In fact, Obama actually by coming out and saying that Afghanistan is not a war of choice, implying that Iraq is, you know what does that say to the over 100,000 troops that we had in Iraq at that time? 'Hey, you guys don't really have to be there but you're going to keep going out and being shot at and getting killed anyways'? And then to the contractors? I mean the same factor goes with them but at least they're doing it as private citizens with a little more free will -- the impact is not as much. For a soldier who's being told "You're going to go back to this war zone that doesn't have to exist." You can imagine the effect on that. Especially for thefifth, sixth seventh deployment.
-- Adam Kokesh, speaking with Cindy Sheehan last week on Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Truest statement of the week II
Roy Gutman: But you know when you enter the American Embassy in Baghdad, you get first questioned by Peruvians who are contractors. I-I think the traditional role of the marines as being the guard for embassies is actually a good one. And I think the idea of contracting that out, however necessary it was during the war because there simply weren't enough troops of any force to do it -- is a real question. I don't see -- and the State Department didn't master having these private contractors. They-they lost control of them again and again and again. There not able to manage them, frankly. And, uh, the whole embassy. You go to this embassy, it's an immense thing really. It was built kind of for a pro-counsel's role. And you have to ask: 'Why did we do this in the middle of the war?'
Susan Page: Roy, Roy, I don't understand. So this security at the US Embassy in Baghdad is Peruvian?
Roy Gutman: The first line.
Karen DeYoung: The outer parameter.
Roy Gutman: The outer parameter.
Susan Page: And who's employing the Peruvians to provide the security?
Roy Gutman: Uh, I don't know. Maybe it's Triple Canopy. I forget the name of the contractor.
Susan Page: But it's a contractor working for the US government?
Roy Gutman: Oh yeah.
Susan Page: Huh. Alright. That surprises me.
-- NPR's The Diane Rehm Show Friday, second hour. Susan Page (USA Today) filled in for Diane Rehm and also in the exchange above are McClatchy Newspapers' Roy Gutman and The Washington Post's Karen DeYoung.
Susan Page: Roy, Roy, I don't understand. So this security at the US Embassy in Baghdad is Peruvian?
Roy Gutman: The first line.
Karen DeYoung: The outer parameter.
Roy Gutman: The outer parameter.
Susan Page: And who's employing the Peruvians to provide the security?
Roy Gutman: Uh, I don't know. Maybe it's Triple Canopy. I forget the name of the contractor.
Susan Page: But it's a contractor working for the US government?
Roy Gutman: Oh yeah.
Susan Page: Huh. Alright. That surprises me.
-- NPR's The Diane Rehm Show Friday, second hour. Susan Page (USA Today) filled in for Diane Rehm and also in the exchange above are McClatchy Newspapers' Roy Gutman and The Washington Post's Karen DeYoung.
A note to our readers
Hey --
As usual the delay was . . . Flickr. We thank everyone who participated in the writing of this edition which is Dallas and the following:
The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, and Ava,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz),
Trina of Trina's Kitchen,
Ruth of Ruth's Report,
Wally of The Daily Jot,
Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts,
Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ,
Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends
and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub.
What did we come up with?
Truest statement of the week -- Adam Kokesh was a natural.
Truest statement of the week II -- We'd wanted to address this in a feature article. Time ran out so we went with it as a truest.
Editorial: The silence said a great deal -- Did you catch Amy Goodman's hour on the assault on the press in Iraq last week? No? Maybe because it never aired, maybe because like so many others in the press, she ignored the story.
TV: The nightly talk shows -- Ava and C.I. tackle NBC's talk shows.
Comics and the wars -- We have other illustrations for this but we're tried of waiting on Flickr to finally upload. So we're using an older illustration and calling it a 'night'. This is the piece Isaiah worked on and we thank him for that.
The Nation endorses and amplifies sexism -- Ava and C.I. brought this one over and we liked it because it was a visual feature and because it bothered us that we hadn't learned about it already online.
Mailbag (Dona) -- For weeks, Dona has been planning to write an update on smoking (on quitting smoking) because so many readers e-mail with questions and comments. We needed another piece and there were some bits and pieces she could add at the end so she contributed this.
Bitches for Barack (Ava and C.I.) -- Ava and C.I. wrote this and we thank them for it.
The Bronze Boob goes to . . . -- We all agreed John Nichols had yet again earned big fool bragging rights.
Iraq -- Our Iraq feature.
ETAN calls for dialogue -- ETAN alert.
Highlights -- Mike, Elaine, Wally, Marcia, Betty, Cedric, Ann, Kat, Ruth and Rebecca wrote this and we thank them for it.
And that's it. Sorry this is such a lame note but I (Jim) am tired. We've been working on this edition forever.
-- Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I.
As usual the delay was . . . Flickr. We thank everyone who participated in the writing of this edition which is Dallas and the following:
The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, and Ava,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz),
Trina of Trina's Kitchen,
Ruth of Ruth's Report,
Wally of The Daily Jot,
Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts,
Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ,
Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends
and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub.
What did we come up with?
Truest statement of the week -- Adam Kokesh was a natural.
Truest statement of the week II -- We'd wanted to address this in a feature article. Time ran out so we went with it as a truest.
Editorial: The silence said a great deal -- Did you catch Amy Goodman's hour on the assault on the press in Iraq last week? No? Maybe because it never aired, maybe because like so many others in the press, she ignored the story.
TV: The nightly talk shows -- Ava and C.I. tackle NBC's talk shows.
Comics and the wars -- We have other illustrations for this but we're tried of waiting on Flickr to finally upload. So we're using an older illustration and calling it a 'night'. This is the piece Isaiah worked on and we thank him for that.
The Nation endorses and amplifies sexism -- Ava and C.I. brought this one over and we liked it because it was a visual feature and because it bothered us that we hadn't learned about it already online.
Mailbag (Dona) -- For weeks, Dona has been planning to write an update on smoking (on quitting smoking) because so many readers e-mail with questions and comments. We needed another piece and there were some bits and pieces she could add at the end so she contributed this.
Bitches for Barack (Ava and C.I.) -- Ava and C.I. wrote this and we thank them for it.
The Bronze Boob goes to . . . -- We all agreed John Nichols had yet again earned big fool bragging rights.
Iraq -- Our Iraq feature.
ETAN calls for dialogue -- ETAN alert.
Highlights -- Mike, Elaine, Wally, Marcia, Betty, Cedric, Ann, Kat, Ruth and Rebecca wrote this and we thank them for it.
And that's it. Sorry this is such a lame note but I (Jim) am tired. We've been working on this edition forever.
-- Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I.
Editorial: The silence said a great deal
The Press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of the government and inform the people. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government. And paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people and sending them off to distant lands to die of foreign fevers and foreign shot and shell.
-- Justice Hugo Black, New York Times Co. v. United States
Last week, the 'democracy' in Iraq took another body blow when an Iraqi court or 'court' decided toeing the line for thug of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki was more important than a free press.
It starts with The Guardian publishing Ghaith Abdul-Ahad's "Six years after Saddam Hussein, Nouri al-Maliki tightens his grip on Iraq" (April 30, 2009). The article detailed the opinions of some that Nouri was attempting to become the new 'strong man' of Iraq. It was an important article and a brave one.
But Nouri doesn't like being called out. He does like attacking the press and has been doing that since shortly after the US-installed him as Prime Minister.
Tuesday, Martin Chulov and Julian Borger (The Guardian) reported the latest assault: "An Iraqi court has ordered the Guardian to pay Nouri al-Maliki damages of 100m dinar (£52,000) after supporting a complaint by the Iraqi prime minister's intelligence service that he had been defamed by a Guardian story in April describing him as increasingly autocratic. The ruling ignored testimony by three expert witnesses from the Iraqi journalists' union summoned by the court, who all said that the article was neither defamatory nor insulting and argued that no damages were warranted."
Outside of The Guardian, few were raising the issue. The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement which included the following:
"We are very disappointed to see the politicization of the Iraqi judiciary in this way," said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem . "That the courts would devote their time to this type of irresponsible suit is outrageous considering that scores of journalist murders remain unpunished. It is vital that this decision be reversed in the appeals process."
Of the 140 journalists killed in Iraq since 2003, at least 89 were targeted for murder, CPJ research shows. Iraqi authorities have not brought a single perpetrator to justice in any of those killings.
"This heavy-handed decision sends a chilling message to all journalists who have risked their lives to report from Iraq , and it resonates particularly now in the run-up to the general election scheduled for January," said Abdel Dayem. "The article accused the prime minister's government of being increasingly autocratic. This court case proved the point."
As the security situation has improved, many journalists have told CPJ that government harassment, physical assaults, and frivolous legal proceedings have replaced insurgent attacks as the greatest professional risk they face. Al-Maliki has appeared to lead the legal assault against Iraqi journalists: At least two other defamation complaints have been filed by his representatives in connection with articles critical of the prime minister, CPJ research shows. Those complaints were dropped after they came under heavy criticism.
In June, CPJ and the Iraq-based press freedom group Journalistic Freedoms Observatory sent a letter to al-Maliki expressing concerns about increasing official harassment. In the first six months of the year, the two organizations documented more than 70 cases of harassment and assault against journalists in Iraq .
And?
Chris Floyd (Empire Burlesque) observed, "What exactly did the Guardian do to merit this judgment -- which, perhaps not incidentally, directs them to put more than $100,000 in Nouri al-Maliki's pocket? Something which, admittedly, is quite shocking in our day: reporting."
And?
That was pretty much it during the week. Late Friday afternoon, Jenan Hussein and Warren P. Strobel (McClatchy Newspapers) reported, "The chilling atmosphere for the news media was underscored this week when an Iraqi court fined the London-based Guardian newspaper nearly $87,000, finding that it had defamed Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki. An article in the paper in April quoted unnamed Iraqi intelligence officials describing what they said was Maliki's increasingly authoritarian rule. [. . .] Free expression is one of the few benefits that Iraqi count from the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Basic services such as electricity and sewage are still in disrepair, and sectarian violence, while much reduced, is still a daily occurrence. The backlash against journalists and curbs on book, cartoons and plays, often for religious reasons, raise questions about what kind of society the United States will leave behind when American troops withdraw from Iraq at the end of 2011."
And, outside the pages of The Guardian, that's it.
Where was the press corps?
Where were the strong arguments in defense of a free press?
Would a loud, global objection cause Nouri to stop attacking the press?
It might. It might not.
But saying nothing, lodging no objections? That'll ensure that Nouri deploys this strategy again. Nouri's gotten to attack the press and get away with it.
Around the world, there was silence. Throughout the web there was silence.
And, in the process, a message was sent.
Those who refused to stand with the press, who refused to defend The Guardian better not be surprised when they're the next ones targeted.
As Charles Tripp (Guardian) observed, "There is a pattern here, in which the wires of the 'shadow state' are again being assembled, leading to the hands of one man: intelligence services run from the prime minister's office, staffed mainly by 'awlad al-Hindiyya' ['the lads from Hindiyya', Maliki's home region]; dismissals, promotions and transfers in the ministries of interior and defence that insert his loyalists at the expense of others; the introduction of censorship of imported books and control of the internet; the recent closure of Mustansiriya University and its reopening under the watchful eye of the Baghdad operations command, controlled by his office." But be like the bulk of the press . . . and . . . just pretend . . . not to notice.
-- Justice Hugo Black, New York Times Co. v. United States
Last week, the 'democracy' in Iraq took another body blow when an Iraqi court or 'court' decided toeing the line for thug of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki was more important than a free press.
It starts with The Guardian publishing Ghaith Abdul-Ahad's "Six years after Saddam Hussein, Nouri al-Maliki tightens his grip on Iraq" (April 30, 2009). The article detailed the opinions of some that Nouri was attempting to become the new 'strong man' of Iraq. It was an important article and a brave one.
But Nouri doesn't like being called out. He does like attacking the press and has been doing that since shortly after the US-installed him as Prime Minister.
Tuesday, Martin Chulov and Julian Borger (The Guardian) reported the latest assault: "An Iraqi court has ordered the Guardian to pay Nouri al-Maliki damages of 100m dinar (£52,000) after supporting a complaint by the Iraqi prime minister's intelligence service that he had been defamed by a Guardian story in April describing him as increasingly autocratic. The ruling ignored testimony by three expert witnesses from the Iraqi journalists' union summoned by the court, who all said that the article was neither defamatory nor insulting and argued that no damages were warranted."
Outside of The Guardian, few were raising the issue. The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement which included the following:
"We are very disappointed to see the politicization of the Iraqi judiciary in this way," said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem . "That the courts would devote their time to this type of irresponsible suit is outrageous considering that scores of journalist murders remain unpunished. It is vital that this decision be reversed in the appeals process."
Of the 140 journalists killed in Iraq since 2003, at least 89 were targeted for murder, CPJ research shows. Iraqi authorities have not brought a single perpetrator to justice in any of those killings.
"This heavy-handed decision sends a chilling message to all journalists who have risked their lives to report from Iraq , and it resonates particularly now in the run-up to the general election scheduled for January," said Abdel Dayem. "The article accused the prime minister's government of being increasingly autocratic. This court case proved the point."
As the security situation has improved, many journalists have told CPJ that government harassment, physical assaults, and frivolous legal proceedings have replaced insurgent attacks as the greatest professional risk they face. Al-Maliki has appeared to lead the legal assault against Iraqi journalists: At least two other defamation complaints have been filed by his representatives in connection with articles critical of the prime minister, CPJ research shows. Those complaints were dropped after they came under heavy criticism.
In June, CPJ and the Iraq-based press freedom group Journalistic Freedoms Observatory sent a letter to al-Maliki expressing concerns about increasing official harassment. In the first six months of the year, the two organizations documented more than 70 cases of harassment and assault against journalists in Iraq .
And?
Chris Floyd (Empire Burlesque) observed, "What exactly did the Guardian do to merit this judgment -- which, perhaps not incidentally, directs them to put more than $100,000 in Nouri al-Maliki's pocket? Something which, admittedly, is quite shocking in our day: reporting."
And?
That was pretty much it during the week. Late Friday afternoon, Jenan Hussein and Warren P. Strobel (McClatchy Newspapers) reported, "The chilling atmosphere for the news media was underscored this week when an Iraqi court fined the London-based Guardian newspaper nearly $87,000, finding that it had defamed Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki. An article in the paper in April quoted unnamed Iraqi intelligence officials describing what they said was Maliki's increasingly authoritarian rule. [. . .] Free expression is one of the few benefits that Iraqi count from the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Basic services such as electricity and sewage are still in disrepair, and sectarian violence, while much reduced, is still a daily occurrence. The backlash against journalists and curbs on book, cartoons and plays, often for religious reasons, raise questions about what kind of society the United States will leave behind when American troops withdraw from Iraq at the end of 2011."
And, outside the pages of The Guardian, that's it.
Where was the press corps?
Where were the strong arguments in defense of a free press?
Would a loud, global objection cause Nouri to stop attacking the press?
It might. It might not.
But saying nothing, lodging no objections? That'll ensure that Nouri deploys this strategy again. Nouri's gotten to attack the press and get away with it.
Around the world, there was silence. Throughout the web there was silence.
And, in the process, a message was sent.
Those who refused to stand with the press, who refused to defend The Guardian better not be surprised when they're the next ones targeted.
As Charles Tripp (Guardian) observed, "There is a pattern here, in which the wires of the 'shadow state' are again being assembled, leading to the hands of one man: intelligence services run from the prime minister's office, staffed mainly by 'awlad al-Hindiyya' ['the lads from Hindiyya', Maliki's home region]; dismissals, promotions and transfers in the ministries of interior and defence that insert his loyalists at the expense of others; the introduction of censorship of imported books and control of the internet; the recent closure of Mustansiriya University and its reopening under the watchful eye of the Baghdad operations command, controlled by his office." But be like the bulk of the press . . . and . . . just pretend . . . not to notice.
TV: The nightly talk shows
Between the never ending voice overs on 'entertainment' shows and so many 'news' programs doing 'sit downs' (as opposed to actual reporting), it can seem like the blather never ends on TV. And no where is that more true than on the most yada-yada format of all: Talk shows.
The talk show. Wrongly credited as beginning with Joe Franken in 1951, the talk show was around long before TV began broadcasting. For example, The Hedda Hopper Show began broadcasting on radio in 1939. Talk shows were always popular on radio (and sometimes they were dressed up as "variety shows" when they were just talk shows with a music interlude or two). When TV emerged, talk shows came along for the ride.
For the audience, talk shows are supposed to provide them a chance to get to know someone. For the networks, talk shows provide them cheap programming. And no network is more dependant upon talk shows this year than NBC -- or in a greater state of flux.
This time last year, Conan O'Brien was hosting Late Night With Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno was hosting The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Today, Jimmy Fallon hosts Late Night, Conan grabs The Tonight Show and Jay's been kicked into prime time with The Jay Leno Show.
By moving Jay to prime time, NBC was making a 'brave' move, some wags insisted. NBC was doing something 'new' that had never been done before. It was 'innovative'! First, there's nothing innovative about any talk show. Second, as is usually the case for late night TV hosts, Jay isn't doing anything that Jack Paar didn't do first years ago.
Jack Paar left as host of The Tonight Show and began hosting (also on NBC) a prime time program entitled The Jack Paar Show once a week. The Jack Paar Show? The Jay Leno Show? Again, nothing new is happening here. (Steve Allen fans and freaks, he did not leave The Tonight Show and go to prime time. He was already doing his prime time show on Sundays long before he left The Tonight Show.)
Well something new is happening for NBC's last hour of prime time and their late night line up: serious trouble.
Jay is tanking in the ratings, Monday through Friday. The hope was that he would at least come in third. It appears they should have hoped "at least fourth" because FX is hauling in significant numbers. Jay Leno's show is a bomb. Not 'the bomb,' a bomb.
And NBC thought they could screw people over. We're not speaking of the audience, we're speaking of station owners -- station owners, not NBC owned stations. We spoke to three owners who carry NBC programming and they're wondering how much longer they can afford to keep Leno on? They reminded us that it was ten years ago that NBC had to face the fact that they could keep producing Another World but the stations wouldn't just keep putting on a lemon that drove audiences away. They're toying with expanding local news or offering syndicated re-runs in place of Leno.
And the damage Jay does to the ratings goes far beyond that last hour of prime time. Local stations are seriously hurting with their nightly newscasts because Jay is their lead in.
NBC seems to think that as long as they make a profit, the ratings don't matter. Too bad for NBC, they only own 10 US stations. Almost 200 of the stations carrying NBC programming are affiliates and they're seeing declining ratings in the last hour of prime time and declining ratings for their nightly news.
What are audiences seeing?
We caught the show (all three shows, in fact) on Wednesday and the first thing we noticed was how cheap the show's opening was. It looks like photo shop done by a computer amateur as we go from one photo of Jay to another. As one of us observed, "It's only missing the refrigerator magnets." And then Jay walks out onto a set which made it look like he was trapped in a mall food court -- somewhere between the Chinese counter and the hot wings. He did a monologue that was notable only for including Jennifer Lopez -- which was only notable because it was a common thread over that night's NBC line up. Then Sandra Bullock joined the show. The intro to that was a series of clips from her various films starting with Two Weeks Notice.
Sandra was greeted warmly (we know and like Sandra) and she promoted her new film and then talked a bit about travel (which Jay tried to find jokes in but couldn't) and then about cookies. The interview never really got started and, quickly, it was over.
It was time for Jay to do "Craig's List Confidential" which resembles his headlines bit from Tonight only this allows him to really roll around in the gutter on his back as he goes for as many sexual references as he can. "10 Before 10" featured a 'celebrity.' No one we knew and the segment was pointless. In that way, it fit with the show.
We woke up for "JMZ" mainly due to the fact that Mikey Day was in a tight t-shirt, his pointy nipples practically daring us not to nod off. Mikey Day was in a bad skit (Florence Henderson runs a fight club) but made it work the same way he was in a bad sitcom (Kath & Kim) this time last year but made it work when he was onscreen.
Mikey had us fully awake and then the show was over. How much more awake might the audience have been if Mikey Day's bit had been earlier in the show?
Like the number of licks necessary to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, apparently the world may never know.
Conan. Jay's tanking in the ratings and Conan's not doing any better.
Why is that?
It probably doesn't help that he's wearing so much obvious make up. And all those male viewers he was supposed to attract? With that hair?
Hate to break it to everyone, but stick straight hair like Conan's doesn't 'curl' on the bangs on its own. Between the make up and the curled bangs, we wondered if we were watching a male comic or Hayley Mills getting ready to do a Disney feature in the sixties?
Conan oozes and drips drag queen. It's there in his mannerisms, it's there in his poses. In fact, he actually resembles Roger the alien on American Dad. Which would explain his need to be bitchy.
Jennifer Lopez? Oh, you know Conan couldn't pass up a joke about a woman.
Did we say woman?
Pluralize that.
Several times over.
A former beauty queen? You know she got dragged through the coals over a sex tape. And what was really appalling was that it was considered normal for sidekick Andy Richter to watch the tape (and apparently get off to it) but it was considered 'immoral' for Carrie Prejean to have made it.
Conan managed to insult many women in his 'comedy' routine. Sarah Palin? Jokes that she fears pictures being taken of her will "steal her crazy." He opened by noting it was Veterans Day . . . which somehow turned into a joke about Kirstie Alley's weight. If that seemed 'fresh,' you haven't watched TV in ten years.
Ten years?
We'd guess that was the expiration date on his 'joke' about Bill Clinton wanting a divorce. As is always the case with Conan, the man came off better in the 'joke' than did the woman. Or as he put it at another point in the show, "You fellas know what I'm talking about."
Yes, all the 'fellas' live to scream support to a heavily made up 46-year-old man who appears to have just left rehearsals for Kiss Of The Spiderwoman.
He should have left rehearsals for his spoof of a Spanish telenova which, frankly, was stereotypical and offensive.
It was time finally for the first guest. Heather Locklear. We know Heather and we like her. And this week the CW airs her first episode on the new Melrose Place. But watching that segment, though we cheered Heather slapping Conan, we saw all that was wrong with the show.
A two-shot.
For the entire damn interview?
Where was the director?
You could have fallen asleep during that lengthy static shot.
Heather was in profile the entire time.
They couldn't give her some close ups? They had to keep Conan in the shot?
The slap?
Conan wanted to know how they did those Melrose slaps in the 90s. (He seemed to be confusing Melrose with the 80s Dynasty -- which Heather was also on.) So Heather talked him through it and then they attempted to do it but Conan forgot to turn his head and actually got slapped. Many a talk show host could have turned that into a funny bit. Conan didn't. And moved on. And then, a few minutes later, realized there might be a bit in it and attempted to revisit it. However, it was too late.
And that says a great deal about Conan's comedic timing.
The show never seemed to end and we grasped why viewers avoided it.
The show wound down with stand up comic Rodman and we think he's funny and assumed Conan would do a set up that would prepare the audience for that. See, Rodman sneaks up on you. He's not splashy, flashy the way Conan is. You're listening to the first joke, if you don't know his style, and thinking, "Hmm. That's interesti -- Oh, that's funny!" He sneaks up on you.
Instead of preparing the audience, Conan gave the verbal equivalent of a hard shove.
Next up was Latenight with Jimmy Fallon, NBC's only success in the ratings.
We watched with trepidation. We know Jimmy and like him and didn't see him doing a monologue well.
We were not mistaken.
Jimmy really can't do a monologue.
We'd recommend he do a comedic duet at the start of each show. Jimmy's humor comes from the start and stop. He can't just tick off and get laughs. He needs a rhythm and that works best with more than one person.
But before we got to the monologue, we had to see the walk on and we were cursing throughout that. Who put Jimmy in that outfit? They should be fired and he never again should walk onto a set with a jacket buttoned closed. This jacket had three buttons, appeared to have been borrowed from Richard Dawson's Botany 500 collection and made Jimmy look like a barrel.
We'd lose the suit period. No more suits. Among the things Jimmy has going for him -- when compared to all the other late night hosts -- is youth. So don't hide that.
After the monologue, the show improved measurably and, as Jimmy spoke with Jason Schwartzman and Joan Cusak, it became obvious why people were watching this show and not NBC's two other nightly talk shows: Jimmy's listening.
With Jay and Conan, their (scripted) remarks during interviews have nothing to do with what's just been said. It's why their interviews feel so canned. Like the young David Letterman who once occupied the slot, Jimmy can't resist the opportunity to jump in with a joke. That really requires listening.
Listening.
It's something Amy Goodman always hopes her Democracy Now! audience doesn't do.
Last week, we were noting how little Amy Goodman cares about the Iraq War and Ty passed on the contents of one emotional defense of Goody that was sent in. To the Goody freak, we ask: Did you catch this week's shows?
In the Iraq snapshot on Monday, the following appeared:
Today the US military announced: "Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq – Two U.S. Army pilots were killed when a helicopter experienced a hard landing in Salah ad Din Province, Nov.8. The names of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense. The names of service members are announced through the U.S. Department of Defense official website [. . .]The announcements are made on the Web site no earlier than 24 hours after notification of the service member's primary next of kin. The incident is under investigation." And they announced: "AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq – A Marine attached to Multi National Force – West died as the result of a non-combat related incident here Nov. 8. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense. [. . .] The incident is under investigation." The announcements bring the number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war to 4362.
3 deaths announced on one day and 2 of them from a helicopter crash. We couldn't wait for Goody's segment! But we knew she wouldn't do one so the only question was whether or not she'd even include it as a headline. Check Monday and check Tuesday. Find where Goody informed her audience that a helicopter crashed in Iraq killing two service members and that a third was announced dead.
You won't find it. She had other things to do. She who used to lecture The New York Times about 'sins of omission.'
Oh, how the fickle finger of fate has flipped her the bird.
She's as tired as the talk show format. Which is where Fallon could really benefit. His energy shouldn't be bound by 'the rules.' Jimmy's at his best when he's doing it different. And when Carly Simon (whom we know and love) finished the one song she was brought on to perform ("You Belong To Me," from her just released Never Been Gone album), Jimmy was all over her but the audience couldn't hear it. It was a real shame.
Jimmy doesn't need to do his show the way Conan did it or the way Jay would do it, he needs to do his "Jimi Thing" (nod to Dave Matthews). NBC would do well to stop trying to plug him into a formula and grasp that he's the solution, not a variable. That's what the ratings are saying as well -- not that NBC appears able to listen these days. Like Jay, Conan and Amy, NBC just knows how to blather on endlessly.
The talk show. Wrongly credited as beginning with Joe Franken in 1951, the talk show was around long before TV began broadcasting. For example, The Hedda Hopper Show began broadcasting on radio in 1939. Talk shows were always popular on radio (and sometimes they were dressed up as "variety shows" when they were just talk shows with a music interlude or two). When TV emerged, talk shows came along for the ride.
For the audience, talk shows are supposed to provide them a chance to get to know someone. For the networks, talk shows provide them cheap programming. And no network is more dependant upon talk shows this year than NBC -- or in a greater state of flux.
This time last year, Conan O'Brien was hosting Late Night With Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno was hosting The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Today, Jimmy Fallon hosts Late Night, Conan grabs The Tonight Show and Jay's been kicked into prime time with The Jay Leno Show.
By moving Jay to prime time, NBC was making a 'brave' move, some wags insisted. NBC was doing something 'new' that had never been done before. It was 'innovative'! First, there's nothing innovative about any talk show. Second, as is usually the case for late night TV hosts, Jay isn't doing anything that Jack Paar didn't do first years ago.
Jack Paar left as host of The Tonight Show and began hosting (also on NBC) a prime time program entitled The Jack Paar Show once a week. The Jack Paar Show? The Jay Leno Show? Again, nothing new is happening here. (Steve Allen fans and freaks, he did not leave The Tonight Show and go to prime time. He was already doing his prime time show on Sundays long before he left The Tonight Show.)
Well something new is happening for NBC's last hour of prime time and their late night line up: serious trouble.
Jay is tanking in the ratings, Monday through Friday. The hope was that he would at least come in third. It appears they should have hoped "at least fourth" because FX is hauling in significant numbers. Jay Leno's show is a bomb. Not 'the bomb,' a bomb.
And NBC thought they could screw people over. We're not speaking of the audience, we're speaking of station owners -- station owners, not NBC owned stations. We spoke to three owners who carry NBC programming and they're wondering how much longer they can afford to keep Leno on? They reminded us that it was ten years ago that NBC had to face the fact that they could keep producing Another World but the stations wouldn't just keep putting on a lemon that drove audiences away. They're toying with expanding local news or offering syndicated re-runs in place of Leno.
And the damage Jay does to the ratings goes far beyond that last hour of prime time. Local stations are seriously hurting with their nightly newscasts because Jay is their lead in.
NBC seems to think that as long as they make a profit, the ratings don't matter. Too bad for NBC, they only own 10 US stations. Almost 200 of the stations carrying NBC programming are affiliates and they're seeing declining ratings in the last hour of prime time and declining ratings for their nightly news.
What are audiences seeing?
We caught the show (all three shows, in fact) on Wednesday and the first thing we noticed was how cheap the show's opening was. It looks like photo shop done by a computer amateur as we go from one photo of Jay to another. As one of us observed, "It's only missing the refrigerator magnets." And then Jay walks out onto a set which made it look like he was trapped in a mall food court -- somewhere between the Chinese counter and the hot wings. He did a monologue that was notable only for including Jennifer Lopez -- which was only notable because it was a common thread over that night's NBC line up. Then Sandra Bullock joined the show. The intro to that was a series of clips from her various films starting with Two Weeks Notice.
Sandra was greeted warmly (we know and like Sandra) and she promoted her new film and then talked a bit about travel (which Jay tried to find jokes in but couldn't) and then about cookies. The interview never really got started and, quickly, it was over.
It was time for Jay to do "Craig's List Confidential" which resembles his headlines bit from Tonight only this allows him to really roll around in the gutter on his back as he goes for as many sexual references as he can. "10 Before 10" featured a 'celebrity.' No one we knew and the segment was pointless. In that way, it fit with the show.
We woke up for "JMZ" mainly due to the fact that Mikey Day was in a tight t-shirt, his pointy nipples practically daring us not to nod off. Mikey Day was in a bad skit (Florence Henderson runs a fight club) but made it work the same way he was in a bad sitcom (Kath & Kim) this time last year but made it work when he was onscreen.
Mikey had us fully awake and then the show was over. How much more awake might the audience have been if Mikey Day's bit had been earlier in the show?
Like the number of licks necessary to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, apparently the world may never know.
Conan. Jay's tanking in the ratings and Conan's not doing any better.
Why is that?
It probably doesn't help that he's wearing so much obvious make up. And all those male viewers he was supposed to attract? With that hair?
Hate to break it to everyone, but stick straight hair like Conan's doesn't 'curl' on the bangs on its own. Between the make up and the curled bangs, we wondered if we were watching a male comic or Hayley Mills getting ready to do a Disney feature in the sixties?
Conan oozes and drips drag queen. It's there in his mannerisms, it's there in his poses. In fact, he actually resembles Roger the alien on American Dad. Which would explain his need to be bitchy.
Jennifer Lopez? Oh, you know Conan couldn't pass up a joke about a woman.
Did we say woman?
Pluralize that.
Several times over.
A former beauty queen? You know she got dragged through the coals over a sex tape. And what was really appalling was that it was considered normal for sidekick Andy Richter to watch the tape (and apparently get off to it) but it was considered 'immoral' for Carrie Prejean to have made it.
Conan managed to insult many women in his 'comedy' routine. Sarah Palin? Jokes that she fears pictures being taken of her will "steal her crazy." He opened by noting it was Veterans Day . . . which somehow turned into a joke about Kirstie Alley's weight. If that seemed 'fresh,' you haven't watched TV in ten years.
Ten years?
We'd guess that was the expiration date on his 'joke' about Bill Clinton wanting a divorce. As is always the case with Conan, the man came off better in the 'joke' than did the woman. Or as he put it at another point in the show, "You fellas know what I'm talking about."
Yes, all the 'fellas' live to scream support to a heavily made up 46-year-old man who appears to have just left rehearsals for Kiss Of The Spiderwoman.
He should have left rehearsals for his spoof of a Spanish telenova which, frankly, was stereotypical and offensive.
It was time finally for the first guest. Heather Locklear. We know Heather and we like her. And this week the CW airs her first episode on the new Melrose Place. But watching that segment, though we cheered Heather slapping Conan, we saw all that was wrong with the show.
A two-shot.
For the entire damn interview?
Where was the director?
You could have fallen asleep during that lengthy static shot.
Heather was in profile the entire time.
They couldn't give her some close ups? They had to keep Conan in the shot?
The slap?
Conan wanted to know how they did those Melrose slaps in the 90s. (He seemed to be confusing Melrose with the 80s Dynasty -- which Heather was also on.) So Heather talked him through it and then they attempted to do it but Conan forgot to turn his head and actually got slapped. Many a talk show host could have turned that into a funny bit. Conan didn't. And moved on. And then, a few minutes later, realized there might be a bit in it and attempted to revisit it. However, it was too late.
And that says a great deal about Conan's comedic timing.
The show never seemed to end and we grasped why viewers avoided it.
The show wound down with stand up comic Rodman and we think he's funny and assumed Conan would do a set up that would prepare the audience for that. See, Rodman sneaks up on you. He's not splashy, flashy the way Conan is. You're listening to the first joke, if you don't know his style, and thinking, "Hmm. That's interesti -- Oh, that's funny!" He sneaks up on you.
Instead of preparing the audience, Conan gave the verbal equivalent of a hard shove.
Next up was Latenight with Jimmy Fallon, NBC's only success in the ratings.
We watched with trepidation. We know Jimmy and like him and didn't see him doing a monologue well.
We were not mistaken.
Jimmy really can't do a monologue.
We'd recommend he do a comedic duet at the start of each show. Jimmy's humor comes from the start and stop. He can't just tick off and get laughs. He needs a rhythm and that works best with more than one person.
But before we got to the monologue, we had to see the walk on and we were cursing throughout that. Who put Jimmy in that outfit? They should be fired and he never again should walk onto a set with a jacket buttoned closed. This jacket had three buttons, appeared to have been borrowed from Richard Dawson's Botany 500 collection and made Jimmy look like a barrel.
We'd lose the suit period. No more suits. Among the things Jimmy has going for him -- when compared to all the other late night hosts -- is youth. So don't hide that.
After the monologue, the show improved measurably and, as Jimmy spoke with Jason Schwartzman and Joan Cusak, it became obvious why people were watching this show and not NBC's two other nightly talk shows: Jimmy's listening.
With Jay and Conan, their (scripted) remarks during interviews have nothing to do with what's just been said. It's why their interviews feel so canned. Like the young David Letterman who once occupied the slot, Jimmy can't resist the opportunity to jump in with a joke. That really requires listening.
Listening.
It's something Amy Goodman always hopes her Democracy Now! audience doesn't do.
Last week, we were noting how little Amy Goodman cares about the Iraq War and Ty passed on the contents of one emotional defense of Goody that was sent in. To the Goody freak, we ask: Did you catch this week's shows?
In the Iraq snapshot on Monday, the following appeared:
Today the US military announced: "Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq – Two U.S. Army pilots were killed when a helicopter experienced a hard landing in Salah ad Din Province, Nov.8. The names of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense. The names of service members are announced through the U.S. Department of Defense official website [. . .]The announcements are made on the Web site no earlier than 24 hours after notification of the service member's primary next of kin. The incident is under investigation." And they announced: "AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq – A Marine attached to Multi National Force – West died as the result of a non-combat related incident here Nov. 8. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense. [. . .] The incident is under investigation." The announcements bring the number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war to 4362.
3 deaths announced on one day and 2 of them from a helicopter crash. We couldn't wait for Goody's segment! But we knew she wouldn't do one so the only question was whether or not she'd even include it as a headline. Check Monday and check Tuesday. Find where Goody informed her audience that a helicopter crashed in Iraq killing two service members and that a third was announced dead.
You won't find it. She had other things to do. She who used to lecture The New York Times about 'sins of omission.'
Oh, how the fickle finger of fate has flipped her the bird.
She's as tired as the talk show format. Which is where Fallon could really benefit. His energy shouldn't be bound by 'the rules.' Jimmy's at his best when he's doing it different. And when Carly Simon (whom we know and love) finished the one song she was brought on to perform ("You Belong To Me," from her just released Never Been Gone album), Jimmy was all over her but the audience couldn't hear it. It was a real shame.
Jimmy doesn't need to do his show the way Conan did it or the way Jay would do it, he needs to do his "Jimi Thing" (nod to Dave Matthews). NBC would do well to stop trying to plug him into a formula and grasp that he's the solution, not a variable. That's what the ratings are saying as well -- not that NBC appears able to listen these days. Like Jay, Conan and Amy, NBC just knows how to blather on endlessly.
Comics and the wars
The United States is engaged in three wars: Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan and how do comic books reflect that or not?
With that question in mind, we hit the racks at two Borders (Boston and San Francisco) and, yes, judged by the cover for our random sample.
We ended up with ten titles which, based on the cover art, might have something to do with any or all three wars in even the most tangential way.
DC's Superman #683 features an elderly looking Superman flying through space with debris around him and a claim of "New Krypton" -- not exactly the New Jerusalem but we'll give it a try. On the first page, Superman (in costume and in the air) declares, "Listen to me! You can't be here! You have to leave --"
Well thank goodness. Good to know Supes is part of the Out Of Iraq Now contingent. But just when we’re getting ready to call him up and invite him over for a strategizing session, we turn the page and he's declaring "ALL OF YOU!" to Green Lantern, Green Lantern (there are two), Power Girl, Green Lantern (there are now three), Wonder Woman, Black Lightning, Hawk Girl, Hawk Man and three costumed people we don’t recognize.
He wants them off Krypton -- er, New Krypton. But he's quickly informed that actions taken by the residents on New Krypton are seen of "as an open act of aggression -- -- as in war." "War?" asks Superman before self-answering, "No, all of this is just cultural confusion."
Who knew the Bush family tree could be traced back to Krypton?
Staying with the Supe thread, we move over to issue #62 of Superman/Batman which opens page one with three panels of Supergirl declaring: "I'm late I'm late I'm late. Gotham's always father away than I think. Not that I'm usually in any rush to get here. This city's so . . . So (is that a dead guy?) So not Metropolis. Still, I promised Tim we'd meet for lunch on his turf, so Gotham City say hello to Linda Lang!"
At which point, she joins a snoozing Tim Drake (Robin) in a booth and the compare notes on their mentors (Superman and Batman) Tim declares, "Well, you've come a long way since we first worked together. You remember?"
"Remember?" replies back Supergirl munching on her burger and cue a lengthy flashback of when they were left at the Bat Cave by their mentors and Commissioner Gordon sounded the Bat Alarm leading them on a lengthy night where they'd battle Joker, Scarecrow and, ultimately, Supergirl would rescue Robin from rape at the hands of Poison Ivy who approached the bound Robin declaring, "Just lie back and relax, Robin. Save your strength. We have the whole night ahead of --"
No, it doesn't have a lot to do with war and really can't be stretched to reflect any kind of commentary on the state of the world today. Which is why it's very similar to issue#36 of The Annual of The Amazing Spiderman. This waste of time indicates it's such by the first page which is a panel meant to be a wedding invitation:
Dear Guests,
Mayor J. Jonah Jameson begrudgingly invites you to an engagement party celebrating the impending wedding of his father,
J. Jonah Jameson Sr.
To
May Reilly Parker
Yes, folks, Aunt May’s engaged. Who knew? Who cared? What follows is a bunch of nonsense including a clone Ben Reilly. In the end, Peter Parker (far weaker than we've ever seen him) learns to call his apparently future step-father "Dad" and that's supposed to make up for all those mind numbing pages.
That was a Marvel comic -- long gone are the days when you count on Marvel for social commentary. But still hopeful, we checked out issue five of Anita Blake The Laughing Corpse. No, not Anita Baker. Anita Blake. Who?
Anita Blake, vampire hunter and animator, was called in by the St. Louis police to investigate the murder of a family by what appeared to be an inhumanly strong monster. The victims' three-year-old son was abducted by the killer, and finding him became Anita's number one priority.
Her search led Anita to Dominga Salvador, a voodoo priestess. But when Anita refused to play Dominga's mind games, the priestess cast a curse on the animator, swearing something will come in the night to hurt her when she least expects it. Between Dominga and the threats of mob-connected millionaire Harold Gaynor, who Anita similarly dismissed, the vampire hunter has gained some dangerous enemies.
The boy's corpse was found mutilated in a field, and Anita realized her window to stop the killer before he could strike again was shrinking. That's when Anita got a lead on the killer, bringing her and Detective Dolph Storr to Burrell Cemetery in the middle of the night, where something from beyond the grave grabs Anita's attention . . . Literally.
And, kids, that's just the first page.
Pretty soon, Anita’s shooting off arms and other body parts of a green monster only to be grabbed from behind by another while sharing 'wisdoms' such as, "This punk didn't give a damn how many bullets I had left. The dead don't scare easy." Complete escapism but well done escapism at least.
We slid over to Marvel Comics Presents #4 whose cover exclaims, "WEAPON OMEGA EXPLODES!" Weapon? Might be something to do with a war, right? Wrong. It's a comic which features four stories.
VANGUARD
(CHAPTER 4 OF 12)
Police Detective Stacy Dolan's investigation into the murder of a John Doe has hit a dead end, when the victim turns out to be unidentifiable by any Earthly means. But her luck takes a tun for the better when a witness places Jaafar Yousuf at the scene of the crimes -- a man Dolan put behind bars six months ago.
HELLCAT
(CHAPTER 4 OF 4)
Patsy Walker, the heroine known as Hellcat, is in the catfight of her life when she's confronted by a gaggle of lookalikes! A strange bolt of energy has somehow taken the different parts of Patsy's personality and made them flesh. With the help of the former hero Gargoyle, the Patsies come to a truce . . . But all bets are off when Hellcat crashes the party!
OUTLAW KID
In the rugged and deadly days of the Old West, the name Outlaw Kid was spoken in hushed tones; his trademark red bandanna striking fear into those that glimpsed it. But who was this mystery man -- and would he ever find the justice he so desperately sought? Step back in time, and ride . . . With the Outlaw Kid.
WEAPON OMEGA
(CHAPTER 4 OF 12)
Michael Pointer, once possessed by the powerful force called the Collective, is now known as Guardian of the Canadian super-team, Omega Flight. With his powers unexplainably diminishing, Pointer is sidelined -- but Flight member USAgent suspects there's more here than meets the eye . . . Pointer's power begin spiking erratically -- but where's the energy coming from?
And? Vanguard gets shot and tossed out a window . . . Only to be rescued by Ms. Marvel before she hit's the ground. No, we didn't see that coming either but we don't hail it as a 'surprise' -- we see it as bad writing.
Hellcat's story was the sort of thing you almost expect a super dog or talking squirrel to pop up in. Incredibly cheesy and rather sad when you grasp that, in one form of another, Hellcat's pretty much participated in all the wars starting with WWII.
The Outlaw Kid? While he sends out f**k-me signals to every male around, a man obsessed with him shoots dead five Native Americans. And that Canadian super hero squad? About as unbelievable and kid friendly as you’d expect. Yawn.
No social commentary at all. Still with Marvel, we pick up issue #8 of Secret Warriors which is subtitled "GOD OF FEAR, GOF OF WAR." It opens with a fire fight in which Nick Fury is shot dead.
Sort of.
His body opens up and a fey young boy steps out. As your mind swirls, you're suddenly in flashback for the entire issue and, no, you never learn how a boy got into Nick Fury. You do wonder if someone was tripping out while writing the issue?
Taking a break from DC and from Marvel, we hit the gaming world's attempt to make it in print with issue #6 of Resistance ("THE BEST SELLING PLAYSTATION 3 FRANCHISE COMES TO COMICS!"). Page one finds us in an interrogation room with a man delivering a monologue:
Tell me a story Sergeant. Tell me a story, and for God's sake it better be a barn-burner. It better be the greatest g**damn story ever told. Because Sergeant, you are so f**ked now only Jesus Chris himself could unf**k you. So, please, Sergeant. Tell me what happened up there.
And with that we're into a flashback -- and wondering why so man comics use flashbacks these days? They do grasp that Pulp Fiction was over fifteen years ago, right?
It’s time for the US military to battle the Chimera. But wait, we're back in the interrogation room. Okay, it's not a steal of Pulp Fiction. It's a steal of the Demi Moore starrer Mortal Thoughts.
The second story in the issue opens with, "Of course, Johnny got shot down again. Stupid bastard. The entire squad was wiped out. No one came home from that." We're in another flashback and what's standing out the most is how little action this title offers while each page is saturated with dialogue and voice over.
But, yes, in some way, it was aware wars were going on. Next up, we were back to DC with Wonder Woman issue number 28 "Rise of the Olympian" whose cover features Cheetah. The first page features multiple panels and non-stop narration by Princess Diana as though Wonder Woman was gearing up to take the lead in Grey's Anatomy:
I confess, I haven't really given it much though. What a day like this must be like for him. Seeing me wounded. Seeing me go to war. Is it fair of me, to ask him, to ask any man, to go through this moment? I'm not certain anymore. He doesn't even know my true feelings. We haven't had time for me to tell him. Or perhaps I'm being selfish. Perhaps, if this is the day I die -- -- I want to spend part of it with someone who loves me.
Which leads to some shared conversation between Wonder Woman and Tom "but," as she notes, "ultimately, it changes nothing and I remain who I am." After a kiss, it's time for Diana and her Gorilla Knights to set off for battle with Genocide.
Ten titles? Nine actually. The Boston contingent grabbed a Captain America and so did the San Francisco group. The Captain America comics are subtitled "THEATER OF WAR." The October 2009 issue finds Steve Rogers in, we're not kidding, Kuwait.
It was 5 am when we crossed over the border from Kuwait. There weren't many of us: Me, Kenny, Mikey Wait, our Humvee, and a few thousand of our closest friends. We were expecting one hell of a party. But all we found was just a sea of grateful faces. Women and children only -- not a single man in sight. None of us had known what to expect, but I don't think any of us expected this. The gateway to Iraq. Nice tough for the enemy to leave it unlocked.
It's easy going as they enter the country until, suddenly, fire is exchanged and an explosion but, look, it's Captain America! Who saves the day and departs with, "Tell Colonel Martinez when he gets here that I've moved over into Sadr City to support the 45th, and my regards to his wife."
But things quickly go bad and the group's Humvee hit's an IED wounding all but Bryan Anderson most severely. He's Medivaced home and has lost both legs. At least nine pages are devoted to him stateside, struggling in rehab,
The December issue started off in colonial America and progressed through American wars. Near the end of the book, a title reads: "La Drang Valley, Vietnam: November 16, 1965" and features US GI Johnny saying, "I see a ghost of my country, . . . I see a ghost of my country, . . . I see a ghost of my country" as he repeatedly fires his rifle.
And that's what you've got. Now if we'd gone to a comic book store, we would have had the freshest of titles. And a bigger option. But Marvel and DC are responsible for what they stock at big stores like Borders which get more foot traffic than most comic book stores. So what did we find?
Very few comics even bother to try to comment on the world today. Gone are the days of Marvel leading the way for the left and DC being ultra conservative while commenting on the same trends. Six titles offered pure escapism and only one of the six was truly riveting: Anita Blake The Laughing Corpse. War? Resistance and Wonder Woman provided some form of social commentary while one issue of Captain America can be seen as a Veteran's Day survey of the past wars (the December issue) and the other found Captain America serving in Iraq.
The Nation endorses and amplifies sexism
A funny thing happened as we read Katha Pollitt's latest nonsense . . .
We happened to glance at an ad on the page.
WTF?
And would alleged feminist Katha care to explain why women's bodies are being used to sell products and The Nation's not only running those advertisements but doing so on alongside allegedly feminist articles?
What does a woman's ass sticking out have to do with water?
We wandered over to USCanteen where we found that Peter Bobley and Victoria Meakin are back to their usual nonsense. Vicky's a 'progressive.' You should have heard Vicky in 1999 and 2000 trashing Al Gore like there was no tomorrow (Vicky was a Bradley supporter and she never supported Gore, even when he got the Democratic Party's presidential nomination). Petey remembered a military canteen he had as a child.
Great, so The Nation is glorifying military play and sexism by running these ads?
As we watched the various models (two children, two adults) parade by on the web page, we kept waiting for the man in the half-shirt, for him to stick out his ass, but that never happened. He was presented in non-sexual poses (as were the two children) but the headless female had to 'work it.'
When Big Auto uses women to sell their (bad) cars, most on the left know to be offended or at least pretend to be.
Now USCanteen could have used men and women, they could have displayed both's bodies, had both stick their asses out for the camera (we believe that's called "presenting" in the animal kingdom -- which isn't just a Philip Barry play). But that's not what happened.
And we find it very curious that Katha and the other 'girls of The Nation' haven't called out the company. In fact, we find it offensive that The Nation has accepted this ad. In their ad, they don't even offer men. In the ad The Nation's running, it's just a woman's ass being presented. We think the real asses are the people at The Nation and we think it's rather telling that, as per usual, everyone else looks the other way when sexism comes from the left.
We happened to glance at an ad on the page.
WTF?
And would alleged feminist Katha care to explain why women's bodies are being used to sell products and The Nation's not only running those advertisements but doing so on alongside allegedly feminist articles?
What does a woman's ass sticking out have to do with water?
We wandered over to USCanteen where we found that Peter Bobley and Victoria Meakin are back to their usual nonsense. Vicky's a 'progressive.' You should have heard Vicky in 1999 and 2000 trashing Al Gore like there was no tomorrow (Vicky was a Bradley supporter and she never supported Gore, even when he got the Democratic Party's presidential nomination). Petey remembered a military canteen he had as a child.
Great, so The Nation is glorifying military play and sexism by running these ads?
As we watched the various models (two children, two adults) parade by on the web page, we kept waiting for the man in the half-shirt, for him to stick out his ass, but that never happened. He was presented in non-sexual poses (as were the two children) but the headless female had to 'work it.'
When Big Auto uses women to sell their (bad) cars, most on the left know to be offended or at least pretend to be.
Now USCanteen could have used men and women, they could have displayed both's bodies, had both stick their asses out for the camera (we believe that's called "presenting" in the animal kingdom -- which isn't just a Philip Barry play). But that's not what happened.
And we find it very curious that Katha and the other 'girls of The Nation' haven't called out the company. In fact, we find it offensive that The Nation has accepted this ad. In their ad, they don't even offer men. In the ad The Nation's running, it's just a woman's ass being presented. We think the real asses are the people at The Nation and we think it's rather telling that, as per usual, everyone else looks the other way when sexism comes from the left.
Mailbag (Dona)
Over a year ago, I quit smoking and, each month, a number of e-mails come in asking (a) if I've started back up, (b) how did I quit and (c) is it possible for them to quit?
If you want to quit, you can probably quit. If you're quitting for someone else, you probably will have a much more difficult journey and chances are it will be unsuccessful.
I didn't do the patch or hypnosis or aversion therapy or any of the methods suggested in e-mails.
I was smoking my last pack when I decided to quit. I had three or four more cigarettes in the pack as I was deciding. It was early Saturday morning, probably one in the morning or two. I just realized I didn't want to smoke anymore. I told myself I'd smoke the last cigarettes and be done with it.
And so I finished the last three or four, threw away the empty pack and went to sleep.
And?
No, I haven't started smoking again.
I'm still smoke free.
If I hadn't finished the pack, I would've started smoking again.
Why?
I would have woken up with three or four cigarettes. I would have told myself, "I shouldn't waste those."
I would have smoked them and, since I'd already smoked, told myself it was okay to go buy another pack and that I could quit tomorrow.
By having none when I woke up, I could get dressed, go out and buy a pack or . . . I could go back to sleep and I love sleeping in on Saturdays.
I smoked it gone and I didn't buy anymore after.
That's how I quit.
It might work for you, it might not.
I smoked about two and a half packs a day. More during these writing sessions.
So it was a major change for me when I stopped smoking. Writing was the worst after. I could get through almost anything but these writing editions.
I would always feel that if I had a lit cigarette in hand, I would be contributing so much more and have so many more wonderful ideas.
That feeling finally passed after about six months.
Now days?
The only time I have an urge is when I watch a movie I used to smoke along with. For example, we were watching The Talented Mr. Ripley a few weeks ago and Gwenyth Paltrow was smoking a Marlboro Red which only reminded me of how I used to smoke my way through this film.
If you're wanting to quit, I encourage you to try the method you think will work and that may involve inventing your own method. If you're not wanting to quit, I really don't think you'll be successful.
A number of you e-mail about being pressured by others to quit and how hard that is. I was lucky there in that no one told me I needed to quit, no one tried to guilt me. If they had? I'd probably still be smoking because I am one of those people who does not like to be told what to do. I do not feel like I'm 'better' than anyone, despite some e-mails from readers who have taken my quitting very personally and see it as a rejection of them.
After Rebecca found out she was pregnant, she immediately quit which left me the token smoker for people with sites in the community and I know how it felt when I was smoking so I don't take it personally when someone expresses anger or confusion over my quitting.
I'm not attempting to preach to anyone or tell them what they 'need' to do or don't 'need' to do.
In the end, the reason I quit was because it was time for me too. If it hadn't been time, I'd still be smoking.
In other news, NOW on PBS has an online poll as to "Should a government-run health care plan, if implemented, exclude coverage of abortion services?" And US Senator Byron Dorgan chairs the Democratic Policy Committee which last week released "Our Best Chance for Success in Afghanistan: Getting the Strategy Right First." And a number of you e-mailed to note that Ava and C.I.'s "How ABC pissed off everyone (Ava and C.I.)" really pinpointed your feelings of estrangement from the TV show V.
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