Olive Garden Pulls Letterman Ads? Probably Not. (Update: But Embassy Suites did.)
[Guest post by DRJ]
NOTE: Further reports suggest this Politico report is not correct. See Update 2.
Politico reports that Olive Garden has canceled its Letterman ads for the rest of the year because of his Palin comments:
“In an email to a Letterman critic obtained by POLITICO, a spokeswoman for the Italian restaurant chain wrote that “there will be no more Olive Garden ads scheduled for ‘The Late Show’ with David Letterman in this year’s broadcast schedule,” citing the talk show host’s “inappropriate comments.”
“We apologize that Mr. Letterman’s mistake, which was not consistent with our standards and values, left you with a bad impression of Olive Garden,” wrote Sherri Bruen, the company’s guest relations manager.”
I’m one of those red state Olive Garden customers who wrote to say I would not eat at Olive Garden unless they dropped their Letterman ads. I’m happy with this decision and I plan to support it with my business and money.
UPDATE 1: Embassy Suites also pulled its ads.
UPDATE 2: Steve notes this Orlando Sentinel report that the parent company, Darden Restaurants, denies the Politico report.
— DRJ
Yes, Mr. Letterman, there is such a thing as bad publicity.
Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R., (5434c8) — 6/18/2009 @ 1:41 pmRefreshing. We don’t eat out often, but Olive Garden will be the next place we go to. I’ll be sure to mention why as well.
Stashiu3 (ed6467) — 6/18/2009 @ 1:45 pmGood for them. I haven’t been to an Olive Garden in a long time but it seems it is time to head back.
TRO (3a2c26) — 6/18/2009 @ 1:48 pmI’m happy with this decision and I plan to support it with my business and money. – DRJ
Might re-consider that Olive Garden reservation:
steve (6196f2) — 6/18/2009 @ 1:50 pmThank you steve. I’ll be interested to find out which story is correct, but it sounds like Politico got this one wrong.
Stashiu3 (ed6467) — 6/18/2009 @ 1:54 pmThanks, steve. I think you’re right and I’ve updated the post.
The Olive Garden email I got said “We would like to clarify that Olive Garden has no immediate plans to advertise during The Late Show with David Letterman.” It sounds like someone at Politico interpreted that to mean OG had pulled its ads when it was really just punting.
DRJ (180b67) — 6/18/2009 @ 1:59 pmBottom line: They support Letterman, I’ll eat elsewhere. They drop Letterman, I’ll eat at Olive Garden. I really hope they drop Letterman A) because it’s the right thing to do (had a right leaning person made anything at all close to those remarks, the libs would still be howling at the moon for his head), and B) I really like their salad dressing!
I used to watch Dave about 25 years ago. About 15 years ago I only watched for stupid pet tricks and the top ten countdown, about 10 years ago I stopped watching Dave altogether. He’s just not that funny.
J. Raymond Wright (d83ab3) — 6/18/2009 @ 2:01 pmI used to enjoy it when he threw things off the roof. Good stuff.
JD (cb9226) — 6/18/2009 @ 2:10 pmLowes home store pulled their O’Relley Factor ads last winter and the left wing blogs were all crowing about it. I made sure lots of retired military in Tucson know about that. Lowe’s had just opened a new store. Mostly, this stuff is a waste of time but since I don’t watch whatever network Lettermen the pervert is on anyway, matters little to me.
This might be of interest, though.
But what’s really interesting, the president yesterday has said, he complained about FOX, and he said, I think accurately, that it is the one, only voice of opposition in the media.
And it makes us a lot like Caracas where all the media, except one, are state run, with the exception that in Hugo Chavez-land, you go after that one station with machetes. I haven’t seen any machetes around here, so I think we are at least safe for now.
Mike K (90939b) — 6/18/2009 @ 2:19 pmMike K – His statement about Fox was pretty surprising. I guess their lack of fawning idolatry really bugs him.
JD (cb9226) — 6/18/2009 @ 2:22 pmWhat is amazing is Letterman’s pig headedness in not apologizing at the first opportunity. Big mistake!
I’m surprised no one filed a Form 475B (complaint of sexually offensive content by a FCC licensed station). I did so with a Miller Brewing commercial that appeared on my local Fox affiliate two years ago. The commercial was dropped, not just by the station, but by Miller.
Corky Boyd (8ee79b) — 6/18/2009 @ 2:28 pmJD, I don’t think that the President is accustomed to criticism.
Even in the best of times, Presidents get criticized. How he deals with it, publically, is an important measure of his quality as a person, let alone a president.
Why, you would think there was a Vast Right Wing conspiracy!
And if you recall Ms. Clinton’s statement, you should remember the context: it was in reference to accusations of Mr. Clinton’s personal behavior.
VRW conspiracy or not, the criticisms were accurate.
Criticism is good for politicians. Adulation is not.
Eric Blair (0b61b2) — 6/18/2009 @ 2:33 pmObama was never seriously criticized nor challenged during his political rise in Chicago – consequently, he reacts quite poorly when finally confronted with the merest whiff of discontent. Thin – skinned doesn’t begin to cover it with this guy; watch what happens when Congress pushes back strongly on his ginormous spending programs.
Dmac (f7884d) — 6/18/2009 @ 2:48 pmCriticism is good for politicians. Adulation is not. <– A sentence that should be carved in granite at the Reagan Library.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 6/18/2009 @ 2:51 pmASPCA is so freaking willfully blind to the irony of his statement.
JD (cb9226) — 6/18/2009 @ 2:56 pmDRJ- you know, back in ’87 or ’88 around the era of the Tisch times at CBS and the ‘amBush’ interview of Pappy Bush by Gunga Dan Rather, I penned a note to my former employer regarding the shabby intent behind that incident and cc’d Pappy. Got a nice note back from GHWB, now framed up in the den. It was Ailes vs. Dan and Ailes won hat one. Nothing from Dan, of course. We also decided not watch any more CBS televison since that time. And we’ve pretty much stuck to it. Aside from the occasional Super Bowl or 60 Minutes report, a few newscasts and a some Letterman monologues, I don’t think more than 50 hours of CBS television has leaked into our home in 20 years.
Guess what? You don’t miss it at all, unless you’re a CBS Sports junkie. And that’s the way it is.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 6/18/2009 @ 3:03 pmWas that when you were working for CBS, DSCSA? Or NSA?
JD (b186eb) — 6/18/2009 @ 3:07 pmSerial fabulist?
JD (b186eb) — 6/18/2009 @ 3:23 pmSearch results for “Letterman” at the Sacramento Bee.
Let me save you the trip. There are over 1,200 archive entries, but not one mention of his attack on Sarah Palin, nor a mention of protests.
If you think taking down Letterman would be an empty gesture, to be shrugged off by the liberal/media nexus, think again.
papertiger (8349ff) — 6/18/2009 @ 3:27 pmI am a Liberal. I would never boycott nor call for the boycott of the sponsors of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, or anyone.
I think boycotts are anti-Free Speech and anti-American.
Without sponsors, Limbaugh, Letterman, Leno or anyone has no real Free Speech.
Calling for Lowes to stop advertising on Fox or Olive Garden to stop advertising on Letterman is the result of the dumbed-down education Americans get at all levels.
We have replaced anything that may offend anyone under any circumstances for speech and for a curriculum item in our schools.
No wonder there are so many stupid Americans. We will be the first society to give up its culture because we did not want anyone to feel that anything should be controversial or adversarial or in any way “impolite” to anyone under any circumstances.
It is absurd.
tjproudamerican (d08358) — 6/18/2009 @ 3:33 pmpaper,
What about this one?
http://www.sacbee.com/977/story/1952562.html
poon (bc36de) — 6/18/2009 @ 3:37 pmWell, try espousing Republican or conservative ideas on a college campus. “Adversarial” and “impolite” will be terms with which you will become familiar.
But you have the essence of our cultural problem well stated.
Eric Blair (0b61b2) — 6/18/2009 @ 3:38 pmtjproudamerican,
Boycotts are Free Speech and very American. Everyone has the right to Free Speech, not my financial subsidy of it. I express this opinion by where I choose to spend my money. Limbaugh, Letterman, and everyone else are free to say whatever they like. If enough people enjoy listening, sponsors will actually pay to have their products and services associated with that success. If people don’t listen, sponsors will not pay for that association. But even if nobody is paying them, Limbaugh and Letterman are still free to speak. See how that works?
Stashiu3 (ed6467) — 6/18/2009 @ 3:43 pmyou know, back in ‘87 or ‘88 around the era of the Tisch times at CBS and the ‘amBush’ interview of Pappy Bush by Gunga Dan Rather, I penned a note to my former employer
So to sum up your amazing and voluminous career so far:
– worked at CBS
– lived in Britain
– worked at NASA
– trained and operated in CIA hit squads in Central America
– worked at Enron
– met Von Braun in your underwear at your college dorm, where you discussed rocket propulsion
Did I leave anything out, sweetheart? Goodness, but you make Foghorn Leghorn and Colonel McBragg look humble by comparison.
Dmac (f7884d) — 6/18/2009 @ 3:49 pmEB,
I disagree. tj has drawn a conclusion that was not warranted. He conflates political-correctness with capitalism and gets both of them pretty much wrong. His way is to chill Free Speech by claiming saying another person’s speech is being chilled, much like many of the banned trolls here claim that their freedom to speak is being suppressed.
tj (and Letterman, and Limbaugh, and Olive Garden, etc…) all have the right to speak. They don’t have the right to speak in my living room or decide how I’ll spend my money.
Stashiu3 (ed6467) — 6/18/2009 @ 3:49 pmThanks for the post, Stashiu3. I guess I was focused more on tj’s critique about the supposed right NOT to be offended.
What I tell people about that view of censorship is that clearly I am being censored, since I haven’t published the Great American Novel.
Eric Blair (0b61b2) — 6/18/2009 @ 3:52 pmHow silly. This is one of those tabloid stories that seems HUGE at the time, but when we look back in 3 months will seem overblown and we’ll all wonder why it was headline news for days on end.
See also: Joe the Plumber and Miss California.
Is Bill O’Reilly still boycotting France?
. (173c60) — 6/18/2009 @ 3:52 pmDCSCA: “I don’t think more than 50 hours of CBS television has leaked into our home in 20 years.”
How obsessive must you be to boycott a television station over a Dan Rather interview of Papa Bush when Bush has been gone for 17 years and Rather retired in 2005? Get over it.
It’s OK to watch CBS again if you like one of their shows. You’re not proving anything at this point.
Comment by (173c60) — 6/18/2009 @ 4:00 pmNo worries EB,
tj used a very effective distraction… parroting a conservative position and pretending it supported his own. Easy to miss (speaking from experience) but I’ve seen that argument against boycotts before. Funny how liberal boycotts are okay though, despite tj’s assurance he would never do such a dastardly deed. 😉
Stashiu3 (ed6467) — 6/18/2009 @ 4:00 pmThat was a Moby. You can smell it a mile away.
JD (b186eb) — 6/18/2009 @ 4:07 pmStashiu3, do you know about FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education)? I try to contribute money (like I’m rich, but you know what I mean—we all try to support things we believe in, even modestly) to them.
Their website is “www.thefire.org”.
I remember being furious when FIRE said that the attacks on Ward Churchill’s speech were not proper (not his misrepresentation of his record, let me hasten to add).
I wrote to the president of the organization, expressing my dismay. Greg Lukianoff wrote back to me. The solution to speech with which you disagree, he reminded me, was more speech, not less.
It’s a lesson that has stuck with me.
Eric Blair (0b61b2) — 6/18/2009 @ 4:08 pmA Boycott is the favorite tool of people like Al Sharpton. Why?
Because Organized Boycotting is a bullying tactic. I don’t care if someone boycotts sponsors of Limbaugh, Letterman, or anyone, as long as they don’t use the blackmail tool of an organized boycott to force the squeamish out.
As a practical matter, if Al Sharpton or Focus on Family or any group can get sponsors to withdraw advertising, they destroy Free Speech.
And it IS related to the issue of what can and cannot be said on campus. Groups shout down Hate Speech and they define “Hate Speech” as anything that they can convince people is unworthy of being heard.
How did we get here? Because our Educational System, which has censors from every point of view, dumbs everything down so that it does not offend anyone who has ten people who stand outside a school board meeting with a sign claiming they are being oppressed.
It is not surprising, given the pathetic, feel good education that Americans have gotten for 40 years that arguments from the right borrow from arguments on the left. All you need is a sense that you have been made a Victim and as an American you demand reparations!!!!
tjproudamerican (d08358) — 6/18/2009 @ 4:09 pm“A sentence that should be carved in granite at the Reagan Library.”
Highly overrated, IMO, and yet still far better than ANY Democrat who ever came down the pike.
Dave Surls (6f8595) — 6/18/2009 @ 4:11 pmThere is a fundamemtal difference between freedom of speech, and freedom of consequences.
JD (b186eb) — 6/18/2009 @ 4:15 pmCalling for Lowes to stop advertising on Fox or Olive Garden to stop advertising on Letterman is the result of the dumbed-down education Americans get at all levels.
Take it up with the Teachers Union, TJ.
We have choice words for them as well, but first…
… I have some strongly worded emails to send to Letterman advertizers.
papertiger (8349ff) — 6/18/2009 @ 4:17 pmSince when is encouraging a boycott not just another expression of speech?
Makewi (0864f9) — 6/18/2009 @ 4:20 pmFreedom from consequences is what I meant to type …
JD (b186eb) — 6/18/2009 @ 4:21 pmMakewi – Moby’s seem to enjoy standing traditional principles on their ear.
JD (b186eb) — 6/18/2009 @ 4:27 pmtj,
As a “practical matter”, I must choose where I spend my money. I prefer not to spend it where it will help people like Letterman, even indirectly. Letting a business know why I will (or won’t) spend money for their products or services lets them decide if they have an effective business model. I am all for Letterman being able to speak freely, but without my direct or indirect financial support. (hyperbole alert) I do know that if he had talked about my daughter being raped, we would likely be having words in person… his being limited to mostly “Ow, please, stop, help”. But he would be free to speak them.
EB,
I speak out with my wallet in response to speech I disagree with. I used to love the Dixie Chicks. They no longer exist in my personal universe. A boycott is just another form of speech. tj calling it an “organized” boycott is just disingenuous rhetoric implying that all boycotts are equal. If we organize for valid reasons (like Tea Parties), and the method we use is legal (like a voluntary boycott), it is a valid expression of our Free Speech. This is different than race-hustling blackmail. I agree that the remedy to speech we disagree with is more speech, not less. tj is the one trying to limit speech by claiming the opposite.
Stashiu3 (ed6467) — 6/18/2009 @ 4:32 pmWhen you disagree with the reason for the boycott, of course!
/cynicism….
Eric Blair (0b61b2) — 6/18/2009 @ 4:35 pm“The solution to speech with which you disagree, he reminded me, was more speech, not less.”
Sometimes. If I’m in a foxhole, and someone starts giving a speech and tipping our position…my solution is to keep my mouth shut, and stick a bayonet in their back.
Dave Surls (6f8595) — 6/18/2009 @ 5:24 pmtj:
I have real free speech even though I don’t have a sponsor. So do you. Letterman has free speech with a megaphone but I don’t think he deserves that megaphone.
DRJ (180b67) — 6/18/2009 @ 6:51 pmI’ll remember that, Dave, if you are in the foxhole next to me. Remember: I’m more on your side than against you!
Eric Blair (5a226d) — 6/18/2009 @ 6:57 pmBoycotts have a long and distinguished history in American life. They are a classic nonviolent way of protest that mobilizes public opinion. They helped end segregated seating on buses; they even helped give birth to the Republic itself. So criticizing boycotts per se makes no sense.
Of course, you may disagree with a particular boycott. In that case, you’re free encourage support for the person or thing being boycotted.
Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (0ea407) — 6/18/2009 @ 7:36 pm#24- Actually, you have. And have it wrong.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 6/18/2009 @ 8:06 pm#28- That’s just the point. We haven’t missed it much at all. And from their revenues and ratings, perhaps they’ve not missed us either.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 6/18/2009 @ 8:08 pm“I think boycotts are anti-Free Speech and anti-American.”
— I would like to boycott anyone who thinks that exercising free speech is anti-Free Speech . . .
. . . uh, I mean, unless they’re saying something like, “Down with talking!” or, “I don’t wanna hear it! Keep it to yourself!”
Icy Texan (43c637) — 6/18/2009 @ 8:20 pmThe best and most effective boycott you can implement fits right in your hands. The remote control. Just click him off. Watch the Colbert Report instead.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 6/18/2009 @ 8:24 pmDSCSA – Are you denying that you said those things?
JD (b186eb) — 6/18/2009 @ 8:25 pmComment by poon — 6/18/2009 @ 3:37 pm
Thanks for pointing it out. I missed that one.
Not surprising though because it’s in the “wire” section denoting that the Bee didn’t give it space in the paper, a link on the home page, or an entry in the search engine.
here’s another “wire” story. Dave gets a boost from Palin flap, but Conan wins.
“Overall for the week of June 8, “Tonight” won in total viewers as well as among such demographic groups as adults 18-49 and 18-34, according to Nielsen Media Research figures released Thursday.”
Note the total lack of comment on either poon’s link or the one above. That means nobody saw it.
papertiger (bb4d18) — 6/18/2009 @ 8:59 pmpapertiger and others:
poon’s comments have to go through moderation so even though they have a time-stamp showing when poon wrote them, they won’t appear until later. I know it’s frustrating for poon but he’s being a good sport about it, so let’s do the same.
DRJ (180b67) — 6/18/2009 @ 9:11 pmSo it wasn’t there on my first pass. Thanks for the info. I just thought I’d missed it.
papertiger (8627e9) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:14 am#32- I recall some ad execs talking about advertiser boycotts and they’re generally deemed ineffective and short lived unless the entire bottom falls out, like what happened to Don Imus, which is rare. But Imus was stumbling along the edge for years and finally fell over the cliff. And in the end, he still made out quite well financially and ended up back on radio. Letterman’s situation is different. He’s smart enough to turn a batch of sour jokes into into lemonade over time and move on.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 6/19/2009 @ 1:38 amDid you learn that @ CBS, or did you meet Leo Burnett while wearing a towel in your dorm?
JD (b6cfbe) — 6/19/2009 @ 4:56 amWith regard to political speech, the Supreme Court has held that money IS speech.
Shouting into the wind that you object to something a large corporation is doing is wrong (e.g., Letterman/CBS) isn’t “free speech” unless you have the money to back up what you’re saying (e.g. boycotts).
Free speech implies equal opportunity to voicing opposing points of view. In the case of corporations, they have millions of dollars and lawyers and political leverage to push their points of view. The individual has the power to organize boycotts to push his.
Saying that boycotts are anti-Democratic is a fundamental misunderstanding of free speech. It automatically shifts the balance of power to the guy who starts an argument with the most money. What you’re saying is that if I can afford a bigger megaphone than you, then you can’t do anything about it so just shut up. That’s not the principle this country was founded upon, and arguing that it is is patently absurd.
Jim B (3552e7) — 6/19/2009 @ 6:48 amEveryone has the right to express their opinion, no one has the right to force me to listen to it.
Letterman, and Colbert, and Stewart, don’t ever see the phosphorous on the inside of my TV-screen.
AD - RtR/OS! (67897f) — 6/19/2009 @ 7:31 amEating at Olive Garden shows about as much taste as Letterman’s joke.
hortense (aka horace) (411ef0) — 6/19/2009 @ 9:45 amWow – a liberal poster with disdain for affordable family dining. Go figure.
carlitos (84409d) — 6/19/2009 @ 10:09 amGood call, hortense! DRJ eats there from time to time (until Letterman). Me, too.
Very classy. Which is amusing, coming from someone showing bad taste by attacking the tastes of others.
Eric Blair (0b61b2) — 6/19/2009 @ 10:15 amSHOCKA, carlitos
JD (0ecdbf) — 6/19/2009 @ 10:24 amWhen living in Britain, I remember reading a travelogue by an English writer who was aghast at the prevalence of chain dining in the US. The irony that chain dining is much MORE prevalent in the UK was lost on him. He just simply could not countenance consistent quality available from city to city. It offended his sensibilities. This from an Englishman, mind you. It was pretty funny.
Predictably, the soon-to-be-bankrupt Grey Lady once weighed in similarly, and it even offended Matthew Yglesias at the time. Highlights:
Yeah, some people about to spend $60 for a night out do indeed want to know what to expect. Duh.
carlitos (84409d) — 6/19/2009 @ 10:36 amI have to admit that I try to avoid chains when traveling. In every town I have been in, if you just talk to the locals, you can find a place that has been there a while, has a local flavor, or even a local tradition.
JD (0ecdbf) — 6/19/2009 @ 10:50 amSame here JD. But, as I once painfully explained to an
carlitos (84409d) — 6/19/2009 @ 10:54 amurban, elitist snobadvertising guy who was shocked that I’d sell his beautiful bottle of booze to Red Lobster – Red Lobster is the best seafood restaurant in Laramie, Wyoming. And probably a few other places. And they move a lot of product.Of course, JD. But I don’t judge anyone’s “taste” when they go to McDonald’s. Especially people with children.
But it is odd to hear how “for the people” left of center types are so prone to look down their noses at others.
What with the price of arugula and all.
Eric Blair (0b61b2) — 6/19/2009 @ 10:57 amY’all are preaching to the choir. The staff @ McDonald’s up near Compound JD knows me by name, at least until my doc cleared me to start working out and doing Krav Maga again. It is damn hard to eat a salad while driving, so Mickey D’s has seen less of me recently.
JD (0ecdbf) — 6/19/2009 @ 11:03 amComment by JD — 6/19/2009 @ 11:03 am
Salads while driving:
AD - RtR/OS! (67897f) — 6/19/2009 @ 11:10 amThat’s what they have blenders for.
Add a little wheat-germ and a raw egg and it’s right out of the body-builders handbook.
I am going to try that, AD. Thanks!
JD (0ecdbf) — 6/19/2009 @ 11:19 amNot to defend Letterman’s moronic jokes, but frankly, as an Italian-American, I am deeply embarrassed and revolted (and insulted even) by the frozen processed grease and High Fructose corn syrup sodium drenched slop that Olive Garden tries to pass off as “Italian food.” Same way I’m embarrassed by Sarah Palin trying to pass herself off as a potential a figure in the executive branch, so this is no great loss for me and if Olive Garden wants to play this spineless game that talks out of both sides of it’s mouth, it’s fine with me, I wouldn’t eat in that place if you paid me, either way, and seems like lots of other people are going to be avoiding the place as well.
You want good Italian food, Olive Garden is not the place to find it. You want a national leader for the GOP, Sarah Palin will lead that party to even greater irrelevance, marginalization and extremist violence.
PettyPat_and his_PityParty (57f09d) — 6/19/2009 @ 11:21 amGet the Jack Lalanne juicer – carrot / apple /beet is my current fave.
carlitos (84409d) — 6/19/2009 @ 11:22 amSomebody forgot to lock the doggie-door!
AD - RtR/OS! (67897f) — 6/19/2009 @ 11:23 amPP/PP is a character, all right.
Eric Blair (0b61b2) — 6/19/2009 @ 11:29 am#54- Actually, it was Phil Dusenberry.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 6/19/2009 @ 11:30 amThis is one of my favorites. Why does Sarah Palin “offend” you?
JD (0ecdbf) — 6/19/2009 @ 11:32 amRight. Absolutely. You really need to be careful, DCSCA, about the different kinds of stories you tell. The timing in particular doesn’t fit very well together.
The bit about Thatcher was my favorite. You were 13, for heck’s sake.
Not that it matters.
Eric Blair (0b61b2) — 6/19/2009 @ 11:34 am#74. 15. But then, if it doesnt matter, then why comment. But again thanks for reminding me I’m aging. As noted, the Beatles break-up was more memorable.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 6/19/2009 @ 11:47 amSigh. So you admit you were just shooting off your mouth about disapproving of Thatcherism while your parents lived in the UK?
Eric Blair (0b61b2) — 6/19/2009 @ 11:55 amI disapproved of Nixonism when I was 4. Or so I was told.
carlitos (84409d) — 6/19/2009 @ 11:57 amLOL, carlitos. It’s like when the YMCA here in town was really pushing Obama on my kids. My seven year old said he supported Obama because he “cared” about people. My five year old objected, saying “McCain cares about people, too!”
Ah, spirited political discourage at the YMCA.
Eric Blair (0b61b2) — 6/19/2009 @ 11:59 am#76- sigh. Perhaps your level of maturity and exposure to the world at 15 was different than mine. Your universe at that age may have been your Hot Wheels collection and the high school football team. For better or worse, mine was collecting passport stamps and playing touch football with the staff at the American Embassy in Moscow. More’s the pity. You may not know how lucky you were.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:02 pmI meant to write “discourse,” and look what happened! Sadly funny.
Eric Blair (0b61b2) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:02 pm#80. Sadly funny. Yes. You truly are.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:06 pmWas that before or after you met von Braun, worked at CBS, and the NSA?
JD (0ecdbf) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:06 pmAnd now the American Embassy in Moscow! With the “staff”, no less!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6LO3LEk_bw
It might even be true—but you sure have a number of Walter Mitty like experiences.
Eric Blair (0b61b2) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:06 pm#83- It might even be true. It is.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:09 pmHey, could you forward me Bush the Elder’s email address?
JD (0ecdbf) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:11 pm#81: and you honestly attack the maturity of others? Please.
As for #84, sure. Absolutely.
It might be true. But it sure doesn’t look that way, based on your own posts.
Whatever, big guy. You go knock ’em dead.
Eric Blair (0b61b2) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:11 pmI know that you guys ignore the sparring, but it’s not a game I miss.
carlitos (84409d) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:13 pmI know that you guys enjoy the sparring, but it’s not a game I miss.
carlitos (84409d) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:13 pmNow THAT’s a freudian slip.
carlitos (84409d) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:14 pmThe claims get so outrageous, carlitos. And they might be true. But it sure doesn’t fit the rest of it. I know many people who have led very adventurous lives. They usually don’t brag about it.
As I say, I could be wrong.
Eric Blair (0b61b2) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:16 pm#86- Whose attacking. Awfully defensive. And a waste of posting space. And it is true. But you go one believing it’s not. Your Hot Wheels collection is worth a lot more these days than my passport stamps.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:21 pmReally, DCSCA? That’s your response? And you call other people defensive and immature? Irony abounds.
Listen, I don’t care about your background. It sounds like you are a serial fabulist, but you might be telling the truth. And if you have been so fortunate, why so angry and bitter?
Let’s move on. Go argue with Karl, who just schooled you pretty well.
Eric Blair (0b61b2) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:27 pm#92- =sigh= Give it a rest, “Eric.” You feel compelled to have the last word. Fine. Now go grade some papers.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:45 pmI want to be regaled with tales of the days at CBS, NSA, NASA, etc …
JD (0ecdbf) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:49 pmNice sense of class, as usual, DCSCA.
Eric Blair (0326a3) — 6/19/2009 @ 12:52 pm