that....CitiBank won't hire me as a Bank Manager or VP, despite my Finance degree or my MBA...well, Elko, Nevada don't look all that bad....I hear they're paying mine workers over $100K! And they'll train you if your willing to work.

I'd say, "See ya CitiBank...I'm heading to Elko."