Warthog At Large

It’s been almost two weeks since Barack Obama gave that phenomenal speech on race to explain the larger context of Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s inflammatory statements. He tried to engage the people in a broader discussion of racism, asking them to see the big picture and take a deeper look at the root causes of racist sentiments. I would’ve thought it was enough to make people understand and respond in a more intelligent manner.

Unfortunately, some folks never managed to absorb the point of Obama’s speech and are still stuck on Rev. Wright and how much of a racist jerk they think he is. Elizabeth Hasselback on The View was still harping about the pastor’s stinging words and seems to be intent on building an archive of his controversial quotes. Barbara Walters pointed out that Obama has got a foul-mouthed racist for a mentor. In an interview, Hillary Clinton said she wouldn’t want Rev. Wright as her pastor.

With all the attention this guy is getting, one would think he’s also running for president.He’s probably more famous now than Ron Paul. It’s sad that some people just don’t get the point. It’s even more tragic that the opportunity for having a more open-minded examination of racism was just lost amidst all the myopic criticisms against Rev. Wright. Sure, a lot of people liked Obama’s speech and pundits were falling all over themselves heaping praises on him. But after the excitement over his brilliant oratory skills has died down, they just conveniently forgot the points he raised and went back to their simplistic rantings about his former pastor.

Apparently it’s still too much to expect a more mature response from people who have long been used to pettiness and narrow-minded thinking.

As it turns out, Barack Obama and Brad Pitt are distant cousins; so are Hillary Clinton and Angelina Jolie. Great fun for baby Shiloh, she’s got a famous aunt and uncle who are practically gouging each other’s eyes out for the presidency.

Clinton is also related to Madonna, Alanis Morisette, and Celine Dion. Who knew she has pop music in her veins? This could be her golden opportunity to acquire even a sliver of coolness. Bill can play the sax while she rocks a breakout performance of Material Girl. Then we can all die of trauma.

Well that was painful.

I’ve never cried at a political speech before and I never thought I would but after watching Barack Obama deliver this transcendent message about racism, I just couldn’t keep my eyes dry for too long.

What’s so moving about this are not the well-crafted words or the catchy yes-we-can-type phrases or even the charismatic figure of Obama himself. It’s the utmost sincerity and the undeniable ring of truth that reverberates throughout the speech. It’s the honesty with which the issue of racism is discussed; not clothed with overly complex analysis or simplistic rhetoric, not draped with patronizing political lingo that only wants to get on the good side of everyone, not treated as a peripheral pest that should just be swept under the rug.

Obama could’ve just stopped at condemning Reverend Wright’s statements and dissociating himself from his pastor then moving on to deliver a lively, applause-heavy stump. Let’s just forget about this nasty episode and move on. But he chose to flesh out the issue in a way that showed his thorough understanding of where racism stands in America today. And he still declared that this guy who received so much flak for anti-racist comments and who is a big PR liability to his campaign is like family to him. That’s a commendable act of political courage.

The great thing about this is that it is not just a political speech. It is an enduring message that will definitely be remembered long after this election, long after this generation has passed.

As much of a Liverpool fan as I am and as much as I believe in the world-class football skills of Torres and Gerrard, I’m still having serious jitters on the upcoming Reds - Gunners match in the Champions League quarterfinals.

This season has been a gut-wrenching rollercoaster ride for Liverpool fans. The team came so close to elimination in the group stage only to make a comeback and overturn Marseille and Porto. Then they struggled to beat teams like Derby at the Premier League and suffered a traumatic loss to Barnsley at the FA Cup. But they managed to redeem themselves and scored two victories against Inter Milan.

Needless to say, Torres and Gerrard are brilliant. I’ve got to hand it to Kuyt for working his ass off even though he’s not that phenomenal of a player but Lucas, I’m not too happy about. His bumbling mistakes are just too cringe-worthy to be excused.

Arsenal, on the other hand, have been a consistent top contender for the Premier League championship and have displayed strong performances in the European games. They’re a formidable attacking team, with Adebayor like a crazy Energizer bunny that just keeps on going and going. Ang Fabregas, oh man, if he can upstage someone as great as Kaka then there’s no telling what else he can do.

There’s also this little problem of Gerrard not being able to play in the away game because of a suspension so hmm, I don’t know, I’m just banging my head here. Still, I have hope in Reina and Carragher to keep Arsenal attacks at bay and in Torres’ ability to deliver a goal with or without a great assist. And who knows, maybe Mascherano has more of those long shots.

To be honest, I feel that the odds are stacked against Liverpool but I’m still on in this unpredictable ride singing You’ll Never Walk Alone and stubbornly believing that the Reds can take this all the way to the finals.

HARDtalk is a BBC talk show where the most popular line is “let me finish.” The topics are deathly serious: Israeli-Palestinian conflict, US foreign policy, intergenerational effects of Black slavery, and other grim-faced, eyebrow-furrowing, anti-thesis-of-Paris-Hilton issues that plague the world today. The guests are also just as impressive: Samantha Power, Pulitzer-winning author and former foreign policy adviser of Barack Obama who, as a testament to the mundaneness of our times, is now probably most famous for her “monster” remark against Hillary Clinton; Kwame Kweih-Armah, award-winning British playwright; Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland; and other prominent figures who play pivotal roles in the grim-faced, eyebrow-furrowing issues of today.

But the best part of the show is the relentless struggle of both interviewer and interviewee on who gets to talk. In an apparent effort to live up to the name of the show, the host constantly interrupts and cuts off the guest every chance he gets. Yes kids, this is HARDtalk, where talking is the hardest thing to do. Not to be outdone of course, feisty interviewees try their damnedest not be deterred in finishing their sentences. This results in an awesome verbal explosion peppered with a nice British accent that leaves the viewer either madly exasperated or laughing uncontrollably.

To be fair,the conversations are almost always intelligent and the questions are sharp and relevant but it sure is still fun to watch two smart people go at it in a half-hour battle of interrupting each other. Forget The View. This British gabfest is way more intense.

One of the false rumors circulating about Barack Obama is that he’s a Muslim. Apparently, some of his detractors are using this to smear his reputation, even emphasizing that his middle name is *gasp* Hussein. These are silly attacks, I know, but what pisses me off is the underlying idea that identifying someone, accurately or not, as a Muslim is somehow disparaging. They’re essentially saying “This Obama guy is a Muslim. He’s bad news.”

This reinforces the idiotic concept that equates an Islam adherent with religious extremism, suicide bombing, and terrorist attacks. I grew up and went to school with a lot of Muslims and some of them are my friends. They’re not gun-wielding, “diaperhead” terrorists and they certainly weren’t jumping with glee when 9/11 happened. Sure we don’t go to the same churches, recite the same prayers, or read the same religious books but aside from these I don’t see much difference between us. So honestly, I really won’t mind being mistaken for a Muslim. There’s nothing derogatory about that.

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I know most Americans can’t stomach the idea of having a Muslim president. Heck, some of them even have a problem with Obama’s skin color or Hillary’s gender. Others are not too pleased that Romney is a Mormon. And there are those who think that McCain is too old. How many prejudiced -isms can you count there?