We're In the Wrong Business

We’re in the wrong business. We should all be working for a bank. CitiBank, would be a good choice because regardless of the economy, or the fact that the government owns about a third of it, they are actually considering giving a bonus of 100 million to one person. And, rest assured, that will not be the only obscene gift they will give to some lucky employee. Notice I didn’t say qualified, because no one is that qualified. Lucky is the most apt adjective I can find. And they’re using the same argument they used in the last round of gifting, “It’s the only way we can keep talented people and be competitive.”. It worked once, why wouldn’t it work again? Because the economy is bad? Because there should be a mechanism to prevent it? Don’t make me laugh.

OK that’s enough being serious, let’s talk about Sarah Palin. Whatever else you may think, Sarah does have chutzpah. Can you imagine anyone else standing in front of 5000 people and deliberately making absolutely no sense. It takes a great deal of nerve to be that stupid in such a public way, and yet understanding that whatever you say, there are people who will cheer you on. OK, she did pick easy targets for the attack, no one has anything nice to say about the media—especially with Walter Cronkite gone. And despite our fascination with celebrity, no one admires Hollywood – especially, as Sarah described them, the petite talented ones. I guess she must have forgotten that Michael Jackson died. And then there are those horrible liberals, who eat meat but hate hunting. To be honest, I don’t know any of those liberals. While I do know people that eat meat and prefer not to track it themselves, I think the shooting they hate has to do with people getting gunned down. (Although, they would probably hate it if their pets were taken out by a jealous lover or a lunatic. Actually, they would probably be more in favor of gun control if their personal four legged friends were wasted by some felon).

Needless to say, I was fascinated by Sarah’s presentation. But unlike all the other pundits, who think Sarah is running fro President. I still believe she is auditioning for FOX news. She is a perfect mouthpiece for host of a conservative talk show. And it doesn’t matter if she makes any sense. She is capable of rallying the troops with rhetoric that is a shortcut to information. Since the truth is irrelevant on a talk show (conservative or liberal), she will provide the appropriate amount of controversy, mixed with what some think as a sense of humor.

Moving on. My favorite part of her departure speech, was when she talked about how she can do more for Alaska working on the outside than she can working on the inside. What exactly does she intend to do from the outside? OK, despite my every effort, maybe we didn’t move on. The only way she will have real impact is if she has a forum that goes beyond the ice and snow and Northern lights. (I have always wanted to see the Northern lights—I wish they could move them south). How do you make any difference, in the greater scheme of things in a state, if you are not a part of the infrastructure. It would seem that unless you have a media platform, from which you can spew your talking points, you are irrelevant.

And talk about relevant (now I am moving on), women should be offended by her “Oh poor me”, style of reaching out. It took years for women to get beyond that approach to sympathy. The “I’m resigning because the media are picking on my family,” is such nonsense. When you choose to be a public figure, whether it’s as a beauty queen or a politician, the media is likely to look at who you are. (Just think about poor Miss California who suffered such humiliation because she had an opinion and didn’t believe in same sex marriage.) It’s even more ‘newsworthy’ when you insist that family values and morality is a priority, and your unmarried teenager gets pregnant, of course there are going to be questions. I guess the resignation came just in time—that is before Levi writes his tell all – I for one, can hardly wait.

So what’s it all about Alfie, (a clever reference to an old movie about which you may not be aware?) I maintain it’s all about staying in the public eye, making money, and developing a national constituency,without any of the aggravation, responsibility, or suffering the consequences of stupid decisions. And how do you do that—you get hired by a cable network to be a voice which will attract an audience, advertisers, and attention.
See what I mean, there’s yet another business we should have been in. We’re just sayin’..Iris