Ducks, Spills, and finally, someone with class

Last time I checked, it was 13 degrees out. Much of the US, as I write these words, is trapped in a frozen weather front. And despite all of this, and the fact that much of Alaska is warmer than all of New York or Pennsylvania, there are still brain-dead climate change deniers like Sarah Palin out there, posting uninformed ramblings. However, enough about the dimwitted like of Palin, let’s move to another collection of dumbasses.

Let’s, instead talk about the Duck Dynasty clan, aka, the newest members of the 15 minutes of fame club. Yeah, many conservative Christians were ready to defend Phil Robertson’s right to free speech (while, ironically, never saying anything about former Vikings punter Chris Kluwie, blackballed from the NFL for supporting gay rights), however, not many of those people tuned into the Duck Dynasty premier. Maybe they were a little taken aback by the fact that the Duck Dynasty crew is nothing but a bunch of actors. You see, that GQ appearance, followed by Phil Robertson’s misguided statements about gay marriage (not to mention the infamous YouTube video that surfaced in which Robertson advocated for child marriage) shook a few skeletons from the closet. I’m sure by know you’ve seen all of those photos in which the Robertson clan looked like an advertisement for frat boys gone wild.

It seems those rough and tumble throwback hunters are really the Abercrombie & Fitch crowd. Clean shaven, well-groomed, dressed in clothing that cost more than much of the Duck Dynasty makes in a month. However you look at it, Duck Dynasty went from 12 million viewers for last years’ season debut, to 8 million for this years’. Yes, this includes the DVR’s as well. And yeah, I figure that many of the Duck Dynasty fans are going to claim that it was because Phil didn’t have a big presence on the show. And that’s just a cop out, plain and simple. Fact is that some people were smartened up that Duck Dynasty is just a TV show, no different than anything else. Duck Dynasty has script writers, much of the so called real emotion is faked, and that everyone on the show is playing a character.  They are nothing more than generic representations of southerners. And they don’t really care, and I think they could care less if the show ends up canceled. The Robertson’s have made millions, hand over fist, and truth be told, they really don’t need the TV show. Enough hunters buy their products that they can afford mansions, and expensive vacations. And if you need proof of that just google some of the country club photos that have surfaced.

But, enough about those chuckleheads. Let’s talk about people who have been through hell who didn’t deserve, and that is the residents of Charleston, West Virginia. I’m sure by now everyone has heard about the chemical spills that have made the water undrinkable (something I’m sure pleases the CEO’s of the various bottled water companies). Now, I don’t have a degree in the sciences to give me expansive knowledge of the chemicals spilled, but it doesn’t take a genius to know that certain things should not make it into the public water supply! Not only is a nasty cleaning chemical called MCHM in the supply, but a second, called PPH, also known as mixture of polyglycol ethers, which can cause danger, is swallowed, but thankfully, there hasn’t been any reported death. It also appears that Freedom Industries has engaged in some clever fiscal maneuvers to keep its current owner, J. Clifford Forrest, having the ability to starve off the eventual liability lawsuits heading his way. (For more on that, please read the following: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-23/a-second-toxic-chemical-spilled-in-west-virginia-and-freedom-industries-said-nothing-until-now )

From many of the reports that I’ve read, it seems that West Virginia has some of the loosest regulations of any state in the union. Hopefully, this will be the jumping off point to disprove the long held conservative belief that businesses can regulate themselves with zero over sight from any government agency.

And before anyone says anything, outside of this notice, I intently didn’t say anything about Justin Bieber because he’s not news worthy; he’s not worth any attention in my blogs.

In closing, everyone has been talking about Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, and his post-game interview with Erin Andrews. I found it refreshing, and thankfully atypical of the usual generic postgame interview.  And those that called Sherman a thug have eaten plenty of crow. And I like how Sherman linked calling someone like him a “thug” as a roundabout way to call him the n-word, and he hit the nail right on the head. And after hearing about Sherman’s off the field work with special needs kids, I no longer see him as a brash player with the Joe Namath gift of gab. I see him as a man worthy of everyone’s respect.

And with that, I closeout this edition of the rant, until next time.