SOME WORDS ON THE RACHEL THING

Honestly I try to avoid certain subjects because they tend to be lightning rods for controversy and I think life's too short for bullshit, but still some things I just have to comment on. Rachel Dolezal has been on the radar because she essentially lied about her race and as a result it's led to a discussion on identification, race, and so on. In her latest interview, with Matt Lauer she said that she identifies as black. Okay let me tell you why I have a problem with this.

There is a huge difference between identifying with something and actually being it. You can identify with whatever you want but that doesn't change what you, or who you are at your very core. The fact is that she is not black she is a caucasian woman, end of story. She spoke in her interview about the "black experience" and I'm wondering what the hell that means. Let's put a focus on that for a sec, blacks were enslaved for hundreds of years, seen as less, treated unfairly, discriminated against and made to fight for their basic human rights, is this the "experience" she is referring to?  Perhaps someone can explain to me how she was a part of that experience in her middle class upbringing.

In her interview with Lauer she stated that she as a little girl would draw picture of herself with a brown crayon. Does using a brown crayon qualify a person as being black? I drew self portraits with a red crayon but it doesn't make me Satan. I find her bullshit offensive because I have studied enough about civil rights struggles to know that this kind of move is, unwittingly or not, a huge slap to the face of every protester that was made to suffer major indignities during the Jim Crow era.

Let's put it in perspective, she identifies as black and feels that she has to lie about her race, she even claimed that an African American gentleman was her father. So does this mean she thinks she can make a difference in race relations by lying? It's clear Rachel doesn't know a whole hell of a lot. John Brown was a white man that was willing to take up arms in the 1800's in order to abolish slavery. Brown was influenced by black abolitionists such as Frederick Douglas and Soujourner Truth. John Brown did not identify as black, Brown did have a belief in freedom.

My point: RACHEL YOU ARE WHITE, MUCH LIKE YOU WHERE WHEN YOU SUED HOWARD UNIVERSITY AS A WHITE WOMAN FOR RACE DISCRIMINATION.

A FEW BRIAN WILLIAMS MEMES TO BRIGHTEN THE DAY

This is what happens when you lie from a position of public moral authority.

AN APP FOR MURDER? WHAT IN THE HELL IS WRONG WITH SOCIETY?

We are coming up on the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination, 50 years since America suffered its first televised tragedy. I have always maintained that November 22nd 1963 was the day America lost that veil of innocence and hope. When you examine everything that the Kennedy White House stood for, the loss is  far greater. In 1963 we lost a young president, the father of two small children, and a man considered reckless because he was willing to buck the system in order to make America the people's country. So why continue to relieve a dark period by focusing on the negative historical context?

In this age of apps it's incredible to think that an app is actually available for the assassination. There is an app called " The Grassy Knoll Report App" and I guess it takes users through the scene and provides a host of information that covers multiple angles of the assassination. I guess I'm just curious as to what the hell is wrong with society. This was a dark period that can never be erased and on top of that the crime itself was never solved and at this point it will never be solved.

What bothers me is that for the modest sum of 99 cents we can wallow in the macabre instead of letting this tragedy rest. JFK was a human being and the last leader that offered real hopes of a better system. Yes there were flaws to JFK's presidency such as the continued involvement in Vietnam, which eventually got out of control. We lost the Bay of Pigs invasion and yes there was serious tension with the Soviet Union. Somehow it was Kennedy's youth coupled with the allure of our first lady that made that era progressive and promising.

It's sad the there's an app that gives every amateur detective the idea that their theory is the correct one. Hey, it's okay because Jimmy Fallon says everyone has to see this app. If the star of "Taxi" says it's good let's all get it.

GOTTA LOVE THE SNL FIVE TIMERS CLUB

This week's SNL brought back an old all time favorite known as the Five Timers Club. Justin Timberlake once again proved why he is the new Christopher Walken of SNL. Justin is a stand out and I have to admit he is actually pretty funny. I was never a huge fan of  NSYNC but Justin Timberlake is one of those rare individuals that outgrew all of that and turned into a mega power. I digress with all the Timberlake talk, let's get back to the Five Timers Club.

The first time I saw the Five Timers Club was in 1989 and I believe the newest member was Tom Hanks. In the sketch were Paul Simon, Steve Martin, and Elliot Gould and they all sat around with smoking jackets and pipes . The thing was hilarious and it became an every so often sketch that never lost its appeal. In a way that particular sketch is a lot like Christopher Walken's The Continental in that it makes SNL fresh and gives it room to breathe for a few minutes.

I liked the continuity in that sketch as it brought back Paul Simon, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Candace Bergen and Tom Hanks as well as everyone's favorite Baldwin. Watching that sketch was like going back in time to a point where I was staying up past my bed time and watching a show that I did not understand completely but somehow managed to make me laugh a lot. SNL has been having a pretty good run for the last few years with cast members like Keenan Thompson and Bill Hader but it's good to see it get back to its roots.

NOT JUST SINEAD TEARS UP POPE PICTURES

The Reverend Andrea Maggi burned a photo of Pope Benedict claiming that he is no shepherd but a man that abandoned his flock. Half the congregation in the church of Santo Stefano Protomatire of Castel Vittorio walked out in shock. I guess this priest must have been watching re-runs of SNL and caught the episode of Sinead O'Connor tearing up the picture of Pope John Paul II.  Supposedly this priest is in a fragile state of mind so, I wonder if he was running out of altar boys to molest since it's a small village.

The bottom line is that the Catholic Church was in dire straits long before Benedict came in so for some  village idiot priest to burn Benedict's photo only makes a statement that speaks to the ignorance of so many in the Catholic Church. I would go as far as saying that the decision Benedict made was probably the best move in recent Catholic history. Benedict was older and losing faculties and did not want to stay past his prime. I don't blame Benedict for his decision because at the end of the day what could he do if he was in bad health. I think that the biggest problem is that some obscure members of the church see this as a way to make a statement.

My advice to the reverend is to go make himself a nice stew and drink himself half to death. This kind of accident is yet another reason why the Catholic Church is seen as more of a fading institution than as a place to follow. Like Sinead said some years back " Fight the real enemy."