Christopher or Chris im an oddity's blog: "politics and other crap like that"

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MSNBC host Chris Matthews is under fire for commenting on air that President Obama has done so much to heal racial divides that "I forgot he was black" as he watched Obama's first State of the Union address Wednesday night.

MSNBC host Chris Matthews is under fire for commenting on air that President Obama has done so much to heal racial divides that "I forgot he was black" as he watched Obama's first State of the Union address Wednesday night.

Matthews, who appeared on the cable network shortly after the speech, said of the president:

"I was trying to think about who he was tonight. And uh, it's interesting. He is post-racial, by all appearances. You know, I forgot he was black tonight for an hour....

"I was watching, I said, 'wait a minute!' He's an African-American guy in front of a bunch of other white people and there he is president of the United States and we've completely forgotten that tonight -- completely forgotten it!"

Matthews' remarks came as he was praising the president for working to heal racial divides and for delivering a State of the Union address that he described as "profound" and "so in tune with so many problems and aspects of American life."

But the "I forgot he was black" remark quickly set the blogosphere on fire, as hundreds of viewers questioned the meaning and implications of Matthews' words.

"For his idiotic racist comment last night, will Chris Matthews be flogged and pilloried like Imus was?" tweeted "Shoehead."

"When I 1st heard what Chris Matthews said I thought maybe Pres Obama just looked extremely light-skinned 4 some reason," tweeted "QueenMelmendi."

Brent Bozell, founder and president of the Media Research Center, a conservative media watchdog organization, said the remarks reveal a prejudice on Matthews' part.

"What Chris Matthews is saying is that he doesn't believe African-Americans are capable of giving speeches like that."  

He said Matthews' remarks "show the absolute contradiction in the liberal argument on color. They purport to want a color-blind society, but are absolutely fixated on doing just the opposite. [Matthews] can't see Barack Obama as being qualified, because he's Barack Obama. He sees him through a lens of being black."

An MSNBC spokeswoman did not reply to a request for comment.

Controversial remarks are not new to Matthews. The on-air host was roundly criticized for calling West Point cadets "the enemy camp" when Obama spoke at the U.S. Military Academy in December.

Matthews also was criticized for saying he "felt this thrill going up my leg" after listening to Obama speak during the presidential primary campaign. 

 

now tell me will he be fired fr that comment just like don imus? i mean seriously this guy is just as bad as imus in the comment department that they could trade off on each others shows and no one would notice the difference

 

please FIRE him now and save the network any embaresmentof trying to defend this commie racist lberal..... wait come to think of it the network is just like mathews i almost forgot that there for a sec sorry about that i guess there is no saving the network from being in last or close to last place in the rattingsbetter luck next time i guess but then again....

MIDDLETOWN - A 32-year-old woman was sentenced to a month in the Middletown Jail Monday after she was arrested and charged with chasing children, blocking traffic and yelling at police - all while wearing a cow costume. Advertisement Michele Allen pleaded guilty Monday in Middletown Municipal Court to one count of disorderly conduct, court officials said. Middletown police said she chased children in the 3100 block of Wilbraham Road and urinated on a neighbor's porch Saturday night. An officer ordered her to go home and stay there. About 11 p.m., police were called to the 2400 block of North Verity Avenue after receiving a report that a woman in a cow costume was blocking traffic. Allen had alcohol on her breath, slurred her words, was belligerent and swore at the officer, a report states. http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080930/NEWS0107/309290035 http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0930082cow1.html now she give new meaning to "MAD COW" LOL engoy the holloween season all :P

THIS IS SO FUNNY THAT ITS SAD THAT IT CAME FROM A BRITISH NEWS PAPER. I KNOW HOW IT WILL SOUND THAT IT BACKS Obama BUT IF YOU SERIOUSLY THINK ABOUT IT, IT REAL INSULTS HIM. SO BEFORE YOU THINK I'VE GONE NUTS AND STARTED TO BACK HIM I JUST FIND THIS PIECE FUNNY. From The Times July 25, 2008 He ventured forth to bring light to the world The anointed one's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action - and a blessing to all his faithful followers Gerard Baker And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness. The Child was blessed in looks and intellect. Scion of a simple family, offspring of a miraculous union, grandson of a typical white person and an African peasant. And yea, as he grew, the Child walked in the path of righteousness, with only the occasional detour into the odd weed and a little blow. When he was twelve years old, they found him in the temple in the City of Chicago, arguing the finer points of community organisation with the Prophet Jeremiah and the Elders. And the Elders were astonished at what they heard and said among themselves: “Verily, who is this Child that he opens our hearts and minds to the audacity of hope?” In the great Battles of Caucus and Primary he smote the conniving Hillary, wife of the deposed King Bill the Priapic and their barbarian hordes of Working Class Whites. And so it was, in the fullness of time, before the harvest month of the appointed year, the Child ventured forth - for the first time - to bring the light unto all the world. He travelled fleet of foot and light of camel, with a small retinue that consisted only of his loyal disciples from the tribe of the Media. He ventured first to the land of the Hindu Kush, where the Taleban had harboured the viper of al-Qaeda in their bosom, raining terror on all the world. And the Child spake and the tribes of Nato immediately loosed the Caveats that had previously bound them. And in the great battle that ensued the forces of the light were triumphant. For as long as the Child stood with his arms raised aloft, the enemy suffered great blows and the threat of terror was no more. From there he went forth to Mesopotamia where he was received by the great ruler al-Maliki, and al-Maliki spake unto him and blessed his Sixteen Month Troop Withdrawal Plan even as the imperial warrior Petraeus tried to destroy it. And lo, in Mesopotamia, a miracle occurred. Even though the Great Surge of Armour that the evil Bush had ordered had been a terrible mistake, a waste of vital military resources and doomed to end in disaster, the Child's very presence suddenly brought forth a great victory for the forces of the light. And the Persians, who saw all this and were greatly fearful, longed to speak with the Child and saw that the Child was the bringer of peace. At the mention of his name they quickly laid aside their intrigues and beat their uranium swords into civil nuclear energy ploughshares. From there the Child went up to the city of Jerusalem, and entered through the gate seated on an ass. The crowds of network anchors who had followed him from afar cheered “Hosanna” and waved great palm fronds and strewed them at his feet. In Jerusalem and in surrounding Palestine, the Child spake to the Hebrews and the Arabs, as the Scripture had foretold. And in an instant, the lion lay down with the lamb, and the Israelites and Ishmaelites ended their long enmity and lived for ever after in peace. As word spread throughout the land about the Child's wondrous works, peoples from all over flocked to hear him; Hittites and Abbasids; Obamacons and McCainiacs; Cameroonians and Blairites. And they told of strange and wondrous things that greeted the news of the Child's journey. Around the world, global temperatures began to decline, and the ocean levels fell and the great warming was over. The Great Prophet Algore of Nobel and Oscar, who many had believed was the anointed one, smiled and told his followers that the Child was the one generations had been waiting for. And there were other wonderful signs. In the city of the Street at the Wall, spreads on interbank interest rates dropped like manna from Heaven and rates on credit default swaps fell to the ground as dead birds from the almond tree, and the people who had lived in foreclosure were able to borrow again. Black gold gushed from the ground at prices well below $140 per barrel. In hospitals across the land the sick were cured even though they were uninsured. And all because the Child had pronounced it. And this is the testimony of one who speaks the truth and bears witness to the truth so that you might believe. And he knows it is the truth for he saw it all on CNN and the BBC and in the pages of The New York Times. Then the Child ventured forth from Israel and Palestine and stepped onto the shores of the Old Continent. In the land of Queen Angela of Merkel, vast multitudes gathered to hear his voice, and he preached to them at length. But when he had finished speaking his disciples told him the crowd was hungry, for they had had nothing to eat all the hours they had waited for him. And so the Child told his disciples to fetch some food but all they had was five loaves and a couple of frankfurters. So he took the bread and the frankfurters and blessed them and told his disciples to feed the multitudes. And when all had eaten their fill, the scraps filled twelve baskets. Thence he travelled west to Mount Sarkozy. Even the beauteous Princess Carla of the tribe of the Bruni was struck by awe and she was great in love with the Child, but he was tempted not. On the Seventh Day he walked across the Channel of the Angles to the ancient land of the hooligans. There he was welcomed with open arms by the once great prophet Blair and his successor, Gordon the Leper, and his successor, David the Golden One. And suddenly, with the men appeared the archangel Gabriel and the whole host of the heavenly choir, ranks of cherubim and seraphim, all praising God and singing: “Yes, We Can.”

NEW YORK (AP)—The NFL is stepping up its monitoring of on-field player activities to ensure that no one is flashing the hand signals of street gangs. The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that the league had hired experts to look at game tapes and identify players or team officials who might be using suspected gang signals. Violators would be warned and disciplined if the episodes recurred. League officials said Tuesday that avoiding gang-related activities has long been stressed. They said the scrutiny was intensified after the shooting death of Denver cornerback Darrent Williams in 2007 after Williams was involved in a dispute with known gang members. Anti-gang information is included in orientation literature and stressed in the annual mandatory league meeting for rookies. The NFL took further notice after Paul Pierce of the NBA’s Boston Celtics was fined $25,000 in April for what the league said was a “menacing gesture” toward the Atlanta Hawks’ bench. “I 100 percent do not in any way promote gang violence or anything close to it.” Pierce said in a statement. “I am sorry if it was misinterpreted that way at Saturday’s game.” The Times said that was the precipitating incident for the NFL. “We were always suspicious that might be happening,” it quoted Mike Pereira, the NFL’s vice president of officiating, as saying of gang-related signals. “But the Paul Pierce thing is what brought it to light. When he was fined … that’s when we said we need to take a look at it and see if we need to be aware of it.” Most senior NFL officials were at a league outing Tuesday and could not immediately be reached for comment.

http://www.osampump.com/

By Jessica Hall and Martinne Geller 20 minutes ago PHILADELPHIA/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. brewer Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc (BUD.N) agreed to a $50 billion takeover by Belgium-based InBev NV (INTB.BR), a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday, creating the world's largest beer maker. ADVERTISEMENT InBev, the maker of Stella Artois, and Budweiser-brewer Anheuser were not immediately available to comment. The combined company will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev, said the sources, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. Anheuser will get seats on the new company's board, the sources said, but it was not immediately clear how many. Adding another dimension to any deal was Mexico's No. 1 brewer Grupo Modelo (GMODELOC.MX), which is 50 percent owned by Anheuser. The maker of Corona beer, which has the right to choose its partner, has not yet approved InBev for that role and the two brewers remain in talks, according to one person familiar with the situation. Modelo declined to comment. The deal brings an amicable resolution to a month-long saga that was becoming increasingly hostile as the two companies sued each other and InBev set the stage to try to replace Anheuser's board of directors. InBev had proposed its own slate of nominees for the board that included Adolphus Busch IV, an uncle of the current chief executive of Anheuser-Busch. InBev lured Anheuser to the bargaining table last week by raising its offer to $70 per share from $65 per share, a 27 percent premium over Anheuser's record-high stock price in October 2002. Shares of InBev and Anheuser surged on Friday as news of the higher offer and the negotiations emerged. Anheuser closed up 8.6 percent at $66.50, and InBev closed up more than 7 percent. Sources had said that the two companies and their advisers had talked in New York over the weekend, working through details such as the name for the combined company, roles for Anheuser's executives and the structure of the board. The breakup fees if the deal collapses also were discussed over the weekend, the sources said. InBev had tried to soothe some of Anheuser's concerns last month, saying it would keep Anheuser's St. Louis home as the headquarters for the North American region. Anheuser's main Budweiser beer would also become the new company's "flagship brand." Last week, the director of the Brewery and Soft Drink Workers Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters asked to meet with InBev Chairman Peter Harf and InBev Chief Executive Carlos Brito, according to a letter posted on the union's Web site http://www.budwatch.com. Led by Chief Executive Carlos Brito, InBev is known for ruthless cost-cutting. The union, which represents workers at all 12 of Anheuser's U.S. breweries, asked for the meeting to discuss the initial offer so it could "fulfill our responsibilities to advise and protect our members." It was unclear if InBev and the union met. A takeover of iconic U.S. company Anheuser has sparked an outcry from some politicians, including Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Analysts have said that Modelo is likely to embrace InBev's bid for Anheuser and hopes the Belgian brewer proves to be a more dynamic and innovative partner than the biggest U.S. brewer. Anheuser also owns 27 percent of China's Tsingtao Brewery Co Ltd (600600.SS). While Anheuser controls nearly half the U.S. market with brands like Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob, InBev has strong positions in Western Europe and Latin America and is growing in Eastern Europe and Asia. InBev, which was formed by the 2004 merger of Belgium's Interbrew with Brazil's AmBev, is based in Belgium and run by a mostly-Brazilian management team. (Editing by Maureen Bavdek, Toni Reinhold) ok im not a beer drinker or anything like that but when an American company sells out to a foreign company it sickens me to no end this company is known for cutting costs by elimination jobs and making and substandard product. i for one ask all Americans to not buy anything made by Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc and Belgium-based InBev NV to show that we are not satisfied with this deal. thank you

Ambush marketing Playing the game Jul 3rd 2008 From The Economist print edition Rival brands, as well as athletes, compete at sporting events TAKING your hat off at the door may seem like a throwback to a more genteel age. But the practice lives on at modern sporting events. Dutch buyers of Heineken beer were given green hats to wear to the recent Euro 2008 football tournament. Anyone who tried to enter a stadium wearing one, however, as many fans did in 2004, was asked to remove it. The hats were an “ambush marketing” campaign, in which companies try to promote their brands at sporting events without paying sponsorship fees. Heineken’s rival, Carlsberg, was an official sponsor of Euro 2008, paying $21m for the privilege. A few TV close-ups of fans wearing Heineken hats would have cost very little by comparison. This was just one of 18 examples of ambush marketing at Euro 2008 identified by researchers at Coventry University Business School. Ambush marketers have replaced hooligans as the villains of sporting events, because they undermine official sponsors, which are the main source of revenue in some sports. The stakes are highest at the Olympics. This year 12 firms, including Coca-Cola, Samsung and Visa, have paid a total of $866m to be official sponsors of the Beijing Olympics—and they want exclusivity. The Chinese authorities have responded with their usual subtlety. Between July 11th and September 17th the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic games will take control of all prominent advertising sites in the Chinese capital, including those at train stations and airports, and their use will be limited to official sponsors only. (In 1996, when the Olympics were staged in Atlanta, the city was plastered with ads by Nike, which was not a sponsor.) Athletes will be banned from taking their own drinks into the Olympic Village to “protect sponsors’ rights”. And at each event if any spectators manage to get past the officials with unofficial food, drinks or clothing, broadcasters will be obliged to avoid showing them in close-up. But preventing ambushes is difficult. Marketers tend to launch ambush campaigns only once an event has started, making pre-emptive strikes almost impossible. And policing the brand use of individual spectators at the stadium is tricky. Coca-Cola, which has sponsored every Olympiad since 1928, says sponsorship provides “a way to connect with people around the world at a very personal, emotional level”. But if that means depriving spectators of their half-finished Pepsi as they enter a stadium, the emotions may not be happy ones. Overzealous enforcement can also result in bad press—as with the orange plastic Lederhosen given out by Bavaria, a Dutch brewery, to Dutch fans before a match at the 2006 football World Cup. Officials asked fans to remove the offending garments, to placate Budweiser, a rival beer brand that was the tournament’s official sponsor. Many fans ended up watching the match in their underwear, and the resulting fuss generated even more publicity for Bavaria.