Apparently we've come so far around...

...that we're going in the other direction.

You know what's just an indescribably sad commentary on American society? That a woman like Elizabeth Gilbert can write a book like Eat, Pray, Love and not be ostracized as the selfish, narcissistic, sociopathic ingrate she shows herself to be. Not only has she not been ostracized, but she has actually been painted as some sort of sympathetic figure; and now her ode to selfishness is a major motion picture starring Julia Roberts. What would the reaction to that book have been if it had been written by a man -- if the damn thing even got published? I guess it just goes to show that whole "equal treatment" thing only goes so far with some people...well, apparently a LOT of people, if the success of Gilbert's book is any indication.

And we're supposed to think that gays getting married is a threat to the institution? All righty then...

They ask, and I offer my opinion...

...from Arlington, Texas, a referral from the Google search: "why is kscs the only radio station in dallas area playing breath you take by george strait".

Why? Well, I'd wager it's because 95.9 The Ranch doesn't play mainstream country, and 99.5 the Wolf sucks ever since they blew it up back in late '08. How's that?

Talk about making lemonade out of lemons...

Only thing I can say to this is, God bless America:

Antoine Dodson's angry, head-shaking TV interview about an attempted rape against his younger sister in her bed has turned into a chart-topping iTunes song and YouTube hit and made the 24-year-old Alabama college student an Internet sensation.
...

Dodson plans to use the money from the "Bed Intruder Song" selling for $1.29 a download and T-shirt sales to move his family out of the Lincoln Park housing project where they say the attack happened. But in an era when a viral video clip can rocket anyone to stardom, some suggest that Dodson and his family are being used and that his online rant plays to racial stereotypes.

Wow, I for one never would have expected that. It's only right that Antoine Dodson get the money from the song made out of his TV rant, of course, but  I don't know if I'd agree about the "playing to racial stereotypes" thing. We all have different ways of expressing ourselves. If that was a family member of mine that had gotten raped I'd be spewing all kinds of vitriol -- if, of course, said rapist managed to not die of his sucking chest and head wounds. I do hope Mr. Dodson buys himself a good-quality firearm to protect his family with, though -- and stays the hell out of Chicago. (Like I told my wife one night, "I'm sure parts of Chicago are really nice. Of course, I'm sure parts of Tehran are really nice too...")

Now that I think about it, though, isn't it ironic that people are concerned about racial stereotypes here but (as far as I can tell) never said much of anything about another, much more direct play on a racial stereotype?

UPDATE! Thanks to Dave at Silver Creek 78250 for posting this:


It strikes me as relatively tame, at least as far as playing to any racial stereotypes. Pretty cool. I got a huge kick out of it. ;-)

If I had written that book...

Blog (and Facebook) friend Mike W. made the observation that the movie based on John Grisham's The Runaway Jury was changed; that is, they changed the company being sued from a tobacco company to a gun manufacturer. I know well that the idea for suing the latter came from the suits against the former, and from what I remember the book was full of anti-tobacco propaganda; however, I still wonder why (if indeed he did) Grisham allowed the filmmakers to make that change. If it'd been my book there wouldn't have been enough money in the world to get me to let them do that.What an ugly change, especially after A Time to Kill. No doubt they'd have made much of the "easy availability" of full-auto M-16s...

Your bitter irony for the weekend...

...and I do mean bitter...the Rev. Al Sharpton ranting, "This is our day! This is OUR day! And we're NOT gonna let them take that away from us!" when, if Martin Luther King Jr. were still alive, he would have wanted it to be everyone's day, no matter his or her race, color or creed. Would that someone would have asked Sharpton the question Bill Whittle was asking five years ago:

"Have you not met and talked and laughed with people who were funny, decent, upright, honest and honorable of every shade so that the very idea of racial politics should just seem like a desperate and divisive and just plain evil tactic to hold power?"

Wow, five years on...

...and New Orleans still gets all the attention, when points to the east were devastated to much the same extent as that city was by Hurricane Katrina. Several towns along the Mississippi coast -- Bay St. Louis, Waveland, Pass Christian, Long Beach, Gulfport, and Biloxi -- were all heavily damaged. I seem to remember that Waveland, Pass Christian, and Long Beach were almost wiped off the map. But no one's talking about the citizens of those towns and how they're recovering. I wonder why that is. I realize more people were affected in Louisiana, but those three counties along the Mississippi coast are home to almost 400,000 people -- and of course Katrina's devastation didn't stop at those counties' northern boundaries. Don't the stories of the Mississippians' recovery deserve to be told to the nation too?

Welcome, visitors from Walls of the City!  Main page is here, pull up a seat and stay a while!

Isn't this a fire hazard?

The big straw man Al Sharpton sets up here, that is:

"They have a right to rally. But what they don't have the right do is distort what Dr. King's dream was about," the Rev. Al Sharpton declared Friday. He called the tea party assembly an anti-government action and has organized a counter rally also near the site of King's historic speech.

So the tea partiers are anarchists now? I don't mean to say there's anything particularly wrong with anarchism, but I don't understand why Al Sharpton can't at least tell the undistorted truth about what the tea party is about -- SMALLER government, NOT no government at all -- other than, of course, the fact that Sharpton is an inveterate demagogue.

Speaking of inveterate demagoguery, how about this?

"As an experienced politician, I know that things do not happen by accident. If they happen, somebody planned it. And I say that someone planned to hijack the site and the message of Martin Luther King Jr. in an effort to use it against the very principles of inclusion that we talk about in America," said the Reverend Walter Fauntroy, who marched with King and was by his side during the speech forty-seven years ago.
...
"Fast forward now to August 28, 2010, and one has to admit that those who oppose our nation's vaunted ‘universal value of inclusion’ have seized the hallowed ground of the Lincoln Memorial on the 47th anniversary of that watershed moment in time to promote their universal values of exclusion," (Fauntroy) says. "Their purpose is to turn the clock back to a time when, in America, black people and women, and native Americans and non-white immigrants had no rights to jobs and freedom that white men were 'bound to respect.'

I don't see how Glenn Beck's and Sarah Palin's smaller-government message promotes any value of exclusion. That's quite a message Fauntroy's promoting to American blacks, i.e., "Only a big, powerful, overreaching government can protect you." Talk about inclusion on his part -- that's insulting to damn near everyone, no matter his or her race.

It's insulting to blacks because it implies they can't look out for themselves and their own best interests -- it implies that they need government to do it for them.

It's insulting to whites, Hispanics and everyone else because it carries the implication that we are as blinded by racial hatred as we were 45 years ago.

And it's insulting to all those -- black, white or whatever other color -- who gave their freedoms or their lives to see to it that blacks were treated better in this country, because it implies their sacrifices were all for nothing, when an honest look at American society in 2010 clearly shows that not to be the case.

I don't mean to say that things are quite where they should be, but I don't think there's any question we have come a very long way in terms of race relations in this country. We still have a way to go, but I think Dr. King would be proud, even as he saw and observed the need for more. And I honestly don't think he would see a Leviathan federal government as the only thing ultimately standing between American blacks and firehoses, lynchings, etc. I think he might well have agreed with Thomas Jefferson that "a government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have." And I really think he would have liked what Beck and Palin were promoting because the idea of smaller government is ultimately all about personal responsibility and accountability. I mean, I'd really like to think MLK would have seen those properties as integral to the freedom he sought for blacks, because it could never be fully possessed any other way.

And, again, you will note there is not a word about King's niece speaking at Glenn Beck's event. You'd think any journalist truly worthy of the craft would have asked the good Reverend Fauntroy about that. I'm sure he has an opinion about it that he'd be more than willing to voice.

I say tuh-may-toe, you say tuh-mah-toe...

...or, Principled?

McCain need not muscle anyone out of the way to play the role for which he is uniquely fitted. He simply needs to set his own course and form his own ad hoc alliances, as he has always done, with a Tom Coburn on the right or a Russ Feingold on the left.
One of the conspicuous failings in the last few years has been the absence of a second party making principled decisions on when to support and when to oppose the president. McCain has the best opportunity - and the best credentials - to restore this.

One wonders, for example, what principles led John McCain (and Russ Feingold) to come up with that abomination to the Constitution known as campaign finance "reform." You know, the "reform" McCain defended by saying, "I would rather have a clean government than one where quote First Amendment rights are being respected, that has become corrupt. If I had my choice, I’d rather have the clean government." It's all fine and good to be principled, but what if those principles are antithetical to those which the Founding Fathers pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to defend -- and that millions of American soldiers have given so much to defend?

Quote of the day, banning lead ammo edition...

...from none other than Mr. David Codrea:

Let the environmentalcases run things, and before you know it they'll be banning dihydrogen monoxide.

Yes, indeed. I don't know why there seems to be such surprise coming from certain quarters, though, considering whom we elected. He came from Chicago, for crying out loud. Why would anyone NOT expect him and his people to get their agenda enacted by a bunch of unelected bureaucrats accountable to no one?

Of all the songs they could have played...

Sabra, Esther (my youngest stepdaughter) and I were at Armadillos for lunch earlier, with the jukebox playing. They had this cd on the jukebox, and someone played a cut from it. Of all the songs they could have played, guess which one they played? (Hint: The only damn CDB song everyone else plays.) I was more than a little nonplussed by that. I didn't get the chance to, but I should have played "In America" or "The Legend of Wooley Swamp." Next time I am there, I think I'll do that...

If she only had a brain...

...or, Kathleen Parker shows her ignorance once again, as she harps on divisions that have been in the American body politic going back to colonial times. One wonders if in her next column she'll bitch about the fact that the sun rises in the east. If Parker had half a brain and knew how to use it she'd have mentioned the fact that Martin Luther King Jr.'s niece will be speaking at the Glenn Beck rally and eschewing a competing rally by professional race-baiter Al Sharpton because she claims Sharpton is just stirring up hate and resentment. She also could have pointed out that no one race has an exclusive claim on MLK's legacy. I guess slamming Sarah Palin was a higher priority. Perhaps I shouldn't have expected better from her, but still I do. Damn me and my standards.

I still do like this song...

...even if it's from the album that's regarded in some quarters as the band's sellout album.

I've probably said this before, but Metallica's self-titled black album was my introduction to that band; I really like it, but after I got the band's earlier releases I discovered I liked Metallica as a thrash metal band a lot more than I like them as a hard rock band. (I got Load as a gift one year but I could count on one hand the times I've listened to it. Didn't even bother with Reload; nothing I heard off that album appealed to me.) Anyway, I heard "The Unforgiven" making the dinner run earlier; that's always been one of my favorite songs off that album, even if it was a ballad. I really should dig that cd out again...

That'd do a LOT of people good.

AlanDP:

Also, if you've grown up never doing any hard work, don't expect to excel at it right away (or maybe ever) when you're an (alleged) "adult." Everyone should spend at least a couple of summers hauling hay or watermelons or something so you know what you're getting into.

Yes, indeed. I did that for about three summers in junior high school. Never threw it on the trailer, but I did drive the truck pulling the trailer -- and I also cut, raked and baled the hay. And I didn't do those last three on a tractor with an air-conditioned cab, either; but for the small top over the tractor's rollbar, I was fully exposed to the summer heat. I thought it was a blast because I got to drive, but it was hot and dusty as hell. It'll damn sure make you appreciate hard work -- and that office job you get if you're lucky later.

Way to support Texas music there, folks...

You might already know this, but I am an inveterate channel-surfer, even with the satellite radio. I left my iPod at home yesterday when I went to work and left the satellite radio at home with my wife, so I was left with terrestrial radio. So last night when I was driving home, I came upon Y100 playing Texas music just after 11. I remember hearing the Randy Rogers Band, Pat Green and Roger Creager. Good stuff, right? So I'm thinking, "Well, at least they play some Texas music, even if it is when everybody's asleep." Then I heard the deejay talking about the show...which he said was from 11 to 12 every Sunday night. Wow. One whole hour every week. Way to support the Texas-red dirt scene there, guys.

As if that wasn't bad enough...apparently the program director or whoever programs the music for that show considers 1990s NASHVILLE also-rans Little Texas to be worthy of inclusion on it. You'd think they could and would do better to promote Texas-red dirt music here. I guess they think the Texas music would scare off the tourists, so they play it when the tourists are sleeping off their buzzes. Pardonnez mon francais, but that's just fucking pathetic. (Yeah, Scott, I know I shouldn't expect any better, but I still do...)

Man, this says it all, doesn't it?

Commenter Mongol, in the comments to this post:

If someone trys to panhandle me for "Food Money", I like to offer them $1 for every pack of cigarettes on them and $3 for their MP3 player.  I figure that if they are truely hungry, they will jump at the chance.  I plan on letting them keep their stuff if they agree to the deal, but I haven't had anybody say yes yet.

Dude, that is brilliant! I had never thought of that, though I'm sure if you raised the asking price for the smokes there might be more takers. Many times when I go to the store I look to see how much a pack of smokes costs and I am just amazed -- and quite glad that I do not smoke. There's no way I could drop $20 a day on a cigarette habit. I am also not surprised there have been no takers, considering the fact that the panhandlers obviously have their spending priorities messed up; for the price of a pack of cigs, you could buy yourself a pretty fair meal at pretty much any fast-food restaurant in the land.

More proof that some people...

...shouldn't be allowed to have kids:

A man shot his pregnant girlfriend before killing himself early Friday as police converged on him at a house northwest of downtown, officers said.
...

After wrestling on the bed, Corona dared her boyfriend to shoot her, prompting him to point the weapon at her, pull the trigger and then leave the house on foot.

Were it not for the innocent unborn child, I'd have said it's just too damn bad she didn't die as it would have been more chlorination of the gene pool. Really? Dare your boyfriend to shoot you as you're carrying his child?? Mother of the year material right there, yes sir...

No wonder the education system is in such trouble...

This link at Kevin Baker's place this morning reminded me of this story I read earlier this summer in the San Antonio Express-News:

Fierce competition for public school teaching jobs this summer could be difficult enough without being seen as a second-rate candidate, as those emerging from alternative teacher certification programs are sometimes viewed. 

I must say that I never understood that. I honestly thought the folks who went through the alt-cert program would have been more valuable with their real-world experience, as opposed to education majors who know just education better than anything else. And I would never cast aspersions on elementary education majors as all being like they were in the above-linked exchange any more than any other major...though I must say it'd be quite frightening to run up on, for example, an aerospace engineering major who had that mindset.

...but does it matter? Sometimes the answer is no.

...or, Yet another rant I've had bouncin' around in the ole noggin lately.

I recently read a review of a new song from Carrie Underwood in which the author said Underwood "has much talent." This made me think of something I've been wondering about for a while, namely this: Does your talent really matter if you don't put it to good use?

I hear people talk all the time about how Carrie Underwood is such a greeeeat singer, that she sings like an aaangel. And every time those sentiments are expressed, I think, "Well, even if she does have such a good voice, she throws it away on some really crappy songs." (Honestly, does it get any more banal than "Jesus Take the Wheel"? And it really hasn't gotten much better from there...)

And the same goes for, to cite another example, the '80s hair band Winger. If you'll recall, ex-Winger guitar player Reb Beach not long ago was calling Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett one of the worst guitar players he'd ever heard. As I said in comments here:

'...going from what I've read, I'd say both Kip Winger and Reb Beach both have some major issues going on with not only jealousy, but also insecurity. Winger has been quoted as saying his band was the "'hair band' Dream Theater" and that "Metallica couldn't play what we play." If that's the case, if Winger was so damn good, then why did they just go for the low-hanging fruit with songs like "Seventeen" and "Headed For A Heartbreak"?'

In other words, Winger might have been good, but from what I've heard they were by and large a joke among the headbangers in their day precisely because of the lowest common denominator songs that made them famous. Winger might have been the "hair band Dream Theater," but they pissed all their talent away on crappy music too. So what does it matter if they WERE talented?

I'm sure readers could probably think of more examples...

Overheard at lunch...

My wife, on the problems with modern Nashville "country" music, shortly after I asked her when Richie McDonald got castrated:

"I thought he came that way!"

And then a few minutes later...

"That's what it is. Gary Allan is going around Nashville cutting off everyone's testicles to enlarge his own."

Sounds like a logical explanation to me...

Pesky Eighth Amendment!

Well, not really. I know the prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment protects all of us, and the price we pay for that is certain murderers not getting exactly what they deserved. As I was telling my lovely wife yesterday, though, it would have been really nice if Peter Cantu (and his partners in crime) were to be put down the same way they killed -- to experience the terror and pain they inflicted on Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena.

But at least Randy Ertman wasn't subjected to another self-righteous harangue from a death penalty opponent this time around. So at least there's that.