Conservative pundits never die…
...they just start spouting racial slurs and self-destruct.
Rush is the latest with his "Puff the Magic Dragon" parody, "Barak the Magic Negro." Not sure if Rush is stupid enough to think that because he used the word negro it wouldn't be offensive, or if this is Rush's ploy to prove that he is untouchable, unlike Imus who was recently canned for his stupidity, or maybe it's some display of paternal benevolence as if to say, "Tsk, tsk, Don. Nappy-headed hos? This is how you are racist on air and get away with it..."
What's sad is it Rush probably will get away with it, inflating his already enormous ego.
Eventually, his ego will reach critical mass. When it does he'll implode like every other star in the universe. Hopefully, for those of us who are less than fans, in a spectacular super nova.
Sunset over Lone Peak
Well, I survived the first year of graduate school. It was harder than I expected. Probably has something to do with the sink-or-swim philosophy of the practicum experience. I'm sorry, but I just don't feel qualified to be acting as a therapist to adolescents with some real issues in my first year of graduate school, let alone my first semester. I understand that the best way of learning direct practice is doing, but damn. A little bit of training would have been nice. Out of eight classes only two had anything to do with clinical practice. I also think there are some ethical issues involved, but apparently this is the way of many or even most MSW programs.
My supervisor and a few of the other counselors I got to know seem to think I did very well for my first year. I'm glad they think so. One told me, "You have the makings of a good therapist. You just need to build your confidence."
Well, now I know what to expect for next year, so I'm going to be doing some reading over the summer. I'll be working with substance abuse and domestic violence next year. That's not a clientèle I want to be meeting cold turkey. Some information under my belt would be nice. Confidence, remember?
What does any of this have to do with a sunset photo? Who knows. The sun going down on my first year of school? Or maybe that it's just nice to have the time to be out shooting again.
It boggles the mind.
Check out this little ditty from Todd's Hammer about BYU "Free Speech" policies. The Q&A with the President of the University at the end is what floored me. Nothing up to that point surprised me. The administrators who wouldn't identify themselves where just stupid, but I expected more from the president of a university. Some pretense at diplomacy at least. I mean, why even agree to a Q&A session when you are unwilling to answer the questions? Let me rephrase that. Why even agree to a Q&A session when you are unwilling to address the concerns? Technically he did answer the question: "What is the university afraid of?" "The university isn't afraid of anything. Next question." My translation: Me big. You little. Now sit down and shut up.
Periodically the church has problems with people who not only have the audacity to think and come to conclusions that differ from positions officially sanctioned by the church, but also have the chutzpah to make waves. The response is usually to excommunicate them. You know: "Out of sight. Out of mind." It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Unlike Todd, I can't really see the police getting involved to break up the alternative commencement ceremonies. On the other hand, I can see the administration denying a diploma to anyone who participates. Frankly, that is a much stronger deterrent in my mind: a few days in jail or four years and thousands of dollars down the drain? Which do you think has more teeth?
Even when I was a BYU student, this kind of draconian control irked me. I was too responsible a child to walk away from the four year scholarship I had, though. If it hadn't been for that, I probably would not have gone back after my first year. Now all I can do is stand with my jaw hanging open and furiously try and think of graceful and intelligent ways to counteract my daughter's current infatuation with BYU.
Chinese. No, my bad. South Korean.
I was chatting with a professor of Japanese descent about the nightmare at Virginia Tech. She is going to be participating on a panel discussion about the Asian perspective on the events. At first blush that sounded just a bit odd too me. I mean, does anyone really think Asians feel differently than anyone else about a deranged killer slaughtering innocents? That's not what the panel is about, though. It's more about the Asian perspective on the reactions to the killer being Asian. This quote from Margaret Cho is right on the money.
So here is the whole terrible mess of the shootings at Virginia Tech. I look at the shooter [Seung-Hui Cho's] expressionless face on the news and he looks so familiar, like he could be in my family. Just another one of us. But how can he be us when what he has done is so terrible? Here is where I can really envy white people because when white people do something that is inexplicably awful, so brutally and horribly wrong, nobody says "do you think it is because he is white?" There are no headlines calling him the "White shooter." There is no mention of race because there is no thought in anyone's mind that his race had anything to do with his crime. (Cho, 2007)
You gotta wonder how come the media reported Seung-Hui was Chinese before verifying his actual national descent. Wouldn't have anything to do with China being the last remaining communist super-power would it? Wouldn't have anything to do with an assumption that only a communist would be capable of such an atrocity, would it? South Koreans are such nice people.
What my professor wants to know is how is this going to affect the status of "model minority" that has been granted Asian Americans. Does this mean Asians will be now considered hard working, intelligent and possibly deranged?
Are you kidding me?
I'm not a big fan of reality TV. Hell, I'm not a big fan of TV at all. However, I did catch the first few minutes of The Bachelor the other day and all I can say is, "What the hell?"
Come on, ladies. If someone is that good looking and has that much going for him (Navy doctor, triathlete) don't you think there might be a reason he's still single?
Am I just being catty? Maybe, but think about this. This is a guy who has agreed to date 20 women at the same time, on national television, in front of each other for maximum drama and you still think he's a great catch?
Whatever.
Sacrilege . . . or satire?
I imagine there are some who don't distinguish between the two. But, in my humble opinion, it's only sacrilege if after watching you're thinking, "Jesus is HOT!"
Dr. Laura, err…I mean Jacobs, gets a dressing down
I used to fantasize that I would find myself standing at the Bar of Judgment on Judgment Day and be allowed to witness Dr. Laura, Pat Robertson, et al get a dressing down by someone with a bit more authority than the President of the United States. This is likely as close as I'm going to get. 