Liberal Sensitivity Training

This is progress. And by "progress," I mean part of the progressive agenda to outlaw anything they don't like--in this case, speech they find offensive.

Mark Steyn & Iowahawk are the two funniest political pundits in the webosphere. This is why I bring you their stuff so frequently.

Here's a bit from Steyn's latest:

Ah, but, as the computer wallahs say, that’s not a bug, that’s a feature. If the pen is mightier than the sword, then criminalizing words is a way of disarming potential opposition, of inculcating a reflexive self-censorship in the citizenry. And, after all, self-suppression is the most cost-effective of tyranny. Political correctness isn’t merely the blasphemy law of our time. It makes communication impossible. It renders a people literally illiterate: The conventions of language used by functioning societies throughout human history - irony, indirect quotation, period evocation, and, yes, even comic stereotype - are all suddenly suspect. What a strange fate to embrace. In London, the Lord Chamberlain’s power to censor West End plays was finally abolished in 1968: It was widely accepted by then that there was something absurd in a palace courtier ruling that your script could have three “Bastards!” but not four, and that two specific references to sodomy had to be replaced with one vague allusion to heavy petting. Yet, four decades on, Britons now think it entirely normal for police constables and timeserving bureaucrats to function as literary critics determining the “intent” behind a throwaway jest.

I see a lot of this in higher ed.

Just the other day my brother and I discussed the ever-changing PC words for various things. Right now, disabled is out as the word of choice for those either physically or mentally, well, disabled.

Before "disabled," we called them handicapped.

Now we call them "special needs." (hell, even special has become a pejorative)

As that takes on the same negative connotation as disabled & handicapped (because people feel bad to acknowledge that there is, in fact, anything wrong), we'll find some new, meaningless PC word to describe them and then cast off once it has worn out its welcome.

In today's society, the focus is not on expressing oneself accurately or well, but on offending the fewest amount of people. This is why 30 Rock got so much mileage out of the "Puerto Rican joke."


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Hollywood Tax-Cutters

This isn't your usual cast of Hollywood conservatives, though I'm sure they'd agree with the urge to cut taxes. No, this is plain old Hollywood liberals who know that the key to making money and turning a profit is keeping costs low--and that includes taxes.

The Wall Street Journal has the op-ed:

We're constantly told that taxes don't matter to business and investors, but listen to that noted supply-side economist, Alec Baldwin. The actor recently rebuked New York Governor David Paterson for threatening to try to help close the state's $7 billion budget deficit by canceling a 35% tax credit for films shot in the Big Apple.

"I'm telling you right now," Mr. Baldwin declared, "if these tax breaks are not reinstated into the budget, film production in this town is going to collapse, and television is going to collapse and it's all going to go to California." Well, well. Apparently taxes do matter, at least when it comes to filming "30 Rock" in Manhattan.

Believe it or not, Mr. Baldwin's views are shared across the movie industry, which is pleading in state capitals across the country for most-favored-tax status. Hollywood productions are highly mobile and can film just about anywhere. So they have taken to shopping around the country -- and the world -- for the most lucrative tax avoidance deal.

I love 30 Rock and am a fan of Baldwin's character in it. However, I despise most of Baldwin's politics--apart from this strange urge of his to cut taxes during an economic downturn. How very enlightened and progressive of him.

When I talk about government picking the winners and losers, yeah, this is the type of thing I'm talking about.

this is the same Hollywood film industry whose members fund causes and candidates that favor raising taxes on everyone else. The Motion Picture Production and Distribution industry last year gave $14 million in political contributions: 89% went to pro-tax Democrats. A few years ago, director Rob Reiner funded a successful California initiative to raise the state income tax rate to more than 10%. Unlike a film shoot, which can relocate on a moment's notice, your average small businessman in Encino is stuck paying the highest tax rate in the country -- at least until he gives up and moves to Reno.

This is the type of anecdote that turns all those progressive liberal tax enthusiasts on their head--this is the hypocrisy that proves the rule. Like their dearleader, the teleprompter, they see progressive, confiscatory tax rates as social justice.

But they never want to put their money where their mouths are; they want everyone else to pay higher taxes while they carve out deals for themselves with their friends in power. But the WSJ puts it better:

states shouldn't chase smoke stacks or film production crews with specific tax breaks. It makes much more sense for cities, states and the federal government to lower tax rates for everyone. New York City can survive without Alec Baldwin and "30 Rock," but it can't function without the thousands of small businesses that pay taxes without the benefit of lobbyists and loopholes.

Though I'd hate to see 30 Rock go the way of Arrested Development, it would be amusing (cue schadenfreude) if liberal Alec Baldwin lost his job to higher taxes too.

Unfortunately for all the real employees of GE & the Scheinhardt Wig company, they can't hang out in Hollywood while they wait to hook up with a new gig in time for pilot season.


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NB #5: Roseanne Barr Is A Big Fat Idiot

My latest posts examines, academically, the lunatic rantings and ravings of one "Roseanne Barr." I don't know if that's her real name or her alien-given name. Either way, here's a sampling and a link to my latest NewsBusters post:

Celebrity advisors/surrogates--like George Clooney--are a point of pride for Democrats. They like the "cool" factor these celebrities bring to their campaigns. Though their fame brings increased attention and makes their candidates chic, celebrity also elevates people with no other identifiable skills. What, exactly, does Clooney bring to Obama's team of 300 foreign policy advisors(?), for instance. Oh well, at least Republicans don't have to deal with Roseanne Barr.

By the by, I was re-watching the second season of 30 Rock late last night and came across the episode in which Jack Donaghy is throwing a fundraiser for John McCain. The episode deals with Jack trying, unsuccessfully, to find a few Republican celebrities. Bruce Willis won't show unless they let him sing.

Courtesy of wikiquote, regarding Kenneth the Page's voting habits:

KENNETH: Oh no Sir, I don't vote Republican or Democrat. Choosing is a sin, so I always just write in the Lord's name.
JACK: That's Republican. We count those.

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Making Fun Of Mitt

With all the humorless Obamaniacs hanging around the interweb, we often find ourself nostalgically reminiscing about the good, ol' days when pop culture made fun of people like Mitt Romney.

In the middle of our 30 Rock marathon last night, we came across the following exchange between NBC exec & conservative caricature, Jack Donaghy and stereotypical liberal writer, Liz Lemon:

Jack: Those jokes you wrote for my Mitt Romney fundraiser, they were top-notch.
Liz: Those weren't jokes. That was an appeal for a return to common sense and decency.
Jack: Well it got big laughs.

With any luck, McCain will pick Romney for his running mate and we can all go back to making fun of Mitt.


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