Random musings: 9/26/11

I watched this interview with Chelsea Clinton today. I’m pleased (and a little relieved) to see what a lovely and gracious young woman she’s become. I remember the out-of-bounds criticism launched at her when she was a teenager in the White House that would have devastated <i>any</i> young girl. I can only imagine what she endured during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. She never asked–never deserved–to be put through any of that. I’m glad she’s been able to rise above it all and build a life for herself. I wish her and her husband all the luck in the world.

On a related line, shame on Glen Beck. I’ve never been a fan, and after his reported treatment of Malia Obama, (among other things) I never will be. Does the man not remember that people have treated his family in a similar fashion? What is wrong with him? Presidential kids should be off limits. Period. I didn’t buy the excuses given for attacking a teenaged Chelsea, and I don’t buy Beck’s excuses now.

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I was a bit taken back to see this today in MSNBC.com’s “The Grio” column discussing Herman Cain’s straw-poll victory in Florida:

Lastly, Cain’s enduring popularity — and in addition to that of Congressmen Allen West and Tim Scott — should put an end to the argument that the Tea Party movement is motivated by racial animosity toward President Obama. Cain’s win over the weekend was a Karmic counterpoint to pointed remarks from Morgan Freeman, who in an interview called the Tea Party racist. The actor’s broadside disgraced a normally August reputation already sullied by his inamorata, and undermined his own powerful exhortation to “stop talking about race.”

The idea that Tea Party members are a step removed from the Klu Klux Klan is a shopworn and patently false meme. It deserves nothing less than a swift and brutal expulsion from political discourse.

Thank you. I’m glad to see someone say it.

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Then there’s this gem from my new home state. A large group of people ran around town in their underwear to protest the conservative laws in this state.

I can only assume these people arrived here by accident, accidentally falling off the train or bus as they passed through. Unless you’re totally clueless, who comes to Utah expecting a liberal state? Were they herded together and driving here at gunpoint? Otherwise I have to assume they came here willingly. If they were looking for a liberal state they have several nearby options to choose from.

I was out of work for two years, and even I still excluded certain states from my list of places to look simply because I knew living there under their laws would drive me batty.

Don’t get me wrong. I support their right to protest. They apparently violated no state laws (I see some irony here). Knock yourselves out.

I just can’t help but be reminded of the story of the indian youth who let a rattlesnake talk him into carrying it down from a cold mountain, only to be bitten by it when they reached the bottom: “You knew what I was when you picked me up.” Or in this case, moved here. We have the right to live wherever we choose. But it seems rather silly–even selfish–to expect the status quo to change just because you showed up.

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And last but not least, enjoy the Top 10 Celebrity Vists to “Sesame Street”. I did! Especially Patrick Stewart’s stirring soliloquey and Tina Fey’s “Bookaneer.”

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