Saints Go Marching
No city ever needed a Super Bowl winner more than New Orleans
Too much food. Too much drink. Too much for Payton Manning to overcome. The Super Bowl is too much of everything and that’s why we love it so. It gives a whole new meaning to “wretched excess” but it’s a habit America shows no sign of kicking.
Watching a Super Bowl when there’s no vested interest in who wins or loses is unusual for me, but not wholly a bad thing. What did I care if the Saints or the Colts won? My team’s season ended over a month ago.
Contrary to my typically pro-Black sentiments, I wasn’t even pulling for Colts coach Jim Caldwell. While I wouldn’t have been unhappy to see the brother hoist the Lombardi Trophy over his head, it didn’t bother me to watch Sean Payton have that privilege because New Orleans is a chocolate city. Either way it was going to be a win-win situation.
Minus any emotional attachment all that was left was the game itself, the cavalcade of crappy commercials, the geezer rock n’ roll of The Who, and plenty of food and drink. In other words the best of everything and way too much of it.
The Game: The first half was hardly super. More like two heavyweights pawing, grappling and jabbing at each other probing for a weakness and looking for an opening. Though Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are more than capable of winding it up and flinging the ball down the field into the arms of a wide receiver zipping down the field, neither one of them dialed one up choosing instead to throw underneath the coverage to running backs and the tight end. As the first half closed with a 10-6 score, the Colts and Saints had avoided the big turnover but they also avoided any real excitement.
The second half…ahhh, now that was a different story. Coach Sean Payton called for an onside kick, the Saints recovered and the Colts were clearly stunned as the Saints went marching in for their first touchdown. The teams began to swap scores and it was beginning to look like whoever had the ball last might win this thing.
The Who didn't die. They just got older than dirt.
But then Manning had a brain fart of Brett Favre proportions and threw an interception that Saints cornerback plucked from the air and took it back the other way for six while Manning, bowled over by a block during the return, could only look on helplessly as Porter sealed the game and the team from The Big Easy had won their first Super Bowl in the team’s history.
Final assessment: Super Bowl XLIV captured the biggest viewing audience in television history. Some 106 million people watched a game that I’d give an “A” for hype, but just a “B-” for excitement. You can’t get much better than Santonio Holmes tip-toe catch to win last year’s Super Bowl and you sure didn’t have that kind of high drama in this game.
It was a good, not great Super Bowl. Now comes the long darkness where the NFL steps aside for the NBA and Major League Baseball. No professional sports league has a longer off-season that the NFL which is why nobody anticipates a new season like pro football fans.
The Halftime: With The Who following such geezer acts as The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and Prince, you kind of get the feeling the NFL is saying, “Don’t trust anyone under 50″ when it comes to the halftime entertainment at The Super Bowl. Roger Daltrey can’t scream as loud and long on “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” but he’s still a great frontman with a helluva rock n’ roll voice. Pete Townsend is still all arms and legs and one of the most overrated guitarists ever to pick one up, but he can write a good song. Problem is he peaked on Who’s Next and it’s been downhill ever since. The revelation was Zak Starkey, Ringo’s son, bashing the shit out of his drum kit. He’s no Keith Moon, but he does have the advantage of not being dead. As for the rest of the touring band—who cares?
The Commercials: Some solid laughs. Some real clunkers. Same as every year. The Betty White and Abe Vigoda appearances in the Snickers ad made me forget how much I hate Snickers. Loved the Doritos one with the little brother telling his mom’s date, “Keep your hands off my mom and off my Doritos.” At least his priorities were in order. Got a giggle from Tracy Morgan and Stevie Wonder showing up in one commercial though I’m damned if I can remember what it was selling.
"The Who is still together? I thought they were ALL dead."
Though the Career Builder “Casual Friday gone too far” riff with a parade of pale White folks in their underwear was good, why CBS approved the Dockers ad with men parading around in their drawers as well was pure overkill. In light of the controversy not to air a gay dating site ad, the message seems to be tighty whiteys and suggested nudity are fine for a family audience. Two men kissing is out.
All n’ all, it was a good night spent with the family with plenty of food and drink on a cold February night. We followed up The Super Bowl by watching The Hurt Locker, but I’ll get to that in another post.
And how was your Super Bowl Sunday?
Black History Month: Week One
February 1 – The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery, was adopted by the 38th Congress. Ratification was completed December 6, 1865. Also in 1870, Jonathan Jasper Wright was elected to the South Carolina Supreme Court.
February 2 – Today in 1914, artist William Ellisworth is born in Washington, North Carolina. Educated at Syracuse University, he was a student of Florida artist Augusta Savage. His works were exhibited at Atlanta University, the Whitney Museum, the Two Centuries of Black American Art exhibit, Fisk University, Hampton University, the North Carolina Museum of Art and private collectors.
February 3 – Six time All-Star Bill White was named president of National League IN 1989. Former Saint Louis Cardinals first baseman Bill White is named president of the National League. He is the first African American to head a major sports league. On February 3, 1903; Jack Johnson became the first Negro Heavyweight Champion, The Negro Baseball League founded in 1920.
February 4 – Today in 1986, a stamp of Sojourner Truth is issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
February 5 – Henry “Home Run King” Aaron, baseball superstar was born in 1934.
February 6 – on this day in 1867,The Peabody Fund for Black education in the South established.
February 7 – Negro History week originated by Carter G.Woodson is observed for the first time in 1926.
Sojourner Truth and some White dude.
The Audacity of Obstruction.
Richard "Pork Barrel" Shelby loves the other white meat.
It sounds like a headline for The Onion: “U.S. Senator Takes 70 Hostages. Demands Billions for Release.”
It’s not. What it is is Senator Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) throwing his weight around and flipping the bird to The Obama Administration.
And why is the former Democrat-turned-Republican blocking 70 of President Obama’s appointees? Because he can.
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has put an extraordinary “blanket hold” on at least 70 nominations President Obama has sent to the Senate, according to multiple reports this evening. The hold means no nominations can move forward unless Senate Democrats can secure a 60-member cloture vote to break it, or until Shelby lifts the hold.
According to the report, Shelby is holding Obama’s nominees hostage until a pair of lucrative programs that would send billions in taxpayer dollars to his home state get back on track. The two programs Shelby wants to move forward or else:
- A $40 billion contract to build air-to-air refueling tankers. From CongressDaily: “Northrop/EADS team would build the planes in Mobile, Ala., but has threatened to pull out of the competition unless the Air Force makes changes to a draft request for proposals.”
- An improvised explosive device testing lab for the FBI. From CongressDaily: “[Shelby] is frustrated that the Obama administration won’t build” the center, which Shelby earmarked $45 million for in 2008. The center is due to be based “at the Army’s Redstone Arsenal.”
Shelby’s hardball tactics came the same day as The Senate voted 94-2 to confirm President Obama’s choice to head up the General Services Administration almost 10 months after she was nominated. In Johnson’s case her nomination was held up by Sen. Kit Bond (R-Missouri) who wanted GSA adminstrators to approve a $175 million federal building project in Kansas City.
Quite tellingly, the vote came before Sen. Scott Brown was sworn in as the 41st Republican which will allow the minority party to substain filibusters.
Every politician can rationalize that they’re only interested in supporting the military and national defense when they’re bringing the bacon home, but let’s not get it twisted. One thing has nothing to do with the other. Blocking the President’s appointees because you want to make sure that the defense contractors back in Alabama are taken care of is bullshit.
Shelby has said himself that government can’t create jobs.
But he sure does like earmarks that funnel money into Alabama. He ranks right behind Robert Byrd in requesting earmarks (and Byrd is both old and sick) so Shelby could move up.
Why is he singing a different tune now and how does that justify blocking ALL of Obama’s nominees?
"Its simple, Barack: My pork for your appointees. Deal?"
The point isn’t about earmarks. Both parties have their share of pigs feeding at the government trough. Both parties have held up presidential appointees. Nobody is arguing this.
What the point is about is how can anyone justify one Republican pinhead senator who puts his petty parochial priorities over that of the national interest?
The GOP can’t be the party of smaller government and fiscal responsibility on Monday and then on Tuesday stick their hands out screaming, “gimme, gimme, gimme.”
One Senator should not have the power to put the interests of his state over that of the national interest. This isn’t hardball politics. It’s extortion. I’m not offended by Shelby’s actions as a Democrat or a liberal. I’m offended as a citizen who wants politicians to do their freaking jobs and stop with the the partisan games.
If Obama and the Democrats don’t make Shelby and his selfish stonewalling the poster boy for Republican obstructionism, then they’re too incompetent to hold power. Maybe the American people don’t understand the arcane rules of the Senate and all this talk about “legislative holds” and “cloture motions,” but they do recognize arrogance when they see it and nothing better illustrates how out of control the Republicans are than one jerk thinking he can blackmail the President of the United States to do his bidding.
It’s not Obama’s way to roll up his sleeves and go upside someone’s head–figuratively speaking, of course, but as long as the Republicans (and to a lesser extent other Democrats) believe there’s no price to pay by willfully defying this President, the more crap Obama is going to get from them.
So much for Obama inviting the Republicans to join in on the business of governing. Obstruction is so much easier. Especially when you’re trying to bring the pork back to the folks at home.
The Grammys and all that jazz.
Nice stunt, Pink, but what's it got to do with music?
I used to play DJ for parties. I’ve reviewed music since I was in college. When I moved into my house the biggest and heaviest item I had was my record (yes, vinyl records) collection and I’ve interviewed a lot jazz artists over the course of my writing career. So when I was asked what I thought about The Grammy Awards all I had was a blank look.
Yes, I do love music. The Grammy Awards are about entertainment. They aren’t about music.
I don’t watch the Grammys. I don’t care who wins the Grammys. Is Sade showing up? No? Then I’m not interested.
Don’t care about the winners. Don’t care about the losers. Just don’t care.
In the immortal words of Public Enemy, Who gives a fuck about a goddamn Grammy?
The Grammys aren’t about music. It’s about dressing up and being seen and pairing hot new kids with grizzled old vets even with the duets make no damn sense. I’m told the highlight I missed out on was Pink singing “Glitter in the Air” as she’s suspended in upside down in the air and doused with water. I’ve since caught the video and it’s a cool stunt, but what if anything does it have to do wit music. Was this Pink public try out for for Cirque Du Soleil or something?
One of my Facebook friends , a member of a well-known vocal group best described the spectacle of the Grammy Awards by asking, “Do we have to climb on a rope and twirl around while singing Miles Davis??? I’m just asking!”
Jazz doesn’t fare very well at these award shows. Yeah, Herbie Hancock cleaned up last year with his tribute to Joni Mitchell album, but typically jazz artists aren’t part of the television broadcast and barely get a mention. The late Joe Zawinul won for the album 75, an album I enjoyed but wasn’t my choice for the best jazz release of the 2009.
My choice was a an album that didn’t even get a nomination. Jazz in the Garden by The Stanley Clarke Trio was my favorite contemporary jazz album of 2009. Here’s what I had to say about it for All About Jazz.com.
Is there a more prodigiously talented, but more annoyingly inconsistent artist than Stanley Clarke? A trip through the Clarke catalog reveals some brilliant masterpieces, many that are merely okay and a few that are bona fide turkeys. Doing things with an electric bass that no one else can, it’s precisely because he is so good that he has to keep restlessly experimenting to prevent becoming bored.
Rather than being bored on Jazz in the Garden, Clarke is at the top of his game. Reunited with Return to Forever compatriot/drummer Lenny White, Clarke sounds invigorated as he steps away from the electric excursions that made him the gold standard for awe-struck admirers, going unplugged for a joyous return to acoustic bass.
Clarke can call on just about any pianist in the world to join his trio, but chose Japanese-born and Berklee-trained Hiromi Uehara to tickle the ivories. Those who have followed the growth of her career will know Hiromi is an unexpected but completely appropriate choice for the trio. No junior member, she more than holds her own with her two veteran partners.
Taking the rhythm section from one of the premier bands of jazz-fusion and pairing it with Hiromi–a hard-charger head-turner capable of straight-ahead, hard bop and wildly avant-garde with equal aplomb–suggests there’s going to be fireworks. There are, but the simultaneous blend of traditional and modernistic is completely unexpected.
“Paradigm Shift (Election Day 2008)” is a shout-out to Barack Obama’s victory. It may sound as though Clarke is playing electric bass at times, but he’s not cheating. He’s just so good that he’s able to squeeze sounds from an acoustic bass that sound electric.
Hiromi contributes two originals–the beautiful “Sicilian Blue” and boppish “Brain Training,” where White rides the cymbals while Clarke riffs along underneath her swinging piano. “Sakura Sakura” is a traditional Japanese ballad that gets an interesting rework.
“Global Tweak” is an improvised duet between Clarke and Hiromi and, despite their differences in age, culture (and height!), the artificial differences are swept away by two talented musicians just jamming and going where the music takes them.
Duke Ellington’s “Take the Coltrane” features White’s drums splashing and banging brightly. Equally impressive is Joe Henderson’s “Isotope,” Clarke’s tribute to his old employer and Miles Davis’ “Solar.” Hiromi’s playing on Clarke’s “3 Wrong Notes” makes clear that she’s one of the most interesting young lions in jazz today.
What’s a Red Hot Chili Peppers song doing on an acoustic jazz trio boasting compositions by Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and Joe Henderson? Fitting in quite nicely, courtesy of Hiromi’s rearrangement. Like Clarke, Hiromi isn’t easily pigeonholed into tidy categories, and has reworked rock ‘n’ roll into jazz motifs before with Jeff Beck’s “Led Boots” on Beyond Standard (Telarc, 2008).
Jazz in the Garden is an unexpected surprise that makes for superb listening. It is highly recommended, both for Clarke fans and those looking for a reason to become one.
The Stanley Clarke Trio at work, but getting no play.
I hope no one thinks this is a middle-age man ranting about Lady GaGa, Taylor Swift or Beyonce not being as good as the music acts I grew up with. I recognize the Grammys celebrate what’s popular. That doesn’t mean it’s always going to be good—and it never was about what’s good. One-and-done hit wonders like Milli Friggin’ Vanilli got nominated and The Starland Vocal Band walked away with a Best New Artist award, so who associates the Grammys with long, distinguished careers or actual talent? Not me.
Jazz accounts for a tiny part of music industry sales. Jazz artists play clubs, not stadiums. When Quincy Jones decides it’s time to record a new version of “We Are the World” he invites Taylor Swift and Lil’ Wayne, not George Duke and Branford Marsalis. You don’t get more steeped in jazz than “Q” but he knows when you want to sell something you keep jazz far, far away from the proceedings.
If someone finds the Grammys a fun time, I’m cool with it. Just don’t try to sell me on the idea that they mean a damn thing because they don’t.
Miramax Fades to Black.
"WHAT. DOES. HARVEY. WEINSTEIN. LOOK. LIKE?"
We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog to note the passing of an giant of the entertainment industry. Like so many who die too soon and too young, the full impact of their death cannot be immediately measured.
Miramax Films died January 27, 2010. The film company named by Harvey and Bob Weinstein after their parents, Miriam and Max, was laid to rest by it’s new owners/masters, The Disney Company after a long illness. Miramax was 31 years old.
Whether or not you know it or not, you probably enjoyed at least one Miramax film.
A lot of people didn’t like Harvey Weinstein, the mastermind behind Miramax, but his films were both popular and made lots of money. Don’t believe me. Try this list on for size: No Country For Old Men, Pulp Fiction, Clerks, The Piano, The English Patient, There Will Be Blood, Sex, Lies and Videotape, Chicago, The Queen, Reservoir Dogs, Trainspotting, The Crying Game, Sling Blade, Shakespeare In Love and My Left Foot. My favorite film of the last decade, City of God, was a Miramax import. Once upon a time the Weinstein Brothers built the little art house that could and it went on to become the darling of the “best of” list of critics everywhere and collect Academy Awards by the bus load.
Which doesn’t mean it was all about art. Miramax also released such cheesy classics as Hellraiser: Bloodline and Pokemon 4Ever.
You can credit or blame the Weinsteins for kick starting the careers of Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith or travesties such as Shakespeare In Love beating out Saving Private Ryan for the Best Picture Oscar. Smith, a guy who got lucky with an over glorified student film, Clerks, blogged a brief condolence for the end of Miramax films:
I was never a brand-name whore in my life, except when it came to indie film. And from the moment I knew I wanted to be in film, there was one label I wanted on my ass: Miramax…I’m crushed to see it pass into history, because I owe everything I have to Miramax. Without them, I’d still be a New Jersey convenience store register jockey. In practice, not just in my head.
What killed Miramax? Oh, the usual things. Ego, greed, hubris, and a lot of lousy movies nobody went to see like the 2009 releases of Everybody’s Fine, The Boys Are Back, and Extract that played to empty theaters and hastened the end of the company. Mostly it was Diseny’s disinterest in the kind of smaller, character-driven films that won Miramax both acclaim and notoriety. The Weinsteins sold Miramax to Disney for $70 million and after disputes with Disney CEO Michael Eisner over economic and creative control issues, the due bailed to start The Weinstein Company which has not been able to repeat the success of Miramax.
Every film studio releases its share of dogs and Miramax produced their share, but taken as a whole, there’s a body of work there that we won’t soon see repeated in a Hollywood that celebrates cash cow sequels and reboots over edgy, original and risk-taking films.
In lieu of flowers, friends should watch a Quentin Tarantino movie instead.
John Edwards’ Bad Hair Year.
"D'OH!"
You won’t find too many liberals on Keith Olbermann’s ”Worst Person in the World” list, but the sleazy misadventures of John “Baby Daddy “Edwards makes him a strong contender for the list. Edwards admitted to being the father of his jump off’s baby, his wife Elizabeth separated from him and a new book by a really disgruntled aide, rips him a new hole as a totally unprincipled horndog.
The only person to have a worst week that Edwards was…scratch that….NOBODY had a worse week.
Regardless of political affiliation, every American owes a debt of gratitude to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for knocking Edwards out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. One can only shudder in horror at how big of a debacle it could have been had Edwards had slimed his way into the standard-bearer for the Democrats and the revelations of his affair and later impregnation of Rielle Hunter come out during the general election.
Let’s put it this way. We’d be talking about President McCain’s first State of the Union speech and the permanent Republican majority Karl Rove liked to fantasize about, okay?
The New York Daily News has a timeline of how everything went sideways for Edwards.
It’s easy to forget now, but for a time in 2007 Edwards looked like the go-to guy for the Democrats. Obama was still a relative newcomer, mired far behind Clinton and Edwards in the polls without so much as a pulse in Iowa. Hillary was both well-known and deeply unpopular with many voters who were wary of the prospect of a Clinton sequel. Edwards was the only one in the race talking the sort of populist, progressive rhetoric that makes Democratic hearts flutter.
The man in the middle saved the Democrats from a debacle.
He also had hair like John Kennedy, a nice family and a smart wife bravely battling an untreatable cancer. What was there not to like about John Edwards?
Plenty if one is to believe the stories Edwards staffer Andrew Young tells in The Politician. Young details a series of elaborate ruses and schemes Edwards employed to keep his two-year affair with Hunter going while deceiving his wife. It’s interesting to note that following the National Enquirer outing the Edwards affair, Young says both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton placed s calls to Elizabeth Edwards to express their sympathy. Bill Clinton also called John Edwards but to ask, “How’d you get caught?”
The really sad thing about the whole sorry mess is there are no truly good guys in the whole mess. Only bad guys (John Edwards, Rielle Hunter) and somewhat tarnished good guys (Elizabeth Edwards supposedly knew of her husband’s infidelity yet continued to stand by her man throughout the 2008 presidential campaign).
To give credit where it’s due, conservatives had tweaked Edwards for his preening vanity as evidenced by the $400 haircuts and his hollow pretense of populist politician while chilling in a 30,000 square foot mansion. They derided him as a slick attorney who had enriched himself by suing doctors and hospitals.
Had Edwards been able to win the nomination he might have put his midnight booty calls to Hunter on hold and placated her with the prospect of moving his mistress into the Lincoln Bedroom at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. More than likely, some operative in the McCain campaign or the Republican National Committee would have looked for the fire behind the smoke of allegations of Edwards’ extra-marital affairs.
How would the electorate respond to a presidential candidate not only cheating on a wife dealing with a second bout of cancer, but fathering a child with his bimbo mistress? Probably not at all well to a scandal that would make Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky look like a tacky one night stand in Las Vegas.
Young claims to have in his possession a sex tape of Hunter and Edwards. Hunter is demanding its return. Stay tuned for it’s availablilty as a digital download or streaming live on the net at some point. If that wasn’t enough humiliation for Edwards, a grand jury is investigating whether he funnelled campaign funds to Hunter to keep her silence. Things just keep getting better for John-Boy.
America loves second acts and redemption stories, so I wouldn’t think it impossible for John Edwards to one day be more than just a punchline for late night comedians. After two years of one toxic headline after another his problems go beyond a trip to Oprah Winfrey’s couch confessional. But even if his presidential aspirations are about as appealing as cold pizza, if he does decide to go for it again, Tiger Woods would be a perfect running mate for Edwards At least they’d have fun swapping whore—errr…war stories.
A possible slogan for the "Edwards in 2012" campaign.
How Obama Tried to Get His Groove Back.
"Hi, how ya doin'? Hope you liked the show...Hi, how ya doin?..."
There was a different vibe in the room as the family gathered to watch President Obama deliver his first State of the Union to a joint session of Congress. Last year’s excitement had been replaced by a quiet anticipation as Obama and the Democrats had gone through numerous setbacks and false starts in trying to push a progressive agenda through a surprisingly resistant Republican front.
In 2009, Obama was the candidate of change and hope who looked to be at the peak of his political power. What a differene a year makes. Now his hair was noticeably grayer and he looked like a man who had found out governing is a helluva trickier deal than campaigning.
I sat there kind of bored for the first half-hour when he went down the grocery list of items that he wants but probably won’t get.
By the time he finished my wife was pumping her fist and remembering why she voted Obama in the first place. I was a bit more serene, but still glad that he showed some fire, dinged both parties and took some of the weight on his own shoulders. I liked the sub-title of an article at SLATE that went, Obama reminds his own party to keep its head and the other party to stop losing its mind.
But I don’t think he moved the goalposts.
Democrats are tired of Obama extending a carrot to the Republicans only to get the dirty end of the stick in return. They want him to fight back and hammer the GOP for their refusal to get on board of…oh, pretty much anything the President wants to do.
The Republicans feel like as long as they say, “Not just no, but HELL NO” to the President,” and they don’t suffer any blowback politically from the voters, why negotiate with Obama now? Wait until November when there’s more Republicans in Congress than Democrats, and Obama will have to cut deals with the GOP more to their liking. It’s the smart move politically as long as the voters don’t punish them for refusing to come to the table.
It’s a sorry way to treat the electorate that needs help, not partisan games, but that’s the way it go when political calculation supplants good governance.
"Can a brutha get a 'Boomshakalaka?' "
I did like when Obama reminded his fellow Democrats they still had the largest majority either party has enjoyed in decades (now do something with it!) and chided Senate Republicans for demanding 60 votes to pass virtually anything while refusing to fully particpate in any actual legislating. It was extra sweet when Obama publicly slammed the Supreme Court for overturning years of laws to allow corporations and labor unions to spend freely in political campaigns. That was too much for Samuel Alito who was caught mumbling “Not true” when the President spoke.
What isn’t true, Sam? That you and the four other conservatives on the Court handed the Republicans a gift in time for the fall elections?
But this was Obama’s best line of the night.
I campaigned on the promise of change – change we can believe in, the slogan went. And right now, I know there are many Americans who aren’t sure if they still believe we can change – or at least, that I can deliver it.
But remember this – I never suggested that change would be easy, or that I can do it alone. Democracy in a nation of three hundred million people can be noisy and messy and complicated. And when you try to do big things and make big changes, it stirs passions and controversy. That’s just how it is.
Those of us in public office can respond to this reality by playing it safe and avoid telling hard truths. We can do what’s necessary to keep our poll numbers high, and get through the next election instead of doing what’s best for the next generation.
But I also know this: if people had made that decision fifty years ago or one hundred years ago or two hundred years ago, we wouldn’t be here tonight. The only reason we are is because generations of Americans were unafraid to do what was hard; to do what was needed even when success was uncertain; to do what it took to keep the dream of this nation alive for their children and grandchildren.
When you try to do things a little different than how it’s been done before and you try things that haven’t been tried before there’s going to be resistance and pushback and those who aren’t going to get on board no matter what.
Obama will get a small boost in the polls, but the waters this winter in Washington are still as chilly as ever.
"Better watch your back, Barack. Clarence is smiling way too much."
Stupid White Man of the Week: Paul Shirley. (WHO?)
Here's an extremely rare photo of Paul "Splinters" Shirley not sitting on the bench.
With a total of 33 points scored over a 18 game NBA “career”, Paul Shirley never did diddly-squat on the court worth mentioning. The only reason to notice him now is because saying something dumb got him the attention that sitting at the end of the bench guarding the Gatorade never did.
While the rest of the world looks to do the right thing and help those in need there’s always one in every crowd whose contribution is demonstrate there’s no situation where selfishness and stupidity can’t be interjected.
In this case it’s Paul Shirley. Insert one big “WHO?” here.
Paul Shirley, a former NBA player whose greatest accomplishment prior to popping off about Haiti was being the tall stiff and 12th man holding down the end ofthe benches of the three teams he briefly “played” for. Shirley took time out from picking splinters out of his backside to pen a long, boring and badly in need of editing essay about the world’s response to the earthquake in Haiti for FlipCollective.com.
I haven’t donated a cent to the Haitian relief effort. And I probably will not.
I haven’t donated to the Haitian relief effort for the same reason that I don’t give money to homeless men on the street. Based on past experiences, I don’t think the guy with the sign that reads “Need You’re Help” is going to do anything constructive with the dollar I might give him. If I use history as my guide, I don’t think the people of Haiti will do much with my money either.
Shirley addresses a “letter” to the Haitians.
Dear Haitians –
First of all, kudos on developing the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Your commitment to human rights, infrastructure, and birth control should be applauded.
As we prepare to assist you in this difficult time, a polite request: If it’s possible, could you not re-build your island home in the image of its predecessor? Could you not resort to the creation of flimsy shanty- and shack-towns? And could some of you maybe use a condom once in a while?
Sincerely,
The Rest of the World
The appropriate response to such craven stupidity should be who the fuck is Paul Shirley and why should anyone care about what he says about anything?
There's no crying in basketball, but Shirley isn't much of a basketball player.
Here’s the important numbers about Paul “Splinters” Shirley: played in 18 games in the NBA for a total of 121 minutes over three seasons for three teams and scored 33 (count ‘em) points. He’s bounced around to no less than 13 basketball teams in the NBA, to the Yakima Sun Kings to Greece, Russia and China. Which just proves that as long as you’re tall (6′10″) you’ll get a shot even if you got no game.
If you’ve never heard of FlipCollective.com or it’s writers, don’t feel bad. Neither has anybody else. Subjects like “Glouchester Cheese Rolling: A Dying Breed of Fun” and “What the Fudge: The Burrito Line” aren’t the kind of underrated literary masterworks that bring editors from Esquire, GQ and Vanity Fair running. It’s just the kind of self-indulgent bullshit that proliferates on these type of blogging collectives across the Internet.
Having no skills beyond being White and tall, Shirley garnered more notoriety by writing for ESPN.com about his journeys around the world playing basketball badly for numerous teams. ESPN fired him for his “put on a condom” remarks. Seems they didn’t dig what he had to say.
Paul Shirley is the personification of a non-entity. Plus, he’s got the last name of a girl. But at least Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson can say “Thanks, Paul” for taking some of the heat off of them as Stupid White Men saying incredibly dumb stuff about something they know nothing about. A week from now when this all blows over Shirley can return to the obscurity he’s worked for, he’s earned and nobody can take away from him.
Then once again the response to anything Paul Shirley say will be, “Who?”
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