Spin-Offs

I’ve always been somewhat fascinated by the concept of the spin-off, primarily in the realm of the TV series.  I remember as a kid trying to name off all the derivations from the show ‘Happy Days’ (which, I later learned, was originally a part of an anthology show called ‘Love, American Style’, which I remember seeing in syndication as a kid).

Bon Iver – Blood Bank

Thanks in part to lists from Elijah and Greg, I checked out Bon Iver.  I have been addicted to this song for a couple of weeks now.  Enjoy.

Palin’s Offense At The “R” Word Is Gay

You may have heard the news about Sarah Palin saying that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel should be fired for using offensive language when he called some other democrats, “f***ing retarded”.  Mrs. Palin is upset because of the use of the word retard in any context.  She explained:

Just as we’d be appalled if any public figure of Rahm’s stature ever used the “N-word” or other such inappropriate language, Rahm’s slur on all God’s children with cognitive and developmental disabilities — and the people who love them — is unacceptable, and it’s heartbreaking.

While I can appreciate her sensitivity in this situation it is, among other things, a political dart she is firing… and not an effective one.  Just as Jesus said of those without fault casting the first stone, so I would wonder if she or any of her staff have never used the terms: stupid, dumb, idiot, or moron?  These are all epithets that can describe actual clinical conditions.  But guess what, the word fat can have connotations and cause offense to people who are fat.  I can imagine that we all have examples of where offense or politically correct behavior has annoyed or even infuriated us.  And so while we can dimly see where people are coming from in their offense to certain terms, we most often do not change our lives around them, knowing well that most every word in the English lexicon could somehow be construed as out of bounds.

My point is not that Palin should not be offended, she most certainly has the right to, and I’m sure her closest friends would never dare or wish to use that word… even in jest.  But as I stated, I think she is after something political here, and not something of moral value.  She cannot truly hold the opinion that the Chief of Staff should be fired for saying what he said.  Surely she knows what kind of language is used behind closed doors… even perhaps by G.W. Bush?

I am aware that my friends and I use words that very likely would offend members of society… even family.  I use the word gay to describe many things that I think are uninteresting to me, or out of sorts… yet I have homosexual family members and friends.  I use the word retarded, and yet am affiliated with a company that works with students with learning disabilities.  Just as with many things of this nature, I think it is always best to look at intent… as far as is possible.  When Rahm Emanuel was berating his colleagues, was he literally thinking that they were of the nature of a child with Down syndrome?  No.  If my wife asks me if I want to read the Twilight series and I say that’s gay, does that somehow imply that I think homosexuals are preternaturally drawn to teen-vampire drama?  No.

Words have meanings, and the meanings have different effects on people.  We can and should be aware of certain contexts – even if you think saying fuck is cool, maybe you don’t drop that bomb in sunday school.  So Rahm can make his apology, and be sincere in doing it, even if he returns to using that word again… but Palin is barking up the wrong tree in proposing he be fired.

MARK ADDS:

Death to Pete Records

My family and I moved last week, in part because of a foolish interest-only loan we took on four years ago, and in part because of some utterly contemptible behavior on the part of Chase bank, and in part because of the fact that my parents are really cool and are allowing us to rent a sweet house from them at a great price.  All of that, however, is the topic of another post.

My point here though is to discuss the way that moving can sometimes force us to confront a reality that we’ve stored in an attic or garage.  For some, it means debating whether to load up that exercise apparatus into the loading truck, or throw it away, since it hasn’t been used in ages.  For others, an expensive tool that’s been collecting dust or a hobby that never took off.  In my case, it meant confronting a failed business endeavor.  As I stared at roughly 20 boxes full of lp covers sitting in my attic, I had to ponder the likelyhood that one of the records I printed 5 – 6 years ago as a would-be music mogul might somehow start selling in such a manner that 500 blank lp jackets could come in handy.  With some quick mental math I determined that it would be somewhere under 0.01%.  With much encouragement from my friends helping me move, I dumped them into the trash.  My friends were probably trying to save themselves the effort loading and unloading these boxes, plus they wanted to use the boxes for moving other things that still need packaging.  Still, I knew they were right…it was time to let it go.

What they don’t know is that we didn’t even trash the half of it…There’s at least 1000 more actual lps sitting in my old bedroom closet at my parents house (I suspect this was part of the motivation for my parents getting me into a house with a garage, since lp storage is not exactly their ideal use for a closet).  There’s also CDs, posters, stickers, T-shirts…whether I’ll be able to stomach all of this going to the trash is another story.

Tonight I decided to listen the Seamonsters “Turning Tide” album for the first time in years.  I still think it’s got some great songs, though I don’t know if I would release it if I owned a successful label and had the resources to do so now.  I think it must be impossible to have any objective idea if your band is any good when you’re playing in it.  Has anyone ever played in a band (not paid) that they thought sucked? I don’t know where the other 700 or so copies are, maybe Matt’s house?  I don’t know if I even own a single copy of the first CD.  I never think about these things, which must be one of the great hazards of access to storage space.  Cleaning out my attic caused me to ponder these things…it was one of the most depressing tasks I’ve had to perform in a long time.

The dream is over.  If anyone wants the Pete Records catalog, just let me know.

What reality awaits confrontation in your garage/attic?

The State Of Things

Watching speeches make me nervous, so I don’t watch them.  Never have.  Not campaign speeches, not award acceptance speeches, not State of the Union speeches by President Obama.  I prefer to read speeches the next day when the drama and excitement has worn off and the content of the words is all that matters.  So that is what I did with last nights speech.  And it made me realize another reason I don’t like watching speeches… inaccuracies, or more precisely misstatements.  Here’s one from last night:

And to encourage these and other businesses to stay within our borders, it is time to finally slash the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas, and give those tax breaks to companies that create jobs right here in the United States of America.

I am curious what tax breaks we give to companies that ship jobs overseas?  Or is Obama simply referring to the savings that these companies have because they do work overseas, and wants to convert those savings into tax breaks for keeping workers here?  Either way it is a wrong statement, one that implicitly vilifies companies trying to lower their bottom line in a rational and financially sound way, and at the same time makes it seem like higher taxes (the sounding call of the democratic party) were someone else’s idea.

Or what about this nugget:

Our approach would preserve the right of Americans who have insurance to keep their doctor and their plan.  It would reduce costs and premiums for millions of families and businesses.  And according to the Congressional Budget Office -– the independent organization that both parties have cited as the official scorekeeper for Congress –- our approach would bring down the deficit by as much as $1 trillion over the next two decades.

Now is he referring to the initial report the CBO put out on November 30th saying::

According to a report released by the Congressional Budget Office this morning, the average price of insurance premiums bought on the individual market—that is, premiums not purchased through employers—would go up by 10 to 13 percent in 2016 if Congress passed health care reform legislation now in the Senate.

Or is he referring to the plans that have been changed and squeezed and redefined as the public and opposition in congress have forced initial bills to be thwarted?  But it sounds better to say that the plan you are pushing for is the one that is near the end of it’s life because no one wants it and so finally bears some resemblance to lowering costs, rather than the one you really wanted with the public option that would have begun the last step in creating a single payer socialized system.

I could go on, but to be honest the speech was really long and I don’t have the time or interest to find every disagreement.  And I also want to remain true to my desire to not immediately bomb everything Obama does, because I hated how democrats did that to Bush.  But this was my first reaction to what I read.  But maybe this State of the Union and its hopeful refrain will be borne out, but I’m afraid there may be much too much rhetoric and not enough true substance.

MARK ADDS:

Cato is on it.

CAI on the Wheel

I was taped for an episode of Wheel of Fortune today. The episode will air on April 7. I wont say much about it now because a) we were strictly forbidden from giving away any specific details via blogging until after the episode airs and b) I want everyone to watch it with suspense when it airs. For now I will simply make the following general observations:

1) Pat Sajak is awesome.

It’s true. Granted, he wins some extra points with me for being one of the few conservatives employed in the entertainment industry, but he really is an incredible host. One reason I say that is because he never shows contempt for his guests- he seems to appreciate that it’s because of people like us that he is so successful. With that said, he clearly cares for the game he hosts and wants it played well, and has a way of gently letting contestants know when their strategy is poor. Beyond that, he’s funny. You might think he’s cheesy, and he kind of is at times, but if you watch and study him enough (as I have) you begin to appreciate just how quick on his feet he really is. Finally, he’s awesome because he still does the Wheel after all these years. It seems to me that he is content with his work, and that is rare. Also, we really hit it off- I’m pretty sure he really liked me, and would hang out with me under the right circumstances.

2) Vanna White is classy.

Much of the same applies to Vanna- a gal who is content and satisfied with her work. Plus, she came out before the show with no make-up on, wearing sweats and a T-shirt, just to say hi and wish us luck. I thought that was rather kind, and I’m convinced, now that I’ve seen her without makeup, that she has not given in to botox, plastic surgery, et. al temptation.

3) Wheel is a classy production.

From top to bottom, every single producer, camera man, sound man, and stage hand was down to earth, approachable, and friendly. The whole experience really shook my “everyone in entertainment is a soulless, callous vampire” paradigm.

So watch on Wednesday, April 7. Don’t worry, I’ll remind you.

MARK ADDS:

Awesome, Pete. I’m sure you won because of all your praise. Sorry to jump on your post here, but it just made me think of some classic Wheel moments:

Family Guy

And also, South Park’s NSFW take.

CAI On Facebook. LOL

You might remember from a while ago that I was debating whether or not to join Facebook.  Not only did I join, but now have started a fan page for our blog as well.  So we now have a social networking outlet for our social networking blog.  Basically we can try and create a vicious cycle of circular posting & re-posting… until we finally just join twitter and forward news from everyone else.

So… become a fan today.  If you like.  Make a comment here, or there… or on our MySpace account.  Just kidding – I think.

A Non-Story?

I saw this link on Drudge the other day about secret “Jesus” codes inscribed on weapons.  I figured it was probably silly and ignored… but today I saw it again, still thought it must be silly, but checked it out.  Guess what, I think it is silly.  The article is all about this Michigan-based company Trijicon, that has contracts with a couple different branches of the military to provide rifle sights and optics.  The problem apparently is that the company identifies itself as a Christian faith-based organization and admits to stamping bible references next to model numbers on their product, such as here:

Translation: Jesus says, "convert or die!!!"

I have two thoughts on this.

1. As a military contractor this company would probably have been wise to not put any scripture references or what not on their products.  The upside is minimal if anything (encouragement to a Christian soldier who discovers it???).  And the downside is what is currently taking place… a media denouncement of a Christian crusade.  A private company providing services to people that ask for them and listing bible verses on their product (such as In-N-Out and their verses) is different than being a parts supplier for the government and Trijicon should know that.  I’m not saying Christian-run companies shouldn’t supply the military… but it’s not too much to ask them not to embed stuff on their supplies.
2. I challenge the media to explain how this could even remotely proselytize an Afghan or Iraqi person?  The process would need to follow this path: kill an American soldier in order to have access to their weapon – randomly happen upon a small inscription on the weapon – decipher the fact that out of 14 characters (in English mind you) on this inscription, that 6 refer to a verse found in the bible – have a bible handy to look up this verse (likely) – know how to read English and be willing to read a text that is most likely forbidden by your religion – say a prayer and convert to Christianity.

I’m not saying this is a huge story that is being blown out of proportion, since I’ve only seen it mentioned on Drudge… but it is just the type of story that makes you realize why people go to journalism school – to learn how to make something out of nothing.

Let me know if I am wrong and you see bigger implications in Trijicon’s verses.  I’m sure Christian’s would get all fired up if some Wiccan literature ended up in some military supplies, but I would think that is ridiculous too.  With all the things that we could be concerned about in this nation, this ranks pretty far down the ladder for me.

Your Friday Government Incompetence

Hope you all have a great weekend.  Here’s a fun little news story for you to start it off right.

“Sal” Esposito has been called for jury duty in Boston.  Too bad he’s a cat and the jury commissioner won’t dismiss him from duty.

Thoughts on Harry Reid, Racism, and Political Correctness

For those who haven’t yet heard, a small fire storm has been unleashed due to a comment by Harry Reid, revealed in a new book called “Game Change” (which sounds like a potentially fun, guilty pleasure read), in which he stated prior to the 2008 election that Barrack Obama had a good shot at President because he had light skin and did not use a “negro” dialect, except when he wanted to.  Needless to say, there are many on the right, particularly Rush Limbaugh and Michael Steele, who have jumped on the chance to point out a double standard (racist comments from dems- out of context, good intentions, etc., from Republicans- pure racism).  And of course they’re right- that same comment from a Republican would get a completely different response from the media and from Democrats.

But I’m inclined to agree with George Will and Michael Medved, who both have asked the question, ‘Where is the racism?’  Now, the term “negro” just makes me cringe, as I’m sure it does for most (it’s even uncomfortable for me to type).  It was a terrible choice of words, but then again, the word might not have the same baggage for Harry Reid that it does for me- he does come from a generation that, from what I understand, used that term as a polite alternative to a far more sinister epithet.  Now take that word out of the statement, and is the racism still there?  He was really stating a fact- Barrack Obama had electability.  If there’s any real insult to the statement, it’s probably to voters, since Harry Reid seems to think that the typical voter could never be sophisticated enough to look past dark skin and an ethnic dialect.

Michael Medved made the point on his radio show yesterday that it is a mistake for the GOP to get into this debate for a few different reasons, but one of them really stood out to me.  Conservatives have always decried the insistence on political correctness, and often lament the way that even the most seemingly innocuous statements get accused of racism, homophopia, misogyny, etc.  For example, it was highly frustrating when John McCain was accused of racism during the 2008 election because he referred to Obama as “that one” (demeaning? Perhaps.  Racist?  Not unless you’ve got a pretty wild imagination).  For all of the sermonizing we hear from the left about race, it seems more often than not to conservatives to simply be a political wedge and a weapon against rational debate.  That being the case, the GOP should use this opportunity to step back and show grace.  I do think the double standard is fair to point out, and I would make it clear that the term chosen by Reid was unsavory, but ultimately the GOP should be understanding and not use this to be politically divisive.  If anything, it could be an object lesson on the perils of political correctness.

In addition to the Harry Reid comment, a Bill Clinton comment about Obama- that a few years ago he would have been getting us coffee- has also received the charge of racism, and has even drawn the ire of Al Sharpton (or was it Jesse Jackson, I forget which).  But again, I ask why?  Doesn’t it make more sense to interpret that statement as a comment on Obama’s inexperience and lack of seniority?

If the GOP and conservatives in general want all of this political correct fussiness to go away, then we need to be the first to say ‘poor choice of words, but let’s give the guy a break.’  Then again, would this simply invite a counter attack and a chance for the left to say that the GOP being so quick to forgive proves how racist conservatives really are?

Finally, I must say that you can add me to the growing list of those unimpressed with Michael Steele.  Could we just get him and Larry Elder to switch places?  The GOP is in a real bind- fire the one black guy in such a prominent role, or keep him and allow him to keep making insipid commentary?