Star-Spangled Banner...en Espanol?

After a laborious morning, my father and I decided to head over to a restaurant close to home for lunch. We sat down and proceeded to order our meals. We talked for a while before I glanced at the TV hanging from the wall directly in front of me. The TV was showing CNN's coverage of some American's outrage over the recording of a Spanish version of the Star-Spangled Banner. At first, I laughed after reading viewers' emails, which staunchly condemned such blasphemy. In other words, I thought the coverage was simply showing typical American bigotry. However, as I began to pay more attention, I noticed even the anchors were speaking in a more serious tone.

I thought about it to myself. I thought, "why would anyone want to record the national anthem in Spanish?" I came to the conclusion that it wasn't a great idea and that it would probably promote the bigot's Reconquista claims.

I then asked my father what he thought about it. My dad is an immigrant from Mexico. He came here over 25 years ago, worked his ass off for years, and finally became a U.S. Citizen about 10 years ago. He is extremely proud of being American and he isn't afraid to show it. His answer, therefore, surprised me. He asked, "why are they so mad about? They took half of Mexico and we eventually got over it. You can't compare a national anthem to half a country." At first I was speechless, but it then it hit me. People who are "defending" the national anthem from losing its soul are hypocrites. I'm sure many of these people don't know the words to the song and yet they're attempting to defend it on so-called principles.

Americans, typically conservative hacks, call for unquestioned patriotism. The immigrants who support this Spanish-version "Star-Spangled Banner" are demonstrating their love for this country. Fuck, it feeds their fucking families. I'm not defending illegal immigration here, let's make that point clear. I'm simply making the case for bigots to settle the fuck down. It's a powerful song, I agree. But before you begin to bash a sizeable part of this country, re-examine the meaning behind our national anthem.

An update is likely since I'm a little fired-up right now!

Senator Feingold...Our Next President?

While the GOP is self-destucting, not many Democrats have taken advantage by pushing the envelope further. Perhaps the one Democrat who has been exceptional is Senator Russ Feingold from Wisconsin. He was the one senator to question the Patriot Act shortly after 9/11. He has consistently pushed the idea that Republicans can't govern. Recently, he introduced a presidential censure resolution. This move was both brilliant and risky. Not only did he move his base, but he proved that there IS a Democrat out there who owns a nice pair of balls!

This past week, Senator Feingold went into hostile territory and appeared on Faux News! As much as that jerkoff Chris Wallace tried to pin Feingold into a defensive position, the senator maintained his message and looked very civil. You can see the video here.

Could it be that we're looking at our next president? I once thought McCain would be the most-likely person, but he's been messing around in wingnuttia. The Arizona senator has been moving to the right in almost every issue. He sure is looking like Joe Lieberman these days!

I now have a difficult choice for whom I will support in 2008. Will I support Al Gore (assuming he'll run, which he has negated)? Or will I support Russ "balls of steel" Feingold? We still have some years to go before this heats up. A note to Feingold: don't let Hilary get all the money! Start raising the funds now!