calimary
calimary's JournalInteresting. I think you make a good point, sofa king.
This is a good move - I've liked Ed Markey for a long time, and I think he'll be a GREAT voice in the Senate. Hopefully CNN and "Meet the Press" and the rest of 'em will find him harder to ignore now that he's one of only 100 rather than one out of 400+. He was our point man on net neutrality in the House. He's a good guy. MAN, with Elizabeth Warren AND Ed Markey, the proud and revered Massachusetts progressive/liberal tradition continues!
Congratulations Massachusetts! EXCELLENT move - from which we will ALL benefit, from coast to coast!
It isn't about pretty, quinnox my friend.
She's brilliant, quick-witted, well-informed, and charming, and yes, farther down the list I'd add "...and she photographs well." I realize that's practically the ONLY standard that's important anymore, but for the appearance-obsessed, she does have that and WAY MORE. Unfortunately, it's TV so you can't be ugly and succeed (at least in your face. Your VIEWS are a separate matter entirely).
I wish while MSNBC was handing out new shows to people, they'd give her one. I saw her guest-hosting one time, and also remembered seeing Karen Finney guest-hosting. Karen was pretty good, alright, but Joy Reid was head and shoulders above her.
And another here who remembers how it was, and how hard we had to fight - just for the
right to decide what happens to OUR OWN PERSONAL BODIES. That piece of real estate between the neck and the knees. On a woman, that particular territory belongs TO HER AND HER ALONE. And it's HER decision what happens with it, and within it.
And I'm afraid this is NON-NEGOTIABLE. There can be no compromise. This is an ABSOLUTE. A woman's right to have the last word, the ultimate jurisdiction, the final say (or as my mother used to put it, "say-so"
over HER own body is an ABSOLUTE. We're not asking for the last word on anyone else's body. But then again... maybe that's part of the problem?
Maybe we women ought to start legislating what the scrotum and penis can do, and what's done to it. How 'bout WE decide for the men - to "help" them or "protect" them, because they can't possibly understand on their own. How fucking cavalier is THAT? If I were in the legislature, I'd tack amendments galore like that onto everything. I'd be the biggest pain in the ass the menfolk had ever encountered. And I'd want to answer everything they did, with MY version of it, going back the other way at them.
Taste of their own medicine. See how they like it.
Yeah, no kidding! Thanks, frazzled, for posting it!
I had not seen that one. All I know is that I find him dreadfully tiresome. If I had a dollar for every one of those stupid sartorial, vocal, or attitudinal affectations he's adopted, I'd be almost as well-compensated as he is. He's actually the main reason I turn off the Food Network. I hope that with Paula Deen gone, they don't decide to fill the void with more of him.
Yep. Read it all. Slowly making my way through the deposition, too.
Hey, I might be inclined to shrug off the whole "it was just ONE WORD, 152-bajillion years ago..." if that was all it was.
But SHIT! First thing that came to mind was - "Dear GOD I'd NEVER be able to work at that place for five minutes with that Neanderthal running things the way he is!" Then it went to "if MY daughter were working there, I'd be going off like Mount Vesuvius!" And you better believe I'd be talking to lawyers at this point. Especially considering that this manager tried repeatedly to get some sort of relief, she brought it to the attention of SO many people up the corporate ladder, including Paula Deen. And nobody did squat! Probably afraid to rock the boat with the boss's brother. And you know what? I DON'T CARE!!! I don't care if it's Barack Obama's brother! I wouldn't care if it was Prince Harry's brother! Would NOT matter. There is simply no excuse for behavior like that. And if some of those waitresses were under age and this schmuck was watching porn IN the workplace, and according to the employees, well within their view too, MAN, are you looking at Liabilities On Parade.
And Paula Deen was warned. It was in the report of the consultant she hired to assess why the Uncle Bubba restaurant was failing. She commissioned it and paid for it and it was handed to her personally, and when she saw Point One was getting rid of her brother she refused to take action. THAT tells me she's a goner, and deserves to be. Family is family, but SHEESH!!! You don't subject your other employees to that kind of treatment or behavior in the workplace.
The buck stops with her. That's HER name and her reputation at the top of the masthead. They don't call it the Joe Blow Enterprises or the Susie Homemaker Family of Companies. It's Paula Deen's. She's the CEO, she's at the top of the ziggurat, and the buck stops with her. I was having this argument with a friend the other night, "...but, but, but, that's the Southern culture, that's just what a lot of them are like..." And I'd always come back to - "um, so, it's okay then? So that makes it okay? So that means it can't or mustn't be changed? So we turn a blind eye then and just allow it to continue? So that means we do nothing? Or would YOU be okay with YOUR daughter working there?"
I'm sorry. Culture Schmulture. I don't give a rat's ass. It is HORRIBLE, inexcusable, and indefensible, and it needs to change. And I'm sorry, but this is the 21st Century, and you do NOT degrade your employees and/or repeatedly and consistently act in a disgusting, sexist, racist, vulgar manner like that in a professional workplace. Whoever still tries to excuse it or insists that this is just how it's always been and you can't change it can just go jump in the lake as far as I'm concerned. It NEEDS to be changed. It is absolutely unsustainable in this day and age. As a parent, I learned that you do NOT reinforce or reward bad behavior. You check, correct, and work on discouraging that bad behavior so it goes away or changes. But the last thing you do is just let it be and thereby give it tacit approval. And this is all that Paula Deen's done - NOTHING. So that sends a signal that somehow this behavior of her brother's is and has been acceptable. AND IT'S NOT!!!!!!!!
When I started looking into the details, I was appalled. And I thought - "Paula, BE GONE!!!!!!" YES it's Paula's brother, not Paula herself. Except that because she's the ultimate authority in that corporate structure and it's ultimately about her and her brand, and she was warned and deliberately did nothing, it actually does become about Paula herself. And I'm afraid I just don't have a lot of patience or sympathy when the damage is self-inflicted.
Actually, Ms. Jackson, the manager who sued, IS Caucasian.
And it really doesn't matter because everybody yowling about this and excoriating the Food Network has the whole thing WRONG!!!!!!
It's NOT about what word Paula Deen said back in the day, whenever it was, how long ago it was.
It's about all the federal EEOC violations in her brother's restaurant, sexism and racism, and assault, and abuse, and more, the many attempts to bring those violations to her attention and the requests that she and others up the corporate ladder correct the situation and do something about the damn brother, and NOTHING was done. Hence the suit.
Hey, you sound like us at our house - I'm told it's called "binge-watching."
And OFTEN we go to sleep to episodes of various "Star Trek" series - and B5 too. Totally engrossing, all of them. I could watch them again and again. And often I see new things I missed the first time(s) I watched - because invariably it'll be some sequence I'd slept through.
Good find! And VERY important to remember!
I suspect most "republi-CON strategists" are lobbyists tied directly to one big industry or another. Maybe several.
Guys, it's NOT about "that" word. Goes WAY beyond that.
I found this among the posts on the Food Network Facebook page - where most people are excoriating the Food Network for being so unfair to Paula Deen. Having read a lot of the documents in this case, I thought the post below was an EXCELLENT summation:
" PAULA DEEN SUPPORTERS I am posting this again because I know most of you have not seen this. Many people think that Paula lost her contract with Food Network over saying the N-word 28 of 30 years ago. If only that were the problem, but it isn't.....
The Lawsuit that was filed against Paula and her Brother Bubba is a Federal EEOC suit alleging violations in protecting workers at their workplace.
Paula opened a restaurant with her brother, Bubba, 5 years ago. The business has never been profitable. That was the first red flag for me. One of Paula Deen's restaurants not profitable in her home town? It is at least $300K underwater.
Paula hired a business consultant to help her, and Bubba, figure out what was wrong with the business. The consultant came back with a report after studying the restaurant and speaking with all the employees. The primary problem was Bubba! The other major problem (risk) was numerous EEOC violations in the workplace. (Here is where Food Network, its parent company and their advertisers become concerned). The consultant went to Paula's house on her way back out of town, handed her the report. Because their first suggestion was to remove Bubba, Paula refused to read the report, she claims. She says she didn't read the report she paid for. So, here is what we have so far. Paula is concerned and hires a consultant. So she knows there are problems. The consultant suggest removing Bubba, because he is taking money (and even her business manager told her he was taking money) AND because he is using racial slurs, physically assaulting workers, told the manager to only have white workers in the dining room, instituted separate bathrooms AND has physically assaulted the manager (he forcibly tried to kiss her and when she resisted he spat in her face) and is sexually harassing her on a daily basis. Paula paid for the professional consultant, was duly warned but did nothing to protect her workers.
Her family friend who was acting as her business manager, under Paula's instruction, was using money from Paula Deen Enterprises (the items and products she sells - the multimillion dollar venture) and The Lady & Sons Restaurant. So, monies were commingled between the businesses, and to make things worse, Paula has testified that the businesses were one family.
Now to the deposition, Bubba has already testified in deposition that YES, he did the things in the report. Employees have testified in deposition various violations of EEOC law. The plaintiff attorney asks Paula questions about her history, her use of slurs, but what will hurt most is that she testifies she paid for the report, she had no intention of removing her brother, she gave him a raise when she was told he was stealing because he wasn't getting enough money. He asks her how she felt about him watching porn for hours on end in the restaurant and she seems to think its okay because men do it. As far as slurs go, well she can tell if a person is going to be offended before she says something... He asks if she was aware her brother went to rehab and asks what he went for. Paula says he went for alcohol. The plaintiff informs her it was alcohol and cocaine. She wasn't aware of that.
I am not a lawyer, but this is a federal case she is likely to loose because of 5 consecutive years of racial abuse and sexual harassment and some physical assaults. Bubba has testified he did the things in the report. Paula testifies she did noting in the report to give the workers some relief.
In light of this scenario, can you see where Food Network, the Parent Company and the thousands of Advertisers can not be associated with this ????
The deposition is a perfect study tool for what not to do in the workplace for small businesses. "
http://www.scribd.com/doc/148813272/Transcript-of-the-Testimony-of-Paula-Deen-Date-May-17-2013
They have a show on Food Network called "Restaurant Stakeout," where this brash successful restauranteur - Willie Degel - is invited by a failing restaurant owner to come and find out why the place is failing. He wires it up, but good, with hidden cameras and mics all over the inside and even looking out at the parking lot, and watches a typical night. LOTS of shitty behavior goes on behind the scenes that can be directly blamed for the restaurant's failure. If Willie Degel did that in Paula Deen's restaurant and saw the appalling, loutish, disgraceful, unprofessional, ragingly sexist, ragingly racist, and utterly Neanderthal behavior that Paula Deen's thoughtless jerk of a brother was displaying, and what the rest of the staff had to put up with from him, he'd be thundering to fire Bubba's ass! And I seriously wonder if ANY of the so-called Christian, compassionate, forgiving, Bible-quoting, liberal-bashing people posting their wrath at the Food Network would want their daughters working at such a place! Bubba's behavior was abominable! And his sister, where the buck stops, was advised, warned, and given many many facts, and did NOTHING. Stood by him and made excuses for him. Sheesh!!! Her poor employees! Ol' Bubba raised "creating a hostile working environment" to a VERY high art.
That Neanderthal brother of hers is a freakin' LIABILITY!!! These are federal EEOC rules and laws that they repeatedly and flagrantly violated. OUCH!!! Ol' Paula Deen may be brought down by her own brother. There was nothing that the Food Network could do in response BUT to cut ties with her. I'm not surprised Smithfield Foods wants to do the same thing. I'd certainly want to get MY corporate brand as far away from that mess as I could!!! Oh, and btw, that racist "Southern wedding" theme about which she spoke so wistfully about wanting to do - was for her brother, Bubba's wedding. Well, whaddya know. Anyone surprised?
OMG! Cats in the pants!
See what you've started, SCE!!!!?!?!?!?
It takes your Sunday LOLCATS to pry me away from all the Paula Deen venting out there, much of which is almost as funny as some of these!!!
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