Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
Flesh! Oh, No! VII
To protect our lives and our property, government has an interest in enacting and enforcing laws. It also has an interest in promoting culture, as in, a certain culture. It should work to make sure some cultures die, and other cultures thrive.
Now, I’m sure, with regard to my Point #1, most people would agree, and with my Point #2, most people would ask if I’m out of my freakin’ gourd. What’re you talkin’ about, Freeberg? Government has no business promoting religion over secularism, or stripes over plaid, or…whatever. Hey, you know now that I give it a little extra thought, that’s right. Personal preferences about the weird things people do, so long as those things don’t break the law — are irrrelevant to the job. This is deeply ingrained in Americana. Any time you fire up the DVD player and watch a movie about the law, whether it’s “Dragnet” or “CSI” or “Monk” or the latest feature film just out of theaters, the story isn’t complete if someone doesn’t look Johnny Law square in the eye and repeat that classic line: “Are you going to arrest me, Detective? Because if not, you have no business (being here) (keeping me here).” And as we all know, that is the way government is supposed to work. It’s against the law, or it isn’t. If it isn’t, buzz off. We don’t care if you find it worthy of comment, Mr. policeman/government official. And we really don’t care if you personally dislike something. The guy wearing a dress…the woman piercing her eyebrows twenty-two times…the Wiccan bowling club.
Government is culture-neutral. You work in government, you’d better get ready to serve people, in all their makes, types, shapes and sizes. And that means leaving them alone, so long as they abide by the law. Promote no culture, punish no culture.
We all know that to be true. It’s the American way.
So you know what, all you culture-neutral types? You’re right. I was wrong. I humbly apologize. I just don’t know what got into me.
(Morgan clears his throat.)
L.A. shoots down �Hooters for Neuters�
Bikini contest fund-raiser for pet spaying, neutering program raises hackles
Updated: 2:07 p.m. PT June 28, 2006LOS ANGELES – The city of Los Angeles’ Animal Services Department will not accept money from a planned bikini contest fund-raiser called “Hooters for Neuters.”
Animal Services Director Ed Boks reconsidered Tuesday after city officials said the event was degrading to women. He said the department will bow out of the July 13 fund-raiser at a Hollywood nightclub hosted by the Hooters restaurant chain. The money was slated for the department’s spay and neuter programs.
“It certainly was not my intention to offend anyone,” Boks said in a statement. It wasn’t immediately known whether the event will still be held.
Although the fund-raiser was not sponsored by the city, a promotional flier was posted on the Animal Services Department Web site. The original flier showed a bikini-clad woman, but the latest version shows a dog wearing a T-shirt that says “Hooters for Neuters.”
City officials earlier had sharply criticized the decision to participate in the event.
“Are we going backward here?” City Controller Laura Chick said. “We are a city with all kinds of progressive programs that empower women and end discrimination in the workplace, and now we’re being connected with a Hooters bikini contest. It isn’t right.”
Councilwoman Jan Perry said the department’s attempt to be creative in telling pet owners to sterilize their animals “crosses the line.”
“I was surprised and amazed with the photograph on the flier, and I don’t think it projects a good image for the city of Los Angeles,” Perry said.
Boks said that the owners of Hooters approached him about the fund-raiser a month ago. He said the ads were made without consulting the department.
“When somebody steps up and says they want to help your agency raise money, your inclination is to say ‘Yes,'” Boks said. “But, we probably won’t be involved in any future bikini contests.”
I love this line about ads being made without consulting the department. That’s just great…someone was thrown under the bus, and whoever did the write-up was kind enough to the scapegoat to let him languish in anonymity. Some poor schmuck answered the phone, someone who probably reports directly to this limp-wristed spineless Ed Bok character, thought he was doing a great thing for the department accepting the help of a mature and solvent business interest like the Hooter’s restaurant chain. Next thing he knows, he’s being measured shoulders-to-toes for the guillotine because Jan Perry and Laura Chick threw a hissy fit.
Is it against the law, or isn’t it?
I demand equal time. I demand that, the next time a business or a foundation asks to help the Animal Services Department, and it’s got something to do with frumpy women who promote the extreme brand of man-bashing feminism, and intimidating good-looking women from wearing shorts and bikinis, that their offer of help be soundly rejected. The very next time that situation comes up. Oops! My mistake! The situation doesn’t come up at all! Man-bashing, bikini-hating feminists just aren’t that nice.
Poster at right taken from a similar program in Salt Lake City, UT (click to enlarge). I wonder why the officials in City Hall there didn’t say something. Uh…perhaps they had more important things to think about, like their JOBS?
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