Obama's Waffles

Political parties often make unnecessary and offensive comments during presidential campaigns, but the shock factor seems to be at an all-time high for this election.

Activists at a conservative political forum were selling boxes of waffle mix depicting Barack Obama as a racial stereotype for $10 this weekend. The boxes portrayed Obama with popping eyes and big lips while looking at a plate of waffles and smiling.

According to the story released by the Associated Press on Sept. 12, the box was sold at the Values Voter Summit as a form of political satire. Organizers of the forum said they did not realize the boxes displayed “offensive material.” They were told the waffle mix was supposed to parody Obama’s policy positions.
Creators of “Obama Waffles,” Mark Whitlock and Bob DeMoss stood by their product throughout the controversy.

When asked if he considered the images of Obama racist Whitlock said, “We had some people mention that to us, but you think of Newman's Own or Emeril's — there are tons and tons of personality-branded food products on the market. So we've taken that model and, using political satire, have highlighted his policies, his position changes."

If the product itself wasn’t outrageous enough to begin with, Whitlock had to make things even more nonsensical with his comment. How can he believe that celebrity-endorsed products are the same as the racist images he created? All those branded food products Whitlock mentioned were approved by the people who put their names behind them. I am fairly certain Whitlock never called Obama and said, “Hey would you be ok with us making a product that makes you look like Aunt Jemima?”

The picture on the front wasn’t the only racist image on the box. According to AP, Obama Waffles also depicted Obama in stereotypical Mexican dress above a recipe for "Open Border Fiesta Waffles". The waffles can serve "4 or more illegal aliens," and the recipe included the tip: "While waiting for these zesty treats to invade your home, why not learn a foreign language?"

Organizers of the summit decided to stop selling the mix on the third day of the forum, but I think it was more for PR purposes than actual regret. How did they not realize that the product might offend people? Obama opted not to comment on the product, but I cannot keep my mouth shut. The box even has a caricature of Obama’s wife Michelle on it. It is one thing to attack the candidate with racist images, but why go after his wife? She is not running for office and her policy issues are not going to be voted on in November! I think Michelle’s picture is enough to prove that the product had little to do with political satire, at least to me it is.

Palin's Vague Ideologies

It’s been a little over a week since McCain announced Sarah Palin as his running mate and she’s already stirring up controversy. Even before I knew anything about Palin, I was annoyed by McCain’s decision because it was very obvious he picked a female just to steal the swing voters that were originally supporters of senator Hillary Clinton. Now that I have heard more about Palin’s background I’m just downright angry.

McCain used to always say Barak Obama’s lack of experience was the reason he should not be the next president, but then he picked a running mate with even less of it. The Anchorage Daily News recently released a story highlighting the pros and cons of Palin’s leadership abilities. Her own fellow Alaskans criticized her for not being able to focus on details.

“Outside of her top priorities, though, the limitations of Gov. Palin's leadership style begin to show. She delegates much of the detail work and spends little time on second-tier subjects,” said the article.

Palin likes to focus on big issues and use her charisma to push those issues but then relies on management teams to get it done for her. She’s not the first person to do this, but the fact that people from her own state are saying she has trouble choosing people with good track records to run her teams, worries me.

The article also mentioned Palin’s newfound partisanship. When she acting solely as Alaska’s governor, Palin often made bipartisan decisions and worked with democrats to get things done. Now that she’s been chosen as the vice presidential nominee she has become the complete opposite. In her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention she took a strong stance against Obama and democrats and an even stronger stance for her party. It seems strange to me that she would change her ideologies so quickly. An article in Newsweek quoted her as having said that she did not feel strongly about any of the Republican nominees earlier this year. Palin herself did not want to endorse any of the nominees and did not feel they stood out. Now that she’s been chosen as the nominee she suddenly feels like McCain is the man for the job? I feel as though her speeches have been insincere and she just wants to further her own career.

I do not feel the country needs a person who constantly contradicts her own beliefs in the white house. In the past she spoke against her own party for being corrupt but now she’s 100 percent with them. She’s also known for being a reformer, but she’s also being accused of exerting improper influence on city and state government. I am not really sure what’s kind of shady things she’s been accused of doing, but I do know I’m not ready to trust someone who has those kinds of allegations behind them. Palin has probably already helped McCain steal some of those swing voters, it’s been apparent in recent polls, but I hope people eventually see passed the fact that she’s a woman. People should try to see her for what she stands for, and what she stands for is not something I’m willing to support.

Olympic Game Issues

Recent news has revealed that officials of the International Olympic Committee have allowed China to block sensitive websites despite promises of free access.

China had committed to giving the media the same freedom to report on the games as in previous Olympics, but journalists have been finding certain websites blocked. They have been unable to access sites that are considered sensitive to China's communist leadership.

IOC officials went along with the censorship because the blocked pages were not related to the Games.

Though I don't have any kind of hatred towards China's communist ideals I don't think it's fair for them to keep reporters from other countries from accessing information they would be able to see if they were at home. Journalists who are in China reporting on the Games have every right to be angry at the IOC for negotiating with China because they don't have the same resources as other journalists.

Reporters at the main press center were unable to access reports from Amnesty International accusing China of failing to honor its Olympic human rights pledges as well as websites related to the spiritual group Falun Gong.

Beijing organizers have said the censorship would not keep foreign reporters from covering the games

"We are going to do our best to facilitate the foreign media to do their reporting work through the Internet," BOCOG spokesman Sun Weide told a news conference.

Though journalists will still have the resources to report on the Games, they will not have same resources to report on issues involving China as journalists in other countries. It doesn't make sense to me that the people who are actually in the country would have the largest handicap.

Journalists who are in China should continue to criticize the IOC for negotiating with China. It's also important for journalists in other countries to let the IOC know how they feel about the issue.

More statements like the one below might help keep further censorship from arising.

"We condemn the IOC's failure to do anything about this, and we are more skeptical about its ability to ensure that the media are able to report freely," the group said in a statement.

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Why McCain shouldn't be president

I think it's pretty safe to say that Americans are no longer supportive of the war in Iraq. People who once felt it was crucial to our security to find weapons of mass destruction now wonder exactly what we're still doing now that no weapons have been found. I personally was alway against the war so I'm even more frustrated by McCain's lack of planning to remove troops from Iraq.
The Associated Press recently released a story about an ad that highlights McCain's plans for Iraq. The ad was made by VoteVets.org and features the voice of Iraq war veteran Brandon Woods. In the ad he says "What did we fight for in Iraq? I have some idea. I fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom. And 'freedom' means when the Iraqi people and their Prime Minister ask us to make a plan to leave, we do. But Senator McCain would occupy Iraq indefinitely, against their wishes. That's not what freedom means. That's not what we fought for. Senator, I thought you would know better."
Woods not only accuses the senator of not having a plan to remove the troops but he also tells him his plans should be different because he too is a veteran and should know when to stop a war. From what I can see, his criticism is completely valid since McCain has declined to state a specific target date for pulling out the troops. He has also stated that Al-Qaida is not yet defeated but he hasn't given any examples of how Al-Qaida is showing that it's still active.
Obama on the other hand, has said he wants the troops to be out of Iraq in 16 months, which is around the same time Iraqi officials had suggested. It also gives the American people an idea of when this craziness will end. People like to be given exact dates, it makes them feel good inside, makes us feel secure. Maybe McCain is afraid of giving dates because he's afraid of not being able to meet the goals, but it at least gives the administration something to strive for.
We're in a war that most of America is now against but McCain won't satisfy what the American people want. Why would we want a president that doesn't listen to what we're asking for? Seems clear to me that McCain is NOT the right choice.

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Ad hits McCain on troop pullout