The Weekly Poll
Results
The 'Can't Take a Joke' Edition
Clint Eastwood has slammed Political Correctness, saying "I think the PC madness is what's refreshing about playing this character. When I grew up there were a lot of people like this, and everybody didn't take themselves so seriously. People would kid themselves about everybody's... whatever race they were, whatever ethnic, religious groups they were. Everybody would joke about it and everybody got along just fine,"
He continues with "But then we've come to this now where everybody has to be walking on eggshells - kind of very... sensitive. And so it's become boring, kind of, and I think everybody would like to be Walt Kowalski for about 10 minutes."
A two-parter...
Do you agree with his take about Political Correctness stifling humor?
Is PC selective in its application?
Here it is, Poll-fans... The responses in the order they were received...
Charlie cites the gospel according to St. Noam...
Though I admire much about Eastwood, any such discussion of "Political Correctness" can be automatically dismissed. As Chomsky mentions in his book Powers & Prospects, it is an idiotic concept (page 67). Therefore, I disagree with Clint about this.
"Automatically dismissed"? I find that statement frightening. As I do much of Chomsky's works. His brilliance, like many before him, has lead to a fascist mind-think that decrees that unless you believe exactly as they do, then you have no relevance. It is elitism at it's worst. It does not allow for critical thinking, protest and free speech...
Paul of Seattle says...
I agree with most of what Clint said; PC taken to extremes is veering on the thought Police of Orwell's 1984. A lot of humor is spontaneous and to much checking yourself for PC can considerably reduce the punch of levity.
Thank you, Paul... I agree entirely... Hence the name of the Edition, 'Can't take a Joke'... Jeesh, lighten up! It's all about self-esteem and being able to laugh at yerself...
DC Madman
When Clint Eastwood grew up blacks, women, and minorities "knew their place". Most of us have grown since then. "Everybody" (white males) didn't take themselves so seriously because they ruled. Clint seems to be a conservative longing for the good old days. Joking among friends may work for some but there's always a bully who takes things too far. To call groups of strangers niggers, chinks, wops, bitches or whatever makes me cringe because I'm a empathetic liberal I'm fairly sure a subset of the conservative knuckle draggers would welcome the ability to speak their heart
openly and freely without retribution. In my opinion the "good old days"
weren't and civilization has made much progress since then. Is political correctness selective in its application? Yeah, liberal thinking adults don't see a need to denigrate anyone except their abusers. The dittohead 25 percenters denigrate anyone who doesn't think like them.
So, two wrongs make a right, eh? It's Ok for 'liberal thinking adults' to denigrate those whom they feel are their abusers, hmmm? And I have a question fer ya... Doesn't The Left denigrate those who don't think like they do? The Right has no franchise on self-righteous behavior when it comes to that.
joe, short and sweet here...
I was a kid in the 50's and 60's, also nobody but white people lived around me
so it would be easy to say something racist or deragatory about another race.
Joe, I love ya, I really do... But, this isn't about race entirely, although some would make it so. Hell's Bells, It's about community... Those that belong, are accepted, those that don't are made fun of... Get tough, quit whining (not you)... Is there any homogeneous communiies anywhere in the world that doesn't look down on or make fun of outsiders? Or is it the sole province of Caucasians... Ha! There it is! White people are bad!...
JD that Madcat, all Caps adamant writes...
WHY WASN'T JESUS BORN IN ITALY? BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T FIND THREE WISE MEN AND A VIRGIN! WHY DID GOD INVENT THE WHEELBARROW? TO TEACH THE IRISH TO WALK ON TWO FEET! HOW DO YOU GET 25 PEOPLE IN A VOLKSWAGEN? 2 IN THE FRONT SEAT, 2 IN THE BACK SEAT AND 21 IN THE ASHTRAY! I HEARD THESE JOKES FROM AN ITALIAN, AND IRISHMAN AND A JEW. IF YOU WANT TO HEAR THE BEST ETHNIC AND RACE JOKES GO TO THE SOURCE. ONE OF MY
FRIENDS FOUND OUT THAT I WAS HALF IRISH AND GERMAN AND STARTED CALLING ME A DRUNK NAZI. LIGHTEN UP FOLKS. AS CLINT SAID: "A MAN'S GOTTA KNOW HIS LIMITATIONS."
Or, as Robert Duvall did as Tom Hagen in The Godfather when he told the pedophile Jack Woltz that he was German-Irish and Woltz said, "Well, my kraut mick friend...", he could wait for justice to take it's course. As it well did, much to the horse's regret...
Adam the Cine-Sound Pro
Do you agree with his take about Political Correctness stifling humor?
I think there is whole brand of humor now that I like to call 'racial
with a wink'. Joke makers can tell racial For instance, I just saw Lisa Lampanelli's special on HBO. Her whole act is being rude to everyone based on their sex and/or color, but she is clearly being so over the
top the whole thing verges on satire. There is other sketch comedy and stand-ups that tread the same ground in the same way.
Well, yeah, ya think? Such humor is considered to 'ground-breaking' if it's done by recognized 'progressives, yet it's considered to be 'racist' if done by others of different political persuasions..
We all trade the odd racial-sexual-gay joke knowing full well this sort of thing is not meant to be taken at face value (how naughty to tell a black joke!). Very! You proved my point entirely No one outside of an outright bigot, tells a racial/sex joke with a straight face.
Is PC selective in its application?
No- even my father (who slides further into Rush Limbaugh territory with every passing year) says 'this may not be PC...' when he knows he treading into sensitive areas. That's my experience, anyway
Thanks Adam... I always appreciate yer input. Cuz ya always do! However, I disagree that PC is selective in it's application... OK... Here it is... The way I see it is that Political Correctness should protect everyone from malicious ridicule. Does it in practicality? Fuck, no... Exhibit this: What does the 'progressive' community think of
poor people in rural areas? Ack! They're all rednecks! Case closed, and this country will never advance until you self-righteous, all knowing, all seeing, citizens realize that...
Then there's my Pal, Sally...
My first thought is that old Clint's right on. Pondering the subject, though, I am having second thoughts. I did not grow up with such humor but fell into it in college. Yeah, ethnic jokes can be funny - but they can also be self-deprecating too. How many overweight kids desperately try to "Get in" with the other kids by becoming the class clown? Ditto minorities - usually those from the lower echelons of society. And, I take seriously that which Joe S wrote the other day regarding the TV series, "All In The Family." Maybe, "Caucasian" people can laugh at Archie's humor - and realize that he is ignorant, but for other's - those who are the butt of his, "poor taste" humor, it is hurtful. I do not believe in either being exclusive or hurtful if it is possible.
Is PC selective in its application?
Probably, just as in nature, the weak will try to knock off the most vulnerable in the pack. IOWs, society loves to build someone up, and then tear them down - usually with negative humor. For instance, I think we (as a society) no longer see any humor in the Polish people, but God help the fat person and Gays... As much I love a good George Bush joke, I know it's wrong to encourage such humor...
Pally... Let's judge him as he did.... Very Poor, in my opinion... Thanks!
New Question
The 'Wars and Rumors of Wars' Edition'...
President Obama, aka 'The Man', certainly has his hands full in the foreign affairs arena at the moment with the belligerent behavior shown by our fellow passengers on Spaceship Earth. Naughty, naughty, I'm sayin'... It's like, don't they realize he's trying to solve a world-wide financial crisis? Or what? Jeesh! That said, which one of these provocations is the most worrisome?
A. Russia's (the Putin Oligarch Soviet Republic) probing Canadian airspace in the Arctic with a long-range bomber coinciding with BHO's first official 'foreign' visit outside the US to Ottawa?
B. China's (Shylock and Landlord) playing 'tag, you're it' with an unarmed US Navy ship in the international waters of the South China Sea?
C. The 'Hive Collective' known as North Korea threatening a 'counter-strike' if their erstwhile 'satellite' long-range ballistic missile launch is interfered with. Yeah, like we want to limit their TV channels from two to their present one...
D. Iran's (R-Theocracy) hell-bent-for-leather pursuit of atomic weapons. Quit lying! Everyone knows you suffer from Israeli penis-envy...
E. Israel's (R-Rethug) trying to bully the US into letting them remake Iran into a glass covered nuclear iridescent parking lot?
This bullshit is getting tiresome, don't ya think?
Send your response, and a (short) reason why, to
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
Erin Hart
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Listen online at www.am760.net and call 303-713-7600 to join the conversation.
You never know who might show up...
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Behind the Curve (nytimes.com)
The Obama administration's economic policy is already falling behind the curve, and there's a real, growing danger that it will never catch up.
Frank Rich: Some Things Don't Change in Grover's Corners (nytimes.com)
The simplest explanation for why America's reality got so distorted is the economic imbalance that Barack Obama now wants to remedy with policies that his critics deride as "socialist" ("fascist" can't be far behind): the obscene widening of income inequality between the very rich and everyone else since the 1970s. "There is something wrong when we allow the playing field to be tilted so far in the favor of so few," the president said in his budget message. He was calling for fundamental fairness, not class warfare. America hasn't seen such gaping inequality since the Gilded Age and 1920s boom that preceded the Great Depression.
Scott Burns: "The Upside of Changing Horses (or Houses)" (assetbuilder.com)
If you are in your 50s or early 60s, you're in the Peril Period. And the Worst of All Possible Worlds appears to be happening. Everything--- home value, 401(k) and job--- is going down the drain just as you're getting really serious about retirement.
MAUREEN DOWD: Should Michelle Cover Up? (nytimes.com)
Let's face it: The only bracing symbol of American strength right now is the image of Michelle Obama's sculpted biceps.
Decca Aitkenhead meets Alastair Campbell (guardian.co.uk)
'I was driving a few weeks ago, and a minister came on the radio and gave an interview that was so bad, I almost crashed the car.'
Rob Harvilla: David Byrne Remains in the Light (villagevoice.com)
A Talking Head indulges old neuroses and gorgeous new hymns at Radio City.
Sick of Sarah on Tour: "Pretty Good for a Girl" (afterellen.com)
SOS guitarist Jessie Farmer talks about why being in an all-female band is a blessing and a curse.
The new "Buffy" comic is without lesbian content, but full of powerful women (afterellen.com)
A behind-the-scenes view of the show and comic has us confident that the stories will continue to follow strong and fearless females.
Four Minutes of Grace
Explore the ocean with Google Earth
Notable Quotables
Hubert's Poetry Corner
Texas Air National Guard Discharge[sic] of Lt. George W. Bush
What's wrong with this document? Let me count the ways!
How many can your sharp-eyed readers spot?
Do the numbers go that high?
responded:
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Another perfect summer day.
Pays Tribute
Obama
President Barack Obama paid tribute to the late actor Christopher Reeve, who emerged as an advocate for embryonic stem cell research after he was paralyzed in a horseback riding accident.
In lifting the ban on federal funds for stem cell research, Obama said Monday the nation owes a debt of gratitude to people like Reeve, who with his wife, Dana, created a foundation dedicated to finding a cure for spinal cord injuries.
Obama said he wished Reeve and his wife could have been at the White House Monday to witness the event.
Obama
Growing Bloc
Religion
A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the Roman Catholic population has been shifting out o of the Northeast to the Southwest, the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say they have no religion at all.
Fifteen percent of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from 14.2 percent in 2001 and 8.2 percent in 1990, according to the American Religious Identification Survey.
Northern New England surpassed the Pacific Northwest as the least religious region, with Vermont reporting the highest share of those claiming no religion, at 34 percent. Still, the study found that the numbers of Americans with no religion rose in every state.
"No other religious bloc has kept such a pace in every state," the study's authors said.
The report from The Program on Public Values at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., surveyed 54,461 adults in English or Spanish from February through November of last year. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 0.5 percentage points. The findings are part of a series of studies on American religion by the program that will later look more closely at reasons behind the trends.
Religion
US Denies Visa
Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse may no longer play at the legendary Coachella festival after she was reportedly denied a US work visa.
The 25-year-old singer - who was charged with common assault last week - was lined up to do a headline performance along the likes of The Killers, Sir Paul McCartney and Morrissey at the California spectacular which is attended by around 75,000 fans.
Her spokesman told a newspaper: "She is not appearing at Coachella this year in the light of current legal issues."
The singer was said to be "absolutely gutted" at the development.
Amy Winehouse
Heirs Gift Indiana U
Leonard Bernstein
The family of Leonard Bernstein has donated items from the late composer's Connecticut studio - including a conducting stool believed to have been used by Johannes Brahms - to Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music.
The donation, announced by the school Monday, also includes the conductor-composer's rocking chair, 39 Grammy nomination plaques, batons, a pencil and ruler and blank manuscript paper.
Bernstein, who died in 1990 at age 72, had a long-standing relationship with the Jacobs School of Music that began in the early 1970s. He spent time on campus with students and faculty and in 1987 established a scholarship in his name at the school.
Leonard Bernstein
First Edition Sells For $19,120
Harry Potter
A softcover copy of the first Harry Potter book has sold for just over $19,000, according to a Dallas auction house.
"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was one of only 200 copies from the first printing issued with illustrated wrappers by London publisher Bloomsbury. The 1997 work about the boy wizard was published in the United States as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and includes an illustrated card signed by author J. K. Rowling.
The winning bid of $19,120 was nearly double the previous record for a softcover Harry Potter book, Heritage Auction Galleries says. The bidder was a vintage comic book collector from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates whose wife is a Harry Potter fan.
Harry Potter
Losing GM Backing
Ken Burns
General Motors Corp. is ending its 22-year support for Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.
GM spokeswoman Kelly Cusinato calls Burns "the gold standard of documentary filmmaking," but says the financial crisis "has forced GM to rein in such spending." A figure for GM's aid to Burns isn't known.
His last GM-backed project is "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," a six-part series airing this fall.
Burns' spokesman Dave Donovan tells The Detroit News that Burns is "incredibly grateful" for GM's support, calling it "an extraordinary contribution to public television."
Ken Burns
Obama Orders Review
Signing Statements
President Barack Obama on Monday ordered a review of George W. Bush's guidelines for implementing legislation passed by Congress, at the same time saying that he would employ his own version of how he wants the government to follow the law.
In a memo to senior government officials, Obama said they must check with Attorney General Eric Holder before relying on any of Bush's signing statements for guidance. Bush often issued a statement when signing a bill into law, and critics said the statements at times showed government officials how to circumvent the law if Bush disagreed with it on constitutional grounds.
"There is no doubt that the practice of issuing such statements can be abused," Obama wrote. "Constitutional signing statements should not be used to suggest that the president will disregard statutory requirements on the basis of policy disagreements."
Bush attached the signing statements to legislation that his administration saw as unreasonable or unconstitutional limits on executive power. However, Obama's White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, likened the move to Bush asking "that laws be disallowed simply by executive fiat."
Signing Statements
Paid Cops To Bust Fans
Phish
Some Phish fans are leaving Hampton a little lighter than when they arrived for the band's weekend reunion.
Police said Monday they confiscated about $1.2 million in illegal drugs and more than $68,000 in cash from concertgoers. Authorities also arrested 194 Phish fans during the three-night celebration of the band's return to the stage after a nearly five-year absence.
Tourism officials had estimated 75,000 fans would be coming to the coastal Virginia city. Nearly 200 law enforcement officers worked the weekend event, with the Vermont-based band picking up the tab.
Phish
Blocking Music Videos For UK
YouTube
Google Inc's online video site YouTube said on Monday it will block all music videos to British users after it was unable to reach a rights deal with the main songwriters' collection society.
The world's largest video sharing site said PRS for Music, a British collection society that collects royalties on behalf of nearly 50,000 composers, was asking it to pay "many many times" more than its previous licensing agreement which has expired.
The move is the latest sign of the tension between YouTube and the music industry and also indicates the video site's resolve to keep operating costs under control as it strives to generate meaningful profits for Google.
PRS issued a statement pointing out that Google, YouTube's parent, saw its revenue grow to $5.7 billion in the last quarter. The figure will likely be juxtaposed against the fast dwindling fortunes of the music industry.
YouTube
Tax Evasion Trial
Helio Castroneves
To this day, race car driver and "Dancing With the Stars" winner Helio Castroneves hasn't seen a single dime of $5 million in licensing money he was promised under a 1999 contract with Penske Racing. It's either been parked at Penske or is still idling in a Dutch investment account.
But the Internal Revenue Service says Castroneves owes U.S. income taxes on the money anyway, contending the 33-year-old driver can't avoid tax by simply refusing cash to which he's entitled. A complex concept known as "constructive receipt" is at the heart of the prosecution's case against the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.
Testimony resumes Tuesday in the tax trial of Castroneves, his business-manager sister Katiucia Castroneves - both originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil - and his lawyer Alan Miller of Birmingham, Mich. All are charged in a seven-count federal indictment with conspiracy and tax evasion from 1999 to 2004.
The three defendants are facing more than six years behind bars if convicted. Trial is expected to last about a month.
Helio Castroneves
Slashing 1,600 Jobs, Cutting Executives' Pay
McClatchy
McClatchy Co will slash 1,600 jobs, or about 15 percent of its workforce, and dock the pay of its top executives, in one of the more dramatic cuts by a U.S. newspaper publisher as it struggles with plunging advertising sales.
The news drove McClatchy shares down as much as 35 percent in Monday morning trading to 44 cents a share, after having lost 95 percent of their value over the last 12 months.
Investors trading insurance on the company's debt raised the cost of that insurance, indicating they think it's at high risk of default.
The publisher of 30 daily newspapers, including The Miami Herald, Sacramento Bee and Anchorage Daily News, has about 10,800 full-time-equivalent positions. It has been reducing costs to meet heavy debt payments from its purchase of newspaper chain Knight Ridder Inc in 2006.
McClatchy
Contemporary Portrait?
William Shakespeare
The Bard, or not the Bard? That is the question posed by Monday's unveiling of a centuries-old portrait of a dark-eyed, handsome man in Elizabethan finery.
Experts say it is the only portrait of William Shakespeare painted during his lifetime - in effect, the sole source of our knowledge of what the great man looked like.
But they can't be certain. In the shifting sands of Shakespeare scholarship, where even the authorship of the plays is sometimes disputed, nothing is written in stone.
"We're 90 percent sure that it's Shakespeare," said Paul Edmondson, director of learning at the Shakespeare Learning Trust, which plans to exhibit the portrait in Stratford-on-Avon. "You'll never be entirely certain. There will always be voices of dissent."
William Shakespeare
47th Annual
Conch Contest
Playing a Frank Sinatra classic on a conch shell helped a local bicycle tour operator take top honors in an unusual "musical" competition in Key West. Lloyd Mager impressed judges at the 47th annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest on Saturday with portions of "Strangers in the Night," as well as the classic Hebrew folk song "Hava Nagilah" and "The Alley Cat Song."
Mager, a 35-year-old Key West resident, likens playing a conch shell to playing a brass instrument.
Judges evaluated contest entrants, who ranged from less than 3 years old to seniors, on the quality, novelty, duration and loudness of the sounds they produced.
The winning group entry was an 18-piece "conchestra" whose members blew their shells while dancing to a parody of Jimmy Buffett's "Volcano."
Conch Contest
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