Just Shoot Me

Haven’t been feeling well for the past few days. But, the news - and in some cases non-news - waits for no one. So we soldier on.

Next Tuesday marks the passing of the previously irrelevant North Carolina and Indiana Democratic primaries. Yes, here we go again. Current polling indicates a fairly big lead for Obama in “basketball (and tobacco) central,” and a statistical tie in the “crossroads of America.” For better of for worse, I happen to live at said crossroads. You know, the place people come to when they’re trying to get somewhere else. For the past several weeks we have been inundated with campaign commercials and paraphernalia from both candidates. On one hand, it’s interesting to be courted for one’s vote. But at this point in the process, is there anyone who truly does not know which candidate they support? I know that in every poll about ten percent of voters claim to be undecided, but I simply don’t believe them. They’ve had a year to decide. If they haven’t chosen by now they are simply incapable of making decisions. The truth is that people who claim to be undecided in the waning moments of an election simply enjoy the attention. Candidates don’t have time to waste with people who have their minds made up. Reporters and pollsters want to interview people on the fence to see what would influence their vote. Late undecided voters are attention junkies, and should be treated as such.

By the way, is there anything less environmentally friendly than an election campaign? I have what must have been at one time a little spruce forest littering my dining room table. There must be a more eco-friendly way to let people know that you want the job.

Reverend Jeremiah Wright is in the news again. Feeling he has been unfairly attacked in recent weeks, Wright offered a spirited defense of his sermons and political views at National Press Club and NAACP events in Washington, and in an interview with Bill Moyers for his PBS television program. The problem with Wright is that every time he pops up, Barack Obama takes a hit. One might assume that after Obama’s repeated expressions of denunciation of Wright’s words and tactics, additional statements from the retired minister wouldn’t garner this level of media attention. But that might be expecting too much. Jeremiah Wright is the quintessential angry black man. And America loves the spectacle of the angry black man. They love to catch one on video and replay it over and over again, pointing out how angry he sounds and wondering what makes him so angry. Then they find two not-so-angry black men, one to explain angry black man’s rage and the other to denounce it, and a non-black “expert” on whatever the subject is to explain to the country why the whole thing is or is not relevant. Then everyone goes about their business until the next angry black man shows up. the difference in this case is the the angry black man reared his head in the middle of a presidential primary campaign, and he refuses to go away. So, despite the fact that Wright has no political power and is of no particular consequence whatsoever, he remains in the news, contaminating a viable presidential candidate in the eyes of those who believe that every black man is an angry black man is disguise.

According to several news reports, at least half of the teenaged girls (ages 14-17) removed from the FLDS compound in Texas a few weeks ago either have been or are currently pregnant. I don’t know what to make of this story. Many strange things are done in the name of religion. But it seems that at some point, the state must step in to ensure its laws are not violated. Rastafarians are not allowed to roam the streets smoking marijuana because their religion believes smoking brings them closer to Jah. Members of the FLDS probably shouldn’t be allowed to disregard the law by engaging in plural marriage and impregnating minors. Call me crazy, but it just seems like bad policy.

This past friday, three New York City police officers were acquitted of any wrong-doing in the shooting death of an unarmed man on the morning of his wedding day. Sean Bell was wrapping up a night of celebration at a night club in Queens with several friends when he was killed in a hail of 50 bullets fired by five officers. This isn’t the first time an unarmed man has been killed by police in New York City. That sort of thing happens all the time. What bothers me is the ratio of shots fired to legal responsibility. One officer fired 31 shots. His gun only holds 17 bullets. That means that he first emptied his clip, then reloaded his weapon and nearly emptied it again. It seems as though somewhere in that time period, someone should have eased up on the trigger and assessed the situation. The officers may not be guilty of murder or manslaughter, but they are at least guilty of some measure of poor judgement.

Miley Cyrus made the news again this week. The teen star of Disney’s Hannah Montana is at the center of a “scandal” regarding a recent series of photos - one in particular taken by renowned celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz. The shot in question features a bare-backed Cyrus in harsh lighting and gaudy make-up, covering her naughty bits with a sheet. Word of the photo leaked out last week and created an internet controversy when her 10-year-old fans and their mothers began to question the image Cyrus was attempting to put forth. Miley issued a statement saying she was “embarrassed” by the images and both her parents and the Disney Channel blame Leibovitz for manipulating a young girl in order to sell magazines. Leibovitz maintains that she discussed the pictures with the teen star, her parents and her handlers on set, showed them the digital image and believed everyone was okay with the shots. Fortunately, we no longer have to be confused. Here is what actually happened. Miley Cyrus is a 15-year-old girl. Every teenaged girl believes she is simply a short adult, and wants to look and feel older than she is. She wants to show everyone that she’s grown up and should be taken seriously. Leibovitz is known for taking sexy photographs of celebrities. When Cyrus saw the bare-backed photo she thought it made her look sexy and didn’t think more of it than that. But it’s very easy for a teen star to forget that the majority of her fans are much younger than she is, and the parents of those fans do not want their daughters growing up too soon. Cyrus underestimated the negative reaction of that constituency. But once she realized there was a problem threatening the empire she quickly issued a mea culpa and got her parents to blame it on someone else. The real weasel here is Disney and their fake outrage. For them to issue a statement condemning Leibovitz for “manipulating a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines” is ridiculous - bordering on offensive. Disney has mastered the art of exploiting teen girl in order to sell merchandise. Do the names Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan and Hilary & Haylie Duff ring a bell? In fact, Disney’s become so adept at turning teen girls into sex-pot cash machines that other media outlets, like Nickelodeon, took notice and began to replicate their success. If these pictures had been taken a year later they would have ended up on the cover of her new album. If Disney needs someone to accuse of manipulating teenagers for profit, they need look no further than the mirror.