Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Professor Rush-Bo The Hutt and the Public Discourse


It's time; it's more than time, to find a way to cleanse the public Airwaves.  We suffer from tiresome pollution of the radio by obscene trash-talking shock jocks, and this has risen into a virulent flood as the elections near.  As I am incurably naive I had thought - had hoped - that the chilling, graphic scenes of hatred would be absent from the 2012 elections - why I certainly don't know.

Education is a topic on the public consciousness these days. The President has asked everyone to try for at least another year of training after high school.  There is so much opportunity and necessity to absorb other content than vicious political ads and diatribe.  God I am sick of vulgar programming by vulgar people that have been allowed to, indeed been welcome to run amok on the radio, becoming the de facto Political Science professors of this country, forming people's viewpoints with poisonous bile. 

It is a sobering thought, if you give it some attention, that people like Limbaugh and his ilk are busy educating people who spend hours a day in cars, trucks or home behind the range. These Americans, whose minds are perfectly active and hungry for education, are literally soaking up distorted, uglified politics as though these "facts' - were tried, tested and absolutely TRUE. 

Are we aware that we are providing a very poor but effective type of "adult education" on the airwaves of the land? If we are aware of this, do we feel this sort of brain-food is appropriate for our ever less educated population? Who do you think is responsible for the fact that more of the South than EVER thinks the President is a Muslim/follower of Islam?  Does the Free Speech Amendment guarantee this staggering manipulation of the public airwaves and of the public trust??

My god, Advertisers; there will be hell to pay if you let that noxious Pot of Bile continue to shame and demean the Daughters of America. We have heard and witnessed a 3 day assault on a young woman of obvious breeding and character!  How would you feel if Sandra Fluke had been YOUR daughter?   

I personally would have felt an intense pride in either of my daughters, both of whom are about the same age as Ms. Fluke, for standing up and speaking out in the glare of the public spotlight.  I would also have felt, as I do now, a sense of utter, unmitigated rage at the verbal rape by Mr. Limbaugh of a woman of integrity.  

He and his radio brethren have attacked women so often and consistently and we have become the perennial victims of the Airwaves.  I doubt that many women enjoy his anti-female shtick this stuff even if they're identified with guys in some way.  Those raised in extreme climates have to make do, and those women are TOUGH. A girl raised among 7 brothers will have a different perspective than an older daughter of a younger brother, or one sister among another three others.  My point is that we are half the world's population, that we are the Mothers and the Grandmothers, the Lovers, the Sisters, the Comrades at Work.

We are coming into own as the Spiritual Counselors (except at places like the Vatican, where we count for nothing at all), the nurses, midwives, scholars and teachers -- and are because the "powers that be" are allowing it.  

When we realize what an effect listening to this sicko belittle our contributions to our society - the "slut-shaming", we have to stop and know this:

WE have let him get away with it, and shame on us if we continue to submit ourselves to this sort of harassment and degradation.  I mean, HAVE YOU EVER HEARD HIM TALK ABOUT WOMEN without using the terms "Femi-Nazis", "itch-Bays” or unt-Cays?" I haven't, but I will confess that I cannot tolerate listening to him for more than a few moments.

I say it's time to get more creative and put something else on radio other than grumpy hate-fests and shock jocks. I've had midnight encounters with obscure, brilliant programming stuck where nobody hears it, whereas Rush is out there front and center, a hate-filled, bilious representative of "America the Beautiful". 

There are so many people with positive points of view.  My simple suggestion is that we put more cool, educational and stimulating programming out there to fill the vacuum that will occur if we can get rid of Limbaugh and his ilk, RIGHT OR LEFT. Let's get educational content on the airwaves, no more toxic, inflammatory crap. PLEASE!! We NEED it from any source we can find!  Our school systems are degenerating; let's make use of the airwaves.

Oh, and in case I forgot to mention it, PLEASE STOP ADVERTISING WITH LIMBAUGH, FOREVER.

He hates women more than anyone, even minorities, and that probably has something to do with his known problems with ED.  Google "Rush and Viagra" -- I don't want to go further!

Friday, December 30, 2011

Secret Watchers of Harmless Bloggers

Hello to all and any, and a very Happy New Year to you!

As some of you know, I am greatly concerned with the tide of Conservatism suppressing women, gays and minorities in our country, blended with the militarization of our Homeland police and security forces occurring in the United States these days.  We're setting ourselves up for a fascist state, and if you don't believe me remember the "papers please" law in Arizona, or the police attacks on Occupy Oakland and the horrific pepper spray attacks at Davis.

I received a little "security shock" of my own the other day.  We amateur writers love to check our statistics with apps like "Statcounter" or "Sitemeter" -- these 'visitor counters' give us an idea of who is reading us -- if anybody!!  I have been pleasantly surprised to find that in my year off far more people than I could have imagined found me.

Among them, and quite recently, was the AT&T Security Team from Washington D.C.  These big boys spent about five minutes at my site.  At another time they came checking in again.

I got a chill in my blood.  Is this how it starts -- the tamping down of civil rights, the disintegration of the freedoms of ALL our people, despite our belief systems and our Constitutional right to free speech?

AT&T Security from Washington DC is keeping its eyes on me.  This does not make me feel safe or secure, particularly since  Dictatorships like China are locking up their liberal bloggers.  We are a long way from that, I believe, but I'm starting to feel a tad bit uneasy.






Hoarders, Lunatics and Daughters

I mentioned the other day that I had a "feeling" my younger daughter was closer than I thought she'd be, and sure enough, she surprised the hell out of me the other day by sauntering in the door one fine evening.  She was in full retreat from the UK winter -- London post-riots and pre-winter was just too much for a California girl to bear.

I am lucky to be able to keep her for a while, for her response upon walking into our house was deep despair.  Finally, after 10 years of being away most of the time, when she got a good look at the dear family home, a miserable combination of financial disaster, two physically/mentally disabled adults (one a hoarder dear god) -- she almost left right then and there.

But the woman who came home is a vastly different person than the girl who left.  To my shock, this new (to me), fully responsible human came home and began to shovel out the Augean Stables.  This is an ancient Grecian mythological reference to a stable that never could be cleaned, no matter how hard the person worked.  So it would seem at my house after 27 years of raising children, becoming permanently spinally injured and then losing the money I had to pay a friend to clean house for us.

PLUS!  My sweet Patrick is a true-to-life-watch-it-on-the-television-show Hoarder -- from "Hoarders" -- we are trying to change our lifestyles, and it is a difficult thing indeed.  As someone who has taken the mighty plunge over Niagara Falls without a barrel financially lately -- had a home stolen by a bank and a relative as well -- my mind has disappeared in the process, and once things start to get away from you they don't fall back together very easily -- I feel like Humpty Dumpty.  All the King's Men are here, trying to shove me and my mess together, but they cannot do it, man!

My daughter has been more and more annoyed as the depths of the chaos is revealed, and I cannot blame her.  I think parents are supposed to be more adult than I've been able to be -- this brain thing has really gotten in my way, this bi polar disorder -- not to mention being crushed by the economy.  My girl thinks I've also got Borderline personality disorder, and me -- besides feeling like a loser, I - I - "wish I had a river I could skate away on." (Joni Mitchell).

But one day at a time; we just paddle on one day at a time.