Random Thoughts Monday
I was going to do some Bush bashing this morning but I lost my motivation so now I’ll just blog about some stuff that is on my mind.
Thought #1: Today immigrants are protesting around the country. There is a counter protest happening as well. It’s actually not much of a counter protest. There are people calling for Americans to shop til they drop. Isn’t that the strangest thing? Someone actually wants me to part with my hard earned cash and give it to companies that support the protesting illegal immigrants that take jobs from Americans (only because companies aren’t willing to pay livable wages). The irony of it all…
Thought #2: I sat four hours on Saturday waiting for the Chicago Bears to pick and they traded the pick. I was so ticked. I’m not real happy with our picks. We got a safety from a small school. He had good stats but that wasn’t against great talent so we’ll se what happens when he gets on the field with high caliber players. Their second pick was a backup receiver at Miami. The scouting report states that he doesn’t run very good routes and is a little on the skinny side. My Bears just refuse to keep me happy.
Thought #3: LMC has a good post on the genocide happening in Sudan. I think I know how this discussion is going to turn out: Everyone is going to complain about the UN, blame the genocide on liberals, ask why black leaders aren’t raising this issue more in the media, then we’ll forget about it until the next 400,000 people are slaughtered and start the process again.
The solution is simple: Send 60,000 troops into the region and crush the janjaweed. Then issue an arrest warrant for the President of Sudan and all of his top officials. After that, set up a region for returning refugees and pour money into the region for redevelopment. Anything less than this is wimp-talk and I have no use to hear any of it.
DEATH TOLL: 400,000 Source: Dafur Genocide
11:06 AM Wow. Depressing, man.
Pretty good thoughts. Good call on the blame issue on thought #3...no doubt that will happen. Instead of blaming our own complacency and ineptitude on dealing with Africa, let's blame liberals (and at the same token, conservatives), the UN, and blacks. Yeah...that's the ticket! Why not throw some good old-fashioned media blame for good measure! I feel your pain...the obvious solution is there but it simply will not happen. To exaserbate things, hardly anybody in America cares at all about Africa so all discussion about it revolves around blaming the other for past mistakes. I also get the feeling that someone will give you the 'you can't just throw money at the problem' argument. But in pre-emptive defense, I would argue that it can help...look at post-war Europe, Ghana, and Nigeria - not perfect by any means, but better off than they were before U.S. aid.
I was hoping to read some Rush Limbaugh bashing after what happened this weekend...
11:13 AM Timmer,
I didn't watch much news this weekend (damn draft took most of my day and I didn't get anything for it). What happened?
You are correct about Africa. Most of what is happening there is abstract to people and then when we do discuss it, it gets twisted as though we're discussing the meaning of an abstract painting.
11:51 AM Neo,
I've gone to a few nice joints in LA. I'll get a list together for you and post it.
12:32 PM They rallied here in D.C. yesterday with regard to Darfur, but we barely felt a ripple in the metro area. Typically with really big, well-attended rallies here we feel the reverb all the way out in the suburbs (traffic, street closings, etc.). But this time, nothing. And noticeably absent in church yesterday (at least at mine) was any mention of the rally or the plight. The U.S. ain't gonna mess with that oil flow...especially not right now!
It's sad. And but by the grace of God, we (U.S. Black folks) could be there caught up in the carnage, too (notwithstanding the fact that most of us hail from East Africa, rather than central).
1:37 PM Thought 1: As far as I have heard, the protests have been much smaller than predicted with the more sizable number of protesters letting their voices be heard on the Southern side of the border. I am still having difficulty understanding what exactly their demands are. It seems like alot of folks responding but the message hasn't been made exactly clear.
2: Go Chargers!
3: I think I need to read LMCs post on this one, I am underinformed.
4:32 PM Liberal and conservative coming together. I have absolutely no argument with your plan, in fact it sounds pretty right on to me.
I was actually looking for some more graphic photos like you have here. I may snag one of them and add it to my post.
I think this is an issue that all human beings with a soul should be able to agree on doing something about. There may be some disagreement about what to do but not that we need to do something. My big argument is that just throwing money at the problem isn't going to cut it!!!
4:57 PM ...rush got arrested in Florida for using doctors as his own personal pharmacy for painkillers. Sort of ironic...
10:18 PM Timmer:
You've got your facts all wrong. Rush made a plea deal of "Not guilty" to get the vicious political prosecutor off his back. He came out accusing Rush of committing 10 felonies, none of which were true. Rush had admitted his addiction to painkillers after having severe back pain from a surgery gone wrong.
7:57 AM The U.S. isn't going to do a damn thing anout the people in Khartoum anytime soon. For the same reason that we didn't do anything in Baghdad during the 80s when people were being slaughtered by those in power.
When are you people going to learn that human rights have never been a top U.S. governmental priority? Save that stuff for the NGOs. When stopping what's going on in Darfur provides more of a geopolitical strategic advantage than letting it ride AND that advantage outweighs some of our other top commitments, then we will intervene. Sorry to say, but right now it doesn't, so don't exepect much.
6:55 PM I hate to tell you but Devin Hester is a bad boy!!! He is gonna make your Bears a better team with his KO, and PR abilities.. He just started playing WR last year after switching from corner because they needed to use that talent on that side of the ball..