Things Are Sooo Bad....

....How Bad Are they?

I really got sick of hearing about it, so I finally decided to investigate for myself - just how bad is this economy, how horrible is the employment situation.

I got myself a Sunday paper last week (the 21st) and perused the jobs section. Much smaller than I've seen before, but there were still jobs to be had for those with and without experience. I chose one that required no special training or skills, but would suit my experience...even though that experience is decades old. I dusted off the old resume, updated only the to add new contact info and more recent jobs, left my pertinent experience in the past (in other words, didn't goose it to be more current). Emailed one copy, snail mailed another. Made a phone call three days later.

That led to my first interview, which led to my second interview (today), which led to a job offer. One ad, one resume, one offer - granted, it isn't a great job and pays only slightly more than $50,000. However, it just shows there are jobs out there. I feel badly that I will need to tell her tomorrow that I am "going with another offer"; wasting their time when I knew there was no way I would take the job was wrong. If the general consensus is correct, though, she should have plenty of other applicants to choose from.

Concerts are still selling out, even though the tickets cost big bucks. Movie theaters are busy and you still have to wait in line at the concession stand. You still have to wait 40 minutes for a table at Oregano's. I know there are individuals who are hurting, but I think society as a whole is far better off than the MSM has been saying the last 15 months.

If the press and the White House would quit telling us we are miserable and all but doomed, if Congress and the POTUS would quit trying to "fix" things (even the few that are broken), we would recover quite nicely.

And Now For Some Important News....

I have been seriously slacking - the idea of a summer get together for our AZ bloggers was suggested to me weeks ago and I spaced it. The Exurban League guys have offered to come out to the west side since the last few have been out their way.

So, we need to pick a date and a place.

In the past we gathered at The Yardhouse in Westgate. They have a great beer list and yummy eats, and if we get there early enough we can grab some couches for lounging while we chat.

Also in the area is that BJs, one mile north of Westgate off the 101. We considered it before but never tried it.

If no one way out west is coming, we could stick to central Phoenix. There is always the old standby of Sonora Brewhouse. Or...?

Having ignored this blog almost to the point of abandonment since getting addicted to Twitter, I am sure my readership is at an all time low. So, those of you who still get decent traffic, could you post a little something and see if we can get some input re: place and date? Thanks

R.I.P. - Michael Jackson

The Michael Jackson I'll remember

R.I.P. - Farrah Fawcet

Farrah Fawcet 1947 - 2009

I was never a huge Farrah fan, despite my obsession with Charlie's Angels. It always seemed that she left because she thought she was too hot for the show that launched her career (perhaps bad advice from her management) The whole "leaving her husband for his best friend" kind of grated on me as well.

Through the years though, she managed to maintain her relationship with Ryan O'Neal - making it seem less tawdry & slightly more 'romantic'. She also did some good work, even going outside her "babe" comfort zone.

Most recently we've watched her wage her battle with cancer with more grace than many of us could muster. She and Ryan had just decided to marry, sadly she passed before he could make that happen.

She was an icon (of a very iconic time) - she will be missed.

On Letterman's Lack of Humor

This is going to be stream of consciousness, because if I wait to know precisely what I want to say, I'll never get this post up.

David Letterman is a jerk. He has been for a very long time.

I remember when he began Late Night, it took me a while to get used to him (I was a Tom Snyder fan) but I eventually found him funny - and even endearing. Over the years, however, he started to get...mean. His monologue became almost cruel and his interviews were often snippy. I no longer found much reason to watch, but would if the guest or musical act were interesting.

I had always enjoyed Leno as a guest host on The Tonight Show, not least because he seemed to be a real fan and conducted interviews that gave the guests a chance to shine. When he took over The Tonight Show, and he was just starting to go head-to-head with Letterman, he changed his style a bit. For a while it seemed Leno was attempting to be Letterman-lite; he told mean jokes, he was a bit of a bully during interviews. Thankfully, he reverted to his old style and The Tonight Show became enjoyable again. (It has been less so lately, but that is another topic)

I haven't watched Letterman in years - why would I? The few times I've happened upon CBS late night while channel surfing my opinion of the show was reinforced - just not funny. I felt the same way about Conan, though I could understand his appeal to a niche audience. I had very low expectations for Conan in Leno's slot and, in the few shows I've watched, I appear to have been right. Perhaps he will find his footing in that time slot, we'll see.

During Conan's first week, I happened to be up and, not being impressed with Conan, thought I'd give Dave another try. Bad idea - as in couldn't even get through the monologue bad. Just. Not. Funny - and his jokes were severely dated. I turned away.

Now he is in hot water for his tasteless attacks on Sarah Palin - and, more specifically, his attack on her daughter. He certainly should be, within reason.

1. They were tasteless, they were crude, they were over the line, they were sexist - all those things. And, they were unfunny.

2. Greg Gutfeld was right; it is pathetic that with an entire inept administration to choose from for his jokes, Letterman is still so obsessed with Sarah Palin. It is also pathetic that he couldn't come up with something funny.

3. It is conceivable, and even likely, that his staff was too stupid, too lazy, or too disinterested to check which daughter was with Palin in NY. Had it been Bristol, the jokes would have been stupid, the fact that it was Willow puts the jokes in beyond-the-pale territory. And don't forget that Letterman also targeted Palin herself.

4. He would never have made those jokes about a female, left-leaning politician, let alone her children. You can imagine the outrage had Rush said something about the Obama girls, or if Treacher's Ashley Biden joke was not merely in illustration of the double standard. There was hell to pay when Chelsea Clinton was maligned during her father's campaigns/terms - and even much gnashing of teeth when it was suggested that as a grown woman she was being "pimped out" during her mother's failed Presidential run.

That said.........we do ourselves no favors by becoming "hysterical" over these things the way the left does. I know that in most cases it is an attempt to give as good as we got, but I don't think that is always the best strategy in a PR battle. Think about how idiotic lefties appear when they bluster and foam at the mouth over every perceived slight, is that what you want for yourself? These were obviously comments that needed to be addressed, but not hammered over and over. Letterman needn't be fired, though an actual, sincere apology would have been nice.

A-Rod having sex with Willow Palin would quite obviously be statutory rape (though pushing Letterman's idiocy into giggles at statutory rape is a stretch), besides being disturbing on other levels. But statutory rape is quite a different animal from RAPE. To continue referring to Letterman's comments as advocating the rape of a child trivializes the word, much the same way as moonbats calling Bush "Hitler" and Republicans "Nazis" trivialized the evil that was done by the Third Reich. It also has undoubtedly caused the child in question, whether Willow or Bristol, more harm than anything he said in the first place. We need to stand up for our principles, we need to defend smart, conservative women who are brave enough to step into the political arena, and we need to ensure everyone understands the limits of humor stop long before the family gets attacked. We also need to keep our heads and not risk becoming like the loonies on the left. We are bigger than that, we are smarter than that - and we need to stay true to who we are.

We also don't need to give a jackass like David Letterman any more attention than he deserves. He can't win on the humor front but he always has controversy. Since his Palin digs, and for the first time in a very, very long time, David Letterman won the ratings battle in his time slot.

It would behoove clear thinking lovers of humor to allow Letterman to fade into the obscurity he has been toying with for decades.

UPDATE: Found this quote

"If the right goes after Letterman, they make him look big and themselves small," says Mark McKinnon, a former campaign adviser to George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). "It's win-win for Letterman."

UPDATE: Regarding giving Letterman more attention than he deserves.

UPDATE: Here is Greg Gutfeld's take. (note to Greg, she's the Governor)