Street Jazz

Is Rick Warren Back Obama’s Sarah Palin moment? If so, let’s hope it’s just a blip on the radar.

Obama, in an effort to be “inclusive” - which is a good thing - doesn’t seem to have vetted the pastor of Saddleback Church very carefully.  From his interview with Steven Waldman, which probably most people in the known universe have seen by now:

Rick Warren: But the issue to me is, I’m not opposed to that as much as I’m opposed to the redefinition of a 5,000-year definition of marriage. I’’m opposed to having a brother and sister be together and call that marriage. I’’m opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that a marriage. I’’m opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage.

Steven Waldman: Do you think, though, that they are equivalent to having gays getting married?

Rick Warren: Oh I do. ……

And that, it seems, it just the tip of the iceberg.

I believe that the president is the president of all of us, and that it is only right and proper to invite conservative Christians to the White House. But someone like Rick Warren, to deliver the Invocation at the Inaugural? That’s not just an insult to gay and lesbian supporters of Obama.

It’s an insult to all the intelligent, tolerant people in the United States, gay or straight.

******

The World Turned Upside Down: Ted Baxter has suddenly become Walter Cronkite

We were watching The Mary Tyler Moore Show last night, and it suddenly occurred to me that bombastic newscaster Ted Baxter (played to perfection by Ted Knight) has suddenly become the norm in cable news.

From the proudly-sycophantic Wolf Blitzer to Mike Sanchez on CNN, to the buffoons on FOX, to the ever-emoting anchors everywhere on the dial, American TV news has reached the bottom of the barrel. Well, I say that, but I suspect it could get even worse.

Ted Baxter suddenly seems wise compared to the inmates who are currently running the asylum.

One anchor on MSNBC recently began one item with,  “This story just breaks my heart.”

“I don’t care,” I snarled back at my TV. “Just tell me the damn story.”

*****

Mike Sanchez - idiot?

I got 44,500 Google results when I typed in “Mike Sanchez - idiot.”

He’s not a well-loved man.

****

Quote of the Day

True friendship is like phosphorescence - it glows best when the world around you goes dark. - Denise Martin

rsdrake@nwark.com