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EMIL
FRANZI |
A short list of our 'problem children'August 22, 2007 |
“I’ve got a little
list.
I’ve got a little list. There’ll none of them be missed. There’ll none of them be missed.” —W. S. Gilbert, THE MIKADO Here’s my (partial) list. People who write really stupid letters to the editor Opinions are fine. Like certain unspecified anatomical equipment, everyone has at least one. But the quantity of dorks writing letters to the editor blatantly mis-stating simple facts is appalling. Which leads to the real question — why do so many editors print this bilge? One typical example is the ignorant bozos who keep calling for the “impeachment” of Sen. McCain. They are obviously so constitutionally challenged that they’re unaware of the process for removing a United States Senator, something they should be made to grasp before they’re views on the subject are magnified. If a radio talk show caller says something ludicrous like “when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor in 1931 and started the Korean War” any competent host cuts ‘em off. The print news biz, even the opinion part, also has an obligation not to allow dis-information. We spread enough of it on our own. There’s no reason why newspapers should allow every ignoramus with a view a chance to express it without at least a marginal comment when it contains blatant mis-statements of fact. This of course assumes those editing it are sufficiently informed to recognize the errors in the first place. Clueless people in the immigration debate Both sides. I’m up to here with the following inaccurate clichés: “Why can’t those illegals just get in line like my ancestors did?” “Those illegals are all just paid cash and are exploited by their employers;” “They broke the law when they came here and they should be punished;” “Those who want to stop illegal immigration are really racist;” “We don’t need local laws — it’s the Federal government’s job.” There is hardly any line any more — we shut it down to a trickle. Most illegals have fake ID and are on the payroll — the recent big bust at a meat packing plant showed almost all illegals found were working under phony papers. The law against illegal entry is still only a misdemeanor. Some racists are present but almost all Americans just want an orderly system. The people who argue against local laws tightening the borders are often the same people proposing their town be a “sanctuary city” in defiance of laws the feds do pass. TV cop and lawyer show writers who know nothing about the systems they write about Cop show reality has slipped away since about “Hill Street Blues.” Or maybe “Barney Miller.” Real cops and even real lawyers don’t behave like they do on these mostly-lack-of-reality shows. The most appalling inaccuracies revolve around firearms and laws pertaining to them. This is still America. In almost all the jurisdictions portrayed, we do not register our guns. TV cops should quit reporting things like their registered owners. Cops and gun owners know how lame that is. Zero tolerance advocates Lazy (usually school) bureaucrats and the lazy lawyers who enable them. They avoid any possibility of “discrimination” by avoiding common sense. Public officials who refuse comment because their policy is to refuse comment — No comment. One final class. Impresarios who jack the plots and characters of classics around — making Rigoletto a bartender in Brooklyn and Don Giovanni a Harlem pimp. This does not bring bigger audiences, it ultimately reduces them by turning off the base made up mostly of trads like me. A few seasons back Arizona Opera essentially rewrote parts of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado” to make it more “relevant to modern audiences.” It sucked. If you’re going to replace the writings of a great wordsmith, make sure the people you use are his equal. Otherwise, as Tony’s guys would say on another crime show, fuhgedahbowdit. |
BUT WATCH WHAT YOU SAY! |
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