Andrew Hunt I am an associate professor of U.S. history at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. My interests include politics, popular culture and humor. I am the author of two books. My third will be published in October 2008. I can be reached at atomicsasquatch@gmail.com
I've taken a break from Blogging for the past week-plus. The weeks since the election have been both dull and yet eventful at the same time. With everything going on, this is a great time to offer some "short takes" on recent events.
Too Bad Amos 'n' Andy Isn't Still Around: Tennessee Republican Chip Saltsman, a candidate for chairman of the state party, distributed a "humorous" song called "Barack the Magic Negro," a spoof of "Puff the Magic Dragon." Talk-radio blowhard Rush Limbaugh played the song on his radio show, which included the abysmal lyrics "Made guilty whites feel good/They'll vote for him and not for me/Cause he's not from the 'hood." Something tells me Jon Stewart need not fear competition from these creeps. (Source: The New York Times)
Obama the Buff: The press can't leave the poor Obama clan alone. The snapshots of the president-elect caused quite a stir right before Christmas. A lot of observers made a big deal out of Barack Obama being so buff (right). OK, so the guy is no William Howard Taft. Taft, for those of you who aren't up on your presidential history, was a conservative Republican elected in 1908 and served until his Democratic successor, Woodrow Wilson, was inaugurated in 1913. At his biggest, Taft weighed in at 335 pounds. By all accounts, Taft "carried his weight well," which just means that even though he was fat, he didn't look it. Obama is a long way from William Howard Taft, both in weight and in his political beliefs.
Wrong on Warren: Gay and lesbian activists have many reasons to be militant. Gay marriage suffered a crippling setback as a result the passage of Proposition 8 in California. Gays and lesbians still face discrimination and prejudice on a number of fronts. But there is little to be gained from focusing on President-elect Barack Obama's decision to ask Rev. Rick Warren, pastor of Orange County's Saddelback Church (left), to address the nation on inauguration day. It was a wise move on Obama's part. Warren's speech will be short and it will be one of many. This was an opportunity for Obama to reach out to evangelicals. And Warren is a moderate evangelical, despite his opposition to Proposition 8. He is no Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson. In fact, Warren has often been a voice of compassion and understanding, and he has consistently been a voice of populism. He is sympathetic toward the poor and working class. And he often preaches tolerance of minorities. Liberals have been ranting and raving about Warren ever since Obama made the decision to include him in the inauguration festivities. Their outrage is misdirected, however. Warren is not the enemy. Neither is Obama. Save it for the real bigots, the Pat Robertsons and others, who preach genuine hatred. And savor the inauguration for what it is: A great moment in American history.
Caroline Kennedy for Senate?: It has a nice ring to it. JFK's daughter in the United States Senate, replacing the outgoing Hillary Rodham Clinton. It makes a great deal of sense. Why not? Where does she stand on the issues? Who knows? It is hard to get too worked up or enthusiastic because her entrance into politics has been so sudden and she is extremely vague when it comes to... oh, just about every single issue under the sun. Free trade? I dunno. The War in Iraq? Your guess is as good as mine. The economic crisis? You tell me. Her politics are a mystery, but at least she's a Democrat. It will certainly help her that she comes from a powerful American political dynasty. She has the correct last name. She seems decent. Best of all, she is not a right-wing troglodyte.
That's it for now. It's good to be back from the Holiday Break. I hope you had a pleasant Christmas, Hanukkah or whatever it is you celebrate this time of year.
Thumbs up: Kudos to a recent United Nations statement, drafted by the Netherlands and France, to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. It called on nations "to take all the necessary measures, in particular legislative or administrative, to ensure that sexual orientation or gender identity may under no circumstances be the basis for criminal penalties, in particular executions, arrests or detention." The statement was signed by 66 of the 192 nations of the General Assembly. Unfortunately, the statement did not receive the backing of the United States. As an alternative, that great bastion of open-mindedness and democracy, Syria, drafted a counter statement that received the support of 60 countries. Today, homosexuality is banned in 77 countries and punishable by death in seven. (Source:Reuters)
Thumbs up: Forget Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen... and yep, forget old Rudolph, too. Here is Santa Claus's new mode of transportation, Ozzie the Christmas Ostrich -- he had a very shiny beak (here, Santa is pictured riding the Christmas Ostrich in Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China):
Thumbs down: The big THUMBS DOWN goes to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which is attempting to lease more than 110,000 acres of pristine wilderness land in Utah to the big oil companies. The land, located near Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Dinosaur National Monument, and Nine Mile Canyon, includes some of the most breathtaking scenery in the United States. This is just the sort of land that Theodore Roosevelt fought so hard to protect in the early 20th Century. Luckily, environmentalist organizations, including the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) and Earthjustice, as well as a coalition of environmental advocates, including actor Robert Redford, members of Congress and various businesses, are forging a united front to halt this disastrous move. Let's hope they're able to save this beautiful landscape (including the scene pictured here, near Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah). (Source: Environmental News Service)
Thumbs Sideways: President George W. Bush -- a.k.a. Old Dubya -- actually deserves praise for his $13.4 billion lifeline to ailing automakers GM and Chrysler, which buys these massive corporations some more life and -- therefore -- preserves the livelihood of millions of working-class people who either work for them or industries that depend on them. The loans do not necessarily save GM and Chrysler, but they buy them some much-needed time. The two companies will spend the next several months reorganizing and restructuring. President-elect Barack Obama echoed the views of a lot of Americans when he said: "I do want to emphasize to the Big Three automakers and their executives that that the American people's patience is running out, and that they should seize on this opportunity over the next several weeks and months to come up with a plan that is sustainable. And that means that they're going to have to make some hard choices."So why the Thumbs Sideways? Because the Big Three have blown things so horribly over the past several years that it is difficult to have faith that they will get it right. (Sources: Detroit Free Press and Associated Press)
Thumbs up: Thumbs up to T.V.'s classic Christmas Specials. It is impossible to get sick of these shows. Even in our dreary economic times, these shows never fail to cheer up the viewers. My personal favorite will always be the old 1964 Rankin-Bass version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (right). It's full of gentle humor, it celebrates non-conformity and it ends on a poignantly optimistic note. Of course, A Charlie Brown Christmas is a very close second. It's chock full of classic lines and beautiful moments. These shows help restore one's faith in humanity -- as does the Christmas Season in general. And we could use more old-fashioned goodness and innocence in these troubled times.
Just the Dinosaur, Ma'am: Recently, Barney the Dinosaur helped the Los Angeles Police Department apprehend a suspect. Apparently, a woman pulled a box cutter on a bus driver and threatened to cut his throat if he did not take her to where she wanted to go. She eventually got off the bus at her chosen destination, but she was spotted by a "street performer" dressed in a Barney the Dinosaur costume. Barney then pointed out the crazed woman to the cops and, thanks to his intervention, the police captured her and hauled her sorry ass off to jail. Forget the Dark Knight. Now that Barney the Dinosaur is on the case, the City of Angels can sleep peacefully at night. My only question is: On those cop shows, where they have to "change the names to protect the innocent," what are they going to call Barney? How about Larry Jackson the Purple Dinosaur? (Sources: LAistand Tampa Bay's 10).
It'll be an Obama Christmas:Barack Obama-themed Christmas gifts are the hot item this Holiday Season. Tote bags, mugs, fridge magnets, Christmas tree ornaments, pictures, dog accessories, and clothing with Obama's likeness on it -- you name it, Americans are going nuts for Obama as Christmas approaches. Among the stranger items: women's pajamas with Obama's face on them that say "The Other Man I Love" and a shirt made especially for dogs that proclaims, "Me and Obama are Bad to the Bone." As trend specialist Marian Salzman told USA Today: "Obama is the one little bit of hope in an otherwise dreadful holiday season." Oy! (Source: USA Today).
Duck, you Sucka: Old Dubya showed fast reflexes when a man identified as a journalist chucked a shoe at him during a press conference.Muntadhar al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist with Egypt-based al-Baghdadia television network shouted, "This is farewell . . . you dog!" Then he threw Shoe 1. When Shoe 1 missed the Commander in Chief, he immediately hurled Shoe 2. Shoe 2 also missed. Unfortunately, al-Zaidi has reportedly been severely beaten in custody (according to theBBC). Now that the initial brouhaha has calmed down a bit, we know a little more about the assailant. The 28-year-old journalist claimed he did what he did for the widows and orphans of the Iraq War and he has no links to the insurgency (in fact, his family members were imprisoned under Saddam Hussein). Even though he has suffered severe beatings, al-Zaidi has also become a hero across the Middle East (I can already hear the folk songs -- "The Ballad of the Shoe Chucker" or "Eat My Floresheims"). One Saudi businessman has offered $10 million for the flying shoes. While he's cooling his heels in jail, maybe he'll do a little sole searching. Ouch! (Source:Washington Post.)
Thanks to the far right wing of the Republican Party, the bailout for the automobile industry collapsed in the Senate. The $14 billion auto rescue bill went down like the Hindenburg. This has grave implications for the economy. Now the Bush administration is scrambling to soften the economic shock that will come from this disastrous move. As White House Press Secretary Dana Perinoput it: "A precipitous collapse of this industry would have a severe impact on our economy, and it would be irresponsible to further weaken and destabilize our economy at this time." But the knuckle-dragging GOP extremists in the Senate showed their true colors in their move to defeat the bailout. They don't care about the economy or the welfare of millions of Americans. They hated the bailout because they wanted the United Auto Workers (UAW) to accept significant wage and benefit reductions. When the UAW refused to agree to these demands, the extreme right in the Senate torpedoed the bailout, a drastic move that will undoubtedly worsen the state of economic affairs in the United States, which is already bad enough.
What a vindictive bunch of asses. The most brilliant analysis of this sorry state of affairs comes from journalist Marc Cooper (have a look here). Here is my favorite excerpt from Cooper's analysis:
The fabulous part about all this is that these same Republicans have done nothing for eight years except shovel loads of pork precisely to the richest 1% of Americans without as much as issuing a hiccup. These are the same jokesters who have spent hundreds of billions to a completely corrupt and unaccountable regime in Iraq (and Egypt and Saudi Arabia and Pakistan). These are the same blowhards who make no demands for salary reductions on Wall Street nor on the very same auto CEO's who packed up their industry in a squadron of Hummers and drove it all into a ditch.
What's next? The Bush administration will have to rescue the Big Three, perhaps by tapping into the $700 Wall Street bailout. But the shock of the bailout collapsing in the Senate has already been felt in the economy. The damage has already been done. The country is now worse off than it was before the far right wing of the GOP conspired to destroy this bailout.
Kudos to the UAW for showing the backbone to stand up for their workers. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger was quite right whenhe said, "We've already stepped forward and made enormous concessions. But we could not accept the effort by the Senate GOP caucus to single out workers and retirees for different treatment and to make them shoulder the entire burden of any restructuring."
Many folks the liberal/left side of the political spectrum are understandably uneasy about the notion of these huge economic bailouts. After all, it is usually the very richest who benefit from them the most. And big businesses will often adopt tactics of blackmail and coercion -- using 300 million Americans as hostages -- to secure these gargantuan handouts of taxpayers' money. The CEO's of big corporations advocate the free market in good times and socialism in bad times. Meantime, little of that bailout money actually trickles down to the middle- and working-classes.
But we all feel the pain of a nosediving economy, whatever our class status happens to be. The automobile bailout is but one example of the working class strongly advocating for its own interests (incidentally, the L.A. Times agrees with me -- see here). There are several examples of the working class becoming more class conscious in recent months, more aware of the need to stand united, in solidarity, to improve the quality of their lives. Look at the six-day sit in at the Republic Windows & Doors plant in Chicago. Or the decision of 5,000 workers at the Smithfield Foods Plant to unionize for the first time (see the Forbes story here, which quotes my former professor, the great David Zonderman).
The times are changing for the better. Not only does America have a more progressive president, but greater and greater numbers of ordinary people are beginning to realize just how nefarious the agenda of the far right wing of the Republican Party really is. It's about time. Yet better late than never.
Joe the Plumber (a.k.a. Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher) is baaaaaaaaaaaack. The self-proclaimed plumber who's actually a handyman who skipped out on paying his state income taxes and likes to think he's America's working-class everyman (but is actually a big-time wiener who wants tax breaks for the ruling class while the working class keeps getting screwed) just won't give it a rest.
Recently, right-wingnut talking head Glenn Beck featured Joe on his nationally syndicated radio show. Turns out Joe is writing a new book in which he trashes Senator John McCain (talk about biting the hand that feeds you!!!) for his support of the $700 billion Wall Street Bailout.
Like most on the extreme right end of the Republican Party, Joe isn't offering any solutions to salvage the imploding capitalist system. Instead, he's pointing fingers and ripping into people who are actually making some attempt to frantically patch that gaping hole in the Titanic.
Hereis the exchange between Beck and Wurlitzer (or whatever the hell his name is):
WURZELBACHER: When I was on the bus with him, I asked him a lot of questions about the bailout because most Americans did not want that to happen. Yet he voted for it. … And I asked him some pretty direct questions. Some of the answers you guys are gonna receive — they appalled me, absolutely. I was angry. In fact I wanted to get off the bus after I talked to him.
BECK: Really? Now why didn’t you get off the bus?
WURZELBACHER: Um, you know, honestly, because the thought of Barack Obama as president scares me even more.
For those of you just can't get enough of this idiot, his book -- grandiosely titledJoe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream -- will soon be out in bookstores. It promises to be 192 pages of sheer brilliance. Something tells me this sucka's gonna end up on the remaindered rack -- somewhere between The Wit & Wisdom of Sarah Palin and Gary Coleman's memoirs.
Two photographs, in particular, have come to symbolize important moments in American history. Dorothea Lange's 1936 photograph of Florence Owens Thompson, taken near Nipomo, California, when Lange was working for the Resettlement Administration, came to symbolize the plight of farm workers in the Great Depression.
Florence Thompson died in 1983 at age 80, but her daughter, Katherine McIntosh, is alive and well and turned 77 in Modesto, California, on Saturday, December 6. (Happy Birthday, Katherine!!!)
CNN ran a deeply moving segment on McIntosh. I've posted it here because it is such a beautiful example of the power of living history. Please, please have a look at it -- it's very touching and it's not even four minutes long. You'll be glad you did.
The subject of another iconic photograph has recently come forward....
Edith Shain was the nurse kissed by the sailor in Alfred Eisenstaedt's 1945 photo "The Kiss at Times Square," taken at an American victory celebration at the end of World War II in Manhattan. Shain has recently been found after all these years (she probably didn't even know she was lost!).
Eisenstaedt's "Kiss" isa magical photograph. I keep a framed copy in my office at work because it never fails to cheer me up when I'm down in the dumps.
Guess what? Shain is alive and well and living in Los Angeles. She's 90. She still remembers that amazing day back in '45 vividly. Appropriately, she was named Grand Marshal in the New York City Veteran's Day Parade.
Here is a more recent picture of Shain reenacting her famous '45 Victory Day pose with cast members from South Pacific.
Shain was also the guest of honor at the Pearl Harbor Day festivities in Los Angeles, which drew thousands of veterans, military personnel and their families to pay tribute to the heroes and heroines of December 7, 1941.
The famous Eisenstaedt photo -- like Dorothea Lange's pictures of Florence Thompson -- lives on because it captured an essential part of America that no words could ever convey. In these troubled times, we are often bombarded by negative headlines about the United States. Sometimes, it helps to look back at these timeless images of America -- also taken at difficult moments in the nation's history (during an economic depression, after a catastrophic war) -- and remember that the nation's noble qualities also endure through its travails.
A two-hour long conversation between President Richard Nixon and Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau has just been released and it's vintage Nixon. The taped conversation was part of more than 200 hours of Nixon tapes and 90,000 pages of Nixon documents released by the Nixon Library in California.
During the conversation, a bold Trudeau lectures Nixon about free trade (!) and gets in this plea: "If you're going to be protectionist, let's be in it together.... "I am not a nationalist, I am not a protectionist ... if you were going to take a very protectionist trend, our whole economy is so importantly tied to yours, we'd have to make some very fundamental decisions."
It turns out that before Nixon met with Trudeau, he received some coaching from his aides on how to deal with the Canadian leader. As Nixon told his treasury secretary, John Connally, "I got the note, John, on what to say to this son of a bitch Trudeau."
During the meeting, Nixon was actually very gracious to Trudeau. He even hosted a White House Dinner in Trudeau's honor. He reassured the PM that "you are terribly important to us."
At one point, Nixon said: "Both the U.S. and Canada are inevitably going to pursue their own interests ... they have to do that.... We do have a very close relationship, we are close neighbours, and I think Canadians and Americans get along reasonably well, very well as a matter of fact ... be that as it may, let us understand first we both must do what's necessary to serve our nations."
So in public, Nixon put on a very congenial face. It was only after Trudeau left that Nixon morphed into his over-the-top Yosemite Sam-type character. He blew up after Trudeau left, calling him an "asshole" and an "egghead."
"What in the Christ is he talking about?" Nixon fumed to Henry Kissinger after the meeting. Nixon turned to H.R. Haldeman and said, "That Trudeau is a clever son of a bitch." He also told Haldeman to plant a negative story about Trudeau with Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Jack Anderson.
There probably wasn't any truth to the negative story Haldeman passed on to Anderson. But what the hell? It wouldn't be classic Nixon if the smear had any basis in reality.
This Blog has been quiet in recent days because everything is so damn boring right now. We're just waiting on Christmas and Obama to become president.
There is actually some really interesting stuff happening up here in Canada with the battles heating up in Parliament, pitting Stephen Harper's (right) Conservative Party against efforts by Canada's other political parties -- the Liberals, New Democratic Party and Bloc Québécois -- to form a coalition government. The fissures in Canadian politics reflect -- in part -- deep regional divisions that have been festering for quite some time (see story here). I have mixed feelings about recent events and I'm still forming my own opinions on what's going on here. I've said it in this Blog before -- and I'll say it again -- that Canadian conservatives are a completely different animal than American conservatives. Still, I'm aware that many left-of-center Canadians absolutely loathe Harper. I don't share their hostility (maybe because I lived in the United States during the Contract With America/Gingrichista Revolution and I realize Harper is far better than those zealots). But I am thrilled that Canadian politics has taken such an exciting turn in recent days.
Barack Obama (left) is still building his administration and while some liberals have expressed disappointment in some of his choices, he has been sounding a lot like a New Dealer lately with all of his talk of beefing up public works across America (see story here). I remain optimistic that the Obama administration will far outshine what preceded it. It seems like Obama has already taken over. I keep forgetting the inauguration hasn't even happened yet. Old Dubya gives new meaning to the word "lame duck."
Still no word on the Norm Coleman/Al Franken political showdown in Minnesota. You'll recall that theU.S. Senate election there was too close to call last month. The recount has lasted weeks and has been highly controversial. Much as I'd like to see Franken in the Senate, if I were a betting man, I'd place my money on a Coleman victory. Let's face it: Much as I like Franken, his extremely crass past as a humorist caught up with him and bit him in the ass. So I'm hoping for a Franken win, but not counting on it. We'll see. You can catch the latest update in USA Today.
The darkest spot on the world map for the past several days has been Mumbai, which is still recovering the 60-plus hours of nightmarish terror attacks that occurred in the last days of November. At least 188 were killed, almost 300 wounded. The coordinated violence in Mumbai has taken a toll on India's economy, sending the rupee plunging. Indian police acted quickly and decisively. Already, two terror suspects have been arrested. Just the other day, India's home minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram, said, "September 11th changed the attitude of all the people of the United States. What happened in Mumbai must be the trigger for a fundamental change in our attitude towards terrorism and combating terrorism." (See story here.) India's Muslim population has reacted to the Mumbai attacks with a mixture of sorrow and rage. Some are demanding the bodies of the terrorists who were killed be thrown into the ocean. And, sadly, India's economists are predicting the recession in the country will get worse before it improves. Tensions have escalated between India and Pakistan. The situation is grim and will likely remain so for quite some time.
And last week's Black Friday Stampede in America that killed a poor Wal-Mart employee... What's left to say? It was awful. It reflects the vulgarity of a consumer culture gone awry. Hopefully the horrific incident will make people stop and pause and reflect.
Good thing the Christmas Specials will be coming on soon. Do we ever get sick of those shows? I know I don't. There is something warm and comforting about them. Maybe it's the consistency with which they've been broadcast every year. Sometimes, all you need is a night of Rudolph to remind you that here in North America, things are still mostly OK. And they'll get better with Obama in the White House.
Thumbs Up: A group of retired military leaders are encouraging President-elect Barack Obama to take dramatic steps to end torture immediately. They want an immediate halt to waterboarding (simulated drowning) and other brutal forms of interrogation. As retired Vice Admiral Lee Gunn, the former Navy inspector general, put it: "We need to remove the stain, and the stain is on us, as well as on our reputation overseas." (Source: Reuters).
Thumbs Down: Oh, how the mighty do fall. The place: Payson, Utah. The protagonist: Gary Coleman, star of the hit TV series Diff'rent Strokes (too bad it was a hit in the late '70s and early '80s). Coleman was ordered to pay a $100 fine today. His crime: Some poor sap took his picture with a cell phone camera. Coleman's girlfriend snatched the fan's cell phone and the diminutive thespian's bodyguards roughed up the guy. But that wasn't good enough. Coleman hit the poor fool with his truck, for good measure. Who does this guy think he is? Sean Penn??? The injured man's attorney wants Coleman to pay his medical expenses, which have surpassed $10,000. (Source: The Provo Daily Herald).
Thumbs Up:Democrat Al Franken is catching up to Republican Norm Coleman in the recount of the Minnesota Senate race. If he's elected, Franken will be one of the most liberal members of the United States Senate. And probably the funniest. This Franken fan is keeping his fingers crossed. Franken has picked up 37 more votes. At one point in the counts, he was within approximately a dozen votes of Coleman. This was one of the tightest races in the election. The recount continues and remains a source of conflict in Minnesota. (Source: Talking Points Memo Election Central).
Thumbs Sideways: Did you hear that the Detroit CEOs of the Big Three automakers in America --Ford Motor Co.'s Alan Mulally, General Motors Corp.'s Rick Wagoner and Chrysler LLC's Robert Nardelli -- are driving to Washington, D.C. to beg for money this time instead of flying in their corporate jets. The poor chumps -- er, uh, Captains of Industry -- got so much flak last time when they flew lavishly to the nation's capital. Now that they've upped the amount they're asking for to $34 billion of bailout money, it doesn't look so good to fly so high on the hog in the company jet. Apparently, the Three Stoo- er, uh, CEOS, are saving their companies $15,000 by driving instead of flying. At this rate, they should be able to repay their massive government loans in 43,798,456 years. They better take a few books on tape. And watch out for carjackers, fellas! (Source: The Associated Press).
Thumbs Down: The White House is refusing to hang an ornament on its Christmas Tree made by a Seattle artist calling for the impeachment of George W. Bush. That's taking political correctness too far, in my humble opinion. What do they have to lose? There are only a few weeks left to impeach Old Dubya. Might as well hang an ornament on the Christmas Tree calling for his impeachment. And while they're at it, they ought to create a special ornament commemorating Dick Cheney's shooting of fellow hunter 78-year-old Harry Whittington back in February 2006. Luckily, Whittington survived. But the poor guy's ass was filled with birdshot pellets. The least they can do is create a poignant and touching White House ornament in his honor. (Source: The Seattle Times and CNN). Photo: Dubya thinking: "Boy, that could've been my ass that Cheney shot..."
