by La Shawn on February 16, 2004
in Bush Good
Last night on his radio show, Matt Drudge talked about President Bush’s visit to Florida yesterday for the Daytona 500 race. Air Force One, carrying the president and his wife, buzzed the Speedway.
From the Daytona Beach News-Journal:
To open the race, President Bush delivered the famous call, “Gentlemen, start your engines!” In the end, the president stayed through the first half of the race — longer than expecte — which a Secret Service agent attributed to his affinity for racing.
“It’s about the third time,” meeting the president, said No. 8 driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., who went on to win the race. “He’s a cool guy. I like him.”
Imagine the scene: President Bush in a plane doing a cool flyover above a stadium filled with 180,000 fans wildly cheering for him. Drudge ended a segment with somethig like, “Top that, Democrats.” Indeed!
The United States presidency is the most powerful office in the world. I hope George Bush continues to instill dignity and respect in office as he carries out the duties and enjoys the privileges of being the American president.
by La Shawn on February 15, 2004
in General
I’ve been thinking about why I blog. I started this blog in November 2003, with the intent to “rant” between columns. I try to cover big issues in my column and day-to-day stories on the blog, like the Kerry scandal brewing. Every day there’s something new to think about and talk about.
I also wanted a place to focus on Christ. I tend to get caught up with worldy matters and forget there’s an ultimate cure for what ails us. Sometimes I lose my way.
I’ve never seen a really good essay on blogging. Maybe I’ll put that down on my list of 101 things to do before year’s end.
A few minutes ago, I got a response from someone who read my Black History Month column published in the Washington Times. He wrote that my “BHM” reference to Black History Month is an abbreviation, not an acronym. That was it. No substantive comment on the article, criticisms or thoughtful insights.
Dictionary.com’s definition of acronym: A word formed from the initial letters of a name, such as WAC for Women’s Army Corps, or by combining initial letters or parts of a series of words, such as radar for radio detecting and ranging.
Abbreviation: A shortened form of a word or phrase used chiefly in writing to represent the complete form, such as Mass. for Massachusetts or USMC for United States Marine Corps.
Is he correct? More to the point, why am I blogging about my e-mails, abbreviations and acronyms? I don’t know. Perhaps I shouldn’t get into the habit of discussing specific e-mails I get from people. I don’t want to discourage feedback for fear I’ll post responses on the blog
I’m giving RSS another try. The code I used months ago stopped working, so I tried Blogger’s Atom feed, now I’m back to RSS.
Welcome my pal Doc Rampage to the blogoshere!
Belief Seeking Understanding has a good post about St. Valentine’s Day.
by La Shawn on February 13, 2004
in Lunacy
I don’t usually do this, but I’m in one of those playful moods. Posted below is a sample of the e-mail I get from people with extremely low IQs.
Ms. Barber, the CBCNR would like to inform you that you are 1 of 12 nominees for Sambo of the Year!
Your name was submitted by concerned Black citizens across the nation for your very negative, hostile and slanderous Dec 2003 commentary about Kwanzaa.
They believe that it’s one thing to be critical but another to display outright contempt and slander in the presence of mainstream readers. Other nominees are Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, Jesse Jackson Jr. and Snoop Dogg.
They have offered to boycott every publication where your commentary appears and more. There are a slew of Black individuals and organizations who are upset with your commentary.
Winners will be announced in some form by month’s end. Again, this is what the people are saying about you.
Hotep!Hasan
Where do I start?
Dear “Hasan”,
1. “…very negative, hostile and slanderous Dec 2003 commentary about Kwanzaa.” First of all, everything I wrote in the article about Kwanzaa and Karenga is true. Second, if I’d knowingly written false statements about Karenga, it would be libel, not slander. Go buy a law dictionary to find out the difference.
2. How did I get lumped in with such a “diverse” group of nominees that includes Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Snoop?
3. “There are a slew of Black individuals and organizations who are upset with your commentary” No kidding? What a surprise.
This spam was so dumb I thought you’d get a good laugh out of it. Please keep “Hasan” in your prayers.
Married To It
He’s married to all that money. If true, will she begin divorce proceedings, ruining his presidential run? Bye, bye, Big Ketchup.
The story’s hit the mainstream press. I feel like such a gossipmonger!
More interesting things about “President” Kerry.
R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. wrote a great article about Kerry and the moron vote: “The angry, stupid, political neurotic who has proceeded into middle age convinced that the world is against him/her.”
Tyrrell discusses Kerry’s hypocrisy in making an issue out of President Bush’s military service. Tyrrell always uses big words in his columns, by the way. I love it!
When Senator Kerry first decided to make an issue of his Vietnam service surely there must have been a cautious adviser around to remind him of all the luridly compromising evidence on his record, evidence showing him to be a deeply flawed war hero. Anyone who remembers young John Kerry’s prominence in anti-war and anti-American activities would caution him against making an issue of the easy-going George W. Bush’s past. Yet Kerry is playing to the moron vote. He knows they need to be enflamed. Thus he has bemanured the military record of a guy who flew F-102s and whose flight instructor ranked him “in the top 5% of pilots I knew.” Retired Colonel Maurice H. Udell also ranked the President in the top 1% in the “thinking department.”
Will the evidence that the President served dutifully and was discharged honorably damage Senator Kerry’s candidacy? It certainly will not hurt him with the moron vote. It will not even hurt him if his public record on Vietnam and national security in general becomes an issue. In 1971 this anti-war veteran told Congress that our army in Vietnam was committing “war crimes on a day-to-day basis” that included rape, torture, and murder “reminiscent of Genghis Khan.” Now he calls Vietnam veterans his “band of brothers.” Nor will Senator Kerry be hurt by his 1992 statement that “we do not need to divide America over who served and how” in Vietnam. (He was defending Bill Clinton, a draft dodger.)
Also, check out the post on Evangelical Outpost about “President” Kerry and POWs.
by La Shawn on February 12, 2004
in Faith
“The will of the people”: Those words fill me with such pride to be an American. The U.S. Constitution is the most astounding document even conceived. Its whole framework is centered around the “will of the people.”
I wrote about some of my issues with amending the Constitution to ban homosexual “marriage”, and I provided a link to an article written by two law professors that capture my thoughts exactly.
“Bush’s willful disregard for “will of the people”
When the framers drafted the Constitution in 1787, they were concerned about the division of power between the states and the federal government. Their solution was to allow Congress to legislate only on subjects that could not be adequately managed at the local level. Most ordinary legal matters were therefore reserved to the states.
To this day, the laws that affect people’s personal lives — covering family relations, contracts, automobile accidents and probate — are handled by the states. This makes good sense, because people in different parts of the country take different approaches to law and government. The law of marriage (and divorce) is an excellent illustration, varying as it does from state to state on matters such as age of consent, community property, child custody and grounds for divorce.
The writers go on to say that Alaska and Hawaii amended their state constitutions to ban homosexual “marriage” after the courts appeared to be headed toward its legalization.
[click to continue…]
“If Black History Month is to play any meaningful part in black advancement, we should emphasize the positive communal experiences rather than the spirit-crushing setbacks,” writes John McWhorter, linguistics professor and author of Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America
McWhorter offers his assessment of Black History Month (BHM, my acronym) in “A New Black History.” We won’t find black Americans’ inspiring history in speeches about slavery as our defining moment or in the disingenuous rants of self-styled leaders preaching a gospel of blame-whites-for-your-troubles. We’ll find it in stories of ordinary Americans — and extraordinary ones — who accomplished great things long before the Civil Rights movement.
The seeds of BHM were planted by a black educator and historian named Carter G. Woodson. Born in 1875 during Reconstruction, Woodson lived under the most oppressive conditions that blacks today couldn’t imagine no matter how hard they tried. Yet, Woodson rose to the top like cream despite the hardships he faced. One of nine children raised in a desperately poor family, he couldn’t attend formal schooling because he had to work to help support the family.
[click to continue…]
I have to acknowledge one of my “fans” who bought a domain name for me. This person heard me on Rev. Peterson’s radio show stumbling over “blogspot-dot-com” and rescued me! I’ve been meaning to do it myself, but you know how things get pushed aside. So if anyone asks you what my blog address is, just say “www.lashawnbarber.com.” It points to the blog.
Stay tuned for today’s posting of my column on the true meaning of Black History Month.
by La Shawn on February 9, 2004
in Faith
A quadruple murderer named Kevin Cooper is going to be executed tonight (technically tomorrow morning). Anti-death penalty groups are urging California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to delay his execution.
I’m reminded of the execution of Gary Graham in 2000. George Bush was still governor of Texas at the time, and I knew that when it came to carrying out executions, Texas didn’t play.
I remember feeling an overwhelming burden to pray for Gary Graham. His only hope was in Christ. I prayed that he’d be convicted in his final hours and plead with God for forgiveness, accepting the work of Christ on the cross as atonement for his crimes and all the sins he ever committed.
It touched me in a very profound way, this need for redemption. While my pro-capital punishment stance didn’t change, I gained a new perspective on God’s awesome mercy and love toward us.
Tonight I’ll pray for Kevin Cooper. I’ll ask the Lord to have mercy on him and forgive him and receive him into His glorious presence.
Will you pray for Kevin Cooper tonight?
As long as I live I’ll never get over seeing the image of a rich white politician in the pulpit of a black church “preaching” to the congregation. Whenever I see a photo like this, I think of a widely-reported story about Al Gore at an NAACP event growling and trying to sound like a black Baptist preacher during his failed presidential run.
I hope I never see a photo of President Bush doing something so obviously ingratiating and insulting. Brother Edwards said:
“While we celebrate and worship this morning, tonight somewhere in America a 10-year-old girl will go to bed hungry,” Edwards said Trinity Baptist Church in Richmond. “You and I have a moral responsibility to lift those families out of poverty, we can do that together.”
Preach, John, preach!
This out-dated, 60s-style stump “preaching” would be high comedy if it weren’t such a shame.
What kind of pastor would let Edwards (or any politician) into his pulpit to preach a gospel of racial division and class envy? That a so-called man of God, a shepherd of the flock, would let divisive hypocrites “preach” to his sheep is utterly appalling. So what else is new?
When I read this story, I thought of the apostle Paul: “I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:2
by La Shawn on February 7, 2004
in General
I feel the need to lighten up after blogging about heavy stuff all week. On this sunny Saturday afternoon, I’m sitting at my desk working on my column, which is due Tuesday. Indulge me.
I got this idea from fellow blogger, baldilocks, who asked and answered a series of interesting questions. Here’s my version:
1. Do you prefer CSI: “Las Vegas” or CSI: Miami? I prefer CSI: “Las Vegas” because I think the seediness of Las Vegas lends itself to a much richer depiction of how gaudy, trivial and superficial life can seem.
2. If you were forced to choose one of the remaining Democratic presidential candidates, who would it be? I’d choose John Edwards because he’s from the South like me.
3. If you could have 10 years of your life back, what would you do differently? I’d accept the saving grace of Christ much sooner and stop ruining my life with strong drink, and I’d take law school much more seriously.
4. If you could choose only one, would you choose wisdom or fame (in the sense of being well-known, not a celebrity)? I’d choose fame. Although knowledge isn’t the same as wisdom, if the knowledge I have is beneficial to people, my fame would help me reach more of them.
5. What’s your favorite book/chapter/verse of the Bible? John 1:1-18. We see the relation of Christ to time, the Godhead, the Universe and to men. Christ was, is, and always will be. The chapter outlines the ultimate meaning of the universe and human existence.
What do you say?
UPDATE:Clarification on #2: You have to choose one of the remaining candidates. Lieberman dropped out last week.
by La Shawn on February 5, 2004
in Lunacy
I know I shouldn’t give an audience to anonymous commenters who leave nasty words and thoughts behind, but I want them to be aware that my commenting system records IP addresses, so an “unknown” poster is not really unknown in the sense that I can’t find out who they are. And I delete the comments and ban the poster.
I wrote about people who leave nasty comments or send dumb e-mails without leaving a name, hoping those so inclined to say bad things about me anonymously would get the message.
If the particular people are men, I think it’s unmanly not to stand behind what you say. If they’re women…well, to express a politically incorrect thought, it’s not what a lady would do.
If you’ve got something to say to me, say it and stand behind it. Be a man.
It’s come down to this: Cops in the D.C. Public Schools (DCPS):
The Williams administration was scrambling yesterday to assemble a plan of action in response to the Ballou High School shootings — which killed 17-year-old James Richardson and wounded a second student — and to the community outrage that followed. At a six-hour public meeting Tuesday night, the mayor was pilloried as uncaring and ineffective.
I’ve compared D.C. Dems who oppose school vouchers to George “Segregation Forever!” Wallace for blocking doors to keep kids from fleeing failing schools the way Wallace did during the Civil Rights movement to keep them out. Many school reform advocates compare them to prison guards and jailers. The irony is that the DCPS really will resemble jails with armed law enforcement on the premises. What a shame.
For the faint of heart actually worried about John Kerry’s inflated poll numbers (CNN/Gallup/USA Today survey showed Kerry defeating Bush 53 percent to 46 percent; Newsweek survey showed Kerry defeating Bush 48 percent to 46 percent) here’s some relief. Robert Moran, vice president of a Republican polling firm says this:
Kerry’s Free Media Bonanza
These surveys were taken in the midst of John Kerry’s free media bonanza. The press has a new frontrunner and is simply relieved not to have Dean at the top of a losing ticket. Instead, they have focused on biography (Vietnam service) and horse-race coverage (”he’s electable”).
This breathless coverage has given him the equivalent of a more modest national convention bounce. He should enjoy it.
Kerry’s numbers are being inflated by positive coverage that will eventually melt like March snow. It is probably not a stretch to state that the only things the average voter knows about John Kerry at this point are:
He fought in Vietnam and is occasionally hugged by veterans.
He looks like a president.
He is a Democrat.
He is more “electable” than Howard Dean.
He is angry with George W. Bush.
This will change.
Moran gives a good analysis about Kerry’s impending defeat, but I’m still angry confused about President Bush’s plan for illegal immigrants.
