My previous post raised the debate of whether a certain political television advertisement is racist. I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out how it could be racist. But then again, I had no idea the complete ignorance that still exists in the country.

“Slaghammer”, the brilliant mind behind alchemyanyone.blogspot.com/ , left the following in the comment section of Dr. Blogstein: If you think this ad is racist, you must be a racist but it is far too insightful to be hidden in there.

I hope he is okay with me bringing into the forefront. Read it now and then we’ll discuss:

Incidentally, its a landslide winner of

I think this issue needs some context.

I know people who only recently discovered that blood from black people can transfused into white people. They’ve lived their lives operating on the assumption that black people’s blood is black and is therefore poison to white people. Their opinion is primarily based on a knifing incident involving some family members where the blood of the victim appeared black. I think it was because the blood was all over a gas station floor stained black by grease. I’m pretty sure they saw what they wanted to see.

A couple of years ago, another person told me that God had called him to preach, this only moments before he told me that black people don’t have souls so it is ok to kill them. He believes that the concept of a white person being jailed for killing a black person is outrageous. I’ve heard endless diatribes regarding verses in the bible that support enslaving black people and decades of detailed stories about the evils of the that race.

Of course, not all racists are that outrageously ignorant of biology, but from where I stand, the more intellectual pro-racist arguments are just as laughable. I worked with skinheads in the north several years back. They were constantly rotating in and out of jail because they just couldn’t pass by a mixed race couple without “inviting them to a boot party.”

I mention all of that so I can say this, according to the racist mentality, of all the alleged sins perpetrated against the white race by the black race, by far the most serious and the one they just can’t stop talking about is the “pillaging of their women and the polluting of their gene pool.” Based on my experiences with racism in the south, it appears there have been more minorities beaten and killed for that perceived threat than all of the other reasons combined.

Bottom line, that commercial is not racist any more than a wrench or a hammer can be racist. However, if a person uses the tool and knowingly encourages detrimental racial stereotypes in the process, then that person is a racist. If you don’t agree, then your argument is with the dictionary people. There is nothing racist about a person’s ignorance of the subtext in the commercial, especially if they have not been exposed to the reality of racism.

Regarding the people who actually created the commercial, I guess it could be argued that they had no working knowledge of the history or current reality of racism in the south. Maybe they had no idea that portraying a white woman insinuating sex with a black man might incite racists to action. Maybe some kid in his parent’s basement in Connecticut made the commercial. How sheltered would a person have to be to believe that?

Of course, there is nothing racist about living a sheltered life. The argument about racist voters not voting for black people anyway is irrelevant. I can’t think of a more powerful tool with which to get racists off the couch and into the voting booth than to insinuate that a black candidate in their district has been having sex with white women, in a close election, that could easily be the issue that tips the result one way or another. I guess I can understand why some people have such a hard time understanding it. For those fortunate enough to have never witnessed a crowd of racists being whipped into a frenzy, they could be forgiven for not understanding why the issue of racism is being raised.

Am I the only one so naive to be surprised that the above still exists? Am I also the only one who kind of thinks those ignorant, racist bastards who excel in violence as described in Slaghammer’s comment are just as dangerous as Islamic terrorists who may be living in our country? Shouldn’t Skinheads, KKK and the like be considered terrorists and taken out as part of the War on Terror? Perhaps, while “we’re fighting them over there” we should also be fighting our own homegrown terrorists too!

I’m Dr. Blogstein and I approve this message.

For the past week or so its been debated that a certain political ad in Tennessee is racist. I just don’t see it. I’ll play you the ad, paid for by the Republican National Committee in support of Senatorial Candidate Bob Corker in his campaign against Harold Ford Jr., and then we’ll discuss.

Now, the part people are calling racist is–get this–the fact that the “Playboy bunny” is white and Ford is black. How is that racist?!? A black man shouldn’t have the same opportunity to bang a white bimbo as a white man? Outrageous! I think, taking the leap to call the ad racist shows a line of thinking only a racist would have.

People counter my argument by stating that the scenario of a white woman and a black male appeals to the racism that still exists in many Tennessee voters. But to me that’s ludicrous. A racist was never going to vote for a black candidate anyway, so what point would a racially charged ad be?!?

The ad is silly, dumb, reportedly factually inaccurate, but its far from racist. And anyway, is Harold Ford Jr. even 100% black? I don’t know the man’s personal history but by seeing him in interviews, I would not be shocked if one of his parents was white. But, again, that’s not the point.

**An all new Vince Flynn interview when he returns to the Radio Happy Hour on Tuesday night October 21 at 9PM Eastern. Just click –> Vince Flynn.**

You may remember me talking about the new book by Vince Flynn last week. Well, I have Act of Treason and while I haven’t finished it yet, I can tell you that it’s a real winner. But what I’ve come to realize this week, with Vince Flynn “on the stump” is how Flynn himself is a real winner.

The man is a straight talker. He tells it like it is. (Which is obviously the same thing as calling him a “straight talker”) He also carries himself in a very (dare I say) presidential way.

He calls himself a Republican, but also indicates that he’s pro-choice and that gays can do whatever the hell they want (my wording, not his!) He takes a real hard stance on national security. I have yet to hear or read an interview where he takes a stand on stem cell research, but so far, he’s right in line with my line of thinking. A presidential candidate with those views is a presidential candidate that I would vote for–heck, that I’d campaign for.

Its well known that President Dubya is a big fan of Flynn’s books (and no, they’re NOT picture books!) President Bubba is also a fan of the author’s series. Already, Flynn is bridging the political divide!

If you’re still not sold, check out Flynn’s appearance today on Fox News:

Am I wrong? He’s quite presidential if you ask me.

Now, our one obstacle is that I’m pretty sure that Vince Flynn has no intentions on running for office and why should he? He’s probably making millions on his books. I’m not sure how to overcome that, but what I do know is that he reads his fan site message board. So it is there that I choose to officially nominate Vince Flynn for President!

P.S. : If there are any computer savvy people out there who could make me a logo that looks like a campaign poster for Vince Flynn I will be indebted to you for life–or at least for October. UPDATE!10-14-06: The logo to the right is courtesy of the lovely Miss Cellania.

terrorism, books, thrillers, 24, Jack Bauer, Act of Treason, Vince Flynn, Bush, W., George W. Bush,Bill Clinton

***This article is so old already***

***Click here for the latest info on Brad Thor!***

or click play below to listen to Dr.Blogstein’s June 24, 2008 interview with Brad Thor

Way back in late February, yours truly brought you the world’s first glimpse at bestselling author Brad Thor’s new thriller’s book jacket. And now, since I know my sophisticated audience would never dare judge a book by its cover, I bring you the very first interview with Brad Thor about his new book Takedown!

But before that, let me come clean: I am a huge fan of Brad Thor’s previous books, but then again I’m biased because I’m American and do not support terrorism against my country. If that describes you as well, then I’m fairly certain that you too will become a fan of Mr. Thor’s work.

All indications are that Takedown, the fifth thriller featuring tough-as-nails and sarcastic-as-Blogstein counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath, will be this summer’s hot read. You know, the one book you see every other person on the beach reading?

So, my tip to you is to get in on it early so you can take credit for discovering it–at least that’s what I intend to do.

The book comes out on May 30th but I just preordered it here.

And now, without Freddy Adu, we welcome Brad Thor…

Dr. Blogstein: Hello Brad, it is a true honor to have one of my favorite writers visiting the pages of Dr. Blogstein.

Brad Thor: It’s my pleasure, Dr. B. Thank you for having me.

Dr. B: If you had two or three sentences to convince me to read Takedown, what would you say?

BT: I know where you live, what kind of car you drive and where you get your shirts laundered. Read it or I’ll be in touch.

But if you aren’t the kind who bows to petty intimidation, then I’d say - this book is a white-knuckle thrill ride. It is easily my best work to date. The plotting is razor sharp, the chapters are fast as hell, the action never stops and the characters are based on real people who are out there kicking ass and taking hyphenated names on a daily basis.

Dr. B: Brad, you had me at “shirts laundered.”

According to your new book’s description on Amazon.com, terrorists attack New York City and “all of the bridges and tunnels leading into and out of Manhattan are destroyed.” Can something like this really happen in New York?

BT: If someone is willing to throw enough manpower at it, you bet it could.

Dr. B: The answer I was looking for was, “no.” Dude, you scare me.

In your expert opinion, is a terror strike similar to the one you write about in Takedown imminent? If so, can you tell me when to get the hell out of here?

BT: It’s funny you should ask. My wife jokes that I have some sort of bizarre ability to see into the future and write about events before they happen. I hope that isn’t true with New York, but what’s interesting is that Takedown is actually based on a very scary guy who went into hiding two days before the September 11th attacks. Not a lot frightens me, but this man is something to be seriously scared about. In my unending quest to have a fatwa issued against me, I used the guy’s real name in the book - and made him a pedophile to boot. As I neared completion on the novel, the CIA launched a missile strike inside Pakistan and nailed a bunch of bad guys. Supposedly, my guy was among them, so I decided to give the character a fictitious name. Two days ago an intel buddy of mine called to tell me that the scary guy is not dead and had managed to escape. I hope I’m wrong, but if I were you, Dr. B - I’d make sure I had plenty of canned tuna and powdered milk under the bed. And while you’re at it, keep that plastic sheeting and duct tape handy too.

Dr. B: Ummm, I could have used that plastic sheeting for my desk chair before you answered that question, if you know what I mean.

Are you ever afraid that you’re giving terrorists ideas?

BT: With all of the work I put into my novels (interviews, research, etc.), I come across a lot of information that for reasons of national security, I either change or omit altogether. I consider it my duty to be responsible. But am I ever afraid that I’m giving terrorists ideas? It does cross my mind from time-to-time.

Dr. B: To that point, according to “Page Six” in the New York Post dated July 2, 2005, the government put pressure on you to cancel interviews on your last book tour because “the D.C. bureaucrats are afraid Thor will give away secrets that might help the evil-doers.” If this is true, why did you get the memo and Scooter Libby didn’t?

BT: You know what, Scooter’s always been a rebel that way. He got the memo just like me, but a bunch of us suggested it might be funny if he blew it off and sure enough…

Dr. B: What makes Brad Thor novels so much fun to read is the tension of not knowing whether this is the book in which your hero, Counterterrorism Operative Scot Harvath, finally finds the letter “T” that’s clearly missing from his first name. Seriously, dude, what’s with your spelling of “Scot”?

BT: My brother’s name is Scot. My mother didn’t like the idea of three T’s lined up in Scott Thor, so she opted for Scot with one T. The character is based in part on him. That’s the truth.

Dr. B: How does the president in your novels, Jack Rutledge, measure up to other fake presidents such as Josiah Bartlet from The West Wing, David Palmer from 24, or George W. Bush from Crawford, TX?

BT: ROTFL. You’re a pretty funny guy, doc. Let me take these in order.

Josiah Bartlet couldn’t go a single round with President Rutledge. Who’s going to train him? Josh? CJ? Mrs. McKlusky - “He’s a wrecking machine, Josiah…”

Presidents Palmer and Rutledge, though, mano-a-mano would be a helluva fight. Plus, Palmer’s got that bad paw with all that funky skin. That would be pretty cool, but I’m afraid if things got too tough, he’d tried to tag out to Jack Bauer. Then Scot Harvath would have to jump in and the ass whoopin’ would begin. Bauer’d be hurtin’ for a lot longer than 24 hours.

And because I’d very much like to be invited back to the White House, I feel it necessary to point out that President George W. Bush is not a “fake” president.

Dr. B: That’s debatable.

Finally, Brad, if Takedown had a soundtrack what songs would be on it?

BT: What a great question. Let’s see here. In order of appearance they would be:

Tear the Roof of the Sucker - George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic
Daddy Cool - Boney M
Staying Alive - N Trance
Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash
Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway) - Billy Joel
Let’s Get It On - Tenacious D
And for the credit roll - Scotty Doesn’t Know by Lustra.

Dr. B: Books have credits that roll?

Well, thank you very much for your time, this has been a blast!

BT: If only all of my interviews were this much fun. Thanks, Doctor Blogstein. See you on the web.

terrorism, Politics, News,books, thrillers, Jack Bauer, 24, Bush, West Wing, Brad Thor, Music