Gentleman Agitator

SICK OR TREAT: Penn State Students Win Stinky Sandwich Award

    On December 6, 2007 it was reported that on Halloween of this year, some students from Penn State University attended an off-campus party dressed as victims of the horrific murders at Virginia Tech University earlier this year. Their costumes came complete with fake blood, bullet holes and brains spilling out of the cranium. The images were leaked from a supposed private Facebook page to the media and the Internet. Out of deference for the feelings of the families and friends of the victims, I will not post these images. They are out there on the web to be seen. For this, I give these students my latest Stinky Sandwich Award.

    Few words can adequately describe my feelings of revulsion when hearing of this story. The ringleader of the perpetrators of this sick act, a Mr. Nathan Jones, has no remorse and vows to never apologize.  It was not even the first time his fellow Halloween partygoers had done something like this. Other partygoers from last year dressed up as the Amish girls gunned down in their one room Pennsylvania schoolhouse in West Nickel Mines. Mr. Jones and his pals just wanted to top that.
    An editorial in the Penn State student newspaper decried that some Ohio State “bartenders” did the Virginia Tech costume thing, but they were not brought out into the media and criticized. So why pick on Penn State? It also mentions the students at a party that were dressed as gay Klu Klux Klan members with blackface at Penn State and it never made much news traction beyond their paper. Mr. Jones came as a gay Hitler. (For more on Mr. Nathan Jones read, “Our Interview With Nathan Jones, The Virginia Tech Shooting "Victim" at psuOTR.com.) He just keeps digging himself a larger hole with every whining word.) The PSU student paper’s attitude comes off like many moral copouts of the 21st century. It is the well, “Ok, I did it, but so and so did it first. How come I a get in trouble if they don’t? And if they didn’t how bad can it be?” This is an outgrowth of the rise of moral relativism in the 1990s with President Bill Clinton as the poster child. Moral relativism is the philosophical theory that morality is relative, that different moral truths hold for different people. Moral relativism is just a copout by which anyone can justify any behavior.
    Speaking of copouts and excuses in this matter let us look to Penn State University. After the Halloween partiers made headlines, the administration at the university got its PR damage control team to quickly state, "We are appalled that these individuals would display this level of insensitivity, indifference, and lack of common decency and sense by dressing up in this manner."
    Their head PR man, the vice president for university relations, Bill Mahon said, “People all over Penn State - students, faculty, alumni - are appalled at what they've done."  Yet, the university refuses to take any action disciplinary action against the students since they were expressing their freedom of speech. Ah yes, once again people using the first amendment and what is interpreted as “speech” though it is only a visual representation of speech. Speech is what comes out of the mouth; all other things are a gray area to me. And the school’s administration dare not suspend or expel the students for fear that little Suzy or Johnny get their parents lawyers to sue them on first amendment grounds. No, we do not want to give Penn State any more bad publicity do we? The only woman in the images was called into PSU’s judicial affairs office. Hmm, some places that would translate into meaning that they were called into the university lawyer’s office and read the riot act about how the student and the university could be sued over this and what the ____ did they think they were doing?
    I wonder if they discussed with her the Penn State Off-Campus Misconduct Policy. It states: Student conduct committed off the campus which affects a Substantial University Interest is conduct which:
    * Constitutes a violation of local, state or federal law.  Included are repeat violations of any local, state or federal law committed in the municipality where the University is located.  (NO, WE CANNOT SAY THAT.)
    * Indicates that the student may present a danger or threat to the health or safety of him/herself or others. (CONSIDERING DEATH THREATS AGAINST THE SICKOS HAVE COME IN FROM OTHER SICKOS; THERE MIGHT BE A CASE THERE.)
    * Significantly impinges upon the rights, property or achievements of self or others or significantly breaches the peace and/or causes social disorder. (OH YES, THERE IS CASE HERE FOR ACTION. THEIR ACTIONS CLEARLY HAVE IMPINGED THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THEMSELVES, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, BESMEARCHED ACHIEVEMENTS OF THEIR FELLOW STUDENTS BY PROMOTION OF AN INACCURATE VIEW OF ALL PENN STATE STUDENTS. THEY ALSO CAUSED SOCIAL DISORDER IF NOT ON THE PENN STATE CAMPUS, ON THE CAMPUS OF VIRGINIA TECH BY TWISTING THE KNIFE IN THE EMOTIONAL WOUNDS OF THEIR STUDENTS, FACULTY AND PARENTS.)
    * Is detrimental to the educational interests of the University. (NOTHING THERE)
    Penn State administration instead of taking action against the students, prefers to call this a "teaching moment" about the “callousness it portrays”.  Ok, then the teaching should be in what their original statement called “common decency.” Yes, common decency, or perhaps even more sharply said, a common sense of right and wrong, sympathy for the weak, the injured and the mourning among us, and acting towards others the way you would want them to act towards you.
    So, in a teaching moment, I am reminded of a quote from *Vaclav Havel from the Czech playwright, poet, and political dissident, who, after the fall of communism, was president of Czechoslovakia (1989–92) and of the Czech Republic (1993–2003).
    He wrote in his book, Summer Meditations, “...I must emphasize and explain repeatedly the moral dimensions of all social life, and point out that morality is, in fact, hidden in everything..."
    Yes, it is even hidden in the Halloween costume you put on, between a fun, “trick or treat,” or a cruel “sick or treat.” It is something for Nathan Jones, his friends and all of us to remember. 

    * Vaclav Havel will be the subject of the next “Pillars of My Principles” section here at Gentleman Agitator.

Hey, "Big One!" Here is a Big Stinky For You!

    Well, this Saturday morning July 7, 2007, I once again spent some time listening to radio station WLW-AM 700 from Cincinnati, Ohio. I like Cincinnati a lot and care about its future. I listen to WLW to hear newscasts from Cincinnati to keep up on things there. Saturday mornings are the best time to hear commentary from the hosts about the local scene. Though, as usual, that is not all you hear.

    Mid-morning host, Darryl Parks decided his big story of the day was the recent plea-bargain agreement of a former suburban Mason, Ohio firefighter, who was caught drunk in a local park dressed in women’s swimwear and a wig. Ooooh, that was scintillating radio. Mr. Parks full titles are, “Director of AM Operations for Clear Channel Cincinnati. He is also Regional News Talk Brand Manager for Clear Channel (overseeing 700 WLW, 55 WKRC, 1360 WCKY and 1530 WSAI.)”

    Then Parks got some bees in his bonnet. One had to do with a guest editorial in the day’s Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper.  Entitled, “Give progressive radio a chance in Cincinnati,” by Jerry Baker, an engineer and sales director for GE Aviation in the area and a precinct captain for the Democratic Party in Hamilton County, Ohio. His case stated:

    “…Progressive talk listeners are simply asking for an equal opportunity to present progressive views on the airwaves. Residents of Southwest Ohio who wanted to listen to this format got only a brief chance to do so when it was carried by WCKY, then moved over to the weaker signal on WSAI. Ratings weren't great, but the stations were poorly managed and poorly promoted…”

    Parks scoffed at the editorial. A caller actually got by the screener to challenge Mr. Parks on his handling of the former Air America affiliate in town. He was in charge of that station as part of his duties. The caller even had the courage to describe himself as a homosexual. I cringed, waiting for Parks to go after him. Like many right-wing talkers, they will let the occasional opposing view on the air under the cover of giving a hearing to all points of view.  Then they make sarcastic or subtle attacks of the person’s views, belittling them and trying to humiliate them.
The caller went on to say that Parks had helped to kill a great network, meaning Air America. What I think the caller meant was the station at the time, WCKY or WSAI depending on when you were listening. Air America is still alive despite the best efforts of station programmers like Darryl Parks and really bad business planning by Air America’s management. Far be it from Mr. Parks to correct the caller in his meaning. He seemed smug about the whole “helping to kill a great network.” Defending the editorial, the caller criticized the lack of promotion of the station.

    That hurt Mr. Parks like an arrow through his heart, “You know how much money we spent to promote the station?!”

    Parks went on to talk about the billboards and busboards around town at the time. I believe he said that $150,000 dollars was spent on promotion. I cannot remember that for sure. He talked about the poor ratings. Of course, he did not go over the dial position flipping he did. He moved the progressive talk format from a 50,000-watt transmitter to a 5,000-watt transmitter. So much for me hearing it here in Bloomington, Indiana. It reminded me of how Republicans like to use the term, “starving the beast,” for their aims to reduce the size of government built by bad liberals. Parks starved the liberal format on his station. One has to wonder if he really wanted it to succeed or not. He insinuated that the format failed because after you hear, “I hate Bush,” from Air America, they really have nothing more to say.

    The caller said he started listening to the “Big One,” (WLW 700 AM’s nickname) after the liberal format left WSAI.

    Parks said, “The Big One,” you like that name don’t you?” The caller either did not hear that crack or ignored it. I just knew Darryl would get a homosexual joke in at some point to demean the caller.

    The caller challenged Mr. Parks that WLW was a conservative talk station. Here is where Park’s went off the rail. He claimed WLW’s programming was based on entertainment and as he said to the caller, “No politics.” WKRC (another station owned by Clear Channel in Cincinnati) he admitted was a conservative talk station. He added the claim that zero money spent on promoting WKRC!  I took a look at WKRC’s website for signs of promotion. Sure enough, I found this amongst a few others quote:

“Freedom Concert contest
55KRC want to get you up close and personal with Sean Hannity during his visit to Cincinnati for the Freedom Concert. Register to win two tickets to the concert AND two VIP passes for the meet and greet with Sean at Kings Island. Winner will be drawn on Monday, July 9 and contacted via telephone.”

    This is big time promotion! And you cannot tell me that WKRC will not spend a dime on this. I can see Hannity’s people possibly paying for it, but…well….let us be honest, okay Mr. Parks? Even if you have a number one rated station, you keep doing promotion. I think you would be incopotent in your job otherwise.

    He claimed that WLW programming was done by layering it and making it entertaining. The Binki fireman story bar contest he used as an example. Yeah, I guess you got me there. That story was not political. It was adolescent, but not political.

    However, so much of their “entertainment” as it were is permeated with their political bent. It is insidiously “layered,” into it either purposely or  is there just by the nature of the host’s personality, WLW’s talk personalities, sports aside, are all conservatives! WLW cannot help but be conservative.

    When Air America dares to be “entertaining” with political humor Mr. Parks and his ilk would just say they hate Bush. It’s the usual conservative come back. And yeah, a lot of that political humor is based on an anti-Bush theme. And yeah, some of it I condemn as well. Some of it goes over the line. When right wingers do it though, it is just entertaining fun.

    Later in his program, Darryl Parks got to another bee in his bonnet; the state of Ohio’s banning of smoking indoors. He went off about how WLW was narced on and received a violation notice for smoking that had occurred in a break room. He denied it ever happened. Hey, I am willing to believe you on that one Darryl. It is quite possible that a listener with an axe to grind called the violations hotline just to hear you squirm about it on the air. Ah, but Mr. Parks, is not the smoking ban a “political” issue in Ohio?  Yes, it sure has been. He went on to demean the Health Department employee who delivered the notice as a “stooge.” He also referred to the Ohio Health Department as the mark of the beast. Typical snide insults by right wingers who think everyone who works for a government agency is evil and out to get them. That is, of course unless it involves a tax break coming to them.

    Then it was onto taking a shot at the Al Gore inspired “Live Earth” concert this weekend. Now, I will admit that I think rock concerts as political statement usually amount to little more than good feelings amongst the participants and the audience, but little else in the end. It is a typical liberal way of trying to spread a message. I always found it somewhat lame. Liberals can be such easy targets also with events like these. Darryl recited the right-wing talking points about how much garbage the concert will produce and what was powering the whole thing. This I found the coup d’ gras of the day’s hypocrisy at the “Big One.”

    Conservatives accuse liberals in Hollywood all the time of using politics in their “entertainment.” This does sometimes happen. However, when right-wingers Darryl Parks of the world do it; it is just plain “entertainment.” Oh, yeah sure, right. It is just “entertainment.” And for that Darryl Parks and WLW get my Stinky Sandwich Award.  Oh, do not worry, it is not about politics. I am just trying to be entertaining.

STINKY SANDWICH WINNER: DEATH STICK No.9

Recently, the Gentleman Agitator has taken a break. In that time, there have been so many possible Stinky winners; it has been hard to keep up. It is so easy to get outraged these days. I try though to reserve my Stinkers for things most foul, but ones that might go a under the radar of the media and popular culture filters. Yes, foul and filters, that bring us to R.J. Reynolds latest offering in mass murder marketing, cigarette, Camel No.9.

I was listening to NPR this morning and I seethed! Their story, “Critics Fume over Marketing of 'Camel No. 9'” really got my attention. I urge you to follow the link and read the whole story or listen to it as broadcast on NPR. Here are some text quotes from the story and my comments:

“When R.J. Reynolds held a party in Florida last weekend to introduce its newest cigarette, the music was loud, the dance floor was crowded, and — if you believe the company's ads — the smoke that hung in the air was "light and luscious…”

Light and luscious eh?  Sounds like an opium den might be described that way by its addicts as well.

"I like them. They're a sweeter taste, and they don't stink like regular cigarettes," said Angela Rewis, 26, who described herself as a stay-at-home mom. "And I like the pack. It's more for females, instead of carrying around a nasty, ugly pack."

Oh good Angela, they do not stink. Perhaps you could just light them in your child’s bedroom as an air freshener! Let the carcinogens waft through the air. Or if they taste sweet, maybe they could be like a candy cigarette for your child. And I know, it really sucks to carry around a nasty, ugly pack. What are those advertising agencies doing these days? Geeze!  You know the pink on the No. 9 pack is like sooo cute.  That is the sort of like the color of healthy lungs. And like you know, the black color of the pack, that is like the color of your lungs after years of smoking, nice gooey tar sticking to them! Oooh cool!

"Camel has traditionally been looked at as a male brand," said R.J. Reynolds spokesman Craig Fishel; he notes that only about 30 percent of Camel smokers are women. "So we saw a great business opportunity there to be able to communicate with adult, female smokers of competitive brands that this is a product they might enjoy."

Yeah Mr. P.R. Flak for Camel, only 30% are women, great. Dang, your profits must be hurting. Here is another stat for you from the U.S. Surgeon General’s report in 2001 referenced by the American Cancer Society http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2X_Women_and_Smoking.asp. “In March 2001, the Office of the US Surgeon General released a long-awaited, detailed report entitled "Women and Smoking," along with the following statement:
"When calling attention to public health problems, we must not misuse the word 'epidemic.' But there is no better word to describe the 600-percent increase since 1950 in women’s death rates for lung cancer, a disease primarily caused by cigarette smoking. Clearly, smoking-related disease among women is a full-blown epidemic." -- David Satcher, MD, PhD.”

Later in the NPR story..."I enjoy a good cigarette when I'm drinking and hanging out," said Terry Turner, 29, an insurance adjuster who said she planned to make Camel No. 9 menthols her regular brand. "They're very light, but yet feminine. It's very packaged — like you wouldn't mind showing it to everyone."

Yes, very packaged. In fact, I thought I would make my own ad for them. I think it shows the, complete package. I don’t think I mind showing it to everyone either. I hope Goya would not mind anyway. He gave me a little help with Britney’s gal pal, Miss Angelina Della Morte.

Celebrity Couple by T.D. Miller

Stinky Sandwich Award: To the 2008 Presidential Campaign, Already Stinky!

Ok, hands up! Who is already tired of the 2008 presidential campaign?

I am sick and tired of it already in February of 2007. It is kind of like the nauseating advertising for Christmas shopping that begins in early October, demanding we get the present now or it is too late. We can now count on our next presidential hopefuls to get out there and annoy the American people earlier than ever.

Hillary, I really do not care what you are doing. Oh and Barack, watch your back. John McCain, I would rather you go check out Building 18 at Walter Reed Hospital than go suck up to Ahhhrnold in Kaleefornya. Rudy, gee man, come out of the candidate closet already and stop taking speech money for what are essentially campaign stops! Mitt baby, why did I see you on TV shaking hands with jetBlue passengers, when the airline was in a melt down? Let’s see their CEO is a Mormon also. Cue, Jerry Seinfeld, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.” What a cowinkydink it is though. Kind of like you supporting gun control at one point and then joining the NRA last August. John Edwards, was it not a little unseemly to announce your candidacy with Katrina wreckage behind you, using those poor people as a backdrop? Please put your great wife Elizabeth in your place. There is a woman I could vote for president.

Governor Vilsack, please do not go. There goes one decent person out of the race. He could not keep up with contributions THIS early? THIS is sickening! Who knows now if Tom Vilsack would have been a great president? I was really looking forward to having as many Midwesterners in the race as possible. Ironic that Hillary is a native Midwesterner, but she has carpet bagged her way to New York now. Fine by me. I am sick and tired of easterners, southerners, Texans and westerners running the country. I guess if you cannot almost buy the presidency though, you do not stand a chance, no matter where you are from. That is not democracy!

Oh media, I cannot leave you out. It is your lust for a story to fill hours of talking head blather shows that has fueled this now horrifically long campaign. Chris Matthews has a crush on Hillary Clinton that is embarrassing. Memo to Chris: Believe it or not, we do not all like Hillary, or for that matter care, what she has to say! That goes for Rudy or any other eastern politician you care to fawn over. Chris you cannot name a front-runner yet, no matter how much you may insist there is one or force one of your guests to agree with you. Matthews is not alone, most media pundits are just as absurd in their so-called coverage of an election that is months away from a caucus or primary vote.

I fear corporate media and the all mighty dollar will choose the nominees before one American can have a chance to vote for anyone. I could advise my readers to ignore it all until later this year, but it will not go away. My advice is to keep your ears open, your eyes analyzing, and your voice loud and clear. Do not allow any media pundit, pollster or candidate to tell you what to believe or how it supposedly is. You judge what you believe to be true. Do not look away and pretend it does not matter. Too many people have looked away for too long and look where we are. For the future of our nation, we cannot afford to look away. I guess I will just have to get used to being sick and tired until November 2008.

Don't Leave Us With the AirTran Commercial!

    
The Stinky Sandwich this time goes to AirTran Airways and their commercial with the grandparents visiting their infant grandchildren. Tacky is what I would call it. The scenario of the thirty-second spot involves a set of grandparents coming to visit their twin grandchildren. They show up in a taxi at their daughter’s house. The parents of the children have conned the frail older couple by secretly buying AirTran tickets for a "getaway" trip. Then when grand ma and grandpa show up they high tail it out of the house and shove the babies in the grandparent’s arms on the way. The taxi with the parents squeals away as the grandfather shuffles after the taxi desperately yelling, "Don't leave us with the babies!" Nice.

I found a web forum dedicated to parents of twins, most of whom thought the spot was mildly amusing. None of them commented on the deception of the parents though. Now, I can believe that twins are a handful. Double trouble as the old saying goes. I can believe any parent of twins or otherwise like a little personal time now and then. This commercial however leads you to believe it is ok to lie to your own elderly parents. It leads you to believe that it is ok to leave your children's safety in the hands of two people who might just not be able to take care of them as well as when they were younger. It is also disrespectful of senior citizens showing a usual stereotype of doddering, clueless types.

AirTran can dish out tasteless stereotypes, but they cannot take evidently. They complained in 2005 about another ad that satirizes low cost carriers as AirTran is and has been since their origination as Valujet. That was a Budweiser radio spot in 2005 part of the successful "Real Men of Genius," campaign.

Entitled, "Mr. Discount Airline Pilot Guy," the ad implies that pilots for low cost carriers are bottom of the barrel types, or as the ad states, "Your minimal experience flying a plane will never land you at a reputable airline. Luckily, you don't work for one," and "You put the fly in fly-by-night operation." AirTran CEO, Joe Leonard told the Wall Street Journal in October of 2005, "You may deem the commercial to be satirical, but I find it highly offensive."

Budweiser apologized for the ad stating, "This campaign was meant to poke fun at slices of everyday life, but this execution clearly crossed the line and is in poor taste," read the statement. "We extend our apologies to pilots and everyone in the airline industry."

Mr. Leonard you may deem your commercial with the grandparents highly satirical, but if I were a senior and or a grandparent, I would find it highly offensive also. I wonder if we will hear them, apologizing like Budweiser did. If they do, I will de-stinky them, until then, they get a moldy one.

Thanks for reading Gentleman Agitator.

Stinky Sandwich Award to Limbaugh and a Lite-Brite

Yes everyone it’s back for 2007, the Gentleman Agitator’s, Stinky Sandwich Awards. I give these to those in the recent news and popular culture who make rude, crude, obnoxious, or startlingly dumbfounding comments or actions.

The first Stinky Sandwich of the year is a tie. It’s really hard to tie at the Stinky. Usually if it is close, one will eek out the other. However, this week, I co-award it. First to the Landmark Legal Foundation of Leesburg, Virginia, for nominating Rush Limbaugh to win a Nobel Peace Prize. I am just gob smacked.

No words can adequately describe my astonishment. You have to consider the source. The Landmark Legal Foundation is a politically conservative public interest law firm. That and Rush is on their board of advisors. The LLF’s president, Mark Levin states that they nominated him because of his “...nearly two decades of tireless efforts to promote liberty, equality and opportunity for all humankind, regardless of race, creed, economic stratum or national origin. These are the only real cornerstones of just and lasting peace throughout the world...Rush Limbaugh is the foremost advocate for freedom and democracy in the world today. Everyday he gives voice to the values of democratic governance, individual opportunity and the just, equal application of the rule of law -- and it is fitting that the Nobel Committee recognize the power of these ideals to build a truly peaceful world for future generations."

I think that I will just let those statements speak for the insanity they are.

The other co-winner goes to the Cartoon Network. Yes, their little avant-garde ad campaign for Aqua Teen Hungerforce kinda backfired. They found out people are a little sensitive after 9/11. Though I must say, there was some overreaction on the part of authorities. They should have quickly realized they were harmless signs. If those were explosive devices, it was the comic-book villain “The Joker” who put them there. Warped humor attached to a boom boom is right up his alley. Speaking of jokers and warped humor, how about those two mensas Sean Stevens and Peter Berdovsky, who were arrested in Boston? INSERT SARCASTIC VOICE HERE → Ah yes, you have to love post-modern humor, right? Oh, weren’t they cute joking around and talking about their hair, instead of apologizing for frightening a major city. Oh man, you guys are funny! That is soooo cool and anti-social of you I forgot to laugh. And what did their crude light-brite cartoon character look like? It was a little retro video game icon giving the finger. Oh yes, that is sooo funny! <- END SARCASTIC VOICE

How sad that the trend of crude humor is now becoming a statement of this society? A culture’s humor, like many other elements is a reflection of the society that creates it. It’s characters like this and shows like South Park, which celebrate foul language and foul acts that reflect American society today. American culture has become the creature that chases its tail and consumes itself at the same time since the 1990’s. It looks inwardly self-absorbed and self-destructive. Rush Limbaugh and cartoon nasties, all part of our wonderful society. You can insert sarcasm again on that last sentence.

Thanks for reading Gentleman Agitator.

Stinky Sandwich of the Week: If You Yell, "Fire!" in a Crowded Mall, No One Will Care

Bargains roasting on an open fire

"...It was amazing," said Mentor fire Battalion Chief Joe Busher. "Even though there was heavy smoke in there, they all wanted to stay and shop. We even had to put people at the door to keep people from coming in...."

I just do not get it. Do their lives mean so little to them? Another tale of Holiday insanity, of misplaced priorities in life, of no real understanding of Chirstmas. I can just hear one shopper's last breath, "I got it! (Cough! Cough!) For half off! (Wheeze)."

Their are no returns after death.

Stinky Sandwich of the Week: Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan?

When a lot of you read this, you probably think, "Oh yeah, Lindsay Lohan deserves at lest one Stinky Sandwich award. So does Britney! Those girls are a mess!"

Yeah, Lindsay certainly is an easy target. So are a lot of young actors and actresses. Lindsay was created on the same ingenue Disney assembly line that created Britney. Disney and Hollywood in general, love to crank these girls out. Some go big, others disappear into the ether of pop culture, only to be seen in a thirty-second snippet on a VH1, I Love the ______'s special in the future. Hilary Duff is another example. Her career has been on life support for some time now. I digress.

Britney could get a Stinky Sandwich as well. Being caught without underwear. Yeah, that is real lady like Britney. Hanging out with Paris Hilton is not exactly the greatest either. I would say they are "two in a bed," but that would only fuel the speculation that they are lesbian lovers. The blood sucking, trash media has already declared them as such. Well, and Britney and Paris have been on girls night out with Lindsay as well. Oooh, does that mean a three-some? I am sure a British tabloid or an America trash news show will be on that soon.

Yes, I could give all three of them joint awards, but I will not. I will just give it to Britney this week. Not only for showing the road to China to the world, but in doing so, not only demeaning herself, but all women. I pray no young women see her antics as something to be admired. 

You know, I actually pity them all in some way. I pity how the meat grinder of fame destroys so many young lives. At least the last week shows hope for Lindsay Lohan. Here is a story on how Miss Lohan has entered an AA group: Lindsay Lohan attending AA meetings: publicist. I first read this story last Friday. Today's version seems to be edited down. The Friday edition had the publicist claiming that she has not actually decided to stop drinking yet. That she could at least go to AA meeting and be safe in talking about her life. The publicist also wondered how long it would be until a media type outed where the meeting were being held.

So, I will not give out a Stinky Sandwich to Lindsay, but pray that she learns that God has not given up on her. That she learns there are other ways to live than pointing the airplane of your life into a nose down dive just to see how close you get to the ground without crashing. If you are a young woman out there, or anyone, who has alcohol or any other self-destructive addiction controlling your life, you must know there is another way. There is hope. God does not give up on the Lindsay's, the Britney's, or the Paris's or you. Search for God. Turn your negatives into positives. Are you faced with a mountain in life? When I am faced with a problem that seem insurmountable, I always like to listen to the words of the Reverend Robert Schuller when he says, "When faced with a mountain, I will not quit! I will keep striving on until I climb over, find a pass through, tunnel underneath - or simply stay and turn the mountain into a gold mine with God's help." That's this week's Stinky Sandwich. The Gentleman Agitator signing off for this transmission. 
   

Stinky Sandwich Award: O.J. and News Corp

Sorry I am so late with this. Last week’s Stinky Sandwich of the Week had some good candidates. The stinkiest of them by far though had to be O.J. Simpson. This monster reared its hideousness again this last week. As author of the new book, “If I Did It,” Simpson apparently writes about how he would have killed his wife and her friend, had he really done it. Uh, yeah. Oddly enough, I have two connections to this psychotic nightmare, one with 13 million degrees of separation and the other a face-to-face meeting with the man. I use the term man loosely.

I used to live in Southern California and in Los Angeles County in particular. It was never a dull moment living out there. If there was not a natural disaster, there were man-made ones or celebrity driven ones. If there were not any of those, the Television newscasts would try to crank some up. The “rainy” season of winter would lead to doom laden music and a graphic, Eyewitness News STORMWATCH ’98! Then there was the disaster of the Simpson trial. You might think, if you lived outside of the L.A. area, the media intensity was great. It was nothing like being near the epicenter. After it was over, we were left with a hideous miscarriage of justice, a California justice system looking incompetent, and a psychopath free. It really only boiled down to the prosecution realizing that a glove permeated with a liquid and a liquid like blood, would have some hardening and shrinkage. Duh! It was a farce. How hideous it was and he seemed. He was not that way to me in early 1974.

I met O.J. Simpson at the NFL Pro-Bowl that year. I shook his hand. He was one of my football heroes. I thought he was the greatest running back I had ever seen as a 12 year old. He said hello and I mumbled something. Little did I know the evil I was touching. Or was he evil then? When did the darkness envelop is soul? When did he decide to kill? We may never know. I wonder know how I ever could have looked up to him. Children do though look up to athletes as heroes. As much as some athletes want to deny it, or ignore, they do. That has never changed. Now, this creature wants to profit more off his depravity. The bloodsuckers of News Corp and family want to also suck some more pain and sorrow off the Goldman and Brown families. Odd that John Gibson and Geraldo Rivera decried their sister network’s O.J. book special and then promptly put on their own O.J. Trial special. Sickening hypocrisy! Well, it’s Fox News. What else is new?

Oh, wait! As I write this: Breaking News! News Corp backs out of all of it! After much weeping and gnashing of teeth, they are sorry!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061120/ap_en_tv/tv_simpson_interview
Gee, that’s nice! How moral of them. Hmmm, maybe they can have a three-hour special with their tailor dummies of pundits. I can hear the announcer now. ““If We Showed It,” Fox News looks at why we didn’t show the show about “If I did It.””
This has surely been one stinky, putrid, nauseating sandwich!

Stinky Sandwich Award Winner #1

Every week, or as best as I can keep up, I will be awarding a Stinky Sandwich of the Week award to the person I found particularly offensive in the news of the world. Our first winner is...envelope please...

Yes, it is Senator Joe Liebermann of Connecticut! For the lack of integrity, he showed in not accepting defeat in the primaries and then declaring himself an Independent to be able to run in the general election. Now, after winning, Mr. Charisma appears on Meet the Press http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061112/ap_on_go_co/lieberman, “...In an e-mail message late Thursday, Lieberman's spokesman said the senator will begin his new term as a Democrat. The senator is in line to become chairman of the
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

"I'm going to caucus with the Democrats both because it's good for my constituents in Connecticut, because I retained my seniority, I become a committee chair, but also I want to continue to work to bring the party back to its historic traditions of strength on national security, foreign policy and innovation and progress in domestic policy," Lieberman said Sunday.
He said that because voters returned him to Capitol Hill as an independent, "I am now an Independent Democrat, capital I, capital D. Matter of fact, the secretary of the Senate called my office and asked, `How do you want to be identified,' and, and that's it. Independent Democrat," the senator said on "Meet the Press" on NBC.”

Sure Joe! You can have it both ways! What a joke. What a sad joke. I watched him on MTP and you know several times, I would agree with what he said. To me though, he has zero credibility left. MTP actually put up (I/D) after the end of his on screen title! C’mon Russert, do not let him get away with that! I think I will call the Senator, the Wizard of I/D from now on. The first stinky sandwich to Senator Joseph Lieberman, CT. (Wizard of I/D.) Bon Appetit!