"You Lie" The Exclamation Point

This is a reprint of Mitch Alboms column from the Detroit Free Press dated September 13, 2009. In it he sums up what I have been saying for about 10 years now, and he does it better than I could. Enjoy!


Yell at Obama a new low but not the last

It was just two words.

"You lie!"

Two words. Not even curse words. But the where and the when made those two words significant.

"You lie!" It was screamed from the floor of Congress, by an elected official of the state of South Carolina, and aimed at the president of the United States.

"You lie!"

In the history of American politics, no one could recall a similar act. Not with all the fudged truths that have been told by American presidents. Not with George W. Bush and the Iraq war, not with Bill Clinton and his private life, not with Ronald Reagan and Iran-contra, not with Richard Nixon and Watergate.

Yet somehow last week, during a speech on, of all things, health care, Joe Wilson, a Republican congressman, was unable to control himself. He yelled those two words loudly enough to be heard in the chamber, on national TV and around the world.

And in so doing, he lowered the bar of American behavior another few feet.

Never mind that Wilson was incorrect. The president had said that under his health care bill, the benefits would not apply to illegal immigrants -- and they would not. The bills before Congress declare that. You could argue that illegal immigrants still could buy insurance or sneak through, but that hardly supports a liar charge, does it?

Never mind that. Never mind that Wilson apologized that night.

Something bigger was at work.

A culture of confrontation
Hate breeds hate, anger breeds anger, and I have been arguing in this space for years now that the American discourse -- fueled by the Internet, talk radio and cable TV -- has turned so mean it has nowhere to go but get meaner. Little wonder that immediately after Wilson's unforgivable outburst, it was being justified by certain Republicans not because it was correct, but because Democrats had been equally insulting to Bush.

Hate breeds hate, and there is money and fame in yelling louder and angrier. You don't get on TV by asking thoughtful questions at a town hall meeting, but you sure can get there if you curse, holler and scream like a captured banshee. Come to think of it, that applies to TV hosts as well.

Is it any surprise such behavior eventually finds its way into a room with the president? We were abhorred when an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at Bush. We called it barbaric, typical of a country hopelessly behind us on the civility scale.

Where does Wilson rank on that scale?

Clearly near the bottom. But why did he yell those two words? Why did that speech and this president cause a veteran politician like Wilson to lose control?

The right to actually lead
I have a theory. For all the fawning popularity Barack Obama enjoys in certain circles, he is equally vilified in others. Those who don't like him truly don't like him. And there seems to be an element in this country that doesn't want to accept him as the president. From the kooks hollering about his birth certificate to the paranoids insisting he is a closet Muslim, there are people who just don't want this guy in that office.

The fact that he is half-black is not wasted on them, either. Let's be blunt. Nobody can use the N-word in public anymore. But they can use socialist, anarchist, alien.

And somehow it's now acceptable to deem a guy who has been in office barely eight months unfit and unworthy. It's acceptable to suggest he's taking us straight to hell. It's acceptable to yell "You lie!" at the commander in chief in a place where it has never been yelled before.

Hate breeds hate. Two days ago, I boarded a plane heading for New York City. As we descended over the Manhattan skyline, I realized it was Sept. 11. I thought back to the emotions that followed that day eight years ago, a feeling of unity, a feeling a patriotism, a feeling that no enemy, no matter how evil or determined, could ever tear us apart.

The enemy doesn't have to. The way we are going, we'll do it ourselves.

For tickets to Mitch Albom's charity book launch for "Have a Little Faith" on Sept. 30 at the Fox Theatre, call 800-745-3000 or go to ticketmaster.com. Contact MITCH ALBOM: 313-223-4581 or malbom@freepress.com.


http://www.freep.com/article/20090913/COL01/909130431/1318/-You-lie---a-new-low--but-not-the-last&template=fullarticle

I Believe...

In God the Father Almighty and Jesus Christ, his son, my Lord.

In the United States of America and despite all of the things that could be improved about her, she is still the greatest country on the face of the earth.

That God and Christianity are an integral part of the history, culture and character of this country.

That there is nothing wrong with "in God we trust" on our money or in our federal buildings.

That if a community decides to celebrate a religious holiday, be it Christmas, Easter, Passover, Hanukkah, Dewali, Ramadan or whatever, it can be displayed on a government building provided it is done in good taste.

That you have the right not to believe in God but if you make that choice don't expect me to alter my life to please you. It was your choice after all.

That you have the right to your political point of view.

That you have the right to express your point of view, provided it is done in a courteous manner.

That is is my obligation to honor your right of free speech.

That I have no say over a woman's personal decision about reproductive rights.

That if a politician lies or reneges on a campaign promise he forfeits the right to run again for reelection.

We should bring every American soldier home tomorrow. Use them to provide for the common defense, and save the billions of dollars we spend overseas to house our military.

Every trade treaty we have with a foreign nation should have the same restrictions here on them as they put on us there.

The government should forget a national health care program and instead pay private providers to supply health care to every American. They already know what they are doing.

We need to cut all current foreign aid by 75%, take that money and invest it in America.

Schools should once again have the right to administer corporal punishment. The experiment of Dr. Spock is a miserable failure, most parents do not discipline properly and we have several generations of people that have no respect for authority or rules.

We need a national primary so that everyone has an equal voice on who runs for President.

That the following cabinets/departments should be eliminated and their powers consolidated in other cabinets or, better yet, turned over to the individual states. Health and Human Service, HUD, Transportation, Education, Homeland Security, EPA, and the Department of Labor.

That State Government should become larger and the Federal Government smaller. This would give us all a bigger say so in how we are governed.

Truth in advertising return to what it was in the 60's.

Gasoline and oil should be regulated as a utility, and removed from the commodities markets.

All oil reserves in this country should be explored to their highest potential and output.

We should rescind NAFTA.

We need to reestablish our supremacy as an industrialize nation again, limit imports and have American made products or options available.

We should return to being the breadbasket of the world, encourage farming, ranching and stop importing foods that make us sick.

Every illegal alien in this country should be deported, then allowed to apply for immigration following the legal process every other American had to follow.

We need a death penalty in this country that provide for one appeal, and only one appeal.

Every child needs to be provided with a proper education, and to have funds available for college.

We should return to life before 9/11. Airlines free of scanners, crossing into Canada or Mexico as we did before.

We need to do away with political correctness. We have become a hypersensitive nation of cry babies. Someone called you a name, live with it.......our parents did.

People need to move beyond hate, racial and other stereotypes. Contrary to what some of you Neanderthals believe, we are all made of the same organs, genes, and feelings. I quit a job back in '91 that paid me $55k a year because they wanted me to fired a man solely because he was black. And you know what? I'd do it again today. Racist people, homophobic people, are ignorant people.

Children with special needs deserve all of the help we can provide. It was probably many of the contamination's that are throughout our society that led to those needs. We caused it we should own it.

In showing respect and manners. I believe in please and thank you, yer ma'am and yes sir, standing when a lady enters the room, holding a door for a lady, opening her car door, removing your hat at the dinner table, or standing for our national anthem. I believe we should respect our elders and those who served our nation, be it in the military, police, firefighters or other parts of public service.

Wars should be fought by Generals, not politicians and fought to win.

I believe everyone should own a firearm but handguns should be banned. (No, NRA guns kill people, people just aim them)

Teachers aren't underpaid. If I could make $50k for 9 months work I'd be damn happy.

Helmet and seat belt laws are against the Constitution.

The secret to reducing insurance rate is to follow Shakespeare's lead. (First, let's kill all the lawyers).

Everyone that is qualified to become a Doctor should be allowed to be a Doctor.

A 19 year old boy with a 16 year old girlfriend is not guilty of rape, or vice versa.

All advertisements for political causes should reveal who REALLY paid for the ad.

Women get sexier with age.

It is healthy to laugh and tell jokes. We all take this thing called life way too seriously.

The only term limits that should be imposed are done at the voting booth.

We should have electronic voting so that everyone has a voice. (If Federal Express can track a package across the country this should be a snap)

The Federal Government exists to provide for the common defense, monetary regulations, and to negotiate treaties.

We need to hire mercenaries to kill Bin Laden and pay the guy who does it $1 billion.

We need to slow down technology. As soon as a operating system or cell phone come out it is obsolete.

Cell phones should not have cameras or text features.

Long hair and bangs makes a woman look hot and a man feel young.

Love is a verb as well as a noun.

It's easy to fall in love. Falling into like is much harder and is necessary for a lasting relationship. It's liking our mate, or our friendship, that allows us to forgive the mistakes that happen in a relationship.

Cell phone should have larger displays and numbers! LOL

Parents get smarter the older we get.

Family and friends make a person complete.

Now, what do you believe?

Politics Makes For Strange Bedfellows

It's been a while and there are a myriad of topics running through my brain, but the one that won out was politics. So I decided to use a quote as the title of this little rant and rave that I have heard numerous times in the past. But before I begin could someone please tell me: What the hell does that quote mean?

One of the things I learned while working in management is there are a few things you never discuss around the water cooler. Things like taxes, religion, and politics were pretty much off limits because they are so volatile, and there is no absolute right or wrong. The truth, as with much in life, lays somewhere in the middle.

Lately I have become more outspoken on political issues, as have my friends, and I think that is a normal progression as we age. Maybe it's because we have something to say, maybe because now we have the experience to back up our thoughts and maybe now because we worry we are running out of time.

Those that have known me a long time, know my political background. I came from a working class, Republican household that believed the less government involved itself in our lives the better off all of us were. I was a Milliken Republican, a Romney Republican (George not wimpy, 'er Mitt). Were they conservative? Yes but they were also moderate or progressive in their thinking. Both were excellent Governors in the Great State of Michigan during my childhood and their accomplishments are renown. They understood that it took give and take to make our political system work. Hell, they were Republican Governors in the most unionized state in the country, and they held the highest office for the better part of 16 years. They were politicians that served the people first, and the party second.

As I grew older there were changes going on all around me in both the political arena and society in general. Like many my age I experienced Viet Nam, Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Watergate, Free Love (such a great idea), Dr. Spock, Timothy Leary, Chicago 7, Ollie North, the Black Panthers, Jane Fonda, Charles Manson, Mohammad Ali, Patty Hearst, and the Moral Majority. So many events molding how we looked at the world. We became a generation that questioned everything, and rightfully so. But then something went terribly wrong. We evolved from an "us" society to a "me" society. And in doing so we became a society that forgot the merits of debate and compromise.

I moved out of the Republican Party about the time the Moral Majority moved in. First because I do believe in the separation of church and state, but mostly because those that professed to be moral seemed to pontificate an inordinate amount of hate. They said Liberals were "Godless" and socialist which I'm sure came as a shock to the many millions of Americans that lean towards the Democratic Party yet go to church, pray and tithe on a regular basis. It's that old adage God is on the winning side of the war. The problem is he isn't on either side because he loves us all. The MM hated gays, they hated reproductive rights, they espoused the dangers of the liberal government involved with every aspect of our lives then wanted to legislate a ban on personal reproductive choices of a woman and capital punishment. Is there anything more intrusive? They spoke of the "drive by liberal media" controlled by the left, yet I found it ironic I never heard someone from ABC, NBC, or CBS call a Republican Politician a Magic Negro, or Fem Nazi, or Shemale, or a Fag, but I have heard those terms used by Rush, Hannity and the like. So much for love your neighbor.

Now with that said I couldn't move on to the other end of the spectrum either. As much as Newt Gingrich (who is a brilliant man, by the way) made my skin crawl, the likes of Kerry, Dukakis, Ferraro, Gore and Biden didn't necessarily strike me as leaders. I look at this whole global warming debate with tongue and cheek. This theory was pushed into the limelight by the "Father" of the Internet, Al Gore. Of course they've had to change the term from global warming to climate change because of the holes in the theory, but hey, we didn't need those gas guzzlers anyway.

It seems Nancy Pelosi, while on the way to making this a greener world, has neglected to figure out how to prevent her home state from having it's annual 3 month marshmallow roast in the fields and woods of California, spewing tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and would rather put a couple of hundred thousand auto workers out of a job. They even had a cash for clunker program recently and the DOT did some creative accounting to show the biggest seller was Toyota, proving once again that Americans want small, fuel efficient cars. The problem with that is the NADA did there own tally by accepted sales recording methods, and it turns out Toyota was not only not first, the Ford Focus held that honor, Toyota finished 5th behind the Ford F-150 pickup truck! So much for that fuel efficient thing Nancy.

I watch Republicans say Bush did no wrong and that this recession has nothing to do with his lack of a domestic monetary policy for 8 years. He was a saint that could do no wrong. Water boarding isn't torture it's just aggressive conversation. He didn't lie to a nation, take advantage of the underlying fear of 9/11, just to have an excuse to invade a sovereign nation to clean up daddy's mess, did he? The hell he didn't! We are coming up on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and Saddam is dead, so are 4,000 young American men and women, and Bin Laden probably has 10 more kids. Yet the Conservatives want to tell me George did everything right? I defy any Conservative to list for me 7 things George Bush did wrong during his Presidency, without stuttering.

Then we have the recent passing of Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy. He was eulogized as a saint by the Liberals much as the Conservative do for Bush. Ted was a dedicated public servant, he believed in his causes but he was hardly a saint. Yes we all know about Mary Jo. It was a tragedy and he never owned it properly. In any event I thank you Mr. Kennedy for your efforts.

You have a new breed of Democrat in public office today. I like to call them Republicrats, liberals with an attitude. You have there leader, no not President Obama, it's Nancy Pelosi who makes Hillary Clinton seem warm and fuzzy, and she believes that just because America grew tired of George Bush she has a mandate to radically alter our way of life. She is on record as saying she doesn't need the Republicans, and with help from the Great State of Massachusetts she might be right. The problem with it all is power is fleeting. And power is never absolute in a democracy!

Our nation is in a stalemate. We have elected officials that serve the party first and the people second. You have elected officials that no longer know how to negotiate. When in doubt tell a lie and the people will blindly support you has become the mantra of the modern politician. We are a nation of lemmings, sheep, that will blindly support a party doctrine because we don't have the backbone to force a change.

No, not an Obama change. I mean real change. Obama is a disappointment. He had a window of opportunity to really change the course of modern politics in this country and what did he do? He recycled the Clinton Administration. That's not change! His policies are not those of a free thinker but are the policies of the Democratic Party, no more, no less.

Change will never come from the politicians, it has to come from the people. People need to demand honesty, accountability, and integrity from their elected officials. There is a need for a third party in this country as well because the difference between the Democrats and Republicans is negligible.

We need politicians like Bill Milliken and George Romney again. Politicians that understand name calling and being a standard bearer for a political party results in failed attempts for change. We need to embrace the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and return our political process to what it was, to what allowed us to evolve over the last 200 years. A system of government that focuses more on a mans political point of view than how much dirt we can dig up on him.

The next time you feel like spewing hate upon a political opponent, stop and think, will this accomplish anything positive or is this just more self gratification. See, that's what it's really about. Do "we" want this country to be about "us" or "me". If we choose to stand alone, we will fail.

Try something refreshing, admit you might be wrong. If you will, I might too.