What? Double Standards?

OK....so NPR fires commentator Juan Williams for saying that when he sees airline passengers who obviously identify with their Muslim faith, he gets nervous.   Personally, I agree with Mr. Williams and think that his firing was totally unfair.  I also feel that Mr Williams was well within his rights to express an opinion.  He wasn't disrespectful or vulgar, nor did he personally attack anyone.  His firing is an example of "political correctness" gone so very wrong.  I also strongly believe that NPR, with their blatant political bias, should not be funded with any taxpayer money whatsoever. 

Today, we have liberal TV personality Joy Behar from "The View," ranting about a Sharon Angle political ad, and calling Ms Angle a "bitch" on national TV.  Like Mr Williams, she was expressing her opinion; however she went too far when she called Ms Angle a "bitch" and said that Ms Angle is "going to hell, this bitch."  She personally attacked Ms Angle, in a very vulgar and disrespectful way.  Ms Behar is entitled to her opinion about the political ad, and about Ms Angle; but there is no call use the "b-word" in a personal attack.  In my opinion, this goes beyond "political correctness" and into the realm of viciousness.  In my opinion, calling a woman the "b-word" is akin to calling a black person the "n-word."  There is no place for it in civilized society, no matter what your political orientation. 

Now, I wonder, will there be a response to Ms Behar's vicious personal attack?  Or, will she be given a "pass" because of her political leanings?  Will Ms Behar be asked to leave "The View," as Mr Williams was asked to leave NPR?  Somehow, I doubt it....because, after all, she is a liberal.  Double standard?  You bet!

Something's Very Wrong Here.....

I find this video very disturbing. It's a video showing elementary school children in New Jersey being taught to sing President Obama's praises. Now, I have nothing against patriotic songs, nor do I have anything against teaching children respect for the office of the Presidency or other governmental entities. (Although, as an adult, I often wonder if I can ever respect for the persons filling those positions.) What disturbs me is teaching children to praise the person not the institution. Why can't we teach children about the Constitution, our Democratic form of government, and ideals of freedom and self-reliance? Isn't there something ultimately wrong to teach children to praise a person filling a governmental office, and not teach them to say the Pledge of Allegiance?

Liberal Hypocrisy

I go to a local gym to work out. A lot of the people who also go to the gym are "granola-types" who work for either the Federal government (there are two National Forests, a National Park, and a lot of BLM-managed public lands in this County) or for a alternative recovery program for at-risk teenagers. A couple folks who work out when I do have moved here from California. I've learned, mostly by listening but also by reading the bumper-stickers, that most of the gym-patrons tend to be a lot more liberal that the rest of the locals in the County and certainly a lot more liberal in their politics than me.

So it surprised me today when one of the more outspoken of the liberal granola-types came in the door of the gym and asked one of the male gym patrons if he was the Colonel who owned the truck parked outside. (You see, my truck has a DoD sticker on the front window, with a Colonel's eagle above it.) The male patron denied being the Colonel, so I spoke up and told the granola-type that I was a retired Air Force Colonel, and that it was my truck. I wish I could have captured the look of surprise on the granola-type's face. It was classic! I could tell exactly what he was thinking...."a woman Colonel? Really?" It was also classic how hard he backpedaled to try and cover up his surprise at the woman Colonel.

It's interesting that a purportedly liberal-minded person is the first person in a long time that has acted as if a being a woman would somehow prevent a person from attaining one of the higher ranks in the service. In my opinion, that little vignette showed liberal hypocrisy at its best.