Jono's Vision

KANYE (Q)WEST FOR JUSTICE

Monday, September 15, 2008

Have y'all noticed that of celebrities arrested, a disproportionate number are black? I sure have. How many whitey celebrities have damaged paparazzo cameras? The only celeb arrested on FELONY charges for the same thing? Our man Kanye.

Speaking of which, Wesley Snipes is a no talent loser, but he's the only celebrity in recent memory sent to JAIL for tax evasion. And he's what? Black! What is that?

As Denzel said (as Malcolm X), "the black man didn't land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on the black man!"

posted by John
7:50 PM
1 comments

Jonosvision Politics Webletter Vol. 4

Saturday, September 13, 2008

So. Back to Sarah Palin.

She didn't fall on her face during her address at the Republican National Convention. Good job, Sarah, you can do a decent job delivering your speech off a teleprompter.

So why then is she a "sensation", making the cover of Newsweek and Time? I'll tell you why. Expectations of her were zero, and not surprisingly, she exceeded them.

Campaigning with McCain, she delivers the same stump speech, following which her handlers hustle her off, making sure no one is given an opportunity to ask questions.

So we were all anxiously waiting to see how she would do during the first portion of her one on one interview with Charlie Gibson.

And make no mistake. She was thoroughly prepared by the top people in the McCain campaign. I'm sure they did what I would have done -- come up with the most damaging questions they could think of, and then prepare answers for her.

And she did an adequate job on those questions. But whenever something unexpected came up, she did terribly.

Here's a little extract:

QUESTION: What insight into Russian actions,
particularly in the last few weeks, does the proximity of the state [Alaska]
give you?

PALIN: [Imagine the sing-song accent of Frances McDormand in
Fargo] They're our next door neighbours. You can actually see Russia from land
here in Alaska.

GREAT ANSWER, SARAH!

Here's my interpretation of this exchange:

QUESTION: What insight into Russian actions does being
close to Russia give you?

PALIN: We're
close to Russia.

That was her answer! I defy y'all to tell me otherwise.

Some other things I noticed. She was asked THREE times whether she would support Israel if it took unilateral action to take out Iran's nuclear program. EVERY time she said she would not second guess any action Israel took to defend itself. Same thing with whether she would support making incursions into Pakistan, even without its permission, to make military strikes against terrorists. Again, she was asked the question three times, and each time would not answer directly, only saying that America should take any steps it thought necessary to defeat al Qaeda.

She looked very bad, not to mention amateurish, when she made those answers. Seasoned politicians have the skill to at least fail to answer a direct question a little differently each time.

And of course her attempt to pretend she knew what the Bush Doctrine is was completely pathetic.

Honeymoon's going to be over any minute, Sarah. Enjoy your 15 minutes while you can ...

posted by John
7:15 PM
1 comments

Jonosvision Politics Webletter, Vol. 3

Friday, September 12, 2008

Sarah Palin. Where do I start with this woman.

Number one, she sounds like the police officer played by Frances McDormand in Fargo. Seriously. Close your eyes and listen.

I want to be clear. I couldn't care less that she's a woman. Don't care that her young daughter got pregnant out of wedlock. Or that her husband got a DUI 20 years ago. Doesn't matter, and not relevant to whether or not she's fit to be Vice President.

What is relevant is hypocracy and political opportunism. She bills herself as the politician that cleaned up the nepotism, corruption and dependency on earmarks that distinguishes Alaskan politics.

Problem is, the facts get in the way. Bridge to Nowhere? She did kill it, but supported it to the very last minute (no doubt when she saw the blood of Ted Stevens on the water after he was indicted in relation to the project).

Against earmarks? No credible journalist believes it. Most call it demonstratively untrue, which of course it is. As mayor of Whatever-it's-Called Alaska, she went after them with a vengeance.

Have we talked about abuse of authority yet? Her sister is (or was) involved in a messy divorce/custody battle with an Alaska state trooper. What did Sarah Palin do as governor? Pressure the trooper's boss to fire him.

Oh, I'm just getting started, stay tuned ...

posted by John
6:42 PM
1 comments

Jonosvision Politics WebLetter, Vol. 2

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Michelle Obama has occasionally gotten her husband into trouble -- or at least what the media judges to be trouble.

Four or so months ago, she got into hot water for saying that, for the first time in her adult life, she was really proud of her country.

To me, it's outrageous that this statement created any controversy.

First of all, what reason would any African American have for being proud of their country?

Consider the following:

Africans were slaves in America until slavery was abolished in 1865 (almost 100 years after it was abolished in England in 1772, by the way).

Even after emancipation, it took years before African Americans were granted full political rights guaranteed to every other American under the Constitution.

It took roughly another 100 years after emancipation to get rid of segregation and end lynchings of blacks in the South.

African Americans are disproportionately poor -- they also make up a greatly disproportionate segment of the American prison population.

Black prisoners make up a disproportionate share of executed prisoners.

African American accused persons receive harsher sentences than white accuseds for the same crimes.

Black Americans are grossly underrepresented in the professions and government.

I could go on and on. Again, it seems to me that there is not a lot to be proud of.

But beyond all that, what's wrong with not being proud of your country no matter who you are?

Ask many Americans what it means to be American and they'll say "to be free". And the Republic was indeed founded on the concept of liberty -- including freedom of expression.

To me, this kind of liberty includes the freedom not to be proud of one's country. Is this un-patriotic? Maybe, but debatable. Is it un-American? I say a resounding 'no'.

Personally, I think patriotism's BS. It is used by unscrupulous politicians to limit debate on foreign and other policies.

Incidentally, I don't restrict the above to Americans -- it applies to Canadians in equal measure. Because, yes, even we have our own form of 'petit nationalism'. And it's no more palatable.

posted by John
12:46 PM
5 comments

Jonosvision Politics WebLetter, Vol. 1

Monday, June 23, 2008

I love politics. I especially love American politics. So much more interesting than what we have in Canada.

I could give a quite scholarly treatise on why that is, but most of you would find it quite boring.

I can assure you that it's not because I'm a wannabe American (unlike our Prime Minister, which is a topic for another day).

Not that there is anything wrong with Americans -- the ones I know are kind, intelligent and decent.

Anyway, I've decided to launch a new feature, the Jonosvision Politics WebLetter. The reason? I think we're in store for one of the most exciting Presidential elections ever, and I'm just busting to get my views out! In short, I need an outlet.

I work with some very insightful and intelligent people, but they are nowhere near as interested in this election (or American politics) as I. I suspect they think it's faintly "un-Canadian" to be so enthusiastic, so I'll spare them.

Instead, I'll inflict myself on those few of you who come by for a visit. If the Obama and McCain campaigns were smart, they'd also bookmark the WebLetter and consult it religiously. Because not only am I the most intelligent person in the world (though at least two of my "subscribers" would contend with me on this) I'm also the world's greatest political strategist.

You may laugh. That's fine.

It really is too bad that I was so busy during the the Democratic primary campaign. What a bare-knuckle political street fight! Extraordinary.

Obviously, you are all looking terribly forward to every issue of this new feature. However, I must gird you against further disappointment by saying that, unlike "professional" political bloggers ("professional" in quotation marks to indicate a distinction from "good") I do not earn a living from using my whole day to produce 500 words. I have a "real" job, which places extensive demands on my time. This means the WebLetter will appear sporadically -- if I get particularly busy, it may disappear for months. And without notice. Disappointing, I know.

I'm also a Cancer -- I get moody, so throw that into the mix. Depends on the amount of sunlight I receive as well -- John needs it to keep his seratonin receptors firing.

Until next time ...

posted by John
12:01 PM
2 comments

Bonne Fete!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Today is Brianne's birthday, and when I think about everything that's happened to her over the last two or three of them, it's as if she's lived a whole lifetime over that period. I don't think either of us, eating crappy pizza some years ago in her basement room while watching 24, could possibly have conceived of the direction her life would take so shortly in her future.

She's all growed up now. Happy Birthday, B.

posted by John
10:55 AM
1 comments

HU'S HOTTIES

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

The above photo caught my eye for some reason. It depicts some of the hostesses for the Chinese Communist Party's 17th National Congress having fun outside the the Great Hall of the People.

To paraphrase a well-known song, 'If communism's wrong, I don't wanna be right."

Incidentally, 'Hu' is Hu Jintao, President of China.

posted by John
3:53 PM
2 comments