The Teachable Moment

Austin Dispatches
No. 141
May 17, 2011
As if Austin doesn’t have enough problems, President Obama inconvenienced the city further on May 10, by disrupting evening rush hour traffic when his motorcade traveled from the airport to a couple of fundraisers.1

Telling, the four hours he was here, Obama didn’t spend any time on the East side, where the blacks and Mexicans who haven’t been driven out by the City’s gentrification policies still live.  They might start asking some hard questions about what he’s really done for them – the story of his career.2 

Instead, he attended one fundraiser downtown at $1,000 a plate ($44 for students), and another, at $35,800 per head ($50,000 per couple), hosted in the West Lake Hills house of “venture capitalist Blaine Wesner and philanthropist Alexa Wesner.” Judging from their names, their residence, and their occupations, I’m guessing they’re not migrant laborers from Oaxaca.3 

The press covered the fundraisers, so Obama didn’t include any direct jabs at the sort of people whose taxes he needs to fund his agenda like he does when he thinks no one’ll tattle.4  The sort of people who finished their jobs downtown, and instead of being able to return home at their usual time were stuck on Interstate 35 or Highway 183, burning extra gasoline that cost an average of $3.85/gallon for regular in Travis County the same week, because Obama had the audacity to deliver some boring speeches to his rich supporters about letting in more immigrants.5 

He would say that.6 A lot of people thought he was a foreign-born crypto-Muslim imposter because he stonewalled about releasing his birth certificate until a few weeks ago when a bankrupt blowhard from New York with a combover broke through Barack’s b.s.7 

e141fig1 That was his second big humiliation in about six months. On Nov. 2, the American electorate busted him in the chops like an aggressive elbow in a pick-up game.8 The novelty of a black president’s worn off, after Obama proved he’s just as clueless as everybody else in Washington, when he’s not showing a chip on his shoulder the size of the Pyramids toward whitey.9  The Republicans, who disgraced themselves – yet again – during Dubya’s administration,10 exploited the situation to gain more seats in the U.S. House since the dark days of the New Deal.11 Election Day 2010 should’ve been Obama’s come-to-Muhammed moment.

Meanwhile, his old friend Rod “Blago” Blagojevich is back on trial in Chicago.12

But Obama continues to pursue policies that divide us, so he can stay in power whether or not he deigns to play peacemaker.13 Such as an immigration policy that would further wreck the social cohesion we who already live here need to do business without the extra costs that come from a low-trust society that develops when too many people lack the same background.14 

Furthermore, both the proposed and the current immigration policies are government favors to businesses to rig the labor market at all levels so they can pay below-market rates for employees. At the lower levels, blacks and native-born Hispanics get squeezed out of their jobs and their neighborhoods by immigrants, who in turn don’t appreciate being used as pawns in power games by the sort who attend Obama fundraisers. I haven’t even mentioned the security risk, such as the Pakistani immigrant who nearly blew up Times Square.15

For all his animosity toward whites, a rather convoluted way of getting back at his mom,16 Obama doesn't really care much for blacks, either.17 No, like his three predecessors, he favors the international power elite that meets in Davos, Switzerland.18 Americans are an afterthought to him. Consider the casual way he’s committed U.S. forces against Libya without authorization from or consultation with Congress.19

My suggestion to all of us – white, black and brown – is that we unite … to rid ourselves of the thin-skinned Obama.20 We’ll have to escalate the humiliations until we drive him from office.  Austinites should’ve greeted him with rotten fruit. Perhaps figs, crushed underfoot, in grottos.21 Can we overcome?22  “Yes we can.”

Besides, Austin’s power elite is capable of destroying Austin without help or direction from its ideological comrade in the White House.

In the May 14 municipal elections, two of the three councilmen decisively beat back challengers, while former Planning Commissioner Kathie Tovo, backed by the neighborhood associations and environmentalists, forced Place 1 incumbent Randi Shade, pro-development and backed by the public safety unions, into a runoff. Expect a shrill catfight between two varieties of statists for the next month, much of it centered on Shade’s personal proclivities. Whoever wins, we residents lose.23

The City projects the cost of Austin living for the average utility customer and property owner will increase by $282 by next year. We at Austin Dispatches have been saying for some time that the City government is exacerbating the cost of living.24

The murder of a lesbian couple in Southeast Austin has the Austin Chronicle wondering if anti-“hate crime” laws are actually worthwhile. “Hate crime” is a thought-crime category its proponents prefer to use against straight white men. But the couple and the alleged murderer are all Mexican. This complicates the victimological hierarchy, and re-sorting it could force the proponents to confront all manner of unpleasant traits among supposed victim groups. Stereotypes might be confirmed. Long-held "progressive" views might even have to be revised or discarded. The pleasant surprise is that the Chronicle writer actually questions “hate crime” in a sensible fashion. (Like her peers, she’ll scurry away from such sensibility in future issues.)25 

Business Roundup

So far this month, three more California businesses are relocating to Austin.26 No surprise there. Chief Executive magazine’s annual survey ranks California the worst state to do business, and Texas the best.27 Yet only now are California lawmakers considering how to stem the hemorrhaging of businesses from their state.28 If they thought about it sensibly, they could've skipped a trip for advice. And really, Austin? After all these years of detailing how the local power elite harms the business climate, just how bad does it have to get elsewhere for Austin to look good? 

Cultural Canapés

The Cars, described by Chris in Houston as the Honda Civic of rock, have released a new album.29  The Sahara, one of the remaining Rat Pack-era Vegas casinos, closed May 16.30

Neighborhood News

Tootie Pie Gourmet Café, purveyor of flatulence-inducing desserts, has opened at the Arbor Walk shopping plaza.31

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NOTES
1
Embry, Jason. “Obama in Austin Today to Raise Money.” AAS 10 May 2011, final ed.: A1+.
2  
Sailer, Steve. America's Half-Blood Prince: Barack Obama's Story of Race and Inheritance. Washington, Conn.: VDARE Foundation, 2008: Ch. 7.
3 Embry. "In Texas, Obama Raillies Faithful." AAS 11 May 2011, final ed.: A1+.
4 Heilemann, John, and Mark Halperin. Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime, rev. ed. New York City: Harper Perennial, 2010: 240.
5 Embry, "In Texas, Obama Raillies Faithful," op. cit.
Price obtained from <http://www.austingasprices.com/Price_By_County.aspx?state=TX&c=usa>, viewed 12 May 2011.
6 Sailer, op. cit., 235, 238-239.
7 Berzon, Alexandra, and Christina S.N. Lewis. “Debating the Value of Trump Name.” WSJ 26 Feb. 2010, Eastern ed.: B1-2; Corsi, Jerome R. The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality. New York City: Threshold Editions, 2008: 60-62; Sailer, op. cit., 143; Scherer, Michael. ”Welcome to the Big Show.” Time 25 Apr. 2011: 30-33; Shear, Michael D. “Citing ‘Silliness,’ Obama Shows Birth Certificate.” NYT 28 Apr. 2011: 1.
8 McKinnon, John D., and Jonathan Weisman. “Obama Gets Stitches Playing Hoops.” WSJ 27 Nov. 2010, Eastern ed.: A2.
9 Sailer, op. cit., Ch. 8.
10 Bendavid, Naftali. The Thumpin’: How Rahm Emanuel and the Democrats Learned to Be Ruthless and Ended the Republican Revolution. New York City: Doubleday, 2007.
11 Dunham, Richard S. Hearst. “House Switches Hands.” San Antonio Express-News. 3 Nov. 2010: 1A+; Selway, William, and Alison Fitzgerald. “Republicans Are Poised to Increase U.S. House Gains in Undecided Contests.” BW 9 Nov. 2010: 3.
12 Davey, Monica. “Blagojevich’s Second Federal Corruption Trial Begins.” NYT 3 May 2011: 11.
13 Sailer, op. cit., 4-5, 20-22.
14 AD No. 134n26 (Jul. 10, 2010).
15 Chua-Eoan, Howard. “Broadway Bomber.” Time 17 May 2010: 20-24.
16 Sailer, op. cit., 38, 72, 81.
17 Ibid., 13, 134-135, 182-183, 208-211, 213-215.
18 Pigman, Geoffrey Allen. The World Economic Forum: A Multi-Stakeholder Approach to Global Governance. London: Routledge, 2007.
19 Hooper, Molly K. “Congress Shell-Shocked at Home as U.S. Forces Bomb Libya’s Gadhafi.” The Hill 28 Mar. 2011: 1-9.
20 Sailer, op. cit., 92, 101-102, 137, 186-187.
21Ibid., 85.
22 AD No. 122n9 (Feb. 8, 2009).
23 Coppola, Sarah. “Tough Odds for Shade in Runoff.” AAS 16 May 2011: A1+; Coppola. “Tovo Forces Shade Into June Runoff.” AAS 15 May 2011, final ed.: A1+.
24 Dirr, Jacob. “The Cost of Austin City Living.” ABJ 13 May 2011: A2.
25 Smith, Jordan. “The Road Against Hate.” AC 6 May 2011: 28+.
26 Gaar, Brian. “California Companies Bringing More Jobs, Business to Austin.” AAS 10 May 2011: B5; Ladendorf, Kirk. “ArthroCare Moving Jobs to Austin.” 3 May 2011: B5.
27 “Survey: California Worst State to Do Business, Texas the Best.” ABJ 13 May 2011: A4.
28 Harrell, Barry. “California Officials Say They Need Follow Texas’ Lead on Regulation.” AAS 16 Apr. 2011: B5.
29 The Cars. Move Like This. Hear Music HRM-32872, 2011.
30 AD No. 138n14 (Jan. 13, 2011); Finnegan, Amanda. “Another Loss for Strip’s North End.” Las Vegas Sun 16 May 16, 2011: 1+; Greenspun, Brian. “Recalling Sahara’s Days of Splendor.” Las Vegas Sun 15 May 2011: 1+; Kannigher, Steve. “Strip Resort Blazed Trail in Its Early Days.” Las Vegas Sun 16 May 16, 2011: 1+; Katsiolmetes, John. “Final Curtain.” Las Vegas Sun 16 May 16, 2011: 1+.
31 “Impacts.” CIN Apr. 2011: 5.