Dann Todd's 'Dain Bramage'**

Noodlings From My Noodle


It's a blog. Thoughts, ideas, and general weirdness that passes through my head and out onto the Internet. The only thing better would be if my brain was hardwired to my computer. Or perhaps Wi-Fi.

The rules for my comments are simple. First, no gutter talk. If that is all you have to offer, then please go elsewhere. Second, no advertisements. Spammers aren't welcome. I will enforce these rules as I see fit. After all, this is my ** Dain Bramage and I have to shelter it and keep it safe, dry, warm and well fed.


Wed, Jun 17 2009
Credit Where It Is Due - Round II

The ongoing Letterman/Palin saga continues. Mr. Letterman apologized to the Palin's on his Monday night broadcast.

"And then I was watching the Jim Lehrer 'Newshour' - this commentator, the columnist Mark Shields, was talking about how I had made this indefensible joke about the 14-year-old girl, and I thought, 'Oh, boy, now I'm beginning to understand what the problem is here. It's the perception rather than the intent.' It doesn't make any difference what my intent was, it's the perception. And, as they say about jokes, if you have to explain the joke, it's not a very good joke. And I'm certainly - " ... "- thank you. Well, my responsibility - I take full blame for that. I told a bad joke. I told a joke that was beyond flawed, and my intent is completely meaningless compared to the perception. And since it was a joke I told, I feel that I need to do the right thing here and apologize for having told that joke. It's not your fault that it was misunderstood, it's my fault. That it was misunderstood." ... "Thank you. So I would like to apologize, especially to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, and also to the Governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke. I'm sorry about it and I'll try to do better in the future. Thank you very much."

Now he gets it. I wonder how many people that thought the Palins were humorless and that anyone else complaining about this was oversensitive will get it, too.

For those paying attention to the last 30+ years, we have been repeatedly lectured regarding appropriate and inappropriate comments. The reasoning behind those lectures is that regardless of the speaker's intent, if the comments were perceived as harmful by the object or recipient, then they were in fact harmful. Describing those comments as humor was not an acceptable defense.

That has been the basis for ending academic and professional careers [along with many lesser punishments] for the last 30 years or so. Being 'edgy' with respect to race or gender is no longer acceptable if the targets of that 'edginess' are not white and male.

Here's the part that has been overlooked of late: Much of those changes were needed and beneficial. Degrading humor, such as Mr. Letterman's joke that started this mess, adds little to our culture. It does not build a better society.

It is a hard lesson to learn and there are times when old habits die hard. Which is a polite way of saying that having been raised in a culture where such humor was more acceptable, I struggle with keeping my teeth behind my lips from time to time when similar opportunities arise today.

The only problem is that such a standard seems to be applied unevenly. White males can be the subject of such humor without any expectation of concern. And as we have seen over the last week, being a Republican can also leave one open to some pretty disgusting commentary as well.

In a country that has been struggling for well over two hundred years to have a single standard for all people, the presence of such an obvious double standard ought to be more troubling than it apparently is.

At any rate, Mr. Letterman finally "got it". His intent in telling the joke is irrelevant if the perception of the joke is offensive. Good on him for understanding....eventually.

by Dann 

|


Fri, Jun 12 2009
More From John Cox

I love this guy. Here's a whole page of these things.



by Dann 

|


Thu, Jun 11 2009
A Little Self Control Problem

I had a little problem maintaining my self control last night. After everyone else had gone to bed, I went down to the lake to wash my fishing lures. I was doing the one at a time. That fancy pole and reel were a real big help!

While I'm busy cleaning up my lunker busters, this woman pulls up to the park. The most repeatable phrase out of her mouth was "We're here. Now hurry up, get in the water, get wet, and have fun or we are going straight home! Don't run in the [bleeping] road! You idiot!"

I...and her two sons....were treated to about ten minutes of that.

On the one hand, I really wanted to tell her to knock it off. They were just kids that wanted to go for a swim.

On the other hand, confronting her in front of her kids would undermine her authority with the one that [apparently...I didn't see much of a problem] gives her a hard time. Plus that puts him in the position of being the reason for of her being confronted publicly.

If she had swung one of them with the same anger that was in her words, then I would have called the cops.

I'm not going to feel good about this anytime soon.



by Dann 

|

What Double Standard?

I'm not sure which news item is the bigger piece of news. The first story of interest is that David Letterman finds that the topic of molesting 14 year old girls is a suitable area to make jokes. He also seems to believe that calling women "slutty" in the absence of any evidence in support of that label to be the height of hilarity. Mr. Letterman must not listen to much of the Imus in the Morning show.

The second story of interest is that American feminists and the vast majority of the American left are hypocrites of Titanic proportions. Having treated America to serial lectures and diatribes regarding the past inappropriate perceptions of the distaff gender, having provided the country with the model for treating women in a civilized and equitable manner, they have remained quiet regarding this nationalized sexual slandering of this woman and her daughter.

The subject of Mr. Letterman's sophomoric attempt at humor is none other than Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin....and her 14 year old daughter.

During a recent monologue, Mr. Letterman 'joked' that as a part of her recent visit to New York City, Mrs. Palin had gone shopping so as to update her "slutty flight attendant look".

He then went on to suggest that when Mrs. Palin and her daughter.....14 year old Willow....attended a Yankees baseball game, Miss Willow had become preggers courtesy of Alex Rodriguez. <Rimshot!> Statutory rape! What a gasser! How special Willow must feel to have her sexuality and morals become the subject of national humor. What an accomplishment for a 14 year old! I imagine that she just can't wait to get back to school this fall to see how this improves her social standing.

Parenthetically, how must Mr. Rodriguez and the Yankees organization feel about being associated with molesting teenage girls?

The response from American feminists?

Silence

The response from the American left? After years of preaching to the rest of the country about the ills of misogyny resulting from a maleandrocentric culture?

"He didn't mean it. The Palins have no sense of humor."

I'm sorry....I couldn't hear you. One more time?

"He didn't mean it. The Palins have no sense of humor."

Ah. And why should anyone take them seriously every again?

The second link above offers a little turn-about-is-fair-play using daughters from the Obama and Biden families as examples. The obvious different between that author and Mr. Letterman is that Mr. Letterman wasn't trying to illustrate inappropriate commentary. He was seeking to embody inappropriate commentary. On the other hand, Jim Treacher obviously thinks no one should be joking about molesting little girls.

But apparently that sort of concern only matters when you...or someone close to you...puts a "D" behind their name. "R's" need not apply for such consideration.

UPDATE: As promised in the comments, we have an update on this bit of bloviatary.

Right of off the bat, I have to give credit where it is due. The National Organization for Women thought that Mr. Letterman's performance was good enough to get him into their Hall of Shame. Good on 'em.

With no qualifiers or extraneous commentary. [from me]

As Sherwood pointed out, there are lots of rank and file folks on the left that don't find that sort of thing funny. But the leadership on the left? Daily Kos? Olbermann? [Who I do enjoy watching from time to time even if he makes me want to scream.] Mrs. Pelosi? Mr. Reid? ABC? NBC? CBS? CNN?

Their responses ran from utter silence to almost verbatim what I posted above. Inexcusable.

James Lileks had some interesting thoughts worth sharing.

Yes, reading too much into it. Really, it’s just a rote slam: If your mother is a loathed politician, and your older sister gets pregnant, famous old men can make jokes about you being knocked up by rich baseball players, and there’s nothing you can do. That’s the culture: a flat, dead-eyed, square-headed old man who’ll go back to the writers and ask for more Palin-daughter knocked-up jokes, because that one went over well. Other children he won’t touch, but not because he’s decent. It’s because he’s a coward.

Sometimes humor is used to cut through the confusion and deflate those that are in dire need of deflating. At other times it becomes the coward's cudgel that is used to get in a few rhetorical swats at the target whereupon the humorist backs off and says "Oh hey! You ought to get a sense of humor! It was a joke! You should laugh like everyone else!". And thus their target has no option except to look like a fool or sound like a fool.

Every once in a while, such situations can justify a beat down for the coward. Sometimes crossing the line ought to have consequences.

James continues -

Oh, one more thing: it’s okay for David to say that because someone said something else about someone, and since I didn’t write about that, I’m a hypocrite. Just so we’re clear.

I suppose that makes me a hypocrite as well.

Although as long as we're on the subject of commentary about female public figures, would whoever is talking about strange odors and Judge Sotomayor and her monthly period please knock it off. That goes double for the folks trying to call her a racist. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to oppose the nomination of such a mediocre Supreme Court nominee. Stick to those instead.

Looks like I'm going to bed grumpy after all. Congrats to the Pittsburgh Penguins on winning the Stanley Cup.

by Dann 

|



Last updated on:  Wed, Jun 17 2009  08:09:51 AM




**The title for my blog is a bit weird. I took it from a bit on an old Bill Cosby LP. Bill Cosby was a comedian, humorist, and TV star. Still is. An LP was a record. From the days when music came on big, round, black vinyl things. I loved Bill Cosby albums as a kid. I think I hurt something vital once just from the laughter. Thanks, Bill.

Please send any comments regarding my site using the following link. All original content on this site is copywrited by Dann Todd 1998-2009©



Blog by Farook    Weblog Commenting and Trackback by HaloScan.com



Previous
14 Jun 2009 - 20 Jun 2009
07 Jun 2009 - 13 Jun 2009
31 May 2009 - 06 Jun 2009
24 May 2009 - 30 May 2009
10 May 2009 - 16 May 2009
03 May 2009 - 09 May 2009
26 Apr 2009 - 02 May 2009
12 Apr 2009 - 18 Apr 2009
05 Apr 2009 - 11 Apr 2009
29 Mar 2009 - 04 Apr 2009
22 Mar 2009 - 28 Mar 2009
15 Mar 2009 - 21 Mar 2009
08 Mar 2009 - 14 Mar 2009
22 Feb 2009 - 28 Feb 2009
08 Feb 2009 - 14 Feb 2009
01 Feb 2009 - 07 Feb 2009
25 Jan 2009 - 31 Jan 2009
11 Jan 2009 - 17 Jan 2009
04 Jan 2009 - 10 Jan 2009
28 Dec 2008 - 03 Jan 2009
21 Dec 2008 - 27 Dec 2008
14 Dec 2008 - 20 Dec 2008
07 Dec 2008 - 13 Dec 2008
30 Nov 2008 - 06 Dec 2008
23 Nov 2008 - 29 Nov 2008
16 Nov 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
09 Nov 2008 - 15 Nov 2008
02 Nov 2008 - 08 Nov 2008
26 Oct 2008 - 01 Nov 2008
12 Oct 2008 - 18 Oct 2008
05 Oct 2008 - 11 Oct 2008
28 Sep 2008 - 04 Oct 2008
21 Sep 2008 - 27 Sep 2008
07 Sep 2008 - 13 Sep 2008
31 Aug 2008 - 06 Sep 2008
24 Aug 2008 - 30 Aug 2008
17 Aug 2008 - 23 Aug 2008
10 Aug 2008 - 16 Aug 2008
03 Aug 2008 - 09 Aug 2008
27 Jul 2008 - 02 Aug 2008
20 Jul 2008 - 26 Jul 2008
13 Jul 2008 - 19 Jul 2008
06 Jul 2008 - 12 Jul 2008
29 Jun 2008 - 05 Jul 2008
22 Jun 2008 - 28 Jun 2008
15 Jun 2008 - 21 Jun 2008
25 May 2008 - 31 May 2008
04 May 2008 - 10 May 2008
27 Apr 2008 - 03 May 2008
16 Mar 2008 - 22 Mar 2008
13 Jan 2008 - 19 Jan 2008
30 Dec 2007 - 05 Jan 2008
23 Dec 2007 - 29 Dec 2007
02 Dec 2007 - 08 Dec 2007
21 Oct 2007 - 27 Oct 2007
14 Oct 2007 - 20 Oct 2007
30 Sep 2007 - 06 Oct 2007
09 Sep 2007 - 15 Sep 2007
02 Sep 2007 - 08 Sep 2007
26 Aug 2007 - 01 Sep 2007
19 Aug 2007 - 25 Aug 2007
12 Aug 2007 - 18 Aug 2007
29 Jul 2007 - 04 Aug 2007
22 Jul 2007 - 28 Jul 2007
15 Jul 2007 - 21 Jul 2007
08 Jul 2007 - 14 Jul 2007
01 Jul 2007 - 07 Jul 2007
24 Jun 2007 - 30 Jun 2007
17 Jun 2007 - 23 Jun 2007
13 May 2007 - 19 May 2007
29 Apr 2007 - 05 May 2007
22 Apr 2007 - 28 Apr 2007
15 Oct 2006 - 21 Oct 2006
08 Oct 2006 - 14 Oct 2006
01 Oct 2006 - 07 Oct 2006
17 Sep 2006 - 23 Sep 2006
03 Sep 2006 - 09 Sep 2006
13 Aug 2006 - 19 Aug 2006
06 Aug 2006 - 12 Aug 2006
30 Jul 2006 - 05 Aug 2006
23 Jul 2006 - 29 Jul 2006
16 Jul 2006 - 22 Jul 2006
09 Jul 2006 - 15 Jul 2006
02 Jul 2006 - 08 Jul 2006
25 Jun 2006 - 01 Jul 2006
18 Jun 2006 - 24 Jun 2006
11 Jun 2006 - 17 Jun 2006
28 May 2006 - 03 Jun 2006
23 Apr 2006 - 29 Apr 2006
09 Apr 2006 - 15 Apr 2006
02 Apr 2006 - 08 Apr 2006
26 Mar 2006 - 01 Apr 2006
19 Mar 2006 - 25 Mar 2006
12 Mar 2006 - 18 Mar 2006
26 Feb 2006 - 04 Mar 2006
19 Feb 2006 - 25 Feb 2006
12 Feb 2006 - 18 Feb 2006
05 Feb 2006 - 11 Feb 2006
08 Jan 2006 - 14 Jan 2006
01 Jan 2006 - 07 Jan 2006
25 Dec 2005 - 31 Dec 2005
27 Nov 2005 - 03 Dec 2005
20 Nov 2005 - 26 Nov 2005
13 Nov 2005 - 19 Nov 2005
06 Nov 2005 - 12 Nov 2005
30 Oct 2005 - 05 Nov 2005
23 Oct 2005 - 29 Oct 2005
16 Oct 2005 - 22 Oct 2005
09 Oct 2005 - 15 Oct 2005
02 Oct 2005 - 08 Oct 2005
25 Sep 2005 - 01 Oct 2005
18 Sep 2005 - 24 Sep 2005
11 Sep 2005 - 17 Sep 2005
04 Sep 2005 - 10 Sep 2005
28 Aug 2005 - 03 Sep 2005
21 Aug 2005 - 27 Aug 2005
14 Aug 2005 - 20 Aug 2005
07 Aug 2005 - 13 Aug 2005
31 Jul 2005 - 06 Aug 2005
10 Jul 2005 - 16 Jul 2005
03 Jul 2005 - 09 Jul 2005
19 Jun 2005 - 25 Jun 2005
05 Jun 2005 - 11 Jun 2005
29 May 2005 - 04 Jun 2005
22 May 2005 - 28 May 2005
15 May 2005 - 21 May 2005
08 May 2005 - 14 May 2005
24 Apr 2005 - 30 Apr 2005
17 Apr 2005 - 23 Apr 2005
10 Apr 2005 - 16 Apr 2005
03 Apr 2005 - 09 Apr 2005
20 Mar 2005 - 26 Mar 2005
13 Mar 2005 - 19 Mar 2005
06 Mar 2005 - 12 Mar 2005
20 Feb 2005 - 26 Feb 2005
13 Feb 2005 - 19 Feb 2005
30 Jan 2005 - 05 Feb 2005
23 Jan 2005 - 29 Jan 2005
16 Jan 2005 - 22 Jan 2005
09 Jan 2005 - 15 Jan 2005
02 Jan 2005 - 08 Jan 2005
26 Dec 2004 - 01 Jan 2005
19 Dec 2004 - 25 Dec 2004
12 Dec 2004 - 18 Dec 2004
05 Dec 2004 - 11 Dec 2004
28 Nov 2004 - 04 Dec 2004
21 Nov 2004 - 27 Nov 2004
07 Nov 2004 - 13 Nov 2004
31 Oct 2004 - 06 Nov 2004
24 Oct 2004 - 30 Oct 2004
17 Oct 2004 - 23 Oct 2004
10 Oct 2004 - 16 Oct 2004
26 Sep 2004 - 02 Oct 2004
19 Sep 2004 - 25 Sep 2004
12 Sep 2004 - 18 Sep 2004
05 Sep 2004 - 11 Sep 2004
29 Aug 2004 - 04 Sep 2004
22 Aug 2004 - 28 Aug 2004
15 Aug 2004 - 21 Aug 2004
08 Aug 2004 - 14 Aug 2004
01 Aug 2004 - 07 Aug 2004
25 Jul 2004 - 31 Jul 2004
18 Jul 2004 - 24 Jul 2004
11 Jul 2004 - 17 Jul 2004
27 Jun 2004 - 03 Jul 2004
13 Jun 2004 - 19 Jun 2004
23 May 2004 - 29 May 2004
02 May 2004 - 08 May 2004
25 Apr 2004 - 01 May 2004
18 Apr 2004 - 24 Apr 2004
11 Apr 2004 - 17 Apr 2004
04 Apr 2004 - 10 Apr 2004
28 Mar 2004 - 03 Apr 2004
21 Mar 2004 - 27 Mar 2004
14 Mar 2004 - 20 Mar 2004
07 Mar 2004 - 13 Mar 2004
15 Feb 2004 - 21 Feb 2004
08 Feb 2004 - 14 Feb 2004
01 Feb 2004 - 07 Feb 2004
25 Jan 2004 - 31 Jan 2004
16 Nov 2003 - 22 Nov 2003
09 Nov 2003 - 15 Nov 2003
02 Nov 2003 - 08 Nov 2003
26 Oct 2003 - 01 Nov 2003
19 Oct 2003 - 25 Oct 2003
12 Oct 2003 - 18 Oct 2003
05 Oct 2003 - 11 Oct 2003
28 Sep 2003 - 04 Oct 2003
21 Sep 2003 - 27 Sep 2003
14 Sep 2003 - 20 Sep 2003
07 Sep 2003 - 13 Sep 2003
31 Aug 2003 - 06 Sep 2003
24 Aug 2003 - 30 Aug 2003
17 Aug 2003 - 23 Aug 2003
10 Aug 2003 - 16 Aug 2003
03 Aug 2003 - 09 Aug 2003
27 Jul 2003 - 02 Aug 2003
20 Jul 2003 - 26 Jul 2003
Next