For What It's Worth » political correctness

It’s so stupid, it might just work

Rick — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:18:54 +0000

Facebook poll: Can the USA spend its way out of debt?

It makes about as much sense as keeping your virginity by having sex, protecting our children from child pornography by making them child pornographers, preserving freedom by curtailing civil liberties and Constitutional rights, and the ever popular concept of picking up a turd by the clean end. There are those in the government and elsewhere who sincerely believe all of these things can be done. And, of course, the time-honored American solution to any problem is to throw money at it. It’s so stupid, it might just work.

For what it’s worth…

Jesus

Rick — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:27:54 +0000

I’ve answered a couple of polls regarding religious topics on Facebook recently. The questions were “Did Jesus Christ exist?” and “Should we keep ‘Christ’ in Christmas?” I’ll address each one separately.

Did Jesus Christ exist?

I have no reason to doubt that Jesus of Nazareth did, indeed, exist. The Jewish historian Josephus mentions Jesus twice in his The Antiquities of the Jews although some historians doubt their authenticity. The first Pope, St. Peter, is regarded by the Catholic Church to have been one of the 12 Disciples so he would have known Jesus personally. Perhaps these references can’t be 100 percent validated but they haven’t been disproven either. I have no doubt he lived but I do doubt that he looked anything like he is commonly depicted. I suspect that he looked, er, more Jewish or Middle Eastern.

Should we keep “Christ” in Christmas?

Although I don’t wear the Christian label, I grew up celebrating Christmas with at least an acknowledgement of its religious significance as a celebration of Christ’s birth and the spirit of peace and goodwill toward men. I’m certain Jesus was actually born in the spring (Luke 2:8) and December 25th was chosen to celebrate Christ’s Mass by Papal decree in order to convert the Roman pagans and later the Germanic pagans who observed the Winter Solstice. Historical considerations aside, I’ve always enjoyed the “spirit” of the holiday and the message of peace on Earth and good will toward Men. It used to be a holiday that brought out the best in the human spirit.

Over the years Christmas has become little more than extreme consumerism and commercial exploitation that brings out the worst in the human spirit. Now our personal worth is annually measured by the monetary value of the gifts we give and receive rather than by our kindness and generosity.

I miss hearing Christmas carols and seeing Nativity scenes. Is their conspicuous absence due to zealous political correctness, our fear of offending anyone who might not be a Christian? Well, political correctness be damned! Maybe Christmas is no longer the exclusive domain of Christianity but, Christian or not, we can still understand and appreciate the spirit of Christmas. It’s much more than the celebration of the birth of the Christian savior, it’s about the hope for mankind and our potential to do good for our fellow man.

For what it’s worth…

Radio Gaga

Rick — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:46:04 +0000

Have you ever noticed that most radio talk show hosts sound the same? I can’t tell them apart, not even by subject matter. Their purpose in life seems to be to push people’s buttons, thereby creating the illusion that they are controversial. They don’t encourage serious debate or promote thoughtful discussion of the issues. They just piss people off and create a lot of noise and drama, all in the name of ratings.

Unnecessary Censorship

Rick — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:02:56 +0000

I’ve never been a fan of Jimmy Kimmel, finding The Man Show to be rather boorish and sophomoric at its best. I haven’t seen his latest show so I can’t say whether or not it’s any better. As the following articles on The Huffington Post blog show, he is apparently not a fan of the FCC and that, in itself, raises him a bit in my esteem. Each week he mocks the FCC by taking innocent clips and adding censorship to make them seem lewd or dirty. It’s amazing how a well-placed bleep or a bit of pixelation can change everything.

Check it out, it’s great stuff.

Cover the stink

Rick — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 07:17:31 +0000

Most television commercials bother me to some degree but the Fabreze ad that’s currently running kinda grinds my gears.

In this ad, a teen-aged boy is expecting a couple of girls to come over and study. His mom comments about how his room stinks, as if she hasn’t ventured in there in quite a while. Does she tell him to clean his room? No. She hands him a bottle of Fabreze so he can spray everything down and make it smell nice.

The apparent message here is that it’s easier to (and therefore better) to cover up the mess than to actually clean it up. That seems to be endemic in our society. Cover up the problems with some cosmetic façade or give it some kind of politically correct spin to make it sound positive instead of actually dealing with it and solving the root problem.

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
Aldous Huxley

For what it’s worth…

Political Correctness Defined

Rick — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:36:32 +0000

From Eolake Stobblehouse thoughts:

There is an annual contest at Texas A&M University calling for the most appropriate definition of a contemporary term. This year’s term was “Political Correctness.”

The winner wrote: “Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.”

This same doctrine also alleges that the use of the word “turd” MAY be offensive to some undefined minority, probably the same minority that, in the later 19th century, insisted on calling piano legs “limbs” and advocated using plaster to cover the not-to-be-observed portions of classical sculpture.

Perhaps, in order to avoid the remote possibility of being offensive to any potential offendee, we should substitute “firmly cohesive excremental matter” for turd.

I like it!

Politically Correct Art

Rick — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:12:00 +0000

It used to be the most joyous time of the year

Rick — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 03:43:00 +0000

Argent – Liar
[Three Dog Night did a cover of this song. Even though I heard their version first, I like Argent's rendition better.]

Today’s Quote: “But there’s only one thing better than having a baby, and that’s having a smart baby.” — Naira Soibatian explains why her 11-month-old daughter has a laptop bigger than her own.
Don’t ya think drool in the keyboard might be a problem? Oy Vey!

I labored over today’s entry for several hours and, at the end of it, I was unable to push out any crap I liked. It’s probably a well-known fact that with Christmas a little over a week away, my holiday spirit is still nowhere to be found amongst the crass commercialism and political correctness of the season. When I’m out, I’d like to see some evidence of the religious nature of the season, be it Christian, Jewish, or other. It seems to me that if someone else’s beliefs bother you so much, maybe you have doubts about your own. I don’t know. I guess the PC gestapo, the lawyers, the merchandisers, the bureaucrats, and the fundies have managed to remove all traces of joy from what used to be the most joyous time of the year.

City in Brazil Proposes Ban on Dying
The bill states that “offenders will be held responsible for their acts.” Municipal regulations normally ban anything from smoking in public places to parking in certain zones. But officials in the Brazilian town of Biritiba Mirim, 70km (45 miles) east of Sao Paulo, have gone far beyond that. They plan to prohibit residents from dying because the local cemetery has reached full capacity.

And just how do they intend to enforce this ban? The death penalty? Incarceration? Community service?

Liar was a hit for Three Dog Night, a very talented band that never really got the credit they deserved. They introduced the music of a lot of great songwriters and musicians to pop audiences, artists like Elton John, Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, Hoyt Axton, Argent, Dave Mason, and others. Maybe no one took them seriously because they didn’t project that wild rock-and-roller image.

I’m on a roll today

Rick — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 23:22:00 +0000

Bob Dylan – Gotta Serve Somebody

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

[You gotta sing that with a nasal twang.]

Today’s headlines …
Arizona punishes stupid drivers. I think more states should enact laws punishing stupid drivers. For some acts of premeditated stupidity, there should be mandatory jail sentences.

There I was, sitting on the Group W bench. That’s where they put you after committing your particular crime. A father-raper on the Group W bench, the biggest, meanest father-raper of them all, asked me, “What ya get?” “I didn’t get nuthin’. They just pulled me out of the water.” “What was ya arrested for?” “Fer being stupid.” And they all moved away. …

Sincerest apologies to Arlo Guthrie for that horrible parody.
—–
‘Gonzo’ journalist Hunter S. Thompson dies
Hunter S. Thompson, 65, Author, Commits Suicide
He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Colorado on 20 Feb 2005. He was best known for his 1972 book, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which I wholeheartedly recommend reading. I wonder if I still have my copy.

Here’s an article lifted from the New York Times:

‘Simpsons’ Animates Gay Nuptials, and a Debate
By SHARON WAXMAN

Published: February 21, 2005

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 20 – In the ongoing culture wars over whether gays should have the right to marry, an animated question reared its head on Sunday prime-time television: as goes “The Simpsons,” does the nation go, too?

In an episode titled “There’s Something About Marrying,” a longtime character on Fox’s 15-year hit – it was Marge Simpson’s sister Patty Bouvier, a closely held secret until the 8 p.m. broadcast – came out of the closet while Homer Simpson conducted dozens of same-sex weddings after small-town Springfield legalized the unions in a bid to increase tourism. As television’s longest-running situation comedy, “The Simpsons” is no stranger to hot-button social, religious and political issues, mocking wardrobe malfunctions, Hollywood liberals and born-again Christians, among other targets.

Marge Simpson, left, and her sister Patty Bouvier, right, with Patty’s girlfriend in last night’s “Simpsons.”

But when a show as mainstream and popular as this takes on one of the most divisive issues in American society, it is certain to attract attention. Bookmakers in the United States and England were taking bets as to which character would be revealed as homosexual, and whether there would be a kiss – a nod, perhaps, to the popular programming gimmick of having lesbian characters lock lips during sweeps periods like the current one.

But mostly, television experts, fans and advocates for gay marriage ruminated over the larger significance of the moment.

“The issue was mainstream to some degree, but now that they’ve deigned it worthy of the show it is interwoven into the fabric of popular culture,” said Ray Richmond, a television columnist for The Hollywood Reporter and co-editor of the anthology “The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family.”

He added, ” ‘The Simpsons’ bestows upon something a pop culture status it never had before, simply by virtue of being ripe for a joke.”

(BetUS.com posted odds on the kiss at 7 to 5, and laid odds on Patty as the favorite to come out of the closet.)

Not unexpectedly, culture warriors were swift to weigh in, both for and against the cartoon’s treatment of the issue.

“It’s saying to those who demonize homosexuality, or what they call the homosexual agenda, anything from ‘Lighten up’ to ‘Get out of town,’ ” said Marty Kaplan, associate dean of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communication and host of a media show on the talk radio network Air America. “It sounds as though they’re saying that what the religious right calls ‘the homosexualist agenda,’ as if it were creeping Satanism, is: these people are your neighbors in the Springfield that is America.”

Indeed, in some ways the Simpsons’ fictional hometown, Springfield, has become a surrogate for mainstream, small-town America, with Homer its bumbling working-class hero. The closest parallel may well be the endearing though intolerant Archie Bunker, who became a symbol of working-class America in the 1970′s show “All in the Family.”

L. Brent Bozell III, president of the Parents Television Council, criticized “The Simpsons” for addressing the issue of gay marriage, though he cautioned that he had not seen the episode. A parental advisory preceded the broadcast.

“At a time when the public mood is overwhelmingly against gay marriage, any show that promotes gay marriage is deliberately bucking the public mood,” he said.

“I’d rather them not do it at all,” he added. “You’ve got a show watched by millions of children. Do children need to have gay marriage thrust in their faces as an issue? Why can’t we just entertain them?”

The show’s writers could not be reached for comment, and Fox declined to comment.

Since debuting in 1989, “The Simpsons” has commonly skewered the most sensitive topics of social, religious, political and cultural debate. The culture, in turn, has returned the favor. “The Simpsons” has been featured in at least one university philosophy course, in which Homer was used as a tool to understand Aristotle, Kant and Nietzsche, and in a mathematical course to explore topics like calculus and Riemannian geometry.

The show, now in its 16th season, still garners strong ratings, while reruns of episodes from past years are broadcast continually on Fox. It has become a billion-dollar franchise for the network, spawning lucrative DVD packages, books and consumer merchandise.

Question for L. Brent Bozell III, president of the Parents Television Council — “Do children really give a damn about gay marriage as an issue? Or is it that you and a lot of parents would rather not deal with it as an issue or can’t adequately defend your stance against it?” Maybe it’s a case of “If we pretend it doesn’t exist, maybe it will go away.”

Hey, I’d rather “American Idol” wasn’t aired. Do I need “talentless people attempting to sing” thrust in my face? But you know what? I don’t watch “American Idol.” Do you know why? Because I don’t need “talentless people attempting to sing” thrust in my face! My point? If you don’t like shows that bring up “issues,” don’t watch them! And please, stop trying to protect me from all of your imagined evils in the world. I do a good enough job of finding evil on my own.

I keep hearing about this so-called “homosexual agenda.” What the fuck is it? To tell the truth, I’m starting to get a lot more concerned about the “heterosexual agenda.”

Honk if you love peace and quiet.

Rick — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 03:52:00 +0000

B.B. King - Nobody Loves Me But My Mother

Nobody loves me, but my mother,
And she could be jivin’ too.

Now you see why I act so funny, baby,
When you do the things you do.

Today’s quote:
“Christian fundamentalists believe that human beings were divinely created in the image of God. But many religious fundamentalists also believe that some parts of the human body are inherently indecent and evil.” — Progress Report article. (Read the article) That seems a bit paradoxical, doesn’t it? Is the religious right inferring that God is a pornographer? That sounds like blasphemy in my book.

Incidentally, the article is about freedom. If Mr. Bush’s agenda is to spread freedom throughout the world, then he might want to start with restoring freedom on our shores. It’s frightening to think about how much of freedom has been usurped by the ever-growing, power-hungry federal government. “Those that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” — Benjamin Franklin

The article also reinforces my belief that PBS is testicularly challenged. I used to believe they held themselves to a higher standard. I seem to recall a time when they did but now they hold themselves up to the standard of political correctness and bow to the lords of conservative agendas who hold the federal purse strings. America is truly a cultural wasteland.

There, I’ve said my piece. Or is that peace?