Crackpot

"...I can remember, you can remember, and I'm sure Jesse Helms can remember, a time in this country when the word crackpot meant something. It is getting harder and harder to tell when the mainstream stops and the lunatic fringe begins." -Ann Richard

There have been a couple of things in the news that I feel the need to comment on. I don't expect you to agree with me so if at anytime you don't like what you're reading, you are more than welcome to stop reading and come back when I have something amusing to say.

Let's start with, as Whoopi would say, "I'm A Dinner Jacket" otherwise known as Iranian President Ahmadinejad. Many people are upset that he was invited to speak at Columbia University. Everyone is welcome to their opinion.

I can't believe he accepted the invitation. I hope he didn't think that students would sit there and believe everything that he said. There probably wasn't a better group of people to skewer the guy. What's that saying about it's better to keep your my mouth shut and look like a fool rather than open your mouth and prove you are a fool.

(from the AP):
He sought to portray himself as an intellectual and argued that his regime had respect for reason and science. But the former engineering professor soon found himself drawn into the type of rhetoric that has alienated American audiences in the past.

He provoked derisive laughter by responding to a question about Iran's execution of homosexuals by saying: "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country. ... I don't know who's told you that we have this."

Well, the reason you think you don't have any homosexuals in your country is probably because they have all been executed.

Let's move on to the 2nd crackpot of the day: Bill O'Reilly.

(from Media Matters):

During the September 19 edition of his nationally syndicated radio program, discussing his recent trip to have dinner with Rev. Al Sharpton at Sylvia's, a famous restaurant in Harlem, Bill O'Reilly reported that he "had a great time, and all the people up there are tremendously respectful," adding:

"I couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks, primarily black patronship."

Later, during a discussion with National Public Radio senior correspondent and Fox News contributor Juan Williams about the effect of rap on culture, O'Reilly asserted:

"There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, 'M-Fer, I want more iced tea.' You know, I mean, everybody was -- it was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb in the sense of people were sitting there, and they were ordering and having fun. And there wasn't any kind of craziness at all."

O'Reilly also stated: "I think black Americans are starting to think more and more for themselves. They're getting away from the Sharptons and the [Rev. Jesse] Jacksons and the people trying to lead them into a race-based culture. They're just trying to figure it out. 'Look, I can make it. If I work hard and get educated, I can make it."

What the F___? I mean, come on. I wonder if he has ever been to a Mexican restaurant in a Mexican neighborhood in a city like Houston or Ft. Worth? He probably thinks everyone walks in with a switchblade?

I guess what scares me about Bill O'Reilly is that he has people who actually listen to him and buy his books.

I'm still shaking my head over this one!