This has been a light week on the blog. The hectic, end of school year schedule I mentioned on-air is stretching my family thin. We've been so busy, taking a break has been nice, but with it being Friday, duty calls!
Was there any doubt I would be featuring RiffTrax today? If you didn't hear the excellent hour long visit we had with Bill Corbett on Thursday's show, here is the link:
https://soundcloud.com/am950s-best-interviews/the-morning-grind-bill-corbett-of-mstk3-and-riff-trax
One of the aspects of riffing I talked to Bill about was the writing challenge it presents. Don't fool yourself, it's tough to write a comedic movie riff well.
I'm like everyone else, I occasionally will throw a line at the movie as I watch it. My personal favorite is when you watch The Sound of Music, when Julie Andrews leaves the church to go get married, scream at the TV as they lock the nuns behind the gate, "Back you nuns! Back!" and throw in a few cracking whip sounds. Good Catholic morning show host fun!
There is a real art to be able to consistently write a joke script to go along with a movie. You have to understand the complexities of making movies from every angle, you have to have near savant level knowledge of past and current popular culture, plus your timing has to be exceptional.
It does help to have a God awful movie to tear to shreds. This movie is titled Wonder Women, no not Wonder Woman. You'll want to see this film because it looks horrific, and it's available here:
http://www.rifftrax.com/wonder-women
The below link is a ten minute car chase from the film, apparently staged in the Philippines. The perfect specimen to be dissected!
Warning, it does have some brief sexuality and a bad word or two, but it's a fine piece of viewing. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxsvUafg50w
Friday, May 29, 2015
Thursday, May 28, 2015
What's Up Bakk?
I have spent two days asking the question, 'what the heck is up with Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk?' Let me get this down in print.
Background information: Tom Bakk is a Senator from the north, the arrowhead region and the very northern part of the state including Ely and International Falls. He IS a Democrat, supposedly, and he is the current Majority Leader in a Senate with a firm Democratic majority.
He is also either incompetent, only in it for his own personal interests, a weak DFL'er who is afraid to be a proud Dem, or, bluntly, a Republican hiding as a Democrat.
Let me run through the reasons I have to question him:
Have I missed anything? What the heck is Bakk doing? Some of his actions seem to be directly linked to pro mining interests, and making sure the mine owners, most of them international mining conglomerates, are getting rewarded first and foremost. The attack on the Auditors office, the removal of the citizens review board and the unbelievable give away to allow businesses that pollute to walk away without any penalties if they just say "oops" before anyone else does, boggles the mind. And this guy says he's a Democrat???
When this is all over, Democrats of the Minnesota DFL need to think about making a leadership change in the Senate. The best you can say is Bakk has horribly mismanaged the power he inherited coming into this session. The worst...well, damage done.
Background information: Tom Bakk is a Senator from the north, the arrowhead region and the very northern part of the state including Ely and International Falls. He IS a Democrat, supposedly, and he is the current Majority Leader in a Senate with a firm Democratic majority.
He is also either incompetent, only in it for his own personal interests, a weak DFL'er who is afraid to be a proud Dem, or, bluntly, a Republican hiding as a Democrat.
Let me run through the reasons I have to question him:
- He starts the legislative session by getting into a fight with Governor Dayton, from his own party, about pay raises for Dayton's administrators, raises his Senate approved the previous session, validating false outrage pushed forward by the GOP and informing everyone he doesn't like Governor Mark Dayton, whether he meant to or not.
- He seems to go out of his way to not take advantage of the clear power the DFL has placed at his feet. He is the majority leader in the MN Senate, one house in the Legislative Branch, with a DFL Governor in the Executive Branch acting as his backup. He should have sat down with Governor Dayton and hashed out a wish list for himself, the Senate and the Governor, two weeks before the session ended. Instead, it sounds like he went out of his way to ignore Governor Dayton's repeated requests for language that needed to be in the bills for his signature to be guaranteed.
- He has allowed a relative political rookie in Speaker Kurt Daudt, a Republican, to run circles around him in the later days of the session, getting played like a fiddle when it came to negotiations between the two houses.
- He allowed extremely anti-Democratic language to be written in the House and Senate 'compromises,' gutting environmental regulations and enforcement, allowing for gun silencers to become legal, re-writing the campaign finance laws of the state, passing educational laws which don't go nearly far enough to meet the needs of the state, and then goes out of his way to shut down the State Auditors office, Rebecca Otto, another Democrat, for what seems like a personal vendetta/pro corruption platform.
- Let me repeat, there is no doubt the 'compromise' bills Senate Majority Leader Bakk passed favored the GOP, undermining his own party, and ignoring the Governor's wishes.
- The 'compromise' bills, when reintroduced into the Senate, were riddled with language which few Democratic Senators seemed privy too. Many of them were dumbfounded by the undermining of their work done by Bakk to reach an agreement with Daudt.
- The Senate Democrats didn't support the 'compromise' bills, but the Senate Republicans LOVED them. They were joined by a handful of Democrats, including Senator Bakk, in passing them.
- This 'compromise' allowed the GOP to take the high road by insisting they were the ones who were bipartisan, putting Governor Dayton on the defensive when it came to vetoes.
- In the negotiations for the special legislative session, Senator Bakk has decided to not be part of those negotiations, instead deferring to Daudt to be the sole negotiator for the Legislative branch, all while maintaining he will support the Governor at the end of the day. This tactic has given Speaker Daudt FAR more power than he should have as leader of one house of the Legislative branch, and the minority party in state government, and has weakened the Governor's ability to get the Democratic platform passed.
Have I missed anything? What the heck is Bakk doing? Some of his actions seem to be directly linked to pro mining interests, and making sure the mine owners, most of them international mining conglomerates, are getting rewarded first and foremost. The attack on the Auditors office, the removal of the citizens review board and the unbelievable give away to allow businesses that pollute to walk away without any penalties if they just say "oops" before anyone else does, boggles the mind. And this guy says he's a Democrat???
When this is all over, Democrats of the Minnesota DFL need to think about making a leadership change in the Senate. The best you can say is Bakk has horribly mismanaged the power he inherited coming into this session. The worst...well, damage done.
Friday, May 22, 2015
The Friday Link for 5/22/15
Matty tired...
After two weeks of great shows, insane politics, and running my kids around, I burnt myself out tonight getting helicopters out of my gardens.
Punt!
Here is the funniest MST3K short. It's the one filmed at Iowa State about going to college, 'The Home Economics Story'. I'll leave you with "look, look, look at my crotch!"
Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibUsglYe4r0
After two weeks of great shows, insane politics, and running my kids around, I burnt myself out tonight getting helicopters out of my gardens.
Punt!
Here is the funniest MST3K short. It's the one filmed at Iowa State about going to college, 'The Home Economics Story'. I'll leave you with "look, look, look at my crotch!"
Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibUsglYe4r0
On Camera
Last night, I went to the liberal news website Raw Story and discovered something which instantly got my finger a clicking! "Video posted...Minnesota High School Student blaming minorities for violent crime..."
The story was of a video taken in a public high school classroom, where (what appears to be) a caucasian girl makes some ignorant and stupid arguments about government assistance, immigrants, and crime being committed by "Mexican, Somalia, black" people. It's not intelligent thought's finest moment, but it is what it is. The girl is challenged numerous times in the classroom, but seems committed to her ludicrous beliefs.
I'm not quite sure what to think about this video, but I don't like the video itself. This wasn't some belligerent racist rant in a Target parking lot, the high school debate championship with a full auditorium, a high school jock bragging falsely about sexual exploits on social media or kids getting caught using a phone app to send racist tinged messages. This is a group of kids in a closed classroom having a discussion about immigration policy. Regardless of the girl's sincerest beliefs, there is a racist element to what she's saying, but she's also a high school kid, the textbook definition of foolish. Isn't high school and college, supposedly, the years where you find out the stuff your parents have indoctrinated you with was really their opinion and not necessarily the real world?
I remember my youth in Edina being told by some that Uptown was the 'inner city,' with gangland shootouts, drugged out vagrants and rampant crime. Then I went there with a church youth group to hand out literature, and realized how wrong they were. Uptown in the 80's and 90's wasn't the glorified mall it's become today, but it wasn't nearly the dystopian hellscape I was lead to believe. It was alive and vibrant, full of unique everything. I loved it, realizing the stale malls and retail chains of my upbringing had little of the pure energy I never knew I craved. I never looked back.
The Raw Story article makes a misguided attempt at laying the blame for this girls comments at the feet of an obscenely conservative news media. I agree the media in this country is owned by conservative interests, but this girl learned this stuff form her life, whether it was mom and dad, grandpa, church, or cable news. These are the beliefs she has been surrounded by, and she really does believe them. Her willingness to share them so earnestly and freely is all the proof I need she's just repeating what she's been taught at home.
So, how do we look at this video? Regardless of how much we disagree with some people, a person has a right to teach and educate their kids, in their private home, how they choose. We should NEVER think we can regulate non-illegal, private residence behavior. This girl is headed into a yard full of rakes placed there by the people who have filled her mind with such absurdities, but for her to grow, she needs to walk into a few of them, like the one in her classroom, and take the sting back home and ask whomever has lied to her, "why did you tell me that?" It's called growing up. Yes, she may refuse to educate herself on the realities she becomes jarringly aware of, but that's her right, as a private individual. Doesn't mean we have to like it. That's our right, too.
This was also in a classroom in a high school. This reeks of private agenda to embarrass and humiliate this girl. We should be able to educate people who are misinformed without a public shaming which could haunt this girl for years. Maybe honesty, respecting each other, and what should or shouldn't be made public can be the next discussion that class has.
The one good aspect of the video is the kids themselves had the discussion. A young man in the classroom challenges her silly arguments, and this leads to conversation. Reality based human interaction is what this girl needs, and the bite of being rebuked by her peers might be enough for her to start asking the questions she needs to start asking.
The story was of a video taken in a public high school classroom, where (what appears to be) a caucasian girl makes some ignorant and stupid arguments about government assistance, immigrants, and crime being committed by "Mexican, Somalia, black" people. It's not intelligent thought's finest moment, but it is what it is. The girl is challenged numerous times in the classroom, but seems committed to her ludicrous beliefs.
I'm not quite sure what to think about this video, but I don't like the video itself. This wasn't some belligerent racist rant in a Target parking lot, the high school debate championship with a full auditorium, a high school jock bragging falsely about sexual exploits on social media or kids getting caught using a phone app to send racist tinged messages. This is a group of kids in a closed classroom having a discussion about immigration policy. Regardless of the girl's sincerest beliefs, there is a racist element to what she's saying, but she's also a high school kid, the textbook definition of foolish. Isn't high school and college, supposedly, the years where you find out the stuff your parents have indoctrinated you with was really their opinion and not necessarily the real world?
I remember my youth in Edina being told by some that Uptown was the 'inner city,' with gangland shootouts, drugged out vagrants and rampant crime. Then I went there with a church youth group to hand out literature, and realized how wrong they were. Uptown in the 80's and 90's wasn't the glorified mall it's become today, but it wasn't nearly the dystopian hellscape I was lead to believe. It was alive and vibrant, full of unique everything. I loved it, realizing the stale malls and retail chains of my upbringing had little of the pure energy I never knew I craved. I never looked back.
The Raw Story article makes a misguided attempt at laying the blame for this girls comments at the feet of an obscenely conservative news media. I agree the media in this country is owned by conservative interests, but this girl learned this stuff form her life, whether it was mom and dad, grandpa, church, or cable news. These are the beliefs she has been surrounded by, and she really does believe them. Her willingness to share them so earnestly and freely is all the proof I need she's just repeating what she's been taught at home.
So, how do we look at this video? Regardless of how much we disagree with some people, a person has a right to teach and educate their kids, in their private home, how they choose. We should NEVER think we can regulate non-illegal, private residence behavior. This girl is headed into a yard full of rakes placed there by the people who have filled her mind with such absurdities, but for her to grow, she needs to walk into a few of them, like the one in her classroom, and take the sting back home and ask whomever has lied to her, "why did you tell me that?" It's called growing up. Yes, she may refuse to educate herself on the realities she becomes jarringly aware of, but that's her right, as a private individual. Doesn't mean we have to like it. That's our right, too.
This was also in a classroom in a high school. This reeks of private agenda to embarrass and humiliate this girl. We should be able to educate people who are misinformed without a public shaming which could haunt this girl for years. Maybe honesty, respecting each other, and what should or shouldn't be made public can be the next discussion that class has.
The one good aspect of the video is the kids themselves had the discussion. A young man in the classroom challenges her silly arguments, and this leads to conversation. Reality based human interaction is what this girl needs, and the bite of being rebuked by her peers might be enough for her to start asking the questions she needs to start asking.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Thank God For Governor Mark Dayton
Things have been coming at me so fast and furious the last 36 hours, with the close of the 2015 Legislative session, I have a headache.
It all boils down to this; the Minnesota House Republicans, led by Speaker Kurt Daudt, went into negotiations with the Democratic lead Minnesota Senate, led by Senate Majority Leader Bakk, with a few goals in mind. They waited until the very end to make their 'compromises,' so bills would get rammed through without anyone really seeing what was in them. They snuck Republican wish list items into the bills, like dismantling the power of the Auditors office, legalized gun silencers, and weakening clean up rules for polluters, but the end goal was simply to bide their time. The MN GOP want the massive budget surplus the state has, 1.9 Billion, to go to the wealthiest 1000 in the state, for their 'implied quid pro quo dance.' They never intended to use the surplus for the betterment of Minnesotans, but when they realized most Minnesotans weren't on board with their plan, they decided to wait it out. Their hope is through the current tax system that created the surplus in the first place, and through cuts they are making in programs, just because they are mean spirited Republicans, the surplus will be a lot bigger next year, making their insistence of handing the surplus over to the wealthiest 1000 easier for their voting base to swallow.
I'm not quite sure what Senator Bakk was thinking. It seems he was either incompetent and allowed this to happen, or, even worse, was opportunistic and got enough direct political hand outs for himself to make him forgo sanity.
Today, the GOP, and the state media which panders to them unabashedly, started to make it seem like the GOP was more than willing to work with the Governor, even though the bills the GOP passed tell a completely different story.
Then came Governor Dayton, who did the equivalent of putting Speaker Daudt over his knee and spanking him. He immediately vetoed the Education bill, releasing the very clear e-mails he had sent Speaker Daudt and Senator Bakk last week about what had to be in the bills for his signature. He also laid out potentially more vetoes, something he knows has teeth because the House DFL, after being completely disrespected by Speaker Daudt, is not about to help him override the Governor's vetoes.
Governor Dayton knows the Executive branch of the state is the strongest elected position in Minnesota, he knows he has a mandate from the people with his large re-election margin, he's not afraid of the Republican party, especially not a jackass like Speaker Daudt and he has nothing to lose. He will get his way on these bills and he'll make you cry if you try to stop him.
It all boils down to this; the Minnesota House Republicans, led by Speaker Kurt Daudt, went into negotiations with the Democratic lead Minnesota Senate, led by Senate Majority Leader Bakk, with a few goals in mind. They waited until the very end to make their 'compromises,' so bills would get rammed through without anyone really seeing what was in them. They snuck Republican wish list items into the bills, like dismantling the power of the Auditors office, legalized gun silencers, and weakening clean up rules for polluters, but the end goal was simply to bide their time. The MN GOP want the massive budget surplus the state has, 1.9 Billion, to go to the wealthiest 1000 in the state, for their 'implied quid pro quo dance.' They never intended to use the surplus for the betterment of Minnesotans, but when they realized most Minnesotans weren't on board with their plan, they decided to wait it out. Their hope is through the current tax system that created the surplus in the first place, and through cuts they are making in programs, just because they are mean spirited Republicans, the surplus will be a lot bigger next year, making their insistence of handing the surplus over to the wealthiest 1000 easier for their voting base to swallow.
I'm not quite sure what Senator Bakk was thinking. It seems he was either incompetent and allowed this to happen, or, even worse, was opportunistic and got enough direct political hand outs for himself to make him forgo sanity.
Today, the GOP, and the state media which panders to them unabashedly, started to make it seem like the GOP was more than willing to work with the Governor, even though the bills the GOP passed tell a completely different story.
Then came Governor Dayton, who did the equivalent of putting Speaker Daudt over his knee and spanking him. He immediately vetoed the Education bill, releasing the very clear e-mails he had sent Speaker Daudt and Senator Bakk last week about what had to be in the bills for his signature. He also laid out potentially more vetoes, something he knows has teeth because the House DFL, after being completely disrespected by Speaker Daudt, is not about to help him override the Governor's vetoes.
Governor Dayton knows the Executive branch of the state is the strongest elected position in Minnesota, he knows he has a mandate from the people with his large re-election margin, he's not afraid of the Republican party, especially not a jackass like Speaker Daudt and he has nothing to lose. He will get his way on these bills and he'll make you cry if you try to stop him.
Friday, May 15, 2015
The Friday Link for 5/15/15
I love baseball. It's my favorite sport, hands down. I love the complexity of it, how it's a team sport played by individuals, where every play is unique, but is viewed as part of the overall game, and you're only as good as your last pitch, throw or hit.
My son is a far better baseball player than I ever was. He has tremendous power and has turned into a pure hitter. He will hit a few home runs this year. He plays outfield, 3rd, 2nd and 1st and he is a pretty good pitcher too. Not tonight though. He got shelled tonight, but most of the runs were unearned. His team can take a few innings to get going. Regardless, it's a tremendous way to spend two and a half hours on a warm day.
When I was a player, I was more concerned about the dandelions and bugs than the ball rolling past me in the outfield. I was a human Ferdinand, more focused on the beauty around me than the sporting task at hand.
Since it is the baseball season, let me go to one of the all time great comedy bits, 'Who's on First!' Abbott and Costello are among the all time greats. Listening to some of their radio shows on satellite radio is pure joy, and I'll always remember the Saturday afternoon movies of them as a kid. They are clean, and hilarious. Their comedic timing was the greatest of all time, and they were just tremendous partners, playing off each other to perfection. They are also the consummate example of why you practice, as they could have never done most of their bits without hours of work to make them perfect.
This bit where they discuss the unusual names of the baseball players on their team is their most popular skit they ever did. This is the extended version, which I feel is best, and it does lead to a great trivia question: who's the only position player you don't find out the name of? (by the way, that is not a trick question). Listen and you can find out. Play ball! It's your Friday Link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTcRRaXV-fg
My son is a far better baseball player than I ever was. He has tremendous power and has turned into a pure hitter. He will hit a few home runs this year. He plays outfield, 3rd, 2nd and 1st and he is a pretty good pitcher too. Not tonight though. He got shelled tonight, but most of the runs were unearned. His team can take a few innings to get going. Regardless, it's a tremendous way to spend two and a half hours on a warm day.
When I was a player, I was more concerned about the dandelions and bugs than the ball rolling past me in the outfield. I was a human Ferdinand, more focused on the beauty around me than the sporting task at hand.
Since it is the baseball season, let me go to one of the all time great comedy bits, 'Who's on First!' Abbott and Costello are among the all time greats. Listening to some of their radio shows on satellite radio is pure joy, and I'll always remember the Saturday afternoon movies of them as a kid. They are clean, and hilarious. Their comedic timing was the greatest of all time, and they were just tremendous partners, playing off each other to perfection. They are also the consummate example of why you practice, as they could have never done most of their bits without hours of work to make them perfect.
This bit where they discuss the unusual names of the baseball players on their team is their most popular skit they ever did. This is the extended version, which I feel is best, and it does lead to a great trivia question: who's the only position player you don't find out the name of? (by the way, that is not a trick question). Listen and you can find out. Play ball! It's your Friday Link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTcRRaXV-fg
An Old Friend
In case it wasn't clear by my two week, fan boy, on-air crush, I'm a huge fan of Rush, the Canadian prog rock trio (not the other one). They were just in town for their 40th Anniversary Tour, but in a bit of an odd twist, not the 40th anniversary of the band itself. The 40th they're celebrating was the 40 years of the current line up, with Neil Peart, the second drummer of the band. The original drummer left after Rush's first album and Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson luckily happened to stumble upon a guy who would become one of the top three rock drummers of all time. Add to that Geddy making a solid argument for greatest rock bass guitarist of all time, and Alex as top 20 rock guitarist of all time, and you begin to understand why the fans love of this band.
My first time being aware Rush existed was back in Rhode Island. Jamie Radamcher was a kid ahead of his time. In 1980, this kid was the first of my friends to get into the Lego building sets, making them according to instructions and then never playing with them, just staring at them. He'd get so angry if we touched them. He also was the first kid I knew who was into Dungeons and Dragons. In the summer of 80, I was over at his house, not playing with the Legos, when the local rock radio station played Spirit of Radio. Jamie went nuts. He said, "it's so cool Rush is getting played on air." I had no idea why this was cool. I remember Spirit of Radio getting played, and when Tom Sawyer came out the next year, it was everywhere. I then moved to Georgia for two years and heard nothing.
I had moved back to Minneapolis in 1983, and two of Rush's videos were in heavy rotation in the early days of MTV; Subdivisions (this band was WAY ahead of everyone else on their criticism of suburban culture, something apparent every time I drive past a strip mall full of chain restaurants and chain stores) and Distant Early Warning (one of the first songs to make fun of the constant 'be afraid of nukes' mantra which fueled Reagan era policies).
Steve Clay, a good friend of mine in high school and a HUGE Rush fan (he was at the concert on Tuesday too), convinced me to go to see the Power Windows Tour in March of 1986 at the old Civic Center. I was sold as soon as the Three Stooges theme played. Back then, Rush was big enough to have a good set of hits, which they played most of (except for Fly By Night), and they could still revisit favorites without feeling like they left anything out. Last Tuesday, they skipped over five albums completely and still played for near 3 hours, omitting at least 10 of their most popular songs. I'm not complaining, the R40 tour was amazing.
Tuesday was my 10th Rush concert. I pray they keep playing together for as long as they can. Every time I listen to an album or see them live, it's revisiting an old friend. I have other artists I love, and I've been to fantastic non-Rush concerts, but Rush will always be my favorite.
My first time being aware Rush existed was back in Rhode Island. Jamie Radamcher was a kid ahead of his time. In 1980, this kid was the first of my friends to get into the Lego building sets, making them according to instructions and then never playing with them, just staring at them. He'd get so angry if we touched them. He also was the first kid I knew who was into Dungeons and Dragons. In the summer of 80, I was over at his house, not playing with the Legos, when the local rock radio station played Spirit of Radio. Jamie went nuts. He said, "it's so cool Rush is getting played on air." I had no idea why this was cool. I remember Spirit of Radio getting played, and when Tom Sawyer came out the next year, it was everywhere. I then moved to Georgia for two years and heard nothing.
I had moved back to Minneapolis in 1983, and two of Rush's videos were in heavy rotation in the early days of MTV; Subdivisions (this band was WAY ahead of everyone else on their criticism of suburban culture, something apparent every time I drive past a strip mall full of chain restaurants and chain stores) and Distant Early Warning (one of the first songs to make fun of the constant 'be afraid of nukes' mantra which fueled Reagan era policies).
Steve Clay, a good friend of mine in high school and a HUGE Rush fan (he was at the concert on Tuesday too), convinced me to go to see the Power Windows Tour in March of 1986 at the old Civic Center. I was sold as soon as the Three Stooges theme played. Back then, Rush was big enough to have a good set of hits, which they played most of (except for Fly By Night), and they could still revisit favorites without feeling like they left anything out. Last Tuesday, they skipped over five albums completely and still played for near 3 hours, omitting at least 10 of their most popular songs. I'm not complaining, the R40 tour was amazing.
Tuesday was my 10th Rush concert. I pray they keep playing together for as long as they can. Every time I listen to an album or see them live, it's revisiting an old friend. I have other artists I love, and I've been to fantastic non-Rush concerts, but Rush will always be my favorite.
Monday, May 11, 2015
No Good Answers
Corey Lee Claflin, when he was 24, sexually assaulted a 6 year old girl. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison in May of 2003. After he served two-thirds of his term, he was put into a supervised program with strict rules. He was labeled at that point a Level 1 predatory offender. While in this supervised environment, he violated rules relating to having a device with internet access, having pornography, and, most disturbing, having contact with children in some form. He was sent back to prison for the violations, but he did not receive any additional time to his original prison term. He was re-assessed as a Level 3 predatory offender, the level with the highest likelihood of re-offending. Next Monday, Corey Lee Claflin is scheduled to be released after serving his 12 year term. He'll be free, and he'll be moving into my neighborhood, living a block away from my house.
There are no words to summarize my frustration.
How is this guy even getting released? Aren't there supposed to be far harsher penalties in cases like this? When he was sentenced to 12 years, it probably seemed like a long time. If someone told you today you had to go away until 2027, it'd sound like an eternity, but in reality, it's not that long. Politicians talk about getting tough on crime but imposing life sentences for sex crimes usually runs into three problems.
First, cookie cutter solutions rarely are effective. If you create a life sentence for sex crimes, you're saying a 21 year old guy, who walks into a bar, has a few drinks with a woman, goes back to his place for consensual sex, only to find out she was 15 and using her sister's ID at the bar, that he should somehow serve the same amount of prison time as a serial rapist. We need to have guidelines which allow our judiciary to sentence accordingly, but it's still a head scratcher how a guy who sexually assaulted a 6 year old only got 12 years.
Second, if you start making sex crimes life sentences, people are going to start asking why other crimes are not life sentences too. Bankrupting thousands of people through a Ponzi scheme, beating your wife and kids, drunk driving for the 2nd time, cheating on your taxes. I guarantee I can find someone who could make a decent argument why the people who perpetrate those crimes should get far harsher penalties too. Do we really want 3-7% of the population serving life sentences behind bars?
Thirdly, AND the main reason we don't have far harsher mandatory penalties for sexual offenders, is because the harsher the mandatory penalty, the harder it is for wealthy people to buy their way out of it. There are just as many sexual predators who live in wealthy white suburbs as there are in the inner city. With a good lawyer and some big checks, wealthy people can make their cases disappear before a trial. Even if they're convicted, they can use their money to argue their sentences should be served in a treatment/spa facility in Florida, not a prison. And, with money, they can contest their predatory offender status, getting released as a Level 1, where few in a community are aware their neighbor is a predator (more on that later).
The Hopkins Police and the Minnesota Department of Corrections had a community meeting about Mr. Claflin, giving some basic background information and fielding questions from the masses. The numbers are disturbing. One in five girls are sexually assaulted, 1 in 7 boys. One in six women, and 1 in 33 men. This is an epidemic in this country and these crimes are not just being perpetrated by the same five or six people. There are far more predatory offenders in the US than we realize, and, very likely, one within a few blocks of you right now. Reminder, once these criminals are released, without any further supervision, there are limited restrictions to where they can go.
Are we going to tell criminals upon being released they're not allowed to go home, to live with their parents, their family, on their own property? This is what is happening in our neighborhood. Claflin has family who still lives here, in a house which is a cliche; dark brown, unwelcoming, not a lot of windows, unkept yard, creepy. The corrections officers said the best chance for him to not re-offend is to be in a supportive environment with family. I'm not going to argue that point, but I just wish his supportive environment wasn't so near my house.
Some aren't shy about threatening him. I've heard people suggest they'll attack him, release their dogs on him, and one person sitting next to me at the meeting eluded to "whatever it would take" to get him out of the neighborhood. The police took a beating in the meeting as well, with angry residents accusing them of somehow being complacent in Claflin's return home. I imagine some people's ferver is being fueled by sexual assaults they'd endured themselves years ago, and they don't like the calmness of their lives being disrupted with a reminder of their own violation. If twelve years is not long enough for them, why should it be long enough for Claflin?
I stood up at the meeting and saluted the police for letting us know about all of this, and reminded the audience we should be thankful they disseminated this information. Law enforcement is promising to be diligent, insisting they will act immediately if Mr. Claflin steps a millimeter out of line.
The Department of Correction's spokeswoman pointed out the improvements they've made in regards to treating Level 3 offenders. In the early 90's, the rates of recidivism were around 16% after three years. Today, 98% of Level 3 predatory offenders have no relapses of behavior in the same three year stretch. That's impressive, but it doesn't stop fear, something pointed out with scary glee by one woman at the meeting. "This guy could come out of prison and rape someone within minutes of coming home. What if Claflin is that guy???" She had a little too much eagerness for her potentially being the person who gets to say "I told you so!"
I like to think of myself as rational and educated. I strive to be logical and think things through, but in reality, I'm just a scared and freaked out by Mr. Claflin's violation potential as anyone else. I've a 13 year old son, daughters 10 and 8, and a wife. I don't want to see them attacked or violated. It's easy to have a calm debate about something when you're standing a safe distance away. It's far harder when it's a block away from you.
Let me get back to the comment I made about sexual predators being everywhere. They are. It's just a fact, but as I've told some west metro friends who don't live in my neighborhood about Mr. Claflin's return, the reaction has been jaw dropping. "Oh, Hopkins is falling off the map, it's the ghetto, it's a slum, it's a shame at how bad things have gotten in that town." These reactions are similar to the ones many of my neighbors have gotten too.
Let me explain something; Hopkins is not only middle class, it's an upper middle class community. It really is. Is it as gilded as the self inflated provenance and mansions of Edina, Minnetonka, Eden Prairie or Wayzata? No, but because it's surrounded by such wealth, the perspective is skewed. It does have a slightly higher representation of lower income families and minorities, but it's still not even close to a fair representation of the race and class breakdown which is America. As much as the more pricey zip codes and school districts look down upon Hopkins, there are far more communities looking up at the wealth Hopkins has.
Ghetto and slum? When I hear people use such terms as ignorantly as they do, it tells me far more about them. If you have zero experience with ghettos or slums, it's probably best to not loosely brandish the term, like you're an authority on the matter. Frankly, you look like a stupid, racist jerk.
Sexual predators are everywhere, in every community. The important thing is to be safe and use common sense. Talk to your kids. Have them use the buddy system when they are going somewhere. And most important, give your kids the attention they deserve. The predator's most effective weapon to lure victims, regardless of whether it's in the lowest income area or in most gold plated of opulent communities, is to give potential targets the attention they are starving for, the attention the potential victims are not getting in their lives. Pay attention to your kids!
I love my neighborhood. We have very good property values, near non-existent crime, some level of economic and social diversity, and it's welcoming, clean and beautiful. Last night we had a block party and it was full of warmth and friendliness. We're not going to allow one individual to define our neighborhood or who we are. I'm proud of where I live.
But, I'm still extremely frustrated. At the end of the day, there are no good answers.
There are no words to summarize my frustration.
How is this guy even getting released? Aren't there supposed to be far harsher penalties in cases like this? When he was sentenced to 12 years, it probably seemed like a long time. If someone told you today you had to go away until 2027, it'd sound like an eternity, but in reality, it's not that long. Politicians talk about getting tough on crime but imposing life sentences for sex crimes usually runs into three problems.
First, cookie cutter solutions rarely are effective. If you create a life sentence for sex crimes, you're saying a 21 year old guy, who walks into a bar, has a few drinks with a woman, goes back to his place for consensual sex, only to find out she was 15 and using her sister's ID at the bar, that he should somehow serve the same amount of prison time as a serial rapist. We need to have guidelines which allow our judiciary to sentence accordingly, but it's still a head scratcher how a guy who sexually assaulted a 6 year old only got 12 years.
Second, if you start making sex crimes life sentences, people are going to start asking why other crimes are not life sentences too. Bankrupting thousands of people through a Ponzi scheme, beating your wife and kids, drunk driving for the 2nd time, cheating on your taxes. I guarantee I can find someone who could make a decent argument why the people who perpetrate those crimes should get far harsher penalties too. Do we really want 3-7% of the population serving life sentences behind bars?
Thirdly, AND the main reason we don't have far harsher mandatory penalties for sexual offenders, is because the harsher the mandatory penalty, the harder it is for wealthy people to buy their way out of it. There are just as many sexual predators who live in wealthy white suburbs as there are in the inner city. With a good lawyer and some big checks, wealthy people can make their cases disappear before a trial. Even if they're convicted, they can use their money to argue their sentences should be served in a treatment/spa facility in Florida, not a prison. And, with money, they can contest their predatory offender status, getting released as a Level 1, where few in a community are aware their neighbor is a predator (more on that later).
The Hopkins Police and the Minnesota Department of Corrections had a community meeting about Mr. Claflin, giving some basic background information and fielding questions from the masses. The numbers are disturbing. One in five girls are sexually assaulted, 1 in 7 boys. One in six women, and 1 in 33 men. This is an epidemic in this country and these crimes are not just being perpetrated by the same five or six people. There are far more predatory offenders in the US than we realize, and, very likely, one within a few blocks of you right now. Reminder, once these criminals are released, without any further supervision, there are limited restrictions to where they can go.
Are we going to tell criminals upon being released they're not allowed to go home, to live with their parents, their family, on their own property? This is what is happening in our neighborhood. Claflin has family who still lives here, in a house which is a cliche; dark brown, unwelcoming, not a lot of windows, unkept yard, creepy. The corrections officers said the best chance for him to not re-offend is to be in a supportive environment with family. I'm not going to argue that point, but I just wish his supportive environment wasn't so near my house.
Some aren't shy about threatening him. I've heard people suggest they'll attack him, release their dogs on him, and one person sitting next to me at the meeting eluded to "whatever it would take" to get him out of the neighborhood. The police took a beating in the meeting as well, with angry residents accusing them of somehow being complacent in Claflin's return home. I imagine some people's ferver is being fueled by sexual assaults they'd endured themselves years ago, and they don't like the calmness of their lives being disrupted with a reminder of their own violation. If twelve years is not long enough for them, why should it be long enough for Claflin?
I stood up at the meeting and saluted the police for letting us know about all of this, and reminded the audience we should be thankful they disseminated this information. Law enforcement is promising to be diligent, insisting they will act immediately if Mr. Claflin steps a millimeter out of line.
The Department of Correction's spokeswoman pointed out the improvements they've made in regards to treating Level 3 offenders. In the early 90's, the rates of recidivism were around 16% after three years. Today, 98% of Level 3 predatory offenders have no relapses of behavior in the same three year stretch. That's impressive, but it doesn't stop fear, something pointed out with scary glee by one woman at the meeting. "This guy could come out of prison and rape someone within minutes of coming home. What if Claflin is that guy???" She had a little too much eagerness for her potentially being the person who gets to say "I told you so!"
I like to think of myself as rational and educated. I strive to be logical and think things through, but in reality, I'm just a scared and freaked out by Mr. Claflin's violation potential as anyone else. I've a 13 year old son, daughters 10 and 8, and a wife. I don't want to see them attacked or violated. It's easy to have a calm debate about something when you're standing a safe distance away. It's far harder when it's a block away from you.
Let me get back to the comment I made about sexual predators being everywhere. They are. It's just a fact, but as I've told some west metro friends who don't live in my neighborhood about Mr. Claflin's return, the reaction has been jaw dropping. "Oh, Hopkins is falling off the map, it's the ghetto, it's a slum, it's a shame at how bad things have gotten in that town." These reactions are similar to the ones many of my neighbors have gotten too.
Let me explain something; Hopkins is not only middle class, it's an upper middle class community. It really is. Is it as gilded as the self inflated provenance and mansions of Edina, Minnetonka, Eden Prairie or Wayzata? No, but because it's surrounded by such wealth, the perspective is skewed. It does have a slightly higher representation of lower income families and minorities, but it's still not even close to a fair representation of the race and class breakdown which is America. As much as the more pricey zip codes and school districts look down upon Hopkins, there are far more communities looking up at the wealth Hopkins has.
Ghetto and slum? When I hear people use such terms as ignorantly as they do, it tells me far more about them. If you have zero experience with ghettos or slums, it's probably best to not loosely brandish the term, like you're an authority on the matter. Frankly, you look like a stupid, racist jerk.
Sexual predators are everywhere, in every community. The important thing is to be safe and use common sense. Talk to your kids. Have them use the buddy system when they are going somewhere. And most important, give your kids the attention they deserve. The predator's most effective weapon to lure victims, regardless of whether it's in the lowest income area or in most gold plated of opulent communities, is to give potential targets the attention they are starving for, the attention the potential victims are not getting in their lives. Pay attention to your kids!
I love my neighborhood. We have very good property values, near non-existent crime, some level of economic and social diversity, and it's welcoming, clean and beautiful. Last night we had a block party and it was full of warmth and friendliness. We're not going to allow one individual to define our neighborhood or who we are. I'm proud of where I live.
But, I'm still extremely frustrated. At the end of the day, there are no good answers.
Friday, May 8, 2015
The Friday Link for 5/8/15
David Letterman is getting ready to leave the air, but he still keeps doing it better than pretty much anyone else. Last night Tina Fey was his guest and proceeded to remover her dress and give it to him. It was a bit, but it was a really good bit.
It's hard to relay how important David Letterman was. When he started his Late Show on NBC (after someone thought him hosting a daytime TV show was a good idea. It bombed, but did win two Emmy's), Carson was still king, but 'safe.' Carson was brilliant, and beloved by the parents and grandparents who watched him religiously. Letterman was for the college and high school kids. His instant popularity with younger viewers brought so many people to late night viewing. Today, it's hard to think about television mostly being just late news, movies and sign offs.
He was so good, leading a polished show which looked like it was done by the seat of their pants with a bone dry budget. They had very intelligent writers who looked at comedy and the talk show format in a very different light. Chris Elliot, man on the street interviews, throwing stuff off of buildings and just plain goofy stuff were common highlights. Plus the music he would book was unheard of by most of America.
I remember my friends setting their VCR's to tape him, getting up the next morning and watching, talking about all the bits and jokes. It was a generational thing, as my parents hated him back then. They could not figure out why anyone watched him. I know they wouldn't remember their dislike of him from back then, as he has become the old guard of late night today.
This is why many people, including myself, feel as if Letterman was betrayed by NBC, when they handed the Tonight Show to Jay Leno. I understand they wanted a 'safe' host that would keep the moms and grandmas watching, but they brutally stabbed him in the back and lost their cool edge. I mentioned in a past Friday link the Conan situation, yet another betrayal by Leno. When it came to Fallon, there was no way they were going to let Jay come back a third time. Fallon is quite good, but he is 'safe' too. His real talent is taking relatively safe activities and making them seem edgy.
Going back to those first years, it's hard to remember what it was that first got us all talking about Letterman, but you couldn't miss the buzz the day after he debuted the velcro suit. Here is that classic bit, still as funny as ever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9uxxqKGmYg
It's hard to relay how important David Letterman was. When he started his Late Show on NBC (after someone thought him hosting a daytime TV show was a good idea. It bombed, but did win two Emmy's), Carson was still king, but 'safe.' Carson was brilliant, and beloved by the parents and grandparents who watched him religiously. Letterman was for the college and high school kids. His instant popularity with younger viewers brought so many people to late night viewing. Today, it's hard to think about television mostly being just late news, movies and sign offs.
He was so good, leading a polished show which looked like it was done by the seat of their pants with a bone dry budget. They had very intelligent writers who looked at comedy and the talk show format in a very different light. Chris Elliot, man on the street interviews, throwing stuff off of buildings and just plain goofy stuff were common highlights. Plus the music he would book was unheard of by most of America.
I remember my friends setting their VCR's to tape him, getting up the next morning and watching, talking about all the bits and jokes. It was a generational thing, as my parents hated him back then. They could not figure out why anyone watched him. I know they wouldn't remember their dislike of him from back then, as he has become the old guard of late night today.
This is why many people, including myself, feel as if Letterman was betrayed by NBC, when they handed the Tonight Show to Jay Leno. I understand they wanted a 'safe' host that would keep the moms and grandmas watching, but they brutally stabbed him in the back and lost their cool edge. I mentioned in a past Friday link the Conan situation, yet another betrayal by Leno. When it came to Fallon, there was no way they were going to let Jay come back a third time. Fallon is quite good, but he is 'safe' too. His real talent is taking relatively safe activities and making them seem edgy.
Going back to those first years, it's hard to remember what it was that first got us all talking about Letterman, but you couldn't miss the buzz the day after he debuted the velcro suit. Here is that classic bit, still as funny as ever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9uxxqKGmYg
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
The Scariest Weather Video Ever
In conjunction with the blog post, The New Not-Normal, I wanted to put up what I consider to be the scariest weather video I have ever seen. It may not look like much, but it's terrifying to me.
This time lapse video was taken by a camera aimed toward the east in Madison, Wisconsin. What you see is Hurricane Sandy coming ashore. As this cloud bank moves over Wisconsin, the hurricane eye itself is slamming into New Jersey. This could be the largest storm I have ever seen.
The time lapse gives this storm the anger you'd expect. As Wisconsin sees the edge of this, remember that Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey are all covered by this monster, and that's only half of the storm!
Tornados don't scare me too much. You really have to be unlucky to get tagged by one of them. Lightning? I wear rubber soled shoes. Blizzards, heatwaves, flash floods? I am cautious, but nothing scares me like hurricanes. I live in Minnesota to make sure I don't experience another one in my life. Minnesota is also good for avoiding earthquakes too.
Nature always wins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvN0IwzdFNo
This time lapse video was taken by a camera aimed toward the east in Madison, Wisconsin. What you see is Hurricane Sandy coming ashore. As this cloud bank moves over Wisconsin, the hurricane eye itself is slamming into New Jersey. This could be the largest storm I have ever seen.
The time lapse gives this storm the anger you'd expect. As Wisconsin sees the edge of this, remember that Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey are all covered by this monster, and that's only half of the storm!
Tornados don't scare me too much. You really have to be unlucky to get tagged by one of them. Lightning? I wear rubber soled shoes. Blizzards, heatwaves, flash floods? I am cautious, but nothing scares me like hurricanes. I live in Minnesota to make sure I don't experience another one in my life. Minnesota is also good for avoiding earthquakes too.
Nature always wins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvN0IwzdFNo
The New Not-Normal
Last weekend was delightful. It was warm and sunny. My whole family spent the daylight hours outside gardening and playing, with a baseball game for my son taking place on Sunday in spectacular conditions. There was only one slight problem; it was all wrong. The temperature was more common for early June, not early May, and the plants and trees are all about two weeks ahead of their normal growth cycle.
This nicer weather is an ignored truth, the new not-normal. People aren't alarmed when the temperature is supposed to be 60, but it's 75. The temperature differential, along with extremes in precipitation and storms, are painting an undeniable picture of a changing world right before our eyes, but when the problems of climate change are separated from each other, the warming temperatures just become a pleasant respite most of the time. Climate change isn't just warming, but the warming is the most obvious day to day symptom, and the easiest to dismiss.
Back in March of 2003, we had a two week span of very warm temperatures, with the high temps on two of those days being around 70. That was 30 degrees warmer than it supposed to be. No one really complained, as a matter of fact, most people reacted as though it was free sex and candy days, frantically grabbing scissors to make cut offs, as their shorts were still deeply buried in boxes, months away from being dusted off. I myself went and walked Lake Calhoun numerous times over that stretch, watching the snow frantically melt with a smile on my face. Every year since, we've had a stretch of late Winter/early Spring days where it is freakishly warmer than it should be.
Since April 1 of this year, most of the days have been above average temperature, and most of them were 6 or more degrees above normal. Eleven days since April 1 have been 15 degrees or warmer than they should be. On April 1, it was almost 40 degrees warmer than average, April 12, 23 degrees warmer, April 14, 19 degrees, May 3, 17.
On May 14th, 2013, we hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the metro area, another 30+ degree warmer than it's supposed to be day. People hated it. Most had just taken the winter covers off their air conditioners, not realizing they'd have to fire them up so early. No one smiled that day. If we had a two week stretch of 105 or higher temps in the Twin Cities in July and August, 30 degrees warmer than it should be, just like March of 03, people wouldn't be happy. They would say, "this is wrong. Why doesn't someone do something about it?" But then comes 80 degrees in late September, and the stress and strain of the extreme summer heat disappears.
There's a financial impact which is ignored too. The AC bills for a two week stretch I described would bring a level of concern to the kitchen table, but it's the larger weather related impacts we need to start seeing. A few winters ago, we didn't have snow. No snow in Minnesota should terrify people, but instead we went about giggling and playing, acting like it was a nice break from the normal. Then came the consequences. Businesses who depend on snow (ski resorts, snowmobile manufacturers, snow plows, snow blower makers) all had massive economic downturns, leading to layoffs and lost revenue. It nearly broke some communities, AND it was due to climate change. But wouldn't you know, a more normal snow the next year and the downturn becomes a distant memory, until the next Winter without snow.
When we have a year's worth of rain fall in a three week span, followed by extreme drought for the rest of the year, people look at the end of the year totals and shrug their shoulders saying, "it works out in the end." Even hurricanes, one of the most destructive forces on the planet, after they scrub a large portion of a state clean, are only remembered for a limited time by the individuals it directly effects, and hardly at all by the parts of the country the storm missed. Sandy really messed up New Jersey, but how many Republicans didn't care one iota about the massive devastation, instead only accusing Gov. Christie of being a traitor for needing Federal assistance. Still today, there are portions of the East Coast which have not been repaired. For a shocking amount of people, it's easy to overlook.
There's a definitive trend to the temperature fluctuations, but when you add in the bizarre precipitation variances, the super storms, the unusual weather patterns (both warmer and colder), and then factor in the financial impacts to our economy, we should all be very concerned.
Then again, maybe you should just go out and enjoy the nice weather while it lasts. Considering Climate Change legislation has the same chances as a snowball in hell (insert Senator Inhofe joke here), it probably won't be too long before the new not-normal is impossible to enjoy.
This nicer weather is an ignored truth, the new not-normal. People aren't alarmed when the temperature is supposed to be 60, but it's 75. The temperature differential, along with extremes in precipitation and storms, are painting an undeniable picture of a changing world right before our eyes, but when the problems of climate change are separated from each other, the warming temperatures just become a pleasant respite most of the time. Climate change isn't just warming, but the warming is the most obvious day to day symptom, and the easiest to dismiss.
Back in March of 2003, we had a two week span of very warm temperatures, with the high temps on two of those days being around 70. That was 30 degrees warmer than it supposed to be. No one really complained, as a matter of fact, most people reacted as though it was free sex and candy days, frantically grabbing scissors to make cut offs, as their shorts were still deeply buried in boxes, months away from being dusted off. I myself went and walked Lake Calhoun numerous times over that stretch, watching the snow frantically melt with a smile on my face. Every year since, we've had a stretch of late Winter/early Spring days where it is freakishly warmer than it should be.
Since April 1 of this year, most of the days have been above average temperature, and most of them were 6 or more degrees above normal. Eleven days since April 1 have been 15 degrees or warmer than they should be. On April 1, it was almost 40 degrees warmer than average, April 12, 23 degrees warmer, April 14, 19 degrees, May 3, 17.
On May 14th, 2013, we hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the metro area, another 30+ degree warmer than it's supposed to be day. People hated it. Most had just taken the winter covers off their air conditioners, not realizing they'd have to fire them up so early. No one smiled that day. If we had a two week stretch of 105 or higher temps in the Twin Cities in July and August, 30 degrees warmer than it should be, just like March of 03, people wouldn't be happy. They would say, "this is wrong. Why doesn't someone do something about it?" But then comes 80 degrees in late September, and the stress and strain of the extreme summer heat disappears.
There's a financial impact which is ignored too. The AC bills for a two week stretch I described would bring a level of concern to the kitchen table, but it's the larger weather related impacts we need to start seeing. A few winters ago, we didn't have snow. No snow in Minnesota should terrify people, but instead we went about giggling and playing, acting like it was a nice break from the normal. Then came the consequences. Businesses who depend on snow (ski resorts, snowmobile manufacturers, snow plows, snow blower makers) all had massive economic downturns, leading to layoffs and lost revenue. It nearly broke some communities, AND it was due to climate change. But wouldn't you know, a more normal snow the next year and the downturn becomes a distant memory, until the next Winter without snow.
When we have a year's worth of rain fall in a three week span, followed by extreme drought for the rest of the year, people look at the end of the year totals and shrug their shoulders saying, "it works out in the end." Even hurricanes, one of the most destructive forces on the planet, after they scrub a large portion of a state clean, are only remembered for a limited time by the individuals it directly effects, and hardly at all by the parts of the country the storm missed. Sandy really messed up New Jersey, but how many Republicans didn't care one iota about the massive devastation, instead only accusing Gov. Christie of being a traitor for needing Federal assistance. Still today, there are portions of the East Coast which have not been repaired. For a shocking amount of people, it's easy to overlook.
There's a definitive trend to the temperature fluctuations, but when you add in the bizarre precipitation variances, the super storms, the unusual weather patterns (both warmer and colder), and then factor in the financial impacts to our economy, we should all be very concerned.
Then again, maybe you should just go out and enjoy the nice weather while it lasts. Considering Climate Change legislation has the same chances as a snowball in hell (insert Senator Inhofe joke here), it probably won't be too long before the new not-normal is impossible to enjoy.
Monday, May 4, 2015
The Fraud that is the Minnesota GOP
The Minnesota GOP, since winning the state House last November, has tried to portray their image as pro-Minnesota business, pro-worker, and pro-out state, rural communities. They've insisted the small towns of the state have been ignored by the big, bad Twin Cities metro for too long, and they were going to make Minneapolis/St. Paul pay, but once again, the Republicans have shown their true colors. The Minnesota GOP is only in politics for the wealthiest of the wealthy and for their own self promotion.
First, some background on a current issue which exposes the Right as the frauds they are. Chinese steel has been flooding the world market, propped up unfairly by the Chinese government. As the world prices have bottomed out, the Minnesota steel and taconite industry is feeling the pain, with layoffs announced across the Iron Range. Minnesota Democrats came up with a good idea; they introduced a bill making American-made steel the only steel to be used in Minnesota public works projects. Great idea, as it puts American products first, helps Minnesota's mining industry, and might prevent some of the layoffs.
The Republicans in the MN House voted the bill down.
It would be simple to call the GOP hacks, but lets break down their motives:
1) The GOP will do everything in their power to make sure any rural districts represented by the Democrats, including many of the districts on the Iron Range, get nothing which may be perceived as helping their constituents. They had success in 2014 by playing the anti-metro card, and if they can make rural districts with DFL Reps. languish in an economic downturn, they might be able to win those seats in 2016. You just have to convince the voters to forget the Republicans were the ones who voted to hurt them.
2) If they can make them desperate enough, the miners of the northland might become a louder voice in support of the sulfide mining operation proposed for the Ely area. This type of mining is an environmental disaster, and has never, NEVER, been done safe and clean. The mine will poison the pristine northland, and as the environmental dangers become more widely known, public sentiment is turning against it. Creating loyal foot soldiers, desperate for any job they can get, might help the Republicans pro-sulfide mining cause.
3) A main reason the GOP voted down help for the Iron Range was because they didn't want their corporate executive puppet-masters to have to pay a slightly higher price for steel. They contend they're pro-America, but 'America First' is only a campaign slogan for the right. If profits are involved, the Republicans will always take the cheap side, even if it goes against the best interests of their own state. Because of their blind allegiance to corporations, and Chinese steel, the MNGOP is anti-Minnesota worker and anti-Minnesota products.
What this latest example shows is the complete lack of interest MN House Speaker Kurt Daudt and the rest of his tea party underlings have for the citizens of Minnesota, regardless of where they live. The Republicans don't care about rural Minnesota. They were the ones who torpedoed major aide to the rural communities in last session's bonding bill, they're the ones who've failed to follow through on any of their campaign promises to the rural communities in the funding bills they just passed this session, and they're going to continue to go out of their way to make life as miserable as they can for rural Minnesota, hoping they'll blame the DFL, the one party who has delivered for all Minnesotans.
It should be noted the Republican bills passed by the state House this session show a clear hatred of the Twin Cities metro area too. Why anyone not ultra wealthy in either city limits, or in the suburban communities, would vote for the GOP is a mystery.
Rural Minnesota, the Republicans aren't going to help you unless you're one of the wealthiest 1000 in the state. If your bank account doesn't have more than six figures in it, you won't see any help from the GOP. The Republicans need you to indiscriminately vote for them, and will keep feeding you lies so you stay obedient. When you wake up to that fact, and stop buying the right's lies, then you'll see more positive change, just like you did under the Democrats the last two years.
First, some background on a current issue which exposes the Right as the frauds they are. Chinese steel has been flooding the world market, propped up unfairly by the Chinese government. As the world prices have bottomed out, the Minnesota steel and taconite industry is feeling the pain, with layoffs announced across the Iron Range. Minnesota Democrats came up with a good idea; they introduced a bill making American-made steel the only steel to be used in Minnesota public works projects. Great idea, as it puts American products first, helps Minnesota's mining industry, and might prevent some of the layoffs.
The Republicans in the MN House voted the bill down.
It would be simple to call the GOP hacks, but lets break down their motives:
1) The GOP will do everything in their power to make sure any rural districts represented by the Democrats, including many of the districts on the Iron Range, get nothing which may be perceived as helping their constituents. They had success in 2014 by playing the anti-metro card, and if they can make rural districts with DFL Reps. languish in an economic downturn, they might be able to win those seats in 2016. You just have to convince the voters to forget the Republicans were the ones who voted to hurt them.
2) If they can make them desperate enough, the miners of the northland might become a louder voice in support of the sulfide mining operation proposed for the Ely area. This type of mining is an environmental disaster, and has never, NEVER, been done safe and clean. The mine will poison the pristine northland, and as the environmental dangers become more widely known, public sentiment is turning against it. Creating loyal foot soldiers, desperate for any job they can get, might help the Republicans pro-sulfide mining cause.
3) A main reason the GOP voted down help for the Iron Range was because they didn't want their corporate executive puppet-masters to have to pay a slightly higher price for steel. They contend they're pro-America, but 'America First' is only a campaign slogan for the right. If profits are involved, the Republicans will always take the cheap side, even if it goes against the best interests of their own state. Because of their blind allegiance to corporations, and Chinese steel, the MNGOP is anti-Minnesota worker and anti-Minnesota products.
What this latest example shows is the complete lack of interest MN House Speaker Kurt Daudt and the rest of his tea party underlings have for the citizens of Minnesota, regardless of where they live. The Republicans don't care about rural Minnesota. They were the ones who torpedoed major aide to the rural communities in last session's bonding bill, they're the ones who've failed to follow through on any of their campaign promises to the rural communities in the funding bills they just passed this session, and they're going to continue to go out of their way to make life as miserable as they can for rural Minnesota, hoping they'll blame the DFL, the one party who has delivered for all Minnesotans.
It should be noted the Republican bills passed by the state House this session show a clear hatred of the Twin Cities metro area too. Why anyone not ultra wealthy in either city limits, or in the suburban communities, would vote for the GOP is a mystery.
Rural Minnesota, the Republicans aren't going to help you unless you're one of the wealthiest 1000 in the state. If your bank account doesn't have more than six figures in it, you won't see any help from the GOP. The Republicans need you to indiscriminately vote for them, and will keep feeding you lies so you stay obedient. When you wake up to that fact, and stop buying the right's lies, then you'll see more positive change, just like you did under the Democrats the last two years.
Friday, May 1, 2015
The Friday Link for 5/1/15
I've been in absolute heaven today as I embraced my inner geek. The Avengers: Age Of Ultron was a very good movie. Matt's review - different from the first, but it had to be. Where the first movie established the Avengers, the second movie embraces the concept of an ever changing, ever morphing team. They started by wrapping up a lot of story lines still open from the previous films, created a self contained plot of an sentient robot (Ultron) coming alive and deciding humanity needs to end, and finished with not only a sensational battle scene with Ultron and his robot army, but they nicely set up the next few movies, primarily Captain American Civil War, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and Thor Ragnarok. The battle scenes are pure summer blockbuster madness at it's best, and three in particular are unbelievable. The plot is not the deepest, but I think it's best to save the deeper thinking for the individual character movies. Go see it, it's amazing.
I still want to bring a little humor to Friday, and it would seem only fitting to focus on the latest top notch correspondent from The Daily Show leaving. I did think about posting the Judith Miller interview Jon Stewart did, but there was no humor in it, just the sad twisting in the wind of a fake journalist, too desperate to hide her own culpable behavior.
Samantha Bee was sensational. Her segments were usually either silly or sarcastically serious. Her bit, a one woman show ripping on Fox News' The Five, was sensational, and she was probably the best women's issue reporter on TV, fake or real.
Here are two of my favorite Samantha Bee moments. The first is her pointing out a woman's right of Choice is not only about abortions and birth control, but also a woman choosing to have her child. Her pointing that out to GOP convention goers in St. Paul in 2008, trying desperately to get the right to use the word "Choice," was epic.
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/bfqbbx/bristol-palin-s-choice
The other bit is one of the funniest things I have ever seen, but not necessarily because of Samantha. Her 'Long Island as the 51st State' story is littered with some of the dumbest human beings on the planet. Even her double takes at the ever dumber responses from the meatballs she found to interview are priceless.
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/kctbhb/long-island-wants-to-secede
I am worried at whether The Daily Show will be half the shell of its former self. Not only with Stewart's departure, but the additional losses are not easily replaceable either. On that sad note, I hope you have a nice weekend.
I still want to bring a little humor to Friday, and it would seem only fitting to focus on the latest top notch correspondent from The Daily Show leaving. I did think about posting the Judith Miller interview Jon Stewart did, but there was no humor in it, just the sad twisting in the wind of a fake journalist, too desperate to hide her own culpable behavior.
Samantha Bee was sensational. Her segments were usually either silly or sarcastically serious. Her bit, a one woman show ripping on Fox News' The Five, was sensational, and she was probably the best women's issue reporter on TV, fake or real.
Here are two of my favorite Samantha Bee moments. The first is her pointing out a woman's right of Choice is not only about abortions and birth control, but also a woman choosing to have her child. Her pointing that out to GOP convention goers in St. Paul in 2008, trying desperately to get the right to use the word "Choice," was epic.
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/bfqbbx/bristol-palin-s-choice
The other bit is one of the funniest things I have ever seen, but not necessarily because of Samantha. Her 'Long Island as the 51st State' story is littered with some of the dumbest human beings on the planet. Even her double takes at the ever dumber responses from the meatballs she found to interview are priceless.
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/kctbhb/long-island-wants-to-secede
I am worried at whether The Daily Show will be half the shell of its former self. Not only with Stewart's departure, but the additional losses are not easily replaceable either. On that sad note, I hope you have a nice weekend.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Supporting the Troops
Mike Huckabee is a jackass.
I probably could leave it at that, and most would nod in agreement and go about their lives, but I'll explain further. Mike Huckabee is a jackass, this time, because of comments he made during a radio interview in regards to people joining the military.
During the interview, Huckabee made numerous comments; about how the President has ordered all Bibles hidden in the military, that military chaplains are prevented from praying to Jesus, and there's an overall hostility to Christians in the US military today. Basically he made up a bunch of stuff that old, white voters want to believe about the President and ran with it. He lied, Huckabee is liar, and I encourage him to take me to court and prove that Obama has ordered all the things he alleged. If I'm wrong, he has me dead to rights, but I won't hold my breath for a court summons.
The overall insanely stupid argument Huckabee is making is that you shouldn't join the military until President Obama is out of office, as the current military is hostile to Christians. Mike Huckabee believes a Conservative President would place Christian soldiers over all others, restoring the armed forces of the United States to some Christian standard he thinks is supposed to exist. With that sentiment, Huckabee joins the dumbest of the dumb, a guy so tone deaf to anything but his own talking points, he doesn't hear the disrespect his comments have for the men and women who have fought for the Stars and Stripes.
Currently, the military has 61 "Available Emblems of Belief for Placement on Government Headstones and Markers." Here is a link: http://www.cem.va.gov/hmm/emblems.asp That's right, the US military recognizes 61 different headstone markings, not just the numerous Christian denominations, but Jewish, Muslim, Atheist, Hindu, Wiccan, Native American, Shinto, and even the Hammer of Thor, to name just a few options.
The military doesn't have these options just for show. They have people buried in military cemeteries, people who fought in combat, who died protecting America and her interests, who fought for the Red, White and Blue, who were proud Americans, whose gravestones have these symbols on them. The military is not a Christian fighting force, and anyone who even indirectly implies something so outrageous is disrespecting the honor and valor those military personnel earned, whether in combat or during peacetime. To even suggest any non-Christian soldier is a lesser soldier, or less patriotic, is moronic.
Maybe Mike Huckabee wants to go into the military cemeteries of this country at night, under cover of darkness, with mallet and chisel in hand, and desecrate the graves of our military, in an attempt to remove the symbols he has deemed too blasphemous. Maybe he'll grab a shovel and dig up the non-Christian military dead and chuck them over the cemetery wall. In his world, you can only be Christian and proud of the military. It's all or nothing. Anyone who died serving our country but dared participate in the freedom of religion this country supposedly embraces, deciding to be a different religion, or not embrace a religion at all, is apparently not worthy of Mike Huckabee's respect.
In review, Mike Huckabee is a jackass.
I probably could leave it at that, and most would nod in agreement and go about their lives, but I'll explain further. Mike Huckabee is a jackass, this time, because of comments he made during a radio interview in regards to people joining the military.
During the interview, Huckabee made numerous comments; about how the President has ordered all Bibles hidden in the military, that military chaplains are prevented from praying to Jesus, and there's an overall hostility to Christians in the US military today. Basically he made up a bunch of stuff that old, white voters want to believe about the President and ran with it. He lied, Huckabee is liar, and I encourage him to take me to court and prove that Obama has ordered all the things he alleged. If I'm wrong, he has me dead to rights, but I won't hold my breath for a court summons.
The overall insanely stupid argument Huckabee is making is that you shouldn't join the military until President Obama is out of office, as the current military is hostile to Christians. Mike Huckabee believes a Conservative President would place Christian soldiers over all others, restoring the armed forces of the United States to some Christian standard he thinks is supposed to exist. With that sentiment, Huckabee joins the dumbest of the dumb, a guy so tone deaf to anything but his own talking points, he doesn't hear the disrespect his comments have for the men and women who have fought for the Stars and Stripes.
Currently, the military has 61 "Available Emblems of Belief for Placement on Government Headstones and Markers." Here is a link: http://www.cem.va.gov/hmm/emblems.asp That's right, the US military recognizes 61 different headstone markings, not just the numerous Christian denominations, but Jewish, Muslim, Atheist, Hindu, Wiccan, Native American, Shinto, and even the Hammer of Thor, to name just a few options.
The military doesn't have these options just for show. They have people buried in military cemeteries, people who fought in combat, who died protecting America and her interests, who fought for the Red, White and Blue, who were proud Americans, whose gravestones have these symbols on them. The military is not a Christian fighting force, and anyone who even indirectly implies something so outrageous is disrespecting the honor and valor those military personnel earned, whether in combat or during peacetime. To even suggest any non-Christian soldier is a lesser soldier, or less patriotic, is moronic.
Maybe Mike Huckabee wants to go into the military cemeteries of this country at night, under cover of darkness, with mallet and chisel in hand, and desecrate the graves of our military, in an attempt to remove the symbols he has deemed too blasphemous. Maybe he'll grab a shovel and dig up the non-Christian military dead and chuck them over the cemetery wall. In his world, you can only be Christian and proud of the military. It's all or nothing. Anyone who died serving our country but dared participate in the freedom of religion this country supposedly embraces, deciding to be a different religion, or not embrace a religion at all, is apparently not worthy of Mike Huckabee's respect.
In review, Mike Huckabee is a jackass.
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Why You Condemn
A story from this week you might have seen pop up on your news feed is the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the genocide, slaughter, and systematic killing of one and a half million Armenian Christians. Two things I want to point out about this story. First is the number. One and a half million people were targeted solely because they were Armenian, accused of working against Turkish interests. This ethnic/religious cleansing is one of the worst historical injustices, ever.
The second is the word I intentionally used to describe the carnage, genocide. This was genocide, without a doubt, but for some reason Turkey, the United States, and other countries refuse to label these deaths correctly.
There is no vindictive pride in my voice when I bring up an injustice, like what happened to the Armenia Christians, and call it a genocide. It's what it was. The history of the world is full of cases where governments and people have attempted to eliminate other groups of people, whether their false validation was due to the religion they practiced, the geographical region they came from, a false superiority ingratiated, or the color of their skin. The United States government was truly horrible to the Native American population which resided here centuries before sails came from Europe. What we did to them was genocide. I'm not trying to shame my ancestors by pointing that out. They shamed themselves. What I am trying to do is acknowledge the horror, putting it in context, a scream to all, in an attempt to make sure we never revisit an abomination like it again. If all voices do the same, we'll go along way to ensure it never does.
In his justification for his atrocious actions, Adolf Hitler, in 1939, specifically pointed to the slaughter of the Armenian Christians and said: "who still talks nowadays about the Armenians?" He used the world's silence on that slaughter to defend his own crimes against humanity. No, the Turks did not cause the Holocaust and World War II, but the world's neglect to condemn the genocide from 100 years ago was used as corroboration to authorize the Nazi's actions.
The failure to stop the genocide of nearly 6 millions Jews is the world's darkest legacy, a legacy which should hang heavy on all of our hearts. That was genocide, as was what happened to the Armenians. End of story.
We should never candy coat history, regardless of whether it's among the world's worst failures or smaller in scale. We should always label history truthfully and accurately. It's why what we did after 9/11 needs to be labeled torture. It's why the war in Iraq should be labeled unjustified. It's why the use of drones in combat zones should be labeled unsupervised and extremely reckless. It's why the collection of data on all Americans the last 12 years should be labeled repulsive. And it's why we must label the deterioration of the rights of workers in this country as repugnant. If we don't, how long before someone else uses the actions of others to justify their actions?
Take my pleas as my voice to be added to the choir, an attempt to ensure we don't repeat bad history.
The second is the word I intentionally used to describe the carnage, genocide. This was genocide, without a doubt, but for some reason Turkey, the United States, and other countries refuse to label these deaths correctly.
There is no vindictive pride in my voice when I bring up an injustice, like what happened to the Armenia Christians, and call it a genocide. It's what it was. The history of the world is full of cases where governments and people have attempted to eliminate other groups of people, whether their false validation was due to the religion they practiced, the geographical region they came from, a false superiority ingratiated, or the color of their skin. The United States government was truly horrible to the Native American population which resided here centuries before sails came from Europe. What we did to them was genocide. I'm not trying to shame my ancestors by pointing that out. They shamed themselves. What I am trying to do is acknowledge the horror, putting it in context, a scream to all, in an attempt to make sure we never revisit an abomination like it again. If all voices do the same, we'll go along way to ensure it never does.
In his justification for his atrocious actions, Adolf Hitler, in 1939, specifically pointed to the slaughter of the Armenian Christians and said: "who still talks nowadays about the Armenians?" He used the world's silence on that slaughter to defend his own crimes against humanity. No, the Turks did not cause the Holocaust and World War II, but the world's neglect to condemn the genocide from 100 years ago was used as corroboration to authorize the Nazi's actions.
The failure to stop the genocide of nearly 6 millions Jews is the world's darkest legacy, a legacy which should hang heavy on all of our hearts. That was genocide, as was what happened to the Armenians. End of story.
We should never candy coat history, regardless of whether it's among the world's worst failures or smaller in scale. We should always label history truthfully and accurately. It's why what we did after 9/11 needs to be labeled torture. It's why the war in Iraq should be labeled unjustified. It's why the use of drones in combat zones should be labeled unsupervised and extremely reckless. It's why the collection of data on all Americans the last 12 years should be labeled repulsive. And it's why we must label the deterioration of the rights of workers in this country as repugnant. If we don't, how long before someone else uses the actions of others to justify their actions?
Take my pleas as my voice to be added to the choir, an attempt to ensure we don't repeat bad history.
Friday, April 24, 2015
The Friday Link for 4/24/15
It's been pretty light this week on the blog. I could make up some lie about doing something important, but all I did was lounge on the couch, watching Orphan Black and eating my middle class tax break Funyuns and Yoo-Hoo (Thanks MNGOP!). I promise blog posts ripping on Huckabee and the racist Representative from Becker sometime this weekend.
It's been nice to revisit my old friend the TV, now being presented in a wide variety of formats. I binge watched the new series from Yahoo Screen, Other Space, which my guest from Thursday's show, Trace Beaulieu, is a cast member. I knew after the Morning Grind on Thursday, I wanted to feature Trace in some capacity on this week's Friday Link. Other Space is brand new, and very good. Here is a link for the series:
https://screen.yahoo.com/other-space/
I highly recommend the entire season, but episode three and four are especially great. By the way, if you didn't hear the interview from Thursday's show (I sound like a 13 year old at a One Direction concert), here's the link for it:
https://soundcloud.com/am950s-best-interviews/the-morning-grind-trace-bileau-april-23-2015
I thought about featuring Cinematic Titanic as well this week, the revisiting of movie riffing from Trace, Joel, Josh, Frank and Mary Jo, but there are two problems with doing so. The first is I featured them on a Friday Link awhile back, posting one of their promos for Rattlers. I don't want to go to the well to often. Plus, I really encourage you to buy the entire DVD collection and prepare yourself to laugh your caboose off. Go buy them all! OBEY ME!
http://www.cinematictitanic.com
So let me go back to the golden days, to June of 1991, a revisit one of my all time favorite Mystery Science Theater 3000's. Cave Dwellers! Never has a nipple made a funnier doorbell sound. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKO6M8heGU0
It's been nice to revisit my old friend the TV, now being presented in a wide variety of formats. I binge watched the new series from Yahoo Screen, Other Space, which my guest from Thursday's show, Trace Beaulieu, is a cast member. I knew after the Morning Grind on Thursday, I wanted to feature Trace in some capacity on this week's Friday Link. Other Space is brand new, and very good. Here is a link for the series:
https://screen.yahoo.com/other-space/
I highly recommend the entire season, but episode three and four are especially great. By the way, if you didn't hear the interview from Thursday's show (I sound like a 13 year old at a One Direction concert), here's the link for it:
https://soundcloud.com/am950s-best-interviews/the-morning-grind-trace-bileau-april-23-2015
I thought about featuring Cinematic Titanic as well this week, the revisiting of movie riffing from Trace, Joel, Josh, Frank and Mary Jo, but there are two problems with doing so. The first is I featured them on a Friday Link awhile back, posting one of their promos for Rattlers. I don't want to go to the well to often. Plus, I really encourage you to buy the entire DVD collection and prepare yourself to laugh your caboose off. Go buy them all! OBEY ME!
http://www.cinematictitanic.com
So let me go back to the golden days, to June of 1991, a revisit one of my all time favorite Mystery Science Theater 3000's. Cave Dwellers! Never has a nipple made a funnier doorbell sound. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKO6M8heGU0
Monday, April 20, 2015
The Aggressive Progressive
I love passion. Heart is what makes us more than analytical robots. Dreams, goals, and hopes are necessary for the betterment of human kind, and it's one of the reasons I find myself on the Progressive side of politics. I don't ever want to squelch an individual's enthusiasm, but we have to have a talk.
Last week, an individual, Doug Hughes, landed a gyrocopter on the Capitol grounds in an effort to bring awareness to the toxic nature of excessive money in politics. He wanted to deliver 535 letters to every member of Congress, but his letters won't ever get to the addressees. They instead will go to an evidence locker to be used against Mr. Hughes at his trial. Why? Because regardless of how much you like his message, he picked a horrible way to deliver it, evacuating the Capitol building as fears of a potential terrorist strike were taken seriously. Not exactly harmless fun.
I've come under attack myself for not promoting Mr. Hughes as a true American hero. I won't praise him. Even though his message is one I whole heartedly agree with, the truth is, his reckless and ignorant method of making his point needs to be condemned. He endangered the lives of numerous people and caused a panic. What he did was no better than an expert in world policy explaining his brilliant strategy for peace, while performing a public act of self gratification. The benefits of his peace plan get lost in the insanity surrounding his delivery method.
This is what got James O'Keefe in trouble with members of the far right in this country. Conservatives loved his edited tapes and how he embarrassed left leaning causes, but when he broke into Senator Mary Landrieu's office and tried to bug her phone lines, even they backed away, quickly, from his criminal actions. When it's violating Federal laws, even they had to call him on it. Imagine what Mr. Hughes' champions would be saying if instead of campaign finance reform, he was preaching for more open gun laws, mandatory Christian religion, or trickle down economics. Would they still be applauding his initiative then?
And this doesn't even take into account the fact Mr Hughes has diminished the entirety of the campaign finance reform movement. The people who love the Citizens United ruling want to dismiss, diminish, berate and belittle their opponents and now they can by just using Mr Hughes as an unhinged poster child. And, he has shown people who might want to initiate a terrorist strike on the Capitol building a way to get real close. Good thinking!
Still, even though I'm stating valid negatives, it doesn't stop the fervent left from insisting I'm wrong for not worshipping this guy. With my disagreement, they completely dismiss my opinion, and no longer see me as one of the few left leaning radio voices still on-air. They don't see me agreeing with them 90 to 95% of the time. Nope, I become the instant bad guy, no better than the conservative media in this country because I didn't espouse Doug Hughes as a modern day founding father.
Liberal radio in this country has taken it in the trousers. LA and New York have far larger liberal populations than Minneapolis/St. Paul, but they can't support a liberal talk station? San Francisco, Miami, Houston or Denver can't support one? The truth is they can, but because there is a concerted effort to limit the populations exposure to left leaning opinion, radio stations in those markets opt to carry the fourth or fifth conservative talk or sports network. There's no way possible they're getting better ratings or making more money with such superfluous fare.
As there are fewer and fewer left leaning talkers in the US, a small, passionate element of the far left wants the remaining to become something they dream of, the plucky broadcaster who has their peach crate and old Marconi microphone, setting up shop wherever there's trouble in this world, an electric picket line, with angry fist ready to be waived in whatever direction they feel injustice is coming from. I love a good left leaning, modern day William Jennings Bryan, populist like the next guy, but that political and social landscape doesn't exist anymore. It's an adage of a time gone by, like the guy who wants to save the farm by getting a curtain, cow, and a banjo, putting on a show to stave of the bank from foreclosing.
When you try to tell them it won't work, how you can't sell that stream of outrage as a viable product, or if you just point out their heroes did something foolish on the way to immortality, they double down, accusing you of being no better than Fox News. They become committed to fighting with outlets which closely mimic their beliefs because it's easier to attack the ones willing to give them a podium, as opposed to fight the overwhelming conservative media machine which would never even let them in the door.
Progressives have to 1) understand the political playing field, 2) understand the modern rule book of how the game is played, and 3) be smart. Get rid of your "strongly worded memos' and climactic 'Revenge of the Nerds' speeches. It's Democrats using an antiquated playbook which is one of the main reasons they've fallen so far out of power in the last 40 years. Stand up for what you believe in and don't back down, but if you're reckless, you endanger the issue, movement or remaining few public outlets you have left. Progressives aren't going to regain control by sitting in a reclining chair eating Funyuns and Yoo Hoo, but they surely won't make legitimate gains by buzzing secure Federal government buildings in a homemade flying machine. This is going to take a modern game plan and lot of hard work. Think about the fight in Minnesota to get rid of the anti-gay marriage amendment in 2012, and double it. It's a good starting point.
I stand by my critique. Doug Hughes was a fool and shouldn't be hailed as a conquering hero. If that's what turns you against me, so be it. Meanwhile, I'll hang onto my passion and dreams; of one day seeing a Progressive movement which doesn't get stuck in individual self promotion and fulfills the potential it has always danced around, becoming the party which leads America, as a whole, into a better future.
Last week, an individual, Doug Hughes, landed a gyrocopter on the Capitol grounds in an effort to bring awareness to the toxic nature of excessive money in politics. He wanted to deliver 535 letters to every member of Congress, but his letters won't ever get to the addressees. They instead will go to an evidence locker to be used against Mr. Hughes at his trial. Why? Because regardless of how much you like his message, he picked a horrible way to deliver it, evacuating the Capitol building as fears of a potential terrorist strike were taken seriously. Not exactly harmless fun.
I've come under attack myself for not promoting Mr. Hughes as a true American hero. I won't praise him. Even though his message is one I whole heartedly agree with, the truth is, his reckless and ignorant method of making his point needs to be condemned. He endangered the lives of numerous people and caused a panic. What he did was no better than an expert in world policy explaining his brilliant strategy for peace, while performing a public act of self gratification. The benefits of his peace plan get lost in the insanity surrounding his delivery method.
This is what got James O'Keefe in trouble with members of the far right in this country. Conservatives loved his edited tapes and how he embarrassed left leaning causes, but when he broke into Senator Mary Landrieu's office and tried to bug her phone lines, even they backed away, quickly, from his criminal actions. When it's violating Federal laws, even they had to call him on it. Imagine what Mr. Hughes' champions would be saying if instead of campaign finance reform, he was preaching for more open gun laws, mandatory Christian religion, or trickle down economics. Would they still be applauding his initiative then?
And this doesn't even take into account the fact Mr Hughes has diminished the entirety of the campaign finance reform movement. The people who love the Citizens United ruling want to dismiss, diminish, berate and belittle their opponents and now they can by just using Mr Hughes as an unhinged poster child. And, he has shown people who might want to initiate a terrorist strike on the Capitol building a way to get real close. Good thinking!
Still, even though I'm stating valid negatives, it doesn't stop the fervent left from insisting I'm wrong for not worshipping this guy. With my disagreement, they completely dismiss my opinion, and no longer see me as one of the few left leaning radio voices still on-air. They don't see me agreeing with them 90 to 95% of the time. Nope, I become the instant bad guy, no better than the conservative media in this country because I didn't espouse Doug Hughes as a modern day founding father.
Liberal radio in this country has taken it in the trousers. LA and New York have far larger liberal populations than Minneapolis/St. Paul, but they can't support a liberal talk station? San Francisco, Miami, Houston or Denver can't support one? The truth is they can, but because there is a concerted effort to limit the populations exposure to left leaning opinion, radio stations in those markets opt to carry the fourth or fifth conservative talk or sports network. There's no way possible they're getting better ratings or making more money with such superfluous fare.
As there are fewer and fewer left leaning talkers in the US, a small, passionate element of the far left wants the remaining to become something they dream of, the plucky broadcaster who has their peach crate and old Marconi microphone, setting up shop wherever there's trouble in this world, an electric picket line, with angry fist ready to be waived in whatever direction they feel injustice is coming from. I love a good left leaning, modern day William Jennings Bryan, populist like the next guy, but that political and social landscape doesn't exist anymore. It's an adage of a time gone by, like the guy who wants to save the farm by getting a curtain, cow, and a banjo, putting on a show to stave of the bank from foreclosing.
When you try to tell them it won't work, how you can't sell that stream of outrage as a viable product, or if you just point out their heroes did something foolish on the way to immortality, they double down, accusing you of being no better than Fox News. They become committed to fighting with outlets which closely mimic their beliefs because it's easier to attack the ones willing to give them a podium, as opposed to fight the overwhelming conservative media machine which would never even let them in the door.
Progressives have to 1) understand the political playing field, 2) understand the modern rule book of how the game is played, and 3) be smart. Get rid of your "strongly worded memos' and climactic 'Revenge of the Nerds' speeches. It's Democrats using an antiquated playbook which is one of the main reasons they've fallen so far out of power in the last 40 years. Stand up for what you believe in and don't back down, but if you're reckless, you endanger the issue, movement or remaining few public outlets you have left. Progressives aren't going to regain control by sitting in a reclining chair eating Funyuns and Yoo Hoo, but they surely won't make legitimate gains by buzzing secure Federal government buildings in a homemade flying machine. This is going to take a modern game plan and lot of hard work. Think about the fight in Minnesota to get rid of the anti-gay marriage amendment in 2012, and double it. It's a good starting point.
I stand by my critique. Doug Hughes was a fool and shouldn't be hailed as a conquering hero. If that's what turns you against me, so be it. Meanwhile, I'll hang onto my passion and dreams; of one day seeing a Progressive movement which doesn't get stuck in individual self promotion and fulfills the potential it has always danced around, becoming the party which leads America, as a whole, into a better future.
Friday, April 17, 2015
The Friday Link for 4/17/15
Mel Brooks made the funniest movies. At points they are so offensive to everyone it's unbelievable they were released, and no one else today could EVER get away with trying to remake them. I look at them not only as outrageous comedy, but movies that helped move the country forward.
The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, some of his earliest movies, are all riots. Another one I like is History of the World Part I, a movie which I remember some people insisted the Monty Python guys ripped off with Meaning of Life. I don't see it, but ironically Brooks took The Producers and, with the help of Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, made a musical for the ages, only to be followed up afterwards by Spamalot from parts of the Monty Python crew.
After History of the World, he started to fall off as far as the bang for the buck he got with his movies. The last one I saw which I thought had any good laughs was the one I am bringing up tonight, Spaceballs. This Star Wars rip off had a lot of laugh free zones, but was saved, single handedly, by Rick Moranis. His Dark Helmet, a Darth Vader inspired character was brilliant. What's funny is his facial expressions throughout the movie, like a janitor who has taken over the battleship and realizes he is woefully outmatched, but it doesn't stop him from trying. Brilliant!
Here is a clip of the movie where Dark Helmet takes the controls. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk7VWcuVOf0
Warning - one bad word for sure.
The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, some of his earliest movies, are all riots. Another one I like is History of the World Part I, a movie which I remember some people insisted the Monty Python guys ripped off with Meaning of Life. I don't see it, but ironically Brooks took The Producers and, with the help of Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, made a musical for the ages, only to be followed up afterwards by Spamalot from parts of the Monty Python crew.
After History of the World, he started to fall off as far as the bang for the buck he got with his movies. The last one I saw which I thought had any good laughs was the one I am bringing up tonight, Spaceballs. This Star Wars rip off had a lot of laugh free zones, but was saved, single handedly, by Rick Moranis. His Dark Helmet, a Darth Vader inspired character was brilliant. What's funny is his facial expressions throughout the movie, like a janitor who has taken over the battleship and realizes he is woefully outmatched, but it doesn't stop him from trying. Brilliant!
Here is a clip of the movie where Dark Helmet takes the controls. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk7VWcuVOf0
Warning - one bad word for sure.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Tax Day
I'll be honest, it does sting to write out the checks (one Federal, one to Minnesota) on April 15th. In my case, due to my personal circumstances, it's usually four figures, but I do it, and frankly as easy as it is to complain about it, the evidence of my tax dollars being wisely spent are all around me.
It's amazing the bang for the buck you get from your taxes. Mostly everything used for transportation of any kind (roads, sidewalks, bike paths, nature trails, street signs, traffic lights, bridges, rest stops, mass transportation, airports, harbors, trains, ect.), almost all emergency services (police, fire, water rescue, hazmat teams, partial funding for ambulances, air evac, forest fire fighters, military, national guard, ect.), public education (schools, some colleges, libraries, after school programs, some pre-school programs, continuing education, ect.) public entertainment (parks, nature areas, developed lakefronts, public docks and launches, stadiums, community bandshells and stages, public art, public gardens, national monuments, historical areas, ect.), needed services (post office, job training and placement, healthcare, medicare, medicaid, social security, the current inadequate veterans services, food stamps, housing assistance, community advisory programs, ect.) the stuff you take for granted (sewers, water services, mosquito control, plowing, fishery programs, wildlife management, the weather service, ect.). And then there is the safety and security provided by the military, a security most of the world doesn't have, a security many, including the vast majority of our ultra wealthy, take for granted. Plus there are thousands of other government services I'm not mentioning which are covered completely, mostly or partially by these two checks. Yes, I look at the money I spend and realize only a fool would think they don't get an incredible return on investment.
Before you blindly rail against your taxes, stop and think. Are you going to be the guy who demands their taxes back, and then wonders why their street hasn't been repaired. Are you going to be the guy who insists you shouldn't have to pay for education because you don't have any kids, but then complain about how hard it is to find affordable, educated, trained, competent people to provide services for you. Are you the guy who insists government stay out of your life, and then bemoan when the DNR has not stocked your lake with the fish you want to catch. You want to complain about your taxes, fine, but don't be a surprised when I remind you of everything your tax dollars pay for.
It's amazing the bang for the buck you get from your taxes. Mostly everything used for transportation of any kind (roads, sidewalks, bike paths, nature trails, street signs, traffic lights, bridges, rest stops, mass transportation, airports, harbors, trains, ect.), almost all emergency services (police, fire, water rescue, hazmat teams, partial funding for ambulances, air evac, forest fire fighters, military, national guard, ect.), public education (schools, some colleges, libraries, after school programs, some pre-school programs, continuing education, ect.) public entertainment (parks, nature areas, developed lakefronts, public docks and launches, stadiums, community bandshells and stages, public art, public gardens, national monuments, historical areas, ect.), needed services (post office, job training and placement, healthcare, medicare, medicaid, social security, the current inadequate veterans services, food stamps, housing assistance, community advisory programs, ect.) the stuff you take for granted (sewers, water services, mosquito control, plowing, fishery programs, wildlife management, the weather service, ect.). And then there is the safety and security provided by the military, a security most of the world doesn't have, a security many, including the vast majority of our ultra wealthy, take for granted. Plus there are thousands of other government services I'm not mentioning which are covered completely, mostly or partially by these two checks. Yes, I look at the money I spend and realize only a fool would think they don't get an incredible return on investment.
Before you blindly rail against your taxes, stop and think. Are you going to be the guy who demands their taxes back, and then wonders why their street hasn't been repaired. Are you going to be the guy who insists you shouldn't have to pay for education because you don't have any kids, but then complain about how hard it is to find affordable, educated, trained, competent people to provide services for you. Are you the guy who insists government stay out of your life, and then bemoan when the DNR has not stocked your lake with the fish you want to catch. You want to complain about your taxes, fine, but don't be a surprised when I remind you of everything your tax dollars pay for.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Haters Gonna Hate
It was a lot of fun filling in for Mike Malloy on Thursday and Friday night. That was the first time I had hosted a national show. I was a little nervous to begin with, but the two nights flew by. On Friday night, I walked into the station with a bit of trepidation. On Friday, Hillary Clinton announced she was going to officially announce (?!) her run for President on Sunday, something I knew was going to cause a lot of Hillary Clinton haters to howl. My apprehension was well placed.
I spent the final two hours Friday night beating back fringe callers and chat room commentators, all of whom insisted Hillary Clinton was ten times worse than ANY Republican. She would get us into multiple wars, would allow Wall Street to take our houses, money and livelihood, and apparently she's the secret love partner of Henry Kissinger (the last point being made repeatedly by some person in the Mike Malloy chat room). The endgame of all of these complaints was an insistence the Democrats, if Hillary would be nominated, would be no different from whichever troll the Republicans nominate. I had a headache at the end of the show
First, you're an idiot if you really do think there's no difference between the Democrats and Republicans. I'll repeat that, you're an idiot. There's a big difference; just look at my blog to see the multitude of ways I've pointed out. The 2016 election is going to come down to the Republican nominee verses the Democratic nominee. That's it. No third party candidate or plucky independent; D v. R! If Hillary is the Democratic nominee, even if you can't stand her, there are four major points which demand you vote Democrat: 1) 3 to 4 Supreme Court appointments, 2) the right's dream of war with Iran, 3) the future of the Affordable Care Act and 4) GLBT and minority rights. Those four points alone make any person manifesting their temper tantrum about her getting the nod into not voting in 2016 (in my opinion) irrational and foolish.
I believe half of the "anti-Clinton Democrats" are fake. I think they're plants, bought and paid for by Republican supporters. The GOP can't win a fair fight, so they need to outspend the left and fix the system to win. Part of their plan is to discourage Democrats from voting. To do so, they'll disguise themselves as 'concerned Democratic callers' who really have 'major concerns' with Hillary Clinton. They'll call in, stoking the fires of frustration, editorializing with their fake outrage, and then insist the only real option is to, "not vote at all!" These righto lemmings are being encouraged to do this because if a large portion of Democrats stay home, the GOP wins. Mark my word, we'll hear a lot of this made up outrage on the day one of the candidates clinches the Democratic nomination, regardless of whom it is.
The other complaints, the ones from actual Democrats, and people from further to the left on the political spectrum, are wrapped in a lot of frustration. You can dislike Hillary Clinton. This is not about whether a person is allowed to dislike a political candidate. If you really don't like her, more power to you. If the thought of her winning the nomination, and then the Presidency, angers you so much you protest by either not voting or voting for a third party candidate who has no chance, I disagree with you, but that's your right.
That's what happened in 2000. In one state, Florida, anti-Democrat/anti-Gore voters on the left forgot A) we elect Presidents via the electoral college, B) the race between Gore v. Bush was going to be very close in Florida and nationwide, and C) the right was spending a ton of money promoting Ralph Nader, hoping they could swing enough Democratic votes to the fringe candidate. The right succeeded in making the race close enough to where they could use the pro-Republican Supreme Court to award the state of Florida to Bush, and hence the Presidency. This led to 9/11, two wars, torture, the economic collapse, the Katrina response and the US government being used as an tool for Cheney's self gratification.
In Florida in 2000, there were not only people who, in hindsight, foolishly gave their vote to a candidate who had NO CHANCE, but there were also a lot of Democrats in the state who insisted on not voting to, "send a message." You sent one alright, and your misgivings and guilt about what you did have been felt by us all. Even if you did protest with your vote, what did you do to follow it up? Nothing! You didn't formulate a more organized third party or fight for a more progressive Democratic party. Nope, you just went home, hiding from your fraudulent legacy, pouting, insisting in your chat rooms, "if only the rest of world would do exactly what I wanted, how we'd all be so much better." To the protest voters who are revving their engines again, we did it your way and it ended up screwing us all. Pardon me if I don't welcome you with open arms
Clinton haters, left leaning Democratic Party haters, countrymen, lend me your ears. If you want me to take you seriously, then show me something serious. Start by getting true, far left, Wellstonian Progressives on the stage with the rest of the Democratic candidates during the debates, and make those debates a beacon to the country, showing them how good it could be. If you really don't like the Democratic Party, then start cultivating the Occupy sentiment, still alive and well, into a fully functioning, multi faceted political party with a full platform, not a party based on a one trick pony or a "I don't like their candidate so I am taking my toys and going home" pity party. It'll take a hell of a lot of work, but if you are determined and committed, you might be able to field a candidate for president in 2024.
Hillary Clinton is not my first choice for the top of the Democratic ticket, but rest assured, if she does become the nominee, nothing will keep me from voting for her in 2016. I'll even have a proud smile on my face as I cast my vote.
I spent the final two hours Friday night beating back fringe callers and chat room commentators, all of whom insisted Hillary Clinton was ten times worse than ANY Republican. She would get us into multiple wars, would allow Wall Street to take our houses, money and livelihood, and apparently she's the secret love partner of Henry Kissinger (the last point being made repeatedly by some person in the Mike Malloy chat room). The endgame of all of these complaints was an insistence the Democrats, if Hillary would be nominated, would be no different from whichever troll the Republicans nominate. I had a headache at the end of the show
First, you're an idiot if you really do think there's no difference between the Democrats and Republicans. I'll repeat that, you're an idiot. There's a big difference; just look at my blog to see the multitude of ways I've pointed out. The 2016 election is going to come down to the Republican nominee verses the Democratic nominee. That's it. No third party candidate or plucky independent; D v. R! If Hillary is the Democratic nominee, even if you can't stand her, there are four major points which demand you vote Democrat: 1) 3 to 4 Supreme Court appointments, 2) the right's dream of war with Iran, 3) the future of the Affordable Care Act and 4) GLBT and minority rights. Those four points alone make any person manifesting their temper tantrum about her getting the nod into not voting in 2016 (in my opinion) irrational and foolish.
I believe half of the "anti-Clinton Democrats" are fake. I think they're plants, bought and paid for by Republican supporters. The GOP can't win a fair fight, so they need to outspend the left and fix the system to win. Part of their plan is to discourage Democrats from voting. To do so, they'll disguise themselves as 'concerned Democratic callers' who really have 'major concerns' with Hillary Clinton. They'll call in, stoking the fires of frustration, editorializing with their fake outrage, and then insist the only real option is to, "not vote at all!" These righto lemmings are being encouraged to do this because if a large portion of Democrats stay home, the GOP wins. Mark my word, we'll hear a lot of this made up outrage on the day one of the candidates clinches the Democratic nomination, regardless of whom it is.
The other complaints, the ones from actual Democrats, and people from further to the left on the political spectrum, are wrapped in a lot of frustration. You can dislike Hillary Clinton. This is not about whether a person is allowed to dislike a political candidate. If you really don't like her, more power to you. If the thought of her winning the nomination, and then the Presidency, angers you so much you protest by either not voting or voting for a third party candidate who has no chance, I disagree with you, but that's your right.
That's what happened in 2000. In one state, Florida, anti-Democrat/anti-Gore voters on the left forgot A) we elect Presidents via the electoral college, B) the race between Gore v. Bush was going to be very close in Florida and nationwide, and C) the right was spending a ton of money promoting Ralph Nader, hoping they could swing enough Democratic votes to the fringe candidate. The right succeeded in making the race close enough to where they could use the pro-Republican Supreme Court to award the state of Florida to Bush, and hence the Presidency. This led to 9/11, two wars, torture, the economic collapse, the Katrina response and the US government being used as an tool for Cheney's self gratification.
In Florida in 2000, there were not only people who, in hindsight, foolishly gave their vote to a candidate who had NO CHANCE, but there were also a lot of Democrats in the state who insisted on not voting to, "send a message." You sent one alright, and your misgivings and guilt about what you did have been felt by us all. Even if you did protest with your vote, what did you do to follow it up? Nothing! You didn't formulate a more organized third party or fight for a more progressive Democratic party. Nope, you just went home, hiding from your fraudulent legacy, pouting, insisting in your chat rooms, "if only the rest of world would do exactly what I wanted, how we'd all be so much better." To the protest voters who are revving their engines again, we did it your way and it ended up screwing us all. Pardon me if I don't welcome you with open arms
Clinton haters, left leaning Democratic Party haters, countrymen, lend me your ears. If you want me to take you seriously, then show me something serious. Start by getting true, far left, Wellstonian Progressives on the stage with the rest of the Democratic candidates during the debates, and make those debates a beacon to the country, showing them how good it could be. If you really don't like the Democratic Party, then start cultivating the Occupy sentiment, still alive and well, into a fully functioning, multi faceted political party with a full platform, not a party based on a one trick pony or a "I don't like their candidate so I am taking my toys and going home" pity party. It'll take a hell of a lot of work, but if you are determined and committed, you might be able to field a candidate for president in 2024.
Hillary Clinton is not my first choice for the top of the Democratic ticket, but rest assured, if she does become the nominee, nothing will keep me from voting for her in 2016. I'll even have a proud smile on my face as I cast my vote.
Friday, April 10, 2015
The Friday Link for 4/10/15
I know this blog has been a little sparse this week. Sorry, tremendously busy. I did finish helping a friend proofread her first novel (you'll be hearing more about that later!), I had a good friend ask for a huge last minute favor (hey, I did say a good friend), got my taxes done today and then there's this whole filling in on Mike Malloy's show last night and tonight. A ton of fun, but I'm sleepy. I slept three hours during the middle of the day today, something I usually can't do.
This tiredness does remind me of when I first moved back to Minneapolis and how many "little" jobs I was doing. I remember some weekends where I would wake up on a Friday, go bake all of the food from scratch at the old coffee shop Pekoe and Java in Hopkins, leave there around 9:30 AM, go to Metro Traffic where I was working part time at that point, work noon to 8 PM, then I would go do the overnight shift at Mix 104.1 (the old 80's station). At 6 AM on Saturday, I'd head from the radio station back over to bake at the coffee shop, go home and sleep for a few hours, then go to metro for a noon to 8 PM Saturday shift. Then back to 104 for a Saturday to Sunday morning, midnight to 6 AM shift, back to the coffee shop to bake the Sunday morning goodies, then a noon to 6 PM shift at Metro traffic. How I didn't keel over I'll never know. I remember my very young son being sad his dad was too tired to play with him. I did that schedule four or five weekends. His tears was the reason I stopped doing it.
But this blog demands my attention! It is a Friday, and thanks to the Direct TV ads featuring Rob Lowe being yanked from the air, I've got my link.
First a disclaimer. I personally would not get Direct TV, so this is in no way an endorsement for their product of any kind.
Back around the Super Bowl, I commented about how there were not a lot of good commercials anymore. These Direct TV ads are one of the few exceptions, purely because of Rob Lowe, an extremely underrated performer. His normal Rob Lowe verses strangely off Rob Lowe ads are catchy and funny with creepy, poor decision making and deadbeat Rob Lowe's being my favorite.
The cable companies who protested the Direct TV ads are insisting their problem with the ads stems from the claims the normal Rob Lowe makes, but it seems they're more upset with being associated with the weirder versions of Rob Lowe. At the end of the day, the real problem for them is these ads are clearly working, and that's what has sent the cable companies into a hissy fit.
Here's a compilation of the ads. Enjoy them while you can because I have zero doubt the cable companies will try to get this video yanked from the YouTube as soon as possible. It's your Friday link!
Talk to you tonight on the Mike Malloy Show!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbB9ANVQ1Ws
This tiredness does remind me of when I first moved back to Minneapolis and how many "little" jobs I was doing. I remember some weekends where I would wake up on a Friday, go bake all of the food from scratch at the old coffee shop Pekoe and Java in Hopkins, leave there around 9:30 AM, go to Metro Traffic where I was working part time at that point, work noon to 8 PM, then I would go do the overnight shift at Mix 104.1 (the old 80's station). At 6 AM on Saturday, I'd head from the radio station back over to bake at the coffee shop, go home and sleep for a few hours, then go to metro for a noon to 8 PM Saturday shift. Then back to 104 for a Saturday to Sunday morning, midnight to 6 AM shift, back to the coffee shop to bake the Sunday morning goodies, then a noon to 6 PM shift at Metro traffic. How I didn't keel over I'll never know. I remember my very young son being sad his dad was too tired to play with him. I did that schedule four or five weekends. His tears was the reason I stopped doing it.
But this blog demands my attention! It is a Friday, and thanks to the Direct TV ads featuring Rob Lowe being yanked from the air, I've got my link.
First a disclaimer. I personally would not get Direct TV, so this is in no way an endorsement for their product of any kind.
Back around the Super Bowl, I commented about how there were not a lot of good commercials anymore. These Direct TV ads are one of the few exceptions, purely because of Rob Lowe, an extremely underrated performer. His normal Rob Lowe verses strangely off Rob Lowe ads are catchy and funny with creepy, poor decision making and deadbeat Rob Lowe's being my favorite.
The cable companies who protested the Direct TV ads are insisting their problem with the ads stems from the claims the normal Rob Lowe makes, but it seems they're more upset with being associated with the weirder versions of Rob Lowe. At the end of the day, the real problem for them is these ads are clearly working, and that's what has sent the cable companies into a hissy fit.
Here's a compilation of the ads. Enjoy them while you can because I have zero doubt the cable companies will try to get this video yanked from the YouTube as soon as possible. It's your Friday link!
Talk to you tonight on the Mike Malloy Show!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbB9ANVQ1Ws
Monday, April 6, 2015
Quick Hits - 4/6/15
*** First off, two things about the Faribault Dance line story. Last week we heard two of the schools involved, Lakeville South and Wayzata, had actually punished the coaches involved in the coordinated attack on the Faribault High School Dance Team, which won the state tournament competition at Target Center on Valentine's Day. We know that four of the protesting teams, Wayzata, Eden Prairie, Eastview and Chaska, all wanted to boycott the finals completely, but the fifth school, Lakeville South, wanted to compete because they had never been before. The coaches and parents of those five teams planned ahead of time to shame Faribault for not being disqualified for cheating, something the Minnesota State High School League had investigated and found to not be true. I've heard reports from multiple people of boos and cat calls aimed towards Faribault during the actual competition, and the other teams intentionally blackballed Faribault at state. The five other teams refused to take the floor when Faribault was announced as the winner, ran Faribault off the Target Center floor before they could even snap a photo, apparently bullied and taunted Faribault throughout the arena, bragged about their unbelievably, atrocious behavior on social media, and then frantically hit delete keys like cowards when they realized their actions were disgusting.
The first point I want to make: the coach for Wayzata, and numerous people at Lakeville South, including coaches and an athletic director, received letters of reprimand from the school districts, and the Wayzata coach was suspended for two matches. One of the punishing schools said it best; the crime here is adults using children as weapons against other children because they were upset by the actions of other adults. Amen to that, but I personally feel the coaches should all be fired and not allowed to compete in high school dance team competition again. This was a violation of everything these coaches are supposed to teach and represent. When I brought this up on-air and a caller said you shouldn't call for anyone's job, as that's going too far, I stood firm saying you don't allow someone to hold a position they so clearly failed to fulfill. My position was reaffirmed when I remembered these are the same coaches and parents who took to social media to call for the firing of the Faribault coaches and all of the MSHSL people who didn't disqualify Faribault, the same social media posts they desperately deleted when they realized public opinion was not on their side. They opened the door to this level of "call to action," so once again, I reiterate, "Fire Them All!"
The second point is a lesson: kids, by nature, are good hearted. My son made an excellent comment to me after I explained the whole fiasco. "Dad, maybe instead of spending all of their time before the finals plotting to get Faribault, they could've practiced and worked really hard to try to win the title. Maybe the reason those teams lost was because they weren't really trying to win." He's exactly right. These five coaches were not trying to win; they quit, and pretty much told their teams to quit, setting an even more horrible example for the students they're responsible for. This as well validates my call for firings. The first job of any coach is to try to win, something these coaches didn't seem too concerned about, as they were focused on their primary objective, shaming a bunch of teen age girls from Faribault.
*** There is a significant point about the Indiana gay discrimination law that's being missed. The law supporters insist it was only there to prevent people from being forced to provide a product or service, for an event they don't agree with, due to their religious faith, and tried to validate it by insisting, "shouldn't a gay printer be able to deny having to print anti-gay literature?" First, the Indiana law didn't defend GLBT people from refusing service in that scenario, as the new law specifically talked about religious misgivings being the validation for denying service. Indiana law, if I understand it correctly, wouldn't allow a gay printer from using 'being offended' as an excuse to not print the anti-gay materials, forcing them to keep their personal objections private. But since they could say, "I'm sorry, we're booked. We can't help you," they still have the ability to refuse service.
Which brings up the real purpose of the Indiana gay discrimination law. I'm against discrimination, period. If a gay couple went into a florist, or baker, or pizza shop (???), I would hope the businesses, seeing clients and money come through the door, would be good little capitalists and embrace their own popularity, instead of wallowing in their own bigotry. But in truth, the business could easily say, "A wedding? Great! Who's the groom? And the bride's name? Oh, no bride, a second groom? Okay. What day would you like that for? Oh, I'm sorry, we are completely booked that day. I do have some other florists I recommend who might be able to help you out." This real word example is not something I endorse, but in the end, this is the option, whether truthful or not, which allows these businesses to opt out of providing a service they couldn't, or wouldn't, want to deliver. The Indiana gay discrimination law validates screaming homophobia, legally, directly into the face of the GLBT community. "A wedding? Great! Who's the groom? And the bride's name? Oh, no bride, a second groom? Well you are a sinner, you're going to burn in hell and get out because I won't serve gay people because my interpretation of Jesus says I don't have to!" At the end of the day, that is all this law did.
Racism, bigotry, antisemitism, homophobia, and discrimination are horrible. Trying to validate it behind a thin layer of religion in unconscionable. Having a state write laws which make it legal is the worst kind of evil.
*** The Twins are not going to be good this year. I listened to the opening day game. We lost 4-0 at Detroit. It's the earliest I have ever said this...damn Twins...
On the plus side, my son reminded me we have a lot of talent coming up in the minor leagues...(sigh)...
The first point I want to make: the coach for Wayzata, and numerous people at Lakeville South, including coaches and an athletic director, received letters of reprimand from the school districts, and the Wayzata coach was suspended for two matches. One of the punishing schools said it best; the crime here is adults using children as weapons against other children because they were upset by the actions of other adults. Amen to that, but I personally feel the coaches should all be fired and not allowed to compete in high school dance team competition again. This was a violation of everything these coaches are supposed to teach and represent. When I brought this up on-air and a caller said you shouldn't call for anyone's job, as that's going too far, I stood firm saying you don't allow someone to hold a position they so clearly failed to fulfill. My position was reaffirmed when I remembered these are the same coaches and parents who took to social media to call for the firing of the Faribault coaches and all of the MSHSL people who didn't disqualify Faribault, the same social media posts they desperately deleted when they realized public opinion was not on their side. They opened the door to this level of "call to action," so once again, I reiterate, "Fire Them All!"
The second point is a lesson: kids, by nature, are good hearted. My son made an excellent comment to me after I explained the whole fiasco. "Dad, maybe instead of spending all of their time before the finals plotting to get Faribault, they could've practiced and worked really hard to try to win the title. Maybe the reason those teams lost was because they weren't really trying to win." He's exactly right. These five coaches were not trying to win; they quit, and pretty much told their teams to quit, setting an even more horrible example for the students they're responsible for. This as well validates my call for firings. The first job of any coach is to try to win, something these coaches didn't seem too concerned about, as they were focused on their primary objective, shaming a bunch of teen age girls from Faribault.
*** There is a significant point about the Indiana gay discrimination law that's being missed. The law supporters insist it was only there to prevent people from being forced to provide a product or service, for an event they don't agree with, due to their religious faith, and tried to validate it by insisting, "shouldn't a gay printer be able to deny having to print anti-gay literature?" First, the Indiana law didn't defend GLBT people from refusing service in that scenario, as the new law specifically talked about religious misgivings being the validation for denying service. Indiana law, if I understand it correctly, wouldn't allow a gay printer from using 'being offended' as an excuse to not print the anti-gay materials, forcing them to keep their personal objections private. But since they could say, "I'm sorry, we're booked. We can't help you," they still have the ability to refuse service.
Which brings up the real purpose of the Indiana gay discrimination law. I'm against discrimination, period. If a gay couple went into a florist, or baker, or pizza shop (???), I would hope the businesses, seeing clients and money come through the door, would be good little capitalists and embrace their own popularity, instead of wallowing in their own bigotry. But in truth, the business could easily say, "A wedding? Great! Who's the groom? And the bride's name? Oh, no bride, a second groom? Okay. What day would you like that for? Oh, I'm sorry, we are completely booked that day. I do have some other florists I recommend who might be able to help you out." This real word example is not something I endorse, but in the end, this is the option, whether truthful or not, which allows these businesses to opt out of providing a service they couldn't, or wouldn't, want to deliver. The Indiana gay discrimination law validates screaming homophobia, legally, directly into the face of the GLBT community. "A wedding? Great! Who's the groom? And the bride's name? Oh, no bride, a second groom? Well you are a sinner, you're going to burn in hell and get out because I won't serve gay people because my interpretation of Jesus says I don't have to!" At the end of the day, that is all this law did.
Racism, bigotry, antisemitism, homophobia, and discrimination are horrible. Trying to validate it behind a thin layer of religion in unconscionable. Having a state write laws which make it legal is the worst kind of evil.
*** The Twins are not going to be good this year. I listened to the opening day game. We lost 4-0 at Detroit. It's the earliest I have ever said this...damn Twins...
On the plus side, my son reminded me we have a lot of talent coming up in the minor leagues...(sigh)...
Friday, April 3, 2015
The Friday Link for 4/3/15
Snoopy! I love Snoopy, something enforced by my sister when my kids ask their auntie if she liked the Peanuts characters, and she replied "yes, we all did, but none more than your dad."
Easter is a holiday I love too. It's important for me and my family, but that's because we're Catholic. I do understand many people aren't, but how do I convey a little Good Friday fun without getting too preachy. Snoopy saves the day.
It's the Easter Beagle Charlie Brown is a classic holiday cartoon, which does not have too much religious symbolism in it, or so I thought. Watching it again when I had kids, there is clearly a message being sent when Snoopy is staring sternly at the audience with Woodstock's nest on his head. Watch it yourself and tell me that Schultz isn't making a reference to the crown of thorns.
For the Friday link, let me check the religion at the door. Here is the classic scene where Snoopy is dancing with bunnies. Enjoy and have a great weekend regardless of what you are up too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ANyHZ59KZA
Easter is a holiday I love too. It's important for me and my family, but that's because we're Catholic. I do understand many people aren't, but how do I convey a little Good Friday fun without getting too preachy. Snoopy saves the day.
It's the Easter Beagle Charlie Brown is a classic holiday cartoon, which does not have too much religious symbolism in it, or so I thought. Watching it again when I had kids, there is clearly a message being sent when Snoopy is staring sternly at the audience with Woodstock's nest on his head. Watch it yourself and tell me that Schultz isn't making a reference to the crown of thorns.
For the Friday link, let me check the religion at the door. Here is the classic scene where Snoopy is dancing with bunnies. Enjoy and have a great weekend regardless of what you are up too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ANyHZ59KZA
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Undeniable
Washington US Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican, walked into a rake, a rake she herself left in her political yard. She wanted Obamacare horror stories from her constituents, so she headed to Facebook to beg for juicy negativity. Instead, she got a lot of praise from her eastern Washington district for Obama's health care package, not realizing it actually has helped a lot of people. The rake she walked into was made up of the rhetoric Republicans throw around at their closed pep rallies, rhetoric which has no basis in reality, something McMorris Rodgers is very aware of now. More on that in a sec, but first...
The GOP is at a turning point. After 35 years of cutting taxes and slashing governmental budgets, all in an effort to find money they can shift to the uber-wealthy in their delusional trickle down economic fantasies, they've come to a point where they can't hide their agenda anymore, showing their outright favoritism to the financial endowed, in stunningly grotesque displays.
Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey, went out of his way to make sure he gave a sweetheart deal to Exxon Mobile, an oil company who had polluted the landscape of the Jersey shore, lost in court repeatedly and we're told to pay up billions in damages, only to have Christie himself slash the penalty to a mere fraction of what they owed. Scott Walker, the Governor of Wisconsin, was caught pretty much red handed awarding favors, and copious amounts of Wisconsinite tax dollars, to a major donor who gave the Walker campaign money through a dark money group, something seemingly coordinated illegally through the governor's office itself. There is no fog on this; this is a direct rewarding of monies to a wealthy donor who helped his campaign; quid pro quo.
And then there is the US House GOP budget. It gives most of the tax breaks and money to the wealthiest in the USA, at least 5% of a millionaire's salary ($50,000), and rewards people who make $75,000 or less with, at most, $10 in tax breaks, enough for Funyuns and Yoohoo!
They can't hide this payoff system anymore. Everything they do is geared towards staying in power, something achieved with insane amounts of money donated to them by a handful of individuals, and the end result, the blatant GOP political money handout back to the wealthy, is becoming something even the most stalwart Republican voter won't be able to gloss over for too much longer.
Let's run the modern GOP system:
1) Promise the wealthy they'll enact the wealthy's legislation and shovel tax payer money back into their coffers once they get elected.
2) Coordinate the donations through legitimate and dark money avenues to give the right an obscene money advantage during elections, at least 15 to 1.
3) Once elected, begin shoveling the money back to the donors, through mutated, hyper-aggressive trickle down economics, destruction of workers rights, the gutting of every budget they can, and then borrowing money recklessly, just so they can hand that loan to wealthy folks, making sure everyone else pays it back with interest.
4) Buy the media, so they can dictate the message the majority of Americans read, see, and hear (this is why they are furious over a free Internet).
5) Find a loyal group of followers (in this case the far right religious, the racists, the homophobes, and the tea party/Nuevo-libertarians) who they can convince to follow them by compromising on one or two issues, or by selling them a bill of goods they'll never deliver on, or by wallowing in the politics of hatred and bigotry, or by honing in on the extreme voter's own disappointments, giving them a fake boogie man they can blame for all of their woes (the Democrats). By giving these people, considered a political laughing stock until the 1990's, a legitimate seat at the table and the ear of the Republican party, these voters were easily won over and it's nearly impossible to change their minds.
6) Fix the election system so it's virtually impossible for them to lose, through gerrymandering, trying to change the electoral college, restricting voter rights, and limiting access to voting for the people likely to vote against them.
This plan has worked well for them, but never forget the main goal of all Republican politicians; stay in power at all costs. This is why we're at where we're at. They need to keep the ultra wealthy happy. If they lose their money advantage, not only will they lose their re-election campaigns, they'll lose the seven figure lobbying gig they're banking on, the real reason they're in politics, a stepping stone to a cushy job representing the individuals they so eagerly strapped on knee pads for while they "served their constituents."
Cliven Bundy, anti-gay legislation, birth certificates, immigrant hate, Hobby Lobby, anti-tax promises, convincing their followers they're the persecuted ones, the never ending litany of name calling they do to make themselves 'righteous'...all of it is window dressing. They need the delusional as their voting base, so they'll say and support almost anything the delusional want to believe. Heck, they even have a few politicians who believe the crazy talk themselves. Anything to keep the Republican lemmings happy. When the rest of the world openly condemns their narrow minded, antiquated and bigoted ideals, the extremists are so incensed the majority doesn't agree with them, they accuse their critics of violating their freedom of speech, something which has never been subdued. Political operatives, who need the fringe, enable them, so they in turn can reward the wealthy people who are holding a place for the politicians in the wealthy's high court.
But here's the right's problem; the voters they need to stay in power not only want a seat at the table, they want to drive the political parties agenda and direction. Since the GOP needs these votes, they pander to them, but when the extreme right's agenda butts up against the agenda of the wealthy, or against reality, it leads to hilarious outcomes. Look at the train wreck which is Indiana. They pandered to the extremist right by trying to make homophobia legal in the state, but when the free market judged their actions, quickly, to be unacceptable, potentially costing their finical supporters a ton, Governor Pence and the Republicans were caught in the middle. In Arkansas, all it took was Walmart telling the Governor to veto their version of the same bill, sending the Arkansas right into a frantic panic. The GOP will always side with money, hence the speed at which they're rushing back to fix these bills they knowingly passed.
Which brings us back to McMorris Rodgers. When she went about her fan fiction search, she forgot it's all a made up facade, a story she herself began to believe, a made up reality to encourage the zealots who vote for her, a narrative which can never be allowed to be engaged freely with the masses, as the fantasy deteriorates when real Americans are asked to speak freely, outside of a hand picked "town hall meeting." She didn't upset her money people, but in turn, she did the 2nd worst thing a Republican can do, compare the real world to the made up one her voters believe.
Imagine where our economy would be if we had Republicans actually caring about the people they represented. Imagine what would've been if they would've tried to work with Obama, instead of their self imposed gridlock. Imagine where this country would be if we didn't have the GOP plotting to undermine the President at every turn, not because they thought he was wrong, but rather because he was right and they didn't want the American people to see the benefit of his leadership and ideas.
How long will it take for the Republican voter to finally say, "we've given the Republicans 35 years and they haven't delivered on anything they've promised; maybe I should rethink my vote"?
The GOP is at a turning point. After 35 years of cutting taxes and slashing governmental budgets, all in an effort to find money they can shift to the uber-wealthy in their delusional trickle down economic fantasies, they've come to a point where they can't hide their agenda anymore, showing their outright favoritism to the financial endowed, in stunningly grotesque displays.
Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey, went out of his way to make sure he gave a sweetheart deal to Exxon Mobile, an oil company who had polluted the landscape of the Jersey shore, lost in court repeatedly and we're told to pay up billions in damages, only to have Christie himself slash the penalty to a mere fraction of what they owed. Scott Walker, the Governor of Wisconsin, was caught pretty much red handed awarding favors, and copious amounts of Wisconsinite tax dollars, to a major donor who gave the Walker campaign money through a dark money group, something seemingly coordinated illegally through the governor's office itself. There is no fog on this; this is a direct rewarding of monies to a wealthy donor who helped his campaign; quid pro quo.
And then there is the US House GOP budget. It gives most of the tax breaks and money to the wealthiest in the USA, at least 5% of a millionaire's salary ($50,000), and rewards people who make $75,000 or less with, at most, $10 in tax breaks, enough for Funyuns and Yoohoo!
They can't hide this payoff system anymore. Everything they do is geared towards staying in power, something achieved with insane amounts of money donated to them by a handful of individuals, and the end result, the blatant GOP political money handout back to the wealthy, is becoming something even the most stalwart Republican voter won't be able to gloss over for too much longer.
Let's run the modern GOP system:
1) Promise the wealthy they'll enact the wealthy's legislation and shovel tax payer money back into their coffers once they get elected.
2) Coordinate the donations through legitimate and dark money avenues to give the right an obscene money advantage during elections, at least 15 to 1.
3) Once elected, begin shoveling the money back to the donors, through mutated, hyper-aggressive trickle down economics, destruction of workers rights, the gutting of every budget they can, and then borrowing money recklessly, just so they can hand that loan to wealthy folks, making sure everyone else pays it back with interest.
4) Buy the media, so they can dictate the message the majority of Americans read, see, and hear (this is why they are furious over a free Internet).
5) Find a loyal group of followers (in this case the far right religious, the racists, the homophobes, and the tea party/Nuevo-libertarians) who they can convince to follow them by compromising on one or two issues, or by selling them a bill of goods they'll never deliver on, or by wallowing in the politics of hatred and bigotry, or by honing in on the extreme voter's own disappointments, giving them a fake boogie man they can blame for all of their woes (the Democrats). By giving these people, considered a political laughing stock until the 1990's, a legitimate seat at the table and the ear of the Republican party, these voters were easily won over and it's nearly impossible to change their minds.
6) Fix the election system so it's virtually impossible for them to lose, through gerrymandering, trying to change the electoral college, restricting voter rights, and limiting access to voting for the people likely to vote against them.
This plan has worked well for them, but never forget the main goal of all Republican politicians; stay in power at all costs. This is why we're at where we're at. They need to keep the ultra wealthy happy. If they lose their money advantage, not only will they lose their re-election campaigns, they'll lose the seven figure lobbying gig they're banking on, the real reason they're in politics, a stepping stone to a cushy job representing the individuals they so eagerly strapped on knee pads for while they "served their constituents."
Cliven Bundy, anti-gay legislation, birth certificates, immigrant hate, Hobby Lobby, anti-tax promises, convincing their followers they're the persecuted ones, the never ending litany of name calling they do to make themselves 'righteous'...all of it is window dressing. They need the delusional as their voting base, so they'll say and support almost anything the delusional want to believe. Heck, they even have a few politicians who believe the crazy talk themselves. Anything to keep the Republican lemmings happy. When the rest of the world openly condemns their narrow minded, antiquated and bigoted ideals, the extremists are so incensed the majority doesn't agree with them, they accuse their critics of violating their freedom of speech, something which has never been subdued. Political operatives, who need the fringe, enable them, so they in turn can reward the wealthy people who are holding a place for the politicians in the wealthy's high court.
But here's the right's problem; the voters they need to stay in power not only want a seat at the table, they want to drive the political parties agenda and direction. Since the GOP needs these votes, they pander to them, but when the extreme right's agenda butts up against the agenda of the wealthy, or against reality, it leads to hilarious outcomes. Look at the train wreck which is Indiana. They pandered to the extremist right by trying to make homophobia legal in the state, but when the free market judged their actions, quickly, to be unacceptable, potentially costing their finical supporters a ton, Governor Pence and the Republicans were caught in the middle. In Arkansas, all it took was Walmart telling the Governor to veto their version of the same bill, sending the Arkansas right into a frantic panic. The GOP will always side with money, hence the speed at which they're rushing back to fix these bills they knowingly passed.
Which brings us back to McMorris Rodgers. When she went about her fan fiction search, she forgot it's all a made up facade, a story she herself began to believe, a made up reality to encourage the zealots who vote for her, a narrative which can never be allowed to be engaged freely with the masses, as the fantasy deteriorates when real Americans are asked to speak freely, outside of a hand picked "town hall meeting." She didn't upset her money people, but in turn, she did the 2nd worst thing a Republican can do, compare the real world to the made up one her voters believe.
Imagine where our economy would be if we had Republicans actually caring about the people they represented. Imagine what would've been if they would've tried to work with Obama, instead of their self imposed gridlock. Imagine where this country would be if we didn't have the GOP plotting to undermine the President at every turn, not because they thought he was wrong, but rather because he was right and they didn't want the American people to see the benefit of his leadership and ideas.
How long will it take for the Republican voter to finally say, "we've given the Republicans 35 years and they haven't delivered on anything they've promised; maybe I should rethink my vote"?
This Quick Message!
Sorry it's been light this week. My kids are on Spring Break and I'm going to goof off with them, if I can justify it, so...
Friday, March 27, 2015
The Friday Link for 3/27/15
So another one bites the dust. Jason Jones, the racist, misogynistic, arrogant, dim bulb, jerk correspondent from The Daily Show had his official goodbye on Thursday night.
Jones wasn't anything like his character. He is a very genuine, decent and funny guy, married to Samantha Bee, another Daily Show correspondent. His arrogant persona ended up being a real asset to The Daily Show, as it allowed him to infiltrate the far right nut bags and expose them without them realizing it. He'd ramp up his jerk character to 10, and they welcomed him in like he was a long lost brother.
He also highlighted, shockingly, that no matter how extreme to the right his persona was, there always seemed to be someone who would try to outdo him, like some sort of 'I can out tea party you' gauntlet was thrown down.
Jason Jones was incredible with some of his international pieces. He did bits from Iran, opening up that country's citizens to the USA for the first time since the 1980's, got threatened with sanctioned murder by a certain former Soviet leader, and immersed himself in the politics of India, a country the US needs to be far more knowledgable about.
For Jones' best bit, I think it's the one he did about a certain Washington football team. Even he couldn't hold the character any longer at the end, frustrated with the blatant racism of the owner and the NFL. This piece also got The Daily Show some extra criticism, something they themselves addressed before and during the piece, as the female football fan insisted she was ambushed. The Daily Show reviewed her complaint and stood by the bit. Since there was no further legal action, I would presume they were right. Enjoy.
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/189afv/the-redskins--name---catching-racism
Jones wasn't anything like his character. He is a very genuine, decent and funny guy, married to Samantha Bee, another Daily Show correspondent. His arrogant persona ended up being a real asset to The Daily Show, as it allowed him to infiltrate the far right nut bags and expose them without them realizing it. He'd ramp up his jerk character to 10, and they welcomed him in like he was a long lost brother.
He also highlighted, shockingly, that no matter how extreme to the right his persona was, there always seemed to be someone who would try to outdo him, like some sort of 'I can out tea party you' gauntlet was thrown down.
Jason Jones was incredible with some of his international pieces. He did bits from Iran, opening up that country's citizens to the USA for the first time since the 1980's, got threatened with sanctioned murder by a certain former Soviet leader, and immersed himself in the politics of India, a country the US needs to be far more knowledgable about.
For Jones' best bit, I think it's the one he did about a certain Washington football team. Even he couldn't hold the character any longer at the end, frustrated with the blatant racism of the owner and the NFL. This piece also got The Daily Show some extra criticism, something they themselves addressed before and during the piece, as the female football fan insisted she was ambushed. The Daily Show reviewed her complaint and stood by the bit. Since there was no further legal action, I would presume they were right. Enjoy.
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/189afv/the-redskins--name---catching-racism
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Bottom Gear
I'm fascinated by the Jeremy Clarkson story out of the BBC in London. For those who don't know, Clarkson is the co-host of the BBC hit show, Top Gear, which can be seen in America on BBC America. It's an entertaining show which I'm a regular viewer of. They bring you vehicle evaluations, vehicle challenges, and a downright entertaining travelogue about the world of automobiles. In the last few years, the criticism of new vehicles has been toned down. Clarkson himself nearly brought Land Rover to it's knees years ago with his spot on breakdown of their problems, but today, you can tell all the hosts are pulling their punches, especially when it's a car they really want to trash. Also, the challenges and travel elements have become more contrived, but it's still a pretty good watch.
Their new found mellow auto reviews are no where near as begging as the ones the American version of Top Gear had, a misguided show, run off the air quickly. The American version was pandering to automobile advertisers so bad, they would've said a concrete block was a perfect vehicle for the modern family if a car logo was on it. It reminded me of the time I was working in Ames, Iowa and we tried to do a movie review segment as part of the show. After our first negative review, the owner of the movie theater complained and so we were told by the station owner to never give a bad review again. We ended up canning the bit.
Clarkson is in hot water, and now has been officially fired by the BBC from Top Gear. Clarkson has always been a fire starter of sorts. He's a British conservative, kind of like a year 2000 version of John McCain, but he also has a real bad streak which permeates a lot of European countries, a racist fueled nationalism which has gotten him in trouble before. He has taunted other countries and nationalities, including the United States, and has said some things which are really unacceptable in describing certain demographic groups. Each time he got into trouble, he became determined to never have to apologize or give in, something which had sowed a loyal following for him, but something which has also fed his ego to the level of prima donna. That's what got him in trouble this time.
Clarkson, while filming a segment for Top Gear, returned to his hotel to find the dinner he wanted was not available. He wanted a steak with french fries, but the hotel's restaurant had stopped serving hot food by that time and had sent up a cold plate with a variety of cold cuts, cheeses, vegetables and fruit. Clarkson, incensed by his lack of a steak, started to verbally abuse a producer, getting nastier and nastier, as he ramped himself up into a fervor. He started swearing horribly at the producer, threatening his job repeatedly, screaming so loud during his diatribe he could be heard throughout the hotel. He then violently attacked the poor guy and apparently punched him for 30 seconds, bloodying him up, before someone finally stepped in to pull him off. The producer, terrified for his job, never once tried to hit back, and just took the beating. He ended up going to the Emergency Room, while Clarkson continued on his screaming, self centered, foul mouthed, wildly inappropriate temper tantrum, all under the listening ears of everyone in the hotel.
Stories vary on this fact, but is sounds like Clarkson, after he calmed down (no word on if he got his steak) called his supervisor and relayed the incident, I imagine from a very innocent point of view. Clarkson must have realized this wasn't going to go away and tried to 'apologize' to the producer in person, and through e-mail and text (really?), but apparently couldn't, or his apology wasn't accepted. The BBC had had enough. They called in an investigation, and other media in London started looking too, and the real story came to light. They had no choice, they had to fire him. If they didn't, Clarkson would think he could do anything, something the BBC is still trying to come to grips with in regards to Jimmy Savile, the BBC DJ and host of Top of the Pops who raped young children for decades under to auspices of his BBC job.
Regardless, there are still Jeremy Clarkson fans who insist this is nothing, that he should be hired back. There's no way he could ever be hired back. Tell me the job (banker, radio host, cook, bus driver) where you could do what he did and get away with it. He should be grateful he isn't being jailed, something which is still a possibility, as local police have asked for a copy of the BBC investigation to determine if charges should be filed. Some have suggested he wanted out of his Top Gear contract, so this was all done on purpose. Well, Mission Accomplished! I don't think this was made up. I think this is the real Clarkson, a guy who became so in love with his own press, he thought he was more important than the rest of the world.
Jeremy Clarkson will get another job. Someone will hire him and he'll act like he's getting the last laugh, until his true persona re-emerges and he does something even worse. Then the advertisers, or rather lack of advertisers, will take care of him. In the end, he'll be unemployed, his bit will be canned, and he'll be looking for any venue he can use to self promote, still insisting he was right and justified in violently attacking a man for not having HIS steak dinner ready as ordered.
Their new found mellow auto reviews are no where near as begging as the ones the American version of Top Gear had, a misguided show, run off the air quickly. The American version was pandering to automobile advertisers so bad, they would've said a concrete block was a perfect vehicle for the modern family if a car logo was on it. It reminded me of the time I was working in Ames, Iowa and we tried to do a movie review segment as part of the show. After our first negative review, the owner of the movie theater complained and so we were told by the station owner to never give a bad review again. We ended up canning the bit.
Clarkson is in hot water, and now has been officially fired by the BBC from Top Gear. Clarkson has always been a fire starter of sorts. He's a British conservative, kind of like a year 2000 version of John McCain, but he also has a real bad streak which permeates a lot of European countries, a racist fueled nationalism which has gotten him in trouble before. He has taunted other countries and nationalities, including the United States, and has said some things which are really unacceptable in describing certain demographic groups. Each time he got into trouble, he became determined to never have to apologize or give in, something which had sowed a loyal following for him, but something which has also fed his ego to the level of prima donna. That's what got him in trouble this time.
Clarkson, while filming a segment for Top Gear, returned to his hotel to find the dinner he wanted was not available. He wanted a steak with french fries, but the hotel's restaurant had stopped serving hot food by that time and had sent up a cold plate with a variety of cold cuts, cheeses, vegetables and fruit. Clarkson, incensed by his lack of a steak, started to verbally abuse a producer, getting nastier and nastier, as he ramped himself up into a fervor. He started swearing horribly at the producer, threatening his job repeatedly, screaming so loud during his diatribe he could be heard throughout the hotel. He then violently attacked the poor guy and apparently punched him for 30 seconds, bloodying him up, before someone finally stepped in to pull him off. The producer, terrified for his job, never once tried to hit back, and just took the beating. He ended up going to the Emergency Room, while Clarkson continued on his screaming, self centered, foul mouthed, wildly inappropriate temper tantrum, all under the listening ears of everyone in the hotel.
Stories vary on this fact, but is sounds like Clarkson, after he calmed down (no word on if he got his steak) called his supervisor and relayed the incident, I imagine from a very innocent point of view. Clarkson must have realized this wasn't going to go away and tried to 'apologize' to the producer in person, and through e-mail and text (really?), but apparently couldn't, or his apology wasn't accepted. The BBC had had enough. They called in an investigation, and other media in London started looking too, and the real story came to light. They had no choice, they had to fire him. If they didn't, Clarkson would think he could do anything, something the BBC is still trying to come to grips with in regards to Jimmy Savile, the BBC DJ and host of Top of the Pops who raped young children for decades under to auspices of his BBC job.
Regardless, there are still Jeremy Clarkson fans who insist this is nothing, that he should be hired back. There's no way he could ever be hired back. Tell me the job (banker, radio host, cook, bus driver) where you could do what he did and get away with it. He should be grateful he isn't being jailed, something which is still a possibility, as local police have asked for a copy of the BBC investigation to determine if charges should be filed. Some have suggested he wanted out of his Top Gear contract, so this was all done on purpose. Well, Mission Accomplished! I don't think this was made up. I think this is the real Clarkson, a guy who became so in love with his own press, he thought he was more important than the rest of the world.
Jeremy Clarkson will get another job. Someone will hire him and he'll act like he's getting the last laugh, until his true persona re-emerges and he does something even worse. Then the advertisers, or rather lack of advertisers, will take care of him. In the end, he'll be unemployed, his bit will be canned, and he'll be looking for any venue he can use to self promote, still insisting he was right and justified in violently attacking a man for not having HIS steak dinner ready as ordered.
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