okay, there's about to be a long excerpt and i wanted to start out talking so that no 1 reading was lost. in the late 60s and early 70s, there was a television show called rowan & martin's laugh-in but most people just called it laugh-in. of today's programs, probably mad tv and saturday night live would be closest to it. it was a comedy program with a lot of fast paced gags and skits.
(in fact, wally will tell you that while he was in dc with kat, c.i. and the third estate sunday review, c.i. brought some episodes of laugh-in for him to look at. c.i. thought that would give wally some ideas for how to get back to the daily jot. he meant for it to be a humorous, fast-paced site but when hurricane wilma hit florida, wally lives in florida, he started covering that and then it became a lot heavier site. he was very depressed when alito got confirmed to the supreme court and took a break from the daily jot for a week. he's doing a great job at his site and it is moving along quickly and with irreverance.)
goldie hawn was on laugh-in the 60s and that's how she became famous. she left to make catcus flower and won an oscar for that film. lily tomlin is another famous name to come out of the show. she did many of her famous characters on the show like edith ann and ernastine the telephone operator. so that was laugh-in and it was a very popular, very funny show.
i always learn things at the common ills, but last night i learned, in 'and the war drags on', that the fbi had 'reviewed' laugh-in at the request of fbi director j. edgar hoover. here's the fbi report:
A skit concerning the FBI was performed. It was introduced by a shorter skit representing a President and First Lady sitting in the White House chatting. Between them was a large vase of flowers. When their converation turned to the the Director [FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover], it was made obvious that one of the flowers was actually a bugging device and the President spoke directly to Mr. Hoover by means of this device.
The longer skit was unified by means of a production-type number consisting of cheerleaders, complete with sweaters emblazoned with "FBI," who sang a "fight song" pertaining to the FBI. This "song," satirical in nature, was interrupted by various minor skits and short gag situations, all bearing on the FBI.
A great deal of what was purported to be humor related to the Director and his age. For example, the statement, "I don't believe that just because the Director of the FBI is named Hoover that there has been a vacuum in that Department for years." A particularly vicious attack was made by means of a knock-knock joke in which the answer to "Who is there?" is "Hoover." In reply to the question "Hoover who?" a play on words is made in the statement: "Hoover heard of a seventy-six-year-old policeman?" Another sick-type joke pertaining to the Director was an announcement that "J. Edgar Hoover retired one half-hour ago but will be back at his desk first thing in the morning."
Although jokes and sight gags were made in rapid fashion, emphasis was placed on surveillance-type activities and clandestine-type operations. In one minor skit, two Agents were portrayed meeting and being extremely guarded in their conversation with each other, with each trying to elict information from the other.
All in all, this skit pertaining to the FBI was rather typical of the poor fare that is served on this so-called laugh show, a show that has gained some considerable notoriety by its risque jokes and irreverent satirical attacks. Tasteless, sometimes downright vicious jokes and a great deal of forced humor add up to a more telling commentary on this low-grade show itself than on the FBI.
now what do you think of that? and does it seem like something that could happen today? it does to me.
it's as though we've completely forgotten lessons we should have learned from that time.
i hope you're ready to speak out and address the topic of the war. we need to be vocal, we need to be loud. we need to say bring the troops home now. we also need to say 'stop the illegal spying'. congress isn't saying it for us.
but congress isn't the country. we're the country. and if our elected officials want to shirk their responsibilities, it's up to us to call them out on it.
a year ago this month, bully boy was still falsely claiming a 'mandate' from the 2004 elections. he was bragging about having 'capitol' to spend. he's not walking so tall today, is he, not with the latest poll:
The poll suggests that most Americans wonder whether Bush is up to the job. The survey, conducted Monday through Wednesday of 1,000 people, found that just 37 percent approve of his overall performance. That is the lowest of his presidency.
that happened because of the events that are ongoing and because we haven't been afraid to speak the truth. we need to keep speaking the truth.
do you know this guy:
Claude Alexander Allen, 45, was arrested Thursday by Montgomery County police for allegedly claiming refunds for more than $5,000 worth of merchandise he did not buy, according to county and federal authorities.
he was a nominee (blocked) by bully boy to the 4th circuit. a thief. of course bully boy nominated him. besides being a nominee, he also served as 2nd in charge at health and human services. and in 2005, bully boy hired him as 'a domestic policy adviser.'
it's a crooked administration. speak your truth this month.
