8.17.2010

Delicious Desparation


Barack Obama has claimed another victim.

Dr. Laura Schlessinger announced Tuesday she will not renew her radio contract that is up at the end of the year. Schlessinger, who has helmed a successful radio show for decades, lit a firestorm by using the word nigger 11 times during a call on August 10. She apologized the next day and now has decided to end her radio show as of the end of the year.

What does this have to do with Obama? Ever since January 20, 2009, there have been a small but vocal percentage of Americans who just can’t stand the fact the leader of the free world is, well, you know… And every day he stand before the country as the political leader, every day he is seen making a speech to crowds of cheering supporters, every day the realization that this small minority of people are just that, a small minority, they get a little crazier until they burst like a pipe under pressure.

Whether is the Birthers, swearing Obama just can’t be President irrelevant of any facts, or people screaming at town meetings they want their country back (from whom I’d like to ask), to Dr. Laura doing her best Katt Williams impersonation, people are going crazy from the heat.

And I couldn’t be happier.

I call it the delicious desperation. The realization that the world has changed under the feet of this small minority; that their borderline overt racism has been rejected by the majority of voters on November 4, 2008 (happy birthday to me, by the way) and there is not much they can do about it. The thought of them raging against forces totally out of their control gives me a warm feeling. The mental image of this small minority yelling ‘who’s with me?’ and seeing the remainder of the country slowly step back as if they just dropped a turd fills me with delight.

As for Dr. Laura, two other comments. First, in announcing the end of her radio show, she mentioned she wants to “regain my First Amendment rights”. That is a lie. What she wants is to be able to avoid consequences:

Now, what makes me sad...what pains my heart deeply...is that, beyond the reasoned letters which I continue to get, I have heard comments from some broadcasters and letters from some people that cannot be described as anything other than hate-filled diatribes. Hate-filled. This does not make me angry, but it hurts my heart.

My hope with my apology, which was true and immediate and uncoerced, was that the silver lining might be that a dialogue be started to stop hate and bigotry. I still hold out some hope... but I am a realist and I fear that there are those who frankly want to encourage hate and anger.

Dr. Laura insulted people by using the word nigger. She angered people. It would be nice for everyone to forgive her for her transgressions, but some won’t, which is their right. This is the bed you made Dr. Laura, and as uncomfortable as it is to lay in, whining about how uncomfortable it is doesn’t change the fact that it was all your creation.

Second if someone is paying you to talk, the speech is not free. Dr. Laura would be hustled off the air if she decided to insult her syndication company or her sponsors. I can say Comcast sucks (ask me about that company if you have an hour to kill), but I sure can’t say it if I have a radio show and Comcast is buying time. If you want pure free speech (to her, um, credit, Dr. Laura is doing this) get a soapbox, go out to a corner of your local municipality, and free speech away.

8.15.2010

Stevie Wonder - Superstition live on Sesame Street

It is Stevie. On Sesame Street. Singing Superstition.

Stevie should be taught in the schools.

Why Golf Is Fine and the Chicken Littles Are Wrong

Golf is an appropriate pursuit for someone as bourgeois as I. Writing about golf may cross the bourgeois line into stuffy. Nevertheless, I've done such a thing at Waggle Room, a blog dedicated to professional golf. I'm pretty proud of it so I will link to it here.