My 2 Cents

Like every other American, I have an opinion regarding our latest idiot. I am not talking about Piyush "Bobby" Jindal. I am talking about another individual with questionable judgement, the much talked about Nadya Suleman. 

It was not long ago that some other crank decided to have a litter of babies with the aid of some serious hormones and modern technology. The difference was, that the other cranks had a home and two parents and were not quite as crazy as Ms. Suleman.  

Now, an organization known to many satisfied customers for its production of fine adult features has made Ms. Suleman an offer that she should not refuse. 1 million dollars and a year of health care for her and her 14 kids. The only hitch is that she has to perform in one of their fine adult pictures. They will even let her pick the person she performs with. The clownstain definitely has an opinion on this hot mess. I personally think that the house that Jenna built is low balling Ms. Suleman. Vivid can do better than that. Their annual revenue is in excess of 100 Million dollars. I personally believe that Ms. Suleman ought to go to the bargaining table with Vivid and strike a deal. I do not see anyone else coming up with that kind of offer. 

 The health care alone has to top a million bucks in the first year of those poor children's lives, and at least it will get them through the year. It will also save the taxpayers of California a lot of money.

Another twist in this morbid piece of Americana is Pink Visual, a San Fernando based outfit (imagine that) is offering Nadya diapers to not be in the porn movie. That is a choice. Something that individuals shit in, or a wheelbarrow load of money and health care.  A years worth of diapers is a baby shower gift. Any mom would be excited about that. A million dollar offer would make a grown man need a diaper. Pink Visual did not have to do anything, but, in the world that we live in, no one likes small ball.

The serious issue here is the kind of parenting Ms. Suleman has chosen to engage in. She already had sextuplets. Half of her previous brood have serious developmental issues, and I expect the second batch to have some problems as well. Ms. Suleman chose to bring 14 children into the world with no visible means of support and no father for the children. I really feel for the children, because, the ones who do not come out autistic will have to live with the fact that they were the product of a whole lot of crazy and some ass hole's science project. 

This lady really creeps me out. Where does she get off thinking she can raise 6 kids with no dad, no income and no house? Then she goes and drops 8 more? The doctor who did this ought to be strung up. Or at least horsewhipped and stripped of his license. Talk about irresponsible, enabling someone who is bat shit nuts to procreate to a completely unhealthy level is morally reprehensible. This lady is too crazy to have one kid, much less 14.

2012 Republican Candidate for President

Alright, everybody focus. The 2012 Republican ticket will most likely include Bobby Jindal, the Esteemed Leader of the Free Democratic Republic of Louisiana. He has an actual education and is currently building political capital by picking and choosing which parts of the stimulus package he will accept. Being that he is in one of the 3rd world states, he ought to take all of the money, because we all know that LA. does not have its books in order. 

Anyhow, here is a guy that converted from Hinduism to Catholicism and loves to pander to the snake-touching churches in 3rd world America. The conservatives will love this dude. He hates women's rights to choose, and he loves guns, and the scariest part is that he can read and has built his whole movement on being an intellectual. He actually provides leadership and direction for the Free Democratic Republic of Louisiana and he is accomplishing some neglected tasks in the bayou.  Watch out for Piyush!

Chris Brown is a jackass.

Recently R&B "artist" Chris Brown was involved in an altercation with his girlfriend Rihanna over some car keys. The initial report sounded like a fairly standard urban music scuffle, the kind we are not unnaccustomed to hearing about. Little did we know that it was not just an altercation, but a fairly severe beating to a beautiful and talented young woman.  There are pictures to prove it.  Ike Turner would have been proud, but I doubt young Mr. Brown's mother would be. 

Now, this was pretty run of the mill until the photos from the LAPD leaked and the American public saw the severity of Mr. Brown's handiwork on Ms. Fenty. 

Now, we do not know all the details of the incident, but, Mr. Brown is already guilty in the court of public opinion, and this will probably not help his bubble-gum reputation, nor will his bubble gum pop reputation help if he tries to spin this like he is "gangsta".

Now, what we are really dealing with is an assymmetrical relationship. Rihanna is well marketed, talented, and something kind of new, whereas Chris Brown is something we have seen and heard for years. Nothing original there. I have a strong feeling Rihanna's career will last longer than Mr. Brown's. In 8 years he will be a fairly short interview on Behind The Music.

Bad Cartoon. Bad Taste.

Over the course of the election, the full blown racists in this country have had a field day. Comparing our first black president to a monkey is just beyond the pale. The kind of crap that Sarah Palin stirred up with these idiots just enforces their inappropriate behavior.  These individuals who allegedly claim to be the party for values are not doing a very good job teaching these values by encouraging this kind of disgraceful crap.

Although the NY Post is a rag, it is a widely circulated rag. 

In the United States, differing views and public discourse are a part of our political system. Disagreeing is fine. Making monkey references about an African American is just plain inappropriate. It goes through some really antebellum references that were part of the rhetoric of a disgraceful chapter in American History. 

Now some may argue that W was referenced as a monkey and "Uncurious George", but speaking as a thoroughly white individual, I know that it is just different. It is the difference between the "N" Word and being called a cracker. Or a honky. Sure being called a cracker or a honky by a black person is not nice, but calling black people the "N" Word strikes a whole different chord. The rules are simply different for this sort of thing. 

One of the problems though is the way the media has handled it. They immediately went to Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton for commentary on this, knowing that Mr. Jackson and Mr. Sharpton would love to comment on the situation, and would definitley provide some decent material. Now, all kidding aside, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have done a lot of good work, and they are real leaders, but folks have quit taking them seriously (The NY Post has done a pretty good job of besmirching their collective character!)  As soon as Jackson and Sharpton arrive on the scene, a lot of people tune it out; mostly due to Sharpton and Jackson's reputation as racial agitators.

 Although I do not neccessarily agree with everything Sharpton and Jackson have to say, they are right. This is an inappropriate reference that hits a lot of hot buttons. It is not something one would expect in a major newspaper, more like a newsletter circulated by the Klan. 

The kicker is that the "management" of this paper are not issuing an apology of any sort. They are defending their cartoon. If they had half a brain, they would apologize for inadvertent racism and try to move on. Instead, they are pretending that they did not do a damn thing wrong. 

I almost believe the defense of inadvertent racism, because the fact is that they seem like a pretty thoughtless bunch. Even if they were not being bigoted jerks, they really showed their unforgiveable lack of class. 

KA-CHOW!

Thank you Jeebus! After several dry days of soft targets and other nonsense, I finally got something juicy. Bristol Palin has opened her mouth to ol' Skidmark Van Susteren and let everyone know that abstinence is "not realistic".  Its about time one of these nincompoops said something.  I bet her bat-shit crazy mother is a little miffed about the whole interview and the fact that it refutes a key part of her conservative christian worldview. 

Now, all kidding aside, what Bristol Palin might or might not have been forced to do needs some recognition, having a child is something scary and difficult, even with all the support and infrastructure she has. In addition, the media coverage is not something that an expecting teen mother needs.  On one hand I feel sorry for her having to deal with all the horse shit that has come her way, and on the other, she has a lot of advantages that most teen mothers could not dream of.

What took real courage was stepping away from her mother's abstinence only party line. She showed some actual moral courage that came from a hard lesson. This could possibly be a step in the right direction to preventing unwanted teen pregnancy. It is not just an after school special, it is a piece of reality when someone that young breaks from their crazy mom's paradigm and goes on the record with that information.

One potentially troubling piece of information is that this kid has absolutely no shot at a normal life. He was born to teen parents and there will definitely be some drama from the grandparents. On one side is the Palin Clan, who have a reputation for being insane, then there is his grandma Johnston, who allegedly sells Oxycontin to undercover cops in parking lots. In any event, the child will get plenty of support and attention from a lot of really crazy people, and who knows, the Palins may just help out the in laws and pull some strings for Mama Johnston, (she already got a real lawyer!) 

In summary, kudos to Bristol for speaking some truth about the silliness of abstinence only. It did not work out too well for you.

Soft Targets

How 'bout it? Two holidays within a week. Saturday we had a big fat valentine's day, which was a resounding success, and today which is President's Day.  Things seem to be in full swing today, except for the post office and a few other state and federal authorities. 

I am not 100% sure what one should do for president's day, seeing as though there has been quite a few of them, and I have only been alive for 5 so far. I am not exactly clear how some of the previous administrations went.  As a child of public school, I am a little foggy on most of them except for the old standbys. (Can someone fill me in on Chester "A." Arthur?)

In any event, unless they were on money or Mount Rushmore, most Americans lose track of a lot of presidential stuff. The filler presidents are not discussed with any real degree of detail.  I like to call them the beard guys. The ones between Lincoln and about 1910. The problem is, that a lot of these presidents were pretty uninspiring or bland, and if an administration did not have a real war or serious scandal, no one really gives a damp shit about it.  The beard guys really get lost in the shuffle.  

On another hand, I am all for bringing back presidential facial hair. The last president to have a beard, stache or goatee, or sideburns for that matter was William Howard Taft, who had a particularly opulent and luxurious handlebar moustache.  

Friday the 13th

Now, I actually dug something up that reflects positively on the Mayor's Office of Seattle. Greg Nickels has some construction projects in mind that he has a plan to pay for. You heard that right. Their is money to pay for them. It might be a little bit of the Nickels shell game, but there is some money floating around from some tax increases that passed.

Old Sweaty Nicks actually has a plan to repave about a half dozen streets that are currently 3rd world hazardous. That really makes me happy. In addition he plans to have a new park built with a large bronze statue of himself with Tim Eyman in a WWE-esque "Camel Clutch", made popular by former professional wrestler The Iron Sheik.  

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of jobs being created, especially in the sector of public infrastructure, but, what about getting some of the existing messes straightened out. Seattle is a rapidly growing city, and has been for the last 20 years, and in that time, has amassed some pretty serious growing pains.  The demand for infrastructure has outstripped the supply by a fairly wide margin, thus decreasing the live ability factor of the region. If something is not done soon, people in the other parts of the country might figure out that Seattle is not really the land of milk and honey.