Rush Limbaugh: Talking Trash

Recently it was announced that Rush Limbaugh is no longer affiliated with the business group which is preparing to submit a purchase bid for the Saint Louis “Football” Rams. Mr. Limbaugh’s financial clout and marvelous impression of himself were not enough to secure him a place at the table within one  of America’s most exclusive business clubs. There’s an old saying that applies here: “Water seeks its own level”.

Recently the Miami Dolphins were acquired by a group that included many celebrities from the world of sports and entertainment. They had the money and investors as they stepped up to be representatives and supporters of sport. They got the deal done without a hitch. The investors included Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat, The Williams sisters of tennis fame and even entertainer Gloria Estephan (to name a few).

Now comes a group seeking to purchase the Saint Louis Rams, to which Mr. Limbaugh has somehow attached himself. I consider Mr. Limbaugh’s interest in such a professional football venture curious, given his many racist prognostications over the years. This flies in the face of the fact that the National Football League is predominately comprised of Black athletes. Given Limbaugh’s well known statement that characterized NFL players as Bloods and Crips (gang members), I am surprised that Mr. Limbaugh would want to be associated with them. After all, if you share Mr. Limbaugh’s impressions, why would you want to be associated with a bunch of thugs and low-life’s?  I emphasize that this is Limbaugh’s estimation, not mine.

What I find most interesting, even modestly comforting, is the fact that the welcome mat was rolled up as Mr. Limbaugh sought to enter the elite class. That welcome mat was not rolled up because he did not have money. It was rolled up because the key players (no pun intended) in the deal and the league, view him as a low-life.  To them, Limbaugh is a media mug . At the end of the day, the league and players did not want to be associated with his largess. Rush failed to make the class cut!

Without question, the NFL is not without problematic membership. Problematic leadership exists in Congress, the corporate business community in this country and the religious community. Americans are ill advised to seek out opportunities to pass judgment or celebrate the stumbles of individuals as they go through life. Why? Anyone can make a mistake. However, making a mistake or a slip of the tongue is one thing. Crafting a longstanding professional career and image for being insensitive, insulting or even hateful with a correspondingly loud mouth, is something altogether different.

This is an insightful and remarkable turn of events. As the debate continues about America and what her people want politically and, it is now clear that the masses and those within business, even the social elite, are not buying into what ol’ Rush is selling. The NFL is a multi-billion dollar industry that attracts or touches much of America through its regular season and certainly for the Super Bowl.  The league owners and investors are an exclusive club of accomplished and wealthy business investors. The reach of this organization is massive with its image very closely monitored and guarded. I’m not seeing any tears of sorrow or any ground swell of resentment over the news of Rush’s ouster.

As a “Reality Radio Personality”, Mr. Limbaugh has now found himself firmly cemented within the ranks of those trash talking athletes, rappers, reality TV figures and others who have plenty of money, and substantial followings, but who are not accepted by the mainstream. Why? They lack culture, education, and principles while they cultivate images that are socially troubling. In this great country they are certainly permitted to do so. However, they will never have significant influence, or be accepted among the social or business elite because they are reckless and uncultured. In short, they have no class. To steal a phrase from Mr. Limbaugh: “There, I said it”.  Whenever Rush decides to label anyone a “low life”, I can only consider what his now departed business group was saying to him is “it takes one to know one”.

Rush has been sidelined along with the rest of the riff-raff that he has much maligned because he is one of them. His newer legacy of an outsider will cast  a pall on his listeners should they fail to acknowledge the real life ramifications of this embarrassing snub. Rush has worked very hard to achieve this well deserved slap in the face.

More importantly, on a social scale, Limbaugh will remain exactly where he has now been told he belongs. ~ L. A. Walker

Nobel Peace Prize: There’s Great Big World Out There

President Barack Obama is being awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.   As surprising as the award of this prestigious award may be, there are many who believe it is deserved.  Most notably the selection committee comprised of representatives of nations from around the world.
 
In spite of the many challenges that President Obama faces here in the United States it is clear that he has an appreciation for international affairs that reflects his new and refreshing world view.  Perhaps more importantly, many Americans, particularly conservative Americans, have failed to recognize or acknowledge that America’s Presidential leadership over the eight years preceding the Obama Administration created a climate of separatism, international diplomatic fear and irresponsibility that was globally frightening.  Even if we sidestep any discussion of politics or diplomacy as it relates to the previous administration, the fact is that much, if not most of the world, had come to despise America and more specifically, the previous presidential administration.  The world is a pretty big place.
 
In 1982 I stood on the deck of United Ship Independence as she transited the Straights of Messina on route to Naples, Italy.  At a particular point the passage for an aircraft carrier is so narrow, that it appears that the deck of the ship actually over hangs land.  As I watched with fascination as the Sicilian landscape drifted slowly by, a young boy came running from his small brick home waving an American flag in an excited frenzy.  This was among my earliest visions which caused me to begin understanding the importance and significance of international image and diplomacy.  My vision was reinforced only two years later as I stood on those same decks as that very same carrier loomed off the coasts of both Grenada and Lebanon and prepared to rain down death. 
   
The image of an aircraft carrier, loaded with nearly one hundred warplanes is a majestic sight to behold.  The reaction of that Sicilian child (for me)  was emblematic of his fledgling understanding of his country’s admiration of America.  I saw no flags in Lebanon or Grenada.  I remember imagining the fear and horror that must have gripped those who observed from their home shores as an ominous man-of-war appeared on their horizon.   This stark contrast, “the political paradox of reality” is key to the reason why Nobel Prize is being awarded to our President.  The world had become uncertain of what America stood for and what she sought to accomplish from a geo-political perspective.  More importantly and significantly more troubling, was the fact that America had no intention to seek or scolicit the input, support or approval of the world community on diplomatic matters.  And figuratively and litterally there were concerns about when and why nations of the world (without provocation) saw American war machines on their horizons.
 
To much of the world, America is a beautiful and regal example of what the best of life and government and freedom represents.  And our military might is widely acknowledged and respected as a tool of protection and cooperation going back for generations.  However, prior to President Obama’s election, much of the world had become concerned, if not convinced, that America had abandoned them.  America might be knowingly or unknowingly doing severe damage to the continuity of the global community.  And in doing so, placing both herself and other nations in great danger.  Greater dangers which included economic, military and social risk.  The truth is, much of the world had become horrified, even mortified, at what we had seemed to become.  The election of President proved they were wrong, but from where they, the rest of the world, sat at the time, it seems their concerns were justified. 
 
The award of the Nobel Peace Prize is simply a statement of support.  This is a grand statement, but simply a statement nonetheless.  This statement says: “The rest of the world can now sleep peacefully again at night”.  This statement says “We believe in you again America, and we are no longer afraid of what you might do”.  This statement says “We trust you President Obama; to make a sincere effort to welcome in, and attempt to unite the world”.  Certainly the politics and diplomacy (or lack thereof) which destroyed America’s image around the world are, and will remain, the topic of much analysis and discussion.  But there can be no question that much of the advanced world is now relieved that America is under new Presidential leadership.  We can only pause to ask ourselves why or how the world began to see America in such a negative light.  But what is now undeniable given this Nobel Prize Award, is that much if the world had a very different view of what this nation had become, than many conservative Americans would like to admit.         
 
President Obama is being awarded the Nobel Prize for giving the entire world a good night’s sleep . . . ~ L.A. Walker

The Illegal President or Forgery?

As you may be aware, a United States president is supposed to be “U.S. born”. Technically, the birthplaces of both presidential frontrunners were under debate last year. The debate has seethed continually under political currents about the true place of birth for our president, Barack Obama. That place of birth has been purported to be the land of gentle breezes, Hawaii. Now a document has surfaced that indicates otherwise, complete with signatures. This document, supplied for a lawsuit in California, indicates that Barack Obama was born in Kenya. Is this a forgery or the truth? Does the document even make sense? Does it matter?

Allegedly, this document was not obtained directly through the Kenyan government and the lawsuit is seeking to do exactly that, supposedly forcing the subpoena of documents directly from the Kenyan embassy and to require a deposition from Hillary Clinton so they will be forced to authenticate the birth certificate.

The Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, states, “No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.”

Is Cash for Clunkers a Government-Hype Job?

The government “cash for clunkers” program and surrounding events has turned into a national news drama and advertising frenzy. Is the drama real or something else altogether? The worry is that the program may be running out of money after only a matter of days as car shoppers “flock to dealerships” to take advantage of government rebates. Is it real or is it ad hype: simply more excitement in the hopes of spurring a real buying frenzy?

On July 30, the White House reported that it was assessing options amid concerns that the $1 billion budget for rebates for new car sales may have been depleted. What? If you are amazed that the nation has already ripped through $1 billion on this program, you aren’t alone.

Reporting statistics indicate that approximately 23,000 new cars have been sold under the program indicating that the same number of clunkers have been brought into the government program for mandatory scrapping. If the 23,000 clunkers brought into the system cost “Uncle Sam” $4500, the government is out between $103 and $104 million dollars. Actual reporting so far indicates a total $96 million spent because of rules in the program. This is a far cry from $1 billion dollars.

The Achilles heel of most government programs appears to be a superior quality of ineptitude in the mix. This program appears to be no exception. Cash for clunkers has depended on a website that has spent most of its’ short life out of service, supposedly overloaded with demand from dealers. As a result, “Uncle Sam” isn’t certain how many cars have been traded in and slated for destruction.

The eternal question still must be asked. Where did the $1 billion dollars go that was slated for the program? Does the cash for clunkers government program cost that much taxpayer money to administrate when our free enterprise system and buyers are already covering most of the costs? How much does it really cost to shred less than 50,000 cars and is this any kind of national bargain, much less a national stimulus for all that money spent.

The excitement for the program was reported to be so huge that panic has set in that $1 billion isn’t enough to cover the program. Now, the geniuses in Congress are looking to approve another $2 billion for the cash for clunkers program. What is “Uncle Sam” really spending the money on or is the whole program and press excitement simply a con to get you down to the dealership to buy a car if you can? Let me know if you can figure it out. I smell rotten fish for the taxpayer and more money spent for the elusive economic stimulus of the nation. – E. Manning

The Preeminent Dr. Henry Louis Gates?

TNTalk! America. © 2009 by Leon A. Walker

Throughout the past week I heard numerous comments from news commentators of all stripes and many black figures of prominence who have described Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. as one of the greatest and well know academic minds in America. The truth is that I knew very little about him before this incident. Please understand that I don’t move in such high brow circles. However, I do know that Harvard University, where Dr Gates is employed, is considered to be one of, if not the leading institution of higher learning in the nation. My impression of that institution given Dr. Gates behavior is that Harvard is obviously a place that you go to get really stupid!
Naturally, there will be those who disagree with my assessment of the “Cambridge Confrontation”.  There are some truths that must be confronted as a result of this national news firestorm. First, there are a multitude of Americans who simply distrust, fear and dislike police officers. Why? What I term “Leon’s Theory of Police Relativity” goes something like this: “For every inappropriate police action, there is an equal and opposite negative public reaction”.

Though there is nothing to suggest that any of the officers at the scene of the “Cambridge Confrontation” have in any way contributed to the negative view of police officers that many Americans cling to. What we do know is that weekly, if not daily, we are fed images in the media of police officers employing excessive force and brutality on a wide range of victims. These victims are brutalized without regard to race, gender or age. In the past several weeks and months I have seen children handcuffed, elderly women shocked with tasers and a victim who was handcuffed with his hands behind his back, laid out on the ground, completely subdued and viciously kicked in the head. These are only a few examples. Sadly, for some, Police brutality is woven in the fabric of the American experience as clearly as their frequent heroics, which unfortunately, all too often get overshadowed.

I do not believe that the aforementioned examples of police brutality are representative of the behavior of the broad masses of police officers in America. I am convinced that police in this country do have a serious image problem within some quarters and among some ethnic groups. This image problem transcends generations. This is truth and has nothing to do with profiling. Neither does the incident in Cambridge. Having said that, it will take an equivalent amount of time and effort for the image of police officers to be reconstructed for many of our citizens. This includes, but spans a much broader chasm than mere racial profiling. As a result of this, the nation could certainly benefit from further reasonable discussions about race.

Dr. Gates is a middle aged man and an African American. Even so, I don’t understand him. Since I was very young I have always known and been taught that there are a very few, acceptable responses that a black child or man should do or speak when interacting with a police officer. Try to avoid the police whenever possible. Be cooperative and answer them respectfully without offering information. Blacks are instructed in this way for a reason, stemming from decades of experience in police encounters gone bad. We can make this a topic of another conversation about race, profiling or unfair treatment at another time.

Having discussed this incident with friends and family in recent days, it seems I learned these lessons well. Others I know have the very same impressions about the best way to deal with the cops. I’m not saying it is right! I am saying that unless you want to risk the provocation of an incident, this advice is widely considered the most prudent course. If you feel you have been insulted and victimized you do have administrative recourse.

Given that Dr. Gates is acquainted with the Mayor of Cambridge, the Governor of Massachusetts and the President of the United States, he had numerous options to throwing a tantrum. He could have written an eloquent letter of complaint and even released it to the media if he felt so passionately wronged or mistreated.  Here is the dilemma.

Dr. Gates  is supposed to be the preeminent expert on African American Studies from “Freakin Harvard”. Some would argue that nobody knows more about the African American experience that he does. Do you mean to tell me that he does not know better than to provoke a cop? I don’t know what neighborhood he grew up in, or perhaps he is  just been getting so smart at Harvard that he’s lost every shred of his street smarts. If Gates is the preeminent mind on African Americans and he thinks it’s a good idea to talk trash or smack to a cop, then the only reason I am impressed with him at this point is because he escaped this incident without getting knocked in the head!

That police officer was not the preeminent mind on law enforcement in America! The officer was just a guy doing his job and he was not going to be prevented from doing that job. In my experience police officers are armed with an ideological weapon that says that they have the power and authority when dealing with citizens. They are not lawyers or even legal experts. Yet, Dr. Gates is apparently constrained by an ideological and social mindset that perhaps, even understandably, makes him uncomfortable with white police officers, unwilling to be directed or questioned by one in his own home. In this, Dr. Gates was absolutely correct!

Dr. Gates  is also supposedly a brilliant, even articulate and cultured man. He did not have to be unruly or intentionally disrespectful. There was little need to be as personally vile and mean spirited as he was. He chose to behave in that fashion! Given his contacts and sphere of influence, why would he choose to behave in such an irrational manner? If you want to be held up as an example of the nation’s leading black expert on anything, irrational behavior is a poor choice. We used to say, “He showed his ass”, a risky choice at best. Clearly the whole tmatter became a bigger problem because not a man was willing or able to maintain the appropriate level of calm. That’s all that really happened here.

At the end of the day Dr. Gates did not deserve to get arrested, at least not according to the letter of the law. I believe that the disorderly conduct charge being dropped is evidence of this. The fact remains that he was needlessly rude to a cop who was simply trying to do his job even if that cop was doing it clumsily. I’m not saying he was given that I was not there. Due to Mr. Gates provocation, the situation degenerated to the point where the cop was emotionally bullied into taking action, doing the only thing he could think of to do under the circumstances. Dr. Gates precipitated this end by stooping to the lowest, even the most common, ignorant and hateful of tactics. He played the race card. I’m black, but the truth is truth and racism is racism. Dr. Gates made the choice. This choice was socially counter-productive.  He chose to create or incite a racial incident by making an irresponsible charge against a white officer. This is as tragic  as the reverse is today or as it was in the nations tragic racial past.

So it appears that Dr. Louis Henry Gates, “the nation’s preeminent academic mind on African American Studies” is not a very nice person. Dr. Gates has embarrassed himself, fracturing his credibility and public image. The sad thing about this incident is that nobody will come out of this looking as if they did the right thing: not the President, not the police officer and certainly not Dr. Gates. But it was Dr. Gates who manipulated and orchestrated this entire disaster. He will leave this incident looking like a racist angry black man with his pants sagging below his butt in the eyes of many who would have preferred to view him as the respected professional that he is. He should either get his medication checked or be man enough to apologize and enroll in anger management. Do they have anger management at Harvard?

There is one other factor that may be applicable to all black men of Dr. Gates generation and beyond, professionally immersed is areas dealing with African American history and social progress. My personal impression is that they “sometimes” display a tendency to be a bit hyper-sensitive in their characterizations of racism and are rather prone to disproportionate responses. Alas, each of us must endure our own perceptions.

As I said earlier, Dr. Gates did not deserve to get arrested, but as for the judgment and self control of the preeminent Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Junior… I am not at all impressed.