Posts by Reborn2002

23

Political campaigns disgust me

by Reborn2002 in

jw
friends

i do not care if you endorse the republican party, democrats, independents, or even the green party.

but to see such inordinate amounts of money go into campaigns disgusts me.

the economy is flailing and people are homeless and starving, all the while these fatcats live high off the hog and mingle at dinners while kissing one another's asses.. this is not a post directed specifically at any candidate.

Reborn2002

I agree with dubla. Not to get into specifics, but let us state the obvious. Unless you are talking about extreme exceptions like Jack Welch of GE, Bill Gates of Microsoft, or Steve Jobs of Apple, there is NO WAY that the average CEO of a business makes as much money as the average professional entertainer. Entertainment is where the $$$ is.

With CEOS, you tend to have annual salary and stocks. Those stock options are often long-term compensation depending on their performance. With professional athletes, you have annual salary (guaranteed), product endorsements, appearance (such as a book) signings, etc.

Alex Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers baseball team makes over $25 million a year for over 10 years, and that is just baseball salary. We aren't even adding on product endorsements (shoes, clothing line, etc.) and appearance fees.

Movie stars? Also entertainment. Jim Carrey, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, and many others command well over $20 million a film. When they do several films a year, you do the math.

How many basketball and baseball stars do you know making double-digit millions a year? Hundreds.

How many movie stars do you know making double-digit millions a year? Hundreds.

How many businessmen do you know making double-digit millions a year? A select few in the upper echelon of Wall Street and Fortune 500 companies. Look at the average compensation. Yes, businessmen do make millions in salary, but not NEAR the inordinate amounts of money entertainers (athletes and actors) receive.

110

The Dixie Chicks

by Stan Conroy in

i don't understand the logic of boycotting the dixie chicks because of the comments the singer made about being ashamed that bush is from texas.

it doesn't make sense to me.

keep in mind that i'm just a canadian, so maybe i'm just not tuned in to the american way of thinking.

Reborn2002

HEY!!!!!!!!! Lay off attacking my girl!!!!!!!
Everyone has a right to their opinion. I think the whole thing about the Dixie Chicks has been blown way out of proportion. If they have an anti-Bush, anti-war attitude, let them have it, and if they speak out, it's their right to do so. This is America, after all.
If you (meaning anyone) don't agree with them, don't agree..............but why attack them?
And most importantly...............because we are all friends here, Lay off attacking my girl!!!!!!!

Sorry if I was attacking. I can be a bit passionate at times. However when someone makes statements that are outright false and can be disproved with documentation (as I have done) and they CONTINUE to make those assertions (without proof I might add, only their belief) it is cause to be irritated.

I have provided articles, definitions, etc. What have you provided? Your belief? That is as bad as a Jehovah's Witness having blind faith in a subject versus obvious documentation pointing to the contrary staring them in the face.

When someone lies, no matter what the subject, I do not intend to let them get away with it.

Sorry Princess, you are probably a nice person. Didn't mean any harm. Your entitled to your belief, even if it is a wrong one.

Yeru - You and I go way back. We have a nice love/hate relationship. We can rip each other apart in political and religious debates, then turn around and console each other in a thread about family problems (which we both have experienced quite a bit of as of late).

No hard feelings eh?

(((Mulan))) and (((Princess)))

110

The Dixie Chicks

by Stan Conroy in

i don't understand the logic of boycotting the dixie chicks because of the comments the singer made about being ashamed that bush is from texas.

it doesn't make sense to me.

keep in mind that i'm just a canadian, so maybe i'm just not tuned in to the american way of thinking.

Reborn2002

Let us look at the definition of censorship shall we?

cen·sor ( P ) Pronunciation Key (s
n.
A person authorized to examine books, films, or other material and to remove or suppress what is considered morally, politically, or otherwise objectionable.
An official, as in the armed forces, who examines personal mail and official dispatches to remove information considered secret or a risk to security.
One that condemns or censures.
One of two officials in ancient Rome responsible for taking the public census and supervising public behavior and morals.
Psychology. The agent in the unconscious that is responsible for censorship.

tr.v. cen·sored, cen·sor·ing, cen·sors
To examine and expurgate.

As the previous article I have linked TWICE demonstrates, radio stations have removed Dixie Chicks music from their playlist because of the comments made about George W. Bush. This is censorship. The radio station managers are in a position to examine the musical content to be played on their station, and remove that which they deem objectionable. Because they did not agree with the Dixie Chicks political comments (even though they were utilizing their right to free speech) they censored them. Let us not confuse matters, this course of action is not due to the fanbase not wanting to listen to their music (they are one of the most popular country music bands), and as I stated previously in another post, direct quotation showing that a large percentage of people DO want to hear their music( but conveniently you avoid that.. perhaps you can't understand it) but solely because of the comments they made using their right to free speech.

By the very definition of the terminology, when radio station executives (in a position to do so) ban artists from their playlist for political reasons, that is censorship. This term does not solely apply to the government. When one also examines facts and determines that some of the radio stations encouraging this censorship also have close ties to the Bush Administration, it still shows it to be blatant censorship.

Apparently a few of you have difficulty comprehending that.

Thanks mom. Reborn doesn't really know how to attack. He just knows how to cut and paste and call people names. It's a lot like kindergarten actually.

And apparently you can't read. Otherwise you would not have made such statements in response to my previous post when I showed you direct quotation from the article stating the exact opposite of what you claimed, with no supporting evidence for your assertations I might add.

Perhaps you were not attempting to lie or do not have an agenda. At this stage I am leaning towards you being uninformed and naive.

Yeru - I notice you did not continue to deny that your comparison of boycotts is unfair once it was explained to you. You are just sticking by your guns despite proof I have presented.

How sad.

18

My new photos to publish

by Yerusalyim in

jw
friends

me and my battle buddies.

dan is the biggest korean i've ever met, and sara jean really took care of us.

this is me pretending to be a red neck cop.

Reborn2002

Really cool pictures Yeru.

I hope to see more.

10

Ok, folks, read up

by MrMoe in

jw
friends

see this section?

it is called friends.

an earlier referencing stinkypants to a bowel movement in another thread is not appreciated, in fact not welcome here.

Reborn2002

What'd I miss?

Who made fun of Mrs. Soiled Shorts?

110

The Dixie Chicks

by Stan Conroy in

i don't understand the logic of boycotting the dixie chicks because of the comments the singer made about being ashamed that bush is from texas.

it doesn't make sense to me.

keep in mind that i'm just a canadian, so maybe i'm just not tuned in to the american way of thinking.

Reborn2002

I stand by what I said earlier. Just because a DJ says it's censorship, doesn't make it so. It was a poor choice of words. What he calls censorship is really just a market reaction. Their listening audience is what they need to consider. The people don't want to hear the Dixie Chicks because they are offended by them.

Did you actually read the article? Or did you pick out one or two words? Obviously you have difficulty in reading comprehension at this point.

A DJ did not claim it was censorship. The station manager banned their music from the playlist. The DJ did not claim censorship and the motive for it was not a market reaction.

I will repost quotes from the article that you allegedly read, so perhaps you can grasp it.

You say:

The people don't want to hear the Dixie Chicks because they are offended by them.

The article says:

two disc jockeys were suspended from a Colorado Springs, Colorado radio station for locking themselves in the studio while they took listener requests for the band’s music

The local television news reported that KKCS has been receiving hundreds of phone calls, with 75 percent of the callers favoring playing the band’s music. “We’ve been getting hundreds of phone calls, both pro and con,” said Grant, “It has not been a fun couple of days.”
“The result of Monday’s action is that we received another overwhelming response from our listeners to play the Dixie Chicks, which we have begun to do today,” concluded the station’s press release.

You say:

Just because a DJ says it's censorship, doesn't make it so. It was a poor choice of words. What he calls censorship is really just a market reaction.

Again I ask.. did you even read the article before posting? The DJ did not say that. The general manager admitted censoring them and banning their music from the playlist. The DJ's were suspended for playing their music.

DJs Dave Moore and Jeff Singer were suspended May 5 for violating a boycott imposed by the management of KKCS 102 FM. The ban has been in place since group member Natalie Maines made a comment hostile to George W. Bush at a March concert in London just prior to the US invasion of Iraq.

The station’s General Manager, Jerry Grant, declared in a media release justifying the reprisals against Moore and Singer that the Dixie Chicks were censored because the station had to be sensitive to its listening audience in a city with five military bases.

Banning the group’s music from the station’s playlist was a difficult decision, said Grant, “because how can you ignore the hottest group in country music?” He answered the rhetorical remark by emphasizing in his press release that “Colorado Springs is a military city.” The independent station does not belong to any of the radio conglomerates, such as Clear Channel Communications, that were instrumental in organizing and continuing the witch-hunt against the Dixie Chicks.

110

The Dixie Chicks

by Stan Conroy in

i don't understand the logic of boycotting the dixie chicks because of the comments the singer made about being ashamed that bush is from texas.

it doesn't make sense to me.

keep in mind that i'm just a canadian, so maybe i'm just not tuned in to the american way of thinking.

Reborn2002

Making a statement which is a bald-faced lie when you KNOW it to be a lie is questionable.

One would not do so unless they had an agenda.

To quote Republican President Theodore Roosevelt, which supports the right of critics of the government to speak out:

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

Now, back to Yeru.

Free speech is free speech a boycott is a boycott. It doesn't matter the reason behind the boycott. The PRINCIPLE is the same. Therefore, it is a fair comparison.

Hogwash. Free speech is not simply free speech, and a boycott is not simply a boycott. You know it, I know it, and anyone else reading this with a 2nd grade education knows it. Klu Klux Klan members gathering under the premise of free speech to promote racial division and hatred to boycott black music is the same as homosexuals gathering to encourage nonviolence towards their sexual orientation by boycotting something motivated by hate? Please. Because they are bot boycotts? Get real.

I was stating that you referencing the Montgomery Boycott and comparing it to the boycott of the Dixie Chicks is an unfair comparison. The African-American citizens who were fighting to earn basic freedoms versus country music singers who used their freedom of speech and were subsequently censored and boycotted for it? There is NO comparison. Anyone with a rational mind would side with the African-Americans boycotting 40 years ago to have basic human priviledges. You were attempting to invoke the emotion of the reader by comparing such a noble and stellar example to what is taking place today.

If those in the civil rights movement formed boycotts and we applaud their efforts, then I say those who boycott the chicks also have that right. I don't buy Dixie Chicks stuff, but that's cuz I'm not a country fan. WERE I a country fan, I would boycott them, just as I boycott Amazon for the pedophile book they carried.

Yes, they and you have the right to boycott. That is a guaranteed freedom as a United States citizen. The freedom of choice. However telling lies regarding what is happening today is not appropriate, and I called your bluff.

110

The Dixie Chicks

by Stan Conroy in

i don't understand the logic of boycotting the dixie chicks because of the comments the singer made about being ashamed that bush is from texas.

it doesn't make sense to me.

keep in mind that i'm just a canadian, so maybe i'm just not tuned in to the american way of thinking.

Reborn2002

Yeru says:

Censorship? What censorship.

Princess spews:

They aren't being censored.

Bald faced lies. You choose to ignore the facts when it does not support your propaganda. How about I point it out so that even a kindergarten child can understand?

For your perusal, I will submit an article which demonstrates disc jockeys being suspended from work for playing Dixie Chicks music.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/may2003/dixi-m09.shtml

Now, you say:

Censorship? What censorship?

and

They aren't being censored.

Let me quote a few notable comments in the article.

The station’s General Manager, Jerry Grant, declared in a media release justifying the reprisals against Moore and Singer that the Dixie Chicks were censored because the station had to be sensitive to its listening audience in a city with five military bases.

Banning the group’s music from the station’s playlist was a difficult decision, said Grant, “because how can you ignore the hottest group in country music?” He answered the rhetorical remark by emphasizing in his press release that “Colorado Springs is a military city.”

That the nationwide campaign against the Dixie Chicks—involving radio censorship of their music, CD burnings, and death threats against group members—is anything but a spontaneous popular response to Maines’ anti-Bush utterance is once again confirmed by the Colorado Springs episode. The fact that a town with numerous military bases was the scene of an extraordinary protest in support of the group reveals much about the state of popular opinion, including perhaps within the military.

Instrumental in the efforts to censor the Dixie Chicks has been the media conglomerate Clear Channel, a company with close ties to the Bush administration. The campaign also involves the extreme-right FreeRepublic.com web site and Cox Radio and Cumulus Broadcasting, two large radio broadcasters who dominate the country music radio scene. The CD-smashing rally in Louisiana by a 33,000-pound tractor was orchestrated by KRMD, part of Cumulus Media, which has just recently lifted its ban against the group’s music. The so-called ‘grassroots’ uproar against the trio is in fact a highly orchestrated phenomenon.

“The Dixie Chicks have taken a big hit lately for exercising their basic right to express themselves. To me, they’re terrific American artists expressing American values by using their American right to free speech. For them to be banished wholesale from radio stations, and even entire radio networks, for speaking out is un-American.
“The pressure coming from the government and big business to enforce conformity of thought concerning the war and politics goes against everything that this country is about—namely freedom. Right now, we are supposedly fighting to create freedom in Iraq, at the same time that some are trying to intimidate and punish people for using that same freedom here at home.
“I don’t know what happens next, but I do want to add my voice to those who think that the Dixie Chicks are getting a raw deal, and an un-American one to boot. I send them my support.”

Still gonna claim no censorship? Give me a break.

24

Who here has military service?

by pr_capone in

jw
friends

just wondering how many ex dubs have served in the military.

was it before or after the jw's?

where did you serve?

Reborn2002

LMAO @ azalo & expatbrit

You guys are hilarious!

8

At Last, The England Captain's Latest Hair Style Revealed:

by Englishman in

jw
friends

however, gmtv had rather negative thoughts about it.

schoolchildren who copy david beckham's latest madcap hairstyle could end up bald and smelly, according to experts.. hairdressers have been inundated with requests from youngsters to mimic the braided look unveiled by england's football captain at the weekend.

but tv doctor hilary jones said anyone plaiting fine hair that severely could damage it - or even lose it permanently.

Reborn2002

Cornrows do not suit his facial structure.

Seeing a white guy with braids or cornrows is just funny to me. Can you say "trying too hard to be cool?"

Not to make it a racial issue, but non-black men trying the Rastafarian look is just silly looking to me. It looks good on some black guys, but not white guys. However that is my opinion.