Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

I’m With CoCo

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I haven’t mentioned it before because there are much, much more important things going on in the world, but I am a big fan of Conan O’Brien. As such, I was quite unhappy to see what NBC did to him by effectively forcing him out of The Tonight Show to be replaced by former Tonight host Jay Leno. I had nothing against Leno and watched Tonight fairly regularly during his tenure, but O’Brien was definitely much more funny and entertaining. When I was younger I would sit through Leno pretty much just to watch O’Brien after, until I got too old to stay up that late ;-).

Obviously the villain in this whole fiasco was NBC and the executives there that made this idiotic decision. O’Brien might not have as many ‘fans’ as Leno, but they are much more vocal and passionate. Plus, Leno is now ‘damaged goods’ and will likely never regain much of the audience he had before (and he has to really retire sooner or later anyway). I really don’t understand what NBC’s end-game is here. And yes, Leno does deserve some of the blame for this mess. The honorable thing would have been to refuse to return to Tonight out of respect for his colleague.

It took Leno almost two years to win his time-slot on The Tonight Show after he took over (in another NBC debacle) from Johnny Carson. O’Brien deserved at least the same amount of faith and loyalty from NBC that Leno got. Personally, as a matter of principle, I don’t intend to watch Tonight when it returns with Leno, and I’ll follow O’Brien—’CoCo’—to whichever network he ends up on. Supposedly, Fox is already trying to pick him up.

Retail Decoration and Engrish Photos

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Over the last several days I’ve taken some photos of random, funny stuff at local retailers and restaurants. Included below is a scary cardboard bear from Michael’s, two mannequins from Dulles Town Center Mall, and some good Engrish from a local Chinese restaurant Melissa and I frequent. Enjoy!

Supreme Court Rules for First Amendment

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When I (somewhat reluctantly) endorsed Senator John McCain (R-AZ) for President in 2008, I spent almost 1/3 of the endorsement criticizing some of McCain’s policy stances and record. One of the items I criticized most harshly was the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, colloquially known as ‘McCain-Feingold’ campaign finance reform. The law in question did many things I find objectionable and have long decried as violating the First Amendment.

When the authors of the Bill of Rights wrote “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press,” their intent was to prohibit government restriction of political speech. The fact that it also protects your right to stand on a street corner and scream at people about aliens (for example) is just an added bonus. The core purpose of the First Amendment was to protect political speech in all its forms. The U.S. Supreme Court has fairly-consistently ruled (until recently) that almost any government regulation of ‘political speech’ is invalid.

Donating money to political campaigns is, indeed, an exercise in free speech. If I choose to donate to Representative Whoosit’s reelection campaign, I have a right to do so. If I happen to have an extra $1,000,000 laying around and I feel like supporting Representative Whoosit with it, that’s my right. It’s my money, and (in this case) my spending is an exercise in political speech.

Read more . . .

Donate to Haitian Relief Efforts

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While it’s been over a week since the devastating earthquake in Haiti, you can (and should) still contribute to relief efforts. There has been an incredible outpouring of generosity from individuals and governments around the world and many, many lives have been saved . . . but there’s still a lot left to do.

Even after rescue operations are finished, the Haitian people will still need assistance with rebuilding and reestablishing basic provisions of food, water, and shelter. Most of us are not in a position to actually lend a hand—that’s mostly being done by U.S. and foreign military services and religious and secular charities. We can, however, lend some financial support.

I encourage all of my readers to make contributions to reputable religious and secular charitable organizations for Haitian earthquake relief. I personally recommend Catholic Relief Services and the American Red Cross, but there are plenty of other organizations doing great work in Haiti too.

Donate to
Catholic Relief Services

Donate to
the American Red Cross

AP: Republican Wins MA Senate Seat

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The Associated Press projects that Scott Brown (R) has won election as U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, defeating Martha Coakley (D). Coakley conceded the race to Brown at about 9:20 p.m. EST.

The Senate seat in contention was vacated by the late Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and has been held by Democrats since 1953. Brown would be the only Republican in the entire Congressional delegation from Massachusetts, generally regarded as one of the most liberal states in the union. This unexpected Republican win breaks a 60-vote ‘filibuster-proof’ Democratic super-majority in the Senate.

This special election has been widely regarded as a referendum the policies of President Barack Obama (D) and the unpopular health care reform bills working their way through Congress.

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.