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Hello. Come on in. The daddy writes about current events, literature, music and, once in a while, drops something on you from back in the day to make you pause and ponder, stop and stare, and begin to wonder. Who knows? You may start to pace the floor, shake your head from side to side, then fall down on bended knees in a praying position and cry, "Lawd, have mercy! What is this world coming to?" Check yourself! But this blog is NOT about the daddy. It's about you: your boos, your fam, your hood, your country...our hopes and dreams of a better tomorrow. So let's make a pact: the daddy will put it on the track if you'll chase it down and hit him back. Together, we can definitely take it to another level. Shall we?"

Thursday, October 2, 2008

The Financial Crisis, Political Culture--It Ain't Pretty

"There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle."
--Alexis de Tocqueville

"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness."
--John Kenneth Galbraith
"All of us who are concerned for peace and triumph of reason and justice must be keenly aware how small an influence reason and honest good will exert upon events in the political field.
--Albert Einstein

Today, the daddy is feeling two insightful articles about our political landscape. As comedian Roger Dangerfield said about Phyllis Diller, another comedian, it ain't pretty. Actually, the puffed-hairdo, the crazy laugh, the knee-slapping one-liners--it was all part of a persona. Diller was quite an attractive, intelligent person, especially in her younger years. But, as the two authors below will attest, there is nothing either attractive or intelligent about today's political culture.

The first article is written by
Cynthia Tucker, an editor of the Atlanta Journal Constitution and a recent Pulitzer Prize this past April for her commentary. The second is by David Michael Green, a political science professor and author of the book "The Europeans: Political Identity in an Emerging Polity (2007).

Credit crisis: Melting pot of problems
by Cynthia Tucker

September 28, 2008

In the midst of a severe financial crisis — a meltdown fueled by clueless home buyers, greedy lenders and money-grubbing financiers — some observers have decided to blame “minorities” for the mess. Though wiser heads have proclaimed the emergency too serious for partisan gamesmanship, some in the conservative commentariat still can’t resist playing the race card.

Several days ago, Neil Cavuto, host of Fox News’ “Your World,” declared, “Loaning to minorities and risky folks is a disaster.”

On WorldNetDaily, a compendium of loopy half-truths, pundit Drew Zahn declared that “when federal regulators demanded parity between racial groups in lending, the only way to achieve a quota would be to begin making intentionally bad lending decisions.”

The conservative National Review Online trotted out a favorite whipping boy, the Community Reinvestment Act, claiming that the legislation was the result of “racially inflammatory campaigns” that forced banks to “make mortgages available to people without much in the way of income, assets or credit.”

Why would anyone inject skin color into a debate over credit?

There is certainly no evidence to support this claptrap. Federal regulators have never “demanded parity between racial groups in lending.” Not ever.

The CRA — designed to stop banks from “redlining,” or withholding loans from entire neighborhoods — has long been under attack by conservatives, but for entirely different reasons. Critics called it vague, contradictory and useless. They claimed it was unfair to banks and thrifts, which were regulated, while other financial institutions were left to lend money as they saw fit.

To read the full story, clicke here at Cynthia.

The Elephant in the Living Room
by David Michael Green

The second most astonishing thing about American politics is that John McCain and Sarah Palin have a respectable chance of winning the White House in 2008. (Or, for that matter, that any Republican could have a shot at any office for which the Democratic candidate hasn’t suddenly died on the stump.)

Yeah, yeah, I know. Barack Obama has a funny name. He’s relatively young and inexperienced. Oh, and – have you heard? – he’s also black. But, just the same, I mean, c’mon. A Republican could win the presidency in 2008? You gotta be kidding, right?

All of this is deeply related, in multiple ways, to what is without a doubt absolutely the first most astonishing fact of American politics. And that is that conservatism (I prefer to call them ‘regressives’) isn’t the most repudiated ideology this side of cannibalism. And that regressive practitioners of this hateful disease masquerading as a political philosophy haven’t been tarred-and-feathered, hung, drawn and quartered, then run out of town on an electrified rail. And that any red-blooded American wouldn’t infinitely prefer in this day and age to be called a pedophile, a terrorist or a European – heck, or all of the above combined – rather than a conservative.

I mean, seriously, people. Now that Wall Street has imploded, potentially taking down with it the entire global economy in a fun reprise of the 1930s, what more could possibly be necessary to repudiate a set of ideas for which a good day is when thousands of people don’t die (again) as a result of anyone, let alone the world’s sole superpower, subscribing to something so astonishingly stupid? Really, is there anything that the regressive agenda has touched so far that hasn’t completely turned into a pillar of salt? Not only do these nice pious Christians show every evidence of actually being the anti-christ, they’ve also managed to be the anti-Midas as well.

To read the full story, click here at regressive.

8 comments:

rainywalker said...

Minorities and the poor have always been abused in history and those are the ones who get blaimed, since out leaders can't blaim themselves. It comes down to our 700 billion in taxes [our money] being squandered by us.

Anonymous said...

MacDaddy, I can't watch news anymore. McCain scare me and makes me afraid, especially for the young ones. I think he's going to find a war to put them in, like Bush.

Anonymous said...

It's all bullcrap ain't it? - piled high, pressed down and running over.

Christopher said...

Several days ago, Neil Cavuto, host of Fox News’ “Your World,” declared, “Loaning to minorities and risky folks is a disaster.”

This little racist douchebag isn't even trying to conceal his feelings about people of color.

I'd sure like Cavuto to say shit like this to people in the Crenshaw, or the Fruitvale District, or Avenue "D" here in Roc City.

He'd have his ass handed to him.

Mac Daddy Tribute Blog said...

rainywalker: Well said.
anon: I think understand about watching the news. I watch news on channel 2, Keith Olberman,Rachel Maddow, and Jon Stewart sometimes. Then I do a lot of reading on my own, either magazines from the current events section of Barnes & Nobles or progressive online news such Common Dreams or Z magazine. Not only do I get alternative news. I also read people whose views more closely coincide with mine. Does that help?
nicki: Yes, politically, Americans are cannon fodder for corrupt, decrepit politicians like McCain and sly, corrupt politicians like Bill and Hillary Clinton. What else is new?
christopher: When I told another friend of mine that some are blaming blacks for the economic crisis, he didn't blame me. He said, "You writers are always exaggerating!" I can't blame him,I guess. It's such a stupid idea. Blessings.

♥ CG ♥ said...

I find Cavuto's statement (and others like it) to be offensive. Such a blanket, overtly biased statement is proof positive that when things pockets are getting fatter it's okay to overlook unscrupulous business practices. When the table is turned and folks are hit in the wallet, it's easy to place blame on minorities and other overlooked populations.

These idiots can't tell me they didn't see this coming or know what the heck was going on for the past 5 years.

Mac Daddy Tribute Blog said...

CurvyGurl: It's so good to hear from you! And I have to come and visit you over at your blog. And you are right about Cavuto and his racist homies. I swerar, if race wasn't a persistent issue in this presidential race-- and in so many ways-- Obama would be ahead of Sen. McCain by 20 points or more.

Thanks for coming back. And stay in touch.

All-Mi-T [Thought Crime] Rawdawgbuffalo said...

man oh man what will be next?