woke

Woke. Toke. Joke.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Over the weekend our friend Woke spoke out against Georgia and its supposed voter suppression laws.  Never mind that the laws in place in the southern state are actually more progressive now than they were during the recent elections.

Major League Baseball was listening.  And learning.  MLB decided that it would move its 2021 mid-summer All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver.  Its commissioner Rob Manfred, a member of the exclusive, famed Augusta Country Club so far has declined comment on whether The Masters Golf Tournament should follow suit.

It looks like the big swing from east to the west didn’t travel quite far enough.

Coors Field is named after Joseph Coors former president of Coors Brewing Company.

Coors established the Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) a generation ago.  MSLF’s litigation work took a swing at the Voting Rights Act. MSLF filed a brief in the U.S Supreme Court case Shelby County v. Holder challenging Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which required that certain states had to get preclearance from the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal court before changing voting laws.  Oops.

If only the balls were juiced enough to have flown all the way to Cali.

There Woke could toke.  Although it would be wise to stay away from any cannabis developed by rapper Xzibit’s company named Napalm Cannabis.  They’ve been hit with an accusation of racism due to it being named after the chemical weapon used in firebombs during the Vietnam War.

A California-based store named The Higher Path found itself in the bullseye.  The Higher Path quickly took the higher path.  It says the product line ended up on its digital shelves in the first place due to ignorance and a lack of diversity on the company’s marketing team.

Customers were offended by the name of the rapper’s company, as well as a product known as “The Grenade,” reports no greater authority than TMZ.

“As an entirely white marketing team that lacks knowledge or trauma surrounding this weapon, we didn’t realize how violent and ignorant it was to promote such a brand/product. That’s on us.”

Woke.  Smoke.  Toke.  Joke.

“The word ‘napalm’ is definitely synonymous with war, and being used as a weapon,” Xzibit said. “And if you know anything about me, and my body of work — I got albums called ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction,’ and ‘Man vs. Machine,’ so on and so forth.

“My intention for naming the cannabis company Napalm was by no means affiliated or a nod to the devastation that it’s had in its past,” Xzibit added.

The rapper said “as a black man,” he understands “discrimination and hatred.”

“So this album here is called ‘Napalm.’ I put this album out in 2012,” he continued.  Apparently, the word wasn’t as offensive from 2012 through early 2021.

Meanwhile back in backwoods Georgia,  apparently, neither is “braves” in the team name Atlanta Braves.  They’ve been in the ATL since 1966.

But the smoke signals from coast to coast signal that the end is near for that nickname.

It will get napalmed and not a moment too soon.

The Potato Head formerly known as Mr. knows this all too well.

 

 

 

Monopoly Woke Up

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

For the first time in over 85 years, Monopoly’s 16 Community Chest Cards are about to get a “long overdue” redo, Hasbro announced last Thursday.

And, why not?  #metoo has an entirely new meaning these days, DeShaun Watson aside.  Hasbro is following the lead of Dr. Suess and the Potato Head formerly known as Mr.

Call it “woke” or call it “cancel culture,” but most of all call it corporate me too.

“True to its longstanding history of inviting its fans to help make changes to the game, and during a time when community means more than ever before, Monopoly is asking consumers worldwide to determine the new cards by voting at MonopolyCommunityChest.com,” the company said in a press release.   Actually, the long-standing history is that it rarely changed until now.

The press release drivel continues, “covering topics like beauty contests, holiday funds, and life insurance, there is no denying the Monopoly game’s Community Chest Cards are long overdue for a refresh. And, coming out of the tumultuous year of 2020, the term “community” has taken on a whole new meaning. Hasbro is counting on their fans to help reflect what community means in their real lives, into the Monopoly game, by voting for new cards like “Shop Local,” “Rescue A Puppy,” or “Help Your Neighbors.”

And on, “according to the Monopoly website where players may vote, card options include rescuing a puppy to get out of jail free or being penalized for not recycling your trash.

Woke indeed.  But perhaps they should have gone even further.  Changing just the Community Chest cards doesn’t seem inclusive enough.  BBR has a few further suggestions to iron out to bring the board game into 2021.

Pennsylvania Ave. should be eliminated.  The real-world Pennsylvania Ave. in DC has a Trump Hotel on it.  No one should have to land on that and pay the Donald rent money.

Reading Railroad should be eliminated as well.   This screams of prejudice against the illiterate.

The money that you are given to start the game isn’t enough either.  Maybe an additional $1400 for everyone whether legal, illegal, or incarcerated would be helpful in these tough times.

And, why even have a jail?  That corner space could be renamed Bill de Blasio Blvd as he always has an extra “get out of jail free” card in the rare instance that someone in NY is actually charged with a crime.

Mediterranean and Baltic should go.  No one should live on streets in such squalor.  And, Boardwalk and Park Place must go too.  No one should be able to afford such excess.  Maybe the rules could assess a property tax to the rich landowners each time they added houses and give it to the squatters of the aforementioned lower-class neighborhood.

Oriental Ave?  Really?  Wow!

The game’s goal used to be to empty your competitor’s bank account not empty recycled trash.

Maybe Hasbro could insure that everyone wins from now on.  Heck, even the name “Monopoly” should change, shouldn’t it?

One tweeter unloaded and called it a “terrible idea” and said it’s a classic board game for a reason.

“Make a new woke version if you must but please leave the original game as it is. Hopefully, you feel the pain of a massive boycott while you’re on the cancel culture bandwagon,” the user stated.

We feel the tweeter’s pain.

 

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-The Movement

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

We pick up where we left off yesterday.  But with much ground to cover we choose the Ten Piece Nuggets route.  The Movement moves fast.  We’re listening, learning, and trying desperately to keep up.   Some of this, some of that, and a big serving of “huh?” is below.

  1.  We concluded our rebuttal yesterday stating that blaming the plight of others with the guilt trip of “white privilege” is a “tough sell.”  Unlike Drew Brees, we stand by what we say.  He’s still apologizing.
  2. But one of our astute readers thinks The Movement has a marketing problem, not a selling problem.  Sunday’s brushfire “Defund the Police” turned into yesterday’s wildfire.  We stand by what our astute reader says.  This one is a bad, spelled BAD, optical.  Many of the same people who cheered on or participated in vandalism, looting, arson, and violence now want us to defund the police.
  3. Thank goodness PBS reporter Yamiche Alcindor clarified the phrase for those of us trying desperately to keep up. “Activists calling for defunding the police are not always calling for dismantling departments.   In many cases, it means redirecting funds from police departments to other parts of society that help people like housing, education, and communities.”  Feel better?
  4.  No less than three states already have legislation (boy they can write fast) put forth to do just that in one form or another.  New York and California lead the way.  Surprised?  The third state is either Delaware or New Hampshire.  Like Joe Biden, we can’t remember one from the other.  Another seven states are grumbling to do the same.
  5. If you are wondering where this defunding push goes, so are a lot of other people.  Thankfully a Rasmussen(we think) poll conducted just months back revealed some amazing stats.  Sixty-four percent of the polled were white, while 12% were black.  That is a statistically meaningful representation of the US.  White folks responded 72% affirmatively to “strongly agree” or “agree” that the police departments around the US were doing a good job.  Black folks?  Drum roll.  Exactly 72% responded that same way as well.  Both races also exactly “strongly disagreed” at only a 5% response rate.
  6.  This makes us wonder.  Is this an extremely well organized and funded disruption in an election year, or is this a 1968 civil rights movement?  People will be really disappointed if it’s just the former.  It’s more than odd that race relations seem to really heat up every four years coinciding with elections.
  7. We’ve gone from #aparttogether to #togetherapart in just a few weeks.  The enemy that we couldn’t see united us for a few weeks.  Protests to go back to work were frowned upon (could be violent and could ignite COVID-19) and started pulling us apart.  The enemy that we could see on a video kneeling on another’s throat seemed to unite us for a couple of days.  Then protests of a different sort (are violent and could ignite COVID-19 but that is now ok) have pulled us apart.  So much for catchy hashtags.
  8. Where is our leadership?  Trump tweets, but has resisted addressing the nation as a whole about the resistance. Is it “if you have nothing good to say then say nothing at all?”  It’s a rare silent moment for him.   Joe Biden saw his shadow in February and has been sheltering in his basement all spring.  The presumptive Democratic nominee is in Houston today comforting the Floyd family.  How thoughtful.
  9. The Minneapolis mayor attended a rally Sunday.  It didn’t go so well.  Two weeks ago he told the nation that the video he watched showed “a murderer who should be arrested immediately.”  He basically told his police to stand down.  Sunday he said into a bullhorn that he would not support the abolishment of the city police.  The crowd didn’t like that.  He walked out.  The city leader walked out.  Yesterday he stated that he looked forward to working with his city council who have 9 of 13 votes to defund the police.  He has perfected the art of using a blowtorch to put out a fire in a very short period of time.  He asked Trump for 57 million to rebuild what he greenlit. And his city now agrees with the nation.  He once was woke. Now, he’s a joke.  The Movement moves fast.
  10.  Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Jerry Nadler led another 20 or so Democratic congressional members in a silent tribute to George Floyd on Monday as they unveiled a package of sweeping policing reforms in his name. They knelt for eight minutes, 46 seconds.  Nadler actually stood.  He stands with the cause, he just can’t kneel for the cause.  Pelosi knelt with the cause, then couldn’t stand.  She blamed it on high heels.  Weird.  She usually blames Trump for all missteps.

Remember “if the glove does not fit, you must acquit?”  How about “if they defund, we want a tax refund?”

The King and His Court.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

LeBron James exercised his right to free speech yesterday.  King James was holding court with reporters in LA after a workout on the court.  In a 45 second answer to an inaudible question James said Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey, he of the tweet of support for the protesters in Hong Kong, “wasn’t educated on the situation at hand.”

He went on to say that Morey’s foray into pro democratic support could have caused people to be harmed “not only financially, but physically, emotionally, and spiritually.”  He reemphasized that we do indeed have freedom of speech, but we must be careful with how we use it because there can be a lot of negatives that come with it.  And, he also said that he didn’t want to get into a war of words or sentences with Daryl.

The NBA received tremendous bipartisan criticism for their initial response to Morey’s tweet, when they responded by calling the post “regrettable” for the offense that it caused. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver eventually tried to tamp out the firestorm by recognizing Morey’s free speech rights.  China canceled exhibition games and a number of business deals with the Rockets, and the NBA as well.

Now, with the league representatives and players back from their tumultuous trip to China, LeBron, who has never shied away from social justice issues or criticism of American leadership weighed in.

And, all of this makes us wonder.

How does LeBron know that Morey is not educated on the “situation at hand?”  Or, is it more of LeBron exercising his right to free speech by expressing his opinion of Morey without knowing the depths of his study or concern of the subject matter?  LeBron said that we “need to realize that there are ramifications to what we tweet, what we say, and what we do.”  Does basically calling someone “uneducated” qualify?

LeBron expressed concern for the harm the tweet could have caused.  He then led with “not only financially.”  Hmm.  Seems like “financially” was top of mind over the physical, emotional, and spiritual concerns.  Words mean something we were told.  The order in which you use them does as well.  We also wonder how the pro Hong Kong tweet could have caused “spiritual” harm, but we digress.

And, King James wants no war of words (or sentences) with Daryl.  If that is the case, why speak out on it a full 10 days afterwards?  We wonder if James could have picked up his “smart” phone to call the “not smart” Daryl to discuss the matter privately and at some length versus the 45 second sound bite?  In yesteryear the world’s occupants actually used to talk to one another.

And most of all we wonder.   Does LeBron recognize that the “fight for freedom” that Morey was championing is the exact freedom Morey had when he tweeted and was the exact freedom that LeBron exercised when he called out Morey for doing so?  Burger King, not King James, once had a tag line.  “Have it your way!”

This “woke” society that we live in needs to wake up.