Imus Have Been a Racist

Snark is a mainstay of the blogosphere. We thrive on pointed snarkiness; it serves as humor as well as punctuation. But the difference between snarky bloggers and what Don Imus said is galactic in scale. Snark is snark, not racism

I understand the Shock Jock thing, and quite honestly don't listen to Howard Stern either (meaning including Imus). Milquetoast bathroom-humor jocks like Bob and Tom are no big deal. They're good for a laugh and never take that step too far. But guys like Imus...I guess I don't know what it is you have to turn off in your head in order to make it okay for yourself to call a National Championship group of athletes "nappy-headed hos." Or what is already turned-off in your head that your head even goes there in the first place.

So Imus gets a 2-week suspension to get his shit together and do some apologizing. And he is...he's done the obligatory Sharpton and Jackson apologies, and he's actually setting up a meeting with the Rutgers to apologize to them face to face. Gotta admire the stones, but he owes it to them.

He's been admonished by everyone including Matt Lauer, The Admonisher(tm).

But what gets me, again, is that his problem won't go away. This loud-mouthed, no-holds-barred radio schlock that mouth-breathers really love is going to stay, and if not Stern or Imus, It'd be Opus and Andy or some other bigot trying to be funny with a microphone. Jackson (in a rare instance where I agree with him) states:

“This is a two-week cooling off period,” Jackson said. “It does not challenge the character of the show, its political impact, or the impact that these comments have had on our society.”

In defense of his show, Imus states:

He has urged critics to recognize that his show is a comedy that spreads insults broadly. Imus or his cast have called Colin Powell a “weasel,” New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson a “fat sissy” and referred to Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado, an American Indian, as “the guy from ‘F Troop.”’ He and his colleagues also called the New York Knicks a group of “chest-thumping pimps.”

Colin Powell being called a weasel is hardly a racial slur. Bill Richardson being a fat sissy is...well, let's just say it's not racist. Offensive, sure. Senator Campbell being called "the guy from F Troop" is one step...one teeny tiny step...from overtly racist. And calling the Knicks team chest-thumping pimps is pretty much on-the-nose racism. See, what Imus and guys like him miss is that spreading insults broadly, as well as spreading racist comments around, is equally bad. Spreading insults is fine. We do it here. But covering all of your racist bases doesn't make racism okay. Only attacking blacks is no less evil than attacking all racial minorities, yet that's what Imus's response implies; "hey, I call everyone by their epithet, so I'm not racist because I'm not just after 1 specific group. I spread the hate around."

What kills me is that he still has an audience. And I don't mean after he made these comments. I mean at all, over time. There are people out there who will continue to worship at his shrine and listen to his show, including this guy:

Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, whose presidential candidacy has been backed by Imus on the air, said he would still appear on Imus’ program.

“He has apologized,” McCain said.

With friends like that...

**UPDATE**

Some comments from the Rutgers' Women's Basketball Team. Classy and well-spoken comments, I might add, and completely unlike the incoherent grunts of a washed-up radio jock:

"I would like to express our team's great hurt, anger and disgust toward the words of Mr. Don Imus," Carson said. "We are highly angered at his remarks but deeply saddened with the racial characterization they entailed."

"Our moment was taken away -- our moment to celebrate our success, our moment to realize how far we had come, both on and off the court, as young women," said sophomore forward Heather Zurich. "We were stripped of this moment by degrading comments made by Mr. Imus last Wednesday."

"I would like to speak to him personally and ... ask him, after you've met me personally, do you still feel in this category that I'm still a 'ho' as a woman and as a black, African-American woman..."

"Before you are valedictorians of their class, future doctors, musical prodigies, and yes, even Girl Scouts," she said. "They are young ladies of class, distinction, they are articulate, they are brilliant, they are gifted. They are God's representatives in every sense of the word."

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He Shoots....HE SCORES!!!!!!!!

National Champions!! National Champions!!! GO STATE!!!!



3 - 1. My Spartans are National Champions!

**UPDATE**

Here is a nice index page of all the goods on the game, and here is a link to a detailed article.

And this article has a neat little video embedded in it for the Spartan Fan.

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Weekend Audio/Visual Roundup

Welcome to the Nerdery Edition of Around the Keg. In this weekend edition, I will (in as lazy of a fashio as possible) offer you a wide variety of entertainment to wile-away your weekend hours.

There are enough vids to post that I wont't embed them, but rather link.

You'll Never Look at Kermit the Same Way Again
Kermit makes his video singing Nine Inch Nails' Hurt. Kermit barfing is funny. But Kermit shooting-up and masturbating to a picture of Miss Piggy? Comedy genius.

Another Kermit video is a montage video of Kermit performing Creep.

Watch and hear the rest of the Kermit horror-show here at SadKermit.com.

Hip-Hop, Folk-Style
Thanks to Wes over at Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Nachos, enjoy this version of Baby Got Back, done in a boy-band-meets-singer-songwriter style.

Then, have a listen to Straight Outta Compton sung by a sweet-sounding Nina Gordon. It is truly to laugh when you hear "motherfucking" sung in such a sweet voice.

And, as an encore, here is Alanis Morrisette singing "My Humps." She finally got "ironic" right.

Got any other goodies to post? Put 'em in the comments.

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Lenten Fasting

During the 17th and 18th century, Monks relied on beer to fulfill basic needs. Beer was more than a pleasant drink; it was an important source of potable water and nutrients. Followers of St. Francis of Paula (hence, the Paulaner line of monks and the Paulaner brewery, which brews Salvator) came to Munich from Italy help maintain Catholicism in Bavaria. The calendar played an important part in daily monastic life, dictating what was brewed. Twice annually Paulaners fasted for extended periods: the four weeks of Advent preceding Christmas, and the forty days of Lent leading up to Easter.

During these fasts, no solid food was allowed. However, liquids were not restricted, including beer. The often repeated nickname “liquid bread” was literally true in this case; as the Monks worked hard to brew the most nutritious beer they could for these times.

Double Bocks, or, Doppelbocks are huge beers with enough malt packed in them to consider them a meal in its self. Generally having a very full-bodied flavor and darker than other bocks with a higher level of alcohol also. The range in color from dark amber to nearly black. Dark versions may have slight chocolate or roasted characters

Ayiner means that the brewery comes from the town of Aying in Germany. Most doppelbocks, especially the true German doppelbocks usually end in "tor"; hence, SalvaTOR, CelebraTOR, etc. So from the brewery in Aying, Germany, we are treated with the finest of doppelbocks, Celebrator:

This brown bottle comes with a plastic trinket goat tied around the neck (goats were associated with bock beers, not Satanism). No freshness date on the bottle, not to worry though as this brew has a longer shelf life that normal beers due to the sugar and the higher alcohol content.

Appearance: Dark and intense, a deep mahogany, with a big, frothy, tan head that lays on top andliterally sticks around as long as the beer is there. Huge, thick, Guinness-like lacing

Scent: Molasses and faint caramel mix with a dark bready, toasty aroma. Slight spicy alcohol, with a barely-detectable herbal hop aroma. It ends with a chocolaty note.

Taste: Huge chewy malt of molasses and toasted bread with a smooth milk-chocolate finish. Spicy alcohol warms the tongue. Not too dry at all. There are tons of residual sugars, lingering dark sugars (like a brown sugar) and fading grain in the end.

Mouthfeel: Incredibly smooth and creamy. Light carbonation lends to a smooth teture. Chewy; syrupy.

OIverall: This is the mother of all Doppelbocks. This is what a doppelbock should strive to be. This is what that shit from Michelob (Amber Bock) wishes it was, but it's not even the same family. This beer is why monks were so happy. Trust me: I'd forego food too if I got to drink this for 40 days straight.

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What Would Ahmadinejad Do?

A busy mid-week has kept me from rapid and relevent posts, but I have been thinking a lot about Iran, the British sailors and Marines, and exactly what Ahmedinejad got out of this whole ordeal. Why would he do this? Why would he essentially kidnap British troops who were, according to GPS systems, well within Iraqi waters?

Clearly, Ahmedinejad is the head of an insane regime who is potentially significantly more dangerous and threatening to Mid-East peace than, say, Syria. But what he did was win a "moral" victory (for lack of a better way to put it) by broadcasting video of the captives, in Iran, eating, drinking, laughing, smiling. Consider the picture right at the top of this article. Certainly nothing at all like this picture. A strong message indeed.

Take a listen to this report from NPR's Morning Edition this morning. They crew came off of a jet from Iran wearing fresh uniforms and bearing gifts, like pistacchios, from the Iranians. Several of the crew, including the woman, Turney, were recorded upon landing saying that they were treated with dignity and repsect, and never once felt as though they were in danger. Again, it draws a distinct contrast between Iran's treatment of prisoners (despite is "barbaric" moniker) and the United States' treatment of the same.

Now, I do see that our detainment of individuals arises from those whom we are actually fighting in an armed conflict with: Afghanistan and Iraq. Neither we nor the British have such an armed conflict with Iran. That said, most certainly did Ahmadinejad seize an opportunity to display such a massive disparity in conduct. It is most likely dishonest as its core; I believe him to be a demagogue of the sort that Hugo Chavez is, who will create opportunities to draw contrasts, however contrived. I believe that this was certianly contrived by a great Showman.

But in that contrivance lies a kernal of truth. If nothing else, it should serve to remind us of just how shitty of a job we're doing in Guantanamo Bay. That is partly Ahmadinejad's mission, at least as far as I can read his mind. I think he was trying to go a few steps further: look at how great we treat people who do us wrong, look at how generously we pardon them, look at how we're not positioning ourselves for an armed conflict. Who knows...what if we did enter in an armed conflict with Iran. Would they treat prisoners the same still? Would they still give them pressed suits and food? I doubt it pretty strongly.

In the end, this was Showmanship, not statesmanship. But Ahmadinejad did accomplish something significant: he held Britain's balls for just a mere moment, and made a giant take a pause. It said that while the UK and the US are stretched ever so thin, that one little motion from one little man in Iran could cause untold havoc; "come and get me....psyche. Here's your troops back. Ready to negotiate with me yet on better terms?" But how else was he going to be able to negotiate from a position of power? He is not generous, nor especially giving. But I think he found a way to get a seat at the table more effectively than this lunatic ever could on his best day.

The Brits say that this has "opened new lines of communication" with Tehran. And accordingly, the nuclear talks have re-opened. The ball is in our court now. What will we do?

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I Hate Florida

This sucks ass.
I hate Billy Donovan. I hate Florida. I hate the SEC. And what I hate most of all is that the 84 - 75 victory over Ohio State (whom I also hate, but was forced to root for because they are at least a Big 10 school) confirms everything that the talking heads at ESPN have been gushing about for what feels like 6 months (but was really only a couple of days).

And in equally-disappointing news, there was the Tigers' opening day. 5 - 3 loss to the Blue Jays in 10 innings. Yes, boys, you still actually have to play baseball in order to win.

**Update**

Okay, so there is still humor to be found today. I know you can normally post You Tube clips to Blogger, but I want this done quick and dirty. Go check out this video parody of My Humps by Alannis Morrisette. Hysterical.

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All The News That's Fit To Miss

Well, it's Monday. Nothing big really happened to me this weekend. It's too early in the week to turn the Outrage-ometer all the way up, so instead, a Monday News Roundup:

1) Some people are too sick for words. Enough said.

2) Somebody has to take some leadership. I am a little grumpy about the title of the article on CNN, because her visit is much more than a pro-Israel, anti-Hezbollah tour de force. The Whitehouse continues to employ their "if we don't like 'em, we ignore 'em" policy, whereas Syria, if not ignored, could play a major role in MidEast peace and reconstruction.

3) THIS is a safe neighborhood walk? Jesus. Sure, when you have a small army accompanying you, anything is pretty safe.[thanks to Think Progress] But to insist there is a drop in violence flies in the face of the facts. 6 more soldiers dead that very same day. Read the whole article. Lots of blood.

4) This is what "one of the world's worst terrorists" got for a sentence on the charges levied against him. Do I think it should be more? Not the point. The point is that the case against him, as well as the "system" that is keeping these people is weaqk at best. World's worst terrorist got the sentence of a shoplifter.

Discuss.

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