Quibbles and Bits – 1/22/09

The Washington Times has a story about an inaugural ball gone bad. Apparently a singer with George Clinton and the P. Funk All-Stars held up a white towel with the words f–k George on it.

Now that might not have been a problem at the ball where JayZ “entertained,” but this was an inaugural ball honoring US military vets.

During the Heroes Red, White & Blue Inaugural Ball honoring the nation’s veterans, a vocalist with George Clinton and the P. Funk All-Stars held up a white towel with large block letters saying “[Expletive] GEORGE,” perturbing many audience members who walked out after the display, interpreting it as a jab at the outgoing commander-in-chief, George W. Bush.
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“Obviously we and the Heroes Ball coordinators were unaware that the sign existed and did not support their actions, especially considering our non-partisan mission and treasured military audience,” said ball spokeswoman Carrie Foster.

Read the rest ->
What did the band say about this? Well, it WAS pretty lame and nothing I’d believe from my 7 year old.

But a spokesman for the band, the final act to perform, said the sign was intended to poke fun at their leader, who shares the same first name as Bush.

“George’s guys always have always had a thing about the four-letter-word,” said band spokesman Sandy Friedman. “It was directed to George Clinton. There was no last name, it was to George, the leader of the band.”

You’re kidding, right? Someone in the band, as a joke, holds up a “f–k George” sign about the leader and BOSS of the band? And George Clinton is a well-known, respected musician. Give me a freakin break. That’s a lie and it’s a stupid one.

Military people do not like jabs at a president, whether they voted for him or not. They are typically more respectful of the office than the average “recording artist.”

Also:

The towel incident was a hiccup in an otherwise smooth and glamorous evening. Guests on hand to thank the veterans included Larry King, Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and USO President Elaine Rodgers.

No. BO didn’t see fit to attend THIS ball.

2) And for another ball story. Thisain’thell has a post about another ball BO didn’t attend: the Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball. THis is the one that recognizes Medal of Honor recipients. Apparently a blog poster attended that ball because I don’t see any references to media here.

According to TSO who was at the “Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball”, this newly sworn-in President for the first time in 56 years blew off the ball (that’s 14 Inaugurations).

I honestly don’t know what to say to this. Obama already has an “iffy” relationship with many rank and file service members. He should have made the effort.

3) Another day in Afghanistan, another stupid male throwing acid on girls going to school. From CNN:

The 19-year-old was heading to school along with her 16-year-old sister, Atifa, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. It was a warm November morning last year and their only anxiety was being late for class.

“We saw two men up ahead staring at us. One was standing off and the other one was on their motorcycle. I wanted to go but there was a black object in his hand and he took it out,” Atifa says.

The girls thought it was a water pistol.

“He grabbed my arm and asked, ‘Will you be going to school anymore?’ He then threw acid on my sister and threw acid on me,” Shamsia says.
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Atifa was burned so badly that her red scarf melted onto her dark brown hair.

Video of an acid attack:

Just another acid attack on just another girl. Until a few weeks later when video of the since arrested attackers popped up.

. . .until a video made by Afghan Intelligence was released by the Interior Ministry, and aired on Afghan State Television in late December.

One of the accused, Jalil, said in the video that a major in the ISI, or Pakistani intelligence unit, approached him and offered him the equivalent of $2,000 for each attack.

“He told me I will give 200,000 Pakistani rupees for a teacher’s death, 300,000 for burning a school, and 100,000 for throwing acid on a schoolgirl,” Jalil said, seeming frightened and agitated as he looked into the camera.

He said the major gave him a letter for the Pakistani Consulate in Kandahar, where he received the money.

True? I don’t know. But one of the young women talked about revenge.

But her greatest revenge, she says, is an education.

When asked if she would stop attending school, Shamsia was quick with her response. “Why wouldn’t I want to come to school? I want our country to persevere. I have to do something for my country, I must go to school.”

Good on her.

4) You did know that Tim Geithner claimed that TurboTax didn’t sufficiently prod him to produce a W-2 or 1099 for his work at the IMF? No? Well, the National Review took a look at the software and refutes this.

Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked, “Did the software prompt you to pay those taxes?”

“Not to my recollection,” Geithner answered.

Do any TurboTax users know otherwise from experience?

UPDATE: A reader responds, “I assure you that Turbotax asks very specifically if you got a 1099 or a W2 from your employer. I know it, you know it, the American people know it!”

Tempest in a teapot? Maybe, but here’s another point NRO makes:

Geithner added that the error is his, not the software’s, but again, if the software that he used to prepare his taxes reminded him of this provision of the tax code, and he still didn’t pay, it looks worse, and tougher and tougher to believe that they were “completely unintentional” as he said in his opening statement.

I use TurboTax and know I’ve seen prompts for self-employment forms. Jeeez.

5) While many Americans may feel Obama has/will vault America back to the top of world reputation and strength, the Guardian has a few cautions.

First, the article notes that Obama’s multicultural background has served him well even as he has continued to tout his “citizen of the world” cred ad nauseum.

Emphasis mine.

The great theme of his whole life until now – including the literature we know he read most intensely, his own best book (Dreams from My Father) and his greatest speech so far (the Philadelphia speech on “race”) – is the blending of multiple identities in an America that will finally be at one with itself. He not only is but consciously presents himself as the apotheosis of the American dream. He promises not merely to transcend, at long last, the United States’ founding contradiction between liberty and slavery, but also to prepare America for a new order of ethnic diversity. His immediate family of Michelle and the girls already personify the first: every other day will bring some photograph of the black family in the White House. His almost encyclopedically diverse extended family, in which the languages spoken reportedly include Indonesian, French, Cantonese, German, Hebrew, Swahili, Luo and Igbo, represents the latter.

But the writer notes that other world leaders aren’t quite as easily impressed as the average American voter.

I am struck by how many little ifs and buts hedged even the customary welcoming words from world leaders. Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel offered warm and Christian congratulations, but added that “no single country can solve the problems of the world”. Nicolas Sarkozy said: “We are eager for him to get to work so that with him we can change the world.” (So, you see, France is ready to lead once more.) By the time we get to China, Russia, or an Arab world angered by Obama’s silence over Gaza, the caveats come not as delicate barbs but as heavy artillery shells.

The article is generally positive, but I found these bits interesting.

6) Here, for your viewing and/or nauseous pleasure, is MSNBC coverage of one of the balls and its expert commentary on the dancing, glamour and exceptional looks of the first couple. I think even Maddow got in on this.

Excuse me, gotta go retch.