This Week: Geraldine Ferraro, Horton Hears A Who! and Iraq Veterans Against the War

Tues | Mar 11 A few days ago, Long Beach’s defacto local paper, the South Bay Daily Breeze, printed a little story in anticipation of an appearance by 1984 Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro in Torrance. The story was noteworthy if only for the fact that most people assumed Ferraro had gone the way of Ray Parker Jr. But Ferraro, who at the time was on the finance committee for Hillary Clinton, commented in the piece on Democratic Presidential front-runner Barack Obama and intimated that he had reached his position based not on the content of his character but on the color of his skin. To (nit)wit: “If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color), he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.” Yes, yes, when you think of luck, you think Ed McMahon, Ringo Starr and every black man in America. I mean, really, who has had it any easier in this country? Native Americans? Jerry Lee Lewis’s teenage brides? It’s so easy for a black man to get elected President that Obama would be the first. This is a tribute to just how completely colorblind Americans are when it comes to politics. In fact, Americans are so past choosing their Presidents based on race that the last 43 have been white, and we all know white men can’t catch a break in this country—I had to pump my own gas today. Myself! Ferraro compounded her idiocy by saying that “Sexism is a bigger problem. It’s OK to be sexist in some people’s minds. It’s not OK to be racist,” thereby simultaneously providing a divide and conquer opening for Republicans while also confirming that the Democratic Party is the party of victims.

Wed | Mar 12 The LA Times is shocked—SHOCKED!—to find out that the prostitute that brought down Eliot Spitzer has a MySpace page that does not accurately reflect her actual life. Can you believe it? A woman who makes her living having sex with men in exchange for large sums of money can’t be trusted. That reminds me, how much does Heather Mills get?

Thurs | Mar 13 Speaking of Spitzer, his resignation has cleared the way for David Paterson to be the 55th Governor of New York. Now, you want to talk about lucky, Paterson is not only black, but blind! The only way Lady Luck could be tongue-kissing this guy any more is if he had the good fortune of being born with all his organs on the outside and was currently on fire.

Fri | Mar 14 Horton Hears A Who! opens at the box office and, get this, it’s a retelling of the Dr. Seuss classic with sass and streetwise humor. Oh, thank God! If we go more than six days without a movie rife with sassy, streetwise characters making with the hilarious Simon Cowell references, I feel less of a man. Also making me feel less of a man? Everyone keeps calling me “Ma’am” on the phone. I could just burst!

Sat | Mar 15 Gorgeous day.

Sun | Mar 16 Ditto.

Mon | Mar 17 News comes that the anti-war groups kept out of last year’s Veteran’s Day Parade will be allowed to march in the parade this coming November. Now, this makes me happy. I reported on the groups’ exclusion last year, and far from being the anti-American rabble rousers some would like to paint them, they are exceedingly patriotic Americans—many of whom have served and have children now serving in the armed forces. That’s more than you can say for most Americans, including most Americans who are President and Vice President of the United States. So I’m happy for such groups as Iraq Veterans Against the War and Military Families Speak Out, but there’s also a bit of melancholy sewn in the thing. For one, the fact that the groups will be included in the parade is such big news seems to only confirm what we all fear: that seven months from now, American soldiers will still be in harm’s way in Iraq. (Also, get ready for paying $5 a gallon for gas.) But what makes this even sadder is that news also came today that an 11-year-old Long Beach boy was shot and killed in an apparent gang-related shooting. Kids are getting gunned down at an alarming rate in and around Long Beach: in front of their homes, at parties, in cars. It makes you wonder why we aren’t having more parades and candlelight vigils for people put in harm’s way here. It was just two weeks ago that a young man named Jamiel Shaw, a high school student and football star, was shot and murdered. His mother, Army Sgt. Anita Shaw, found out about his death while serving her second tour in Iraq. Perhaps we should rethink and redefine who’s living in a war zone these days. Strangely, and sadly, while people believe they can effect change and do something about those in Iraq, I get the feeling people feel far less capable of ending violence at home.

Tags: Daily Breeze, eliot spitzer, geraldine ferraro, horton hears a who, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Long Beach, Military Families Speak Out