Hillary Clinton in her own words

“There was just an AP article posted that found how Senator Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me… I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on.”

And now for my words on the subject. It doesn't take a linguistics expert to spot that Mrs. Clinton is equating "hard working Americans" with "white Americans". Apparently she has conceded the shiftless negro vote. Desperate times do indeed call for pathetic pleas for support, but Hillary should be smart enough to realize that making statements to guarantee an endorsement from the head of the KKK is not what it takes in this day and age to secure a national political nomination. Call Barack Obama an elitist all you want (Such an absurd claim. Simply look at the backgrounds of Barack and Hillary and then decide which one is actually more concerned about and at ease among people making less than 10 million dollars a year), but there is nothing wrong with being educated, cultured, healthy (last I checked, eating arugula was not one of the Seven Deadly Sins) and open minded, and certainly nothing noble about scraping the bottom of the barrell for people who enter a voting booth with little information to base their decision on beyond the race of the respective candidates. Yet I'll give Hill a pass. Perhaps she had, as her husband of all people would put it, another "senior moment" during an exhausting and increasingly frustrating campaign. Maybe she was under the duress of sniper fire while being interviewed. I won't implore Fox "News" (aka Blatantly Republican Network) and CNN to dedicate the same amount and degree of coverage to Clinton's bold statement as they did to Obama's "bittergate" or "pastorgate", or even as much air time as was given to such critical issues as flag lapels and bowling scores. The reason I'm being so magnaminous is because I don't believe people should vote against the candidate who they have been most effectively scared away from. I feel reasonably comfortable saying this because none of the candidates has the last name Bush. Everyone should support the nominee who inspires the most confidence that their own interests and strongest held beliefs will be supported by the upcoming presidency. If that person in your opinion happens to be Hillary Clinton or John McCain or Ralph Nader (Ralph is a candidate too, right?), then so be it. If it happens to be Barack Obama, congratulations on your display of common sense regardless of how hard working you are or what your melanin count happens to be.

- Roy Pickering (Author of FEEDING THE SQUIRRELS: A Novella)
http://www.synergebooks.com/ebook_feedingthesquirrels.html

Conspiracy Theory of the Day

The Barack Obama - Reverend Wright connection has been troubling to many voters. Political analysts and opponents in the presidential race have not been willing to let the matter die a natural death, and probably will not do so any time soon. Even after Obama’s magnificent speech in Philly many people remained dissatisfied because Obama did not publicly “disown” Wright. For some odd reason Jeremiah Wright subsequently chose to pick on and insult Obama rather than quietly going away into the night, which one would have expected him to do if there was genuine friendship between the men. Why would he choose to sabatoge Obama's chances at getting elected unless something was going on that the general public was not aware of? Pride? Love of the spotlight? Betrayal complex? Or was there something more mysterious to it? Granted, it is understandable that Rev. Wright would want to defend himself and his church after being condemned and caricatured on a daily basis. But surely there was a way to accomplish this without doing further harm to Obama. For one thing, he could have waited until after the upcoming primaries in Indiana and North Carolina before making public statements. When he did speak he could have made it clear that he and his former parishioner agree to disagree on certain principles, reinforcing that he speaks for himself alone and that matching every one of his beliefs (many of which are not especially outlandish or inflammatory despite what his critics claim) with those of Obama is ludicrous. The most unAmerican thing I can think of is to belittle freedom of speech by roasting a man for criticizing this country as if we're all supposed to have our heads stuck in the sand and believe the US of A is a utopian society. He is guilty perhaps of overstating his opinions. Someone who shouts at you will always seem less reasonable and rational than one who speaks calmly, even if they are saying essentially the same thing. With the exception of the US government inventing AIDS specifically to kill off African Americans I have yet to hear any commentary from Rev. Wright that did not contain a fair measure of truth and common sense, regardless of whether one is inclined to wholeheartedly agree with the truth as he views it or not. He said for example that Native Americans who had their land forcibly taken from them, Japanese American detainees during World War II, and African Americans from the time they were dragged here from Africa have not received the most polite treatment by this nation. Is this really something that any sane person can dispute no matter how rabidly pro Red White and Blue they may be? Would this section of his sermon even have been seen as particularly controversial if he did not take things a step too far by revising "God Bless America" to "God D**n America"? No doubt he felt that such phrasing would give maximum emphasis and flair to his criticisms, and so it did, but it also made them easier to condemn for being too extreme, even traitorous. Had Jeremiah Wright simply clarified his positions with minimal mention of Obama's agreement or disagreement with them, this would have been a sufficient response to fight against the tainting of his legacy. Instead Rev. Wright got in some digs while in the act of defending himself, implying that Obama was a typical politician who spoke out of both ends of his mouth, saying what he felt was necessary at the time to secure the maximum amount of votes, easily willing to change his tune if convenient and advantageous to do so. Why would he do this when Obama had certainly been far gentler on him despite the fact that he may have pleased more voters by being tougher? After the third and most outlandish stop on Wright's speaking tour, Barack Obama finally grew angry and distanced himself from the reverend just as many felt he should have done from the get go. Now that he has given the people precisely what they were asking for, one wonders if it will aid his cause or will be a case of too little too late. Either way, I’m left to ponder if Wright's seemingly unnecessary and certainly inappropriate dissing of Obama was for show. Did he act the part of bad guy in calculated fashion since he had already been cast in that role anyway courtesy of the YouTube clips? Was his actual objective to enable Obama to once again be seen as the good guy? By going out of his way to provoke the Democratic frontrunner, practically begging for retaliation of some kind, he provided Obama with a convenient out. Could it be that he intended to help rather than hurt his friend? If so, did Wright do so on his own or were they in it together? Perhaps I'm being overly cynical (following this election will do that to you) but it does make one wonder how much of what we're watching is real and how much is theater. Yet stronger than this wonderment is my hope that Barack Obama becomes the Democratic nominee (perhaps giving a central role to Hillary Clinton in spite of her less than admirable efforts to win the nomination for herself), goes on to defeat John McCain in the general election (perhaps giving him a central role in spite of his fondness for war because he does strike me as being a good and sincere man), and then proceeds to live up to his promise.

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Roy Pickering (author of Feeding the Squirrels)

http://www.synergebooks.com/ebook_feedingthesquirrels.html

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Newsweek article that comments on same topic, minus conspiracy theory - http://www.newsweek.com/id/134766

Diligence, Penny Pinching, Political Obsessing, and Pity

It's been about a month since my last entry. I intend to add to this blog more frequently and regularly going forward, though in my defense I have not been guilty of idle hands. Over the past several weeks I'm happy to say that I've been working on my novel "Matters of Convenience" on a pretty regular basis. The manuscript has surpassed 400 handwritten pages with its end on the not too distant horizon. At such a pace it's entirely possible that I'll complete the first draft by summer's end and will have it ready to submit to literary agents and/or publishers before the close of 2008. Not only have I been diligently working on my novel but I also penned a book in poetic form geared to toddlers that is waiting for accompanying illustrations by Erin. It has not been copyrighted so I won't post it here yet, but I am rather proud of it. "Baby's Day" is its title and Ava was the inspiration, particularly during the period when she was getting upset on a regular basis about being brought to daycare Monday - Friday. Erin and I did not want to leave her in the care of others and head to our day jobs any more than Ava wanted to be dropped off, but as a family that requires both our incomes we have no choice in the matter. I suppose "Baby's Day" was written as much to cheer Erin and I up as to give our daughter a more positive perspective on the situation. It's my sincere belief that once Erin has contributed her fantastic artwork to go along with my simple words, if/when published our book will be a welcome addition to the libraries of many working parents with young children. Stay tuned for Erin to give you a peek at an illustration or two from it. We definitely intend to create more children's books. Our second one will probably have an adoption theme.

Speaking of which, we're planning for our second child so that means we need to budget accordingly. As summer quickly approaches we'll hopefully find plenty of ways to make it the best one of our lives without breaking the bank. This is a potential topic to write about going forward. Last I checked, being flush with cash is not a requirement for fun. A lack of funds simply makes it a bit more challenging, which could in turn could make the results of our research more rewarding. There is plenty of wonder and laughter for us to experience without daunting price tags attached.

My obsession with Barack versus Hillary continues, as does my disappointment with the Clinton camp for doing their best to scare less enlightened voters away from Obama by portraying him as a man with strong racist, militant, unpatriotic ties. She isn't too far from proclaiming (with plenty of supporters helping to spread her ugly message) that a vote for Obama may as well be one for Reverend Wright, Al Sharpton, Mike Tyson, OJ Simpson, Louis Farrakhan and whoever else makes certain sectors of White America nervous. Barack Obama is not a perfect man or a perfect candidate, and he will not make a perfect president. But if given the chance I do believe in his potential to be a great one, and if Hillary Clinton is to get the opportunity ahead of him (which still seems doubtful) I only hope that she does so fair and square rather than appealing to the darker natures of an older and/or lesser educated demographic that clings to the past of our great imperfect nation rather than embracing the future envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The police officers who shot and killed Sean Bell on his wedding day as the 23 year old man left the strip club his bachelor party was held at have been acquitted. Perhaps it actually was a fair verdict. Maybe those police officers truly did see justifiable cause to fire 50 times at unarmed men. It's possible they really believed they were in danger and needed to shoot before being shot at first. I don't know precisely what took place on that fateful night with absolute certainty. What I do know is that Sean Bell is dead, his daughter is fatherless, his loved ones will find no peace from the legal verdict so need to look elsewhere for solace, and that black men scare certain people. Amadou Diallo frightened cops with his wallet, causing them to pump 41 bullets into him. Barack Obama continues to scare off Hillary Clinton's strongest base of support. I'm sure I've made someone somewhere nervous at some point by my mere presence. It doesn't make me angry anymore so much as sad.

That's all for now. Take care.

- Roy Pickering (author of Feeding the Squirrels)

http://www.synergebooks.com/ebook_feedingthesquirrels.html

Dumbest "controversy" of 21st century to date

The ongoing presidential primaries have certainly provided ample material that would fit the title of this blog entry, but I've decided that above all else, uproar over the cover of the current issue of Vogue magazine is the most idiotic thing I've ever heard. Announcement to people of all colors, creeds, races, religions, political parties, sexual preferences, and also to anyone who hasn't quite figured out yet that public funds are not intended for use by elected officials to subsidize extramarital affairs or trips to their brothel of choice: Black men and white women are allowed to be in each other's company without raising a major stir! This is the year 2008. Racism has not vanished from the face of the earth, but as everyone other than those who Barack Obama listens to on Sunday mornings should have figured out by now, we no longer reside in the era of Native Son or To Kill a Mockingbird. Within certain families trouble will no doubt be brewed if the wrong answer is given to the age old question - Guess who's coming to dinner? Nevertheless, the times they have already a-changed to a refreshing degree. As result it is actually possible to look at a photograph of a black man with a white woman, even one where the black guy is clowning (which apparently looks way too much like demonic scowling to some), and not automatically assume that the picture is a reinterpretation of a King Kong movie poster. I did not look at the accompanying photo and fear that the poor model was about to be raped or mugged or eaten alive by the primitive holding her captive. I did not conclude that LeBron was just begging to be lynched. What I thought was - there goes a picture of two young, attractive, famous, rich people, one of whom happens to be the girlfriend of the quarterback for the losing team in the Super Bowl. And then I moved on with my day. Anyone who gave this picture much more thought than that has way too much time on their hands and way too big a chip on their shoulder. I was not offended by the image in the slightest, but I am offended by anyone who takes issue with it because they are stuck in a past that is keeping us from moving full speed ahead into the future. A color blind world may not be right around the corner even if the right candidate is elected president, but surely we live in a day and age when a magazine should be able to blatantly peddle good old fashioned sex without inciting a race riot because the man and woman pictured do not look like genetic brother and sister. Reverend Wright was slandered endlessly for harshly criticizing this country, and Barack Obama was roasted by association. But aren't a few potshots warranted by a nation so obsessed with race that a pretty picture is able to distract us from the fact that we have (for starters) an economy in dire need of fixing and a weakly plotted war desperately in need of an ending?

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- Roy Pickering (Author of "Feeding the Squirrels: A Novella)

http://www.synergebooks.com/ebook_feedingthesquirrels.html

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p.s. - IMHO this is one heckuva speech: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23690567/

Making the most of my commute

In my ongoing quest to slot time into my day to sketch, paint, connect with my creative side, etc. I have tapped into my commuting time. I have found I can draw on anything - sitting or standing. Used to be I needed a lovely sketchbook, the right texture paper, a special pen, a peaceful setting, northern light – you get the idea. I needed the perfect set up and supplies. Those days are gone.

I fight tooth and nail for my creative outlet and have let all the trappings fall by the wayside. The result – I am doing it!

I drew this standing up on a packed train, in my 3.5x6.5” day-timer notebook, with whatever pen I had in my bag. None of that mattered. I had an idea and I acted on it… captured the essence of all 3 of us in that initial drawing. Then I started to get in my own way… Redrawing, fixing, adjusting, scanning, tweaking. All of that produced no better results then my original off-the-cuff, at-the-moment drawing.

Note to self: draw, don’t fuss.

erin

PS – I just read "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield yet again. I think it’s starting to sink in.

Agents of Change

I've been obsessed with the primaries this year, particularly on the Democratic side. Never before in my life have I felt so invested in the political process, in large part due to the promise of the unique set of candidates and my good riddance attitude towards the ineptitude of the incumbent. There has been much talk about readiness to handle the duties of the job from day one. That talk seems to be falling on deaf ears. Now that the former governors/mayors/CEO's are basically out of the running, leaving us with a choice between senators (McCain, Clinton, or Obama), playing the experience card isn't especially effective because the three of them are on relatively equal footing. Having more years on the job does not necessarily make you superior at it. Having had more success is what determines who should be "promoted". I respect McCain's status as a war hero in a day and age when the word hero is usually abused to describe whoever has made a game winning shot or homerun or touchdown. Speaking of sports I also admire the work McCain did to promote boxing reform. But my admiration for Mr. "Hundred Year War" only goes so far. Even a fair amount of Republicans must realize by now that more of the same is not what this country needs at this point in time. If we dwelled in a day and age of booming prosperity, that would be one thing. But we are on the verge of a recession, at war for reasons that are scarcely comprehensible, and the gap between the haves and the have nots has never been wider. Those of you who have non-American friends surely have figured out by now that America is not seen by the world at large as so bright a beacon of all things wonderful as it used to be. For all the noise that has been made in debates about keeping illegal aliens out of this country, the fact is that if we maintain the current course the problem will go away on its own because nobody will want to come to the land of unprovoked aggression, a land where higher education and home ownership is not affordable to the many, a land that is controlled by the lobbyists of the few (why the heck does it need to be legal for me to buy a machine gun, illegal to buy a single joint, but perfectly legal to buy vodka by the gallons without so much as a prescription?). McCain would certainly be a better president than the current Bush and probably superior to the first one as well, but all in all he represents more of the same when it is pornographically obvious that we're in need of something different. As for Hillary Clinton, I respect both her and her husband, though I only particularly like Bill (I guess Chelsea is okay too so I'll stay tuned for her eventual run). Unlike Bill Clinton, Hillary simply does not inspire me. Perhaps if I was a woman I'd feel different, but I'm unwilling to have a sex change simply to discover her appeal. She and others have criticized Obama for being all style and no substance, but the truth is that there is much substance behind the ability to inspire and motivate and instill hope in millions of people. This is one of the main reasons why people remember JFK's presidency so fondly. It is one of the reasons why the also too brief life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. continues to affect people. The ability to convince a nation to both do for themselves and for their country is a pretty useful one for its leader to have, and the primary results to date have made it abundantly clear that Barack Obama possesses far more of this quality than Clinton or McCain. His term of public service may be relatively brief but I am very impressed by what Obama accomplished as a community organizer and as a senator. Most of all I am incredibly impressed by what he has done over the past few months. Those reading these words may recall that he was considered a major long shot in the early days of the race for a variety of reasons. One of his biggest selling points was being an agent of change, but the novelty of the opportunity to elect a non-white male President was negated by Hillary's presence. They can both lay equal claim to the "agent of change" angle. Some went so far as to say Bill Clinton is "blacker" (whatever the heck that means) than Obama, which basically meant that Hillary was almost black by association, so the biracial Obama could barely lay claim to being the most African-American of the candidates. And let's face it, the man's name is Barack Husein Obama and he's running for president while this country is still feeling the aftereffects of 9/11 and is at war in the Middle East. He had the burden of assuring everyone that he is indeed Christian, not Muslim. Add these things up along with being the least experienced on paper candidate and Obama did not seem to have a prayer no matter what his religion was. It appeared that the most impressive thing he'd be able to accomplish was to get more votes than Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton had before him. The force of his personality and I suppose his being the most attractive of the candidates (once pretty boy Edwards dropped out, that is) were pretty much all he had going for him. He entered the race as a man of grand ideals able to articulate them with much eloquence, which meant he'd probably be great as a talk show host or at least a pseduo-regular guest on Oprah, but could this be enough to propel him to the presidency? No way in hell. Well that was then and this is now. He has received more votes and raised more money than any other candidate. People believe in him as a reflection of believing in themselves and believing in better days ahead for this country. The people who support Obama are those who want their children to inherit a better world than the one passed down to them by their parents. These people are not enslaved by the cult of personality. They're simply individuals falling into just about every demographic who desire an alternative to simply being jaded as they watch the rich get rich and the rest get further disenfranchised. I believe overcoming what he has to date is a mighty strong indication that Barack Obama would be a fine President. McCain's biggest accomplishment to date has been to be a model POW, and Hillary's greatest feat is standing by her cheating man because her political aspirations were greater than her pride. Neither of these things trumps what Obama has accomplished IMHO. I didn't vote for him because he's under 70. I didn't cast my vote due to his race or his gender or his spouse. Slogans and catchphrases did noting to affect which lever I pulled in the ballot box, and negative attack ads only proved to me that the competition felt it was easier to pick on alleged flaws in him than to point out superior merits of their own case. As an American I think it would be nice to be represented at the top for a change by someone I am impressed by and proud of. Not only is Obama the only remaining candidate who was smart enough not to be initially duped into thinking we needed to wage war against people who had no WMD's and nothing whatsoever to do with the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center, but I believe he's the only candidate who has not gained an unfair advantage by taking HGH and steroids (okay, you caught me, I made that up). The best thing about the upcoming Presidential election is that no matter which of the remaining candidates (including those wacky dreamers Huckabee Hound and Ron "4%" Paul) ends up getting elected, by default the next term will be a vast improvement over the current state of affairs.

- Roy Pickering (Author of "Feeding the Squirrels: A Novella)

http://writeronlinebooks.com/book/feedingthesquirrels.htm

Congratulations New York Giants

When it comes to football, my love of the NY Jets is matched only by my disdain for the New England Patriots. Long before Spygate I felt that their coach was totally lacking in class. He's a sore loser and a bad sportsman and a traitor who can't take nearly as gleefully as he gives. Clearly the man knows his x's and o's, and his disciplinarian attitude has yielded results that cannot be argued against (so long as Tom Brady is slinging the rock for him). But the man is a proven cheater and an undisputed jerk. Even though I felt a Giants Super Bowl victory would further cement the Jets position as second class citizens on their own home turf, I decided this was preferable to watching the Patriots conclude a perfect season as champions of the NFL. Now that the smoke has cleared - the Manning brothers can officially consider themselves in the same class as the Williams sisters, Eli can officially tell Tiki Barber to kiss his a**, Michael Strahan has been rewarded for hanging in there one more season by earning his first Super Bowl victory, Jeremy Shockey's ego has been checked at the door, Don Shula and his undefeated Dolphins team from the 70's get to drink their champagne and do their infantile happy dance when all hope appeared lost, Tom Brady will of course be just fine and continue living a charmed life, Bostonites harshly return to sports reality, fans of the underdog who always pull for David to beat Goliath smile contentedly, and Bill Belichick (who may have outcoached himself by electing not to go for that field goal in a game they ended up losing by 3 points) at long last receives a taste of Humble Pie now that the Giants have shoved it in his face. As for those who get off on idolotry and are bummed by the back to back humanizing of Roger Federer and the Patriots, at least they still have the mastery of Tiger Woods to look up to.

Google search find of the day - http://www.allthingsbillbelichick.com/