Monday, June 23, 2014
Bad Ads - L'oreal
Is this seriously being marketed in 2014?
A new mascara that allows white girls to shout "hey, look at me, I'm Japanese!"
Cultural appropriation as a marketing tool.
Just awful. Offensive and insulting.
Pretty much straight-up racist.
Bad Ads - Disney
Fair warning, do not watch this video if you are easily appalled.
This is pretty much everything horrible about American culture in the late 20th Century. For some reason dragged into the 21st.
The Wayfarer shades pushed down the bridge of the nose, al Risky Business.
The popped collars.
The lame-o white-guy rapping.
The phrase "it rocks."
Iconic children's characters trying to act "cool" with sunglasses and a faux-ZZ-Top "Sharp Dressed Man" put-on.
Just horrible. If I didn't already hate Disney, this would've sealed it.
I just hope everyone involved in this debacle dies a slow, horrible death.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
On kids, moms, and dads
I saw a couple of articles about some horrible "March for Marriage, well marriage for us, not for them" rally they just had in DC, and I noticed a common theme that kept popping up:
Yes, every child deserves/needs a mom and a dad.
Well, let's pretend for a minute that that's true. Let's pretend there aren't lots of kids raised by single parents that are doing quite well.
Let's assume that the adorable daughter of my friends Mark and David is somehow being given a less-than-optimal childhood. Let's pretend that's all true. You know what causes a lot of kids to have to grow up without a daddy? War. Why aren't these pricks up in arms, so to speak, about the constant wars this country has to keep involving itself in? 5,000 American men and women and countless thousands of Iraqis have been killed in that 10-year hell-journey, do these people not realize that a lot of these late, lamented heroes had children? That's a lot of dead daddies and mommies just to pad the bank accounts of Halliburton and Blackwater , etc.
And what about those troops coming home with PTSD? I heard an interview with an Iraq War veteran who, shortly after returning home, left his wife and daughter because he was so afraid that he might hurt or kill the child. He had recurring nightmares about smashing the child against a wall and he couldn't trust himself to be around her. Now this little girl has no daddy because Dick Cheney just really really wanted a war. Not a peep out of the "kids need a mom and dad" crowd.
You know what else causes some children to grow up without a mom or a dad? Our steadfast refusal to do anything at all about our nation's gun problem.
Father found shot to death outside Clear Lake Home
Published On: Jun 20 2014 06:14:46 AM CDT
New father shot, killed during infant's homecoming
PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- Officials in Panama City say a new father is dead after a neighbor accidently fired a gun into the family's home during a gathering to celebrate the infant's homecoming.
Family mourns dad shot and killed one day before Father's Day
Posted: Jun 16, 2014 8:04 AM EST
HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) – The search for a suspect in a deadly shooting continued Sunday after a father died from multiple gunshot wounds Saturday. Now, the family of Antonio Dexter Smith is searching for answers, and his two young children are spending Father's Day without him.
These are just from the last few days.
Why aren't these assholes out protesting about this?
Every day in this country, kids lose a father or a mother to senseless gun violence, yo'u'd think these people who care so much about the welfare of children would be demanding stricter gun laws.
Unless. . . .
Maybe they're just using the kids as an excuse? Maybe they just want to keep gay people being treated as second-class citizens? Maybe it's not about the kids at all?
Nah, it couldn't be that! No one's that cynical, except maybe. . .
Oh, yep. It's just about the homophobia. Not about the kids at all. Now I get it!
Friday, June 20, 2014
What the hell is it with these people?
Why is it that certain, shall we say conservative-leaning, white people spend so much time trying to find some loophole, some scenario in which it's okay for them to say the N-word?
At least this idiot comes up with a new fake pathetic rationale. I just assumed he'd go with the Dr. Laura "hey, if the black people can say that word why can't I?' logic. No, America's most famous deadbeat dad has a whole new line of reasoning which is equally stupid. Well, let's just let him explain it in this series of tweets.
Yeah, ya do. You know exactly why.
Hmm, I wonder what those "other words" might be?
You know, every radio and tv outlet has their own standards for which words they consider too offensive. Like you can say "fuck" on HBO, but not on Comedy Central. You can say "shit" on Comedy central, but not on the Hallmark Channel.
In fact, not to digress, but I remember seeing Patton Oswalt on tv talking about his Comedians of Comedy show, and he said that the network would allow hin to say the word "dick" if it referred to a person who is a jerk, but he could not use the same word if it referred to a man's organ. His conundrum was this: what if some guy's penis is a racist? What if his "dick" is a real "dick?" Then what? Well, it was funny the way he said it.
Anyway, my point is that there's really no mystery here. There's nothing strange about a radio station deciding that this particular racial slur is okay to say on the air, but another one isn't. No matter how much you pretend to be just completely flummoxed by this inconsistency.
You know, a decent person would ask "if 'Redskins' is just like the n-word, then why the hell are we allowed to say 'Redskins?'" But you, being more of a shitweasel than a decent human being, of course want to know why can't you say the N-word.
Well, hallelujah!
Oh, yes. Of course. That's what you were trying to do. Trying to have an honest discussion about racist language. Yes, obviously. What could be a more honest discussion of such a controvbersial topic than "hey, how come I can't say n***er?"
Yeah, there's really not much to explain. You used offensive language on the air, so the radio station fired you or suspended you or whatever, as is their right. And, under FCC regulations, may actually be their obligation, I'm not sure. But anyway,no explanation is required. It's like saying "well, I robbed a liquor store, so I'm being arrested. . . you know what, it's a long story, I'll explain it to you later."
And there it is.
You just couldn't resist, could you. You just had to find a way to say the N-word.
What the hell is it with you people? Of all the things you could be doing with your time, of all the "rights" you could be standing up for, you have to dedicate your efforts to somehow coming up with some way that it's okay for you to say the N-word. Why would you even want to say that word? It's a horrible word. And if you honestly think that "Cracker" or "Redneck Bible Thumper" are in any way its equivalent, then you are are even stupider than I thought.
Tea Party Hero Joe Walsh Kicked Off The Air For Using The N-Word
By Scarce June 20, 2014 4:23 amAt least this idiot comes up with a new fake pathetic rationale. I just assumed he'd go with the Dr. Laura "hey, if the black people can say that word why can't I?' logic. No, America's most famous deadbeat dad has a whole new line of reasoning which is equally stupid. Well, let's just let him explain it in this series of tweets.
Hmm, I wonder what those "other words" might be?
You know, every radio and tv outlet has their own standards for which words they consider too offensive. Like you can say "fuck" on HBO, but not on Comedy Central. You can say "shit" on Comedy central, but not on the Hallmark Channel.
In fact, not to digress, but I remember seeing Patton Oswalt on tv talking about his Comedians of Comedy show, and he said that the network would allow hin to say the word "dick" if it referred to a person who is a jerk, but he could not use the same word if it referred to a man's organ. His conundrum was this: what if some guy's penis is a racist? What if his "dick" is a real "dick?" Then what? Well, it was funny the way he said it.
Anyway, my point is that there's really no mystery here. There's nothing strange about a radio station deciding that this particular racial slur is okay to say on the air, but another one isn't. No matter how much you pretend to be just completely flummoxed by this inconsistency.
You know, a decent person would ask "if 'Redskins' is just like the n-word, then why the hell are we allowed to say 'Redskins?'" But you, being more of a shitweasel than a decent human being, of course want to know why can't you say the N-word.
Oh, yes. Of course. That's what you were trying to do. Trying to have an honest discussion about racist language. Yes, obviously. What could be a more honest discussion of such a controvbersial topic than "hey, how come I can't say n***er?"
Yeah, there's really not much to explain. You used offensive language on the air, so the radio station fired you or suspended you or whatever, as is their right. And, under FCC regulations, may actually be their obligation, I'm not sure. But anyway,no explanation is required. It's like saying "well, I robbed a liquor store, so I'm being arrested. . . you know what, it's a long story, I'll explain it to you later."
You just couldn't resist, could you. You just had to find a way to say the N-word.
What the hell is it with you people? Of all the things you could be doing with your time, of all the "rights" you could be standing up for, you have to dedicate your efforts to somehow coming up with some way that it's okay for you to say the N-word. Why would you even want to say that word? It's a horrible word. And if you honestly think that "Cracker" or "Redneck Bible Thumper" are in any way its equivalent, then you are are even stupider than I thought.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
it's hard to say which is worse
On the one hand, you have all the people who got Iraq so spectacularly, horribly wrong the first time, by whatever combination of incompetence and mendacity, being trotted out again and asked for their "insights" into how to rectify the entirely predictable disaster that they helped to cause. Because there are no consequences for being this utterly wrong about something this important. No matter how many lives are lost due to your infantile wishful thinking and your insecure bloodthirsty faux-machismo, you will never be treated as anything less than a sage by the television networks and op-ed page editors.
I mean, the utter shamelessness of a piece like this:
Face the Nation had Lindsey Graham who never saw a Muslim country he didn't want to invade to prove how butch he is.
But no anti-war voices as far as I can tell.(I couldn't find the guest list for ABC's This Week, and I don't need to check anything on FOX)
So those who were wrong keep getting invited back on the air. Those who were right continue to be shunned. And it's hard to say which bodes worse for the future.
I mean, the utter shamelessness of a piece like this:
The Collapsing Obama Doctrine
Rarely has a U.S. president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many
would have been unthinkable had not Oliver fucking North been trotted out last week to complain about the President's methods of freeing a US hostage.
In a sane world, it would be unimaginable that someone like Cheney would show his face in public, let alone be invited onto the pages of a major newspaper to try and deflect blame for the gruesome debacle he had a major part in causing. Former officials like Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and Powell, and media figures like Bill Kristol, Thomas Friedman and Judith Miller should have had their homes burnt to the ground and been chased from town to town by jeering mobs, spitting and cursing at them.
But no, there are no consequences at all for being this wrong.
But what may be even worse is that the one thing for which one can be punished is having been right. With all the talk shows booking John McCain and the chorus of neo-cons pushing for yet more blood to be shed in Iraq, has anyone booked Barbara Lee? How about Janeane Garofalo? Michael Moore? Dennis Kucinich? Have we heard from anyone who opposed the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, now that the situation has devolved into exactly the sectarian bloodbath they predicted it would?
Meet the Press had Mitt Romney, of all people, to discuss how if he was president everything would be better because we would never ever leave Iraq until they finally just admit how much they love us or something. And then PAUL FUCKING WOLFOWITZ! Who STILL gets everything wrong!
NO, this is NOT Al Qaeda. These are the guys whom Al Qaeda found to be too extreme. They actually don't get along all that well with Al Qaeda. But then again, neither did Saddam Hussein and you didn't let that fact interfere with a good narrative.
Meet the Press had Mitt Romney, of all people, to discuss how if he was president everything would be better because we would never ever leave Iraq until they finally just admit how much they love us or something. And then PAUL FUCKING WOLFOWITZ! Who STILL gets everything wrong!
PAUL WOLFOWITZ:
Look, you used the word
sectarian, so did Richard Engel. This is more than just those obscure,
Shia/Sunni conflict. This is Al Qaeda. And Al Qaeda is not on the road
to defeat, Al Qaeda is on the march. Not just in Iraq, in Syria, and
Libya.
NO, this is NOT Al Qaeda. These are the guys whom Al Qaeda found to be too extreme. They actually don't get along all that well with Al Qaeda. But then again, neither did Saddam Hussein and you didn't let that fact interfere with a good narrative.
But no anti-war voices as far as I can tell.(I couldn't find the guest list for ABC's This Week, and I don't need to check anything on FOX)
So those who were wrong keep getting invited back on the air. Those who were right continue to be shunned. And it's hard to say which bodes worse for the future.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)