ESPN changed the lock on our front door
Now my key don't fit no more …
Move over old dog ‘cause a new dog's movin' in
If you haven’t been following the poop-flinging, then here, in a nutshell, is what happened:
Bocephus, or Rockin' Randall (or “Hank Williams Jr.”, for those of you who ain’t “Country”) has been dumped from ESPN’s Monday Night Football program for making some anti-Obama / anti-Biden comments.
The Monday Night Football theme song, “Are You Ready For Some Football?”, is a reworked version of Hank Junior’s original Country song “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight”. It’s become almost an American anthem because it has opened the Monday Night Football games since . . . uh . . . I don’t know, maybe since about the time Howard Cosell died.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXyzuVk7SoI
In a recent Fox News interview, Bocephus said of Obama playing golf with House Of Representatives speaker Boehner: "It'd be like Hitler playing golf with (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu."
Bocephus also categorized Barack “USAP” Obama and Joe Biden as “the enemy."
For further details, you can click the headline below:
ESPN, HANK WILLIAMS JR. PART WAYS
According to the article linked above:
On his own website, Williams said he was the one who made the decision:
"After reading hundreds of e-mails, I have made MY decision," he wrote. "By pulling my opening Oct 3rd, You (ESPN) stepped on the Toes of The First Amendment Freedom of Speech, so therefore Me, My Song, and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE. It's been a great run."
It seems that ‘Rowdy Rockin' Randall’ has yet to “settle down” :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ieC3mKJ78A
So, you’re probably wondering what my take on this is. Actually, you’re probably wondering who the hell I am and what makes my opinion worth reading. Well, I’m a patriotic American, which is just another way of saying “an old school Constitutionalist”.
So, what do I think about ‘ESPN’ (‘Extra Sensitive Puszy Network’) dumping Bocephus? Were his First Amendment rights trampled?
Well, first of all, let me say that I was and still am a Bocephus fan. Hank Williams Jr. is one of only a small handful of Country-Western musicians I really like (and all of them “Old School”, by the way). I once saw Bocephus perform live at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. I’ve always liked to say, “I think Bocephus was intoxicated on stage that night. But then again, perhaps I was the only drunk at The Greek.” (In truth, it was probably both of us. I had just come from "Margaritaville" [a.k.a. El Coyote Mexican Restaurant] and Bocephus was probably trying to balance on Jim’s Beam.)
Hank Junior has never made a secret of the fact that he's a musician with political views ("Yeah, I've got some."); he has even sung this fact . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrXnDbOpxU4
But what of Hank Junior’s ‘First Amendment’ rights? Well, the truth of the matter is this: Bocephus had a Constitutional right to say what he said (even though equating almost anyone with Hitler is never a smart move), and the ‘Extra Sensitive Puszy Network’ had a right to dump him. Period. End of issue.
We makes our decisions, we exercises our rights, and we rides the wave of repercussions. It’s a good system.
Hank was right about this much: Barack “USAP” Obama and Joe Biden are indeed enemies of the traditional “American Way”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seRJARhRUd8
I have no real problem with what Bocephus said. Yes, mentioning Obama and Hitler in the same sentence was not an intelligent chess move. But what disturbs me more, personally, is that he said of the GOP presidential candidates, the one he likes best is Herman Cain. Now, with Ron Paul being in the race, that was a really stupid statement! (More about my issues with Herman “Munster” Cain in an upcoming blog bit right here at ‘Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends’.)
He may have lost his Monday Night Football deal, and he may have proven his political naivete by half-heartedly endorsing Herman "Munster" Cain, but don’t you worry about Hank Williams Jr., because “A Country Boy Can Survive” . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4s0nzsU1Wg
I was thinking of closing this blog bit with the statement (link -->), “If you don’t like Bocephus, you can kiss my ass!”
But then I saw what someone calling himself bamabrandon13 had posted on one of the YouTube videos I uploaded above, and I admitted to myself that I could never top its use at the bottom:
If You Voted For Obama To Prove You’re Not Racist, Then This Time Don't Vote For Him To Prove You’re Not Retarded.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
YE OLDE COMMENT POLICY: All comments, pro and con, are welcome. However, ad hominem attacks and disrespectful epithets will not be tolerated (read: "posted"). After all, this isn’t Amazon.com, so I don’t have to put up with that kind of bovine excrement.
.
I don't recall exactly what the context was for Hank's comment but if I recall correctly I think someone asked his opinion and he gave it. It annoys me to no end when a conservative states their opinion they're labeled with all sorts of bad things. How many times did leftists directly associate Bush and others with being like Hitler? Hank just used an analogy that express an incongruity. I think he was just latching on to the same rhetoric he's heard the left spout for years.
ReplyDeleteNo big deal is what I'd say. And I doubt whether most of the guys watching the football games care what Hank said either.
Lee
Tossing It Out
Stephen-
ReplyDeleteI'm still confused as to whether HWJR quit or did ESPN dump him?
Hank better watch out or the SPLC's gonna target his 'racist' behind!
Jacques Strappe
http://discconnectedjss.blogspot.com/
Follow-up to Lee's comment-
ReplyDeleteSadly, most of the guys watching football games are not the least bit politically aware, and do not realize that televised sports are what the government feeds us to direct our attention away from what they're doing to us behind our backs.
JS
ARLEE BOID ~
ReplyDeleteYes, basically that is correct. Hank was being interviewed by a panel on a TV program and he had been brought there specifically in order to express his own political views.
The moral of the story is this:
When asked to express your political views in a mainstream media venue, it is wise to remember anything you say can and will be used against you if you hold very strong opinions and make the mistake of expressing them in such a way The Powers That Be do not care for.
Just because you've been brought on a program to air your views DOES NOT mean that the organization asking you for them (and/or other organizations you have a relationship with) necessarily desires to hear them. Particularly if they don't coincide with Politically Correct standards.
I think Hank was within his rights, and so was ESPN. But I think less of ESPN now than I did previously (and I didn't exactly embrace ESPN previously either).
Of course, there's also another group that has rights and can express them and make them felt, and that is The Consumer.
If We The People are unhappy about the 'Extra Sensitive Puszy Network' firing Hank Junior for expressing his views when asked for them, we can go out and buy a bunch of Bocephus recordings and stop tuning into ESPN.
Hank made a mistake by equating Obama with Hitler, because when we think of Hitler our first thought is of the millions he was responsible for having murdered. Equating Joseph Stalin or a Mao Tse-tung with Hitler would be reasonable. Even Pol Pot would be acceptable, for though he murdered less in total, he actually murdered even more than did Hitler according to the percentage of the Cambodian population.
In one sense, Obama CAN be compared to Hitler: both were elected by the people and both had dictatorial fascistic tendencies. But if that's the comparison one is shooting for, he or she needs to specifically articulate it.
And you are quite right, Brother, about what being good for the goose is not always good for the gander. The Commie bastard Leftists are notorious for equating people they dislike on the Right with Hitler. And somehow, the fallout - when there even is any fallout - always seems to be less severe than what the erring Conservatives experience when they stick their foot in their mouths.
The plain truth is that the Right (except for Ann Coulter) usually plays too nice, while the Left always goes for the jugular. And that's why the Left has gained so much power and territory in this American culture war.
I've said it many times: the Left is far more committed to its cause than the Right is dedicated to its cause. And that's why the Left usually wins.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
TODDFAN DISCMAN ~
ReplyDeleteAs for the firing/quitting angle, I’m not sure if anyone really knows the truth about it.
What’s known for certain is that last Monday, Oct. 3rd, ESPN pulled Hank’s opening due to the comments he had just made. I read in an article on some site that ESPN stated that a decision would be made in the near future about whether or not they would return to the Bocephus opening for Monday Night Football games.
Now ESPN is saying that they decided to permanently pull the song while Hank is saying that he decided to quit because they didn’t use his opening on Oct. 3rd. So who made the decision really, we might never know, but...
We’re all familiar with the shtick that goes:
EMPLOYER: “You’re fired.”
EMPLOYEE: “You can’t fire me because I QUIT!”
I’m only guessing, but I would lean toward the above scenario being essentially the way it occurred.
Your remarks about the nature of most Monday Night Football viewers is spot on. And that being the case, in a country more mature, less “puszyized”, and less Politically Correct than is the U.S.A., it would have been handled in the following way and then put to rest...
Before the Monday, Oct. 10th game, the TV screen flashes this message: “The recent controversial comments made by our program’s opening act, do not represent the opinion of this network…” blah, blah, blah, and so on and so forth – you know the gig.
And then everything would go on as it had and after a short time (because the MTV-attention span of the average American is so very short), the whole affair would be forgotten. But NOOOOO!, that’s not how we do it here, particularly when a Right-Wing view has been expressed.
And you are correct, that the average MNF viewer knows little about politics to begin with and probably couldn’t care less. So, really, MNF WTF?!
And, in my reply to Arlee Bird above, I didn’t even bother to get into “WHY” the Republican Party fights so little for their causes, because I have made it abundantly clear on this blog many times in the past that the Republican Party is nothing more than a front for the Illuminati, and it has no desire whatsoever to win any important debates with the Left.
At this point, I just assume the few readers I have already understand my position on these machinations and there isn’t much point in beating a dead Elephant.
~ D-FensDogg
‘Loyal American Underground’
Gee. I guess I miss more than butt slapping and guyes jumping on top of each other by not watching football, huh?? Maybe I should peak from time to time....
ReplyDeleteBTW...Ms Beadbehavior just answered your love-lorn question
Sig
SIG ~
ReplyDeleteThanks! Gonna go out to grab something to eat and then head back on over there. Whoop!-Whoop!
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
Anyone who thinks that comparing Obama to Hitler is wrong is splitting hairs, much like Dr. Mengele.
ReplyDeleteI jest.
But the truth of the matter is that Bocephus was NOT comparing Obama to Hitler, although a cursory analysis makes it seem so. The point of Jr.'s comment was the disparity between the sides, and the lack of point to the meeting. Obama just "took the role" of Hitler in the strong (and unwise) analogy.
As I recall, the golf date was requested by Obama when he was trying to force Congress to accept his budget deal. He insisted that they were not "bipartisan" and Boehner was refusing to bite on his stupid plan. So Obama invites Boehner to play golf to discuss matters. WHY?
At the time I thought: "DON'T GO! Its a trick. You are playing into his trap (sand trap?) and will just give the press another reason to say how Obama reached out his hand and you slapped it down." Because - in this arena - Obama IS his enemy. They have (on the surface, anyway) totally different goals.
I love Hitler analogies, actually. Most people don't, but I consider those folks stupid. What a Hitler analogy does is create stark contrast in the sides. Unfortunately, most people then use their hearts rather than their heads and worry that the statement it is too harsh to have ANY connection made, ever, to someone who was so terrible. Like Jr., I enjoy using him because you clearly anchor one side of the analogy with him. An opposite anchor might be Mother Theresa... or even Benjamin Netanyahu. However, knowing how illogical and over-sensitive people are, I often avoid using such analogies because I know the conversation will then be about me, rather than the excellent point I was making. Hank should have remembered that.
Afterwards, Hank said: “Some of us have strong opinions and are often misunderstood. My analogy was extreme – but it was to make a point. I was simply trying to explain how stupid it seemed to me – how ludicrous that pairing was.”
He continued, “They’re polar opposites and it made no sense. They don’t see eye-to-eye and never will. I have always respected the office of the President.”
Williams Jr. adds, “Every time the media brings up the Tea Party it’s painted as racist and extremists – but there’s never a backlash – no outrage to those comparisons… Working class people are hurting – and it doesn’t seem like anybody cares. When both sides are high-fiving it on the ninth hole when everybody else is without a job – it makes a whole lot of us angry. Something has to change. The policies have to change.”
I agree with him 100%.
And finally, I like Herman Cain better than the other non-Paul candidates, but I know why you don't like him. Me too. He was on the Kansas City Federal Reserve board and actually praised the biggest traitor of principles in all history: Alan Greenspan. Bastard.
HOLA McAMIGO SEIS ~
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and commenting!
>>...Obama just "took the role" of Hitler in the strong (and unwise) analogy.
Yeah, "unwise".
This is one of the few areas in which it seems we disagree a little, as I don't care for "Hitler analogies" at all, unless they are true comparisons (i.e., someone who is authentically comparable to Hitler, like a Stalin, a Mao, etc.)
For one thing, it's been done to death, almost to the point that hardly anyone pays much attention to it anymore (unless you're a liberal network like "Extra Sensitive Puszy Network" and are going to use it to come down on a "Conservative" viewpoint).
As Arlee Bird stated above, the disgusting Liberals in this country were forever comparing George W. Bush (a bastard if there ever was one!) to Hitler. In fact, the Liberals have been comparing just about every conservative person they don't like to "Nazis" for so long now that now the reaction from most of us is something like this:
"Yeah, yeah, we know. Heard it all before. Why don't you just F.O., you brain-dead, non-original nitwit?!"
So the whole "Hitler/Nazi" comparison has been way overused; it's now trite and has little to no "shock value".
Another thing I don't like about it is that after awhile it tends to mentally anesthetize us the fact that Hitler was responsible for the killing of close to 21 million people, including 1 million children under the age of 18.
Let's not lose sight of that by overusing a comparison or even just an extreme analogy.
You quoted Hank's comments after the fact correctly. And perhaps he was being honest, but after-the-fact explanations usually just come off sounding like "damage control mode". Hank probably wasn't really trying to compare Obama to Hitler in any realistic sense, and was just making an "extreme analogy" (as he said), but all of this could have been avoided had he used his imagination (and believe me, he has one and he can "wordsling") to have created a more original, memorable, and even entertaining analogy that wouldn't have gotten him "the boot".
C'mon, let's get creative people: How about... "Obama meeting Boehner for a game of golf was like the Wolf dressed in a Kenyan-made 'Hawaiian' shirt meeting Little Red Riding Hood for a game of hopscotch"?
OK, that's just off the top of my head. But with a little imagination we could come up with far more memorable (and even humorous and entertaining) analogies than the boring old "Hitler" bit.
Let's leave the Hitler/Nazi analogies to the Leftists who simply aren't smart and witty enough to come up with anything better. We'll leave the trite "unwise" material for the socialist morons to use. After all, we have no reason to expect anything better from them.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
POSTSCRIPT: Yeah, you're right about why I don't like Herman "McCain". There are a couple other reasons as well, which I will post on this blog before long. But even if there were no Ron Paul running for president, I still WOULD NOT vote for "McCain". I don't want ANY Illuminati puppet in the White House, and I don't care what color he is or how often he labels himself a "Conservative".
If Herman "Munster McCain" wins the primary, I'll vote for whomever The Constitution Party nominates.
No more votes for "evil", lesser or greater!
Stephen -
ReplyDeleteA clarification is needed, because I think maybe you missed my point.
I don't use "Hitler" analogies hardly at all any more because all it does is put you on the defensive for using it. However, I am not put off by them if they are used AS analogies and not just name calling, unless the analogy is off. The left does actually call people Hitler with regularity, and mean it.
You were correct in naming just a few of the people to ever reach Hitler's extreme level of quantitative evil. Others certainly reach that QUALITATIVE level... often, and often on a more personal level. They are just not as successful at conducting their vile activities as Hitler.
People could go with Attila the Hun or Idi Amin analogies instead, I suppose. It would be more creative. But many of the muttonheads I talk to wouldn't have a clue who Attila was, let alone Amin.
Maybe we are in disagreement here (like Amin and his lunch?), but I suspect this is mostly a matter of me not using enough words to properly explain myself.
--- I look forward to your Cain blog.
SBB 6 ~
ReplyDeleteActually, I don’t think the clarification was necessary. I did understand your meaning from the initial post. And... I still don’t like Hitler analogies. Even when used in an essentially “accurate” way.
As you correctly stated before:
“I often avoid using such analogies because I know the conversation will then be about me”
That’s true. That’s what will happen every time. And unless the person using the analogy is going to immediately - upon using it – go into detail explaining how they are applying it (and no one ever does go beyond just the use of it), it’s going to get misconstrued every time.
One problem is that the world has pretty much come to think of Hitler as the personification of evil – so everyone automatically takes the comparison to mean: You’re saying Person X is as evil as Hitler.
Yeah, one could use Attila the Hun or Idi Amin, but as you said, they won’t ring any bells for the muttonheads. We could use “Uncle Joe” (heck, he was responsible for the killing of twice as many innocents as Hitler anyway), but “Uncle Joe” is like a hero to so many of our political enemies, that they’d probably take the analogy as a compliment.
Another thing I don’t like about it is that it’s merely borrowing a page from the Liberal’s playbook. I mean, if the words “Nazi”, “fascist”, and “Hitler” were removed from the Left’s vocabulary, those folks wouldn’t even know what to call Conservatives; they’d be at a loss for words.
(Oh, wait a minute. We better take “racist” away from them too. That’s another one they reach for in EVERY political discussion. Those words are like oxygen to the knee-jerk Liberal Zombies.)
And they’re so stupid and/or uneducated that most of them couldn’t even accurately define the word “fascism” anyway. If they really knew what it meant, they’d stop using it, seeing as how some of their biggest socialist heroes have given the world some of its very best examples of “fascists”. (You ever notice how often they even misspell the word? I’ve been called a “facist” over and over again.)
So... for a number of reasons, I think the Hitler analogy is not really useful. It’s old, it’s tired, it’s misunderstood, it’s lost its freshness - lost its ability to shock or startle. It’s time to retire it permanently, in my opinion, and find something more unique.
I don’t think I could use the words “Nazi” or “Hitler” without fearing I sound like a Dumb-O-Crat. And hokey-smoke, McGee! - that’s the LAST thing I ever want to sound like! (What reasonably intelligent person wants to sound like a Liberal Zombie on another wrong-headed political rampage?)
~ D-FensDogg
‘Loyal American Underground’