Barack Obama has called for Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY/15) to "end his career with dignity."
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
African-Americans
Colored people.
Negroes.
Afro-Americans.
Blacks.
African-Americans.
Those are the words that at one time or another were the "correct" term used to refer to Blacks in the U.S. during my lifetime. These words were used by Black, Whites, and others. Rural people. City people. News broadcasters. Newspapers. Everybody.
Today, African-American is the "correct" term, even though it's a stupid term. Stupid because it only applies to Americans.
What about a Black who's from Canada? African-American-Canadian? That's stupid. African-Canadian? Stupid.
Or from Britain? African-American-Briton? That's stupid. African-Briton? Stupid.
Or a country in Africa? African-American-African? I mean, African could mean someone like Graeme Smith (the cricketer), couldn't it? He's from Africa, after all. And White. So, a Black from an African nation? African-African? Stupid.
No, the "African-American" label is ... wait for it ... jingoism. If it's important to reference the race of someone, and they're from the US, African-American is a stupid phrase.
The trick is ... is it important to reference the race of someone? Well, yes, sometimes, it is. But not often.
But, when it is, we need to have some sense about what we say. Negro is actually correct. Just like calling me a Caucasian is correct. But some don't like it. Okay. Fine. Come up with a better term. Black works. Calling me White is fine, so Black makes sense to me.
But, someone might not like that. Fine. Like I said, come up with a better term. But do put some thought into it. Don't come up with something stupid. Like African-American. Come up with a phrase that doesn't exclude non-Americans.
After all, people in other countries are people too.
Most of them, anyway.
Negroes.
Afro-Americans.
Blacks.
African-Americans.
Those are the words that at one time or another were the "correct" term used to refer to Blacks in the U.S. during my lifetime. These words were used by Black, Whites, and others. Rural people. City people. News broadcasters. Newspapers. Everybody.
Today, African-American is the "correct" term, even though it's a stupid term. Stupid because it only applies to Americans.
What about a Black who's from Canada? African-American-Canadian? That's stupid. African-Canadian? Stupid.
Or from Britain? African-American-Briton? That's stupid. African-Briton? Stupid.
Or a country in Africa? African-American-African? I mean, African could mean someone like Graeme Smith (the cricketer), couldn't it? He's from Africa, after all. And White. So, a Black from an African nation? African-African? Stupid.
No, the "African-American" label is ... wait for it ... jingoism. If it's important to reference the race of someone, and they're from the US, African-American is a stupid phrase.
The trick is ... is it important to reference the race of someone? Well, yes, sometimes, it is. But not often.
But, when it is, we need to have some sense about what we say. Negro is actually correct. Just like calling me a Caucasian is correct. But some don't like it. Okay. Fine. Come up with a better term. Black works. Calling me White is fine, so Black makes sense to me.
But, someone might not like that. Fine. Like I said, come up with a better term. But do put some thought into it. Don't come up with something stupid. Like African-American. Come up with a phrase that doesn't exclude non-Americans.
After all, people in other countries are people too.
Most of them, anyway.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
A mongrel people?
Did Barack Obama actually call Blacks "a mongrel people?"
Why, yes. Yes he did.
I grew up in southeast Georgia, where Blacks comprised nearly 40% of the population during the 1960s and 1970s. It's down to around 30% statewide today. So, unlike most Whites in the home states of Barack Obama and Daniel Inouye (1.6%), Nancy Pelosi (6.1%), Harry Reid (6.4%), or Howard Dean (0.6%), I actually grew up going to school with, playing with, going to church with ... Blacks.
I've never considered Blacks a mongrel people. Still don't, despite what the president says.
And I haven't changed my opinion of Barack Obama, either. He is a jackass.
More comments at IMAO...
Why, yes. Yes he did.
I grew up in southeast Georgia, where Blacks comprised nearly 40% of the population during the 1960s and 1970s. It's down to around 30% statewide today. So, unlike most Whites in the home states of Barack Obama and Daniel Inouye (1.6%), Nancy Pelosi (6.1%), Harry Reid (6.4%), or Howard Dean (0.6%), I actually grew up going to school with, playing with, going to church with ... Blacks.
I've never considered Blacks a mongrel people. Still don't, despite what the president says.
And I haven't changed my opinion of Barack Obama, either. He is a jackass.
More comments at IMAO...
Solving the printer problem
Last week, we survived a trip to North Carolina. While we were there, Wife took some pictures. Lots of pictures.
When we got back, she wanted to print some out as refrigerator magnets. She's done that before, and likes doing her own photos as magnets rather than buying souvenir magnets at a gift shop.
She picked up some magnet sheets
and prepared to print out some magnets. That's when she noticed the words "ink jet" on the package.
That meant that we couldn't use the laser printer. So, time to break out the inkjet printer, right?
Well, we haven't used it in over two years. So, that meant buying new ink cartridges
... and that meant spending nearly 70 dollars.
And hooking it up to the network, which means pulling out the print server connector. Which I really didn't want to do.
Then, it hit me: I've seen printers less than 70 dollars. Including one from Lexmark
that was on sale for $39.00 (it's a little more than that now, but still at a good price).
So, rather than spend nearly $70 on ink, I spent around $40 on a photo-quality wireless printer with ink.
I'm thinking that when the ink runs out, I'll trash the printer and buy a new one.
I can hardly wait for cars to get so cheap that when they run out of gas, I can do the same thing.
When we got back, she wanted to print some out as refrigerator magnets. She's done that before, and likes doing her own photos as magnets rather than buying souvenir magnets at a gift shop.
She picked up some magnet sheets
and prepared to print out some magnets. That's when she noticed the words "ink jet" on the package.That meant that we couldn't use the laser printer. So, time to break out the inkjet printer, right?
Well, we haven't used it in over two years. So, that meant buying new ink cartridges
... and that meant spending nearly 70 dollars. And hooking it up to the network, which means pulling out the print server connector. Which I really didn't want to do.
Then, it hit me: I've seen printers less than 70 dollars. Including one from Lexmark
that was on sale for $39.00 (it's a little more than that now, but still at a good price).So, rather than spend nearly $70 on ink, I spent around $40 on a photo-quality wireless printer with ink.
I'm thinking that when the ink runs out, I'll trash the printer and buy a new one.
I can hardly wait for cars to get so cheap that when they run out of gas, I can do the same thing.
Follow a link, buy a ticket, do some good
John Hawkins at RightWingNews sent out a request. He's asked bloggers -- of which he thinks I am one -- to link to a post for a good cause ... and there's the possibility of prizes for the bloggers. But more about that in a minute. Right now, here's the information about the raffle and the cause it's supporting.
The Society Of St. Vincent De Paul is giving away 4 days in New York, a $3000 shopping spree, and a meeting with Bill O'Reilly, two tickets to a Yankees/Rays game at Yankee Stadium, two tickets to a Broadway show, and dinner at Bobo Restaurant with celebrity chef Patrick Connolly. Other prizes include a trip for two anywhere in the continental USA, two tickets to the Super Bowl, two tickets to the Major League All-Star game, and $1000 furniture shopping spree at Weekends Only.
Not a bad list of prizes. And the cause is a good one:
Next, I want to say that I won't win the raffle ticket. Not because of long odds. But because if I do win the raffle ticket John's giving away, I won't keep it. I'll give it to someone who follows the link from this blog and buys a ticket. So, there's no ulterior motive for me. However, there's that extra incentive for you.
So, head over to RightWingNews and follow his links to Society Of St. Vincent De Paul. Even if you don't win, the cause is worth it.
The Society Of St. Vincent De Paul is giving away 4 days in New York, a $3000 shopping spree, and a meeting with Bill O'Reilly, two tickets to a Yankees/Rays game at Yankee Stadium, two tickets to a Broadway show, and dinner at Bobo Restaurant with celebrity chef Patrick Connolly. Other prizes include a trip for two anywhere in the continental USA, two tickets to the Super Bowl, two tickets to the Major League All-Star game, and $1000 furniture shopping spree at Weekends Only.
Not a bad list of prizes. And the cause is a good one:
Now, I want to let you know that he's giving away a raffle ticket to a blogger. So, there's a drawing for a ticket to a drawing.
- Utility assistance, medications, medical transportation, car repairs, cars to the working poor, home repairs, free legal assistance, free budget assistance, hospital visits, prison visits
- Housing for homeless veterans and people with mental disabilities
- Aid for those who have been downsized, lost their jobs, suffered through a divorce, a foreclosure
- Food for the needy through 83 food pantries
- Furniture, clothing, household goods for those in need through our Thrift Stores
- Home visits to comfort and aid those who are suffering
Next, I want to say that I won't win the raffle ticket. Not because of long odds. But because if I do win the raffle ticket John's giving away, I won't keep it. I'll give it to someone who follows the link from this blog and buys a ticket. So, there's no ulterior motive for me. However, there's that extra incentive for you.
So, head over to RightWingNews and follow his links to Society Of St. Vincent De Paul. Even if you don't win, the cause is worth it.
It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it
Jan loved her job. Sure, no job is perfect, but she really, really liked this one.
Jan ran Division 48 at a large corporation. She had a lot of people that depended on her doing her job right. And not everyone in the division liked how she did her job. But most did. And the Division was doing a lot better than many of the other divisions in the company. Jan was satisfied that she was doing a good job.
That morning, like many mornings, she noticed some strange people on the floor. Like every other morning, Jan had parked in the garage, walked to the employee entrance, swiped her badge, and entered the building. And, again this morning, she noticed that there were people wandering around the building who didn't have a company badge.
She discovered that, while the door she entered every day was working, not every door to the building worked properly. Not that the doors wouldn't open or allow people to entered with a badge swipe. No, the problem was that the doors would open without a badge swipe. And people from the company next door would walk into the building at will. And people from other companies could just walk in at will. And people who wandered the street would just walk in at will.
There was a desk at the main company entrance -- a public area -- where other people could enter the building and wait in line at the security desk. There were also security doors required a badge swipe on each floor of the building adjacent to a public area. Not every division was adjacent to a public area, but many were. Including Jan's.
Jan sat at her desk, wondering how to handle the situation, as she had done for many days. This morning, though, Jan reached a decision. She opened Outlook and scheduled a meeting.
The meeting went well. Not everyone agreed with the decision. But Jan had decided that someone from her division would be stationed at the security door, checking anyone who wasn't from the company, ensuring that visitors had a visitor's pass.
Jan sent the memo around, copying the other 49 divisions, plus corporate headquarters, about the policies that were being implemented at the security door between Division 48 and the public area.
Minutes later, the phone rang. It was Eric. He oversaw the security for the company. And he wasn't happy.
Jan explained that security was a problem on the floor, and that Corporate Security wasn't doing its job. Eric said that his group was doing just fine thank you very much. His people had more important things to do than stand by the door outside Division 48.
"Like what?" Jan asked.
"Have you seen how many people are putting plastic in the paper recycle bin?" Eric responded. "It's a full time job keeping people from mixing paper and plastic. We don't have time to fix the security doors and man the floors looking for people without badges."
Jan sighed. "That's crazy, Eric. We have serious security issues at the company, and if you won't or can't do your job, my division will do it where we can."
"We'll see about that," Eric said. And the call ended.
Susan concluded her meeting with Eric and Jan. She told Jan that people in her division could do some of the duties outlined in her memo. But some of the items crossed the line because they fell into Eric's area of responsibility.
Jan would comply. Susan didn't run the company, but her ruling would stand for now. Jan would appeal.
She just hoped the company would stay solvent until the security doors and processes were fixed.
Jan ran Division 48 at a large corporation. She had a lot of people that depended on her doing her job right. And not everyone in the division liked how she did her job. But most did. And the Division was doing a lot better than many of the other divisions in the company. Jan was satisfied that she was doing a good job.
That morning, like many mornings, she noticed some strange people on the floor. Like every other morning, Jan had parked in the garage, walked to the employee entrance, swiped her badge, and entered the building. And, again this morning, she noticed that there were people wandering around the building who didn't have a company badge.
She discovered that, while the door she entered every day was working, not every door to the building worked properly. Not that the doors wouldn't open or allow people to entered with a badge swipe. No, the problem was that the doors would open without a badge swipe. And people from the company next door would walk into the building at will. And people from other companies could just walk in at will. And people who wandered the street would just walk in at will.
There was a desk at the main company entrance -- a public area -- where other people could enter the building and wait in line at the security desk. There were also security doors required a badge swipe on each floor of the building adjacent to a public area. Not every division was adjacent to a public area, but many were. Including Jan's.
Jan sat at her desk, wondering how to handle the situation, as she had done for many days. This morning, though, Jan reached a decision. She opened Outlook and scheduled a meeting.
The meeting went well. Not everyone agreed with the decision. But Jan had decided that someone from her division would be stationed at the security door, checking anyone who wasn't from the company, ensuring that visitors had a visitor's pass.
Jan sent the memo around, copying the other 49 divisions, plus corporate headquarters, about the policies that were being implemented at the security door between Division 48 and the public area.
Minutes later, the phone rang. It was Eric. He oversaw the security for the company. And he wasn't happy.
Jan explained that security was a problem on the floor, and that Corporate Security wasn't doing its job. Eric said that his group was doing just fine thank you very much. His people had more important things to do than stand by the door outside Division 48.
"Like what?" Jan asked.
"Have you seen how many people are putting plastic in the paper recycle bin?" Eric responded. "It's a full time job keeping people from mixing paper and plastic. We don't have time to fix the security doors and man the floors looking for people without badges."
Jan sighed. "That's crazy, Eric. We have serious security issues at the company, and if you won't or can't do your job, my division will do it where we can."
"We'll see about that," Eric said. And the call ended.
Susan concluded her meeting with Eric and Jan. She told Jan that people in her division could do some of the duties outlined in her memo. But some of the items crossed the line because they fell into Eric's area of responsibility.
Jan would comply. Susan didn't run the company, but her ruling would stand for now. Jan would appeal.
She just hoped the company would stay solvent until the security doors and processes were fixed.
More comments at IMAO...
Be prepared ... to be ignored
A Scout is:
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