Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Much ado about head garments

So Barack Obama walks into a ceremony in Kenya in 2006 wearing a turban ...

(no, this is not the start of a bad joke -- those will follow later).

This is news because, perhaps, somebody in the Clinton campaign apparently "leaked" an easily available news photo -- from the Associated Press, no less -- to blogger Matt Drudge, according to blogger Matt Drudge.

According to Al Jazeera in English, which actually writes better English than Matt Drudge, "The Drudge Report website had published the image of Obama wearing Somali clothing, which it (that's you, Mr. Drudge) alleges was sent by Clinton staff" (also note the proper way of doing attribution, Mr. Drudge).

The story continues, quoting Professor Abdallah Schleifer, a foreign policy specialist at the American University in Cairo (who is an actual person with an actual name, Mr. Drudge):

"Why is that a smear? Well ... You have to understand that in America there is a section of society for which terrorism and Muslims are associated together," the story said.

(Note also, Mr. Drudge, that Al Jazeera used a different easily available photo which was widely distributed to thousands of news outlets all over the world in 2006).

...

What can we learn from all of this?

That, obviously, there is a "section of society" that wears threatening head garments.

These individuals are:

* The guy in Monopoly (and he has a mustache!)

* The Allman Brothers' Dickey Betts, who plays the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie on May 4, and also has a mustache.





* Dr. Jekyll (and Mr Hyde!)

* The pope (I'm not messing with him - his hat's too big)

* The Cat in the Hat (the audacity of having "Hat" in the name!)

* Times Square's Naked Cowboy (who only and only wears underwear, boots and a hat - A HAT I'm telling you!)

* Dumb Donald from Bill Cosby's "Fat Albert." (Cosby plays the Ulster Performing Arts Center Sunday at 3 and 7 p.m., but there is no word if the legendary comedian is going to wear head gear).



* And The Spanish Inquisition, which nobody was expecting.



And that's it. Nobody else wears anything on their heads.


P.S.: I would have posted all the easily available photos of this scandalous head cover-up. But unfortunately, nobody has "leaked" them over to me yet.