Most of the time I'm a very serious person, but I do like to laugh. Actually, I think I like to laugh because with all of my seriousness, doing so makes me feel normal (we'll leave the debate as to what *is* normal for another time). I love slapstick humor, Abbott & Costello and The Three Stooges never fail to make me laugh. And don't even get me started on those Blue Collar Comedy guys. They're funny, I don't care who you are, them there are funny guys.
But, I'm getting older. I know this because my sense of what is funny has changed over the years; there was a time when I found Beavis & Butthead funny, not so much any more. I still like fart gags, but I’ve grown tired of "comedians" who feel the need to use the word "fuck" as if it's the only noun they know. (As I used to tell one of the soldiers under my command, "fuck" is a power word, using it three times in the same damn sentence strips it of its power.) I'm not saying that the word should never be used, I’d be a hypocrite if I did, but come on, use some imagination for crying out loud.
By now you're probably wondering what the hell the point of this post is, or even if there is a point other than that I don't find things as funny as I once did, right? Well, as is my nature, I’m about to get serious. Serious about the subject of "humor."
Last week, Air America blather bag Randi Rhodes aired a bit that I wouldn't have found funny even during the days when I found the Beavis & Butthead "Cornholio" bit the funniest thing on earth.
"A spoiled child is telling us our Social Security isn't safe anymore, so he is going to fix it for us. Well, here's your answer, you ungrateful whelp: [audio sound of four gunshots being fired.] Just try it, you little bastard. [audio of gun being cocked]."
"Let's not do that while I'm here in Florida," Rhodes, who broadcasts from West Palm Beach, Fla., said laughingly following the item. "Let's not arm the old people until I leave. What is with all the killing?"
I hope I’m not in the minority when I say that I don't find this the least bit funny. Since when did "joking" about shooting the president become funny?
Not wanting to rely on the printed transcript of what transpired after the bit was aired I ventured over to Air America's site *shudder* and listened to the audio of it (April 25, 2005). As appalling as the bit itself was, Rhodes laughing at it was even more appalling. Of course she is now claiming she didn't find it funny, and even more unbelievably that she didn't have prior knowledge of its content.
Rhodes maintains the skit was created by producers at Air America without her knowledge, and she would not have aired it had she heard it in advance. Still, she says it's her show, and she takes full responsibility.
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"[My apology] is sincere. I feel bad that anybody would feel threatened by comedy. That's one thing, but I also feel bad that it wasn't funny. And I also feel bad that there could be a perception that I would be advocating violence against anybody, let alone the president of the United States of America. It's no secret that I think he's a terrible president, but I don't think that anybody should have violence advocated against them in any way, shape or form ever! ... That [skit] will never see the light of day again. It was bad."
If she feels bad because it wasn't funny, then why on earth was she laughing about it immediately after it aired? I also find her statement that she didn't know what the bit was about to be disingenuous. Surely, someone who has been broadcasting for as long as she has been would have complete control over what airs during her show. Obviously, the last line of her "apology" can't be believed either, since almost a full week after that bit aired it's still available to everyone.
Rhodes also attempted to minimize what she had done by attempting to paint others as being as guilty as she is.
"If the bit was understood to be a threat against the president," Rhodes explained, "I need to apologize to the president of the United States, and I do. I also need to apologize to the Secret Service [which] has a very, very serious job. If they had to take two seconds out of their day to look into me, I apologize for that. ... But where is the apology when they threaten judges from the Senate floor or from the House floor? Or where's the investigation into [WND columnist] Ann Coulter's mouth? ...
And exactly what does this have to do with a bit about killing President Bush? Absolutely nothing. But obviously Rhodes knows that she can't deny the bit, so now she's going to try and deflect criticism away from herself. Well, it's not going to work.
Not surprisingly, this isn't the first time Rhodes has "joked" about someone killing President Bush.
"The Fredo of the family is the president of the United States, so why doesn't his father or his brother … take him out for a little fishing, and let him say some Hail Marys – he loves God so much. … You know, Hail Mary, full of grace, God is with thee – pow [gunshot sound] – works for me."
So, once again Rhodes is caught in a lie. She obviously does think it's okay to advocate violence against someone, especially when that someone is President Bush.
I'm not sure if anything will come of the Secret Service investigation, or if there even is an investigation, (not surprisingly the MSM has failed to pick up on the story so details are few and far between as to that aspect of the story) but I certainly hope that there is, and that she is held accountable for her actions. It is one thing to dislike a person's political positions, or even dislike a person themselves; it is another matter entirely when that dislike leads joking about, and advocating, physical harm against said person.
As a California resident, I'm fairly well versed in the history of my state. The history of the land we now call California is long and storied, but for the sake of brevity i'll skip to the most salient fact. California is a part of the United States of America, and has been since 1850.
Evidently, someone did not get the memo.
An immigration activist group is drawing attention to a photograph showing a billboard ad for a Spanish-language TV newscast in L.A. on which the "CA" abbreviation after "Los Angeles" has been crossed out and the word "Mexico" added in its place.
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In the center of the billboard, placed within the L.A. skyline, is an image of the Angel of Independence, a well-known monument in Mexico City, further suggesting the merging of Los Angeles and Mexico.
This is quite possibly one of the stupidest marketing ploys that I have ever seen. As Gov. Schwarzenneger said when discussing the billboard, it's "divisive" and "unnecessary." That it is Gov. Schwarzenegger, but i'll go one step further, it's also offensive. Clear Channel, the owners of the billboard, claim that they simply want to make their viewers "feel at home," but there are ways of doing so without implying that your viewers have taken over California and now claim it as their own.
Update: Someone who did receive the memo has corrected the billboard.
