What Would Bill Maher's Mother Do?

                      "I tell you, in the day of judgment people will give
                       account for every careless word they speak, for by
                       your words you will be justified, and by your words
                       you will be condemned." - Matthew 12:36 - 37 ESV


"Let me tell you about Sarah Palin. She's good mast----tion material."  - Tracy Morgan, during a TNT appearance, January 27,  2011.

“Did you hear this – Sarah Palin finally heard what happened in Japan and she’s demanding that we invade ‘Tsunami,’” “I mean she said, she said these ‘Tsunamians’ will not get away with this.’ Oh speaking of dumb t--ts, did you –” - Bill Maher,  HBO, March 18, 2011

"Bought makeup from Bloomingdale's to update her "slutty flight attendant" look." - David Letterman, CBS, June 6, 2009


Derogatory sexist jokes about female politicians from late-night cable shows are becoming more common and nastier by the day. Bill Maher, an HBO TV host, is one of the more consistent offenders. Just recently, he maliciously mocked Sarah Palin's view on abstinence while a guest of his fantasized about  getting violent with Michelle Bachmann in her bedroom.   Jay Leno once quipped that "Senator Hillary Clinton would offer Obama a lap dance in exchange for the Vice Presidency. " Even political commentator Juan Williams happily chimed in that Palin is a superstar centerfold to conservative men. The brunt of these vicious, foul rants is aimed at conservative Republican women and their biggest target is the former governor of Alaska - Sarah Palin.

Almost without exception, these comedians hated George W. Bush's politics as much as they hate the politics of these women. Yet, they never picked apart the anatomy of the former president nor called him any lewd or vulgar names. Bill Clinton kind of brought the crass jokes about him upon himself by indulging an intern to "entertain" him in the Oval Office. But by all accounts these women-politicians are decent, upright Christians, have been faithful to their husbands, and are true to their conservative values.

What brings about this sexist onslaught? When it comes to attacking Gov. Palin, one easy answer is - money. The Palin name generates TV ratings. These cable hosts make her a laughing stock while they laugh all the way to the bank. Smutty jokes are the ultimate verbal chest-thumping display of power of a man over a woman  to take her down when threatened by what she represents. It is also a most cowardly act of facing-off with someone he disagrees with. It's like sneaking up from behind or throwing eggs at your opponent when they are not looking. These women's philosophies and stance on issues are at the farthest opposite end of his own and it offends him to no end. Yet, he cannot make an intelligent enough argument to counter what these women believe in and stand for. The easiest way to get back at them is to diminish them and turn them into sexual punching bags. And he does not have to take responsibility for these obscene remarks. It's just all comedy to him.

Hollywood being an equal-opportunity la-la-land, these dirty jokes do not come from just the male stand-up clowns. Their female counterparts are just as comfortable filling the airwaves with their lewd wraths. Joy Behar spouts the word "b-tch" as easily as she breathes air in and out. Sandra Bernhard once said that "…if Palin ever visited New York, she would be “gang-raped by my big black brothers.” It was just as offensive to Sarah Palin as it was to Bernhard's black friends whom she assumed would gladly play along with her perverted protest to the former governor stepping foot on her beloved city.

Bill Maher always picks on Sarah Palin because he thinks that she will never be his equal, in intelligence and in knowledge about the affairs of this world. He is so passionate about promoting renewable energy that he suggested America should follow the example of Brazil, which has gotten off oil in the last 30 years through their sugarcane ethanol program that started in the 70's.  He must have been too busy admiring himself in the mirror that he missed President Obama authorizing a $20 billion loan to Brazil to help finance their offshore drilling so that America can become one of their best oil customers. I wonder how many seconds the Mahers of the liberal media will last if they spar on oil issues with Sarah Palin, who was former chairman of Alaska Oil and Gas Commission. But that would be a futile exercise. These emperors with no clothes love to point out the speck in the eyes of the great unwashed that they are not able to see the logs in their own eyes even if they stick out of their noses.

Sarah Palin and the other women who have been targets of these revolting jokes are women of substance and accomplishments. They may espouse beliefs and principles that these comedians find counter to their own but that does not justify degrading and disrespecting them.  These clowns are like skunks. Threaten their liberal territory and they'll wildly eject their foul odor - and foul odor they have plenty to go around. They may look glamourous in their tuxedos and Vera Wang gowns at Oscar and Grammy nights or be supporters of PETA, but when it comes to their brand of comedy, they're still skunks. If the Mahers, the Morgans and the Behars of the TV-dom cannot argue with these women point by point, topic by topic, issue by issue, without making fun of their private parts, then they should just stick to their own kind. These conservative women are simply way out of their leagues.

Mr. Maher is a confirmed bachelor and is childless, which is just as well. Imagine if he had a son and that boy had to carry the burden of having to explain his father's attitude towards women of strong character. David Letterman and Tracy Morgan do have children, though. I wonder what their kids tell their friends about their father's crude sense of humor? Do they say, "When you don't like a woman,  it is so easy how to put her in her place. Just invent the stupidest story about her then call her "slut" or "bimbo" or "MILF". Then you win. My daddy does it all the time - on national TV! My dad is so cool!"

I wonder how these jokers' spouses and partners feel as they walk on the red carpet. Are they proud to be seen hand in hand with a person whose tongue wags so repulsively?. When they do have arguments, do they end up insulting each other, calling the other person slutty names? Can you really love and respect a sexist person who makes a living out of belittling others? How about their children? How do they teach them to be responsible for their actions and words? How do they show them honesty and fair play? Or do these kids turn into little foul-mouthed bullies in the playground when they can't have their way, just like Mom and Dad? Who checks Santa's list of who's been naughty or nice? How about their mothers? They probably cringe watching their grown-up sons and daughters spout vulgarity with smirks on their faces. How did their sweet little angels turn out to be sexist attack dogs?

What would the mothers of the Mahers and the Behars do? It is time for them to summon these un-funny men and women back home and give them a refresher course on the Golden Rule before they corrupt beyond repair the uncurious minds of their audience. It is time for a good, high-pressure washing of their filthy mouths. It is time to remind them that people come in all shapes and sizes and backgrounds. Just because they are so different from you is no reason to destroy and slander them. Because for mothers watching her grown children make a fool of themselves, so oblivious to their own defects and hypocrisy,  on national TV is not funny at all.

 

Americans Take a Second Look at Sarah Palin

                                  "Keeping a clear conscience, so that those who
                                   speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ
                                   may be ashamed of their slander." -  1 Peter 3:16 NIV

With the release of the documentary film about Sarah Palin, "The Undefeated", Americans are taking a second look at the Alaska governor - and they like what they see.

"The Undefeated" was directed and produced by Steve Bannon, a filmmaker also known for creating controversial documentaries like "Ground Zero" (which explores the recent financial meltdown) and "Fires From the Heartland: The Awakening of the Conservative Woman". The movie chronicles Sarah Palin's rise in American politics and how the media distorted her exemplary record as government official and public servant.

It was only in late May when the public was first made aware of the existence of "The Undefeated" (Scott Conroy wrote a piece about it). Since then, the film has been shown to sold-out crowds to limited theaters, promoted in such a short time only through word-of-mouth, Facebook, Twitter and other social media. People swarmed the moviehouses, even in the deep blue Orange County of California. And as bold as the woman who inspired the film, The Undefeated will soon be coming to theaters in President Obama's own backyard, Chicago, in July 23rd.

Reading the reviews from the liberal media, you could not tell that the movie was a resounding success  but numbers don't lie.  Only "Harry Potter" had a better opening weekend. Of course, the media talking down anything even remotely related to Gov. Palin is nothing new. After almost three years of relentless attacks, of "reporting" stories about her that are either spun out-of-context or spun completely out-of-thin air, the governor is supposed to be damaged goods by now, stashed away in the dustbin of political history. She is supposed to be down in the mud, a hardened clay covered with layer upon layer of twisted lies and distorted news. Yet, people lined up for hours and even drove from out-of-state to see a movie where Sarah Palin did not even personally appear but could only be heard and seen through footage.

Seeing the positive response of the American people to the movie gives me tremendous hope. It warms my heart that the American people have not given up their ability to think for themselves and make up their minds about this woman from Alaska and not just be herded like helpless sheep into this malicious narrative that the media has created about Sarah Palin. Candidate Obama may have charmed the voters with his lofty rhetoric  in 2008 but they have woken up to the fact that the "Post-American" (whatever that means) persona of Mr. Obama is nothing but a myth. The voters have woken up to the sad and ugly truth about Pres. Obama and now they are seeking the plain truth about Gov. Palin, with wiser minds and open hearts. In droves they went to see "The Undefeated" and stepped out of the theaters filled with hope that there is someone who has a record of real accomplishments, who can very well put America back on the right track again.

The Undefeated may be a story about Sarah Palin. But hers is  the story of America. This is a story of rising up after being knocked down, of never giving up, of never losing faith in the goodness of God and in the common sense wisdom of your fellow citizens. It is about not losing sight of who we are and of our purpose as individual, as a citizen and as a country. This is an exceptional nation, the world's beacon of hope. One president may fiddle with our founding principles and try to fundamentally transform this nation into a socialist one but our characters and values are stronger than this administration's deceitful ways. "The Undefeated" is the essence of the American spirit and NO amount of media distortion can take that away.

The Ditch is Now a Sinkhole

                         "Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take
                           pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to
                           someone else."  - Galatians 6:4 NIV


Like a cigarette that is hard to quit, some habits are simply too hard to kick. Just like President Obama's dislike of  George W. Bush, Obama can't seem to stop blaming the former president for all the wrong things that are happening in his (Obama's) administration.

As a candidate, he often spoke of the ditch that Bush had dug for America and promised to get the country out of it. I was never a fan of the cowboy from Texas  but almost three years into his term, what exactly did W mess up that Barack Obama has fixed?

Our national debt has ballooned to $14.3 trillion, up by $3.674 since President Obama took office. The debate on raising the debt ceiling is still raging on in D.C. at this very moment. The White House's position is akin to asking all American households  to open new credit card accounts so they could keep paying the interests of their already maxed-out credit cards, instead of cutting back on spending to balance their budget. If only the president would be smart enough to follow-through on his 2006 Senate vote  to not raise the debt ceiling because our debt problem is a failure in leadership , then he could proudly claim that he has corrected one thing that George Bush failed on: the budget. Right now,  unemployment stands at 9.2% (up from 7.6% in January 2009) despite the infusion of almost a trillion dollar-stimulus money. The President even laughed off the revelation that those "shovel-ready projects" that would help keep unemployment rate below 8% were not "shovel-ready" after all. If the stimulus bill had not limited these infrastructure jobs to unionized companies only, these shovel-ready projects would probably have helped stimulate the jobs market. In his June 29 press conference, the only fresh idea that he spoke of was the need for a new patent reform. In a 9.2% unemployment environment, a more stream-lined patent reform would surely get half the people in the unemployment line all excited and fired up about the future. The patent reform sure conveys this administration's sense of urgency of creating more jobs and people actually earning a living again.

Indeed, the ditch that he inherited has turned into a giant sinkhole. Even President Obama's pet green vehicle, the electric Volt,  produced by cash-strapped GM given a jolt of second life by taxpayers' money, could not pull us out of the ditch. Certain to also not help is the big-budgeted bullet train that is like a giant ball coming at us high-speed Wrecking The Future.

If there is one thing that President Obama proved he can do very, very well, that is DIGGING. If the American voters do not wise up in 2012 and elect somebody else to take that shovel away from him, the sink hole that we're in will soon turn into a black hole of no return.

To Our Soldiers Who Were Gone Too Soon

                       "Come to me, all of you, who are weary and burdened,
                            and I will give you rest."    - Matthew 11:28 NIV


On July 6, 2011, President Obama  ordered a  reversal of a long-standing military policy of denying condolence letters to the families of service men and women who commited suicide while stationed in a combat zone. This is a most sensible act to honor all those who have sacrificed their very lives to fight for our country.

My own personal faith teaches that our bodies are God's temple. Life is the very first gift that He gives us the moment we are conceived. We must not dispose of it or take it away in our own accord. But no man or woman signs up for military service for the purpose of killing themselves once they are in the field. War is cruel. Battles may be won but nobody wins in wars. We will never know the images that stay in our soldiers' heads or the ghosts that hound them in their sleep or the nightmares that haunt them even when they're wide awake. We will never know the true agony that they went through that led them to end their lives. We will never feel the same sadness and emptiness in the hearts of family members who have lost a loved one through suicide. We will never know the unending questions in their minds on what happened and how it happened or how they could have prevented it.

As a country, as citizens who enjoy every kind of freedom for every drop of sweat and blood of our military personnel, we probably do not show enough of our appreciation for their service. We should not deny them  a simple piece of paper that validates their sacrifices. A condolence letter encapsulates our nation's sympathy and gratitude for a life gone too soon.

To the President from the military families, a heartfelt thank you for an act long overdue. To all the service members who have lost their lives in combat from everyday Americans, our eternal gratitude to you. May your souls finally rest in peace.

Obama's Plain Writing Act Gets Me All Wee-Wee'd Up

                  "A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver."
                                                                                  ~ Proverbs 25:11 (NIV)

One rare good thing has come out of the Obama administration. It's called Plain Writing Act which the President signed in October 2010 and was required to be in place in all government agencies as of July of this year. It orders all government agencies' forms and documents and policies be written in plain language that can be easily understood by the general public.  It is meant to promote more government transparency and accountability. Soon  legal and technical jargons like aforementioned, hereby, herein, heretofore, whereof will be gone from our incomprehensible public documents. You can find samples of before and after at plainlanguage.gov.

A White House memo states that "Plain writing is concise, simple, meaningful, and well-organized. It avoids jargon, redundancy, ambiguity, and obscurity. It does not contain unnecessary complexity."

This Act, which I hope the President would expand to Plain Speaking as well, is to be especially applauded, considering that the current administration is in dire need of big dose of it.

Let us begin with President Obama's near trillion-dollar economic recovery plan (a.k.a. the stimulus plan) in 2009 which he claimed would "save or create" three- to four-million jobs. It would require a new study group (add that to the created jobs column) to sift through data to define what and which jobs were saved or created. It's easy enough to identify a newly created job but can a "saved" job be attributed to the stimulus plan or was the job simply not in danger of being lost in the first place? Were jobs "safely created" ( a long-term employment), "creatively saved" (an extended temp job) or simply "creatively created"? It's confusing, I know. With the program nearing its end, reports point to jobs created in non-existent districts with phantom zip codes , temporary projects that have since been concluded and stimulus money used to fund the extension of the unemployment benefits. The White House's own Council of Economic Advisers recently released a report that the stimulus plan has netted under 2.4 million jobs at a cost of $278,000 per job. Indeed,  "save or create" was a clever phrase too creative to simply protect the White House from critisisms given that the projected job numbers did not materialize.

The administration of late has also referred to our involvement in Libya not as war but a "kinetic military action". Acts of terrorism are also now called "man-caused disasters". I suppose terrorists can  now be called disaster-causing men. Is War on Terror now "kinetic military action on man-caused disasters?" Who could blame the White House? When a Commander-in-Chief is responsible for one of the finest fighting forces the world has ever known (yes, just one of the best) and is sort of apologetic that we remain a dominant military superpower, who wants to deploy our troops to the front lines? So even if we are dropping bombs in Libya and targeting military installations, our service men and women are not engaged in hostilities. It is merely a kinetic military action.

It is kind of strange that on some US immigration forms and brochures, foreigners are referred to as aliens. With images of UFO's and Roswell and Sigourney Weaver being chased by ghastly creatures from outer space, one would think that many people would find the reference "alien" offensive. Yet there is nary a whimper of political correctness protest. But calling "illegal" those who are here unlawfully would be inhumane and morally corrupt. The media and the politicians (especially those from the Left) insist on calling them "undocumented immigrants" or "undocumented workers". "Illegal" is easy enough to understand (it means against the law). "Immigrant" and "worker" are self-explanatory. But the issue becomes muddled when "illegal" is substituted with "undocumented". Everybody knows that the document in question here is not a marriage or birth certificate, or school transcript or employment background check. It is all about visas and passports. If a foreigner does not possess a valid and unexpired visa and passport, then he/she is here illegally. The same standard will be applied anywhere in the world. To be fair, the use of "undocumented immigrant" and "undocumented worker" predates the Obama administration but the President is well aware that the burgeoning Hispanic and Latino population is the new emerging minority group powerhouse in the country and to pander to them means locking up their votes, which he will need for his re-election campaign.

All these complex and confusing jargons and coded-words just do not make for a clear discourse and drive Americans all wee-wee'd up. I'm not sure exactly what wee-wee'd up means but it's time to refudiate this game of Word Spin and bring common sense back to our national conversation.
                                                                                                                                                                                                

Politics of Pious Pandering

                        "For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ,
                         but they're own belly; and by good words and fair speeches
                         deceive the hearts of the simple." - Roman 16:18 KJV

Herman Cain said that his fellow Republican presidential candidates were pandering to Christian voters when Michelle Bachmann recited a lengthy prayer and Tim Pawlenty quoted a scripture verse in their speeches during the Faith and Freedom Conference last June. Was Mr. Cain correct to say that? Yes. Were Ms. Bachmann and Mr. Pawlenty wrong to do what they did? No. The event was an appropriate mix of politics and religion and both candidates, as with Cain, are Christians. They're free to express their faith just like anybody else. These two are professional politicians and they played well to the crowd peppering their speeches with religious references.

Appealing to the voters' faiths builds an instant personal connection to the audience. People like to hear that their leaders share the same moral values and virtues with them and politicians willingly oblige in their speeches. They unabashly share stories of their altar-boy days or the afternoons spent with their children reading the Scripture, or their involvement in their local churches in helping the poor and feeding the homeless.  All true stories maybe, and they do give that feel-good, righteous- and morally-upright aura to the candidates stumping for votes.

As varied as the religious groups in our country, so are the ways that politicians have displayed their faiths, in both their private and public lives.

Americans were wary of JFK's Catholic faith, as they are today of Republican Mitt Romney being a Mormon as they ran for president of the United States. Although I am not a fan of Mr. Romney, it was admirable that he never backed away from his religion nor sought to diminish his affiliation to the group even if he knew that  it would cost him some votes.

Sarah Palin is an unapologetic Christian woman, whose opposition to abortion was put to a test when, during a prenatal screening, her son was diagnosed with Down syndrome. She chose life, consistent with her faith. She has practiced what her religion teaches yet as a public official remained conscientious to not let her moral beliefs influence how she carried out her public duties.  As governor of Alaska, when a bill that prohibits domestic partnership rights to same-sex couples came to her desk, she vetoed it. Her Republican colleagues lambasted her for it but the State Court had ruled it unconstitutional. Although homosexual marriage is against her Christian faith, she was true and firm in her oath to uphold her State Constitution. For Governor Palin, the Bible is to her personal life as the Constitution is for the State affairs.

Barack Obama was convincing back in 2008 when he insisted that he is a Christian and declared that Jesus is his Savior. He reveled the voters with stories of his attendance for 20 years at the Trinity United Church in Chicago, that his friend Pastor Jeremiah Wright officiated his and his wife's wedding and baptized his children. During the 2008 campaign, Mr. Obama was the pious and devotional Christian yet after becoming President he has been anything but. He has developed the habit of omitting the word "Creator" when  quoting the Declaration of Independence. In a speech in Indonesia, he replaced America's motto, "In God We Trust" with  "E pluribus unum". His 2010 Easter statement reached out to the Jews, Muslims, Hindus and people of no faith yet there was no mention of Jesus at all - striking especially in this all-encompassing Christian day of celebration. One can easily conclude that his omission of references to the Christian faith has been both deliberate and glaring. His spokesman at the White House insists that the President is a devoted Christian yet in his two years and a half at the White House he has golfed 75+ times while you could count in one hand the times he's attended Sunday mass. The days that he went to church, interestingly enough, coincided with the release of  polls that say a good portion of Americans still believe that he is Muslim. I take the President's words that he is a Christian and not a Muslim but he is, without a doubt, one LOUSY Christian.

Religious groups are some of the biggest voting blocks in America so pandering to them is nothing new but rare is a politician who so publicly sheds the holy cloak used during campaign stumps as soon as it was no longer politically expedient.