Gunfighter: A Modern Warrior's Life

Orly Taitz, Birthers, Ideologues, Xenophobes.

You know, I have given a bit of thought to this whole "birther" thing that the right-wing crackpots have been shrieking whining wearing tinfoil hats talking about lately.  Mind you, I haven't given it too much of my time, because the whole "scandal" is complete rubbish and without merit.  Anyway, I have done some small bit of thinking about it, and I would like to tell you how it washes out for me.

To me, this whole bit of nonsense is about three particular themes.  First, there are the xenophobes.  The ones who have a difficult time dealing with otherness.... otherness being defined here as people that don't look the way the xenophobe does, or comes from a different place, or is smarter, or may have a different religion.

The xenophobes (I'll call them "xenos" from now on) are afraid of Barack Obama because they aren't terribly bright and really believe that his parents conspired to get him elected to the Presidency, some 48 years ago, and so they hid the fact that he is a Kenyan all those years ago, despite his automatic American citizenship based on his mother's citizenship, no matter where he was born.  The xenos believe he is some sort of "sleeper" agent and closet muslim.  All of this is made worse by the fact that Barack Obama is an African American.  You see, xenos tend to be virulent racists (no matter what color they are).  The xenos will tell you that their support of this birther nonsense isn't about The President's ethnicity, because in their hearts, they know that their racism is evil, they just can't help themselves.

The xenophobes truly can't accept that a black man could have been elected President by the American people, to them, that defies logic.  Therefore there has to be some conspiracy to explain it.  Never mind the fact that, as smart as I believe President Obama to be, Mickey Mouse could have beaten the Republicans after eight disastrous years of George W. Bush.

So much for the xenophobes.  They are the hardcore haters.

Next we have the right-wing ideologues, those who believe that the way to push their morally bankrupt agenda forward, is to destroy the messenger of a better agenda.  The ideologues have nothing.  They are out of ideas.  They have nothing to offer except bleating about taxes, spending, and security... as if they hadn't spent the past 8 years in an orgy of excess, with their snouts deep in the trough of taxpayer money.  Hey, for my part, I'll have a little more taxpayer money spent on the people instead of on corporate greed, thankyouverymuch. 

Anyway, the leaders of the ideologues can be found on FOX news, readily telling the xenophobes their viewers that health care reform is needed, but shouldn't go so fast.  Well, I don't need to be Keith Olbermann to tell you there reasoning for that... I am sure that you can figure it our for yourself.  The thing to remember about the ideologues is that they have to be confronted with this very important question:  If your party believes that health care reform is even slightly important, why have they done nothing about it when they controlled bot the executive and legislative branches of government for so long?

The bottom line on the ideologues is that they don't want every American to have health insurance.  More importantly, they don't want any government regulation on the health care industry.  How does that make you feel?  I hope it doesn't make you feel all tingly and good because the GOP is trying to protect you from "Big Government", because that is just so much crap... remember, those are the same people that kept "Big Government" from regulating the banking industry.  We saw how that turned out, didn't we?

Then there is the last group of "birthers", these are what I call the "Israeli Stooges", and they are led, indeed the whole group seems to be led, by a Moldovan-born (some have said Russian-born), dual U.S.-Israeli citizen named Orly Taitz.  Ms. Taitz, who is a Dentist and a "lawyer" (with some online JD), has filed motions in California courts (the only place she is allowed to practice law), to prove that Barack Obama is constitutionally disqualified from being President.

Does it strike anyone as odd that the person making the most noise about this "birther"nonsense is a foreigner?  A foreigner with citizenship in a country that is already known to be wary of President Obama because he won't mouth their propaganda in knee-jerk response whenever their Prime Minister
(and lobby) says he should?

Of course, I am talking about Israel... our staunch middle eastern "ally".

Many Americans will justify any Israeli activity, no matter how extreme, because of our "Judeo-Christian" heritage.  While that may be fine for many people, and it may be authentic, and it may be right most of the time, it doesn't mean that our President, as so many Presidents have been in the past, should be the stooge of whomever is calling the shots in Tel Aviv.  This is a problem.  This is where the Xenos, Ideologues, and Stooges all come together (I would say nyuk, nyuk, nyuk... but this isn't funny).

All three of these groups are led by a foreign agitator.  All three of these groups are dancing to the tune of a person who has become that Zsa Zsa Gabor of the right wing.  All three of these groups are under the sway of a person who may or may not be an agent of the Israeli government, bent on undermining the leadership of a person who may, or may not be, the malleable puppet most American leaders are.

The "birthers", laid bare, are a tool of foreign leadership. 

For shame.

Addendum:  My comments about Israel should not imply any antipathy towards Jews.  So please, don't give me the anit-semitic crap, ok?

President Obama, Professor Gates, & James Crowley

By now we have all heard, ad nauseum about the recent arrest of Professor Henry Louis Gates.  We have heard, also ad nauseum, about President Obama's thoughts on the arrest, in response to a question asked of him at a Press conference... and God knows how sick and tired I am of Sgt. Crowley, the arresting officer, and a host of other cops, Union Bosses, and Right-wing/birther/crackpots on television all bleeding day, today.

It's time to stop, now, folks.  Really.

Let me first state that I know as much about the case as anyone who wasn't there... which means just about everyone except for Gates, Crowley, and maybe a few others.

The right wing fruitcakes are all like "The Commander-in-Chief was disrespectful of all police officers!  Waaaaah!"

The lefties are all like "Racial profiling is keeping the black man down!  Waaaaaaaah!"

The television news scandal pimps are all like "Will Sgt. Crowley apologize?, Will The President apologize?, are there any apologies to make?  Watch Black in America2, with Soledad O'Brien!"   Ka-ching!

Hey. 

HEY!  Are you listening?  Anyone who is paying even a little attention should know this by now, but in case you weren't let me hip you to the closest thing to the truth you are going to get on this stupid distraction piece:

The cops showed up because they were called.  This wasn't "profiling", they simply responded to a call for service (that's what we call it in the biz).  The cops encountered Gates, Identification flew, words flew, and house-sized, professorial egos flared (A celebrity Harvard professor no-less), house-sized police egos flew and an arrest was made. 

OK.  The local DA or Commonwealth's Attorney, or whatever they have in Cambridge decided not to charge Gates... which was smart of them... there wasn't much of a case to make.  Sergeant Crowley, by all accounts a decent bloke, keeps his dignity by not being punked by an asshole professor, Gates gets some serious air time... which all celebrities love.

Still with me?

Good.

Then during a Press conference, a reporter asks President his opinon on the arrest, and the President gives his opinion that the officers acted stupidly.  Then all of this nonsense well and truly goes into orbit!

Last night, I had a facebook exchange with a Republican echo chamber member who was all nuts about this issue... and today, reading the Huffington post, all of the lefties were huffing, puffing, and snorting righteous outrage about cops being "bullies" and "power mad" and claims that "cops control the country" etcetera.

What a load of nonsense.

Let me explain a few things.  Academics have egos... huge ones.  Don't believe me?  ask Mrs Gunfighter, she is an academic who works among academics (in her world, the undereducated have Masters degrees), in her office there are approx. 65 people, and all but about 5 have Ph.D's... she'll tell you.  Let me explain further, Cops have huge egos.  I know this, having been a lawman, myself for the past twelve years.  In my world, you have to be prepared to back your own play, and anyone not strong enough to do that isn't worth the money that he or she is being paid.

This whole incident has become about race. 

It isn't about race.

It's about class and ego.

Harvard professors aren't used to being challenged.  In their world, there is them, and the people that are deferential to them... which is to say, everyone else.  Gates wasn't going to be pushed around by some asshole cop, especially in his own home... who can blame him?  On the other side of this is the fact that Cops don't like being challenged.  In our world, there are the good guys (us), the bad guys, and the people who call us for help.  The Sergeant, a blue collar man, and no doubt proud of his chosen profession, wasn't about to be pushed around by anybody, asshole professor from Harvard or not.

Gates should have kept his cool.  He didn't.

Crowley should have kept his cool.  He didn't.

A legitimate, but totally unnecessary arrest was made.

We see the result.

The President?  Well, he gave his opinion when he was asked a question.  Was he wrong for saying the police acted stupidly in this case?  Not really, because if they hadn't acted stupidly, we wouldn't still be talking about this bullshit story a week or more later.

There is nothing to see here, folks.

Disperse.  Go home. 

Don't be distracted from the real issue of the day, which is getting health care reform enacted.  Don't be put off by stupid "birther" stories.  Don't be put off by the echo chamber and spin machine.

Go in peace.

Barack Obama & The End of "Acting White"

"Who do you think you are?"

"You talk like a white boy!"

"Bookworm!"

"Professor!"

"Honky-lover!"

"You think you're better than us!"

"OREO!"

I am 45 years old.  It's been at least 28 years since the things that I wrote above were last said to me... to my face, anyway.  It still smarts when I bother to think about it, which I seldom do... but it's been there, all these years, a very personal source of pain.  A lifetime of barbs and insults, all because of the way I talk.

For generations, it has always been desirable in the black community, as it has all over America, to get all the education that you can.  Education has always been seen as the way to improve not only your economic condition, but your social position as well.  Since emancipation, this had been seen as a great thing in the black community.  The thought had always been, that if your children got an education and learned to speak English correctly, perhaps they could enter a trade or one of the professions.  It was certainly so for my mother's parent's (a professor and a Nurse)... it was so for my parents.

Then something changed.

In the 1960's, it became popular for black people to remind each other to "stay black"... to not "sell out" to the white man.  Apparently, not talking like you are from the ghetto counts as selling out.  In my opinion, this thinking has done massive, lasting damage to the black community. 

It has now become fashionable in the black middle class to ape urban behaviors as a means of "staying black".  Children of families that live in 800,000 dollar homes, who go to schools that aren't struggling, walking around in super-baggy prison clothes, and despite their middle-American accents, trying as hard as they can to sound like they are refugees from a Snoop Dogg cd.

I was born into a military family, at Hamilton Air Force Base, California, where we lived until my parents were divorced, and we moved to New Jersey to be near my maternal Grandmother.  The neighborhood that we moved into was mostly black (this was 1969, the height of "white flight"), even the first generation Portuguese immigrants were moving as fast as they could.   The place I grew up in was solidly working class.  Most of the people were second or third generation children of the post-emancipation diaspora.  Most spoke with a common accent: southern share-cropper... what has morphed into, and has become accepted as "Black English", "Ebonics", "Ghetto English" and what have you. 

The problem is that I didn't speak the local language.  Oh, sure, I could mimic it, if I wanted to, but, why should I?  I don't do things just to fit in, I never have, and don't plan on starting now.

This is all old news to many of you who know me.  I've covered this ground before, but there is something different about it today.  You see, tomorrow, Barack Hussein Obama is going to be inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States... and he talks like me.

I had planned to give a long discussion about who the "black community" will or won't embrace for different reasons.. I had planned to talk about how, when Obama's campaign first started, many black "leaders" were concerned that Obama wasn't black enough.  I had planned to vent about all sorts of things associated with the accusation of "acting white".  But, as I sit here, taking a break from getting ready for tomorrow's event, I find that I no longer have the energy to put into it.

I simply want to say that Barack Obama's accomplishment in winning the Presidency  has highlighted the fact that  no matter what community you were raised in, or live in, achievement speaks for itself.  Reading, learning, being well-spoken, scholarship, and integrity, are the paths to success... no matter what color your skin is.

I'll close by giving a special shout-out to those family members, fellow students, colleagues, black pundits and civil rights leaders, journalists, and others who have ever tormented or criticized any black person about speaking standard English.  You need to hear this, from me, to you.

Go **** yourselves. 

We aren't "acting white", we are acting like Americans who have as much a stake in this country as anyone else does.  We are acting like Americans who have an inherent right to the blessings that accrue from our citizenship.  We are acting like this is our country... because it is. 

This is OUR time.

High School Musical 3, Election 2008, & what they mean to America

A few weeks ago, Clan gunfighter went to see High School Musical 3. 

I'll wait for you to finish giggling. 

Done?  Good!

Guess what?  This movie may have been that best of the three.  I suppose that this shouldn't surprise anyone, considering the fact that the budget must have been really huge compared to the previous to films of the same name that were made for television. 

In the new movie, the lead characters were all still squeaky-clean and good looking, and despite the nowhere-near-reality of the franchise, these kids still had to make grown up decisions regarding their futures.  Don't worry, I am not going to give any spoilers, here.  I just want to communicate some very important themes that this move touched upon and most of people may never notice.

If you have already seen these movies or have been paying any attention to any entertainment related magazines or tabloids, you already know who Zac Efron is.  He plays the lead... super-jock and budding thespian, Troy Bolton.  Troy's love interest is smart-girl Gabriella Montez, played by Vanessa Hudgens.  By now you are probably shrugging your shoulders, waiting fopr me to get to the point. 

Well, here it is:  I've not seen one single word in print about the fact that not only are the leading & supporting cast of these movies multi-ethnic, so are the love interests... and no one seems to have batted an eyelash.

Look, Zac Efron is Jewish, Vanessa Hudgens is Fillipina/Irish Caucasian, Corbin Bleu (who plays Chad Danforth) is biracial Black/Italian, his love interest is played by Monique Coleman who is black.  Fellow team member Zeke, played by Chris Warren, has a major (but unrequited) crush on Ashley Tisdale's character, Sharpay Evans.

And no one cares.

Not a peep.

Sure it's musical theater.  Sure, it's Disney.... it's just a fantasy, right?

Not so fast.  Our country just sailed through the middle of a generation-defining Presidential election, and the candidate that won in an electoral blowout is a biracial man.  Again you shrug?  OK, shrug.  So what, right?  This is how it's supposed to be in America, right?

Yes, you ARE right.  This IS how it's supposed to be in America... but, it really isn't how things usually go, is it?

Our country is still nearly disastrously preoccupied about race.  No one likes to admit it, but it's true... the good news is that we have turned a corner.  A very serious corner, and there is no turning back. 

The fact that President-elect Barack Obama was not only taken seriously as a candidate, but won handily, even in places where no Democrat has won in more than a generation, signifies that a significant portion of the white voters in America have found themselves in a place where they would vote for a man who isn't white... and would likely look at you like you were crazy if you were to suggest that there was something wrong with that.

It is common in America for people to shrug off unpleasantness or even offensive behavior by saying: "Get over it already".   Apparently we have begun to "get over" something that we should have let go of a long time ago.

I suppose if America can get over racial issues in a movie as wildly popular as High School Musical 3, it should come as no surprise that we can elect a African-American, or bi-racial person to the highest office in the land.  A man who wasn't elected because he is a symbol of "non-racialism", but because he was the best candidate... the man that the electorate felt was best-prepared to lead this country in a time of peril.

I guess we have finally figured out the "We're All In this Together" after all.

The Meaning of Obama's Victory

Well, election 2008 is in the bag. 

We won. 

We won big time. 

McCain/Palin never really had much of a chance.  Neither did Jim Gilmore in Virginia.

I am pleased.  I am pleased beyond words.

On election night, like so many Americans who were hoping for the decisive ouster of the Republican party from the leadership of the executive branch of government... and for an increase in the size of the Democratic control of the legislative branch, I wept tears of joy when the results were in.

Unfortunately, I couldn't share my joy with my family in person, because I watched the results in a hotel room in Columbus, Georgia, where I was teaching a class at Fort Benning.  I guess this is the reason we have to be glad about cellular phones.... Mrs GF and I watched the victory speech together via the airwaves.

Of course, some of the giddy feelings of election night are still with me, because I, like so many of you, poured my heart, soul,emotions, (and money) into this campaign, but in the warm afterglow of a resounding victory, comes the after-action assessment of how things went, and where we stand at the moment. This is where it gets real.

President-elect Obama doesn't need any political advice from me on what needs to get done, so I will leave that to him and his very able team.  What I really want to talk about today is what the election of Obama really means in this country.  What it REALLY means.

For me, Obama's election isn't only about a brilliant political campaign, although it was brilliant in all respects.  Obama's election isn't about racial/ethnic pride, although I am exceptionally, and justly proud of him.  Obama's election isn't about the "end of racism" because having an African-American (or bi-racial) President doesn't mean that racism is ever going to go away, because it won't.  Obama's election... in my view, isn't about those things.  It's about example.

For me, the election of 2008 is about the fact that I can tell my children that they can be anything that they wish to be... including President of The United States, and mean it.  For me, the election was about the empowerment of progressive elements that look into the future, for the first time in a long time, without fear.  This election was about renouncing xenophobia.  This year, my country rejected the notion of pre-emptive war, torture, secret government, and the trampling of our Constitution. 

This year my country, instead of saying NO!, said yes.  Yes to open government; yes to rational National Defense policy; yes to diplomacy; yes to alternative power; yes to humane public health policy; yes to pay equity; yes to sane discourse regarding public education.

In this election, the American electorate spoke not only to our country, but to the world.  We spoke to the world and showed that no matter how grim things can get in the United States from time to time;  No matter how fearful our people can sometimes be, that when pushed to the limit, the people can act in concert and change our government for the better.  Many people thought we couldn't do it... but, you know, we're Americans, and enough of us believed that "Yes... we can!"  and we did.

Now, enough of all of that.  Let me tell you what else this election was about.  I mentioned the word example, didn't I?  Well, I believe that President-elect Obama, did more for this country, and it's people, simply by getting elected, than he probably bargained for.  You see, when Senator Obama made his 2004 speech at the Democratic convention, you could just tell that this young man was the man of the hour.  When he spoke compellingly about the fact that speaking proper English and reading books, and getting good grades was not "acting white", he pushed a door open... the door opened completely last week on election night.

Here is my drift:  There are no more excuses, friends.  None.  No more excuses about "whitey"  No more excuses about "the man"; no more excuses for not studying, not reading, not assimilating, and not speaking standard American English.

No more.

Americans can achieve anything.

Anything.

You just have to put in the work.

Now, none of the above means that achieving great things will be easy.  None of the above means that you can be President just by getting good grades.  What it means is that you now have a living, breathing, tangible example of what aiming high can do for you.

OK, enough speechifying from me.  Get off of your asses, and become part of the solution.

Now.

Why I am Voting for Barack Obama

Because I believe this country needs intelligent, thoughtful leadership.

Because it is time for a smart person to be in the White House.

Because I want my daughters to know that you no longer have to be white, or a man to be a candidate for the highest office in the land.

Because I am tired of politicians trying to convince me that we can pay for two wars, and reduce taxes at the same time, without damaging the government to operate.

Because I am tired of the abuse of our Constitution at the hands of the Executive branch of the government.

Because I don't want another President who takes the position that Federal Government Employees are the enemy of the people.

Because I don't believe that calling prisoners of war "detainees" changes their status.

Because I don't think torturing prisoners of war is right.  We are supposed to be better than that.

Because I want a President that believes in REAL education, and who supports public education and supports teachers.

Because I am tired of homophobes in the White House.

Because I don't want a President that doesn't know the difference between Shi'a & Sunni muslims.

Because I don't want a President that doesn't know much about the economy.

Because I don't want the Vice President to have secessionist leanings.

Because being a prisoner of war, 40 years ago, doesn't mean you deserve the be President.

Because I don't want a President that gets elected by race-baiting.

Because the President must lead all Americans... not just some of them.

For these reasons and so many others....

Vote for Barack Obama for President.

The Vet Who Did Not Vet

In case you haven't seen it yet.

Watch it, yes, it makes us smile, but before we vote, there's many a mile.

So let's not cheer and count our chickens, watch for Fox News sleaze and dirty trickens!

They'll try to steal this, sure as hell, stand by to ring the warning bell.

Too soon to make the early bet, even if the vet refused to vet.

Gird your loins,prepare for battle. Keep your nerve when Sabers rattle!

Face the foe, donate your dough! when we win we'll cheer: GO O!

The McCain Campaign Circus

Step right up, folks!... won't cost you a cent!... see John McCain, a once respected Senator!... see John McCain, once known to be something of a voice for reason... see John McCain's Presidential aspirations explode!

Hurry, Hurry!  The show starts now!  Watch!  You'll be amazed as the old fella croaks out his lines, then trots out a complete snowbilly who knows nothing of how the executive branch of our government works to be his running mate.

Watch with amazement folks, as our economy takes the express elevator to hell, John McCain tries distraction techniques to make the electorate forget that it is precisely the policies that McCain himself has espoused for decades that have led us to where we are today. 

Have you ever seen anything like it, ladies and gentleman?  Listen as Johnny "Walnuts" McCain fries in his own Botoxed fat, wondering what the hell just happened!  Watch him begin to blame the "mainstream media".  See, and be amazed to hear, Senator McCain and Governor Sarah "Bullwinkle" Palin speak about coming to Washington to "reform" our government without acknowledging that it is THEIR party that has screwed the pooch so hard, the poor dog may not live.

You may never get another chance to see it in your lifetimes , ladies and gentlemen... you may never see a Presidential ticket for a major party, be so completely bereft of ANY new ideas (aside from shooting game animals from helicopters, or Alaska seceding from the union), that the campaign implodes a month before the actual election.

Yes, indeed, folks!  Yes indeed.  The stage is set for the final act! 

Get ready, because I am sure that you won't want to miss this one...

Watch as John McCain and  "Shotgun" Sarah Palin pull out the last tool that any good Republican (and no small number of Democrats) use when the chips are down:  They resort to the tried and true tactic that I call:  "SCARE THE WHITE PEOPLE"   In this scenario, McCain and his surrogates spend their time with not-very-nuanced ads that are nothing more than race-baiting, fear-mongering devices. Blame minorities and immigrants for the sub-prime meltdown.  Blame illegal immigrants.  Blame the federal government, blame anyone you can... but, for the love of God, make sure that anyone they blame isn't white, or, like palin says; "isn't like us".

Here, gentle patrons, watch this final scene, as John McCain stirs the pot and starts throwing garbage to see what sticks.  Be disgusted as Sarah "drop the G"  Palin says that Barack Obama "isn't like us".  See John McCain throw away every shred of decency that he ever possessed, in a naked grab at power.  Power that he desires so badly that he will sell his very soul to obtain it.

There you have it, friends.  I am sad to report that John McCain has officially lost his f***ing (note the G, sarah) mind.  Senator McCain has decided that to salvage the rejection of his message by the electorate, he will now spend more than 90 percent of what is left of his communications budget, on negative attack ads.

For shame, Senator McCain.  What about your pledge to run a clean campaign?  What about "straight talk"?  What about reaching across the aisle?   You clearly want to be President so badly, that you will now do the things that Karl Rove and company did to you eight years ago?

For shame Johnny Walnuts.  It's bad enough you have no ideas, bad enough that your time passed eight years ago, bad enough that you are trying to ignore years of your own bad judgement... but to sink to these newer, even lower levels at the end of your career will mean a permanent stain on your legacy of service.

Time for the straight talk express to head back to Arizona.

Haiku (15)

We cried "Mushroom cloud!"

We went to war for their oil

Elect us again?

Community Organizers, Sarah Palin, & America

Hi.

My name is Gunfighter, and I am a community organizer. 

"But... but.., GF, we thought you were a firearms instructor for the feds!"

Yes, I am... but, I'm an organizer too!  Well...maybe you couldn't really call me an organizer, but I do provide a specialized service to the community that government doesn't (and shouldn't) provide. 

I teach Sunday school. 

Yeah, that's my own little bit.  I also helped to co-ordinate our Church's Vacation Bible School this summer (which was REALLLY cool, by the way).

As minor as my teeny-tiny service to my community is, I have great admiration for those who are out there, really making a difference in the lives of those people that our country seems to have largely forgotten. 

At the recently concluded Republican National Convention, Vice Presidential candidate (and 1st-rate moose skinner)Sarah Palin used the occasion of the acceptance of her party's nomination to attack Democratic candidate Barack Obama.  In her shrill, smarmy, and downright nasty screed, Palin compared her work as a mayor to that of a community organizer, she said "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities,"

What a shame. 

How sad for you, Governor Palin, that you would denigrate people that are actually trying to get things done in the places that they live, rather than spend their time and efforts slurping at the trough of government largesse like you. 

Since you are in the mood to make comparisons Governor, I thought I might give you a little lesson about a few community organizers whose efforts changed not only communities and nations, but changed the whole world.

Samuel Adams (you may have heard of him) organized the patriots of Boston to form the Sons of Liberty to take active measures against the rule of the British Crown.  He also organized a political party (the Country Party) from a group of disaffected rural Massachusetts farmers. 

 

Susan B. Anthony was a steadfast advocate for abolition and was an early and important leader in the women's suffrage movement.  Anthony was also an early organizer in the fight for women's rights to individually own property.

 

Cesar Chavez organized agricultural workers, particularly in the southwest, and was the founder of the United Farm Workers Union, which advocated on behalf of abused, underpaid, and often mistreated farm laborers.  Chavez was also a civil rights activist who worked tirelessly in the struggle to educate Mexican-Americans and get them to register to vote.

 

Martin Luther became a community organizer after having spent most of his adult life as a Monk.  Luther not only rebelled against the practices of the Roman church, he also advocated on behalf of the people, so that they could read the bible and hear the mass in their own language.  His efforts led to the Reformation, it's following wars, and to the right of most people to be free to worship as they choose. 

Like the man he was named after, Martin Luther King, Jr.was also an organizer who rebelled against unjust practices.  He was a man of peace whose efforts to do things greater than himself allowed a people to be lifted out of oppression in a country where you wouldn't think you'd still be seeing it in 1964... let alone 2008.

His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, is another organizer.  He leads a Tibetan/Buddhist nation-in-exile, and is spiritual leader to millions scattered across the globe.  A teacher, monk, and man-of-peace, the Dalia Lama is a moral teacher that everyone reading this can learn from.

Well, do I really need to explain how this man took a message to a nation through preaching an advocating for the poor and the unwanted?  Do I have to tell you that this guy once said that what you do to the poor, you also do to me?  Do I have to tell you that this fellow named Yeshua, whom we call Jesus, changed the world in just three short years of community organizing?

If you all don't mind, I think I'll get in the pulpit for just a minute.

Governor Palin,  most of the American people live outside of the DC Beltway, and they have more contact with community organizers than they do with their mayors... or hadn't you noticed that?  Community organizers bring attention to things that Governor's (and small town mayors) need to address or fix.  Community Organizers advocate for schools, churches, the homeless, the poor, the unemployed, the underemployed, and just about any other group you can name.  Included in that group, by the way, is the middle class. 

Community Organizers can come from the local La Leche League, Home schooling groups, unionized workers, firefighters, cops, youth groups, and religious groups. 

Shame on youfor denigrating those who believe in doing something bigger than themselves.

Shame on you for even thinking that community organizers don't have responsibilities.

Shame on youfor your childish ridiculing.

Shame on you for your ignorance of history.

Our country deserves better than you, Governor Palin, and hopefully, we'll send you packing, back to your beloved hunting grounds in November.

Can I get an amen?