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Thursday, September 20. 2007
Free Speech Anyone?
Is freedom of speech dead?
In Florida a student is tackled and tasered for getting long-winded in lecturing Senator John Kerry while trying to ask the former presidential candidate a question about the Iraq War. To his credit, Senator Kerry called out to let him answer the student’s question, but the police nevertheless did what they did. If you watch the video, the student, Andrew Meyer, is obnoxious and takes far more than the two minutes he said he wanted to for asking his question. When the police start removing him from the auditorium, he resists.
Okay, even if you are wrongfully arrested, resisting arrest isn’t going to magically make the police say, “Gee, we oughta let this guy go!” Nah, quite the contrary. It generally means to the police, “Okay, let’s beat the muthahfuckin’ crap outa this guy, spray him with mace and what the hell, pop a few rounds in his sorry fuckin’ ass.”
I’m not supporting false arrest or even the arrest of Andrew Meyer, but in my 50+ years of living, there’s never been a case where someone resisted arrest and the police let’em go on the spot. In just about every case, the arrested gets pummeled senseless and often sprayed with mace or pepper spray—and here in Sandy Eggo, they’ll pop a few rounds in your misguided ass just for making them put down their donuts. I know it sounds so … conservative … but realistically speaking, resisting arrest has bad, bad consequences! Don’t resist arrest, no matter how bogus the arrest.
People at a recent Hillary Clinton rally were ejected for wearing t-shirts denouncing the senator’s role in starting this war in Iraq. They weren’t even speaking, just wearing t-shirts. Of course, the Bush 2004 campaign was famous for screening participants to the president’s campaign stops and forcibly ejecting people who, in any way shape and form, had some disagreement with Dubya. In Denver, three people at a Bush rally (Alex Young, Leslie Weise and Karen Bauer) were ejected from the event because they had a bumper sticker on their car that said, “No More Blood For Oil.” They weren’t speaking or even wearing anti-Bush t-shirts. They just had the wrong bumper sticker.
And let’s not forget former Virginia senator George Allen, the guy who thought it was funny to use a racial slur while campaigning, even looking straight into a video camera while saying it—that’s freedom of speech alright! — The former senator had a protester in a hotel roughed up and forcibly tossed from the hotel when the guy started asking him pointed questions about his record.
Then there’s Isaiah Thomas — LOL — He ought to win an award for his hubris! Hell, the Bush Administration should hire him for Attorney General! He’s being sued for sexual harassment.
Isaiah Thomas is the coach of the New York Knicks basketball team. When he played with the Detroit Pistons they won the NBA Championship. At that time he had the reputation for being a likable guy.
So, Bush … I mean Thomas … apparently starts every sentence (to women anyway) with the word “bitch.”
“Bitch, I don’t give a fuck about corporate sponsors …”
“Bitch I don’t give a fuck about these white people …”
That’s not even the funny part. In a videotaped deposition, when asked about his use of the word “bitch,” Thomas said it was okay for him to call any woman of any ethnic background “bitch” but it was not okay for whites to call a black woman “bitch.”
It gets even better. On Hardball yesterday Chris Matthews had on the Reverend Al Sharpton and White House Senior Black Lackey, radio talk show host Armstrong Williams, talking about this topic.
Williams, you may recall, was outed for having received payments from the White House for talking favorably about the president’s policies on his radio program. In Armstrong’s defense, he would have supported the president regardless, but what the hey, I’m just jaded enough and sleazy enough to take payment for talking favorably about my favorite presidential candidates. Hell, I’ll switch stripes and talk about John McCain or one of the other Republicans if the money is right. Someone — PLEASE — get this blog into the e-mails of the various campaign chairs.
TIM FORKES! MOUTHPIECE FOR HIRE! As my friends will tell you, I can go pretty low! No debasement too humbling for me!
So, besides the “N” word, White people can’t use the “B” word when speaking of African-Americans. Actually, I’m of the opinion we shouldn’t use the word “bitch” at all when talking about our fellow human beings. It’s a practice I have excised from my speech, but not my writing, bitch.
Back to Hardball: Both Sharpton and Williams said calling any woman a bitch was wrong, but Williams—and his logic is so entertaining—said that Isaiah Thomas grew up in a culture where the use of the word was common so he (Williams) was personally not offended by Thomas’s use of the word when speaking to the woman who filed the law suit against Thomas. Her name, BTW, is Anucha Brown Sanders. She was fired from her executive position with the Knicks organization.
So, let’s say I grew up in a culture of ethnic cleansing where rape, torture and murder were common, everyday practices … you know, that’s just too sick for even me to explore any deeper. If we excuse harmful and cruel behavior because we grew up in a culture that — allegedly — fostered bad behavior, then where do we draw the line?
There are people, family members in particular, who might—who do—consider my fascination with young women models to be harmful behavior, but I can say unequivocally, I didn’t grow up in a culture that fostered my fascination … that’s not exactly true; the collective “we” have been using sex to sell everything since … well, before I was born so obviously I was born into it! But, Mom was against it. Read my blogs from August 23, 25 and 26 for more on that!
On the other hand, the women I ogle want to be ogled and consider my ogling to be a compliment. Therefore, it stands to reason (and as pointed out in a blog from last year, once someone pulls out the “it stands to reason” rationale, that person wins the debate) my ogling is for beneficial and positive purposes only!
Isaiah Thomas will get a pass because he’s a sports star, superstar even, and there will be plenty of people lining up in support of him and his behavior. Armstrong Williams is just one. Saw the same thing with Michael Vick after his arrest for the dog-fighting ring he and his compadres operated. Saw it with Don Imus, even though he got canned from the CBS Radio Network and MSNBC, he will be back on the air—and it won’t be satellite radio either.
Free speech still survives, barely, in America, but the real question is, are you ready to live with the consequences of your speech? Don Imus has a right to say anything he wants on his radio program, and for many years he got away with it. By the same token, CBS Radio has the right to hire and fire whomever they want and if Imus becomes a problem for them, then they have the right to remove him from their airwaves.
Isaiah Thomas is not likely to lose his job over this lawsuit. The Knicks already proved which side they are on when they fired Anucha Brown Sanders. If Thomas loses his job, it will be for performance reasons, like a repeat of last season:
33-49 overall record, 3-13 division record, a 14-27 record on the road, it was just plain ugly!
Free speech is alive and well for those who can afford it. Or, if you’re like me, so far under the radar no one of any consequence notices.
Actually, it would be nice if more people noticed and clicked on the ads you see adorning this page.
This was going to be another blog about celebrities; Jeez, O.J. Simpson arrested again, Britney Spears ordered to go to parenting classes and submit to two random drug tests per week. Lindsay Lohan … she’s not even getting bad publicity lately! I’ve been looking for an excuse to post the photos of Britney and Lindsay going commando, but that will just have to wait for another day.
I do, however, have a picture of a different Lindsay, this one being a nice girl from Arizona going to school to be a pediatrician! She’s so cute! Lindsay — her hair anyway—was on a recent episode of The Girls Next Door; the scene where everyone is gathered on movie night to watch the premiere of … the latest installment of the spoof Scary Movie, I can’t remember which one it is. Holly, Bridget and Kendra are in it—clothed unfortunately—but it could be the cult classic for Playboy addicts.
<3 Lindsay!
In Florida a student is tackled and tasered for getting long-winded in lecturing Senator John Kerry while trying to ask the former presidential candidate a question about the Iraq War. To his credit, Senator Kerry called out to let him answer the student’s question, but the police nevertheless did what they did. If you watch the video, the student, Andrew Meyer, is obnoxious and takes far more than the two minutes he said he wanted to for asking his question. When the police start removing him from the auditorium, he resists. Okay, even if you are wrongfully arrested, resisting arrest isn’t going to magically make the police say, “Gee, we oughta let this guy go!” Nah, quite the contrary. It generally means to the police, “Okay, let’s beat the muthahfuckin’ crap outa this guy, spray him with mace and what the hell, pop a few rounds in his sorry fuckin’ ass.” I’m not supporting false arrest or even the arrest of Andrew Meyer, but in my 50+ years of living, there’s never been a case where someone resisted arrest and the police let’em go on the spot. In just about every case, the arrested gets pummeled senseless and often sprayed with mace or pepper spray—and here in Sandy Eggo, they’ll pop a few rounds in your misguided ass just for making them put down their donuts. I know it sounds so … conservative … but realistically speaking, resisting arrest has bad, bad consequences! Don’t resist arrest, no matter how bogus the arrest.
People at a recent Hillary Clinton rally were ejected for wearing t-shirts denouncing the senator’s role in starting this war in Iraq. They weren’t even speaking, just wearing t-shirts. Of course, the Bush 2004 campaign was famous for screening participants to the president’s campaign stops and forcibly ejecting people who, in any way shape and form, had some disagreement with Dubya. In Denver, three people at a Bush rally (Alex Young, Leslie Weise and Karen Bauer) were ejected from the event because they had a bumper sticker on their car that said, “No More Blood For Oil.” They weren’t speaking or even wearing anti-Bush t-shirts. They just had the wrong bumper sticker.And let’s not forget former Virginia senator George Allen, the guy who thought it was funny to use a racial slur while campaigning, even looking straight into a video camera while saying it—that’s freedom of speech alright! — The former senator had a protester in a hotel roughed up and forcibly tossed from the hotel when the guy started asking him pointed questions about his record.
Then there’s Isaiah Thomas — LOL — He ought to win an award for his hubris! Hell, the Bush Administration should hire him for Attorney General! He’s being sued for sexual harassment. Isaiah Thomas is the coach of the New York Knicks basketball team. When he played with the Detroit Pistons they won the NBA Championship. At that time he had the reputation for being a likable guy.
So, Bush … I mean Thomas … apparently starts every sentence (to women anyway) with the word “bitch.”
“Bitch, I don’t give a fuck about corporate sponsors …” “Bitch I don’t give a fuck about these white people …”
That’s not even the funny part. In a videotaped deposition, when asked about his use of the word “bitch,” Thomas said it was okay for him to call any woman of any ethnic background “bitch” but it was not okay for whites to call a black woman “bitch.”
It gets even better. On Hardball yesterday Chris Matthews had on the Reverend Al Sharpton and White House Senior Black Lackey, radio talk show host Armstrong Williams, talking about this topic.
Williams, you may recall, was outed for having received payments from the White House for talking favorably about the president’s policies on his radio program. In Armstrong’s defense, he would have supported the president regardless, but what the hey, I’m just jaded enough and sleazy enough to take payment for talking favorably about my favorite presidential candidates. Hell, I’ll switch stripes and talk about John McCain or one of the other Republicans if the money is right. Someone — PLEASE — get this blog into the e-mails of the various campaign chairs.
TIM FORKES! MOUTHPIECE FOR HIRE! As my friends will tell you, I can go pretty low! No debasement too humbling for me!So, besides the “N” word, White people can’t use the “B” word when speaking of African-Americans. Actually, I’m of the opinion we shouldn’t use the word “bitch” at all when talking about our fellow human beings. It’s a practice I have excised from my speech, but not my writing, bitch.
Back to Hardball: Both Sharpton and Williams said calling any woman a bitch was wrong, but Williams—and his logic is so entertaining—said that Isaiah Thomas grew up in a culture where the use of the word was common so he (Williams) was personally not offended by Thomas’s use of the word when speaking to the woman who filed the law suit against Thomas. Her name, BTW, is Anucha Brown Sanders. She was fired from her executive position with the Knicks organization.
So, let’s say I grew up in a culture of ethnic cleansing where rape, torture and murder were common, everyday practices … you know, that’s just too sick for even me to explore any deeper. If we excuse harmful and cruel behavior because we grew up in a culture that — allegedly — fostered bad behavior, then where do we draw the line?
There are people, family members in particular, who might—who do—consider my fascination with young women models to be harmful behavior, but I can say unequivocally, I didn’t grow up in a culture that fostered my fascination … that’s not exactly true; the collective “we” have been using sex to sell everything since … well, before I was born so obviously I was born into it! But, Mom was against it. Read my blogs from August 23, 25 and 26 for more on that!
On the other hand, the women I ogle want to be ogled and consider my ogling to be a compliment. Therefore, it stands to reason (and as pointed out in a blog from last year, once someone pulls out the “it stands to reason” rationale, that person wins the debate) my ogling is for beneficial and positive purposes only!
Isaiah Thomas will get a pass because he’s a sports star, superstar even, and there will be plenty of people lining up in support of him and his behavior. Armstrong Williams is just one. Saw the same thing with Michael Vick after his arrest for the dog-fighting ring he and his compadres operated. Saw it with Don Imus, even though he got canned from the CBS Radio Network and MSNBC, he will be back on the air—and it won’t be satellite radio either.
Free speech still survives, barely, in America, but the real question is, are you ready to live with the consequences of your speech? Don Imus has a right to say anything he wants on his radio program, and for many years he got away with it. By the same token, CBS Radio has the right to hire and fire whomever they want and if Imus becomes a problem for them, then they have the right to remove him from their airwaves.
Isaiah Thomas is not likely to lose his job over this lawsuit. The Knicks already proved which side they are on when they fired Anucha Brown Sanders. If Thomas loses his job, it will be for performance reasons, like a repeat of last season:
33-49 overall record, 3-13 division record, a 14-27 record on the road, it was just plain ugly!
Free speech is alive and well for those who can afford it. Or, if you’re like me, so far under the radar no one of any consequence notices.
Actually, it would be nice if more people noticed and clicked on the ads you see adorning this page.
This was going to be another blog about celebrities; Jeez, O.J. Simpson arrested again, Britney Spears ordered to go to parenting classes and submit to two random drug tests per week. Lindsay Lohan … she’s not even getting bad publicity lately! I’ve been looking for an excuse to post the photos of Britney and Lindsay going commando, but that will just have to wait for another day.I do, however, have a picture of a different Lindsay, this one being a nice girl from Arizona going to school to be a pediatrician! She’s so cute! Lindsay — her hair anyway—was on a recent episode of The Girls Next Door; the scene where everyone is gathered on movie night to watch the premiere of … the latest installment of the spoof Scary Movie, I can’t remember which one it is. Holly, Bridget and Kendra are in it—clothed unfortunately—but it could be the cult classic for Playboy addicts.
<3 Lindsay!
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