WHAT, ME WORRY?

THE RABBIT

I'll give Fred this, he was the only one in the debate whose answer to the future of social security wasn't "yeah, we gotta do something about that", which is the equivalent of saying the back 40's on fire and I better get some buckets. (sorry that's about as folksy as it gets around here). Fast Freddie argued that future Social Security recipients may not get the level of benefits that they are expecting. I'm not sure many of the other candidates want to go there, because being very vague and enigmatic is a very important part of retirement planning, along with sound investing and having kids that are going to make a whole ton of money.

So even though Fred is not ahead in the polls, he may see himself as the rabbit in the race, that one or two guys who gets way ahead in the Boston Marathon running 4 and half minute miles only to burn himself out after a few miles, tiring of setting the pace, in some ways having the rabbit is great, it gives you something to talk about for an hour or so. If this helps him to save what he feels is the heart and soul of the Republican party, true conservatism, whatever that is, all power to him. Hell, I think it's kind of humorous in a dark way that the Republican Party has become the party of drunken sailorism, from the free spending ways to the brothels to the toilet stall rendezvous's. Get me a picture of Ted Kennedy riding an elephant and we're off to Minneapolis in 2008, I can't imagine that Larry Craig will make an appearance in his old stomping grounds.

THE JENA DISTRACTION

What do we need, y'all?l think we need a new leader. We ain't had a black leader in a while. In a long time. Somebody that moves you. You know, we had Martin Luther King,Malcolm X... and ever since then, a bunch of substitute teachers. We ain't had the real thing.l want a mf'er to move me. CHRIS ROCK

First things first, one of the hardest things to talk about honestly in this country is race. Frequently you hear stuff like, "I don't care if he's brown, black, white, blue or polka dotted." And we all know that's dumb and if you see someone blue or polka dotted get him a damn doctor or something. There is a myth of colorblindness, like a few years of affirmative action, a diversity training, dancing with a black guy at the club and a Black friend at work can clear everything up. In fact, most Americans appear to self-segregate, I'm not sure if it's intentional, just the nature of years of economic, religious and racial segregation that has manifested itself in the culture of today, I actually think things are getting better, but it's going to take a lot of time. But I digress.

Recently thousand of activists, largely African American descended on the small town of Jena, Louisiana, where three idiot kids had hung nooses from a tree. These kids were given the "boys will be boys" slap on the wrist in a severe lack of judgment of idiotic school officials who somehow missed the symbolism and fear of one of these country's greatest collective crimes of lynching. In the "if I close my eyes this will go away strategy" that seems to be so big a part of how we address race in this country, the town didn't appear to address the problem which grew into greater racial strife, that ended up with a white boy being beaten by 6 black boys in a schoolyard fight which gave us the illustrious heroes of the Jena Six.

The Jena Six in normal times would be seen as common thugs beating on a single boy, but these common thugs were charged with crimes likely far beyond what would have happened if it was a intraracial crime or if it were in normal circumstances say like fighting over a girl or a football game. Once again the authorities overreached and added fuel to the fire.

But let's get real here for a second. I'm am outraged at the outrage. Where is the outrage at underperforming schools? Where is the outrage at overwhelming unemployment rates, particularly for young, Black males? Institutional racism is just not a sexy enough issue for folks. Where are the thousands that could be marching on their local city halls demanding a quality education for all children?

Where is the outrage on the part of poverty pimps such as the Rev.'s Sharpton and Jackson when it comes to the near genocidal levels of Black on Black crime. Over 50% of murder victims in the United States are African American, it seem like on a weekly basis in our own City of Boston, another child is killed by senseless violence? Where is the outrage? When a Haitian woman is gang raped and assaulted by up to 12 youth in Palm Beach, where is the outrage at this heinous assault?

This, is not part of the conversation, certainly because the Jena Six case will become one of many of the left's cause's celebre's, something you did during college that becomes a great story at the reunion, but no real change or anything.

FAITH AND FREEDOM

One of the most annoying words used by politicians that I hear is "freedom". Most of us have no real concept of freedom as to most of us as Americans, it is like the air that we breathe or the water that comes out of our faucets, expected, clear and most clean of contamination. As an administration official will claim that we are fighting a war for freedom while ignoring other cries for freedom, you have to become a bit jaded. When you see thousands of monks lining the street, you hope this Saffron Revolution can turn the tide towards democracy and end the military dictatorship in Burma but alas this is not the movies and a vicious crackdown of guns and batons and a closing off of information appears to have nipped this move towards freedom in the bud. I got nothing really to say about this other than a deep admiration for those who have risked their lives unarmed in the hopes of lighting a fire of freedom across their country, hopefully their faith can help us to have that same faith and support freedom at home and abroad.