Lost In Translation: Obama Called a "Little Black Man"

Here's a little-noticed news item from AP:

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — The foreign relations minister in Honduras' interim government says he has sent a letter to Barack Obama apologizing for a racial comment he made about the U.S. president.

In a TV interview, Ortez said Obama "is a little black man who doesn't know where Tegucigalpa is located."

This is a good example of terrible reporting. "Little black man" sounds horrible in English, as it should. In Spanish, however, speakers liberally sprinkle such diminutives throughout their conversations. Little black man, "negrito" in Spanish is a common term of endearment among people of all skin shades.

In this case, the Honduran Foreign Minister was not using it as a term of endearment, but neither was this a "racial comment." If our president were Oriental, Ortez would have called him a "Chinito." They have a myriad of words for white people, from "fulo" to "rabi-blanco" (white-tail, or more vulgarly, white-ass), and they use all of these politically-incorrect words in routine conversation, with no racial bias intended and no offense taken.

Yes, the foreign minister was speaking contemptuously of our president, but it was not racial. Little things like this, where I have personal insight, are what lead me to conclude that much of our press is ignorant. They may be educated, but they lack the real-world experience to put what they report in proper context; and without context, their reportage is just a bunch of words.

I thought this would be a huge story, what with Honduras being in the news and now adding in a racial controversy. Anyway, I'm pleasantly surprised it has gone largely unnoticed.

Google-AP - Honduras
El Tiempo - Cisma
El Tiempo - Se Excusa

Arizona, Cut Off Your Indian Braids

Ward "Little Eichmanns" Churchill has met his own Little Big Horn

Academic Fraud and pretend Indian Ward Churchill got the ultimate smackdown from Judge Larry Naves. No money, no reinstatement, nada. He even took back the $1 settlement the last jury gave him. You get a big award of doodly-squat, tonto!

Thus ends the Churchill-CU Circus. Naves is a well-respected judge appointed by Democrat Roy Romer, so this will not be overturned. Even the Daily Camera, newspaper of the People's Republic of Boulder, says it's past time to kick this charlatan to the curb.

Native American-Hippie Chic
Here in the West, we still have Native Americans, and since the 60's there's been a certain cachet attached to all things Indian. It started with the hippies and the liberal desire to identify with oppressed minorities without actually having to walk a mile in their moccasins.

Mark Lindsay explains it best in his 1970's song, Arizona:

She must belong to San Francisco
She must've lost her way
Posting a poster of Poncho and Cisco one California day
She says she believes in Robin Hood and brotherhood
And colours of green and grey
And all you can do is laugh at her
Doesn't anybody know how to pray?

Ward Churchill, white man from back east, took the hippie-Indian shtick to the extreme and rode it all the way to a full professorship at the University of Colorado, Boulder. I've had many Native American friends over the years, Mescalero Apaches, Blackfoot, Pueblo, and it always amuses me how the pretend ones try to be more Catholic than the pope. Or should I say more native than the natives?

Reminds me of that Muslim convert in Florida who claimed discrimination when they wouldn't let her take her drivers license photo with a face mask on. She'd been walking around showing her face for over 30 years before she converted, so it's not like she was hiding some kind of forbidden fruit...

And you can believe in Robin Hood and brotherhood
And rolling the ball in the hay
And I will be reading you an Aesop´s fable
Anything to make you stay

Is there a little Eichmann in all of us? Ontological Angst explores the other side of peace and love and brotherhood.

Go Here to see a cool, high-quality video of Mark Lindsay singing his 1970's hit song "Arizona."

Myspace - Hippie Movement

So Congressional Democrats are mad about a CIA plan to assassinate Al Qaida leaders. Never mind the plan was never actually implemented. Darth Cheney was behind it, and that's all the sniveling pissants on the left need to know.

This is a cover for Pelosi's lies about not being briefed about waterboarding. She can't climb down from that one, so they find a new controversy to distract the proletariate...

Meanwhile, one of the president's teleprompters collapsed from exhaustion.

Good thing there's no real news going on...

Illinois: Failed Government Threatens Its Citizens

Up To 10,000 Illinois Prisoners May Be Released

Gov. Pat Quinn: Release Of Inmates Could Save Taxpayers $125 Million

Up to 10,000 convicted criminals could soon be released early from prisons across Illinois. It's all because of the state's budget mess. Gov. Pat Quinn says cutting those prisoners loose could save more than $100 million. But at what cost to you? (Source: CBS2Chicago)

State of Illinois Message to Voters: Pay up or we'll release a plague of criminals upon you!
This is really about scaring more tax money out of the voters. These are the solutions you get from a corrupt Chicago Democratic Machine. I know, Illinois' capitol is Springfield, but the Windy City is the real seat of power.

I drove back to southern Illinois over 4th of July Weekend, and the state government workers union was protesting on the Capitol steps for higher taxes. Their message? "To hell with everybody else, I gotta get mine, dammit!"

Here's an idea: Why not release 10,000 gold-plated bureaucrats and keep the prisoners where they belong?

Like California, Illinois' corrupt and bloated union-dominated bureaucracy is bankrupting the state. They can't cut the government workforce: It's union-dominated, and unions vote Democrat. Can't cut social programs; people on welfare and food stamps also vote Democrat. With the late-breaking news that someone has been stealing Democrat voters from Chicago cemeteries, The Democratic Machine has really got to watch it!

So they are forced to do stupid things like release prisoners. Worst of all for the Prairie State, there's not a competent Republican to be found who can take advantage of this Democratic disaster. Illinois is a nice state full of wonderful people, but I'm glad I don't live there anymore.

CBS2Chicago - Illinois Budget Failure

Che and Churchill: There's a little Eichmann in all of us

Castrated on the Altar of Gaia

Incoherent Stupidity is The #1 Congressional Output
The house wants to slap tariffs on all goods coming into the country originating from nations that do not conform to our proposed cap and trade law. This will surely start a trade war that will further tank the global economy.

The Senate doesn't like that provision and vows to strip it out of the bill.

So it's either start a trade war by insisting others follow our suicidal rules, or allow other countries to sell us cheap stuff because they refuse to saw the legs off of their economy like we have ours...

Behold the sheer stupidity of cap and trade! Don't we have enough problems already without congress blowing billions to create more?

FT - Carbon Import Tariffs

Blast from the Past

Mark Lindsay had hits with "Silver Bird" and "Arizona" in the Early 70's. Before that, he was lead singer for Paul Revere and the Raiders. No, he wasn't Paul Revere, he was Mark Lindsay, silly! Anyone old enough to remember the old Yamaha Motorcycle commercial will recognize Silverbird. Mark turned it into that jingle, "Yamaha, won't you ride me away."

I love these songs...

Here are the YouTube videos: