EMPIRE 360: We Go All-In With the Ballsy Breakout Hit

EMPIRE: WATCH! WHERE? WHY?

Have you ever found yourself lost in the unexpected pleasures of an amazing meal? You stumbled upon the restaurant and the food is a delicious surprise. Hooked at first bite, you can’t wait for the next course. The sudsy drama EMPIRE is like that; a gorgeous guilty pleasure tossed with shiny objects and fancy flourishes. There’s some serious brain food in the mix but the juicy, indulgent stuff  is all empty calories wrapped in high-end gloss.  You don’t know why you can’t stop eating but when it tastes this good, who cares?

The EMPIRE 360 is part introductory overview, part series review and our biggest entertainment feature to date. We start with what you need to know about EMPIRE. This section of background basics includes an interactive slide-show with photo-bios of the main characters and quotable one liners. Immediately following is the full-length RONTHINK review. We wrap with a selection of must-read topical articles and blog posts.
 

EMPIRE: AIRS WEDNESDAYS 9PM E/P ON FOX. NEXT DAY STREAMING ON:

EMPIRE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

 

EMPIRE was created by Lee Daniels, who directed THE BUTLER, and Danny Strong, screenwriter for THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY. Fans of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER will be more familiar with work in front of the camera where he played sorcerer Jonathan Levinson.  The inspiration for the series came from an idea Strong had for a present day version of KING LEAR set in the hip-hop world. Original songs are featured in every episode. Timbaland serves as executive music producer.

Empire Enterprises is a music and entertainment conglomerate run by Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard), a former drug dealer turned musical artist turned media mogul. His rise to the top is full of dark and ugly stuff, most of which is parsed out in periodic flashbacks. At the outset of the pilot, Lucious is on the verge of realizing his dream of taking the company public. Everything is going according to plan until his doctor delivers devastating news about his health. Lucious is forced to face his own mortality and the threat it poses to Empire. Now, he must decide which of his three sons will succeed him as part of a stable transition plan. Until that happens, his diagnosis must be kept secret.

Things go from bad to “holy shit” when Lucious’ ex-wife Cookie  (Taraji P. Henson) shows up unexpectedly. She’s been in prison for 17 years but was granted an early release. Cookie took the fall when she was arrested running the drugs that bankrolled the start of Lucious’ career and the opening of Empire Enterprises. They started the company together but she reaped none of the rewards. Once Cookie was locked away, Lucious pretty much turned his back on her. Now it’s time for payback and revenge. Cookie wants a piece of the company she helped build and is willing to do whatever it takes to get it.

View our “who’s who” slide show of the main characters on EMPIRE. Meet the entire Lyon family and see why Cookie is already queen of quotables.

 

EMPIRE: THE RONTHINK REVIEW

 

EMPIRE isn’t shy about flashing its upmarket production pedigree. With bragging rights to impressive talent on both sides of the camera, the show has swagger. This gorgeous head-turner lives on the small screen but isn’t confined by it. Each episode is decked out in lush, cinematic style. Key scenes are set in expansive work and living spaces, a creative choice that heightens already outsize drama and brings an epic quality to the proceedings. Top shelf aesthetics give the series gloss but that’s just the eye candy icing on a gleefully badass cake. EMPIRE is easily the most audacious, addicting  and flat-out enjoyable new show of the season.

 

If you haven’t tuned in because you assumed the show would be preachy or teachy, fear not! EMPIRE is, first and foremost, spectacularly entertaining television. That doesn’t mean it’s all style and no substance. Serious  issues are tackled head-on, with frequent visits to places dark, difficult and uncomfortable. Daniels and Strong know how to keep viewers hooked without dumbing things down or turning scenes into patronizing lectures.  Dialogue is smart, sharp and colorful. There are no lapses into self-impressed, pseudointellectual claptrap. If that’s your thing, you should watch GIRLS on HBO or follow Lena Dunham’s Twitter (ego)feed.

 

Every good drama needs a villain and Lucious Lyon is one hell of a baddie. He’s a control freak with a mean streak and a singular focus on his own success. Everyone, including his family, is a pawn in his game.  When he isn’t manipulating something or someone, Lucious can often be found hurling homophobic invective at  his gay son or beating the tar out of some poor sap who pissed him off. Limits? Not this guy. When his old friend Bunkie becomes a problem in need of a permanent solution, Lucious shoots him point blank in the face.  Problem solved!

 

It would be easy for Howard to play Lucious as a total monster but he  opts for a more nuanced approach. He surrounds the character with a façade of respectability. Lucious looks like a stand up guy but he’s really a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Still, there are times when you can empathize with him and the magnitude of his personal baggage.

As good as Howard is, Taraji P. Henson is a dazzling revelation. Despite Oscar and Emmy nominations, the bulk of her work has flown below radar. That’s about to change. Cookie Lyon is a career defining role and Henson’s fearless, balls-out performance will make her a big star. She’s the main event here.

 

Henson turns Cookie into a force of nature. She’s a one woman tempest with a big mouth and bigger dreams. Cookie tosses verbal grenades with military precision and loves to make a really big entrance, invited or not. An unlocked door is all the permission she needs. If you cross her, watch out. Just ask youngest son Hakeem. When their first on-screen meeting jumps the rail, Cookie responds to his verbal abuse with a broomstick beat-down so spectacular it’s awe inspiring. She is, in every sense, one mother of a mother.

 

 

Cookie won’t win any first impression awards but there’s much more to her than sound and fury. Still, the lack of social skills makes sense. Cookie was arrested at a young age. She was poor, undereducated and dealing drugs. When every day is a battle for survival, etiquette lessons aren’t on your to-do list. Prison put her life on pause. Cookie grew older but she didn’t necessarily grow up. Her days were spent in confinement, feeling alone, betrayed and angry. Now that she’s out of prison, Cookie is back among familiar faces but has to figure out how to deal with them in an unfamiliar world.

 

Although Cookie’s has flaws to spare, Henson re-frames these shortcomings in ways that connect them to something real. They become battle scars; physical manifestations of hidden emotional wounds.  Cookie might be strong and act fearless but when she lets her guard down, there are unmistakable flashes of the pain, fear and loss that haunt her. None of that can be written. It’s all in the performance and Henson hits it out of the park.

 

 

The rest of the cast is uniformly strong, with the exception of Bryshere Gray, who plays Hakeem. This is his first professional acting gig and the lack of experience shows. Yes, the character is supposed to be an irresponsible layabout, but that can’t be all there is to Hakeem. Lucious  is convinced his son is a star in the making and someone with the potential to run Empire. As it stands, Gray hasn’t given us much more than a one dimensional version of Hakeem. Without some depth to the character and evidence of hidden greatness, it won’t matter what Lucious thinks. A big chunk of plot becomes a tough sell.

Obviously, EMPIRE is well-stocked with damaged goods in the parent/child relationship department. If the show was a town, they would call it Dysfunction Junction.  Of all the emotional wreckage that litters the proverbial streets of this hapless hamlet, nothing comes close in size to the smoking hulk of twisted darkness that exists between Lucious and Jamal. It’s a toxic tango they’ve danced for years. As a spectator sport, it’s a one sided event. Jamal is the guy you cheer for. Only an asshole would choose Team Lucious.

 

 

As Jamal, Jussie Smollett has taken on a role that is probably the most difficult in the cast. Because there are so many way to make a wrong move with the character, watching Smollett get it right is a pleasure. Jamal is one of the good guys but Smollett doesn’t make him a saint. He’s talented, sensitive and relatively grounded but Jamal can also be stubborn, aloof and an impetuous brat. As characters go, Smollett isn’t sticking to the “GLAAD Guide To Keeping Us Happy If You’re Playing Gay On TV” and we thank him for that. That means no sign of a new Jack, Will, Kurt or either of the gays who sank THE NEW NORMAL. Jamal can stand his ground but there are fleeting moments of shame, self-loathing and fear in the mix. The persona Smollett has created for Jamal feels organic and definitely reminds me of real people I know. That doesn’t often happen with LGBT characters in primetime.

 

As fun as it can be, EMPIRE does not sweep the raw ugliness of homophobia under the rug. There’s frequent use of “sissy” and “bitch” as gay slurs and flashbacks provide disturbing glimpses of the abuse heaped on Jamal when he was a boy. In one particularly horrifying incident, he walks into a family gathering wearing heels and a woman’s head scarf. It’s a totally innocent childhood behavior but Lucious sees something else entirely. He explodes into a blind rage and carries the little boy outside. Cookie makes a frantic attempt to stop Lucious but by the time she catches up with him, he’s already  dumped Jamal head first into a trash can. It’s a shocking and difficult thing to watch but, it’s based on fact. Lee Daniels had a similar boyhood experience at the hands of his father.

 

 

Though gay characters are no longer rarities on television, EMPIRE takes an unusually bold approach that puts it in a class by itself. It’s the first time a broadcast network series has dealt head-on with homophobia in the black community and the hip-hop industry. There are cultural realities at play in both groups that add unique shading to the already difficult process of coming out. This storyline was a priority for Daniels so it’s especially satisfying to see it being realized so vividly and effectively.

 

On the flip side, measuring the success (or failure) of the various hip-hop elements in EMPIRE doesn’t lend itself to a succinct summary. Everyone has an opinion and none of them seem to agree. If you’re a strident hip-hop fan with no sense of humor or flexibility about the music you love, EMPIRE might drive you crazy. With the exception of one hilariously bad video shoot (look for the scene with shirtless male models rolling around in sand), most of the major music-focused sequences look great. Of course,  I’m no hip-hop expert so, I’ll leave passing ultimate judgment to those who are. Personally, I don’t care. Watching EMPIRE and bitching about something not being “authentic” is like complaining that HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER isn’t a “realistic” look at law school. Duh! These are TV dramas, not documentaries.

 

EMPIRE was a huge hit out of the gate. The numbers were strong enough to give FOX a much-needed boost out of the ratings cellar. Post-premiere, the show continues to defy convention with each of two subsequent episodes adding viewers. Though originally promoted as a limited-run event, FOX already renewed EMPIRE for a second season. Of course, that decision was a no-brainer given the numbers. Still, we’re talking about a success story no one really saw coming. There has never been a broadcast network series quite like EMPIRE. It’s set in the hip-hop business, has an almost all-black cast and leads with a front-burner gay storyline. None of that screams “monster hit” yet, that’s exactly what it is. If you haven’t yet boarded this wonderfully wild crazy train, jump on now!

 

EMPIRE is your new TV addiction and it’s waiting for you to get hooked.

 

EMPIRE: MUST READS

In addition to the text links included in this feature, we enjoyed the following posts and thought you might too. To read, click the icon next to each article.

FROM THE WASHINGTON POST: “The Tragedy Behind Fox’s EMPIRE: Lee Daniels’s Father Beat Him For Being Gay”

FROM ABC NEWS AND GOOD MORNING AMERICA: “Why Taraji P. Henson Nearly Turned Down the Role of Cookie in EMPIRE”

FROM MORNING EDITION AND NPR: “Fox's EMPIRE Sets DYNASTY-Style Soap Opera To A Hip-Hop Beat”

FROM THE WIRE AND THE ATLANTIC: “Series Co-Creator Danny Strong On EMPIRE: 'King Lear' Meets Hip Hop Meets DYNASTY”

FROM THEGRIO.COM: “Series Co-Creator Lee Daniels wants EMPIRE to expose homophobia in black America”

 

OPINION: “DUCK” AND COVER

IN TWEET: NOW THAT THE DUCK DUST HAS SETTLED, WE EXAMINE THE EPIC FAIL OF ALL PARTIES INVOLVED IN THE PHIL ROBERTSON DEBACLE.

A&E ended 2013 with back-to-back PR fumbles so astounding, each would make an ideal case study for any book about how not to respond to a media crisis. After resident big mouth Phil Robertson, star of the breakout hit DUCK DYNASTY, let it all hang out in an interview published by GQ, network brass at A&E did something truly mind blowing: they took a bad situation and made it even worse…then repeated the face plant a few weeks later. Equally lame responses from the Left, Right and a bunch of pissy queens at GLAAD helped turn the A&E train wreck into a full-blown shit storm.

Let’s get one thing out of the way right here at the top: Robertson is a profoundly (and proudly) ignorant guy. Like many self-righteous Evangelicals, he routinely perverts the teachings of Christ and, on a good day, demonstrates about as much intellectual depth as the duck call he invented. Yes, I’ve seen the show (several times) and find it to be a painfully dull tribute to backwoods buffoonery. The only thing that would make me tune in again is a "very special episode" in which the ducks get take up arms and fire off a few rounds of payback.

Of course, I’m not in the DUCK DYNASTY target demo and the core faithful could give a rat’s ass what a Lefty like me thinks of their pop culture hero du jour. DUCK DYNASTY gets the Sarah Palin “you betcha” seal of approval and that’s really all the matters to anyone who tunes in specifically because they feel a deep, philosophical kinship with the Robertson family. So, to each his or her own.

My personal feelings towards Papa Phil aside, you needed proverbial hip waders to slog through the swamp of self-serving hypocrisy that bubbled up in the wake of the GQ interview. From A&E to GLAAD to a gaggle of politicians who never met a spotlight they weren't willing to whore themselves out to, everyone had something to say and, more often than not, what they said was as ham-handed as the comments that sparked the debate.

The two biggest freaks in this circus sideshow are A&E and GQ. On the one hand, you have a money grubbing cable network that has already made millions off the DUCK DYNASTY franchise and continues to do so. Since the series launched, A&E has been perfectly willing to look the other way and ignore (or edit for television) the Robertson's hard-Right political, social and religious views. If A&E had any genuine moral or ethical quandaries about the family, they would never have given the green light to the series in the first place. That's way suspending Phil Robertson was not only the wrong thing to do, it was a bizarre, crass and knee-jerk reaction that defied logic. It should have surprised no one that the network would reverse that decision less than two weeks after making it.

When all is said and done, what did A&E achieve? DUCK DYNASTY haters are still going to hate the show and those who love it were basically handed a gift-wrapped cause célèbre to rally around. More to the point, the series has become a ratings blockbuster precisely because a large chunk if its audience identifies with Robertson. If a black President, Obamacare and the demise of DOMA scare the hell out of you, DUCK DYNASTY must feel like your one cable happy place outside the safe harbor of Fox News. I don’t agree with the mindset but I do get it and, quite frankly, who are any of us to deny fans of the show their fix?

Of course, there would be no firestorm had a desperate, largely irrelevant publication like GQ not gone a-trollin’ for page views. I defended Rolling Stone when they ran the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev cover because the magazine has a demonstrated track record of first-rate investigative journalism. It didn’t hurt that the accompanying story was pretty terrific. GQ, on the other hand, is a bastion of puffery, hoary “guy” tips and stinky cologne inserts. Apparently, they’ve now added cheap publicity stunts to their dubious repertoire.

The interview (and I use the term loosely) with Robertson is not only poorly written, it’s obvious from the get-go that GQ saw an easy target, baited the hook and let the verbal vomit flow. While I abhor the sentiments expressed by Robertson in the piece, I’m even more upset that a national publication provided a platform for a bigoted rant without any real interest in offering sound critical context or an intelligent counterpoint. In the end, GQ perpetrated a gutter-level grab for a turn on the teet of the DUCK DYNASTY cash cow.

Once the beast was out of the barn, the usual suspects lined up on the Left and Right to stomp their feet and issue statements punctuated with sound-bite indignation. The reactions were as predictable as they were laughable.

Conservative dingbats like Palin and Bobby Jindal relied on RWNJ chestnuts like Constitutional cherry picking, revisionist history, “Liberal media bias” belly aching and old-fashioned stupidity to make their case. I wonder if Jindal, for example, would have still waxed poetic had Robertson painted as a rosy a picture of British Colonial rule of India as he did the pre-Civil Rights South?

Even more hypocritical, many of those outraged that A&E suspended Phil Robertson are the same people who called for Martin Bashir to be fired from MSNBC just a few weeks prior. Dear Righties: you can’t have it both ways. Ditto to the Lefties who rallied behind Bashir and then cheered the decision to sideline Robertson. I'm never going to be a fan of the "off with their heads" mentality as a first course of action when a non-politician in the public eye says something that a lot of people don't like or agree with. Immediately gathering torches and pitchforks in order to silence media provocateurs is a slippery slope that I would prefer we avoid.

Even more confounding is how much of the coverage of the Phil Robertson interview was obsessed with his homophobia but blithely ignored his shocking take on racism in the U.S. In fact, of all the “progressive” organizations weighing in, the position taken by GLAAD is the one that made my blood boil. One of the two most annoying and ineffective national “gay rights” organizations (the other being the self-impressed pricks at HRC) took its usual myopic stand. In the process, GLAAD fumbled yet another opportunity to take an intelligent, worldly and inclusive approach to a media firestorm.

I would expect any pro-LGBT organization to decry Robertson trotting out the tired “homosexuality leads to beastiality” meme but where was the outrage regarding the other stuff he babbled on about? You know, his tales of the happy colored folk singin’ a merry tune while they picked cotton down on the farm? There’s much more of that meat on the bigot bone in the GQ piece but GLAAD couldn’t be bothered mentioning it or, heaven forbid, doing something truly savvy like issuing a joint statement of condemnation with an organization like the NAACP. 

It wasn't until A&E reinstated Robertson (and stories of his overt racism had already gained some traction) that GLAAD finally mentioned the "African American thing" in a public statement. In my estimation, that's too little to late for any organization claiming to be part of the social justice and/or equality movements. For GLAAD, it's just business as usual. 

Racism in the gay community is alive and well. It’s has been for years and it's a dirty (not so) secret that organizations like HRC and GLAAD do little more than pay lip service to. While the NAACP released a strong statement of support for marriage equality in 2012, major LGBT groups have yet to respond in kind on issues like economic parity, racism and voter suppression. Not only has this led to a series of missed opportunities to strengthen the common good, it's also points to a shameful track record of insular, arrogant activism. 

The Phil Robertson interview could have been a big first step in starting to right that wrong but that would require the powers that be at GLAAD to stop kissing the ass of gay Hollywood and join us little people here in the real world. Don’t hold your breath. We're talking about an organization that still thinks GLEE, a preachy stink pile of grossly negative race and gender stereotypes, is "must see" TV.

At the end of the day, Phil Robertson is just another in a long line of temporarily popular reality TV stars. He may be a clueless idiot but, he's not an elected official and he's done no physical harm to anyone. More to the point, no one is required to let him or his family into their living rooms. Though millions of people do indeed watch DUCK DYNASTY, the fact remains that the overwhelming majority of us do not. That’s the beauty of being able to turn the channel. Pulling Robertson off the air was never going to change the hearts and minds of anyone who agrees (or disagrees) with his world view. While there was a fair amount of intelligent discussion and debate in the wake of the GQ interview, it's a real shame that very little of it came from organizations and individuals who should have known and done much better.

ONE YEAR LATER: NEVER FORGET…

CLICK HERE to visit Sandy Hook Promise.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the victims from each of their families.

CLICK HERE to visit Moms Demand Action.

CLICK HERE to visit Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

CLICK HERE to visit Americans for Responsible Solutions.

TODAY: WORLD AIDS DAY 2013

CLICK HERE for more information from AIDS.gov.

CLICK HERE for an excellent post on the JOE MY GOD blog about AIDS activism history.

CLICK HERE for a direct link to the image gallery mentioned in the post above.

CLICK HERE for an archive of topical articles from The Advocate.

CLICK HERE for a list of Massachusetts state resources.

CLICK HERE for information specific to health insurance coverage under MASSCare.

CLIPPED SE: THE MALALA INTERVIEW

IN TWEET: THE FULL, EXTENDED INTERVIEW WITH MALALA YOUSAFZAI FROM “THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART.” DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND WATCH.

It’s rare that I watch an interview several times back to back and am moved to tears every time. That’s the effect the incandescent Malala Yousafzai has on people. Jon Stewart’s is rendered speechless several times during his conversation with her. His reaction is genuine and profound.

There’s really no need to blast the Taliban assassins who tried to murder Malala Yousafzai because, in all honesty, that single cowardly act has become one of the biggest epic fails in the history of failed terrorist crimes. Plus, we all know there’s a special place in hell for them.

Included here is the original in-episode interview with Yousafzai from THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART as well as the extended after-show discussion. Please note that these embeds are streaming directly from the Comedy Central site. Some mobile browsers may not support the required plugins necessary to view the videos on you phone or tablet.

THE IN-SHOW INTERVIEW SEGMENT

 

THE FIRST SEGMENT OF THE EXTENDED POST-SHOW INTERVIEW

 

THE CONCLUSION TO THE EXTENDED POST-SHOW INTERVIEW

CLICK HERE for more information on the Malala Fund.

CLICK on the image below to buy the book I AM MALALA from Amazon.

CLIPPED: PASTA PERSPECTIVE

IN TWEET: OUR SUGGESTION FOR THE NEXT BARILLA AD CAMPAIGN.

UPDATE: 11/4/2013: Looks like the bottom line at Barilla might be taking a hit. As Think Progress and others have reported, the pasta peddlers are in a bit of a damage control panic. Too bad, so sad. As millions of consumers already know, finding a hate-free pasta brand is remarkably easy. While Barilla scrambles to throw together a silly "diversity" thing, I'll keep enjoying more delicious Prince Pasta. Barilla, vaffanculo!

At the request of Guido Barilla, I happily returned two boxes of his pasta and two bottles of his sauce to my local super market for a full refund. Given that I don’t fit his stated definition of a family and would never want to sully him with my dirty gay money, I simply switched to Prince pasta (happy 100th).

The main competitors to Barilla in the US, Ronzoni (like Prince, owned by New World Pasta) and Bertolli, have both jumped on the “dump Barilla” bandwagon and I couldn’t agree with them more. Sure, it’s a marketing stunt but at least I know where they stand and can feel better about more of the products I spend my money on.

As you’ll see in the video below, at least one of these companies was on the right side of the issue long before Guido acted like such a…well…guido. Enjoy this clever, nicely produced ad by the Bertolli folks that was made way back in 2009. Barilla would hate it.

TOP3: TOTALLY F’D UP STATE GUN LAWS

IN TWEET: IT’S TIME TO TAKE AIM AT THREE STATE GUN LAWS THAT ARE SO BIZARRE AND ASS-BACKWARDS THEY DEFY CONVENTIONAL LOGIC.

In the aftermath of another mass shooting here in the US, “discussion” of our woefully inadequate gun safety laws is again front and center. Of course, with our short attention span and 2nd Amendment zealots always at the ready to do the bidding of the NRA, you can expect two things: nothing will change and the next headline grabbing slaughter is probably just around the bend.

I don’t mean to sound hopeless or morbid but, let’s face it, gun loving extremists have the upper hand. We can pretend that the majority of gun owners, by and large a rational and law-abiding lot, are in the driver’s seat but anyone paying attention knows that isn’t our reality. In fact, in many states, a semi-automatic weapon is held in higher regard than the rights of a potential innocent victim. Want proof? Check out these three laws currently on the books in at least four states. They are just the tip of the gun nut iceberg.

LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF FIREARMS

The Governor of Louisiana is a tool named Bobby Jindal. Aside from the fact that he resembles a russet potato on a stick, the guy never met an NRA-backed idea he didn’t love. How else to explain his loud and proud support for Amendment 2, a significant change to the State Constitution that passed with support from more than 70% of  voters who showed up at the polls in 2012.

Basically, Amendment 2 made gun ownership a fundamental right in the state. Not only did it cover ownership of firearms but also transportation, carrying, transfer and general use. Even more onerous, it made imposing any firearm-related restrictions on individuals an action that was subject to the highest standard of review by Louisiana courts. 

Never mind that Louisiana is one of the poorest and least educated states in the Union. Forget about the fact that it has the highest murder rate in the nation and is the only state with a double digit stat in the “murders per 100,000 citizens” column. Who cares that opponents of the amendment red flagged it for potential abuse. Jindal, always the reliable NRA bitch boy, kept waving his pom poms of support right through it’s passage.

So how could a law like this end up coming back to haunt an already crime-ridden state? The most jaw dropping example comes from the hallowed halls of justice presided over by New Orleans Criminal District Court Judge Darryl Derbigney. In March, he sided with lawyers representing a group of felons with priors and threw out weapons charges that were lodged against them. His reasoning? Apparently, post Amendment 2,  the fundamental right of gun ownership also applies to those with criminal records. Among other things, his ruling meant a convicted felon that was caught with two semi-automatic weapons (one of them an AK-47) was allowed to walk free.

How did Governor Potato Head respond? In June he signed into law six more NRA-backed bills designed to “strengthen 2nd Amendment protections.” Louisiana is indeed the “Sportsman’s Paradise,” especially if you’re a gun-toting criminal and humans are your big game of choice.

RIGHT TO LIFE…FOR GUNS

North Carolina might be “First In Flight” but the state is now in serious contention for the title “First In Crazy” on more than one front. Firmly in the grip of GOP control, the Tar Heel state has become a petri dish of sorts where all kinds of extreme Right Wing ideas get a vigorous tire kick before being rolled out to other Red States.

The summer of 2013 was an especially productive one for conservative wing nuts in the state, with goof ball governor Pat McCrory leading the charge. North Carolina legislators passed some of the most restrictive and onerous voter ID laws in the country, with proponents wearing accusations of voter suppression as a badge of honor. McCrory also signed a restrictive anti-abortion bill in July and just hired an anti-abortion activist as a senior policy advisor to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

But wait, there’s more! Effective this month, a new law prevents any state law enforcement agency from destroying weapons that they receive during voluntary gun buyback programs. Now, if the weapon isn’t broken and has a viable serial number, police in North Carolina must keep, donate or sell the guns to licensed dealers. The legislation was backed by the NRA with the stated goal of stripping away discretion from judges and police by curtailing their ability to melt down buyback weapons. By neutering law enforcement agencies, buyback programs can no longer be looked upon as a guaranteed way of getting weapons of the streets.

This asinine law comes on the heels of similar legislation that recently went live in Arizona, courtesy of bat-crap-crazy Governor Jan Brewer. Brewer and McCrory have a lot in common, including some of the lowest approval ratings in the country among state governors (Brewer is in the low 30% range and McCrory hovers just above those pitiful numbers). Still, the Dumb-namic Duo keeps on truckin’ and doing as much damage as they possibly can until voters in both states wake up and kick their sorry asses to the curb.

FLYING (AND SHOOTING) BLIND

Of course, I’ve saved the “best” for last. Remember that song “Iowa Stubborn” from THE MUSIC MAN? Well, if one was to do a modern re-write, “Iowa Stupid” would be a perfect title. Why? In Iowa not only can a legally blind person buy a gun, they can also carry it in public thanks to changes in firearm ownership laws that hit the state books in 2011. The updated law also prohibits local law enforcement officials from denying a gun permit to a citizen if they feel the individual is too visually impaired to handle a weapon. After all, what do police and sheriffs know about firearms?

Now, before you get your panties in a twist and accuse me of being mean to visually impaired folks, CLICK HERE and watch the video of Michael Barber and his wife buying a gun. Barber is blind. He and his wife look like lovely people but when he says “I can hear where people are…so I just point and shoot” all I can think of is how I don’t want to in the mall, park or food court when Barber decides he needs to defend himself.

I have no objections to laws that allow visually impaired citizens to buy and use firearms in controlled circumstances (like a shooting range) and with a required sighted companion or instructor. The new firearm ownership and carry laws in Iowa have no such restrictions and have already resulted in citizens being granted handgun permits despite the fact that they are so blind they are not permitted to drive.

There’s been more than a little noise made about the Iowa “blind people with guns” conundrum and it has made headlines across the country and around the world. Naturally, a number of legislators in the state are calling for changes to the law that would impose reasonable restrictions specific to the visually impaired. What does Governor Terry Branstad plan to do to address the hue and cry? Not a damn thing.

LEGACY: I HAVE A DREAM

IN TWEET: TODAY MARKS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ICONIC “I HAVE A DREAM…” SPEECH. READ THE ENTIRE SPEECH HERE AND VISIT THE KING CENTER ONLINE.

Embedded below you will find the entire six page “I Have A Dream…” speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. on August 28, 1963 on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Click on any individual page below to enlarge the image. It will automatically open in a new browser tab or window.

 

CLICK HERE to access an archival PDF of the complete text of the speech. You will be able to view the document in an online PDF viewer as well as download a version for offline viewing.

 

CLICK HERE to visit the website for the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RE-VERSE: WAYNE LAPIERRE

IN TWEET: A RE-VERSE IS A REVIEW OR COMMENTARY TOLD IN VERSE. WHO BETTER TO MOCK WITH A KICKY RHYME THAN WAYNE LAPIERRE, THE GRAND POOBAH OF THE NRA?

He rants! He raves! He pounds his fists and blames gun violence on video games no one has played for ten years. He’s WAYNE LAPIERRE, the guy who runs the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Let’s be very clear: the NRA is not a member driven organization. That’s just a front for a lobbying machine bought and paid for by weapon and ammunition manufacturers. The NRA generates PR paranoia that whips fringe groups into a frenzy. They use these hapless sheep as their frontline foot soldiers in a war of intimidation orchestrated from the boardroom at NRA HQ. The mission is simple: stop all gun safety regulation and arm everyone.

The easier it is for people to buy guns, ammo and high capacity clips, the happier Wayne LaPierre is. Humanity, humility, empathy and reality are not part of the plan. As far as the gun lobby is concerned, it’s a numbers game. The tighter the regulations, the lower the profit potential.

While most people worry about their safety, the NRA cares only about the bottom line. Murder and mayhem are simply necessary evils in the pursuit of profit and CEO bonuses. That’s not insane. That’s offensive.

WAYNE LAPIERRE

A LIMERICK FOR A ROTTEN MAN

There once was a LaPierre named Wayne.

His rants make him seem so insane.

Guns aren’t just a hobby.

For this guy from the lobby.

That helps those who murder and maim.

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CLICK HERE for an in-depth look at the NRA and those running the organization.

THE QUICKIE: SOCIAL SHAMING

IN TWEET: PET SHAMING MORPHS INTO SPOTLIGHT TROLLING AS PEOPLE USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR INCREASINGLY SILLY (AND OFTEN SAD) SELF-GRATIFICATION. ENOUGH!

By now I’m sure many of you have seen the picture above. If not, give it a click to check out the original post on Facebook. For the sake of this discussion, I'm going to assume the "stop smoking" plea from this girl is genuine. Of course, that’s always a dicey assumption to make online.

This is the latest twist in the already annoying "pet shaming" and "teen shaming" phenoms. Personally, I don't care that your puppy hides meat in the couch, that your teen son or daughter is a selfish brat or that your cat shreds the curtains while you're at work. In fact, I don't know why anyone else would. Sure, much of it is silly and harmless but we all know things like this will eventually take a turn down some sad, dark alley.

What value is there in public shaming anyway? Do people really think their pooch is gonna stop pooping on the sofa or that little Bobby or Caitlin will became model citizens because you humiliated them on Tumblr?I read THE SCARLET LETTER in high school (ok, I really just read the Cliffs Notes) so lesson learned. I'm not gonna Hester Prynne anyone on two or four legs and don’t know why anyone else would. At a minimum, it’s an asinine use of social media. At its worst, it leads to public scorn and other forms of bullying.

At the root of all of these images, cutesy or otherwise, is as an obsessive narcissism. An almost desperate need to grab the spotlight “just because.” The day I use my tiny corner of the internet to slap up a picture of me holding a poorly scrawled note about something in my life that impacts no one other than me, is the day I will happily delete this blog. In other words, not gonna happen.

With all that said, any "daddy" who makes their kid beg for likes on Facebook as a pre-condition for kicking the habit is not what I would call a model parent. It’s already bad enough that he smokes. It’s even worse that he’s using his bad habit as an excuse to cajole his kid into making a very public plea for help. Who does that? Since when did pimping out your kid qualify as good parenting?

At the end of the day, things like this “please like me so pappy stops smoking” campaign denigrate the memory of kids like Jamey Rodemeyer. Teens who endure real pain and suffering and use social media as both a coping mechanism and a way to help others in need.

Jamey Rodemeyer didn’t live to see his 15th birthday. He took his own life at the age of 14. His heartbreaking journey still lives on YouTube (be warned, you will need a box of tissue). More importantly, his video posts have helped countless other at-risk teens choose life. At a minimum, we owe something better than “teen shaming” and spotlight trolling to all the Jamey Rodemeyers out there; past, present and future.

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