Category Entertainment

Jun 24 2013

Paula Deen – another “Lipstick on a Pig”

Credit: veggieboard.com

Credit: veggieboard.com

 

In light of all the issues we have staring us in the face in this country at the moment, one would think that the current Paula Deen scandal would not be all that important.  On one hand, are any of us surprised that a 66-year-old woman from the South holds a level of bigotry as she has admitted?  I know it isn’t all the people in the South and that there are many educated and open-minded people that reside in the region as well we in the Northeast have our share of bigots and racists who believe it’s still the 1950’s when it comes to white superiority.  One the other hand, the views and opinions held by this silver-haired asshole quite clearly represent much of the divide we see in the country today – one based on intolerance and narrow-mindedness.  Whether it is Blacks, Latinos, gays, atheists, whoever, when we as a society don’t immediately denounce and show consequences of actions such as this, we are all essentially enablers of it.  I think her fate with the Food Network and what would appear to be quickly disappearing sponsors and endorsements is well deserved as any tolerance of that opinion and attitude of others is unacceptable and, more over, reprehensible in today’s world of hate and intolerance.  While attitudes are slowly changing and our younger generation are obviously more tolerant, in the meantime, it’s hammer time for those who are that stupid and shallow.  I have already sent my support to Food Network to ensure they don’t just hear from the haters out there – it is critical we all make our voices heard.

I would also suggest that if you don’t really care that Deen dumped on Blacks, you might want to read a bit more about some of her other comments – she is apparently a non-discriminatory bigot.  While she admitted she occasionally used the N-word — but not in a “mean” way, she apparently also felt that racist and bigoted jokes weren’t harmful – apparently during the court deposition when asked if she told racist jokes, she reportedly answered, “It’s just what they are — they’re jokes … most jokes are about Jewish people, rednecks, black folks … I can’t determine what offends another person.”  We undoubtedly have a brain trust here who, if she can’t figure out what is offensive to others in this day and age, needs to be placed well out of the public eye.  Being stupid doesn’t get you a free pass nor does it work as an excuse.

On a related note, my wife pointed out one of the pictures attached to a Paula Deen story on MSN – not sure I need to provide much explanation but I ask you – is there anything obvious about the people in the photo whom have taken to the street (so to speak) to protest the treatment of this southern diva?  It would look like flocking to a restaurant is a protest that pretty much falls in their sweet spot.  They were likely also not bothered by Deen’s little diabetes scandal, although I would suggest that a good many of them are well acquainted with diabetes.

 

Patrons waiting in line outside The Lady and Sons, Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah, Ga. this weekend (credit: MSN.com)

Patrons waiting in line outside The Lady and Sons, Paula Deen’s restaurant in Savannah, Ga. this weekend (credit: MSN.com)

Mar 6 2012

Limbaugh – given enough rope…

Well. the conventional wisdom is that if you give someone enough rope they will eventually hang themselves.  Looks like all we had to do was wait for a while and Rush has finally pushed his views and rhetoric to the point where anyone with half a brain (particularly the Republican supporters of Limbaugh) are finding it hard to ignore his personal attack on Ms. Fluke.  It is only unfortunate that it has taken so long for this to happen, giving Rush plenty of time to amass his fortune on the backs of those people he ultimately despises but uses endlessly to keep his empire going – the uneducated and the uninformed – the Fox News crowd.

The other conventional wisdom is also called into play here – when one protests too much or portrays themselves as so anti anything, there is likely some aspect of that which they push away hiding deep inside.  In this case, I have to wonder exactly what aspect of sex has Rush so incensed and actually enamored.  Given his view that contraception is something a woman has to pay for every time she has sex, he is no doubt getting confused with his own need for Viagra – which really is essentially paid for every time Rush has sex.  I can only imagine that losing that ability to perform on one’s own would lead one to trying to feel better by putting down those he so desires (everywoman) – in his case I would expect that having anyone attracted to him sexually would be somewhat stunning.  Almost as stunning that he has managed to find at least 4 women willing to sleep with him – All this for a man who can’t get it up and who is an admitted drug addict.  I would have to wonder how that would work if he didn’t have the wealth he has.  Thnking it out a bit further – maybe sluts and prostitutes is more indicative of Rush’s love life before he was rich and famous.

 

Willing to do anything for money and sponsors, Rush shared with his audience how big he is before using Viagra.

All kidding aside, what does this say about our society (or at least a segment of it) that this man has reached and maintained the status he has. To most of us, his recent comments were not a surprise nor did we think this was something out of the ordinary for him – I was somewhat amazed that he was so stupid that he didn’t foresee the issues that would arise.  But then again, absolute power corrupts and I expect he felt his pedestal would protect him from most anything of consequence.  How gratifying it is to see the advertisers taking a stand of integrity and moving away from him in droves.  While Rush seems to feel there will be other businesses and advertisers that will quickly rush in to fill the void (do you hear that “Whoosh”?), I would wonder which advertisers will take that stand alongside this douchebag.  Not that the previous advertisers were necessarily mainstream businesses – not to demean them as I give them a great deal of credit for being willing to take a stand.  But at the end of the day, it is all going to be how everyone’s wallet is most affected.  Advertisers also flee because they recognize the potential loss of customers and sales.  I think it incumbent on all of us to begin to let not only the advertisers that remain that we will not use their products or service, we need to let the radio stations who continue to broadcast Rush that we will boycott any advertiser that is on their station – not just those advertising during Rush’s three hours.  And we need to let those advertisers know.  I have begun to send emails and I ask that everyone take a moment to send out one or two.  It is the power of revenue that really drives change in this situation.  We should also deluge Premier Networks, the company behind the Limbaugh radio show.  You can send your emails to their Public Relations department at Premiere Networks, who will relay them to the Producers of the show.  They can be reached at Publicrelations@premrad.com  or 818 461-5750.  I have already sent my outrage on to them – as well as my pledge to boycott any radio station or advertiser that is any way related to them.  I haven’t had any answer sent back – but then again, not surprised – they are only one step up on the ladder of life where Rush sits on the bottom rung.

Lastly, at least John McCain and Ron Paul had the gumption to take a stand and say it as it is.  Can’t say the same for the rest of the current group of bottom feeders running as Republican presidential contenders.  Again, are these the type of men you would want running our country?

Feb 24 2012

Another take on it…

When I read the story in our local newspaper (again, using the term loosely given we are talking about The Pocono Record) about the two American soldiers shot and killed in Afghanistan by an Afghani soldier (or at least someone in a Afghani Army uniform) in response to the burning of copies of the Quran at a NATO base, my immediate reaction this morning was one of anger and a gut reaction that it is time to leave that hellhole and let them take care of it themselves.  Seeing people so obviously blinded by their religious beliefs that they can kill again provides more support to my existence as an atheist.  We, as American people, will likely look at this action over there as just one more bit of evidence of how screwed up they are and how superior we are as a people – that’s how we “civilized” societies think. However, in thinking about it a little more, another perspective and thought came to mind.  How different is this act really from those in our “civilized” society who see it perfectly justified and rational to murder an abortion doctor or who have seen fit to burn down a Planned Parenthood facility or torching a mosque in the name of religion?

Back to politics – in watching the Arizona Republican debate the other night, my wife so aptly commented on the candidates on the stage as we listened to their chest pounding as to whether any of these men actually sound like Presidential material – I guess if we use GW Bush as the yardstick it might work but beyond that, it is a sad commentary – little class and alot of nothing.

Moe, Larry and Curley, et.al.

Last thought – the world can again rejoice – I see that Paris Hilton has again ascended from her hole and is gracing her adoring public with her presence in a new video.  No doubt long overdue. I guess the good news is that she isn’t singing but only speaking her lines.

What should have happened following the release of her last album

The real question here – what is wrong with the 197,000 people who bought that album?

Feb 15 2012

Whitney – Let’s all take a breath

Okay – here we go again. We have a performer – no doubt one with great talent and ability, who has managed to find an expedited path out of this world as a result of personal decisions around both a hedonistic and narcissitic existence. The reaction to her death seems to be out of bounds given her contribution to the world (as well as her own demise). Yes, this is a waste and it is a sad ending but it is a bit too much when one looks at those whose lives have actually had profound impact on the life of others. Yes, music has long been important to me for what it says and how it makes me feel and I recognize the talent and ability that few of us possess but let’s try to get a perspective.

When I hear how hard her life was, the stress and constant worry about remaining successful, all the stress with which she needed to deal, I have to somehow shake my head and wonder if it really was that much harder than what most hard working people experience. Different, yes – harder, not so sure. Many of us work hard, we typically lose sleep and stress over our success (or challenges to it), we work hard to cover our responsibilities on and off our job – and we do it without a cast of supporting characters, without others to manage the mundane day to day obligations, we pick up our own drycleaning. We do it without making astronomical salaries. We do it without resorting to drugs and alcohol as a means to cope. Most of us don’t have the the time nor the resources to even make that possible. But more importantly, most of us have made the choice to step up to the roles and jobs we have chosen and to cover those responsibilities pretty much sober and without crutches.
And when something goes wrong or doesn’t work as planned, we actually take personal responsibility for it – it’s not about excuses.

It is time we, as a society, remove the pedestals we have put in place for those who have attained celebrity status – whether that be in the world of music, movies, TV, sports, etc. Maybe if we focused less on those who live outside of the “real” world, we could actually look more internally and realize it isn’t really that bad after all.