Finally. Today, Hillary Clinton suspended her presidential campaign and Barack Obama is now the presumptive nominee for the Democratic party. After all the drama and mud-slinging, and a historic primary season, everyone's coming together. We're all celebrating how American politics (and the American public) has become re-energized as a result of this process, and how, in the grand scheme of things, it is an incredibly huge step forward for the country, having come this close to electing a woman, and actually having nominated an African American for president.
So, when President Bush is asked about this situation, one would expect him to speak with great pride right? To reflect upon this unique moment and remind us, in deep and meaningful words, that history is being made as we speak, and he is honored to see such times?
Sha right! Can there be a deep moment that Bush does not entirely ruin with his complete lack of articulateness?
"I thought it was a really good statement, powerful moment when a major political party nominates an African-American man to be their standard bearer. And it's good for our democracy that that happened. And we also had a major contender being a woman. Obviously Hillary Clinton was a major contender. So I think it's a good sign for American democracy."
Yeah. No tenses, bad grammar, chewed up sentences. This man couldn't sound eloquent if you threatened to send his country to war. Oh wait a minute..
Boy, I miss having a lucid president. The countdown to January 20, 2009 begins..
Showing posts with label Democracy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Democracy. Show all posts
June 7, 2008
June 6, 2007
Sorry for the silence..
We were away for 10 days in the UK enjoying time with friends and family and got back a few days ago. Must admit I felt quite depressed on the way back, since it was so nice to be on vacation instead of sitting at home, well, on a different kind of vacation I suppose. *sigh*
We went to Liverpool and met my sister-in-law's new baby, i.e. my 3 month old niece Zainab, who is an unbelievable cutie-pie and who I am missing way too much to be normal. Hmm. Must be those maternal instincts on high alert. Will not put up a pic for fear of predators but ask me privately, and will be happy to share :-D
Also got a chance to actually physically connect with my sister-in-law and her husband for the first time since I've gotten married since we were all in the same place and not rushing about doing things. It's a great feeling to discover more people that you can like and love in your family!
After 4 days in Liverpool, we headed off to London to visit my older sister and also spend a day with my other sibling and brother in law who would be stopping in on their way to Rome for their honeymoon.
Sarwar and I spend a whole day exploring the sights in central London; I tried to be as cooperative as possible but my allergies were still on a roll and when he suggested we climb 22 storeys up to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral on dusty, narrow, winding stairs with no windows I said, no thanks!
I stopped at the first level of the climb at the Whispering Gallery (if you whisper into the wall, it can be heard through the wall at the other side of the Cathedral - its really cool) and he continued to the top and got amazing views of London, like this:
We met with friends and had dinner at this interesting place called Sitaaray in Drury Lane (no, there was no Muffin Man although I sang his song and looked for him for hours), with a fixed price Indian tapas-type menu and a Bollywood-inspired theme. Recommend the place for really good kebabs!
In addition, watched Pirates of the Caribbean 3 - which thankfully was not as disappointing as #2, although you had to pay very close attention if you didn't want to get lost and confused by the constantly changing alliances and rapidly moving plot of almost-treachery and quick-thinking that, I suppose, is natural in the pirate world.
And then it was back to Liverpool, and then back to Manchester in order to come back to Newark and then back to Boston.
Only the idiotic Frenchman checking us in at Manchester deserves a paragraph, nay an entire blogpost, all to himself.
We arrived at the airport about 1 hour and 15 minutes prior to flight time, which I admit is cutting it a little close, but come on.. it's not entirely reckless when its a 9:25 am flight.
They nicely sent us to the front of the check in line since our flight was coming up, but before we checked in this Frenchman decided to look at our passports and paperwork - which is fine and pretty normal. Except instead of the usual 1 minute cursory glance at paperwork that we've experienced at every other airport, he ends up taking FORTY-FIVE minutes to do it!
He scans our passports in some nifty machine, finds them machine un-readeable, shuffles around asking 4 different supervisors about what he should do, and in the meantime treats us like we're bloody terrorists because we hold Indian and Pakistani passports (which he can't seem to read despite being in clear English.. why? because he's an ass) and my Green card says I was born in the UAE.
Big fat hairy deal right? Nooo... after 30 minutes of us just standing and waiting and being treated like we carry the plague, this guy comes over and starts asking us questions:
- was I born in the UAE, why, when was the last time we were in Dubai, why, who we were visiting, why, please write down their address and phone number, do you work in the US, where, please give me your business card, write down the name and address and phone number of where you work and colleagues we can contact, where were you were staying in the UK, why, for how long -
and all of this to be written down on some random scrap of paper with a pencil he was able to fish out of the small desk he works on. Not even some legal-looking form that proves he's legally authorized to ask these questions!
45 bloody minutes! Thankfully they re-opened our flight, checked us in, sent us through the Fast Track of security (where I was *still* body searched by "random" selection) and we managed to make it to our gate where boarding had already begun.
This is just utterly ridiculous! We are law-abiding, tax-paying residents of the United States who have worked hard and used only the most legal means get where we are, and we deserve just a little bit more than an ounce of respect if we travel outside the country!
Mind you, when we got back to the U.S., as usual, our stint at the immigration desk lasted an uneventful 2 minutes and we were, as usual, let back easily into the country. What the hell is the UK's bloody problem? I've never had this much trouble getting into the U.S. even when I was actually coming back from that "hotbed of international terrorism" (please note my huge *eyeroll* here) Dubai.
It irks me that despite working so hard to get resident status, and eventually American citizenships, we will always be treated like potential threats because we were born in certain places and lived in certain countries. How come no one treats everyone who lives and was born in Oklahoma with a suspicious eye? What if that person went to school with Timothy McVeigh and is a potential city blower-upper?
And by the way, every foiled plot in the last few years has revealed home-grown terrorists - disenchanted, disaffected, angry young Americans and Brits who have lived their whole lives in these nations, who have an utter disrespect for the freedoms they have enjoyed in the very countries they wish to harm, and who have a disgusting disregard for life that is unrelated to the teachings of any religion.
What have we done to be racially profiled just because of our nationalities? We stand behind yellow lines before being asked to come forward at counters; we turn our wheels towards the curb when parking downhill; we pay 15-20% tips at restaurants because we know the waitstaff is barely making minimum wage; we pay our taxes and get our returns back in bloody January; we pay off our credit cards each month and don't let any balance gather interest. We do not shoplift, rob, kill, take advantage of or swindle anyone and we certainly are not involved in any plots to cause harm to this or any other bloody western racial profiling country! So enough of it already!
*pant pant pant*
Ok. I'm done for now. You can see this gets me riled up. I probably wasn't helping matters at Manchester Airport since my glowering expression likely aroused more suspicion and ire than my passport, but hey - no way is this MY fault. Bloody Frenchman.
Anyway, just wanted to say - I'm back.
We went to Liverpool and met my sister-in-law's new baby, i.e. my 3 month old niece Zainab, who is an unbelievable cutie-pie and who I am missing way too much to be normal. Hmm. Must be those maternal instincts on high alert. Will not put up a pic for fear of predators but ask me privately, and will be happy to share :-D
Also got a chance to actually physically connect with my sister-in-law and her husband for the first time since I've gotten married since we were all in the same place and not rushing about doing things. It's a great feeling to discover more people that you can like and love in your family!
After 4 days in Liverpool, we headed off to London to visit my older sister and also spend a day with my other sibling and brother in law who would be stopping in on their way to Rome for their honeymoon.
Sarwar and I spend a whole day exploring the sights in central London; I tried to be as cooperative as possible but my allergies were still on a roll and when he suggested we climb 22 storeys up to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral on dusty, narrow, winding stairs with no windows I said, no thanks!
I stopped at the first level of the climb at the Whispering Gallery (if you whisper into the wall, it can be heard through the wall at the other side of the Cathedral - its really cool) and he continued to the top and got amazing views of London, like this:
We met with friends and had dinner at this interesting place called Sitaaray in Drury Lane (no, there was no Muffin Man although I sang his song and looked for him for hours), with a fixed price Indian tapas-type menu and a Bollywood-inspired theme. Recommend the place for really good kebabs!
In addition, watched Pirates of the Caribbean 3 - which thankfully was not as disappointing as #2, although you had to pay very close attention if you didn't want to get lost and confused by the constantly changing alliances and rapidly moving plot of almost-treachery and quick-thinking that, I suppose, is natural in the pirate world.
And then it was back to Liverpool, and then back to Manchester in order to come back to Newark and then back to Boston.
Only the idiotic Frenchman checking us in at Manchester deserves a paragraph, nay an entire blogpost, all to himself.
We arrived at the airport about 1 hour and 15 minutes prior to flight time, which I admit is cutting it a little close, but come on.. it's not entirely reckless when its a 9:25 am flight.
They nicely sent us to the front of the check in line since our flight was coming up, but before we checked in this Frenchman decided to look at our passports and paperwork - which is fine and pretty normal. Except instead of the usual 1 minute cursory glance at paperwork that we've experienced at every other airport, he ends up taking FORTY-FIVE minutes to do it!
He scans our passports in some nifty machine, finds them machine un-readeable, shuffles around asking 4 different supervisors about what he should do, and in the meantime treats us like we're bloody terrorists because we hold Indian and Pakistani passports (which he can't seem to read despite being in clear English.. why? because he's an ass) and my Green card says I was born in the UAE.
Big fat hairy deal right? Nooo... after 30 minutes of us just standing and waiting and being treated like we carry the plague, this guy comes over and starts asking us questions:
- was I born in the UAE, why, when was the last time we were in Dubai, why, who we were visiting, why, please write down their address and phone number, do you work in the US, where, please give me your business card, write down the name and address and phone number of where you work and colleagues we can contact, where were you were staying in the UK, why, for how long -
and all of this to be written down on some random scrap of paper with a pencil he was able to fish out of the small desk he works on. Not even some legal-looking form that proves he's legally authorized to ask these questions!
45 bloody minutes! Thankfully they re-opened our flight, checked us in, sent us through the Fast Track of security (where I was *still* body searched by "random" selection) and we managed to make it to our gate where boarding had already begun.
This is just utterly ridiculous! We are law-abiding, tax-paying residents of the United States who have worked hard and used only the most legal means get where we are, and we deserve just a little bit more than an ounce of respect if we travel outside the country!
Mind you, when we got back to the U.S., as usual, our stint at the immigration desk lasted an uneventful 2 minutes and we were, as usual, let back easily into the country. What the hell is the UK's bloody problem? I've never had this much trouble getting into the U.S. even when I was actually coming back from that "hotbed of international terrorism" (please note my huge *eyeroll* here) Dubai.
It irks me that despite working so hard to get resident status, and eventually American citizenships, we will always be treated like potential threats because we were born in certain places and lived in certain countries. How come no one treats everyone who lives and was born in Oklahoma with a suspicious eye? What if that person went to school with Timothy McVeigh and is a potential city blower-upper?
And by the way, every foiled plot in the last few years has revealed home-grown terrorists - disenchanted, disaffected, angry young Americans and Brits who have lived their whole lives in these nations, who have an utter disrespect for the freedoms they have enjoyed in the very countries they wish to harm, and who have a disgusting disregard for life that is unrelated to the teachings of any religion.
What have we done to be racially profiled just because of our nationalities? We stand behind yellow lines before being asked to come forward at counters; we turn our wheels towards the curb when parking downhill; we pay 15-20% tips at restaurants because we know the waitstaff is barely making minimum wage; we pay our taxes and get our returns back in bloody January; we pay off our credit cards each month and don't let any balance gather interest. We do not shoplift, rob, kill, take advantage of or swindle anyone and we certainly are not involved in any plots to cause harm to this or any other bloody western racial profiling country! So enough of it already!
*pant pant pant*
Ok. I'm done for now. You can see this gets me riled up. I probably wasn't helping matters at Manchester Airport since my glowering expression likely aroused more suspicion and ire than my passport, but hey - no way is this MY fault. Bloody Frenchman.
Anyway, just wanted to say - I'm back.
April 20, 2007
Two days too late..
but nonetheless..
SANJAYA IS GONE!!
And he actually wept like a baby. C'mon.. how could he have NOT seen this coming? Did he really think he would win American Idol?
Anyway.. finally, America votes and shows it is not entirely tone deaf.
As for who had kept him afloat this far, if it wasn't the Indians, then 9-14 yr old girls in America really need to change their perceptions of hotness.
SANJAYA IS GONE!!
And he actually wept like a baby. C'mon.. how could he have NOT seen this coming? Did he really think he would win American Idol?
Anyway.. finally, America votes and shows it is not entirely tone deaf.
As for who had kept him afloat this far, if it wasn't the Indians, then 9-14 yr old girls in America really need to change their perceptions of hotness.
April 4, 2007
Down with the Crazies
So I'm watching and following American Idol very very closely this season..
Yesterday was Tony Bennett night, and as usual the worst performance was by Sanjaya Malakar.
Each week, I wait with bated breath to see if America will have come to its senses and knocked this poor excuse for a singer off the show, but alas it seems like people care less about the talent and more about the freakshow personality that he's become. He seems to enjoy his new found celebrity, trying out bizarre hairstyles each week, arguing with the judges like a 5-year old and continuing to look shocked each time he is not eliminated.
Howard Stern and VoteForTheWorst.com aren't helping either, as they goad their followers to vote for.. well.. the worst. The judges, including acerbic Simon Cowell, have resigned themselves to laughing uncomfortably at the end of his performances and avoiding all comments about his vocals because it's just too shockingly bad to bear and they're probably kicking themselves about why on earth they let him on stage in the first place.
So, back to last night. After watching all the swing-themed performances, of which Sanjaya was predictably the worst, I found myself saying: "It's definitely going to be Phil Stacey who gets knocked out next".
And then I paused and realized the sad, sad situation that we all end up in as a result of a broken system. We become so apathetic and disillusioned by the logic-defying trend, that we don't even consider the fact sanity could prevail and Sanjaya could be knocked out. We're so convinced of the stupidity of the nation that we've chosen to even stop expecting rationality to kick in.
And this is just 4 weeks on a reality TV show. No wonder countries and whole populations can't pull themselves out of deadly ruts of terror and depression and bad leadership. We've just become used to settling for less.
Anyhoo - assuming Sanjaya stays, I think that beginning next week I'm actually going to pick up the phone and call in to vote. Sitting around on my butt expecting America to wake up clearly hasn't worked, so I'm going to use my democratic right to, if anything, give one less vote to Sanjaya. 'Cos if I don't speak up, I'm part of the problem, right?
Yesterday was Tony Bennett night, and as usual the worst performance was by Sanjaya Malakar.
If you've been even slightly awake during the last month, you've definitely 
heard of the 17 year old, half-Indian half-American, sexually-dubious creature who cannot sing, knows it, yet still continues to remain on the show for inexplicable reasons that may include the entire South Asian population of the US voting for him out of some twisted solidarity (yes, lets endorse him and prove South Asians can't sing) and little girls between the ages of 9 and 12 who, frankly, will always vote for the youngest contestant because he's closest to them in age and they can have gooey dreams about him.
heard of the 17 year old, half-Indian half-American, sexually-dubious creature who cannot sing, knows it, yet still continues to remain on the show for inexplicable reasons that may include the entire South Asian population of the US voting for him out of some twisted solidarity (yes, lets endorse him and prove South Asians can't sing) and little girls between the ages of 9 and 12 who, frankly, will always vote for the youngest contestant because he's closest to them in age and they can have gooey dreams about him.Each week, I wait with bated breath to see if America will have come to its senses and knocked this poor excuse for a singer off the show, but alas it seems like people care less about the talent and more about the freakshow personality that he's become. He seems to enjoy his new found celebrity, trying out bizarre hairstyles each week, arguing with the judges like a 5-year old and continuing to look shocked each time he is not eliminated.
Howard Stern and VoteForTheWorst.com aren't helping either, as they goad their followers to vote for.. well.. the worst. The judges, including acerbic Simon Cowell, have resigned themselves to laughing uncomfortably at the end of his performances and avoiding all comments about his vocals because it's just too shockingly bad to bear and they're probably kicking themselves about why on earth they let him on stage in the first place.
So, back to last night. After watching all the swing-themed performances, of which Sanjaya was predictably the worst, I found myself saying: "It's definitely going to be Phil Stacey who gets knocked out next".
And then I paused and realized the sad, sad situation that we all end up in as a result of a broken system. We become so apathetic and disillusioned by the logic-defying trend, that we don't even consider the fact sanity could prevail and Sanjaya could be knocked out. We're so convinced of the stupidity of the nation that we've chosen to even stop expecting rationality to kick in.
And this is just 4 weeks on a reality TV show. No wonder countries and whole populations can't pull themselves out of deadly ruts of terror and depression and bad leadership. We've just become used to settling for less.
Anyhoo - assuming Sanjaya stays, I think that beginning next week I'm actually going to pick up the phone and call in to vote. Sitting around on my butt expecting America to wake up clearly hasn't worked, so I'm going to use my democratic right to, if anything, give one less vote to Sanjaya. 'Cos if I don't speak up, I'm part of the problem, right?
August 14, 2006
Spare the rod?
Re-watched a thought-provoking episode of West Wing last night about capital punishment, hate crimes and gay rights (Season 1 of course, after Aaron Sorkin left the show became so shallow).
Some thoughts:
1. Capital Punishment: are there crimes so terrible that the perpetrator be punished with death? Everyone's misdeeds will be accounted for on the Day of Judgement so shouldn't we take the high road and forgive people on earth, and pray for God's justice instead? I thought about this for a while, and then decided - how can one expect a devasted family will be patient and forgiving? I would be vengeful, why shouldn't anyone else feel otherwise? So I decided that I'm in favor of capital punishment for heinous crimes (pre-meditated murder, rape, sexual abuse) but I may have to think about it for other types of crimes (drug dealing, for instance).
2. Gay rights/hate crimes: Of course, all hate crimes are serious offences and should be punished. There's no difference between a message of religious hate or sexual prejudice, it's all evil and needs to be legislated against. But should gays have rights? Should they be allowed to marry and be recognized that way?
This question is hard for me to resolve. I believe all people should have equal rights, black or white, gay or straight.
But then I am held back by the staunch belief I have that being gay is, well, wrong. Now, don't get me wrong - I don't discriminate in my behavior towards gays - every human being deserves respect and honor, as long as they don't injure or threaten you in any way - and I have no prejudiced pre-conceptions about them.
However, I do personally believe that homosexuality is an aberration of nature. It is not how we were intended to be. So by no measure is marriage between them acceptable.
I believe that some people are born gay and can't help how they feel, and I believe that some people choose to be gay, for the thrill of experimentation or for the physical pleasure (and I'm perfectly ok with the counter-theory that some people choose to be straight). Either way, the experience is God's way of testing a person's ability to choose the right path.
Of course I'm not lumping my personal opinion on anyone else, and neither am I doing anything about my opinion - I'm just voicing it here. I hope I haven't offended anyone's sensibilities! Open to a discussion on this.
Whoops, gotta run. My ride is here.
l8rz.
Some thoughts:
1. Capital Punishment: are there crimes so terrible that the perpetrator be punished with death? Everyone's misdeeds will be accounted for on the Day of Judgement so shouldn't we take the high road and forgive people on earth, and pray for God's justice instead? I thought about this for a while, and then decided - how can one expect a devasted family will be patient and forgiving? I would be vengeful, why shouldn't anyone else feel otherwise? So I decided that I'm in favor of capital punishment for heinous crimes (pre-meditated murder, rape, sexual abuse) but I may have to think about it for other types of crimes (drug dealing, for instance).
2. Gay rights/hate crimes: Of course, all hate crimes are serious offences and should be punished. There's no difference between a message of religious hate or sexual prejudice, it's all evil and needs to be legislated against. But should gays have rights? Should they be allowed to marry and be recognized that way?
This question is hard for me to resolve. I believe all people should have equal rights, black or white, gay or straight.
But then I am held back by the staunch belief I have that being gay is, well, wrong. Now, don't get me wrong - I don't discriminate in my behavior towards gays - every human being deserves respect and honor, as long as they don't injure or threaten you in any way - and I have no prejudiced pre-conceptions about them.
However, I do personally believe that homosexuality is an aberration of nature. It is not how we were intended to be. So by no measure is marriage between them acceptable.
I believe that some people are born gay and can't help how they feel, and I believe that some people choose to be gay, for the thrill of experimentation or for the physical pleasure (and I'm perfectly ok with the counter-theory that some people choose to be straight). Either way, the experience is God's way of testing a person's ability to choose the right path.
Of course I'm not lumping my personal opinion on anyone else, and neither am I doing anything about my opinion - I'm just voicing it here. I hope I haven't offended anyone's sensibilities! Open to a discussion on this.
Whoops, gotta run. My ride is here.
l8rz.
October 6, 2004
Elephants and Donkeys
Countdown: 81 days.
Election madness is in full swing. Last night's vice-presidential debate kicked some serious butt. Cheney is an unbelievably articulate and scathing debater. I've never actually seen him do anything but scowl or have a dead-pan expression, but there really is a brain inside. Chalo, at least he wasn't Secretary of Defense for nothing. Edwards did as good a job as could be expected. The whole event was a pretty intense pow-wow session, and frankly, I wish these two were running for president. At least they have some life in them. As stated before, Kerry is old and Bush is dumb. The two VP candidates spent the whole time articulating, clarifying and explaining what their respective bosses really meant to say the whole time but were too caught up in meaningless rhetoric to get across. Overall, though, a good 90 minutes.
Sad newses for the day:
Alrighty, it's late and I don't see the need to stay so late on a Wednesday evening so I'm headed home. Later pater.
Election madness is in full swing. Last night's vice-presidential debate kicked some serious butt. Cheney is an unbelievably articulate and scathing debater. I've never actually seen him do anything but scowl or have a dead-pan expression, but there really is a brain inside. Chalo, at least he wasn't Secretary of Defense for nothing. Edwards did as good a job as could be expected. The whole event was a pretty intense pow-wow session, and frankly, I wish these two were running for president. At least they have some life in them. As stated before, Kerry is old and Bush is dumb. The two VP candidates spent the whole time articulating, clarifying and explaining what their respective bosses really meant to say the whole time but were too caught up in meaningless rhetoric to get across. Overall, though, a good 90 minutes.
Sad newses for the day:
- Poor Sarwar is sick today. Bloody flu :(
- Sakinah's gone. Poor Kinu :(
Alrighty, it's late and I don't see the need to stay so late on a Wednesday evening so I'm headed home. Later pater.
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