“Conservatives in Uproar Over Obama’s ‘Bow’ in Asia - Afro American Newspaper” plus 4 more

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• Conservatives in Uproar Over Obama’s ‘Bow’ in Asia - Afro American Newspaper
• Center RJ Willing - BYUCougars.com
• Enjoying a Drink - Isthmus Daily Page
• Sorry Notre Dame - CBS Sports
• Times Slimes Obamic Climes - Hotair.com

Conservatives in Uproar Over Obama’s ‘Bow’ in Asia - Afro American Newspaper Posted: 23 Nov 2009 07:55 PM PST By AFRO Staff (November 19, 2009) - Conservative commentators are in an uproar over President Barack Obama's deep bow to Japan's Emperor Akihito during his visit to the country this weekend, claiming the American president was "groveling" before the leader, The Associated Press reported. However, the cultural greeting appears to follow the State Department's protocol guidelines for foreign service officers working in other countries. Obama's greeting was atypical, however, because he shook Akihito's hand and bowed to him. Similarly, Obama was accused of genuflecting to Saudi King Abdullah at a summit in early 2009. However, Obama is not the first U.S. president to receive flak from conservatives for culturally sensitive introductions with foreign leaders. In 2005, then-President George W. Bush was criticized for holding Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah's hand—a symbol of respect and friendship in many Middle Eastern nations—while walking, according to AP. In 1994, former Democratic President Bill Clinton was mocked for attempting to bow to Akihito. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Center RJ Willing - BYUCougars.com Posted: 23 Nov 2009 07:34 PM PST "There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." The importance of preparation, as said here by Ret. Gen Colin Powell, is something BYU center RJ, short for Richard Jr., Willing tries to focus on more and more each day. Willing uses dutiful preparation to balance all aspects of his hectic life, including: a full class schedule, family time and football. STUDENT COMES FIRST "Academics have always been important in my life, that's something my parents instilled within me while I was still young," says the six-foot-five lineman from Hawai`i. At 308 pounds, the senior center faces classes and tests the same way he faces mammoth defensive tackles every Saturday. "I just prepare the best way I can. Classes here can be tough, but if I study before I take the test I know I'll do fine," Willing says. "It's the same with football every week. The better we prepare for our opponent, the better we will play. This is something that actually took me awhile to learn, and it didn't really set in until after my mission, that's where I learned how to study and prepare." The change shows. Willing has twice earned Academic All-Mountain West honors since returning from his mission. "School is just as, if not more, important than sports," says Emi (Emoani) Willing, RJ's wife, a former softball player at BYU (see story on page 8). "But RJ knows that. He doesn't need any motivation from me to do well in school, he just motivates himself." The two met in study hall when RJ was a redshirt freshman in 2004. RJ left on his LDS mission to Albuquerque, N.M. after that year and returned two years later, then married Emi, who is also from Hawai`i. Marriage helps Willing's focus on academics as well. "Aside from my mission, marriage is definitely what turned around my focus on school," Willing says. "Before the mission, I goofed around a lot in school. After coming back, knowing how to study and getting married, my habits improved dramatically." Willing's educational focus actually started while he was in high school. He grew up in Kahuku, Hawai`i, a town on the north shore of the island of Oahu. However, looking to give their son the best education possible for as long as possible, his parents, Richard and Susan Willing, enrolled him in the Kamehameha School District at a young age. Kamehameha High School is widely known as the top college-preparatory high school in the state of Hawai`i and it is also where his future wife went to school. "I feel like Kamehameha really prepared me for my collegiate education more than other places could have," RJ says. "But the best part was the school's focus on Hawaiian culture. The school really helped me gain a better understanding of the Hawaiian part of my heritage and past." FAMILY LIFE Before coming to Brigham Young University as a 17-year old freshman in 2003, RJ had spent his entire life in Hawai`i. "Getting off the rock was definitely a priority when I was deciding where to go after high school," recalls Willing. "I love Hawai`i, but I needed to experience something a little different in college." When the time came to choose a college, Richard and Susan Willing left the decision almost completely up to him. "My parents let me choose which college I would attend, but they sort of chose it for me," relates Willing. "They taught me the values I wanted to have in my life. So, even though I actually made the decision on my own to attend BYU, it was them who led me in the right direction my whole life." His father, Richard, showed his son how much he cared about him every day while he was in high school. "Kamehameha High School is the best high school in Hawai`i, but it's also an hour and a half from my house," remembers RJ. "Every single day my dad would drive me to and from school. We wouldn't get home until after nine almost every night. I knew anyway how much my parents cared about me, but the fact that he did that reassured me everyday." The environment his family provided as he was growing up helped prepare Willing for life as a husband and father. As he grew up in a loving home, he witnessed first hand examples of how to raise his own family. "My home life growing up was great. I'm glad that it was too, because now I am getting ready to start my own family," he says. RJ and Emi are expecting their first child after football season. While they are still nervous about the idea of being first-time parents, they are preparing as best as possible. "I don't know about how prepared we really are," jokes Emi. "But we have been learning from both mine and RJ's siblings, all of whom have kids." The excitement of having a child on the way is enough to sustain Willing. "I am really excited," he says. "We found out that we are having a girl, and it's going to be great. All of my siblings have kids, so I think we're prepared and we will definitely have a lot of fun." ON A MISSION Although Willing prepared for his college education at one of the top high schools in Hawai`i, school was not the only aspect of life involved in his preparation. As a senior in high school, he was a national top-100 offensive line prospect. To go along with that high accolade, Willing was also named First Team All-State by the Honolulu Advertiser and was a SuperPrep All-Far West selection. Willing's high school achievements on the football field are even more impressive given the fact that he was a year younger than anyone else in his grade. His young age also helped with his mission plans, because he could play two years of football before leaving. Coming out of high school he was recruited by not only BYU, but also Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Hawai`i. His choice was pretty easy. "A mission was always in my plan, so BYU was the most logical choice," relates Willing. "Other schools said they would be okay with me leaving for two years, but I knew I could rely on BYU to not only be okay with it but to support me as well." His first year on the roster was spent on the scout team while he was redshirting. His second year he entered the season deep on the depth chart, but ended up starting nine games at right tackle after injuries to other offensive lineman. "Getting playing experience as a redshirt freshman really helped me understand what it feels like to actually be playing in a game," says Willing. "There is a big difference between being a back-up in going through warm ups and being a starter. Knowing your going to play and start, the preparation aspect really gets influenced because you prepare harder to get ready to play. And that experience of learning how to prepare helped a ton." While on his mission in Albuquerque, N.M. he learned even more how to prepare no matter what the circumstances. When he returned to the BYU team in 2007, he remained in a back up role. That continued into his junior season in 2008. In those two seasons, he used the study and preparation skills he gained on his mission to be ready for anything. Those skills are evident now, as Willing has shown he is capable of playing all five positions on the offensive line. While tough to do, RJ is grateful for the knowledge provided to him by offensive line coach Mark Weber. "Coach Weber does not teach positions along the offensive line, he teaches concepts that you can apply to every position," says Willing. That especially helps him now that he is the starting center. Not only does he know his own position, but he also knows the duties of the other four linemen so he can audible and make changes at the line of scrimmage. "Knowing every position along the offensive line definitely helps when playing center, because you're always directing traffic, but center still has the steepest learning curve," he says. KEEPING THE TRADITION "BYU always has a good offensive line," says Willing. The credit should go to the coaches and the style in which they coach. It's a great tradition." With that in mind, he strives to be the leader of this season's offensive line. "As the only senior, and as the center, you sort of become the inherent leader. I think and hope that my teammates trust me and look at me as their leader. " Willing describes last year's offensive line as more "business-like". As the leader of this year's line, his goal is to make this season as fun as possible. "With so many newcomers, this year is more enjoyable simply because its so much more competitive. It's really fun," describes Willing. While the burden of "keeping the tradition" weighs heavily upon Willing, it does not bother him. He is happy to be the leader of this young offensive line. "Guys are always stepping up," he says. "We will keep up the BYU offensive line tradition." As this season reaches its closing stages, he will begin looking towards the future. While playing football professionally would be great, Willing looks at it differently. "Right now I'm not planning too far in the future. I just want to graduate," jokes Willing. "Maybe I'll go to graduate school, but that's still up in the air. My main goal is to just be happy with what I do and support my family. Family is number one." This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Enjoying a Drink - Isthmus Daily Page Posted: 23 Nov 2009 07:34 PM PST I can see this being touted as a "common sense" ordinance that will be hard to argue against ... who wants to be the one to say that someone should be able to drink on the job? But I agree with you, Dulouz. The ALRC should stick to penalizing offenders and not be in the business of inventing solutions that are in need of a problem. If this were to pass, would it be illegal for a sommelier to sample product for quality control? Or for anyone working a wine-tasting (or whiskey-tasting, as I saw Barrique's once held) to take part with customers? Making sure the beer hasn't gone bad? This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Sorry Notre Dame - CBS Sports Posted: 23 Nov 2009 08:02 PM PST You're right, Bob Stoops and Urban Meyer wouldn't take the ND job. But not for reasons unique to Notre Dame. And certainly not because they'd be fired after a couple bad years; that's true of the schools they're at now (just ask Ron Zook). If anything, Notre Dame has a slow hook. Remember what a controversy it was when Tyrone Willingham was fired after only three years? Notre Dame doesn't shop on the Bob Stoops/Urban Meyer shelf anymore. Oklahoma and Florida are more attractive coaching positions right now. Or at least attractive enough that their current coaches wouldn't gladly jump the first plane out of town for the honor of coaching at Notre Dame. ND's failure to understand that is what gave them Charlie Weis in the first place. The worst thing Notre Dame could do is fire Charlie Weis without being damn sure they've got a star replacement lined up. I know it's not how they like to do business, but there's no point in spending $10 million plus to buy out Charlie Weis only to hire another Charlie Weis. If Brian Kelly or Jim Harbaugh will give you a wink-wink-nudge-nudge, you make the move. If not, you wait for next year's coaching carousel. You know what I'd do if I were Notre Dame? I'd forget Kelly/Meier/Harbaugh and go find the next Kelly/Meier/Harbaugh. Any of those coaches would have jumped at a Notre Dame offer when they were at Central Michigan, Bowling Green, and San Diego, respectively. Now they're probably better off staying put. Notre Dame no longer has the luxury of letting its potential head coaches prove themselves at "lesser" schools like Stanford; those who do so will find themselves in better situation than Notre Dame can offer. They need to get aggressive. Find somebody who fits the Notre Dame profile, and make their move. And hey, they'd save some money. And just because people love a name to speculate about, how about Al Golden? Anybody who can recruit quality players and reverse a culture of losing at dead-end Temple certainly deserves a look. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Times Slimes Obamic Climes - Hotair.com Posted: 23 Nov 2009 08:02 PM PST Times Slimes Obamic Climes posted at 7:31 pm on November 23, 2009 by Dafydd ab Hugh [ Obama ]    regular view The mighty New York Times has abruptly woken from its slumber to discover that President Barack H. Obama hasn't been doing too well recently on the approval front; Adam Nagourney has finally noticed a couple of disturbing facts: Mr. Obama's decline a year into his term comes as he struggles through a decidedly sour climate. The unemployment rate has jumped above 10 percent and shows no sign of abating. At this point, even if Mr. Obama cannot be blamed for causing the economic decline, Americans are growing impatient with him to fix it. His main legislative initiative — the health care bill — is the subject of a messy fight in Congress, displaying Washington in the very bitter partisan light that Mr. Obama promised to end. It has provided Republicans with a platform to stir concerns that Mr. Obama is using the health care overhaul to expand the role of government beyond the comfort level of many Americans; polls suggest that these arguments have helped sow significant doubts. Nagourney is still not quite sure this is really happening; it could just be an artifact of the One being outside the country for a few days. But he does concede that there might be the faint beginnings of something happenin' here… Still, there does seem to be the suggestion of a trend here. Approval of Barack H. Obama from inauguration to 23 November 2009 Gee… you think? InstaReynolds wrote a short (now there's a shock!), powerful (ditto) post yesterday (which happened to be the 46th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, though that that is neither here nor there). In the post, Glenn Reynolds analyzed the narcissism rooted deep in the 2008 election — and it's not the one you're thinking of: I think Obama's "charisma" was based on voter narcissism — people excited not just about electing a black President, but about themselves, voting for a black President. Now that's over, and they're stuck just with him, and emptied of their own narcissism there's not much there to fill out the suit. As Ann Althouse says, "I think what Obama seems to have become, he always was." This is what is meant by a phrase some have used that is undoubtedly racially offensive — but also certainly true in a very deep sense: "Barack the magic negro." American voters felt great joy in finally being able to vote a black man into the Presidency of the United States; and even those who have neither racial animus nor guilt should be pleased that there is no longer a color barrier for the most powerful position in the world (though still a gender barrier). It's impossible to forget that for most of our history, that "color barrier" was all too real and all too deliberate, even after the 1964 Civil Rights Act. But once the magic wears off, and we find ourselves stuck with the quotidian edition of Barack H. Obama instead, then the narcissistic impulse to support him fades. When he is left with only himself, his policies, and his appointees, then many erstwhile supporters recoil and ask, "What hath Man wrought!" So in that sense, Nagourney's headline (which I'm sure he didn't write) — "An Unsurprising Slide for Obama" — is quite true. But that is no comfort for la Casa Blanca; because Nagourney notwithstanding, the reaction is not a temporary blip in an otherwise smooth presidential trajectory. As the graphic above graphically illustrates, the slide is not only not surprising, it's not sudden; neither does it show any sign of suddenly stopping. We rightly congratulate ourselves (collectively) for electing a black president over a white candidate that nobody could call unAmerican, dishonorable, or ridiculous, however much we may wish he were a better Republican. But when we're done patting ourselves on the back, we feel no compulsion to re-elect him after he has proven himself such a risible, unprepared, unqualified farce. This slide is permanent, changeable only if Obama himself changes significantly: Mr. Obama's aides argue that the political culture of Washington is too fixated on each new bit of approval-rating data. "I think the history of these things is that Washington becomes absorbed with them," said David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama. "But not every day is Election Day. There's not all that much relationship about what these things mean and what's going to happen in an election a year — or three years — in advance." Axelrod can spin like a whirling Dervish, but he cannot bring the magic home again; Obama will never again enjoy a default approval of 65%. Like every other president, he will rise and fall (mostly the latter, if I'm any judge) on the basis of what he does and how he governs. Adam Nagourney does have one point quite right: Bill McInturff, a Republican pollster, has long argued that the gap between the public's views of Mr. Obama and of his policies is politically significant [sic -- I think he meant "insignificant"], and that it is only a matter of time before the two measures meet. If that happens, Republicans could find it easier to engage Mr. Obama, whether by challenging him on policies in Washington, or running against him in Congressional elections next year, the way Democrats ran against George W. Bush in the 2006 midterms. This of course explains the rush of the Democratic caucus in Congress to pass anything and everything they can this year; because by next year, too many of them will be fighting for their political lives to risk it all on pushing unpopular, deviant, even terrifying legislation that nationalizes more and more of American life, empowering the federal government at the expense of the people. Cross-posted on Big Lizards… This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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