Remedial Civics Class
I'm losing track of who needs to enroll in remedial civics class. Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Bobby Jindal and former Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin have all made their ignorance in this subject quite clear today.
How did they do so? By claiming that the action taken by the A&E Network in suspending Duck Dynasty patriarch and star Phil Robertson is a violation of the First Amendment's protection of freedom of speech.
That is completely incorrect. Let's look at the text of the First Amendment. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Congress didn't infringe his freedom of speech rights. They did not pass a law infringing them. Nor did any of the states or other levels of government. The A&E network responded to his speech by making a business decision. They decided that his remarks might damage their brand. That's their right. No one is taking his right to say what he believes away from him. He has no right to be on a reality television show.
This isn't about religious freedom either. He's got the right to practice his religion however he wishes. He can espouse the views of his faith whenever and wherever he likes (assuming of course he doesn't try to do that while on someone else's private property without their permission).
Those who wish to say his freedom of speech rights were violated because there was a consequence for his having spoken out just don't see the connection. He can say whatever he wants. That doesn't mean his statement is completely free of consequence. Imagine for a moment you own a business. Your business hires a person to represent you in advertising and marketing. Then that person gives a media outlet an interview in which they say adults who have sex with children aren't deviants, merely misunderstood. That he supports the North American Man/Boy Love Association and is in fact a member of that group. If you support the proposition that A&E was in the wrong in suspending Robertson, then you would be just as wrong to suspend or fire your spokesman.
This isn't a freedom of speech issue. It's a business matter. I hope A&E fires him. Conversely, I hope he responds by pulling his show from that network and taking it elsewhere. If any other network is willing to air his program. Maybe one of the "Christian" networks would love to host it.
* * *
Ruben Navarrette gets it wrong, again. In an editorial on the CNN website, commentator Ruben Navarrette says the U. S. owes India an apology over the treatment given to the consular officer who was arrested for allegedly lying on her visa application, and making a false official statement.
Maybe we did owe the government of India an apology, but only before their complete and utter overreaction. Ms Khobragade has consular immunity, not diplomatic immunity. She is subject to the laws of the United States in every aspect of her life that is not connected to her carrying out her official consular duties. I'll grant that they might have chosen to put her in a private cell that wouldn't require a strip search. But that's as far as any special courtesy should have gone.
If the allegations are true, Ms Khobragade's violations are criminal, not just civil. Lying on a visa application is a serious enough crime that it is punishable by a 15 year jail sentence in a federal prison. She's clearly a flight risk. In spite of the statements by the Indian government that her private employment actions are covered by diplomatic immunity, in fact they are not. Anyone reading the Vienna Convention on the Treatment of Consular Relations, rather than the one on Diplomatic Relations would realize this immediately. Hiring a maid, or a nanny, or whatever the woman was, is not part of Ms Khobragade's official duties.
His comments about how domestic employees are paid and about the issue of room and board show he is ignorant of labor law. Based on interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, and on current market conditions, you can't get a nanny in New York City without providing room and board that is NOT deducted from a minimum wage, nor does it count as a "credit" toward the required minimum wage.
* * *
Apparently they plan to reboot "Gilligan's Island" and the daughter of Tina Louise thinks that either Jennifer Lawrence or Beyoncé should take on the role of Ginger Grant. I disagree. Here is how I'd recast Gilligan's Island in 2014:
The Skipper, originally played by Alan Hale, Jr, would be portrayed by Kevin James.
Gilligan, originally played by Bob Denver, would be portrayed by Jason Biggs.
Mr. Thurston Howell, III, originally played by Jim Backus, would be portrayed by Corbin Bernsen.
Mrs. Lovey Howell, originally played by Natalie Schaefer, would be portrayed by Sigourney Weaver.
Ginger Grant, originally played by Tina Louise, would be portrayed by Ari Graynor (she's the right age and has the right curves).
Mary Ann Summers, originally played by Dawn Wells, would be portrayed by Rachel Leigh Cook.
The Professor, originally played by Russell Johnson, would be portrayed by Omar Epps.
Now, my question to you is, without resorting to Google, Yahoo, IMDB or any other resource, can you give the names of the characters of The Professor and The Skipper? Answer at the end of this blog.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
The Business Insider's claim that the majority of "housing aid" given out by the Federal government goes to the rich is misleading. They're considering the mortgage interest deduction as housing aid. The purpose of the deduction is to promote home ownership and to benefit and encourage the construction of more homes. They aren't wrong, but they aren't 100% right either.
Ronda Rousey has it right. If Georges St-Pierre has had enough of the Octagon, more power to him. The haters who claim he wimped out should try spending one day training to fight MMA.
The pilot who delayed the take-off of an international flight for two hours while waiting for a sandwich to be delivered should be flying a desk, not a plane.
If you're in the business of selling chicken wings, you should be calling McDonald's. I bet they have a deal for you.
If a ballerina wants to dance when she's nine months pregnant, that's her business. Hers and hers alone.
I happen to think casting Paul Rudd as Antman is inspired casting.
Proof yet again that Chuck Norris is the ultimate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=T-D1KVIuvjA
Mistaking a photo of Morgan Freeman for one of Nelson Mandela is pretty silly.
Proposing to your girlfriend while you're being arrested is not particularly romantic. Or is it?
The sentiment behind the Obama Administration's decision to let people whose insurance plan was canceled claim a "hardship" exemption from the PPACA requirement is clear, but the math of letting all those people take the hardship plan is going to make it even harder on insurance companies.
Bristol Palin's decision to defend Phil Robertson is just another reason why A&E did the right thing.
* * *
December 20th in History:
69 – Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor.
217 – The papacy of Zephyrinus ends. Callixtus I is elected as the sixteenth pope, but is opposed by the theologian Hippolytus who accuses him of laxity and of being a Modalist, one who denies any distinction between the three persons of the Trinity.
1192 – Richard I of England is captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after signing a treaty with Saladin ending the Third Crusade.
1522 – Siege of Rhodes: Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.
1606 – The Virginia Company loads three ships with settlers and sets sail to establish Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.
1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1808 – Peninsular War: The Siege of Zaragoza begins.
1860 – South Carolina becomes the first state to attempt to secede from the United States.
1893 – The end of one of the most dramatic Test Matches of all time. In the first to involve six days of play, England became the first team to win one after following on at Sydney.
1915 – World War I: The last Australian troops are evacuated from Gallipoli.
1917 – Cheka, the first Soviet secret police force, is founded.
1924 – Adolf Hitler is released from Landsberg Prison
1941 – World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers" in Kunming, China.
1942 – World War II: Japanese air forces bomb Calcutta, India.
1946 – The popular Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life is first released in New York, New York.
1951 – The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity. The electricity powered four light bulbs.
1952 – A United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns in Moses Lake, Washington killing 87.
1955 – Cardiff is proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom.
1957 – The initial production version of the Boeing 707 makes its first flight.
1959 – Unknown attackers murder the Walker family in Osprey, Florida.
1960 – The National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam is formed.
1967 – A Pennsylvania Railroad Metroliner reaches over the limit of 155 mph on their New York Division, also present day Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.
1968 – The Zodiac Killer kills Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday in Vallejo, California.
1971 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto takes over as the fourth President of Pakistan.
1973 – The Prime Minister of Spain, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, is assassinated by a car bomb attack in Madrid.
1977 – Djibouti and Vietnam join the United Nations.
1984 – The Summit Tunnel fire is the largest underground fire in history, as a freight train carrying over 1 million liters of gasoline derails near the town of Todmorden, England in the Pennines.
1985 – Pope John Paul II announces the institution of World Youth Day.
1987 – In the worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).
1988 – The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances is signed in Vienna, Austria.
1989 – United States invasion of Panama: The United States sends troops into Panama to overthrow government of Manuel Noriega. This is also the first combat use of purpose-designed stealth aircraft.
1991 – A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.
1991 – Paul Keating sworn in as the 24th Prime Minister of Australia after defeating Bob Hawke in a leadership ballot of the Australian Labor Party.
1995 – NATO begins peacekeeping in Bosnia.
1995 – American Airlines Flight 965, a Boeing 757, crashes into a mountain 50 km north of Cali, Colombia killing 159.
1996 – NeXT merges with Apple Computer, starting the path to Mac OS X.
1999 – Macau is handed over to China by Portugal.
2004 – A gang of thieves steal £26.5 million worth of currency from the Donegall Square West headquarters of Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, one of the largest bank robberies in British history.
2005 – Aleksandër Moisiu University was founded in Durrës, Albania.
2007 – Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.
Famous Folk Born on December 20th:
Dr. Arthur Lee
Dr. Samuel Mudd
Harvey Samuel Firestone
Fred Merkle (the Bill Buckner of his day)
Irene Dunne
Harry F. Byrd, Jr.
David Bohm
George Roy Hill
Charlie Callas
Kim Young-Sam
John Hillerman
Bobby Colomby
Uri Geller
John Spencer
Dick Wolf
Alan Parsons
Rory Markas
Joyce Hyser
Joel Gretsch
Jonah Hill
Jillian Grace
Movie quotes today come from "Grandma's Boy", which had Jonah Hill in a small role, early in his career:
Dante: Wow... where do you get your weed?
Mr. Cheezle: From you, Dante.
Dante: Oh... THAT'S RIGHT! What's up, Mr. Cheezle!
#2
Alex: My grandma drank all my pot.
Jeff: That's awesome.
Alex: What?
Jeff: I mean, how many people can say that in a lifetime?
#3
Jeff: Do you have bathrooms here, or do I have to shit in a plant?
Shiloh: BAHAHAHA! Stupid FUCKING idiot! Red-shirted ASS! You guys think you're so fucking cool, it makes me sick! "Oh, let's go make fun of the vegans, and their crazy lifestyle!" We're not hurting anyone! Go eat a hamburger and choke on a cow dick!
#4
Grace: I once gave Charlie Chaplin a handjob.
Jeff: Wow, was he silent?
Grace: Not after I got through with him.
Answers to above question:
The Skipper character's "real name" was Jonas Grumby.
The Professor character's "real name" was Roy Hinkley.
How did they do so? By claiming that the action taken by the A&E Network in suspending Duck Dynasty patriarch and star Phil Robertson is a violation of the First Amendment's protection of freedom of speech.
That is completely incorrect. Let's look at the text of the First Amendment. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Congress didn't infringe his freedom of speech rights. They did not pass a law infringing them. Nor did any of the states or other levels of government. The A&E network responded to his speech by making a business decision. They decided that his remarks might damage their brand. That's their right. No one is taking his right to say what he believes away from him. He has no right to be on a reality television show.
This isn't about religious freedom either. He's got the right to practice his religion however he wishes. He can espouse the views of his faith whenever and wherever he likes (assuming of course he doesn't try to do that while on someone else's private property without their permission).
Those who wish to say his freedom of speech rights were violated because there was a consequence for his having spoken out just don't see the connection. He can say whatever he wants. That doesn't mean his statement is completely free of consequence. Imagine for a moment you own a business. Your business hires a person to represent you in advertising and marketing. Then that person gives a media outlet an interview in which they say adults who have sex with children aren't deviants, merely misunderstood. That he supports the North American Man/Boy Love Association and is in fact a member of that group. If you support the proposition that A&E was in the wrong in suspending Robertson, then you would be just as wrong to suspend or fire your spokesman.
This isn't a freedom of speech issue. It's a business matter. I hope A&E fires him. Conversely, I hope he responds by pulling his show from that network and taking it elsewhere. If any other network is willing to air his program. Maybe one of the "Christian" networks would love to host it.
* * *
Ruben Navarrette gets it wrong, again. In an editorial on the CNN website, commentator Ruben Navarrette says the U. S. owes India an apology over the treatment given to the consular officer who was arrested for allegedly lying on her visa application, and making a false official statement.
Maybe we did owe the government of India an apology, but only before their complete and utter overreaction. Ms Khobragade has consular immunity, not diplomatic immunity. She is subject to the laws of the United States in every aspect of her life that is not connected to her carrying out her official consular duties. I'll grant that they might have chosen to put her in a private cell that wouldn't require a strip search. But that's as far as any special courtesy should have gone.
If the allegations are true, Ms Khobragade's violations are criminal, not just civil. Lying on a visa application is a serious enough crime that it is punishable by a 15 year jail sentence in a federal prison. She's clearly a flight risk. In spite of the statements by the Indian government that her private employment actions are covered by diplomatic immunity, in fact they are not. Anyone reading the Vienna Convention on the Treatment of Consular Relations, rather than the one on Diplomatic Relations would realize this immediately. Hiring a maid, or a nanny, or whatever the woman was, is not part of Ms Khobragade's official duties.
His comments about how domestic employees are paid and about the issue of room and board show he is ignorant of labor law. Based on interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, and on current market conditions, you can't get a nanny in New York City without providing room and board that is NOT deducted from a minimum wage, nor does it count as a "credit" toward the required minimum wage.
* * *
Apparently they plan to reboot "Gilligan's Island" and the daughter of Tina Louise thinks that either Jennifer Lawrence or Beyoncé should take on the role of Ginger Grant. I disagree. Here is how I'd recast Gilligan's Island in 2014:
The Skipper, originally played by Alan Hale, Jr, would be portrayed by Kevin James.
Gilligan, originally played by Bob Denver, would be portrayed by Jason Biggs.
Mr. Thurston Howell, III, originally played by Jim Backus, would be portrayed by Corbin Bernsen.
Mrs. Lovey Howell, originally played by Natalie Schaefer, would be portrayed by Sigourney Weaver.
Ginger Grant, originally played by Tina Louise, would be portrayed by Ari Graynor (she's the right age and has the right curves).
Mary Ann Summers, originally played by Dawn Wells, would be portrayed by Rachel Leigh Cook.
The Professor, originally played by Russell Johnson, would be portrayed by Omar Epps.
Now, my question to you is, without resorting to Google, Yahoo, IMDB or any other resource, can you give the names of the characters of The Professor and The Skipper? Answer at the end of this blog.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
The Business Insider's claim that the majority of "housing aid" given out by the Federal government goes to the rich is misleading. They're considering the mortgage interest deduction as housing aid. The purpose of the deduction is to promote home ownership and to benefit and encourage the construction of more homes. They aren't wrong, but they aren't 100% right either.
Ronda Rousey has it right. If Georges St-Pierre has had enough of the Octagon, more power to him. The haters who claim he wimped out should try spending one day training to fight MMA.
The pilot who delayed the take-off of an international flight for two hours while waiting for a sandwich to be delivered should be flying a desk, not a plane.
If you're in the business of selling chicken wings, you should be calling McDonald's. I bet they have a deal for you.
If a ballerina wants to dance when she's nine months pregnant, that's her business. Hers and hers alone.
I happen to think casting Paul Rudd as Antman is inspired casting.
Proof yet again that Chuck Norris is the ultimate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=T-D1KVIuvjA
Mistaking a photo of Morgan Freeman for one of Nelson Mandela is pretty silly.
Proposing to your girlfriend while you're being arrested is not particularly romantic. Or is it?
The sentiment behind the Obama Administration's decision to let people whose insurance plan was canceled claim a "hardship" exemption from the PPACA requirement is clear, but the math of letting all those people take the hardship plan is going to make it even harder on insurance companies.
Bristol Palin's decision to defend Phil Robertson is just another reason why A&E did the right thing.
* * *
December 20th in History:
69 – Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor.
217 – The papacy of Zephyrinus ends. Callixtus I is elected as the sixteenth pope, but is opposed by the theologian Hippolytus who accuses him of laxity and of being a Modalist, one who denies any distinction between the three persons of the Trinity.
1192 – Richard I of England is captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after signing a treaty with Saladin ending the Third Crusade.
1522 – Siege of Rhodes: Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.
1606 – The Virginia Company loads three ships with settlers and sets sail to establish Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.
1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1808 – Peninsular War: The Siege of Zaragoza begins.
1860 – South Carolina becomes the first state to attempt to secede from the United States.
1893 – The end of one of the most dramatic Test Matches of all time. In the first to involve six days of play, England became the first team to win one after following on at Sydney.
1915 – World War I: The last Australian troops are evacuated from Gallipoli.
1917 – Cheka, the first Soviet secret police force, is founded.
1924 – Adolf Hitler is released from Landsberg Prison
1941 – World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers" in Kunming, China.
1942 – World War II: Japanese air forces bomb Calcutta, India.
1946 – The popular Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life is first released in New York, New York.
1951 – The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity. The electricity powered four light bulbs.
1952 – A United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns in Moses Lake, Washington killing 87.
1955 – Cardiff is proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom.
1957 – The initial production version of the Boeing 707 makes its first flight.
1959 – Unknown attackers murder the Walker family in Osprey, Florida.
1960 – The National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam is formed.
1967 – A Pennsylvania Railroad Metroliner reaches over the limit of 155 mph on their New York Division, also present day Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.
1968 – The Zodiac Killer kills Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday in Vallejo, California.
1971 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto takes over as the fourth President of Pakistan.
1973 – The Prime Minister of Spain, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, is assassinated by a car bomb attack in Madrid.
1977 – Djibouti and Vietnam join the United Nations.
1984 – The Summit Tunnel fire is the largest underground fire in history, as a freight train carrying over 1 million liters of gasoline derails near the town of Todmorden, England in the Pennines.
1985 – Pope John Paul II announces the institution of World Youth Day.
1987 – In the worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).
1988 – The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances is signed in Vienna, Austria.
1989 – United States invasion of Panama: The United States sends troops into Panama to overthrow government of Manuel Noriega. This is also the first combat use of purpose-designed stealth aircraft.
1991 – A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.
1991 – Paul Keating sworn in as the 24th Prime Minister of Australia after defeating Bob Hawke in a leadership ballot of the Australian Labor Party.
1995 – NATO begins peacekeeping in Bosnia.
1995 – American Airlines Flight 965, a Boeing 757, crashes into a mountain 50 km north of Cali, Colombia killing 159.
1996 – NeXT merges with Apple Computer, starting the path to Mac OS X.
1999 – Macau is handed over to China by Portugal.
2004 – A gang of thieves steal £26.5 million worth of currency from the Donegall Square West headquarters of Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, one of the largest bank robberies in British history.
2005 – Aleksandër Moisiu University was founded in Durrës, Albania.
2007 – Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.
Famous Folk Born on December 20th:
Dr. Arthur Lee
Dr. Samuel Mudd
Harvey Samuel Firestone
Fred Merkle (the Bill Buckner of his day)
Irene Dunne
Harry F. Byrd, Jr.
David Bohm
George Roy Hill
Charlie Callas
Kim Young-Sam
John Hillerman
Bobby Colomby
Uri Geller
John Spencer
Dick Wolf
Alan Parsons
Rory Markas
Joyce Hyser
Joel Gretsch
Jonah Hill
Jillian Grace
Movie quotes today come from "Grandma's Boy", which had Jonah Hill in a small role, early in his career:
Dante: Wow... where do you get your weed?
Mr. Cheezle: From you, Dante.
Dante: Oh... THAT'S RIGHT! What's up, Mr. Cheezle!
#2
Alex: My grandma drank all my pot.
Jeff: That's awesome.
Alex: What?
Jeff: I mean, how many people can say that in a lifetime?
#3
Jeff: Do you have bathrooms here, or do I have to shit in a plant?
Shiloh: BAHAHAHA! Stupid FUCKING idiot! Red-shirted ASS! You guys think you're so fucking cool, it makes me sick! "Oh, let's go make fun of the vegans, and their crazy lifestyle!" We're not hurting anyone! Go eat a hamburger and choke on a cow dick!
#4
Grace: I once gave Charlie Chaplin a handjob.
Jeff: Wow, was he silent?
Grace: Not after I got through with him.
Answers to above question:
The Skipper character's "real name" was Jonas Grumby.
The Professor character's "real name" was Roy Hinkley.
posted by me at 2:02 PM
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