Are the "Obama's foreign born" folks being racist?

I'm not sure most of the people who are harping on this "birth certificate" issue even believe it's true; I think they're mostly looking for something to badger the winner with. It's amazing what people will do when they're feeling bitter.

Are there racists among them? I assume so, but I'm not sure what fraction it is, let alone if it's the majority. As for the rest of them, logic isn't at issue with most in this situation. It's an emotional response, just as many reactions are in the political arena. There were nut-cases dogging every President in recent memory, forcing them to spend time and attention on trivia - taking their time and energy away from the larger problems facing the people of this country.

Many of them, in this case, have trouble feeling any sort of sense of commonality - or community - with the duly elected former Senator for any number of reasons: some because he's not white, some because he's a Democrat, some because they think he's trying to impose socialized medicine, some simply because they thought we were doing well under the previous administration.

Right or wrong isn't at issue - logic won't change their position; they aren't open to debate, they aren't even listening. Sadly, it's the same sort of "we vs. they" thinking that is so easy to see as problematic in places like the middle east, but when we're caught up in it ourselves we lose our objectivity. It's great in a game of bridge, or as a fan at a sporting event, but inappropriate and counterproductive in this case.

So they pick something to hammer away at, something that doesn't sound - on the surface - like they can't abide a Democrat, or a man who's not another good ol' white guy, or whatever their particular thing is, in the White House. It's a mantle of plausible deniability, distancing their words from their true objection. As such, they're no more objective, or amenable to logical discussion of facts, than the Emperor in the parable that teaches us (or at least tries to) about keeping our perspective.

It doesn't take mental illness, or racism, to account for what's going on. All one of these conspiracy theorists needs is to be a little bit stubborn: pleased to believe that you can't call them anti-black, or anti-Democrat, while they hide behind the story that there's something suspect about a guy who beat out their guy.

In due time some will realize, like the emperor with the "new" clothes, that they've not got even one scrap of evidence to hide behind.

Some few may even expand their view, and decide our President is a lot more like them despite having parents of different colors, and a lot more interested in their welfare than, for instance, a Saudi prince.

But the man's only been in office about 7 months, and that's not a lot of time to win over the opposition while he's busy trying to dig us out of the hole the economy fell into during 2008. He's adopted an ambitious agenda: health care reform alone would be a major task, but he's working international diplomacy, education, and climate reform as well. He's got supporters who think he's not moving fast enough on their own top priority, be it civil rights for gay couples or reforming and regulating Wall Street.

The extreme cases, of course, will remain unswayed no matter how much success Obama has. Like extremists for other points of view elsewhere, they will make a lot of noise because they crave the attention more than anything.

Weekly Address: President Obama Calls for Real Health Care Reform

This is a brief presentation of Obama's Health Reform effort. This was in June. Once I get the full press conference I will post it.

Erin Andrews video peep show on CBS? Why?

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For some reason, ESPN reporter Erin Andrews has been the target of some pretty mean actions of late. First there was someone at ESPN filming her butt live. Then there were fans heckling her while she was trying to go on air. Now, there's the video peep hole matter, and news that it was on CBS!

Before we look at CBS, some background.

Erin Andrews has been on ESPN as a reporter since 2004. Before landing at what Dan Patrick calls "The Mothership" she was a reporter for Turner South covering the Atlanta Braves and before then was with Fox Sports Florida South. Since YouTube was launched in 2005, Andrews image as a "sports hotty" has grown with no additional promotion from her. In fact, the real Erin is a tech-using consumer of information and constant writer and Apple MacBook-fan:

Erin Andrews and her MacBook

It was, most famously, Playboy that fanned the flames of desire for her image online when it crowned her "sexiest sportscaster in the land" in 2008. After that, it seemed we constantly saw some weird photo of her, and now its come to this: on July 16th according to Wikipedia and TMZ.com, someone made a video of her nude in while showering in, reportedly, an athletic club. The video was removed but not before images from it sprang up around the Internet.

But why on CBS?

I know that there's a hunger for her image, but there's also a certain degree of respect for her - high - that should be maintained. CBS did not have to use the images from the video because it validates the video. See? A photo of her, fine. But, hungry for ratings and Internet traffic and money, they did use it.

I think Erin should make an example of the new CBS. The one without Walter Cronkite, who never would have thought to do such a thing.

"Obama not American" believers: are they just racist?

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You know, I'm sick of racists. Just plain tired of em. You know who they are - or maybe they're you. People who are really upset that America elected Barack Obama, a black man, as president but since they feel they can't say so without the anonymity of the Internet, they craft other means of expressing their anger, like hanging on the to the crazy idea that President Obama's not an American citizen.

Even when there's a birth certificate:

Obama's birth certificate

Driven by racism

You know, some contend that racism is a mental illness and if you followed this story you'd get hard evidence to back that claim. It doesn't matter than President Obama's been through election after election, that he has a proven birth certificate, and that his birthday was listed in the Hawaiian newspaper where he was born, nope.

It's not enough for a small group so angry that the President's not white, they've hyped themselves into having faith the president's not American. They get up at meetings and yell and scream and generally talk crazy talk, hoping someone will listen, but then only the site Free Republic, which is conservative, does.

Think about it.

Have you seen a large number of blacks saying "Obama's not American?" Of course not. You've only heard one black guy: Allan Keys and as much as I personally like him, have observed him use white racism for his own purposes yet cry when someone's being racist toward him and employ a steady diet of nutso conservatism as a tool to achieve his own political ends.

Keys loves playing the "harmless-to-whites-black-guy" role, a black catholic who blindly sides with Israel only for political score points, all the better to raise money for some future campaign. Alan's angry that Barack was the first black elected official to score with whites; he's jealous because he's tried to get elected to something so many times and lost time and time again; Barack's success just pisses him off.  Obama beat him for the Illinois Senate in 2004, and now he's President of The United States, and Alan just can't take it.

Alan's the crazy brother you tolerate and like, even as you feel sorry for him, and I do. When racists want to say they're not racist, they hold up their Alan Keyes puppet for show.

Oh brother. Oh, God, save us from these people for they no not what they do. They include Rush Limbaugh, who's wickedly stupid statements on this are so entertaining, I can see why he gets $400 million because while some believe this guy, others love to listen to a great mental train wreck. Only Limbaugh would get it wrong by stating Obama lacks a birth certificate and that Liberals don't love God.

I do and I'm Liberal.

But back to the main point, FactCheck.org has seen, and reportedly touched the birth certificate. Period. Obama was born in the U.S.A.  Of course, some people want to believe otherwise, but then while they claim to believe in God, they've certainly got the Devil in them.

Chris Brown: in poll most don't believe him, Rihanna silent

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In my second poll of the actions (or potential actions in the case of Michael Vick) of a pop star, in as many days, singer Chris Brown, who released his ill-advised video apology for violently hitting and biting singer and girlfriend Rihanna (leading Perez Hilton to tweet that it seems as authentic as a a $3 bill) does not score well with the World public in the poll results thus far today.

As for Rihanna herself, she has remained silent for now.

Of a whopping 2,338 voters (in less than one day) 39.02 percent have stated essentially that they don't believe Chris Brown's statements, versus 28.75 percent who do, the second largest category. To round out the choices, 18.94 percent believe it was a career move (like me), 8.94 percent want to "see more from him", and just 4.36 percent responded that he doesn't need to apologize for anything (I'm surprised that moved beyond zero. )

Here's my video on the poll and Brown's statement followed by the poll itself:



If you've not taken the poll, here's your second chance:

More on pollsb.com

Meanwhile - and ok, this may impact your view of Chris - Brown was reportedly seen making-out with another singer, Amber Rose at something called the "All White" party in Los Angeles, something Rose denies. Rihanna's moved on, first sitting away from Brown at Game Four of the 2009 NBA Finals, then recently seen with Pharell Williams, the star of N.E.R.D, according to The Star Online.

Chris Brown seemed to forget that Rihanna was the target of his anger and thus should have said more too her via the video - he didn't do that. Something like "Baby, I'm really sorry and I love you very much" would have gained more miles than the garbage he put our yesterday.

I'm serious.

Amber Rose better watch out because she won't like Chris Brown when he's angry; Rihanna certainly didn't and after today will not like him for a long time.

Oakland's Green Building: 1100 Broadway

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Consistent followers of my videos and Oakland Focus Blog will remember my coverage of the proposed 1100 Broadway building in downtown Oakland at the historic Key System Building site, as well as the terrific Rocky Rische-Baird-created mural at the corner. The 20-story structure is planned as a spec office building that will dramatically transform the center of Oakland and give the American President Lines (APL) office building across the street on Broadway a lovely sibling.

Its construction next to the giant APL Building will mark the first time two modern skyscrapers were constructed right next to each other but from different developers and not part of an overall master-developer plan in the history of Oakland. By contrast, the Kaiser and Ordway buildings were erected by The Kaiser Corporation, and the Federal Building and ASK.com building are part of the overall City Center Development Complex.

But the shiny new building to come, has gained an award today: it's the recipient of the U.S. Green Building Council's "LEED" award, for "Leadership In Energy and Environmental Design." 1100 Broadway is one of just a few buildings in America to be blessed with this award. It's a true "Green Building."

1100 Broadway will have solar cells, a special HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system, and other green technologies such that it will make efficient use of daylight to heat its interior and reduce energy expenses.

It's really a great step in our society that we're finally making buildings that help maintain and improve our environment rather than harm it. 1100 Broadway's a building Oaklanders can and will be proud of.

Chris Brown: do you accept his apology? A poll.

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On YouTube.com

Today, singer Chris Brown, who violently struck his girlfriend the lovely and talented Rihanna earlier this year, gave a video-based apology to his fans and the World on his website and YouTube.

To review the story, Brown was arrested in the early morning hours after he and Rihanna had an argument over a text message she found in his phone from one of Brown's lovers that Rihanna didn't know the existence of. What Brown did during the argument was horrifying, CNN.com reports:

The incident began when Rihanna, who was riding in the sports car driven by Brown, found a text message on his cell phone from "a woman who Brown had a previous sexual relationship with," according to a sworn statement by Los Angeles Police Detective DeShon Andrews.


"A verbal argument ensued," followed by the physical attack, the statement said. It went on to describe the assault in great detail, saying Brown punched Rihanna numerous times and put her in a headlock, restricting her breathing and causing her to start to lose consciousness. He threatened to beat her and kill her, according to the statement, and he bit her ear and her fingers.


Eventually, "Robyn F. began screaming for help and Brown exited the vehicle and walked away," the statement said. "A resident in the neighborhood heard Robyn F.'s plea for help and called 911, causing a police response. An investigation was conducted and Robyn F. was issued a Domestic Violence Emergency Protective Order."

That's a terrible level of violence and so much so that I personally find it hard to believe the appology he gave, and you can see in my video above. In an effort to gauge public opinion in the wake of Chris Brown's video, I created this poll:

More on pollsb.com

The poll captures not just the "Yes, I believe him" or "No, I don't" choices, it has three others: Yes, but I believe he cares more about his career than Rihanna; Sort-of. I need to see more from him; and Chris doesn't need to apologize for anything.

The last choice is deliberately controversial. It came from an episode of Oprah I happened to see where she and Tyra Banks had what could be called a kind of "town-hall" studio meeting on the incident in March. There, a teenager said "I kind of think she deserved it. If a girl has enough nerves to hit a boy, she should get hit back." That (not mentioned in the Salon blog article for some reason) set both Oprah and Tyra into orbit, and me too. I could not believe what I was hearing, but she said it.

I wanted to capture that view with this poll, if possible. Of course, given the fact that I'm focusing on it here, that it's rather ugly, and a choice in the poll, means those who would normally pick that choice may avoid it here. Still, one never knows so here it is in the poll.

What do you think? Take the poll and let's see what you and the public thinks. My view is Chris made the video for himself; he only once mentions Rihanna in the video and since she was the focus of his anger, she should be the first person on his mind beyond his fans. That's telling and may also mean Brown really feels no remorse for what he did to her, but what he did to his career.

The sentence of "labor" was really stupid. Brown's a public figure and should have been made to be a spokesperson against domestic violence, not just taking some course in anger management. What the judge was thinking here, I don't know, but it was the wrong way to go.

The Eagle Has Landed - 1969

From USNationalArchives on YouTube:

Through television, motion picture and still photography, this film provides an "eye-witness" perspective of the Apollo 11 mission that put a human on the moon. On the eve of the 40th anniversary, the National Archives celebrates this giant leap for mankind.

Read about the moon landing and all the activity surrounding Apollo's mission with an article from Prologue's archives: http://www.archives.gov/publications/...

CREATED BY
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (10/01/1958 - )

SUMMARY
This film tells the story of the historic first landing of men on the Moon in July, 1969. It depicts the principal highlight events of the mission from launching through post-recovery activities of Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Through television, motion picture and still photography, the film provides an "eye-witness" perspective of the Apollo 11 mission.

This film has received the following awards: the Certificate of Exhibition; Edinburgh Film Festival, 1969; Certificate of Merit, American Science Film Association, 1969; Gold Camera, U.S. Industrial Film Festival, 1970; and Ionosphere Aware, Atlanta International Film Festival, 1970.

REPOSITORY:
Motion Picture, Sound, and Video Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-M), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001.

For information about ordering reproductions of moving images held by the Motion Picture, Sound, and Video Records Section, visit: http://www.archives.gov/research/orde...

Zennie62 joins Ushow.com!

I discovered (for myself) this great new video-sharing website that's really well hooked into YouTube such that I can quickly upload my YouTube-based videos to it. It's called UShow.com. Ushow.com's also matted very well with Twitter such that one can rapidly share their videos with the Twitterverse! Check out UShow.com!

Michael Vick poll: Play in NFL: 43.99 % ; Not play: 38.38 %

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This morning I ran a poll asking you what you thought Michael Vick should be allowed to do. Thus far, the poll has attracted 998 voters and 1,777 views. Of the voters, 43.99 percent say Vick should be allowed to play in the NFL, 38.33 percent don't want him to play in the league, 9.21 percent want him to play after a one-year suspension, 4.40 percent favor Vick as a special counselor to NFL rookies, and 4 percent want to see him play in the UFL first, then the NFL.

Here's my video on the poll and my thoughts on PETA for some background on why I voted that he be allowed to play in the National Football League. If you've not participated in the poll, it's presented below the video:



More on pollsb.com

What should Michael Vick do? A poll

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On YouTube.com

On Monday July 20th, Michael Vick becomes a free man, released entirely from Federal custody after being found guilty of harming dogs as part of a dog fighting business, the former Atlanta Falcons star has his life ahead of him after two years in jail. But what should he do, or more to the point, what should Vick be allowed to do? With the idea of getting an answer to that question, I created this poll:

More on pollsb.com

As you can see, it has five choices one can make. Play in the NFL? Play in the new UFL football league after a one-year suspension? Not be allowed to play football at all? Play in the NFL after a one-year suspension? Be a special councelor to NFL rookie players?

I voted for the first choice: play in the NFL. Look, he's done his time and seems to have learned the error of his ways. But there's a weird double standard at play here that just bugs me. PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal, has called Vick all kinds of names regarding this matter, even saying that Vick's brain may be tuned to violence, or words to that effect, and asking for a brain scan.

Wild.

But what really bugs me about PETA is that they would, ok, dog Vick, and even get after President Obama for swatting a fly, but PETA turns a blind-eye to the dog racing activities of the Rooney Family, which owns the Pittsburgh Steelers. Dog racing has the same kill-to-weed-out-the-weak process that dog fighting is known for and PETA knows it. But did they say anything about the Rooneys when the Steelers ownership was up for review by the NFL, thus turning a public spotlight on them?

No.

I tried to get a statement from PETA's PR rep on this, and she just sent me the statement they issued about Vick! I have that already! So with that I lost a lot of respect for PETA and chose the "play in the NFL" option. It seems that if one's black and high profile, PETA has no problem aiming its PR machine at you, but if you're white, as is the case for the Rooney Family, you get a pass from PETA. PETA has issued no statement regarding the Rooney Family's involvement in dog racing.

Vick as mentor

But of all the choices, I also like the last one listed in my poll: be a special counselor to NFL rookie players. Vick can be really valuable here as an example of how one can go from rags to riches to rags and yet have a fighting chance to regain his life and to not repeat his mistakes.

Poll can't be gamed

So try my poll. One can't "game" it to get a particular answer outcome. Sorry. If you click on the link "view full results" it asks for your name and photo only once, so it weeds out the double count in the final result.

What should Michael Vick do? A poll

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On YouTube.com

On Monday July 20th, Michael Vick becomes a free man, released entirely from Federal custody after being found guilty of harming dogs as part of a dog fighting business, the former Atlanta Falcons star has his life ahead of him after two years in jail. But what should he do, or more to the point, what should Vick be allowed to do? With the idea of getting an answer to that question, I created this poll:

More on pollsb.com

As you can see, it has five choices one can make. Play in the NFL? Play in the new UFL football league after a one-year suspension? Not be allowed to play football at all? Play in the NFL after a one-year suspension? Be a special counselor to NFL rookie players?

I voted for the first choice: play in the NFL. Look, he's done his time and seems to have learned the error of his ways. But there's a weird double standard at play here that just bugs me. PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal, has called Vick all kinds of names regarding this matter, even saying that Vick's brain may be tuned to violence, or words to that effect, and asking for a brain scan.

Wild.

But what really bugs me about PETA is that they would, ok, dog Vick, and even get after President Obama for swatting a fly, but PETA turns a blind-eye to the dog racing activities of the Rooney Family, which owns the Pittsburgh Steelers. Dog racing has the same kill-to-weed-out-the-weak process that dog fighting is known for and PETA knows it. But did they say anything about the Rooneys when the Steelers ownership was up for review by the NFL, thus turning a public spotlight on them?

No.

I tried to get a statement from PETA's PR rep on this, and she just sent me the statement they issued about Vick! I have that already! So with that I lost a lot of respect for PETA and chose the "play in the NFL" option. It seems that if one's black and high profile, PETA has no problem aiming its PR machine at you, but if you're white, as is the case for the Rooney Family, you get a pass from PETA. PETA has issued no statement regarding the Rooney Family's involvement in dog racing.

Vick as mentor

But of all the choices, I also like the last one listed in my poll: be a special counselor to NFL rookie players. Vick can be really valuable here as an example of how one can go from rags to riches to rags and yet have a fighting chance to regain his life and to not repeat his mistakes.

Poll can't be gamed

So try my poll. One can't "game" it to get a particular answer outcome. Sorry. If you click on the link "view full results" it asks for your name and photo only once, so it weeds out the double count in the final result.