Obama Playing Word Games. Obama solemnly swore during the Presidential debates he would fight tooth-and-nail against wasteful earmarks, but he's getting ready to sign the $410B omnibus budget bill with $5B frittered away on some 9000 earmarks. As usual, you have the predictable excuses--this is really the carryover from the Bush Administration--not the Obama budget; the $5B is less than 2% of the overall budget, etc. Moreover, there are earmarks earlier associated with Obama and members of his administration (e.g., Biden, Emanuel, etc.) which have scrubbed of relevant co-sponsor status--the antithesis of transparency. There is other game-playing as well: Obama also seems to think if he's displayed an earmark on a website, or if a final bill (take it or leave it) is posted vs. an interim bill, that's transparency.
Big Week For Beating Up Teenage Girls. There are disturbing accounts that superstar singer Chris Brown has reconciled with girlfriend, talented singer Rihanna, after allegations that Brown assaulted Rihanna before scheduled appearances at the recent Grammy Awards and shocking photos of Rihanna's post-assault beaten-up face surfaced. How many times do we see the pattern of a beautiful, talented woman, with her whole future ahead of her and a large pool of decent, respectful young male suitors, settles to stay with a man, whom lost his temper and physically abused her and almost certainly will do the same in the future? These men are manipulative narcissists and will say or do almost anything to retain their control of the relationship. The following anecdote seems apropos:
There was a little Indian boy who, while trying to prove himself a man, went off to climb the highest peak in the mountain range. He came across a sick, shivering rattlesnake, who begged to be carried to the bottom of the mountain where it was warm. "You’ll bite me and I will surely die,” the boy said.“I promise I will not bite you," the snake replied.The boy then carried the snake to the bottom of the mountain and upon putting the creature on the ground, it turned and bit him, injecting deadly poison.“Why? Why did you bite me when you promised me you wouldn’t?” the boy said as he began to lose consciousness.As the snake slithered away, he said, “You knew what I was when you picked me up.”
I suggest that Rihanna seek the counsel of other women (e.g., singers Tina Turner and Madonna or actress Robin Givens) whom have also experienced domestic abuse. No woman should ever put up with that. A man always has the power to choose his response to a stressful situation, but battering a woman he claims to love is never an appropriate option. I'm sure that Chris Brown and other men with the same problem would be well-advised to seek counseling to deal with anger management, but therapy does not come with guarantees; I would encourage Rihanna to make a fresh start with a new boyfriend. [Hint: Perhaps she could find a guy whom grew up with a few sisters.]
A 15-year-old girl, a suspect being held in an auto theft investigation in King County (Seattle), Washington, apparently kicked off a shoe in the direction of a deputy and mouthed off at them. (I'm certainly not condoning disrespectful behavior.) In a video obtained by the Freedom of Information Act, a large deputy, allegedly identified as Paul Schene, charges the girl in the holding cell; she is seen with her head bouncing off the wall, being thrown down to the ground where he twice punches the nonresisting, subdued girl, then pulls her to her feet by her hair after she is handcuffed. Schene's partner made no attempt to stop what was clearly an abuse of power and, in my opinion, criminal assault. We expect public servants to respond to adverse situations professionally, proportionately, patiently and with an even temperament. These two deputies are a disgrace to their uniforms and should be fired; furthermore, no one is above the law--including a grown man whom decides to manhandle a smaller, weaker, defenseless teenage girl. For shame!
