Strollerderby : it's all over

Obama Wants Kids To Have a Normal Life – Good Luck With That

Brett Singer — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:30:00 GMT

On a recent trip to Hawaii, the Obama family "caused a commotion" at a mall.

No! Really? What next? Floor down? Ceiling up?

Reuters describes the event as "a surreal scene -- the president-elect, daughters Malia, 7, and Sasha, 10 and family friends eating at a table at the mall watched by a crowd of onlookers and surrounded by anxious-looking Secret Service agents."

What exactly is surreal about that? Maybe it's surreal for the Obamas, but you might think at this point that they were accustomed to the attention.

The President Elect "wants to maintain some degree of normal life for his daughters. He has also said he fears becoming isolated and losing touch with the world outside the White House 'bubble,'" according to Reuters.

I think this is an admirable idea. It is also, at best, completely unrealistic. How exactly can you call a life spent with multiple bodyguards "normal"? From now on, the Obama family is American royalty. Part of that is just because of the job Dad just got, but part of it is because the entire family has captured the American imagination. I praised Bill and Hillary Clinton for keeping the press away from Chelsea. But this is different. First of all, Chelsea was older, which made it easier to ask for her privacy. Second, it was a different time. As much as the Clinton campaign and administration was heavily televised, it was nothing like it is today. Think about it – there was no YouTube. Cable news was around, but not as prevalent as it is now. And most Americans didn't have Internet access, much less broadband with 24/7 streaming video. And four billion blogs. (Ahem.)

All that is not to say that Barack and Michelle Obama shouldn't do what they can to keep their kids as grounded as they can under the circumstances. But a normal life? Eating at a mall in peace? Come on. Not gonna happen.

Source/Image: Reuters

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Teacher's Aide Suspended For Racial Obama Jokes

Brett Singer — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:30:00 GMT

To quote outgoing President George W. Bush, what is our children learning? Apparently the curriculum is Truly Tasteless Jokes. (Anyone remember those?)

An instructional aide at a McCandless vocational school is serving an unpaid suspension for making what a student described as racist comments directed at President-elect Barack Obama.
During a lunch period last week, the aide at A.W. Beattie Career Center said Obama would be killed, KFC would be emblazoned on the American flag and the national anthem would become "Movin' on Up," according to the student's mother.

Mara Gilligan is the parent of a student at the school who complained. She said that her daughter says that the aid becomes "infuriated when anyone mentions Obama…That's fine, you can have your own beliefs, but when you start yelling at someone, that's unacceptable."

This is doubly true with regard to teachers. First of all, I don't want to hear that they express their political views from either side of the aisle. (If McCain had won, would the aide have done a week-long "nyah-nyah" dance?) And the jokes – oof. On what planet does anyone think that's an OK thing to say to a student? It's one thing to have dumb thoughts like that, but when it pops out of your mouth in a school setting, maybe you need to consider a different line of work.

Not that it should matter, but the article mentions that the school's student body is 2.8 percent African-American; the student who complained was biracial. I know at my high school, any teacher who had made a joke like that would have found themselves locked in a closet for a few hours. And that was when Reagan was President.

The aide, identified by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review as Chris Skertich, has been suspended without pay "pending a further investigation." In a way, I sort of hope this isn't true. Although a kid making up a story like this wouldn't be much better than a teacher who made those jokes. A little bit better. But not much.

Source: pittsburghlive.com

Image: Amazon.com

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Mississippi Students, Postal Worker, Punished For Wearing Obama Shirts

Brett Singer — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 22:00:00 GMT

I hoped this was a hoax but it appears to be legit.

PEARL, MS (WLBT) - Teachers are prohibiting students from talking about President-Elect Barack Obama. WLBT's newsroom has been flooded by calls and emails from angry parents in several cities. These parents say their children were threatened with suspension if they said Obama's name or wore clothing that supports him.
…
"One student was sent home to change because she had on a Barack Obama T-shirt and on the back it said "yes we can," said Loten.

And then I found this:

JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - A U.S. Postal worker says he was sent home Saturday after refusing to take off a Barack Obama T-shirt.
Fifty-year old Roger Thompson works at the main post office in downtown Jackson. Thompson said workers were told Friday that they could not wear President-Elect Obama T-shirts, hats or other paraphernalia.
He says the post office plant manager told employees they would receive disciplinary action if they wore Obama attire because some workers complained that it upset them.…employees were told the Obama ban would be put in writing Monday.

Both of these reports are from WLBT in Mississippi.

Lest anyone think the school thing is made up, watch the video at wlbt.com and see for yourself. According to WLBT, "Magee High School teachers read a memorandum in class the day after the election." A copy of the memo is in the video, as is the statement from the school stating, "It is unfortunate that some employees mishandled this situation, but they have been disciplined and I have spent the day clarifying our policies." The thing is, the memo seems pretty clear, although I don't think it advises school staff to suspend kids for wearing Obama shirts, which is what some parents say is happening.

As for Roger Thompson the postal worker, WLBT was, "told by a postal supervisor today that the plant manager would not be available for comment until Monday." Stay tuned.

Source: WLBT via detentionslip.org, and WLBT via me searching for something else and finding the second story

About Ann Nixon Cooper

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Comedians From The Past Weigh In On The First Black President

Brett Singer — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Barack Obama being elected is a historic moment. One way to realize just how historic is through comedy. OK, we don't actually need to realize how historic this moment is. But it is interesting to look at how the idea of a Black President was viewed in the past.

First up, this Richard Pryor sketch where he plays the leader of the free world. It's a little long, and it was the 70's, so some of the humor is a little dopey and dated. For example, there's a moment towards the end when a reporter asks about his mother. Pryor as President responds, "What did you just ask me?" The reporter says, "I’m talking about your momma!" Etc. Here's the video:

Richard Pryor, 1st Black President

This is much more interesting. Remember Eddie Murphy's Delirious? Easily one of the funniest comedy albums/tv specials of all time. Eddie had some things to say about African-American politicians, in particular Jesse Jackson running for President. Here's the video, which is riddled with four-letter words and is NOT safe for work or children (unless you decide it is):

Eddie Murphy on the First Black President

That was 1983. Looong time ago. I'd love to call Eddie Murphy and ask him if what he thinks of this election. Sadly, Eddie's not talking to me right now.

Last (this is in chronological order), here is a Chris Rock bit about a Black VICE president from Saturday Night Live. Chris said (this was many years ago, as you can tell by his unfortunate hairdo) that the country would never have a Black Vice-President. So far, he's right. As for the notion that we'd never have a Black President? Luckily, everybody was wrong about that one. (If the clip won't play, click here.)

Chris Rock, first Black Vice President

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Barack Obama Asked If Bill Clinton Was The First Black President

Brett Singer — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:00:00 GMT

This was funny when it happened – during the Democratic Primary, way back in January of 2008. (That seems like it was more than a year ago.) Now, it's not only hilarious but of course takes on a whole new meaning.

Basically, the moderator, Joe Johns, asks Barack Obama is he agrees with Toni Morrison, who once wrote that Bill Clinton was, "the nation’s first black president." Hillary Clinton was sitting right next to him, which made the moment even more amusing. Obama's answer was measured, and quite funny.

Morrison eventually endorsed Obama for President. When asked by Time Magazine if she regretted, " referring to Bill Clinton as the first black President," she said, "People misunderstood that phrase. I was deploring the way in which President Clinton was being treated, vis-à-vis the sex scandal that was surrounding him. I said he was being treated like a black on the street, already guilty, already a perp. I have no idea what his real instincts are, in terms of race." Obama said something little different – basically, that Bill Clinton connected with African-Americans in a way that previous Presidents had not. Then he questioned Bill's dancing ability. It's quite funny, and has much more resonance now. Take a look:

They say: Obama Wins

Comedians From The Past Weigh In On The First Black President

About Ann Nixon Cooper

Brett Singer — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 22:30:00 GMT

Who is the 106-year-old woman that Obama mentioned in his victory speech?

When I was watching the speech on election night, I thought she was the 109-year-old that I mentioned in this post. Obviously I was wrong, since one of the women is 109 and the other is 106. (It was late, I was tired, and I think I lost some brain cells watching Wolf Blitzer's Magical Dancing Electoral Pants on CNN.)

Here is a little bit about Ms. Cooper from a website called The History Makers:

Ann Louise Nixon Cooper was born on January 9, 1902 in Shelbyville, Tennessee, where she attended school. After the death of their mother, she and her six siblings were separated and an aunt raised Cooper. In 1922, Ann Nixon married Albert Berry Cooper, a young dentist in Nashville, Tennessee. They moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where they started a family while her husband established his highly successful dental practice. Cooper has been a homemaker for most of her life, working briefly in 1923 as a policy writer for the Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Cooper and her husband counted as their friends or acquaintances such luminaries as educators W.E.B. Du Bois, Lugenia Burns Hope and John Hope Franklin, Benjamin E. Mays and E. Franklin Frazier.

CNN points out that, "she knew Martin Luther King Jr. when he was just a boy and was close with his mother." Also, "she sometimes refers to Obama as "'that young man.'" Here's a video (if it won't play, click here):

Embedded video from CNN Video

Personally, I love hearing from anyone old enough to remember how things really were. As much progress as the United States and the world have made in the last 20 or 30 years, the progress in the past 70 years is much more significant. Someone should go out and interview more people who were alive when women and people of color didn't even have the right to vote, when the idea that a person who wasn't white would run for President, much less actually WIN, seemed like a bizarre idea.

Ms. Cooper wants to meet President-elect Obama. She downplays it a little, saying, "I'd be proud to meet him as anybody else." She also doesn't sound like she wants to go to the Inauguration. (She's 106 years old. Who could blame her? I barely want to go to a party tomorrow night that's only 10 blocks away.) It kind of sounds like what she'd love -- she doesn't say this exactly -- is for our new President to stop by for a quick chat. Ms. Cooper says that she would "just like to shake his hand." I know soon-to-be President Obama is a little busy right now, but I hope he can squeeze in a cup of tea with one of his oldest supporters.

Hang on... there's something in my eye... speck of dust... talk amongst yourselves...

Sources: CNN (also photo), The History Makers

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The Obamas Are a Great First Family

Brett Singer — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Remember when the Republicans were supposed to be the "family values" party? Personally, I never bought into it, but a lot of people did.

I wonder what those folks had to say when they saw the Obamas take the stage Tuesday night.

This isn't the first time we've had a President with a family, of course. Bill and Hillary Clinton had Chelsea, the Bushes had the twins, the Carters had Amy. According to The Independent, the Obama children, "will be the youngest children in the White House since nine-year-old Amy Carter in 1977."

The paper also says that the girls, "will face intense scrutiny as children of the first black American president." I guess that means that… you know, I don't even want to say what that means. I hope it's not true, although I'm sure it will be.

Watching the family take the stage last night I felt a certain parental kinship that I hadn't experienced with any other politician. Of course some of that is because of timing: I currently have two young children, so do they. Not that we're all in the same situation, of course. But when I first saw this video of Barack and Michelle interacting with their young'uns I have to admit that I felt like I was watching a normal family. By "normal" I mean just a family, any family, not one that is experiencing something so monumental I can only imagine it. The girls were busting mom and dad's chops. Michelle appeared to be in charge. Barack looked uncomfortable talking about clothes. The sisters were trying to one-up each other. There was something familiar about them. Family-familiar. Family-iliar, if I may awkwardly invent a word. (It's all about change, right?)

Obviously being President is not like being a writer, and raising two kids in the White House is not like raising them in Manhattan. (The White House might be easier in some ways.) But somehow I'm finding it much easier to look at the Obamas as a relatable American family, more so than with any past Presidential household. Besides, any man who takes time out of his Presidential acceptance speech to tell his daughters that he loves them, and that they'll be getting a puppy when they move to the White House, is someone I can respect – as a parent.

Does anyone else feel this family-iliar (sorry) connection with the First Family?

image: Chicago Tribune via Morning News

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The Obama Kids Get a New Puppy

Brett Singer — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:04:00 GMT

Dad may have won the election. But the Obama's adorable daughters, Malia (10) and Sasha (7), are getting a PUPPY.

That's right. In his victory speech last night, President-elect Barack Obama (wow, I just typed that) said, "I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House."

What I'm not clear on is whether or not this was a promise made to the children. What's that conversation like? “You know how we've been traveling, and I've been really really busy lately? Well girls, daddy is trying to become one of the most powerful human beings on the planet. And I know it's been a little tough on you, so if I win, you know what? You're getting a puppy!” Obviously, that's not what happened, but it's fun to think about.

Presidential pooches are not a new thing. The Clintons has Buddy, and of course Nixon had Checkers. According to The First Post, the Kennedys kept a pony in the garden, which seems a bit... messy.

I have to say one thing here. Despite the obvious historical significance of this election, when I was watching President-elect Barack Obama (!) take the stage last night, all I could think of when I saw those two little girls was, “Awww. They're so cute!” That's what parenting does to you, I suppose.

So like, President Schmesident. What kind of dog are they getting? And what they should they name it?

Sources: The First Post, The Guardian, every news outlet on Earth and probably in outer space as well

Image: The First Post (that's not THE dog, just some random K-9)