The Real Reason Obama "Came Out"

Some time back I posted a blog post titled: "Lessons From Die Hard- Where's John McClain?" (July 18, 2009)

For those who do not have the time or patience to go back and read that, let me give a quick synopsis of that post.

In the very first Die Hard film you had what were believed to be terrorists take over the Nakatomi Bank building in LA.  They communicated that they were terrorist with the usual demands.  The FBI and other law enforcement bought into this and treated the matter as a terrorist event.  But, as Lee Corso would say, "not so fast my friends."  These were no terrorists. they were in fact just high tech bank robbers.  The main character John McClain, played by Bruce Willis, was the only one who figured it out and stood in the way of the blatant robbery.

My point in that blog post was to ask the question; what if everyone is thinking Barrack Obama and his cohorts have some grand and sinister plan to destroy America, BUT, what if Obama and company are merely sophisticated bank robbers?

Let's say the United States is the Nakatomi Bank and while conservatives and even some on the far left are constantly scrutinizing the administration through biased eyes and acting with conditioned responses to what seems obvious,  what if the Obamas' and their friends and associates are just simply robbing us blind.

Think about it. Just this past week President Obama came out supporting "Gay Marriage."  Oh man, the "Right" is in an uproar and the "Left" is in a state of Nirvana over the social impact.  Obama is changing the fabric of American life, or so we are led to believe.  But what if that is just a smokescreen?

While all eyes were on the Gay Marriage stories another story comes to light. We learn that while JP Morgan Chase bank lost $2 Billion.  This seems unrelated and like no big deal compared to the implications of the "BIG Story," until we find that since taking office the Obama's have increased their personal wealth in 3 1/2 year from $1.5 million to $10 million. That is almost 600%.  And we learn quietly that the Obama's have $1 million invested with whom???? The same Jamie Dimon and JP Morgan Chase.  Hmmmm???!!

Am I the only one wondering how the Obama's increased their net work from $1.5million to $10 million in 3 years?  I do not think they sold that many books.  What have they invested in?  How many people do you know that increased their net worth 600% since 2009?  Is that not the period that saw our economy go south?

I also suspect that an investigation of those close to the administration, and the businesses that support them, would reveal that there are a lot of people having become rich in these past few years.

We need someone to wake up and see that the bank is being robbed.  We need to stop being played, think smarter and stop having the knee jerk conservative reaction to the obvious stimuli they are giving us.

I say, again, that we need a John McClain. Maybe Sarah Palin can be the one.  I can just picture her telling the President Yippy Kai Yay Mother %$#@*& (my spelling).  Or how about you?

You should at least ask your Congressman or Senator if they are paying attention and if they will stop the theft. 

The Tragedy Of Red Tails

The film Red Tails opened this month and did very well in theaters around the nation. I was excited to see a new telling of the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, but frankly from my point of view, the film fell well short of the mark.

As the film got closer to opening and I saw more of the trailers, it became pretty clear that this was a typical Lucas Film/Industrial Light & Magic project or as Cuba Gooding Jr. tabbed it, "Star Wars for black people." I think a real hint that it was not going to be true to the real story should have been the statement- "Based on true events." In other words, artistic license will be exercised. And it was.

Before getting to my prime complaint let me say that I felt the script, the dialogue and the acting were all pretty weak. I read that this is a film that George Lucas has wanted to make since 1988. Well if that is truly the case I don't know what he was doing all of those years because it looks like it did not take much time or effort to make. Maybe Star Wars- Episodes 1-3 got in the way. If you have not seen it, the much lower budget Tuskegee Airmen, HBO movie, was a much better story and depiction of this incredible story.

In my opinion the film Red Tails did a poor job of showing what the Tuskegee Airmen went through to become the pilots and pioneers they were. The cliche scenes of a bigoted General, and one of the pilots being called Nigger and beaten up at an all white Officer's Club cheapen the real achievements and obstacles overcome.

One of my biggest disappointments was in the scene when the "Lightning" character and his friend and captain were having it out in the chapel. Lightning says 'man, you are just one big "Atlanta Compromise".' This was a direct slam against Booker T. Washington the founder of Tuskegee Institute. The sentiment is just silly in that had it not been for Dr. Washington there would have been no Tuskegee and hence NO TUSKEGEE AIRMEN. It was just silly and unnecessary. Apparently in an attempt to make a political statement this line was inserted by the script writers, who I would bet have no understanding of what that statement really means. I am sure that this was an insert by Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder, who was called in to help rewrite and edit the final script. McGruder is another story for another time, but the Atlanta speech reference was completely unfounded and unnecessary.

One final thing that I wanted to address is that the film missed a very crucial aspect of the story of the Tuskegee Airmen. The Tuskegee Airmen have been rightly credited with exceptionalism in their flight skills and ability to stay on mission. The all white bomber pilots specifically requested the Red Tails to be their escorts over the white fighter pilots. Why? Because the Red Tails did the job they were asked to do and not what they wanted to do. The doing their job well and staying on mission is a direct result of understanding one of the core principles of Booker T. Washington and Tuskegee. That principle is one of doing the job not only as well as expected but better than expected. Doing it better than anyone else.

The other and even bigger thing that will escape most people is the fact that the main reason that the Red Tails were so successful is that just to get into flight school these men had to test better and do more than their white counterparts. Yes, you heard me correctly, they had to test better and do more than their white counterparts just to get into flight school. This of course puts a major dent into the progressive notion of "Affirmative Action," that we need to lower the bar for black people to succeed. The bar was not only not lowered for the Tuskegee Airmen, it was raised. Shhhh! Please don't let that get out.

I urge anyone reading this piece to not only rent the HBO film Tuskegee Airmen, but to also get the books of Booker T. Washington the founder of Tuskegee Institute and read everything you can about him and the founding and building of that institution. I promise that you will not be disappointed.

I leave you with just a few of the teachings of Booker T. Washington to whom the real credit goes, event though those who should give it will not.

"Let us keep before us the fact that, almost without exception, every race or nation that has ever got upon its feet has done so through struggle and trial and persecution; and that out of this very resistance to wrong, out of the struggle against odds, they have gained strength, self-confidence, and experience which they could not have gained in any other way."

"I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life, as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed."

"The man who has learned to do something better than anyone else, has learned to do a common thing in an uncommon manner, is the man who has a power and influence that no adverse circumstances can take from him."