Civil War Within the First Amendment

I most emphatically do not share the views on race that Clippers' owner, Donald Sterling, expressed in a recorded private conversation. If given the chance to get to know Mr. Sterling personally, I probably wouldn't care much for him and would choose not to associate with him for many reasons. From the revelations of recent events alone, one can discern that he's not just a racist, he's a cheating, bullying, misogynistic racist.

That said, the death sentence and pay-for-your-own-execution imposed upon him today by the NBA disturbs me. I think it has to do with the evolving trend to consider one person's opinion as more important than another's; one person's "feelings" being more worthy of validation than another's. Political Correctness.

The First Amendment to the US Constitution protects the rights of American citizens with respect to: the establishment and free exercise of religion; a free press; the right to assemble peacefully and to associate with whomever they please without interference from government; the right to contact government representatives; and the right to free expression.  (Wikipedia.)

What the NBA did today, essentially, elevated the opinions and feelings of a group of people above Sterling's. Mr. Sterling should be allowed to express his opinions -- especially in private -- no matter how reprehensible they may be. But, here's where it gets a little complicated -- others, who do not share his views, have the right not to associate with him. This includes the NBA.

Perhaps that's how the issue should be framed -- we do not desire to associate and do business with a man who adheres to a doctrine with which we do not concur. If this is what the Commissioner intended to relate in his press conference, it didn't come across that way. Commissioner Silver stated that the League had determined "the hateful feelings are those of Mr. Sterling.The views of Mr. Sterling are deeply disturbing and alarming." Hateful feelings.

Condemning someone's feelings because they differ from yours, and rendering someone else's feelings superior, is just one step ahead of creating a Thought Police Force. Isn't "diversity" one of the goals of modern society? Shouldn't that include diversity of thought?

Maybe I'm making too much of it, but the tone of the whole kerfuffle gives me the creeps. Maybe my Inner Libertarian has surfaced.

By the way, does anyone else find it amusing that Mr. Silver condemned Mr. Sterling? Maybe Mr. Silver is just jealous that he's merely plated and not solid sterling.

Sorry. Someone had to say it.

And, does anyone else wonder where the coverage of John Kerry's gigantic gaffe concerning Israel (also uttered in private) might have gone?

Where is Ernestine When You Really Need Her?

We recently received in the snailmail an Explanation of Benefits from Aetna in connection with Pepper's little "procedure" back in December.  We received it a little late because, once again, it was mailed to Moogie's Mansion in New Orleans instead of to the Manor, here in Little Rock.

Pepper had tried to change the address several times online, but his attempts apparently never took.  So, with that vein in his forehead throbbing to beat the band, he "suggested" that perhaps it would be wise if I called Aetna to speak to a human being about the address change instead of subjecting said human being to the wrath of Pepper.

Thus, this afternoon, beginning at approximately 1:23 pm, I spent 15 minutes on hold with Aetna (2 full minutes of which were responding to prompts to push a certain number for a certain service). Then, after acquiring a live human being at long last, I was sweetly informed that Aetna doesn't accept changes of address; I'd need to do that through Pepper's former employer, Entergy.  Would I like her to give me that number?

No, Sweet-voiced Young Lady. I'd rather just take my chances feeding random numbers into the phone.  Of COURSE I'd like to have that number!

Then she had to put me on hold to find the number.

*sigh*

Once I was armed with the number to Entergy's HR & Benefits Department, I climbed up the next phone-prompts tree of pushing a certain number for a certain service. Fortunately I wasn't put on hold this time for too long, and was soon speaking to a very nice lady whose name I won't even attempt to spell.   As she was typing away on the changes, we chatted about the differences between New Orleans and Arkansas, and I bade her Happy Mardi Gras as we hung up at 2:01.

So that's how my afternoon has gone.  And here's how I feel about that:

TAKE THE FLIPPING ON-HOLD RECORDING AND FINE TUNE IT!!!!! Listen to it yourself every now and then to hear how it sounds.  If it's so scratchy and garbled that it sounds like it's being played on a Gramophone, FINE TUNE IT!!!!  CHOOSE SOME BETTER BACKGROUND MUSIC!!!!  Elevator music is for elevators from which you're fairly certain that you will be escaping shortly. DO NOT TELL ME REPEATEDLY THAT MY CALL IS "VERY IMPORTANT" TO YOU!!!!!!!! The fact that you've had me on hold for eons is proof positive that you don't give a good diddly squat about me or my call. If you insist on regularly interrupting the lovely background music, and getting my hopes up that I'm on the brink of speaking to a human being, simply tell me that you remain cognizant that I exist and am on hold in your queue; don't court me with your declarations of my import.

Whew. I feel better now.

I'd feel even better if businesses would just return to the days of having switchboard operators -- the sources of all information. Or, at least the repository of everybody's business.

From Today's Inbox -- The Obama Lottery!

I could just swoon!  Looky, looky!  I'm on a first-name basis with FLOTUS, and I could win!

Moogie--

I'm excited for the chance to meet you and whoever you decide to bring to dinner.

I really hope you give this a shot.

Give $3 or whatever you can to be automatically entered for you and a guest to have dinner with Barack and me:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Dinner-With-Us

Hope to see you soon,

Michelle

I'm not liking their relentless fundraising.  Or anyone else's either, for that matter.

With Christmas, together with December birthdays and gatherings, coming up, you'd think the pols would back down and leave us alone for just one month!  (Or maybe two months since the bills for December arrive in January.)  But, noooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  They have to keep on sticking out their money-grubbing hands and grinning with their lying-eyed faces. 

Plus, this ruse doesn't even guarantee the contributor a quid pro quo like August's "Election Poetry Refrigerator Magnet" fundraising scam.  Heh.

With my luck, if I lost my mind and decided to kick in 3 bucks on a lark, I'd probably win.  Then I'd have to hire someone to impersonate Moogie for the gala feast with the Obamas, because I certainly don't think I could eat with them in the same room and keep everything down, and that would be really expensive.  Then I'd have to hire someone else to impersonate Pepper because that vein in his temple would start throbbing if he found himself even in the same building as the First Family, and that would be even more expensive!  So, I think I'd better decline this invitation to invest in the Obama Lottery.

I have no doubt that I'll be hearing from them again very soon, however, with another opportunity to part with some of my dollars.  They can't seem to lose my email address!

Oops! Correction!! Where Have You Gone, Emily Post? Our Nation Turns Its Lonely Eyes To You. . .

Buck advises me that the article referenced below came from the New York Times rather than the WSJ.  Oops -- my bad!!

Blog Buddy, Buck, emailed me a link today to an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled, "A Last Bastion of Civility, the South, Sees Manners Decline."  In addition to me, apparently several scholars of southern tradition and culture have documented a definite erosion in what was once the headquarters of politeness, deference, and making one's guests feel at home.

I believe that erosion has reached a critical stage, where, if we don't build a retaining wall pretty soon, etiquette, common courtesy, and table manners may just crash right onto the highway to hell. 

We are living through the Jerry Springer-ization of America.  There is not much evidence around these days suggesting that people of different opinions can engage in a reasonable debate without yelling over one another, and/or slinging furniture.

The article explores many possible causes for the death of Manners: parents too busy to teach their children; hyper-sensitive political correctness; feminism.  Damn Yankees.  I'd like to add the absence of military service as a common practice -- there's a culture of respectful behavior if ever there was one in which one must adhere to The Code to survive, not even mentioning to thrive. 

Back in the '90s, when I was teaching in the College of Business Administration at UALR, a male colleague and I wrote a Grant Proposal to fund a team-taught class in Business Etiquette to be presented from both a man's and a woman's perspective.  We included not only such obvious things as Interview Protocol, Phone Etiquette, and Correspondence Do's and Don'ts, we also included Table Manners, Cocktail Party Etiquette, and Varieties of Attire.  We didn't get the grant, and the idea pretty soon faded.  It's a shame that we were ahead of our time (and that the Dean at the time did not have Southern roots!).

At least the article ends on a hopeful note -- it seems that 70-year old Mrs. Dorothy McLeod, who teaches ballroom dance and etiquette to children, has no room in her classes; they're filled to the brim.  Let's just hope someone comes along to keep her mission alive.

As an aside -- contemplating a time when good manners were de rigeur -- I'd like to share a little piece of the tour I took last week of the Houmas House Plantation on River Road.  The house and grounds have been meticulously and lovingly restored to a period when gentlemen retired to the Drawing Room after dinner for cigars and bourbon while the ladies made do with brandied fruit and embroidery -- and the servants did the dishes.  (I think I could get into that "servants doing the dishes" thing!)  The Docent, Judy, was among the best I've ever seen -- she was spirited away from another plantation when the current owner of Houmas House (who actually lives there!) saw her perform.  She's been with him since 2003 and is raising three children on what she earns there.  She's funny and very knowledgeable, being a student of history, the Arts, and human nature. And talk about talented!  She not only described the 1813 Steinway grand piano in the front parlor, she played it!



She chose to do "Desperado" instead of a period piece because she really likes The Eagles.  And, she thought our group was fun.  And, of course, we were.

So, let's all just slow down a little bit and try to engage in a little bit more Golden Rule action.  Remember, as I pointed out yesterday, Karma can be a bitch.O

After This Election Season, Moogie is Soooo Ready for VIDAP!

So, election day has come and gone in the Pelican State.  There are a few runoffs in the making, but nothing that I'm particularly interested in.  All the top elected positions in state government will now be held by Republicans, and that makes me happy even though I'm not a Republican.  I'm a registered Independent, but Republicans seem to lean closer towards smaller government and fiscal conservatism.  At least they tend to talk that talk, even if they don't always walk the walk when they get to Baton Rouge.  But, they're politicians, so if their mouths are moving, they're lying, or at least prevaricating.  We must always keep that notion in mind when opting to place someone in a position of power.

Three of the five proposed Constitutional Amendments passed by fairly narrow margins.  I voted against all of them , even though a few won't do too terribly much harm, because all that nonsense does not belong in a Constitution!!! 

Since it was adopted in 1974, the Louisiana Constitution has been subjected to 214 possible Amendments, and amended 151 of those tries.  Tack on 3 more in a couple of months.  One-hundred fifty-four amendments!!  And all those amendments were proposed by the Legislature because there is no provision for amendment by Initiated act of the electorate!  That's putting an awful lot of trust in those candidates we elect to represent (purportedly) our interests.  Trouble is, there are too many of them who are one-issue do-gooders and look-out-for-number-1ers.  And that's not even counting the ones who are career politicians and/or unethical cronyists. 

One-hundred fifty-four amendments.  I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, though -- the body of the Constitution has fourteen substantive articles, twice as many as in the US governing document!  Must be the French influence -- they don't exactly fawn all over a "less is more" concept.

I also voted against re-authorizing the proposed Regional Business Park Tax.  Why?  Because it's a freakin' TAX!!!  A tax to "stimulate industrial and commercial development" in New Orleans East.  And it doesn't specify who administers the tax, or what those administrators actually do.  And this is the first time since its inception in 1982 that the voters have reared up and said No More!

I know.  I know.  Most of the laws enacted in this once free land don't specify much of anything; they leave the devil and the details to bureaucrats. And that's part of the problem.  Ain't much sunshine behind the doors of government bureaucracies, no matter the level.

Back here in Louisiana, Boy Whiz Kid Bobby Jindal amassed some 66% of the vote to remain in the Governor's Mansion, besting his nearest opponent who only garnered 17.80%, and Andy's candidate, the interesting-sounding Greek lady who took 2.12%.  That's all well and good, I suppose, even though lame ducks can go rogue if you don't keep a pretty close eye on them.  Just look at what Congress tried to do after the 2010 elections. 

So, election day is over for another year.  Yep, one year.  That's something that really sucks about living in a state where the statewide elections are held in non-Congressional election years -- someone's always running for something.  Still, there is an upside to the slightest break from hard-hitting election season: the robo calls will stop for a little while!!!

I promise you, if we received one call over the last few weeks, we've received a hundred.  And they all call on each other's behalf down here!  It got to the point that if I didn't recognize the number on caller ID, I'd hit "answer" followed immediately by "end," so if you tried to call Moogie on the landline and you were hung up upon, sorry about that.  No, I'm not sorry at all.  We do what we gotta do to save our sanity.  I told one poor lady, who cold-called yesterday to talk to Pepper about some investment thing or another, that it was election day and we'd gotten about 92 calls and I could guarantee that she didn't want to talk to him under those circumstances.  She agreed.  Smart lady.

All the foregoing is designed to explain the need for a new voter policy.  Today, I'm announcing Moogie's new "Voters' Initiative to Dissuade Annoying Politicians," or VIDAP. It'll work like this:

In the future, every time a robo call for someone running for office hits the phones at Moogie's Mansion, or anywhere else enrolled in the program, the candidate (and any other "public servant" calling on behalf of the candidate) will receive a demerit, to be tabulated by the Enrollee's telephone service provider (the number of demerits filed against "other public servant callers" will be retained through two more election cycles), and once a pre-determined number of demerits has been amassed, that candidate will forfeit all votes in that household.  Each household may set its own number of demerits, and that number may be inscribed on the voter rolls where the candidates acquire the information with which to annoy voters.  So, in effect, the candidates will be rolling the dice whenever they opt to engage the robo.  Ya pays your money, ya takes your chances.

C'mon!  It can work!  Let's start lobbying the service providers today!

Musings: Legal Education in a Different Vein

I was watching "Horrible Bosses" on the Jaywalking segment of The Tonight Show last night and it brought a rather unpleasant memory out of hiding.  Not as bad as some of those, but unpleasant nonetheless.

There weren't a whole heckuva lot of lady lawyers in Arkansas when I graduated from law school.  I was only the second to be hired in my firm (even though most of the new-hire associates and clerks in the next few following years were ladies.  Or women, at least.)  In those days, the late 70s/early 80s, there was still a "Men's Grill" at the Little Rock Club where a whole lotta gender-segregated business went down during the lunch and cocktail hours -- the Men's Grill was open only to folks with external plumbing.

I had done a lot of grunt work on one case -- research, writing pleadings and motions, tracking things down.  I remember, two senior partners (one of which was my cherished mentor -- a friend of my father; the other was Daddy's fraternity brother) and I had been in the large conference room for hours with opposing counsel, working on settlement negotiations, when it got to be about lunchtime. 

At a break, just as we were getting really close to a settlement, Fraternity Brother stood up, stretched, and announced, "Let's take this over to the Club."  Everyone stood up but me, gathered what they needed, and headed for the door; Mentor was the last in line.  I'm certain that my face flashed twelve different shades of red. 

As they filed  out of the room, I stood, and as I straightened my files and picked up my coffee cup, Mentor turned to see me preparing to head to my office upstairs.  He said, "Oh.  Moogie.  We can go to the regular dining room instead of the Grill."  I thought it over for a minute and told him, "No, that won't be necessary; just let me continue to bill over lunch while I get these notes cleaned up."

I'll never forget the expression on his face.  He finally got it. 

I didn't then, nor do now, object to gender-specific, or race-specific, clubs in general; but I did, and do, object to using them to conduct business to the detriment of a player via exclusion.

That particular scenario didn't play out again, either with me or with any of the other women -- probably because, of course, the "good ol' girls' network" was quickly made privy to that incident.  Along with the named and managing partners, I'd bet.  Accordingly, I like to think I had something to do with the education of the partners of my old firm.

I also like to think I had something to do with the rather generous maternity policy for lady lawyers at the firm.  Since I was the prototype (the first pregnant associate), the senior partners asked me what I needed, so I told them: since I would do a little work at home (which I did, including testifying for one of the partners 1 1/2 weeks after Younger Daughter was born), I expected to be paid, and that I needed at least the standard (at that time) six weeks off, clearance from my OB to return to work, time for doctor appointments, continuation in benefits, and deeming the pregnancy in the same light as they would any other disability.  They had no counter.  See The Pregnancy Act of 1978.

They also had no ammunition to argue against continuing the paid leave when I needed an extra four weeks with Elder Daughter due to some recovery issues.  Or two weeks of bed rest before Younger Daughter was born due to a serious lung infection, complete with at least one visit to the ER before I was scheduled to give a dinner party.  But, that's another story.

So, I guess "horrible bosses" don't have to be horrible if they're schooled appropriately, even if one of the senior partners insisted on putting his arm around me when I was great with child and explaining to me how Cherokee women just stepped off the trail, gave birth, and kept right on moving along the Trail of Tears.  He was not exactly a sensitive 70s kind of guy.  (not like Buck!)  Arm-arounder's wife left him and he wound up leaving the firm, living on a boat on the Arkansas River.  Literally.  (But considerably nicer than a van down by the river!)

I guess they don't have to be totally horrible bosses.  It just takes a good teacher.  With thick skin.  ;-)

Gripe du Jour: Urban Bicyclists, UPDATED

Yes, I said it out loud -- city-dwelling bicycle riders are a wart on the face of the Earth.

I'm not talking about the folks in padded spandex britches and helmets who tackle challenging trails, or kids that go round and round and round in circles on the street in front of their houses (like I used to do).  No, I'm talking about the look-down-their-noses, self-important folks who eschew the automobile and take up waaaay more of the road than that to which they're entitled.

Now, I'm also not complaining about those cyclists who obey the rules of the road and choose routes that aren't dominated by the busiest arteries.  I don't condemn those who cycle because they can't afford a car (or gasoline!), or those who legitimately believe they're living a healthier, greener lifestyle by doing so.

As long as they obey the rules of the road.

It's a good thing I've trained myself to look both ways before proceeding into an intersection, even on one-way streets.  In New Orleans -- a city whose stop signs and traffic lights are viewed a mere suggestions -- that training is called "self-preservation 101."  But, it's a really good thing for many a cyclist I've encountered in this neck of the woods that I've trained myself thusly, because absent that training, several of them would be little more than road kill in colorful packaging.

Yesterday, I had already looked in the opposite direction of the one-way street I was preparing to cross and saw no traffic coming from the correct way or the wrong way, when something whispered to me that I should glance at the wrong way again as I was stepping on the accelerator.  Sure enough, out from behind a parked car popped Mr. long-haired unshaven man-boy, pumping away as he listened to something plugged into his ears, decidedly oblivious to the fact that he was going the wrong way on a one-way street.  Fortunately, I braked quickly enough to save his sorry hide.  And then he flipped me off! 

If I had squished him, I would have been a total wreck, but it still would have been his fault.  In the jousting game of car vs. bike, car always wins.

Don't even get me started on those cyclists who insist on riding on busy streets at rush hour, 15 mph below the speed limit, and who refuse to get out of the middle of the lane, backing cars up six or seven deep.  Or those who won't wait their turn and peddle past a line of cars at a stop sign, on the right, and pass you as you're preparing to make a right turn.  Or those group riders that take up an entire lane at a leisurely pace. 

They're as bad as those inconsiderate air travelers who insist on strolling (or waddling) through a concourse, five abreast, taking up all the space their rolling luggage doesn't, and talking at the top of their lungs.  Almost as bad as unescorted men in grocery stores who abandon their carts in the middle of the aisle to go look at  or fetch something the next aisle over, effectively halting cart traffic in all directions.

Moogie appears to have mounted the "anti-inconsiderate dolts" soapbox today.

Anyway.  The New Orleans Police Department recently announced that tickets will henceforth be issued to cyclists who flaunt the rules of the road -- and tickets have actually been issued!  Pretty pricey tickets!  Of course, that was in the French Quarter (where cyclists often run people off the sidewalks!), and the practice probably won't stretch all the way uptown where Moogie can get some relief from menaces on two wheels. 

But it's a start.

If the world would just put Moogie in charge for only a few days, there would be some much-needed changes made in public interpersonal interaction.

UPDATE:  Inno's comment below inspired me to add a little article and video about the "World Naked Bike Ride," New Orleans chapter's, recent event.  I live in such an -- interesting -- place.  Probably not for those under 18, and probably not best for viewing at work.