SEX SELLS. Let's use "WATCHING PORN" in MORE HEADLINES

"WATCHING PORN" always makes for an eye-catching headline. Let's USE IT MORE OFTEN!!

and...

and

There's my Argument: YOU MADE A TYPO!

You see this all the time, don't you?

Somebody says something boorish, racist or dimwitted, but instead of having the wit to come up with a squelch, or the logic to make the person see the light, SOME resort to "look at your grammar!"

Do you learn this on the debate squad in school? "Your response, when you're cornered, is "Did you notice the color of your tie doesn't match your shirt?"

It seems that some, such as Piers Morgan, John Cleese and Ricky Gervais, have thousands if not millions of followers on social media, and ignore almost all of them, UNLESS it's to show up a troll. Then it's usually a riposte pointing out a typo or a spelling error.

Funny thing is that the same person who loves to snigger at a troll, often lays in waiting to BE a troll.

"...and no religion, too."

Politically Incorrect Humor of the Day

"Nice Walgreen's you have here. I see you have "Flesh colored" Band-Aids in pink, beige, brown, black, red and yellow. That's wonderful. But I'm a devout Muslim. Do they make a Band-Aid that covers the entire body except for the eyes?"

NO RETRIAL FOR COSBY - SPARE THE TAXPAYERS AND IGNORE THE FAME-CRAZED D.A.

LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! I'm Kevin Steele!

Right.

LOOK AT ME, EVERYONE! YOU NEVER HEARD OF ME BEFORE? I'm gonna be another Rudy Giuliani. I'm gonna be FAMOUS. The fighting D.A. I could become MAYOR. Maybe even GOVERNOR of PENNSYLVANIA. How about PRESIDENT? LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!

Kevin Steele took a case that the previous D.A. refused to prosecute, a case that was ten years stale, that involved someone who already settled a civil complaint that was sealed...and brought it back into the spotlight. It was a spotlight he hogged.

And now that he LOST, because NOT proving your case is a LOSS, this guy has vowed to have a retrial.

A RETRIAL?

Camille Cosby this morning: “How do I describe the district attorney? Heinously and exploitively ambitious." She added, “How do I describe the judge? Overtly arrogant in collaborating with the district attorney.”

Remember, this case was SETTLED TEN YEARS AGO. You don't have to be married to Bill Cosby, or even be a fan of Cosby, to agree with "exploitively ambitious."

Many believe Cosby is guilty of abuses against women, just as Capone was guilty, just as O.J. was guilty. They got Capone on tax evasion. They got Simpson for making threats on somebody who apparently was illegally selling some of his memorabilia. People cheered that Capone and Simpson got jail time somehow. But can one cheer if the charge is trumped up, and a mockery of the law? Can anyone be delighted when a district attorney and a judge simply push and kick logic and integrity to the dirt in order to become famous for a witch hunt? Trying a case that was already settled is bad enough, but to demand a retrial?

Retrial is usually for a dire murder case, and even then, it doesn't always happen.

There are dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands of cases where there was no retrial and the offense was not digital penetration ten years ago, but murder. Maiming. Arson. And the evidence was fresh and clear.

"Exploitively ambitious?" That seems to describe Kevin Steele. It doesn't describe other prosecutors. Where was the prosecutor to demand a trial and prison time for an actual rapist who, no question about it, committed a crime? There was no "he said she said," no waiting around ten years to make a charge already settled.

Literally ON THE SAME page as the news of the Cosby deadlock, was a report on a judge who allowed a rapist to go free with probation. No trial.

Look to the right. Yes, the same day the news on Cosby was printed, there was the case of a PRISON GUARD who sexually attacked a defenseless inmate. He just pulled her into a closet (out of view of surveillance cameras) and attacked her.

Did she wait ten years to tell her story? Did she suffer in silence thinking nobody would believe her? She mailed her shirt, with the DNA evidence on it, to someone she trusted. She proved this was not consensual. No question it happened. And because the guard was not a celebrity, and there was no district attorney looking to make a name for himself, the case was routinely settled, and without jail time.

Read the headline. The Rikers guard ADMITTED to rape. It wasn't a fuzzy case involving he-said she-said from ten years ago, or blurry deposition information in which the man claimed the woman had an orgasm and enjoyed his advances. Here, a news story the same day as the Cosby trial verdict, is a case of rape that did not involve any trial and no jail time.

In the original Cosby case ten years ago, the District Attorney didn't see enough beyond "he said she said" for a trial. The case was about a man and woman alone, and when a romantic situation may have led to unwanted advances.

The situation was eventually settled in civil court, and the documents sealed. Case closed. Somehow, sealed court documents aren't SEALED if the media doesn't want them sealed, and somehow, a vain, fame-crazed District Attorney wanting to get recognition, can find a hanging judge to go along with the farce of trying a case ten years after it was settled.

There isn't enough crime in Philadelphia to keep this guy busy? Violent rape? Heinous murder? No? There was all the time in the world to play games with jury selection and venue location and all the rest of it on the tax payers dime-dollar-thousands-and-thousands of dollars?

Everyone knows who KEVIN STEELE is, the great fighter for justice, the next Rudy Giuliani. Everyone knows the allegations against Cosby, which caused his last concerts to be canceled. Everyone knows there are still a few women who are mounting civil lawsuits against him that could give them money but will certainly remind people of his damaged reputation. And everyone knows that Bill Cosby walks with a cane, is a figure of scandal and doubt, and will very likely never work again. Retrial? NO.

Shakespeare in the Park: Trump being assassinated is SO ENTERTAINING

Oh, there have been deaths in Central Park this season, but NONE are as entertaining as...re-imagining Donald Trump stabbed by a coven of blacks, gays and women. That's "Shakespeare in the Park" this summer.

The new production of "Julius Caesar" not only has everyone in modern dress (zzzzz, as if that hasn't been done so many, many times before) but features a DONALD TRUMP LOOK-ALIKE as the leader who deserves to be killed. Well, in the photo he looks more like Conan O'Brien.

Look, let's be reasonable. Even in theater, where we suspend disbelief for drama, it's outrageous to have Donald/Julius stabbed by his own black, gay and female staff. He doesn't have any. If I remember correctly, Julius Caesar was betrayed by Brutus and the rest of his staffers. Trump is going to be killed by silly Sean Spicer, pious Mr. Pence, and his own son-in-law Jared Kushner?? Not likely, and black, gay and female versions are even more ridiculous.

Just recently, across the pond, Robert Hastie gained huzzahs for HIS production of "Julius Caesar," which featured somebody with Down syndrome, a whole lotta gays and blacks, and Cassius now played by a woman. Or was it a transgender woman? This thrilled the reviewer from The Guardian, and put Sheffield on the map. Sheffield is where you go to see crap that would never make it at the West End in London.

The great thing about this Manhattan production, over the one in Sheffield, is that it's a lot easier to get to, and it's FREEEEEE.

The tradition with "Shakespeare in the Park" is that it gives poor people a chance to see culture. That's poor people from Brooklyn who can only afford to wear the same porkpie hipster hat every day. That's poor people from the Upper West Side who need to save their money for a Zabar's lox and bagel. That's poor people from the Upper East Side who aren't used to walking anywhere and can't get the maid to bring out the baby carriage and trundle them into the middle of Central Park.

While FREEEEEEE is always a great way to gain attendance to "Shakespeare in the Park," it does help if there's tricked up gimmicks, edgy re-workings, and total outrage. Having a Trump look-alike stabbed got them lots of publicity. Why, it even has been mentioned on...blogs.

One thing "Shakespeare in the Park" is not likely to do, is an all-male production. In Shakespeare's day, women were not encouraged to appear on stage. But, listen, you can have a Transgender Macbeth. You can have a Chinese Hamlet. You can have a Muslim Shylock. But you'd be going way too far by having an all-male Shakespeare production with a few guys in drag. Guys in drag are, after all, going to hurt the feelings of transgenders.

If you're a real New Yorker, you've NEVER attended one of these shows. First off, it's hot, humid and uncomfortable most any summer night in Manhattan, and it doesn't get better sitting on a bench with flies buzzing around your eyes, and your ears assailed by the sounds of sirens and airplanes and, worse, Shakespearean speech which does need subtitles.

Which is worse, the audience of "pay attention to me" wrapper-rattlers, plot-whisperers and pontificating toffee noses, or the "pay attention to me" bad actors who upstage each other thinking "this is my discovered by Scorsese moment."

The show about stabbing the President got a shot in the arm when some Joan Wilkes Booth rushed the stage trying to prevent and protest an assassination. Why, it was a plot twist worthy of Mamet.

The Lady in Question, who helped give the production publicity, quite rightly called attention to the rather unpatriotic idea that it's OK to wishfully hope the President of the United States gets murdered, and preferably by members of his own staff.

In America, you will face FBI or CIA scrutiny if you Tweet or mutter any kind of death threat involving the Commander in Chief. And yet, at the same time as Joan Rivers wanna-be Kathy Griffin posed with a bloody severed Trump head replica, this was considered acceptable entertainment.

No, oh Ye who don't remember, Gore Vidal's "Evening with President Nixon" didn't imply that killing him would be a good idea. If Vidal was around now, he'd probably sneer that popular culture had reached a new low in taste. When some film studio thought it would be a great idea to title a comedy "The Pope Must Die," this was quickly overruled. But that was back in 1991. What is it about the 21st Century, and now, 2017, that makes assassination a credible subject for an evening's amusement? Should Sondheim's "Assassins" be re-staged with every President re-fitted with Trump rubber masks?

And so we have another season of "Shakespeare in the Park," and this one imagining Trump being murdered.

This production takes place in Central Park: CENTRAL PARK where THREE, count 'em, THREE dead bodies were found in three different man-made lakes in the past THREE weeks. Eh, so what. Homeless men, most likely? Their endings were not amusing at all, so forget they existed and don't care too much who they were or how they died.

Just a switch on Rip's old Pearl Bailey joke

How about this:

I met a gay Native American.

He scalps Bette Midler tickets.

YouTube, Where Children Learn All About...COPYRIGHT ABUSE

Well, well, here's a fine pickle.

If you want to buy a kiddie book, why bother going to a bookstore? Or a library?

You can probably find the book on YOUTUBE.

Somebody (or several people) will gladly read the book for you and show you ALL THE PICTURES.

To paraphrase the cop in "They Shoot Horses Don't They," what can you say except:

"Obliging Bastards."

There were several people reading "STOP THAT PICKLE."

Admittedly, it's not much of a book. Most children's books are, after all, aimed at children, who have the mentality of idiots, imbeciles and morons.

Still, is this justification to a) prevent an author and publisher from making a sale, or b) lessening the number of people who visit the library, which could lead to shorter hours or branch closings?

Ah. But on YouTube there's MONETIZATION. The person reading and uploading the story can make the money. Yum! Yum!

Here's another uploader offering the story. THIS one has disabled comments. Perhaps she doesn't want to hear: "Have you ever heard of copyright?"

YouTube of course has the DMCA law on its side. The company has NO obligation to remove posts like these, or waste time and resources by asking the uploader for proof of a licensing agreement. It's up to the author to jump through the hoops, send in the papers and forms, and then wait for a ruling.

The title of the book here is 'STOP THAT PICKLE' not "STOP THAT COPYRIGHT ABUSE."

Psychics - the Sandwich and the Baloney

Remember when David Letterman's Network time-waster involved the "psychic sandwich" routine?

Dave found an authentic psychic, and asked her to tell, by divine intuition, what kind of sandwich was under wraps.

She couldn't do it.

In fact, Dave was more of a "psychic" in figuring out what flavor of pie his mother had baked the night before.

In his typical wiseguy way, Letterman was telling the world that PSYCHICS are fakes.

Most of the world is not listening. Then again, most of the world never watched "Late Night" or "Late Show."

So, PSYCHICS continue to scam and cheat people.

The gypsy "Bajour," the palm-reading scam and the rest of it, was once the subject of a comic, short-lived Broadway musical. The con games live on. There's no Reed Hadley to warn that more money is lost via confidence games, than to all the thugs and hoods with their violence.

Why is it we have government agencies to protect the public from scams, and the FDA making sure peanut butter isn't loaded with roach legs, and consumer affairs groups blowing the whistle on fake doctors and shoddy contractors...but PSYCHICS aren't against the law?

There's no such thing as a "psychic." As David Letterman's "psychic sandwich" routine proved, NOBODY is psychic. As common sense tells you, why in the world would somebody who pretends to be a mind-reader, or a sayer of sooth, or an astrologer, or a PSYCHIC, be a grubbily dressed peasant working out of a cheap storefront in a crap neighborhood?

"Oh," safety the soothing soother, "I can't pick a winner in a horse race, but I can change your luck if you just give me all your tainted money."

And old people, and lonely people, and immigrants do just that. Even people who "know better" have been taken by these con artists. That the city doesn't shut these people down, as they do with bookies or whores, is reprehensible. The gypsies are often not content with laying in wait in their grubby grottos, like spiders with a web. They defy the police by leafletting, and defy Sanitation by chaining up signs to lamp posts. They count on apathetic councilmen to say, "It's hard to pass a law saying that a sign can be confiscated, or that repeat offenses require double and triple the fine."

And a local freebie newspaper, METRO, will tell you they need PSYCHICS to help keep them in business.

Yes, TWO SOLID PAGES of mostly adds from so-called PSYCHICS.

Not one of them could name the contents of a wrapped sandwich.

THEY are full of baloney, more than the sandwich might be.

Freebie newspapers used to be loaded with "masseuse" ads. Somehow, this stopped. But getting fucked by a phony Psychic is ok.

This includes illiterate ones.

"I NEVER LOOSE" says one.

Another ad seems to suggest that while most Psychics are fakers, ONE is guaranteed to satisfy:

"YOUR ARE DISAPPOINT WITH ANY ASTROLOGER MEET HIM ONCE SEE THE DIFFERENCES."

While most any neighborhood will have a crappy walk-up building with a roach-like greasy-faced psychic-bitch lurking in the basement, one too ugly to get paid for sex, it seems the majority of psych newspaper ads resolve to BLACK neighborhoods in Harlem and in Brooklyn.

Perhaps a reason politicians don't want to do anything about psychics is that superstition is very common among minorities, and it would be "racism" to ban the con artists. Whether black, Puerto Rican, Haitian or Muslim, there are people who swear by lighted candles, incantations, goat killings, palm readings, and simply obliterating people with bombs because instead of praying to an invisible friend, they are attending a marathon in Boston, a nightclub in Florida or a rock show in England or France.

There was a short story, popular before illiteracy won the day, called "The Emperor's New Clothes." The lesson was to tell the truth and prove fact over bullshit.

But the 21st Century is now more like the 14th Century.

As late as the 1940's, "seances" were de-bunked. The methods used by the con artists were revealed in books and movies. The "seance" con is no more.

But the psychic con, the mind-reader con, the astrology con lives on. So does the promise of religious fanatics that joining their cult will be the best thing that could ever happen to you.

And so the emperor can claim to have special powers and special clothes, the same way the leader of the Mormons claimed to have magic underwear.

We are not allowed to tell the truth, nor prove the truth. We can't say, "Psychics are fake" or "Lighting a candle or putting a needle into a doll is NOT going to affect your enemy." The reply is "Don't tell me anything. I choose to BELIEVE."

BELIEF is to be respected over REALITY and FACT and COMMON SENSE. Even to the point of stealing money from people and taking their lives in the name of a crackpot religion that involves someone you can't draw a picture of, or a guy like L. Ron Hubbard whose froggy face is well known thanks to brainwashed hucksters pushing copies of "Diabetics."

When will we stop allowing religious fanatics to rule our lives?

When will we allow cults to be tax-free havens for evil?

When will we padlock the stinkholes inhabited by palm readers and astrologists?

Should I consult a psychic to find out?

The Passing of Adam West

What can I tell you.

I remember a time when I wandered down the street thinking, "there are people who'd pay THOUSANDS to do what I just did..."

...which was to chat with Adam West over dinner.

ADAM WEST.

As you might expect, I was a little bit in awe of BATMAN. I'd spent over a decade doing celeb interviews, but it's easy when you have a tape recorder and purpose. It's a little daunting in a social setting, and when it's a surprise. This was a little dinner gathering that I knew would include my friend Julie Newmar. But I didn't know her friend Adam West would be in the party.

And I was seated next to him?? I wasn't sure what to say, except to NOT lead with a reference to Batman. So we sat there for a while, eating dinner. We'd been introduced, but that was about it. While I still pondered what I could say that he hadn't heard before, he initiated the conversation. "Talk to me, Ron!"

Well, old chum, that's how to break the ice.

TV LAND had thrown a gala party. Stars from beloved shows turned up, and I found myself at a pre-show party talking with Barbara Feldon, Tina Louise and Martin Mull among others.

Afterward, I was invited to be part of a relatively small celebration table that seated maybe 10 people, among them Dawn Wells, Julie Newmar and Adam West.

Here's a shot of them during the TV LAND event.

At the dinner party after, I was across from Dawn, and seated between Adam and Julie.

I hadn't met Dawn in person before, and since I'd written her up (doing a phone interview) in "Sweethearts of 60's TV," I talked to her more than anyone else. I didn't know Adam from Adam, and I wanted Julie to feel free to chat with other people.

OK. Adam turned to me with THE REQUEST. "Talk to me, Ron!" So I said, "I thought you gave a funny little speech at the TV Land event. I know a lot of actors have hosted shows like "Live at the Improv" or "Saturday Night Live." Did you ever consider stand-up?"

"Oh no, that seems much too difficult..." he said, and we were off, talking about this and that.

About a year later, I was similarly situated. It was one of those Comic-Con deals, and I was again between Julie and Adam. I was just there keeping Julie company, not selling or autographing books. I sometimes explained the pricing to fans, or answered a trivia question. If somebody asked Julie some question starting with "Didn't you once..." she waved her graceful fan and said, "Ask him...he knows more about my career than I do!"

While Julie was ebulliently talking with fans, I found Adam in a talkative mood. His manager Fred was running interference, telling fans not to take flash pictures and or shake Adam's hand. They did it anyway. Adam put up with it, even if his eyes were sensitive, and his hand was getting numb if not painful from the constant signing and enthusiastic hand-squeezes.

"What time is it...when do I leave!" he joked.

I say "joked." Because he appreciated the fans. All of you, who have expressed condolences on Twitter or on message boards, either about loving his show, his other work, or being able to meet him...he knew your love. He appreciated it. He was proud of it, and I think he lived up to what everyone expected from "Batman," which is morality, decency, a will to serve, a desire for excellence, and a sense of humor.

I humbly think he was talking a lot to me just to detox from all the "You're the best BATMAN" stuff, which can be pretty exhausting for five or six solid hours. If he was taking a moment to talk to me, or his manager Fred, it was just a break from answering predictable questions.

At one point he began to softly sing old songs to himself. I joked, "Are you doing to do "Miranda?" He said, "Now now..."

I noticed that unlike Julie's table, which was festooned with pictures from all phases of her career, Adam's was sparse.

There was an 8x10 of his cartoon character from "Family Guy," two iconic Batman photos to choose from, and a nice photo of the real Mr. West.

I said, "You don't have a photo of yourself with the Three Stooges? I'd think that a lot of Stooge fans would love to get an autograph on an "Outlaws is Coming" still." [I'd given him a copy of my book "The Stooges Fan's IQ Test," which included a still of him and "the boys" from the movie.

"My philosophy is 'keep it simple,' Ron." They see a few pictures and don't spend a lot of time picking one. It keeps the line moving." He did spontaneously start talking about working with the Stooges. He recalled, "They were very polite and quiet. They sat by themselves, and waited for the director to tell them when he was ready for them."

I thought Adam was an underrated actor. He had a unique voice. Like Clayton "Lone Ranger" Moore, Adam's voice was key to giving a masked man personality. His voice and cadence made his Batman scenes highly entertaining, and sometimes quite funny. In fact, you could argue that his Bruce Wayne scenes had no humor at all. Of course, Bruce Wayne was supposed to be a bit of a dull fellow. Unlike Batman. Unlike Adam himself.

Julie's phone was ringing almost constantly today, as reporters asked for her recollections.

She told the Daily News: “I will miss him in the physical world and savor him always in the world of imagination and creativity.”

And for Entertainment Tonight:

"Adam set the bar so high for portraying the role of Batman. He was wonderful, spot on, with a twinkle in his eye. He had it all -- looks, charm, intelligence, I could go on and on."

"In conversation, he was very animated and once told me that Batman was the father that everyone wanted! I never thought of it that way! He had a great way of playing that 'tongue-in-cheek' nature in so much of the dialogue."

"If I had to describe him in a word or two, they would be 'stellar' and 'exemplar,' qualities that we want to encourage in ourselves and in young people."

The illness that took Adam apparently was quick, as Julie saw him about a month ago, and he seemed fine.

You can go back to even his earliest TV appearances and notice what an individual he was, how distinctive, and that even in a minor role on some WB TV show such as "Sugarfoot," he was showing the potential for stardom. I suppose Roger Moore was the same way; obviously good looking and tall, but don't underestimate his ability to dominate a scene and make it look effortless.

Many of you had the chance to meet Adam West at a memorabilia show, and so you know that he wasn't one of those "head down" signers. While his manager (who passed on a year or two ago) played "the bad guy," and wanted fans to move it along, Adam always made eye contact, even if risking a flash camera going off. He didn't restrict himself to a one-word reply if a fan wanted to ask a question. Not that he didn't find some of this rather boring. I remember him doodling on the white plastic fake-table cloth with his Sharpie pen. He was a very good artist, by the way, but the doodling was just his way of staying creative and breaking up the inevitable monotony of the same compliments over and over.

I remember that around 4pm or 5pm one day, probably Sunday, last day of a week-end of signing, there was no more line, just the occasional fan, and he was relieved when manager Fred agreed, "we can pack up."

All the tables at the even were covered with plastic-paper to protect the tables from ink stains and scratches. I thought Adam's doodles on it were worth preserving. And so, using a key, I cut away the section of the disposable table cloth and rolled up the drawing. Later, I stretched it onto cardboard backing, and put it in a plastic frame to protect it.

Adam and I both appeared on the A&E Biography episode on Julie Newmar. Adam's most amusing quote on the show was to say that as a personality, the marvelously eccentric, beautiful and talented Julie was "out there."

Now Adam is "out there," in an existential way.

He left behind a wife, children, grand-children, fans, memories, TV shows, movies and art.

The odd doodling bit of art below? Symbolism anyone? Like his "Batman" character, it's deceptively simple, citizen. There might be a horse's head outline on one side, lips, there's definitely an eye, a woman's leg...Holy Dali!

"Would you like your palm red...."

$20 for the first minute, and afterwards, two tens for a five.

Eastern Time Zone.

For those out West...

Within 24 Hours, Maher apologizes; end of story

Bill Maher made it short.

He didn't have an annoying bitch like Lisa Bloom (daughter of Gloria Allred) by his side.

Read it for yourself. He simply apologized.

Now, shut the fuck up everyone, and go worry about something else. Like what the fuck just happened on London Bridge.

As for Al Sharpton, who had enough sense to recognized that Bill Maher is not the enemy (not when he donated a MILLION to Obama), very nice Al.

You're saying a comedian such as Bill should be careful about using the N-word (that would be NIGGA) for a laugh.

Now tell Paul Mooney and Larry Wilmore and....

Casual Racism at ESPN - but it's ok, Conor is a WHITE guy

I was checking the front page of ESPN's boxing site, as I often do, and noticed...

RACISM.

Maybe I was made more aware of it by the hoo-hah over bad, bad Bill Maher the other day. One is NOT allowed to use certain words. Unless, perhaps, you are of a certain color. ("NIGGA" is ok if said by infamous Comedy Central late-night host Larry Wilmore).

You aren't supposed to talk about race or religion in identifying sports figures.

Howard Cosell could not identify "Muhammad Ali is the black fighter, Jerry Quarry the white fighter." He told viewers what color TRUNKS they wore.

So what about the last line here?

You'll notice Floyd Mayweather was not characterized as a "rich loud-mouthed black man." He is, isn't he? As much as McGregor is a "rich loud-mouthed Irishman?"

Shouldn't sporting events be governed by the same rules, and level of taste as, say, a late night HBO comedy show? Moreso? Which is likely to have kids watching?

I don't recall a boxing announcer saying during a Yuri Foreman fight, "The Jew is taking a lot of punishment...but look at the Jew coming back with an uppercut and an overhand right!"

I do note how often boxing announcers admiringly say, "The Mexican fighters have hard heads. They have strong chins. They are hard to knock out."

Seems like selective racism, then.

When Andrew Golota struck Riddick Bowe low, announcers chuckled that he was "The Foul Pole." But they would not have said anything in reverse, like "Riddick just hit Golota low. That's a black mark against him."

You might recall ESPN actually firing some poor jerk for accidentally describing the "chink in the armor" of an Asian basketball player. The jerk was too young and sheltered to even know "chink" was the "C-word" to Asians.

It's nice, isn't it, that ESPN figures an Irishman can be pointed out by his race. He's tough enough to not be offended, or are the Irish stupid? Or drunk? Or insensitive? I just don't quite get why ISPN would NEVER have said, "We're all waiting for the Black man to sign that contract and fight Conor McGregor."

Careful, EMILY SMITH. Somebody GAY GAY GAY might say GO AWAY

Let's be careful!

Bill Maher can't be satiric or ironic without being called a racist.

Alec Baldwin just defended Kathy Griffin with a big "FUCK THEM ALL" Tweet. Oh, the Daily News DID censor the F-Bomb.

Let's get a ruling from the PC police. Or a moonlighting member of Black Lives Matter. If Bill Maher can't use the N-Word the way he drops the F-bomb, should Twitter allow such words?

And should the Daily News even offer a censored version of FUCK when we all know what F--k means?

I mean, isn't that hurting everyone's delicate sensibilities to be reminded of FUCK via the printed F--k?

Obscenity, let's remember, is appealing to "prurient interest," and doing something sexual when people are not expecting it.

Now, Emily Smith (no relation) of the Daily News.

She UNINTENTIONALLY used a term for oral sex, and did it in reference to GAY MEN.

Tsk tsk!

Note the phrase underlined:

BE CAREFUL, EMILY SMITH!!!!!!

You are a FEMALE, writing about TWO GAY MEN.

You are, presumably, heterosexual as well, which compounds the offense.

Don't you KNOW better to write "BLEW IT" in describing a first meeting with two gay men?

This IS outrageous.

If you were working for HBO instead of the Daily News, they'd tell the world what you did was "unacceptable" and that they are contemplating "appropriate action."

"BLEW IT" indeed.

We know you meant well, but people can't think for themselves in the 21st Century. They must be protected. Just as John Lennon got flak for "Woman is the Nigger of the World," and now, Bill Maher is in trouble for making a similar remark about being a "nigga" and working in a degrading job, YOU may well have to wear a flak jacket for a few days.

You might have some unemployed asshole jealously Tweeting, "FIRE HER! FIRE HER!"

These are PC times.

I'd say YOU "blew it" but I know better!

I stick to saying things that are F--king acceptable from a straight honky.

Bill Maher, and Nigger and Nigga and here we go again

Oh, thanks Bill, for taking the heat off Kathy Griffin.

Now we have Internet morons and trolls screaming "He's a racist! He's a racist!"

Right, Bill Maher, who donated A MLLION DOLLARS to Obama's campaign, when all the people boldly typing "racist" from their basements didn't kick in a dollar.

And what part of Patti Smith shouting "Jimi Hendrix was a nigger" are you NOT dancing to?

What "Supernigger" Richard Pryor routine are you not laughing at?

Are you shouting "racist" at the grave of Leonard Schneider (Lenny Bruce) and George Carlin for using the N-word?

And can we STOP being so fucking coy about saying "N-word?"

You know what the N-word is, so say it if you're upset. "Bill Maher said NIGGA."

Or did he say "Nigger."

The latter would be the title of a Dick Gregory book.

The news reports I've seen have chosen N*GGA. As below:

The exchange (ooh, do we add up how many times this was quoted with N-WORD used instead? Or a BIG BLACK RECTANGLE?)

The politician I never heard of, flipped and flopped over NIGGA.

First he Tweeted that there was such a thing as at the First Amendment.

Then, thinking about it (and all the whining over Racist Bill Maher) he Tweeted about what he SHOULD have done.

What a honky.

Shut up.

Yes, Maher is "smug." Yes, he doesn't remotely have the comic chops of a colleague he hates named Bill Cosby, who has vocal, physical and facial dexterity to get laughs when they aren't in the script. Yes, he's an "equal opportunity offender" and wisely. But racist? It's a bit annoying how many morons rush to play the RACIST card.

PS, can I say morons? Or have I offended the "mentally challenged?"

Should I have said IDIOTS? Because technically, an IDIOT is so stupid he can't read. In case you don't know, the levels of stupid, IDIOT is lowest. Then comes an IMBECILE and then a MORON.

But I digress, which is SO RETARDED.

Bill Maher is sometimes cringeworthy. He has dignified older politicians on the show and drops the F-bomb in casual conversation with them. (The F-bomb is FUCK).

Maybe he does that when talking to his mother, too. His excuse is that's the way he is.

You know, like Larry Wilmore congratulating Obama for becoming President: "you did it, MY NIGGA!"

Wilmore raised a few WHITE eyebrows, but Obama told reporters Wilmore's use of the N-Word "came from a genuine place" and he understood that it was meant with affection.

But you don't understand that Maher's remark was not meant to be racist? That it was meant to call attention to the fact that Nebraska, and the Southern states, and ghetto areas of cities are still rife with blacks treated like slaves? That some blacks are still working in the fields, and others are domestics cleaning homes and merely having the benefit of air conditioning while they work for minimum wage?

"A Northern nigger's a Negro..." sang Randy Newman. Bob Dylan sang about people who thought Hurricane Carter was a "crazy nigger." Randy and Bob are racists? Only rappers can say NIGGA?

And isn't NIGGA still NIGGER? You know, like George Carlin saying that people who shout "Oh Shoot" are still saying "Oh shit?" Because, "SHOOT is SHIT with TWO O's."

Come on, LIGHTEN UP with the NIGGA-RACIST stuff.

This is a problem that will never go away. There are blacks who absolutely detest both words, and others who figure the more they are used the less power they have. And there are rappers who insist that NIGGA is a friendly word among other NIGGAS but is exclusionary to honkies. (Whites. Crackers.)

Pryor, you may not recall, used "Nigger" constantly on stage, but claimed, after visiting Africa and seeing the dignity and history of his people, that he would never use the word again. Which didn't seem to make an impression on some comedians influenced by him, including Paul Mooney, who once did a routine loaded up with NIGGER, and then he mocked the whites in his audience, mimicking what they were thinking: "Stop saying Nigger...he's giving us a Nigger headache!"

So this morning's headache is people who hate Bill Maher jumping on him for a wisecrack that, perhaps, was simply not very witty or funny. So? His batting average is still extremely high, his ratio of brilliant remarks to dumb or opinionated ones is easily 20 to 1, and who ya gonna call to take his place? Mort Sahl at 90, muttering about how he knew Alexander Haig?

The number of clever political comedians (either Liberal or Conservative or supposedly neutral) is...let's use the S-word, SMALL.

The number of blacks in Republican Sasse's state of Nebraska is small, too. Many seem to get MURDERED:

SASSy man, anyone asking about the racism in a state where Blacks, whether working out in the fields, or indoors at a Burger King, only get $9 as minimum wage? Nebraska: $9 minimum wage. But go ahead, spend your time backtracking on why you didn't notice a notoriously un-PC comedian ad-lib "nigga" while trying to make a point.

WHO is going to take Bill Maher's place if the nattering nitwits of the Internet forced him out? We have millions, literally MILLIONS of droning dopes on the Internet who are not very entertaining, but think that one of the few guys who can get a laugh should have his mouth nailed shut (with the same brand of nails that went into the hands of poor Jesus).

Oooh, that Bill Maher. He's JOKED about things. Sacred things. You can THINK "NIGGER" all day long, and know exactly what the "N-word" means, but you just don't say it. Unless you're black, maybe. And here, one of the thousands and thousands of Tweets or Facebook rants I could screen cap for you. It's a religious fanatic who wants to remind us all, that WORSE than saying NIGGA, is Bill Maher saying abortion is ok, and that it's possible that people are killing each other over an imaginary friend:

Yeah. I'd like THAT guy to get his own HBO show every Friday night and entertain me!

Fortunately, words are not going to bother Bill Maher, and using the K-word, this "kerfuffle" will be forgotten by the time he does his next show and comes up with a whole new set of seething, sarcastic, realist and usually funny remarks.

Kathy Griffin: Shock, Awe and Media Whore Bullshit

"GROW UP!"

That's what Joan Rivers would say to Kathy Griffin, the Joan-pretender. Here's Kathy whining about sexism with her media-whore yenta lawyer by her side.

What a (bad) Joke this morning's performance was:

Joan used to say about Liz Taylor, "I didn't shove the food into her mouth!"

And it was Kathy Griffin, not sexist men, not Donald Trump, not other comedians, who thought it was a great idea to wave a severed effigy of Donald Trump, seeming to drip blood.

What I expected from Kathy Griffin, a 56 year old veteran of controversy, was to let her apology stand, take a while off, and let good ol' American ADD kick in. Attention Deficit Disorder.

OR...say "Fuck off," and take a while off. Being the center of a media shit-storm CAN be intimidating.

But crying? With a yenta lawyer in tow? Yech.

Together they played the vagina card: the sexist media only go after women!

Bill Cosby, contemporary of Joan Rivers, didn't play the race card when his gigs got canceled and he faced an uproar in the media. His situation was a lot worse than Kathy Griffin's. Cosby's entire career was wiped out and every booking. Griffin lost a few crappy shows in conservative idiot locations (like Staten Island).

Griffin, flanked by the most annoying media whore lawyer pest this side of Gloria Allred (the Cosby attack-witch, who happens to be Lisa Bloom's mama), sobbed that she was the victim.

"What's happening to me has never happened, ever in the history of this great country, which is that a sitting president of the United States and his grown children and the first lady are personally, I feel, personally trying to ruin my life forever."

Absolutely true.

Obama didn't try to ruin her life.

Dubya Bush didn't try to ruin her life.

Neither of them were victimized by her with decapitation photos, either.

Griffin's yapster lawyer chimed in:

"Trump does not realistically fear 56-year-old, 110-pound Kathy Griffin. Kathy Griffin and Donald Trump are not equals; he is the president of the United States."

In that case, counselor, what IS your case? Trump does not fear Kathy Griffin, ergo, Trump is not out to "ruin" her life.

"He broke me! He broke me!" the funny lady sobbed, with her lawyer standing alongside, checking the script.

Millionaire comedienne, broke? I think not.

You know Bloom? She's stood alongside Amanda Seyfried and Mischa Barton over leaked nude images on the Internet. She got a lot of publicity, but she didn't seem to bother going after porn websites or eBay for takedowns of this junk.

Griffin insisted it's all about sexism:

"Cut the crap, this wouldn't be happening to a guy — this is a woman thing."

Male comedians never get clobbered for a joke gone wrong? Tell that to Kinison when his gay necrophilia jokes got him in trouble. Tell it to Gilbert Gottfried when his tsunami gag cost him a six figure job as the Aflak schmuck. Er, duck. Ask Bill Maher when his jokes got him canned at ABC, and more jokes got people in a fury at HBO. Hey Bill, you can't tell a truthful joke about Down Syndrome kids. Carlin faced jail time over mere "words."

Griffin: "I'm not afraid of Donald Trump. He's a bully. I've dealt with older white guys trying to keep me down my whole life — my whole career."

Then, as "Dice" might say, shut the fuck up, BITCH.

What's in your bowl, BITCH? Why hold a press conference crying about being a female victim, if you're not afraid of Tweets from Trump?

Mixed messages here.

Kathy could've handled the manner like...oh, an ex-quiz show contestant named Ken Jennings.

Ken mocked the idea that Trump's son was traumatized. When Trump Junior huffed, Ken gave a satiric puff.

As Judge Wapner used say, "Ma'am, what are your damages?"

Trump hasn't done anything but Tweet. That a few venues decided not to book her can't be directly attributed to him. Thousands of Trump supporters have roared their rage at Griffin on Twitter.

A portable toilet company said bye-bye to endorsing Potty Mouth Kathy? Tough shit. CNN banned her from the next New Year's Eve show? That's one night.

Without naming names, there was a female comedian who got into trouble with alleged pedophile behavior. She didn't hold a press conference to scream that she was a victim of sexism. She apologized quietly and the incident has been forgotten. She's very prominent on a radio show now, and continues to tour wherever she pleases. Anyone remember when Sarah Silverman was being harassed by an Asian man for telling an un-PC joke? Sarah didn't lawyer up. The incident was soon forgotten.

"I don't think I will have a career after this," Griffin sobbed. "I'm going to be honest, he broke me — he broke me."

Can you Bill Cosby crying "He broke me, he broke me," at the creepy D.A. who decided to prosecute him nearly ten years after the preceding D.A. called the case SETTLED?

Did Sam Kinison cry "He broke me," because Elton John criticized Sam's gay jokes?

Sad that Kathy and/or her lawyer decided tears and whining (feminine wiles) were the best way to deal with Trump's idiocy.

Comedians who are encouraged to be weird or edgy, are often sincerely bewildered when the love and applause they crave turns to scorn. But they have to have their considerable wits about them, and know how to handle it all.

"Going too far" happens. You apologize or you don't. But you don't lawyer up and pretend to be victimized for having a vagina.

Howard Stern and his gunfire gag on a dead Latina singer? He did not get a pass because of his (small) penis ownership.

This has been brewing for a while...

In a month or two, Kathy Griffin will once again be wandering around clubs big or small, mentioned in the same breath with Amy Schumer or Samantha Bee or Chelsea Handler. She will certainly be able to work the places Judy Tenuta does. And does anyone remember when Judy would put her fingers to her eyes, pull them into Asian "slant" mode, and make fun of Yoko Ono? "If that guy had aimed a little to the right, HE WOULD HAVE BEEN A HERO." That's a joke about shooting a woman, and wishing she was dead instead of her husband.

Most of the time, you go too far and you get away with it.

Congratulations to Eleanor McEvoy the INDIE of IMRO

Most of my blog visitors know: I once wrote for ROCK, TOWER PULSE and other such publications, and was the editor of ROCKET, which had a six figure circulation and was fairly international (sold in the UK and Australia, most definitely).

I later was the music editor at OUI. And while I dutifully interviewed and promoted the likes of Billy Joel, KISS and Hall & Oates, I also spent time (and pages) on Martin Bailey, Anthony Phillips, Steve Hackett, Mari Wilson, Lene Lovich, Katy Moffatt, Lita Ford and a variety of eccentrics and visionaries.

I still follow the music scene.

Perhaps the most talented and versatile performer you'll ever see doing a solo show on stage is ELEANOR MCEVOY. She has written some great songs, too. She's on my (very) short list of singer-songwriters whose CDs I instantly buy, and who I will always go to see.

So, CONGRATULATIONS to Eleanor McEvoy, not only for her continued releases and her never-ending tours, but for this:

What timing.

Not long ago (Halloween, 2016) I put out my first music album. This, after 19 books, editing several national magazines, writing columns for many periodicals over 30 years, etc. etc.

Now, like Eleanor McEvoy, Tift Merritt, Anne McCue and Andy Pratt, I see my music given away for a low number of hits on YouTube! I should be glad somebody might get to hear "Lawyer in Hell" while staring at my album cover!

I have the bragging rights of saying, "Oh, you can buy my stuff on Amazon or iTunes," while realizing that most cheap bastards will, at best, listen to me free on Spotify. And I should be grateful, right? There's so much stuff out there, like pitch-challenged bints covering Taylor Swift. Instead they can hear my imitating of a forlorn singer/songwriter imitating Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Warren Zevon as "The American Singer/Songwriter Werewolf."

Oh, you can't get past all the damn SAM SMITH crap on YouTube? HERE! HERE!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVIraLVND34

That was shameless. (To quote Barbara Payton, who said it in a much different and even more disgusting content, "I am not ashamed!")

Hey, don't forget "The Monkey's Paw," a goofy take on those songs like "I Want My Baby Back" and "Tell Laura I Love Her" etc. etc. It features an amazing guest vocal from Susan Davies, who sounds totally undead.

Where was I? (Nowhere, in terms of a music career. But we can't all be Allan Sherman. Not without an appetite for a 2 pound corned beef on rye from the Stage Deli, which doesn't exist, and neither does Allan.)

I digress.

Eleanor McEvoy has already made some headlines by calling attention to how most of the money from a creative person's work slips into the pocket of somebody in a suit who works in a corporate office.

It's an irony that Spotify, YouTube and other Internet abusers (such as blogs, forums and torrents) were seen as "the new paradigm" for the music industry. We were told that artists should be glad to see record stores shutter, and record companies go under. The future? THE INTERNET!!

The INTERNET was supposed to break new artists, reward the stars, and make it convenient to buy music.

To quote the title of a William Shatner track, "It hasn't happened yet."

Most artists start out accepting they will live a modest life, financially. They know they're not likely to have a best seller or make millions, and they will be making far less than a plumber or a teacher. Their Faustian deal is that they get to do what they enjoy...even if everyone is a boss, scabs are eager to do their job for even less pay, health insurance costs a fortune and there's no retirement plan. They try not to think about a bleak future, and ignore the fact that many a writer or singer or actor ends up needing a benefit to pay the hospital bills (Dave Van Ronk comes to mind) or ends up a charity case (like Al Goldstein).

Most people make more in a week than the average author makes with a book advance, or the average singer-songwriter makes in a month of arduous gigging in small venues.

Now it turns out that even top stars are making chump change with Spotify or YouTube, and if they get 100,000 "hits" in a month instead of 1,000 or less like most struggling indie singers, they still make one cent on the dollar.

My stuff on YouTube was hoisted by some outfit called TOPIC, who embarrass everyone from Raun MacKinnon to Sarah Kernochan to the estate of Benny Bell, by dumping audio with a photo, and taking a share of whatever pennies come in via this mass vomiting of material. My solace is supposed to be that a few hundred people surfing YouTube or Spotify may have enjoyed "Lawyer in Hell" or "I Cremated Mabel." And that's better than payment.

It reminds me of what Spike Milligan used to say after he was greeted with applause: "Any money?"

But here's the optimism: Eleanor McEvoy and IMRO will once again take up the musical question, "Why is it THE SUITS only offer THE ARTISTS a piddling percentage?”

It's a question raised several times by famous artists who have been shocked by their Spotify royalties.

It's a question raised, in a different form, by some guy named Don Henley who vowed to take on U.S. copyright laws via the Recording Artists' Coalition. Remember them? No, I didn't think so.

Every now and then there's a Little David who gets some press coverage by threatening Goliath. Goliath in this case, includes the creepy, shadowy owners of Google, the sleazy CEO of eBay (devilish Devin Wenig) and the second richest man in America, Jeff Bezos. Bezos, who owns a home in Washington D.C. now, down the block from Trump, started on his way by cheating authors and musicians via bookstore-killing pdf Kindle files and record store-killing mp3 downloads at a percentage good for HIM more than the artists. He was so powerful he could even tell off Disney, and spit at iTunes and book publishers. Payola anyone?

The richest man in New Zealand? That would be a Nazi who re-named himself Kim Dotcom. He merely stole music, movies, ebooks and TV shows, and set up MEGAUPLOAD to distribute them to greed heads, Communists and self-entitled spoiled brats chanting "Copyright is copy WRONG."

He offered his free downloads on pages loaded with banner ads that made money for himself. Pirate Bay does that trick, too. The Fat Man had the nerve to sell "premium" accounts so "freedom of speech" fans could download bootlegs faster. PAYPAL helped. When Dotcom knew he was about to be arrested, he offered a stunning bargain: "Three months of Megaupload for the price of ONE. Order now!" People did. A week later, he shut down, taking all the money with him. PAYPAL denied refunds, insisting they only refund "goods, not SERVICES." Nyaaaa.

When I made my belated debut as a singer/songwriter last Halloween, I knew that my novelty album, “HA HA HALLOWEEN” would not be a hit. I didn’t have a record label’s publicity machine behind me, and I don’t tour. Not only would it take me forever to memorize even a half dozen songs, how often would I have to pay to play a venue? Or duck from a tomato? I mean, I'm not Bobby Cole (my late friend whom Sinatra admired, and who needed a lot of booze and cigarettes to play 3 nights a week at a swank NYC bar-restaurant to pay the rent).

One does hope for decent royalties from Spotify or YouTube, to at least help pay SOME of the rent, and SOME of the costs for the time it takes to produce music.

So far Spotify has come up with excuses more than money. They've made token gestures of abatement for the mass-amount of downloads and streaming they profit from. We need them to stop mass-abating.

We also need to put a stake through the chests of heartless zombies who act as if piracy is like jaywalking; a minor crime if a crime at all.

Many honest citizens who'd never shoplift a grape, have no qualms about hitting the torrents for the newest album or movie, or an illegal stream for a Pay per View sports match.

A few weeks ago Rolling Stone cheerfully mentioned that there was a tribute to Jimmy Webb...and instead of paying or licensing footage, ran a link to some balcony bootleg. Ethics, anyone? At one time, Rolling Stone even ran reviews of blog sites, pointing out where you could go for the best new song downloads (Tofuhut! Whee!!) or brazen concert bootlegs.

Spotify didn't invent Internet indifference. The RIAA played their part 14 years ago, when THIS blog turned up and they did nothing to squash it. Yes, this blog boasts 14 Years of daily thefts of copyrighted music:

Guys like this aren't "sharers." They make money via banner ads. Their hosts (formerly Rapidshare or Megaupload, now Zippyshare or Rapidgator) pay them off with free accounts or pennies-per-download. They and their parasitic admirers consider themselves heroes, Assanges, Robin Hoods, and hip music insiders.

The RIAA, BPI, BREIN and the rest have played a laissez faire game with bloggers, hoping they'll just get bored and quit. "It hasn't happened yet." Or often enough.

Just recently, Willard's Wormholes ceased. Why? The owner simply got bored. While sometimes a notorious torrent site actually is prosecuted, or a website intimidated into ceasing, we are assured that Willard simply had better things to do and other money-making enterprises:

You'll note that the blogger posting the news is one of those "if you like it buy it" types who doesn't believe in piracy. He just believes Willard did a great service in offering up any record album you could think of, as well as bootlegs. Our 14 year-blogger, Zin-Alzheimers or whatever he calls himself, has a silly caveat on the blog that his files are only for evaluation. He's just putting copyrighted music up or grabs because...WHY? Because he can't mind his own business, he's a fame whore, and he makes money at it. He's a 60-something delinquent with less morality than a 13 year-old gutter sneak-thief.

But, "it wouldn't interest anybody, outside of a small circle of friends." Obviously not. It hasn't interested the RIAA in 14 years.

There are some artists (Prince was one) who are outraged and indignant about piracy and abuse, and fight RIAA apathy by bringing their own lawyers or an outfit like Web Sheriff into the fight. They pay to whack the moles. Some simply deputize interns or fans who volunteer to take a few hours a week to send in takedown requests on a "good faith belief" the items are unauthorized. Yes, the Internet Fascists do allow for narrow hoops where, if you give your name, address, phone number and other details, you can stop anonymous creeps who didn't need to prove that they had the right to upload the copyrighted material.

A particular outrage was how Google would actually PUBLISH takedown requests via an insidious site called "Chilling Effects." It was blatantly designed to chill copyright owners into worrying that they'd be harassed by vengeful delinquents. As in: "If you spoil our fun, we will GET YOU." By hacking your private photos, list-bombing your e-mail, tying up your phone, and tormenting your relatives.

The music business isn't the only place creative people suffer. Now that Jeff Bezos made KINDLE popular, authors have found that people like FREE bootlegs of ebooks. Getting an ebook for $4.99 or $9.99 instead of $19.99 for a hardcover ain't good enough. FREE is better. Bootleggers give FREE books away on torrents and in forums, and on eBay you can type in an author's name and add ebook or PDF or KINDLE and often find a $3.99 bootleg.

Rich pudgies like E.L. James and George R.R. Martin would rather Tweet what they had for lunch than take a minute to stick up for themselves and all artists. They don't care that when somebody spends all week reading a FREE James or Martin book, they are not supporting any author, any bookstore, or even the public library.

The rights owners who have the power to drive the spoilers out, and don't, are truly as despicable as the ""short-sighted businessmen" Joni Mitchell once sang about.

PS, few bootleggers steal from Joni. Or Paul Simon. Or the Rolling Stones. But you can easily Google, Torrent, YouTube or take a look at Zin-ALzheimer or whatever that blogger calls himself, and see who doesn't care.

I hope Eleanor and her friends can find a way to twist the arm of SPOTIFY or Jeff Bezos or YouTube to secure good bookkeeping or fair rates.

I hope this may lead to more protection for all copyright owners. Intellectual property rights shouldn't be scorned in the same manner the KKK believes that Black lives don't matter.

How frightening is it that politicians are scared shitless of GOOGLE?

Let's face it: The Internet giants (Google, Amazon, eBay, Wikipedia) are more powerful than movie and TV studios, or book publishers or record companies.

There’s no movie mogul that could get in a pissing match with Bezos of Amazon.

The Big Internet bullies squashed the bills from New York’s Senator Schumer and Vermont’s Senator Leahy that attempted to protect copyright. Everyone from Wikipedia to Google threatened to "go dark" when the U.S. government considered adopting SOPA, a bill intended to stop forcing rights owners to remain slaves and dance through hoops.

If Lennon was around now, seeing how he and all his colleagues are being stolen from, he might be writing a song about Copyright Owner being...somewhat of a second class citizen in the world? Perhaps?

Scorn and hatred raged all over the Internet when SOPA threatened to "ruin the fun." The mob mentality was so insane that people were insisting it was a "freedom of speech" issue, as if stealing copyrighted music and books was an entitlement.

IMRO, now run by McEvoy, is concentrating on the unfair way legitimate businesses (as opposed to pirates, or sneaky blogger-bastards) operate. To wit:

Hopefully, this insane business of buck-passing will not obscure the big picture, which is that copyright is being massively abused.

As a 15 year veteran of VeRO (eBay’s Verified Rights Own Program) I’ve watched bootleggers thrive on eBay in the most blatant ways. Why? Because eBay (like YouTube, Internet Forums, Internet Blogs, Internet Torrents) is protected by the “Digital Millennium Act,” which protects Internet companies and merely asks that they honor “takedown requests.”

Google not only owns BLOGSPOT (aka BLOGGER) but YouTube. Thanks to the DMCA, they are not required to red flag obvious violation or ask uploaders for proof of a licensing agreement. Ebay lets bootleggers get away with insane caveats like "I own resell rights" to J.K. Rowling or George R.R. Martin. It's up to Rowling or Martin to get the fuck off Twitter and DO something. Or have their publishers do something.

As irritating as Spotify is, in terms of chintzy royalties, at least they don't openly look the other way as crooks steal from rights owners. Ebay and its twisted step-sister PayPal make a fortune off bootlegs. If a pirate is caught often enough, he might get suspension instead of slaps on the wrists and restrictions, but he gets to keep EVERY cent he stole.

What's needed for IMRO (and the RIAA and MPAA etc. etc.) is legal pressure (lobbying or prosecuting and filing suit) to change the balance of power. Most artists on Spotify are union members. They belong to AFTRA or AGVA or at least have BMI or ASCAP behind them. Even the sly Harry Fox people surely are greedy enough to want a bigger slice of the SPOTIFY pie.

Why the RIAA has let some idiot blogger go for 14 years, I have no idea, and there's no excuse for it. But I've seen the Penguins of Penguin Books (and Random House) stick their beaks in the sand instead of at least getting a few interns to file some takedown requests on eBay parasites.

How BAD is it on eBAY? Take a look at this. Here's a seller blatantly bootlegging J.K. Rowling's complete HARRY POTTER books. It's "legal" on eBay to stick PDF files on a DVD! Just say "I own the resell rights" because, ha ha ho ho hee hee, eBay can hide behind the filthy skirts of the DMCA and say, "We believe the seller. We don't require the seller to provide PROOF."

Those of us who choose to be creative, and choose to be part of the entertainment world, have often made humiliating sacrifices and paid the price of not being paid a decent price.

We've seen our leaders be mute, or worse, be part of the problem. That includes so-called Writer's Unions that might offer a nice dental plan if you join, but don't fight against piracy or a fair price for an Amazon download. Ronald Reagan, as President of SAG, shafted his fellow actors by signing off on agreements that limited royalties for re-runs, and in some cases, didn't allow artists to get royalties at all for work performed before a certain year.

I get paid for every book I sell. I technically get paid SOMETHING by YouTube for accumulated "hits" on YouTube and who knows, maybe one day I'll get a check from Spotify. But would you be surprised to know that there's a limit on royalties for a TV script writer? Yes, oh miserable novelist or pained songwriter, if you write a script for a hit show that goes into re-runs, the royalties DECREASE to the level of NOTHING! NOTHING! After a certain number of re-runs, the studio still makes money, the star might still make money, but the writer of the episode: NOTHING.

Nothing but good thoughts and optimism for the appointment of the sensitive, feisty, energetic (this woman tours A LOT) Eleanor McEvoy. To quote a song title from my late friend Steve Allen, "This Could Be the Start of Something Big."

KATHY GRIFFIN? She's Not Funny and Killing Trump Wasn't Supposed to be a Joke

OK, you've been wondering about my view on this one. I've waited, and "weighed the evidence."

My initial thought was to defend Kathy Griffin with the same excuse I'd give to a criticism of Joan Rivers or Sam Kinison. You ask a comedian to be outrageous and edgy, then you scream "You've gone too far." You can't have it both ways.

BUT...

Kathy Griffin is not in the same league as Rivers or Kinison. And she was not trying to be funny. Look at her expression. Look at the severed head. You don't show this to somebody and say "Wanna laugh?"

You don't need to have written books on comedy to know NOT FUNNY when you see it.

That's not funny.

It wasn't intended to be funny. Ask her co-conspirator, the fashionista who took the picture.

"Kathy and I are friends and we worked together before," burbled somebody named Tyler Shields. According to him (or her, or whatever) she said, ‘I’d love to do something political. I’d love to make a statement." So, according to Tyler (or is it Taylor) “We kind of figured out what would be the best image to make."

Something...disturbing? UNFUNNY?

"That’s what art is meant to do,” he huffed. “Some people look at it and they love it. Some people look at it and they hate it…but this is not real. We didn’t kill anybody...It’s no different from a movie. It just happens to be a still image. I can’t speak for her, [but] I know she loves to stir the pot. For me, I love the idea we have freedom of speech."

There you go.

"We didn't kill anybody," we just showed an image that suggested the President of the United States had just been beheaded. Don't think that Kathy Griffin did it. She's just holding up the head.

"Freedom of Speech." Which has been used to defend piracy, leaking and stealing private documents, and who knows, maybe Jihadi John and his pals have used it when distributing photos of REAL severed heads they've held up. Like, attention media, don't censor those ISIS atrocity photos, any more than you censor pix of Kardashian's ass. It's ALL good."

Meanwhile, CNN has grandly announced the talentless Kathy Griffin won't be yapping and spoiling next year's New Year's Eve broadcast. And the USO has declared they never really hired her, ever.

It's not often a comic gets the front page for a joke gone wrong, but let's remember, this was NOT a joke. It was somebody using their celebrity to get publicity and make a serious political statement. It was only after, that Griffin tried to defend this as some kind of joke gone wrong.

And that's a bit of an insult to the great comedians past (Lenny Bruce) and present (Bill Maher) who intentionally choose when and how to make a satiric point and don't back down.

Griffin has, of course, apologized. That's what you do. Whether you believe you've done something wrong or not.

Griffin: "I am sorry. I went too far, I made a mistake and I was wrong."

Which puts her in the martyr category, right? You probably know of Tony Hendra's book, "Going too Far."

When a comedian "goes too far," as the late Joan Rivers or Sam Kinison did, the comedian has the option to apologize or to defend the profession. Here, Griffin wasn't going for a laugh at all. But when the criticism came, she defended herself as if she was just a comedian who misjudged what was funny.

Ideally, "I went too far" is a badge of honor. It's something to snicker over once the rage has died down. Tony Hendra "went too far" when he stabbed John Lennon via "Magical Misery Tour," aka "Genius is Pain," on a National Lampoon album. It was brutal in its mimicry of Lennon's self-important angst (and quoted liberally from John's startling interview a few months earlier in Rolling Stone). It was also funny. It was also satire.

Jokes about religion, sex or death are surefire "I went too far" material, and the boast from a Richard Pryor, a George Carlin, or even a Joan Rivers, is that it turned out to be not only funny, but not too terrible after all. Groundbreaking, in fact. Pryor saying Nigger? Great! Carlin exposing the words you can't say on TV? Now you can say them (although Conan, on cable, is censored on FUCK but can say SHIT). Rivers? Her Liz Taylor jokes made Liz diet and stop looking like "she has more Chins than a Chinese phone book."

But this photo? No. Griffin is a very minor comic and has never really used her voice or face to add to her humor (compare Ruth Buzzi, who did both). If anything, Griffin's pose makes the picture even more gruesome.

Apologizing yet again, Griffin said, “I’m a comic. I cross the line. I move the line, and then I cross it. I went way too far.”

Only in this picture she wasn't being a comic. When you're a comic you go for laughs. Call her, what, a "performance artist" now? Let's say she's no Brother Theodore. And Brother Theodore would never have done something like this. I knew him. He had a very strong internal sense of right and wrong. Actually, most comedians do. They instinctively know NOT to cross a line, even when there's the euphoria of laughter swelling up from the audience. They self-edit.

I had a discussion with Steve Allen once, and we talked about things that CAN'T be joked about. "There's nothing you can't make a joke about," he said. "It's a case of whether you should." Steve would sometimes think of some tasteless joke and give it to a comedian whose image suited it better.

Steve also took the occasional chance. I remember him doing his New York City radio show, and a commercial for Alco Windows. He dutifully spoke the effusive lines of praise for the company, and then ad-libbed, "Those Alkies really know windows!"

Was he afraid of offending Alco, or alcoholics? Obviously not. He wasn't being mean-spirited or insensitive, he was "just joking." What we often admire about comedians, with Don Rickles a good example, is how they can say whatever they want. The shock laugh is that it's often what we're all thinking.

While many of us don't think much of Donald Trump, we don't wish to sever his head. We wouldn't hold up his severed head so his wife and his kid can see it.

Mr. Trump's Tweet was: "Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!"

Melania Trump (whose name was once comically pronounced Melanoma by Jimmy Kimmel) offered this statement: "“As a mother, a wife, and a human being, that photo is very disturbing. When you consider some of the atrocities happening in the world today, a photo opportunity like this is simply wrong and makes you wonder about the mental health of the person who did it.”

Did Melania complain that Kimmel was insulting her and cancer victims by the "Melanoma" malaprop? No. Kimmel is recognized as a comedian. Kathy Griffin has always been more of a pain in the ass. A raconteur, maybe. A "professional trash talker." Another of the media whores who likes to pose naked (even if nobody wants to look).

Griffin was encouraged every step of the way, with every wrist-slap just adding to her notoriety. CNN kept her on after she dropped "the F-bomb" (as they say) and pretended to perform fellatio (or, to use the technical term, "blow") Anderson Cooper.

If she did get banned (from "The View" for some joke about Barbara Walters having sex with Howard Stern) it was good publicity for both parties.

It's an irony that it was Kathy Griffin who Tweeted in rage when Gaby Giffords was shot: "Congresswoman in AZ who is on Saray Palin's crosshairs map was SHOT in the head2day. Happy now Sarah?"

Poe said there are some things of which no jest can be made, but sometimes the joker doesn't know this, until it's a bit too late.

The severed Donald Trump photo? Actually, she's done worse. I mean, all those times she's been naked in public. Kathy Griffin naked is much more horrifying. And, as always...NOT FUNNY.