Saturday, February 13, 2010
RTR Relaunches Blog at ricothomasrico[dot]com
Read all my new blog postings at ricothomasrico[dot]com.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Redux: Poet David Blair's Performance at the Allied Media Conference
One of the most amazing performances I saw all year was poet David Blair's opening at the Allied Media Conference in Detroit, Michigan on July 17, 2009. His social observations and commentary concluded with a heart-felt tribute to Michael Jackson was very powerful. My Youtube posting of the performance didn't give it complete justice because that video web site sets a 10 minute time limit on postings. Below is my complete recording, which is just over 13 minutes long. I hope you take a moment during this busy holiday season to watch and listen.
-- Rico Thomas Rico
Poet David Blair
Detroit, Michigan * July 17, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
2009 Airing of Grievances: No Shortage of Disappointment
I heard of one “Festivus for the Rest of Us” celebration at the Unicorn Bar tonight in Old Town Lansing (MI). Frog and the Beeftones will be jamming in between “The Airing of Grievances,” “Feats of Strength,” and other shenanigans. I won’t be there myself, but hope to go next year when Michigan’s smoking ban is in place. My disposable income and I generally steer clear of smoky venues.
I was a little more grumpier than normal today, so it got me in the best mood to air out my grievances for 2009. My list for the traditional “airing of grievances” came out much less humorous than I had envisioned a few days ago. The progressive world doesn't need another Jon Stewart or Colbert anyway. So let’s all fess up and admit it: I GOT A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH YOU PEOPLE, AND NOW YOU’RE GOING TO HEAR ABOUT IT!
Disappointing me this year in the world of public policy were…
1. NPR News editors, especially from Morning Edition, who allowed their reporters to freely, and without full explanation, label some specific and not-so-specific U.S. Senators involved in the health care reform process and debate as “moderates.” By play-pretending in their reporting that conservative Democrats were “moderate” and as such the “voices of reason,” NPR consistently painted a positive image of conservative Democrats – some who can easily be deemed camouflaged conservative Republicans – who are friendly to the insurance industry and determined to kill any real reform that would extend coverage and health care to millions of everyday Americans. Disagree? Tell it to Arlen Specter or Joe Lieberman or Max Baucus…or…
2. Health Care Reform activists, specifically the national organizers, for not calling for a massive march on Washington, D.C. in August 2009. The health care reform issue and debate is one of the most important confronting America since the Civil Rights campaign in the 1960s. Those of us demanding health care coverage and comprehensive reform should have greeted Congress members at their office doors when they returned from the August summer recess. Instead, health care reformers, including President Obama at the time, were Swift-boated for weeks in the media. As a result, pro-health care advocates have been out-strategized and continue to lose in this national debate.
3. The American Anti-Tax, Anti-Government Movement whose members loudly ranted and raved about federal government spending and deficits, but who were turtles during the 8 years when Bush-Cheney – in good Ronald Reagan fashion – cut taxes, multiplied military spending, and blew the lid off of federal deficit spending. Does this movement think that no one notices that there is hardly a multi-billion dollar defense budget that these people won’t support with nary a complaint about the military establishment siphoning over 50% of federal spending each year (talk about BIG GOVERNMENT!). If they truly want to reign in federal spending, they should rant to yank the national credit card from the military establishment.
4. Conservative Parents who are so willing to throw their kids to the wolves of the health insurance industry, just to defend against a mythological monster they call (sometimes interchangeably) socialism, communism, and fascism. They’d rather save a few dollars in their pocket than pool their money with the community to provide health insurance coverage for their children, young adults, and other members of their family, as well as everyone else. So while health care coverage is provided in free countries around the globe, conservative parents don’t mind sending their kids into a health care system that will either ruin them financially or make them suffer physically, or both. And, again, these same people hardly say boo-hoo to the billions in federal military spending.
5. President Barack Obama when he claims a “historic” health care bill that doesn't provide full coverage for everyone, claims a Nobel Peace Prize without the peace, and declares Copenhagen “meaningful” when it falls well short of what the planet needs to survive. His many supporters are realizing, however slowly, that public policy cannot live on Hope alone; it must be backed up with some real leadership and fortitude.
Disappointing me this year in the world of sports were…
1. William Clay Ford for remaining the owner of the Detroit Lions. The fans have targeted the complaints at the players, coaches, general manager and others. There is only one real place for blame: William Clay Ford, who remains completely out of touch with the workings of professional football. Ford has been fortunate that the loyal fan base has not seriously attempted to hold him directly accountable for the decades-long sad state of the team. Instead, many fans have generously bought game tickets, patronized the stadium concession stands, and purchased Lions apparel and products. So why would Ford change or pay attention to the mechanics of building a winning team when he is so busy counting his mega-profits from the team?
2. The dunderhead Michigan State University football players were who arrested for assault during an incident on campus last month. There were nine players who got into trouble. Supposedly, one or two players convinced the others to help defend their honor in a dispute with other students on campus. Thus, the MSU football players seriously tarnished bright futures – including some futures that might include the NFL – to defend someone’s false and misdirected sense of honor. This street-wise sense of “honor” gets you nowhere, except eventually to jail or the grave.
3. Tiger Woods who should have come out to a press conference and told the reporters, “Listen, I’m a billionaire. A billionaire with a B. I don’t care what you think. I care what my wife thinks and will deal with it privately. No further comment.”
-- Rico Thomas Rico
Saturday, December 19, 2009
A Holiday Tale Retold: A Ghost of Festivus Past
As we gather in these holidays among family and friends, inevitably we recount stories (i.e., incidents) of holidays past. With the Festivus for the Rest of Us only four days away (Dec. 23rd), I want to retell my first Festivus tale as slightly edited from the original posting here in December 2007. "Airing of the grievances" is one part of the celebration and I am working on my list for posting here on Wednesday. In the meantime, let's reminisce....
Christmas, however, was still at the forefront at home. I was scheduled to have dinner with Ruth, her sister, and my brother-in-law. It was one of those once-a-year dinners with the in-laws at the Outback restaurant in Lansing (MI) at 6:30 p.m. Also, the next day (December 23rd) was scheduled with the Rico clan, including my siblings from out-of-state arriving for the Christmas holiday. No matter how you slice it, these family holiday gatherings are always full of surprises.
Later in the day, in an odd turn of events, I learned from Ruth that Saturday was also Festivus Eve. She casually explained that “Festivus for the Rest of Us” was the newest, somewhat backhanded holiday celebration in direct opposition to the gross over-commercialization of Christmas by the dominant Christian society. (Which begs the question, What Would Jesus Buy?)
This was the first I ever heard of Festivus.
To my astonishment, Ruth told me of Festivus, a holiday in which the day – December 23rd – is celebrated by the “airing of grievances,” or sharing with your family and friends all the ways they have let you down or disappointed you during the year. A bare, unadorned aluminum pole is the symbol of Festivus. Ruth had me at “grievances.” I was sold. Sign me up for the Festivus holiday.
In a real kicker, Ruth explained Festivus was hatched during an episode of “Seinfeld” – season 9, Episode 10, to be exact. The holiday was concocted and described as a joke thread throughout the episode. This, in my view, should solidify it as a December holiday.
Festivus Eve Dinner
By the time I learned about Festivus, it was too late to rent and watch the Seinfeld episode. Instead, we scrambled to get spiffed up and head to the Outback.
Even though I was barely into the Festivus spirit, dinner ended up being an airing of grievances. My brother-in-law was highly agitated by the fact that he could not watch MSU sports on TV because of the dispute between the Big Ten Channel and the cable TV companies. Damn it, he was no longer going to send MSU any more donations as result. He fully blamed MSU for the “blackout” situation.
Now, I spend most of my waking hours during the year worrying about war, peace, a lying president, torture, secret prisons, destroyed CIA tapes, etc. Still, I’m like Marky Mark from Downtown, I have opinions on almost everything, especially sports issues. In this case, I was not backing the multi-billion dollar cable TV industry over the multi-million dollar college sports industry. I spoke up and absolved MSU of responsibility for the TV dispute. My brother-in-law flashed an angry Christmas temper with a rock-solid, “You’re full of sh*t!”
I explained my rationale further. He doubled his emphasis in the crowded restaurant, “YOUR’RE FULL OF SH*T!!” At that point, I reciprocated with my own Festivus greetings and barked back “You’re full of sh*t!” I looked at Ruth and she looked that me. A new holiday had been christened.
After the Festivus greetings were diffused by a quick change of subject, I did not say much else during the dinner. My brother-in-law is an 80-something WWII Navy vet, so I resisted telling him all about my work with the anti-war movement. It potentially could have turned into the Tiger Stadium centerfield bleachers all over again – one side yelling “Eat Sh*t!” and the other side yelling “F*ck You!” back-and-forth in a perverse version of the old Miller Lite commercial. Instead, I kept my mouth shut.
On the way home, Ruth and I ended up renting the Seinfeld Season 9, Episode 10. It was best $1 we spent all Christmas season.
My First Festivus Day
Before heading to Fowerville to meet the Rico clan on Sunday, I ran into Everybody Reads Bookstore to grab the Sunday NY Times. Deb behind the counter informed me there was no Sunday Times waiting for me; the distributor shorted me again. Oh, well.
What could I do? I wished Deb a Happy Festivus Day – and she cracked up! Deb and her partner Chris had rented Seinfeld, Season 9, Episode 10, the night before. What a hoot!
Ruth and I arrived at my niece’s home in Fowlerville (MI), only to discover a full power outage in the neighborhood. My niece had a house full of guests and the expectation of Christmas entertaining. In a stellar example of improvisation, food was being cooked and warmed in the garage on the summer gas grill. We ended having a good chuckle about the year's happenings, the food turned out great, and nobody told me I was “full of sh*t.” Still, I asked everyone at the table, “Did you know today is Festivus Day?” My nephew from Texas looked over and said, “Where’s your aluminum pole?”
I’m on to something here.
-- Rico Thomas Rico
P.S. Below is a sample form to state your own grievances on Wednesday. If you are so inclined please feel free to post your top grievance below or email them to me at tjsuave[at]hotmail[dot]com.
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