So I sat down the other night to update with what’s new in my life, but I just bored myself. (And that’s even though there’s a hell of a lot going on!) So, rather than try and catch up, I’m going to interrupt our irregularly scheduled program to talk about some current issues in the good ol’ USA.

First: General Wesley Clarke, potential Democratic nominee to run for president. Check this guy out. He’s a Rhodes scolar, a retired general, favours opening up forces in Iraq to include non-Americans and has an impeccable record. He is the diametric opposite of Dubya: educated, well-spoken, courageous and respected. But don’t take my word for it, check him out and make up your own mind.

Second: Janet Jackson and the Super Boob. Okay, this WHOLE mess is just disgusting. The only thing that’s NOT disgusting is the fact that people saw a little bit of booby-flesh (and not even the nipple!). Who cares? Not to beat a dead horse, but why is it better to watch movies with atrocious violence, while it’s NOT okay to see a bit of bare flesh? Get over it! But I digress. Anyway, the things about this whole incident that disgust me are as follows:
* That Janet, and so many other “artists,” feel they have to resort to higher and higher levels of sexuality to further their careers. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with being *sexy*, but why not try, say, simply Being Better At What You Do?? I am honestly convinced that the world, and particularly the American public, would be ecstatic to embrace a self-contained, charismatic pop group that writes its own songs, instead of the long line of cookie-cutter cardboard facsimiles that are currently dominating the airwaves with the help of an army of song-writers, choreographers, makeup and costume specialists, and marketing execs who convince them that the more clothes they take off, the better. But the guys that run the business are too chicken to put their faith in such a band/artist.
* The NFL and MTV both claim to have been tricked, or “punk’d” by Janet, saying they had no idea she was going to do this. Hello??? She’d been hinting for weeks that she was going to do something “shocking.” MTV has made a mint out of playing videos that push the sexual envelope and by holding awards ceremonies where almost anything goes. The NFL, in particular, should’ve known what they were getting into anyway when they hired MTV to organize this thing. Fact is, it sounds like both organizations underestimated the ludicrously high degree of public outrage that would result, and are now both back-pedaling, trying not to take responsibility for the incident. Yes, it shouldn't be this big a deal, but it's turning out that way and all parties should own up to their parts in it, for better or for worse.
* Is the public really *that* outraged about this? Or are they just full of shit and pretending to be, so as to appear pious and/or ethical? To paraphrase what Dave Letterman said the other night, Janet and Justin Timberlake have pretended to apologize to the people who are pretending to be offended. Is anybody actually, seriously scarred because they saw a few square inches of silicone wrapping? Sheez...

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