Bush actually tells the truth and other political news
So, naturally, the pace of this blog has dropped off somewhat, as I've been rushing to finish up my master's degree, scrambling for a job, and dealing with other life-changing events. But I'm trying to pick it back up, slowly but surely.
The Houston Chronicle and countless others reported on President Bush vehemently denying accusations of racism. This is one instance in which I agree with Bush implicitly and completely. Sort of. I firmly believe that a) there was nothing racist about the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and b) Dubya is not a racist. This is a man who has counted prominent African-Americans Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell, as well as Hispanic Alberto Gonzalez, among his closest advisers. Actions of a racist? Hardly.
No, I don't believe George W. Bush is a racist. Rather, he is a classist. The response to Katrina failed not because those it affected most were black, but because they were poor. It is an unfortunate truth that, in this country, the two are so often inextricably linked. I know not the causes of this, and expect they are as numerous as they are complex. But I contend that our president is hampered more by his inability to understand and account for the have-nots than by any kind of racism. Take that, Kanye! (As I typed this, I knew the argument sounded familiar, and in fact I discovered I was pulling much of this from an old Leonard Pitts article that likely lingered at the back of my mind. Oh well, I've had this opinion for a while, so what the hell.)
In other exciting news that may become irrelevant for me if I end up leaving Texas, another Chronicle article reports that the Supreme Court is going to review the ridiculous, relentless gerrymandering sponsored by the likely-soon-to-be-federally-indicted Thomas Q. Delay. This sort of corrupt politics is what makes people so cynical about our political process. I'm still unclear how this blatantly political maneuver got by public opinion (though the conservatism of Texas probably helped). I hope the Supreme Court strikes it down 9-0.
That's all for now. I'm gonna try to resume daily blogging, so keep checking back.
Song lyric of the day:
"Flies in the vasoline we are
Sometimes it blows my mind
We keep getting stuck here all the time"
- Stone Temple Pilots, Vasoline
The Houston Chronicle and countless others reported on President Bush vehemently denying accusations of racism. This is one instance in which I agree with Bush implicitly and completely. Sort of. I firmly believe that a) there was nothing racist about the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and b) Dubya is not a racist. This is a man who has counted prominent African-Americans Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell, as well as Hispanic Alberto Gonzalez, among his closest advisers. Actions of a racist? Hardly.
No, I don't believe George W. Bush is a racist. Rather, he is a classist. The response to Katrina failed not because those it affected most were black, but because they were poor. It is an unfortunate truth that, in this country, the two are so often inextricably linked. I know not the causes of this, and expect they are as numerous as they are complex. But I contend that our president is hampered more by his inability to understand and account for the have-nots than by any kind of racism. Take that, Kanye! (As I typed this, I knew the argument sounded familiar, and in fact I discovered I was pulling much of this from an old Leonard Pitts article that likely lingered at the back of my mind. Oh well, I've had this opinion for a while, so what the hell.)
In other exciting news that may become irrelevant for me if I end up leaving Texas, another Chronicle article reports that the Supreme Court is going to review the ridiculous, relentless gerrymandering sponsored by the likely-soon-to-be-federally-indicted Thomas Q. Delay. This sort of corrupt politics is what makes people so cynical about our political process. I'm still unclear how this blatantly political maneuver got by public opinion (though the conservatism of Texas probably helped). I hope the Supreme Court strikes it down 9-0.
That's all for now. I'm gonna try to resume daily blogging, so keep checking back.
Song lyric of the day:
"Flies in the vasoline we are
Sometimes it blows my mind
We keep getting stuck here all the time"
- Stone Temple Pilots, Vasoline
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